Growing Up To Maturity by Zac Poonen

the concern in my heart today is the concern that Paul had for Christians were not growing up to maturity the Apostles the Apostle John had the writer to the Hebrews had I want to begin with the verse in Hebrews chapter 5 in case you don't already know Hebrews is the great book that talks about the humanity of Christ more than any other book in the New Testament it's the only book that speaks about Jesus as our forerunner who entered through the veil into the most holy place and he's talking about how Christ was tempted like us in Hebrews 4:15 and did not sin and therefore we can also go to the throne of grace and get help like he did the same grace that helped him can help us but he received that grace we read in Hebrews five seven because he prayed with loud crying in tears so the implication is if we pray with loud crying in tears we received the same grace too and he was heard because of his godly fear we're seven last part he was not heard because he's a son of God we would think because he was the son of God he should be heard but it says he was heard because it was godly fear what does that teach us we've got to take these scriptures carefully some of us think well I'm a child of God God will hear me well if you don't have godly fear he won't hear you even Jesus read that even though he was the son of God much more the son of God than any of us sitting here he was not heard because he was the son of God and you are not gonna be heard just because you're a child of God he was heard because of his godly fear or piety so when God sees godly fear in someone he hears him and there you see the reason why so many people's prayers are not answered why God doesn't even hear them it says he was heard not just answered he was heard God does not hear the prayers of many of his children because they lacked godly fear please remember this verse Jesus himself was heard because of his godly fear so that should be a warning to us and then he learned obedience that's another thing obedience is not a popular word with many Christians that Jesus learned obedience does God have to learn something doesn't he know everything he knows everything but how could God learn obedience in heaven he doesn't have to obey anybody obedience can be learned only if there's something to obey God didn't have to obey anyone Jesus didn't have to obey anyone in happen so when he says he learnt obedience it's because he became a man subjected himself to all the limitations of man related to his father exactly the same way that you and I relate to God because then only can he be an example for us he became like us and everything and he learned obedience that means from childhood for example he learned to honor his father and mother that means is earthly foster father really he obeyed them he learned obedience and as he grew up he learned obedience to the different Commandments like not to lust after women not to love money he learned obedience which he could not do when he was in heaven as a man and you and I have the same opportunity now to learn obedience to be heard by God because of our godly fear and to learn obedience and that's how he became complete Jesus became complete because he learned obedience step by step by step just like a child going all the way to high school and then it says concerning him verse 11 there's a lot more we have to say but it's very hard to explain you see this is concerning Jesus in this way most Christians don't know anything about Jesus being tempted like us Jesus prayers being heard because he had godly fear or Jesus praying with loud crying and tears or Jesus learning obedience or Jesus being made perfect verse 9 and these are verses which are very difficult for most Christians to understand now I wonder if all of you are being gripped by these truths that's why he says to the Hebrews there's a lot we have to say more than we have just said but it is very hard to explain now I've discovered that if you learn these things the Holy Spirit will teach you more you teach you things that are not written in Scripture the Holy Spirit will think of the things of mine and show it unto you about Jesus you know and that is the answer that you will find in every situation you ever face in life to know exactly the right thing to do this has been my passion Lord in every situation I face in life I want to know exactly the right thing to do exactly the right thing to say exactly the right advice to give to someone who asks me for something I don't want to just say something that comes into my head and if we really seek to follow Jesus and see him in this way as a man was just like you tempted like you prayed with loud crying tears feared God and who was little by little by little completed his earthly education because that world learned and were say it learn is a word that relates to education as you've often said and you're willing to suffer like it says and verse 8 in order to obey sometimes we have to suffer there's some obedience that is easy but is the obedience in which we have to suffer that gives us a promotion so he learned obedience not from everything but from those things which he suffered and that teaches us where obedience leads you to die to yourself you know there's a lot of obedience where we don't have to die because you know temperament may be like that and it's pretty easy for example bring up your children in the instruction of the Lord you don't have to die to yourself to do that you love to do it because they don't you want your children to grow up godly there's no suffering there but there's some obedience to some commandments which involved suffering where I have to deny myself when the Spirit of God says keep your mouth shut shut now then you have to suffer oh don't look in that direction or don't watch that movie or don't look don't read that book then you have to suffer because you have a great desire to do that but those are the places where you learn obedience in all the other places which there's no suffering I just want to tell you you don't learn obedience you just do it and you can think you are pretty godly because you're doing those things you're not it's in the areas where you suffer that you really learn obedience I mean you see that with your children if you tell your children come on eat that ice cream is that Greek suffering for that child but if you tell your child now stop playing and come inside and do your homework that's a suffering that's the place where his will has to be denied to tell him to eat that ice cream or let's go out and play no those things don't involve any suffering those are not areas where a child learns obedience and the areas in your life if you look back where you know it's not difficult for you to obey God no come to church on Sunday morning there's no problem there that doesn't mean your spiritual you haven't learned any obedience by coming here on Sunday morning he learned obedience