Presenting The Church As A Virgin To Christ - Zac Poonen

the purpose of all our labor in planting churches building churches sending circular letters to the elders warnings conferences our ultimate goal is that we might present our churches as pure virgin to Jesus Christ we believe it's worth it otherwise why would we spend 1 million rupees for a five-day conference like this and a youth camp without taking any offering without being in debt human humanly speaking that's foolish to waste of money for we don't believe that last week we had a conference in one of the poor villages in Tamil Nadu two-and-a-half days the expense came to 400,000 rupees no offerings no debt we have proved that for 36 years across 40 50 churches we have proved that God is a living God we have proved in a poor country where so many lived with below poverty level where people many villages eat two meals a day that if you seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness and follow the principles taught in God's Word he will add everything else we need to us but we do not glory in the provision of our earthly needs that is the crumbs that fall from the table we glory in the fact that we get living bread at every conference not just that our financial needs are met without ever sending a report or photographs of our work anywhere in all these years because Jesus never sent reports of his work Jesus never asked anybody ever for money he received but he never asked but we don't glory in that we glory in the fact that God has given us through all these 36 years in conference after conference Bread Living bread manna from heaven fresh manna with a fresh anointing and not just stale bread even if the message is the same like the manna that fell for 40 years was exactly the same in taste and color but it was fresh the point is it's fresh and Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 11 verse 2 this is our goal this is our goal for churches I'm jealous for you second Corinthians 11 verse 2 with a godly jealousy because I have betrothed you to one husband that is to Christ so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin I'll tell you how I picture myself as an elder in connection with this verse I picture myself as abraham's servant who's gone to mesopotamia and bringing rebecca on a camel that long journey through the desert through many many weeks to finally present her to isaac and all the men who tried to attack her or wean her away because she's a pretty girl I have to defend her from them I have to warn her I have to protect her I to fight the enemies so that one day I can present Rebecca to Isaac this is the true elder brother will have this burden and he's willing to risk his life he's willing to lay down his life to protect Rebecca so that she can be presented to Isaac if you don't have that type of a burden you are not fit to be an elder brother he never sought his own and I can imagine as Abraham's servant is walking traveling with Rebecca he wasn't trying to show off to her what a wonderful man he was like some elders do try to show off their preaching ability and their other abilities and overall people with their power and their imagined spirituality rubbish he was only talking about Isaac all along that way he would talk to her about Isaac what a wonderful man he was and all his good qualities and this that and the other so that by the time Rebecca met Isaac she was in love with him and if I can succeed in making the Bride of Christ today show them the glory of Jesus in such a way that they are in love with him but they'll forsake everything for him I've done my job I can see a lord now let your servant depart in peace for my eyes have seen your salvation I've seen the body of Christ that was Paul's burden all set follow me as I follow Christ this God has given us the example of Paul is a godly man who whose life we can follow his ministry as a leader we can follow I'm jealous all those who have responsibilities in the ministry are you jealous jealous in a good way God is a jealous God he wants the Bride of Christ for himself every good husband his jealous that he wants his wife for himself another man should not touch her that is how Paul was jealous of the Bride of Christ should not be touched by the world or the devil and jealous for you with a godly jealousy I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ and that's why we rebuke we exhort we correct we plead we pray we encourage we strengthen we help we do everything possible so that the Bride of Christ will one day be ready to meet the Lord because we are aware as it says in verse 3 there is a devil around who by his craftiness would like to draw people away and draw the bride away not by threats as much as by cunningness by craftiness it's a craftiness that he led Adam and Eve away and that's what he says in verse 3 and how does he come this craftiness is described in verse 4 as coming and preaching another Jesus that means if he can convince you that Jesus was not like you he was not tempted like you he has succeeded that is another Jesus the Bible says the one who does not confess that Jesus came in the flesh is the spirit of the Antichrist 1 John 4 spirit the Antichrist is repeated again in 2nd John John the Apostle at the age of 95 one thing he emphasizes tremendously in his episodes is Christ came in the flesh and if you don't confess that you've got the spirit of the Antichrist that is another Jesus and I'll tell you a lot of Christendom today is worshipping another Jesus who was fully God but not fully man I worship a Jesus was fully God and fully man and therefore he was tempted exactly I guess but he did not sin there was not even a