2. Seeing Christ's Glory - And Becoming Like Him - Zac Poonen

what is the primary thing beyond what we've already considered about God being our Father and the devil being defeated in the New Covenant here's another very very important thing that's from 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 by the way 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 like Hebrews chapter 8 the two great chapters that contrast the Old Covenant to the New Covenant 2nd Corinthians 3 especially where it says here now the Old Covenant was of the letter that kills verse 6 but the New Covenant is a ministry of the spirit that gives life he doesn't mean the there was no glory in the Old Covenant it says here in verse 7 even that Ministry of death came with glory because there was a glory in the face of Moses verse 7 but that glory faded away in the Old Covenant you could come to a wonderful life and then slowly backslide that's the meaning of the glory fading away do you find that in your life that when you were first born again you're really not excited you're all fired for God a little while later it became less and less and less that is an Old Covenant life that's a life you've been living you thought it was New Covenant it was not and the devil doesn't want people to know it in the New Covenant it is not a glory that fades away like it was it says in verse 7 on the contrary it is a glory verse 18 that becomes from glory to glory it's not just steady but goes up and up and up and up so if you find that the glory in your life is going down you immediately say to yourself whatever you may believe in your head and understand you are under the Old Covenant maybe you were not some time ago but he's back slid into the Old Covenant again if your life is steady you're still under the Old Covenant you say well I'm about the same level I was I was one year ago you were under the Old Covenant brother absolutely without a doubt and if you don't accept it if you're not honest with and you remain like that for the next twenty years but if you're willing to face up to it a steady life is an Old Covenant light the New Covenant is described in verse 18 red says we see the glory of Jesus in a mirror and are transformed by the Holy Spirit from glory to glory to glory to glory when does it stop it stops when we become like Christ never before that here's another way to discover whether you're living under the Old Covenant on your coming and many of you been sitting here for years listening to the new covenant calling us a new covenant Christian Fellowship you may discover you mean living in the Old Covenant and the devil wants you to live that for like that forever and call you some new covenant Christian Fellowship don't trust in a name don't trust in a phrase look for reality in your life you can sit in an old common Church and live a new covenant life if your wholehearted and you can sit in a new covenant church and live in an old covenant life because you don't think you're not gripped by the truth of God's Word from glory to glory to glory 1 John chapter 3 1 John chapter 3 here it tells us what is gonna happen when Christ comes again here's another thing which most people don't realize if you ask a Christian most Christians you're gonna if you don't believe me test it out dear brother sister what is your hope what's your hope at the second coming Christ will come again and I will see him face to face anything else that's about it I'll be in heaven forever no more suffering and all that that's not what the Bible says I'm sorry the Bible says the hope is twofold and it has got nothing to do with going to heaven he's got nothing to do with mansions or nothing to do with crowns absolutely nothing if you're looking for all that you are an Old Covenant person looking for mansions and rugs Jesus spoke about that because that's the level those disciples were in John 14 I'm going to prepare a place for you the romances there are crowns all that but you how many mansions do you read off in Ephesians or Colossians see Jesus spoke to them in or pictures the reality in the New Covenant is the reality of those word pictures for example the fire of hell is not a physical fire let me tell you that it's being eternally forsaken by God which is worse than any worm or fire or anything but Jesus had to picture it in a way that all government people would understand so here in 1 John 3 it says the whole we have verse 2 is that we will be like him number 1 and we will see him because we see him we will be like him so what is my hope not just that I will see Jesus but I will see Jesus and I will be like him I hope you will always remember you got the right answer now it doesn't mean you're going to pursue it but if you keep that right answer before you you will see what is the next thing if you have this double hole and I'll tell you most Christians do not have this double hole you only say Jesus will come again so what should you do oh somehow keep my conscience clear and make sure I've forgiven everybody and ask forgiveness is that all no everyone who has this double hole will keep on purifying himself until he reaches Christ standard of purity 1 John 3:3 if you are new in not doing that you do not have this hope now I want to be very plain with you I don't want to let speak smooth words with you and make you miss out on God's plan for your life miss out on God's wonderful purpose for your life miss out on the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus I don't want you to lose that and that's why I speak very firmly and I will not hesitate to say that you all know me well enough to know that I speak in love everyone who has his double hope will keep on purifying himself how do I buy myself we saw that in 2nd Corinthians 3 allow the Holy Spirit verse 18 to show me the glory of Jesus Christ in the mirror James 1 verse 22 to 25 says the mirror is the word of God the law of God in God's word is a mirror and as I look into the mirror many people look into the mirror of God's Word to get a message those are the self-centered preachers who are trying to get a message to get honor they listen to YouTube and listen to so many messages and read books and prepare a sermon what far it's not to challenge people to become christ-like it's to get honor you discover what a great preacher I am I don't judge them I was like that myself first when I started preaching I must say that was very I was very conscious what do people think about that did i impress people enough I finished with that years ago I'm not saying I I started in grade 10 I started in the kindergarten I started in pre-kindergarten like all of us we don't know ABC of the Christian life but we shouldn't be there forever I mean if you've been there believer for four five years and you're still seeking honor brother when are you going to get out of the pre-kindergarten class I have to get out of it so we look into the mirror the God's Word not even to get a doctrine but to see the glory of Jesus Christ did you see that we all without a veil on our face the whale is the thing that blocks off the image of God in the Old Covenant we see in God's Word the glory of the Lord the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit showed people the law thou shalt not kill thou shalt not commit adultery thou shalt not worship idols or