Question Answer Session (River Of Life 2016) - Zac Poonen

so we will go through these questions I found in question-answer sessions that I've taken in different places we can have two types of questions one is questions related to the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the other is questions related to the Tree of Life and the type of question you ask shows you if you want to know the type of person you are if you're more interested in knowledge than life you know you're on the wrong path so the type of question that arises in your mind when you hear a message or when you ask a question answered and can be a tremendous revelation to you if you want to know the type of person you are and you may discover that you're not as spiritual as you thought you were by the type of question you asked so those of you who asked questions or those of you who have questions and didn't ask them what type of questions arise in your mind that you want to know the answer to even if you didn't ask them today that's a pretty good indication of your spiritual condition when you go to the scriptures what are the things you want an answer to team I get hundreds of emails and many of them ask questions and a lot of them are related to the tree of knowledge of good and evil and I can see I don't know who these people are all anonymous emails but I can see that they are on the pathway of spiritual death they are born again people but they have no interest in life they may be defeated by a hundred sins but that doesn't bother them so much it is what does this verse mean and what is that verse mean he's got nothing to do with their defeated life so it's very good for you to ask yourself in a time like this even if you didn't write a question what are the questions that arise in your mind are they related to life then you're on the path to life they're related to just information which you would like to know accurate information then you're an intellectual living in your soul and it cannot go well till because Christianity is not a matter of the mind it's a matter of the heart and the heart asks different questions than the mind does so here's a most of these questions are very good so I'm not referring to anything here if a conscience was killed or destroyed in our unconverted days and after that we've really repent and start obeying God's commandments can we revive our conscience again of course the Bible says in Ephesians 2 we were dead in trespasses and sins and it says God not revived us but raised us up from the dead visions chapter 2 verse 1 you were dead in your trespasses and sins what was dead not your body not your mind was your conscience a conscience is a part of your spirit that conscience was thoroughly dead your mind was very alert in life your bodies are alive but your conscience was thoroughly dead and God raised up that conscience so what happens is when a person is really born again if his conversion is radical unfortunately sometimes people's conversion is not a hundred and eighty degrees conversion is you know we face the world and sin with God behind us and the repentance is turning around 180 degrees and putting sin in the world behind us and God and His Word in front of us very few people are converted like that that's the way it should be converted well those are converted like that they have a tremendous progress in their Christian life from day one but very often people are converted sort of 90 degrees with one eye still on sin in the world and one eye on God trying to get the best of both and it goes very slowly it'll go very slowly until they realize their folly maybe after 20 years and gradually decide to turn 180 degrees but then they weights to 20 years the best would be to turn immediately and when we turn immediately our conscience becomes alive we just thoroughly dead think of conscience like a weighing machine which is he put five tongues on it and the needle doesn't even move no registration it's completely dead and then you get born again really born again and you find you put five tons and the needle begins to flick on a little hey something's happen it didn't even move till now and as you walk with the Lord more and more you put one ton and it moves and you put a hundred pounds and it moves and you put one pound and it moves and a few ounces and the needles moving you see the conscience is becoming more and more sensitive that is one mark of spiritual growth that means you're coming closer and closer to God and you are becoming more and more aware of his ways so it's not just that the conscience should be like it was before it has to go a million times better than was before little children have a conscience because you know it's very difficult for a child to tell a lie and keep a straight face they learn to keep a straight face as a grown little older but a two-year-old can never tell a lie and keep a straight face because of their conscience but we killed that conscience through the years and then when you are born again the Bible says you can be like a little child all over again and even better than our child you can be like Jesus okay how to be filled with the Holy Spirit always 24/7 or what should i do or sacrifice to be filled with the Holy Spirit always if you can believe one thing and that is it's very difficult to believe but most people it's actually very easy to believe if you read the scriptures but because people don't read the scriptures they don't believe it and that is a very simple truth God is more eager to fill you with the Holy Spirit then you are eager to be filled with the Holy Spirit I find very few people who believe that Jesus said in Luke chapter 11 if any of you fathers was asked by his son for a fish Luke the 11:11 will he give him a snake for some people who feel that oh if I seek God for the Holy Spirit how do you know some evil spirit will not come upon us I asked him for a fish and he may give me a snake if he asks for an egg will he give him a scorpion these are the words of Jesus Luke 11 12 and 13 if you being evil that means the best father on earth the best father on earth is evil compared to God many of us are good fathers but I want to say to you that compared to God you're evil so jesus said if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him not those who sit back and wait but those who ask because they want it desperately how much more so what I conclude from that versus a definition of faith and unbelief that I've made up which I believe is accurate according the scripture in this connection concerning all the promises of God not only the promise of His Holy Spirit but other promises like sin will not rule over you and many other promises in Scripture like if you seek the kingdom of God first all your material needs will be added to you these are all promises in Scripture and concerning every promise of Scripture if you believe that you are more eager to receive it then God is eager to give it to you that is unbelief and that's why you don't get it you keep praying oh god I'm so eager give me the Holy Spirit but you don't