Speaking As God's Mouthpiece: Zac Poonen Sermon (Transcript)

Here is the full transcript of Bible teacher Zac Poonen’s sermon titled “Speaking As God’s Mouthpiece.”

Listen to the audio version here:

TRANSCRIPT:

It’s one of the reasons why we try to start all our meetings on time. I don’t know how you do it in your local church. I realize in the villages, some of them don’t have watches. Buses take a long time to come. You can miss out and you can be late. That’s okay.

But if we don’t make an effort to go to a meeting on time, something is wrong. We read in Luke 22 verse 14. Luke’s gospel chapter 22 verse 14, “that when the hour had come, there was a certain time Jesus fixed with His apostles saying, ‘I’ll meet you there.'”

And when that time came, they did not have to wait for Jesus to come. He was not a king who comes whenever he likes. No. That is senior pastors. They come when they like. Jesus was a Servant and He was there on time. I don’t know about the others, but He was there. But here it says the apostles also were there.

The Truthfulness of Time

So we should make every effort to start a meeting on time because we speak the truth. If you say a meeting is 9:30, that is the truth. But if you start the meeting at 10 o’clock, you’re not speaking the truth. You’re a liar. If you plan to start the meeting only at 10, why do you tell people you’re meeting at 9:30? Tell them we are meeting at 10. We must be truthful about the smallest things.

That does not mean everybody can be on time. You see, people travel long distances. Children may be having to go to the toilet last minute.

Traffic rush. They can be late. So many of our meetings may be late. That’s okay. All I’m saying is we must try to be on time. That’s all we can say.

And I will not question anybody who comes late. There could be many reasons, especially those are families, those are to travel long distances, catch a bus and all that. But if we don’t try to be on time, that means we don’t have a sense of responsibility. Even villagers who have grown up in the villages, when they join the military, they all learn to come on time.

Military Discipline and Punctuality

How is that? They are uneducated villagers. They join the military, they are on time. And that’s because in the military they punish you. I know. If the morning parade is at 6:30 and you go at 6:31, they will teach you such a lesson, you will never forget for the rest of your life. That’s how I learned to be on time. But that is why punishment. We don’t do that in the church.

We follow Jesus who said, “when the hour had come, He was there.” So again, I say don’t condemn yourself if you’re late because your children were late or the bus got held up or the traffic was okay, okay, quite all right. Even if you’re half an hour late, okay. But try to be on time. Do your best to be on time.

In other words, plan your life so that you start a little earlier. Try to be on time. But if you’re consistently late, we’ve seen in CFC Bangalore, there are some people who are always late. And the people who live far away, they are on time. So it shows it’s not because of distance or traffic, it is because of a lazy attitude to keeping time.

The Role of Elders and Discipline

Very important, my dear brothers, as elders, you must not have a lazy attitude to keeping time. And if you have to travel a long distance, start a little early. But as again, I said, there are other factors. And the same time, don’t judge those who come late. That’s another thing. You do your job, judge yourself.

See, because I grew up in the military, I had a tremendous problem when I used to see people coming late. We used to say CFC Sunday, not now when I was an elder here 30 years ago. I would see CFC meeting 9:30, they’ll come at 10 o’clock. It really disturbed me. Till one day the Lord said to me, “You were in the military, they were not. So be merciful.” I said, okay.

The second thing the Lord said, “You are a servant, not a king.” And the picture the Lord gave me was, if you’re the servant working in a palace. And the king says, “Breakfast is at eight o’clock.” The servant comes, prepares everything, keeps the table ready before eight o’clock. And he is there. And if the king comes at 10 o’clock, servant cannot ask the king, “Why are you late?” No, king can come whenever he likes.

Learning to Serve

So the Lord said to me, all these people in the church are kings and queens. You are the servant. You remain a servant. I said, “Yes, Lord, I will be a servant.” And the Lord said, “One day, some of these kings and queens will graduate and become servants.” So you wait for that. So that brought my heart at rest. After that, I never judged anybody. I said, “Lord, I’m a servant.”

These kings and queens can come whenever they like. It’s up to them. But I have also seen these kings and queens who have a lazy attitude to this, usually have a lazy attitude to everything else in their life. They are defeated by sin. Their family life is also not godly. It’s a whole way of life. You are disciplined in one area, you become disciplined in many other areas.

Encouraging Discipline and Faith

So it’s a small thing, but I want to encourage you, dear elder brothers and others, to learn discipline in every area. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians and chapter 9.

1 Corinthians chapter 9. I’m not scolding anybody here because I don’t judge anybody who comes late. But I want to challenge you. It’s like somebody who’s running a race and the coach says, “Come on, you can get a better time. You can run that one mile faster than that. Come on, challenge.” That is the challenge. That is not scolding. And it’s very important that we learn to challenge people to a more godly life, more disciplined life.

