Be Ready For Christ's Return by Zac Poonen

so as every year goes by for us [Music] it is one year closer to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and we are living in a generation that is seeing many of the signs that Jesus spoke about we read in 2nd Peter chapter 3 second Peter 3 and verse 3 first of all that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking following after their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming that is of Christ's coming for ever since the father's fell asleep everything continues just at the wall as it was from the beginning of creation but when they say this it escapes their notice that by the Word of God the heavens existed long ago was formed out of water through water and the world was then destroyed being flooded with water but by his word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men this one fact escaped your notice beloved with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day so it was only two days ago that Jesus died and rose again in God's eyes just two days ago the Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you he doesn't say patient towards the world he's writing in verse one beloved he's writing to believers and the Lord is patient towards you believers not wishing that any of you believers should perish but all should come to repentance see that you know when you read the Bible carelessly like most people do because they read too fast they think that verse refers to all the unbelievers that the Lord is waiting for the whole world to come to repentance I mean that all to come to repentance that he never happened the way to life is narrow very few find that I'm not waiting for the whole world to come to repentance it will never have but the Lord is hoping that all his children who are born again who have things wrong in their lives habits they have not given up matters not set right with other believers that they will come to repentance read carefully the Lord is patient towards you that's why he is waiting that's why he hasn't come yet thank God because some of you have not set matters right with others whom you have wronged or who wronged you and you haven't forgiven them something some strained relationship if the other person is the cause of it you're not guilty but if you are the cause of it the Lord is patient waiting for you to come to repentance so that you don't perish in a believer perish if he doesn't come to repentance there are numerous verses in the Bible that speak that and here is one of them so why is the Lord delaying his coming according to second Peter 3:9 because some of his children have not yet set matters right another year has gone by and they have still not set certain matters right they made new year resolutions but they're still grudges in their heart they're things they haven't forgiven others for and the Lord is waiting but he will not wait forever you know it's Jesus said the last days will be like the days of Noah you remember that in Matthew 24 but I want you to show you something in the days of Noah in Genesis chapter 6 what the Lord said in the days of Noah in the days of Noah people used to live for nearly 1,000 years most people lived up to I mean Methuselah was the longest nobody crossed 1000 but Methuselah lived up to 969 and a lot of people lived beyond 900 years and then after the flood suddenly the length of man's life dropped to about 200 or 230 years to the sudden dropped by 75% and then once Abraham's generation started there was nobody who crossed 200 years and now it is rare for people to go beyond 120 years old - decreasing but it says here the Lord said in the days of Noah six verse three my spirit will not strive with man forever so we got to remember that in the connection of the Lord is waiting waiting waiting for people to come to repentance but he says as in the days of Noah my spirit will not keep on striving to ask people to come to repentance there is a time limit to God's patience God's patience is not endless there is a time limit to God's patience but I will give him a hundred and twenty years so 120 years in relation to 1000 years is about 12 percent so in terms of our time which is about seven or eight years the Lord says I'm not gonna wait forever have those seven or eight years that the Lord has been patient with you is it running out as the Lord found that there are things in your life that you have known for seven or eight years and you've just kept it unsettled unsettled unsettled a habit that you indulged in taking advantage of God's grace and forgiveness year after year after year I'm not talking about where it's other person's fault if it's the other person's fault you still have to forgive him but I'm talking about where you need to do something and you haven't done it for say from 2011 onwards or 2010 onwards he's just carried on and on and we're 2018 maybe the Lord is speaking to somebody here 120 years in relation to a thousand years is about eight years in relation to our time or less and then the Lord judged at the end of that time and he didn't give any further warning he just told people he never told them it is 120 years that was something he determined in his own mind he didn't even tell Noah he is going to be 120 years that was something the Lord determined in his mind and Noah kept preaching and nothing happened nothing happened 1 year 2 years 100 years nothing happened and people they don't I think will happen just like many