Understanding Dead Works by Zac Poonen

[Music] [Music] so we've been considering what it means to understand the ways of God and we saw yesterday that the ways of God are as different from man's ways as heaven is above the earth and we also saw that under the Old Covenant God could not reveal his ways to Israel they could only see his actions but he did reveal them to a few people like Moses and it's the same today we find that our Christians who are more taken up with God's actions they're taken up with external things and miracles and things like that which in the Old Testament even backsliders experienced most of the people whom jesus healed went to hell He healed thousands but only a hundred and twenty waited for the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost so we can say even when Jesus was on earth many saw God's actions but very few understood his ways and that has continued through all these 2000 years there are Christians who want to see God's actions that's what excites them but they don't read the scriptures and find out that a lot of people saw God's actions are in Hell today it's an external excitement they are taken up with but if you understand God's ways there'll be a lasting work in your heart that will last for all eternity and what God could not reveal to the children of Israel he is now revealed to us as his children through the Holy Spirit showing us his ways heavenly ways different from earthly ways one of the reasons why Jesus died you know most Christians know Jesus died only to forgive our sins that's fundamental it's like the foundation very important but we also read that he died so that our old man may be crucified with him and in his death he defeated Satan one more thing in Galatians chapter 1 he died Galatians 1 verse 4 he died to deliver us or rescue us from this present evil world that is this world system of this current age where the devil is the ruler of this world as a whole system in this world with its values Jesus died to save us from that system to save us from those values of the world and I want to ask you who believe that Jesus died for your sins has Jesus delivered you from the values that this world has that's one of the reasons why he died because there are two kingdoms on earth today you read about one of them in Matthew chapter 4 we saw in Matthew chapter 3 how John the Baptist came and said the kingdom of heaven is near but then we read of another kingdom in matthew chapter 4 a kingdom that is going to come into conflict with the kingdom of heaven we saw about the kingdom of heaven yesterday notice here what it says in verse Matthew 4 in verse 8 the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and that is in his mind it's not that Jesus walked up to a high mountain in his mind temptation always comes in the mind in the mind that devil could have thought turned the stones into bread in the mind he put a thought come come to the top of the temple and jump down and Jesus overcame those temptations and this the last one in his mind Jesus he took Jesus to high mountain and showed him in the spirit the kingdoms of this world that's the other kingdom and if Jesus could be tempted with the kingdom of this world and its glory don't think that you won't be tempted you got to be pretty conceited and proud to think that the devil won't tempt you with something with which he even tempted Jesus if I were to ask you will you be tempted by this world and its glory I'd say yes my Savior was tempted I'm not greater than him and if I think I cannot be tempted by this world and its glory then let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall it's good to be humble and acknowledge my brother's sister however spiritual you may think you are however much you may think you have advanced in the Christian life we still have not come to the place that Jesus was when he was thirty years old we haven't we haven't overcome all the temptations Jesus overcame by the time he was 30 and even then he was tempted with the world and its glory and I've seen lots of believers who think they're not going to be tempted by the world and its glory and I can see them gripped by the world and its glory in their life and they don't even know it that's the sad thing if the devil can fool you into thinking that you will not be tempted in some area that's the area you're gonna fall he tempted him but the showing him the kingdoms of the world and the glory and what is the glory of the kingdom of the water that things which the world glories in you know you know you and I've got a lot of worldly friends what to think of all the things they glory in they glory in money position and power and pleasure and houses and lands and property and their good looks and all the things the world glories in intelligence everything else we can be tempted with these things and and the devil said to Jesus I will give you all of this not just one bit of it all of it but you have to bow down to me so I learned something there the kingdom of heaven is in conflict not with hell and the demons only but with the world system a lot of which looks so innocent which doesn't look sinful I mean anger sexual lust and telling lies and murder and adultery that's all sinful but there is another realm which doesn't look sinful which is part of the world and its glory I have seen in some of our churches some of you sitting here who want to become elders what is that it's seeking the glory of this world that's all do you know the number one qualification to be an elder you have zero desire to be an elder and that's why many people are disqualified