You Can Begin Now To Live As Jesus Lived - Zac Poonen

one of the big differences between what we preach in our church and what is mostly proclaimed in Christendom is we emphasize being more than doing what you are is more important than what you do what you are before the Lord is more important than what you do for the Lord whereas if you look at what most Christian churches preachers emphasize it's what you are doing for the Lord and people are asked what are you doing for the Lord well I say I want to be something first and the reason we emphasize that is because of a word which I think I've never heard anyone speak on this acts 1 verse 1 but we have emphasized it constantly acts 1 verse 1 Jesus began to do and teach he did in his life first and then he taught others so he was something and then he did serve others so life was the life came before service if you emphasize service or that is primary in your mind you will always end up as a hypocrite remember this because you will first and you'll become very proud you'd be proud of what you do for the Lord and you know the secular world around us is full of people who have accomplished something we don't find people being praised for that character in the world around people are praised for what they accomplished scientists have accomplished something or people who went to the moon accomplished something how they lived with their wives at home how they brought up their children we don't even know it's not important they went to the moon they broke the world record in the 100 meters of the marathon it's all accomplishments for the sports world the political world they led the great countries or they were presidents or leaders every field you look at science sport anywhere it's accomplishment what you do what you do what you do and even in the Christian world what have people done people have written books and they've traveled here and they have preached to so many people and brought so many people to Christ it's always accomplishments and then there's no record in the Gospels about how many people Jesus brought to salvation no record no total kept by the Holy Spirit no total kept by the Holy Spirit of how many miles Jesus traveled what Jesus did in terms of service was not primarily of course he served more than anybody else but it what he's what he was so when it says what Jesus began to do it's referring to his life and then teach was a service for others so that's why we emphasize that from our life comes our service because Jesus said from the innermost being the rivers of living water will flow and what the first verse of Acts of the Apostles this book was written by Luke the same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke and we know that because he refers to Theophilus in the first verse in Luke also and he says the first account I composed Theophilus which is Luke's Gospel the sum of Luke's Gospel the title of Luke's Gospel given by Luke himself is here it is all that Jesus began to do and teach that is Luke's Gospel so if you understand that then what is Acts of the Apostles Acts of the Apostles is what Jesus continued to do and teach through his spiritual body that is what he didn't taught through his physical body in Acts of the Apostles is what he did and taught through his spiritual body and in the last 2,000 years Jesus continues to do and to teach through his body the church and that's what we have seen that the church is the body of Christ the church is not a building those of you who have accepted Christ as your Lord you are part of the body of Christ and the Lord wants to do and teach others through you you may not be a big teacher or preacher but you can teach your children you can teach some other person younger than you every one of us can teach somebody else even a kindergarten child can teach somebody in the slums who does not know ABC or that CA T is cat so there's nobody who says I'm too young or too inexperienced to teach you all know something more about Jesus than somebody around you not only than somebody than many people around you every one of you sitting here I can say you know your new children you know a lot more about Jesus than people in your school we all know more about Jesus Christ and about God than many many people around us and our calling is to first of all be something before them where our life behavior and then as you get opportunity to share with them what we know about Jesus Christ how we changed our lives our testimony first of all even if we can't preach from the Bible so think of this jesus is continuing to live and to teach others through us I hope he's doing that through you first of all in your own home the way you live with your husband your wife your parents the way you conduct yourself before your children that's where Jesus wants to live a life through you and then teach your children teach others around you please be gripped by this I know changed my life completely when I was gripped by this that God's primary calling was not for me to travel here and there but to be something to be something in my home first to my wife and children and then to teach that to others and that's brought such a balance in my life if you only serve and serve and serve you'll get imbalanced and you become a hypocrite after a while you'll get a name for doing things you know a lot of you serve in CFC in many ways yeah great so many departments in CFC that keep this work going and many of you have a part in it and you can be proud of that but if you're not living a life in your home what's use your teaching you're doing something but you're not actually living that life at all that's what you need to repent off and so when Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 1 follow me as I follow Christ or be imitators of me as I also am of Christ I mean first of all to imitate Paul boy that's such a challenge that person was so wholehearted that brother was so wholehearted Paul he sacrificed everything he sacrificed marriage he sacrificed his business he left his rich parents and lost his inheritance in Tarsus when he decided to follow the Lord of course God gave it back to him towards the end of his life but the man was so wholehearted and total and he is willing to sacrifice so much I was thinking of this passage in second Corinthians 11 when you in relation to be followers of me as I am of Christ in 2nd Corinthians 11 Paul says you know he