from the things which he suffered please remember this and that's why many Christians do not grow spiritually because the obey in all areas where there's no suffering and a way where it involves suffering they don't learn obedience and that's I want to tell you honestly please listen to me this is the reason why many of you have never conquered anger and probably will never conquer anger in your entire life I don't want to say that it's a prophecy but I want to say that is a warning because in little city because to conquer anger you have to suffer to give up murmuring and complaining you have to suffer to give up lusting with the eyes you have to suffer so we're not learning obedience we're coming to church we enjoy meeting with others coming to the conference enjoy meeting with others but whenever it involves a little suffering and self-denial we withdraw and the result is we spend years and years and years never learning obedience which means never getting promoted to a higher class but Jesus learned it at every stage and thus he completed when he says he made perfect it means he completed his education and he has become the author or it says in some translations of eternal salvation to those who obey Him that means now he's become a teacher to those who want to obey Him in times of suffering in time of suffering Jesus says I'll teach you now next time you're tempted to when the Holy Spirit says now keep your mouth shut or turn your eyes away or don't do that and don't write that letter or whatever it is well you feel like doing something very much you want to tell something to someone and the Holy Spirit says no I want to do something you want to go somewhere you don't want to deny yourself in a certain area would you listen supposing you want to go for a vacation and the Holy Spirit says don't go there's nothing wrong with a vacation Jesus himself once told his disciples come apart and rest awhile you need some rest God ordained one day and seven is a Sabbath nothing wrong and rest and relaxation but supposing the Holy Spirit one says no I don't want you to go I think a lot of believers don't even consult God about those things they say I feel like going I go there's a lot of difference between those who really seek to bring every area of their life under God's guidance and say lord I don't I don't want to do this unless it's your will my time is yours my days are yours and those are the ones who really the Lord sees here as a person who's determined to let every area of his life come under my control and guidance I've really got to use this young man or young woman to be my servant in the days to come be one of those whom God can choose because in your private life hidden from the eyes of others in secret areas you give up your will and you deny yourself things which you want to do because you want to please God you want to do what Jesus wants you to do there maybe you don't spend so much money on yourself so that you can have some to give to the Lord or to others you think how many people think like that they say I have money I can do what I like I earned it it's fine that's fine there's no sin there but there's a higher life I can tell you if you want it and as those who choose that higher life who really become useful to God in the church and if you see someone more useful to God than you are in the church you can be pretty sure he's made some choices in areas where you made no choices or you choose to please yourself or you choose to just do what you feel like doing there are things like this you know there this is what it means to learn obedience and concerning him we are much to say hard to explain because you become dull of hearing how do you become dull of hearing that means I don't want to hear things that are crossing my will I like to hear things about God that are encouraging and Oh God is a loving father and there's the messages I like to hear and no matter how much you've failed God still loves you when you hit rock bottom remember that God loves you boy you'll love those messages and you want to hear such messages again and again again how he came for sinners and the prodigal son if you're a prodigal son he'll run to welcome you and you just long do your such messages well I want to say that that's why you remain in the condition you are because those the only type of messages you want to hear those the only type messages you want to that encourage you but scripture has got that as well as a lot of other messages that Jesus said about denying yourself and putting your flesh to death those are the areas where you will learn obedience because Jesus learned obedience in the areas where he suffered please remember this phrase in verse 6 he learned obedience not from all areas but from the things which he suffered he obeyed in many areas where there was no suffering there wasn't much learned there but from the things which he suffered he learned obedience and thus he became complete so out of a hundred areas if there are 50 areas where you've got to suffer to learn obedience and 50 areas that are easy to obey God in and you choose just the 50 areas all your life my being here or being here or being there but don't be surprised if you don't grow much spiritually don't spend be surprised if your knowledge of God is very limited and you're always dependent on having to come to church to be stirred up or to a conference to be stirred up and you don't know what it is like Paul told Timothy stir yourself up he says stir yourself up that that's a person who is willing to learn obedience and things which he suffer you know it's like students some there are children who are very diligent you don't have to tell them to do their homework you don't have to tell them to do more than necessary for their classes I mean there are students like that I've seen some I've got a passion to do really well and those are the ones who you know get into good colleges and get a good education and press on and I'll tell you there are others who are just as intelligent and who are in the same school or the same teacher and the same opportunities and the same intelligence but who do not do well because they're just lazy they just want to play around and play the fool and I want to sit down with our books and they do the minimum necessary for their classwork and okay they have completed their homework it's always their whole attitude is what is the minimum necessary I want to enjoy myself in life as much as I can but you know I have to do my homework I have to go to school I do I want to get a promotion I don't want to fail there are many Christians like that what's the minimum necessary for me to you know just be a good Christian and not lose my testimony in CFC well I'm concerned about that I'm concerned valia honestly I'm concerned with so many brothers and sisters sitting here there should be a such a large number of brothers and sisters here who should be godly enough to be shepherds