Amazed At The Mercy Of God by Zac Poonen

one mark one mark of a Christian was growing is that he's more and more grateful for what God has done for him and he wonders more and more how good god is I was thinking of that when we sang that one line of that song I don't know what he remember it I wonder why he did not give up on me now let's strike home to you I wonder why he didn't give up on me can you think back of a time in your life for long periods in your life when he didn't care much about God and there was every reason for God to give up on you and if you are here today is because he didn't give up on you the thing is we tend to forget those periods when it begins to go well with us again and again for some length of time we forget those periods when he should have given up on us when we come to Christ thinking that we deserve so much from him see the world is full of people who fail they deserve there are people even complain God's not good to them it's all they feel that God is not giving me what I deserve even Christians I've been so faithful why hasn't God healed me why doesn't God given me a good job allowed me to find a good partner so many things the world is full of people who murmur and grumble and complain I think of first as a dark planets full of grumbling complaining murmuring all the time and in the midst of it there are a few spots of light those who never grumble em over and complain why don't they mother and grumble and complain because they are convinced that the only rightful thing they deserve was hell I've been a believer for 58 years but I wonder sometimes why the tears of my life why god never gave up on and that makes me very grateful it brings tears to my eyes tears of gratitude and I never feel even today that I deserve anything other than hell and that's what's made my life supremely happy supremely grateful that's why I can never never complain never never complain about the way somebody treats me because that's nothing a better he'll never complain about some aches or pains or some prayer of mine that will not grant dated or all the silly things that even Christians complain about now I want to say to you that if you are still God in that habit of grumbling complaining or feeling that other people should treat you better or respect you more in all the rubbish and garbage that the devil floods our minds with making us think that we're so important we deserve respect and all the rubbish all the rubbish between husbands and wives each thinking that I deserve more respect for my partner I can say to every single one of them you don't believe that you deserve Hellfire your Christianity did not start on the right foot see many of us have not heard of proper gospel at the beginning I think that is a problem but sometimes you know we read in India I don't know you probably don't read much about here in the United States but in India every now and then you read a newspaper of some building that collapsed it started building up to the third floor or fourth floor then it collapsed it was nothing wrong with the third or fourth floor problem was with the foundation and then so many people died I would read that so many times in the newspapers because you know contractors are corrupt they don't use proper cement or problem material they don't care for people I think and the punishments are not so severe in India it would be in the US I mean that doesn't happen here because people would be jailed for years and then they don't they're scared to do such things but it's not such a severe punishment and so this happens all the time well that's a picture of why some Christians have been Christians for 10 15 years it's like they've gone up to the fourth or fifth floor of the building then it collapses by collapses it means I'm not saying to stop by the church I say they're still grumbling and complaining that's how's this collapsed I don't know what you realized that if you're if you're not grumbling and complaining in your life your house is collapsed you must still go to church and everybody must figure one of the Christian you sing well and that's preach well as well but all grumbling and complaining is a fault in the foundation that means when we first got converted it was not a proper conversion it's like these premature babies you know premature babies are babies that come out when they are I don't know what is the minimum period by which a baby can survive but even if it comes out and it's six months in the womb it's not really ready to date and then they're to be kept in incubators for a long time be given cubes in their nose and things like that some are given because they were supposed to be in the room for nine months they came out early and that's a picture of evangelists who try to bring people to what they call new birth to accept Christ before they are ready to be converted you know that a lot of Christians were so-called converted before they were ready to be converted and so they convert in a shallow the foundation is bad because they were converted being told some people are today converted by being told Jesus will give you but make you wealthy you solve all your problems well in which human being in the world doesn't want to get money helped and all his problems an assault is anybody like that in the world nobody and if that is the message that Jesus came with the whole world should accept it even when he came to earth they wouldn't have killed it may have made him a king because he has come to heal everybody to make everybody wealthy and to solve all their problems what more does anybody in the world what would anybody in Israel walk why did they kill him because that is not the message he came the message he came with was you guys are rebelling against God turn from your rebellion that's repentance turnaround submit to God make deep link God first in your life so you go to love God more than your father mother brother sister wife and children more than yourself and more than all your position I thought the message preached today that is a message of discipleship the Jesus reason that's why they killed him you stop creasing that message and you'll be popular because the world is full of people think I deserve this I deserve that they want to go to a church that tells them the same thing you deserve this gotta get it you of course you deserve it God claim it Italy but the proper foundation means we go to recognize or the Bible says that the anger of God is there against all unrighteousness and sin so let me just show you some passage in Romans chapter 1 see if your foundation of your Christian life did not begin with this teaching then