A Spiritual Man Look In Three Directions by Zac Poonen

[Music] you know when we hear all that we heard earlier it's easy to get discouraged and say well I can never live this life standard is to I that's another lie of the devil it's an absolute lie of the devil that you cannot live according to God's standards his Commandments are not a burden let me give you the testimony of a man who walked with God for 65 years filled with the Holy Spirit the Apostle John he says in 1 John chapter 5 and was 3 this is the love of God that we keep his Commandments and His commandments are not a burden the devil is always telling us God's commands are a burden it's impossible to live up to this standard to always live from God through God to God impossible don't even try it he says it's not a burden in the beginning because we have not used to that way of life we'll find it a little bit of strain see anything new that you try it'll be a bit of a difficulty in the beginning like a little child going into the swimming pool he's scared to go in he said no no no I'll drown that's exactly how some of you may feel after you heard this message but you see that little child ten years later he just loves to jump into the pool and swim effortlessly and floats on his back without even doing anything how did it happen because he went in and believed that he could do what he had seen older people doing so in the beginning it's a struggle that boy struggles struggle in the beginning to learn how to keep himself afloat and in the same way don't give up because in the beginning it's you find it a little difficult to see God's will and seek for its power and seek for his glory but I'll tell you something if you saw an action and you saw the same action again it's like sowing a seed you keep on showing an action after a while it becomes a habit do you remember how is the little child your parents had to remind you every day to brush your teeth it's become a habit now right I hope it's become a habit but it wasn't when you were a child somebody you had to be reminded yet if you reminded to have a shower and remind it to change your owner clothes everything that you keep doing becomes a habit even though it's difficult in the beginning now if you go to some jungle and teach a barbarian who's never brushed his teeth in his whole life to brush his teeth even at the age of 35 he'll find it difficult you may forget for a few days but if you keep doing it it'll become a habit so I want to say this way of life that I just mentioned to you earlier can become the habit of your life and you don't have to live in regret over the years that are wasted let me give you a wonderful promise for those of us who have made a mess of our life in the past there are many people like that remember this wonderful verse acts 17 and verse 30 Acts chapter 17 and verse 30 it says here that God overlooks the times of ignorance but now he's telling us to repent acts 17:30 concerning your past I think many of you were ignorant about some of the things you heard in the last one hour you hadn't thought about it seriously you hadn't seen these things in Scripture but now after what you heard it has become clear that this is what scripture is teaching that God loves you so much that he's got a plan for your life and you say oh I wish I'd known this earlier I wish I had known this thirty years ago what can you do about it now live and regret now the years of ignorance God overlooked because he knows that you can do nothing about it he doesn't torture you by saying why didn't you do it like this last year or why didn't you do it like this 20 years ago that's the way foolish parents talk to that children why didn't you do this why didn't you do that you know that God never speaks like that he always starts from the Messier made and says how can I fix it now that is a wise parent don't go to your children and say why did you do this why do you that that you can teach them later but first fix the problem that's always God's Way have you noticed in Genesis chapter 3 it's a very beautiful passage you'll be quite amazed and I show you some things in scripture you read it so many times and yet you have not seen it so let me show you something very interesting in Genesis chapter 3 God comes to Adam and says did you eat of the tree I told you not to eat Genesis 3:11 and Adam says Lord the problem is with my wife isn't that a very common statement many husbands make and not only with my wife you are the one who gave me this wife what we do this is Adam by the way this is I'm not talking about your husband I'm talking about Adam Genesis 3:12 the woman whom you gave me did it okay God doesn't see anything he doesn't say anything to her he goes to the woman what did you do and she's come from Adam so she's also learned to put the blame on somebody else doesn't that sound familiar always putting the blame on somebody else so now she puts the blame on the snake That's not me Lord this is the snake which you created his wretched thing and again God didn't say anything this is what I like here a man a woman made a mess of their life God didn't say anything okay the snake is it the devil let's get at the devil I like that that even though man and woman made a mess because the devil instigated it God says to the devil you're cursed to me that's a tremendous encouragement because I know