Manifesting Jesus in Our Life - Zac Poonen - December 15, 2013

I was thinking today of the first commission that Jesus gave to his disciples on the day he rose from the dead we know the Great Commission where he came before he ascended up to heaven going to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and go to every nation and make disciples and baptize them and teach them to do everything I commanded you but if you turn to John chapter 20 you see the very first words that he spoke as a commission to his disciples as soon as he rose from the dead and I think that's significant because the later Commission of preaching the gospel and making disciples is based on this John chapter 20 and verse 19 and the first day of the week the evening Jesus appeared and said to his disciples peace be with you then he said in verse 21 again peace be with you see that's important peace is a very important feature in the New Testament a very important part of New Covenant life first of all peace with God we must live in that all the time which can only be possible if we keep our conscience absolutely clear peace in our heart which is freedom from anxiety tension which can only come if he believe that God is our loving father who cares for us and knows every detail of what's happening to us and is interested to make everything work for our good will never allow us to be tested beyond our ability if we don't believe those things we can't have peace and then so this peace with God fees in our heart and then peace with all men Bible says pursue peace with all men it's not something that's gonna come easily we got to pursue it when I read the word pursue in the Bible I think of a am I trying to catch a bus at a bus stop and the bus is just about to leave and I got a run if I want to get in pursue it so that I don't miss it and then so with that piece I can serve the Lord and here's the Commission I was speaking about as the father sent me I send you it's an amazing Commission if you're a child of God that applies to you as well if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ as the father you've got to take those words personally from Jesus directly to you as the father sent me into this world I am sending you into this world it's an amazing calling and so when we read that we think of what is the primary purpose with which the father sent Jesus into the world we would say it's to die for our sins but that he did on the last day of his earthly life that was just six hours on the cross but for thirty three and a half years there was something he did which is explained in John 1 and verse 18 no one has seen God at any time but the only begotten God was in the bosom of the Father he has explained him for thirty three and a half years as Jesus lived on the earth his life explained the father people who watched him in Nazareth people who watched him in his home they saw what God was like and that's why he could say at the end of his time on on earth does the day before he was crucified in John 14 and verse 9 you know Philip said in verse 8 Lord show us the father and she said you don't need to see the father john 14:9 I been with you he if you have seen me you've seen the father why do you have to say it show us the father so here was Jesus Commission when he came from heaven go to the world and before you died for the sins of the world show them the father show them that God is not a policeman God is not a judge he's a father a loving father and demonstrate I mean before you preach that demonstrated by your life show them by your life what I'm like he didn't say he was hurt my words knows what the father is like that's easy you know we have we all of us have no shortage of words and preachers especially have no shortage of words we can say so many things and they all may be accurate and if you've studied the Bible you can explain Christian truth accurately but there's a lot of difference between explaining the truth about God and explaining that he's Almighty is loving full of grace etc and showing the father Jesus didn't just teach about the father he showed the father he manifested he explained the father by his life and if that's what he came on earth to do combine that with he who was she and seen me has seen the father with these words as the father sent me so send I you so what's our primary calling it's not to tell people about Jesus first that does come in but it comes second it's to show people Jesus by our life by our manner of life by the values that people see we have that we should be able to say like Jesus said at the end of his life if you have seen me watched my life you've seen a little bit of what Jesus is like have you heard that calling from the Lord that you should be able to tell your wife if you've seen me the way I live at home the way I speak to you you've seen what Jesus is like can your husband hear that from you if you've seen me the way I behave and the way I live at home and speak to you you've seen what Jesus is like now don't don't get condemned see that as the goal who are not there but we must keep that goal before us if we are ever going to get there the trouble with a lot of Christians is that goal is so low that gets satisfied so easily and that's why the name of the Lord is dishonored throughout the world see I live in a country where 1 percent of the population are Protestant Christians 1 percent 99% are other things a lot of people Christian missions and missionaries are concerned oh it's so sad there's only 1% to the population of Christians when I quit my job in the Navy 46 or 47 years ago I traveled all over India for about nine years north to south east to west I went to so many missions and denominations and churches and I discovered one thing the problem was not that we were 1% of the population the problem was that the quality of life of this 1% was so pathetic such a disgrace to the name of Jesus Christ that I was thankful it was only 1% and not more than that to bring more disgrace to the name of Christ was the use producing a shallow Christian with missionary work who now has changed his religion changed his name from some non-christian name perhaps to a Christian name so everybody thinks he's a Christian and he doesn't he doesn't behave anything like Jesus Christ that's what brings reproach on the name of Christ in every country it's not percentage of the population we had a man in India who died 765 years ago or so called Mahatma Gandhi he was a great political leader but he was a man who read the Sermon on the Mount he was not a Christian till the end of his life he was a Hindu as far as we know but you know like a lot of Hindus they admire Jesus Christ they respect the way he lived so he read the Sermon on the Mount and tried to follow that and when India became