Discipleship and Faith | Part-1 | Zac Poonen

we're thinking our subject is you know discipleship and faith the reason I chose that subject was because those are the two most important things that Jesus spoke about if you read the Gospels he spoke about discipleship and he spoke a lot about faith very very important and unfortunately most Christians and preachers don't emphasize discipleship and even faith is limited to healing or miracles but that's not the main purpose of faith in fact that's not even the correct definition of faith and so many of these people who claim to have faith and they deceive people and so many people who imagine they have faith the they experience disappointment and they can even lose their faith but they call their faith so we need to understand these things properly and I'll tell you from my own experience of 60 years as a believer then there are very very few people who are proclaiming the absolute truth and the reason is not because it's not written in the scriptures they don't read the scriptures carefully and properly they don't take the whole of Scripture so let me begin with one verse you must always bear in mind and that second Timothy in chapter 3 and second Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 and 17 there's some important foods here that we must bear in mind Oh scripture and the word all is important that means the whole of Scripture Old Testament and New Testament is inspired by God and profitable for teaching so people may say brother Zack you emphasize the New Covenant so why we need to read the 39 books of the Old Testament there is a lot of difference between Old Covenant and the Old Testament books of the Bible the Old Covenant which God made with Israel on Sinai through Moses that has been abolished when on the day of Pentecost it was valid up to the day of Pentecost and when the Holy Spirit came he replaced the law Moses went up to the mountain and brought the law down for Israel Jesus went up to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit we are not under the law now the law said don't murder the law the Holy Spirit says don't get angry so it's not that we've come to a lower standard we have come to a much higher standard the law said don't commit adultery the holy spirit says don't lust after women so everything is a higher standard the law said love your friends and your brothers in the Holy Spirit says love your enemies also so we must recognize this the Old Covenant has been abolished because it was to lower standard it was like a kindergarten Galatians chapter 3 says there is a people of the Jews were like the Israelites were children whereas we are sons mature sons that's what God wants us to be and that means we had to behave like sons it's a difference between those in the kindergarten and those we are in college so you see you expect a lot of difference between a child of yours who's in kindergarten and a child of yours who's in college that's exactly what God expects of us you know Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet the the greatest man that ever lived from the time of Adam up to the time of Jesus but he said the least person who enters the kingdom of God is not the potential to be even greater than John the Baptist how is that because John the Baptist did not have the Holy Spirit inside him he only had the Holy Spirit upon him and when the Holy Spirit is inside us he is a sect from our innermost being rivers of living water will flow purifying the inside and then blessing others whereas in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit was upon people like water flowing over their head it never cleaned up the inside he didn't clean up be inside of Samson or David even though they were anointed even John the Baptist most anointed prophet when he was in prison he lost his faith he had seen the Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus in the baptism and then when he's in prison and Jesus doesn't deliver him from there he loses are you really the Messiah or do we have to look for another but that will never happen to a man who is filled with the Holy Spirit inside even if he's in prison for years there's so many great Saints who've experienced things like that so the Old Covenant is abolished because it was it could not accomplish what God wanted to accomplish in a man and the New Covenant the real fullness of the Holy Spirit accomplishes and I want to say brothers that that is why there's so much confusion about the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the world today the devil has done that so that people will either be scared of seeking for the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the fullness of spirit or they will get some cheap counterfeit and remain happy the devil is happy with both of them those who got a cheap counterfeit and babbles something and called it tongues and the others who are scared of that and stay away from it completely both have fallen over two sides of the cliff and he's happy with both of them but let me I was emphasizing the difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant but the Old Testament books of the scripture 39 books are God's Word and we must read them and meditate on them we don't live under the law but all scripture second Timothy 3:17 16 is inspired by God at the margin of my Bible says the real word here is breathed by God God breathed into this these words and therefore I can it's the Holy Spirit is the breath of God and here it says the scripture the Bible is also breathed by God that means inspired by the Holy Spirit so if I receive it in the spirit it's the breath of God that's going to come into me into my heart a lot of people when they read the Bible they just have it in their mind it doesn't seem to enter their heart and that's why their life doesn't change but all Scripture is breathed by God and what does it accomplish first of all it teaches me what is right and it corrects me when I'm wrong and it proves me that means rebukes me if you have never read a scripture that's rebuked you well I would say you're not reading the scripture properly it says Scripture is profitable for reproof there's not a single child in the world that's grown up properly without being corrected know a child is not corrected will never grow up properly correction every father who loves this child will correct and God loves his children and corrects us in fact in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 19 it says Jesus says the revelation 3:19 those whom I love I reprove rebuke and discipline therefore be zealous and repent so Jesus says if I love someone I will rebuke him I will discipline him I want to ask you have you experienced that I have experienced it so many times both in the discipline in my life sometimes by knocking me down with a fever for a couple of days God's trying to speak to me and sometimes when I'm reading the Scriptures mostly through the scripture nowadays in the early days when I didn't listen to scripture so much God would correct me through earthly thing trials but he rebukes and if you ask me when I was newly born again 60 years ago how do you know what Jesus loves