says there are many people who are boasting about what they have accomplished for the Lord verse 2nd Corinthians 11 and verse 18 since many are boasting according to the flesh I will also boast he says there are verse 13 false apostles deceitful workers disguising themselves as apostles of Christ and there are many like that today and if you're not careful you'll be deceived by these deceitful workers false apostles disguising themselves as apostles of Christ are you able to discern them there are many like that in the world today and if you want to discern them you better take seriously the things that we're speaking here about being before your doing so we are very careful about whom we allowed to preach in this pulpit if we don't know anything about his personal life we say well I don't care how well he preaches I want to know something about his personal life before I allow somebody to preach in a pulpit of CFC I mean he's a great preacher it doesn't impress me sorry there are millions of churches that will accept you but not here we want people who do in their life in their home I want to know how you live with your wife I want to know how you bring up your children then we will allow you in the port but even if you're not a great preacher just share a brief word that's fine but that life is more important for us so these are if you recognize that you'll be able to easily distinguish a false apostle or a deceitful worker and he says even Satan verse 14 disguises an angel of light so you've got to be careful all these people who say they saw angels you know who they are saying they're saying demons that's what they see and they are fooled by the devil because they are not precising life in their own personal life and so he said these people disguise themselves as servants of righteousness so he says Darrel's they are boasting about many things why they travel what work we have done for the Lord and he says I'll also boast and look at his boasting verse 21 he says compared to them I'm weak by comparison okay are they Hebrews I'm also Hebrew or they're descendants of Abraham so am I are these servants of Christ was 23 I am more or servant of Christ than them and I'll tell you how I'm not going to tell you how many countries I travel to how many books of the Bible I wrote or how many people I preached to or how many people had converted no those are all four other preachers I'm going to tell you I have been far more times in prison verse 23 than the others I have been beaten so many times for preaching the gospel that I've stopped counting I've often been in danger of death in preaching the gospel and traveling five times the Jews gave me 39 lashes on my back three times I was beaten with rods for preaching the gospel this is what he's boasting about once I was stoned for preaching the gospel three times in my travels to preach the gospel I was shipwrecked we read about one of them in acts 28 but apparently he was shipwrecked three times now why in the world didn't God protect a ship in which Paul was travelling see God doesn't make life comfortable for his greatest servants comfort is for those who are living for the world Paul was one of the most wholehearted people of his time and traveling to preach the gospel at least we thought his ship would be protected and his ship was wrecked not once but three times it says it says here in the next part of that verse 25 twenty-four hours I spent swimming in the water trying to save my life maybe hanging onto a piece of wood or something he was in the deep I say Lord what is this is this man serving you or not yes he's serving me and I will show you how much he was willing to suffer to preach the gospel and how much he would trust me even when his ship is wrecked and even when he is twenty-four hours in the open sea what a testimony and then he says I have been in frequent journeys he hardly got any rest and he would travel in rivers that would overflow and verse 26 he was in danger from robbers that would try and loot him and because he was travelling through dangerous roads infested with robbers he was in dangers from his Jewish Jewish people who hated his preaching Christ and he was in danger from the Gentiles who felt these preaching another God compared to the idols we worship so he was in danger from both Jews and Gentiles he was in danger when he was in the city he was in danger when he was in the wilderness different types of dangers he was in danger when he was in the sea and then he was a danger among people who pretended to be believers false brethren we've experienced false brethren in CFC yes who came here hoping to become somebody important or an elder or something somebody great and then got offended with the truth false brothers they're all motive from the beginning was wrong to gain something for themselves the total opposite of the Spirit of Christ these are the false brothers I hope none has left here you know sometimes we are fooled by them like I've often said these check posts where I'm fooled by somebody I lift the check post and say okay come in but God's got another check post further up and he says this fellow's a crook send him back and he past my check post and out of the church so I thank God there's another check post further up manned by God who cannot be deceived and you've seen that again and again happened in CFC Bangalore you've seen it happen in different CFC churches in Tamil Nadu Kerala different places false brethren and that's there's a danger we face there and for some reason God does not expose them immediately and Paul says he calls it a danger that the church can face through false brethren and Paul faced it he said this is what he's boasting about I mean he could have boasted relied discerned these false brethren as soon as they came in oh that would have been great right no he says no I didn't I got fooled Paul lifted up the check post and let them go and but God sent them back he's doing that even today and then he says I've been in labor and hardship I spent many sleepless nights preaching the gospel I've been hungry and thirsty and traveling sometimes there's not enough food to eat other food you get is not hygienic no clean water to drink and sometimes without food and in cold seasons and in exposure to the weather and apart from all these external things he says finally I will tell you the biggest burden of all the pressure on me when I'm concerned