independent in 1947 some Christians went to him and asked him what message do you have for the Christians in India he said tell them to live more like Jesus Christ because he had observed Christians I think is the same message in America tell Christians to live more like Jesus Christ that is our calling as the father sent me so send I you and a small group of people who seek to live like Christ can be more powerful than megachurches of shallow Christians megachurches impress people who count statistics I'm happy if all of them are seeking to live like Christ that's great I'd like to see a hundred thousand people in a church living like Christ but if it's only numbers means nothing to God I don't know whether you know that it impresses people but it doesn't impress God because our calling is as the father sent me so send I you and he was seen me has seen the father and I see my calling as this and I hope you see it as well that I should be able to say if you have seen me observed me closely you've seen Jesus Christ if you if you could come into my private life and read my thoughts you'd be able to understand the type of thing Jesus thinks about if you could come into my private life and see the way I handle money and keep my accounts you got an idea of how Jesus handled money if you can't say that I mean it's only a public front to show other people here I'm trying to behave like Jesus you're an actor if I'm only trying to create a good impression on people because I know that 90% of my life they can't see then I'm a hypocrite and Jesus condemned hypocrisy more than any other sin so I'm not talking about a public front I'm talking about not only being a testimony to men but being a testimony to the devil that's very important for me because the first book that I believe God wrote in the Bible was the book of Joel Moses wrote Genesis probably 500 years after Joe brought the book of Joel so Genesis is not the first book of the Bible job is and Joe enjoyed the very first chapter the very first page that God writes for man is about a man whom God can boast about to Satan it's not a question of jobs testimony before men that's always challenged me that the very first page of the very first book that God decided to write for man called the Bible the very first page of the very first book God is boasting about a man to Satan and telling Satan ok Satan you've seen so many hypocrites in the world and Satan is there the accuser of the Brethren and sure he was accusing people even in those days oh people who claim to be religious and claim to know God and God said yeah I agree with you Satan but we'll have you seen Joe he's different that's challenged me for years that I should be someone and you should be someone whom God can point out to Satan and say in the midst of all the hypocrites who call themselves Christians on earth have you seen this man have you seen this woman have you seen this family they're not like others have you seen this church they're not like others that's far more important then how much money you have how big a house you have how big your church is how impressed other people are with your Christianity then God should be able to boast about you and your home the way you bring up your children and the way they've grown up have you seen Satan the way that man's brought up his children have you seen how they've grown up that's a million times more important than what people think about my Christianity as I said people note 10% of my life and they can foolishly praise me when God may be ashamed of me before the devil because the devil sees a lot more about my life than other people do so when I say he who has seen me has seen Jesus if that if that becomes my goal I work on my private life first because everything comes out of the heart proverbs 4 says watch your heart with all diligence problems for anything is verse 23 probably proof what's your heart with all diligence for out of it come all the issues of life that's the thing I got a watch there is where I must seek to really be like Jesus and if I see that as a calling as the father sent me so send I you know people have jumped over from that to mark 16 so go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature that's also a commission or I agree I'll go and make disciples I've tried to do that for 40 years but not before John 20 verse 21 he who has seen me has seen a little bit of Jesus in 2 years from now you'll see a little more of what Jesus like and five years from now you'll see a little more of what Jesus like and hopefully 10 years from now a little more because we don't become like Jesus overnight but if you allow the Holy Spirit to work in us that's what will happen and that's why now see the context of this John back to John chapter 20 verse 21 as the father sent me so send I you and I said that is so people can look at us and see what Jesus was like and then he says when he said this he breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit with all this discussion in the world about the full the Holy Spirit and the gift of the Holy Spirit here's what it's for here's what it's for the very first time he breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit it was in the context of as the father sent me so send are you do you want to go out into the world and say to people if you've seen me you've seen a little bit of what Jesus like then you need the Holy Spirit if you think you can do it on your own you will just be one who improves your human nature improves your behavior they there are management experts who are called to speak to managers in corporations how to improve their behavior who are called to talk to salespeople how to improve that behavior towards customers and they can improve their behavior you know salespeople are some of the most gracious people I have met you can look at 30 pairs of shoes and not buy any of them and the salesperson says thank you so much for coming we're so happy you're here and they curse you to your face when you go away that's not Christianity but a lot of Christians are like that you know behaving so nicely they don't really like your face at all that a lot of Christians have come to church and they think church is a place where I'm taught to improve my character I must be kind to the poor and I must be graciously it's all acting unless we look at the heart out of the heart of the issues of light and that's why my private life is far more a far better gauge of my Christianity than the public image I present before others we have to work on this because we live in a world where public image is the main thing what do other people think about me what is your witness for Christ how do you live do people see Christ in you well it's got to begin in the heart jesus said to the Pharisees