there's something shallow in the foundation and maybe after the tenth floor it'll collapse I don't want your building to collapse that's why in our church we preach strongly on true repentance and true repentance has to begin with this understanding in Romans 1:18 the rod you don't use the word rod nowadays it's a word much stronger than anger it's a fierce anger how many people in the world have taught that God is angry with you so what message right oh no God loves you for what about this the anger the fierce anger of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness do you think there's non godliness in the world today full of ungodliness unrighteousness you think there's on righteousness this corruption financial corruption sexual corruption from top to bottom and against those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness you can suppress the truth in your conscience your conscience tells you something is wrong and you suppress it and go ahead and go against your conscience or the world is full of people they know something is wrong and they still promote I mean essentially of corruption and sin of the world where do they hear that the anger of God is there against all this have you heard me tell you ever heard a message on the anger of God which is revealed against corruption and sin and unrighteousness and people suppress the truth there are verses like this that are not popular the most popular verse in the Bible is not Romans 1:18 it will never be popular the popular words in the Bible is John 3:16 God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life that's a good verse but that word must come on top of repentance of a turning from that which God's anger is revealed against and you don't have to look around in the world you don't just look into your own heart and see the corruption that there's there there's nothing good in the human heart I'll tell you that there's a lot that appears to be good but the motive underneath is always selfish and that's what corrupts it you can have a glass full of the best milk in the world or the best drink you like whatever it is some sweet drink and you just need a few drops of poison and it's corrupt you know that when it comes to a drink but it's like that we can have so much of what we call external goodness there are so many people who give for orphanages and I'm talking about non-christians will help orphanages and help the poor but underneath it all is they're seeking something for themselves there are a lot of people who give hoping that God will bless them because they care for the poor that's poison underneath it's a corrupt motive it's not because they love those poor people it's because they want to get something from God as a reward for their helping some orphan or or it could be even worse than that then they want some honor from people for their goodness there's so much of seeking honor for the good that we do that we want people to notice and observe what we have done that's a poison it's a corruption we don't realize it and the person is a sensitive conscience or knows God knows that this is corrupt and a person with a sensitive taste but will immediately detect this poison in this liquid I better not drink it so it's because man doesn't see the corruption that is in his heart that he doesn't realize that all the evil that he criticizes there in the world run people are like this and people are like that it's all in his own heart everything I personally believe that the heart of every human being is exactly the same and the way we were brought up by our parents may have restrained us from going ahead and doing some of those evil things I mean if I think of the worst terrorist or suicide bomber in the world which goes and blows up others and I look at his heart I have said to God Lord I believe my heart is just as corrupt as that person's I don't know whether you ever ever realized that and I don't mean just saying it to God that suppose you've heard me say it now but if you're convinced about it so he's saying to God something you're not convinced about don't tell him a lie if you're not convinced about it don't say it I'm absolutely convinced about all so I say Lord I believe my heart is at corrupt as the heart of the worst terrorist or suicide bomber or murder or sexual exploitive women in my heart just as corrupt as death and because I understood that and acknowledged it I want to say God's delivered me and if you have not been delivered from this corruption that is in the flesh consider it is because you don't feel it is there you feel you're a little better that's exactly how the devil wants you to feel all the time a little better than that person you're not as bad as that person and that's why you're so defeated some of you are wondering why after so many years of listening to this message and coming to the church why am I still not delivered I'll tell you why get the foundation right get the foundation right that the anger of God is against all sin and it's not just out there in the world it's right inside me because we all dissent from pattern there's a what was a common phrase now DNA Adam's DNA is there in that terrorist and it's a need my heart isn't just as corrupt he didn't descend from some other he would be he descended from the same sinful head of the human race that I resented from now I've discovered through the years that you know because I myself have wondered why is it that people have heard me for so many years and heard the most wonderful truths from scripture don't seem to come into this life of victory and yet there are some who have come into that life why is it some others sit in the same church and never seem to come into that life you have to all the time pretend that they are spiritually are you sitting here pretending that they're spiritual dear brother sister please get rid of that acting God hates acting I'm not saying you get up and confess your sins but go before God and say Lord why do I have to be pretend to be spiritual when I think I'd be really spiritual go before God and seek Him you know God is at her water not of everybody none of those who pray to him casually once in a while those who pray to Ernest II and when I find people who might met who come and burn me many times and say uh brother I'm still seeking God I wonder if in their entire lifetime they'll find God because they are seeking him so casually you know it's like I use the illustration that if you're walking in the grass sometime at night and you drop a 10-cent coin in the garage somewhere well you may look around so you pick it up but how long are you going to search for it I mean