Revelation On God’s Mysteries - Zac Poonen

if you want to understand the difference between the New Covenant and the Old Covenant which is one of the main things we stress in our churches you need to make a study of words that are found in the New Testament that are not found in the Old Testament commands that are found in the New Testament that are not found in the Old Testament promises that are found in the New Testament that are not found in the Old Testament God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and if you only hear another brother explain these things to you it may reach your understanding and you may think yeah I got it you haven't got it you understood it you need more than that for it to change your life and that is the reason why some brothers and sisters have sat in our churches for 25-30 years and still have not come to victory over sin they still fight in quarrel in their homes what's the reason because there's no inner hunger after god themselves they're happy to sit in a good church listen to good messages I can tell you this you are going to have a tremendous shock when Christ comes again and I I have a fear that some folks who come to our conferences may not even be in the kingdom of God anyone who's a hypocrite anyone who's pretending to have a life which is not really longing after within he's not gonna be anywhere near God's kingdom we live in a day when the whole world can be described in two sentences both found in the New Testament that's how I've looked at it Romans let me just show you those two sentences one is Romans chapter 3 and verse 18 this is a description of the entire world and I'm sorry to say this is the description of all nominal Christians and this is the description of thousands and probably millions of believers Romans 3:18 there is no fear of God before their eyes there is no reverence for God in their eyes that describes the whole world there is no fear of God they do and say things without any thought that God is listening God is there that they have to give an account for every single word that they speak jesus said that in Matthew 12 verse read verse 34 38 he said that every single word careless word we speak we will have to give an account in the day of judgment I'm absolutely convinced that 99% of born-again believers do not believe that they do not believe that every single careless word they ever spoke they have to give an account in the day of judgment they speak careless words they don't even repent of them husbands and wives be careless words to each other they don't ask forgiveness many many husbands and wives they never ask forgiveness from each other there is no hope for such people i if a person doesn't ask forgiveness when he's done something wrong according to my opinion the person is not even born again can you merit people tell me when was the last time you asked forgiveness from your husband and wife can you brothers tell me when was the last time you asked forgiveness from somebody for what you did wrong think back are you born again that's what I mean there is no fear of God before their eyes we say things wrong we do things wrong and we are too proud to say I'm sorry that was my mistake please forgive me I said yesterday that one of the primary marks of a born-again person we read in Ezekiel 36 you will load yourself you will hate yourself for the evil that you have done do you find something like that that is the mark of a man who fears God the closer we come to God the more we see sin in ourselves and less in other people the Apostle Paul when he wrote 1 Corinthians it was around maybe 20 years 15 20 years after he was converted and maybe 15 years after he was converted he said I am the least of all the Apostles 1 Corinthians 15 I think it's verse 9 or 10 five years later he wrote Ephesians and he says in Ephesians chapter 3 verse 8 I'm the least of all the believers in the world see how he went down from the least of all the Apostles he's now felt five years later that he's the last and least of all the believers in the world go another five years and he writes 1 Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:15 he says I am the chief of all the sinners in the world was he becoming a greater sinner no he was getting closer to God the closer we get to God the more sensitive we become to small little sins and our heart is very sensitive and the heart gets hard we don't feel any sensation look at your look at the soles of your feet and compare that to the sole of the feet of a newborn baby if you take a pin and touch the sole of your feet you don't feel any pain it's become hardened through the years but if you were to touch the sole of the foot of a newborn baby immediately it'll react blood may come or you can poke the sole of your foot to the pin and no blood will come that is a picture of how our conscience gets hardened through the years and one of the great works of the Holy Spirit is to make us more sensitive and if you're not becoming more and more sensitive to sin number one possibility you're not really born-again and number two if you are you're not growing for me I have come to the conclusion there is only one mark of spiritual growth in my life that I discover since this year that I never knew were sins in all my previous 71 years new areas have you discovered some new sin in your life that you did not know up till last year that you discovered in 2011 I can tell you I can tell you that since I discovered in 2010 that I never a new worse sin in the years before that's how I know I'm getting close to God it's been my longing for many years and I see that that is the