Born Again Through Repentance And Faith - Zac Poonen

I want you to turn with me first of all to Revelation and chapter 3 and the words that you're not so familiar with though you may be familiar with the verse that comes after this the next verse Revelation chapter 3 verse 20 is a verse most Christians know at least many Christians know where Jesus said behold I stand at the door and knock remember this is not spoken to unbelievers whenever you read scriptures or you read Jesus speaking find out who is he speaking to did he look at his disciples and say you generation of vipers how will you escape the damnation of hell those are the words of Jesus but they were not spoken to Peter James and John they were spoken to the Pharisees so you have to see who is he speaking to then only you will understand who the message is for so if you're a Pharisee then that is for you your generation of vipers how will you escape the judgment of health so here you had to say who is he speaking to verse 14 to the messenger that is one of the elders of the church in laodicea among the elders they're always more than one elder in every church and usually one of them would be the messenger who brings the message most Sunday's to the messenger of the church in laodicea right I'm standing at the door and knocking and it says in verse 22 if you have a year let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church churches so it's a message to the elder and to the churches it is not to unbelievers that's what I'm trying to say but yet that verse is quoted most of the time to unbelievers to unbelievers who says you know Jesus standing at the door and knocking and you show the unbeliever this worse and if he has some sense he said let me read whom is it written not written for unbelievers is written to an elder is written to a church I'm not an elder I'm not a church how can you quote this verse to me you see how carelessly we read the Bible because we have the habit of reading independent verses if you want to misunderstand the Bible read independent verses favorite verses if you get a letter from your father and you read one sentence in the middle of page three you may get a completely wrong understanding you nobody reads like that if you read a sentence in the middle of page three you'll read the whole letter perhaps at least the whole of page three or the whole paragraph to understand so whenever you read many people have come to me and said brother what is the meaning of this I should read the verses before it read the verses after it and you'll understand that meaning you don't even have to come to me but you don't read the verses before you don't read the verses after and you try to understand one verse by itself you never do that with any letter you get from anyone you never read that with a do that with a book you read and because these the books in the Bible are broken up into verses we read verses but you know the original letters that Paul wrote and the original books that were written John's Gospel and all that there it was not broken up into verses or even chapters maybe it was put into paragraphs but it was never never broken up into verses and chapters till about maybe 300 years ago that's how it was so to the elder brother oh well and must refer to believers also it could apply to all of us here you know what Jesus is saying I stand at the door and knock if you hear my voice and open the door I will come into him well dine with him and he with me and then you will be able to overcome next verse as I overcame you sit with me on my throne okay so when you read all of that together its leading up to being an overcomer which is what we preach in our church we all want to be overcomers but let's begin at verse 19 which tells us how we hear the knocking of the Lord how do you know how you hear the lord knocking at your door I'll tell you those whom I love I rebuke reprove and discipline that's how we hear the lord knocking do you hear the Lord rebuking you reproving you that's his knock will you let me come in you get offended with that rebuke that rebuke may come directly from the Lord as you read the Bible if you have been sensitive to the Lord's voice for many years you may come directly to you without the Bible or it may come to you through another servant of the Lord in this case it came through the Apostle John was not directly God Jesus did not directly speak to any of these churches or any of these elders he spoke to them through an apostle and through the Apostle he rebuked them and reproved them and that was the Lord knocking at the door of their heart saying will you let me come in because this reproof verse 19 is a proof of my love that's what I wanted you to see primarily those whom I love I reprove and rebuke I've often said there's no young man I have reproved and corrected in the world more than my four sons nobody in the world have I ever corrected as much as I corrected my four sons and I don't regret it one bit because I didn't have authority over the others as an elder I have had the responsibility for having to reprove and rebuke some people the moment they leave our church as if some people have done I immediately stopped correcting them immediately I it's always hi sometimes just hi and bye hi I hope you're following the Lord but go and ask all the people who have left our church ask them if they ever got one email from me correcting them never ask them if they got emails from me before they left the church yes plan D after they left the church always hello thank you for writing good to hear from you god bless you if he can I hope you're following the Lord as many as I love Jesus says I reprove when I rebuke so when I was young a Christian when I was a young Christian I didn't know that nobody explained revelation 3:19 to me I should have known it from the day I was converted if I had teachers who would teach me the Bible I would have known it when I was 19 and a half that one proof of God's love for you is that easy rebukes you but you know we live in a world where we think rebuking somebody who hates us only rebukes us and one who loves us will always say nice things to us it's like thinking a good doctor will always say you're healthy even when you're dying of cancer and it's only somebody who hates you who says the scan shows you've got cancer we never think like that about a doctor but we do think like that about brothers and the Lord servants that shows how the devil has blinded us we are more concerned about our physical health than our spiritual condition we will go to a doctor for understanding what is the problem with us but will never think that her brother could perhaps show