A Reverential Fear Of God by Zac Poonen

[Music] I want to read a verse first of all in 1 Peter chapter one 1 Peter 1 it says here what we should not be like and what we should be like 1 Peter 1:14 as obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance that teaches us that when a man lives according to his lusts it is because he's ignorant of God remember this my dear brothers and sisters the proof that you are ignorant of God you don't know God at all is that you live according to your lusts any man in the world with a Christian believer non-christian who lives according to his lusts is in ignorance he doesn't know God so when a lot of Christians say that they know God and yield to their lusts their telling lies they don't really know the God of the Bible they know some other God who is a figment of their own imagination but the true Christian this is how he does he does not confuse not conformed to his former lusts because now he's not ignorant but like the Holy One who called you be holy yourselves in all your behavior because it is written you shall be holy because I am holy that's the main reason why we should be holy because he's our Father and listen to this verse 17 and if you address as father that means we call god father the one who impartially judges according to each man's work conduct yourself in fear during the time of your stay upon earth our entire lifetime it says we must live in reverent fear the Living Bible says act in reverent fear of him from now on until you get to heaven there is a fear we're not supposed to have and there is a fear we're supposed to have and we need to distinguish between the two we are all familiar with that verse in 2nd Timothy 1:7 which says God has not given us a spirit of fear but at the same time it's like judging you know Jesus said do not judge but Judge I don't know whether you know that John John 17 24 he said don't judge according to the appearance but Judge with righteous judgment so he didn't tell us never to judge he said don't judge according to the appearance but you must judge righteous judgment and so if you don't judge you're disobeying God some people in only one part of that verse don't judge in the same way jesus also said do not fear but fear that's in Matthew chapter 10 and all failure in the Christian life comes because of an imbalanced understanding of the truth it says in Matthew chapter 10 verse 28 do not fear those who kill the body it means don't fear man but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body so just like Jesus said don't judge but judge in John 7:24 he says here in Matthew 10 in verse 28 don't fear but fear and a lot of Christians are taken up with the first part don't fear God has not given us the spirit of fear there are many verses like that now you know Zechariah prophesied at the birth of John that we should serve God without fear and that's how it should be and we know that other verse in Romans in chapter 8 which says you have not received a spirit of slavery Romans 8:15 to fear again but a spirit of adoption by which we cry above father so there are a number of verses that teaches we're not to be afraid we're not to be afraid of God Jesus often said fear not fear not fear not don't be afraid he came to deliver us the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14 and 15 from the fear of death by defeating the one who had the part of death and taking away that part from him so that he might deliver us who through fear of death were subject to slavery seeing Romans 8:15 also it says about fear and slavery fear always brings us slavery when you're afraid of man you're a slave of man every man you're afraid of you're his slave whether you know it or not anyone you want to try to please any man you want to try and please you're his slave whether you're annoyed or not that's why the Bible says we should not seek to please men we should not be afraid of men when we are afraid of death we're in slavery any type of fear brings slavery that type of fear we got to be released from completely totally 100% but there's another type of fear a reverent fear of God which brings freedom and it's because many Christians do not have that reverent fear of God that they don't come into freedom I feel as I've observed our own church here through as I look back over the past say 10 years when we began to break free from the clutches of legalism and law that governed a lot of our preaching in previous years and we never want to go back to that I have observed something which is very sad in the last 10 years folks in our church here have indulged in more secret sin than in the previous 15 years when we were under law not everybody number you don't know I happen to know a number and I ask mister why is that and I also know that some others have come into a far more glorious freedom and a holiness that they've never experienced in previous years and I'll tell you why the reason is it may apply to a number of you here because you know the sins you've lived in in secret that nobody in this church knows about perhaps holy God maybe some of you are living in sin I don't even know about myself it doesn't matter it's because in breaking free from the Old Covenant we have not entered the New Covenant but no covenant see there are three possibilities Old Covenant no covenant New Covenant and many people here in CFC have said we're finished with legalism we have finished with the Old Covenant and entered into an area which I would call no covenant they break free from the fear of man in the fear of the elder brothers and come into a place where they don't even fear God it's very sad people feared Moses and lived holier lives than a lot of Christians today and that is why I've always said can you come to this church if you don't fear God at least fear the elders that second best because that's all covenant they feared Moses know made him it wasn't the best it was a fear of God but examine your life and see whether you have whether your holiness has exceeded the holiness of people under the Old Covenant if not I want to say to you you're living in a delusion have you broken free it's because we don't have that you know we've heard a lot about the love of God but many people think of God as a grandfather you know the love of a grandfather is different from the love of a father and I want to tell you God is no grandfather he's not one who just ignores anything you do like grandfathers - what did we read in 1 Peter 1 