1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 24: “Don’t you know that all those who run in a race run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.” And to whom is Paul writing this? To the worldly, carnal Corinthian Christians. Can the Corinthian Christians run in such a way they win first prize? Yes. This verse teaches us that in the Christian race, it is not only one person who gets first prize. Everybody can get first prize. He’s telling all these Corinthian, carnal, worldly Christians, “Run in such a way that all of you get the first prize.”

And so he says, “How can you win the first prize?” “Everyone, verse 25, who competes in the games exercises self-control. In all things. So that they get the prize, but they do it to get — nowadays gold medal. But we are waiting for an imperishable reward from heaven.” So Paul says, “I run spiritually. I run in such a way with aim, not without an aim. And I don’t beat the air. I’m boxing in such a way that I discipline my body. I box against my body and make it my slave. So that after I’m preaching to others, I will not be disqualified.”

The Importance of Discipline in Preaching

Many of you are preaching to others. Probably all of you sitting here are preaching to others. Please look at verse 27 and see, is it possible that after you preach to others for so many years, you can be disqualified finally? You know, there are many cases we read in Olympic races. Somebody is run, run, run, run, and they finally come first. And then the referee says, “Disqualified.” Because somewhere in the race, you would cross the track or went outside your running lane. He thought he was first. He was leading. He was disqualified because he violated the rules.

So he says, ‘I don’t want to be disqualified in the final day. And thinking I’m coming first and thinking everything’s okay.’ And how to ensure that I will not get disqualified by the Lord in the final day? “I discipline my body and make it my slave.” And the Living Bible says, “I tell my body what it should do, not what it wants to do, but what it should do.”

Listen to that. I make my body do what it should be doing, not what it wants to do. My eyes may want to look at many directions, but I discipline it and saying, eyes, you’re not going to look where you want to look. You’re going to look where you should be looking. And you will not look where you should not be looking. Tongue, you’re not going to say what you want to say. You’re going to say what you should be saying, which I will control from the heart. This is discipline.

“Nobody wins a prize in the athletics,” he says, “without discipline.” This is the Holy Spirit writing to preachers. I preach to others and at the end I’m disqualified. There are some brothers who are preaching today who are already disqualified by the Lord, but they’re still preaching because the poor brothers there in the church don’t have the discernment to see that this chap’s anointing is gone.

Let me tell you honestly, some CFC elders, our CFC elders, I know they have lost the anointing already. But what to do? There’s nobody else in their church to guide them and lead them. They get up and speak for one hour and everybody’s bored. Next Sunday, same fellow will get up, bore people for another one hour, but he’s a Maharaja. He can do what he likes.

Humility and Self-Assessment

It’s happening. I have many times told people, have a sober estimate about yourself. Don’t think you are such a great, interesting creature. You are not. It says in Romans chapter 12, verse 3, “Through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. But think soberly, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

Faith is like money. Another person may be able to write a check for 10,000 rupees. You cannot, because you only got 500 rupees in your bank account. Then write a check for less than 500 rupees. What I mean is, don’t preach so long. He can preach because he’s got 10,000 rupees in the bank. You got only 500. Don’t imitate him.

Do you know what will happen in India, if you have only 500 rupees in your bank and you give somebody a check for 10,000 rupees, you know what will happen? I hope you know. You can be imprisoned for giving a check which is above the limit of what you have. I’m telling you the truth. A check that is rejected, you can be imprisoned. How to evaluate? In check, it’s very easy. Bank account, you can make out. But how can you make out what is the measure of your faith? It says you must not preach above the measure of your faith.

Reflections on Leadership and Humility

And I’ll tell you something, my experience with senior CFC elders and junior CFC elders, most of them think more highly than they ought to think. It’s a fact. I’m telling you frankly, at least from now, and this is not the first time, for 30 years, I’ve been saying, don’t preach so long. Preach short.

You think anybody listens to me? No. Who’s brother Zac? I’m nobody. You don’t have to listen to me. But ask yourself whether God is questioning what you’re doing in your church, whether people are being worn out having to listen to you, listen to you, listen to you, listen to you. We can criticize the Pentecostal pastors. I’ll tell you some of our CFC elders are worse than the Pentecostal pastors.

True. We must have a sober estimate of ourselves, dear brothers. And if you’re brief, you can never hurt anybody. You know, in the olden days, not olden days, sometimes we have meetings in Bangalore, in CFC Bangalore, a weekday meeting, we would ask anybody to come and share.

The Danger of Overestimation

And I remember very well, one brother, who’s not from Bangalore, from another place, he said this in the meeting, till today I’ve not forgotten, this is 20 years ago, or 25 years ago. He was young, maybe 25, 28, 30 years old. He said, “I know I’ve been asked to speak only three minutes, but I feel that what I have to share is very important.” So he went on. I didn’t stop him. He is backslidden.

