Let Peace Rule in Your Heart Always by Zac Poonen

well i hope you've had a good conference so far with all the other brothers they are very dear brothers the one who once who've spoken to you godly men and we praise god that he's raising up such people in our churches who are in touch with him and who can speak the word of god to another generation that is god's will all of us have a responsibility not only for our generation but for the next one you know paul was so concerned not only for the next generation but the generation after that turn with me to timothy paul's letters to timothy second timothy chapter 2 second timothy chapter 2 verse 2. we read that paul writes to timothy saying the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses and trust them not to just to any brother but to faithful brothers that's the second generation no paul sorry timothy is the second generation you have heard from me timothy paul is first generation timothy second generation you heard from me you must entrust them to a third generation of faithful men who will be able to teach a fourth generation you see the burden the apostle paul had that there should be a continuous testimony not just of good doctrine but of faithful men and women in every generation and that's the responsibility first of all not of elders but a parent paul was a spiritual father to timothy he called him his son and those of us who have children you have a responsibility to ensure that your children boys and girls grow up to be faithful young men and women in their generation it's not enough that you are wholehearted you must raise up another generation of wholehearted people there is a saying in the world in the business world that success without a successor is a failure success without a successor is a failure that means even if you've done a great job in a company but you haven't raised up someone to take over that job you're a failure same in a church if an elder brother does not raise up others who are faithful after him to carry on who are 20 25 years younger than him he's a failure and if you are a wholehearted brother and your children are not growing up to be wholehearted don't be so proud consider yourself a failure don't just say oh my children are born again they are baptized that's a very low level that is like saying well my children have passed kindergarten they they know their a b c and they know two plus two is four are you happy with that that your children passed kindergarten or even that they finished 12th standard every one of you you're eager that your children should go to college what about spiritually are they progressing we are living in a very evil world standards are going down particularly in the sexual area so many people are being tempted through the internet and many other things the whole society is going in another direction the influence of western in western influences are influencing christianity as well standards are going down there's so much of compromise in many churches for example divorce is something we never heard of in india in my younger days it has become common now among christians among people who call themselves born again christians what does it indicate standards are going down immorality people are married and are unfaithful to their wives i'm talking about believers i don't know whether they're real believers they claim to be believers a man can't be a believer and walking with the lord if he's unfaithful to his wife no he's deceiving himself even a person who's says he's happily married and he's watching pornography in secret he's fooling himself the sad thing is not that people fall into sin listen the sad thing is after they fall they don't weep they don't weep they don't repent there are no tears in their repentance you know the corinthian christians were they're known as a bunch of carnal people let me show you what paul tells them in one corinthians chapter three by the way we read in acts of the apostles paul spent one and a half years in corinth can you imagine if paul spent one and a half years in your church one and a half years the mightiest apostle in the world living in your town for one and a half years preaching every sunday and many days of the week visiting your homes boy you think you're going to have a really spiritual church paul started the church in corinth and stayed there for one and a half years 18 months because the lord told him it's all there in acts chapter 18 i have much people in this city there are people in your town whom god says i've got people that i want to reach and i've kept you there to be a witness in your office i know there are limitations in open witnessing in your countries but no one can stop the witness of your life your uprightness in your office no one can stop you from stop uh them from they can see you reading a book i remember when i was working as a naval officer and i had an office and a table i would keep a bible there and i would people would know what i was reading nobody can stop that i'm not actively witnessing i'm just keeping a book there to read people know that and i've the same in a ship and people see that and get converted i remember a brother said to me once that when he went into a new town and it was a sort of a christian town and he a country i mean nominally christian he didn't know how to make contact with other believers so he whenever he went to a restaurant to eat or have a cup of coffee while he's having that he'd sit there reading a bible openly and like that one or two believers saw him and say hey are you unbelievable are you a believer what a wise way to make contact with people in a strange town so paul writes to the corinthians in one corinthians chapter three verse one i cannot speak to you as to spiritual men but your fleshly men your babies in christ paul was there for one and a half years and some of these people never took their christian life seriously because they were clever they were clever they were rich and you are fleshly verse three there's jealousy among you there's strife among you you are walking like ordinary men you're walking like other men is it a crime to be walking like other people in the world yes it says here it's one of the crimes of the corinthians they were walking like all the other people they were behaving like