smell of sin in him and that is the Jesus who we proclaim in the church and we have proclaimed for 36 years and this is the Jesus who's who we are the bride off and who has transformed our life you have seen the mystery visions 5 it says the mystery is the two shall become one flesh have you read that visions 5 verse 31 the two shall become one flesh the two shall become one flesh Ephesians 5:31 and you think that's referring to husband and wife he says no verse 32 I'm referring to Christ on the church have you seen that mystery this is a great mystery it says in verse 32 that Christ and the church are one flesh it's a mystery the whole hearted those who fear God will see it those who love the world and love money and love themselves will not see it they will worship another Jesus and they'll be polluted I'm not saying they'll go and commit adultery and steal and Rob and all that but they will miss out on God's best there will be a spirit of harlotry in them the spirit of the mystery of iniquity speaks about the Antichrist in the mystery of iniquity in 2nd Thessalonians 2 let me turned there for a moment if you want to understand what this other Jesus is and the other gospel and the other spirit 2nd Thessalonians 2 it speaks about the mystery of iniquity of lawlessness in verse seven second image that sorry ii thessalonians ii thessalonians chapter 2 verse 7 the mystery of iniquity or lawlessness is already at work and then it speaks about that lawless one that is the antichrist verse a it will be revealed and it says here about people who believe the lie what is the lie that people believe speaks about the antichrist being restrained until the days talking about by the way about the coming of the lord in verse one is talking about days immediately preceding the coming of our lord jesus christ and now being raptured to meet him before christ comes he's talking about i'm talking about the coming of our lord jesus christ and our being raptured to meet him don't get disturbed let me tell you something clearly verse 3 let no Christian preacher deceive you because that day will not come until the man of crime and lawlessness the Antichrist is revealed do you know that Christ cannot come till you see the Antichrist there will be no rapture before that I'll tell you honestly I'm not expecting Jesus Christ to come tonight 95 percent of Christians don't believe me it doesn't matter 95 percent of Christians any case don't believe most of the things I preach they don't believe most of the things in the Bible it doesn't matter I've seen the way 95 percent of Christians live and I've seen the way 95 percent of Christian homes are and I've seen the way 95 percent of Christian churches are and I won't have nothing to do with it because they believe in other Jesus who did was not tempted like us they believe in another gospel which can forgive your sin but cannot deliver you from sin in their gospel there is no such thing as sin will not rule over you that's not in their gospel another spirit which gives you excitement but doesn't give you holiness when the Bible speaks of evil spirits they make people completely evil when the Bible speaks about unclean spirits they make people completely unclean and the Bible speaks about a Holy Spirit people say he cannot make you holy you mean the unclean spirits can do a better job at that task then the Holy Spirit can do at his task what an insult have you seen people possessed by the devil what a total control those demons have over that man or woman and we insult the Holy Spirit by saying he cannot ever do a work of holiness in people like the devil makes people unclean let me tell you as completely as Adam gave us his nature the Holy Spirit can give us the nature of Christ if you have faith but if you believe this other gospel that tells you that only your sins can be forgiven according to your faith be it unto you that's all you'll have but I believe this I I believe that as completely as Adam gave me his nature of corruption and Filth and lying and hatred and bitterness oh I got it completely from Adam it's an insult to my Savior Jesus to say that he cannot give me his nature completely his Adam more capable of giving me his nature then the Holy Spirit is able to give me the nature of Christ I'll tell you why because most Christians are not filled with the Holy Spirit they love their flesh more than they love the Holy Spirit no wonder Adams nature is being manifest much more in them because God gives us freedom to choose when a demon possesses a man he does not give that person freedom to choose he possesses that man instance from now on I'm gonna tell you what to do the Holy Spirit is a gentleman he comes and fills our life and gives us power but he says I won't run your life I want you to choose voluntarily to submit to me every day and so he goes on to speak here about this mystery of lawlessness the lawless one will be revealed it says in verse eight whom the Lord will slay this is the one who comes with the activity of Satan there's gonna be a lot of power and signs and false wonders in the last days and it will deceive with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish and it says here in verse 11 God will send a deluding influence on them so that they will believe in the margin says the lie the literal word is God will make people believe the lie why because verse 10 they did not let receive the love of the truth to be saved if I don't love the truth as God shows it to me from Scripture if I don't love the truth about myself when God speaks to me in a meeting and convicts me of my sin and if I don't love the truth enough to be saved from this wretched atomic nature then Almighty