spend your entire life on earth this is not Old Testament this is New Testament the Apostle Peter writing 30 years of the day of Pentecost spend your entire life on earth in fear the same word I am supposed to live my entire life on earth 1 Peter 1:17 in fear in fear of what fear of God I'll show you some other verses Hebrew Hebrews chapter I'm not going to go to the Old Testament I'm going to be in the New Covenant in the New Testament Hebrews chapter 12 in Hebrews chapter 12 it says [Music] Hebrews 12 verse 25 after speaking about coming to Jesus verse twenty fourth twenty the mediator of a new covenant he says then if that is the case you've come to Jesus the blood of Jesus that cleanses you from all sin then see to it that you don't refuse him who is speaking and listen to this this is a warning to new covenant people for if those did not escape that is those under the Old Covenant did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth much less shall we escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven and his voice shook the earth then but now he has promised not only earth but he's also going to shake heaven and this expression yet once more denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things in order things which cannot be shaken may remain every created thing is going to be shaken those of you who depend on created things I want to say you're on a shaky foundation if you are glorying in anything created you're on a shaky foundation if your foundation is money property a good job a secure job and a hundred and one earthly things like that you are going to be shaken without a doubt and there'll be nothing left underneath you the only things that are remain are the things which are not created and therefore in since this is going to happen what shall we do since we are going to receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken what should we do let us show gratitude how do you show gratitude for Jesus dying for you there is only one way to show gratitude to Jesus for dying for you and that is by offering to God an acceptable service with reverence and all how many of you brothers and sisters have a reverence and all for God 24 hours a day that makes you afraid to say things certain things that makes you too afraid do do certain things I fear it has disappeared because you have moved from Old Covenant to no covenant and the devil has deceived you to think that this is the freedom there is in Christ freedom has become an opportunity for the flesh like I said the student who cheats in the examination and passes and then ask the Lord to forgive him and cleanse him in his blood he thinks he's got the best of both worlds he passed in his exam at the same time he confessed his sin and Jesus forgave us in and he also believes in justification which means just as if I had never sinned that means praise the Lord is just as if I never cheated in the exam isn't that wonderful gospel that I can pass on the exam with cheating to confess my sin and be just as if I've never cheated it's not just as if you had never cheated every sin we commit God may forgive it but it causes a scar which will never be removed I don't know whether you know that we have to reap what we sow do you think a man can live 50 years in sin and another man lives 50 years in faithfulness and at the end of those 50 years fella says I'm justified by the blood of Christ just as if I'd never sinned and God says yeah you're all going to get the same reward in heaven God would be the most unrighteous person in the universe if he ever did that no how could God do that treat a man who's lived in sin for 50 years and claims to be a believer in the same way as another man who's been absolutely faithful for 50 years so don't misunderstand justification justification gives us a standing before God I don't have to be condemned I don't have to be discouraged that's true but it does not make me equal to another man who's been faithful for 20 years you've got to be crazy to think like that because jesus said my reward is with me to give to every man according as his work shall be I believe me my dear brothers and sisters a lot of believers are going to have tremendous regret in heaven because they moved out from the Old Covenant to New Covenant and Abraham Isaac and Jacob and David and a lot of those Old Covenant people will be way miles ahead of a lot of New Covenant Christians because those fellows lived under the Old Covenant and these so-called Christians lived under no covenant they tried to get rid of the fear all fear and they got rid of the fear of God as well and their attitude to sin became so light-hearted they've tried to offer to God a service without any reverence without any all they ignored these passages of the New Testament and they've got a one-sided Christianity which always spoke about always be sure you are accepted before God God loves you brother don't don't be remember God loves you just as you are is unloved is unconditional all true but if you only look at that you've got one side of God you've got a one-sided God and you'll see the end result of that the way you live and I believe that's the reason it's one of the great schemes of the devil the devil's got many schemes he releases games like Dungeons and Dragons to get people to get used to witchcraft he releases books like Harry Potter etc to get people used to witchcraft and he also urges Christians to think about God's love and how good he is and how unconditional Islam is and we never must be afraid and we must always know that God has accepted us and our justification means I've just as if I've never seen in my life and how wonderful this gospel is and we spend our time praising worshiping praising worshiping now I'll tell you something in the last 10 years our singing has improved tremendously but I wonder whether our holiness has improved just as much and I'll tell you something the only worship that is acceptable to God is the worship that is offered in what the Bible calls the beauty of holiness now let me show you that verse because that principle remains true Psalm 96 and verse 9 it says here in Psalm 96 and verse 9 worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness or as the NASB says in holy dress worship the Lord in holy dress now that means that if you're not coming in holy dress to worship God you're coming naked think of yourself coming here without a stitch of clothing on you however loudly and wonderfully you