mark of God's blessing I see there's only one mark of God's blessing on my life it's not the effectiveness of my ministry the lot of people whom God blesses in their ministry whom he's not happy with many of them will stand before him in the final day and say Lord Lord we prophesied in your name we planted churches in your name we did miracles we did this that and the other we evangelized we went here we went there in the Lord said depart from me you fellows who live in sin is it possible but those people they healed the sick they did miracles they prophesied their ministry was blessed but their life was not right I don't want to be in that category and so I see that the mark of God's blessing in my life for myself is that he gives light to me on UNCHR ice-t's likeness in little little areas of my life you know little bits of anger which never are seen in words or even in my face but which I'm retaining Lord says get rid of it a little grudge against somebody a little prejudice a little judgmental spirit a little pride in something which I think I've accomplished so many things like this lack of discipline in the way I live things like this and the result is a life of daily repentance and this became true in my life once I discovered that God's ultimate goal for me is to make me like Jesus Christ completely Romans 8:29 says God's ultimate destination for me is to make me like Jesus Christ we have all known that in theory you've heard me preach on it many times but if you are gripped by it you will long to be a little more like Jesus Christ every day a little more gracious a little more pure a little more holy a little more humble a little more light on yourself and a little more light on the arrogant statements we make about our spiritual development and growth and then to bring a deep repentance that can only come if we fear God the fear of the Lord is the ABC of wisdom so the whole world can be described as I said in two sentences there is no fear of the Lord before their eyes and the second statement is in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 21 they all seek after their own interests you put these two statements together Romans 3 18 and Philippians 2 21 and you have a description of the whole world and I'm sorry to say you have a description of most born-again believers they all seek their own not the things of Jesus Christ and everything to evaluate how will this affect me I remember some years ago I went to Dubai and there was a multi-denominational meeting and I spoke to them of believers and I said brothers and sisters I will tell you things that no preacher who comes to Dubai will ever tell you because all those guys come to collect your money I haven't come to collect your money I don't want your money I'll tell you the truth it says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever you do do all for the glory of God even if you eat or drink in other words if you guys decided to come to Dubai you decided to you should have if you're a born-again Christian you should have come here seeking the glory of God Lord I want to glorify you and I think I'll do that best if I go to Dubai can you honestly say that was the reason you came here to make money so what should I tell you go back to India know there are many people in India who love money also changing your location won't help you every beggar in India loves money have you ever met a beggar who doesn't love money I haven't met one money love of money is deeply rooted in our flesh but I said confess your sin it's like even if a husband and wife before they got married they had sex with each other the problem is not solved by just getting married they have to confess their sin when they got married and say Lord we're sorry before we got married we had sex that's a sin forgive us I'm not saying you should separate who remain married but confess your sin the same way I said I don't you guys don't have to leave Dubai but confess your sin that you did not seek the glory of God you sought your own and came here confess that sin ask God to forgive you and then live here and say Lord I want to seek the glory of God for the rest of my life that's the way to do it God's not asking you to change your location but he wants you to be and I'll tell you something my dear brothers and sisters God loves honest people it's one of the first things I discovered in my Christian life and that's helped me tremendously you can go to God and if you're 100 percent honest and say Lord there I sought my own I'm sorry you know what will happen he'll give you a little more light on one more layer of that onion called self-seeking and you'll be able to peel off one more layer of the onion of seeking your own you wouldn't have finished with it it'll take a lifetime to finish with seeking your own but you leap leap peel off one more layer one more layer one more layer and the end result will be that you will get revelation on the nature of God you will partake of his nature his Holy Spirit will be able to possess every area of your inner being fill every area of your inner being that you confess and acknowledge where your UNCHR iced likeness lies my definition of sin is anything unlike Christ that is sin and the only person who can say there is no sin in me is the one who has become totally like Christ there's nobody like that on the earth the Apostle Paul said at the end of his life I'm still pressing on and therefore my and for me anyway my entire life's journey is a constant daily daily daily daily discovery of areas in my life that are on Christ like which I repent I peel off that layer of the onion and it's replaced