the moment I hear that some brother wants to be an elder I'll never make him an elder in his whole life because I know he is disqualified he's completely unfit because he's seeking the world in its glory position power you can seek it in the church because there is an honor in being an elder and those who are elders if they glory in the fact that they are elders and they have power over others they are completely unfit to be elders if they preach in such a way that they'd have power over others here totally unfit but like King Saul they may continues to sit on that throne for some time till one day God Himself removes them and I've seen that happen so it's not only out there in politics in the business world that the world and its glory are there it's right in the middle of the church the world and its glory and remember this the devil says he offered it to Jesus and said I'll give it to you if you bow down to me so what we learned from there is the only way to get the power and glory of the world is by bowing the knee to Satan to some extent now whether you know it or not if you have sought for and longed for the glory of this world and got it I can guarantee you've got it by bowing your knee to Satan somewhere nobody else in the church may know about it you compromise somewhere maybe you told a little lie you know for example in India there are a lot of people who like to get a job abroad in some other country and there's nothing wrong in that the whole world belongs to God and you can go anywhere but they are so eager to get that that they will make false statements in their application for a visa yeah I've seen that that people who go to another country and live there illegally because they're so eager to get the glory of this world and they about the need to Satan I'm talking about believers they say oh there's nothing wrong in that yeah they're excuses everybody does it so there's a lot of compromise and the devil sits back and says I've got these people what I could not make Jesus do though I had tried I've got some of his so-called younger brothers doing now bowing down to me in order to get something of this world that they could not get in righteousness and honesty I got them to tell a little lie I got them to bow down to me a little bit compromise just a little bit it could be in your job where you do something slightly wrong or cover up something hide something in order to get some advancement or gain do you know that at that time like Judas Iscariot you've betrayed Jesus for just a little earthly gain Judas Iscariot bowed the knee to Satan for the sake of a little bit of silver he betrayed Jesus Christ there are lots of Christians doing that today just for a little earthly gain they will tell a lie they'll compromise and cover up something and they got it the devil said I've got power to give it to you I'll give it to you is there anybody saying here you've got something like that what are you gonna do did you cheat in an examination and get a degree yeah you got your degree nobody caught you but how was your spiritual life been what are you going to say to the Lord when you stand before him the one life God gave you you pursued after something earthly you know in India people even give false birth dates for their children to put them into school early so that children can finish school early what type of I mean the world's full of people who are bowing down to the devil it's terrible when God's children do that what I want to say is my brothers and sisters there's a world system that is constantly seeking to come into the church and come into your life you must remember God's ways are heavenly there are Christians who feel if my ultimate goal is right it doesn't matter how I get there there's a saying that the end justifies the means that means if my ultimate goal is something good how I get there doesn't matter that means if my ultimate goal for example is to save souls and bring them to heaven it doesn't matter how I bring them some manipulation some do a few wrong things in the way ultimately get there well that's the spirit of the world they do all types of wrong things in order to get some right thing done and then we say what is the right way the right way is the way Jesus did it there was only one perfect manifestation of someone who did everything according to God's Way and if you want to understand God's Way you look at Jesus how did he do it he never used means which were wrong in order to get to an end that was right how many Christians believe that the way Jesus and the Apostles did it was the perfect way that we must not do it any other way I've been around in Christendom a long time and I find there very few people who believe that the Bible says Jesus said this that the main power in this kingdom of this world is money and that's why Jesus said in Luke 16 and verse 13 you cannot serve God and money the main power with which the devil tries to draw people is money and I'll tell you something there's nothing wrong in earning money any amount but if money has a power to attract you you will never be what God wants you to be you will never be what God wants you to be money must have no power to attract us you know like a powerful magnet the magnet can attract steel filings and metals but things like paper a book will never be attracted by a magnet the magnet cannot pull this book no matter how strong it is it can attract steel filings and other metals but it cannot attract paper money can attract certain people but it cannot attract one who's devoted to Jesus Christ however strong that bar may be it's like a magnet