say it but you feel God doesn't seem to be so eager that is unbelief that's why you don't that's why you don't receive and you'll never receive you can keep praying like that for 50 years but the day when the day comes in your life when you believe because you're convinced in your heart God is more eager than I am to fill me with His Holy Spirit to give me victory over sin to control my speech so that I don't get angry to control my eyes so that I don't lust again not I am eager God is a million times more eager than you got failed very few people have that they always feel I am very eager and God doesn't seem to be eager I remember a man many years ago tell me brother Zack I have prayed for 40 years to be filled with the Holy Spirit and it still not happened well if he keeps thinking that he's more eager than God you can pray for another 50 years nothing will happen it's not the length of time you pray it's faith not for how many years have you prayed and faith is this in a very simple way concerning the promises of God I'm not talking about praying for a better house or a better car that no such promises in Scripture but to be filled with the Holy Spirit he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire is the promise in scripture in Matthew 3:11 sin shall not rule over you Romans 6:14 if you see God's kingdom first all other material things will be added to you Matthew 6:33 there are many other wonderful promises like this my god should supply all your need not all that you want but all your need according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:19 so if you believe that God is more eager than you are to give you what is promised not you are eager God is more eager than you have failed that's the way we should always pray so find a promise in scripture concerning anything and say Lord I believe you are more eager than I am to be filled with the spirit that's the first thing and secondly ask yourself whether any area of your life does not yield it you know we can receive the spirit when you are born again I believe the moment a person is born again the Holy Spirit comes in in the first century they used to say believe in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit today we combine the two and say receive the Lord Jesus Christ so when you ask Jesus to come into your heart you know who comes in just the Holy Spirit Jesus is in heaven he hasn't come to earth yet he comes in by his Spirit says in Romans 8:9 that when you receive the Spirit of Christ you belong to him if you don't have the Spirit of Christ you're not even born again that's what he says in Romans 8:9 so that's how we know very clearly that when a person is born again the Holy Spirit has come in now the reason why we don't just say receive the Spirit is in a country like mine if you tell a Hindu man to receive the spirit he's opened her so many spirits and he hasn't heard about the Holy Spirit so we had to specify it and say receive the Lord Jesus Christ that he understands so that is receiving the spirit but Christ comes in through the Holy Spirit and if our heart is like a build house with ten rooms one room is lit up that's the room we always want to be lit up that's the guilt room where I feel guilty about years of sin and we want the Lord to come in and cleanse us we are all eager to open the door to that room but the Lord knocks at other doors in our heart and says can I come in - I don't know how many of you watch television can I come into that room and sit with you while you're watching television any time would you be willing that he determines what you watch and what you don't watch and if you do watch something innocent things clean things how long you watch it for it's not just what you watch but how many hours do you spend watching that how much time do you have for the Lord this is your time with the Lord and the scripture taken away by the time you watch in television can I sit with you and if your attitude is no Lord I don't want you to come and control me over there give me a little freedom not just fine I won't disturb you keep that door locked he comes to your finance remand says can I come in to the your finance room and see how you earn your money to see whether it's 100 percent righteous you always speak the truth you tell any lies here in there cut corners in order to make a little money and you cheat on your taxes and how do you spend it how do you spend your money you think it's all yours and just in a tight-fisted way you say I'll tear down my barns and build bigger barns and say so you have much goods laid up for many years relax or are you rich towards God and then you say Lord don't come into that room give me some freedom to handle money myself a lot just fine I won't under that room can I come into your Library the Lord says and see the type of books you read the type of magazines you read then you say well Lord there are certain things which I like reading okay I won't disturb you you have this house with ten rooms you can say is there light in it of course there's light in it the gilt room is lit up is it filled with light not at all and such a man can say Oh fill me with the Holy Spirit fill me that's what he can pretty like that for a hundred years but he's locked all the doors how can the Holy Spirit come in he'll never come this is exactly the reason why many people are not filled to the spirit they wonder why they pray and pray and pray and pray there are areas in your life you don't open the door how would the Holy Spirit's a gentleman he won't walk in where you don't allow him I stand at the door and knock and even open the door I'll come in he'll come into every door that is open and you cannot be filled with the spirit in a door that you yourself have locked out to him if you know something is more precious to you than Jesus the Holy Spirit is not gonna enter into that room like I said earlier if you say I'm gonna listen to mama and papa more than I listen to God well that room is locked up don't ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit or something else I love my wife so much I don't want to hurt her okay keep that door locked he won't be filled to the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit fills those who for whom Jesus Christ is supreme no one on earth and nothing on earth means more to them than Jesus Christ and his will they'll be filled with the spirit very quickly that's why I find some people just enter in so quickly [Music] and the other thing is where people are expecting some physical experience or something and that's not what we're supposed to have jesus said when you and the Holy Spirit's come upon you you're filled you'll be you'll receive power power to be my witnesses that means your passion in life is to be not bear witness just with your words some people confuse that there's a difference between bearing witness and being a witness bearing witnesses with words like in a court you are a witness but being a witness is with your life he didn't say you'll bear witness he said you shall be my witnesses and if your passion