with a love life a life of Christ this is God's will so if that is the world as I said there's no fear of God they all seek their own that is the definition of darkness darkness is no fear of God darkness is only seeking your own then what is light light is the opposite of that the tremendous reverence for God how can you say I'm getting more and more light my life many people when they say I got more light what they mean is they got some bright idea from Scripture they're talking about intelligence it's like some scientists discover some new theory or it's like a little boy discovers that two times two is four he got some light on it that's the way some people read the Bible see I got something you haven't got a light on anything if you haven't got light on your selfishness you haven't got light on anything if you haven't got light on your lack of reverence for God in your life so in the New Testament there is a word that Jesus used when he spoke about building the church Jesus did not come here just to save sinners yes that's true he did not even come here to make sinners holy that's also true he came here after saving them making them holy putting them together and building a church a new wineskin the new wine first and then the new wineskin it's no use trying to emphasize new wineskin all brother we want to build a church in our locality have you got any new new wine first what she was having an empty wine skin even if it's a new one that we've seen a lot of people through these years who come here and they are gripped by what they see here the fellowship and the quality of life and the ministry and they see all brothers and we want to build a church where we are well I say brothers start with a new wine don't start with the pattern people look at the pattern and say this is what we want we want to reproduce the pattern over there well if you have their new wineskin though it's an empty hollow wine skin that's not God's will we got to get the wine first the life of Christ you've got to have a passion for the life of Christ then God will create a new wineskin in which that can be poured so Jesus spoke about building the church the first time he ever used the word Church is in Matthew 16 and verse 18 and it's very interesting that that's the first time and not in the first time but there in connection with the word church he uses another word which is a distinctively a New Testament word called reveal revelation in the Old Testament it was understanding in the New Testament it was revelation that's why in the Old Testament you had scribes scribes were people who studied the scriptures but Jesus said in Matthew 13 verse 52 the scribe must become a disciple Matthew 13 52 the scribe must become a disciple that's what I say to many of you I fear that many of you are becoming scribes who have a knowledge of what you hear you hear come to the conference's you listen to the tapes and you get knowledge you're like all these multitudes of preachers around the world who go to the CFC website listen to all the messages and they've got notes for their next Sunday's meeting but I've got no objection they can do that but they are scribes and they will produce crimes only disciples can produce disciples people have asked me brother Zack can we preach the messages we hear from you I said yes I don't have any copyright on it what God has revealed to me I share with others and but you must live it first then you can preach it but if you preach it without living it you will destroy yourself you're welcome to preach every single sermon that you ever heard me preach but live it first or seek to live it then you can preach it otherwise it's understanding in the Old Testament was understanding but in the New Testament like we read the scribe must become a disciple and the disciple needs revelation there were no disciples in the Old Testament no disciples of Jesus anyway and they didn't speak about Revelation maybe a few rare people like Moses and Daniel got a few revelation David a little bit in fact that word comes only about twice in the Old Testament but in the New Testament revelation is a very important word and I believe this is the reason as more and more I've thought about it why is it Lord that so many people who seem to have understood what we have taught through many years don't seem to know you as Father in the way you have revealed it to me they seem to me so anxious and tense and grumble and complain they don't know the father and why is it so many of them think they're building a church and it's just another congregation and the answer I got is they don't have revelation they understood everything in their head and they think and they can go out with that head knowledge and know the father and build the church is not possible Matthew 16:18 he said on this rock I will build my church the Roman Catholics say Peter is the rock I say to you you're Peter upon this rock I will build my church the Protestants don't have an adequate explanation for that verse they say no Christ is the rock because jesus said and Peter said in verse 16 Christ the Son of the Living God you are the Christ the Son of the Living God that's right jesus said on this rock I will build my church but there's one thing they leave out even Protestant Christians and that is verse 17 Matthew 16:17 blessed are You Simon because flesh and blood or human cleverness did not give you this revelation My Father in heaven revealed me to you on this rock this revealed Christ this Christ whom you saw by revelation in your heart on this rock I will build my church you know the Apostle Paul said in Galatians in chapter 1 we