you clean the outside of the cup you know isn't that a good certificate Jesus gave a good certificate to the Pharisees there were two good certificates among all the bad things he said about the Pharisees there were two good things he said one was your doctrines are all right the doctrines are all perfect Matthew 23 verse 2 and 3 jesus said to his disciples the Pharisees are sitting in the seat of Moses every single thing they tell you to do do it now Jesus would never say that about so many other people he wouldn't tell you every single thing that this particular group says every single thing that the Mormons say do it every single thing that the seventh-day adventists say or the Roman Catholics say it do it no or the Hindus or the Muslims when Jesus says this particular group everything they say you can do that's a pretty good certificate he wouldn't say that lightly it meant that their doctrines were all correct their life was wrong but the doctrines were all correct this is the only the problem with them is they don't do what they say but what they say is right so there was a group whose doctrines were right only dinga applied it in a legalistic way and the second thing was you cleaned the outside of the cup verse 25 so here are two good qualities of the Pharisees that doctrines were correct and their external life was very good so I learned from that that if my doctrines are all absolutely fundamental evangelical right and my external testimony before others is very good I could still be a Pharisee of the Pharisees a hypocrite among hypocrites he said the important thing you Pharisees need to know is to clean the inside of the cup and that's why I say our testimony before Satan is very important Jesus came to the earth and it's not only to people who saw his external life that he could say if you've seen me you've seen the father in John 14 and verse 30 he said the Prince of the world comes and he finds nothing in me Satan comes and finds nothing in me there's zero to accusing me because his inner life was exactly like his outer life an Ephesians chapter 3 it says about one part of this mystery you know Paul speaks about a mystery the New Covenant is a mystery a mystery means a secret that can only be understood by revelation says in Revelations 3:3 as is by revelation that was made known to me a mystery which was not revealed in other generations verse 5 to the prophets imagine the great prophets in the Old Covenant even John the Baptist couldn't understand his mystery nobody in the Old Testament knew this even job did not know that Satan was Satan and God were having a conversation about him it says here in Ephesians 3 verse 9 to bring to light the administration of this mystery which is hidden in God in order that listen to this the manifold are the many-sided many-colored wisdom of God can now be made known through the church not to the world but to the demons you ever thought of a church witnessing to demons that's what it says here this is a mystery that the amazing wisdom of God will be seen through the church to this evil rulers and authorities in the heavenly places every time in Revelation whenever it speaks about rulers and authorities and how many places always the evil ones you see that in Ephesians 6 so it's something similar to what we saw in Joe just like God was finding job out to Satan he's pointing you and me out and showing his wisdom and saying something like this to Satan Satan you see the world full of hypocrites Christians non-christians alike everybody is interested in creating a good impression before people and getting a name for themselves in the midst of all these hypocrites have you seen these people I know there are few but have you seen this one and that one who are more interested in their private life and purity and to love people not with words or even with actions but from deep within in their attitudes have you seen them Satan that's the wisdom of God because what do you gain from that we gain a lot by creating a good impression that we are Christians we get a name for ourselves and to some people that means a lot more than getting money people have plenty of money don't care for more money but they want a name I'm a good Christian preachers desired that and people who come to church desire that but God tells it and what does this guy get by living honestly in private nobody sees it what is this person get by being faithful with money in private what does he get by being faithful in his thought life in purity in his thought life he gains nothing do you see my wisdom Satan that I worked in these people amazing this is the mystery it's a mystery to the world the world say what in the world you bothered about those things which nobody sees it says I'm not seeking to be a testimony before men first I want to be a testimony before the devil before the rulers and authorities and their heavenly places in it if I'm all right there I'll be all right before men jesus said if you clean the inside of the cup Matthew 23 the outside will automatically be clean I used to think of it like this in the days before antibiotics were invented or discovered if a man had a sore in his hand he would get an ointment and rub it in the sore would go but didn't come somewhere else and you applied there the very thankfull a tube of ointment and then one day somebody discovers an antibiotic and the doctor says you can throw away that you've avoid for now because the antibody will go inside and forget this outside cleansing of the ointment deal with the root of the problem inside and the source stopped coming clean the inside of the cup the outside will automatically be clean people who can't understand how an antibiotic works thinks can I really get rid of that tube of ointment sure because the antibiotic has dealt with the root of the problem inside it's like that so it's so important that we really seek with all of our heart for the part of the Holy Spirit to really conform us into the likeness of Christ that's the primary purpose with which the Holy Spirit is given second Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18 through many years of Bible study I have discovered this is the one verse that teaches more clearly about the Ministry of the Holy Spirit than any other verse in the whole Bible and if you find a better one than that tell me 2nd Corinthians 3:18 let me paraphrase it that the in a mirror the mirror is the God's Word in God's Word we see the glory of Jesus that's the primary purpose with which the Bible has been given the Bible's not been given to us to prepare sermons in my younger days I was interested in I started preaching I was interested in preparing sermons clever sermons connecting this verse with that verse and the other verse and the other verse and impressing