in life is say Lord I'm not a good enough witness for you in my office or I remember when I was seeking God to be filled with the Holy Spirit I said Lord to be honest I'm a bit ashamed of publicly acknowledging that I am your disciple there may be some consequences and I say Lord deliver me from it I don't want to ever be ashamed of being known as disciple of Jesus Christ if it cost me my job I lose my job fine if it hinders my promotion fine nothing is important for me than to please the Lord and if you seek the Lord like that I can guarantee in no time at all you'll be filled with the Holy Spirit and this is continuous to keep here to keep all those areas open to the Lord always because it's possible to lay an Isaac on the altar and after a while to take him back this is working you can give up something to the Lord and then take it back as well so be very careful to be continuously filled with the spirit you must always check your life sometimes you are careless in your conscience about something that the Lord spoke to you in your conscience maybe to go and apologize to someone and you're hesitant well as long as you don't you're not filled with the Holy Spirit as an area that's locked up there it's too humiliating to find ask forgiveness from that person okay the Lord says keep that door locked but don't ask me to fill you with the Holy Spirit so this is the reason why many many people are not filled I remember hearing of a preacher in the nineteenth century I read of him how he really he heard of people like deal Moody and Charles Finney and all baptized in the Holy Spirit he was a very famous preacher in a particular city in the United States and he wanted to be baptized in the Holy Spirit he prayed and he yielded everything and he heard our deal moody became a mighty preacher and Finney became a mighty preacher and he was praying Lord I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and he yielded everything as far as he knew and he wasn't filled and said Lord show me and the Lord said he you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit because you want to be a great preacher give that up then he realized there was an area that he thought was spiritual he wanted to be a great preacher and you know there's honor and being a great preacher so when you long to preach like somebody else is not necessarily a spiritual desire so he gave that up and he was filled with the Holy Spirit and the Lord took him away from that pulpit and made him join the Salvation Army in England and William Booth who was the founder of the Salvation Army he was a wise man he was this great famous preacher coming from America to join the Salvation Army and you know what job II gave him to polish all the shoes of the Salvation Army soldiers is he you do that for a year let me see how you progressed from there so there was a spirit-filled man and he grew up to be very godly leader in the Salvation Army okay did Jesus physically heal everyone he came in touch with except for those who didn't have faith not true we read in John chapter 5 that he went into the Pool of Bethesda where we read there was a multitude of people that's exactly what it says a multitude does not mean 5 or 10 a multitude of sick blind lame John 5:3 I presume there must have been a hundred 150 people sick blind lame withered around that pool and Jesus goes in and Jesus lived by the father's witness and the father said go to that man's lying down in that corner so Jesus goes to that man says do you want to be well he says I've been 38 years here he says get up take your bed and walk he's healed then Jesus walks out what about all the other hundred and fifty people they're not healed so Jesus did not heal everybody it's a misconception to say that he healed everybody he I told you the other day that he did not heal the man sitting begging at the gate of the temple because he lived by the prompting of the Holy Spirit he didn't have laws thou shalt heal everybody see we like to live by laws and the Christian world tries to reduce Jesus also the one who lived by laws he did not live by laws he lived by the prompting of the Holy Spirit for example sometimes the Pharisees would ask him a question and give them a very detailed answer but other times they'd ask him a question and he said well I'll ask you a question you answer that and they say we can't answer that and he says well I also won't answer you then how is that what law did he live by there you know there's a verse in proverbs 27 which says answer a fool according to his folly he read that verse is very interesting verse proverbs and [Music] chapter 26 first of all it says in verse four don't answer a fool according to his folly proverbs 26 verse 4 and she I got the answer now I must never have answer a fool according to his folly but the next verse says answer a fool according to his folly what's that the Bible's full of contradictions for a nun spiritual man that the soulish man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God we consider that yesterday's foolishness to him two contradictory verses they're not contradictory if you're led by the spirit you know that this is full a and this is full be full a you don't answer him full be you answer that's how Jesus answered the Pharisee sometimes at other times he didn't answer so Jesus didn't live by laws thou shalt not answer a fool or thou shalt always answer a fool II didn't live by laws he lived by the leading of the Holy Spirit and I want to say to all of you as a general principle we all like to get rules we read the testimony of some great man of God how he did it in a particular way and say I'm gonna do it in that way it becomes a law for you and you get into bondage we're not meant to live by laws we're not meant to do exactly what some other man of God did in a particular sense it can be any he is his example can be a challenge to you to listen to the Holy Spirit not just to imitate him see imitation is a very dangerous thing because we read in Romans and sorry Hebrews listen to this verse the danger of imitating others to follow a man as he follows Christ that's a great thing follow me as I follow Christ Paul said but to imitate the action what exactly did he do in this time I'm gonna do the same thing that's not the same as following the principle by which Paul lived when Paul said I follow Christ he wasn't imitating Christ he was following the principles by which Christ lived and he said we must follow the principles by which Paul lived it says in Hebrews chapter 11 that by faith that's in verse 29 the Israelites passed through the Red Sea they were led by the Lord walk and it says in the same verse that the Egyptians imitated that and they were drowned so you see a man of faith doing something because he heard God and he did it and you imitate that you'll drown where he goes safely through your drown that's a great verse that warns you about the danger of imitating we must follow the principle by which a man lives the leading of the Holy Spirit okay how do we overcome discouragement when we see others not seeking or