God Himself will send upon me verse 11 a deluding influence so that I will believe the lie now there are millions of lies but there is one light called in Scripture the lie and if you've got a margin in your Bible it says literally it is the lie but because the translators couldn't understand that they just said what is false but the actual thing which Paul wrote was the lie and you know what the lie is that is the first lie in the Bible first line the Bible was spoken by Satan you can disobey God and get away with it you can disobey God and nothing will happen it's a small thing just taking a little fruit it's not a big thing you're not killing your husband or hitting him or doing something else you're not making an idol and worship Me no no not big thing just a small thing which God has said a small thing you disobey that is the lie you can do it it's not serious that is the lie and God will make people believe the lie that small sins small disobediences to God's Word are not serious why does he make some Christians believe that because they don't love the truth they don't want to be saved from everything of Adam that they've got I want to ask you honestly how many of you want to be saved completely from everything you inherited from Adam I want to 100% everything I don't want to smell of Adam left in me you know bad moods bitterness unforgiving do all that I'm saying you exceed in Christians love of material things lack of consideration for poor people it's all Adam 100% seeking one's own honor exalting oneself pushing down others it's all Adam and you see plenty of it and Chris and I'm fighting quarreling arguing Adam Adam I refuse to fight and argue with people because the Bible says we do not wrestle with flesh and blood even over doctrine I've had people come to my house and want to argue with me about some doctrine and I say listen if you want me to explain from Scripture the doctrine to you I'll do it but if you want argument I'm not interested and when he begins to argue again I say listen I'd like to talk to you about cricket you know the score what's going on in the matches now because there we are on the same side we all want India to win I changed the subject so I'm not interested in fighting with people over doctrine because I know this if a man wants to do God's will he will know the doctrine and if he does not know the doctrine it's because he does not want to do God's will so what Jesus said do you know this verse in John chapter 7 verse 17 how to be sure that your doctrine is right here's the answer if anyone is really willing to do all the will of God show me a person here who wants to do all the will of God in your life in other words you want to marry whom God wants you to marry not whom you want to marry you want to go and live in the place where God wants you to live not where you want to live you want to take a job which God wants you to take not what you want to take in everything big and small you want what God wants and not what you want I can tell you in Jesus name you will know whether this doctrine this teaching is from God or not Jesus said that but if you don't want God's will in some little area you say Lord all these things I want God's will but not here you will keep on arguing about doctrine all your life I've seen that the more eager you are to do the will of God in every single area of your life you will never go astray in doctrine and I've seen people who go astray in doctrine and I know somewhere in their life they don't want the will of God how many if you're willing to give all your money to God and say Lord I want to spend my money from now onwards only the way you want me to spend it I want to spend my time the way you want me to spend it I mean I would say to God personally I'm not asking you to say that Lord I will not even take a vacation unless you want me to take it oh but brother Zack after so much activity don't you need a rest no God knows what I need if God sees that I need a vacation he'll tell me to take it I don't plan my life I get so many invitations from so many places and if I were the average type of preacher I'll just take it I'd say no God doesn't want me to go to all these places I want to go where God wants me to go not where people invite me I have people tell me brother Zack will you please come and take oversight over our church I say no I have no lusts to oversee any Church zero I want to do God's will because I'll be a nuisance to people if I go where God doesn't want me to go I'll be a nuisance if I try to go and do something as God doesn't want me to do and I don't want to be a nuisance to people I want to be a blessing to people so if you are eager to do God's will in your life in every area you know the doctrine that is right or wrong the lie is that you can disobey God and get away with it it's the first lie God convinced Adam and Eve off in a small little thing and you can see that he has convinced people all over the world because that is the spirit of rebellion that God has said something and I say well it doesn't matter I can modify it I can change it that's the spirit of rebellion it started out with whatever his name was we they call him Lucifer but that's not his real name his real name is not mentioned in Scripture what his name was when he was an angel he's not mentioned anywhere in Scripture Lucifer is just a Latin word it's found in one of the earlier Bibles he's called the shining one we know some of his other colleagues like Michael and Gabriel but we don't know the name of the one who became the devil so I don't know what his name is but let's call him Lucifer for the time being he was the head of the angels and he rebelled the