know that he saw Jesus on the Damascus Road that's how he is converted but that was outwardly with his physical eyes he saw Jesus in glory a vision and he was converted but there's something else that happened in the succeeding days after that that is mentioned in Galatians 1 16 15 and 16 God who set me apart from my mother's womb called me through His grace was pleased to reveal his son inside me that is another thing he gave me a revelation of Jesus Christ inside in my heart there was a revelation of who Christ was and then he went out and built the true church many many people have not seen the revealed Christ they have seen Christ hanging on the cross the external Christ hanging on the cross who rose up from the dead and you tell this person do you believe you're a sinner yes you're believe you're a sinner it's all in the head you believe he died on the cross I feel that many of you have responded like that it's good but your life is so shallow because you've not sought for Revelation in your heart you cannot say that the father revealed Christ in me that makes a world of difference blessed are You Simon because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you my father in heaven revealed it says in Matthew chapter 11 that I don't know whether you believe this Matthew 11:27 see this little statement in the middle of that verse no one knows the son except the father to believe that no one knows knows in the real deep sense of knowing Jesus except God the Father and God the Father can reveal the son to Peter to some others why didn't he reveal the son to the Pharisees why did the Pharisees think he is beautiful it's possible to say I've accepted Jesus as my savior because externally I know I'm a sinner without with my intellect I know I'm a sinner and I know that he died for my sins I accept him there's no change my change in your life your attitude to sin doesn't seem to have changed much because the son has not been revealed in you because you're not interested in revelation you have to have a hunger for revelation you have to rather reverence for God to get revelation you have to consider it more important than everything else in the world to get revelation another thing it says here further down in Matthew 11:27 no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the son reveals him has Jesus Christ revealed the father to you or did you hear some nice messages in CFC explaining how God is a father how your earthly fathers care for children so like that God will care for you and you brainwashed yourself to believe it's all in the head and you go away from the meeting ah god is my father and some problem arises and you're anxious and tense and grumble and complain you didn't get any revelation on as a father not god it didn't change your life one bit what a work the devil has done by making people think that it's all in the head in the Old Testament it was there and that's why the scribes who studied studied studied the scriptures finally killed Jesus Christ and that's why you hear of pastors who preach and preach and preach and preach and then commit adultery and that's why you read of you don't read of it but there are many many people who think they have understood all about holiness and all that who have sexual fantasies and live with dirty thoughts and fight with their husbands and wives and pursue after money and never fulfill their function as a part of the body of Christ dear brothers and sisters don't let the devil rob you of your inheritance that's all I say Paul believed in this so much when he was writing to the Ephesian Christians he told them there are some amazing things which I want to tell you officience chapter 1 but I'm praying for you I'm praying that the god of our work Ephesians 1:17 that the god of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him he's not saying to the Ephesians please read my letter 10 times study it analyze it divide it into his subtopics and topics like they do in Bible schools and you'll understand it that's not the way that's why Jesus never sent his disciples to a Bible School in the entire Old Testament no prophet no true prophet came out of a Bible School there was a great dearth of prophets in the Old Testament and the reading the Samuels time there was no open vision there were no prophets and I think some time during that period of Samuels lifetime somebody started about school I don't know who it is probably Samuel because he thought he could train profits and you read about them in second Kings about they're called the sons of the prophets that means Bible School students and they went through their Bible School got that degrees and came out and prophesied in the Kings Court they were the false prophets you read about in the Old Testament all the false prophets came out of the Bible schools in the Old Testament and they opposed the true prophets of God like Elijah and Elijah I believe you will discover in the final day that no true prophet of God ever came out of a Bible School they learned at the feet of Jesus they lived before him they got revelation because the Bible school fills your head with knowledge you can study analyze Ephesians and never be a prophet he will be a scribe who can explain Ephesians and explain Peter 1 Peter that poor fisherman wrote something and today people are getting PhD degrees studying 1 Peter which Peter hymns will be surprised if he reads all those theses these people are writing on letter but a simple letter that he wrote they don't have revelation and you can get up in your church and preach so many things on these different books of the Bible if you don't have