if you would search for one hour in the grass to find that 10 cent coin no I don't think it's stopped even five minutes but if you misplace the bundle of hundred thousand dollars that you were carrying from somewhere to some other place and demand from Lisbon you don't know where your misplaced boy you'd search for that in some other way and would you take leave from your work forget about your meals I want to find that I want to tell you a lot of people who search for God like a 10-cent coin be dropped somewhere it's great oh lord I really like you too I want to know you I'd like you to be filled to me the Holy Spirit nothing happened I prayed three about that nothing happened well I got other things to do I've got more important things to do than just keep praying for that you think you'll never find out you will not find God in a hundred years I'll tell you that right now which our church you go to which our preacher you listen to God will not meet with you because he will not be treated like a 10 cent coin he's the ruler of this universe but if you can search God for God like that man was lost a hundred thousand dollars is searching for him that team God is worth even more than that I tell you you will find it it's a law and when you find him you will wonder why he didn't destroy you in the years when there was so much evils in your life the anger of God says here's a wield against ungodliness unrighteousness we did all of that I wonder what he didn't give up money I'll tell you honestly before God I have that Wonder in my life even today that were struct me like anything when we sang it I wonder why he didn't give up on me and if it didn't strike you I want to encourage you when you go home to spend a little time alone with the Lord and if it's not convenient during the day before you go to bed or while you're in bed and little time alone with God and say Lord show me how you could have given up on me but you never give up and help me never to forget that remind me of that regularly till it is deeply imprinted on that I was saved from the wrath of God I was saved from an eternal hell which is what I deserved and Lord remind me every day that what I deserve is hell and she never gave it to make me credit for could I deserve this out so when we preach the gospel it is not hey Jesus loved you man he died for your sins why don't you accept him I've heard preaching like this Jesus says behold I stand at the door and knock and by the way that verse in Revelation 3:20 was not spoken to unbelievers he that is welcome to backslidden Church revelation 3:20 you read it to the backside in church and later the cedar but you know people who don't agreed the Bible properly coated to unbelievers and my voice did I've got it also but Jesus standing at the door and knocking why don't you open to him he's getting read in the rain won't you open them and you feel sorry for this board Jesus was getting rid of their it okay Lord cometh and you feel you helped him to come into your heart and of course now he should be eternally grateful to you right for having open the door and let him in this is the way the gospel is preached it is a false gospel and if that is the type of gospel River I want to tell you your building will collapse we go we may build for some time it will collapse because that's not because the gospel is the wrath of God you know Romans is the book that explains the gospel more than any of that verse that we just read sin shall not rule over you it is in Romans chapter 6 that is like grade six before you get there you got to get to the kindergarten and that's here in Romans way and the kindergarten lesson is not sin shall not rule away that's great sixth the kindergarten lesson is in Romans one and the message of the gospel begins in Romans 1 verse 18 that's the first lesson all the previous verses just an introduction he's saying how salvation comes by faith and he says now let me explain it to you let me start with a let me start with rock bottom the first message is the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and why is that because nobody can complain that he doesn't know about God because in the creation of the world in Romans 1 verse 19 and 20 you just got to look up at the skies and see there must be a God and created his universes is in the creation of the world his invisible attributes and his eternal power and divine nature verse 20 have been clearly seen being understood by what you see made and so that there is no excuse all the atheists you know that an atheist needs more faith than D but anyway you need to have more faith to believe that there is no God than to believe that there's a god now use an illustration if I took this watch and broke it up into ten thousand pieces and kept on shaking it for a hundred thousand years you think it'll come out as a watch you need a lot of paper believe that right but if on the other hand I tell you there was an intelligent person who took these pieces together and then a machine or something put it all together and made a watch back you don't need much faith to be ok now let's look at the universe there are people say that something happened there's a big bang and I don't know what that means but something shook and all these things happen and suddenly all these stars and planets and all started rotating in perfect order by we're keeping our watch by that the way these planets move that's more perfect in time we know that just I was few seconds slow but this is never slow for millions of years it's been going perfectly they never collide with each other and you say it happened accidentally you need more fit for that it's easier for me to believe as an intelligent person who planned all these or you look at a human body to meet so wonder that millions of people don't die every day but how the world should be died more than half will also be dying every day because so many things can go wrong with this body but if I sometimes wonder even a child lives for one year without getting sick and dying there's so many things that can go wrong in a human body to study the human body you know that there are miles and miles of blood vessels in this body I'm just going to snap one of them of your dead house it didn't happen you better have more faith to believe that these things are accident there is a God that's what it says here there's no one who can say that there's no God he's denying what he can seed and if there is a God then definitely who created me I am responsible to him because he's made me a moral being the proof of which is my conscience and even a little child as a conscience you can kill that conscience