cannot attract this book it can't attract me have you come there then you can say money is my servant otherwise if you find that money attracts you you make decisions on the basis of money it's attracted you you're to some degree of slave because the devil says come I'll give it to you it's all given to me I did I'm the one who decides to give it and look all the people he's given it to look at the people whom he's given it to he's got lots of servants in every religion who get a lot of it by compromise and sometimes in Christian circles they say we're doing it for the Lord's work what is God's Way in the area of money the answer is in Jesus Christ did Jesus even once in his life take an offering after he preached or before he preached did he even once in his life after he healed the sick take an offering before he healed or after he healed now the Apostles followed Jesus Christ did the Apostles ever do it to take an offering or pass a collection bag around know where of these practices come from they've come from Europe and America and most Indians blindly imitate the Americans in fact most of the world blindly imitates the Americans and whatever they do that must be the right way the musicians imitate American musicians the dancers imitate American dances in politics them imitate the American Way and Christians imitate the Americans they think that's the best way India's full of it Indian Christendom is full of it we say but it's for a good cause exactly the end justifies the means it doesn't matter how we get there it doesn't matter if we don't do it like Jesus and the Apostle did it so long as our goal is good that's exactly what the devil says don't worry about how you get there the thing is to get there imagine if Jesus had adopted that method Heda violated every law of God while trying to save souls is it right to adopt any possible method to save souls oh that's the case and you can hold a gun to their head and say come on Neal your life to Christ can be as stupid as that and the olden days some Christian missionaries of certain denominations did that they converted people by the sword it wasn't a good conversion I want to say that to be a witness for Christ in this age means that I must have nothing of this world's values when the devil says I'll give you this what do you want you want souls you want to build your church bow down to me I'll tell you how to have a big church and you say no thank you I'm not gonna adopt your methods I'd rather live with a small church and follow the principles of God's Word in the area of money what is God's Way Jesus taught us in the Old Testament it was different it was an earthly kingdom and the Lord taught them that you must come and give your 10% out there and if you don't give the 10% even the last prophet in the Old Testament said Malachi you'll be cursed but the moment you come to the heavenly way from the day of Pentecost when the kingdom of heaven came it's entirely different now God says you don't have to give me anything no type no 1% nothing God loves a cheerful Giver and if you cheerfully can give zero that's all he wants he wants happiness he wants cheerfulness he doesn't want anything he doesn't want your life he doesn't want anything that you cannot give cheerfully because what you don't give cheerfully is a dead work you need to understand Dead's dead works if you want to understand God's ways in the Old Testament they did not have this understanding if you'd read through the entire Old Testament the phrase dead works is not even found there there was only good works and evil works if you paid your type that was a good work if you didn't pay your type that was an evil work but in the New Testament there's another category good works even works and dead works and I'll tell you 90% of Christians or 99% of them don't even know what that works are do you know what they are we need to understand God's ways dead works are works good works done with the wrong motive for example preaching is a very good thing you can preach to bless people and there are many people who preach wonderful sermons to bless people but if their motive is to get money it's a dead work if their motive is to get honor it's a dead work and particularly Christian singers and musicians it's much easier to preach a sermon for God's glory than to sing for God's glory when we sing we are so conscious of ours ourselves and our voice and the melodious nature of our voice I suppose preachers can be tempted to but singers much more musicians much more how well they can play and it may be wonderful singing but if the glory is for oneself it's a dead work and you know what the Bible says in Hebrews we got to repent of dead works you want to understand God's ways repent of dead works motive is so important you'll see in the final day when we stand before the Lord the question will not be what did you do the question will be why did you do it do you know the difference between what did you do and why did you do it that's the in the Old Testament there was no question of why did you do it did you do it supposing a man was coming to pay his tithe and with a long face and said to the Levite I don't feel like giving this 10% but God has said I've got to give it okay here it is he had obeyed the law there was no law which said you must give your type cheerfully no because there was no such thing as dead works in the Old Testament and if you have not understood that works my brothers sister you are still under the Old Covenant they didn't have understanding about that works there they did not examine their motives in the Old Testament and