us what's wrong with us spiritually oh no but I can take care of myself go and see all the people who treated themselves medically without consulting a doctor and see the physical condition today we have messed up their physical condition because they treated themselves they didn't go to someone who was a little wiser a doctor and say can you please tell me what's wrong with me we value our physical health so much that we will not treat ourselves we will go to a doctor even for a little earache or toothache but much more serious spiritual conditions we say I can handle that myself and I believe that's the reason why many of us are in a very poor spiritual condition because we don't go to the Lord and say Lord please tell me what's wrong with me as many as I love I rebuke so when I was a young Christian the only way if you'd ask me how do you know Jesus loves you I would have said he died for me I know he loves me jesus loves me this I know because he died for me on the cross today if you ask me the same question how do you know Jesus loves you I'll say he reproves me he disciplines me and you say brother Zack he still disciplines you after 57 years of being a believer yes he's not stopped loving me here approves me and disciplines me in ways that you don't know and I need it when will it stop brother Zack it'll stop the day I become like Jesus Christ hundred percent that's the day he returns that is the proof of his love for me because he doesn't want me to go even one millimeter off the straight line sometimes I slip up not with many inches away from the straight as in the olden days but one millimeter off the Lord approves in disciplines I've been so delighted that the Lord corrects me in a slight deviation if you can speak one rude word to anybody unbeliever believer petrol station the petrol pump attendant or shopkeeper or a auto rickshaw driver or a porter in the railway station if you can speak one rude word or to a beggar and not be convicted about it I would say you're sick you are sick you've got a little bit of leprosy you don't have sensations you know lepers don't have sensation and they lose it leprosy here you touch them they don't feel it you pinprick them they don't feel it and that's happening to you you spoke a rude word to somebody and you didn't get convicted about it you didn't go and apologize to the Lord you didn't go and apologize to that person maybe after one week you decided okay I better write him a letter tell him I'm sorry one week you had no sensation its leprosy brother you better do something about it because leprosy has a habit of spreading I never wanted to be like that I was a leper when I came to Jesus the many things I had no sensation about but one but I'm being freed from it gradually little by little by little by little by little I'll be completely free when Jesus comes back there will not even be a speck of it but the flesh is still there and nothing good dwells in the flesh but it's area is becoming reduced reduced reduces it good to see the leprosy reducing in your life that you're becoming more sensitive quicker to something wrong you said you're quick to go and apologize to your wife or your husband that's an indication leprosy is becoming less but I'll tell you something I've noticed many brothers are very quick to apologize to their wives because they need food she's the one who cooks food and they need it on time they need their clothes to be washed can't afford to have tension at home even for 24 hours but when it is a brother in the church why are they not so quick to go and set it right they know something as tension has come there why don't they set it right because he doesn't cook my food he doesn't wash my clothes he doesn't do anything for me why don't why should I be bothered you are a leper we tell you straight you're a leper they're a self-centered leper you're careful when it concerns your own wife because you're concerned about yourself you love yourself I need my food and eat my clothes watch so I must give a good relationships my wife but this brother I can afford I can think about it let me pray about it for one or two months and then we'll see my brothers and sister I want to tell you the truth you come here you'll hear the truth you'll get a scan as to why you are not growing spiritually much faster than you could have now I'm not saying you all haven't grown spiritually many of you have grown spiritually tremendously from the time I first know you knew you without a doubt but let me also say that the number of you could have been miles further ahead than you are today your growth could have been much more if you have been a little more sensitive to sin and allowed the Lord to rebuke you reprove you discipline you you know that Old Testament Psalm it says let the righteous smite me it's like oil on my head it's like hiding it Psalm 141 you let the righteous smite me it's like anointing me with oil you know anointing with oil is the way people were blessed and anointed for service so that's a great words in case you don't know it I think you should you should know it turn with me to the sounds some 141 and verse 5 if you don't know this verse you must remember it all your life let the righteous slap me on my face in kindness and let him reprove me it's like his anointing me with oil don't let my head refuse it I mean if we said brother we want to appoint you as an elder now and we want to lay our hands on you and come here we want to anoint you in there oh how many of us would rush forward for that but this is the same thing the same thing that the regicide me let not my head refuse it but not my don't let me pull back let me submit to that saying do it brother I want to be an anointed person I have tried to follow that all my life I remember when I was a young man and I was misunderstood in a church I used to attend and some people falsely accuse me to be older brothers in the result was I was not allowed to speak in that church not for one or two Sundays I used to speak every Sunday in that church is when I was about thirty years old and because of that misunderstanding and the elders never sought to clarify it for the next three years of two and a half years at least I was not allowed to preach in that church not a single Sunday and the Lord said to me he quiet accept it don't question it submit to the elders now I did not nobody knew talking about submission and all those this were the Lord spoke directly to me and I kept quiet and my wife and I would sit at the back of the hall and people would come up to me and say oh brother Zack what happened I wouldn't say anything I would not open my mouth in one word of self-defense I