believers have not set one matter right over 2016 17 and nothing serious has happened they say oh it's ok it's ok and all of a sudden the door was closed then it was too late so he remember jesus said about the Virgin's who were waiting for the Lord's coming Matthew 25 they were not people who were not waiting for the Lord's coming secondly they were virgins they were not harlots like Babylon they were virgins and they were waiting for the Lord's coming but they didn't take care of the oil that was decreasing in their lamps the oil doesn't stay there forever just like God's patience didn't stay for I will decrease decrease decreased they thought oh it's burning it's burning it's burning one year has gone by nothing as that when the Lord hasn't judged me and all of a sudden it went down to zero and the Lord came and just like in Noah's day it says Jesus says the door was shut he who has ears to hear let him hear I believe the Lord is saying something to us prophetically and if you take it seriously I want to say to you like I often said those who hear the word of God here in this church and take it seriously and obey it immediately they will have nothing to fear in the day of judgement nothing to fear record will be clean because we'll give you a promise for that in 1 Corinthians in chapter 11 when Corinthians in chapter 11 we have looked at this verse many times but if you didn't if you don't know it let me repeat it verse 31 if we judged ourselves rightly 1 Corinthians 11 31 we would not be judged isn't that a good word for me to remember I will not be judged when I stand before the Lord I believe that God's Word will never fail I will stand before the Lord Jesus in the day of judgment and I will not be judged for anything that can apply to you is God's promise if I judge myself rightly that means I don't try to put the blame on others like Adam I don't accuse anybody like Satan I judge myself I don't refuse to acknowledge my error like the other thief on the cross who went to hell think of those two thieves the only difference the only difference between the two of them was one said I'm guilty he did exactly the opposite of what Adam did he didn't blame his parents he didn't blame the police he didn't blame bad company he said I am guilty in other words I deserve to go to hell I I'm not gonna blame anybody else and the Lord said really Oh heaven is for such people come with me today itself he sees the man asks at least when you come in your kingdom he didn't know that would take two thousand years remember me the Lord said no I don't anyway two thousand years today you can come to me paradise today and here was the other thing who was exactly as bad as him not worse and he went to hell just that one single thing he judged himself and so he's not judged imagine a man who's lived for 30 years murdering people in stealing and making so many widows killing their husbands in making so many children fatherless by killing their fathers finally he's in heaven this is the wonder of the gospel this is what true repentance brings there's no religion in the world that preaches such a gospel but the other side of it is if you take advantage of it the more you know the more God will expect from you and if we do not repent because we think oh I accepted tries 20 years ago the Lord is waiting patiently hoping that you will come to repentance see the last word that what is the last word that Jesus spoke to his disciples not as many Christians say going to all the world and preach the gospel no the last word that Jesus spoke to his disciples is in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3 repent repent to five of those churches that's the last word to the churches the last word that Jesus spoke was to the churches to repent not to the disciples to go to all the world and preach the gospel that is there but the last word is repent because in 70 years or 60 years after Jesus going to heaven the churches had become so corrupt the churches planted by the Apostles not by some third-rate preachers the original apostles of Jesus planted churches with supernatural signs and wonders and in 60 years they had become so bad some of them that Jesus said I will blot out your name from the book of life revelation 3 verse 5 that means their name was in the book of life and Lord said in human language I'm gonna rub it out Lord was it there once yes it was there once what happened to it well they never repented but did you warn them yes look I warned them but they wouldn't listen they took it easy they thought oh I've accepted the Lord some years ago and they played the fool with sin they took sin lightly and their name was blocked out from the book of life so but if we judged ourselves rightly we will not be judged I hope all of you my dear brothers and sisters as we begin this year have a determination to get a hundred percent in the final examination just like you want your children to get a hundred percent I don't want to get 40 percent and just pass and scrape into heaven by the skin of my teeth I want to get a hundred percent just like you want for your children do you want that for your life I hope that one of the qualities of those who claim to be members of CFC will be not that we've got the right doctrines but I want hundred percent in the final day when I stand before the Lord I hope that'll be the passion of your life this here every day a year has got 365 days so we've got to live one day at a time Lord I want to get a hundred