Humility and Self Judgement by Zac Poonen

we know that humility is one of the greatest virtues in the Christian life the Bible says and I believe this is the reason I why I mentioned that is because there is a law in the spiritual not many there are many laws and one of the laws in the spiritual world is similar to the what we see in the law of gravity water always flows to the lowest place first if there's a puddle after the rain it'll be in the lowest spot in the road that the puddle is there it's because the law of gravity it's a law that operates all over the world and in the same way the Bible says God gives grace to the humble if you're not familiar with that that promises in 1 Peter 5 verse 5 so very important promise God gives grace to the humble in other words if you're humble you don't have to ask for grace it'll just come see that low spot on the road darlin does not ask the rain to come there it just comes it comes because it's a low spot on the road if some high spot on the road pleads with the rain to make a puddle there it just won't do it this is your too high so if your too high and we ask God for grace and if it doesn't come you know why God gives grace to the humble it's a law you can't change it and the puddle of rainwater will always be in the lowest part in the road not in the high spots the high spots will be dry and that's why you see a difference among Christians and God's aim is to bring every one of us to a low spot I don't mean a low estimate of ourselves there's a lot of difference within humility and a low estimate of ourselves some people say oh you people are trying to have a lawyer's to measure us as I say I don't certainly don't have a low estimate of myself why should I I'm a son of God the king of the universe is my father how in the world can I have a low estimate of myself but that doesn't mean I'm proud humility you can be the humblest humblest person on earth and have a awareness of who you are Jesus Christ was always aware that he was Lord of lords but he said learn from me for I am humble of heart so don't confuse the two we must never have a low estimate of ourselves demeaning ourselves saying I'm rotten I'm good for nothing it's not true I'm a child of God I'm a new creation in God but that doesn't but I'm not proud of it because God did it all and that's why it says humility is a very important thing it says in Philippians 2 verse 5 have this attitude in yourself which is in Christ Jesus I've often said that you can live all your life with that just one verse even if you don't know any other verse in the Bible have this attitude in yourself at all times that Jesus had had the same attitude as he had - what sin have the same attitude as he had towards women he always was very pure in the way he looked at women have that attitude have the same attitude Jesus had towards money he used money but he never loved it have the same attitude that Jesus had towards Pharisees who are hypocrites expose them speak against them have the same attitude that Jesus had towards people who make money in the temple chase them whip them out or money in the church have the same attitude as Jesus had in every area you can live with that one verse it's been a great help to me have the same attitude that Jesus had whenever I'm reading a book what would Jesus think of mine the pictures in this book should I see them a magazine chuck it aside Jesus wouldn't want to look at them and I don't want to look at them either what a you know your entire life in every situation when you're in your office in your difficult situations in your office with your boss and you ask yourself what shall I do and I see all tell me what to do have the same attitude that Jesus had there too uh Jesus humbled himself under Joseph and Mary who were a legitimate authority over him for thirty years of his life and then a time came when he moved out of the house and then he did not have to submit to them so in every area of life we can take this one verse and live by it have the same attitude in you that Jesus had can you think of any situation in your life but that words can't help you it's an amazing verse but then he goes on to explain it and says this is what I mean by this have the same attitude now notice this and if you look if you'll read carefully it's in your Bible but sometimes you don't notice it the first step he took was a step of humility he was God verse six and he did not hold on to that position of equality with God you know how human beings love to show that they are important people that they are not ordinary people there are people with a racist mentality who try to show that I'm not the same level as you I'm a slightly slightly superior race to you that is the spirit of Satan it's a spirit of the Antichrist spirit Christ was God what higher position can you have than that a racist cannot be a true disciple of Jesus it is impossible because he looks down on another person because of the color of his skin or because of that person's culture imagine if Jesus had treated you like that say you're far beneath me your culture is so inferior to mine where would you be if you're a disciple of Jesus you will treat other people the way Jesus treated you I made that a law in my life I want to treat other people the way Jesus treated me he forgave me so much I can forgive other people much not little but much because that's how Jesus treated me Jesus did not was not a racist in his attitude towards me he treated me as an equal he calls me a brother even though he's Almighty God and I see I can never have a superior attitude to another human being of the race of Adam I can consider myself superior to a dog or a cat but not to another human being because Almighty God became a human being just like me so that's the first step of humility though he was God he came down and became a man and there is only one type of man it's not black or yellow or white or red it's man and Jesus became a man have this attitude in you which is in Christ Jesus he had a position far higher far superior than any of us can ever have and he