There was a time when he could have been an elder. He’s a useless brother today. Because he had high thoughts even then. Do you think he listened to me? No, I did not correct him. I’ve spoken. They don’t listen to me. I don’t go around giving private checkups to anybody. People come and ask me, I tell them the truth. There was one brother who once came to me in CFC and said, “Brother Zac, give me a spiritual checkup.”

ALSO READ: God Breaks Us In Order To Bless Us: Zac Poonen (Transcript)

I said, “Sure, you want one from me?” He said, “Yes.” Within two weeks, he left the church. They don’t like spiritual checkups because everybody has got high thoughts about themselves. I’m okay. The problem is, Brother Zac is always preaching about somebody else, not me. Okay, where do they end up finally?

So dear brothers, let me share with you, please, Romans 12:3. “Have a sober assessment about your own spiritual level and measure of faith.” And don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to think. Do you know that there is no verse in the Bible which says, ‘Don’t think of yourself less than you ought to think?’ Have you found a verse like that? Psychologists say that.

Psychologists in the world say, this low self-esteem, brother, don’t have that. Don’t think of yourself less. Think of yourself highly. Look at the result of the world today, following these psychologists. You’d never find a verse like that in the Bible. Because you cannot think low enough.

The Importance of Humility and Discipline

Jesus is down at the bottom. And we haven’t reached there yet. But don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. That doesn’t mean I know, you know, this cannot, some people can have this reaction. They are corrected once, okay, and I’ll just keep quiet. That is a man who’s offended, offended with correction, and so he won’t open his mouth. It’s like, if you tell your wife, “There was a little too much salt in the food today.” “Ah, today and tomorrow, I’m not cooking, you go and cook.”

Have you seen wives like that? Some brothers can be like that. They cannot accept correction. Because they’re so proud. They are convinced that they are absolutely perfect. In every area, there’s no need for anyone to correct them. Dear brothers, don’t be like that. Even the Holy Spirit will not be able to correct you then.

The Journey to Fulfilling God’s Purpose

I believe this is one of the most important things we must remember, and discipline your body. Paul said, “I discipline my body just like that.” You know, this man — supposing a man wants to run in the Olympic Games, which comes once in four years, the marathon race, which is about 40 kilometers — 40 kilometers, and the speed is about, the record is about two hours, one minute or something. Two hours to run 40 kilometers, means 20 kilometers an hour average speed, and how do they train for it?

They don’t eat all the types of food which will make them fat. They’re very disciplined in what they eat, disciplined in when they get up and go running every day to be fit in order to win this race, and finally they get a gold medal after four years daily training. And Paul says there in 1 Corinthians 9, they are doing all this for just a gold medal? What about us?

Do you feel that there is some way in which you have to run that God has got something for you? I’m not talking about reward, but God has a purpose to be fulfilled through your life. You and I were sent to this earth with a particular purpose, and we should be able to say at the end of our life, “I have finished my course, I fulfilled the purpose with which God sent me to this earth.” Every one of you, my brothers, should say that.

I have fulfilled the purpose with which God sent me to this earth. Not, my elder brother is happy with me, brother Zac is happy with me, take that and put it in the trash can. Just getting the opinion of people. I agree, I would say one thing, the opinion of a godly man is, I will never put in a trash can.

Valuing Godly Wisdom Over Human Opinion

The opinion of people, I will put in a trash can. What people say, so many people say things about me, I don’t care for it. But if there was someone like the Apostle Paul living today, and if the Apostle Paul told me, “Hey Zac, this thing is wrong in your life,” I will never put that in the trash can. No.

This is not an ordinary brother telling me this, this is a godly man telling me that he sees something questionable in my life. So, there are people’s opinions that must go to the trash can, and there are other people’s opinions that I will write down and keep reading regularly, say “Lord show me where my need is.” So, in this area, I believe we must really take it seriously to discipline. We have to discipline our eyes, we have to discipline our tongue.

Discipline in Marriage

The Bible says you must even be disciplined in your sex life, in your marriage, with your wife. I mean, it’s one thing to control your eyes in relation to being tempted with others, but imagine the standard that the Bible says, see 1 Corinthians 7, in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, he’s encouraging husband and wife to have sex in their marriage. It says, “and the wife, verse 4, 1 Corinthians 7:4, does not have authority over her body, and the husband does not have authority over his body, they must give themselves to each other.” And I want to say a word about that, I’ve said it before also.

A wife who does not want to give her body, or sex to her husband, should not get married. She should not have got married at all. I’m sorry to say there are some wives like that. I’ve heard from different brothers whose wives really trouble them. They think they have an authority over their body, and some of those wives think they are spiritual, they are probably not even born again. The wife does not have authority over her body when she’s married. Her husband has.

I’m sure you all agree with that, all who are married here. You agree with me 100%? Yes. I wish my wife would know that, you say, that she has no authority over her body, but I have authority over her body. Okay.