percent I want to live each day in such a way that I judge myself rightly god is my witness that I Jeff judged myself every day of 2017 I did not miss one single day in the last year or for many years of judging myself hopefully rightly as far as the light I have so I want to encourage you to do that your life will be far more glorious by the end of this year if you do that you will have far more revelation on God's Word by the end of this year you'll have far more discernment about spiritual things by the end of this year he won't be deceived by false preachers anymore if God gives you discernment judge yourself though your vision becomes clearer and clearer and clearer as you judge yourself those who don't judge themselves whose vision does not become clear we'll always find fault with something or the other so what shall we judge ourselves in primarily let's look at what Jesus spoke about the last days in Matthew 24 you know the disciples were like us in many ways there was a day when we can see if she started when we met in an old cramped room 42 years ago and then it became a little better six years later when we had a building which we never expected that was like a palace for us in the cost of square and then that became overcrowded and now God has given us this place and people can look at a building and say I've had people who come here and say wow what a wonderful building you have listen to this Matthew 24 the disciples came to Jesus Jesus was coming from the temple and the disciples said look at this wonderful building and Jesus said do you see this I say to you not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down that temple was a very glorious structure much better than this building and Jesus was saying don't glory in these buildings that is Old Covenant the Lord made the Old Covenant temple a very glorious building but he says in the New Covenant the temple is your body that must be glorious not this building so when you look at a good building ask yourself if you're the real house of God which is your body is like that something that people that the Lord can appreciate and then Jesus was asked by the disciples the Lord he said Lord tell us when are these things going to happen what is the sign of your coming on the end of the age and there are many things jesus said and some of these things we already see there are many who will come in Jesus name and mislead many now that is a verse five is a word that is misunderstood by many people it says your many verse 5 went to 24 5 will come in Jesus name and saying I am the Christ tell me honestly in your lifetime how many people have you heard come in Jesus name and saying I am the Christ I haven't even heard one I've heard people in some other religions say that but in Jesus name somebody saying I am the Christ I will learn anything what is the meaning of that if you remove those inverted comments there are no inverted commas in the original Greek what is saying is many will come in Jesus name saying that he is the Christ that Jesus is the Christ the I there refers to Jesus Jesus say speaking about himself he's the Sigma Jesus saying many will come in my name saying I am the Christ that he is the Christ that all Christians say that but they will mislead many oh there are thousands like that like that I've met many people who come in Jesus name saying yes Jesus is the Messiah the word Christ means Messiah the Jews don't accept it yes Jesus is the Messiah and then they mislead you that's what he's saying I don't think there were so many deceivers at any time in history as much as today and one reason for the spread of this deception is the Internet I am myself no number of people who were part of CFC who were led astray by false doctrines they got from the internet who fell into pornography because of the internet so many will be led astray and many will come in and then you will hear were six of wars and rumors of wars I mean that's every day in the newspaper I don't think there's ever been a time in history where there's so many wars and rumors of wars don't be frightened very important word what this will happen but the end is not yet because nation will rise against nation Kingdom countries against each other and there will be famines and earthquakes and they've been plenty of those also nowadays that's not the end these are the beginnings of birth pangs you know birth pangs means when a woman is about to deliver a baby she goes through a very intense pain which only your mother can understand I don't think any of us men understand anything about it it's a very intense pain it's called birth pangs it's what the Lord told Eve in pain you will bring forth children it's just being fulfilled that's all and Jesus says there's a birth of a new kingdom coming the kingdom of heaven on earth and before that birth takes place there's going to be a period of intense pain that's what's called that's what he's referring to a time of persecution of Christians verse 9 they'll deliver you to tribulation and will kill you and you'll be hated by how many nations all nations right now Christians are hated in some nations you know that many Christians are hated even in a country like the United States which is supposed to be a Christian country yeah there are people persecuted for standing up for the Word of God and its principles over there all nations whether the consul's Christian or non-christian because of Jesus name in other words when you stand up for