may sing and praise God people say what's wrong with this fellow I thought I was not wearing clothes you'd be ashamed to come here without any clothes you would be ashamed to come here and in underwear the Bible says that's how it is when you come to worship God and there's not holiness in your life and I don't mean this type of holiness where you keep on living in sin right up to this morning and then say Oh Lord cleanse me I'm justified now it's just as if I'd never sinned the whole week don't fool yourself with these psychological tricks God is not fool the devil's not fooled godly men are not fooled only you're fooled I have preached and I believed in justification by the blood of Christ more than anybody else perhaps but I fear God I know who God is and anyone who lives close enough to God will reverence him more than anybody else we live in a day when people are trying to be chummy with God you know slap them on the back and that type of thing and these are people who don't have any understanding of the true God I believe that many Christians are worshipping a false god god of their imagination who's a grandfather who just loves them do what they like there's no sense of responsibility and no sense of reverence and I'm convinced that many are living under no covenant the Bible says the law was our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ Galatians three not to lead us nowhere but that's where a lot of people have been led to a false Christ who allows us to live as we like a word reverence has gone with worshiping the Lord and we think that the thing that really impresses God is if all the the drums and the music are all going wonderfully and our singing is so beautiful and the parts what goes so well but what about the holiness that's the one thing God is looking for we need to understand what is the mark of God's blessing in the New Covenant in the Old Covenant it is very clear if you read Deuteronomy 28 the first 13 verses you know what is the mark of blood God's blessing in the Old Covenant if God was blessing you in Israel the proof of it would be you'd have a lot of money you'd have a lot of children your cattle would multiply abundantly your barns will overflow with your crops your enemies will cringe before you and fear you will never be in debt you'll borrow from nobody you'll be in a person whom human beings respect because God's blessing you now the sad thing is a lot of Christians do they think that that's the mark of God's blessing in the New Covenant - except for the children part they don't want the many children but all the other things is that's the mark of God's blessing it's not there's only one mark of God's blessing in the New Covenant that's we become like Jesus Christ never forget that how do I know whether God's blessed me in the year 2003 I've become a little more christ-like a little more gracious a little more gentle a little more humble and above all a little more pure than I ever was in my whole life God's blessed me then a little more free from the love of money than I was in last year in the previous year and God's messed me see in the Old Testament you could fear God and love money and have a lot of money also but jesus said you can't love God and love money at the same time the two opposites the closer you come to God the further away you come from money the closer you come to money whether you know it or not to further away you're going from God it's like two opposite walls you can't go to the North Pole and South Pole at the same time the further you go away from the North Pole the closer you come to the South Pole the further you go away from the South Pole the closer your company not for God and money are like that the closer you come to money believe it or not further away you're going from God that is New Covenant how many people understand that the Devils deceive people in this area no man I don't believe any man can be close to God and be closed money at the same time it's impossible Jesus he read Luke 16:13 these are marks of New Covenant blessing and one of the earthly proofs of it you know I can imagine I'm becoming like Jesus but one of the tests of our relationship with Jesus Christ you know like G the by John says if you say you love God and you don't love your brother you're a liar you're not a believer you're just fooling yourself it's very easy for somebody to think I love God but I can't love that person what if something's wrong with you you don't love God at all if there's a brother or sister whom you can't love I don't care what you may say I mean you may not agree with that person that's another thing you may not be able to work together I can't work together with a lot of believers because they compromise in so many things well I don't hate them I love them I love a lot of people that's why I don't work with them I love them too much to encourage their compromise but if I don't love them I don't love God if I love God I have to love every single brother I've got to love every one of God's children otherwise I don't love God I'm just fooling myself and if I'm becoming more and more like Christ in the vertical direction one proof of it will be that I'll be having more and more fellowship with godly people if you're getting more and more fellowship with worldly people you're not going the wrong direction just like Jesus spoke about God money 1 John chapter 2 verse 16 17 says if any man loves the father the love love the world the love of the father is not in him if you love the world the love of the father cannot be there so the more worldly my friends are the more I'm away from God actually I don't love God at all the more I love God the more my fellowship with godly people will increase and if you're really come become more like Christ in the year 2003 your fellowship with godly people should have increased in this year and if your fellowship with godly people has become less you're fooling yourself the blessing of God's upon your life and I don't mean fellowship with a whole lot of carnal worldly type of Christians I mean they're also there but it's fellowship with a godly Jesus was very selective about whom he spent most of his time with he preached to the multitudes he selected 70 from the multitudes whom he sent out two by two they were I mean Jesus came and Jesus sending out people two by two and those 70 people cast out demons they got so excited when they came back to lure the demons are subject to us then he said