Daily Transformation To Christlikeness by Zac Poonen

we are very thankful that there are many new brothers and sisters who are becoming part of our church not we're not here even two years ago and we are also thankful that children who were not old enough to understand the truths we have stood for I've grown up now to the age where they can understand so I feel the burden nowadays to share with them and with all of us because it's a reminder even for the older ones of the fundamental truths we have stood for in the early part of this year we went through a series of studies on foundational truths they're all on our website and if you're not familiar with them I would encourage all of you to listen to them be established in them you don't have a good foundation and you can't really have a strong building please remember that in we have taught that once the foundation is laid the superstructure of the building that is of our life and our family and our church must grow towards one goal and that goal is the goal which God has destined for us it's called predestination and this is our goal the destination God has determined for us in Romans 8 verse 29 that we should be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and though we are familiar with this there is a saying in a proverb in English it says familiarity breeds contempt that means we can become so familiar with the truth that we don't think about it seriously that even if you really hear a message like this they all I know that I've known that for years well perhaps you know it in your mind but your heart may not be gripped by it and that's often true and that's what I want to share with you God's goal is that we might become like Jesus Christ and it's not something that is just going to happen you see a building doesn't reach the hundred floor all of a sudden if you look at a building being constructed anywhere here in Bangalore you'll find it goes floor by floor by floor by floor and finally reaches the top it's something like that becoming like Christ and then you find some buildings like some of our bridges just stopped for years for years there's no progress and some believers are like that and then there are some other buildings you find out for a while it collapses which means something was wrong somewhere either the foundation was wrong or they were not serious about every floor they built and that also happens to believers so all those things are a warning to us to make sure of our destination and stick to it because as we approach the end of time you will discover that most Christians are not serious about this goal and you may discover that most Christians even in CFC are not serious about the goal which once upon a time they had which is to become like Jesus Christ more and more every day do you believe it is to be every day that we are to become more and more like Christ it's not like that in the beginning when we are born again it's an up and down life sometimes you're up sometimes you're down and up and down and that is normal it's like a child learning to walk it's walking and then falling again and an up and down experience is very common in the early part of our Christian life in the early part of a marriage but it's not God's will that a marriage should be rocky like you know these busses going through potholes in the road throughout our life in the early part it's okay we shouldn't be discouraged if there are Falls in the early part of our life and we are newly converted or newly married don't get discouraged it won't be forever but after we've gone along for a while and it's not becoming a little smoother then we need to sit back and maybe wait on the Lord a little bit maybe fast and pray and say Lord what's wrong am I have I got my eyes fixed on the goal see when you drive a scooter or a car you always have a destination and you always keep that in mind I've got to get there you don't stop to watch some interesting things happening on their audio neimand don't even stop to watch I because you've got to get a goal you've got to reach a certain place by a certain time and if you are just as serious about our Christian life as we are when we drive on a scooter or a car to get somewhere I think most of us would have made a lot more progress than we have done by now so all I'm trying to encourage you is this is not to make anybody feel guilty I hate guilt trip preaching you know there's a lot of preaching which makes people feel guilty that's not our goal in the church that brings condemnation what I'm trying to do is you know focus the lens so that you see clearly what the goal is and to be encouraged always to keep that before us and we also know Romans 8:28 which says God makes everything work together for our good and that also many people misunderstand it's one of the most misunderstood verses among Christians they think the good is I'll get a better job I'll get a higher salary or I didn't get this house but I'll get a better house not at all God may give you a job with the lower salary you may end up marrying a girl who's not so pretty as the first one who rejected you so God works all things for your good doesn't mean these earthly good which is for a few seconds but a few seconds I mean a hundred years a hundred years a few seconds for eternity in eternities timescale so God's not making sure that these few seconds on earth we are very very comfortable and no we may be like that but not God God's interested in a long term goal where we're going to spend all eternity that we have no regret there I want to say to you my dear brothers and sisters if you're a serious Christian you will long that when you get into the Lord's presence which all of us will do one day you will have no regret over the way you