by denying it denying it that's what happens to most of us we kill the voice of conscience but see for example even a two-year-old child his conscience will tell him if he does a lie if his mother asks him to a three-year-old child did you do this and the child did it says no mommy I didn't do it you can see all over his face I'm telling a lie but you wait till that child is 18 years old and it will tell you in such a convincing way I never did that I don't want what are you talking about he's become such a perfect liar what happened between the age of three and 18 he kept on killing his conscious various things maybe feel a few little things in school somebody's pencil or eraser or something and parents wouldn't tell him anything about what he stole or he tell little lies at home and parents would ignore it or fight with people and parents would ignore it the result is that child grows up and conscience is killed killed killed killed killed till grows up to a person and into so many things wrong you know I believe that Judas Iscariot went astray he was stealing money from Madeleine seeing my from Jesus offering if you were stealing money from the high priests offerings or something okay but Jesus objects can you imagine taking money from that and not having a bad conscience about it how could that be there's a verse in the Bible that explains it proverbs 22 5 train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old you know what is it he will not depart from it that's not a verse that tells us about doing good it's a talks about going bad about it doesn't say giving up a child to do good train up a child in whatever way you wanted to go when he's old he will not depart from it you train up your child from childhood to ignore little lives he grow up to be a liar you train up a little child when he is small to ignore little little text I thought you business Garriott became happy and absolutely convinced about it because I believe the Word of God it says you train up a child in the way he should go and that's that's why when he is old he could even steal money from Jesus back it's a terrific warning to Christian parents Peters Island it was about the same as at him how could he get so convicted that he wept so bitterly just because he denied Jesus I think of that and I oh I was so ashamed to say I knew him because I was scared of getting caught and being beaten up and that made him so remorseful that he wept and wept and learned it says he wept bitterly for a rugged fisherman to weep bitterly it's really good at something else to have it again what's the answer proverbs 22 5 train up a child in the way he should go when his old is not depart from it train up your child to be sensitive to small things to repent and ask God to forgive them for a small little thing when he grows up he grew up to be sensitive so the difference between a lot of human beings of between the terrorists and this very nice child growing up is about the way the parents are brought some up but essentially the heartbeat because my parents brought me up in a certain way my god fearing with a little restraint from a lot of sins but I'm not doesn't make me better than other people I had to recognize that even against me I the rod of God is revealing as the corruption in my heart which other people can't see I may not have committed so many external sins like that other adult repeat for murder has done but my heart is just as corrupt and the wrath of God is revealed against that in sin in the heart man looks on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart and is that evil in the heart that God is angry against the Psalms it says God is angry with the wicked every day and the anger and the wrath of God is not something that is spoken about much it's not a very pleasant subject for preachers to talk about they won't be popular do you know who was the preacher let me tell you the name of the preacher who preached most about Hell Jesus Christ nobody priests like him about her you know why because he came from heaven and he knew the reality of Hell more than anybody else and he told people that they were bound there if they did not repent let me show you one worse than he said and you understand it turn with me to Matthew's Gospel chapter 23 and you got to see to whom he's saying it these are the people called the Pharisees who were people who studied the Bible they were not god-fearing but they study the Bible a lot and they knew the Bible more than anybody else in the nation they never missed their meetings were on Saturday and never missed a Sabbath Saturday meeting they prayed three times every day three times a day they would stop and pray twice a week they would fast and pray they would calculate 10% of their you know they were not businessmen they were farmers and shepherds so 10% of their flocks 10% of their grain 10% of their profits they would give to the temple I will be obeying God they did all that and then doctrines are all correct because jesus said to his disciples in verse 10 in chapter 23 verse 2 and 3 the Pharisees had seated themselves on the chair of Moses whatever they tell you to do do now Jesus would never say whatever those non-christian religions tell you to do to know he will not even say what other Roman Catholics tell you to do to because he won't teach us to pray to the Mary or say the Rosary of things like that he'll never say whatever they tell you to do to he'll never tell you whatever that Joe as witnesses of the Mormons tell you to do - he won't say that but when against the Pharisees he said what ever they tell you to do that means that doctrines are right that's a certificate from Jesus Christ the Pharisees doctrines are right the second thing he said about the Pharisees was in verse 25 what are you scribes and Pharisees you clean the outside of the cup but the inside is all full of robbery and 6/7 dungeons now there's one good thing mentioned in that Center than one bad thing the good thing is your external life is clean your internal life your heart is corrupt okay the heart is corrupt let's leave that aside for the time being is it a good thing when your external life is clean sure it's not them is not always required God looks at the art but I mean if you never murder what do you mean by external life is clean you don't murder you keep the Ten Commandments you don't commit adultery you don't steal you don't tell lies in court you keep the religious laws you don't worship idols your external life is clean here were a group of people whose doctrines are all right and whose external eyes were clean now look at your own life you belong to a church it's