Now listen to what the word of God says to you. The husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. What does that mean? That’s not just saying that you must be ready to have sex with your wife any day. No. It means your wife has authority over your eyes, which are a part of your body. Do you know that? Did you know that once you got married, your wife had authority over your eyes? You are so eager for your wife to give her body to you. What about controlling your eyes to be faithful to your wife when she’s not there? What about the way you talk to some sisters, or somebody in your office, some lady, in such an intimate way?

The Essence of Practical Christianity

Supposing your wife came in at that moment, would you have to change your method of conversation? This is practical Christianity. It’s no use talking about New Covenant if these things are not in your life. If you don’t have control in these areas of your life, stop talking about the New Covenant. Go and repent and say, “Lord, help me to have a little more self-control in my life before I preach some fantastic things in the church.”

We really are called to have a high standard in the church. And I’m sorry to say that standard is going down in many CFC churches and the fault is with the leaders. And to make up for that, we have elders who shout and yell and scream and criticize and find fault with people. And like I said in the early meeting, call people fools, fools, fools.

I recently heard a message where a CFC elder called the congregation fools four times in a message. Can you believe that? You’d think that person is from some ungodly group. CFC elder, what are these churches coming to? I’ll tell you why. Because he has no authority over him or the authority over him cannot discern him. Or he thinks, I think he even said this, “nobody can remove me.” I think he even said something like that. Uh-huh. Even God cannot remove you. Oh, what a place you’ve come to. I’m not talking about Pentecostals or Baptists, I’m talking about CFC elders.

The Power of Self-Examination

Where have we come to, brothers? It is because there’s not been a consistent dis-judging of oneself every day. I stand before God and I say, “I have judged myself every day for many, many, many years.” I can’t even remember how long.

I live in a daily repentance in my life. And I say that before God today, because I know I have not yet become like Jesus Christ 100%. So my repentance is, “Lord, show me some area where I have not yet become like Christ.” And if I judge myself there, I know the anointing will be even more powerful upon my life. Anointing is not saying, “I was baptized in the Holy Spirit 20 years ago.” Please don’t ever glory in some ancient experience you had in the past.

If you’re not judging yourself now, you’re in a very serious condition. The mark of those who are in the house of God are that they judge themselves and not other people. They speak to other people on the basis of what they’ve judged in their own flesh. We have to discipline ourselves out of our laziness. Many people, I don’t know how many of you read the Word of God regularly. You know the scriptures.

The Importance of Discipline and Scripture Study

You read God’s Word. That is a very important discipline. And if you have not done it in your younger days, you must do it now. I remember those of you who are single, I want to urge you, discipline yourself to study the Bible. That’s how I did it in my younger days. From the time I was in the Naval base and I had a room to myself, so I was 23 years old. I prayed and prayed for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I would fast and pray, “Lord, I want to be anointed with the Holy Spirit.”

And God met with me and I would get up every morning. As soon as I got up from my bed, I’d kneel down and pray to God. And then I’d get up and sit with my Bible for a long time, studying it with my notes. And then at night after I finished work and came at night again, I would spend some time studying the Bible and then kneel down and pray and go to bed. This is how I lived my younger days. I did not know that one day God is going to give me some ministry or give me opportunity to teach the Word of God.

Pursuing God’s Will Over Personal Ambition

I didn’t know anything. That was not my ambition. My ambition was, “I want to please Jesus. How can I live a good life?” That’s the only reason I studied the Bible. Not to preach or to become a teacher. In fact, I went to an assembly where they did not even allow me to preach. They said, “You’re only 23 years old and there are older people who preach.”

So what did I do? I went into the streets. And for two years, every week, I would go and preach in the streets. That’s where I learned to preach, where people made fun of me and laughed at me. I said, “Okay.” So, dear brothers, please study the Bible. And we have produced so many books to help you to study the Bible. I don’t know whether you use it.

There are many people who are not CFC members. Many who are not CFC members have told me around the world, “Brother Zac, I have heard all your 70 hours of ‘Through The Bible.’ I put a headphone, I go for a walk, and I listen to it. And I listen to it. I go, come back, I’ve finished one study. In 70 days, I finished 70 hours.” There are people in CFC churches who have not done that. Maybe you know more of the Bible; you don’t need to do it.

Or is there written down in a book and you can read it if you can’t don’t have headphones. Or there are many other books, which all of them, Brother Ratnakumar has translated all of them into Tamil almost, Through The Bible also is being printed now. You read them? That’s my question. Do you read them? Or do you feel you know enough? If you find better books than that, please read it.

I never stop people from reading any book written by another man, which is more godly, which is lead you to a better life, but make sure it leads you to a higher life and shows you truths in the Scriptures, which I cannot show you. And if you find some truth like that, please tell me I would like to learn from anybody who can show me something which I have not yet learned in Scripture. But please do not be lazy in the study of the Scriptures. You cannot expect God to use you.

