Loving Christ Supremely by Zac Poonen

every day of your life can you say these words in Psalm 73 verse 25 it's a verse that I started my Christian life with fifty five years ago and the Lord said this is the way you must live and I've tried to live according to it some 70 325 speaking to the Lord Jesus as we do today who may buy in heaven but the and besides the I desire nothing on earth if you can say that you're a worshiper and if you can mean it that means you're saying to Jesus Lord from the depth of my heart I can say to you I'm not saying this before men I desire no one on earth but you if I have you that's enough and I desire nothing on earth but you that means I don't desire a house or property or money or health or wealth or anything if I have you that's enough I'll tell you honestly don't say that too quickly think about it if you say it you've found the secret of worship most Christians never worship they sing they give praise they thank God a lot of our singing is praise and thanks that's not worship worship is here when you fall before Jesus and say to him every day of your life Lord I desire nothing but you why do I say it why should we say everything every day of our life because it's so easy to say that one day particularly when we are young and we're not married and we are very dedicated and wholehearted and then other things come along we we get married and we have children and we have accumulate a little wealth and then we need to say that again because it's very easy to lay your Isaac on the altar and a few years later take him back what is it that the Lord was testing in Abraham am I really more to you than the most precious thing on earth and I believe the reason why many Christians do not progress in their Christian life is because they cannot say this you don't you don't become spiritual by knowing more of the Bible it's good to know the Bible but you become spiritual when you're a worshiper we must be worshipers more than anything else that is the greatest thing of all first book of the Bible written was the book of Job and what we see there is a man who worshiped God job chapter 1 is a very important chapter is the first chapter that God wrote in the Bible long before Genesis Jobe lived 500 years before Moses who wrote Genesis and in the first chapter of the Bible you read of a worshipper not a preacher you read about preachers later on in the book and they were God said I don't I hate those preachers but the contrast you see in job is between three preachers or four preachers and a worshiper job is a worshiper he wasn't just quoting scriptures to others he was one who when he lost everything he it says he bowed down and worshiped God and said I came into this world with nothing naked I didn't even have a stitch of clothing when I came to this earth everything I had on this earth God gave me he has every right to take it all away and he has taken it away all the wealth I accumulated all my children I worship God that is the first message that God wanted man to hear that's why he wrote that in the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible that God wrote that's important to understand that and that's the type of person about whom God could boast to Satan remember this my dear brothers and sisters whatever this church may think of you counts for zero the opinion of this church about you is fit for the trash can throw it there but what the devil thinks about you is more important than what everybody in this church thinks about you and of course what God thinks about you is most important but remember this that the devil's opinion about you is much more valuable than the opinion of men because most people don't know anything about your private life or a lot of details of y'all the way you live at home how you talk to your wife your devil here is it all the time so don't be fooled by people thinking you're very spiritual throw that in the trash can and ask yourself what that what does the devil think about you who sees you all the time what did the devil think about Joe God could boast about job to the devil and say have you seen that man he's not like those preachers Aleta's and Bildad and Zophar and not even like a lie who's a little better than them Joe there's not a man like him on the face of the earth that is the challenge that comes to us from the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible and that that can be our testimony too if we can say this every day of our life Lord I really desire nothing on earth for you more than you when I get up in the morning I seek to worship God all alone I don't even have to open my mouth worship is something from the heart and all you have to sincerely say to God as you begin every day is Lord this day I desire nothing but you I'll tell you what will happen in your life you'll be 100% freed from murmuring and complaining do you know why you murmur and complain at home or a place of work or when the traffic is heavy it's because we desire something other than Jesus you want a comfortable life you want less traffic on the road you want the food to be up to the mark or something else you don't want to be irritated at home that means you are more important in your life than Jesus Christ if a man says to Jesus I desire nothing but you I don't desire a comfortable life at home I don't desire that I should be free from all tension and free from sickness or free everything must go smoothly according to my way this a lot of Christians are like that they imagine they they love Jesus Christ I tell you they don't and because they keeping on