would not say they misunderstood me I can say speak about it today because you don't even know who they are but if I had spoken about it then people would have known who I was referring to they dead and gone now but I knew much later and after those three years I left that place and I moved to Bangalore wasn't here otherwise I was still been sitting there and after we came here and two and half years after we caught three years after we came here the Lord established CFC then I knew why God had taken me through those three years of reproof and rebuke and misunderstanding he was testing me to see whether I would obey Him and keep my mouth shut and I believed that if I had listened to me in those years if I had not kept my mouth shut and I had risen up in defiance against those elders and say these guys have misunderstood me and tried to speak against them to all the others I tell you I would not be sitting here today I would not be involved in raising CFCs he would have been built by somebody else not me God's work is not going to depend on one man if one man failed another man takes over judas iscariot my belief is that judas iscariot was supposed to write the episodes because evil the cleverest of the Apostles he missed out on it so our God found Paul see if I had failed God it upon somebody else definitely and that I don't have any doubt but I wouldn't be here and it's possible that God has a plan for you and he's taking you through a period of discipline and reproof I'm talking to young people here and you don't accept it you have disturbed that somebody smoked you not physically but in words that humiliated you and you don't accept it you're missing out on a ministry God has for you in the future now I'm not saying that you should accept it for the sake of a ministry that's pretty selfish but because God is knocking at the door of your heart as many as I love I rebuke that discipline that is the way I'm knocking at the door of your heart did you ever connect those two verses together in Revelation 3 19 and 20 that is the meaning how do you know that Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart read the previous verse don't read a center worse by itself you misunderstand it the previous verse explains it I rebuke and I discipline that's the knock I'm knocking loud and clear will you open it will you open it means will you submit to it will you accept it or will you reject it and say no no then you wonder why why is the Lord not near to me why doesn't he come and sup with me cause you don't accept his correction and those of you who have come here regularly through the years I'm sure many a time you have heard the Lord knocking at the door of your heart on a Sunday morning somebody wrote an email to me last week saying to CFC why doesn't produce act give us more milk it's always meat meat meat meat we want we need some milk so some other brother was replying I told him please reply to him saying there are hundreds of thousands of milkman distributing milk all over you don't have to go to brother Zack for that but if you want to go please read good foundation and purpose of failure there's a milk also in our literature but the great need is what Paul said to Timothy the time will come 2nd Timothy 4 when they will not want to hear hygienic words that leads to godliness they will heap to themselves these hundreds of thousands of milkman teachers will just tickle their ears and well and all told Timothy reprove rebuke when you feel like it I mean don't feel like it you read it for yourself in 2nd Timothy 4 because the time will come and people will not want to listen to it we are living in those times so that's what I said and some days some weeks ago I said this key remember that if Jesus were to come today some of you would sitting here would go to hell because I don't believe you're really born again that's the truth I feel that way and I want to say a few words to such people because I don't want anybody sitting here this morning or anybody hearing this message later on not to know how you can be really born again and be sure of it so I just want to take a little time and explain that the first thing if you want to understand the way for Jesus to come into your life is to listen to the message of John the Baptist John the Baptist was sent in Matthew chapter 3 he was sent by God to Israel to prepare the way he's called the one who came to prepare the way for Jesus to come to Israel and spiritually his message is what prepares the way for Jesus to come into a heart because they rejected the message of John the Baptist they rejected Jesus that's why Israel rejected Jesus before Jesus came God sent a prophet to prepare the way for Jesus to be accepted they rejected him they rejected Jesus so what is this message let's turn to Matthew chapter 3 verse 2 John the Baptist verse one came preaching saying repent now repent is a word which we don't really understand the best translation I've heard of repent is in Tamil Tamil has got some wonderful translations I've discovered in Tamil it is man and terrible which means mind turn your mind very beautiful translations change your opinion turn your mind around from the way it is thinking the way it is facing turn it around turn it around turn your mind around that's what John is saying because the kingdom of heaven is near the kingdom of heaven was what Christ came to bring into our hearts this is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet said the one who is crying out in the wilderness to make ready the way of the Lord this is how you make ready the way for Christ to come into your life repent turn and how will you know that your mind is turned you know there was some Pharisees means verse seven who came and wanted to be baptized see baptism was offered by John the Baptist only to those who really accepted his message it wasn't a ritual it wasn't say I want to join this church so I get baptized John John wasn't building any Church so there was no question of joining anything he wanted to if they accepted his message it could be baptized baptism followed repentance but some people came like some people come today also who want to be baptized and but John the Baptist has such discernment it's an amazing thing how God gives discernment to his servants is the greatest need in any elder brother or any true servant of God discernment that people who speak the right words you can turn around to them and say you haven't repented you're speaking the right words but you haven't repented I can see that you've not repented even though they are saying the right word yeah I believe I this I've done this I'm giving it up and I'm that and you can see