got all the right doctrines please God your external life is so good that nobody here can find fault in your external life you qualify to be a Pharisee and Jesus said to them verse 33 you serpents you brood of vipers how will you escape the sentence of hell can you believe this is the same Jesus with the meek and mild Jesus you know many people have got a one-sided picture of Jesus it's not the full picture it's like you know if you have a face of Jesus in a jigsaw puzzle with many many pieces and you put maybe one-fourth of those pieces together say that's Jesus hey that doesn't look like this at all you just got a year the nose or something business three-quarters of the face is missing that is the type of Jesus being presented by many preachers today part of it is right some of those pieces are part of the jigsaw puzzle part of the face of Jesus but it's not the whole thing and it's not the whole thing it could be somebody else it could be some terrorist face how do you know so when you read the Bible you see the full picture that this Jesus who said come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest also said to some people use serpents and he felt that serpents is not strong enough so you brood of vipers wipers are the most deadly of all snakes they sting they're so small there you don't even notice them and they sting and you almost certain death and he calls them a brood of vipers that your message you sting people and send them to hell with your message how are you aski the judgment of hell so we need to hear that from Jesus Christ why didn't he send me to hell in those days when I was rebelling against him and I couldn't care less for him when I was a first class epoch rip and hypocrisy by the way is the worst sin of all when you pretend to be holy and you're not is just religious that's worse because I never see Jesus condemning murderers and thieves and adulterous woman in the Gospels no he forgave it but he didn't condone what they did it was wrong but you know they never thought they were holy that adulterous woman who came to Jesus she never thought I'm a holy woman the murder on the cross he didn't think he's a holy man the one advantage that murderers and adulterers have is that they don't think they're holy the people who think they're holy are the ones who go to church every Sunday but whose heart can be just as corrupt and those guys heart but they've got his whitewash over their heart and they get a reputation with others they're good people they like that reputation they come along and live on that reputation and this Pharisees were like that they were not like the thief on the cross Romans wouldn't crucify the Pharisees as the external life was good didn't commit adultery or murder but Jesus looked at them and said you brood of vipers he never said that to the people across he never said that to the woman caught in adultery euro Viper we need to understand that some of us who may think that we are better than all those terrorists and all those other people I thank God you know the story of Jesus said of a man who prayed in the temple lord I thank God I'm not like other men I'm not like it's terrible sinners we may not say that when we think like that it's because we feel I don't really deserve health now I want to say to you very honestly my brothers and sisters if you've never heard it in your life from any evangelist whatever type of conversion you said you had when you work so called born again I got to tell you right now that every single human being deserves Hellfire and if you recognize that you're no better than any other human being then you're going to lay a good foundation that the wrath of God was revealed against you and I wonder why he didn't give up on I wonder why he didn't send me to hell years ago when I deserved it then I'll be grateful even for small mercies I'll be thankful for the fact that he's allowed me to just live on this earth I won't be questioning why did God allow me to have this sickness or that sickness there are people in the world about 10 times worse sicknesses than you I said Lord I've got nothing to complain about everything you do is do good to me I would suddenly pray even I'm sick that God will heal me but if he doesn't I will not question why doesn't he me as if I deserve to be healed because I pray I'll tell you what I deserve l and sickens even cancer is better than hell once I realized that you know what would happen all complaining grumbling murmuring will disappear from my life otherwise you can hear a hundred sermons could be free from murmuring and grumbling complaining you'll never be free I preach against murmuring and rumbling for years that I found people are not free now I discovered these guys need to get a good foundation they need to see that they deserve hell right in the beginning and develop health right now they must wonder why didn't God give up on me years ago as it ever brought tears to your eyes and you think that God didn't give up on you it is still alive today that you can come to a church like this young and here are some of the most wonderful truths they increased anywhere of the world are you sort of grateful to God for that are you break food that God has brought you to a place and there are hundreds of churches why in the world did he bring you to this one when he could hear more the truth of Scripture than almost any other place in the Burien he didn't give up on this he suddenly had a plan free okay I want to get back to Romans chapter one I really want to live with foundation and all of your life so that you know building will never shake all it's like the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and then it goes on to say about the creation of the world oh there's enough proof in the world that there's there is a God who created all this it requires as I said more faith to be an atheist it requires less faith to believe in a God who created all this now listen to this here is the guilt of man and what is the first thing they mentioned until you a lot of other things mentioned in this chapter and I want to read that first verse twenty twenty first of all they made God verse 23 in the image of man and birds and animals have you seen so many religions make images of God in the shape of a bird or sometimes even a snake or different different animals they exchange they thought you mean this animal created all this universe you've got to be off your head to believe such a crazy thing to make an idol and it says they became foolish they thought they were very clever verse 22 because they knew so much of science but they became fools because even though they were