increasing in Bible knowledge and in a church like this you can increase in Bible knowledge by leaps and bounds and fool yourself that you're spiritual when you're not permit me to speak to you lovingly as a father would to his children make this the goal of your life my brothers and sisters this is what Jesus came for he didn't come to produce a bunch of people who sing well or increase in knowledge he came because he loved us and he wanted a people who will love him supremely once he told his disciples if you love even your father or mother or wife or children more than me you're not worthy of me that's what he said in Matthew 10 do you know that if you love your job or your money more than jesus jesus' you're not even worthy of me imagine hearing jesus say to me you're not worthy of me Oh Lord once you use everybody in the church thinking so highly of me if you turn around and say to me that I'm not worthy of you there's the praise of men mean more to you than the approval of God dear brothers and sisters live before God's face I urge you it's very easy to slip back from that you know maybe we turned wholeheartedly to God in the day when we were converted and sinners but things have gone well with many of us in the last few years maybe you're prospered in your business and you're part of a good church now you're not part of a dead backslidden type of church all these things can go to our head and we can be I believe that's one of the great dangers of people pursuing holiness that we can begin to think wow like the Pharisee lord I thank you I'm not like other man I thank you that I'm not like other churches we're not like other churches we're special we're different we hear the truth we preach the truth we're not ashamed we're not after money we are after God and all this type of stuff hey thank you Lord that I'm not like other man that's exactly what the devil wants you to think you can never think like that Jesus is the passion of your heart if you say to him Lord I desire nothing on earth but you even ministry is not important for me I say that I've been 50 years in the ministry but I say to the Lord regularly Lord my ministry is not my god you can take it away my health is not my god money is not my god I'm prepared to live very simply all the rest of my life Jesus is everything to me those are the people who will live the most useful life for God on earth even if they are not great Bible teachers or evangelists or church leaders or anything many who are lost on earth will be first in that day because the Lord is looking for those for whom he is most freshest those of you who are married husbands let me ask you what do you desire from your wife do you desire someone who cooks well or who keeps house well you ask yourself as a husband what do you desire most of all if you're a good husband now if you're one of these useless worldly husbands you'd want someone who cooks well and watches your clothes keeps the house and but if you're really Christian husband what do you want from your wife most of all he doesn't matter one bit if she doesn't know how to cook or keep house if she loves you with all your heart well her heart that's what you want but that's exactly what Jesus wants too it's not your service it's not attendance in church it's that you that he is more precious to you than anything else on earth that's the secret of a good marriage and that's the secret of a good relationship with Christ and that's a way to spiritual growth and the reason we read the Bible is because it's only through the Bible that I can't get to see more and more of my bridegroom I feel sorry for people who don't read the Bible regularly and study it because I don't believe they'll get to know Jesus how can you know Jesus without which book in the world tells me about Jesus no book except the Bible and if you're really passionate about knowing Jesus you got to read the Bible and that's what happened to me I when I was converted and that God gave me that verse right at the beginning fifty five years ago I became passionate to read the scriptures under study it because I see here is where it tells me about my bridegroom I want to know all about him and I see something happening in America nowadays churches that I preach I find a lot of people don't even bring a Bible I don't believe that was true in America 6070 years ago but we become lazy they don't even bring a Bible to a meeting can you imagine children go to school without bring their schoolbooks this is the tragedy I remember in our church we had the option of projecting every verse on the screen scripture so that whenever reverses quoted projector screen I said I'll never allow that in my church it'll make people lazy they won't bring their Bibles and the end result will be they'll never know their Bibles people who don't bring a Bible I can tell you in Jesus name you don't know the Bible you will never know it there's something about even people on the street seeing a man taking a Bible and going to a meeting it's a witness for Christ in a godless world in our church back home in Bangalore whenever I caught a scripture I see everybody heads everybody's head is down everyone because I got a Bible but I preach in most Church in America they're looking up and staring and I guarantee they don't even know what the verse says they're not interested it's because they don't love Jesus you cannot be like that if you love Jesus Christ my desire my brothers and sisters is not to instruct you is to lead you to love my Savior to lead you to know him and love him because this is what the devil was leading