Trusting the Father's Almighty Power - Zac Poonen - September 12, 2014

even when you share God's Word at home with your children or someone visiting you or you write a scripture or a word in an email or share with someone on a cell phone sharing God's Word is an awesome responsibility says in 1 Peter 4:11 whoever speaks let him speak as it were the utterances of God if I speak in the name of Jesus Christ whether in a pulpit or in personal conversation representing Christ I have to speak as God Himself speaking through me my mouth being the mouth of God and so that in the last part of verse 11 so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to him be glory forever so everything must be for the glory of God that means there must be zero glory for the one who speaks so I have to speak as God as if God is speaking through me God Himself is to speak through me I have to hear him a right and at the end of it all there must be no glory that comes to me it's an awesome responsibility I've been preaching for 50 years I started preaching when I was 23 and I still have that fear that I may not speak exactly what God wants me to say that at the end of it all I may take some little credit for myself that's why I have the habit of very often listening to myself on the internet listening to messages I preached I do it often to judge myself to see for myself so that I could do it better next time I would recommend that to everyone here whoever speaks the Word of God don't take it lightly it's a far more awesome responsibility than you think and what about those who listen like all of you are listening today I want to give you a word as well Luke chapter 8 Luke chapter 8 and verse 18 take care therefore take care how you listen we can sit in God's presence and let our minds wander here and there now if a man is not speaking as the mouthpiece of God then of course we can't blame a listener for allowing his mind to wander here and there I've sat through many messages which was so boring it was obvious that God was not speaking through them my mind wandered but if and where God is really speaking you better be careful how you listen it's like if Jesus were here and speaking to you and you want look here and there and you allow your mind to wander can you think of a greater insult to Christ I mean even when an individual is speaking to you if you look here and there and wonder your mind wanders and then guy knows that he's and you're not even listening to him I wonder if Jesus thinks like that about some people who sit in church that they don't it's not so much where we look but that our mind is not serious about listening to what he has to say to us take care how you listen because to him who has and I want to paraphrase it that means when someone is has received something from God located in and he is faithful to do what he has heard more will be given to him and if we are not getting more from God we sort of come to a certain level in our Christian life is like you know you study up to the fourth grade and you never get past fourth grade for the next 10 years because you're satisfied because a lot of others are only at 2nd grade most Christians are in second grade you reached fourth grade so hey I'm better than others in any case and we're satisfied that's one of the greatest tragedies in the Christian life where we don't get anymore and that's because we have not been faithful with what he has given us if we are faithful with what he has given us it says more will be given him and I look at it like this that every year I should be getting more more from God more revelation on his word more understanding of his nature more partaking of his nature more overcoming sin sins that defeated me last year should not defeat me this year that's the meaning of receiving more but if we are not faithful locate 18 last part with what we have received then even what you think you have will be taken away from you and I've seen that with some Christians who when they were first converted had overcome certain habits and given up certain practices that were questionable and 10 years later they're doing it again how is that you think that ten years later this should be far better and ten years later they're worse than what they were when they were converted because what they had was taken away from them I've seen that happen with numerous believers so I want to say to all of you take care how you listen be thankful if you're in a church where you're being warned seriously constantly to take care how you listen I want to be in such a church all my life where I'm constantly exhorted and warned to take care how I listen to take care how I speak to take care of how I listen let me now turn to what is the burden on my heart today John's Gospel chapter 20 these are almost the first words the first commission that the Lord gave to his disciples after his resurrection we know that later on forty days later he told them to go and preach the gospel everywhere to go and make disciples mark 16 and Matthew 28 well-known words the Great Commission go and preach the gospel and a lot of people have taken that seriously go and make disciples but on the day of his resurrection there was another commission he gave which many Christians don't think about this is the day he rose up from the dead and we know that he the first day of the week John 20 Mary Magdalene and the others came and Jesus on the evening of that same evening verse 19 this is the day of resurrection Sean 20 19 it was evening on that day the first day of the week when the doors were shut and the disciples were living in fear of the Jews Jesus came and said to them peace be to you he always speaks that word first he wants our heart to be at rest you know before he was born or when he was born rather the Angels came to the Shepherd's and said peace on earth that's what he came for he came to give us a piece which the Bible says passes all understanding he came to give us a piece