revelation it's useless Paul doesn't say study this and read this so many times he says I'm praying that God will give you the spirit of Revelation otherwise you'll understand 0 and I pray verse 18 not that your ma mind might understand but the eyes of your heart may be enlightened that's a difference between your mind understanding and the eyes of your heart being enlightened so that you can know the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead verse 20 and put everything under his feet and gave him to be the head over you the church I know the many years in my life after being born again many many years when I went by when I did not value revelation I grew up in an assembly where we studied the Bible like we study books of geography and history and chemistry and could understand everything or you can get a degree in that you can get a degree in chemistry or geography or Bible just got a study it have a good mind but jesus said in Matthew 11:25 I thank you Father you have hidden these things from the clever and the intelligent those of you who are clever and intelligent here you think that's a help to you no it's a handicap I'm clever and intelligent unfortunately but I consider it a handicap and I go to God and say Lord this is all right if I'm doing business in the world this is all right if I'm studying some earthly subject but when I come to the Bible this is a handicap because I have a tendency to depend on my brain to study the Scriptures and I am not in I want to come jesus said revelation is given to babes Matthew 11:25 I thank you Father you have hidden these things from the clever and intelligent and revealed them to infants and I said Lord I want to be like a infant when I come to you Scripture then I saw Jesus then the son was revealed in me the church as the body of Christ was revealed inside me boy what a difference between revelation and then you can begin to build it it's like God has given you the pattern inside of how to do my work you know in the Old Testament I showed you yesterday let me show that to you again Ezekiel 36 now if you really have come in touch with God and the Holy Spirit has come in one of the results will be Ezekiel 36 and verse 31 you will detest yourself in your own sight for all your sins I want to ask you my brother's sister was there ever a time in your life when you have said about yourself o wretched man that I am how shall I ever be free from this on christ-like habit I've got in me whatever they're on Christ like habit is whether it's your tongue or your eye or your thought of our eldest have you ever cried out like Paul or wretched man that I am if you have never cried out even once like that I'll tell you honestly you need to be born again I cried out like that many many times when goddess given me a revelation of myself as exactly like I've had exactly the same experience as John seeing Jesus and falling into old God I'm the worst sinner in the world or wretched man that I am how shall I be free from this I loathed myself in my own sight all of us have had plenty of experience at pointing and other believers in saying o wretched that wretched person and that wretched person and this wretched wife or this wretched husband that's the mark of the world mark of a godly man it says all Richard man that I am Who Shall deliver me from this body of death shall I wish a blessing for you in the coming months that you'll have many such revelations of your own wretchedness as you see the glory of Jesus Christ's it has never discouraged me I don't get condemned I get encouraged because when John fell at Jesus feet Jesus lifted him up and I've experienced that again and again when I see my own wretchedness and fall at his feet he lifts me up and I get a new area of cleansing and victory in life becomes progressively better a new understanding of the body of Christ so in relief that is in relation to our personal life in relation to the church the Lord tells the zekiel further on you know chapter 40 onwards chapter 40 onwards is a description of the New Covenant church and in this new covenant church he there's some wonderful truths there I don't have time to tell you of all of them but he says in Ezekiel 43 about the glory of God filling the house verse 5 the spirit the holy spirit Ezekiel 43 5 the holy spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court and the glory of the Lord filled the house something a revelation from God and the Lord said to him son of man this is the place of my throne where I place the soles of my feet it's a vision of the church where I will dwell among the sons of Israel for ever and he says there are there's a counterfeit church also those are the people who were 8 set death threshold by my threshold and their doorpost beside my doorpost with only the wall between me and them this is Babylon Babylon is pretty close to Jerusalem there's a wall just a wall between them they put their door next to our door they put their threshold just next to the Lord's true church threshold and then it's so close that people coming into the church can enter through the wrong door that's deception they put that door just next to mine that's the way of the devil make it look so similar use the same language but it's not the same who are deceived God will never allow those who love the truth to be deceived 2nd Thessalonians 2 verse 10 and 11 says if you love the truth and you want to be saved from sin you will never be deceived but if you don't love the truth and you don't want to be saved from sin God Himself will deceive you you'll see these two doors and you're going through Babylon because it's just