following the Lord well you mind your own business and have compassion for them but you don't let another person's disobedience discourage you think of Jesus he was surrounded by people who are not following Jesus did it discourage him not at all he was full of the joy of the Lord even the night before he went to the cross and he told his disciples my joy I give unto you imagine if you knew you're going to be hanged tomorrow morning put on the electric chair and you go around encouraging everybody this evening saying I've got a friend Joey today I'm gonna be hanging tomorrow morning that doesn't matter I've completed God's will for my life that's how Jesus lived he was never discouraged he was full of the joy of the Lord but he was surrounded by people who were not following the Lord that should not affect you you can have compassion for them he must have a desire to share the word with them but I don't let another person's behavior discourage me if I let other people's behavior even the believed behavior of other believers discourage me I'll be discouraged all the time because a lot of backslide is everywhere I go I'm not gonna let that discourage me and that is the wrong attitude and it may be people are very close to you that doesn't matter he must have a burden for them your relatives are unconverted or people in the church where whom you love very much you're not going oh right we have burden for them but don't let their life discourage you even Peters denial did not discourage Jesus we must not allow the conduct of another person to discourage us we can have a burden for them we can pray for them and encourage them with words but never allow that person's behavior to affect my relationship with the Lord the Bible says if I loved righteousness and hated equity it says in Hebrews 1:9 Jesus loved righteousness hated iniquity therefore God anointed him with the oil of gladness above his companions and I'm one of his companion and you are to God anointed Jesus with more gladness than he anointed me because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity more than me and I will be anointed with more of the oil of gladness than another of my companions because I loved righteousness and hated iniquity more than him it all depends on the measure in which you loved righteousness and hated equity the proportion of gladness enjoying your life is directly proportional to how much you loved righteousness and hated iniquity if you are gloomy let me tell you it's because you don't love righteousness and you don't hate iniquity it's very clear that is the principle on which God anoints people with gladness the oil of gladness okay what must I do if I feel the local church that I go is operating on soulish methods this is the only CFC church in my area CFC Church I have a responsibility receives the church's tell me you really mean a CFC Church or you mean some other Church also is it correct to celebrate harvest festivals and Christmas or baby showers has a church how do I stand against it when I know it's wrong well I would invite encourage you to read Romans chapter 14 Romans chapter 14 says one man celebrates one thing another man celebrates nothing if it's not sinful let him do it you don't have to do it let him do it I personally don't celebrate Christmas or Easter because I think their heathen vegetables but some people don't feel that they don't have the light on that they are celebrating the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus no I appreciate that and my going to the homes of some believers with our Christmas trees and stars and I say I have no problem so long as you don't tell me to put a Christmas tree in the star you I respect you you respect me there's a freedom if you don't live in that freedom you'll be back under the law in Romans 14 is a great chapter for that there are some people in those days who kept the Sabbath you know there are early Christians many of them were Jews and so they'd been keeping the Sabbath for 50 years and all of a sudden they become Christians and you tell them you know you can do anything you like on a Saturday they just can't do it they just don't feel like doing anything on a Saturday so they say no no no we won't do that we are Christians we don't believe Sabbath is the way of salvation but we won't do any work on Saturday Paul says let them do that you don't have to follow them but give them freedom we have the Hindus converted in India who have never eaten beef in their whole life because Hindus worship the cow they don't eat beef and then after 50 years they become Christians they've never touched beef now my gospel is not you must eat beef it's got nothing to do with that so you don't have to be if you don't want to eat beef don't eat it it's perfectly okay we must give freedom to one another somebody wants to celebrate a harvest festival are they dishonouring the Lord no what's wrong with a baby shower wedding shower or whatever it is let them do it I mean it's something you could blessing somebody once you don't want to do it in your case tell everybody listen I don't want any baby shower for my baby fine but let the other person have it so we have to be very careful that we don't become legalists this is a mark of a legalist is this he has certain principles for himself good but he makes that laws for other people I get up at 5:30 in the morning reading the Bible I say everybody in my church must get up at 5:30 in the morning to read the Bible that's a legalist you'll kill your church I'm just taking an example you must not all right I spent half an hour in prayer every day all of you must spend half an hour in prayer every day that's illegal it sets a way to kill a church so the Bible says in Romans 14 do you have faith to do something do it give the other person freedom in those days it was a question of whether you eat meat offered to idols one chap says I don't believe an idol is anything it's just a block of wood if somebody hang up place hang a piece of meat in front of it it's not going to defile the piece of meat I eat it but the other guy says no I mean 50 years I've been used to worshipping idols and I am scared ok don't eat it so it's very very important I believe the mark of a church that is not a cult is that it gives people freedom the freedom mentioned in Romans 14 to have different opinions on what to wear or not to wear for example some churches say a woman must not wear pants or trousers whatever you call it in this country I don't know I like men well the Bible doesn't say that I mean I know it's there in the Old Testament but we don't live another Old Testament law but the Bible says you must be modestly dressed and that's the important thing that's what we stress the woman's dress must be modest and any type of dress can be modest or tight-fitting and immodest Oh basically there are two roles two rules for a modest dress one is where it exposes so much of your flesh or skin and the other is where it's tight-fitting apart from that different Dino in certain parts of India and Malaysia all women wear something similar