in our heart that nothing on earth can disturb and my dear brothers and sisters don't ever be satisfied in your life with anything less than that peace I find that many Christians don't pursue it there's so much cause for unrest in this world you know we have so many responsibilities at home life is a struggle not only for believers for unbelievers - the world is going from bad to worse model standards are going down in those threats of war and terrorism and danger I mean in our lifetime we've seen such a degeneration of things in the world that has a great need to learn to have this peace in our hearts pursue it say Lord I want to enter into that Sabbath rest that Hebrews 4 says you have for your people a perpetual inner rest no matter what happens in the world around us peace PDU and then he gives them the Great Commission this is the first commission that he gave again a second time verse 21 peace be with you and here's the commission as the father sent me I send you I want you to think of that each of you my dear brothers and sisters as a commission that the Lord is giving us if you have never taken it seriously take it from today even you young people it's for you too as the father sent Jesus into this world so send I you the only thing he did in this world that we cannot do is to die for the sins of the world that's not our calling but in all the other things the ministry with which the father sent Jesus into the world he says I'm sending you in the same way and then you know that's an impossible calling really to show this world what God is like that's what Jesus came to do if you turn to John chapter one you'll see what he did on this earth John chapter one it says Jesus when he came to earth he explained the father John chapter one verse 14 the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw something we saw his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth Jesus manifested the glory of the father through his earthly life we all agree there and then connect that with this verse as the father sent me so send I you verse 18 no one has seen God at any time but the only begotten son who's in the bosom of the Father he has explained him that's what Jesus did on earth he explained the father not just with words but by his life so that on his last day on earth in John chapter 14 he told his disciples when Philip asked him in John 14 verse 8 Lord show us the father and that's enough for us he said you don't have to see the father verse 9 john 14:9 the last part he who has seen me has seen the father now the father is a distinct person from Jesus Christ but the Lord Jesus life was such like such a transparent glass that he saw him you seen the father it's like you see somebody through a transparent glass you've seen him I mean he was on the other side of the glass but you saw the person that's how Jesus life was he had just washed their feet he said that's what the father's like seeking to serve you and as the father sent me so send I you our calling is that just like Jesus said if you've seen me you've seen the father to be able to say to others if you've seen me you've seen a little bit of what Jesus is like my dear brothers and sisters please see that as your calling if you don't see it as your calling you will never pursue it we'll be satisfied with a low substandard Christian life because most Christians around us are satisfied with that low substandard Christian life and yours level may be slightly better than theirs you're happy with it I mean if I if I did that maybe you haven't seen this so you're not as responsible as I am but I've seen it in Scripture and if I live like that I'll be guilty before Almighty God because I've seen very clearly my calling is to manifest Christ by my character by my behavior by the way I react to the way people treat me or say things to me or how I live at home and how I handle money and in every situation my calling is to manifest Jesus Christ you may not have seen that clearly okay I hope you'll see it but the longer you delay seeing it I want to say you're missing out on God's purpose for your life I wish somebody had told me this when I got converted at the age of 19 - I took a long time to discover it because it's hardly anybody who treats is it has anybody spoken to you on this verse John 20 verse 21 that just like Jesus manifested the father we are to manifest Jesus Christ as the father sent me so send I you as he explained the father no man no one has seen God at any time we read that but Jesus explained him now we say no one has seen Jesus Christ at any time what Zack explained him by his life or you put your name there your wife has never seen Jesus Christ but she saw you and you explained by your life at home what Jesus was like oh your husband has never seen Jesus Christ but you explained by your life to your husband what Jesus was like is that scripture or not it is that is our calling and it's an awesome calling too means it's not something I get scared off I say boy what an honor what a privilege is far greater than being the President of the United States he represents a country I'm representing Almighty God and so are you that's what you're supposed to be have you seen it brothers are you excited by it it is impossible to do this that's why immediately after Jesus said this turned to John 20 again John 20 verse 21 as the father sent me so send I you know I want to paraphrases words as the father sent me so send I you and therefore you must explain me by your life to others just like I have explained the father through thirty three and a half years on earth and I know this is impossible therefore verse 22 I'm breathing on you receive the Holy Spirit that's why we need to receive the Holy Spirit what a tragedy that people have thought they need the part of the Holy Spirit to become better preachers or to speak in tongues or to heal the sick well although I believe in all those gifts and in some measure I've experienced all