the truth you will be hated and if at this time in your office you're unwilling to bear the shame of being known as a Christian or unwilling to stand for the truth and uprightness as a Christian because you're afraid you won't get the promotion you want or something like that then how will you stand when the things get worse the Lord told Jeremiah and Jeremiah are 12 if you can't run with men how will you run with horses meaning that if a small little thing you can't handle how will you handle a bigger persecution so God doesn't give us a big thing all of a sudden it's just like we go from kindergarten to first standard second standard God gives us little areas in our place of work in our neighborhood where for standing up for being a Christian we suffer a little bit they can't even call it a suffering I used to call it mosquito bites but mosquitoes are very dangerous nowadays so I call it ant bites mosquitoes can kill people sometimes which even lions can't kill so I call them ant bites now they're all ant bites which are nothing compared to the early Christians are per killed by lions so look at all the little things that you face in different situations in your neighborhood or with relatives perhaps they trouble you in some way or take advantage of you and you have to love them as a Christian and or in your office where you don't get a promotion or don't greet an increment or maybe you get fired from your job because you refuse to do what's wrong you refuse to sign a false statement or things like that that can be very tricky situations you face in an office where you're asked to tell a lie particularly those who are in say in sales the sales department to tell lies about your product which you know is not true that can be a very difficult thing those are in the advertising business we got to those things that destroy people's lives like alcohol and cigarettes and there are different types of things it's very difficult to be a Christian to speak a lie or to sign something false little little things and there God is testing you with these little ant bites to see whether you're willing to stand up you may lose your job okay but tell me one thing chapter 2 verse 30 those who honor me I will honor is that true today see there are two verses I wanted to prove as true all through my life right from the beginning one is if I seek the kingdom of God in His righteousness first God will always add everything to me I will never have to tell any human being my needs I proved that for 58 years the second was those who honor me I will honor 1 Samuel 2:30 that also I approved for 58 years there is not a single situation in my life when I honored God and he did not honor me not even one I faced many tricky situations in the Navy and even in Christian work where there was a temptation to compromise or do what's wrong and I said I won't do that so some loss comes some suffering some trial some court case something but God honors me finally always so you'll be hated by all nations and that may begin in your office it may begin with your relatives who exclude you because you stand up for the Lord there was a family who used to be with us in the early years who used to tell us that every time they went home for a holiday to their relatives they became backsliders and they came back and again they had to recover what a terrible situation and visit your relatives unconverted relatives and you become a backslider what type of testimony is that for Christ that the darkness overpowered the light the darkness overpowered the light that must be the kingdom of Satan in the kingdom of God the light over parts the darkness not that they'll all be converted but they could not put out the light if your unconverted relatives can shut your mouth to what you believe in Jesus Christ and make you compromise when you visit them even if you're surrounded by unconverted relatives you have to ask yourself whether you really have the light of God or a human light according to a knowledge of doctrine which is not really the light of God the light of God is so powerful even at the whole world was against you it will not quench your light I'm not saying the world will be converted but it will not be able to quench your light they could not put out the light of Jesus Christ they could not put out the light of the Apostles even when they kill them is is this the Christianity we have the Lord is waiting for all the compromisers to stop compromising at least from 2018 onwards determined that this year on was there will be zero compromise in your life in any area you will not sign one false statement you will not tell a lie to get any benefit or financial gain you will prove in your life that God honors those who honor him maybe you won't become a millionaire or as rich as somebody else becomes but God will not allow you to be a beggar and a homeless person on the street that I can assure you and even the Bible says the righteous will never be forsaken and his children will never beg for bread sound 37:25 so don't be afraid of being hated and rejected this is the beginnings of birth pangs it's the beginning of the pain and don't abort the baby saying this is too painful doctor kill the child I don't want any more pain that's what you're saying I don't want to be part of that Kingdom that's coming if it means a little I have to suffer I will not get my promotion I will not get a hike in my salary you want to abort the child just for that you want to miss God's