through the whole thing John the Baptist could be like that the tragedy is Christian churches do not have many people like that and that's why you have a whole bunch of people nowadays who get baptized or never repented John the Baptist would never allow them to be baptized he turned around to them and see you brood of vipers who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come I don't see any fruit in your life in keeping with repentance where's it I don't see your mind having really been turned around and don't say Abraham is our Father don't say I listen to brother Zacks messages so what God can pick up stones and make us children from there there are different things people say to find acceptance oh the ax is laid here's what repentance means the ax is laid to the root of the tree in the Old Testament it was only the fruit why the fruit came out they'd be punished the root was never touched in other words you know the Ten Commandments don't murder if you murdered you'll be punished but the root was hid trilled people murder somebody because they hate them so the root was not touched you could have hatred to a person intense a trade go around speaking evil about him all over the country but so long as you didn't kill him you're a good Jew you could take part in the Passover and the feasts and be considered a good person you could even be a priest because the fruit never came out but now John the Baptist says things are changing we are coming into the kingdom of heaven where fruit is not the main thing ruled the axe is laid to the root we can say in the Old Testament the scissors was put to the fruit the bad murder cut off adultery cut off stealing cut off but what about the root lusting after a woman in the heart that's the root John the Baptist is now the axe is being laid to the root and if a tree does not bring forth good fruit and we cut down and thrown into the fire so repentance is an axe being laid to the root it is not an external okay I've decided to stop killing people I've decided picking pockets and as decided to stop stealing I decided to stop committing adultery that's all old covenant you can be a good Jew not a Christian but a Christian repentance must go to the root Lord I have lived a self-centered life I have lived for myself I want to turn from that he saved brother Zack that type of repentance is not preached I know Paul said that in 2nd Timothy 4 people will not want to hear it they want preachers who will tickle their ears and say have you given up your drinking and your gambling and your smoking okay.come so why did Jesus say the way to the gate and the way to life is very narrow if the gate was only don't murder don't steal don't commit adultery don't gamble don't smoke that's a very wide gate there are millions of non-christians who can come in but the gate is very narrow which says you shouldn't get angry you shouldn't lust after women in your heart you must speak the truth you must love your enemies you must not live a self-centered life I'm not saying must be perfect he must be willing to go this way a willingness the question is not whether you've given up all anger no do you want to give it up the want to want to that is the March of repentance if you don't want to I would say you've not repented I'm often said this to people supposing you are a person who really wanted to give up your anger and all your life you battled it every time you fell you would apologize and ask forgiveness in but you were still falling even after twenty years of wanting to give up anger you were still falling you was still falling but you were fighting repenting apologizing and you die and go to heaven God will credit you with you got victory over anger I see like that because where there is an intention God sees the intention of the heart I'll show you worse ice proves that turn with me the second Corinthians for very liberating worse that's helped me tremendously many times see a lot of people say that we are preaching salvation only for those whose lives are perfect that's garbage we have preaching salvation for those who have a want to live this life sincerely want to not play the fool second in the 8:12 says if the willingness is present the willingness the readiness it is accepted according to what a man has not what he does not have he did not have that victory now it's okay but was there a willingness let me paraphrase that in relation to anger or lusting after women or anything was there a willingness an eager desire to be completely free from anger to completely free from lusting after women but you didn't have it yet he will not be judged according to what you don't have but that readiness see here it's applying to money and saying if you read the context he's telling people to give some money for the poor believers in Paul never asked money for himself but he said please give some money to the poor believers in Jerusalem and here's a man who really wants to give but he's so poor that he can just about his earnings are just enough to keep his family together pay the rent and look after the food meets the children's food and all that that he wants so desperately to give to the Lord but he has hardly anything and he feels so bad because some rich people can give so much I wish I could give like that the Lord says don't worry I see your heart's desire I see that you don't have much to give doesn't matter your heart's desire that you want to give and if you had you would give so much I accept it as if you have given so much more than that person remember the story of the widow who put in something like two visors or some small amount two coins into the box and Jesus is watching it so Jesus was sitting beside the offering box watching it he's sitting beside the offering box today also you don't see him but he's there and he's not watching how much you put in that's the point of that story but how you put in the Pharisees may have put in that tight but tight from such a huge millionaire there's nothing he's got 90% many more millions to live on it's not a great offering but when a person gives with sacrifice who wants to give more but has so little that is what Jesus values so what I learned from that even in relation to sin and everything is God sees the desire of the heart more than the action and that's as a reverse consequence also you can do a very good action and your motive may be bad for example preaching it's a very good thing preaching the Word of God but most people most preachers today in the world preach to get money or honor fame position in their church or something like that all are evil in God's eyes but you listen to the message oh what a wonderful message