of them but that's not primary first time Jesus breathed on his disciples and said receive the Holy Spirit it was in connection with his having told them you have to represent me and show me to the world just like I showed the Father and he needed the Holy Spirit to show the Father to other to the world and I need the Holy Spirit to show Jesus to others and if you're defeated in your life I'll tell you ask Jesus to breathe on you and fill you with the Holy Spirit yeah if you find you're not fulfilling this calling go to God and say Lord fill me with the Holy Spirit and don't be satisfied with a theology that says oh you got everything when you were converted I'm not interested in theology I'm interested in reality that it's manner that if I mean if the evidence is not if my lamp is not burning what are you saying that I've got oil in my lamp there is no oil in my lamp it's not burning and I need to seek God and get that oil I need to pay the price there are certain things in the Christian life that are free forgiveness of sins that's free but there are certain other things we have to pay a price for everything in the Christian life is not free I'll tell you that I'll show it to you from Scripture if you want a spirit-filled life continuously I mean it's true when we are born again the Spirit of God comes in and we become children of God we could cries out of our father it's the beginning of the Christian library if you want a continuous spirit filled life if you wanted to be said about you as a man or a woman full of the Holy Spirit the certain people described in the Acts of the Apostles as full of the Holy Spirit meaning they were continuously filled with the Holy Spirit we read about Peter himself being filled with the spirit thrice in acts 2 and acts 4 three times at least man continuously a woman continuously full of the Holy Spirit there's a price to be paid I'll show you a few scriptures you know in Matthew 25 first of all since oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit let me show you the story of the virgins there were five virgins who didn't have enough oil to be ready for the coming of Christ and they went and when the bridegroom came and they the lamps were dying and they went to the wise virgins and you know what the wise virgins said they said can you give us some oil Matthew 25 verse 8 the foolish said to the wise give us some Isle and the wise virgins said verse 9 go and buy it it's not free go and buy it pay a price for it you have to pay a price and I'm absolutely convinced that it is because most Christians are not willing to pay the price that they are not really filled with the Holy Spirit and that's the reason they're defeated and defeated and defeated and that's the reason why they behave in on christ-like ways and speaking on christ-like ways very often in private and particularly with those who are close to them in their home there is a price to be paid and it's good for us to say to ourselves Lord I'm defeated by sin because I'm not willing to pay the price I want it cheap and it's not cheap here's another another example these are the words of Jesus Matthew 13 verse 44 the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field which a man finds a treasure it's not just forgiveness of sins a treasure to be filled with God's own nature that's the treasure he finds it and from joy over it how does he get that treasure listen read it carefully he sells all that he has and buys it it's not free it's not free you got to buy it and you got to sell all that you have to get it that means all that I consider valuable in my life I say I don't want it I want this treasure that man will get it the others will attend meetings and listen to sermons and sing songs and remain in the same level all their life then he repeated it again I'll tell you the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls was 45 and he found one pearl of great price and it was not free this is not forgiveness of sins that's free this is something else he sold all that he had and he bought it he tried to get it cheap and free there are things in the Christian life that are free and probably all of you have got those free things I want to ask you whether you have got the things that you had to pay a price for those other things for that you have to pay a price and you'll never get it you'll never get it in a hundred years unless you're willing to pay a price for it I might as well tell you that Jesus said it 10 turn to revelation 3 I've all these verses I quoted by the way Matthew 25 Matthew 13 are the words of Jesus himself he knew better than anyone here's another word of Jesus I'm again quoting the words of Jesus Christ revelation 3 here was an elder brother of a Church in Laodicea he is to sit back and thought I'm an elder brother everybody respects me in this church and probably they did and there was nobody to tell him that in God's eyes he was wretched miserable verse 17 revelation 3:17 poor blind and naked he had to wait till he got a letter from an Apostle John who told him hey let me tell you what God thinks of you you elder and Lady sia everybody in your church appreciates you and you think you're a great guy and you think you have so much knowledge and you're well off and you're wealthy but I'll tell you what God thinks of you Revelation 3:17 Jesus Christ things you are wretched miserable poor blind and naked he was an elder in a church don't you think he was born again or did they have nominal Christians even in the first century that was only one church in laodicea those days not like today where there are a hundred churches in a town one church in laodicea all the Christians were there there was an elder and he was wretched miserable poor blind and naked you know why I'll tell you is how can he called it how can this problem be solved how can he get rid of this wretchedness and miserable in misery and poverty and blindness verse 18 he says I give you some advice Jesus