to a pant every one you can't change the culture there so if you go with these rules of which are not written in the Bible you're gonna have tremendous problems so that's what I mean we must give freedom and stick to what scripture says and not go beyond Scripture anyone adds to what's written here or revelation says God will add to him the plagues written in this book if anyone subtracts from what's written here God will take away his part from the tree of life so I never want to add to Scripture the Pharisees were the ones who added to Scripture you shall not lift your bed on the sabbath day you shall not proctor in on the sabbath day think god never said that so there are a lot of Christians who do these type of things and bring themselves and others into bondage you must not listen to them break free from them live in Romans 14 okay I want to watch and play sports sometimes I feel they become idols what do you think I should avoid having them become idols yeah sure anything can become an idol money is a very good thing but it can become an idol sport can be a very good thing participating in it it can become an idol watching sport on television there's nothing wrong in it but it can become an idol wear it when this is something become an idol when it has taken the place of God in your life that God wants you to do something and you have to say God wait I've got a watch I've got to see whether this team is gonna win or not well that's week on Idol already so we got to be careful that we don't allow anything to take the place of God in our life and you know at what point maybe for many years it was under control God was primary and at a certain point you came so fascinated it could be anything and that's become a guard in your life that's an idol okay a couple of my friends don't have children and they are worried what shall I do apart from prayer and fasting so that I'd blessed them with a child how can I encourage them I don't know why God has not given children to some of some great Saints I know and never had any children but in the Old Testament it was the mark of God's blessing but not in the New Testament and God has a different plan for each family children are the gift of God and when people come to me and say that means they themselves are very eager to have children I see I can pray for you but it's like praying for healing I can't guarantee that God will heal you I prayed for people and seen them healed and that's only about one percent the 99% I prayed for were never healed but I prayed for them I'm talking about major illnesses so I don't know why I'd like to see everybody healed so certainly it's good to pray but there's no guarantee that they will all be healed and to be healed from sickness sometimes it's far more important than having children think of a person who's dying with cancer he'd be far more interested in Mahela as cancer than to have another child so even in such cases I don't know why some of God's children die of cancer I don't know one day I'll know like we sang in that song father along we understand why when we see Jesus face to face we'll understand the reason for everything which we our small mind could not understand the thing that comforted means to know that God's wisdom is like an ocean my mind even the cleverest person his mind is like a cup and it's a crazy person who thinks he can fit the ocean into that cup the cleverest man or woman in the world his intelligence and wisdom is like a cup and he's an idiot if he thinks that he can fit God's ocean of wisdom into that cup he has to say a little bit I know but there's a ocean out there which I don't understand God's ways the thing that's helped me in this area is to compare a dog with a human being and a human being with God we know there's a lot of difference in the way dogs think and human beings think well the difference between a dog and a human being is probably about one inch compared to the difference between a human being and God which is millions of miles it's millions of miles the difference between God and me but the way I think and a dog thinks the dog means food I need food the dog needs rest I need rest the dog looks for sex I look for sex all those things are ok there's certain other things that dog doesn't understand why do these human beings wear clothes the dogs that we never close the crazy why do these human beings go to school what if they force their children to read and study and why do these human beings keep money in banks I don't keep any bones in any bank they the dogs think we are absolutely crazy but we are not crazy we know that other human beings understand it but dogs don't that helps me to explain if someone who's one inch lower than me a dog can't understand what I do I'm not surprised that someone was a million miles over me I can't understand why he does certain things humility will gladly say there must be some very good reason the humble dog will say I don't understand why they wear clothes but there must be a very good reason I don't understand why they have bank accounts but there must be a very good reason and I say the same thing I don't understand why God has allowed sickness I don't understand why he doesn't give some people children I don't understand why he's allowed so many young girls to be exploited and made prostitutes I don't understand so much evil going on in the world so many innocent people being killed by suicide bombs and all that why doesn't God put into it I don't know but like that dog will say I will say God's wisdom is way above mine and I know there must be a very good reason which I can't understand a humble person will have no problem saying that so remember the illustration of the dog and the man the next time you want to question God and you think you know the answers you think you can fit this ocean into your cup you're pretty foolish [Music] what is the least commandment that Jesus wants us to obey what are the very tiny things that we need to obey God so as to please him I'll tell you there are legalists who will take that verse it's a verse in Matthew 5:19 if you keep the least of the Commandments you'll be the greatest of the kingdom of God and this is how a legalist will take it one of the least commandments is that women should wail their heads when they pray or prophesy and they think they're obeying that verse far from it they are just promoting their opinion it's true I believe with all my heart that a woman should well dance but that's not the meaning of that verse that is a commandment in scriptures like baptism breaking a brand as I said yesterday but I think is referring to that least prick of conscience in your own heart not for you to tell somebody else but whether your conscience has pricked you about something very small go and apologize to your wife right now for that rude word you spoke Thornton way to the evening that's where you're disobeying that word but very often we like to take a verse like that and Hammer somebody else with it you're a legalist the Word of God is like a to its sword it must cut to you first remember