so intelligent in things of science and mathematics and all that they change the glory of God and made it in images of the shape of four-footed animals and crawling snakes boy so what did God do when he saw that idolatry he gave them up three times it says in this passage God gave him up God gave him up and when God gives up somebody think of that words I wonder why I didn't give up on me three times it says here God gave them up first it's verse 24 God gave them up to the lusts of their own heart in impurity that their bodies might be dishonored they began to indulge in sexual sin they were unfaithful to their wives they'll commit adultery and go to prosecute you notice the result of God giving up I'll tell you this any man who's been unfaithful to his wife he's got to read this verse God gave him up at that time and he repented and came back but God gave him up to the lusts of his own heart impurity that his body's use dishonor with others and he exchanged the truth of God for a lie and he worshipped as I said the creature instead of the creator of these idols and then second time God gave him up verse 26 this is the next stage he's given up one stage and he go to a lower stage them in the next lower stages women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural can't you understand that very well in today's world there's a natural sexual function that God has created for man and woman which he created you know the very first thing that he said to Adam and Eve be fruitful and multiply what he was telling Adam and Eve was your husband and wife enjoy sex with each other and have children that is God will set that because sex is a holy function that God created for the propagation of the human race and he told Adam and Eve to have that function that's why it's created so much pleasure in the show that it's an indication of God's goodness but you leave that with your wife and go to somebody else an indication God's give enough and then you're not satisfied with that God gives you up further then you go into women with women and then it says in the same way verse 27 men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire towards other men men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons aids and other sicknesses the penalty for their error no it's a punishment from God I'm just reading scripture but I tell you there are places in the world where you can be punished for reading scripture to imagine what the world is come to you read the Word of God the world don't want that and punish it for it and so all these indicates that they did not want to acknowledge God in their lives they want to run their own life they want to make money they want to live a comfortable life and give a token acceptance to God say hello and salute him and say and carry on with your own business the rest of the day what did God do he again gave them up three times that's the third time we're saying God gave them up to a depraved mind depraved mind doesn't mean you get don't get a hundred percent in maths you'll get a hundred percent in mathematics signs and you may be top of the class you may get a Nobel Prize and you could have a depraved mind as far as God is concerned because you don't understand purity purity is more important than cleverness to depraved mind that thing's cleverness is more important than purity it's a depraved mind if you think like that and you can regulate yourself because you're so clever or so gifted maybe a gifted athlete or a gifted musician or something like that you think that's a great thing it's not in God's mind the only thing that matters is purity and love how much you can be good to others and how humble you are about humility is basically only acknowledging that everything I have is given by God that's humility I have nothing of my own I didn't produce anything myself God gave it to me God gave it to me it's impossible for a man who lives in the presence of God to be proud you become proud when you leave the presence of God and so God gave him up to a depraved mind and so they went into unrighteousness wickedness greed evil verse 29 and we murder strife deceit malice they begin slanderers haters of God and earth as a whole list there I don't want to go further now what I wanted to show is this is the big downward spiral that goes all the way down and I want to show you the first step downwards please remember this the first step downwards is here in verse 21 see that all the other words is at the bottom of the spiral look verse 21 is the first step when they knew God they did not honor him as God and give thanks they were not grateful that God didn't give up they were not grateful that God allowed them to live for so long in sin and rebellion and God didn't give us that is the proof of his love yeah I see the proof of his love on Calvary's cross where he died take away all my sins but I also see proof of his love in me that for so many years when I did not honor him a God I know in my life the years when I did not honor him as God even after I was converted I did not have a spirit of gratitude Lord I owe my life to you I owe my breath to you what should I live this day for I shall live it for you I shall not live it for myself you give me bread and with that bread I can speak words with my tongue what shall I use my tongue for to hurt others to get upset and angry with others and shout at them that's not what God gives me bread for what has God given me hands for to do evil to dishonor him what's God given me a body for to honor him as God they did not honor him as God and they did not give thanks that's the first two steps down words you don't honor him as God in your life and you don't give thanks you've already started going down even if you don't reach all the way down to the things mentioned in the other verses so be careful my dear brothers and sisters that you don't take those first steps down words all your life honor him is God which means you refuse to take honor to yourselves people will appreciate you praise you thank you naturally went to some you've done something for him they will actually come to your tale brother thank you so much for doing that for me I mean I keep hearing it all the time people who are grateful for how they being blessed through my ministry something like that oh well I accept it but I never take that credit to myself the moment I do that I have started them the spiral down I don't have to show that to you but I stand before God and I know that he knows my heart that I refuse to take any of that credit to myself because I know it's about me I know it very clearly you may not he may think it's because I