people God said forget it seek to help people not impress them so I decided I'm not gonna impress people I want to help them and Bibles not being given to make me a scholar no not to preach not to make me a scholar the Bible is given to show me the glory of Jesus the Holy Spirit shows me the glory of Jesus in the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and that shows me my need when I see the glory of Jesus I see how unlike him I am I never have to look inside I don't believe in looking inside that's what psychologists say look inside and look back and think of all the wrong things you did I don't need to do any of that I just see the glory of Jesus and immediately I see where I'm needy and I can get discouraged if it were not for the second Ministry of the Holy Spirit mentioned there that he will change me into that same likeness not in a moment but from one degree of glory to another the same holy spirit so this is the double ministry of the holy spirit number one to those who read the Bible carefully they see the glory of Jesus you'll never see that if you don't study scriptures let me encourage you my brothers spend more time with God's book than Facebook are too many people are going on Facebook these days that's okay that's fine but I hope you can testify that I spend more time with God's book than Facebook if you can't no wonder there's a shallowness in your life spend time with God's book it's the only book God gave him the billions of bookings in the world there's only one that God wrote there may be things in it difficult to understand but as you read and meditate more and more as you grow or and more in the light you will see more and more of the glory of Jesus I've spent 54 years studying this book and I can tell it to tell you it's true I see the glory of Jesus new things today sometimes it makes me weep I see oh Lord how glorious you are and there's another area I want to be like you this is the Ministry of the Holy Spirit he doesn't bring condemnation when I see I'm unlike him because of the second Ministry of Charlie you're gonna make you show me that image wouldn't give me a hope that I will be like that too so if the passion in your life is to be like Christ as the father sent me so send I you so that you can say at the end of your life if you've seen the way I lived you've seen how Jesus lived maybe we can't say it today but I want to urge you my dear brothers and sisters make it your goal this is the only goal worth having is the only ambition worth having and then the Holy Spirit show you if he sees that is your ambition he'll show you more and more and more and he'll give you hope that he make you like that he make you like that on the inside you know you can't when we speak about controlling our anger or controlling our thoughts etc we can work on our tongue that's in that problem is not with our tongue the problem is with the heart out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks controlling your tongue will only make you a good practice er of yoga we had a brother in our church who came from a non Christian religion who said I control my anger before I came became a Christian I practiced yoga what did he mean what he meant was he could grit his teeth and control his tongue he couldn't get rid of the anger in his heart that only Jesus can do but if you get rid of the anger in your heart it won't come out from the tongue so we got to concentrate on the heart always the Holy Spirit's come to make me like Jesus and so that's why it's important for us to see what Jesus was like you know so many ideas we have about Christ are not necessarily true let me just show you a few examples for example in Matthew chapter 8 we read about Jesus meeting a military man now there are a lot of people maybe some of you who feel that if you meet a military man the first thing you tell him is get out of the military and you know that Jesus never told him that and I'd like you to know that Jesus never told that military man to get out of the military and you can't be more spiritual than Jesus you may be just a legalist here was this Roman centurion I don't know how many people he had killed in war he was a ruler a Centurion means a hundred soldiers under him and he comes to Jesus and says you know I've got this servant to his sick in Matthew 8 verse 8 and he says I'll tell you honestly Lord I'm a military man I've got soldiers under me I'm not a civilian I'm a military man I don't want to hide it I've got soldiers under me I tell them to go and fight there and they fight and then come back here and go and fight here they they obey me and I believe you have the same authority to tell this disease to go what do you think Jesus said you know it's not it's wrong to kill people you shouldn't be in the military tell your soldiers to get out of the military and not only you but tell all your hundred soldiers to get out he never said anything like that listen to what he said he looked around and all the people and said you fellas I've never seen such faith as I've seen in this man would you ever say that to a military man I'm just trying to show you the glory of Jesus if you want to see it I mean if you're so prejudiced in your mind that you say no no it can't mean that well god have mercy on you but if you really want the Holy Spirit to change your way of thinking it's so difficult sometimes so people are stubborn in one particular way of thinking even the Holy Spirit can't change them because they are stuck there that's how the Pharisees were God sent the second person of the Trinity to preach to them for three and half years they wouldn't change don't be like that I've had to change my mind in numerous areas as the Holy Spirit showed me the glory of Jesus and say Lord I want to be like you what did he mean by this man had such faith why didn't he talk about why didn't he why did he ignore all the other things which we would not ignore he realized that Jesus was a man under Authority and he compared it to the same way he had Authority what is faith first of all you see here I've seen one thing in Scripture this is a great connection between humility and faith it's the humble people who have more faith you know it says in James 2 God has chosen the poor of the world rich in faith that's the verse in James chapter 2 I've seen seen that in India we have all types of people in our churches we have churches in the villages in the cities and we have poor leaders who are daily wage earners who work in the fields and if there's no rain and there's no crop and they don't get a job they're very poor but they're born-again Christians they love the Lord we have illiterate women in our churches who can't read or write we have an elder brother in one of our churches who can't read one word how does