all the other people you go into their homes and they would be yelling at each other husband and wife just like other people no that's not the deeper a christian this was the corinthian church and paul wrote such strong words to them some very strong words one one person who lived in sin he we read in 1 corinthians chapter 5 he said put that man outside the church remove him he called him a wicked man he was a believer 1 corinthians 5 13 he called him a wicked man take him out and it says here he verse 1 corinthians 5 5 he handed him over to satan apostles have that authority he could hand the believer over to satan not to send him to hell but to so trouble him in his life with all types of problems and sicknesses perhaps so that one day one corinthians 5 5 he'll be saved so sometimes god loves a person so much that he hands him over to satan so that he'll be troubled and gets saved you know so many people have been saved through sicknesses and getting cancer and things like that so god loves people not to give us a comfortable life on earth but to save us for eternity but this is the type of way paul dealt strictly with this church in corinth thank god for a strict apostle like paul who would not compromise and who did not care for his own honor whether people thought he was too hard or people thought he was strict he didn't bother about that he lived before god and he did his work what was the result a few years later he writes second corinthians and in second corinthians he says my my letter to you see what effect it had on you see one second corinthians chapter 7 and verse eight in the second letter he is telling them i caused you sorrow by my first letter i know that he says my first letter which is first letter to the corinthians caused you a lot of sorrow when you read it but i don't regret it i love preachers who are so faithful to the word of god that even when they cause sorrow to their hearers they don't regret it because they're concerned about the growth of those believers and not their own honor before those people to get a reputation for being very gentle or things like that no that's not what they're seeking for they're seeking for the good of the people they speak to and now see the result and he says in one second corinthians chapter 7 verse 8 although it caused you sorrow it was only for a little while now i rejoice because i see the result that that sorrow brought you to repentance and you that's such a sorrow is according to the will of god so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us so you see this is how paul wrote to people he wrote strongly and the purpose was that they might grow spiritually and become christ-like he says that's sorrow now listen to this in verse 10 the sorrow that is according to the will of god produces repentance and it says here that i'm sure there must have been a lot of weeping of their sorrow because it produced verse 11 what earnestness what a longing what zeal and you have demonstrated yourself verse 11 the last part innocent in this matter so when a preaching of an apostle brings a great sorrow in people because of their sin and they repent and they weep it's producing a result of the holy spirit that's how those apostles worked you know they were not concerned about their reputation they were never interested in people's money or honor and system they were concerned that people should come into godliness and he kept on speaking like that and that is god's will for all of our churches as well i want to share something further about how there is an expression in the bible called the goddess peace is a very important thing in the christian life in fact you know if you go right to the beginning of the birth of jesus what we read there in the when the angels came to the shepherds we read in luke chapter 2 that the angels said to the shepherds in luke chapter 2 and verse 14 the angels were singing and saying glory to god on the highest that we can understand and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased this is how it is in the nasb and i believe that's a good translation peace among those men with whom god is happy if god is happy with you you will have peace and if god is happy with your church there will be peace among people in that church god is not happy when there's no peace either in your heart or in your home or in your church peace on earth among men those men with whom he is happy how is it in your home how is it in your relationship with fellow believers we can't have peace with everybody the bible recognizes that but we must do our best let me read this verse to you in hebrews chapter 12. pursue peace hebrews 12 14 with all men even with unbelievers i must never never be a person known as a man of strife not in my office and not anywhere i want to be known as a man of peace everywhere so pursue peace with all men without which you will not see the lord isn't that quite a strong word if i'm not a man of peace it's a doubter that i will see the lord one day i have to pursue peace and holiness and then i want to show you romans in chapter 12. romans chapter 12. romans chapter 12 is a great chapter about christian living and in verse 18 we read if possible as much as it depends on you be at peace with all men we already saw in hebrews that we must pursue peace with all people but the holy spirit is realistic and he recognizes that some people will not cooperate with you in having peace even though you are for peace they are for war sometimes your relatives can be like that some daughters-in-law find that with their mother-in-law they want to be at peace for the mother-in-law wants war or the other way around some other in-laws want war but the daughter-in-law wants some mother-in-laws want peace but the daughter-in-laws want war what can you do even though you're a wholehearted christian and therefore it says in verse 18 if possible as much as it depends on you you know there are many commands in the new testament but there's only one command in the entire new testament which says do this if possible about no other command does it say that he doesn't say if possible don't steal if possible don't tell lies if possible don't murmur if possible don't complain no if possible don't kill people no command is prefaced with if possible if possible don't lust after