next to each other this is the one verse that says that Babylon store is just next door to Jerusalem the babylons door was a hundred miles away there's no danger of somebody going there but people are seeking for Jerusalem and they see these two doors they look so similar painted alike and look so alike and they going through the wrong door they put that threshold just next to mine that doorpost and nest next to mine with only a wall between them and they've defiled my holy by their abominations you read in revelation 17 about Babylon Mystery Babylon full of abominations this is it but as for you son of man verse 10 please describe to my people the true church let me paraphrase it please describe to my people the true house of God why so that they may be ashamed of what they have built which they call the church what they have built with impurity and strife and they have dared to call it the Church of Jesus Christ that they may be ashamed let them measure what they have done worse then with my plan and this is the very important condition verse 11 if they are ashamed of all that they have done then show them the design of my church but if they are not ashamed this year well we are human it'll be like this don't show them the plan let them live in that delusion that they are building the church but if they are ashamed we saw in Ezekiel 36 about being ashamed of our own way of life here is being ashamed of the church we are built we need to be ashamed of both if it's not according to the pattern if my life is not according to God's plan if the church I'm building is not according to God's plan you say well little minor modifications it doesn't matter who said that where and then let me take a very simple example where in the New Testament you find any leader of a church being called pastor so-and-so they'd never appointed pastors in the early days they appointed elders you see how well that doesn't matter that's right you're not ashamed you will never know the pattern in the early church they said because the woman is the glory of man she must cover our head but this show that is according to the culture of those days that's right you're not ashamed you will know the pattern of the true church it could be little things that God tests us on I'm just giving you some examples and L if a man's children are not being brought up properly in his house he should not be an elder in a church do you know that I have removed elders from our churches whose children are not godly I said brother you're not fit to be an elder sorry but they'll be only one elder in the church left better one elder than two have to with somebody whose children godly but look at the multitudes of churches there are with pastors who's chillin away where do you think they care for God's Word oh no we are smarter but rather than there'll be nobody nobody close down that church rather than disobey God's Word or don't call it a church say this is just a meeting it's not a church we're not qualified to a be a church or elders it's just a meeting we're trying to encourage one another that's fine but don't call it by that holy name of the body of Jesus Christ where do you find people who are so radical I'm looking for them I find a few here and there thank God if they are ashamed show them the pattern where are the Christians who seek for the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit say Lord we want to be filled with the Holy Spirit otherwise we cannot serve you even Jesus needed to be anointed to the Holy Spirit before he went out to his ministry even though he lived as such a holy life where are we do you think people are seeking earnestly oh well I've tried brother I prayed a few times for the baptism the Holy Spirit didn't get it never mind I've got many more important things to do you're not ashamed you'll never be baptized only spirit in a hundred years forget it you'll just be one who warms the seats every Sunday morning by sitting there you'll never be an effective member of the body of Christ I I never knew what it was to be an effective member of the body of Christ who Jesus baptized me in the Holy Spirit and the reason that I sought it was I say Lord Jesus I'm not better than you you never dare to go out into your ministry till you are anointed with the Holy Spirit Who am I you lived a holy life for thirty years and you didn't dare to God in the ministry till the Spirit of God came upon you I wouldn't dare do did not only the baptism the Holy Spirit I don't dare to stand in a pulpit a single time without seeking God to be anointed afresh with fresh oil not with thirty years old oil fresh oil to be anointed with fresh oil do you seek that you see desperately need for it brother that's what we need to build a church according to the pattern revelation in the New Testament the Bible speaks about mysteries Ephesians chapter 3 Paul says not only Christ was revealed in him we saw that in Galatians chapter 1 we need to revelations one is Christ was revealed in him and the other he says in Ephesians 3:9 to bring to light the administration of the mystery which was hidden in God who created all things he says earlier in verse 4 when you read you can understand my insight into this mystery of Christ verse 5 which in other generations was not made known but now by revelation of the Holy Spirit has been made known to his holy apostles and prophets but the holy apostles and prophets got that revelation to share that revelation with the Saints of course today's people don't even believe in apostles and prophets that's the sad thing in Christendom today I often ask Christians what is the foundation of