he preach he's got the Bible on his cell phone and he listens to it every day that's how he has his quiet time and that's how he prepares his messages because he can't read and write he's trying to learn by listening to that and trying to open a Bible and trying to see how it is is he learning little by little we have people like that and on the other extreme we have PhDs in our church we have MBAs and numerous computer engineers but we're all one in Christ and our educational or economic distinctions don't make a difference but I've seen that faith is more among the poorer than among the more educated I mean I've just observed that maybe it's because they have to they struggle to survive and they have to depend on God so much and if they suddenly have a need there's no social security in India if they they have to trust God a rich man would just take out his checkbook and write a check they don't have that much in their bank account they've got to trust God the government doesn't help them maybe that's the reason that for the world are rich in faith so what is faith basically and I've come to see two things that faith is and it seems to be more important than even being saved from falling into sin see when Peter was going to deny Jesus Christ at the just before the crucifixion and the Lord told him in Luke 22 you are going to deny me three times tonight before the crows twice you will deny me three times and yet the interesting thing I see there is that Jesus never prayed that he should not fall now if I felt that a brother of mine was gonna face some severe temptation tonight my primary prayer for him is a lord oh please don't let him fall and deny the Lord I think that's worse than adultery because jesus said if you deny me before men I will deny you before my father he never said if you commit adultery I'll deny you before my father you can repent of it but if you deny me before men I'll deny you before my father so Peter was going to commit a sin worse than adultery that night and Jesus never prayed that he wouldn't fall amazing his ways are not our ways sometimes he allows a person to sin because that's the last way he can break that person after he's tried every other way God wants to break us because he can't bless us before he breaks us he can't feed the multitude before the bread is broken it's not enough that he blesses the brandy had to break it and then the feeb multitude is fed if he just blessed it it will be 5 loaves but when he broke it it became enough for five thousand and when God not only blesses you but breaks you he can feed multitudes through you and Peter needed to be broken and there were many methods God tried but he didn't succeed you know he taught him how he could go all night without catching fish and then not catch it this is the first time Luke chapter 5 all that didn't break him but finally he said okay the last resort which God doesn't like to do but if there's no other way he'll permit it okay let him fall into sin and that broke him so but what did he pray for Peter at that time Peter when you fall and you hit rock bottom committing the worst sin of all denying me remember one thing and the father still loves you and I love you too remember that that is faith I pray that your faith will not fail and I believe that's what the Lord is wanting us to know that if any of us have messed up our life and even hit rock bottom to know their God still loves you your father is still waiting even if you reach the level of the pigs that your father is waiting for you to come back and when he sees you come back you run to welcome you that's the first aspect of faith we must have and Jesus is praying we'll never lose it but the day you make a mess of your life you hope it won't happen but if you do don't get so discouraged and give up turn back your father still loves you I pray that your faith will not fail when you've tried so hard to get victory over something and you have again fallen again fallen and say Lord as the thousandth time I fell into the same old thing remember your father still loves you he's waiting for you to come back he won't force you the prodigal father didn't go running out for him to pull him back from the pigs but he waited for him to turn but when he turned the father ran that's the first aspect of faith and the second is that to believe that if there's something God has promised us in Scripture things like he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit where sin will not have dominion over you or he will not ever allow you to be tempted beyond your ability wonderful promises or my grace is sufficient for every problem you can ever face in your life amazing promises or I will never leave you now forsake you that God is more eager to do that for me than I am to receive it but many believers don't think so I've met numerous believers who say oh brother Zack eagerly praying for the baptism the Holy Spirit God doesn't seem to give it to me but as long as you think that you are more eager to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit then God is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit I'll tell you you won't receive it in a hundred years that's unbelief here's a definition of unbelief I am more eager to get God's promise then God is eager to give it to me that's unbelief the opposite that is faith God is more eager to give me that promise than I'm eager to receive it my eagerness is 1% or less of God's eagerness to give it to me if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit than they're asking man this military man had more of that than these Bible scholars among the Jews and I've seen sometimes people have come out of non-christian religions I will never read the Bible in their whole life in the village churches have faith when they come to Christ that their father in heaven will do things for them which a lot of Bible scholar Christians don't have God has chosen the poor of the world rich in faith so it doesn't mean we have to become poor financially to get there but it does mean that we have to have a sense of our own need no matter what we have of other things in the world Lord ultimately I'm dependent on you Jesus learned was not hesitant to appreciate people whom we would not easily appreciate the guy was not even born again he was not even a Christian he was not even a Jew who knew nothing about the Bible and yet Jesus could appreciate him publicly I find many Christians are hesitant to say something nice about others publicly this year oh ho it might go to his head and he make him become proud you know Jesus didn't have any such fear about this roman centurion it's our own selfishness that makes us think like that it's because we are so inward looking and selfish and satanic in our nature that we can't