women if possible don't get angry no such command one command in the bible it says if possible that is peace with all people because the holy spirit knows many people in the world don't want peace what can you do therefore it says as much as it lies in you be at peace see i've been a servant of the lord for more than 50 years and when you're a servant of the lord seeking to serve him under the anointing of the holy spirit you're a target of satan and i know i've been a target of satan i think it's a great honor to be a target of satan because he considers you to be a threat to his kingdom so what uh i've been a target of satan for a number of years but i'm not afraid of that because i feel it's an honor and so many people don't want to be at peace with me so what shall i do what shall i do i say lord if possible as much as it lies in me i shall i shall be at peace with all men but i can't guarantee that that's up to them from my side i will always seek to be at peace with every believer with my neighbors with my relatives with my in-laws and with every person in the world but it requires a cooperation from the other side i will not start a strife or a fight but if they want to be i i see i have nothing to say i people want to quarrel with me i say i'm not going to cooperate you know like i often say you need two hands to make a sound if somebody wants to come and fight with me and you refuse to cooperate they can never make a sound they cannot fight because i don't cooperate with them to make that sound so if possible as much as it lies in you it's entirely up to you whether there's strife or not let that person come for strife but you don't cooperate you seek peace it's a very important thing maybe your wife is in a bad mood one day or your husband is in a bad mood one day bear with it and keep going don't judge them you just make sure that you stay out of the way and be at peace that'd be a great testimony for your children when they grow up to see that i grew up in a home where i had a mother and father who were not yelling at each other like in other homes and they'd want a home home like that when they get married that's a very important testimony so peace is a very very important thing and i want to show you another verse uh colossians in chapter 3 colossians chapter 3 we read in verse 15. it's a very interesting verse it reminds us of a football game let the peace of christ and the margin it says act like a referee in your heart you know in a football game you have a referee and he says the peace of christ must be the referee in your heart you know what happens in a football game if the referee blows a whistle the game stops and you cannot continue the game until you bring the football to the place where the foul was committed put it there on the ground and then the referee says okay now the non-offending party can kick the ball and continue the game that's the meaning of a referee when the when you lack peace in your heart about any situation you're worried about something peace is gone or you're agitated about something peace is gone or you're disturbed the way somebody else is behaving and you want to go and tell him what you think peace is gone the referee is blowing a whistle in your heart stop don't go anywhere don't try and go and speak to that people at that time you know in the bible says that when we are we should not be we should be angry but not sin ephesians 4 and verse 26 ephesians 4 26 it says be angry but don't sin don't there is an anger without sin and there is an anger with sin the anger without sin is what concerns the glory of god when jesus saw people making money in the name of god in the temple jesus was angry and he took a whiff chased them out all the sheep and everything and when jesus saw some pharisees not willing to let a man with a withered hand to be healed on the sabbath day he was angry that is an anger without sin where it concerned the glory of god what is the anger with sin when people hurt us when they spat on jesus face and called him prince of devils he was not angry so there you understand jesus is the dictionary by which we know what the word of god means every verse in the bible you find the answer in jesus just like if you don't know an english word you open the dictionary so you read a verse in the bible you can't understand go to jesus that's the spiritual dictionary that is the word made flesh in the bible is the word in printer's ink but that word in printer's ink you can see made flesh in jesus so when we read be angry but don't sin i say lord what does that mean what is anger without sin i go to jesus and i see what was anger in his life without sin where it concerned the glory of god but if it concerned himself people called him bad names or even spat on him he never got angry even when they came to capture him he put his arm around judas's carrot and said friend he healed the man whose ear was cut off no he was never angry when it concerned him i've tried to follow that law since i got light on this in my own life anything people say about me or do do to me lord give me grace never to get angry i hear that somebody said something against me or did something against me somewhere immediately i forgive him i say lord i don't know what he said or where he said it but i forgive him in jesus name i don't want him to be condemned like jesus said on the cross father forgive them they didn't ask for forgiveness but you forgive me that's what i want to be and i don't want to have anything in my heart i say lord i bless them i wish them good it says bless those who curse you pray for those who persecute you and we want to actually do that i want to bless everybody who curses me i want to pray for those who treat me badly that way i'll remain at peace if you take a neutral stand and don't do anything peace will be disturbed do what jesus said bless those who curse you pray for those who treat you badly love your enemies there will be peace in your heart and ask god to give you grace for that all of us will face in our place of work people are jealous of us and trouble us our children face it in school with people who trouble them in some way i remember my own children faced problems in school because some of those teachers were from churches which were not from which people left and came to our