lived at least from the time you got light and if you're coming to this church and being here for two years and heard the preaching you have got light at least from that time forget all the years that were wasted before that but that you'll have no regret over the way you live the choices you made in your life I want to live like that I'll tell you honestly I'm not preaching what I don't practice I seek to live by what I've preached for many many years now that I believe that everything God is working in my life some of it is painful some of it is difficult there are prayers that do not get answered as I want they are answered but God's answer may be no God's answer may be wait I may want something immediately and God says no wait Harley sometimes he just says no he answers it so all of us face that the Apostle Paul faced and no answer once when he was sick and he didn't get healed Timothy faced it but God made everything work for their long-term good and that is his will for us and we must align ourselves with God in his purpose for our life and God is working everything for my good on the outside he's also working inside us by the Holy Spirit to align us with that because we're not aligned when we come in the beginning we're not aligned when we get aligned we move very fast and if progress in our Christian life is not as fast as it should be it's because like a train every now in them going off the rails and getting stuck can them get put it back on the rails again and then move forward but when it's on the rails it moves really fast but if it goes off the rails a little while then it takes put it back on the rails so we got to make sure that our mind is aligned with God in his purpose and I'll tell you this like I've often said if you listen to what I have preached here for nearly 40 years I can guarantee you one thing I can stake my life on it that you will have no regret when Christ comes again that's for sure you may not make as much money as you would have made otherwise you may not be as popular with people as you could have been but you will have no regret and it's a question of what you want to live for want to live for the temporary honor of people on earth I finished with that long ago or to hear Jesus say well done good and faithful servant so I want to encourage you to pray the prayer of Moses Psalm 90 in this connection Psalm 90 we read here in a very well-known verse that we have quoted many many times but always worth meditating on do you know that this is the only Psalm written by Moses David was a man after God's own heart but he slipped up seriously towards the end of his life in adultery and had a very unforgiving attitude just before he died many people don't know that to me that was as serious this is adultery but Moses even though he slipped up once in it was really a small thing he hit the rock instead of speaking to the rock and but he cared for God's people but it's written about Moses at the end of his life and that's what I want to read to you is before we look at Psalm 90 in Deuteronomy 34 and verse 10 since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face that's really something the Lord once said in another passage of Scripture with Moses I don't speak in dreams and visions but I speak face-to-face you read that in Exodus you read that in numbers with Moses I don't speak through dreams and visions but face to face as a man speaks to his friend we live in a day when a lot of people glory in dreams and visions people say speak about visions that they have seen and I believe it's good in such a time to hear what the Lord says in numbers 12 he says in verse 6 numbers 12 6 here are not my words if there is a prophet among you I'll make myself known to him in a vision or speak with him in a dream but not so with my servant Moses with him verse 8 I speak mouth to mouth openly not in dark sayings he beholds the form of the Lord why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses do you know that it's a far greater honor and privilege for Jesus to speak to you face to face and not through a vision or a dream I believe that I want the Lord to speak to me face to face I want to be like Moses and not like the others now I want to say to all of you here you can be like that because jesus said greater than Moses was John the Baptist but in the kingdom of heaven the least one can be greater than him we must have faith you can speak to Jesus face-to-face like a man speaks to a friend and it's a wonderful thing to be able to do that and that is the question I always ask people I said do you know the Lord do you know Jesus intimately you can talk to him like a friend to a friend do you hear him speaking to you Jesus once said about Mary sitting at his feet and listening to his voice that is the one thing that's needed Martha all your act is no use I know you're doing a good thing and you're doing it for me slogging away in the kitchen but that is not the main thing all the work that you do for the Lord and congratulate yourself and pat yourself on the back the Lord will say you're disturbed and troubled about many things but one thing is needful and Mary has chosen that good part to listen to me long for this my brothers and sisters to see the Lord to hear the Lord face to face now turn to Psalm 90 this is a psalm written by a man who spoke to the Lord face to face and I believe therefore even more than David it never says about David that he spoke to the Lord face to face because we read in Deuteronomy 34 there was never a prophet like Moses who spoke to the Lord face to face not even David so there's something about Psalm 90 which is unique compared to all the other songs that David wrote and he writes in Psalm 90 verse 12 Lord teach us to number our days