people astray from we got to see that in 2nd Corinthians you know Paul was writing let me begin with 1 Corinthians when Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 he says brethren I determined verse 2 to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified now there are many people who quote that verse and say that's all I'm gonna preach Jesus Christ and him crucified but you know that was spoken to people who were babies that's milk he says in chapter 3 verse 2 I gave you milk to drink that's milk that's for a baby Jesus Christ died for your sins I did you sin just confess it the blood of Jesus will cleanse you that's baby food so to boast and say oh I'm a preacher I only preach Christ and him crucified well then you must be preaching to babies all the time your church must be full of babies see what he goes on to say I determined not to know anything but Christ and him crucified so that your faith should not rest on the wisdom and yet 1 Corinthians - 6 yet we do speak more than that wisdom among those who are mature but you guys are not mature because you're not mature I can only tell you Christ died for your sins and your sins can be forgiven don't worry God loves you no matter how much you sin he'll forgive you the blood of Jesus is always there that's because your babies but though among those who are mature I can speak wisdoms like you tell a kindergarten class listen children let's learn to say CIT is GAD and BA T is bat and let's learn two plus two is four how long are you gonna sit learning that it's like a kindergarten teacher singing and determined not to know anything except among you except you know readings simple words and adding a couple of digits together but among those who are little mature those are one of press on in their education then we can teach them something more we can teach them physics and geography and history and calculus in mathematics and so many things which you babies are not interested in that's what Paul is saying among those are mature we can speak wisdom not the wisdom of this world but the wisdom of God which is like a mystery hidden wisdom which God predestined for our glory I don't believe we can partake of the glory of God fully if we don't seek to press on to maturity we must not be satisfied as babies and when we seek to press on to maturity it says here there are things which our human eye cannot see verse 9 1 Corinthians 2:9 which our human ear cannot hear and which our mind understand but God verse 10 reveals them through the Holy Spirit that's why as a person who's wanting to press on to maturity he's got a passion to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be baptized the Holy Spirit and fire he's got a fashion that the Holy Spirit will Phyllis in her being so that he can show him those things which human eyes can never see things in the things revealed by God through the spirit it's the very thoughts of God it says in verse 11 in the last part the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God you know it's an amazing thing that the Holy Spirit has come to reveal to me how God thinks like a wife after she's lived with her husband a number of years knows how he thinks I mean the day she gets married she may not know what his favorite food is or what he wants at home or different things of the way he what he values but after she's lived with him a few years she knows so many things about his way of thinking in this way of living and that's one of the wonderful things that we come to know the thoughts of God if we are really walking with the Lord every day and the more we get to know the thoughts of God we begin to behave like him he's been a tremendous grief to me to see a real grief to my heart to see people who have heard some of these truths for so many years still losing their temper at home still murmuring and complaining I see what in the world have you been listening to in the church all these years just accumulating knowledge just trying to get a reputation before other believers you're a hypocrite I say you're a first-class hypocrite repent of your hypocrisy I don't want your blood to be on my hands in - I say that get to know the thoughts of God humble yourself grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ don't be satisfied that you're better than others press on this is God's the burden that and later on in 2nd Corinthians he writes to the Corinthian church 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 he says the reason you know Paul spoke very firmly to these Corinthians while in chapter 4 he said shall I come to you with a rod all your father would speak like that shall I come to you of the rod he says sneezes in chap 2nd Corinthians 11:1 I wish you'd bear with me and little my foolishness you know they thought this guy speaks so strongly and chapter 10 verse 10 his letters are weighty and strong he speaks so strong this man Paul but his personal presence is very unimpressive he speaks strong but he's not a very impressive personality he says okay chapter 11 verse 1 you can bear little bear with me in my foolishness whatever you may think of me the reason I speak like that he says is I'm jealous for you with a godly jealousy you know that's the heart of a true Shepherd a true Shepherd is not one bit bothered what is sheep think about him he's bothered the sheep will get good pasture and be healthy free from sickness and grow and that's how Paul was I'm jealous for you he says with a godly jealousy because I'm like a person who's preparing a bride for Jesus Christ a bride for Jesus Christ that I might present