that always so be careful how you use words like that and especially when you are using scripture to hit somebody else scripture is not a hammer given us to hit people on the head with a lot of preachers do that you know they are disturbed by somebody sitting in the audience who is doing something wrong and they keep hammering that person within the message that person is not being led by the Holy Spirit for example you know in some churches in India they're very strong against women wearing jewelry so here's the church where they don't believe in jewelry and the preachers seeking the Lord for a message and these he doesn't have to speak on jewelry because nobody in his church where is it and he's preaching on something else when the devil says god I can make him change his message this Sunday and the devil just sends one woman loaded with jewelry into that meeting immediately the preacher changes his message see how the devil succeeded and that can happen to any preacher he sees somebody whom he wants to give a word to and the devil says I can make that guy change the message God gave him don't be a fool listen to God and don't let people change your message you know whenever Jesus spoke he always had Judas Iscariot sitting in that and he knew he was a devil and didn't Jesus didn't always preach on betraying and don't go and get take money from the priests and that was not his message he preached but so many other things when you preach God's Word don't look at the half-hearted backslider sitting there look at the whole hearted ones and make them more wholehearted and it's more likely that your message will be from God and God gives you a prophetic word that's different so the least Commandments are the ones that God speaks to your conscience where you are pregnant and where you're not trying to control somebody else how to differentiate between God's voice and my voice to hear God's voice clearly how do so that I can hear God's voice clearly okay John says in the Isle of Patmos in the revelation chapter one he heard God's voice like a trumpet but a deaf man can't hear the trumpet he says God isn't speaking of course God is speaking you're deaf that's why you can't hear it it says in Hebrews 5:11 that some of you are dull of hearing Hebrews 5 a lemon you can become dull of hearing how do you become dull of hearing it's by keeping on killing your conscience your conscience tells you go and set that matter right now and you say no I'll do it later you killed your conscience you're on the way to getting death you do that a few times and you won't be able to hear the Lord's voice so clearly because when he told you to do something you didn't do it I've had that experience in my earlier days where you know I was very busy writing something maybe an article or something or working on something and the Lord says now just drop that and spend a little time with me alone talk to me and let me talk to you and I see just hang on Laura I just got to finish this in half an hour I'll be finished and then I'll talk to you and I finished that in half an hour later okay Lord I'm ready I can't hear him he's gone I shall want to hear you lord can't hear you know there's a passage like that in the Song of Solomon where it says my beloved came knocking at the door and as the Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 2 I was asleep spiritually - my heart was awake her voice my beloved was knocking spend little time with me open to me my sister my darling my dove my perfect one I want to talk to you and what is the bride's response Oh Lord I've taken off my dress you want me to put on my clothes again and come out with you now how can I put it on again I wash my feet I can't dirty them again coming out with you my beloved extend his hand through the opening and my feelings are aroused for him then I waited a little and I said ok I'll get up he arose to open my beloved and he wasn't there for six he had gone then I search for him verse six and I couldn't find him and I went in ask the elders the watchman here are the elders and they just gave me some legalistic messages it struck me and wounded me and he miss the bride missed something because when the bridegroom called she was too busy doing something else have you had that experience I've had it and I've regretted really regretted because when I decided that I would meet at the Lord at my convenience he was not ready he has got to be Lord of my life or he will not be Lord of anything to be Lord of my life means but then when he tells me to drop something I have to drop it and listen I've learned the hard way I say Lord I want to listen because it not only affects my life the Lord may have something to say to me to tell others [Music] and I may not have that word to others and little later in the day that weary person comes to me and the Lord wanted to meet wanted to give me a word for him early in the morning but I was too busy and this guy comes to me now and I don't know what to tell him I give him some of my human wisdom and quote some verses to him but God could have given me the exact word for him but I didn't listen sometimes in the Lord wakes you up earlier than you normally get up you know what you should say what Samuel sped speak Lord your servant is listening sometimes we wake up in the middle of the night unexpectedly I always do it I said Lord are you telling me something I want to hear Isaiah 50 in verse 4 is a lovely verse which says the Lord God in the middle of that verse wakes me up in the morning isn't it wonderful to be waken up by the Lord an unexpected alarm clock wakes me up and he wakes me up because he wants my year to listen as a disciple and if I listen to him as a disciple as the last part of Isaiah 50 verse 4 then the first part of that verse will be fulfilled which is the Lord will give me a tongue to sustain the very one who comes to me that day with the world so in order to that I might have a word for that very one who comes to me sometime during the day that the Lord is knows he's gonna come to me later he wakes me up in the morning to give me a word but if I say Lord I'm a bit too tired now don't disturb me I'm gonna sleep now that Mary one comes along I don't have a word for him I have a lot of human wisdom to give him and probably 10 15 verses to quote him but he goes away without his need being met because I was too lazy to hear you know there was a man called Cornelius who was really seeking God and God needed to speak to him so go away another miles away God speaks to one of his servants called Peter and because Peter was willing to set aside his prejudice and listen and go Cornelius need was left what a Peter had said Lord I'm sorry as Jews we just don't go to the house of Gentiles you think God would not have met Cornelius need of course course had Peter okay Peter you stay here God did I call somebody else maybe John John you better go Peter's not willing to go you go and meet Cornelius Peter would have missed the opportunity is it possible that you have missed opportunities of service because of prejudice or because