of others why is that not there I don't know your private life but I want to tell you that when there are things which involves suffering and self-denial in your life you pull back you don't choose those areas and so the result is you don't learn obedience at all you're obeying in the things like eat your ice cream go and play oh those areas I'd like to obey children like to obey such commands go on eat that ice cream go and play and put on those new clothes I love to obey those commands and I think of many Christians like that they're obeying they're obeying in those areas which involved no self-denial at all in terms of time money energy well then we don't learn obedience and that's the reason why he goes on to say you become dull of hearing that means you can't hear anymore and when you come into the church meeting you here and that's another thing I've often said if the only time God speaks to you is in a Sunday morning service or in a conference this please take it as an indication of something seriously wrong with your spiritual health if you find when you read the scriptures yourself God is not saying anything to your personal life I don't mean getting some information about knowledge about the tabernacle or information about Jesus life I'm not saying that I'm talking about when you read the scriptures and you don't find God speaking to you personally something that you got to do in your life you're not in a spiritually healthy condition you may be born again but you're not in a spiritually healthy condition it's like a doctor saying yeah your child is not sick but he's not healthy and if he continues like that he's gonna be prone to so many sicknesses that's exactly what I would say to any of you who are not hearing God speaking to you through his word when you read it by yourself in fact the Bible says man shall not live by bread alone but by every world that proceeds from God's mouth and that word that Jesus quoted by the way I don't have time to turn to it right now he's from Deuteronomy 8 where it speaks about the giving of the mana it's in connection with the giving of the manor to Israelites that it says there God gave you manna Moses said in Deuteronomy 8 everyday to teach you what not just to feed you but to teach you that man must live by every word that proceeds from God's mouth just like the manna came from heaven every morning so have you learned that that every morning for survival you need a word from God do you know those those Israelites did not go out in the morning and pick up that manna for their family there was no food in the desert and if they went out a little too late the Sun would melt the manna it would all be liquid on the ground you couldn't pick it out so what would a responsible father do okay the children can go to sleep they're not gonna get up the three-year-old four-year-old maybe some ten year old all asleep but daddy and mummy can't be irresponsible like then they got to go out gather enough mana for their family every day for 40 years that was a pretty good discipline how God made them all get up in the morning to collect a word from God imagine if we if you were one of those Israelites coming out of Egypt very thankful that God delivered you and you've got children and you know the only way to feed them is to go and collect manna in the morning before it gets too hot boy I tell you you'd really get up you wouldn't say well I'm so tired I'm sleepy today or I went to bed late last night he would never make those excuses even if you went to bed at two o'clock in the morning you'd be up there because you got to feed your family there's no other way to feed them all the silly excuses that people make today saying they're tired you know time to read the Bible I for God and all that would disappear if you're one of those Israelites little things like this are the proof that you're serious about your Christianity that your Christianity is not just a game and not playing the fool and if you don't you're not receiving like this that's why you become dull of hearing because you're not serious about wanting to hear God and you don't have to be very old I know I remember when I was very young I was about 20 years 21 years old and I had this tremendous passion every morning to hear what God had to say to me to read his word and study it I haven't lost it after 55 years I still have a tremendous passion to hear what is God saying to me today even this morning and I hope all of you will develop that don't become dull of hearing and then he goes on to say because you're dull of hearing see what is a result in verse 12 by this time and some of you have been here 20 years 25 years 30 years by this time you should have been teachers of others you shouldn't be listeners now you shouldn't be students alone you should have become teachers you know it's like a child was goes to school the age of five and by time is 25 say hey you should have been a teacher by now what are you still sitting in school twenty-five years old I mean by 18 you should have finished school you should be teaching you should have been a graduate right now and put on probably a post graduate by the time you're 25 we want that for our children don't you want that for your children I think all of us who send our children to school in college won't want them to be post graduates right 25 what about spiritually by this time you should have been teachers but you have need for someone to teach you again the elementary principles you like the messages of forgiveness of sins and how God loves you and he says I'll never leave you nor forsake you and I provide all your need don't be anxious these are the things that encourage you and even if you fall get up you can get up and walk again and you need to fall a thousand times God is still there a thousand times to pick you up fine it's all true it's like saying CIT is cat it's cat do G is dog and you can keep listening to that it's all true but when are we gonna go move on beyond all that to something else that's the point here and you have come to need milk you know in the New Testament milk is the message of forgiveness of sins that's true yeah we drink milk even when you're old even if you drink a cup of tea there's milk in it it's not that we stop drinking milk on you're older but we're not the baby level where we cannot eat any solid food you know babies can only drink milk it's a real concern for a mother from babies six months old and can't eat solid food in six months and then it says here that everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness do you find a word of righteousness a hard message oh we hear some hard things in CFC it's like you put a piece of meat into the mouth of a two week old baby it'll die you choked it done ah let's spit it out even two three months you put a piece of meat in there it it can't eat it you can't bite on something you put some nuts into that mother can't bite it can chew it and it's not