shall keep the Sabbath falling pay your tithe and have people taken up with all these things even today but today I don't need those laws I'll tell you why because I see Jesus constantly before me how in the world can I commit adultery how in the world can I lust after a woman leave alone commit adultery I see Jesus in front of me right all the time when I'm standing talking to my wife how in the world can I get angry with my wife then you wouldn't get angry if Jesus was standing there between you and your wife you wouldn't even get angry with your wife of a brother in your room why is it that we do get upset and angry with people I'll tell you because we haven't got the presence of Jesus we're not seeing the glory of Jesus this is the wonderful thing about the New Covenant that I can see the glory of Jesus all the time in front of me it may take time for you to get there because we mean blinds for so long sometimes like that blind man Jesus touched we need a second touch because we can't distinguish between trees and human beings yeah it's true we can't distinguish eating those people whom we are supposed to love and those that which you're supposed to use you know where it says God has created things to use and people to love but Oh God the devil's made it all upside down that we love things and use people you find yourself like that you love things money and all of earthly things and people are to be used no it's all upside down we need a second touch to see that men and trees are different many things we need to see more clearly and that'll happen when I see Jesus so the Holy Spirit has come to show me the glory of Jesus Christ in Scripture and that's been a tremendous blessing to me to read the Gospels I would encourage you to read this Gospels like this where you read the Gospels not to hear the stories that's all right for Sunday school but to see what do I see on the glory of Jesus here for example in a little thing like Jesus sleeping in the middle of the storm I see a lot of things there first of all he had a pillow he wasn't this rough Spartan type of thing hey I don't want a pillow I'll just keep my head on the wooden board no it's good to use something comfortable I have no objection to using a pillow when I sleep Jesus wasn't ascetic that's what I learned from that and secondly he didn't matter to him if the stall was all around he had a father in heaven to give her him what a wonderful thing to know that and that that father will still the storm at the right time these are the thing lessons there I see the glory of Jesus or at other times I see his compassion for people who were hungry after listening to him for so many days don't charge them any money let's provide food them freely his compassion for how he would care for the lepers well nobody would touch his arms would be around the leper compassion compassion I see the glory of Jesus and I say Lord that's what I want to see I don't want to just see that you did a miracle I'm more interested in having your compassion than in having the ability to heal a leprous person can you say that to the Lord I've said that I don't want the power to heal a leprosy person but I want to get that compassion that you had and I leave it to you to decide how to heal these people of leprosy so these are little examples I think of that other time when it says after the Jesus preached the message in the end of John 7 everybody went to their home and Jesus was alone in Jerusalem with no home to go to and he says he went to the Mount of Olives and slept there came back next morning and continued teaching completely undisturbed by the fact that nobody asked him nor where did you sleep last night not even a mention of it Lord I never want to be disturbed when people are completely ignorant of my needs of my physical needs I don't even want to think about it because I have a father in heaven always cares for me these are little examples of seeing the glory of Jesus when people called him Beelzebub Prince of devils he says you know forgiven this is what I mean by seeing the glory of Jesus not just reading stories in the Gospels there's so many examples of this and I could go on and on and on and on right from Matthew chapter 4 onwards to see the glory of Jesus even when you're hungry to say Lord I still want to live by your word and not long for food so these are little things and the secret is to see Jesus clearly without a veil what are the things that bring a veil I believe one of the main things is having our bad conscience 5 a bad conscience I cannot see the Lord that is impossible most important see what the Apostle Paul said I believe this is one of the great secrets of his life Acts chapter 24 which is not possible in the Old Covenant not at the standard that you know let me show you first of all acts 23 Paul said in acts 23 1 all my life I have lived with a perfectly good conscience till this day that means then the time he was a little kid as a Jew under the Old Covenant he had lived with a company good conscience what it does mean he kept the Ten Commandments but in acts 24:16 he raises it a higher level he's now talking about the New Covenant and says I keep my conscience blameless before God and before men 24/7 that's possible only through the Holy Spirit where every single moment I can live without a veil before God I can see the Lord Jesus clearly before my eyes I can talk to my father without any disturbance in my conscience because how is that possible as soon as I'm aware that I have failed in thought world indeed attitude toward someone motive immediately I say lord I slipped up I'm sorry and if I hurt somebody I go immediately to that person and say I'm sorry for what I did and like you've often heard me say don't ever confess your sin like this if I have hurt you please forgive me that means I don't think I've hurt you but if you're so stupid to think I've hurt you please forgive me that is insulting people be honest and say I'm sorry I hurt you please forgive me whether there's husband - wife wife - husband or anybody keep your conscience clear and I really believe this my brothers and sisters if you're not becoming more and more like Christ year by year there is one answer to it please listen among others you are not keeping your conscience clear all the time there's a veil you don't see the glory of Jesus you will not become like you follow this simple rule there are there's more to it than that but I'll give you one simple thing now start with the clear conscience acts 24:16 I do my best can you say this I do my best like you teach your children to do your best when they are going for some a safety course or some other entrance course poor do your best come on work hard don't go to sleep study study why not do your best to keep a good conscience which do you value more some earthly advancement or becoming like Christ that is the test that often comes to us I say Lord to become like you is the most important thing for me in my life because that's I'm gonna be like you and I want to purify myself until I become like you then your coming it is a wonderful thing

Channel: NCCF Church

Views: 8,721

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Keywords: NCCF, CHRISTIAN, ZAC POONEN

Id: PSp3eDD0NiI

Length: 16min 8sec (968 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 10 2019