church they were disturbed by that and those teachers would take it out on my children in school i say okay god bless them i taught my children to have a good attitude towards them and i sought to have a good attitude towards special peace with all men nothing can happen my children did not suffer because some teacher tried to trouble them in some way no they'll suffer if you lose your peace and you start getting into a fight but if we honor god i'll tell you this if you honor god god will not only honor you he'll honor your children yeah that's that's god's way if you are righteous you know all of us are concerned about our children and that's right but i'll tell you the best way to bless your children read psalm 37 be a righteous person psalm 37 and verse 25 you know david wrote most of his psalms when he was a young boy before he was 30 years old before he became king you read that in the top of the psalm but this is a psalm that david wrote when he was nearly 70 he died when he was about 17. and this is one of those psalms that he wrote when he was a very old man after years of experience and he says that in verse 25 psalm 37 verse 25 i have been young now i'm an old man but in all my life psalm 37 verse 25 in all my life i have never seen a righteous man forsaken by god or a righteous woman forsaken by god god leaves the hand of a righteous man impossible it didn't happen in david's time and it has not happened in my time it has not happened in any generation i have never seen the righteous man forsaken by god be righteous brother god will never forsake you you may lose money in the world because you're righteous you may lose your position in your office because you're righteous you may lose friends because you're righteous but god will stand by you but not only that it says and his descendants i've never seen his descendants the descendants of the righteous person begging for bread descendants means children and grandchildren begging for bread means who's the one who goes begging for bread we have we see them in india who are the beggars who beg for bread those who don't have a job those who have a job don't go begging so i paraphrase those words like this if you are a righteous man if you are a righteous man your children will always get jobs your grandchildren will get jobs what a wonderful prophets that is my paraphrase of that verse it's not by giving them a good education and giving them a lot a lot of money that you've earned in the gulf that is going to go well with your children grandchildren don't fool yourself don't make money your god like the people in the world you want to bless your children and grandchildren be a righteous person that is the greatest wealth you can give your children and when you are righteous you will be a you seek to be at peace with people you'll be at peace in your home you'll be at peace with your family always pursue after peace now i want to show you another verse you know i was telling you about the referee that blows the whistle that the peace of christ be a referee in your heart whenever you feel a disturbance in your heart it doesn't matter if the other person did the wrong thing lord i find a little disturbance in my heart something's wrong with me i want to judge myself maybe my attitude to that person is wrong maybe he is wrong completely that's right he's wrong but my attitude towards him is also wrong please forgive me help me to have a loving humble attitude even to my enemies or those who try to deceive me and fool me many people in my life have tried to deceive me and harm me but i'll tell you till today nobody has succeeded in 61 years that i've been a believer romans 8 28 has always worked that's my testimony romans 8 28 says all things will work together not individually when you look at the events that happened in our life individually yeah it looks it's all disturbing but put together with all the other events that take place in our life they will work together for my good it's a very important verse we all many most of us know romans 8 28 but i want to ask you a question do you know romans 8 29 the next verse most christians who know romans 8 28 do not know romans 8 29 and you will not be at peace if you don't understand romans 8 29 also so i want to read both those verses together romans 8 28 says we know something and it's very important for us to know it it's not just that god does things for our good that itself is great but it says in romans 28 we must know that my question my dear brother sister not whether that verse is in the bible but do you know that do you know with absolute certainty that no matter what the devil or anybody else in the world tries to do to you it will work for your good that is the way to be at peace in our heart always that guy is trying to harm me the chap in the office is trying to trouble me lord it'll work for my good read the story of joseph he had 10 brothers who hated him sold him off to egypt thought they'd never see him again and when he went to egypt there was a wicked woman who accused him falsely we haven't faced such things have you have you had 10 brothers who sold you into slavery have you had some wicked woman who accused you falsely maybe you have but it's pretty extreme cases of persecution and he was only 17 years old and for 13 years he suffered but at the end god made him the second ruler in egypt to bless his ten brothers who had troubled him here it says god makes everything work together it didn't look like that for joseph for a number of years but 13 years later he saw amazing way god worked and you will see in the future if you honor god by seeking to be at peace with all men and keeping peace in your heart and keeping an attitude of love you will see one day that god makes everything work for good they will come and ask forgiveness from you i've seen that happen to me people come years later i've seen that happen during this covet 19 time i see old people whom i knew many many years ago come to me and say brother zach i'm getting old i don't know when i'll die i did this wrong to you please forgive me what i did many years ago thank god for kobit 19 if it brings a fear of death into some people's hearts that they seek forgiveness from people and set matters right before they meet the lord isn't that a good thing so kovitz 