that's fine all your fellows demons are cast out in you you're serving me but from you I don't think fifty eight of you are wholehearted enough I got to select twelve out of you can you imagine how the other fifty-eight felt a we also serving God we're casting out demons that's fine Jesus said but there are twelve whom I select out of the fifty seventy and if the other fifty eight get offended they are welcome to get offended they welcome to go where they like but Jesus is very selective he selected twelve and then he called these twelve and he said well I find that three of you are little more sensitive things of God than the others and he picked out Peter James and John and he always took them with him wherever he went for special things like praying for Jairus his daughter was dead Peter James and John come praying alone gets how many Peter James and John come going up to the Mount of Transfiguration Peter James it was not by rotation okay now this is your turn next shift next three he didn't believe in all these earthly things he was closer to those who were more sensitive to the things of God not perfect people you know Peter was not a perfect person but he was a sincere person thank God he is not a perfect person otherwise we'd have no hope but he was utterly sincere and Jesus selected from the multi dually selected 70 from that he selected 12 him that he selected three and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever don't think that he's as close to every believer as to the other he loves everybody blesses everybody is not just as close from the multitude even today he's select 17 select 12 you select three if he doesn't do that we'd have to say he has changed no I don't believe he has changed I believe he's exactly the same today and that's why I want to say the Lord is not as close to every believer in CFC as to the other it's not true he wasn't there it wasn't like that in Palestine it's not true today it all depends on your reverent fear it does not depend on how well you can sing it does not depend on how much money you put in the offering box it depends on your reverent fear of him those who are closest to him fear in the most they're not insecure it's not the fear of torment no they have understood God's perfect love and like it says in 1 John chapter 4 there is the wrong type of fear has been cast out of their life you know it says there is no fear in love 1 John 4:18 because perfect love is cast out fear and that type of fear those people are close to the Lord don't have you know like someone has said there are two types of fear of God listen carefully one is the fear that God may hurt me the other is the fear that I may hurt God that's the right type of fear one is the fear God may hurt me we should never be afraid of that God's not evil God's a good man he's not a good person he's not a hard taskmaster he doesn't hurt people unnecessarily but the fear that I may hurt God by something I say something I do something hurt God by different things in my life I want to encourage you in this year to develop that fear to be totally free from the other fear that God may hurt you and as much as you are free from that to develop in this fear throughout this year I may hurt God I may hurt my loving father by something I do something I say see that's how love is see a true you know but the Bible says the relationship between Christ and us is like a husband and a wife I mean a wife who really loves her husband will respect him he/she won't want to do anything that hurts him how can we say we love God I love the Lord and do things that hurt him that's then you don't love it all it's a deception of wife who says I love my husband tremendously and keeps on doing things that hurt him she doesn't really love him at all I think one mark of love is that I don't want to hurt the person I love apply that to God and our let's ask ourselves are we fooling ourselves that we love God a lot when we're taking advantage of his grace day after day for myself one of the tests I asks I apply to myself is am I being defeated by the same sins that I have been defeated by year after year if so I'm taking advantage of God's grace is there some progress there is there a progress towards perfection am i climbing to the peak of the mountain or am I right down at the bottom still rejoicing in justification have I moved out of the Old Covenant into no covenant if so I would recommend to you all of you get back into the Old Covenant get back into legalism because in the days of legalism you did not sin like this that was better there are many people who are under the Old Covenant who are in heaven jesus said that Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses David they're all in heaven but people are under no covenant won't get there God has provided something better than the Old Covenant but the law was our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ not to lead us nowhere and if you have not found this real Jesus who's the mediator of this better covenant then it's better to hang on to the schoolteacher the law I believe with all my heart that for a number of people sitting here the life of legalism is far better than the life you're living today I'm sorry to say that it's not the best it's second best but second best is better than third or fourth or tenth best so that's what I'm saying and I believe this is true even in the olden days in the days of the Apostles where people took advantage of God's grace it's not something new to the 20th century or 21st century even there there were people who when they when they heard the message of God's grace they said oh let us do evil that grace may abound and Paul says you fellows are charging us with preaching that shall we sin that grace may increase see it says here in Romans verse 8 chapter 3 verse 8 verse 7 but if through my life the truth of God is abounded to his glory why am I being judged as a sinner why not say as we are slanderously reported in some affirm that we say that let us do evil that good may come that means some were slanderously saying this gospel that Paul is preaching is one that encourages sin see he was preaching the gospel of free grace and he says here some have slanderously reported and affirmed that what we are preaching is it doesn't matter if you sin because you know you're justified like I said it doesn't matter if you cheat in the exam because you'll pass and then you can ask God to forgive you and you will be