first sin in the universe was not adultery was not telling lies was not disobedience it was rebellion against Authority I will not submit to God's Authority like a poet has said the words of Satan was it is better to rule in Hell than to serve in heaven got it it's better to rule in Hell than to serve in heaven I want to rule I want my own little kingdom to rule that's how many churches have started somebody does not like to submit somewhere so I don't want to submit there I'll break off and start in that church and be the ruler better to rule in Hell than to serve in heaven it was to overcome that spirit that Jesus came with the Spirit of a servant to bow and serve people but that rebellion against Authority is what brought sin into the universe never forget it that the first sin was rebellion against Authority and if that sin is not eliminated from us then root is there we can be free from so many other things you see I don't commit adultery I don't steal I've overcome anger I don't lust after women but rebellion is there you got the worst thing brother you got the worst thing of all you've got rid of these to 3 minor sins and you got the worst sin self sitting in your heart rebellion against Authority rebellion against God's Word you got to be careful about that and that's why as I said yesterday we got to teach our children from the time they are small to submit to Authority and that's why in our church we've taught submission to Authority wives be subject to your husband's and that is an example the Bible gives as the church is to Christ when a wife is not subject to her husband as the church is to Christ she has got the spirit of the devil I have no doubt in saying that I'm not saying she can't ask or question or disagree yes a wife is a helper but if she's got a spirit of a rebellion that is of the devil if she's unwilling to speak to her husband and let her husband be the leader in her home and I don't mean reluctantly grudgingly submission is not submission if it's not joyful you see how can I be submitted to a husband who's not spiritual how could Jesus submit to Joseph and Mary who were not spiritual there's your example you think you're so perfect are you as perfect as Jesus was in Nazareth he was perfect but he submitted to totally imperfect Joseph and Mary who were under the Old Covenant who had no victory over sin he saw them fighting with each other and he didn't despise them because if he despised them he would have sinned what he submitted to them because he came here to overcome that spirit of rebellion that the devil had brought it's so important for us to understand it can come into a home very easily and when you see rebellion in your children you ask yourself who brought that spirit into your home perhaps the wife the children see the way the wife talks to her husband and they pick it out and if the mummy asks the boy how do you speak to me like that and say well mom I was just speaking to you the way you speak to dad I'm learning something from you the spirit of rebellion he gets it spreads quickly quicker than the flu quicker than chickenpox people can catch it up like that especially children we are so careful to protect our children from infectious diseases what about the spirit of rebellion worst of all so that's the thing we have to preserve the church from to be a pure virgin for Jesus Christ seen in the letters to the churches he speaks there in the first church in Ephesus about how they were doing all the right things but they had lost the love for Christ and the Lord says that's bad there was a church that had become a heart on its way to becoming a harlot because it was doing the right things having meetings conferences but fervent love for Jesus is gone we can learn something from those churches we see another church in Revelation chapter 2 and verse 12 of the church in Pergamum and they were taken up with the teaching of Balaam which is being occupied with money preaching for money where money became the central thing in that church raising money urging people to give money money money money that's another false gospel and there's plenty of it and to the Angel of the church in Thyatira verse 18 right I have this against you that you tolerate your wife who's a Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and teaches people wrong things spiritual immorality if you allow your wife to be the boss that's the spirit of Jezebel and here was an elder brother whose wife was a Jezebel I'm sorry to say that recently I had to write to the wife of one of ZFC elders you are a Jezebel you got the spirit of Jezebel here why your husband can't control you there's something wrong I don't care if people are offended we've jealous to keep the church pure and if the husband won't tell her I have to tell her I don't go around telling everybody but if there's somebody in one of our churches it's got the spirit of Jezebel I'll tell them straight the spirit of Ahab's wife leading people astray from worshipping and submitting to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God be careful brothers that that does not enter into our home there are many ways in which Satan is seeking to infiltrate and get into even CFC churches and we're determined to fight the battle not against flesh and blood but to keep the church pure from all these filthy influences and I noticed another thing that this sister said she said I've decided to take off the veiling from my head I said I'm absolutely convinced when a woman removes the veil from her head not one who grew up without it in some church where they didn't teach it that may be ignorant but when a woman wore a veil for a long time and then one day decides