you right now that I'm a mature Christian if you ask me how do you know Jesus loves you I'd say according to revelation 3:19 he rebukes me he disciplines me he's my father if I'm slightly going astray one degree off the track he corrects me that's how I know he loves me I hope you know that - have you experienced that when you go one degree away from the straight path have you experienced the Holy Spirit saying that's not the way turn around see in Isaiah chapter 30 that's a great verse if you turn with me to that chapter 30 and verse 20 and 21 this is really a new covenant experience Isaiah 30 verse 20 and it's very important to understand this this is what discipleship means Isaiah chapter 30 it says here in the middle of verse 30 your teacher will no longer hide himself our teacher is Jesus Christ in the Old Testament times in Old Covenant they could not see God in fact God told Moses Moses wanted to see God's glory and God said to him you can't see my glory you can't see me and live they could not see but now we can see our teacher that's Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit shows us the beauty of Jesus in our hearts I praise the Lord I've seen the beauty of Jesus so clearly every morning I get up when I talk to him every single morning before I get out of bed I'm talking to Jesus to me to talk to Jesus is more important than even reading the Bible I talked to Jesus and that's really in the old for 1,500 years people didn't have a Bible in their hands how did they grow spiritually they talked to the Lord to the Holy Spirit sometimes reading the Bible can be a mechanical thing if you don't allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you and show you Jesus so it says your eyes will see your teacher the Bible is meant to show us Jesus you read in Luke 24 when the disciples two disciples were walking to Emmaus it says Jesus took the entire Bible the law and the prophets which refers to the entire Old Testament and you read there in Luke 24 he showed them how all of them pointed to him to Jesus and the whole holy spirit is willing to show us in the entire Bible Jesus not just laws that's the Old Testament I mean if you read the Bible and you see all your rules and God has made such a heavy burden and I can't get angry I can't brother in that case you haven't seen Jesus at all there are many Commandments in the Bible that says don't murmur or complain don't lust after women don't ever tell a lie don't ever hate anybody love your enemies and bless those who curse you and whenever you do any good don't let anybody know about it you say boy what all difficult commands everybody looks at these are very heavy burdens they're not it's like teaching us healthy way of living you know like we teach our children keep your hands clean when you eat your food and flush the toilet when you're finished using it doesn't it heavy commands go every time I've got to flush the toilet auks like that only dirty people and when person says oh I can never remember or complain those are people who love dirt and not spiritually minded but when I see boy that's asking me to be like Jesus never complains never complain so I said thirty twenty says your eyes will see your teacher have you seen him when you read the scriptures he will no longer hide himself like in Old Covenant time this is a prophecy your eyes again it says your eyes will see your teacher and not only that your years you know this is the Holy Spirit speaking in my heart will say to me this is the way walk in it when I am missing the road and turning to the right or left for example as I walk down life's road and I take a slightly 1 degree to the left turning from the straight something doing something slightly wrong in the office are tempted to tell a small lie or do something unrighteous or have a grudge against somebody just a little bit or hate somebody a little bit or just murmur a little bit if you're really sensitive to the Holy Spirit he'll speak to you and say no no no no no not there come back turn right give up that or turn left don't look that side don't sign that that's a false statement thank God for the Holy Spirit so there come back to 2nd Timothy 3:17 all Scripture is inspired by God breathed by God profitable for teaching showing me Jesus for correction reproof when I go the wrong way and for training me 2nd Timothy 3:16 for training me in righteousness see I don't know righteousness when I'm born into this world I've got the nature of Adam from the time I'm born you know just like we don't know how to keep ourselves clean when we are babies our mothers have got to wipe us and clean us and do everything for us we don't even eat or drink spiritually speaking that's how we are when we are born again we don't know you know babies will put mud into their mouths and we also you know when you if some believers watch pornography I don't know whether they are believers at all but it's like babies who put mud into their mouths and what do you say to a baby who puts in the mud the mother and when a person says I have been a believer for five or ten years ten year old boy putting money into his mouth is something that's wrong with this guy okay when they're a baby they should learn to get out of it quickly that is God's will that we've learned to put dirt and all away that we trained in righteousness and that's why it's very important to listen to the Holy Spirit in our conscience you know the first thing that happened on the day of Pentecost was not that God gave them a Bible he did not invent printings 300 years before Christ was born so that on the day of Pentecost everybody would have a Bible no printing was invented in around fourteen hundred and seventy eighty or something nearly fifteen hundred years after Christ came why why didn't God allow printing to be discovered three hundred years before Christ so that everybody could have a printed Bible how valuable it is to have a printed vinyl I'm so thankful that I have a printed Bible I thought boy what a blessing it would have been if people had the printed Bible even on the day of Pentecost but God in His great wisdom felt that people would become more dependent on a book and the Holy Spirit like me see today I see so many born-again Christians who are more dependent on a book and the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit you must speak through this book I remember when I left the Navy 54 years ago people told me I must go I must go to a Bible College if I want to serve the Lord and you know when I thought I was young I was only 26 years old when I quit my job Lord and here were all these people who much much of double my age telling me I must go to Bible College and I said well let me go to the scriptures I always went to the scriptures to find the answer and what I found was that Jesus never went to a Bible College and he never sent his disciples to a Bible College and the only one went to a Bible College was Paul who taught the wrong things in his Bible College became a Leo and his teaching in the Bible College led him to kill the Christians and that's why we read in Galatians 1 they all had to go to Arabia for three years why did Paul have to go to