about what's happening in this church and what's happening in that church and what's happening in the other church he's all the others are not bothered the other sitting in one church he's I've got responsibility with so many churches and I'm always concerned what's happening here and what's happening there and what's in there and it's daily imagine a man who's got daily pressure it's not just concern a pressure on his heart because of concern for all the churches he says that's what I boast about and if somebody is weak in some Church I feel weak also and if somebody falls into sin verse 29 in some Church I'm concerned now listen to this man saying to us what did we read follow me can you follow him I read this and I say Lord where in the world can I follow you follow Paul and he's following Christ it can so discourages but here's the encouragement he's not saying be like me or have my ministry know that would discourage us or suffer like I did I've never suffered like that well what does it mean it's you know it's like a man who is walking out or running a huge race not a marathon race of 26 miles but thousands of miles I mean from being born again to becoming like Christ completely he's a huge race of thousands of miles of the greatest marathon of all and because it's on sand you can see the footsteps or if it's on snow you can see the footsteps so even if Paul is 1,000 miles ahead of me I see his footsteps here that's the best part of it okay I'm not I'm not as anywhere near him he's miles and miles ahead of me but I see his little footsteps here and I can walk in there even though I may be a thousand miles behind him and Paul may be a hundred thousand miles behind Christ but he sees Christ footsteps and he walks so it's not that we're so close to Paul or Paul was so close to Christ no but can you see his footsteps which means the way Paul lived or the way Christ lived I mean even we don't suffer as much as him or accomplished as much as him it's easy to see his footsteps and walk as he walked please my brothers and sisters accept this challenge today and I want to follow in Paul's footsteps as he followed Christ and I'll tell you something to encourage you 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1 is the worst fear ed follow me be imitators of me as I follow Christ now let me tell you the word that will encourage you to whom was this letter written that's the thing that encouraged me I'll tell you the type of people the Corinthians were turn to 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 1 1 Corinthians 3 this is the type of people to whom Paul is saying follow me I could not speak to you as to spiritual men is there somebody here who feels you're not spiritual okay it was for you but to men who are carnal a flesh you feel you're a bit carnal ok this for you as two babies in Christ do you feel you're a spiritual baby brothers sister this message is for you follow Paul as he followed Christ I gave you milk to drink that means you don't understand the deeper things of God's word that you hear and see you don't understand it all and you can't explain it at all you only know Jesus died for me I'm thankful my sins are forgiven that's milk that's all you know great follow Paul it's for you this message you were not able to receive it and then he goes on to say in verse 3 there's jealousy and strife among you are you defeated by jealousy and strife this message is for you follow me Paul says as I follow Christ so who is excluded this letter was not written to some highly spiritual people down at your level the Word of God comes he says to them in verse 3 last part you are not walking like Jesus Christ you're walking like other human beings does that word apply to you that your values are the same as other human beings in the world this message is for you my brother sister follow Paul as he followed Christ what a challenge that is that people who are down in the kindergarten who are getting coming last in the kindergarten examination let's look at that a child is in the kindergarten that's low enough but he's also coming last in the kindergarten examination he can't spell CIT correctly all says follow me so there's nobody excluded and if he had written this letter to the Ephesians we say oh that's for some spiritually minded Church they can understand no he wrote that to the Corinthians follow me as I follow Christ I want you to take that challenge and think not of your ministry you know Paul did not say be an apostle like me write scripture like me nobody's writing scripture today then who can follow cry Paul he's not at all talking about ministry as he follows Christ do you think Paul could follow Christ in his ministry no number one thing Christ did was die for the sins of the world could Paul die for the sins of the world no Paul never walked on water Paul never multiplied five loaves into five thousand Paul never raised a man who was dead for three days and buried in the grave for four days no he's talking about life always when it says follow me he's talking about life not about ministry nobody can follow Jesus ministry nobody can turn water into wine people who talk about that are just telling your lies don't listen to their stories there's so many stories people say nowadays of people have gone to hell for three days and come back don't have him for three days and come back it's dumb people who believe all that rubbish there are books written on it and people make money out of it Paul went to heaven he read in 2nd Corinthians 12 let me show you that because ever so if you if you go to google and search for people who gone to heaven and come back you'll see so many deception outright deception going on in the world that are dumb Christians believing it but see a man who really went to heaven 2nd Corinthians 12 he refers to himself he doesn't even say it as him but he talks about a man in Christ - 14 years ago 2nd Corinthians 12 verse 2 14 years ago he's referring himself and he said I don't know whether it is in the body or out of the body I was caught up to the third heaven the third heaven is the immediate presence of God the first heaven is the Sun Moon and stars and the planets in them all the you know galaxies in space millions and billions and billions of miles space as we know it and as we don't know it that's the first heaven beyond that is the second heaven where the devil dwells and his demons we are told