study the Bible I was faithful he knows 100% God is not 99% garden 1% me is not so I've learned to honor him as God because I'll tell you I do not ever in my life want to take that one step down in everything I want to honor him as God and one one proof of it this will be that I give thanks in other words I have a grateful spirit all the time how can you ever complain for anything if your wife accidentally put more salt in the food or something was not so tasty or something was not done on time and I'm upset means I'm not thankful you know sometimes when I need my home common banglore and go for some ministry somewhere knives there's some work to be done in the church and I tell some of the brothers in the church please can you do this in the next three days some important work to be done I hope can be finished by time I come back for reasonable amount of time for that work then I always tell them is the last sentence if you can't finish it don't worry I will not be disturbed I come back because remember the only thing serious is safe so don't worry so then they can relax and do that work they don't feel that brother Jean can be upset if the work was not done by the time I come by people that just don't sing that's all I say you didn't finish a work okay the world's not going to collapse because something was not done on time no if you learn to honor God and you're grateful for all that God has done for you and how he never gave up on you I tell you I can never give up on others I'll tell you myself I have met a lot of backs like I never give up I remember a young man who was coming to a church in Bangalore he was not converted but he'd come regularly and then he'd go out with his friends sometimes and get drunk or get me some bad habits he come and tell me brother Zack I had a lot of respect for you but he knew I loved it he said brothers a guy slipped up again I'm sorry he'd come home and tell me that I should find don't give up these things are destroying you give up those friends come to the church hear God's Word I would keep on encouraging after many many months she still has not converted I think more than a year or two then one day he was working he got a transfer to another town and I never knew when he would see him again he came to see me that last day and he still was not converted and I told him I say I don't know how long I see her the age of one of my sons and I say I don't know how long you go on the spot you know same that rebellion against God but one day you'll hit rock bottom but you can't go any further and in that day remember one thing and God still loves you and remember that I still love you and come back to God he looks at you and you can come back to me to my home Alex so don't ever forget that and I was so delighted when I saw me your few years later and he was born again you know I can never dejected ones back said no matter how much because I wonder why you never gave up on me that's why I can be merciful to people who are so evil or who know the Lord so much in the back sided I used to criticize a lot I mean I still criticized false teaching I still criticize people who exploit others I read once but Jesus was angry I'm sure he was angry when he with the money changers out of the temple but the word anger is not mentioned there I'm sure he was angry but there's one place in Jesus life where it says he was angry so good to know that and listen to this it's in mark chapter 3 as far as I know is the only time in the Bible where it says Jesus was angry and that teaches me what righteous anger is from unrighteous anger he was never angry when people slapped him called him the devil spat on his face whatever they did to me was never angry teaching me the whatever people do to me whatever name they called me I have no right to be angry but mark 3:5 it says he saw a man on the Sabbath day whose worst one whose hand was withered and he wanted to heal him and the Pharisees were looking around to him to see verse 2 whether Jesus would heal him so that they can accuse him they couldn't care less this man with a withered hand and Jesus looked at them was fine with anger what was he angry about you guys are so hard-hearted your hand is okay you're worried whether it's a Sabbath day or not look at this man with a withered end so many years he can't use his head he can't do his work can't earn his living property you guys are not bothered about that he was angry and He healed him and he says the Pharisees were so angry they wanted to destroy him not just killing verse six he was not bothered and I say Lord that's the type of anger I must have when I see people around withered by sin and they sit in churches where they are never told how to be free from that sin they live lusting fighting at home grumbling complaining claiming to be born again claiming to speak in tongues but with so much sin in their home life bitter unforgiving and nobody's ever told them that you don't forgive others God won't forgive you you'll go to hell I see them hell bound because they were told hey once in a life you accepted Christ you're okay does matter how you live all these false teachings and when I see when that chap one of them comes to our church to hear the gospel they say hey don't go there those are heretics you know what I feel angry not angry because they call me heretics they can call me the devil many people have done that I'm not bothered by that they won't let that man whose life is withered be delivered they live in that comfort they themselves are going to hell but they want to drag him to jesus said to the Pharisees you don't enter the kingdom yourself and you close the door to the kingdom brother people he was angry with such and what the Lord has shown me is if you're not angry with such people you're not like me what does it mean to be like Jesus it means to be gentle to be serving others to wash people's feet I'm ready to do all that but it also means to be angry with people who will not let other people be delivered from a sinful life I want to be thankful for what God has done in my life and I always want to be thankful so I never want to look down on someone with failed but I want to warn them when if you continue like that can one day cross the line you know I feel that God has put a red line in front of all sinners and they sin and they sin and this sin and they sin they are moving towards that red line without even realizing it God's merciful merciful merciful merciful merciful merciful one day they cross the red line there's no more hope for them funny turning to Genesis chapter 6 in Genesis chapter 6 we read a time when the whole work world was