says buy something from me that's not free if you want to be free from being a miserable Christian buy something if you want to be free from being a wretched blind Christian buy something the Lord says buy it from me how is it that a New Testament which speaks about salvation being free talks about these verses where Jesus says you got to buy something there lies the reason why many Christians have not possessed that higher Christian life that God wants us to have Jesus said I came not only to give life but to give abundant life John 10 verse 10 there's a lot of difference between the two in the illustration I've often used as here's a person who's sick and dying in a hospital bed with tubes in his nose and in his veins and all over struggling to breathe and you ask the doctor is he dead no he's got life he's alive he's to can't get up with so weak he's helpless he's got life now compare him with someone who's playing soccer on a field running around for 90 minutes that's a bun in life this is life a lot of Christians are like this person in the hospital but just were barely surviving saying I'm not dead I got life I'm born again I've accepted Christ the Lord Jesus came to give us a lot more than that for that fear to pay a price I counsel you I advise you to buy from me real spiritual gold buy from me those white garments that don't have a spot on it a life free from conscious sin buy it from me and buy from me and anointing for your eyes so that you can see I believe does a great need for that you know with our eyes we see many things but we don't know their value you need anointed eyes to see the value of this and the value of that you know like a person who goes to buy diamonds can be fooled by cheap glass which is worth nothing and a real diamond which is worth thousands of dollars in the same way without the anointing we're not able to see as we live on this earth what are the things that really have value what are the things really worth fighting for the world is full of people who fight for position for sex for money all types of things but when our eyes are anointed and we see we see the things that are really worth fighting for it's God's nature very few people see that as the most important thing to behave in a christ-like way 24 hours a day seven days a week in my home that is the most valuable thing it's not how much I earn every year not how well my business is doing I start how much I've got in my bank account such people I have to save by this anointing so that your eyes can see we can sit back happy that our life is sort of settled and where we're not struggling like a lot of other people who are settle and we got a house to live in and we're okay you think so how much of Christ is being manifested in your life dear brothers and sisters we have only one life to live you cannot live this life again if you miss out on this life you missed it forever I don't want to get up to heaven and wish I had known some things that I will know then on earth I want to know it now because I know once I get past this life I'll never get a chance to live it again how many times I prayed to the Lord and said Lord odda don't show me at the judgment seat of Christ something I should have known here on this earth no show to me now don't show me at the judgment seat Lord something I should have known on this earth what was really valuable if you find me going out of things which are perishing discipline me punish me do what you like but wake me up from my stupor in my sleep and anoint my eyes that I can see what is really valuable and make me willing to pay the price to buy it show you another verse everything in the Christian life is not free Philippians 3 Paul Paul was I believe the son of a very very rich businessman because we know he was from Tarsus Tarsus was not in Israel only people who were doing business went to Tarsus they were rich businessman Paul's father was a rich businessman that's why he was in Tarsus and in those days rich businessman sent their sons to be trained to get into the Jewish Sanhedrin positions of influence trained to be trained in the Bible School of Gamaliel and Paul's father could afford to send him there but when he became a Christian he lost his inheritance he was disinherited by his father and mother he lost all his inheritance he got nothing I've met Christians like that who come from Hindu homes who lost their entire inheritance the moment they became a Christian they had to pay a price which probably none of us sitting here ever had to pay how much money have you lost because he because you became a Christian Paul lost everything and he says here in verse seven Philippians 3:7 whatever things were gain to me I counted as loss for the sake of Christ and more than that I count everything to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and listen to this for whom I have suffered the loss of everything his inheritance the respectable position he had in Jewish society as a possible member of the top ruling Sanhedrin of the Jewish community lost position lost money inheritance and he says you know what I call it what I lost rubbish verse eight everything outside of Christ is rubbish in order that I may gain Christ so you go to Paul and say how did you gain Christ who I had to give up everything oh and you say I didn't have to give up all that to get Christ there's a difference between the Christ he got in the Christ you got he says in order to gain Christ I had to suffer the loss of all things was he talking about forgiveness of sins he's the one who preached that forgiveness of sins is free Paul himself but he says to gain Christ I had to lose everything like the one who got the pearl of great price or the treasure hidden in the field they sold all that they had and that's the word of the Lord to us today I advise you to buy from me that which you don't have and then we shall have this continuous spirit filled life where we shall live it an inner rest at all