in Ephesians 6 that we battle with the spiritual forces in the heavenly that is in the second heaven he was in the third heaven they were all in the third heaven but when they sinned they got cast out of heaven not to hell but to the second heaven and we read in Revelation 21 day the revelation 12 sorry one day they'll be cast down to the earth the entire demonic group and Satan will be cast down to the earth sometime before Christ comes he read in revelation 12 and then in Revelation 20 from there they'll be cast into the lake of fire so right now they're in the second heaven and immediately above that is the third heaven where Christ is where the father is and all the saints of God are who have died Old and New Testament Saints or Abraham is and all the great saints of the ages and where we go if we die so he was taken up to the third heaven and he says that's called paradise also in verse 4 that's where the thief went when he died and that that time paradise was in the heart of the earth now it's after the Christ's ascension it's in heaven and he says I heard in listen to this this is the most important verse I'm you must remember I heard inexpressible words which a man is not permitted to speak Paul what did you hear there I'm not permitted to tell you that is the man I believe really went to heaven and all these guys you read on Google search who say they went to heaven and they tell you all details the right books didn't make money don't believe that nonsense if they really went to the real heaven they would not be allowed to say what they heard but the devil is a master deceiver we read in 2nd Corinthians 11:14 that Satan disguises an angel of light he can in your imagination take you in to some places this is heaven and people believe that and they hear so many demons speaking there who dress up like angels it says here that Satan disguises an angel of light verse 14 and they saw angels and I heard that and they come back and write books about what the devil and the angels fooled them about and the worst part is there are thousands of people who buy those books and believe all these lies we know why because they don't believe the Bible the Word of God they don't read it or if they read it they don't read it carefully so we can't follow Paul in all those things we can't follow Jesus in his ministry but in the life that is why I say if you want to begin your Christian life begin where Jesus began where did Jesus begin his life forget about his ministry completely forget about his ministry don't think about preaching or raising the dead or not even preaching in a church no don't think about all that think about following Jesus in his life where did it begin let me tell you in very simple words that which is most difficult for children and adults submitting to God appointed Authority that's where Jesus began his life obeying imperfect Joseph an imperfect Mary as a little child can you submit to imperfect Authority in the church first of all Jesus respected it's one thing to submit Jesus respected and submitted because God appointed him there were their faults in Joseph and Mary you think Joseph and Mary were perfect any Roman Catholics here who believe Joseph and Mary were perfect Saint Joseph and Saint Mary no no no sinner Joseph and sinner Mary that's what I call them they themselves said Mary said God my Savior she called God her Savior she need to be safe from sin and Jesus the perfect one submitted to imperfect Joseph and Mary that is where his life began and I'll tell you something I've seen through the years I've seen it in my own life God prepared me for my ministry by making me submit to imperfect Authority almost and to authority that was jealous of me almost from the beginning of my Christian life I was born again in 1959 I was what a baptized in 1961 by 1963 I had experienced an initial baptism in the Holy Spirit though ii had completed only in 75 i don't know why it was in two stages i don't explain that but there many things that the moving of the Spirit we can't explain but as soon as i was baptized in the Holy Spirit and I got a gift of prophecy to preach the Word of God at the age of 23 when I was 1963 I had such an anointing that God was giving me words to speak to people that were really challenging them I even wrote a little book in 1963 on the book of Revelation a Bible studies that I took to the whole book of Revelation in 1963-64 when I was still in the Navy I hadn't understood victory over sin does ministry ministry but there were a lot of other elders in the church I attended who were jealous that people were more taken up with me and they would never let me speak in the church I would speak in little homes and all not in the church and then I would preach out in the streets so I had to submit to imperfect Authority right from that time and then later on when I came out into full-time Christian work I found again a lot of people jealous of my ministry and schemed and manipulated to push me out from where the church I was in and I had to sit quiet at the back of one church for about three years 60 and of 69 to 72 quietly because people were jealous push me out now the Lord said keep quiet and submit to these elders don't judge them I I did not respect them a spiritual man not at all I could not say that they were following Jesus I couldn't see the life of Christ in them they would lose that temper and they were the leaders and pastors and God said shut your mouth and submit to them because you're in this church I mean if you leave the church and go to another church then submit to the elders in that church I learned lessons of submission in those days which I never knew was a great lesson to learn but those are the years God really broke me don't think you're a great man just because you got a gift of speaking you got to learn to humble yourself and submit to Authority that's imperfect and I really know when I look back I thank God at those years all those years from the time I was converted almost till 1975 when CFC was started in our home many many different experiences of breaking humbling defeat and hitting rock bottom and God filling me with the spirit again so that's where I learned that the important thing in the Christian life to follow up Paul as he followed tries to follow Jesus is to begin where he began don't jump into 10th standard start in the kindergarten many people come to CFC and they try to jump to