I know a lot of CFC people who listen to these some of these television preachers men and women who listen Wow brother Jack what a message area what is the internet and see how that preacher makes money he'll never want to listen to that person again I know people who have travelled long distance to listen to some of these preachers in India because there's such fantastic bridges have you ever found out how these people make money they're not bothered by that I'm not fooled by all this when I listen to that I don't need to check the internet when I listen to a person now I can make out from his his author mannerism and the way they speak I can make out is this a woman of God or a man of God is this a humble person or not I tell you 99% of them are not God looks at the heart you must never forget that repentance is from the heart the axe is laid to the root of the tree we are not living in the days of the scissors but many Christians are oh it sounds so nice it's so correct doctrine and they are encouraging so many people and so many people I see 10,000 people listening to this lady or this man yeah but can't you discern the spirit there that person will never lead you to godliness that I'll tell you that person will lead you to a nice psychologically good reformed life on the outside where you will get some honor for your Christianity I don't want that I want an axe to be laid to the root I'll tell you what the root is somebody once asked jesus in matthew 22 so we need to get repentance from here Matthew 22 somebody asked him in verse 36 teacher Matthew 22 36 what is the great or the greatest commandment in the law now if you had gone to a Jewish person and asked that question see the Jews don't go around committing the god-fearing people didn't commit murder adultery and all they no use mentioning those things you must keep the Sabbath day holy you go and ask them about seven day Adventists friends today what is the greatest commandment in the law you must keep the Sabbath day they're living in the Old Covenant one of them one of their leaders supposedly had a vision of the tablet Ten Commandments tablets and a light shining on the fourth commandment keep the Sabbath on a dissection I don't believe in all these visions but when they asked Jesus they expected him to say Sabbath he said no it didn't even mention Sabbath he said here is the great commandment in the law the great and number one commandment you must love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul that is your mind emotion and your mind all your emotion all your mind all your will and all your heart must be to love God this is the first and foremost and he says I cannot stop there you ask me only for one but when I show you a coin I must show you the other side of the coin also there's something written on the other side of this coin and I cannot just show you one side the other side is you must love your neighbor as you as you love yourself the entire law and the entire law and the prophets is a next verse 40 is an expression for the Old Testament the entire Old Testament hangs or depends on these two Commandments the entire Old Testament can be summed up in two Commandments Jesus said that is the law you don't need Ten Commandments yes these two so when the axe is laid to the root you know it is disobedience to these two Commandments that is the root of sin must always see it see if you get your repentance right you'll get your salvation right the repentance means a 180 degree turn around but I need to know what I'm turning around from if some preacher tells me I will turn around from drinking getting drunk I don't need to turn around I've never got drunk in my life oh I must give up smoking I never smoked in my life so what 180 degree turn mean stealing I never stole in my life what is hundred eighty degree turn mean gamble I never gambled in my life so what I mean there are a lot of non-christians who say what is your what are you telling me to give up all these external things turn around turn around from the fact that you don't love God with all your heart and your mind and your emotions there are other things you love more than God primarily your own self your money your job your house your family your father your mother some other things you love maybe your children but you don't love God supremely that is repentance the axe to the root and the second thing is to love your neighbor as yourself how do I know whether I love my neighbor is myself it's a good phrase to think about I'll show you one verse that helps Matthew chapter 7 and verse 12 many people call this the golden rule however you want people to treat you treat them in the same way or treat others in the same way you want to be treated yourself that is how you love your neighbor as yourself practically do you like other people gossiping about you saying evil about you behind your back know if they've got something against you okay let them tell you to your face then they can talk about that to others but if they don't tell you that to your face would you like that you don't like other people speaking evil about you behind your back you also don't do it that is repentance whatever you don't want other people to do to you don't do it to them treat other people exactly the same way you want to be treated let me ask you do you like somebody yelling q and anger no and don't yell at your wife like that that is repentance don't yell at your husband like that do you like to be yelled at like that yourself you definitely say no and don't yell it anybody else like that so if you really search your heart you'll see how in many many cases you're not really resented we love ourselves so much you know young men when they want to get married they say I've messed up my life I fooled around with so many women but when I get married I must marry a girl who's never messed up with any man uh-huh what a nice fellow you are you messed up so much with so many girls and you want a girl who's never been with a boy you know what's that's called utter selfishness and you think you're a Christian and that means you don't we don't see ourselves you hear something like this and you suddenly say hey now I see myself I hope you do I'm not saying that you should go and marry a prostitute that's not what I'm saying don't let understand me and saying why do you look like that isn't that in evidence of your actor selfish nature where you want to dump yourself on a pure girl I've come across cases like this people have fooled around with so many girls and then they come to marriage no no that girl I don't want she's fooled around with others what about you if people knew your past by all