if you never examine you motives you're under the Old Covenant another dead work is where you do something under pressure somebody forces you forces you to pay your type Thor put some type of pressure on you to do something come to the prayer meeting go house-to-house evangelism come out into the streets and preach with me and you reluctantly go with no desire to go you may preach you may do house tours evangelism the whole thing is a dead work come on here are a hundred tracts distribute them before next Sunday and you somehow manage to get rid of 100 tracks dead works you may impress your leader who is stupid enough to tell you to do such things but you don't impress God God loves a cheerful Giver of anything obedience he wants it done cheerfully in the Old Testament God treated us like God treated people like babies like little children in the New Covenant he treats us like adults you read that in Galatians 3 and 4 I don't have time to show it you read it some time then we were like children now we are like sons the early part of Galatians 4 it says there the difference between children and sons is the difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant children we don't wait for cheerful obedience if you wait for cheerful obedience you'll never get your children to obey I never waited for my children to obey cheerfully I said whether you're cheerful or not you better do what daddy says that's it that's the only way to get them to obey even to come to a meeting if they said if one of my boys said to me one day I don't feel like come to the meeting whether we feel like it or not you're coming but when they grow up and become sons I don't talk to them like that do you do you tell your 25 it also and whether you feel like I'm doing it or not do it that's the difference between a child and a son and that's the difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant in the Old Covenant was that the whether you feel like it or not you got to keep the Passover whether you feel like it or not you have to go to Jerusalem three times a year it was all like that whether you feel like it or not you have to pay your tithe whether you feel like it or do you have to give a sacrifice for your sin there was no question of whether you feel it's like it or not but in the New Covenant if any man will come after me let him take up his cross there's no such thing as you must take up your cross you must give the reason I'm asking you is dear brothers and sisters have you understood this as a fundamental principle of God's ways if you do something out of somebody manipulating you it's a dead work I believe most of the speaking in tongues that I have heard in Pentecostal circles is all a dead work I have heard sometimes people speaking in tongues openly in the meeting and on the internet and it's usually the same phrases the same five or six phrases that are repeated by everybody what is that is that a language it's a counterfeit 90% of the tongues I've heard is counterfeit because they were manipulated there is a genuine gift of tongues God gives it to those and when God gave me that gift I didn't seek for it but for me it's a language it's a language not a repeating of two or three syllables a language which with which I can speak to God because I didn't seek for it nobody pressurised me into it don't look for it if you if God gives it you sovereignly take it but where you're waiting desperately you know there are some people who desperately oh I've got to get into this tongues Club somehow or the other and then somebody will pressurize into it and you'd babble something you see I got it you got nothing brother you just deceive yourself forget it some of those people who never spoke in tongues are a million better than you the lord of dead works in so many areas for example when a person is somebody prays for someone and he's not healed and he's told no you must confess that you're healed it's a dead work how in the world can he say he's healed when he's not healed does God tell us to tell lies but yet I've heard this numerous times in Pentecostal charismatic service oh brother confess I prayed for you now you're healed don't say you're sick say I'm healthy so much of deception and so many people blindly accept it when jesus healed prayed for a blind man you know that all the people jesus prayed for were healed instantly except one there was only one person in the Gospels for who Jesus had to pray it twice he never had to break ties for anybody but why was there one case in mark chapter 8 where Jesus had to pray twice and that was not because he couldn't do it in one shot because he wanted to teach us a lesson especially in the twentieth century and what was that he prayed for this blind man he laid hands on him prayed for him and say can you see properly he says no men and trees look alike can you imagine on how blind a man is if he thinks a man is a tree and this guy says Jesus pray for him Jesus did pray for him what did Jesus say no no don't say you can't see say you can see I mean he feels like one of today's pastors that's what either said don't confess I prayed for you I'm Jesus son of God I prayed for you how can you say you can't see say I can see clearly can you imagine Jesus saying that that's where I say a lot of today's Christian leaders are not like Jesus why are so many Christians deceived by the teaching of these leaders remember what I said yesterday if you don't study the Bible you deserve to be deceived if you don't follow the example of Jesus you deserve to be deceived the example of Jesus is so clear jesus said you can't see fine