college ah I can talk about this this is this this this was he here in CFC hang on a time will come and you can speak about all that but be where you are right now and have a sober serious estimate of your own spiritual level and don't try to go beyond that and I'll tell you something from my experience God will never never back you up if you don't submit to Authority God places over you he will never say about you as he said about Jesus the age of 30 this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased because he submitted to Authority imperfect a wife has to very often submit to imperfect Authority a husband at home and she has to trust God that God will overrule and prevent her from ever being tested beyond her ability this is what many wives will say you asked me to submit to this unreasonable husband I see you must also believe that 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will never allow you to be tested beyond your ability if you're a wholehearted disciple if you're not a wholehearted disciple then of course that promise is not for you then I don't know where you'll be you may be tested beyond your ability all things will not work for your good but if you're a wholehearted disciple of Jesus Christ you have no ambition in life except to please God and complete the work he has for you I can guarantee two things for you 1 Romans 8:28 every single thing that ever happens in your life which you call good or bad will work for your good work for your very best and the other thing I can guarantee is 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will never never never never allow you to be tested beyond your ability that's like he will not give you an examination paper above your class impossible your teachers in school didn't do that the Lord Jesus will not do it I'll tell you from my life I've experienced many tests through through the years but never anything beyond my ability never anything that would make me tense and anxious and worried and what's gonna happen unless I was full of unbelief so please remember this now you see I know I'll tell you something through the years in forty-five years I've very rarely spoken about submission to Authority very rarely and I'll tell you why because all the elders of CFC churches in the in India are not spiritual men I'll tell you that honestly then you say why do you appoint them I say because have you heard this expression a one-eyed man is king among the blind people right he can't see clearly but he's got one eye all the others are blind so he's the leader that's why we appoint imperfect people as elders in many CFC churches we hope that they'll develop into two eyed people by the time the others get one eye sometimes the others get one eye before this guy gets two eyes and then the others have to replace this man as elder that also happens so I say because CFC elders are not all perfect I always have a fear that some carnal elder will take this message of mine and and proclaim it to other elders I say listen to what brother Zach says submit to the elders meaning submit to me that's what I'm scared of I've never in my life asked people to submit to me I never will I tell people you do not you do not sin if you disobey Zach ponen you sin if you disobey God you don't have to listen to me many people when they come to advice for advice to me I tell them listen this is my advice but you don't he'll listen to me go before God and I want you to be connected to Christ and if you feel you should not do what I say you don't have to listen to me let me give you a support for that from Scripture I like to support everything from Scripture so you can have a verse for not obeying me if that verse in mind whenever you want to disobey me please take this verse it'll help you 1 Corinthians 16 Paul was the senior-most apostle almost in the sphere in which he worked and he had a wonderful Bible teacher in his team or a ma not in his team but among those who worked with him called Apollo's and we read in 1 Corinthians 16 verse 12 that Paul urged Apollo's to go to Corinth to visit the believers there but it was not his desire to come so when Paul says he apologizing you should go it says he urged him come on go meet these encourage these brothers in Corinth and Paul no I don't feel free sorry even though you're telling me I don't feel free to go once it's okay he didn't say listen I'm the authority listen to me now okay don't go for power policy if you don't feel free don't go and he says when he feels free he'll come when he has opportunity come what a mature man Paul was that's a really godly elder I told Apollo's to come but he didn't listen to me great he's serving Christ and when he feels free he come that's the type of elders we need in CFC of those who will give complete dual give their advice to others but then give them perfect freedom to do exactly as they feel the Lord has led them that's why I'm scared to speak about Authority but it's still true that the Bible teaches submission to authority children obey your parents for this is right in the Lord it says in Ephesians 6 that it may go well with you and that you may live long on the earth so I ask parents if you know you know that verse Ephesians six and verse two and three it's an Old Testament commandment coated in the New Testament honor your parents obey them verse 1 2 3 why so that it can go well with you I ask all of your parents do you want it to go well with your children don't just educate them don't just give them a inheritance of a few lakhs of rupees few millions of rupees you know because this goes on the internet in the other parts of the world when they hear lack they think is a lack of money it's not lack in India lack does not mean lack of money it means plenty of money they don't understand that word so millions of rupees that's not what we need to give to our children primarily if you wanted to go well with your children yeah by all means leave them an inheritance and give them good food education but if you really want it to go well with them teach them to honor you as parents and to obey you and and respect older people I used to tell my children you must respect your Sunday School teachers when they were studying in Sunday school here if you don't respect your Sunday school teachers and I hear a complaint from them I'm gonna take their side against you I told my children that I want to listen I won't listen