means go and marry a good girl but don't have this attitude as if you're such a holy person and you know what they've got a religious language for it my past is under the blood ton of the blood praise God God doesn't look at my past anymore what about that girl was messed up is God looking at her past No while you make such a condition I'm just telling you showing you we are absolute hypocrites and if you acknowledge that hypocrisy that's hope for you but if you don't you're actually holy my past is all under the blood I believe in justification God does not remember my past anymore but when I look at this person I want to find out all about that person's past you know there's a lot of hypocrisy among Christians and that is why they never grow spiritually I'm not saying that you should have lived up of pure life one of the holiest women one of the holiest women in Jesus time was an ex-prostitute Mary Magdalene not only a prostitute she had seven demons in her why do I say she was one of the holiest women of her time because when God decided who should be the first person to see the resurrected Jesus Christ God did not choose his mother Mary Jesus mother Mary he chose Mary Magdalene he did not choose Peter sister Mary Magdalene spot was under the blood of Christ completely so I believe in forgiveness I believe in our past being blotted out all I say is treat other people the way God has treated you that's all I'm saying we believe in complete blotting out of our past sin I'm thankful for that I don't live in condemnation over my past I wouldn't be able to come near God at all so why do I emphasize repentance so much because I believe the main reason many people are not really born again they've got a half conversion the foundation is all shaky because they didn't lay a proper foundation now I'm not talking about perfection I'm talking about 1/2 that's all I said that in the beginning do you want to love Jesus more than everything and every person on earth I want to say to you if not you're not repented as far as I'm concerned you haven't do you want to not have you done it all you will be able to do it do you want to want to want to do you want to treat other people the way you like to be treated yourself that's all you may not succeed in doing it for 50 years okay I don't believe I have come to that level of perfection that Jesus had where he could treat everybody with perfect love but I'm pressing on is far better than it was even a few years ago but want to was there from the beginning that's how I know I repented so we're not talking about perfection we're asking do you want to love Jesus with all your heart do you want to treat other people the way you'd like to be treated yourself then you're ready to be a Christian then you've really repented and the other thing required for salvation repentance is faith repentance and faith see Paul said that in Acts chapter 20 I want to show it to you all in scripture so that you have no doubt in your mind acts 20 he said everywhere I go when he when he talks about Jews and Greeks he's saying the whole world in the Jewish mind in the Jewish mind they were only two two groups of people in the world Jews and non-jews were called Greeks just like in many upper caste people they say they're only two people in the world upper caste and all others that's how it is so Jews felt like that Jews and all around you so in acts 20 verse 21 he said Jews and Greeks which means the whole world I solemnly seriously testified to all people in the world repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ like the two wires that make electricity to flow you know at a switch and any electric switch is just two electric wires that are kept very close to each other you put on the switch the two wires touch that's how the light comes on fan comes on everything comes on but you can't do it with one wire electricity can never flow with just one wire but as soon as the two wires touch light comes on fans come on so repentance and faith by itself it's no use you can have repentance by yourself you'll never be saved you can have faith by itself you'll never be saved now today unfortunately a lot of people are preaching faith by itself and that's why many people are not saved equally repentance by itself will not say people but repentance with faith and faith means more than just intellectual faith turn with me to James because we want to get faith right we don't want to get it my whole future depends on this so I don't want to get it wrong I want to show that I want to be sure the medicine I'm taking is the right medicine not that someone's it sounds the same name but it's not the same name I have to ask the pharmacy is it the same name which the doctor has written down and he says no it sounds alike I don't want to sound alike must be the same faith and James says where's chapter 2 verse 14 what is the use my brother's if a man says he has faith but no works to show his faith came back faith save him no verse 26 says the body without the Spirit is dead in other words here's a body with ten fingers and ten toes but there's no breath in his body he's dead like a dead man you count all his fingers and toes they're all there but it's not there he's not there so he says they can be a failed which is just like a dead man all the doctrines are correct I fear that can happen to a lot of people in CFC the doctrines are all correct ten fingers that they're ten toes two eyes two years like a dead man but there's no breath that it says faith without works is dead so we need a faith which produces some results like repentance without works John the Baptist wouldn't accept so what is this face with works I call it faith in the head and faith in the heart faith in the head is knowing something to be true two plus two is four okay Jesus died for my sins okay Jesus rose from the dead three plus three is six it's in the same category Jesus went to heaven four plus four is eight Jesus coming back also five plus five is ten you don't become any more safe by knowing two plus two or three plus three or four plus four then believing Jesus died for my sins rose again gone to Heaven's coming back where the works where is the resulting committing of yourself to that person and the best illustration which the Bible also uses his marriage it says we are married to Christ you know where that's mentioned in Romans chapter 7 it says we are married to him who was raised from the dead Romans 7 for we are joined or married to him who was raised from the dead it's a marriage adjoining where Christ becomes our bridegroom in one sense and married in our spirit okay so what is this marriage mean same thing for example