LA Arabia for three years just like the disciples Jesus for three years Paul had to go to Arabia to the desert for three years because the Lord said he got all this rubbish inside your head rather you got all this rubbish in your head that you learn Bible school but three years now I've got to get all that out of your head and I don't think three years and I'll teach the scripture myself through the Holy Spirit that's how Paul understood the scripture he had to get rid of all that trash that he learned in a Bible School so I saw in scripture that you don't have to go to Bible School Jesus never said any of the Bible School and the other thing I saw was that 99.9% of people in a church haven't gone to a Bible School so if I tell them the only way you can know the Bible I decided Len itself I'll never in my life go to Bible School thank God I didn't because what happens in all Bible schools is study in the head and even many believers who don't go to Bible School many of you also perhaps don't glory that you don't go to - cool don't Lauri in that if you still if you read the Bible only in your head you're just like them we need the Holy Spirit to speak to us to train us in righteousness to correct us and lead us so that the man of God so that every person every believer becomes a man of God a woman of God you know that man of God a woman of God even if you're a young girl you've got to become a woman of God a young man you must be a man of God that's what's your goal it says here the man of God becomes adequate adequate means he's ready to face any situation in the world can you say you're ready to face any situation in the world my brother's sister he's not condemning you he's not saying oh why aren't you ready to face any situation in the world he says come to me I will to face any situation in the world you lose your job in in those Gulf countries where you work you don't get a visa you can face that situation where a lot of people in the world are crying and weeping in lost faith you will not you see I have a father in heaven who runs my life and I can never miss his will for my life what a wonderful way to live on this earth and you'll be adequate for every situation you will not be in panic oh I've got my children to educate what will happen to them dear brother sister if you have come to this place of a spirit-filled relationship with Jesus Christ and you assured that God is your heavenly Father you become a disciple who wants nothing on earth except doing God's will I tell you you'll be adequate to face every circumstance that can ever happen in your life see the Bible is not unrealistic in the Old Testament they didn't have any promise that you could handle any situation in life in fact in the Old Testament they didn't even know the scriptures that's why I had a whole group of people call the scribes who study the law and when you had a problem you had to go to the scribe and so what do I do now what does God say about this situation I thank God I don't have to go to anybody the Holy Spirit is there and I want to say to you brothers yes God gives us older brothers to guide us in complicated situations but what if that older brother is not available see I grew up without a spiritual father many times I wished I had a spiritual father I wouldn't have made all those mistakes in my younger days but I had to sort of find my way through a jungle without anybody to lead me or guide me you guys are lucky if you have godly elders to guide you I never had one I never met one godly elder in my younger days anything about the New Covenant ever preached to me about victory over sin for 16 years of my life I never knew after being born again after being born again I never knew what there's such a thing called victory over sin I would just like everybody else mostly my thoughts repeated sometimes angry in my words and then I would say Lord forgive me or forgive me I knew only about the blood of Jesus cleanses me and I would keep my conscience clear that way because I didn't have a spiritual father to tell me you don't have to live in falling into the dirt gently and cleaning yourself falling into the dirt and cleaning yourself that's a baby life you know you give a little baby a one year old child a bath and keep it clean in one hour it can be thoroughly dirty you got to wash them again that's that's how it is they're born watching the modelling he'd all types of rubbish no many born-again Christians are like that they haven't grown up spiritually but here God wants the man of God to be adequate and naughty adequate it says you're in 2nd Timothy 3:17 equipped for every good work to make you a blessing to every family you meet do you know that's God's will for you if you walk the way of discipleship and you have faith here is what God has promised for you turn with me to Galatians now Galatians in chapter 3 and verse 13 and 14 this is an amazing word we are very thankful for all that Jesus did for us turn to Galatians 3:13 it's the only verse in the Bible which teaches us that Christ not only died for our sins on the cross more than that it says here Christ became a curse what a terrible thing it is to be cursed by God who I don't want to be cursed by God it's a terrible thing it says Christ became Galatians 3:13 but curse did you read that have you read that in your ever in your life Christ not only died for your sins on the cross 2nd Corinthians 5:21 says he became sin on the cross that means our sin there were no sin in him and he became a curse because that's why he had to be crucified on a tree because cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree that's why you could not be killed any other way he had to become a curse and the Old Testament law said only someone who's hung cheese cursive people are hung on a tree so he had to be crucified on a cross that's why he had to die that way to show the world that he not only took our sins but he became a curse for us and you say why did he die for our sins so there I might be cleansed from all my sin okay why did he become a curse for you and me what's the answer but I might go to heaven no that's at the end of my life what about right now so that it says here in verse 14 please believe this my dear brothers and sisters I wish you would believed I wish I could convince all of you who are listening to me about the truth of this words these two verses Christ became a curse for you and me on Calvary's cross so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us that through our receiving the Holy Spirit by faith that is how the blessing of Abraham comes so we need to ask ourselves the Holy Spirit comes upon me and fills me it's because why do I receive this because Christ became a curse from my Savior unbearable and earth for me to become a curse I should have been hanging that cursed like God and sent to hell but instead of me he hung there and boy am i grateful to him for that know that I might never see one day in hell he hung on the cross for me how can I ever repay him with the only way is by a lifetime of service and devotion I hope you realize this it's the only way we can repay not with words or money money is rubbish but God's not a beggar