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The Necessity of Relying on God

And if you’re not disciplined in the matter of studying God’s word and seeking God earnestly for the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the things God has shown me is always remember John 15 and verse 5. John 15 and verse 5 has become one of my favorite verses.

John 15 verse 5, the last part, “without Me, you can do zero.” He said, “Without Me, you will do zero in your life.” I say that to you. If you don’t depend on the Lord, you will do zero in your whole life. No matter which preacher you listen to or which message you listen, you will do zero in your life if you don’t depend on the Lord. Without Me, you can do nothing. So our life must be one of constant dependence on the Lord. So we have to have that attitude in everything when you get up to speak. Don’t just say it, but mean it.

“Lord, I am like a branch in the tree. I can never produce even one fruit, even if I’ve been 50 years in this tree. Years of experience means nothing.” That sap, the Holy Spirit must flow to me now. It flowed to me yesterday, no use. Now… for fruit to come. That is how we must speak God’s word. That’s how we must live. That’s when we are seeking to advise somebody or counsel somebody. “Lord, I don’t know what to say. I don’t know the right word. I may give some advice which will mess up this poor person’s life. I want to listen to You. I want to hear what You have to say.”

Take a humble attitude. Humility is the most important thing in this matter. And then I believe God will always give you what you need. I was speaking in a meeting the other day in a church where I said, “Here are two commands in the Bible, or at least one command, which CFC leaders and others may not be obeying.” So turn with me to 1 Corinthians and chapter 14.

1 Corinthians 14 and verse 1, two commands, pursue after love. That means never stop running after more and more love in your heart for people. And the picture I have in my mind is like running to, you know, in our Indian bus stops, I’ve experienced this many times. I want to catch that bus, but I just see the buses started from the bus stop, started moving. And thankfully in Indian buses, they don’t have doors. So you can jump in even where after the buses started moving.

So I run and catch the bar and many times I’ve caught a bus like that. I think now they’ve got doors, you can’t do it, don’t try it. But that’s the picture I have in my mind. I don’t want to miss that bus. I don’t know when the next bus will come, maybe two hours later. Run to catch that bus and don’t lose it. That is the way I must pursue after love. That’s the picture in my mind. Pursue after love like that.

And here’s the second command, earnestly desire spiritual gifts. If he had said desire spiritual gifts, that itself would have been great. Earnestly desire spiritual gifts means you must have such a hunger, like if you’re hungry for a few days and you haven’t eaten. “I want food to have that type of desire for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” Isn’t it true that that is a command that CFC people have disobeyed? Ask yourself, have you earnestly desired spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy?

Seeking the Holy Spirit’s Guidance

I will tell you my testimony. I was in a brethren assembly. I got baptized there in 1961… 62, 63, 64. I was in a brethren assembly. They never spoke about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They never taught baptism in the Holy Spirit. I was challenged about it myself because I read the testimony of Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, all those people, how their lives were changed when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

I said, “Lord, I want that.” And the brethren assembly would not teach that. So I sought God on my own. I went to a Pentecostal assembly. I’d never been to Pentecostal assembly before. And they told me to keep saying hallelujah and shout and all. I said, “No, I’m not going to do that.” I came away and I said, “I knelt down in my room and I said, ‘Lord, I don’t want that.’ I want the genuine thing. And if I had to wait 10 years, I’ll wait for the real thing.

God met with me, but I began to obey this verse. I was 23 years old. And I said, “Lord, Your word says earnestly desire to prophesy.” And what is prophesy? It’s not preaching the future. That is Old Testament prophecy. New Testament prophecy is defined in verse 3 as seek to speak, to edify, build up people, challenge people, comfort people, to preach to people in such a way that you comfort them, challenge them, build them up.

Three things. That is New Testament prophecy. So it says earnestly desire that you can speak in such a way that you will challenge people when you speak to them, that you will comfort people when you speak to them, that you’ll build them up when you speak to them. Not with your clever intelligence. No. That is soul… Spirit, baptism in the Spirit, where the Spirit gives you the right words to comfort, challenge, and build up.

And even today, I keep seeking for it. Most of the time when I get up to speak, I say, “Lord, give me the gift of prophecy today as I speak.” I say that before I come to the pulpit. And I say, “Lord, make me like the branch now as I go up to the pulpit. I depend on You. I can’t produce anything.” Those are the two pictures in my mind always when I go up to preach. A branch cannot produce any fruit without the tree and earnestly desire to prophesy.

I believe it is one of the most disobeyed commands among CFC preachers. They have thought they can preach by their own ability. Or, listen to many messages of Zac Poonen, and I’ll have enough points for my next message. What is that? That’s good.