a marriage going on here and I asked this girl do you in this man what am I asking are you willing to commit yourself to this man for the rest of your life are you willing to change your last name and take his name from today onwards for the rest of your life are you willing to be totally true to him be loyal to him never go after anybody else for the rest of your life and she says well that's asking too much I mean we think about it she okay let's postpone this wedding then that is faith I promise I commit to him and to nobody else for the rest of my life that is the faith with works but if a girl says I think he's a good guy he's a very upright person he's very honest person I think he'll make a good husband I don't want to commit myself to him he's got a very good opinion about him and like you got a very good opinion about Jesus Christ but you don't commit yourself to him there's no marriage a girl can praise a man to the skies he's wonderful so considerate so kind so helpful he does so much a work in CFC is still not married its admiration and a lot of people admire Christ but they're not committed faith is that which commits yourself to that person say Lord I'm yours not just for one or two days she isn't it too much to ask for the rest of my life isn't that how you got married didn't you get married and share with the rest of my life and committed to this person do you want to think about other people after that and wander off for others then you're a adulterer adulteress you committed to one person this is faith it's a hard faith it's not just believing he's a good person and he can save me and all that is a committing of oneself and when you do that it's an amazing thing that happens it happened to me 57 years ago into happens to everyone who's really born again the spirit of Jesus Christ comes into you that's being born again the Holy Spirit comes in and you are born again now you may be filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit much later but the Spirit comes in the moment you're born again that is the proof that you're born again it says in Romans chapter 8 and verse 9 the last part if you have not received the Spirit of Christ you don't even belong to him you have not you don't belong to him if the Spirit of Christ does not come in and it says in ephesians and chapter 1 it's good to see these things from scripture so you don't think it's just my telling you these things in ephesians chapter 1 it says here in verse 13 in whom in him rather Ephesians 1:13 after listening to the message of truth the gospel or the good news of your salvation having believed or as soon as you believe you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit a promise something happened the Spirit of Christ came in see many people say you got to ask Jesus to come into your heart first and the Holy Spirit to come in later you can't do that you can't separate because Jesus is in heaven he hasn't come to this earth for two thousand years when you say Lord Jesus come into my heart who actually comes in there's a person a person come into your heart yes not Jesus he's in heaven it's his spirit when Jesus was on earth 2,000 years ago you could invite him into your house many people like Mary and Martha had come into my house and Jesus would come into their house but when Jesus went up to heaven his presence is replaced by the Holy Spirit he said just like I was your comforter now that another comforter will come the Holy Spirit has come in the third person of the Trinity the Holy Spirit is on the earth today and when you invite Jesus into your heart is the Holy Spirit who comes in and you're born again that's why it's called born of the Holy Spirit born of water which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit born of the Holy Spirit don't confuse that with baptizing the Holy Spirit which is being filled baptism means immersed where you get empowered to live the Christian life and there's a confusion on this and I don't want you to remain in that confessional the moment you receive Christ into your heart the Spirit is come in but many do not surrender themselves some people are filled with the spirit as soon as they are born again because they surrender everything God is patient some people take a little time he must be filled with the Holy Spirit - that's later that we can talk about later but I'm talking about being born again now the Spirit comes in and you know something has happened it's like a very important visitor has come to stay in your house you can't be in that house as if nothing happened a very important dignitary has come and is staying in your guest room you'll be aware of it all the time it's really like that Christ has come in and you can gradually listen to him and hear and speak to you even without the Bible for 1400 years people didn't have a body did not have a Bible at all Christians but they could still hear because the Holy Spirit was there and of course we have the Bible we can hear it even more clearly then we are sure that's why I never tell a person you are saved that's the Holy Spirit's job to tell you you're a child of God and the Holy Spirit will tell you you are a child of God you must know that the same way with being filled with the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit must tell you your filter the Holy Spirit very important I believe that's the next step to be filled with the Holy Spirit and we don't want to go into that right now but be sure that you're born again and when Christ comes into your heart the devil has no place there there are some people who say that the demon can also come into a believer that person has not really been converted then they say we've seen demons being cast out of believers I've never seen that in my life I've seen many demons cast out but never from a believer if a bill if a so called believer has a demon that fellow was never really born again because a demon in Christ can never live in the same heart so don't believe those lies when Christ comes in and if you're really sincere I'm a member I'm not talking about perfection I'm talking about want to all that I said today do you want it not do you have it do you want it you want to you can be born again right now you say Lord I want to love you more than everything and everyone on this earth even you young people children who grown up in CFC do you want to love Jesus with all your heart do you want to live according to his word do you want to treat other people the way you want them to treat you you're ready to be born again right now I'm not saying you'll be perfect know you'll make mistakes like a child learning to walk you'll fall down get up