I've made a mess of my life in my unconverted days also like all of you and even after we are converted we've done so many stupid foolish things and we come to God and say Lord I know I did all this and he doesn't yell at me he says let's deal with the devil and then he tells the woman okay I found a solution to your problem you've made a mess I have to put you out of my presence because I can't change my laws but before I put you out of the garden let me tell you I found a solution for your problem the woman will bear give birth to a son verse 15 and the son will crush the head of the devil do you see what God did that when his children made a mess he didn't give them a big lecture he solved the problem it's a great example of to parents when your children have made a mess first solve the problem and then tell them how not to repeat that mess again that is always God's Way that's not man's way we immediately whether husband or wife or children why did you do this how many times I told you not to do it it's not God's Way you want to learn God's Way fix the problem first you remember when Peter was walking on the water coming to Jesus and then he turned his eyes away and he began to sink did the Lord give him a big lecture how many times I told you you must be looking at me if he had said all that Peter reached the bottom of the lake what did he do he fixed the problem he held his hand then he gave them the lecture do you learned something from these examples in Scripture that is God's Way he first fixes the problem and then says okay now I'll teach you how not to make this mistake next time Peter trust me next time a great example for us to deal with our children to fix the problem and then tell the children our next time let's do it another way I tell you this is a much more this is not psychology this is God's Word and in the same way when we work with coworkers many times when I leave Bangalore I sometimes give some work to the brothers in the office can you please do this some work in relation to the work of the Lord before I come back and my last sentence to them is this if you are not able to do it you're not able to finish it or you something you do messes up don't worry the only thing serious in life is just don't sin that's all the other things if something is done a knockdown is not serious the only thing serious in life is sin that's helped me so much to know that it makes it more easy for me to work with my coworkers because I tell them here listen it doesn't bother me if you didn't do it what I requested you to do don't sin that's all avoid sin the Lord is always so God ignores the times of the past and says now he commands us to repent acts 17:30 he overlooks the past it says now turn around repent means turn around at least now after you have heard this message seek my will and seek my power and when I accomplish something through you the Lord says give me the glory not because God is so selfish that he wants to get the glory but because he knows that if you take the glory the devil will get you but pride and destroy you it is for our protection that he says don't take the glory to yourself because the devil is just waiting to puff people up with pride so there's hope for every one of us if he turned to God and say Lord I'm not going to live and regret over the past even in the world there is a saying don't cry over spilt milk it's already gone ok let's be careful that we don't spill any more that we preserve the rest of our life and seek to offer it to God God is God's love for his so greatest he's got this wonderful plan for our life so I want to share with you something further along that line you know when we think of our service for God I want to show you an example from Isaiah chapter 6 we thought of three things so far from God through God and to God so I also want to show you in our service for God there are three way directions in which we must look three directions in which we must look if you really want to serve the Lord effectively and every one of us when I say serve the Lord I'm not talking about full-time Christian service every believer if you're born again has got a function the body of Christ think of is there any part of your body that has no function every part of our body has a function if you're a part of the body of Christ you've got a function you may not know it that you've got a function so you are a servant of the Lord the day you are born again if you didn't know it till now you know it now some do it full-time one in a thousand believers God calls two full-time Christian service the remaining 999 our servants of God in their secular job earned their living and are also servants of God okay Isaiah chapter six the first direction in women in which we must look is upwards in the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne lofty exalted that is the first vision we need to see in these difficult days never lose a vision that God is on the throne there's a lovely song because God is still on the throne and he will remember his own though trials may press us and burdens oppress us he will never forsake his own God is still on the throne so remember this in difficult times and the future I might as well tell you as we approach the coming of the Lord is going to be very difficult there are many indications around us that the coming of the Lord is near