the church many people say Jesus Christ as he got to show me scripture in 1 Corinthians 3 we are told about the foundation of our life 1 Corinthians 3:10 there's no other foundation that anybody can lay than Jesus Christ that is the only foundation for a godly life Jesus Christ Plus nobody you don't need to be connected to any man but when it comes to building the church turn to Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19 you are no longer strangers and aliens but you're part of God's household that is God's house that's the church and that is built listen carefully on the foundation of the apostles and prophets are you being built on a church which is founded on apostles and prophets or you are like one of these modern Christians who say I don't believe in all that I have only one person I who is my leader that's Jesus Christ you sound very spiritual brother but it's not according to scripture this church was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets what Jesus Christ were the chief Cornerstone you know in those days when they built a house the first thing they laid was the cornerstone the cornerstone had to be absolutely perfect in three dimensions 90 degrees and they put that in the corner if that was even one degree crooked the whole building will grow crooked if that was on the horizontal level if it was one degree out the whole building will go crooked it had to be perfect 90 degrees in the vertical 90 degrees in the horizontal 90 degrees in all three dimensions that'd be perfect and that's what Jesus was and the apostles and prophets put their stones in line with that that's how they built it and there was the big foundation Jesus Christ the cornerstone and all the apostles and prophets on this the church was built of course in the early days that was those first apostles and prophets but we read in Revelation chapter 2 when only John was alive among the first eleven the Lord tells Ephesus you have tested those who claim to be apostles and found them to be false what is the need to test if there was only one apostle left God has given to the church Ephesians 4:11 it says after he ascended up to heaven Ephesians 4 10 and 11 he gave apostles those are not the apostles he appointed on earth after he ascended up to heaven he gave to the church apostles and prophets and that is for the building of the church we read today we have individual people who say yeah yeah I know I gone to this meeting I've read this book I've read that book on house churches and this church and that church and they tried to build the church in its absolute chaos because they don't follow scripture there are two great mysteries spoken off in Scripture a mystery is a secret that only God can reveal to you and if God doesn't reveal it you won't know it and that two great mysteries mentioned in Scripture there are many mysteries mystery of iniquity mystery of Babylon mysteries of the kingdom of heaven one crime at you thirteen but great mysteries only two the first great mystery is 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 great is the mystery of godliness the great mystery of how one can live a holy life a scribe can never understand it it's a mystery that God will reveal to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness who are not at all satisfied with being defeated by any sin who are not only seeking to overcome dirty thoughts what about if you have a dirty dream now a dirty dream is not conscious sin let me put your mind to rest on that you get dirty dreams because in the past you had dirty thoughts Jesus never had a dirty dream because he never had dirty thoughts if you fill your mind with dirty thoughts that goes into your subconscious and it comes up when you're sleeping like you know when food that's too much you vomit it out it comes up like that you fill your mind with dirty thoughts it's sort of regurgitates and comes into your mind with night in a dream it could be panicky dreams because you're filling your mind during the day with panicky thoughts or dirty dreams what is your reaction when you have a dirty dream at night Thea logically you can get up and say oh well that's unconscious in if you are really pursuing after righteousness you'll get up and weep on your pillow and say oh god why in the world did I have that I hate it I know it's unconscious sin but I hate it because that means somewhere in the past I got a little polluted in my thought life I want to hate that not the dream I'm not feeling guilty about the dream but somewhere in the past I was a little unfaithful with my eyes or my thoughts and that's the reason I got this Lord I repent of it I hate it I want to get rid of it that's a godly man Oh wretched man that I am not to comfort himself theologically and says that's unconscious sin that doesn't matter such people will never understand godliness will never build a church I will tell you that they will talk about theories there very few godly people on earth in my lifetime I've met very few who are even interested in that level of godliness so all superficial godliness that most people have theories great is the secret of godliness and the answer lies in Christ who came in the flesh that's why I say I do not have much time to listen to people who have not understood that Jesus came in the flesh and was tempted exactly like me and did not sing he was tempted many a times when I be in my younger days I remember tempted severely in different areas I would say to myself Lord Jesus when you were in Nazareth you were tempted just like this and what did you do I want to do the same thing I want to walk in your footsteps give