you as a pure virgin to him the Lord is looking for a pure virgin and a true Shepherd will long to make the church he's responsible for to present it as a pure virgin to Christ one day I believe all of us should have that heart I mean if your parents you need to have such a heart for your children and you got to start very early when they are one year old start preparing them to be a pure virgin for Jesus Christ one day if you work on it from the time they're 1 you will achieve it the Bible says train up a child and he's young when he's old he will not depart from it and you determined that in your heart more than anything else you're going to prepare your children to be a pure virgin for Jesus Christ protected from the influence of the world living in the midst of the world but not of the world you're not making your children monks and nuns would have no contact with the world they live in the midst of the world but they're unaffected by it think of Moses mother who trained her son just for a few years so well that when he grew up in the midst of Pharaoh's Palace the most wicked place on the face of the earth he came out pure at the end of that time saying I don't want the wealth of the world I don't want the honour of Egypt I want the reproach of Christ I want to be with God's people I mean if an Old Testament mother like Jacque Abed the mother of Moses could do that why can't we do it today with the power of the Holy Spirit why can't we train up our children so when they grow up they're gonna refuse the wealth of the world and refuse the honor of men and refuse the pleasures of sin and decide to live for Jesus Christ every one of them if you have ten children all ten that must be the passion of our heart a godly jealousy because we believe this is the most important thing in life yes we must train our children to have some earthly profession important very important I believe that then I must train all my children to earn their own living because I didn't want them to become a parasite on the church or a parasite on society or beggars and tramps and homeless no we don't want our children to be like that but that's not the main thing the main thing is that they must have a passionate love for Jesus Christ and the same with we have a responsibility for one another don't say that's the responsibility the elders we got some elders in the church they'll do that don't say like kin am I my brother's keeper you are your brother's keeper don't say I mind my sisters keeper you are your sisters keeper if you're older than other sisters here you have a responsibility for them if you're older than other brothers here you are responsibly for them is in a home you know it's not dad and mom who takes care of everything think of a home with 10 or 12 children don't you see the older children taking responsibility the older boys and girls doing things around so that I mean dad and mom look very little to do when the older children take responsibility think of a church like that where the elders can sit back because there are others who have grown up to maturity and who are taking responsibility to encourage and Shepherd and maybe call up the other brothers and find out how they are that's what it means to be your brother's keeper to be a sister's keeper not just to save to see their sake but you know to fellowship with them once in a while to see how they're going spiritually that's a responsibility we have I remember once in my own church in a bit of a humorous vein I said a lot of you like to be elders right okay I'm hereby appointing all of you as elders to everybody younger than you right now now take responsibility for them and Shepherd them bless them encourage them find out how they are growing spiritually they're your elders now what more do you want what does it mean you want a title you want to stand up in front oh no be mature let's take responsibility just like what would you think of a home with our tenets or our children here's the 20 year old boy sitting lazily around and the 19 year-old girl just lazing around and making mom and dad work hard in the kitchen and more the garage and do everything in the house and the children all lazing around what type of home would that be but I tell you many churches are like that where they leave the elders to do everything and they take no responsibility now that's okay if you were born again yesterday and I see if you're born again within the last two years permitted but if you've been a believer for more than two years it's about time you began to help the little babies and the ones younger than you and not just sit back lazily and think only of yourself and have your whole life centered around yourself where am i growing spiritually everything's okay with my family no it's not the way that's the world that's the thought life of a baby a mature person always thinks how can I help somebody else how can I bless somebody I don't want any title or position in the church but I want to be mature and I'm gonna have a godly jealousy that that person should be a pure virgin for Christ and he says I'm afraid second corinthians 11:3 that like the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness many of you are I mean it's good to be smart and clever that's okay but if any of you are proud and fit you're smart and clever I tell you you're no match for the devil he's smarter than you he's cleverer than you he's craftier than you and he make a complete fool of you if you're proud of your smartness and your cleverness the only person whom the devil cannot tackle is a person who's humble