the amount of sexual evil that's taking place in the world perversion men getting married to men women getting married to me women and being considered married couples and that's spreading the rampant divorces among Christians these are all indications that the world is going headlong into a disaster I'll tell you what the next sexual perversion is he started with normal relationship with men and women then it went into adultery with other women then the next perversion was with the same sex men and men women with women do you know what the next step downwards is human beings with animals sex with animals you wait and see one day a man and dog will be married together you don't realize the depth to which the devil is leading people astray that's just in in the area of morals and all the evil that our younger generation is growing up having to face that's why I say to parents be very very careful to instruct your children in the principles of God's Word so that they can be preserved in these evil days the other thing Jesus said there'll be wars and rumors of wars do you know that in the Bible in case you did not know that there are two places on earth where there gonna be a lot of wars just before the coming of Christ according to scripture one scripture was written more than 2,000 years ago 2,300 years ago in the book of Zechariah it says in Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle Jerusalem is going to be a center of controversy for many nations listen this is not from today's newspaper this is from 2003 huh 2500 years ago at a time when Jerusalem was in ruins nobody even most people didn't even know the existence of that city and the Lord says a day is coming and gather all nations and then verse 3 the Lord will come forth from heaven and you know it says how he will descend and his feet verse 4 will descend on the Mount of Olives he's talking about the second coming of the Lord he went up from the Mount of Olives when he comes back his feet will come on the Mount of Olives Zechariah 14:4 but before that the thing is going to happen before that is Jerusalem is going to be a center of controversy people from all nations are going to concentrate on fighting about Jerusalem who's going to occupy Jerusalem do you see that happening particularly in the last 3040 years and the second place in the world where there's going to be war his men in Revelation and in Revelation we read in chapter 9 twice in Revelation this comes out when the angel blows up trumpet revelation 914 the sixth angel sounded the trumpet and there was a voice that said released the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates and they were released and the armies or the horsemen was 200 million verse 16 great number of soldiers fighting around the river Euphrates do you know where the river Euphrates is it flows to the center of Iraq so instead of saying you for these you could say Iraq so Iraq is the second place mentioned in Scripture in relation to the last days Jerusalem and Iraq and that meant that's mentioned again in Revelation 16 where we were also told about the great day of the war verse 12 the angel poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates and the water was dried up and the way was prepared for the kings to come and fight a battle so I when I read scripture I say no 20 years ago nobody thought about Iraq as a place of war 60 years ago nobody thought about Jerusalem as a place of war but today it's in the papers everyday which two places Jerusalem and Iraq it's written in the Bible 2,000 years ago these are when I read that I don't get worried I get excited my lord is coming back the time is near this is not the time to live for myself this is not the time to live for pleasure and money this is the time to rededicate my life to Christ in the few more days that are left see I'm 76 now nearly in another month and I seen Lord I want you to give me hell I want to be alive when you come I want to keep healthy I don't want to eat junk food I want to keep healthy so that I can be alive till you come and be maximum used to you on this earth because there are very few true servants of God on the earth most people have compromised in and gone after money gone after pleasure and divorced their wives and married so there's so much of chaos among Christian preachers there are a few here and there who are serving the Lord you can be among them be faithful to the Lord in these diet last days keep your eyes number one looking up Isaiah says I saw the Lord High and lifted up in the year that King Uzziah died you know King Messiah was a very good man but a time came in his life where he became proud you read that in the book of kings and chronicles and he became a leper God punished him and made him a leper and he died as a leper and it says here in the year King Uzziah died as I thought boy what a such a man I thought he was going to be such a wonderful man because God was using him and the way he ended up that's the way I look at stories of preachers and pastors who started so well and they ended up in a mess and that's happening more and more around us people who seen young people who sincerely started out to serve God have now been gripped by what they call the prosperity gospel they found a quick way to make money by preaching they've gone down and they've become lepers you may not call