justified and if you will be just as if you have never cheated in the exam isn't that wonderful that you can commit everything you want to live for yourself and live just like any rotten old sinner in the earth indulging yourself and then ask Jesus to just forgive you and cleanse you and it could be just as if you have never done those things you know why God has allowed it like that because he's testing us he's testing us in ways we don't realize I heard a story once it's only a parable of people crowding outside the gates of heaven and the final day wondering who will be allowed to go in and who will not be allowed to go in I mean that's not how it's going to be but it's a parable which teaches us something and you know a lot of people who had denied themselves stayed away from sin we're glad that they had done that because that would allow them to enter God's kingdom cleansed in the blood of Christ and then a rumor started coming through the crowd from heaven as it were that God's decided that he didn't matter if you lusted with your eyes he's still going to take all of you in who lusted with your eyes and lived for money and then there were a whole lot of people saying boy I wish I had known that when I was on earth I mean imagine telling me that right after I've died and come to heaven imagine how much I could have lasted how much I could have lived for money and then the word came all those who thought like that are going to hell that rumor was circulated with a purpose to find out who really wanted to do it but didn't do it just to get to heaven are you like that do you think Jesus lived a holy life just to get heaven what does it mean to partake of God's nature what is the you know real holiness lies in the motive what is the motive with which you're living a holy life there could be many motives I want to live a holy life because I might get caught by somebody in the church if I see okay you live a holy life but you're afraid of getting caught there are people who don't commit adultery because they may get AIDS they're not holy even they never commit adultery all their life they're not holy they're afraid of AIDS they're afraid of getting caught by their wives or caught by some brother deep down they really love to do it but they don't do it because they're afraid it'll break up their marriage or something like that and these fellows are not holy these are people are just self-seeking they will live for themselves they imagine that they have repented they've never repented from that self-centered life there are people who want to be holy because they lose their testimony if I do this I'll lose my testimony then there are other people who want to be holy because I want God to use me if I'm not holy God won't use me these are all selfish reasons the Bible says be holy God says I'm holy that's it never mind whether you're used or your testimony anything my father in heaven is holy I claim to be his child in reverent awe I live all my life let me show you another verse in 1 Corinthians I'm sorry 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 it says and verse 11 second Corinthians 5:11 therefore knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade men and we are made manifest to God knowing the fear of the Lord that's really something that means this is New Covenant and he says that in connection with the previous verse we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may be rewarded for his deeds in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad therefore therefore means because I'm going to appear at the judgment seat of Christ and I'm going to get be rewarded for everything I did in my body good or bad whew that brings a solemn fear of the Lord in my heart and I persuade men I say hey fellas remember this you're going to stand before God and don't think with all these justification gimmicks you're going to stand there everything you did in your body therefore verse 9 we have only one ambition whether we are in heaven or on earth home or absent I want to please him why is it many in our church do not have a burning passion only to please God why is that I fear it's because we have moved out of Old Covenant to no covenant Old Covenant people had a desire to please God they did it with a legalistic spirit but I want to say to you my brothers and sisters we are in tremendous danger of getting a one-sided picture of God is a false god Paul says we know the fear of the Lord and therefore knowing that we appear before him we're going to go everything I did in my body Jesus at every idle word I speak I'm going to give an account in the day of judgment I believe that let me show you in other words 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 there's all new New Testament we're not in the Old Testament we're talking about New Testament verses written by Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit verse 1 therefore having these promises beloved which promises turn back to verse 17 and 18 of chapter 6 therefore come out from their midst and be separate and don't touch what is unclean you know this is a promise a condition is come out from all that is worldly and evil and don't touch what is unclean and I will welcome you I will be a father to you you will be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty therefore since we have such a tremendous promise that God will be our Father we can be sons and daughters if we pull out from all that is unclean therefore let us cleanse ourselves chapter 7 verse 1 from all defilement of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness how in the fear of God there is absolutely no way of perfecting holiness in the new covenant age except in the fear of God you know like you've heard me often say don't try to hate your father and mother before you have learned to honor them the old covenant promise the old covenant command was honor your father and mother you got to start there then come to the new covenant Luke 14:26 hate your father and mother to be my disciple but where a young person who has not learned to honor his father and mother not learn to deeply respect and love his father and mother tries to hate his father and mother you know what's going to happen he's not going to be a disciple he's going to have hatred in his heart because he in any case he detests the authority of his father and mother and he loves Luke 14:26 that's the worse for me hate my father and mother and that's how the cults these