he doesn't want your money I disagree with all these preachers who tell you that God wants your money it's a lie it's like saying that homeless man that beggar on the street wants your money and God wants your money God's not sitting on the street like all the beggars of the tin can know he owns the heaven in the earth he says all the silver and the gold in the earth is mine what does he want he wants you he doesn't want your money he wants you he wants to remove the curse from your life every evidence of the curse in your life and he wants to give you the blessing of Abraham I'll tell you in a moment what the blessing is and that comes through the Holy Spirit so there we read the purpose of the Holy Spirit filling us and Abraham did not speak in tongues Dunn's is an extra gift that God gives to some believers with a purpose you can't demand it you read take your time to read 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and you will find them very clearly this is a gift given to some just like the gift of healing is given to some the gift of being an apostle or a prophet is given to some you can't say Lord make me an apostle you exactly the same way you cannot say to God give me tons but you can say Lord give me the blessing of Abraham what is that I'll just show you it says your Christ became a curse for us so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us through the Holy Spirit so that's what comes turn with me to Genesis and chapter 12 and you'll see what the blessing of Abraham is I never get tired of saying these things because I see so many believers are not gripped by it I'll never forget the story I heard about that great evangelist deal Moody who in the end great man of God in the end of the 19th century he was preaching in England somewhere and some unconverted man came to him at the end of seven days of meetings and said mr. Moody why are you speaking every day on you must be born again all seven days woody said because you must be born again that's quite and until you're born again you must keep on hearing you must be born again whether it's seven days or 70 days same message so I say why do you keep on speaking about you must be filled with the Holy Spirit that's it so turn with me to Genesis in Chapter 12 here's the blessing of Abraham when God said to Abraham to go forth from his country here's the blessing and you can see it in one sentence verse to Genesis 12 verse 2 I will bless you and you will be a blessing that's it two statements I will bless you and you will be a blessing and he expands on it in verse three to say you will be a blessing to all the families that you meet on this earth so but think about two sentences in Genesis 12 verse 2 I will bless you the greatest blessing God can give me is to make me like Jesus Christ in my character in my heart in my attitudes in my motives in my speech in my thoughts and all my inner being that there's no greater blessing here brothers and sisters don't think money is a blessing money is usually a curse yeah I have seen people who come to listen to me I'm telling you from 45 years of being an elder in CFC churches I'll tell you some very sad thing when I've seen I've seen poor people coming to our church I'm talking about in the cities of Bangalore and other places I myself have gone and brought people to the church who lived in one room houses poor people invited them to come to the church and we've helped them financially and helped that children to get educated and all that and they become well-off and when they become well-off what happens they become proud they go away from the Lord and they leave the church the total ingratitude not at all grateful for all that the Lord and they lose their salvation just because they call a lot of money and a good got a good job somewhere abroad or something like that I've seen it happen again and again or they become proud because they are so blessed or I've seen people who became proud because they became elders in a church there have been saved if they had not been elders but they became elders and they lost their salvation they left the church you see so it's so easy don't think that these earthly blessings honor and position in the church or money is the mark of God's blessing most cases it is let them astray and if you are earning a lot more money than you need I'll tell you you're in tremendous danger you're not blessed no you're in danger be careful I'm not saying you should not earn that but I say you need to be more careful that's all I say you see if a man's traveling from Bangalore to belly in a train with ten rupees in his pocket he can sleep peacefully but if a man is traveling from Bangalore to Delhi with 1 million rupees in his pocket he's not able to sleep at night yes to stay awake all night because he's afraid he'll lose that money somebody could steal it from so the more you have you're in greater danger who is in greater danger travelling in a train from Bombay to Bali the one with ten rupees now 1 million rupees can help you in so many ways but you gotta be very careful that it doesn't destroy you and that's what happened so the blessing is not money the blessing is not Fame in the world not even Fame in the Christian world becoming an elder in a church that's not a blessing that's a tremendous responsibility the blessing is that he makes you like Jesus Christ so the blessing of Abraham is number one I will bless you I will make you like Jesus in your heart your thoughts will be like the thoughts of Jesus your speech should be the way Jesus spoke when you preach it will be like Jesus preaching but your inner attitudes to people will be like the attitude of Jesus and your attitude of sinners and your attitude to believers will be like the attitude of Jesus and your motives with which you're serving God will also be like the motives of Jesus that is the only blessing I'm looking for I say Lord I'm willing to live in a poor heart all my life that's not important for me whether you give me a hundred exactly the same for me whether it's a one-bedroom house or a three-bedroom house for me I want to be like Jesus will you make that the passion of your life and leave it to God to decide all the other things whatever car you're gonna have in whatever house you're gonna live in I left it to God if God allowed me to ride a scooter in Bangalore for 42 years and that's all I could afford and I'm perfectly happy to meet is just like having a Cadillac car it'd make no difference in my life whether it was a Cadillac car or a scooter it took me from one place to another I'm not saying you shouldn't have a car but what I mean is God decides for each of us what we should have and to me that is secondary it's as whether I had a scooter or a Cadillac car was as unimportant to me as whether I wear a striped shirt like this or a blue shirt or any other color shirt those things are not important the important thing is that inside that I become like Jesus in my attitude to God and towards people make that your goal say Lord I don't want these external things to be in my mind the sign of your blessing there's only one mark of your blessing that every day day by day year by year