to take it off it is pretty clear she's going on the road to being a Jezebel it's the spirit of rebellion I don't want to be under Authority anymore actually she's honest she's honest say I take it off I'm not under anybody's authority okay going your way I'm almost certain that such a woman doesn't repent she go to hell without any doubt in my mind and the husband will be responsible be careful I'm not saying that you must be a tyrant to put your wife under your thumb but I want to say to you sisters don't bring the spirit of rebellion into your home now when it comes to I spoke about submission to Authority now there are a lot of elders who like to hear brother Zack speak on submission to Authority because it sees sort of establishes that throne in their church now they may not be spiritual people elders and some of our elders are not and people asked me once some of them asked me brother how can you point this man is an elder I said because a one-eyed man is king among the blind understood a one-eyed man is king among the blind all the others in the judge are blind this fellow's only got one eye he's the other now if he comes to a church where everybody's got two eyes he'll be sitting in the last seat it's a relative thing what to do and what shall you submit to this elder whom you don't have any confidence in the answer is no confidence is the basis of obedience and confidence is not something that you can force people to have I can't say you must have confidence in me rubbish I have to earn it a husband who tells his wife listen the Bible says wives be subject to your husband's he's not a godly husband he's a dictator he's like Saddam Hussein not like Jesus Christ because he's trying to use the verse which is not even written for him there's a verse in Ephesians 5:22 which says wives be subject to your own husbands let me ask even the little children here or you tell me who is that written to two husbands or two wives who you don't know read it again wives it's a letter addressed to wives you know what a godly husband will do when he sees a letter addressed to his wife say darling he has a letter for you I'm not going to open it I don't want to read it and here's a letter the Holy Spirit is addressed to a wife you don't even read it oh that's not for me let me go to the next verse oh that's also for my wife okay let me go to the next verse well that's also my wife okay let me go to verse 25 husbands ah something for me now see that's how a godly husband does but an ungodly husband he's a busybody in other people's matters opens other people's letters and says wives here it says here be subject to your husband's why did you open that letter that was not meant for you and there are elders who do the same thing they will point their people in their church to Hebrews 13:17 hey listen to this just like this Saddam Hussein husband there are Saddam Hussein elders also who say to their flock Hebrews 13 says obey your leaders brother that's not written for you that's written for the flock let them read it this letter is not addressed to you don't even read it I mean if you want to read it then see who is your leader and obey them maybe you're an elder and God's put an apostle over you you better listen to him if you don't have an apostle then do what you like but it's for those it's a word not to tell other people you must obey me because I am your leader you never find that in Scripture submission must come from below accept it from below and not imposed from above when it is imposed from above it's demonic even Jesus Christ does not impose his authority upon us how many of you have found Jesus imposing his authority upon you sitting on your head until you obey Him I can think of 101 things in my life I'm sorry to say where the Lord told me to do it and I didn't do it immediately I'm ashamed so many things in my life when I look back the Lord told me to do it and I waited the first thing was baptism way back when I was 19 and a half I took one and a half years to obey Him and he didn't sit on my head and crush me he just loved me and blessed me and one day when I felt like obeying I obeyed and he loved me accepted me and led me on that's how Jesus leads he doesn't impose his authority on us he leads he doesn't push Drive so a leader must never push our drive he goes in front like the chef he just loved me and blessed me and one day when I felt like obeying I obeyed and he loved me accepted me and led me on that's how Jesus leads he doesn't impose his authority on us he leads he doesn't push drive so a leader must never push our drive he goes in front like the shepherd in front of the flock I'll tell you you can find out as an elder whether you're a shepherd or a hireling I've seen you're on the streets of Bangalore the hirelings driving the sheep and goats to the slaughterhouse to be cut up to be sold as mutton and but a Good Shepherd doesn't go with a stick he goes in front and says follow me that's what Jesus said and if you're one of those who's got a whip in your hand and you get up every Sunday morning and whip everybody come on you must do this and you must do that you sitting over there I'm preach preaching to you right now do this and you sitting over there you must do this brother you're a Harley why not go in front of the flock and say follow me I don't ask any of you to submit to me unless you have confidence in me I've said that in CFC by the way I have got up in CFC and said I am NOT your elder brother if you have no confidence in me full-stop I'm not your elder brother I am the elder brother only of those who have confidence in me and who want me to guide them and even when they come to me for advice they come