I pray for you again prayed for him again now can you see yeah now I see everything clearly let me tell you this my brothers and sisters jesus never wants you to tell a lie Jesus never wants you to say that you can see when you can't see what they do you don't have any pain when you have pain or that you're healed when you're sick don't be deceived by all these lies this the devil is the father of lies and if you confess that you're healed when you're not healed you're listening to the devil the father of lies God never wants us to confess that we're healed when we're not healed we can confess our whole sure hope is that which I have not yet seen I will be like Jesus when he comes again to say that I'm already like Jesus that's a lie you can say I believe God will heal me that's okay so these are many many examples I'm telling you of dead works works done with no joy works done reluctantly because some preacher pressurized you to do something get rid of it don't become a slave of men understand God's ways that God has no value for those things let me give you another example supposing you go to God in prayer or you put some money in the offering box and you have not settled matters with your wife you had a disagreement with her news spoke rudely or with your husband and you go to pray I would advise you not to open your mouth and not to put money in the box because God will not accept your prayer or your money we used to have a verse on our offering box sometime ago which said be reconciled to your brother first be reconciled to your sister first in front of the offering box you know that means a man's gonna put a few rupees into the box and he suddenly sees that verse and puts it back into his pocket we were trying to stop people from putting money into the box and we still are trying to do that because we say if you are not reconciled there's somebody against whom you have a tension some you hurt somebody I'm not saying somebody's got something against you the world is full of people who got something against Christians I mean India's full of Christians we've got something against me Israel was full of people but something is Jesus people are against Paul everywhere I'm not talking about that have you heard somebody that's the question not hurt somebody because you preach the Word of God but in a selfish way you got angry with someone for something concerning yourself what if you put money in the offering box it's no better than putting it in the toilet and flushing it down God will not accept it you pray your prayer will not go beyond the roof you need to understand God's ways and God's ways God does not accept anything a person gives prayer money service nothing if his heart is not clear in his relationship with other people that those who Mia's hurt he goes and asks forgiveness from now if you go to that person and ask forgiveness and he says I'm not gonna forgive you well that's your responsibility is over then it is between him and God you must forgiveness your responsibility is over there are so much of dead works that are going on in Christendom and if you want to go a higher level of dead works you know this what I've explained to you of dead works is the kindergarten level as you go on with God you discover dead works at a higher level in higher level and higher all the way the PhD in the Christian life let me give you an example supposing you want to serve God unselfishly sacrificially you want to do something and you don't spend time listening to God you're busy serving him it's a dead work and the classic example of that is in Luke chapter 10 verse 38 reported to Martha busy who was she cooking food for not for herself she was sacrificing making food for thirteen people Jesus and his twelve disciples sweating away in that hot kitchen working hard working hard working hard working hard but inwardly having a complaint against Mary for not coming and helping her in the kitchen and she comes to Jesus and Jesus says Martha let me paraphrase his words you think I want all your food you think I'm impressed with all your sacrificial service not at all not at all you think I'm ungrateful to you for not being thankful for all the work you're doing for me in the kitchen I don't want that work I don't want all your service for me Mary has known what is the one thing that is needful Luke 1042 one thing is needful sit in my feet and listen to me and then do what I tell you that's a higher level of dead works I'll give you an example supposing you're employed in an office and your first day are going to work you got a contract and you got selected for the job and you go to the office and as soon as you go to the office you begin to do whatever you feel like doing go to this table and pick up some file and start dealing with that and go somewhere else and do this that and the other and you don't go to the boss and say what do you want me to do you'll be sacked in one day what do you do you go to the arts to say what do you want me to do that's what Mary did if you had a maidservant working in your house and she never asked you what years of what she's supposed to do just went on doing all types of things you wouldn't keep her for long 1 Corinthians 4 verse 2 in the Living Bible says the most important thing about a servant is that he does just what his master tells him to that's how Jesus lived his life he listened he listened father what do you want me to do you read a great example of that at the end of Luke chapter 4 where there was a great revival going on so many people getting healed through his ministry everybody wanted him there but