identified himself with the least and the lowest he didn't despise anyone a woman caught in adultery he took her side against the Bible reading Pharisees who wanted to kill her that's God he identified himself he was pure but he identified himself with the worst of sinners because he says is the sick people who need a doctor not the healthy people I came for the sick I came for sinners I didn't come for the righteous people I remember once at the end of a meeting I was talking to a nominal Christian couple who were not born again they were belong to some denomination I don't know which one and I was speaking to them and I said I'll tell you why you're not born again you're coming to Jesus as Christians and let me tell you the truth Jesus didn't die for Christians did you know that he never died for a single Christian they were shocked I said you know who Jesus died for he died for sinners you come to Jesus as a sinner you can be forgiven you come to Jesus as a Christian and say sorry I didn't die for you he didn't die for Muslims or Hindus you come to Jesus as a Muslim and Hindu sorry you can't be saved we're sinners all have sinned there's only one religion Christian all human beings belong to sinners they succumb to Jesus a sinner you can be forgiven when you come to Jesus on any other basis you can't be forgiven you come to Jesus thinking you're little superior to send her to that guy over there he won't be forgiven that's what the Pharisee prayed lord I thank you I'm not like other men Luke 18 and consider that guy over there look at him I'm not as bad as him he was not forgiven and the other guy he was such a wretched sinner standing in the corner he would didn't even have the courage to lift up his head to God the bow designs that Oh God be merciful to me and you know it doesn't come out very clearly in the English it's in many translations and Luke 18 it says be merciful to me a sinner well that's not how it the original is the original is be merciful to me the sinner and in the margin of my nasb it says that the sinner why does he call himself the sinner that publican that's in Luke 18 and verse 9 onwards to 14 you can take time to look at it sometime why does he say meet the sinner he's saying I feel I am the greatest sinner on earth or probably the only sinner on earth compared to all the others that's why he was forgiven I see you come to Jesus believing that you are the greatest sinner on earth you'll be forgiven in no time and you know when you see the gravity of sin you can understand why Paul came to a place in his life where he said in 1 Timothy 1:15 I am the chief of sinners he wasn't saying this to act humble there are many people with a false humility will say oh I'm a great sinner they don't believe it Paul was saying it really in fact if you look at Paul's life there's a progression when he was 55 years old he said in 1 Corinthians 15 and we turn you to that verse if you don't know it 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 9 and 10 he said 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 9 he wrote this when he was about 55 years old I am the least of the Apostles that was his opinion when he compared himself with Peter James John all the other possibilities I am the least I'm an apostle sure but I'm the least among them five years later he wrote ephesians when he was 60 years old then he writes in Ephesians three visions chapter three and verse eight Ephesians 3:8 he says I am the least of all the believers in the world when he was 55 he thought he was the least of the Apostles when he was sixty he's gone further down he says I'm the least of all the believers in the world have you ever felt like that have you ever in your life felt you're the least of all the believers in the world or do you feel sometimes you're not as bad as some others believers well that's because you're so far away from God Paul is pretty close to God the closer you get to God the more you become lower in your own estimation then at the age of 65 this he wrote when he was sixty when he's 65 he writes 1 Timothy in 1:15 1 Timothy 1:15 he says in the last part of that verse I'm the greatest sinner of all the sinners that ever lived how do you like that so many people's progression in holiness is I become a little holier now I'm a little more holy now than I was 10 years ago but Paul was going the other way he says I'm the least of the Apostles 5 years later he's the least of all the believers and 10 years later he feels he's the greatest sinner on earth how's that was Paul committing murder and adultery and all types of things no I personally think he was the holiest man on earth how does the holiest man on earth feel he's the greatest sinner on earth it means that he's so close to God it's like if you think of God is a very bright light and you know you got maybe stain or some discoloration on your clothes when you're far away from that light you don't see it you think your dress is pretty clean and you come closer and you say hey it's not as clean as I thought and you come much closer and you see even greater filth there it's like an a deeper scan you come close to God and God gives you a deeper scan of your inner life in your heart in fact that is one of them marks that we as making spiritual progress that we discover deeper levels of what other people don't even consider as sin but we see it in ourselves and that's the mark of spiritual growth so that is the first thing if Paul says in Philippians to have the same attitude that was in Christ who though he was God became a man and then secondly Philippians 2 again have this attitude in Christ as you that was in Christ verse 6 so though he was God did not hang on to that position or exalt himself but became a man then becoming a man he went one step lower still he became a slave see among human beings there are kings and there are middle class people and then there are slaves slave is worse than a servant the servant gets a salary where slave is like furniture if you buy a chair you buy a slave in the market in those days the same thing you can destroy