accustomed to that and the baby spits it out so give me my milk bottle and he's speaking about that of people who they want to hear any hard strong message about denying yourself and not loving the world and the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes the pride of life is all of the world and he must forsake it and put it in depth and everything on her there are a lot of things on earth that are lawful but not all the lawful things are profitable and words like don't let any bad word come out of your mouth but only that which will give grace to the hearers and words like every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account in the day of judgment they don't like to hear such things it's like hard chunks of meat in a baby's mouth and then you know you haven't grown you're not accustomed to a strong hard word of righteousness it means you're a babe and I believe that all of you should really seek to ask yourself how do you like that do you love I mean think of us grown-up people in terms of spiritual food do you just love to drink milk all the time imagine if there was a dinner it is all milk everybody don't you love to eat fish and meat and different things that you have to chew a lot on and enjoy that that's an adult when you ask a three-month-old baby is not interested so there is a thing of getting accustomed a custom means I got used to it and I'll tell you something there are churches where they've occasionally you'll hear a word of righteousness I mean only all these television preachers on the internet occasionally once in a blue moon they will speak a word of righteousness here's being in what people are accustomed to the word of righteousness that means you're eating solid food every day not that once in a while you eat solid food in the rest of time you drink milk every single day think of your diet every day in your own home isn't it solid food every single day three times a day that's how we must get accustomed to the word of righteousness where the word of righteousness is what I love to have do you love to hear words like every idle word you speak you'll give an account of judgment thank you Lord for that I love that let your speech always be with grace put away all murmuring and complaining Lord I love that that's what I want every day three times a day those the words I meditate on frequently frequently I'll tell you honestly I love solid food because it makes me strong I love solid for physically I love it spiritually I want you to seriously think about this my brothers and sisters because I'm really concerned that many of us not some of us many of us are not getting accustomed to solid food even though we've been here many many years and that's not a good sign for the future generation that's why I'm concerned this is the mark of maturity let nobody think here think you're mature if you're not accustomed and delighted to hear the word of righteousness it says here in verse 14 solid food is for the mature and one mark of maturity is through the different temptations they go through they get a practice to train their senses to discern between good and evil and see that's the difference between the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life let me explain that to you which Adam had to choose between in the Garden of Eden the tree of knowledge of good and evil was like a factual knowledge somebody gives to you this is wrong this is right I can so many question answer sessions people ask can I do this can I do that yeah are there certain type of movies I can watch or there's certain type of foods or drinks I can drink these are things you know which our people are always wondering how close can I go to the edge of the cliff without falling off well there's a lot of difference in that type of factual knowledge and the Tree of Life where I'm prompted from within the life tells me that's good that's bad it's like you put some food into your mouth and immediately the life within you says that's bad food that's spoiled food and you spit it out you don't even think twice you spit it out that's life but think of a little baby it puts mud into its mouth and just enjoys it that's that's that's lack of discernment and that's how it is with a lot of Christians they take things that are going to harm them spiritually what is mud do why do you clean out that mud from your baby's mouth as soon as it puts it in because you know it's going to harm it he'll get sick so when people can put things into their mind which harm them it's exactly think of this baby putting mud in its mouth the next time some of you watched something pornographic I hope you don't but if you do think this is I'm putting mud in my mark now I'm enjoying it well that's true little two month old babies enjoy eating mud and if you enjoy eating mud that's where you are I mean I can't stop you but at least acknowledge that you're a baby eating mud at that time then at least so that you don't fool yourself that because you come to CFC or spiritual when you're in your office on your home you're eating mud no you're dear your senses are not trained to discern good and evil you need somebody to tell you I've used the example of you know when people have leprosy they lose sensation in their hands and in their feet then they have to be trained people with severe leprosy there are no sensation they put a hand on a hotplate feel nothing a hot stove they've touch it and they don't feel anything because they're no sensation of that but the hand is still burned it's destroyed so let people's leprosy are to be taught when you go to a stove check whether it's on or not check whether it's hot or not why is it you don't need such a law because as soon as you touch it you're you your hand will immediately pull back because you've got life see that's the difference in the tree of life and tree of good and evil God doesn't want us to live like this like lepers or to be told you know don't touch this I've heard of people with leprosy they wake up in the morning and couple of that toes are eaten up by rats in the night and they didn't feel it imagine having your toes eaten off by rats at night you don't even feel it you really got to feel sorry sorry for these people with leprosy but you don't need that I mean you never rat touches you you'll wake up but these people with leprosy don't they wake up and they find a couple of toes are missing where did it go it's all blood there some rat ate it off see this is how many believers are spiritually they don't have sensation when something wrong is coming into their spirit just like that rat is eating their body something wrong is coming desperate there aren't any sensation and then after some time they wake up and their life is spiritually they are destroyed what happened well some rat came and some demon Kevin ate off something of your life there and you didn't even know it because you're waiting for some teacher to tell you this is good and that is