before he met them he had already met the father in the morning and the father had told him go somewhere else and so when the people pressurized him you got to stay here Lord it's a great revival going on no I have to go somewhere else if you can yield to the pressure of human beings without listening to the voice of God all that you do for God will be a dead work I faced a lot of that in my life a lot of people pressurize me to go here do this do that do the other thing well I say sorry I'll do what God tells me to do I mean you can think I'm unreasonable or proud or you can think whatever you like but I'll only do what God tells me to do he'll only go where God tells me to go and I've seen the result of that in the last 35 years of not listening to the advice of men as to where to go and where not to go and I've seen the blessedness in the last 35 years of going only where God tells me to go and I'll tell you this that's how Jesus lived these are God's ways God's ways are not just run around doing something for God Jesus taught us to pray father thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven how are gods how is God's work done in heaven the Angels don't go around doing something for God you know people sometimes tell others new people why don't you do something for God can imagine Michael telling Gabriel why don't you go and do something for God no it's heaven is not like that they wait on God they do what many Christians don't do waiting on the Lord those who wait upon the Lord shall exchange their strength Isaiah 40:31 they shall mount up with wings like eagles while other people are just trying to climb that mountain those who wait on the Lord fly over the mountain like an eagle and go to their destination a hundred times quicker than these people are climbing out the mountain it's much better to wait on the Lord and listen to what he has to say they shall mount up with wings like eagles are you mounting up with wings like eagles and crossing mountains are you walking over that mountain when you wait on the Lord and listen to him that's how Jesus was I mean see a classic example of that the devil tells him turned the stones into bread and he says I mean if he had used his reason he that said yeah reason says I'm hungry I haven't eaten for forty days there's no sin in eating bread God has given me power I've been anointed 40 days ago I have the power to turn stones into bread I'm not cheating anybody I'm not stealing anybody else's bread these are just rocks in the hundreds of rocks here one Rock disappearing and becoming bread won't make any difference and let me turn these stones into bread and satisfy me I'm sure my father will be quite happy with my using my power like that Jesus did not do it he did not live by reason he told the devil sorry I haven't heard any word from my father to turn the stones into bread if he tells me I'll do it but I haven't heard any word from him so even though my reason says it's okay I'm not cheating anybody I'm not deceiving anyone I'm not stealing and I need it all these things are true but my father has not told me to do it how many Christians live like that most Christians live by I need it and if I don't cheat anybody I'm not stealing I'm going to go ahead and do it I don't need to wait for God to tell me well I agree that is the kindergarten level when you're in kindergarten you don't wait for such things but when you go on with the Lord you do come to the place where you really want God to lead you in everything why didn't Jesus go for a vacation to Rome is anything wrong in a believer having a vacation I mean Jesus could have used a reason I've been slogging away for one whole year day and night day and night many sleepless nights serving serving serving serving serving I need a little break I think I'll take a break and go to raw I won't sin do you think Jesus would have sinned if you had gone to wrong no never he wouldn't have seen anywhere in the world why didn't he go to Rome for a vacation just to relax as a servant of God who's exhausted I'll tell you why the father never told him he would not have sinned by going to Rome but he'd have missed God's will and perhaps instead of staying three and a half years on earth he had to stay for years to complete the job how long does it take to go through school 12 years it can take 15 years also you know that it can take 20 years I know people have gone to medical school which should finish in five years and take ten years to go through medical school and God is allotted a job for you in a certain amount of time you can take ten times that time because sometimes you just do a lot of other things which are not sinful but if you like doing it that a lot of dead works and Christendom but you may say oh boy then my life will be full of tension no it won't do you think Jesus life is full of tension that is the most relaxed life any human being ever lived on this earth tension comes to you because you do your own thing I can tell you my life is not tense no if you listen to God your life will not be tense when you listen to God you come to rest God's voice always brings rest not tension the reason I'm mentioning all this is in Jesus I see God's ways the way he did it but for that to happen in us he has to break us you know one of the first things that you read about Jesus after he grew to the age of thirty was is going to the baptism and we heard about it yesterday too Jesus could have reasoned and said I don't need to be baptized John the Baptist publicly saying I preach a baptism of repentance he called it a baptism of repentance what did Jesus