The Essence of Genuine Ministry

I’m not saying you shouldn’t listen to it. And you can also, somebody asked me once, “Brother Zac, can I preach your messages?” I said, “Sure, if you live them first, you can preach it.” If you don’t live them and you don’t even have a desire to live them, then you’re a hypocrite. But if you live them, it’s not my message, it’s God’s message. But if you don’t live them, but more than that, you must really seek, brothers, I really long that you brothers will all, imagine if all, how many are we here, 250 or 300? Imagine if 300 people seek for the gift of prophecy.

Can you imagine what will happen to our churches? Can you imagine what will happen to your church if you began to honestly desire the gift of prophecy and stop preaching for one hour and say, “I’ll preach only for 20 minutes from now on, but I’ll prophesy.” Not bore people for one hour, but prophesy, build up, challenge, comfort. And I cannot do it on my own.

And you’ll be amazed to see how many people will be blessed through your ministry. We want everybody, just, what does it say further down in this verse? Verse 31, 1 Corinthians 14:31. “You can all prophesy.” So what is it, only senior elders or something can do this? No, all. I say to all of you sitting here, my dear brothers, you can all prophesy. Don’t have such a low estimate of yourself that, oh, I can’t prophesy. Who said you can’t? Of course, you can. Say, “Lord, from today onwards, I’m going to seek You, and I’ll never stop seeking You.”

Addressing the Issue of Boring Sermons

You know that the most common complaint I get from many churches, “Brother Zac, our elder brother, is absolutely boring.” And he preaches for such a long time. And he hardly gives anybody else a chance. He’s boring. And who’s the one who does not realize he’s boring? He himself. Of course, most people are scared to tell him that. The Bible — and it’s not just one person, more than one person in a church, the Bible says, you know, it says in 1 Timothy chapter 5, that if two people complain about an elder in a church, you have to take it seriously. Just two people.

1 Timothy 5, verse 19. “Don’t receive an accusation against an elder unless there are at least two witnesses.” If two people in your church make a complaint, even if you’re an elder brother, about something in your life, that has to be investigated.

Accountability Among Leaders

Not say, “You keep quiet, you’re not an elder.” No, no, no, no, no. I listen to it. I listen to every accusation, even if it’s only one person. I find out if there’s another person, then I have to investigate it. Otherwise, I’m disobeying God. And he says, “if the accusation is true, then you must rebuke that elder, verse 20, in such a way that he’ll be afraid of sinning and others also will be afraid of sinning.” That’s how Paul, the Holy Spirit taught.

Elder is not such a special position that nobody can correct him. And that is another thing I fear that some CFC elders are coming to, where they think nobody can correct me. Imagine if a CFC elder can get up in a church and say, “nobody can remove me.” We don’t have a desire to remove anybody. That’s not our calling. I have no desire. But it says here that if somebody keeps on sinning, you have to rebuke him and remove him and replace him with somebody else. You can’t make the whole church suffer because one elder is not taking it seriously.

The Dangers of Leadership Monopoly

And there are cases where we’ve had to, I’ll tell you, this has happened in the past, where there’s nobody else to lead the church. This one man has been such a Maharaja, king, that he’s not allowed anybody to develop in that church because he’s afraid, then my position will be threatened. I feel sorry for such evil people. Are you a father?

I say to such people, which father is disturbed that his son got a better degree than him? “I studied only up to bachelor’s and my son did postgraduate.” Which father will be disturbed by that? You’ll be disturbed if somebody else’s son became postgraduate and your son is only graduate. But your own son, will you feel jealous that he’s doing a better degree than you? How can you be jealous as an elder, that somebody in your church is doing better than you, is more popular than you? People want to hear him more than they want to hear you.

If you are disturbed by that, I want to say to you in Jesus’ name, you are not a father. You’re a dictator. Like these dictators in some countries will not allow anybody else to rise up to challenge them. Yes, there are elders like that.

Reflecting on the Lifecycle of Movements

So everything is not as beautiful as it looks. And I’ll tell you that to your face. CFC has been going for 40 years. And if you read the history of past groups, their lifetime is 40 to 70 years. Some decline after 40 years. Very few groups remain in the same zeal and devotion for 70 years. That’s an exception. Most of them after 40 years, they begin to decline.

Because of a number of reasons, if you study the history of Methodist Church, Lutheran Church, Baptist Church, Pentecostal Church, Brethren Assembly, anything, you’ll always find some God raised up some men and for 40 years went along. And then they sat back and said, “we are God’s people.” And the moment they started saying that, they went down. And then the leader who founded that movement dies.

And then the people have no connection with God, the leaders. All the elders had only a connection with their leader, not with God. So when the leader is gone, they don’t know now what to do now. Sad.

The Importance of Personal Relationship with God

The leader knew God, the followers knew the leader. That is the way to read the history of past church movements. That’s what happened. So I want to encourage all of you, my dear brothers, get to know God personally. Very important. More important than knowing me, you must know God personally.