times and from that rest God can manifest because his throne is in our hearts he can manifest his nature and when you speak it will be like the Oracles of God because you don't seek anything for yourself if you don't seek any honor you're not seeking a position or honor anything you just want God to be glorified in your life and when you come to the end of your life you'll be able to look back over a life lived in a worthwhile way and when you stand at the judgment seat of Christ and your life is reviewed as all of our lives will be reviewed that the judgment seat of Christ will be able to look over our life and bow in deep humility and brokenness before our Savior and say thank you Lord that you opened my blind eyes to see what was really valuable and not to live for the things that now I see have perished in that day we will discover everything around us perishing and that day you will discover who was wise and who was foolish and he will discover many Christians who sat in good churches were foolish they comforted themselves that they belong to a good church oh the fellowship here is so good we're like a family it's so great that may be true there are people who sit in clubs and cults who say the same thing oh we care for one another we help one another there are cult groups that do that the Freemasons do it they help one another it's more than that are you manifesting Christ the life of Jesus was so much at rest you know he operated from a position of rest there was never any time in his life when he was in a panic because first of all he didn't want anything on this earth he knew that whatever he needed on this earth the father would give him he didn't starve he was not a homeless beggar at any time in his life the father would never allow Jesus to be a homeless living on the side of the road no but the father decided how much he was to have and what type of home he was to live in and how much his income should be father determined it all and even never never sought anything he was absolutely happy with if he saw that the father gave holes for the foxes and nests for the birds and not a very comfortable place for him to sleep he accepted it he said that's fine if the father's determined that he gives a place for the foxes and the birds but not for me fine he was perfectly at rest in all situations because he believed that his father was Almighty this is one of the most important things for us to recognize and believe deep down in our heart you know we had it says Jesus explained the father and he says to us as the father sent me so send I you I have to explain the father to I have to explain by my life how are wonderful Almighty God I have in heaven as my father that's what Jesus manifested that's why he told us to pray when you pray don't just say our Father but say our Father who art in heaven that's the most important part of it everybody may have a father but I have a father who's in heaven who runs this universe whose Almighty was all-wise perfect in love this is my father the world people in the world don't have a father like me imagine having a father who loves me intensely who is perfectly wise there's no one like him in the whole world who can plan my life and tell me exactly what to do in different situations because he's full of wisdom and who's almighty who can control every single circumstance that can come into my life what a blessed man I am to have such a father Jesus lived like that that's why his life was at rest and it's because Christians do not know God as their father like this that there is so much unrest and doubt and anxiety and fear and panic so dear brothers and sisters I want to urge you to know this father this is the secret to the Christian life Jesus came to explain the father to us and I know my life has changed when I came to know this father it's my father the Holy Spirit has come to us to reveal this father to us that's why you know let me give you a few examples of how Jesus was read look at Luke chapter 4 as one example Luke chapter 4 we read the very first sermon that he preached in Nazareth it says in Luke 4:16 he came to Nazareth and he'd been there many times as a little boy as a teenager attended the synagogue Sabbath day regularly but this is the first time that they ever asked him to preach he was thirty years old now and the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him you know the is wrapped in Scrolls different books of the Bible each book was in a scroll here was a scroll of Isaiah he took it that was a sovereignty of God that they gave that book to him then he turned that scroll to find Isaiah 61 I mean chapters were not there those days but he found the place where the Spirit of the Lord has anointed me Luke 4:18 and then he closed the book and he began to speak about how God doesn't care only for the Israelites when he first began to speak you know they said boy and he said the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing verse 21 they said ah that's right we are the privileged people of God that people in the synagogue said and they spoke well of him wandering at the gracious words that fell from his lips and says this is Joseph's son when they were angry with him they call him Mary's son that means they don't know the father is but they when they're happy with him they say this is Joseph's son that's just a way by which you can know what they were saying each time and then he went on to say hey I want to tell you something that God doesn't care for you Jews alone he cares for everybody in the world and I have come for them as well for remember in the days of Elijah when God wanted to feed Elijah when there was a famine verse 25 and 26 he did not send him to any Widow in Israel but he sent into a widow among the Gentiles in Zarephath outside of Israel why did God send his greatest servant of that time Elijah to a Gentile to bless that woman and her son so that they would not die when many widows in Israel died God