evil you don't have life that tells you spontaneously mm-hmm so I hope you understand that God did not want us to live by the tree of knowledge of good and evil I mean do you want your children to grow up 15 20 years old and you gotta still tell them good and evil you must not eat mud you must not eat rubbish no you want them to have that sensation on their own that's how God wants us to have a sense on our own without a hand be told this is this isn't that is not a good TV program for you to watch but that's not a good book for you to read that's not a good thing for you to spend your time doing I mean even browsing on the internet for hours and hours and hours and wasting time when you don't know the Bible do you hear a voice saying listen why don't you turn that off and read the Bible a little bit do you ever hear such a voice so you don't hear that if you become dull of hearing I tell you many Christians are dull of hearing when you're on the Internet even though they don't know the scriptures and they can spend so many hours they're not an essential work I mean a lot of people have to work essential work there they may have to spend 12 hours on it I'm not talking about that I'm talking about entertainment information there's no end of information in the world today knowledge is increasing and people who could have become such useful brothers in this church such useful sisters they're still wanting to be spoon-fed that's my concern we need to develop our senses to train discern between good and evil which will lead us to maturity so that we can help others I want you to turn to 1 John in chapter 2 1 John chapter 2 we read about you know these three levels of spiritual growth I mentioned it briefly in the conference but it's good for you to meditate on it again in 1 John chapter 2 verse 12 to 14 and speaks about little children young men and fathers now this is speaking about spiritually you can be a little child and be 80 years old and be a little child spiritually and you can be 25 years old as a spiritual father honestly you can take have a sense of responsibility for others when you're 25 years old or you can be a lazy laid-back person who wants to be spoon fed spiritually here on you're 80 years old so when it talks about little children young men and fathers it's not physical age it's spiritual age little children are those who rejoice in the fact verse 12 that their sins are forgiven great the other ones who sing the song my sins are all forgiven I'm on my way to heaven and that's all that matters the other thing little children rejoicing is in verse I've written unto you children because you know the father last part of verse 13 last part of verse 13 you know the father I'm so happy I've got a father in heaven I can sit on his lap and I know he's my daddy it's all true the Holy Spirit has cries out daddy and we can rejoice in that very good and by the way that is something we must know even as soon as we are born again little children they must note two things definitely one that their sins are all forgiven if they have confessed it and repented and secondly that God has become their father who cares for them they may not be worried and anxious but if that's all you know your little child it's good but we don't want our little children to remain little children forever and God doesn't want that either he wants just to go on from there to the next stage stage two and stage two is young men these are people who are zealous and it says here in verse the middle of verse 13 you have overcome the evil one young many of those who have learned to fight against Satan to resist Satan and the way they resist Satan is described in the end of verse 14 the Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one so that's the second stage and I don't know how many of you have got there so let's get that clearly the first stage is you know your sins are forgiven and you know God is your father and you love to hear messages where you say well no matter how much you have fallen you can repent and come back to God he's not only the God of the second chance he's the God of the 10,000 chance you love such messages and there's a purpose in failure maybe that's one of your favorite books the purpose of failure I just keep failing failing failing and I'm glad there's a purpose in it but it's that's not the end it's a pathway God wants you to come to a place where it's not that you fish all night and catch nothing and fish all your life and catch nothing no Jesus there's a time when Jesus comes to the shore and says I want to fill your boat with fish now but if you haven't learned that lesson then of course you're always having your sins forgiven and always rejoicing God is a father you move on to the place where you're fighting Satan in the temptations he comes to you in your life we have examples of Jesus coding the Word of God to Satan and driving him away and that's how young men are the Word of God abides in them you know how Jesus had the right word for each temptation he didn't just say Satan I resist you know even Jesus didn't say that for each temptation he had one Scripture turn the stones into bread no it is written man shall not live by bread alone okay it is written if you jump off the temple his angels will guard you Satan says he quotes even scripture to Jesus and Jesus says no it is also written you shall not tempt the Lord your God doesn't always the same verse another if you bow down and worship me I'll give you all that you want you came to earth to redeem all this I'll give it all to you free just bow down and worship me no it is written you shall worship only the Lord your God how did he have the right word well the answer of the Christian world is he was the son of God that's not true he was a baby born as a baby just like us with zero information in his mind and yet to learn the Scriptures by the time he was 12 years old he learnt it that's the thing that challenged me when I was about 21 years old and I read how Jesus knew the Scriptures by the time he was 12 and I assumed that say by the time he was five he started reading and he could understand so I believe little children can understand when we tell them something from Scripture at the age of five so from the age of five to twelve Jesus must have gone to the synagogue and spoke to the rabbi and said can you please read something to me from the scripture and he'd come the next day and show me something more and something more and every day and he remember he had a lot of things to do at home he had time to play time to do his schoolwork time to help his mother and he found some time to go everyday to the synagogue because that's the only place there was a Bible in those days and the rabbi must have been delighted that this little child is coming to know the scriptures and that is how day by day by day by day in seven years by the time he was 12 years old he got in all the scriptures so when I was 21 years old I