appreciate people but we're quick to find fault quick to gossip quick to back by it quick to speak something evil that we heard about somebody but so hesitant to say to someone's face something good that we appreciate in him that's part of that old Adamek nature that we have to crucify and get a little more of the nature of Christ so that people can say so we can say if you've seen me you've seen what Jesus like I'm not hesitant I've had to learn that to learn to appreciate people openly think of another example like that in John chapter 1 here is that are thoroughly unconverted Jew totally unconverted one who despised anybody who came from Nazareth you know when philip found nathanael john 145 and said to him we found him of whom Moses says Jesus of Nazareth he's the Messiah and Nathanael dispatched it ah Nazareth can anything good come out of Nazareth what would you say to such a person who has that attitude but in anything good come out of Nazareth and as soon as Jesus season he says that guy may not be a Christian John 147 but there is a man who's got zero hypocrisy he's genuine I thought of that Lord if you could say that about me that'll be the greatest commendation of all there is a man there is a woman in whom there's no hypocrisy at all would you say that about somebody who despised where you came from Jesus is so unlike us I'll tell you that we have to see the glory of Jesus in the scriptures I'll turn to John chapter 2 you know the story of them there was not enough wine at the marriage in Cana in other words they had enough for a first round of wine for all the guests but not enough for a second round now that's not such a desperate need it's not like a need for healing or man doesn't have a job or starving these guys were not starving or without a job they wanted a second round of wine would Jesus do a miracle for that that Jesus you know would you ever make a second round of wine for people would he make that as the very first miracle I mean if I were to plan Jesus life I think I would start with raising Lazarus from the dead is the first miracle something spiritual and not something so carnal like making an extra round of wine for people I've had to change my views he's God against your enjoying ice cream some people have that question or having a good meal I say we're not followers of John the Baptist who ate locusts and wild honey they're followers of Jesus who was called a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber but a man who could also fast for 40 days don't don't just take one side of it we've got to see the glory of Jesus both sides of it if you want to be balanced he would fast for 40 days and at the same time he could have a good meal and he could when he saw people in an embarrassing situation he did something even though even if it meant hey are these folks they're gonna have a bad reputation if there was not enough at this wedding let me save them from that embarrassment I want to be like Jesus to save people from embarrassment to bless them with whatever I can the Holy Spirit shows us that and sees how unlike we are and my owns making a let me show you another example John chapter 4 I see here that Jesus decided it says here in verse 4 he had to pass through Samaria see again in the country where I live there's a cost system among the non-christians upper caste and lower caste and the upper caste despised the lower caste so much that if a lower caste man walks in front and his shadow falls upon an upper caste man the guy has got to go and have a shower because this lower caste man's shadow fell upon me that's how the Jews treated the Samaritans the Samaritans were not pure Jews when the king of Assyria captured Israel whose capital was Samaria about a hundred and hundred years before hundred thirty years before Nebuchadnezzar captured Judah they sent some of their Assyrians into Samaria and they mingled with the Jews and it was a mixed race and they were called Samaritans they were not pure Jews the Jews despised them anybody whom they despised they'd call off your a Samaria you're a low caste fellow they call Jesus that you're a Samaritan and they wouldn't go through Samaria even though the straight route from Galilee to Jerusalem was through Samaria did walk a little longer to go around they didn't mind the extra distance but here was a time when Jesus said I feel a prompting in my spirit to go through Samaria to break all these rules it's one of the wonderful things I see about Jesus he'd break all these man-made rules and traditions because he loved people not just for the sake of breaking them like revolutionaries but because he loved people he'd break rules about the Sabbath because he loved people he wanted to heal them and he wanted to show these Samaritans that he loved them and he went through there and when he came to the well of sight car Jacob's Well and they were all hungry now you know what it is when you travel as a team we're all hungry we all go to restaurant together and eat but Jesus said I feel a prompting in my spirit to sit it as well I want you fellas to go and have your meal I want to learn something from there about Jesus not to do everytime what is normal but to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit where he tells me to do something a little different which will usually be a way of self-denial to make it easy for others and deny myself that's what he was doing you're going to have your meal and I'll sit here and Jesus lived as a man he lived by the prompting of the Spirit and sure enough there was a reason there was this woman who came there to the well a woman who had been divorced five times and to make it worse the sixth man she was living with now this was just a living relationship wasn't even married to him how would you look at a woman who has been divorced five times and is now living with a man who's not even probably married to as a Christian as a holy Christian what advice would you give her first of all I see something of a glory of Jesus here Jesus knew all about her but he speaks to her about living water he said there's a thirst in your life not only you come to this whale but you're looking for one man after another to find satisfaction you don't find it you'll never find it all the wells of Earth will never quench your thirst come to me and drink from me you'll never thirst again he won't want another man and so when he asks her go and call your husband I want you to see something here she's a said in verse 16 go and call your husband she could have very easily she didn't know who this was this is some Jewish man she could have easily gone and called the man she was living with who was there to know whether there was a marriage certificate or whether she was properly married or not she could bring that man