have to repent off in 30 years not a single sin he had nothing to repent off why did he need that baptism there was no need he could have used his reason and said if I stand in that line of people waiting to get baptized people will think ah so perhaps there is some secret sin in his life also I don't want people to misunderstand me so I will not stand in that line he never used this reason the father said go and get baptized father who shall I be baptized by somebody less holier than you John the Baptist less holier than me it's gonna baptize me why not I just go into a tub or something and baptize myself because there's nobody holier than me on the earth No humble yourself go and be baptized by somebody who's not even 1% as holy as you and he comes to John the Baptist's the other Baptist says boy I need to be baptized from you know Jesus says I have to fulfill all righteousness for him righteousness was obeying the father not his reason he never lived by reason you know from the time of our childhood we've been taught to live by reason and in many matters that is right many earthly things it's right to use our reason I'm not saying we shouldn't but when we get born again and our filled with the Holy Spirit you want to understand God's ways the Holy Spirit must now guide our reason till now reason was the Lord of the house but when we are filled with the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit becomes Lord and reason we don't eliminate reason reason becomes like the wife and the Holy Spirit's like the husband is a wife a very useful person to have yes or no I say yes but not if she becomes the head of the house no then you have a problem because God never made a woman to be a head and God never made our reason and our mind to be the head doesn't mean we shoot the wife we don't shoot our reason there's some people who say leave your mind blank that's not Christianity that's yoga meditation leave your mind blank I don't leave my mind blank when I meditate the devil will come in I'd meditate on God's Word I use my reason but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that's the wonderful thing about the New Covenant they could not have it in the Old Testament you see the mistakes that people made in the Old Testament was all because of reason I told you about Abraham he came to Canaan and there was a famine there he used his reason and said what shall I do I heard there's food in Egypt let me go there and he goes there and brings Eggar and that's the cause of sin and problems right until today because of the son he got through Hagar but that's because he used his reason it was a small step just going to Egypt but look at the consequences that have lasted for four thousand years do you know how many people you can mess up when you try to live by reason when God tells you to do something else now God has not told you of anything okay but here God had told him go to Canaan as if God did not know that there was going to be a famine there we can't blame Abraham because he didn't have a Bible he didn't have the Holy Spirit we've got much more and we do the same thing when these things are written for our instruction why did Jesus say words like this this is God's ways John chapter five see what he said in John chapter 5 he says in verse 19 truly I say to you the meaning is the son cannot independently do anything only what he sees the father doing whatever the father does I do so he's listening to his father all the time and whatever the father tells him to do I do and he goes on to say that in verse 30 I do nothing on my own initiative that means when I'm thinking of doing something I wait on the Lord I wait on the father father shall I do this and you feel in your spirit King that's why clever people pray very little I've noticed some work something as I've observed Christians I mean God has given me the privilege of working among very educated PhDs and doctors and engineers and also among totally illiterate people who can't even read the Bible God has given me the privilege of working on a whole range of highly educated to totally uneducated and I've seen one thing the cleverer you are the less you pray because you don't need you're so clever why do you need to ask God about everything whereas people are not so clever they don't argue about why should you pray what will happen if I pray they don't have any so many arguments these are three that Jesus had prays or their prayer and they get answers they get revelation on Scripture which PhDs don't get why is that I mean I've been amazed as I've observed people in our churches how is it so many extremely intelligent clever people don't seem to get any revelation from scripture when I hear them share as boring as anything and then I hear some guy who can't even speak English properly who doesn't know a word of English he gets up in this revelation in it how is that does God have partiality no one is more aware of his weakness that's why Moses the Bible says was one of a brilliant man at the age of 40 he was trained in the best academies of Egypt and in those days when people made pyramids which even today's engineers are wondering how in the world did they make those pyramids Moses was there learning how to make pyramids and if God had told Moses to make a tabernacle for him at the age of 40 and God had given him the pattern and if you've seen a picture of a tabernacle it's one of the most unimpressive structures you can think of even that tent it doesn't look like a decent tent and if God had given in the pattern Moses would have said Lord just leave it to me don't you know who