cares for the Gentiles he sent his greatest servant to a widow among the Gentiles and he says in verse 27 there are many lepers in Israel who were never healed in the time of Elijah but one Syrian man called naman he got lensed God cares for Gentiles and that made these people furious I mean just two minutes ago they were saying what gracious words came out of his mouth this they got so angry verse 28 they rose up and took him outside the city imagine two hundred people grabbing hold of one man and taking him outside they wanted to throw him down a cliff was Jesus in a panic how would we be if two hundred people got upset in a sermon and interrupted the sermon and pulled us out from the pulpit and saying we're going to kill you right now take you to the top of the cliff we're going to throw you down I don't I can picture Jesus there quietly going with them he knew that every hair on his head was numbered he knew that not a sparrow would fall without his father's knowledge and he knew that he was of more value than many sparrows so he quietly went with them and while they were all arguing as to which of the two three clips to throw him over he just quietly walked away that's what it says verse 30 he just went away and by the time they had decided which cliff to throw him over and looked around he wasn't there not a hair on his head could be touched without his father's permission how about us 1 John 4 is one of my favorite verses 1 John 4 where 17 we got it made out in big letters and I put it in our meeting hall for everybody to back in Bangalore for everyone to see 1 John 4 verse 18 the verse 17 the last part as Jesus is so are we in this world to believe that you believe that God loves you as he loved his son it's one of the great things he prayed in John 17 23 he said father I pray that the world may know that you loved them just like you love me it took me 16 or 17 years after I was born again to know that truth which was written in my Bible all along I had a Bible with me from the time I was a child but I was 36 years old before I discovered that the father loved me as I as he loved Jesus I could have come to that life of rest earlier if I had believed it if I had read the scripture more carefully and taken life more seriously and if I was willing to by the truth pay the price for it as Jesus is so are we in this world he said that to his disciples the hairs on your head are numbered think of another time in John 19 there are many places like this you know the time and he was in a boat and the storm came and everybody was in a panic and he was fast asleep he was just quietly get up and still the storm here's another example in John 19 sorry John 18 no John 19 right and Jesus is standing before Pilate in John 19 and it says in verse 9 the last part Jesus gave him no answer see this is like a judge in a court and you've been accused and you're brought before the judge and he's a very strict judge and he asks you a question where are you from John 19 verse 9 he gave no answer and Pilate got angry I didn't judge getting angry in the court picture yourself like this in a court the judge is angry with you he says you don't speak to me verse 10 don't you know that I have authority to kill you or to set you free and Jesus is unruffled unruffled it's a beautiful word not ruffled at all it's just the same and quietly says to Pilate you can have no authority over me unless my father gives it to you many years ago I had to stand in a court in India taken there by religious people when I stood before the magistrate and he had to write a judgement on me I couldn't say it loudly I was standing 30 feet away from him I said softly you have nothing no authority over me except what my father gives you you're going to write what my father says and he had to write that he could not condemn me my brothers and sisters whatever situation you may face in the days to come according to your faith be it unto you learn to trust your father as he cared for Jesus to care for you because He loves us as he loved him he was at rest because he knew that not a hair of my head can be touched those are not verses in Scripture Jesus didn't have verses in Scripture there was a reality in his heart he knew the father and here he was explaining the father to Pilate this is John 1:18 he explained the father you have no authority over me except what my father gives you we're told in 1 Timothy chapter 6 1 Timothy chapter 6 Paul tells Timothy fight the good fight of faith remember Timothy is probably around 4550 years old he's been with Paul 25 years wholehearted radical the best of Paul's co-workers and he tells him fight the good fight of faith dear brothers sisters don't ever think that you become so old and so mature that you don't need exhortations like flee from the love of money verse 10 and 11 imagine if you been a wholehearted disciple for 25 years and a great apostle writes to you brother flee from the love of money would you feel insulted if some older brother wrote to you I think you should flee from the love of money I think a lot of believers would feel insulted what does he think of me it's not really that in 2nd Timothy 2:22 he told him to flee from sexual lust imagine if an older brother wrote that to you after you've been with him for 25 years Timothy was humble enough to say yeah I need that exhortation have been wholehearted for 25 years but I need that exhortation to free from sexual lusts to flee from the love of money it's because people don't do that that they get entrenched in these things and they miss out on God's purpose for their life fight the good fight of faith verse 12 take hold of eternal life don't just have some theology who says yeah I got it on a life twenty-five years ago when I accepted Christ take hold of it and I charge you listen to this in 13 I charge you in the presence of God and in the presence of Jesus Christ verse 13 who testified a good confession before Pontius Pilate that Pilate could