that chair if you like you can kill the slave nobody will question you a slave had no rights he was not paid a salary he could not escape he could not leave that job just like if you buy a chair you keep that chair in your house forever the chair cannot complain about you paint it black or green or whatever you like destroy it one day a slave was like that zero rights no not all men are like that they're very very few in history who was utter slaves and Jesus not only became a man he went lower down and it says it became like a bond slave he took a very low position a slave cannot complain if his master says you stupid idiot he cannot say why do you call me that the Pharisees turned to Jesus and said you Prince of devils he kept quiet he said you're forgiven see that's the position of a slave I don't have any rights people can call me anything they like have you taken have you taken that position okay now can your wife call you by any name she likes what can your husband call you by any name he likes you're not a slave you have some rights say how dare you called me by that name you're not a slave you're a human being all right but not a slave Jesus went lower still here's a became a man second step humility again he became a slave and you say well slave is the lowest is anything worse than that yes there is and that is a murderer and a criminal a criminal in a murderer is worse than a slave the Romans had slaves but they never crucified them they just treated them badly but if they saw a murderer or criminal they crucified him they didn't put him in prison they crucified him that's what they did to all criminals and murderers and it says here Jesus went lower than a bond slave first step God to man humility second step man to slave humility third step it says in verse 8 he humbled himself to become obedient to the point of death even the death on a cross death on a cross crucifixion was the worst type of killing that man has ever invented you know man is invented hanging and lethal injection an electric chair and you know firing squad there's so many ways in which they kill criminals even today but crucifixion hanging on a cross for hours with all the pain and shame public shame was one of the worst forms of killing that man has ever invented in the history of humanity I know you remember that Kevon the cross wasn't even dead after six hours they had to forcibly kill him so it's a very painful slow and very humiliating shameful death with all the people staring at you're almost naked body and humiliation pain suffering everything and it's interesting that Jesus waited in heaven until man had discovered the worst form of killing and then came to earth he said now I'm ready to come to earth because now man has discovered the worst form of killing people now I'm ready to go and die you know if Jesus had to die for our sins he could have died of a cold or a fever or or cancer or something like that why should he die in this painful way if he's okay died for our sins died in a sort of a decent way in some corner somebody stabs him to death or something no it hadn't didn't have to be like that his humanly his humanity must go to the bottom lower than any human being ever went from the highest height as God to the lowest depth that any human being has ever gone that's why Jesus came if Jesus had come earlier when people were just hanging them and somebody who was crucified later on could say well Lord I went lower than you I was crucified I wasn't just hanged Jesus waited until they discovered crucifixion and came to earth then so that he'd have the most humiliating death that any human being has ever had in the history of humanity so what are the three steps got to man humility man to bondslave humility one slave to criminal humility that's why I often say there are three secrets in the Christian life humility humility humility if you've learned it you've learned the secrets is there in Philippians two this is one example of how we can read the Bible and not see it it's there it's in your Bible I've had people tell me brother Zack after listening to you I got a new Bible it's the same old Bible but you didn't read it slowly you were too much in a hurry he were too too much in a hurry to do other things but if you read it slowly and carefully and honored God and allowed the Holy Spirit to show you know I myself never saw these things for many years so I'm not blaming anybody well I'm just saying there's such depth I mean I've read this book for 55 years and when I read it today I see things there which I said Wow how is it I missed it after reading at all these 55 years I didn't see that that's how this book is it's a well that never runs dry you keep on drawing water from it and there's a stain the same level of water again tomorrow MTC haven't you seen wells like that no matter how much water you draw from it there's still the same level of water the next day in the next year and 15 years from now we got a well like that in our house that it never seems to go down it's always there no matter what much water you draw from it is there it's wonderful God's Word is like that so I only encourage you folks just by these examples to show you that there are things in God's Word you're missing which can not just knowledge for you to preach you know some people listen to me pretense here that's a good point for me to preach somewhere dear mean don't do that you're seeking honor you want to preach that somebody said people think oh what a wonderful person that is who preached that don't seek honor seek obedience say Lord when I read that passage I don't want to go now somewhere and proclaim the three secrets of humility I want to practice it I want to go down and be humble because God gives us grace to the humble not those who understand the three steps of humility no those are actually humble and there are many people who cannot explain these three steps who are humble they get Grace and there are people who can explain these three steps because they heard me preach on it who don't get grace that's why I say don't look for an