to all your arguments teach them to respect because we are living in a world where many young people do not know how to respect older people you know they even in India even the non-christians know how to respect older people when I travel somewhere even unknown people who were much younger than me will call me uncle they don't know who I am uncle please take the seat you know bus or anywhere but I find today in Western countries particularly they don't have that attitude or respect for older people and it's seen in the way they speak to people they don't call you I mean most people won't even call you uncle you can have a young 20 year old calling me hey Zach okay I'm not I'm not insulted by that I refuse to be insulted by anything nobody can it's impossible for a man to make me feel insulted because I died long ago with Christ but I feel sorry for them I say how are their parents brought them up they don't even know how to speak respectfully to somebody that's really strange but that's the world we're living in it was not like that a hundred years ago even in America or anywhere it's become like that in these last 4050 years it's a sign of the end of time but you cannot follow Jesus if you don't learn to speak respectfully to older people I'll tell you that I don't care how much you know Scripture or how much you know about following Jesus if you don't know how to speak respectfully to someone older than you especially someone who's older than you in the Lord you are a million miles away from following Jesus let me tell you that Jesus learned submission to Authority that's why we speak so much about his first 30 years at home follow me as I follow Christ let's follow Christ in the way he lived at home and that's why bleep all also submitted to Authority once when he spoke rudely to the judge the high priest he and he realized who it was he apologized immediately that's respect you know we may make mistake but we must apologize immediately and set it right when we do make a mistake if your children speak rudely to you they must apologize and they must ask forgiveness we must teach them that at a very young age if you really want your children to grow up following Jesus many children of believers even in CFC churches are not following Christ now I'll tell you why because their parents did not take this seriously to teach them to honor their parents and honor older people and respect them so and that's not only in at home I believe that Jesus would have respected older people he went he went to the synagogues and I'm sure he respected the older people there he didn't agree with him he could see all the hypocrisy and all the Pharisees but he didn't go around rebuking them and he was 15 20 25 years old because God hadn't called him to do it you can imagine Jesus sitting at the age of 25 in a synagogue and seeing the absolute hypocrisy of everything going on there what they called worship and the boring messages he sat you know any of you who are had to endure some boring message and sometimes many CFC people write to me brother please tell our elder he's so boring at least if he'd speak 15 minutes it would be great but he speaks for one hour and when he thinks he's finished he goes on for another 15 words and I say well I don't know what to say I say I keep warn I keep telling these elders don't speak more than 20 minutes but then none of them listen to me so I leave it I don't force them but I say when you are tempted like that think of Jesus at the age of 25 listening to these boring Pharisees going on and on and on and on in the synagogue and he just endured it endured it sure did he knew a million times more than them and he kept quiet can you do that one day the father will say about you this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased because he listened to boring sermons and kept quiet because it was not yet his time to do anything or say anything there are many many things we learn by submission I've been in many meetings like that as a young man and I heard these boring sermons and the Lord said keep your mouth shut and listen I remember once in the early days when even in CFC you know we used to throw the meeting open in the early days of CFC for everybody to speak and then of course some people who never got a chance to speak in any church would get up and start sharing something and I remember when one of these people is not even really uh I don't even know whether he was a believer but he got up and started sharing something and I said Lord what shall I do why I don't want to ask to sit down because you just started I mean if you had gone beyond five minutes out of Austin brotherplease I don't tell people to sit down I don't insult them like that I say brother we'd like to hear some of the others as well now so I think let's give them a turn or something you know in a gracious way anyway I was listening to this man and from the beginning he was just boring and I said lord please give me something so he turned to some words he turned to something like let's turn to 1 Peter 2 or something laughs so I turned to 1 Peter 2 and believe it or not the Lord showed me an amazing revelation from the opposite page which this man was not even referring to so I said this is amazing I would not have seen that in the other page if this man had not turned to the the other chapter I see how wonderful God is so God can do that I learned something that day if you are really seeing guardian and a boring meeting God can speak to you not through what that guy is saying but from the opposite page about that guy's coding in the Bible amazing this God is so powerful and this is how I've learned so many things through the years I sat in many boring meetings dear brothers and sisters instead of sitting complaining why not say Lord Here I am I've got no authority in this church I got to listen to this boring sermon of this guy I don't know how long is gonna go on but I'll turn to the chapter he told me to turn to maybe you'll show me something else from the opposite page and I'll get something out of this meeting so I won't go away from this meeting MT and some other brothers were not as wholehearted as you would say our brother wasn't that a boring meeting we got nothing out of it and you say hey I got something not from what he said but I got something on the other page honey you know there's absolutely think God cannot do why do you say that