said Lord I'm baptized now now I can go the way Jesus went let me start studying the scriptures in seven years I should know it and I don't have to go to a rabbi I don't need to go to synagogue I got a right with me in print and I decided and I worked for seven years to get to know the scriptures and I want to say to all of you particularly those of you who are young I guarantee you can know the Scriptures thoroughly in seven years in the midst of all your work remember Jesus had a lot of homework to do and schoolwork and help his mother and all that is he took time just a little bit of time every day I've said to people if you will listen to the series that we have in our CFC website called through the Bible in 70 hours it'll take you 70 hours and depends on how much time you spend each day you know how many days that'll take but it requires discipline do you know there are people who are non CFC people around the world I have met who have listened to it twice and thrice and I said that's wonderful I said to them because I know there are people who sit in CFC Bangalore who haven't heard it once because they are spoon fed they never take the trouble to go and find something themselves so they never grow but you guys will grow you have no connection with CFC but you're way ahead I tell them that you're way ahead of many people who sit in CFC Bangalore year after year after year after year and they are dull of hearing that's my concern but what can I do the apostles were concerned about some people like that but I thank God there are other people whom God is speaking out who is no coming if you listen to that that's the first thing and if you are serious about scripture go to 40 hours of all that Jesus taught that's 40 hours and then go to it's all in our website verse by verse through the New Testament which is probably three four hundred hours and that will take you about three years if you discipline yourself a little bit of time every day I tell you you will really be someone who knows the scriptures in a very deep way and it would have taken you maybe just half an hour a day which means is getting up half an hour earlier in the morning we're going to bed half an hour later at night and knowing the Scriptures and if you're a young person by the time you're 30 years old God will prepare you for a fantastic ministry but if all you do is learn how to sing the songs and other things like that that's good but I think the Lord means a lot more teachers of the word then song leaders I'll tell you that that's the greatest need in the church and you can be one of those you young people and even if you're older I believe even a married man can find half an hour just so you you want as much if you lose half an hour sleep at night you won't lose it at all you just got to cut out some of the other things you do it think how useful your life can be in a few years just a little bit of discipline that is the thing that's lacking a lot of people seek for the fullness of the Holy Spirit but the fullness of the Holy Spirit the Spirit of God is a spirit of discipline God has not given us the spirit of fear but the spirit of power and love and of discipline it says it's a spirit of discipline and if you have not received the spirit of discipline in your life ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit the spirit of discipline that's the only thing that'll help you to be a useful servant of God a lot of people who have emotional experience with being filled with the Holy Spirit they're not very useful in God's kingdom so that's something practical I want to say to you the Word of God abides in you and you'll have the right word every time the devil comes so many situations in my life I can tell you I got a word from the Lord which I've stored in my mind years ago and it's the right word for that situation it's such a useful thing to know God in His Word and just like the Holy Spirit gave Jesus the right word at each situation you know even when situations that are not clearly written in the Bible shall we stone this woman to death the Holy Spirit prompted Jesus to say he was without sin cast the first stone or when they tempted Jesus saying should we pay tax they wanted to catch him in a word the Holy Spirit prompted him saying give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's you know those are promptings from the Holy Spirit because the Word of God had means so much in Jesus mind and isn't it wonderful to have experiences like that where we have a right word that solves the situation and to have a right word it says if I keep listening you can have that word turn with me to Isaiah 50 this is exactly how Jesus lived and this is exactly how you can live I mean I many of you know this verse but it's good to be reminded of it again and all of you who haven't known this verse it's a wonderful verse in the Old Testament that you must know that tells you how Jesus lived every day every morning Isaiah 50 verse 4 it says the Lord gave me the tongue of a disciple that's very important there are a number of things in this verse first of all a tongue that is disciplined and then I know how to sustain a weary person with a single word or with a single sentence to help a person who is weary and I'll tell you the world is full of weary people around us and you brothers and sisters who've been here for so many years you must have a word to give to those people even if it's all of a sudden somebody just lands up and has a need without any preparation you have a word from heaven for one for one thing you must have the tongue of a disciple if you are got a loose down always gossiping and backbiting and all that God's not gonna put his word on that tongue but if you are discipline in your tongue you can live a very useful life and it comes by a habit and the habit is mentioned in the middle of verse 4 God awakens me morning by morning I said good words to think of when I woke up in the morning it's God who woke me up or sometimes I find it from the middle of the night I wake up ok and he wakens my year to listen as a disciple and I heard what God had to say and the Lord God verse 5 open my ear and I was obedient to what he said and I didn't turn back whatever the cost even if I had to suffer that means I gave my back to those who strike me it's my cheeks to those who plucked out my beard and I did not cover this is suffering and the Lord spoke to the father spoke to Jesus accepted accepted accepted they are treating you badly and accepted don't retaliate don't answer back keep quiet do you hear that why sometimes in spirit keep quiet they're speaking to you like badly keep quiet yeah okay let them say that suffer I did not cover my face from spitting boy that's a pretty high level to come to because the Lord God helps me seeking God's help at that time father I don't want to react in her on christ-like way now but I have not disgraced and therefore I've set my face like a flint and I will not