19 is not entirely bad if it makes people see god and set things right with others because they know they're going to meet god soon it's happened to me at least three four people have done that in the last few months i say thank god for kobe 19 not that they asked forgiveness for me but they're setting matters right before they meet god for the way they treated the servant of the lord okay praise the lord i bless them of course i never had anything against them but all things work together for good romans 8 29 and that good is described in verse 29 the good is not that you'll get a promotion the good is not that if you're single you'll get a better wife this one rejected you so you'll get a better one that's not the point the good is that you will become a little more conformed to the image of jesus christ what is the greatest good you're looking for that shows a test of whether you're spiritual or not if you think the greatest good for you is a promotion in your job or getting a visa or some earthly thing like that you haven't really become a wholehearted christian maybe you have accepted the lord but you haven't become a wholehearted christian you're a wholehearted christian you'll say lord there's only one thing i'm aiming at like paul said forgetting what is behind pressing on to what is ahead he says in philippians 3 10 i want to lay hold of that for which christ laid hold of me that is romans 8 29 to become like christ so all things work together for good to make me like christ that's why my heart is at peace my heart is not at peace because i'm going to get a promotion maybe you lose your job and maybe that's what god wants for you he doesn't want you there anymore he wants to take you away somewhere else but he'll make you like jesus i'll tell you one thing i can guarantee i can give it in writing absolute certainty that there is if you're a wholehearted disciple of jesus christ and you want to glorify him in your life and that's your only goal he will make every single thing that people do and the people what people don't do who should do something and they don't do it for you they forget like you know it says pharaoh's cupbearer uh joseph interpreted the dream for him in the prison and uh he was released and just before his release joseph said please will you go and tell pharaoh that i've been unjustly put here in prison so that i can be released at that time joseph was 28 years old you read that in genesis 40 onwards and he was 28 and it says pharaoh's cupbearer who experienced such a miraculous explanation of his dream when he went up to pharaoh he completely forgot about joseph can you imagine such ingratitude who did you did a great favor to someone and some good result came from that in his life and he completely forgot about you have you had that experience you're not the first person joseph had it and that man forgot about joseph for two years then one day when pharaoh had a dream and no none of his magicians could interpret it then this man remembered oh yeah i remember two years ago there was this guy in the prison who explained my dream to me and he told pharaoh and pharaoh said oh is there somebody like that dream here and joseph was now 30 years old and he comes before pharaoh and pharaoh immediately appoints him a second ruler in egypt why that why did that man forget about joseph god removed it from his memory god removed it from his memory because joseph was not yet ready to be the ruler it had to wait two more years so don't think that god has forgotten anything god is always on time and your time is not god's time be at peace somebody's forgotten to do something he promised for you you did so much good for him and he completely forgot about you didn't help you when you needed it be at peace think of joseph he did not have romans 8 28 he didn't have a bible he didn't have any fellowship but you know joseph spoke romans 8 28 from his own mouth when his ten brothers came to see him have you seen the romans 8 28 of the old testament let me show it to you the romans 8 28 of the old testament is found in genesis chapter 50. that's a great verse and it came from the mouth of joseph you know what he said to his to his brothers when they came to see him and they were bowing down before him and he forgave them he said to them in genesis 50 verse 20 you all meant something for evil against me but god turned it to good to bring this present result you meant evil but my god turned it for good not only for me but for all these people when god does something good it is not only for you it's for all the people around you god meant it for good to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive i call that the romans 8 28 of the old testament and it came from the mouth of joseph who had suffered such a lot i'm mentioning these things to say to you that there is no excuse for you not to be at peace be anxious for nothing let your request be made known to god i'm sure joseph prayed in that prison lord i don't know why that guy's forgotten me i did something good to him but he seems to have forgotten me six months gone by one year gone by nothing's happening and he's just praying and one day god answered that prayer be patient be at peace don't have a grudge against that person who forgot to do something for you be at peace love him wish the best for him if you keep your heart at peace you know what god will do for you let me show you 1 thessalonians chapter 5 that's a great promise 1 thessalonians 5. here is the one verse in the new testament which tells us what we are made of is the only verse in the bible which tells us what man is a trinity was made in the image of god it says here in verse 23 man is spirit soul and body a lot of people in the world think there are only two parts to man visible invisible body and soul a body and mind but the bible says there's something deeper than mine spirit there are consciences spirit soul and body and it says your your whole being verse 23 will be preserved complete without blame your spirit will be preserved without blame your soul and your body will be preserved without blame without sin by whom verse 23 by the god of peace the god of peace will sanctify you totally will make you holy completely in every corner of your heart what is your part you be at peace keep your conscience clear