you are not willing to listen you are too busy you got a program and you can't afford to change that even if the Lord wants you to change it no no no I've got my program I can't do it I decided in my life that I would never have a program I make program but I'd be willing to change any of them if God wanted me to change them there's a place in the Gulf in the Persian Gulf where we planted a church there's a wonderful church there today because God changed my program and my plan and I was stuck there I had no plan to be there and today there's wonderful Church so I see that God you must allow God freedom to change your plan we've become familiar with God's voice by listening to it regularly you see you can you recognize your mother's voice on the other side of the wall in the midst of other women speaking why because you've heard your mother's voice so often why is it I can't recognize it because I haven't heard your mom's so often we recognize a voice which you have heard often in the midst of the din of other voices so if you become familiar with God's voice you'll be able to recognize it then he said how do I become familiar here is a book which is hundred percent God's voice the Bible read it read it obey it listen to it listen to it that's how you become familiar with God's voice and then in some situation that you face when there's no answer written in the Bible directly whom you should marry with job you should take where you should go what you should do he would have become so familiar with God's voice that you will know the spirit prompting and do this one more verse Romans 8 verse 6 says the mind of the Spirit is life and peace that's a great verse for knowing the voice of the Spirit as you consider certain course of action and you feel an increasing peace in your spirit to go that way that is usually an indication of God's will if you're totally surrendered but if you have prejudices then you can choose something where you force yourself to accept something you ask God for a sign but you want a sign you want something to be fulfilled so you ask for an easy sign you gotta be careful I use an example sometimes you know in India marriages are usually arranged by parents and like Abraham did for his son Isaac so supposing your parents arranged a marriage for you in India to a girl called Grace and you don't like the sight of her even though she is born again and you don't want to marry her but your parents want you to seriously consider it and one day you read my grace is sufficient for you and you got it he told that God's grace is enough for me I don't want this one now another guy is in love with a girl called grace okay desperate he wants to marry her he reads the same words my grace is sufficient for you I got my guidance this is the one this is the grace God has chosen for me you see from the same verse do people get opposite guidance because that's the way their mind is bent be careful about this type of guidance where you want something and then you imagine that you're hearing God's voice in the Bible or you've got to be totally surrendered and say Laura I'm willing to accept anything whatever you choose so okay can you speak to the covering of women's hair I'm finding difficulty in understanding how it relates to my relationship with the Lord well simple obedience if you want to know more go to our CFC India website WWC under calm and go to articles there's a full article on head covering two articles one that I've written and one that my son Sandeep has written read both of them and you'll see very clearly from Scripture what is the right position on it I believe it's balance teaching okay sometimes I stop hearing words from the Holy Spirit in my spirit to feels like God is far away from me then he stops dealing tonight so far I can tell it's not because of any sin do you ever experience this do you know why it happens is there anything particularly out to do in this state or to avoid it you know part of living by faith is that we don't hear the voice of God as clearly as we did in the younger days I'll tell you my own experience I have had some amazing leadings of God from Scripture when I was very young in the faith and I don't get such fantastic reading dealings like that now I'll give you one example this is way back before I was even married way back in 1967 I had gone for a conference in a distant part of India and I had to be there for five days and the day I reached there I got a telegram you know we didn't have phones in all those days no cell phones communication was buying telegrams and I got a telegram for my dad saying I've been diagnosed with cancer and the doctor says you got to come immediately for an operation so I was his only son in India so dad said can you please come down immediately because I don't want to go into the hospital without you being here so I said Lord what shall I do I'm here these people will understand if I don't and another speaker can take my place but I want to know your will and that was around the end of October I was there and I had the habit of going through Scripture day by day by day by day one chapter at a time and that day I was in Deuteronomy chapter 1 and I read there on the first day of the eleventh month verse three Deuteronomy one three the Lord said verse sevens turn and set your journey and go first day of the eleventh month and that was still four days later because it was in the 27th of October I said okay I'm gonna travel on the 1st of November so I went to the train station and booked might change my ticket to the first of November and I sent a telegram back to my dad I can't come immediately how come five days later because I'm only going to start from here in the 1st of November first day of the 11th month and when I reached home my dad said to me that's a good thing you didn't come immediately if you had come immediately I'd have been on the operating theatre but because you said you couldn't come for the next five six days it takes two days by train to reach there I decided to get another doctor's opinion and I submitted to follow the x-rays and all to another doctor and he said you don't have cancer that was the wrong diagnosis and so he didn't have to go in the operating theatre and he never had cancer till he died it was an amazing experience for me in a little thing like that to listen to God but you know now I don't hear guidance like that and I wonder why I feel wonderful if anything I'd to find some words in Scripture and you know like the guy who I said Lord give me a guy and give me a verse in the opener versus Judas went and hanged himself it's very dangerous to look or scriptures like that and so I realized now it's like gods now treating me not like a child that time I was a child now I'm a mature adult you know how we tell little children go and brush your teeth go and change your clothes go and have a shower but you don't tell your 25 year old go and brush your teeth go and have a shower go and change your clothes no you leave it to them they know you know that they're gonna do the right thing without there