See this verse in Daniel in chapter 11 and verse 32, the last part, he’s talking about the spirit of the Antichrist that comes with smooth words and with godlessness. He’ll act wickedly against the new covenant. But in the midst of all that wickedness, the people who know their God will be strong and do great actions for God. What a verse. In the midst of all the spirit of the Antichrist operating, some people know God and they will be strong and do great exploits for God. Be in that number, dear brothers.

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Make knowing God your passion. That is why we emphasize devotion to Jesus Christ. Very important. The thing which I have tried to pursue all my life, devotion to Jesus Christ. Because from there comes our strength. And that is eternal life. John 17, verse 3. You’ve heard me say this many times.

Understanding Eternal Life

John 17, verse 3. Eternal life is not living forever. Because people who go to hell also live forever. Do they have eternal life? No. John 17, verse 3 says eternal life is not length of life. Because the real definition of eternal life is not a life that never ends, but a life that had no beginning and has no end. Aha!

Our life had a beginning. Eternal life is a life that had no beginning and no end. Even the angels don’t have it. Only God has it. And when it says we get eternal life, it means we get the very life of God. And it says “eternal life is, John 17, verse 3, to know God and His Son.” To know Him. Do you know what it means to know God, to know Jesus Christ? It’s a spiritual word, to know. The relationship with the believer, with Jesus Christ, is like wife to a husband. Christ is the head of the church. And the picture is of a husband and wife in Ephesians 5. He’s called our bridegroom.

And in the Old Testament, when Adam was married to Eve, it says Adam knew his wife and they got a child. The word “know” in the Old Testament is referring to sexual relation between husband and wife. So when it says to know Jesus Christ, it’s talking about a spiritual knowing of Jesus, which is as intimate spiritually as that physical union between a man and his wife.

And you know, man and his wife physical union is the closest physical union on earth. Man does not have that with his own father. He has it with his wife. And that is the way I am to know in my spirit with the Lord.

The Spiritual Union with Christ

See 1 Corinthians and chapter 6. 1 Corinthians 6. It’s not only with a wife. It says in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 16, “a man who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one flesh with her.” It is written “the two shall become one flesh.” Hey, I thought that was for husband and wife. Yeah. But if a man joins a prostitute, they become like husband and wife. Did you know that?

Did you know that when a man joins a prostitute, he becomes like married to her? “The two shall become one flesh.” That’s the word quoted of Adam and Eve. But, verse 17, “in the same way, when you join yourself to the Lord, one spirit with Him.” So to know the Lord is to become one spirit with Him. It’s like knowing your wife is to become one body with her. Knowing the Lord is to become one spirit with Him. That is eternal life.

That means I have a connection with the Lord. Like one spirit is something like electricity. It just flows to me. It comes through an intimate personal relationship with Jesus. That is the relationship God wanted to have with Adam. That is the meaning of the tree of life. When God sent Adam into the Garden of Eden, the tree of life symbolized, “Adam, you have a relationship with Me. Consult Me in everything.”

The tree of knowledge of good and evil means you don’t want a relationship with God. You have the knowledge of good and evil in your own mind, and you decide yourself what is right and wrong. And you know, Adam chose that. He doesn’t need God. And all the descendants of Adam from that time onwards are feeding from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “I know what is good and evil.”

Understanding Good and Evil

Is it wrong to know good and evil? We teach our children what is good and evil. It’s not wrong to know good and evil. But it’s a question of from what source you get that knowledge. If you get it by yourself… Adam got it by putting it inside himself. All the people in the world. There are a lot of ungodly atheists who don’t commit adultery, don’t cheat, don’t steal. They know it’s wrong. They don’t do… They’ve got a knowledge of good and evil. That is the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

But the tree of life is where… like the branch in the tree. “Lord, I don’t know what is good and evil. You tell me.” That’s how we are supposed to live. See John chapter 5, verse 19. Very important verse. “The Son can do nothing by Himself unless it is something He sees the Father doing.” What do you mean “sees the Fther”? He senses in His spirit. “This is what the Father wants. Okay, I do it.”

And what I see the Father do, Jesus says, I do the same thing. And then He goes on to say in verse 30, “I can do nothing on My own initiative.” That means I don’t myself decide what I should do. I hear and I judge. I hear and I do. It’s a wonderful way of life. Think of Jesus walking down the road, always listening, always listening. And the Holy Spirit says, “Stop.”

Following Jesus’s Example

He stops. “Look up in the tree. That man’s name is Zacchaeus. You must stay with him.” So Jesus says, “Zacchaeus, come down. I’m going to stay with you.” He’s never met him before in His life. Now don’t say Jesus said that because He’s God. He lived on earth as a man. He gives us an example of how we — just because we don’t experience such things, because we don’t have that close walk with God, you think He did it because He was God.

The moment you think that Jesus did everything as God, you’ll never follow Him. You cannot follow God. He came to earth as a man. He lived as a man. He was tempted as a man. He overcame as a man. He lived as a man. He served as a man. But it takes time to develop into that life.