be at peace means as soon as your conscience disturbs you about anything that the way you spoke to your wife is a little unkind go immediately and ask forgiveness i've done that numerous times not only to my wife to young brothers to anyone accidentally i said something i go to him and i say brother i'm sorry never hesitate to go to someone you hurt or wounded unbeliever or anyone say i'm sorry that was my mistake please forgive me i want to do it better that's a mark of a man of god a man of god is not someone who never makes a mistake a man of god is one who's quick to acknowledge his mistakes because he's keen to keep his conscience clean because he wants the god of peace to sanctify him make him holy completely that's his passion and peace is a very important part of it like the angel said peace on earth among men with whom god is happy god is happy with mentor at peace then i want to show you something else in ephesians 6 sorry romans 6 romans 16 romans chapter 16. romans 16 this is the one verse which says satan will be crushed under our feet you know romans is an explanation of the gospel starting from chapter one describing man's sin justification by faith chapter three chapter four chapter five victory over sin chapter six freedom from the lord chapter seven life in the spirit chapter 8 god's sovereignty chapter 9 god's righteousness chapter 10 god's faithfulness chapter 11 and presenting our body chapter 12 and how to live the christian life our attitude to government authorities chapter 13 our attitude to one another romans 14 and romans 2 in relationships with one another courage of the god of encouragement and finally the conclusion of the gospel satan is crushed not just on the cross under your feet romans 16 20 that's where the wonderful message of the gospel ends in romans and who does it god of peace will crush satan under your feet i want satan to be crushed under my feet i don't want to crush anybody else under my feet i don't want to crush any believer under my feet or people who harm me not even those who hate me i don't want to trust them under my feet but i want to crush satan under my feet but i can crush satan under my feet only if peace reigns in my heart if i'm agitated in my heart satan will not be crushed he may crush me but if peace is in your heart the god of peace will crush satan under your feet what is the problem you are facing today do you feel satan is troubling you or your children or your family in some way you want satan to be crushed and defeated and cast out of your home seek peace go and ask forgiveness from all those you have wronged you know zacchaeus when he met jesus he said every person whom i've cheated i'm gonna go and find out where their house is and pay back four times what i took he calculated interest and everything and said i cheated them so long i'll make them happy i'll give them back four times what i took from them and there are some other people whom i don't even know their address whom i cheated in past years i can't keep their money and give it all to the poor half my money i'll give to the poor he said and i'll also repay all those people i cheated and you know what jesus said it's the only time in the gospels where we read jesus saying something like that in luke chapter 19 salvation has come to this house because he decided to set matters right with all the people he has wronged you take a decision today lord i want peace in my heart i want to ask forgiveness from everybody i've wronged my husband my wife maybe my children my neighbors my in-laws the guy who cheated me on my family property whom i had such bitterness against i want to forgive pursue it my brother you may not get money but you'll get peace and you'll get something far greater god will sanctify you completely spirit soul and body and satan will be crushed under your feet that is in the long run that is more important when you get into eternity in heaven you will not be worried about your in-laws cheating you of some property that those few extra lacks of rupees that you could have got you lost because somebody cheated you forget it you're not going to worry about that in eternity but you will worry about something in eternity that you could have been a useful servant of god on earth you could have accomplished something for god out there in the gulf during the few years there why do you think god has placed you on in the gulf my brothers who are working there a worldly person say in his mind even if he doesn't say it is to make money it is to earn a sizable sum of money that i can educate all my children with a good education it's so that i can build a nice house in kerala or wherever i'm from and have a sizeable sum to live comfortably for the rest of my life and to give something to my children as well that is why god has brought me to the gulf wrong that's not the primary reason god takes you to places to sanctify you to make you a blessing to other people to bring other people into his kingdom who would not have known about him if it were not for you because even though you live in a country we are not allowed to witness nobody can stop your life from being a witness nobody can stop you giving an answer to people who come and ask you a question and that's how god has raised up these churches there to be a witness for him it's a wonderful thing to have accomplished god's purposes before we leave this earth you know jesus said in john 17 and verse 4 father i have glorified you on earth and i'm sure all of us want to glorify god but read jesus example how did he glorify god on earth before he went to the cross yet this is the last day next morning he was going to be crucified and he said father i have glorified you on earth because i have finished the work you gave me to do there's only one more thing to be done to go to the cross and die then he said it is finally finished on the cross but while the work that had to be done in those 33 and a half years i have finished the work you sent me on earth to do in 33 and a half years there was a particular plan god had for jesus and jesus completed that in the appointed time he didn't have to live for 100 years why did jesus not have to live long why didn't he live for 60 years he could think he could have been a blessing to so many more people if he had died at the