so that we may present to you a heart of wisdom not so that we can stand before you in the final day and say Lord I sacrifice this for you and I did that for you and you know how much I slog for you and how much I sacrificed and how I ruined my health trying to serve you and I went to this country and I went to that village and I preached here and I preached there and I went over here and I went over here Lord I did it all for you and the Lord will say you're careful and troubled about many things but one thing was needful I never wanted you to go around doing all that I want you to to sit at my feet and be at rest and listen to me every day and if you had done that he would not have been in so much unrest and you would have accomplished a lot more not in the eyes of men but in my eyes I mean the eyes of men Martha accomplished a lot more in those one hour in that one hour cooking she could show the number of amount of food she made what could Mary show during that one hour in a concrete turns nothing but Mary heard and got wisdom more than Marta and do you know when you hear the Lord you may do something that nobody else will be able to do she anointed the feet and the body of Jesus and Jesus said she did this for my burial ahead of time and people who came to anoint the body of Jesus after he was but it never got the opportunity because they came on Sunday morning and found it he's risen the only one who got an opportunity to anoint the body of Jesus was Mary who sat at his feet and listened and listened and listened and felt a prompting I must spend all my money and get a vial of perfume and pour it at the feet of my lord and now we discover jesus said this which she did he's going to be proclaimed for two thousand years all over the world whether wherever the gospel is preached the amount of rice and chapati is that Martha cooked we don't know that's not going to be proclaimed all over it's going to be like that in eternity a lot of things that we think we did for the Lord with great sacrifice will count for nothing but if we have sat at Jesus feet and listened and Jesus and heard that word one thing is needful though in the eyes of men it may look ah he's wasted his life that's what Georges Iscariot said what a waste but it's a great honor as the greatest thing you can do to waste yourself on the Lord to be a worshiper to pour out everything that reach is expensive and costly which the world man like judas iscariot may despise judas iscariot would have appreciated what Martha did all that lovely curries and food but Jesus appreciated Martha that is wisdom teach us Lord to number our days that we may acquire present to you one day a heart of wisdom that we have acquired through years of sitting at your feet such people you can't say they do nothing they do lot more from an eternity standpoint that means they little they do his gold silver and precious stones others do a lot more of work but ultimately is discovered to be wood hay and straw massive structure the whole thing burnt down when tested by fire so Lord teach us to be wise as to how we spend our days and each day is important that is why Jesus said if anyone will come after me let him take up his cross every day and follow me so what did Moses say teach us to number eight day each 365 days in a year to number them seven days a week and Lord I want to grow in wisdom and I have to take up my cross every day I put the two verses together and I say that's how I get wisdom if I'm willing to die to myself every day in every situation morning tonight I will get wisdom and in the areas in my life during the day where I did not die to myself either in what I thought or what I said or what I did or my reaction to the way somebody treated me I did not die to myself that much is foolishness but wherever I die to myself I would have got wisdom teach us to number our days that we may get wisdom you won't find many churches that keep on emphasizing taking up the cross putting self to death and you will see the result in eternity like I've said to more than one person I say you may think my message is hard but when you stand before the Lord you'll turn around and thank me that you made something out of your life instead of wasting it like people who listen to other preachers will just tickle their ears and set things to make them happy I'm willing to wait I don't want any appreciation now but I know what I'm speaking because I've heard the Lord the Apostle Paul was a great example I'll tell you why because there are only two people in scripture who said follow me one was Jesus and the other was Paul nobody else dared to say such a thing follow me as I follow Christ even today very few people would dare to say it follow my example as I follow Christ it's not that Paul was perfect Jesus was perfect Paul was not perfect he slipped up now and then but he got up immediately and he walked in Jesus footsteps and the result was see what he says about his own testimony in second Corinthians 4 after many years of walking in Jesus footsteps I think he wrote this maybe about 25 years at least after he became a Christian 25 to 30 years after he became a Christian maybe when he was close to 60 he wrote in 2nd Corinthians 4 we don't get discouraged first verse we don't lose heart we don't lose heart because the light of God verse 6 shone in our hearts to show us the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ that's what he was looking at the face of Jesus like Moses he spoke to Jesus face to face and I'm saying this my brothers and sisters to say that you and I can have that same experience and it's true God has allowed us to be verse 8 afflicted not crushed perplexed but not despairing persecuted misunderstood struck down but we are not destroyed