them lepers you may call them prosperous millionaires I call them lepers they missed out on God's will for their life they could have been maybe they would have been poor but they they could have been devoted servants of God but they became spiritual lepers and in the year that the leper died Isiah thought Lord what all is happening to a man who I thought was a faithful servant of yours has become a leper the Lord says look at me and I want to say to you you'll be disappointed with many things that you see in Christendom around you today see the Lord High and lifted up very very important to have that upward look every single day God is still on the throne and he will remember his own though trials may press us and burdens distress us he will never forsake his own his promise is true he'll be faithful to you God is still on the throne it's a wonderful chorus worth learning so that's the first thing and when he looked at and saw the Lord on the throne he saw the angels and the Seraphim Isaiah 6 verse 2 and the main thing the seraphim's are talking is about the holiness of God holy holy holy Isaiah 63 is the Lord of Hosts and that's what we need to see when we look at the Lord that he's absolutely holy he cannot bear sin no sin can stand in his presence and I need to see the Lord like this that I belong to this God who is holy holy holy I don't care how other Christians are living I don't care how people in good churches are doing but I see the Lord full of holiness and that's got to be true in my life and that's got to be true to all to whom I preach I had to point them to the Lord who is holy holy holy and the seraphim's cover their faces and cover their feet these are surgeons and never committed any sin and yet they cover that piece there's such a reverence I tell you we don't find that type of reverence today among Christians the Christians who lived a hundred years ago had more reverence for God than today I see some of the songs being written by so-called today's Christian song writers all shallow sentimental songs written by half converted Cowboys who in the olden days sang wrote love songs to their girlfriends now they're converted and they sing love songs to Jesus hold me close never let me go they sang it to their girlfriends then now they're singing it to Jesus this is the type of shallow empty songs and there are dumb Christians singing it I banned such songs from my church I said let's have some songs that have reverence for God for His Holiness Jesus is not somebody of mine that I put my arm around he's Almighty God whom I need to when John the Apostle saw Jesus on the Isle of Patmos eels flat on his face that's the way we need to see Jesus today that reverence for the Lord is gone we think friendship with the Lord means slap him on the back and say hi Lord that's not the way there needs to be a reverence the Angels they don't slap God in the back and say hi they cover their faces and that respect when that respect goes from your life you can be sure you're a backslider the upward vision God who is holy and the next thing the next vision is once we see the Lord wholly immediately we will see our own sin Isaiah looks inward I worse fire I am a man of unclean lips I live in the midst of a people of unclean lips that will be the result you know that you have seen the Lord when you see immediately you see yourself don't look at yourself first you'll get discouraged you have to look at the Lord first looking at the Lord then you see the corruption in your own heart and be honest about it acknowledge it I am a man of unclean lips and he was the holiest man on earth at that time Isaiah you know Paul was the holiest man on earth in his time I think and he said I am the chief of sinners how does the holy man say I am the chief of sinners I'll tell you how when you're far away from God God is light when you're far away from him there are a lot of spots in you you don't even see it because it's dark but the closer you come to God you say hey I see something I didn't see before and you come still closer to God still closer to God and you begin to see all types of sins in your heart which you never discovered before that's what happens in the light of God till then Isaiah was seeing problems in other people yeah you've seen in chapter 5 he says in verse 8 woe unto those who are accumulating property who unto those are getting drunk worse 11 and many many cases are worn to them one to them who want to them but when he saw God he said woe unto me he won't have time to criticize others when you come into God's presence you'll see yourself who always me for I'm an unclean man I want to ask you my dear brothers and sisters have you got a vision of yourself like that are you pretty proud of the things you think you're doing for God you really need to come into God's presence very few people live in God's presence and that's why their ministry is so shallow very early in my life I was challenged by the life of Elijah when he stood before King Ahab suddenly appears in 1 Kings 17 before King Ahab and says you know what Elijah said as the Lord God lives before whom I stand I said that was enough for me I said Lord all my life I want to be a servant of God like that as the Lord God lives before whom I stand that's all King Ahab or anybody makes no difference I stand before the Lord I don't seek to please a