It took Him 30 years to get there. You’re not going to get there in one year. But the question is, do you have a passion to live that dependent life on the Lord all the time? Most people don’t. They’re quite happy. They say, “I know what to do. Why do I have to consult God about everything?” See the result of your life.

What is the result of running your own life without consulting God about anything? “Without Me, you can do nothing.” It’s one of the most important lessons God taught me in my life. I can do zero without Him.

And I’m learning it more and more and more. And it’s amazing what God can do through you if you will trust Him. Sometimes a little sentence can come out of your mouth and without your knowledge, it has blessed somebody. You did not know it. But if you’re in touch with God and you’re sincere, you say things that without your knowledge, you bless somebody. I mean, we read that. Think of this amazing example in John 11. I thought of this.

Prophesying Unknowingly

John 11, we read of an unconverted evil Jewish high priest called Caiaphas in verse 49. He was a man who was out to crucify Christ. John 11:49. But he was a high priest. So in those days, he was a man whom God was somehow overseeing. So they said, “We must get rid of this man.” And Caiaphas said, “No, you know nothing at all.”

Verse 50, “you don’t take into account. It is better for you that one man should die for the people and not the whole nation should perish.” Now, he did not say this on his own initiative. But being the high priest, he was prophesying that Jesus was going to die for the nation. Who is doing this prophecy? Caiaphas, a high priest who is unconverted.

Are you challenged by that? That if you’re in touch with God, you may say things which you don’t even realize and it bless somebody. I’ll never forget. I spoke in a meeting many years ago somewhere. In some context, I said, “You should not go to that house.” About a month later, I remember one brother came to me and said, “Brother, I want to tell you something. I came to that Sunday meeting because I was going to rent a house. And I was saying, ‘Lord, speak to me specifically in this meeting, whether I should rent that house or not.'”

And I heard you say, “Don’t take that house.” “I said, ‘Okay, thank You, Lord. I take that word.'” I said, “How did that help you?” He says, “Look, two weeks later, that house got burnt up. Thank you.” I said, “I did not know. It helped you, praise the Lord.”

I remembered Caiaphas without knowing he prophesied. Now, if that fellow can do that, why can’t you? Brothers, be in touch with God. Keep a clear conscience. And it’s amazing how God can bless people through you. The Lord said to Abraham, “All families of the earth will be blessed through you.” Is that only for Abraham?

Galatians chapter 3 and verse 14. “In Christ, the blessing of Abraham can come to us Gentiles through the promise of the Holy Spirit.” What is the blessing of Abraham? “Through you, all families will be blessed.” In other words, I’ve taken it like this. “Lord, the blessing of Abraham, according to Galatians 3:14, is mine through the fullness of the Holy Spirit.” So I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit all the time. And then every family I touch will be blessed in some way.

Embracing Your Spiritual Heritage

They will. I’m not saying I’ll solve all their problems. But in some way, every family I touch will be blessed. The whole Christian world can call me a heretic. It makes no difference. That’s for you, my brothers. But nothing in the Bible is for you unless you claim it. If you sit there and say, “No, no, no, it’s not for me,” then it’s not for you.

But if you say, “I’m a child of God, and you said the blessing of Abraham is mine through the Holy Spirit, why can’t it be for me?” Be bold and be humble. And when God uses you, don’t get puffed up about it. Don’t think that you’re somebody. No. Humble yourself and give the glory to God if He’s done it.

But I want to say to every one of you, my dear, dear brothers, it is God’s will, please listen carefully, that every family you touch should be blessed by you. Every one. They may not all get healing of their sicknesses. I don’t know, some cases it may come. Families who have not had children for years, wife will become pregnant, God will bless them with a child. All types of things can happen. Seek to be in touch with God and to be filled with the Holy Spirit all the time.

Expecting Opposition and Blessing

Of course, along with that will come the persecution, rejection. You’ll be called Beelzebub, Prince of Devils. Jesus said if the head of the house is called Prince of Devils, how much more the members of the family. So it all comes in the same package. You’ll be a blessing to people and people will curse you also. That’s okay.

But it’s a wonderful life to be available to Jesus as a servant in these last days. Pray. Smile. Please, you may not remember everything that you heard today, but if you have been challenged by one thing or two things, concentrate on that and say, “Lord, I got a challenge today and I want to take it seriously.” Say, “Lord, in the past I’ve got many challenges, but I forget about them after a few days. I don’t want to forget it this time.”

I want to take it seriously. I believe it is Your will for me that I should be a blessing to every family I meet. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Help me to realize my nothingness. I really long to be able to speak in such a way that people will be comforted, challenged, and built up. When they come to the meetings, they will recognize that they have met with Jesus.

Thank You, Father. Help us all, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Speaking As God’s Mouthpiece: Zac Poonen Sermon (Transcript)