be ashamed I will not vindicate myself because the one day one who indicates me is my father so who's gonna fight with me let her stand you've got a case against me come near the Lord God is my advocate he helps me who will condemn me then he goes on to say verse 10 who is among you that fears the Lord like this that obeys the voice of his servant and you walk in darkness without any light let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God I want you to go sometime and take these verses verses 4 to 10 and meditate on them this is the way Jesus walked Isaiah 50 verse 4 to 10 take it and say Lord this is the way I want to walk I guarantee you'll come to maturity to hear and the Word of God abides in you and you'll overcome the evil one and you'll have a word in season for anyone who comes to you it I mean it won't come overnight or but over a period of time you know Jesus couldn't have done it when he was 12 but by the time he was 30 he had got so used to listening to the Spirit that he had a word for everyone and over a period of time if you're faithful I want to say to you believe me you can have a an answer for every person who comes to you in need something that is inappropriate and not just a comforting word oh I'm sorry for your sister god bless you we'll pray for you and then you forget to pray for him not that ever rubbish but where you'll have a word in season that will encourage and help and guide that person to a proper life and they'll be thankful to you for the rest of their lives think that don't you want to live on earth to be a blessing like that before you leave this earth I have a desperate passion even now I say Lord I want to be much more of a blessing then I have been and I want to because that's why you got places us on earth and says the blessing of Abraham is yours and the blessing of Abraham is I will bless you and you will be a blessing to every family that you meet boy I want that when you hear that Eurasians 3:14 the blessing of Abraham through the Holy Spirit is that you will be a blessing to every single family you meet even unbeliever family anybody they'll get a taste of something they may not come to Christ but they will they will always remember I met a saint once I met a man was who knew God or I met a woman who knew God that's the reputation I want everybody in CFC their hands get rid of all this careless speaking gossiping backbiting speaking evil passing out opinions finished with all that be have a tongue of a disciple say Lord some of us have spent so many years of our life life is almost gone very few years left why not do something with the rest of the years you have start today that the word of god abides in you so you can overcome the evil one further in 1 John in chapter 2 that's how we overcome Satan and some of you wonder why you can't overcome Satan you're not letting the Word of God abide in you you're not waking up in the morning and saying Lord speak to me you're not taking a little time off from your sleep to maybe listen to something that will instruct you in Scripture we have so many resources today and we don't make use of it and if God sees here is a child of mine who's got so many resources which he can take freely he doesn't have to pay one rupee for it and he's still lazy well I just gonna leave him alone I really believe that's what God is saying to about many of you because he's not gonna spin spoon food you spoon feed you forever and ever no I hope some of us will take this seriously because I'm really concerned that many of us are not growing up to maturity and then the third stage father's 1 John chapter 2 I write unto your father's verse 13 because you have known him who has been from the beginning and it's repeated again in verse 14 I know you've write your father's because you known him from the beginning that means you have known God not the way children know God is a father see children know God is a father that he cares for me and he loves me and he takes care of me and he does everything good for me but father's know God is a father that I can be like a father to other people that's different the child is not acting like a father to other people but a spiritual father is one who sees God another way he cares for me that's the way I must care for other people not just sit back and say oh he cares for me he cares for me he cares mean it so delighted I must be such an important person that he keeps caring for me it's like the illustration I used once about a cat and a dog you know a cat people have pet cats I don't think many of you have got pet cats but if you have pet cats I've seen people who are pet cats they do everything for them so many things the cat does nothing you know what is a cat do in your house most of the houses there are no mice running around the house he just enjoys the food and he doesn't warn you about strangers coming to the house nothing it just likes being stroked and patted and food and the food must be there and the cat's idea in his mind is look how nicely my master treats me I must be God that's why he treats me so nicely now the dog is the other way around that he thinks not in terms of it thinks in terms of serving you know and it's the master who's God to him I must serve Him I was protected I must take care of him see that's the difference one is just receiving the other is doing something for that's maturity which we are you do you just sit back like the cat and the other people do things for you or do you say I'm I'm a watch man in this house the dog is I'm supposed to take care of his I'm supposed to bark if some stranger comes I got to take care if somebody's attacking my master it cares for its master respects him and fathers are like that they look around and seeing is there a need here I can mean is there somebody I can encourage is there somebody I can visit and say a word is there somebody I can make a phone call nowadays you don't need not to visit to encourage people is there somebody I got the phone numbers of the church I can call up somebody and I'll say something to them just cause a few paisa to phone people nowadays yeah that's a father who's concerned is always thinking you can't expect the elders to be thinking all 500 people here how in the world can they do that this church needs many spiritual fathers and mothers who don't go around giving advice I'm always scared of people are eager to give advice I met especially some older sisters like that always ready to pounce on young people like a lion to give advice and if you really look into the heart of those young sisters they feel like running away the sisters coming every run she's coming to give me some advice don't be like that be one who encourages not just going around telling people what to do what to do there are some people who were such a lust to give advice to others they think they're godly know they are ungodly I'll tell you the type of person you must be if you listen to me people must be