explanation it's better to have humility than to know it's definition I hope you know that it's better to be holy than to have no the definition of holiness we are such intellectual people that we always try to live in the intellect and that's why we never grow spiritually Christianity is not a religion of the head it's a religion of the heart and if I leave it in my head he doesn't make me better it'll just make me a Pharisee with a lot of knowledge and it make me a very proud person now the thing is it's not just that God gives grace to the humble in 1 Peter 5:5 I left out the first part of it the first part of it says that God resists the proud so it's not that God ignores the proud that would have been ok but if there's any pride in me God resists me hmm so here's a law the law is if you're proud whoever you are God will be your enemy I mean that's like saying if you jump off the roof of a building whoever you are the law of gravity will pull you down the law of Na law gravity is not going to check up is this a believer is it a wholehearted believer jumping of the roof or is it a sinner it doesn't couldn't care less whether you're a wholehearted believer or a sinner law of gravity says I don't care you just come down I pull you down and so the same way God resists the proud he's not finding out he always he a believer is he a serious believer and easy proud doesn't matter he'll be your enemy he resists the proud just like I said the law of gravity doesn't care who you are when you jump off the roof of the building you'll go down and you'll kill yourself God resists the proud proud believer proud unbeliever it makes absolutely no difference he's the enemy of all the proud if you have a little bit of pride in you God resists you a little bit if you got a lot of pride new he resists you a lot and I pictured it like this God gives grace to the humble but he resists the proud means this is New Covenant truth you'll never find in the Old Covenant the word grace new testament word grace is not found in the Old Testament I know in the King James Version it says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord I looked up the original Hebrew and it says it's not grace it's favor Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord which is very different from New Testament grace new Stetsons grace is something that could only come after Jesus Christ there's a great verse in John 1:17 the law came by Moses but grace came by Jesus Christ there was no grace on earth before Jesus came John 1:17 settles it so whatever people had in the Old Testament does not new testament grace that's why they could not get victory over sin because it says sin shall not have dominion over you because you're under grace now and God gives us grace to the humble so when I put these two verses together okay let me use my logic now I did not get victory over sin in a particular situation when somebody provoked me I lost my temper okay I didn't get victory why according to Romans 6:14 at that moment I did not get grace then I go further back why didn't I grace why didn't I get grace because 1 Peter 5:5 God gives grace only to the humble so at that particular moment God saw I was not humble so I did not get grace so I did not get victory it's like two plus two is four I did not get victory because I didn't get grace I didn't get grace because I was not humble that means there was some element amount of pride in me so whenever I am defeated by sin all I need to ask myself is not why answer you know why you didn't get grace and that also you don't have to ask why why you didn't grace is also answer is that you were proud all you need to ask every time you are defeated by sin is Lord where was i proud I learned to ask myself that question when I was defeated by sin I'm eagerly longing for years for victory and I didn't get it in some time I never asked why I knew I didn't get raised that also I knew why I was proud I would ask Lord show me where was i proud that you could not give me grace at this time and then the Lord would show me maybe sometime the previous day where I was puffed up by something something I did maybe used something I did for the Lord and the Lord say there and I mean so thankful for those revelations in my life where God showed me my pride because I've seen pride like answer I'd be very grateful to a doctor who gives me a free scan and shows me a little cancer inside me which the doctor says a good thing is detected now we can remove it and you can be healthy would you be grateful to a doctor like that forever sure I'd say Lord thank you so much this fellow who provoke me to anger reveal the cancer in my system of pride that I could not or I could not respond to him graciously thank you thank you for revealing it to me I want to be free from the cancer of pride completely that's why I say in the Christian Church we judge ourselves I don't ask why why did he get angry with me no the question I ask myself is why did I respond in anger that's a more important question to me then why did he get angry with me why did he speak to me like that doesn't matter why did I respond like that that's a much more important question to me the world is full of people who say why and how in the world did that fellow speak to me like that who does he think he is why did he speak to me like that I never asked that question I ask the question why did I respond like this and if you want to grow spiritually judge yourself don't judge the other person the household of God consists of people who judge themselves first it's one of the great truths I discovered about building the Church of Jesus Christ when I discovered it I said Lord wherever I build a church and now the Lord has planted about a hundred churches many parts of India and the villages cities and in other countries and I always say Lord I don't want to build a Church of people just a big crowd of people who sing nicely and preach nicely no not even a bunch of people who watch my videos I'm not interested in that I want to gather together people who have learned to judge themselves first