kingdom say Lord I'm going to stand true through the birth pangs and at that time Jesus said in verse 10 many will fall away it's gonna happen and I tell you we are seeing it we've seen preachers falling away and one way they follow is they don't preach the gospel of victory over sin anymore how much do you hear nowadays about overcoming sin how much do you hear about the new covenant of building the church oh no they will betray one another and hate one another yeah many false prophets will arise and will mislead many not one or two many Falls you know a person who comes then not in the name of Jesus but in some of the name of some other God cannot be a false prophet a false prophet is one who comes in the name of Jesus who says in verse five he is the Christ who says Jesus is the Messiah then he misleads so don't think the false prophets are people of other religions know as far as the Bible is concerned those are not the false prophets the New Testament speaks about the false prophets the New Testament speaks about other people who come saying like in verse 5 Jesus is the Messiah and then mislead many those are the ones he's repeating again verse 11 they will mislead many and here's what I want to emphasize what is the thing we should endure in because sin is increased or lawlessness that means a disregard for God's law is increased most Christians love will become cold but the one who endures in love till the end will be saved so that's the thing we have to endure in the whole world will not be saved but was 14 the gospel of the kingdom what is the gospel of the kingdom we gotta just compare Scripture with Scripture Romans 14:17 says the kingdom of God is righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit not righteousness peace and joy but righteousness through the Holy Spirit peace through the Holy Spirit joy through the Holy Spirit that is the kingdom of God and that gospel of righteousness overcoming sin through the part of the Holy Spirit that gospel of peace peace in your heart that means a perfectly clear conscience peace with all men no conflict with anybody and joy that means rejoicing always never discouraged or anxious or murmuring or grumbling or complaining that gospel which is almost not preached in 99% of churches will be preached in the whole world how those days if Jesus had said through the internet the disciples wouldn't have understood what that meant but it is being preached in the whole world today even a small church like ours is preaching their gospel through the whole world there's not a single spot in the whole globe today where you cannot tune into a CFC website and hear the gospel of righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit not a single spot in the whole world you go to the North Pole or you go to the middle of the Pacific Ocean or you go to the Antarctic or you go to any remote country Afghanistan Mongolia you can hear was the warning hear can hear he doesn't say people had be converted it says it'll be preached in the whole world it never has taken place until our time the internet came a long time ago but how much was the gospel of righteousness peace and joy preached over the whole world I'd like to know I mean the Jesus died for the sins of the world and your sins can be forgiven maybe that was priest but the gospel of the kingdom he preached in the whole world I believe it's a tremendous privilege and an honor God has given us do you know the number of emails that we get which say we're so thankful to the CFC web team for two CFC for giving all of this material free many many Christian websites you had to pay five dollars to listen to a message what'll the poor people do $5.00 is 320 rupees Mannion paying 300 20 rupees to listen to a single message and five minutes through that message of the man is boring he only lost two or three twenty rupees and they're so thankful that everything is free the literature is free and Bible study is free and the message of righteousness peace and joy is always been free and we have made it free to every person in the world to the poorest person and he the rich person has no advantage over him this is how the gospel is gone we're not boasting not at all we rejoice that the gospel is going everywhere that needy people are being helped that broken marriages are being restored that divorces are being prevented that people are even being healed through living in righteousness we don't lift up our head and pride we put our face in the dust and say Lord this is not our work I mean if you see mangoes on a branch the branch does not say wow look at all these 25 mangoes hanging on me and there's nothing on that branch you think that branch produced those mangoes you think it's CFC was done this not at all shame on us if we lift up our head keep your head in the dust I do that all the time I keep my head in the dust before God is the tree that produces the mangoes not the branch so we will never glory over another branch he's none of my business to find out why are they not producing mangoes no I want to make sure that through my life and through our church the Lord can produce the maximum number of fruit that he can that he wants to that's all and never never to compare ourselves with others just in passing second Corinthians 10 it's a good verse for us to remember second Corinthians in chapter 10 verse 13 Paul did boast about many things he boasts about certain things in second Corinthians 11 that he did not take any money