single man on the earth anymore when you stand before the Lord you will never seek to please man that's why Elijah was so bold so when he stood before the Lord Isaiah saw himself paul saw himself and he said i feel i'm the worst sinner in the whole world and the least of all the saints falses there can be not even an atom of pride in you or thinking that you're better than others when you stand before the Lord your face will be in the dust and God's grace will pour upon you like a river because he gives grace to the humble you don't need to struggle to be humble you just don't live in God's presence there's a Lord God lives before right so the first look is upward and as you look upward at the holiness of the holy Almighty God automatically you will see your own need and you will see inside you and when you see that confess it confess it to God and said Lord I see my corruption I see my selfishness I remember times in my life when suddenly I get a revelation and the Lord says that was absolutely selfish what you did just now I say Lord I'm sorry my my face is in the dust I said law do right that was a selfish action it wasn't a great sin in the eyes of others there was a selfish element in what I did not want to get rid of it you see that or sometimes a little subtle pride and the Lord says you are a little proud of that confessing confessing selfishness and pride are two sins that cling very close to the best of us and if you're not getting light on your selfishness and pride in your life it is one proof that you're far away from God I'll tell you my testimony for the closer I've come to God in my life the more I've discovered layers of selfishness and pride in me that I have to peel off like an onion layer and layer up I say Lord there's so much of selfishness so much of pride unconsciously there which I didn't even realize consciously I think I'm trying to be unselfish trying to serve other people I'm trying to be humble but the Lord shows me yeah there are things other people don't see which I see do you want to live before my face I say yes the more I look at him and see holy holy holy I see my need live like that in these days not even the way you'll be ready for God's Christ's coming and when he says that immediately one of the Angels took stakes a call for six from the altar verse six and touches Isaiah's mouth and says your sin is forgiven and you're cleansed and the fire the fire from God's altar touches his mouth I like that cleansed and baptized in fire that's what happens when I see the glory of God and I see my own need and I confess it I see upward I see inward the fire from God's altar comes and cleanses my sin and baptizes my tongue the fire of the Holy Spirit I have learned to value the fire of the Holy Spirit on my tongue do you know by the way that was the first thing that happened when the early disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit many people save and they were baptized all these four they spoke in tongues oh no no no no wait wait wait that is acts 2:4 but what happened in acts two three but none of fire came on their heads and I said when I sought God when I see God for the power of the Holy Spirit what I seek for is not speaking in tongues what I seek God is for the tongue of fire a tongue under the control of the Holy Spirit 24 hours where I never lose my temper where I never say anything would rude to anybody where I never get angry when I'm never complaining and murmuring that's a tongue of fire a lot of people who speak in tongues don't have a tongue of fire many people they go to their own church and speak in tongues Sunday morning in other tongues and come home and shout at their wife with their mother tongue what sort of tongue is that other tongues in the church and mother tongue they're shouting and yelling at home I say first ask the Holy Spirit to control your mother tongue before you speak in other tongues that is the tongue of fire Acts chapter 2 verse 3 the tongue of fire then Acts chapter 2 verse 4 other tongues I told the Lord I said Lord you've given me the gift of tongues but I do will not believe that is genuine if you don't control my mother tongue and I was passionate to God because I used to get angry I've said rude words to so many people to my wife and to others and I said Lord I want to find Mike I'm a man of unclean lips I admitted it and the Lord touched my tongue with a fire from the altar he'll do it for you if you will acknowledge your sin and say Lord give me a tongue of fire and then that tongue can be used by God not only in the pulpit you may never sit in the pulpit you can you can speak to person on a cellphone and pass the fire on to him you can write an email and pass the fire on to him because you allowed God to touch your heart and tongue with the fire from heaven so you look up then you look inward in the third direction we have to look his outward a spiritual man looks up looks inward sees his own sin and then outward the Lord says go person I am I heard a voice saying whom shall I send who will go for us and I said Lord I'm ready and the Lord says now you're ready now that you've seen me now that you have seen yourself now you're ready now go look outward and see people living in sin the hearts of the people verse 10 are insensitive the years are dull their eyes are dim first and see the need outside and that's