so eager to get advice from you that they long to come and talk to you and say tell me I want to hear something from you that's the type of sister and brother you should be the nod one has got a lust to tell people what to do whom to marry him what he showed this way that way the other things be very careful in these areas near brothers sisters be a father be a father and the mother spiritually we need many people like that and you got to grow up to that it's one more passage of Scripture which I want to share and very briefly before we close and that is in relation to maturity and that's in the book of Titus letter to Titus Paul writes to Titus he talks about how various type of people should behave Titus in chapter 2 verse 2 he speaks about older men older women young men young women young men all of us fall into one of these categories are you an older man you must be serious and dignified you must not be that playing the fool type sensible mature sound in faith if you're an older person and you're not solidly established in the faith and you've been here even 10 years I want to suggest something to you when you go home fall on your face before God in your bed and hang your head in shame their Lord I'm thoroughly ashamed of myself that I've been 10 years in CFC and I don't have wisdom to share with others I want to change I don't know how many of you take me seriously you should be sound in your faith in love if you're the type of person who can get out of love just because somebody stops loving you you don't deserve to be yeah I mean you don't deserve to say you're being CFC ten years older men be sound in love nobody can shake you sound in faith and in perseverance then older women older women must be reverent in their behavior I mean you don't expect older women to be jumpy like little girls they must be serious in their conduct and not malicious gossips why doesn't it say about men they should not be malicious gossips are men allowed to be no see men and women are different temptations men have great temptation to sexual lust Jesus never spoke about women lusting because it's an only a perverted woman who will have sexual lust man there may be sexual desire but sexual lust is a different thing men have it and that's why it speaks about men when it comes to women is not sexual lust it says malicious gossips to take that seriously your weakness is not sexual lust your weakness is about opening your mouth and blabbering all types of information that you got from different people and rejoicing and hearing that and passing it on and some especially malicious where you like to say not something good but something bad about other people that is your prime temptation just like lusting with the eyes is the prime temptation for men please remember this that's why he says women should not be malicious gossips and not enslave too much wine I don't think you have a problem there we can go move on from teaching what is good imagine being a sister a godly sister who instead of being a malicious gossip teaches what is good to the younger ones teach the younger ones how to love their husbands isn't it a wonderful thing you older sisters if you can teach younger women how to love husbands how to love their children how to bring them up with love don't teach theology and all that forget all that leave that to the men how to be sensible teach younger women how to be sensible how to be pure how to be a worker at home how to be kind you see this is a great need among our younger sisters I tell you a lot of our younger sisters know how to operate the laptop and sing in the choir but they don't know how to cook they don't know how to mend their clothes they don't know how to wash their clothes they don't know how to keep their house tidy but laptops sing in the choir Wow that's not what it says here he says young women must learn how to be a worker at home and if you're not if you haven't learned to be a worker at home you're not fit to get married forget about marriage go and join a convent or something no yeah you're not gonna operate laptops when you get married I'll tell you that and sing in the choir there you'll have to look after children and if you've seen babies they mess up quite a bit and so there are lot of things young women have to learn and also the Bible says Paul is telling Titus teach young women to be workers at home I want to ask you young sisters have you been a worker at home have you helped your mother how cooking food or washing clothes are cleaning up the house or helping your younger siblings or any such thing or you just mean a lazy person stop rating laptops and singing in the choir think about it don't think your spiritual however well you can operate a laptop or sing in the choir you're not spiritual and that's what the older women should be teaching the younger women that's what it says here otherwise what does it say the Word of God will be blaspheme and dishonored verse 5 imagine that the Word of God is dishonored because young women are not workers at home or they are not subject to their husbands the ones who are mare in the same way birthday young women to be sent young men to be sensible there's some good instructions there for people of all ages the Bible's very practical and it's very very important that in CFC our young people grow up to be practical Christians helping one another caring for another and there's knowledge of Scripture and that knowledge of God leads them to this type of good works that will bless others it's power heads in prayer I hope you realize my dear brothers and sisters as we pray that whatever you heard don't take it as a word of rebuke no take it as a word of instruction that's the only way I meant it I don't know most of you I mean I'm away from here so long that more than half of you I don't even know your names and I know nothing about your personal life so this cannot be personal because I don't even know know you so it's not rebuke its instruction this instruction that will really make you a godly older person and a godly younger person whose life can really accomplish something before you leave this earth that is my burden that's why I encourage you to study the scriptures start a disciplined life today discipline in studying the scriptures you young girls discipline in learning work at home etc so that you'll grow up to be a godly balanced young person your heavenly father we really want all of us to grow to maturity we want the young people here to grow to maturity strong to be practical Christians not just with a lot of head knowledge and be able to sing a lot of songs but Lord lead us and guide us we pray we pray that we shall raise a generation of practical Christians in this church help us me pray that we'll do that the days to come we pray in Jesus name Amen

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

Id: 5PNS89DMSLs

Length: 68min 9sec (4089 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 11 2015