Holiness Of Jesus by Zac Poonen

we have been looking at the fact that God our Father sent his son in human form to die for our sins and also to be an example for us and the reason why I find it necessary to emphasize the factor of his being an example is because in Christendom generally in a van Jellicle Christianity the fact of his being our Savior and dying for our sins on the cross is emphasized widely but the other side of truth that he is our example is hardly emphasized it's very rare to find evangelical Christian preachers preaching much about it and explaining in practical terms what it actually means in among liberal Christians there is an emphasis on the humanity of Christ which leads them to talk about improving social conditions and helping the poor etc in practical ways on this earth but not in terms of character of the individual Christian that is what the New Testament emphasizes the New Testament doesn't tell us how to deliver people from oppressive dictators or how to teach them to dig better wells or grow better crops or even about setting up schools and hospitals all these are good but that's not what the New Testament speaks about when the New Testament speaks about following Jesus it's not about delivering people from dictatorships or teaching them to dig better wells or grow better crops but transforming them into the likeness of Christ in character individually it begins to be individual not with society in general and here is where there has been a tremendous lack of emphasis in evangelical Christian demand partly because most preachers are not willing to pay the price to follow Jesus in their personal life and to walk the way of humility that he walked and the way of purity that he walked the way of love and compassion that he walked and therefore they don't have the moral authority to speak about his character in a day and age where many people are seeking for position and titles and honor in Christendom here was Jesus who lived without any titles he told people don't let anybody call you rabbi father leader no you are all brothers and you're all servants that's what he said but it's so rare to find in Christendom people who want to follow Jesus in this area that's part of his humility he never wanted to exalt himself above any other human being he was down at their level he made himself like his brethren in all things the first principle of successful Christian ministry is to become like the people you minister to and if you want to be a successful and useful servant of God the way Jesus was the first principle is to become like the others don't seek in any way to exalt yourself above the others don't seek a title and honor a position anything above the others people may respect you as a very godly man but you make sure that you don't exalt yourself by anything above them in any way live at their level be at their level seek to be like them I believe that Jesus dressed like the people around him and his whole conduct and everything was just like everybody else's in terms of the way he lived but in the midst of such a world he lived in purity and complete a spirit that is completely the opposite of that of everybody else in the world now we want to look today a little bit at his purity we've seen his humility we want to see something about His Holiness the holiness of Jesus was not something he automatically had without a battle if it were so then there would be nothing great about it you know the difference between an earned doctorate and an honorary doctorate an honorary doctorate you don't study for you just get it a non doctorate you work hard for it and get a degree was Jesus holiness something given to him on a platter for which he had to do nothing he just took it certainly your holiness and mine is not like that we are tempted so severely we face such severe temptations that is difficult for a Christian to live even one day without sinning in thought or word or deed or attitude or motive you and I have to confess that temptation is so strong and so pressing on every side and we are so weak that we slip and fall every day consciously and much more unconsciously very often we are aware of a fall only after we have fallen after we had that wrong attitude for a moment towards somebody else after that thought came now the thought itself may not be sin because it could only be a temptation flashed into your mind by the devil but if you reject it immediately that's not sin let me clarify that so that people don't get into condemnation you need to distinguish between temptation and sin temptation is a thought flashed into your mind by the devil the devil flashed the thought into Jesus mind turn the stones into bread he said no he didn't sin even though that thought came into his mind well thought is like if somebody speaks a word to you how are you sin there somebody else is telling you something so the devil put a thought into your mind he communicated through thought to your thought and you reject it you haven't sinned so we need to distinguish it in temptation and sin there has to be you know when it is when my mind agrees to that thought that is flashed into my mind that I sin then I agree then it's like a man and a woman joining together a conception takes place and sin is born but if my mind does not agree to that temptation there is no sin 10,000 thoughts may flash through my mind but I reject them I don't sin at all Jesus was tempted like us with thoughts flashed into his mind but he refused at every point and when you and I realized how difficult it is I mean every honest Christian will admit how difficult it is even to live one single day morning till night without sinning in thoughts maybe in words we can control ourselves and actions we can but not sinning in thoughts or in attitudes towards anyone no selfish attitude or in a motive with which we did something it is almost impossible because we're so weak and when we see how easy it is to sin in these areas then we see what a miracle it was that Jesus lived thirty three and a half years without sinning once in any area now if you say that he did that he lived like that because he had a holiness which was given to him it was impossible for him to sin and he had this holiness and so he just lived and of course he is no example for us because you and I don't have that type of thing he can never say to any of us follow me he has to say to us admire me he would he has to say to us you fellows can never follow me don't even attempt it because you won't be able to do it you'd never be able to read a verse like this in Scripture amazing words 1 Peter chapter 2 Peter says Christ suffered for you in 