and say here's my husband but you see despite all the blunders she made in her life there was one thing about her she was honest I've seen something about people who sometimes are in deep sin in the sexual area there's an honesty about some of them which I am NOT sieving even among other believers they're honest she says I have no husband when she could have easily fooled him by bringing that man she was honest what she was saying was I have a man but we're not legally married what's the need to say that there's the proof I don't have a marriage certificate and Jesus knew it and he said I yeah you said well you have no husband because you've been divorced five times and now you're living with one was not your husband and she was embarrassed because suddenly she knew this was a prophet this is someone who knows everything about my inner life he'll probably tell me more things I'm embarrassed what else he'll expose of my inner life so she changes the subject and says I want to ask you about worship you know this thing called worship power people say we should worship here and the Jews say you should worship there and I see the glory of Jesus here he didn't say hey hang on hang on we gotta deal with this thing first about your husband before we get to worship Jesus just ignores it and moves on to worship he doesn't want to embarrass her I love that I say Lord make me like that when I counsel people I want to be like you that I don't push a point where I feel people are being embarrassed just to show that I'm some type of great prophet I'm not a prophet I'm just a brother here to help you that's how Jesus lived on earth there was no airs about himself like some Christians have just because they know a little bit of truth the airs they have when they speak to some down-and-out sinner and the amazing thing is you read the less stress with a chapter God used her to witness to the whole of Samaria Jesus had a plan to reach Samaria with the gospel it says the whole city came out to listen to him but the interesting thing is he could not use any of his twelve disciples to do that because they had so many tragedies against the Samaritans they had prejudice against military men their prejudiced against Samaritans their prejudice against this group in that group he said I can't use any of you I'm gonna shame all of you by using a five times divorced woman who's sleeping in with some other man I'm gonna use her I'm not saying that's a law I'm just saying that in in the leading of God that's how he did it Jesus moved around the world with compassion you read in the next chapter that he he he moved around the Pool of Bethesda and he was looking around to discern was anybody here with faith and he'd go up to that person and heal him say get up take up your bed and walk he was always moving around like that I see something there it's compassion when the disciples asked him in John 9 this man born blind was it his saying or his parents saying you know how quick we can be to when somebody is sick to say yeah there must be some sin in his life or God is judging him or punishing him rubbish Jesus said it's not this man sin or his parents in God's work so to be manifested there's so much I see the the bruised Reed he will not break and of smoking flax he will not quench that dying flame he will blow into a flame there was a compassion about Jesus when he saw people it says in Matthew 9 and verse 36 Matthew 9:36 when he saw people distressed and downcast and the Living Bible says when he saw people with having so many problems and not knowing where to turn one translation one translation says his heart broke I said Lord make me like you when I see people who are confused with so many problems and they don't know where to turn let my heart break like yours that's what it means to be like Jesus yeah I preach about hell sure Jesus did but I'd be a very be very imbalanced if I only spoke about that this is the Jesus we need to be and I want to say to you Jesus is compassionate if he sees you confused and having so many problems and you feel that the believers here are so holy they won't understand my problems you know sometimes the church can give that impression to strangers who come in oh this holy bunch of people they won't understand the problems I'm facing seeing Lord save us from ever building a church like that the prostitutes and thieves and drug addicts must feel at home when they come here not to remain in their sin for Jesus came not to call the righteous but sinners unto repentance not to leave them in that drug addiction or in their prostitution or in their immorality but to save them from it but they must say here's a place where they'll give me a word that will encourage me and not discourage me even further not condemn me even more so much of Christian preaching is condom Natori in the guise of zeal for the truth there is a place for it but I never see Jesus whipping prostitutes and murderers no I see Jesus whipping people religious people who are exploiting the poor for their money that's what those money changers and sellers of doves were doing the poor people came from Galilee and they couldn't carry sheep all the way from there and these guys would say you don't have to bring your sheep all the way from your home we'll sell it to you here cause a little more expensive because we need to make a profit and Jesus drove those fellows out who exploited the poor and I believe if he were to come and see today's television evangelists Jesus would take a whip and drive them all out because they're exploiting the poor in the same way today taking money from those poor people in order to live in grand style themselves that is another side of Jesus but there is this side of compassion that I see as I read the scriptures his heart broke when he saw these people having so many problems so confused and he said pray get down on your knees he's told his disciples and pray that's the first thing you need to do you don't try to think you can go out and reach it that's what the world says there's a need go out and reach it no he said the harvest is plentiful the workers a few dog go no don't go pray and if the Lord sends you go because you'll never be able to do anything for God if you go like that without the Lord sending I see another occasion where it says he saw the multitude without food John 15 32 and he said I have compassion on them my heart breaks when I think of these people not having enough to eat his is the Lord interested in our having food on the table for our family he certainly is he taught us to pray give us this day our daily bread that's not a nun spiritual prayer to pray give me a home to live in Lord give me shelter for my family give me a job in days of unemployment it's a spiritual prayer to pray Lord give