because I know that's the mark of the household of God and I'll show it to you in Scripture turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 4 1 Peter 4 and verse 17 it says here time has come for judgment to begin in the household of God it's one of the few places in scripture where you read that expression the household of God that means the family of God I have believed that the church is the family of God it's not a congregation people sitting together in a building listening to a good sermon I like a lot of people sitting in a good restaurant because they offer good food there there are some restaurants that are very popular any time you go that's crowded because there's good food and there's some so-called churches mega churches you're very popular because the preacher is a great preacher very gifted and very entertaining to listen to but I said lord I don't want to build anything like that I'm not interested in building a mega church I am interested in building the family of God and you know the difference between a restaurant and a family here is a family meeting around the dining table in a home it's not as crowded as that 300 people sitting in a restaurant these are maybe five or six people but it's a family they belong to one another they're committed to one another that is the only church I want to build in my life because the church is meant to be the family of God not a restaurant where people come to taste interesting preachers so we read here in 1 Peter SEP 4:17 the time has come for judgment to begin in the household of God and this judgment must begin with us first stop there judgment must begin with us first in the family of God so I've learned the secret how to build the family of God very simple gather people who are born again and teach every one of them to judge themselves first even if the other person did something wrong you judge yourself first like you know when Adam God asked Adam where are you and he says I was afraid he's hiding behind a tree if you want to know how sin makes a person stupid here's the first example of it he thinks by hiding banditry God won't see him it's like some hide-and-seek game where you hide behind a tree God wants you that is how classic example our sin makes you utterly stupid anyway God spoke to him and said who told you that you were naked he said I was afraid I was naked and I thought you would who told you did you eat of the tree I told you not to eat for which there's only a very simple answer yes or no what sin also makes a man justify himself blame other peoples all the result of sin Lord the whole problem is with my wife yes there are those familiar words the whole problem is with my wife and secondly why in the world did you give me a wife like this that also Adam said those Adam said those first words by the way not you Adam said it long before you said white in the world will give me a husband like this this wife whom you gave me Oh so God is at fault ultimately right for hints and the simple question to ask Adam is why did you open your mouth and eat it shut yourself man even if God gave you this wife you know the wife gave you the fruit why did you open your mouth and eat it judge yourself you can learn that in the Garden of Eden and that's why Adam was kicked out of paradise learn another lesson from the thief who hung on the cross the opposite of that who went into paradise the paradise from which Adam was kicked out for blaming his wife and eating a tree eating fruit a murderer went into that paradise he took the blame that's all he did he said I'm guilty why didn't the other murderer on the other side going to paradise he was just as bad he wouldn't take the blame that's all the only difference between the two murderers was one took the blame completely the other wouldn't take it one judged himself the other didn't we judge ourselves we become part of the family of God that other murderer said get me down from the cross I've done wrong maybe I deserve a few years in jail but not crucifixion I'm not that bad that's what he was saying bring me down from the cross I don't deserve crucifixion I deserve maybe a few years in jail but the other thief said the other murderer and thief said I deserve this I'm guilty I'm not blaming my parents for bringing her back bringing me up badly no no no no I'm not blaming the bad company I fell into that they gave me bad habits no I'm not blaming the judge it was hard on me or the policeman who caught me I'm not blaming a single soul on the earth it's me Lord just have mercy on me remember me when you come into your kingdom and Jesus knew the kingdom will last will come only after another 2000 years and the people didn't know that so that we told the murderer don't worry you don't have to wait 2,000 years you'll come into my paradise today you know a lot of people haven't learned that lesson with that thief new judge yourself first your paradise will begin today judge your wife first you will lose paradise today that's the difference in Adam and the thief on the cross you know how Christians say to sinners go and kneel at the foot of the cross I'd say yes go and kneel at the foot of the cross of the thief first before you go to the cross of Jesus going kneel there and say Oh thief please teach me something how to judge myself then go to the cross of Jesus and ask him to forgive you you have to learn something even from that murderer on the cross is a very important verse the household of God is a place where we judge ourselves first now I want to ask you in the light of that are you a part of the family of God you know what will happen in your home if you and your partner has been a wife learn to judge yourself first today you will enter into paradise like jesus said your home will be a paradise on earth why are you kicked out a paradise because you say you are the cause of it have you ever said words like this to your husband a wife how many times I've told you not to do that or how many times I told you you must do this first how many times Wow this is the expert speaking no wonder so many Christian