he's scared of humble people the only person that Devils afraid of is a humble man or a humble woman he can tackle all the other Christians he can tackle the people are proud of their knowledge and their ability and their spirituality and every one of them he's scared of the humble he was scared of Jesus because Jesus was the humblest man that walked on this earth he was scared of him he was scared of Moses in the Old Testament because Moses was a humble man it's true so if you really want to overcome the devil pursue humility he'll run away from you he's scared of people like that he you such a man resist that you know that verse 2nd Corinthians 4 sorry James 4:7 a lot of people know only the second part of that verse resist the devil and he will flee from you you know what the first part of that verses submit yourself to God humble yourself before God then resist the devil he'll flee from you because God gives grace to the humble they turn back that turn to that verse for a moment James chapter 4 it's important to know these great verses James 4 it first says in verse 6 God gives grace to the humble that's the introduction James 4:6 the last part God gives greater grace and that grace verse 6 is given to the humble and since God's greater grace is given to the humble you guys should humble yourself submit to God verse 7 and then resist the devil and that devil will flee from you the devil does not flee from most believers I'll tell you that he does not flee from most believers homes the devil's ruling in many homes he rules over many husbands in homes we need to be reminded of that I remember once preaching in a conference back in India that when you get angry you know the devil sitting on top of your head and I remember one sister telling me that once she lost her temper at home and her little seven year old girl said to her mummy you remember what brother Zack said that when you lose your temper the devil sitting on top of your head and she said that really spoke to me my seven-year-old daughter told me that she heard what you said in the meeting yeah resist the devil and he will flee from you but otherwise if you're not humble and you're not seeking to go down and humble yourself you're not getting Grace and one mark of not getting Grace's you're not able to overcome sin because it says sin shall not rule over you Romans 6:14 when you're under grace that's the clearest proof of a man receiving grace from God that sin cannot rule over him when sin rolls over me I have to fall before God and say Lord I have not got grace from you and I've not got grace from you because whatever other people may think of me you see that I'm not a humble man or a humble woman forgive me I don't want to fool myself and live on this earth I want to take my Christian life more seriously dear brothers and sisters please take the word of the Lord today forget the past acts 17:30 God overlooks your times of ignorance but he commands everyone to repent today and take it seriously resist the devil it's not God's will that we should be running away from the devil I'll tell you what God's will for us is that the devil should be running away from us that's from James 4:7 but that's only before humble people take James 4 6 and 7 seriously and go before God and meditate on it and say Lord why isn't the devil running away from me why isn't the devil running away from my home why isn't the devil running away why isn't he scared when he sees that I'm coming somewhere it should be like that that's because the devil says Jesus I know and Paul I know and so and so I know and so and so I know about who are you I know all about your life I know all your pride you're trying to resist me what a shame it shouldn't be like that so Paul says in singing back to second Corinthians 11 verse 3 he said I'm afraid lest like the serpent the devil deceived Eve by his craftiness your minds should be led astray from the simple pure devotion to Jesus Christ that's why I started the message at Psalm 73 25 I'm afraid that the devil who deceived Eve by his craftiness who told Eve well it's not serious a small sin is not serious you think God's worried about your eating a little fruit from this tree surely don't you know God is a God of love don't you know that he overlooks mistakes it's ok it's not a sin it's not a serious thing and look how good it is and just once won't matter once deceived deceived her and you know I for many years I used to think okay the tree of knowledge of good and evil I can understand that means to know what is good and what is evil you know that words a life where I know what is good and evil I don't have to consult God about it then that's what the devil was trying to get Eve to partake off you know if you get this knowledge of good and evil in you you won't have to keep going to referring to God every time shall I do this shall I not do this shall I do this shall I not do this you won't have to you'll be a little more independent of God you won't be an evil person look at all I mean look around in the world of the atheists and non-christians there are a lot of very decent people in the world I've known atheists who won't tell lies won't cheat are faithful to their wives don't murder anybody who more or less keep the Ten Commandments don't worship idols you know there are good people they have a knowledge of good and evil but their knowledge is they don't need God they've got the knowledge resident within themselves they say why do I need God I'm not like these murderers and thieves and adulterous I'm living an upright life that's exactly what Adam God