to my home and sit and say brother Zhang please give me some advice on this and say okay this is what I think the scripture says but now go home pray about it and see if the Lord wants you to do it and if the Lord doesn't want you to do it don't do it I won't be offended I want you to be connected to Christ I'm just giving you advice and if you don't obey me and you make a mess of your life you come back to me and say bill zag I'm sorry I made a mess of my life I will never say to you these evil words I told you so you'll never hear me say that to anybody you know there are some people who have a carnal delight in telling people I told you so why didn't you listen to me the great prophet yeah that is the spirit of the devil and some elders have it if you can't give advice to some brother who did not listen to you you're not fit to be an elder a godly man think of the number of times you did not listen to the Lord and then he went back to him did he guide you of course he did because he's a father I've often said to the elders in our church we want fathers we don't want teachers teachers are offended if the students don't listen to him fathers are patient so do you have to submit to everybody who calls himself an elder in your church if you don't have confidence in him obey Him in the things related to the church meeting if he says the meeting is at 9:30 don't go at 10 o'clock go at 9:30 when he tells you to stand up to sing stand up to sing don't sit down you know like the PT teacher in school stand up sit down stand up sit down do what he says in church matters now we sit down and sing sit down and sing now he says stand up and sing stand up and sing all those matters please obey but when it comes to your life how to run your life you have zero confidence in him don't go to him for advice don't consult him you have no confidence in him there are many elders like that just because a church in some way claims to be connected with CFC does not mean it's a spiritual church let me clear that doubt from your mind forever and does not mean that elder just because his name is on some elders list is somebody we approve recommend I have personally said this to people if you go to a town and that is a church there in some way connected to CFC and that elders name happens to be on the elders list go there try it out and if you're not happy there because you find carnality or worldliness or the elder is a bit of a dictator and you find another church maybe a Methodist Church or a Baptist Church something there or a Pentecostal church where there's a more godly man who's a leader even if he calls himself pastor aizaiah Coonan will tell you to go to that Pentecostal church and not to the CFC Church and you can quote me on that because I want you to be a disciple of Jesus not to be a CFC loyalist I'm not interested in building CFC I'm interested in making disciples and if you can be a better disciple by going to a non CFC Church it'll be a crime for me to tell you to be go to CFC Church with some type of earthly loyalty the Pharisees must be go to the Pharisees club the Sadducees must go to the Sadducees club we don't have any club we don't even have a membership so I've given you freedom brothers and sisters now you're free in your locality if you find your local church the one that brought you here who put your name on the list and brought you here is not godly leave it and go to another Church which is godly with leave where you can be a wholehearted disciple of Jesus Christ I remember one brother in one of our towns where we've had a C of Z church for many years one brother telling me I was he used to come for our conferences and but he never went to our local church there I asked him one day why he said brother Zack I'm tremendously blessed by CFC bangalore and your ministry but this your local whether you call it a branch or not over here I don't find it godly I don't find the leaders godly I said then I approve of you're not going there he was going to another Church go ahead what should we say go to this ungodly saddam hussein leader type of church No so it's so important to understand confidence you young people as you grow up you must win the confidence of those younger to you teenagers who grow up in your church those of you who are in your 20s 30s you should be a tremendous example to the teenagers boys and girls you must win their confidence you can win the confidence of little children I'll tell you how to win the confidence of little children easy method give them a chocolate I tell you that's all it requires to win confidence with a five-year-old they'll follow you for life it's so easy and it costs so little that's how we win them and then we can tell them about Jesus love the little children be an example be an elder brother sister even to those little ones we friends Jesus love little children we must do that like you've heard me say this when I go to a home I like to talk to the children even in homes I visit here I ask the children what did you study in school today bring me your homework book let me see what you studied and I sit down with them and I teach them some geography I don't turn to Hebrews or James or anything like that I turned to that geography book I teach them something about latitude and longitude and little things like that and I win their heart so that when they come and sit in CFC they pay attention to me when I turn to Hebrews and James that's what I want I want to win them for the Lord all of you can do it if you have a little love for these younger ones and all of you are elder to somebody else in your church even if you're 15 years old you're elder to so many people younger than you what