homes are more like hell on earth rather than paradise on earth and yet it's such a simple rule judge yourself first I'm not preaching what I didn't practice I didn't practice it for many years my beginning of my married life was like anybody else's stupid foolish blaming other people blaming God but is gone I've learned the secret and it's such a simple secret to judge myself first whatever may go wrong to judge myself first because that's a mark of belonging to the family of God I want to be a part of the family of God I want my home to be a part of the family of God I'll give you an example the Bible says you know to use the rod on your child so that they don't go to hell it's written in Proverbs use the rod and you'll save your child from hell discipline your child while there's hope train up a child in the way he should go when he's old he will not depart from it I had four sons and I wanted every one of them not just to be born again and baptized a lot of people want that so that people in the church will say oh brother zag sons are born again baptized I couldn't care less what people say I said Lord I'm interested what do you think about them are they disciples are they following you so I followed Scripture and I discipline them not always with the rod sometimes I just take certain privileges away from them like you can't play cricket today that is a such a terrible punishment that they come and say dad give me the rod let me go and play cricket but it was depriving them mean you don't have to always use the rod of certain privileges I don't mean ice-cream and food like that that is a crime to punish them saying no ice cream no food bad boy or good boy you'll all get the same but certain other privileges so you can't play today or something like that but I believe very strongly in discipline but once they crossed the age of 12 they became 13 and teenager I think they're too old now to be physically punished because if I haven't succeeded in 13 years to get them to obey me I'm not gonna succeed now so what happened with one of my boys mmm he one day deceived me I never cease to tell the story because it's a very interesting story of how God treats us he deceived me one day in a very small silly thing which was absolutely meaningless he wanted to play cricket for the school because he was selected for the school cricket team and there was a cricket match that day and he thought if he mentioned that to me I would say no no cricket go go to go to your class and study that's more important but he misunderstood me I would have him to go but he didn't think I would so what did he do he dressed up in his school uniform to go to school and he hid his cricket uniform inside his bank who went and played cricket I don't know maybe he won the game I don't know how but by time he came back I knew that he had cheated me for such a silly thing and when he came and he saw my face when he came back was cool he knew I had discovered and he knew what happened on previous occasions whenever I discovered something with that so I said son we've got to talk about this let's go to the other room there was always a room where you'd go to for such excess for such exercises so we went there and I said let's kneel down he was not a below 12 now he was about 15 or 16 so I said I know what you did you tried to fool me cheat me okay let's kneel down I put my arm around him when I pray and I said Heavenly Father tell me where I fail as a father that my son should be see me about such a silly unnecessary useless thing like this help me to be a better father I pray in Jesus name Amen I said okay son you can go that's it he got such a surprise does never like the old days and you know ten years later when he came to speak to the young people in Bangalore he told the story that's why I don't mind telling you it's not a secret and he said that did more good to me then all the spankings I ever got in my life because I as a father judge myself it's a wonderful thing I'm not teaching you a psychological technique that you manipulate your children with you know you hear something and say I'm gonna try that technique with my children it's not gonna work it's not a technique you got to love your children you got to have a heart to God you must do what the Holy Spirit tells you at a particular time there are times when I would have to rebuke my children I mean I have not used the rod on my channel they're grown-up but they've I've rebuked them there are certain times when we have to rebuke them and correct them that's all so this is not a technique I'm telling you to listen to the Holy Spirit but I do say you know a lot of parents and their children grow up they don't put their arm around them and show their affection and pray for them I believe you should pray with your children I baby should put your arm around and that touch means a lot and it does even when you pray with your wife or children the physical touch means a lot and that they know that you love them I know you can say it with your words but a hug and a touch means a lot more it's really true so this business of judging oneself is a very important thing and it's only found in the New Testament you never find it in the Old Testament any teaching about judging yourself they were so strict according to laws you've got to do this you got to do that but in the New Testament I want to examine myself if I have disobeyed some commandment Lord is there something wrong with me turn with me to Psalm 139 there's a lovely prayer that David prayed Psalm 139 you're familiar with these words I'm sure psalm 139 verse 23 and 24 search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts anxious thought and see if there's any hurtful way in me and lead me in the way everlasting in the King James Version it says if there's any wicked way in me in the NASB it says any hurtful way in me and now the question is is it something that hurts me or something that hurts God and that's where I like the Living Bible is there any way in me that hurts you I don't know how it is in your translations but the Living Bible paraphrase of that is beautiful it refers the word hurtful which is translated as hurtful way as says something that hurt God and not hurt me and so it says Lord show me is there anything in my life that's making you sad it's such a wonderful prayer I printed it out on a card mm-hmm many years ago and gave it to everybody in our church I said put this in your front room that you pray that you remember everyday to ask God Lord show me is there anything in me that's making you sad not that's making you angry that makes us afraid of God but Lord is anything in me that's making you sad that's the question of a lover one who really loves husband or wife say is there anything in my life that's hurting you is making you sad please tell me I want to get rid of it that's our relationship with God Lord show me anything in my life that's making you sad beautiful words that's meaning of judging yourself it's not I'm afraid God will punish me oh lord please show me let me get rid of that before you punish me no no it's a loving father whom I'm hurting I'm hurting by the way I behaved or the way I act in some way my attitude to somebody or something some rude thing that I said to someone I remember once in my church there was something wrong with the audio system and something went wrong and I thought one young brother was in charge of it messed up something and it was an important meeting and I went to him and said hey you got to be much more careful about these type of things and I spoke to him very strongly and afterwards I realized that it wasn't really his fault boy how did I feel I went immediately he was younger than my youngest son I went to him and I say hey I'm really sorry that was my fault I shouldn't have spoken to you like that I should have first verified what was the cause but I was too impatient and I'm really sorry I say Lord is there anything that hurts me in you me that hurts you and he doesn't just have to be a believer I remember once years ago I probably don't remember maybe 30 40 years ago I was I went to a bank to get a bank draft to be sent somewhere and we said come back at four o'clock and we'll have it ready I went back at four o'clock and it wasn't ready so I manager was standing there in presence of others and I said sir when the previous manager was here things are a lot more efficient than right now and I walked away and as I walked away I went outside on the road the Lord said go back you must not speak to an authority in an office like that go back and publicly apologize to him I didn't even go far I walked right back and I said sir I'm sorry for the way I spoke it's very important when God speaks to you something that you don't delay that's humility you obey immediately what is it what is a slave do the master says something you doesn't say well I think about it boy he dare not that's the way it trade-union people say my trade union will support me now a slave okay sir be quick to judge yourself it make a world of difference in your life and if you do that and teach other people to do that you will build a family of God where you are this is the secret the family of God is when we allow the Holy Spirit to immediately show us something and we said it right immediately I often use the example of a thorn getting into your foot when a thorn gets into your foot do you pray about it whether you should remove it or not or how long do you wait till the end of the day some people say confess all your sins at the end of the day you wait till the end of the day to pull out the thorn from your foot it's immediate you said something to hurt your wife when are you going to apologize for it some people after 2-3 days have you heard of husbands and wife who don't talk to each other for two three days the food is on the table they eat and they go that's not the way we should live immediately immediately I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that it'll take time this habit of doing things immediately because of one reason there's such a massive amount of pride in us far more than we think I want to tell you the only thing that prevents you from going and apologizing to somebody immediately is pride no other reason and if you can remember the moment you're proud and as long as you're proud God is your enemy you'll be scared to have pride in you I want God to be on my side all the time who is the one who can save God be for us who can be against us only a humble person because God is not for the proud person so you're missing a lot if you don't remain in humanity remember the puddles of water always in the lowest place the river of God always flows down to the lowest who's the one who's going to be filled with the spirit earliest in this group whoever is the humblest with God sees God sees everybody's heart the river is flowing and if you're in the lowest place you get filled first it's like that you know there are people who come to me and say oh brother Zack please lay your hands on me and that'll be filled with the Holy Spirit I said my empty hands are not gonna help you you humble yourself and the river of God will flow down into your heart immediately without anybody laying hands on your head the nail-pierced hand of Jesus on your head is enough so this is new covenant life humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that secret of Jesus life is humility humility humility and so he never sinned and his father could say I'm well pleased with him you remember at the engine age of 30 at the baptism think of this he'd never done a miracle never preached a sermon never cast out a demon never had any ministry what we called ministry zero and the father says I'm well pleased with him some of you don't have the ability to cast out demons or heal the sick or even preach a sermon do you think God can say about you I'm well pleased with you why not he said that about Jesus before Jesus had any ministry some people always have this idea only if I lose a ministry for God if I bring somebody to Christ then God will be happy with me jesus never preached a sermon he never did any such thing