age of 60 instead of 33 and a half what a blessing he could have been if he traveled to rome or the other places paul went to galatia and thessalonika and all these places he never went there no 33 and a half years was enough he was only in israel all the time there are many preachers who have a lust to travel around the world think about i've traveled here i've traveled there jesus lived all his life in a country about the size of kerala all his life imagine a person who lived only in kerala all his life can he accomplish the will of god never traveled outside never even went to tamil nadu and no no desire to go anywhere else i'm happy if god has wanted me in kerala all my life i'll be there all my life would you have been happy if you were living in kerala and god said you'd have been care all your life jesus was quite happy and he finished his work there are a lot of people who travel the world who have not finished the work god gave them to do they've gone seeing places they've done this that and the other and they accumulated a lot of money but they did not finish the work god gave them to do we all say i want to glorify god john 17 4 tells us how we can glorify god by finishing the work which god planned for you to do and just like there was a plan for jesus life i want to say to every one of you who's a child of god in jesus name before you were born god made a plan for your life my one of my favorite verses which i keep quoting always psalm 139 before before i was born psalm 139 you read verse 13 to 17 and verse 16 particularly psalm 139 verse 16. when i was in my mother's womb you formed me verse 13 and verse 16 while i was not yet fully formed in my mother's womb in your book that is in your mind all the days appointed me for me was written for me before i was even born psalm 139 16 how precious are your plans for me lord has a plan god has planned every day of your life before you came out of your mother's womb that is a tremendous encouragement me to know that before i came out of my mother's womb i was born 81 years ago 1939 and before i was born god had made a plan for my life and now when i look back i say oh god i'm so thankful that to the best of my knowledge i've tried to fulfill that plan i don't want to count the amount of money i made or the places i traveled or what i did or what i didn't do did i finish your plan and i say lord i have no love to live on this rotten old earth but i don't want to leave before i finish your plan if your plan for me is to finish tomorrow that's it but if your plan for me is to live up to the age of 100 i live i'll do it even if i'm sick i'll serve the lord i want to finish the work you gave me to do i don't want to have a target of making so much of money before i leave the earth no i want to finish the work god gave me to do i hope that is your desire if you are a real christian that will be your desire this is what it means to follow jesus how can i glorify god john 17 4 i glorify him by finishing the work he gave me to do paul said in one timothy the second timothy sorry second timothy iv paul says similar words at the end of his life the last letter he wrote second timothy 4 verse 7 i have fought a good fight i finished my course paul paul how much money did you make i don't know about that but i finished my course how many people did you bring to christ paul he said i don't keep account of all that i don't calculate all that to get some honor i have finished my course did you live a perfect life no i slipped up now and then even just a few years ago i shouted at the high priest and called him a whitewashed wall i slipped up i immediately asked forgiveness and asked his forgiveness also so i didn't live a perfect life but i set matters right immediately as soon as i did something wrong i didn't wait i finished my course what a wonderful thing i don't want to be like the thief on the cross who says hey i went to heaven i finally reached heaven do you think the thief who he's in heaven today but if you were to meet that thief on the cross who died and went to heaven jesus told him you'll be in paradise today say hey do you have any regret you're in heaven now do you have any regret you're not in hell you'll say boy when i see what tremendous love jesus had for me i feel so sorry that i did so little for him on the earth i sought my own but god is merciful because i didn't know he has regret that he couldn't do anything to show his love for the lord but you and i have had many years after we were converted to show our love for jesus are you seeking to finish your work many years ago it was in 1993 i think 27 years ago i was running my moped in bangalore coming back from somewhere and there was a level crossing across a railway line you know operated manually and the guy who operated was a new man he didn't know how to do it i didn't know that so he had raised one part of the he had raised both arms of the of that level crossing and i went past and before i reached the other end he lowered it he shouldn't have done that and maybe he made a mistake that some train was coming but i was going zooming across the railway track and by the time i reached the other end without knowing it this thing was in front of me it hit me on my chest knocked me off my moped and i fell on the railway track cracked my skull and was unconscious lying there on the railway track i remember it august 1993 and when i came to my senses sometime later a few minutes later i saw myself the level crossing is closed it wasn't too long somebody picked me up and i came back to my senses i was unconscious i don't know for how long and all those people waiting at the railway crossing and somebody had parked my moped on the side there was a policeman there and i stood up and i really don't know what happened till today that those few moments of my life have been blotted out of my memory i don't i can't recollect what happened who picked me up what happened and i was getting on my scooter and the policeman said be careful now be careful i was only about half a mile from my home and as i got onto my scooter i mean i didn't know then that my shoulder had been dislocated my there was a little crack on my skull but i was fit enough to drive and of course there was a big red mark across where the level crossing had hit me but as i