cults are built like that people who are taught to hate their father and mother I say you cannot hate your father and mother until you first learn to honor them and anybody sitting here who has not first learned to honor his father and mother and deeply respect his father and mother I say don't even try to come to Luke 14:26 that's verse is not for you you've got to get past the Old Covenant first the law is our school teacher to lead us to Christ and you can't get there without that school teacher and it's the same thing do you know the first people who heard about the grace of God but Jewish people who had learnt the fear of God first the Old Testament was all about the fear of God and to those people who for 1500 years under the law they'd been taught to be afraid of God Jesus came with the message of grace and boy was it a liberation but today a whole lot of people are learning about grace who haven't learned about the fear of God it's exactly like I said earlier teach people to hate their father and mother who haven't learned to honor their father and mother what's going to happen they're not going to get it right I believe that a true disciple of Jesus must not allow his father and mother to run his life but he must have learned to honor them first I learned to honor my father and mother first before I hated them and you got to learn the fear of God before you can appreciate the grace of God otherwise you'll get a false grace the reverence for God is an essential component of the true grace of God a grace of God that does not include a reverential fear of God is a false grace how do we know that we've got the true grace of God you know even in the Apostle Peters time he had to mention this in 1 Peter 5 after writing this whole letter in 1 Peter 5 he says I want to tell you something he didn't write it himself he got somebody else having Peter was an old man he got his brother maybe Peter didn't get his wouldn't have got his Greek Spelling's right because he wasn't a scholar so he asked his brother Silvanus 1 Peter 5:12 to write down the letter Silvanus you know spelling better than me you know grammar better than me I'll dictate and you write and he says through Silvanus our faithful brother I have written to you briefly exhorting and testifying do you know what's the theme of my letter Paul says this is the true grace of God stand firm in it there is a false grace 30 years after Pentecost there was a false grace around and Peter had to warn against that what is the true grace of God let's look at a few verses in his letter 1 Peter 1 verse 17 if you address his father the one who impartially judges according to each man's work conduct yourself in your entire time on earth in fear this is the true grace of God chapter 2 verse 1 put aside all malice all guile all hypocrisy all Envy all backbiting slander gossip this is the true grace of God chapter 2 and verse 17 honor all men love the Brotherhood and fear God this is the true grace of God the grace of God which does not include the fear of God is a false grace chapter 2 verse 21 Christ has suffered for you leaving you an example to follow in his steps who committed no sin read it together in his steps who committed no sin and who in whose mouth no deceit was found this is the true grace of God who when he was reviled verse 23 he did not revile in return this is the true grace of God Wives chapter 3 verse 1 be submissive to your husbands even if they don't obey God's Word this is the true grace of God wives verse 3 chapter 3 don't let your adornment be braiding the hair wearing gold putting on dresses this is the true grace of God husbands verse 7 live in an understanding way with your wife as a weaker vessel giving your honor you don't give honor to your wife as a weaker vessel you have not understood the true grace of God and further chapter 4 verse 1 therefore since Christ has suffered in the flesh arm yourself with the same purpose because when you suffer in the flesh you finish with sin this is the true grace of God so that verse 2 all the rest of your life on earth you live for doing God's will this is the true grace of God is that the grace of God being preached today I want to encourage all of you to read 1 Peter and remember this last sentence as the heading of that this is the true grace of God and as you go through 1 Peter at every sentence you say this is the true grace of God this is the true grace of God this is the true grace of God I tell you by the time you finish that letter you'll be delivered from false Grace if you're serious about it I'm serious about it I don't want to spend my earthly days deceiving myself that I'm doing God's will when I'm not deceiving myself that I'm enjoying God's grace and defeated by sin see I told you there's a reason for my saying this as I've observed this church over the last 28 years I see in a number of people a decline after we have become free from legalism do you know in the first 15 years a lot of people who are here almost knew nothing about movies and movie stars like they know in the last five or six years you think we're getting closer to God we think we're getting closer to God you've got to be crazy off your head the days of legalism were better because we are under no covenant we think it's freedom if you had gone and asked Jesus about the movie stars or whatever type of drama stars there were those days he wouldn't know he wouldn't know he'd be out of that conversation I'm not here to judge you God's not giving me that responsibility but just all I say is don't fool yourself ask yourself whether you really the law has been your schoolteacher to lead you to Christ or you're jumped out of legalism into something else out of the frying pan into the fire God has got something better for us it's not a life of bondage my life is not bondage I am completely free from the fear of men I don't live in afraid God would judge me I have zero discouragement zero getting offended and zero condemnation of myself that is a new covenant life we don't condemn ourselves I'm not saying I never slip up and fall I don't think anybody will be able to say that to Jesus comes but there's a reverent fear the closer I get to God the more I reverently fear the more I'm free from the spirit of the world and the spirit of the love of money by which the devil controls this world a spirit of the entertainment world the spirit of this world which is seeking to dilute the effectiveness of Christians a lot of Christian