not touch him without his father's permission he reminds Timothy of that keep the commandment without stain remember the confession that Jesus made before Pontius Pilate you have no power over me except what my father gives you Timothy one day when you're caught and somebody wants to cut your head off remember the confession Jesus made before Pontius Pilate there was another confession Jesus made before Pontius Pilate I want you to turn back and see that in John chapter 18 there were two confessions he made and both were linked to each other John 18 he sat in verse he was telling Pilate and verse 36 John 18:36 My Kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world My servants would fight every believer who fights with somebody else his is thereby proclaiming my kingdom is of this world every husband who fights with his wife is thereby proclaiming my kingdom is of this world and that's why I'm going to fight for my rights when my wife tries to take it away from me or my husband tries to take it away from me my kingdom is of this world how dare you do not respect me Jesus says my kingdom is not of this world that's why my servants don't fight are you a servant of Jesus Christ you will never fight he won't fight with believers you won't fight with unbelievers everyone who fights his kingdom is of this world whatever theology you may believe whether you're Calvinist Armenian whatever it is call yourself what you like if you fight your kingdom is of this world Paul told Timothy remember the confession that Jesus made before Pontius Pilate My Kingdom is not of this world my kingdom is from above and my father gives it to me you can't take it from me you can't write a judgement on me without my father's permission he was so much at rest this is our father his father is our Father Jesus told Mary Magdalene on the day of resurrection go and tell my brothers my father your father are the same he read that in John 20 verse 17 go to my brothers and tell them I ascend to my father and your father it's the same my father is your father that's what happened on the Resurrection Day we must know our father like that we will need to know that more and more in the days to come to believe the sovereignty of God we give you one more example before I close and that's in second Samuel and this is an Old Testament person who's called a man after God's own heart David there was a time in David's life when his own son threw him out of the throne and David had to run for his life and when David was running for his life thrown out by his son from the throne there was a relative of King Saul who had been waiting for this opportunity to get it David because you know David had taken the throne from his relative King Saul and that man's name was shimmy I read in 2nd Samuel 16 when David was running away there came a man of the family of whose name was shimmy I family of the house of Saul and he came cursing David continually he wouldn't dare to do it when he was King but now David was running for his life and he was happy this guy who pushed my relative Saul out of the throne now he himself is being judged by God his son is throwing him out and he threw stones at David can you imagine throwing stones at a man after God's own heart there are many people who do that even today and shimmy I cursed him or seven get out get out you man of bloodshed you worthless fellow the Lord has judged you you know how people sometimes curse us saying God is punishing you for what you did you know some problem comes in your life and somebody comes to you since God's punishing you for what you did think of this story it wasn't true an angry man is never true he never has light on the truth and a be shy verse 9 david's soldier said let me go and cut off his fellows head how dare he curse the king and listen to david's answer the middle of verse 10 if the Lord has permitted him to curse me Who am I to say why have you cursed me see this understanding of the sovereignty of God that David had God has permitted him to curse I will keep my mouth shut do you believe that when somebody yells at you God has permitted that person to yell at you do you believe that when your wife misunderstands your your husband misunderstands you God has permitted it don't be like the children of Adam and defend yourself and prove believe in the sovereignty of God your life will be at rest otherwise you'll spend your life complaining complaining complaining I'm like this but people are treating me like this I'm so good but people are so bad around me when will you finish with the brother/sister when will you become like Jesus when will you at least become like David says if God has permitted it okay that's fine of course the greater example is Jesus a son of David who lived at a much higher level his life was addressed because he knew the father he this is how he explained the father to a world was just full of those who fought and grumbled and complain and were in panic and upset with others who treated them badly and he says to us today as the father sent me into this world to show his nature I send you into your home into your office into your business into your factory into a world which does not know me show them what I'm like and you say Lord I can't do it that's right Lord breathe on me fill me with the Holy Spirit make me what you want me to be not just once not at the end of a meeting like this alone but every day when you rise in the morning before you get out of bed worship God and ask him to fill you with His Holy Spirit every day and believe that he will do it and say Lord I'm willing to pay the price send me the bill I'll pay it let's pray

Channel: River of Life Christian Fellowship

Views: 52,541

Rating: 4.7580872 out of 5

Keywords: jesus, lived, earth, zac, poonen, sermon, rlcf, family, conference, 2014, river, life, christian, fellowship

Id: G2PRRHGeufg

Length: 62min 41sec (3761 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 13 2014