me a job so that I can set food on my table to feed my family and help me to bring up my children and train them to have a profession so that when they grow up they can find a job so that they can put food on that table for their family that's a very spiritual prayer to pray it's all summed up and give us this day our daily bread he had compassion it says in John Matthew 15 32 because he says these people have been with me for three days and they had nothing to eat amazing imagine having a three-day conference with no meals that's how it was when you're with Jesus and that's because Jesus was not a boring preacher if you have a boring preacher you'll feel hungry in about 15 minutes but when Jesus was there there could be with him for three days and feel boy he could go on forever and but Jesus was comforted compassion he wanted them to eat something we read of other times when he had compassion on lepers and people who were sick does Jesus is he the same today is he the same yesterday today and forever does he have compassion on people who are sick he certainly does I believe that his heart of pity has not changed he has compassion on those who are hungry his compassion on those who are confused his compassion on lepers he has compassion on the sick and today when he was on earth he did his ministry through his physical body if Jesus had come to Earth as a spirit how could he have touched the leper how could he have broken the bread to feed the multitude but like it says in Hebrews 10 a body you have prepared for me to do your will in the same way on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit formed another body for Jesus again to do his will and we could quote the same verse again a body have you prepared me for me Father with these a hundred and twenty fill them with the Holy Spirit now they are my body now they can go out and do what I did when I was on earth sure what God is really like that's our calling to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can go forth and be the hands of Jesus and be the eyes of Jesus and be the tongue of Jesus I often feel that when I speak in the pulpit I said Lord I want to be the tongue of Jesus in the pulpit for the short time that I stand up there and that's why I spent a lot of time studying the Gospels to see how Jesus spoke how he preached he's preached on this and he preached on that I spent one some time going through all the Gospels to see what are the subjects Jesus mainly spoken let me tell you something you know you never once preached a message on healing and surprise you but you read it people asked me brother Zak why don't he preach a message on healing I said Jesus never preached one he healed the sick but you know preached a message on healing you go through the episodes there's not any sermon on healing there even though they healed a hundred jesus healed thousands but he never preached on end he did it and didn't preach on it today we have thousands of sermons and hardly anybody healed that's the difference between today's Christianity and Jesus I always say if you don't have an ability to help a person don't trouble that person by telling him what's wrong with him I've had people go to someone and say you got a demon I see you man never say that Jesus never told anyone you got a demon never he cast out the demon I see if you can't cast out the demon keep your mouth shut and bless that person by keeping your mouth shut you know sometimes we can bless people by just keeping our mouth shut instead of opening our mouth and airing our views and condemning them even more if you can't bless people at least don't condemn them don't say this is your problem if you can't help them to solve it if Jesus identified a problem he could solve it I don't want to go around telling people at that problem that would be like a doctor who says okay this is your problem I've analyzed you okay next patient this is your problem and go next patient that's a useless doctor a good doctor would be one who gives a solution to that or ruses listen I don't know your what your problem is so I see that Jesus had compassion and he was always there to find a solution for people and today you and I are the hands and the eyes in the tongue of Jesus it's a tremendous calling as the father sent me so send are you and we also seen all these actions of Jesus something of the heart of God he's not a hard-hearted God that's what the Pharisees portrayed him as and unfortunately that's how a lot of Christians portray God at today as one who so sticky about certain rules no he's got a large heart of love and none of us need fear to come to him he loves us far more than we realized and when he made a mess of our life remember the prayer of Jesus I pray your faith will not fail at that time I pray you will remember at that time your father still loves you I remember a young man who was in our church I mean coming to our church he wasn't converted and he would often often get drunk with his friends young fellow and he would come to me and say oh brother Jack I'm sorry about drunk again today ice it's okay repent I said Lord to forgive you and he would come regularly and he was very very honest like I said a lot of sinners are far more honest than believers and he was never a hypocrite he would come and tell me I again slipped up today etc then one day he was being transferred away from Bangalore to another place he came to see me for the last time and I said I want you to know one thing he would keep on probably going like this for some time till finally you've reached rock bottom and you get fed up with yourself and in that day remember two things that God still loves you and that I also love you and my doors are always open to you you can always come and see me anytime the Lord be with you I saw him years later converted happy happily married in the church dear brothers and sisters hear the word of the Lord today as the father sent me so send are you let's get rid of our prejudices let's get a buried of the wrong ways in which we look at people ask the Lord the Holy Spirit to give us the eyes of Jesus and break our stubborn legalistic heart down powder it so that we don't become like Satan accusers of the Brethren or like the Pharisees critics of the Brethren but like Jesus whose heart breaks when he sees need around him let's pray Heavenly Father help us to hear whatever the Holy Spirit is saying to us to remind us of that till your purpose is accomplished in our lives we pray in Jesus name

Channel: River of Life Christian Fellowship

Views: 33,200

Rating: 4.8379745 out of 5

Keywords: manifesting, jesus, our, life, zac, poonen, sermon, rlcf, river, christian, fellowship

Id: IqAirCGz1Rk

Length: 71min 28sec (4288 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 16 2013