and we don't give up we don't get discouraged that means he went through a lot of opposition misunderstanding he was a radical Christian and radical Christians are very misunderstood by others because others are not radical and they don't understand why this crazy guy is doing things like this but he felt this was taking up the cross okay people afflict me I have to die I go through perplexing situations verse 8 I have to just die and say okay Lord whenever you make the way clear I'll accept it I don't have a demand Lord you must make everything clear for me no I'm allowed I'm willing to be perplexed that's also part of dying to sculpt are you put lex today about something do you have some demand oh god you better make things clear to me no brother die God will make it here the right time don't go to God with demands but submission and are you persecuted he said I must die verse 10 always carrying about the dying of Jesus in my body that's not being crucified for the sins of the world what is the dying of Jesus mentioned in second Corinthians 4:10 it is that daily cross with Jesus spoke about always always morning till night whether I'm perplexed okay I die and say Lord you'll give me clarity later on I'm afflicted persecuted struck down fine I have to just die and the purpose is that when I die there's a wonderful life of Jesus verse 10 will automatically be manifested in our body because if he died with him we will definitely live with him that's not our business our business is to die you know that the Bible says there's not a single place in the Bible where it says Jesus raised himself from the dead he says in John 10 I have power to lay my life down and I have power to raise it again Jesus said that he had power for two things to give himself to death and to come out of the grave with his own power that's the interesting thing you must see in John 10 I don't have time to show you the words look it up sometime but he did not use that second power he used only the first one I have power to lay down my life and when people took him he said whom do you seek they said Jesus of Nazareth he said that's me don't trouble these disciples of mine let them go take me he chose it to lay down his life the father raised him up you must let God raise you up you don't have to raise yourself up you know there are times in the past where I said Lord these guys have misunderstood me completely aren't you gonna help them to know the Lord says no and he want to be vindicated Jesus says before I'm vindicated they still call me a homosexual and say that I was married to Mary Magdalene and they say all types of people they say I was not the Son of God there's some people say I was a prophet some people say I was a deceiver and the Lord says I don't worry about it what you worried about it even in the day when I come back the Lord says and I'm vindicated I will indicate you as well are you willing to wait for that I say sure why should I be vindicated before Jesus is vindicated that is arrogance and pride no family to bear the dying of Jesus and be quiet very difficult to keep our mouth shut and he says we are constantly delivered verse 11 to death again so that the life of Jesus will be manifested in us and not only in us when death works in us life will work in you Corinthians how's that I mean I can understand my dying to self and life of Jesus coming forth in me but how in the world can it come in somebody else because when life comes in me like the cup filled up it overflows and the overflow vowel of the heart is the mouth and when Paul's heart was filled with the life of Jesus it overflowed through his mouth to the Corinthians in the Philippians and the Thessalonians regulations and to all the churches he planted and life began to work in them so it's a wonderful thing when we allow death to work in us it not only produces the life and Jesus in us but it overflows to bless other people do you want to live a life like that that's what God told Abraham I will bless you number one and the overflow you'll bless all the families of the earth in Galatians three 14 says that promise God gave to Abraham is for us through the Holy Spirit so that's how the Holy Spirit works and what is the result this is what I wanted to come to therefore because of all this because the life of Jesus is just bubbling forth in me and blessing other people therefore we don't get discouraged verse 16 though our outer man is decaying you know when Paul was writing this at the age of 60 he had traveled so much his body had been worn out and his body was worn out much more than any of us because his travel is very tough he didn't have comfortable journeys but the body wears out and you can't he could have lived comfortably in Tarsus and his body may not have worn out so soon but he says the outer man is decaying I don't know what all problems he had in his physical body I'm sure there are many he doesn't talk much about it but he says there's one thing I can't do anything about that God's not gonna make me at the age of 60 have the strength of a thirty year old the outer man will decay and God is allowed it but the inner man is being renewed that means becoming more like Christ and here's the best part of it day by day that means every day he was becoming a little more like Christ now for many Christians that's a verse to coat the outer man is decaying but the autumn in a man is renewed day by day brother is it true or is it just coating a verse Paul was not quoting a verse he was giving a testimony and there's a lot of difference at encoding a verse and giving a testimony outer man is decaying is automatic you don't have to do anything about it but for the inner man to be renewed day by day I'll tell you we have to listen to God