you're making me more christ-like more pure in my thoughts and more controlled in my speech helping me to overcome anger murmuring complaining bitterness and all these things help me helping me always every day of the year to speak graciously to my wife to bring up my children in godly ways Lord this is the blessing I'm seeking all the other things are secondary what my bank account is up to you I mean I need money to live and take care of my family to prepare my children for living in the world to lay up something for them for their life that's all I need it for but the main thing is I want to be like you I want my children to be like you Lord it they grow up I'm not particularly concerned what job they have if they can on their living that I want them to be like you is that the passion of your life then I can say you're blessed by God that is the blessing and that's why Jesus became a curse not to take us to heaven I'll tell you honestly I have no ink I'm not saying that in a loose way I mean it with all my heart I told the Lord directly I said Lord I have no interest in heaven I want to be with you Lord Jesus to me heaviness to being with you that's why my heaven has already begun because I'm with Jesus right now and I even said Lord I'm ready to go to hell if you are there if you're there I'm ready to go to a burning lake of fire heaven is not golden streets and mansions and glory and all that heaven to me is the presence of Jesus Christ because I'm a bride my bridegroom is Jesus Christ I'm passionately in love with my bridegroom I've fallen in love with Jesus years ago and I'm waiting waiting waiting for the wedding day that's my relationship I'm not wearing a beach house I'm gonna live in with my bridegroom my bridegroom you know people who are in love with each other they don't care about other things I want to ask you whether your infirmity in love with Jesus Christ that is true Christianity that is the blessing of God I will bless you and that's through the Holy Spirit so Christ became a curse for us so that the blessing of God may come upon us and that is why we had to be disciples the disciple is one who's been blessed by God and who's longing to be blessed by God to become like Christ in every aspect of his life in his thoughts and his words his attitudes to people and his motives and his actions all governed by the life of Christ that is the whole purpose of being filled with the holy spirit but not only to bless us and as I am saying just now the next thing is you will be a blessing so he will bless me number one and then two he will make me a blessing to every family I come across make that the passion of your life Lord geez two things I want you to get Jen according to Genesis 12:2 and according to Galatians 3 13 and 14 you became a curse for me on the cross not only for forgive my past life that's great that my past is blotted out and I'm clothed with Christ Himself has become my righteousness you know that's another thing I had to clarify in my thinking I always used to think that justification means I'm clothed with the righteousness of Christ which is true in a sense but when we become more mature we learn to speak in the language of Scripture and not what we think is the language of Scripture and not what we just hear from other people I always used to check scripture whenever I heard things from other people and when I wanted to see what is justification it is not the righteousness of Christ clothing me that itself is great you know not only my past sins are forgiven but my wrote the righteousness of Christ now clothes me know it says in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 this is where we can be mistaken sometimes people you don't read the scripture carefully I always say you people count money so carefully if you get a bunch of currency not so careful in counting and you know me more than this one I also do that but why not read scripture also carefully like that I don't want it this one sentence in one words it's like counting parents he knows I don't want to miss one sentence 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 what is my righteousness it says Christ Himself became wisdom for me and my righteousness it is not Christ giving me his righteousness was Christ himself becoming righteousness to me there's a lot of difference in him and there's a lot of difference between a king giving me a wonderful dress and me as a bride marrying the king he himself becomes mine not just his dress so my bridegroom my heavenly bridegroom this just doesn't give me a dress he himself becomes mine my righteousness my righteousness is not some dress Christ gives me its Christ himself never forget that 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 Christ has become righteousness that's the blessing of God and makes me a blessing that's the second part of it blessing him Abraham you will be a blessing to every family that you meet on the earth I have claimed that promise you know if you get it checked and you don't deposit it in the bank it just lies in your drawer or you frame it up and hang it on the wall you get nothing deposited in a bank you get something out of it if you take a promise of scripture to the Lord and say Lord I want that it's promised here for me I want it Christ has to become my righteousness I wanted you said you bless me I want it and you said you'd make me a blessing with every family on the earth and I meet I want it that's really been my prayer for myself I can't do it I can try to make myself a blessing to other people I'll make myself in Jesus but I say Lord if your Holy Spirit will come upon me fill me and flow out from you like a river without any effort if the spirit filled life is not a life of struggle effort no it's effortless when I looked at my earlier life before I understood the spirit of life in the spirit full of experience you know my life was like I don't know whether you've seen in India these hand pumps in some villages where they don't have a tap in the house they have a hand pump sometimes on the street and you've got to take your bucket there and keep on pumping and fill up the bucket of water I've done that some time pump pump and fill of water and that's a struggle to get after a lot of effort you get one bucket of water my Christian life was like that the early days oh god I have to do this I don't know preach a sermon here and ever I do this for that person and I've got to overcome sin and I get a bucket of water but a river who's pumping a river is the is the Lord who makes a river flow and the Bible says in John 7:38 the rivers of living water will flow not pumping and that's what happened when God filming the Holy Spirit in my life whether it's overcoming sin or preaching a sermon or serving God in any way or doing anything which is difficult or inconvenient it's not a struggle it's like a river flowing to forgive somebody who hurt me or did something evil to me there's no struggle you find it difficult to forgive somebody who hurt you the great effort you forgiving ah that's good looks like the hand pump but I want to tell you there's a better way and your food of the Spirit will flow like a river automatic