and Eve got when they partook of that tree and that's what the devil wants because that doesn't look like evil right you look at these these lot of decent people and what's wrong with them and a lot of questions even say well they'll go to heaven right what happened to Adam and Eve when they got the knowledge you've got an evil they were turned out of God's kingdom that's what the devil wanted and we need to understand this and then I used to think what is the tree of life now I never understood it fully till I read this verse 2nd Corinthians 11 the devil led Eve astray from the tree of life what was the tree of life simple pure devotion to Jesus Christ to God to love God with all your heart soul strength and mind the verse that we can quote very glibly but what does it mean it means to say to Jesus and today for us this is the tree of life to me this is the tree of life the devil led Eve astray we can say from the tree of life and that tree of life is defined here as devotion to Jesus Christ simple pure devotion to Christ it is to turn to Jesus and say Lord I desire nothing on this earth but you and when I get to heaven I desire no one but you I'm not looking for the golden streets or the pearly gates or mansions what will I do with the 10-bedroom mansion in heaven that's what you're looking forward to you know we sing in that song I'm satisfying it with a little cottage below but I've got a mansion and over the hilltop that's what you're looking forward to uh I'll tell you honestly I'm not interested at a 10 bedroom mansion in heaven you can have it if you want even if God gives it to me that's not what I'm interested in what are you looking for crowns going around and crowns in heaven how many crowns four five one one on top of each other is that what you're looking forward to or some others say well well we finished with all this sickness and the problems I have here I'll tell you honestly my relationship with Christ has come to this place where I say Lord I'm willing to be sick for all eternity if I can be with you I desire nothing in heaven but you I don't even desire hell I once said to the Lord Lord I'm ready to go to hell if you're there that'll be heaven for me I desire nothing in heaven but you I don't know who this guy asks as SF was who wrote that you know Psalm 73 it wasn't David but he must have known the Lord in an amazing way to write a verse like that I try to find a better worse than that that defines worship I haven't been able to find it where I desired nothing on earth and nothing in heaven but Jesus Christ and God that's all there's a beautiful hymn which you've probably sang here God my God how wonderful thou art that majesty how bright it's a hymn of worship and in the last verse of its it says father of Jesus loves reward what rapture it'll be prostrate before thy throne to lie and gaze and gaze on thee people say won't that be boring just to gaze upon God [Music] have you seen true lovers how they keep looking at each other to each other's eyes you are so much and it boring constantly looking at your wife like defend well those are fed up otherwise I suppose it is boring those are fed up with their husbands it is boring I suppose but when you really love Jesus I'm not gonna be boring I don't think I'm looking forward to the day when I see him place to face and I again I don't think I'll have eyes for anybody else like we sing in that song I want to see my Savior first of all when I get to heaven I shall know him I shall know him by the print of the nails in his hands I shall know him so he says the devil led Eve astray from that simple pure devotion to Christ that was Paul's prescription to the Corinthian Christians to mature see if you want to become mature you better develop a simple pure devotion to Christ everything else will flow out from that when you read scriptures don't study the scripture to get knowledge don't study the scripture to preach sermons but look into the scriptures and let the Holy Spirit show you the beauty of Jesus there God has given us his word to show us the beauty of Jesus Christ and as you see the beauty of Jesus there you'll be drawn to him we need a stimulus for our love for to be fervent in our devotion to Christ and the first stimulus for that love for Christ is what's mentioned in 1 John 4 and verse 19 we love because He first loved us so the 1 John 4:19 we love him because he first loved us so if you don't love the Lord more the reason must be that you haven't understood how much he loved you we all know the worst God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son when the yahi logs here Jesus loves us and all that and God loves us but maybe you don't know how much he did how much that love is perhaps we have not meditated enough on the cross we must go beyond the little baby knowledge of Jesus way you think of his suffering his nails and his whipping and weep because we think of that and to go a deeper understanding of the cross where we see that that was not the worst part of his suffering the worst part of his suffering was when for three hours on the cross the father forsook him for my sake that's the love we need to see that he forsook him and then for three hours on the cross Jesus experienced the hell that I should experience for eternity that's the worst part of the cross when I was a Paul said when I was a child I thought like a child when I grew up I put away childish things so when I was a child I understood Jesus the physical suffering of it that's what really moved my heart to tears and all that but I found something that even after I was