every day every day and we must take up the cross every day I won't give you a list of 10 things just two things listen to God every day and by every day I mean the whole day take up the cross every day I guarantee there's no partiality with God what God did for Jesus he'll do for us what did God what God did for Paul he'll do for you and me you will become more christ-like day by day and your wife your husband your children will recognize it your brothers and sisters will recognize it the people closest to us will see it it's a wonderful thing I'll show you why I say these two things every day let me show you two verses proverbs and chapter 8 please remember these two things my dear brothers I plead with you to get a heart of wisdom before we end our life sheathe Moses did not say teach us to number our years or our months what did he say it teach us to number our days teach us to number H day of the week proverbs and chapter 8 in verse 34 blessed is the man who listens to me it was the same thing that Jesus told Martha about Mary watching daily that's the point daily watching daily at my gates who listens to me every day if you have a servant a faithful servant the servant lady every day she comes it says madam what am I to do today she's a good servant you tell her what to do and like the Living Bible says in 1 Corinthians 4:2 the most important thing about a servant is that he does just what his master tells him to do a good servant is not one who comes the home and does whatever she feels like listens what do you want me to do today that's what a faithful steward is 1 Corinthians 4:2 listen does exactly what his master tells him to do blessed is the man who listens to me watching daily because verse 20 35 he will find life so that's one thing daily and that's what Jesus did also himself as we read in Isaiah chapter 50 as I have 50 and verse 4 the Lord has given me the tongue of a disciple so that I may know how to sustain a very person with a word and how does he do it Isaiah 50 verse 4 he wakes me up every morning again daily daily to listen this is referring to Jesus to listen and then he says then I'm I am because the Lord has opened my error verse 5 to listen I was not disappointed I didn't turn back I even people smite me strike me on my back and pluck the beard verse 6 from my peril spit on me verse 6 it makes no difference because verse 7 the Lord helps me and I'm not disgraced I've set my face like a flint to obey what God spoke to me in the morning isn't that wonderful that's talking thinking about taking up the cross during the day because his year was opened in the morning his in a year speak Lord your servant is listening I've often said this and we gotta get out of bed that should be our attitude right from the time you get out of bed throughout the day speak Lord your servant is listening what are you trying to say to me what are you trying to say to me through life situations and through things that I see and things that happen what are you trying to say to me through the word I want to hear you I want to listen to you Jesus walked that way so that's number one the one thing that we must do every day to listen when I told you the other thing you have to do is to take up the cross every day to die to ourselves Luke 9:23 if anyone will follow me let him take up his cross every day and follow me just two things and this business of every day I want you to see this verse about Jesus when we grow in likeness to Jesus every day it says in Luke chapter 2 and verse 40 about how Jesus grew every day with this attitude of listening to the father and taking up the cross the result was Luke 2:40 the child continued to grow and become strong Jesus increasing in wisdom and the grace of God was on him that's how he grew in wisdom connect that with what Moses said teach us to number eight day so that we grow in wisdom so that at the end of our life after many days we can present to God a heart that has acquired wisdom day by day by day by day by listening and by dying Luke chapter 2 verse 40 increasing in wisdom day by day again repeated in verse 52 same chapter and Jesus kept on increasing in wisdom this is how Jesus grew and he never did miracles these are days in Nazareth long before he was baptized in Wow the River Jordan never preached a sermon never cast out a demon what was his preparation for ministry thirty years of listening 30 years of dying to self thirty years of daily growing in wisdom and then at the end of it the father said I am well pleased with you go out and serve me and he did more than more in three-and-a-half years than others can do in thousands of years that's the pot to follow Jesus and to become like him is to be listening to the Lord every day morning till night taking up the cross the whole day never feeling sorry for ourselves if you feel self-pity it proves one thing self has not died if you're going around looking for sympathy from other people a dead man doesn't look for sympathy from others you go to a funeral that guy's not lying there and saying I hope you all feel sorry for me daddy or no he's finished with your opinions are you waiting for people to feel sorry for you you want to tell your tales of woe to somebody brother die die I remember years ago I think there's nearly 40 years ago I was visiting a church in England where the I was asked to speak and I was staying with the pastor of that church he was a godly man and he was telling me how before we went to the meeting he said all brothers act with people in this church I like this and I got in there saying this and doing this to me and I just said so what you know years later he spoke in a meeting and I heard him say there was a man from India who came to my house many years ago and when I