and the father said I'm well pleased with you so God's pleasure is not shown on those who have done some great thing for God what did Jesus do in those thirty years he constantly humbled himself received grace never sinned that's all and if you do that you may be an unknown person in your church with no ministry no ability to speak or preach or teach or heal or anything but you're really judging yourself every day and humbling yourself I want to tell you at the end of the day God will say I'm well pleased with you and at the end of your life even though you never preached a sermon in your whole life God will say I'm well pleased with you it's not my accomplishments by faithfulness and then when when you die and get before the Lord he can say well done good and faithful servant you never preached a sermon you never heal the sick person you never cast out a demon but you did what you could let me show you a contrast in Scripture another of those things that is in your Bible which you may not have noticed Matthew chapter 7 and verse 22 Matthew 7 verse 22 many that's the important word to note not few not some many many means when you think of the population of the world is billions maybe a few hundred thousand people many a hundred thousand people will come to me on the last day and say Lord Lord we preached we cast out demons and we performed not one or two miracles we performed many miracles what are they boasting about their ministry not about their life ministry ministry ministry this is what we did for you and the Lord says I never knew you go to hell all of you because there was sin in your life and that means a lot more to me then your healing the sick and casting out demons imagine people who heal the sick go to hell now I'll show you another group in the last day it's not such a big number Matthew chapter 25 Matthew 25 verse 31 the Son of Man will come in his glory and he will sit on his glorious throne to judge the world and he will say verse 34 Matthew 25:34 to those on his right come you blessed of the father inherit the kingdom that has prepared for you people from the foundation of the world why for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat I was thirsty you gave me something to drink and many other things like that and I was sick the middle of verse 36 and you did not heal me you just visited me because you had no gift of healing comment but coming to heaven have you seen the contrast there the fellows are healed the sick went to hell and the fellows who had no gift of healing but just visited the sick and encouraged them who enter heaven okay you can't heal the sick can you visit them and it's to encourage them it's amazing I tell you man's ways are not God's ways we think the guy who heals the sick will definitely go to heaven and here the Lord says they go to hell and this other person who just visited and encouraged the sick person never healed him maybe the sick person died that's okay Lord says you visited me I'll never forget that I like that because the Lord was saying there are ordinary things that you can do just to be good to other people maybe you can't heal maybe you can't freeze but can't you be good to someone I learned something from that I remember once the Lord told me never evaluate yourself by how many sermons you preached how many books you wrote how many sermons of yours are on the internet or how many people have been blessed through your ministry never never never that's not the issue examine your life and see how good you have been to people have you helped the needy have you been good to others around you being kind to them and I thought to follow that rule and I will not evaluate my life by my ministry but by my life because I evaluate myself by my ministry God's given me some gifts I mean you may not know it but the gift of preaching I know I have it is something God gave to me when I was 23 years old I was baptized just two years earlier 21 it was nothing I achieved I was so scared as a young man I couldn't stand before anybody I never took part in public speaking in school or even in the military but when God anointed me of the Holy Spirit he gave me the gift of preaching I was baptized at 21 and in 23 I was preaching to 5,000 people that was not something I produced it is a gift it's like you know baby getting father putting a million dollars into his account he didn't earn it you can't take any credit for it just like that so I can't take any credit for it God can give it to anybody but goodness that is a choice of mine it's a choice of yours and that's the thing that God's going to evaluate he's not going to compare you and me would say how many souls did you bring compared to brother Zach how many sermons did you preach compared how many people did you bless compared to that's not going to be the question in the final day it's not a question of how many people I healed how many people died visit and encourage that puts you and me on the same level if you choose preach if you take preaching as the test then I'm on a higher level than you if you take healing as a test maybe I have prayed for some sick people that mean here maybe that puts me on a higher level than you but just doing good to others and humbling myself and not getting upset with others that puts you and me on the same level that's what God matters in the final days this is new covenant life in the Old Testament you see these great men who accomplish great things is Elijah Alijah john the baptist's all great great men find in the New Covenant it's people like this who served others who visited who cared and helped and in Jesus name bless others that's the thing that counts and every one of us can do that god bless you let's pray Heavenly Father as we bow before you we pray that you will help us to have our priorities right we ask in Jesus name Amen

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 16,450

Rating: 4.8825994 out of 5

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

Id: 5O45AN-NIOw

Length: 63min 59sec (3839 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 06 2019