wicked the time of Noah there were two things in those days men were crazy with sexual sin you read that in Genesis 6 verse 2 and the earth was filled with violence it says in verse 11 two things a lot of violence and fighting and killing and sexual sin it almost reminds us of these days right and Jesus said that the last days will be like the days of Noah sexual sin and violence but in the middle of that the Lord said is not going to go on forever Westry my spirit will not strive with man for ever I'm going to limit the number of days that I'm going to strive with man and he gave them 120 years now hundred 20 years a long period of time but remember those days people's living up to nine hundred and fifty years and all that so it wasn't a very long period of time it was about one-eighth of their life so nowadays if people are living up to 80 it's like saying I will give them ten more years and that's it and the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great verse five on the face of the earth but versified Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord I want to say when you read that my brothers and sisters I wonder if something rises up in your heart and say Lord in the midst of a world which is full of sexual evil and fighting and quarreling I hope you will find favor I find favor with you I might have given my heart I'm no better than any of these people but I want to honor you and I want to give you thanks I want to thank you for being merciful to me how are you I never want to criticize others who fail because I feel much more and I'm capable of failing mature dear brothers and sisters I want to say that one of the dangers we face in a church that's preaching holiness is to look down on others to be absolutely holy like Jesus yet not to despise others that is godliness if you are holy and you despise someone who's not like you you're not holy if you are quick to find fault the people who don't agree with you in every little thing you're not really holy I have many convictions based on Scripture but when I see other Christians who don't follow those rules and everything I have certain standards of righteousness when I see some other Christians not following those standards of righteousness and money matters for example okay I don't want to despise them and God's given me a sensitive since I don't want to despise them I share hope God is merciful to them oh you can see particularly nowadays there's a lot of immodesty in the world among women and a lot of people who call themselves Christians and many churches you may find that they don't have any standards I don't despise them I disagree with them sure but I always say maybe they don't have light I know they don't have light why do I have life not because I'm better than them no no because he didn't give up on me every time you attempted to despise someone my brother's sister remember that line of that song I wonder why he never gave up on me every time he wanted to spy someone who's not measured up to your standard of holiness and you want to look down on that person say that line to yourself I wonder why he didn't give up on me you're wondering why God hasn't given up on him first of all wonder why he didn't give it up give up on you yeah and then you'll be thankful if you keep that in mind all the time he will always have a spirit of thankfulness then you will be able to obey those commands that you found so difficult rejoice in the Lord always in everything give thanks and I'll tell you one of the wonderful things that have happened when you live like this it'll take time you know like a person who's being crippled for a long time it is being treated and had surgery and all that is take a long time to learn to walk properly the doctor will say don't be impatient don't get discouraged give it one year and you'll walk like a normal human being so in the same way I say we all those have been spent many years grumbling complaining criticizing buying fault and all that now take some time you won't recover overnight but the time will come when you rejoice in the Lord always yes I tell you it will happen a time will come and you learn to give thanks and everything a time will come in your life when you'll never have a bad mood he will never be in a bad mood 24 hours a day can you imagine what your home will be like if both husband and like wise come to this life it'll be heaven on earth that's exactly what the devil doesn't want but that's exactly what God wants the old purpose of being filled with the holy spirit is to bring us to this life so seek God earnestly and say Lord I want to honor you I always want to be thankful that you saved me from the wrath of God I turned around from sin which God hated you know I feel it may Kuragin haven't seen how much God hates in that his anger is against it think of a father at home mother he won't they won't be upset if you break a plate or something that's not serious thing but that could be something that makes your parents angry parents are angry at a child who does something so serious it's something like if you went and went and stabbed your neighborhood child with a knife you're just six years old not to make it very really angry they should be but if you break a plate at home it's not so serious do you see the anger of God against sin like that but I've done so many wrong things God's angry with me but my sin is not like breaking a plate no it's like going and stabbing somebody the anger of God revealed against sin what he saved me he didn't let me go to hell he saved me from it he saved you from it always be thankful the first step downwards they did not honor God and they were not thankful so if I can avoid those first steps I will be delivered from all the others in mention in Romans chapter 1 God bless you all I try to be true in your life let's bow our heads for a moment before God in prayer father in heaven we know from past experience how easy it is to forget everything we are versed in just a few days we know how active the devil is to make us forget the things that are most important and to keep our memory alive to the things that are unimportant help us to be sensible to take your work seriously father that lying our lives will be changed help us to stop pointing the finger at others and CRO need a little more help us Lord to be kinder to others strict with ourselves to see our need as you see it and to never lose the wonder never lose the wonder of why you never gave up on us thank you 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

Id: cox3UxkYu04

Length: 69min 52sec (4192 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 20 2017