having to be told everything so one mark of maturity I find his God tells you less and less he expects you to act and do what he wants you to do the right thing without his specifically telling you that's how he grow up to maturity so that has to be balanced with him you may not be less hearing God's voice because you got a bad conscience but also it may be that you become so mature now that you don't have to get a prompting from God for every little thing that could also be the reason what can parents do to lead teenagers to Christ that were not brought up in the Word of God how can you balance love and law laws to encourage see when children are small we have to keep them under law let's not do what you like children little children in the home are under law you have to obey your parents says very clearly in Ephesians 6:1 children obey your parents for this is the first commandment with promise and that is in the New Testament so children have not come under grace yet they don't have actually over sin so we don't give them freedom to make a choice when they're small he said whether you feel like it or not you're gonna do what I tell you to do because I'm your dad gods give me authority over you but a certain stage comes when we you know we get a more and more freedom as they grow up and if you have trained them up properly you release them little by little by little and they're no laws in that it depends on how your children are but if you didn't know the Lord when they were small and they've gone astray and they're now worldly God doesn't hold you responsible for the days of your ignorance but you can still pray what I tell their parents of children who are teenagers and wayward is I say fine I tell you parents if you'll promise me one thing that you and your wife will really seek to live with a clear conscience all the time be very sensitive and keep your clear conscience clear with regard and man every day and that every day you will kneel down and pray to God that your son or daughter will be brought back to the ways of the Lord spend a few minutes even if it's only five minutes in prayer every day or even two minutes Lord bring them back but keep a clear conscience very important and you every day you do it I can guarantee God will do something and bring your daughter a son back Kyah faith for that because I believe God is on your side God doesn't want your daughter to go out in the world he realizes that he were not converted when your children were small so there's hope for everyone so don't give up and even when they're teenagers we still need to have certain laws for them like because they don't know what's good for them we may have rules concerning what time you have to come home I want your home if you go out and if you're going out with a boy I want to see him I want to decide whether I will allow you to go out to that boy most of the time I will not in India we don't have dating and all that not churches so we're very careful in this area because we're living in a very dangerous world and sometimes young innocent children don't know how in five minutes they can mess up their whole life especially young girls many because they brought up in a protective atmosphere in a home when they've been in a church where everybody is good to them and then they suddenly face the world they don't realize the world is full of wicked people who are trying to take advantage of you and exploit you in every way and the protection for all young girls and boys is to listen to their parents even if they're 18 19 20 years old they don't realize that five minutes less than five minutes is enough to mess up your whole life especially for a girl and so we have to make laws for them even if they are 19 20 years old if you're living at home you obey dad and mom and you don't go out with certain people if I don't want you to go out with them even bad company goes that are not god-fearing I don't want you to go out with them we'd be strict with that it's very important and I believe that their father is being a good father okay what is the role of husband and wife when it comes to a household and raising children I spoke about that extensively yesterday you can listen to the tape if you are not here but remember is the responsibility of parents to bring up that children are right and the first thing you need to do is to love your wife as Christ loved the church and have a good relationship as husband and wife and try your best to bring the atmosphere of heaven into your home which is an atmosphere of peace without grumbling and complaining and fighting and quarreling that is most important then we can think of teaching them the scriptures but if you don't seek to have the atmosphere of heaven in your home and you just teach them the scriptures you will raise a legalist and a Pharisee so the greatest inheritance that you can give to your children is not in dollars it's in allowing them to see the atmosphere of heaven in your homes such that they will want to have that atmosphere when they raise the family that must be the most important thing that you must seek for God delights in those who do his will on this earth and God delights and those who fear him God delights in those who are humble brother Zack can you add to that list and tell me the other people whom God delight in I'll take me a few hours so I won't go there okay the last question is a I don't know feast what does Luke 4 can you please explain Luke 4:23 Luke 4:23 no doubt we caught this proverb to me physician heal yourself whatever we heard and done at Capernaum do here in your hometown as well I don't know who asked this question it seems to be a tree of knowledge of good and evil question how will it help you to live a more godly life knowing the answer to this but it helped you in some way to live a godly life to know the answer to this question or is it just curiosity to know what did Jesus mean when he said physician heal yourself whatever we have heard it done at Capernaum do hear it I don't think it's important to know to help you to live a godly life so I won't answer that question I think our time is up let's bow before God our Heavenly Father I pray you will help us concerning those areas where we probably didn't get an adequate answer or other questions that may be in our minds thank you that we have the Holy Spirit and your word to guide us help us to live in a way that will please you so that when we come to the end of our life we'll be able to live look back over a life where we avoided a lot of folly because we allowed your word and your spirit to guide us we pray even though many of us have done foolish things in the past we thank you that you overlook hard times of ignorance and now you tell us to repent help us Lord to really turn around 180 degrees away from sin in the world we can please you

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 12,433

Rating: 4.8036809 out of 5

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

Id: Nb9bld8XKJ0

Length: 64min 24sec (3864 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 01 2016