that's my policy now I hear that somebody spoke against me somewhere before I even know what he said I said all right forgiving what it is and if somebody's name comes to my mind who done me great harm in the best I don't wish any evil for him or his family I pray that you bless in mind me I do that it's not an effort in order the great struggle God wants us to move out of this life of a struggle pumping pumping pumping but flowing river that's a life of faith it's a life of discipleship following Jesus it's when you're not a disciple that your bitter struggle struggle struggle I'll tell you that I'm telling you honestly the Lord tells us to be his disciples we thinking oh boy what is life of sacrifice no it's a life of blessing and you'll be a blessing to others effortlessly yeah it's a wonderful way to live for gone you know that's the way God wants us that's why he wants every Christian be filled with the Holy Spirit so let me use another illustration of this in John 15 verse 5 it's one of my favorite illustration I never understood but faithful John 15 please turn there to me the finest definition of faith I found in the Bible there are many verses on faith live by faith saved by faith you know we're saved by faith not by grace and through faith the pigeons to verse 8 we have to live by faith Romans 1:17 that's every day of our life all that you know that's all a wonderful language but what does it mean and I found the greatest help from this illustration that Jesus you Jesus used word pictures and that's so good when we see a word picture of faith here it is John 15 verse 5 I am the vine ye are the branches now Jesus use the vine because everywhere in Israel you could see vines but today let's say if you're in India I'm a mango tree or a coconut tree which we see more frequently than baiance whatever it is I'm a fruit tree and if you abide in me you'll bear much fruit for without me you can do nothing so faith is my picture is this the branch abiding in the tree and from that branch comes these beautiful luscious mangoes so tasty and you go to that branch and say how do you bear such excellent mangoes branches I won't do anything I can't produce a single mango I just stay in the tree and I don't block the channels too it's the SAP of the tree that liquids Sabitha tree flows into me I don't stop it I just open up every part of my self to let the SAP flow in and I don't know how the mangos just come so many mangos on one branch yes I don't know I don't produce even how are they so tasty don't ask me ask the tree why is it the mangos on that tree are not so tasty I don't know this is a good tree I'm in Christ I abide in him and what is that you know the what flows from the tree into a branch is called SAP that liquid that's what gives life to the branch when the SAP stops flowing then branch dries up and drops off no fruit in it I've seen believers like dry nothing there's no holy spirit flowing in their life that's because you're not in the tree the life of faith is the life of dependence under helpless dependence on the tree for every I cannot do anything you know what he said here without me you can do zero nothing you really believe that see most believers today I think I can do a lot of things without Christ there are people who organize things and campaigns to raise money for God's Word and organize this and organize that I can do a lot of things for the Lord you can't do anything for the Lord that has eternal value it will last for eternity if it doesn't come through this helpless dependence on God that's one of the things I learned through being filled with the Holy Spirit that's my understanding of being filled with the Holy Spirit helpless dependence on Jesus Christ the tree so that all the SAP which is the Holy Spirit flows into me and I just who do I have to do just keep it channels open I don't have to work up anything I don't need to produce anything the Bronx produces nothing it just keeps itself open to the tree that is the life of faith it's actually speaking the easiest life in the world the life of struggle struggle struggle that's not an easy right man if you went and told a broth you've got a struggle and struggle and struggle and produce some mangoes it's in boy that's tough but if you tell the branch you got to do nothing ah that's wonderful I've gotta do nothing it's helplessly depending on the tree and the tree does everything for me you know what supposing you go to a five-year-old child is you've got to work hard to pay your school fees people to work hard to if you want food on the table go and do some work outside be a labourer or something said boy that's so tough but if you tell that boy you don't have to do anything just trust your father to provide your food to pay your school fees to do everything isn't that what our children do where are we telling our children to go and work as labourers they do nothing this is depend on their father and mother to provide for them and what wonderful fathers and mothers you are and the way you provide you think you're better than God not at all I have learned from that I see alone I provided for my children they did not work hard to have food on the table or to pay their school fees I took care of that and the same way I'm gonna depend on you like a little child sometimes I picture myself honestly I pictured my life like a two-year-old child sitting on the lap of my heavenly father so I picture myself even now I can ask him for anything anything he may not give me everything else for two-year-old child daddy daddy I want an elephant a real elephant not a toy elephant real one I don't want a toy plane I want a real jet plane he's gonna get it no the father's not gonna give him an elephant or a jet plane but he's free to ask yeah and the father we give him whatever he need for him so I asked the Lord for many things and I know that he will give me what I need certain things I'm a little child I'm not ashamed to ask the father for anything anything you have that type of relationship with your heavenly Father that's what the Holy Spirit comes into our heart and you know what he does it says in Romans and chapter 8 and verse 15 great verse I have received the Holy Spirit it says yeah you receive the Holy Spirit as a son you cry out Abba that's Hebrew word in my element say Akbar or in English you say daddy why it's a correct translation of that see it says here Romans 8:15 the spirit cries out Abba I wish they had translated that about a Hebrew word so we don't understand it if it's translated it should be dad the spirit cries out for me dad father see father is a very formal world I never called my father dad a father I called him dad or dad my children don't call me father they call me Dad and that's an intimate relationship your heavenly father that's how I talk to him I don't use that in public lest I offend others but in private I say dad in public I pray like Jesus taught us to pray our Father but the Holy Spirit cries out dad because it's so intimate my conscience is clear I've got nothing blocking my connection with him you know if there's a little blockage in this branch something there that the SAP is not flowing that