told him all my problems he just said so what and that was the most liberating word I ever heard I have never forgotten it it just set me free and he never forgot it say what you have to die that's all that's all it's a wonderful thing so what have you been crucified yet had they spat on your face yet and they called your devil yet have they whipped you and nailed you to a cross no but so what forget it he grew in wisdom and then we could come to that place with Dave which Paul finally came to that every day he had become a little more like Jesus I'll tell you honestly I'm not ashamed to say that is my goal I have no interest in being the greatest preacher or the Bible teacher or travel countries or even plant churches my passion in life just to become a little more like Jesus every day and that others can see it a little more of that grace and a little more of that truth a little more of that kindness and a little more of that severity that marks the character of God a little more of that goodness and complete freedom from partiality a little more of that purity and peace and joy that characterize growth into the likeness of Christ I want to show you another verse about how it was with Jesus in Isaiah chapter 11 we all know the very well-known words the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom from Proverbs the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but here it tells us how the fear of the Lord operates fear of the Lord in our days to come through the Holy Spirit there are many you know in the book of Revelation you read about the Sevenfold Holy Spirit some translations it says seven spirits there are no seven spirits there's only one Holy Spirit but there are seven characteristics in that spirit and the only place in scripture where I read those seven characteristics are in Isaiah 11 where it says about the Spirit of God resting on Jesus verse two number one he's called the Spirit of the Lord of God himself number two spirit of wisdom number three as I 11 verse two number three spirit of understanding number four spirit of counsel number five spirit of strength number six the spirit of knowledge and number seven the spirit of the fear of the Lord the Sevenfold Holy Spirit and then out of all those seven one has taken up the fear of the Lord it says about Jesus he will delight in the fear of the Lord the Spirit of God will fill him and give him a tremendous delight in reverencing his father I pray you'll have a delight in reverencing your father and what will be the result of that he will never judge anyone or any event by what his eyes nor will he make a decision by what is yours here many years ago the Lord said to me all your life you have lived by the principle of Adam which is make decisions by what your eyes have seen and read or your years have heard form opinions by what your eyes have seen or read or your years of heard that's how all humanity forms opinions and lives and the Lord said to me in my heart you have to change that now the fear of the Lord must fill you so that you do not judge any more by what you see and what you read or even by what you hear you hear see but then you process it before the Lord I'm not saying we shut our eyes in shuttle yours but we don't go merely by that we process it and with righteousness verse 4 we will judge that means we say Lord all that I see may be deceiving me all that I hear may be deceiving me and I think God has given us a daily proof of that by the son apparently moving in the sky but not moving at all to teach us every day from morning till night your eyes are deceiving you you can't go by what your eyes see there are sounds on this earth that we cannot hear do you know there's a thing called a dog whistle which is God's eye such a high frequency that we say I never heard anything but the dog heard it immediately our years don't hear everything as we get older we even stop hearing something that young people can hear that's what I found our ears deceive us eyes deceive us our feeling do you know that right now underneath our feet this Hall is moving at about 800 kilometers or 800 miles or more than a thousand km/h underneath our feet it's true what a speed it's happening right now under our feet the circumference of the earth and the Equator is 40,000 kilometers and in 24 hours it goes around that means it's 1,500 km/h at the equator we're a little further naught so it's a little slower there would you feel it do you feel something at 1,000 kilometres per hour under your feet right now this Hall is moving at 1,000 kilometres an hour I don't feel a thing these are little ways in which the Lord is telling you don't think you're so smart and that your senses tell you the truth your senses fool you completely your eyes and your ears and even what you think you feel humble yourself and let the Holy Spirit tell you what is right the same thing when you come to scriptures there are people who read the same Bible that I read and they get a completely different understanding because these things are hidden from the clever and the intelligent and revealed to those who have the humility of babes who will understand the Bible the best in this hall I don't know but whoever is the humblest person will understand it better than anybody else I'll tell you that not the cleverest not even the one who's read it the most but whoever is humblest because God reveals the scripture to those who have the humility of a babe you don't have to be 30 40 years of believer you're born again yesterday seek to have the humility of a babe and you'll understand scripture better than everybody else sitting here so that's what the fear of the Lord does it makes me careful when I see something or I hear something or I read something I say hey