moved to tears thinking about the you know crowd Jesus being crucified I'd still go back and live the next week the same way I lived before didn't make simply mom make much of a difference in my life until I began to see that the cross was more than physical suffering it was you see the punishment for my sin is not physical suffering the punishment for my sin is not physical death and if that is all that Jesus went through on the cross then he did not take my punishment the punishment for my sin is nothing less than eternal hell and if Jesus did not take that on the cross then he has not taken my punishment but he did take it the horrors of an eternal hell were concentrated into three hours on the cross and he said my God my God why have you forsaken me that was an agony which we will never experience and we never know even a little bit of what it meant till we get to heaven and see him face to face but you know the Holy Spirit reveals to us I was a Christian for nearly 16 17 years before I began to see it what it meant for Jesus to be on the cross I want to distinguish this from what a lot of charismatic sar preaching today that Jesus went to hell for three days after he died on the cross and then came back that's a lie we know where Jesus went on the three days after he died on the cross he told the thief very clearly I'll be in paradise with you today he was in paradise as soon as he died with the thief on the cross he didn't go to hell the word Hades used in Acts chapter two and all is referring to the place of the dead the grave but he didn't go to hell but he did experience hell means being forsaken by God for three hours on the cross and we know that the punishment is over by the end of the three hours because he said he's finished and we know he was facing punishment during those three hours because he never called him father at that time he called him God do you know that in the end in all eternity the only time that Jesus called his father God was those three hours on the cross he's always calling him a father father father father father father except when he was taking my punishment he says my God my god that relationship was now not father and son but the judge of the universe Almighty God the judge of the universe the Father punishing someone for my sin make it personal and I say Lord I'll never understand what you went through what are you expecting me the Lord says the love of your heart I don't want anything else I say Lord I'll give it to you nobody else will share it my wife will always be second in my affections just like that when we got married it's like that today no one no brother is ever going to be more important to me than Jesus Christ no no money no property nothing when I think of what he went through on the cross we love him because he first loved us and as soon as the three hours were over once again it was father father into your hands I commit my spirit I don't know whether you notice that switch from father to God for three hours and then father again the punishment is over it's all there in Scripture well it's it's like it says it's hidden and God reveals it to those who really want to see it most people don't want to see it they're quite happy to just go to heaven when they die and they're quite happy to just go to church and have a good testimony they don't want to see more of Jesus let me encourage you those who are really serious about your Christian life read the scriptures to see more of Jesus Christ that's the most important thing that's the way to grow spiritually now eternal life is to know Jesus Christ to know God and Jesus that's the definition of eternal life and the more I get to know God in Jesus the more I have of eternal life in my and the more I have of eternal life I'll tell you it'll be very easy to overcome sin be very easy the more you have eternal life the reason why fighting with sin is such a struggle it's because you don't have the power to overcome it you're just using the resources that ordinary people have willpower determination new years decision decisions and these things don't help we need the mighty part of the Holy Spirit communicating eternal life to us and eternal life come through knowing Jesus Christ knowing God and if you come to the Scriptures in order to know God to know Jesus you'll have eternal life that makes overcoming anger so much easier overcoming dirty thoughts so much easier to walk away from internet pornography easily and to overcome bitterness against somebody - it'll be easy to forgive people and it'll be easy to be free from the love of money and the love of Honor and fellowship with Jesus will become precious and that's what the devil led Eve astray from so that's the tree of life passionate devotion to Jesus that's eternal life and that's what the devil turned evil way from and that's what he's turning Christians away from and that's why Paul had this tremendous burden I have a passion he says a godly jealousy that made him use strong words not only to the Corinthians even to the Galatians he says you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you that you've turned away from love for Jesus we don't hear such preachers today and I'll tell you why because we don't have preachers who are passionately desire with that same godly jealousy that their congregations should have a fervent devotion to Christ you have people who tickle people's ears and they don't want to offend anybody don't want to hurt anybody Paul wasn't like that he loved people too much he loved people too much that's why he was willing to hurt them it's like a doctor