won't be fruit you can look on the outside to others oh that's in Bronx that stuck in the tree all right but inside some of the channels so that's have to flow up blocked most believers are like that they look like good Christian sitting in a meeting yard is singing like everybody else happy and sharing and talk so many wonderful things but something in their life is not set they got a little grudge against someone that's some blockage the SAP will not flow it's not the other person who'll suffer you suffer you know if I have a grudge against somebody that person doesn't suffer I suffer because I've closed up that one channel of my heart for the Holy Spirit to flow I'm the loser or someone little unrighteous thing that I've done that I'm not settled or one death that I have which I am not even making an effort to repay in this world sometimes we have to borrow like you know many people when they build a house to take a bank loan but make sure you pay it Romans 13:8 does not say don't borrow it says don't be in debt there's a lot of difference the Lord recognizes that in poor people when they struggle in this world sometimes there you have to borrow from someone for help but that's ok but try not to borrow as far as possible I've never borrowed in my life eight years but that's not always possible for everyone but that's because I had a father in heaven much money we just live with very very little very very little yeah that's all that's how we live God God took care of us but even if you do have to borrow brother don't remain in depth I remember a man who wrote to me a poor laborer and from Kerala wrote to me once years ago and said brothers act he he was very very poor and he said I haven't dead of 30,000 rupees much the folks like you but it was a huge amount for him he says like I'm not how will I ever be able to repay it I'm born again now and so I've given up all hope of repaying it I said don't give up although I say can you pay 10 rupees a month can you struggle and save 10 rupees from what you earn as a labourer and repay that and if you pay 10 rupees a month in one year you have paid a hundred and twenty rupees and in two years it would be two hundred forty rupees and in two hundred fifty years you'd have paid thirty thousand rupees two hundred fifty years that's all now you're not gonna live free on thirty two hundred fifty years gotta see you're sincerely trying to repay a little bit got to say I saw your heart and it's cancelled first god is concern you paid your debt I said do what you can so you know there's a great verse written I always love the court it says when this woman was wiping the feet of Jesus and Judas was criticizing this in mark chapter 14 by the way this woman was anointing appeared of Jesus and he's probably Mary of Bethany and hey Judas was the one who said oh this money could have been given to the poor even mark 14 verse 5 jesus gave a wonderful answer which has been a tremendous blessing to him one sentence sometimes one sentence that Jesus spoke can be a blessing in all your life see what Jesus said Jesus stood up for that woman because he appreciated how she had sacrificed so much to worship Him by pouring out his expensive anointing oil in his feet he said in John 14 don't disturb her don't trouble her don't why do you bother her leave her alone verse 6 I thank God when people trouble me I don't have to fight that woman didn't have to fight for herself Jesus spoke for her to those people who are troubling her leave her alone don't bother her I thank God for many situations in my life where people have tried to trouble me and I've simply kept quiet and prayed to my father you know what Jesus has done he has turned around to those people and said stop bothering Zack don't trouble him leave him alone and amazingly after some time I find hey they stop troubling me isn't it wonderful to trust the Lord like that he always comes to our side but more than that he went on to say in John 14 I'm sorry mark 14 and were saved she has done what she could I hope that were so liberate you like it liberated me there are many situations where we cannot do much I find my comfort in I've done what I could don't try to be like somebody else do what you can it's all you want all God wants you know in my early days when I started preaching well I couldn't preach - well just be yourself if you can speak only for two minutes speak to affirmance and sit down and the early days I could just speak maybe four or five minutes I'd speak three four minutes and sit down but the Lord said yeah he has done what he could so I always tell people don't try to imitate me when you're preaching peace God wants only ones that for me in the world body he doesn't want to he wants you to be you you can follow my life as I seek to follow Jesus that Paul said follow me as I follow Christ but don't try to imitate Paul's gift or my gift or anybody else's give you do according to your gift and let it be said about you you did what you could not you did what Paul could or you did what's that Coonan good no you thought I can't do what Paul could do no and I don't even try to she has done what she could Zak has done what he could that's what the Lord says and you have done what you could that's all he expects from you that's a great comfort for me to know that don't ever compare yourself with another brother or sister in the church you know sometimes you sisters can go to somebody's home and you find that home is kept so neat and tidy maybe because they don't have any children when you have so many children you can't keep your home don't get discouraged it's good to be neat and tidy but that is not the most important thing godliness is more important and if you have done what you could and your home is still in a mess the Lord is happy he be happy in your home don't ever compare yourself with anybody else let this word liberate you you did what you could that's what the Lord says it liberated me that beautiful verse in mark 14 he did what he could and so all my life once I got liberated like that I say Lord I'm not a great preacher no I don't want to be one I'm not interested in any reputation to be a preacher or a Bible teacher or any such thing zero I am gonna spend my life doing what I could and it's not much I can do what I'll do what little I can and when I do that I find God blesses it first of all I'm not in competition with a single human being in the world I'm trying to give you an example be be like that even competition any other brother in your church or anyone anywhere else in the world don't try to prove you're a better elder or a better brother or a better sister or you're a better father or see how I brought up my children please fees you'll ruin yourself to show yourself up and see what a great father I've been a great mother I mean there are believers like that they destroy themselves I'll never do that I understand people I made a lot of mistakes as a father and I repented of it God is being merciful to my children I will not boast about it impossible God has been tremendously merciful to us I did what I could and God doesn't expect you to do more than you could this is the life of helpless