are you doing to help them sisters you know you can be elders to those little ones be an example and say follow me win them for Christ don't leave all the job to the elders in the church you be helped in that this is so important to understand the function of the elders is to lead the church forward to guide them you know in the Old Testament we believe that the most important ministry in a church is prophetic ministry and prophetic ministry is so misunderstood there's a verse in 1 Samuel which says in the Old Testament the prophets were called seers s EE R and it means what it says a seer is one who can see a long way off he can he's got discernment to see if this church goes in this direction five years from now it'll be in a pit and says hey don't go there steer this way that's prophetic vision but people who don't have prophetic vision they say no no no brother it's okay it's okay we'll be all right we'll be all right till they fall into the pit and then they say yeah you were right brother we need people with prophetic vision in the church for example when the music begins to take a certain direction and the young people would really like to take off in a certain direction it's not a question of where it is now now it may be all right you see where is this gonna lead this church five years from now that's prophetic vision that's a question of sight you know like some people can read something on a board 50 feet away they read clearly because their vision is so clear another person comes to 20 feet then only you can read it another person comes to five feet then only you can read it so spiritual vision also is like that maybe there's a pit five years ahead of you when one with prophetic vision will see it another person maybe seed only after they fall into the pit oh there's a pit here you have to be extremely thankful if you've got humble men of God in your church who do not consider themselves prophets but who have a prophetic ministry in our church we believe in apostles prophets evangelists shepherds teachers but we don't call anybody a prophet or an apostle or a Shepherd or a teacher or an evangelist you see they fulfill a ministry we don't need to give a label I never went around my home at the bad saying dad never I've never seen anybody in any home going around saying he must be insecure that guy poor fellow nobody knows in that house that he's wear this badge and go around showing everybody I see sometimes that word isn't a prophet so-and-so evangelist so-and-so insecure people it's the same thing and I see these fellows calling them evangelists onto a prophet so-and-so apostle so-and-so it reminds me of the guy who goes around at the back saying dad insecure the Christian world is full of insecure people who try to assert themselves elder brother if you are a father they'll know it so let me liberate you from thinking that you are to blindly submit to elders who by their action and their words do not produce confidence in you and I'll tell you something about ministering in the church in the church where if they allow you to after one brother shared and others share briefly he doesn't matter if you speak number five the first brother may go on for half an hour and bore everybody and then another brother five ten minutes and then you only get a chance at number five and you get to speak only for three minutes but yours with such an anointing and freshness that when the meeting is over everybody goes away and remembers what you spoke for three minutes and forgot everything else you were the Prophet there but you didn't have the label prophet but you're the one who blessed everybody and next time next Sunday comes along they'll be waiting for number five to get up they sit and listen to Allah I hope this fellow fish so unfinished on one two three four Oh number five has got up we're waiting to hear what he has to say you know you can be a brother like that you can be a sister like that a sister can prophesy she can't teach but she can prophesy if she doesn't have the spirit of Jezebel she can prophesy and you can bless people that's our calling in the church instead of that sometimes we can be deceived by religious spirits religious spirits are those who emphasize Bible study and praying and how many hours do you pray how much do you read the Bible let me tell you something if you are more disturbed because you didn't read the Bible half an hour one day then losing your temper once a day you're religious not spiritual a spiritual man will be more disturbed if he lost his temper once in a day then if he didn't read the Bible for half an hour in the morning but if you do both that's the best but it's godliness that's more important than study don't be a scribe be a disciple if you're more interested in going for the breaking of bread meeting than in fellowship with God's people your religious or the Holy Communion what about the holy fellowship with people see the Bible says in Ephesians 4 and verse 16 that the body of Christ is built up and fitted together by that which every joint supplies this is a lovely word I've often spoken about it Ephesians 4 and verse 16 it's talking about the building of the body of Christ fitted held together by that which every joint supplies according to the proper working of each individual part causes the growth of the whole body building up itself in love that which every joint supplies I just want to explain that because this is the biggest problem in many of our CFC churches even among the elders you have a strong elder brother which is like a strong upper arm wonderful I like strong elder brothers and you have another strong elder brother who's like the lower arm I like him