1 Peter 2:21 leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps who committed no nor was any deceit found in his mouth did you read those those verses together he has given you an example to follow in his steps who committed no sin as you look at the steps of Jesus there was never a step into some sinful area it was always holiness humility love and never did he step into some area that was sinful and he says you must follow in his steps who never committed a sin now if Peter were preaching that today most evangelical Christians would turn around and call him a heretic and a false teacher for teaching such things but they don't know what to do when it's written in their Bible they can't call this heresy they say this is the Word of God but they don't take it seriously I'm sure many of you who listen to me have never taken this seriously in your life because you immediately the devil tells you that is impossible what God says is possible you'd say it's impossible I agree with men it is impossible it's absolutely impossible but with God jesus said all things are possible it's like the disciples once came to Jesus and said who then can be saved he said with men it is impossible but with God all things are possible he said in Matthew 17 so we need to see that Jesus was tempted like us Hebrews 4 and verse 15 is clear he was tempted like us in all things and that is why he can sympathize with our struggles in our weakness he knows our weak we are when we are tempted he doesn't mean that he condones our sin oh no there's not a single verse anywhere in the Bible that says God condones our sin he sympathized with us he recognizes our weakness but he doesn't condone our sin oh no he's been tempted like us but he was without sin and therefore it says in the next verse we can also draw near and get the same grace that he received from his father too overcome sin what is the word save in Romans 6:14 sin shall not have dominion over you because you are under grace if grace is over me and I'm under grace if the grace of God is upon me I cannot sin that grace keeps me from sinning without grace it's impossible it's like when the electricity is flowing through the bulb it burns but if the electricity stops it stops burning immediately with grace departs from my life fall into sin immediately but as long as grace is there it's like the electricity flowing and the bulb burns it's not some great credit to the bulb it's because of the flow of electricity which is continuous and if the flow of grace comes upon me and it does come upon everyone who humbles himself sin cannot rule over me it is impossible I mean if I can keep a book held up like this against the law of gravity so that it doesn't fall do you think Jesus cannot keep holding me up so that I don't fall into sin of course he can't if I trust him everything is dependent on faith if you don't believe that Jesus can do that for you of course you won't be able to do it for your blind man once came to Jesus and said Lord I want my eyes to be open and Jesus asked him do you believe I can do this for you supposing he said oh I'm not so sure he wouldn't have been healed or supposing and said well I think you can open one eye here I've got only one eye open because he said according to your faith be it unto you not according to my faith according to your faith if you come to Jesus and say Lord can you forgive my sins he says do you believe I can do this for you you say yes Lord I believe you can forgive my sins according to your faith be done to you you're forgiven immediately and then you go to him and say Lord can you give me a victory over sin and the Lord says do you believe I can do this for you you say well I'm not so sure I'm sure you can forgive me but I'm not so sure whether you can give me victory over sin the Lord says according to your faith be done to you you'll never get victory over sin because it's according to your faith do you believe I can do this for you not do you believe that you can do it yourself that of course the answer is always no do you believe I the Lord can do this for you given Lee I can keep you from falling like it says in the book of Jude verse 24 you say no Lord I don't believe you can keep me from falling according to your faith beat and you'll keep on falling every day of your life even fifty years from now the reason why most Christians have not experienced the promise of God is because they do not believe they believe for all types of other things that are not written in Scripture like getting a better house or a better car or something like that but the most important thing you need in your life is not a better house or a better car it's freedom from sin from anger and from lust and from telling lies and from all the other wretched things that are defiling you corrupting you making you useless in God's service and could one day take you to hell you know you can go to heaven living in a small house and riding a bicycle and you go to hell with a big house and a big car so those are not the things we should be pursuing those are added extras the bonuses that God throws in our main aim in life must be to pursue his righteousness jesus said seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first that means seek to be holy first of all that's the meaning of that command in Matthew 6:33 seek to be holy and don't seek after material things these are the things God will add to you as he sees fit and as he sees you need it but we have a Christendom today that has stopped seeking God's kingdom and his righteousness and is seeking after all these other things exactly what Jesus told him not to seek for and there are preachers who teach them to seek that false prophets plenty of them in Christendom today so when we turned luke's gospel chapter 2 you see there some amazing words if I were to ask you who was the first human being upon whom the grace of God rested do you know who the answer is what the answer is the answer is Jesus when he came as a human being he gave up those resources he had his God though he was God himself he lived as a human being and human beings need grace and so we read in Luke chapter 2 verse 40 these amazing words about Jesus right from the time he was a child it says the grace of God was upon him and Romans 6:14 says when the grace of God is upon someone he gets victory over sin so in Luke chapter 2 verse 40 when it says the grace of God was upon Jesus it kept him from sinning also his life that's how he overcame sin we need to see that that trouble with a lot of Christians is that they've already formed an opinion in their mind concerning what's right every group of Christians as an