dependence on the tree a life of faith discipleship means just this I've opened every part of that inner inside the branch every channel so that all the SAP flows in see you look at the conditions of discipleship and look for key we're talking about discipleship and thing from the branch I'll tell you discipleship means every channel inside the branch is open for them SAP to flow faith means I help Leslie depend on the tree say I can't do anything about you I want your life to flow through me so Luke 14 there are three conditions of discipleship we have often spoken about them in CMC number one verse 26 you've got to love God love Jesus more than your father mother wife children brothers sisters and your own life in other words Jesus must be supreme in your life why does he use the word hatred hate your father and mother there are many places where it says love your father and mother love your wife here it says hate your wife you better compare Scripture with Scripture in other words in comparison with your love for Jesus your love for you okay relative must be almost like hatred - give me an example you must love your father mother brother sister wife children but compare that to the light of the stars I love I love my parents like the stars I love my wife like the stars I love my children like the stars they're light in the start yes that's my love for the family members and my brothers and sisters in the church and I love all that but then when the Sun comes up in the morning the stars don't disappear you can't see them that's all you know that in the daytime the stars are still there but you can't see them and so when the love for Jesus Christ comes up like the Sun I still love my parents but I still love my wife and I still love my children and my brothers and sisters but I can't see that that's what this word it means so in other words love for Christ is so taken up the light of the Sun is so bright that these other things disappear that's the way we must love Jesus that's discipleship and secondly he said in verse 27 you've got to die to yourself every single day take up your cross that means whenever you come to a situation any day where your choice or God charges you lord I give up my choice self will not be on my throne Christ will be on my throne I will always think in terms of will this glorify Jesus Christ not whether what I feel about it oh it says do all for the glory of God I want to do everything for the glory of God and the third condition of discipleship is was 33 I gotta give up what I possess but this is what I hold on too tight this is mine I'm not going to give it up I want to hold on to it what should I do I must open my farm and say I'm not gonna hold on to that it's so tight it's yours I'm not gonna hold onto it but if you want you can take him not gonna hold on to it that's giving out my foot in other words I'm not possessing it anymore I have it but I don't possess it I have it but I don't possess it that's how we are to give up our possessions it doesn't mean I have to sell all that I have it just means I give up what give to the Lord qhorin who's there holding in a possessive way that's the solution but that's good for us because if I let the Lord take care of it it's like putting your money in the bank they take care of it your children they steal it put it in the bank so I say lord I give it to you I don't possess it but it's still in my name so it's the discipleship is that opening every part of the inside of the branch say Lord it's all yours I will not have any blockage inside and then the life of helpless that's discipleship and the life of helpless dependent Lord I can do nothing without you that's free faith this Lord I want to lean on you for every single thing it's a wonderful thing you know it says o what peace we often forfeit you know that's all what a friend we have in Jesus or what peace we often forfeit all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer so much of Varian care because we don't take everything to God in prayer until the branch does not have a worry or fear or a concern and when it produces wonderful fruit he doesn't boast about it do you find yourself get tempted to boast about where you accomplished something wonderful and people praise you oh what a wonderful thing that was brother he will never take the credit for it if you like the branch in the tree say I didn't the SAP flowed from the tree and fruit came I don't know how this is the spiritual life this is the life of discipleship and faith helpless dependence upon God it's a wonderful life I'll tell you from the years that I've experienced it and they older I get and more I come to know the Lord and the more I come to know his life of discipleship it's exciting and what about my earthly needs God provides I tell you you won't have to live with a single worry of your anxiety you'll be careful sure I'm very careful in the way I live I'm very careful in handling money I'm very careful about my speech I'm careful about everything but not worried and anxious dear brothers and sisters seek to be like this let me conclude discipleship is opening every bluff channel inside you you remember you're the branch in the tree no channel is blocked everything is open Lord I love you more than my parents oh I love you more than my wife I love you more than staying in the Gulf I love you more than my bank account I love you more than everything it's easy to say it but mean it before God get alone before God and say it and everything Lord I love you more than my property my car my positions my house and even my children I love you more than everything everything is yours and I will not hold on to anything it's all yours that's the discipleship and then faith is Lord I'm going to live my life in complete dependence on you for every single thing I cannot live a holy life I want to lean upon you to live that holy life I cannot love everybody as you told me to do but I can do that if you are SAP flows into me I'll be able to love people and I'll be able to bless them and I'll be able to share your word with them and encourage them all I have to do is leave helpless and helpless dependent on me lord I thank you please fill me with the Holy Spirit thank you lord let's pray so while a heads about in prayer please ask the Lord to remind you not just right now but in all the coming days of the truths that you heard today and to remind you it particularly at your time of need about what particular thing the Holy Spirit wants to remind you of that particular time where he says this is the way walk in it Heavenly Father please help us each one bless these dear brothers and sisters they love you I know they love you that's why this Melissa sitting here and listening and I pray that they will experience the peace of God in their heart and the joy of the Lord and experience rivers of living water flowing out from them commit them to you Lord is each one listen everyone who is listening now and in the coming days pray in Jesus name

Channel: CFC India

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Id: XJEparRlpeU

Length: 71min 24sec (4284 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 05 2020