too but the joint is stiff they don't fellowship with each other it's going on like this how about bending your hand brother can't bend it I'm a strong muscular elder here's another strong muscular elder but they can't bend the elbow useless would you like to have a hand like this muscular rippling with muscles but you can't bend your elbow I'd rather have a weaker elder brother and a weaker one who doesn't know the Bible so much but who can fellowship with the other you know what this joint is fellowship do you hear any noise put in the other mic you already know if I had arthritis you would hear crik crik crik crik crik crik crik that is the fellowship between some elders anytime they come together noise noise noise noise joint is not working the sad thing is the elders are not bothered about it if you can't fellowship and work with the other elders in your church you are good for nothing useless agent of Satan sitting there is an elder in a church of God rather retire the best brother in the church is the one who can build fellowship with others I'd rather have a little child who can function with all the joints working noiselessly than a big giant whose hands are stiff and leg knees are stiff what can he do he's useless do you think the devil is scared of some mighty man like this who know so much of the Bible who can preach so well but can't fellowship with anybody do you know how many joints that on your body you that's what makes your neck Bend that's what makes you you can bend at the hip that's what make your arms Bend shoulders so many in the fingers joints joints knees in your foot also so many joints joints is what makes your body function that's what it says you're that which every joint supplies so what is the most important thing I don't care if one hand is paralyzed if all the other joints are functioning I can do a lot more than a fellow muscular he-man who's like this stiff like a statue and unfortunately that is the condition of many people in many of our churches that's the condition of many people in their homes what's use being a wonderful brother and you married a wonderful sister but you can't fellowship with each other at home that's a tragedy which the devil has fooled people saying this is the body of Christ just because you connected to CFC or you have some respect for Zach Boone and it makes absolutely no difference you got to submit to Jesus Christ and be open to the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit has come to build the body of Christ and I want to tell you the first body of Christ and as every joint was functioning without noise Jesus could run walk lift do so many things because every joint was functioning and we want to build every church like that as the body of Christ where every person fellowships with the other and if that does not happen at the elder level it's not going to go down to the others if father and mother are fighting how can you expect the children not to fight with each other there's a tremendous need for repentance in our midst brothers and sisters forget about all the others forget about the fact that you got the right doctrine forget about the fact that you speak in tongues and in the ancient past you were baptized in the Holy Spirit can you have fellowship with one another otherwise we're not building the body of Christ we don't have the new wineskin we've got a doctrine we've got a picture of a new wineskin but not the actual wineskin you cannot pour wine into a photograph that's what a lot of people have so let's repent turn our face towards God I believe there's a tremendous need for many of our brothers and elders to call for fasting and prayer and to fast and pray themselves I remember the days in our early days in our church when we were facing crucial decisions it fast sometimes for three days seek God say Lord what shall we do we want guidance and our fasting and praying was an expression of our utter helplessness before God say Lord show us and that's how God led us in those early days and we do that again whenever needed whenever there's a crisis may God help us to passionately seek his glory that we can present to Christ a pure virgin one day he was yours to hear let him hear please do not be offended anybody by anything you heard today if you love the truth you will not be offended she do not love the truth may God have mercy on you let's bow our heads Heavenly Father help us to realize the seriousness Oh God father help us to realize the seriousness how the issues we are dealing with help us to realize this is not a game there's a life-and-death issue which involves the souls of so many people in this conflict with Satan we want to be victorious we don't want Satan to have any power over any of our churches Lord please help us help those who claim to be elders and leaders of your people to be godly examples of humility service a brokenness and exemplary in building fellowship raise up such men and if you can't find such older men raise up younger men and women like you raised up Deborah because the men failed you in that time raise up young men and women who will lead the church forward Lord but we want the church to go forward we don't want this church to be ossified and sit in a pathetic state because of King Saul's will sit on their Thrones have mercy upon us remove such Souls we pray and lead your church forward we pray in Jesus name Amen

Channel: CFC India

Views: 3,261

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: zac poonen cfc Christian Fellowship Church Church Fellowship Christian Zac Poonen, Sermons, CFC

Id: WHdNTjWaxEk

Length: 60min 17sec (3617 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 17 2018