from anybody and supported himself but before that he says in verse 13 of 2nd Corinthians 10 second Corinthians 10:13 we will not boast beyond our measure but within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure there we rejoice that God has given us a certain circle a small circle CFC is doing God's work in a small little circle and we thank God that in that small circle God has given us grace to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of righteousness peace and joy to the whole world to fulfill his promise not because of our ability not because we raised funds to collect money or urge you people to put money in the box we want to preach the gospel no no no no no God says the silver and the gold are mine the cattle on a Thousand Hills are mine if I ever need God says in the Psalms I will not tell you that's what God says and he's our Father and so we say if we have a need we will not tell you or tell anybody else in the world we will tell our Heavenly Father Lord we want to preach the gospel to the whole world provide us the need do you know that the Internet ministry is a very expensive ministry the equipment costs a lot the servers who are sending out that we had to pay them regularly every year but we have a wonderful web team who has not paid anything who works freely not only here but in the number of other continents who help us CFC people who are in other continents we thank God for them and a number of them here who come back from work and late at night work so that they can spread the gospel of the kingdom all over the world we thank God for that we don't boast about it but we say God has given us the grace to be able to do that we humbly thank God for that privilege the God has given us to show our gratitude to Jesus for what he did for us on the cross and for what he did for us in our lives that we don't keep it to ourselves but we give it to others and as we water others God waters us all the time this has been our experience but it says in verse 12 the last part those who measure themselves and compare themselves with others are in my translation spiritual idiots that's my paraphrase how to be a spiritual idiot you want to know compare your spiritual life with somebody else's that's all you gotta do compare your church CFC with some other church that's a way to be a spiritual idiot compare your own life with the life of somebody else here how much fruit in my branch and how much in his branch is the way to be a definite way to be a spiritual idiot without understanding those who measure themselves with themselves compare themselves with themselves but we will not do that we think of the small circle God has given us and we want to be faithful there and force you're not doing any web teamwork but do you know that you're doing a great work for God if you bring up your children in a godly way when I see children grown up and going astray when they are grown up and employed I have to say well I don't want to judge them I don't want to judge their parents but I have to quote scripture train up a child in the way he should go good or bad and when he is old he will not depart from it if it's a bad way bad way it was a good way a good way that word of God in Proverbs 22 works two ways you decide when a child is small whether you're going to be rigid with him to teaching God's Word and the principles of God's Word to honor God and seek God's kingdom first and teach him to honor his father and mother and discipline him when he's wrong and showing the importance of reading the Bible and following the Bible when he grows up he'll be like that on the other hand you say well the important thing is to go to church the important thing is to say Jesus come into my heart and get baptized and that's enough and then brother you got it earn your own money and make plenty of money for yourself and what keep a good testimony don't do anything that'll ruin your live before the face of men and and be a good example and and don't mingle with the poor brothers from Tamilnadu and all they don't speak English forget them mingle with the elite and the upper-class people especially the foreigners meet them the Christians who come to CFC conferences and you ask yourself who do your children mingle with have you asked yourself do they ever mingle with the poor and the lowly train up a child the way should go and they are all they will not depart from it that's why you have some of these posh children who are grown up in CFC who have no interest in the poor brothers in our village churches ask yourself how much interest your children have in the poor village churches in India some of you pretty close to zero I'm not here to judge them I'm just telling you that's the way you brought them up that's it okay you can repent a bit now try to set it right but for those who children are still small train up that child now says in Romans chapter 12 verse 16 Romans chapter 12 verse 16 in the middle of that verses says don't be proud in your mind but associate with the lowly people how much have you obeyed that verse associating with the poor and the lowly not so educated not so cultured you posh sisters educated posh sisters how much do you fellowship with the really poor sisters in CFC do you ever talk to them Sundays I see a lot of people talking to each other do you ever talk to the poor sisters or do you always mingle with the elite the upper-class oh we are New Covenant all I say is don't deceive yourself the New Covenant