you don't get anything so I've learned something about submission to Authority because I learned it from Jesus how he must have submitted to boring Pharisees for years in the synagogue how he submitted to Joseph and Mary at home and everything when he was tired and exhausted Mary told him to go and do something can you fix this for me he would fix it he was so good at obeying Mary in everything this is some impossible problems in the house Jesus would fix it that is why Jesus went and asked Jesus I mean Mary went to Jesus in Cana and said hey the wine is finished and it's pretty late at night can you do something how did Mary everything that Jesus could she wasn't thinking of the miracle because he had never done a miracle till that day but he had she had seen through 30 years this son of mine can fix anything somehow or the other not a miracle somehow the other he'll find some way to solve that problem fix that door or get that water when the well is a bit dry find some other place or something he'd always do something and he had so much confidence in him that she knew he would do something about this he'd find some shop where they're still selling wine in the middle of the night and he'd fix it that's what she thought that even that little sentence of her shows me how Jesus lived at home that the mother could go to him and say they have no wine you know little things like this in the Gospels if you ask God for a revelation you'll see how Jesus lived ask God to open your eyes when you read these things I mean these things became clear to me only after I got gripped with a passion to live as Jesus lived in his first 30 years I say leave alone the ministry part Lord let me begin where he began in the kindergarten let me learn how he lived in 30 years without preaching a sermon without doing a miracle from that came my ministry you have to do first and then live and I believe all of you my dear brothers and sisters all of you even if you have carnal like the Corinthians and fleshly and you were struggling with jealousy and strife and all that I want to say to you in Jesus name that the Lord can say about you this is my beloved son my beloved daughter in whom I'm well pleased I want you to believe that today don't have such a low estimate about yourself or you say well I'm pretty hopeless I've messed up my life so much do you know there are people who messed up their life more than you at the judgment seat of Christ who will have a great reward because they believed that God can solve any mess and he couldn't do that for you because you didn't believe it and then God shows you the video of that guy's life and you discover how his life was worse than yours he said boy he did something with his life and the Lord will say to you because he trusted me his life was worse than yours but he trusted me your life was better but you didn't trust me you kept condemning yourself saying I'm hopeless I'm hopeless I've made so many mistakes i blundered I'm slipping up and you kept saying that instead of saying you know like we have in the screen at the back I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me with Christ I can do everything you believe that you first once a without Christ I can do nothing that's the first part of this what you see in the other side of the screen then you come to the part where with Christ I can do everything and when you do everything with Christ then come to the middle be merciful to others who are not able to do all that you can do we have three very important verses on the screen you start thereon without Christ I can do nothing then you go to with Christ I can do everything and when you do that be merciful to all the others who you feel are not as spiritual as you are you really live a wonderful Christian life just need those three verses so follow me as I follow Christ isn't is a challenge that we should take up seriously looking at Paul's example and how is it possible for Jesus there was an underlying quality that Jesus had which enabled him to submit to this type of authority in his home and anywhere and for example let me ask you for your questions I mean a question like do you think Jesus had to learn ABC or whatever the Hebrew language was and addition and subtraction or did he know everything when he came to the earth no he had to learn he had to submit to his teachers in school yet to learn many things do you think he knew carpentry from day one he had to learn from Joseph how to play in a piece of wood or how to saw a piece of wood and how to hammer a nail I used to think did Jesus ever hammer his thumb accidentally what do you think people say oh no he would never everything perfectly no I believe he hammered his thumb sometimes and it became red you know why because he was human hammering your thumb is not a sin they're human do you think Jesus ever tripped up somewhere on a stone when he was a little boy or he never tripped and fell in his whole life then he was not tempted like us I believe he did trip and fall some of you may have seen that passion for Christ movie and I remember seeing that about the crucifixion of Jesus there's one scene I remember very vividly where you know the question of whether did Jesus does everything perfectly over these stumbles and falls the Bible says when he was carrying the cross he stumbled and fell so does that Jesus Istanbul and fall yeah it was not a superhuman man carrying that cross it was an exhausted human being beaten hammered stumbled and fell on that road and he couldn't carry it anymore his flat on the ground and and that scene when it comes in that picture where Jesus is tumbling and falling there's a looking back they show another scene of when Jesus was a little child and in in this where Jesus stumbles and falls his mother is standing there as Jesus stumbles and falls in the cross and runs to help him and then there's a flash back to an earlier earlier time when he was a little boy in Nazareth and he stumbles and falls and his mother goes and helps him so vivid and true he was like us he stumbled and fell he hammered his thumb when he was a carpenter but he didn't curse or swear I say Lord I see so many things in your life I he didn't stumble and fall into sin but he went through the ordinary trials of physical life that we have I don't know he may have helped his mother and cooking in the kitchen and learned things there and made mistakes and cooking that's