preaching today is human psychology get people to feel nice I don't want to get you to feel nice if you are living in sin Paul spoke one sin to the Corinthians and said a phrase which has come to my mind 1 Corinthians in chapter 5 he's speaking to a Christian Church which is supposed to be in the New Covenant but I don't think the Corinthians were in the New Covenant at all they had moved out of Old Covenant to no covenant and what was the result there were all types of things in their midst which did not happen in Old Testament times except like when Israel was worshiping the golden calf all those things happen but when they had a god-fearing king and a god-fearing prophet in their midst Israel never did those things that the Corinthian Christians were doing talking about the grace of God he said it's actually reported that there is immorality among you in and this is the phrase I want you to notice immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the heathen think of that phrase immorality of a kind that does not exist even among the heathen immorality of a kind that does not exist even among the heathen not all heathen I'm sure there were debaucherous wicked heathen people even in those days but he's what he's saying is among some decent heathen people decent unconverted godless atheists don't do some of the things you Corinthians are doing whatever grace are you fellows in that's what Paul told the Corinthians and he said the little leaven will leaven the whole lump he goes on further to say verse 6 don't you know you're boasting about all your justification and grace is not good don't you know that a little leaven will leaven the whole lump how much leaven do you need to put in a big sized dough from which you want to make bread very little a whole thing blows up in the oven you don't need much and says sin is like that you tolerate a little bit of sin in your life a little bit of worldliness and say under the guise of freedom I'm free from the law and I'm sick and tired of this legalistic life well I'll tell you I'm sick and tired of the legalistic life too but I don't want to jump out of that into the fire I want to jump out of that into the New Covenant that is where the devil trips us up a false freedom where we think of God's love God's love God's love God's love and you go through a whole year without ever hearing about the fear of God Reverend of God it says we got to offer to God a service with reverence and all I've been amazed at you know the Apostle John there was a man who had walked with God for 65 years I want to ask you a question how many of you believe that you are more spiritual than the Apostle John oh there's nobody here so crazy to think that man 95 years old walked with God suffered for Jesus we're not holier than him right how many of you would worship an angel anybody here would worship an angel and if you and if you by mistake did worship an angel and you're corrected hey don't worship Me half an hour later would you make the same mistake again worshiping an angel again you know the John did that he worships an angel and half an hour later did it again does that mean you're more spiritual than John I'll tell you why he did it doesn't mistake I don't believe worship angels but the man has such a reverent awe of God which many of us don't have that he was so taken up with it he forgot himself and he worshiped we who are so casual who slapped Jesus on the back and say hi you're my friend we won't do that will we we probably won't even bother on before Jesus we just put our arm around him and say hi that's the trouble John was different we got so friendly with Jesus that we have lost our reverence for him I fear that's happening I thank God it's not true of everybody and as I say this does not apply to everyone but if your life has got in the past few years sin of a kind which is not even mentioned among decent even people I'd say to you better wake up don't just be fooled with all this justification theology it's true but it may not apply to you I'm just trying to save you from deception I'm just trying to save you from surprises at the judgment seat of Christ I want you to be ready for that I want you to understand repentance I remember in the early days many people who came to CFC would say brother Zak we never knew what repentance was till we came to this church we never knew what sin was till we came here I hope this still saying that I hope there's of course we also speak about God's love but it's a love which passionately desires holiness in our life see perfect holiness is like perfect health any father wants his child to be perfectly healthy not ninety percent healthy I don't didn't want any of my children to be 90 percent healthy and if you're a good father you want perfect health that's what God desires for every one of us he wants us to be 100 percent free from the love of money 100 percent free from bitterness jealousy strife pride arrogance hypocrisy in sincerity 100 percent free from every one of these things not from most of these things I don't want my children to be free from most diseases look at holiness like health and there are laws of health you know that you can't eat what you like and be healthy you can't drink any type of water and be healthy why are we careful with filtered water it's a law of Health you can't live in any sloppy old way without any exercise and expect to be strong and healthy no and there are laws of holiness - we can't just live as we like and say oh I'm justified Wendy you're justified but you're not holy and that's a great tragedy in our day if we proclaim holiness I believe the light of God should be shining brighter in our midst and in any other place otherwise we got to just humble ourselves it's all a theory so I believe that in this year we need to seek God earnestly about some of these things think of this verse in Ephesians in chapter 5 verse 21 hmm be subject to one another in the fear of Christ is there a place for that in your life the fear of Christ that I have to be subject to my fellow believer in the fear of Christ that I don't tread on into his boundary I recognize his boundary just like I would not interfere in another person's married life or try to separate a husband from his wife I do I want to recognize boundaries be subject to one another that brother even if he's younger than you has got a boundary respected why do I respect it because I fear Christ who's the head of the body the fear of Christ we think these are Old Testament verses no Ephesians 5 let me show you in other verse Philippians chapter 2 verse 12 my beloved just as you have always obeyed not as in my presence only but much more absence work out your salvation with fear and trembling this is New Testament with fear and trembling I have to work out what God works within me what God works inside me I got to work out not casually but with fear and trembling another New Testament verse Hebrews chapter 4 Hebrews chapter 4 therefore let us fear lest a promise of entering God's rest has been given to us and we never make he never make it we come short of what God wants us to enter a life of victory that's what he's speaking about you see the previous verses he's talking people who didn't enter the life of victory but perished in the wilderness 40 years he's talking about the land of Canaan he says let us fear that God's promised a life of victory for you and you don't enter it let us fear how many of us have a fear that I might not come into this life of victory that God has promised for me as Hebrews 4:1 take this matter of preaching 1 Corinthians chapter 2 a lot of us share God's word here and there Paul says how he preached he says in virtue in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 3 when I came preaching to you I was with you in weakness and in fear and in trembling preaching with fear and trembling where do we hear of that today people who preach afraid lest they may say something God doesn't want them to say afraid lest they may just waste people's time bore people just imagine of all the preachers even in our churches began to preach with a little more fear that I don't want to say anything more than what God wants me to say I'm fear that I may bore people and waste people's time i'ma say it something out of my head i'ma say something without any preparation without just casually Oh God give us that fear which Paul had we've lost it we need to retrieve it there were days when we had turned the steering wheel so much then we way off to one side into legalism and let me tell you my fear in correcting that we have turned the wheel back to the left and are some of us anyway way gone way off to the other side and that's why there's more sin perhaps in your life today than there was 10-15 years ago perhaps there's more interest in knowledge of the world and the entertainment world and the money world and there is there was 10 15 years ago and that doesn't apply to you your life has become more godly wonderful that is true freedom so I want to encourage you to examine your life to begin this new year did you fast more in the days of legalism then now how much did you fast in 2003 do you remember how it was in the early days and we are a little more legalistic Jesus fasted the Apostles fasted was there more prayer in your life in those days them today was there more diligent daily reading of the scriptures in those days than today was there more judging of yourself regularly in those days than today then I'd say those days are better get back to those days and ask the law to lead you to Christ those days are not the best but better than no covenant that's what I'm saying the best is where you come into the glorious liberty of the sons of God where we are free free from fear free from seeing to please men free from rules and regulations and laws and desperately desiring to please God in reverence and in all in our life in our words respecting one another honoring one another fearing let me say something God doesn't want us to say go someplace God doesn't want us to do Oh for a healthy reverential fear of God fear that we may hurt him with the prayer Lord point out anything in my life that makes you sad let's pray there is no condemnation in any new covenant message absolutely none condemnation is an old covenant thing there is no bondage in a new covenant message the new covenant is meant to free us first of all from sin Jesus came to save us from sin he came to deliver us from this world system he came to save us from the fear of men from trying to please men he came to save us from the wretched love of money that trapped millions of people in the world he came to save us from all these things to make us Christ's life to build a fellowship among the godly that's what he came to do dear brothers and sisters pursue it with all your heart let there be such a repentance in your life over past failure that will bring sorrow and sin maybe days of fasting and seeking God I want to encourage you to do it I want to encourage you if you can do it to set aside one day a month to seek God in this year or at least some hours in one day a month to just to seek God and to evaluate your life once every month to see where you stand to get alone with God to get out of the trap of this busy world and don't let the devil just keep on tormenting you saying oh that's legalism that's legalism to seek God is not legalism to spend time to see God is not legalism to fast and pray to see God is 100 percent new covenant let's not let the devil deceive us by anything we seek to do call allow him to call it legalism dear brothers and sisters I'm concerned I'm concerned that standards are slipping the reverential fear of God is disappearing and let's restore it come back to the center of the road we don't want to go to the one side of legalism or the other side of worldliness of false Liberty we want to walk right through the middle enjoying God's love day by day rejoicing in Islam rejoicing in his acceptance of us but never taking advantage with deep respect for our Heavenly Father Father in heaven those who know you best fear you the most we want to be in that number Oh Lord our Father we want to be holy because you're holy this year it's going to be different we're going to go walk in the liberty of the New Covenant especially Liberty from sin help us we pray to seek you with all of our hearts because you're a reward those who diligently seek you we can't do it but we know by the power of your Holy Spirit does you write your laws upon a heart and mind we can live this life Jesus died that we might live this life and we don't want to frustrate the grace of God in our lives thank you Father in Jesus name Amen [Music] you [Music] you [Music]

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Keywords: Zac, Poonen, Revival, Repent, God, Sermons, Jesus, SermonIndex

Id: qW7KDfVWpTU

Length: 68min 10sec (4090 seconds)

Published: Sun May 24 2009