is not a doctrine it's a life yeah he who has ears to hear can hear so let's turn back to Matthew 24 we read here what Jesus said about what are we to endure in verse 12 and 13 of Matthew 24 people's love will grow cold but the one who endures till the end in love will be saved so what's going to happen in the last days is fervent love for Jesus is going to go down and why we'll love for Jesus go down I believe basically one or two things it says in second Timothy and Chapter three I mean when the Lord has warned us that love will become cold in the last days we better be careful about it because he's warned us they you know like if you if there's a rumor now that there's gonna be a great shortage of rice rice is what all of us eat it's going to be a great shortage of rice in Bangalore just like in the days of Joseph there's going to be a famine so they stored up so that they would have enough food in the days of famine in Egypt so if there's going to be great shortage of something and there's plenty available now you'd store it up so the Bible says it's gonna be a great shortage of love for Jesus and love for one another in the last days I want to work on it the reason is in math 2nd Timothy 3 is going to happen because of two things let's say three things there are four lovers mentioned in second Timothy 3 verse 1 2 4 read carefully there are four lovers mentioned in 2nd Timothy 3 1 2 4 1 is lovers of self and lovers of money verse 2 the third is lovers of pleasure the fourth is lovers of God so in contrast to lovers of God which we all should be there are three forces that are going to take us away from loving God what did Jesus say the love of many will wax cold because lawlessness is going to increase what is it that's going to increase this lawlessness because it says here in verse 5 people will still hold to a form of godliness that means they will still come to church they'll believe fundamental evangelical doctrine they will say they are born-again but they don't have the power they don't have the power verse 2 to overcome self-love of self they don't have the power to overcome the love of money they don't have the power to overcome the love of pleasure you need power do you know that you need the part of the holy spirit to overcome the love of yourself you can't put yourself to death without the part of the Holy Spirit do you know you need the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the love of money some of you have been trying to overcome it but you need the power of the Holy Spirit to do it love of pleasure ease and comfort you can not overcome it without the power of the Holy Spirit so here it's speaking about people who will still keep a form of godliness but they don't have the power how do we know they don't have the part because they love self they get offended they seek their own they accuse others they put down others and they love money behind many of their actions and decisions is the love of money that guides their decisions and actions which they put a spiritual whitewash over and thirdly they love pleasure they are more interested in spending time watching television than reading the Bible entertainment entertainment the great god entertainment they say but it's clean entertainment it's just the news and all that fine okay and then there are lovers of God those lovers of God become lovers of God because they fight against the love of self and fight against the love of money and fight against the love of pleasure through the part of the Holy Spirit Jesus said in the last days the love of many will become cold you can ask yourself my dear brothers you remember the days when you were first born again think back to those days he said I'm not gonna watch movies anymore I'm not going to do this and I'm not gonna do that I'm gonna read the Bible every day my day will begin with the Bible do you remember those days when you were first saved how is it now is the love of self comfort pleasure money taking you away from the love for God we can sing so many wonderful songs to the Lord it's like a story I heard I mean - not a true story a young man was telling a girl I love you so much I'll cross oceans and climb mountains and come through barbed wire and all to see you next week I'll try and see you if it doesn't rain like that so many wonderful things we say but when it comes to the crunch it's a little difficult dear brothers and sisters ask the four part of the Holy Spirit the most important thing we need in 2007 say 18 is to be filled with the Holy Spirit not just one experience years ago I pray to be food at the Holy Spirit every single day when I get up to speak I pray for the gift of prophecy others I know I'm wasting time Lord without the power of the Holy Spirit I no matter how much I progressed will degenerate in this year to loving myself and though I think I'm free from the love of money I'll begin to love money and I'll begin to love pleasure and I'll go back into habits that I gave up I hope that doesn't happen to any of you seek for the power of the Holy Spirit determined to be a lover of God where love for Jesus becomes supreme from that will flow love for others love for others is not the first message in the gospel no the first commandment is not love your neighbour sometimes people try to show their love for others but they don't love the Lord the reason why I seek to be very strict in the church is because I'll tell you it's not because I don't love you folks it's