what the Lord does once you you see his glory and you see your own need the next thing the Lord will show you is the needy people around you who need a word from God that has to come through you to bless them to lift them up to deliver them from their bondage people around you you don't have to go to the other side of the world in the place where Isaiah was he says there are people around you who are insensitive to see their years are dull they don't hear the prophetic world I saw you've got to go to them and give them my prophetic word that will draw them back to me why can't God do that for you in the olden days it was one Isaiah one Jeremiah but on the day of Pentecost you remember Peter got up and said but in the last days I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and my sons and my daughters will prophesy not the occasional Isaiah or the occasional Elijah like it was in the Old Testament but all my sons and daughters will prophesy I will put my fire upon all my sons and daughters on their tongue if they will first look up and see my glory and my holiness and then look inward and see their own sin and confess it and don't blame other people and let me touch their lips with my fire then I will show them the need around I will send them to one needy person after another what a tremendous thing it is you know a few weeks ago I got an email which brought me to tears one sister wrote I know I've never met her I don't know where she lives over she is an email that said brother Zack I've been listening to you on the internet on YouTube and through what I heard I and my children have been saved from committing suicide we were pretty fed up with our life I wept I said Lord what a wonderful thing it is that those people didn't go to hell I don't even know who they are but that you could take a few words that I spoke somewhere and reach out to some needy soul in the other part of the world and save them from suicide what greater work can I do for you if I accumulate a million rupees is that something to save a family from going to hell my brother sister loved your life on Earth in a worthwhile way don't calculate your life in terms of how much you earned but how much you've given don't evaluate your life in terms of what you've got but what you're given not by what we get but by what we give evaluate the life worth of the life you live I remember another time when I was prompted to visit a home just one day prompted to visit a home in Bangalore and there was a family ready to commit suicide because in steeped in debt and they were saved [Music] have gone on from there born again I remember another time and I was just prompted to go to another home in Bangalore and it's the first time I was visiting that home and I spoke to them for a little while and the man had just come back from work and when I finished he took out a little pop packet from his birth from his pocket and he gave it to his wife and said throw this away I had brought some poison with me I was so fed up with life I wanted to commit suicide today dear brothers and sisters you don't have to be a great prophet to be used by God just be sensitive to God's voice be willing to be a little inconvenienced to go where the Lord tells you to go I told that to the Lord I say Lord if you tell me to go somewhere I will never care about my health I will never care about whether I'm tired I will go you tell me to go and speak somewhere I don't I'll never care about how tired I am I will go and speak and God will give you supernatural strength as he's given me when you want to serve the Lord there's nothing that God will not give you think of all of you here begin to say Lord I want to be used like Isiah was send me to people who are insensitive so that I can give them your word look up look inward and look outward there's a needy world around you right next door to you your neighbor in your office there are people discouraged and blooming some of them on the verge of suicide I say offer yourself to the Lord say Lord I'm sorry that I wasted so many years of my life living living for myself accumulating money and thinking that these are the important things and you're coming soon I want to be useful to you think what will happen if every single one of you say Lord I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and I want to be useful in your hands we'll have a revival let's pray while the heads about in prayer let all that you heard today sink into your heart my brothers and sisters this is not an impossible life it's a possible life I proved a little bit of it in my life as I approved it Elisha proved it John the Apostle proved it there are many others who proved it and you weak insignificant man or woman the Lord says I'll pour out my spirit on my sons and my daughters and even on the boys and girls I pray that we should respond to God Heavenly Father help us that the Word of God will come deep into our heart and change us in a permanent way that will never forget what you spoke to us today we pray in Jesus name

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Keywords: Revival, Character Of God, Free Sermons, Video Sermons, Jesus Christ, What Is The Gospel, SermonIndex, What Is The Truth, Zac Poonen, spiritual man, spirituality

Id: enUo2W64xnY

Length: 45min 12sec (2712 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 14 2016