me the power of the Holy Spirit that's how I overcame the revelation that Christ was tempted exactly like me in every area changed my life changed my family life I who was a slave to discouragement frequent anger and rude words to my wife and all that they disappeared dear brothers I started out in the pit just like the rest of you but Jesus keeps me from falling that's my testimony he can do for you what he did for me but you got to be honest you should not pretend to be holy when he or not cry out to God and ask Jesus to show you how he was tempted like you but did not sin ask him to fill you with the Holy Spirit ask him to give you revelation you can understand it with your head now as I have said it many of you who understood in your head for years Christ was tempted like me you get all the right answers you take all the right answers but you're defeated by sin which shows you haven't understood the mystery you're a scribe now ask God for revelation on that which you've understood for so many years some of you may have understood for years that Christ was tempted like you but why you defeated them it has not become the secret of godliness you're defeated by sin ask God to show you this is the first great mystery we need revelation on the second great ministry is an Ephesians chapter 5 verse 32 it says this mystery is great but I'm speaking with reference to Christ and the church the second great mystery is the church it's it's a mystery I don't expect people to understand it who don't fear God I don't expect people to understand it who don't who's seeking their own but it's a great mystery that God can reveal to us God revealed to Paul this mystery a mystery in which it says here that there is no Jew or Gentile all are the same you say what's the great mystery about that you know one of the great privileges we have had in Bangalore is that we have in our church right almost from the beginning people of completely different communities who in the world cannot get along with each other when we started rather yin and I we were it began with us and I don't know whether you know I belong to a Malayalee community he belongs to the anglo-indian community and you can look throughout India to see how much cooperation there is between malala's and angular Indians in any area see if they do business together see if they appreciate one another you'll never find the Malolos about their own club and the Anglin is a got their own club this is one bunch of Pharisees there's another bunch of Pharisees and in a wonderful plan of God he brought us together and United us with deep respect for one another and then add it to our number people from all types of communities now unfortunately our dear brothers in Tamil Nadu not have that privilege because they're all to millions in every Church our dear brothers in Kerala don't have that privilege there you go to Kerala jazz they're all malleolus we've had that privilege in Bangalore but where we come together in a conference and we learn to appreciate one another of different communities here you find like in the last Kerala Conference three or four Tamil brothers were the main speakers go all through Kerala and see if that happens anywhere else it doesn't happen anywhere else you go to Tamil Nadu all the main big speakers in Tamil Nadu are Tamil eons but the ten millions welcome me how's that this is the mystery of the body of Christ where there's absolutely no difference if you look at a person according to his community pray for revelation on the body of Christ if you look at a person according to intellectual level pray for revelation that in God's eyes there's no difference between this and that dear brothers and sisters it's a mystery many others don't have this privilege I've gone to Romania all everybody in the church is a Romanian they don't get a chance to find out the mystery of the body of Christ but think of the privilege you have and God puts you together with people who are completely different from you in language culture community intellectual level and you seek fellowship with people who are effort to look at a lower level than you how many of you brothers and sisters sitting in Bangalore seek fellowship with the poor brothers from Tamilnadu come some of you are chameleons but you're not willing to speak Tamil to them I'm not a Tamilian I learn Tamil to speak to them it's part of the body of Christ do you seek fellowship with them they have enriched me so much but you with your high intellectual level why is it that so many years your life is so shallow you need revelation on the body of Jesus Christ it's a wonderful thing God has called us to build the Church of Jesus Christ and it can be only built through Revelation and that can come if we humble ourselves and revere God and say Lord we want to satisfy your heart and build what something according to your plan on this earth and God will help you wherever you are let's pray Heavenly Father give us revelation we pray in the areas where for years we've had only intellectual understanding and where the devil has fooled us to think we have understood something when it is only intellectual and our life remains unchanged our church is not expressing the mystery of the body of Christ please have mercy upon us each one many of us here are seeking to build the Church of Jesus Christ it doesn't look like that at all but help us in the days to come to build the body of Christ we pray in Jesus name Amen

Channel: CFC India

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

Id: hdtTWU-pyuE

Length: 59min 4sec (3544 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 08 2018