because I love God more than you the one I love most in this room is my wife but I love Jesus more than her and I will always do that she will never be first she'll always be second and I will never love any of you more than I love Jesus Christ and his body the church and I'm willing to offend every one of you hurt every one of you rebuke every one of you correct every one of you even if you get offended with me even if you leave CFC because they love Jesus more I'm gonna be a lover of God from that love for God I love others so remember that don't let your love for people become more important than your love for Jesus Christ the love of many will wax cold the most important thing for us is to grow in love for Christ I pray that the end of this year or every day of this year your love for Jesus of growing more and more and more true holiness is growing in love I'll show you that in closing 1 Thessalonians in chapter 3 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 where's 12 and 13 1 Thessalonians 3 verse 12 and 13 may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another which comes through the love for God first and then for all people first to the church and then for others just as we do for you why so that so that he can establish your heart without blame in holiness before God at the coming of a Lord Jesus Christ he's talking about the second coming that when Jesus comes at his second coming our hearts must be established without blame in holiness so what is holiness it is to abound in love for one another and it says here so that if you want your heart to be unblameable in holiness abound in love so it's essentially when God says he wants us to be holy it is to love Jesus with all our heart and to love others true holiness is to love Jesus fervently and love others it's not just avoiding dirty things lot of people avoid dirty things for other reasons but when you love Jesus you will avoid dirty things because you love Jesus so don't concentrate on overcoming pornography first over concentrate on loving Jesus first and that will go then you will see sin is good to use word pictures like salt light seed here is a word picture of pornography pornography is watching pornography is like putting your mouth in a toilet bowl and licking it not a flushed toilet bowl but a toilet that has not been flushed and you're licking it with your tongue that is watching pornography if you want to do it you can do it but you got to be crazy if you see a man putting his head into an unflushed toilet and licking it he's got to be crazy and that is what watching pornography is there are people who call them the Christians who do it you know sometimes these word pictures help us to eat what we are doing and I'm just trying to help you to see it's madness you're off your head if you're licking the toilet bowl which has not been flushed even if it has been flushed may God help us to see holiness comes out of love for Jesus if I love Jesus with all my heart I cannot possibly want to see a naked woman you'll be happy with your wife he won't want to see some poor girl to make money stripping your clothes on and you watch that on the computer screen or your phone don't call yourself a Christian don't take a Christian name change your name to some other heathen name so that the name of Jesus is not Dishonored take it seriously this year struggled with it now struggled to love Jesus and to love Jesus you need only two things I've often said about it meditate on how much he loved you how much he suffered of being separated from the father and suffering eternal hell for three hours on the cross meditate on that and meditate on he was forgiven much loves much how much you have been forgiven that's all meditate on how much Jesus loved you and how much you've been forgiven think back to your past life and how much he forgave you and he covered up all the wicked things he did people sitting here don't even know one percent of the evil you did in your unconverted days or even after you were converted thank God for that be good to others also like that don't uncover all their nakedness before people you who have a lust to gossip and speak evil of people to others think of God exposed all the things you did in your past days to everybody here how would you feel think of that God's being merciful to you be merciful to others look Jesus supremely and love one another because in the last days that's going to decrease a lot he who has ears to hear let him hear Henson Brown just tell the Lord Lord I want to get a hundred percent final day I don't want 40% I 99% I want 100% and I'm going to judge myself rightly from this day by the grace of God I'm gonna concentrate on the power and not the form of godliness I've had the form of godliness for many years I want the power Lord I don't want to go around advising other people I want to judge myself that's more important Heavenly Father help each one of us give us grace to live before your face to honor you everyone here Lord and help us to help one another in that pursuit of godliness we have fervent love for you and forgiving and loving one another becomes a priority in our life help us to be true to you in these last days we pray in Jesus name Amen

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 13,957

Rating: 4.8068967 out of 5

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

Id: sDl6Nnj7stg

Length: 62min 10sec (3730 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 05 2018