not a sin so I see so many things when I meditate on the life of Jesus how he must is his mother was widowed and Joseph had died and as the eldest son how he must have helped her even in the kitchen as a as a young man to help I don't know how many young men would help their mothers if they're widowed in the kitchen or even at the mother's not without some men thing is below that dignity to go to the kitchen and do anything they're not Jesus he never felt there was anything below his dignity we have this strange idea in India that is beneath be know that beneath the dignity of a man to go into the kitchen and help his mother or his wife Jesus never had any such feeling and the day you get rid of that feeling you'll be a little more like Jesus if you think something is beneath my dignity as a man oh that's a woman's job which is a woman's job changing or in the days in the early days when our children were smaller no diapers we just washed our children's bottom with our hands and fathers do it I've done it there's nothing beneath the dignity of a human being if you really want to follow Jesus you'll be willing to help your wife in anything this is what I mean by following Jesus is not preaching great sermons all that will come later in your life brother but begin with the small things begin with the small things that's how Jesus began and not for one or two days for 30 years we are all in such a hurry to have a great ministry oh when will my treated of training be over Lord when can I start off this great ministry hang on just follow him and he will show you step by step I remain I never knew in the days when I was being trained by Anto being told to keep quiet when elders were jealous of me that not had any plan for my life at all I was so discouraged but I obeyed the Lord and I submitted I want to encourage you to believe I can say follow me as I follow Paul as I follow Christ I mean Paul is thousands of miles ahead of me and he was Christ was thousands of miles ahead of him but I can see Jesus footsteps small footsteps I remember even when I was taken to court by some religious people and the very first day I'll tell you honestly I was scared because I had never been in a court in all my life for 59 years and I knew their justice system in India could be pretty corrupt and the Lord said to me don't be afraid I was taken to court by religious people before you look for my footsteps of faith and love faith in your heavenly Father who controls circumstances even in a court and love for your accusers love them and bless them and I said Lord I'll do that and I did that from day one I trusted my Heavenly Father and I loved my accusers and I still do it's a wonderful life I'll tell you kind of life in which the Lord tells you to do something he'll give you the grace to do it that's the best part of it I've often said this story how once one of my sons I think it was eight or nine years old I said can you go and get a loaf of bread from the shop and he ran and in a few moments he ran back and said dad give me the money so what did he expect was he expecting me to go and work as a laborer or somewhere and earned that 15 20 rupees and then go and buy the bread and come back no I expect it will ask me for the money so when the Lord tells you to do something don't run don't run say Lord give me the power I can't do this I can't buy this I don't have the resources say Lord give me the part he give it you did do you think I would refuse to give him the money after I time to go and buy the pulao for bread do you think the Lord will refuse to help you if you ask him to do something I remember when I was seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit and I was praying with someone I wasn't having faith and there's one word he told me brought faith into my heart he said Zak do you think God will call you to serve Him and then refuse to give you his power that was it do you think God would call you to serve Him and refuse to give you his power immediately I got faith that is a word of faith he spoke to me 45 years ago changed my life and I say the same to you do you think God will ask you to do something anything in his word don't lust with your eyes don't get angry do all things without murmuring and complaining love everyone love your enemies do you think he'll ask you to do that and refuse to give you the power to do it impossible let's believe him today every discouraged person hear that your spirit be lifted today saying I believe Lord that though I may be the worst person sitting here today you will give me the power even if I'm lower than those Corinthian Christians you will give me the power to make a new beginning today to walk in your footsteps even though and maybe ten thousand miles behind you I'm gonna start following you today god bless you let's pray let's come to the Lord with faith this morning not condemnation no can't there is no condemnation in Christ I don't care how much you're messed up your life there is no condemnation in Christ just come to him and say Lord I believe I can walk as you walked will you say that in your heart to the Lord silently Lord Jesus I believe that I can walk as you walked in these early footsteps and I'll get closer and closer as the years go by I believe it Lord help me give me the power of your Holy Spirit I'm one of the unknown people sitting here and one of the defeated ones sitting here I'm not a prominent member of CFC I'm one of the completely unknown little person sitting here nobody knows even my name lord please help me will you pray that lord I believe you can do this even for me even for me that's faith Jesus will not break a broken Reed even a dying flame he will not blow it out he'll blow it into a flame remember that there's no place for discouragement or condemnation in a Christian Heavenly Father I pray that nobody will go out from this room today discouraged that everyone will believe that you can do a miracle for them and that you can turn their life around no matter how much they have messed up and failed in their entire life and even if they've made many new beginnings if this is their thousandth new beginning help them to believe you will still help them thank you Father in Jesus name Amen

Channel: CFC India

Views: 11,267

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

Id: VE_07haRrO4

Length: 64min 9sec (3849 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 30 2020