got up i said lord jesus i have not finished saying thank you for dying for me on the cross i'm not ready to go i have to finish saying thank you to you for dying for me on the cross give me a few more years to live for you that's how i saw my life my life is a life of writing thank you to jesus for dying for me on the cross and i haven't finished writing t-h-a-n-k-y-o-u i haven't finished it i've only finished up to t-h-a-n or something lord you can't take me away i've got to finish saying the full word thank you for dying for me on the cross i pray your life will be a life of saying thank you to jesus for dying for you i haven't still finished saying thank you every day i live i'm going to live for jesus you know if i'm 100 years old seeking to lead people to christ seeking to lead people to a godly life is the only way to live not with the mind occupied with money and advancement and all those other things seek the kingdom of god first he will add all that you need for you he will take care of your children he'll take care of your grandchildren it's amazing what he will do if you honor him he will honor you i proved that in my life i said lord i want to be a living testimony to one thing that if i honor you and live by christian principles in my life in relation to money and time and everything else and in my relationship with people i believe you will honor me if i honor you and you don't honor me then i'll be the first person in history whom god did not honor who honored god that will never happen every person who honored god god has honored him and i believe that i want to be in that line of people who honored god in their earthly life from beginning till end at least from the time i got light many years of my life i wasted in backsliding because i never had a spiritual father to guide me and show me i didn't know when i was struggling to find victory and didn't know whom to ask for i remember going to a 40 year old missionary when i was in my 20s and i said brother can you tell me how to get victory over lusting with the eyes and he changed the subject he wouldn't tell me he wouldn't tell me because he must have been defeated himself people have come to me with that question and i say i'll give you an answer how can i overcome anger how can i overcome lusting in the eyes how can i overcome the love of money how can i always speak the truth how can i love those who hate me you should have an answer for every one of those things from your life seek to honor god keep remain at peace the god of peace will crush satan under your feet satan entering your home be at peace in your heart with god always set things right in your heart and i tell you satan will be crushed in your home i say that in jesus name yeah there's amazing miracles can god can do for you even bring healing from sickness and amazing things dear brothers and sisters the time is short i don't know when christ is coming make sure you have no regret in that day have a passion lord before you come i want to finish the work you give me to do and all you have to do is not accomplish some great mighty thing around the world keep at peace in your heart always and step by step god will open the door for you i'll give you a promise finally before i close please turn with me to proverbs chapter 4. proverbs chapter 4 proverbs 4 and verse 12 when you walk your steps will not be impeded impeded means will not get narrowed down it's not a road that's going to become narrow and narrow and narrow your steps will not be impeded will not you will not be stopped a paraphrase of that verse i read somewhere once years ago and i've forgotten what is the opening the opposite of narrow down opening up that's the opposite of impeded and that paraphrase said as you walk step by step i will open up the way before you beautiful paraphrase i've claimed it i said lord i don't want the to see the way opened up for miles ahead of me no but as i go that closed door will open then i find another closed door but it's some distance away let it be closed by the time i come there it'll open again then i find another closed door by the time i come there it'll go and then i come across a mountain by the time i reach the mountain the mountain is flattened as i go step by step the lord will open up the way before me claim that promise and say lord i want that in my life whatever way it is god seeking for you in your life in your career in your plans for the future in your spiritual life maybe some area you're defeated lord open up the way for me that i shall overcome that mountain will be brought low the area where i'm defeated i'm going to be an overcomer as i go step by step the way will open up before me don't be anxious and eager to see miles ahead thy word is a lamp unto my feet psalm 119 verse 105 and the light unto my path or in today's language i say lord your word is like a torchlight that's a lamp in those days today a torchlight with a torchlight you can't see very far ahead the torch light will show you maybe 20 feet but as you move forward you see another 20 feet as you move forward you'll see another 20 feet that's psalm 119 verse 105 your word is a torchlight to my feet as you go he'll show you the next step as you go he will open up the way for you just make sure of one thing always rem keep at peace in your conscience confessing all sin and as far as lies in you be at peace with everybody god bless you let's pray heavenly father i pray there will be eternal results in everybody's life as they respond to the word they heard today and let your name be glorified i thank you for all these dear brothers and sisters in all these churches you raised up in the gulf countries thank you for faithful brothers who are leading them and other brothers who are faithfully doing their job day by day i pray you will mightily bless them and their families protect them from problems those who are needing a visa or job situation please help them that it will be resolved those who needs healing from sickness we pray in jesus name that you'll bring healing bless your family lord this is your family the family of god bless every member in it help us to love one another 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: vh4XCTqWQ18

Length: 67min 29sec (4049 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 05 2020