inherited tradition from what they have learned from their pastors and leaders in their churches and they are unwilling to change it they read a verse and they pour it into their preconceived theology the result is they live defeated lives constantly if you want to be free you must be willing to let God break those traditions and teach you the truth the truth will set you free and the truth is that because Jesus was tempted in all points as we are and did not sin Hebrews 4:15 therefore the next verse says let us also go and get this same grace to help us in the time of our need from the throne of grace which grace the same grace that Jesus received did he receive grace well it says here from the time he was a child the grace of God was upon him and up to the time of his death we read in Hebrews and chapter 2 that it was by the grace of God Hebrews 2 verse 9 that he tasted death he could not have gone to the cross if the grace of God did not help him to go there from childhood we read in Luke 2:40 to his death in Hebrews 2:9 what was it that carried Jesus through grace grace by the way is not God's unmerited favor as some people say it is that is another unscriptural definition unmerited favor every human being on the face of the earth gets it godless people terrorists they God gives them health God gives them food God gives them children you think it's all merited completely unmerited god is showering his favor on all types of people on physical blessings material blessings and even spiritual things it's all unmerited old testament people got unmerited favor but the bible says in john chapter 1 in verse 17 that grace came only through jesus christ it's only from the time of christ that grace became available and he was the first person who experienced that like it says the grace of god was upon him and because of that he overcame sin he had to be an example for us in holiness holiness means freedom from sin and it is impossible to come to that life without grace we need to know the distinction between mercy and grace and hebrews chapter 4 and verse 15 we saw that wonderful verse which says jesus was tempted in all points exactly like us but he did not sin therefore what shall we do I mean is that just something we had to admire oh that's wonderful that he did not sin oh it's wonderful that he came in our flesh no it's not just something to be admired it is something from which we have to get there must be a result from that there must be something which we do because of that and that's what it says in the next verse therefore therefore what shall we do we shall also go to the throne of grace and when we go to the throne of grace what do we get there first of all we get mercy all of us need mercy Jesus never needed mercy merci refers to forgiveness for our past failures we have all failed so badly that we need forgiveness and that's called mercy there's plenty of it in the old test references to it in the Old Testament the mercy of the Lord endures forever his mercy is generation to generation etc but you never find in the Old Testament that God gave grace to be he gave them mercy today we can get the same mercy because we have fallen so many times but God wants to give us something more than mercy and that is grace grace is God's power to help us Hebrews 4:16 in that time of need our time of need is when we are tempted when we attempted we attempted to fall and that is a thousand times worse than financially or physical sickness we're tempted to fall and at that time we need grace to help us to stand let us go to the throne of grace and get it just like jesus prayed and got from the father we can also go to the Father and get to use an illustration we can picture ourselves like mountain climbers climbing up a mountain and say in one place you slip and you're about to fall and you're hanging on by your fingers but you're too proud to ask for help and you slip and you fall and you break your bones and you're lying at the bottom and then you ask for help and the ambulance comes along picks you up takes you to the hospital that's mercy that is help after you have fallen coming to forgive your sin to cleanse you to restore you to fellowship with God that's good that you ask for help then but that's the second best the best is while you're hanging there by your fingers about to slip and fall you cry out to God for grace Lord I'm weak I acknowledge my weakness I need help please come and help me now then you find amazingly grace lifts you up and puts you on top of that rock from which you are about to slip and fall then you don't need the ambulance because you didn't fall grace to help us in our time of need now this is not just a beautiful illustration if it were a beautiful illustration I wouldn't just a beautiful illustration now it wouldn't be worth even talking about it it's practical and real and if you don't believe that you can try it out next time do this next time when you're tempted instead of being proud and saying I can resist that on my own I can manage on that on my own humble yourself and say I can't manage on my own I'm not able to get victory this temptation is too strong for me whatever it is whatever your temptation is and you know what it is in your life will you humble yourself and go to God and say Lord this is too strong for me I cannot get victory but I believe you can help me to overcome it I'm coming to your throne of grace please forgive me for all the years when I've fallen into this sin but now I have learnt the secret I'm going to come to you and ask you for grace before I fall when I'm slipping when I find the pressure too much I'm going to ask you Lord give me grace for example let's take a practical case supposing you are being tempted to get angry or you're tempted with tremendous pressure to some type of to watch pornography or some dirty thoughts and you find you're slipping you're slipping you're trying to resist it but you sleep you're like about to fall from the cliff ask God say Lord will you give me grace right now that I can stand that I don't fall you will be amazed to find how a power comes to lift you up and make you stand on the rock without falling and God helps you so that you don't fall that is the will of God for you and me I want to say to you that Jesus received help from his father because he cried out with loud crying in tears it says in Hebrews five seven and he stood and we can stand - he says to us follow me may God bless you

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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: gtlBvtCVJ6s

Length: 25min 8sec (1508 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 18 2017