who loves a patient so much that he cuts open his stomach no matter what the pain is no matter how much he screams I'm gonna get rid of get that cancer out of your system Paul told Timothy be a preacher like that we need to hear more of that the second thing that helps us to love Jesus more is the knowledge of how much he has already forgiven us Luke chapter 7 and verse 47 the one who's forgiven little loves little the one who's forgiven much loves much it's a law Luke 747 the one who's forgiven little loves little you know the Lord said there was a creditor who a certain moneylender had owned he gave five hundred denarii to one person and fifty two and there he forgave both of them who who will love him more and the Pharisee said definitely the one was forgiven more he said that's right and he says in that connection the one who is forgiven more loves more I mean if somebody forgave you a debt of ten million dollars and somebody forgave you a debt of two dollars there's a lot bit of a difference there sure and that's that's the picture here the one who's he's forgiven me so much the one who's forgiven more jesus said will automatically love more now let me ask you something do you really believe you've been forgiven little I mean God kept me from so many sins in my life but the closer I've come to God I'm amazed at how much he forgave me because I see little little things which I never even realized were sin before and I can see how Paul towards the end of his life said I am the chief of sinners I mean if he said I was once upon a time the chief of sinners we can understand that but how does he say at the age of 65 and 1 Timothy 1:15 I am the chief of all the sinners that was not a grammatical mistake absolutely true and I never understood it fully till the closer I've come to the Lord I've come to see that there's a thing called unconscious sin see most of us are aware of conscious sin bitterness complaining grumbling murmuring anger telling lies lusting with our eyes and cheating and all that other stuff that's 10% of sin there's another 90% within us called unconscious sin you know selfishness and little bits of Pride and seeking our own and a lot of things which we don't even take so seriously and then there are what we call the sins of omission the things that we did not do which we don't even call it sin when was the last time you confessed a sin of omission I'm pretty sure that there's probably many years ago committing sin we confess readily oh I'm sorry I did that I didn't do that but when was the last time you confessed her sins thing I didn't do that you know the story of the Good Samaritan there was this man beaten up on the road and a priest and a Levite went by what was their sin did they kick him did they spit on him no their sin was they did nothing can you commit a sin by doing nothing that was exactly the scene of the priest and the Levite they walked by that man they did nothing that's what I mean by sins of omission so when we get closer to God we see a massive huge list of sins of omission for example the Bible says encourage one another daily one of the biggest sins of omission do you encourage your wife do you encourage your husband I know you didn't slap him or slap her that's okay but did you encourage him what is the sin of commission the others is in a moment perhaps you do it ask forgiveness from God if you got upset me yelled at your husband away but what if you didn't encourage her and encourage him we don't even dream of that as a sin but it is encourage one another daily he bruises them chapter 3 in verse 13 so I see that the closer we come to God I'm not trying to put anybody on a guilt trip here don't misunderstand me I'm just saying that the closer we come to God we see a whole lot of things which we who thought be also spiritual we suddenly discover were not so spiritual as we thought we were because we've been comparing ourselves with others oh yeah better than them you like the Pharisee I thank God I'm not like that public in there or the people in those Church there or some of these other half-hearted people who come to church I'm not like them lord I thank you I'm a little better till we come close to God we come closer to the Lord and say Oh Lord I'm the chief of all the sinners and then we realize how much we've been forgiven we never compare ourselves with anybody else thereafter we see how much I have been forgiven and what's the result of that one who's forgiven more loves more so let's just bow our heads before God by-and-by when I look on his face I wish I had given him more by-and-by when he holds out his hands nail-pierced hands I wish I had given him more we don't want to regret in that day we want to respond today and I want to invite you to respond to the Lord in your heart to whatever he's spoken to you Heavenly Father we pray that your spirit will work freely in our hearts in the areas where you have spoken to us that we can be brought closer to you know you better partake more of your nature and be those whom you can boast about to Satan as your worshipers on earth make us all like that Lord we pray father in heaven for you long for people who will worship in spirit and in truth and we want to satisfy the longing of your heart in Jesus name Amen

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 38,127

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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, loving christ, loving god, loving christ supremely

Id: g7nH50VDyHo

Length: 58min 29sec (3509 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 09 2014