I want to let the Lord process that and it won't happen immediately you know habits that we have formed for years it's very difficult to get out of that rut you know when your car wheel is in a rut rev up the engine and so did we go to get out of that rut and we are in a rut of always making decisions by what we read what we see what we hear to get out of that rut is a job I'll tell you honestly it's been a job for me and sometimes I finally get into the rut again I'm not perfect yet but boy I've seen the way that I should not be in this rut my question is have you seen it that you've got to get out of this rut of judging by what your eyes see and your ears hear you will never become more and more like Jesus every day because if you if you've lived like that because he did not do that that's how he grew in wisdom from a child he understood I must not go by what my eyes hear my years here I must not respond to other people the way they talked to me no that's not the divine way I'm gonna be different if they get angry I'll give a gentle answer which can turn away that anger that's wisdom the wisdom from above is peaceable the wisdom from beneath is demonic and full of jealousy and selfishness selfish ambition that's what James says that's why we need to seek for wisdom every day turn with me to Genesis in chapter 1 you've heard me speak on this chapter before Genesis chapter 1 I've often said this first chapter he's in a nutshell the message of the whole Bible the main message of the whole Bible the earth was created perfect verse 1 the earth became lost its shape became dark empty because of Lucifer's sin verse two next thing the Spirit of God verse 2 began to move on this corrupt spoilt earth and began to change it not in 1 second God could have done that day by day just like Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 4:16 day by day I'm being renewed into the image of Christ it's pictured here in Genesis 1 first day second day third day fourth day 56th day Adam is becoming the likeness of God that is the day man will become completely like Christ that is Genesis chapter one that's a message the whole Bible and once that's over then the seventh day God rests for all eternity with these people who have become like Christ that time Adam and Eve in the future day those who have pursued that way now that is in a nutshell is the message of the whole Bible Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 up to chapter 2 verse 1 where go up to chapter 2 verse 3 where God rested on the seventh day and that was the picture of eternity so what do we see on each day a couple of things one every day God said something nothing happened without God saying if God said nothing nothing happened you didn't hear God one day okay that day nothing will happen in your life another day you didn't bother to hear God because work was so busy so many thing okay nothing happens in your life twenty years can go by you once in a while you hear God okay once in a while something happened the rest of the day's nothing happened this is the problem even with Christians Genesis one teaches us that every day God spoke and I want to tell you that every day God wants to speak to you that's the message in Genesis 1 whether you hear it or not whether you respond to it or not is another question but God is speaking God speaking all the time but you got to be tuned to it for example do you know right now in this hall there's rock music there is Islamic teaching as Hindu teaching there are many many preachers preaching here you can't hear it because if you had a television set tuned to this frequency or a radio you'd pick up those voices but they are here right now you pick up what you're attuned to when you choose a certain frequency on television or radio you get that sound so we are listening to something every day the devil speaking - he's telling us to get angry he's telling us to be bitter he's telling us to be jealous he's telling us to feel sorry for ourselves and he's telling us all types of stories about other people and he's telling us numerous things and if you are tuned to that we'll be hearing just like instead of the Bible you can be listening to the Quran right now if you're tuned to that frequency with us or to the Gita or some atheist for claiming that there is no God you can hear anything you want and same way if your heart is tuned to something you will hear and the devil's broadcasting all the time most of the time accusing it says he accuses the believers day and night he's saying this thing's wrong that thing is wrong see that person see your wife is like this and your husband's like this he never seems to understand no matter you've told him so many times and how many times you have told your wife not to do that and she's still doing it you know who's telling you all that you think it's the Holy Spirit trying to build up your marriage no it's the devil trying to destroy your marriage why do you listen to him why don't you turn away that frequency go to another one because God speaking to and we read here every day God said something and it did not automatically happen it happened because the earth responded the only difference is the earth has no free will it had to respond you're my case we choose and every time God speaks it will mean death to self I can choose whether to accept it or not if I accept it the same thing will happen that happened in Genesis 1 the earth will be one more step towards the final day one day it was light next day it was the separation of the heavens on the earth the next day it was the dry land coming up in the next day the fruit coming up from the trees and so on and finally Adam and the likeness of God and you and me in the likeness of Jesus but there's another