fall down get up one day you'll be walking even then we can fall at any age but we will learn to walk so that's another thing so if you want to and you believe you want to commit yourself to Christ I want you to do that any of you who are not sure of your life I want you to do that this morning right now so that they'll never be a doubt in your life again that you have become a child of God and I want to say that now I'm clear of the blood of all men here Christ died for all your sins every sin and you don't have to confess all your sins it is impossible there are so many millions of them you have to come like the prodigal son came to the father and said father I have sinned he didn't make a list of all his sins don't let anybody tell you you to make a list of all your sins before you're converted nobody can do it I just came to Jesus and said Lord I'm a sinner I've hurt you in so many ways but I want to view to forgive me I believe you died for all my sins and I hate my sin I believe you rose again you're living otherwise I can't talk to you come into my heart and live in me and it happened then ask God to give you an assurance so everyone who wants it I'm not going to force you God loves a cheerful Giver I want you to make that decision today so that your life will turn around and you really see a difference in the days to come let's bow our heads in prayer so now we're not going to rush through this I want you to bow your heads close your eyes and stop looking around be concerned about yourself alone and many of you are already sure that Christ has come into your heart fine god bless you but there are a number of people here who have never done this never asked tries to come to your life we're never sure and maybe what you heard today is a boy what a high standard I cannot reach it that's not my question my question is do you want to be like the Bible says do you want to love Jesus more than everyone and everything on earth do you want to give up every bad habit that God hates in your life it may take you 10 years to give up some of those habits never mind do you want to give it up today you don't have to wait till you actually give it up but you want to that's all the Lord us that's repentance I want to my mind has turned around do you feel bad about the way you have treated other people in an evil selfish way do you want to nothing will be perfect tomorrow do you want to treat others the way you want to be treated yourself then I want to tell you in Jesus name you have repented you're ready to receive Jesus Christ the Lord of Heaven and Earth through his Holy Spirit right now into your heart open your heart and say Lord Jesus I don't understand everything when my mind is not so clever but my heart is open Lord my heart is completely open for you I really want to give up every wrong way that hurts you that you died for in my life I believe you're the only one who died for the sins of the world and I receive you right now Lord Jesus risen Lord come into my heart through your spirit right now and make me a child of God give me that assurance and the Holy Spirit will tell me in my heart God is your father today you can call him daddy you can look up to heaven because you got a daddy there now some of you your earthly fathers died you have a father now you have a daddy in heaven who loves you more than any earthly daddy some of you don't have good fathers but you've got a good father in heaven why will you wait and not yield I pray that every single person who listens to this will be born again become a child of God and determine from the day onwards and by the grace of God he will keep this want to everyday perfection may take 50 years in your life overcoming some habits may take a long time but the want tool will never go away say Lord this want to will never go away from my life I want to love Jesus with all my heart more than everything and everyone on earth I want to give up every habit that hurts God in my life I want to love others and treat them the way I want to be treated myself I want to lord I really mean it I believe even a prostitute or a drug addict or a murderer or a crook or a hypocrite or a thief can say that right now that doesn't take time so don't look at how long will I take to get rid of this habit that will come later right now I'm only asking you do you want to Christ receives you if you want not only will you forgive every sin you committed in your life his promises I will not remember all that you have done a wonderful promise I will not expose to others all the evil you did in your past life be merciful to other people also just like I have been merciful to you don't be hard on others I was not hard on you take a little time to let this sink into your heart that something has happened in the hearts of some of you today even little children here you understood the message someone came into your heart Christ the Lord of Heaven your life will never be the same her baby doesn't become a man overnight for a long time he can't even speak or walk or talk or Andy but he started the journey the day was born you've started a journey you still don't know how to pray you still don't know how to walk or talk it's like a baby but you've been born and it's just a matter of time before you learn how to talk and walk as Jesus wants you to it'll happen believe him Heavenly Father I think of many people sitting here I believe your Holy Spirit is working in their life right now the names are written in heaven lives are being changed thank you let them never doubt your word let them never go by that feelings but the sincerity with which they've turned to you today yes Lord please encourage everybody here pray in Jesus name Amen ask the Lord to give you an assurance in your heart based on his word one worse remember this one worse doesn't matter if you don't remember the reference John 6:37 Jesus says if anyone comes to me I will not reject him as the word that helped me 57 years ago I never doubted it anyone comes to me I will not cast him out I was not reject anyone I said Lord I've come to you I believe that you have not cast me out you say that to the Lord John 6:37 I believe he'll not cast me out because I sincerely came to you today I trust you believe me My dear young people children something will happen in your life from today onwards like they say heaven came down what's happened to you god bless you

Channel: CFC India

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Keywords: zac poonen cfc Christian Fellowship Church Church Fellowship Christian Zac Poonen, Sermons, CFC

Id: TQoZoLhJbn8

Length: 72min 21sec (4341 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 27 2017