I am I built pyramids I'll make a fantastic structure for you and he would have made it the only thing would have been missing is that the fire of God would not have come on it the glory of God would not have come on it that's how people build churches today they say we don't have to follow the pattern of Jesus and the Apostles and all we are in the 20th century we can modify it 21st century we can do it in a better way where's the glory it's not there it's a fantastic structure so what did God have to do God had to break that man break him break him break him and it took a long time 40 years and when God succeeded in breaking him he said now Moses I want you to build my tabernacle like this it's going to be a very simple tent and you read that that beautiful expression in Exodus 39 and 40 18 times eighteen times it says Moses did exactly as the LORD commanded him and at the end of the eighteenth time it says the glory of the Lord came upon it it's been a great encouragement to me I say Lord if I do it exactly like Jesus and the Apostles did it there will be a glory in my life there'll be a glory in what I do there'll be a glory in the church that I build if I follow exactly the way Jesus did it not the way the Americans did it the way Jesus did it the way the Apostles did it not the way today's great preachers are doing it the way it is in Scripture so that it can be written about me at the end of my life that I did it exactly as the LORD commanded there will be a glory and that's why I say you need to study the scriptures you need to understand God's ways how does God do his work how did Jesus do his work you know one of the great conflicts and questions people have about us is why do you say that we shouldn't make our needs known to anybody financial needs and God's work I say because Jesus never made his needs known to anybody he said how did Jesus live well certain people gave him gifts you read that in Luke chapter eight verse two and three some rich women you have Jesus money he received money that's nothing wrong in that Jesus did it he used money but he never asked anybody for it he never told his needs to anybody like I said the other day even when he didn't have a place to stay the night he didn't tell anybody I hey can I come and stay in your house he just went and slept under the trees he would never make his needs known to anyone I thank God he taught me that when I left my job in the Navy forty-four years ago never never make your needs known to anyone and even when you have nothing let people think you have plenty then they won't treat you like a beggar and give you out of charity the Christian world is full of full-time workers who are just dignified beggars they're not representatives of Jesus Christ which way did God do it through Jesus is the example those are God's ways this is so important and I say that's why we never make our needs known to anyone that's why in our churches we have never sent a predator or photographs to show people in any other country to give us money for you know like letters people send dear brother we have completed the walls of our building and we still need to put the roof please pray for us what do you think that means it means send us some money beggars disgrace to the name of Jesus Christ can imagine Jesus reading a letter like that the amount of things that go on today in Christendom and it's all done in the name of Jesus it's not at all in the spirit of Christ these are the reasons why we have to understand God's ways and a little bit of gold is better than a pile of wood hay and straw if you understand God's ways you will do that which you do in your place exactly like Jesus and the Apostles did it why is it we don't call anybody a pastor in a church I'm not against it but I say I don't see any of the Apostles calling anybody it was a gift that God gave but it was not an office I always say that doesn't matter for you it may not matter but I want to do it exactly as God showed it in Scripture this is how people ignore small things I say you can do it but not for me today we have Jesus said don't take any titles like rabbi this that and the other father and all that and yet Christendom is full of people who call themselves bishop and Archbishop and Reverend and right reverend and metropolitan and Pope and all types of things we say what does it matter well it does matter for somebody who wants to do it exactly like Jesus taught it dear brothers and sisters there are many many areas like that I've just given you a few examples if you want to understand God's Way look at Jesus and follow him put your feet exactly in his footsteps and your work may not be a great work but it'll be a work that God puts his approval on and sends his glory upon and his anointing will be upon your life even if you live to be a hundred years old that's what I want let's pray remember what Jesus said one thing is needful every day of your life to sit at my feet and listen to my word like Mary did take Jesus advice be different from the Christians around you and I tell you your life will accomplish more then you ever accomplished so far in your life you will please God there'll be a glory upon your life heavenly Father help us each one to take these things seriously not just to understand them but to live the way Jesus lived thank you in jesus name amen

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 32,436

Rating: 4.7424893 out of 5

Keywords: Zac, Poonen, Revival, Repent, God, Sermons, Jesus, SermonIndex

Id: uw5HYA0mT24

Length: 59min 6sec (3546 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 18 2011