thing I want you to notice every day after God has spoken and at the end of the day God checks up how is the day being good another day how's the day been good he doesn't wait till the end of the time to say give a certificate there's a certificate every day and God saw that it was good and God saw that it was good and God saw that it was good and I want to hear that I not only want to hear him at the beginning of the day to tell me what I how I am to live I want to hear him at the end of the day saying that was good the way you live today that was good the choices you made today that was good when you did not respond to that other person the way he spoke to you that was good when you smiled at your enemy that was good when you were good to someone who harmed you that was good when you overlooked this the evil somebody did to you that was good when you chose to reject that from your mind that was good when you did not allow the devil to make you feel condemned or discouraged or say God is a hard God I'm glad you rejected all that that was good my son my daughter don't you want to hear that at the end of the day you want to wait till the end of time to hear it every day and if you don't hear it every day I don't know whether you'll hear it at the end of time if you hear it every day then at the end of time you'll hear very good it's done this is the path of the righteous proverbs 4 verse 18 proverbs 4:18 says the part of the righteous is like the sunrise I like the illustrations used in the Bible so simple not complicated and that's where I sought to learn how to use illustrations from the Bible the Sun Jesus spoke about simple illustrations like birds and flowers and see the Sun constantly not sudden movements you never see the Sun suddenly moving you hardly see it's movement but it's moving little by little by little by little till it comes to that perfect noonday position proverbs 4:18 the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter and brighter until the full day so the Sun never back slides never which teaches me that it is not God's will that I should backslide a single day of my life I may have back slidden but that that day I was not in God's will the way of the wicked verse 19 is in darkness whenever there's darkness in my life something is wrong it should grow brighter brighter brighter until one day I have become like Jesus everywhere is saying the same thing or you turn to second Corinthians 3 in verse 18 second Corinthians three and verse 18 we remove the veil from our face that's important verse nineteen there is a wail over people's hearts verse 15 but if a person turns to the Lord the veil is taken away and that Lord is the spirit it's very important to understand that you know there can be a veil on our hearts here it's talking about the law you know there can be availing our hearts because of sin unconfessed sin or a legalistic attitude towards people into scripture but only turn to the Holy Spirit it's gone how do I know it's gone I'll tell you then it says in verse 18 in the mirror of God's Word you see Jesus that's how you know the veil is gone my brothers and sisters please listen to me if in your heart you can see Jesus there is no veil but in your heart you don't see Jesus you see that fellow troubling you or the other guy who's accusing you or the other guy who's making life miserable for you in the office and that person's always you go to bed thinking of that person there's a veil you struggled to pull it out no it will not go turn to the Holy Spirit the whale is removed by the Holy Spirit and with an unveiled face verse 18 you see the glory of Jesus the glory of Jesus in the midst of all the persecution he faced and the same Holy Spirit will like we read in proverbs 18 you into that likeness from glory to glory to glory to glory to glory to glory till one day we become exactly like him and it says in the next verse chapter 4 verse 1 this is the ministry we have the ministry we have is not preaching or teaching it is becoming like Jesus and making other people like Jesus I like that what's my ministry my ministry is to become like Jesus every day and to make other people might get in touch with a little more like Jesus as I get in touch with them that something of the aroma of Christ and me rubs off on them imagine if all of us walked this way my brothers and sisters what what a church we will be what a church we will be turn to the Holy Spirit that is the answer let him remove every Veil the veil of sin the whale of legalism the whale of a judgmental spirit or an accusative spirit or anything take it away anything that hinders your clear vision of Jesus Christ take it away God can do miracles for us let's pray I hope nobody here feels condemned today are discouraged but only encouraged by the holy spirit to pursue the path of becoming more christ-like the things of Earth should grow strangely dim that's one way you know you're seeing the face of Jesus the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace if the things of Earth are bright and big before your eyes you can be pretty sure there's a veil you're not seeing Jesus at all turn to him and say lord I wasted many precious years I don't waste any more coming of the Lord is near I want to be wise and be ready for your return help us Lord each one to be wise to grow in wisdom so that one day when we see you face to face we can give to you a heart of wisdom that we acquired as we heard your voice and walk the way that Jesus went help us in Jesus name Amen you

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 83,431

Rating: 4.7848678 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: 3eaECaGeRnw

Length: 68min 56sec (4136 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 11 2014