Here is the full transcript of Bible teacher Zac Poonen’s sermon titled “We Must Judge Ourselves Every Day”.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Jesus Defends the Children
Many years ago, nearly 2,000 years ago, there was a scene in the temple, just like we saw just now. And you read about it in Matthew chapter 21, verse 15. The chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that Jesus had done and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” They became angry.
Indignant means really angry because they felt, “Hey, the temple is not a place to be shouting and all that. You’ve got to be sober and quiet, treat it like a graveyard.” I’ve been to churches where the Sunday morning service is like a funeral.
Everybody’s so sad and serious and solemn that if anybody started clapping and shouting, they’d think he’s disturbing the solemn graveyard spirit of that church. And the Pharisees were like that. They said to Jesus, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them — He always defended the children.
I love that. He always took the side of the underdog. He always took the side of the children and those who are despised and rejected by society. “Yes, have you never heard, ‘‘OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?”
Genuine Praise vs. Hypocrisy
I believe praise is something that all of us should have in our life regularly. On the Sunday, if you praise God only on Sunday, let me tell you plainly, you’re an actor. Actors act when they’re on the stage.
The rest of the time, they’re just normal people. You know these Hollywood actors, somebody acts like Moses in a movie and then in the evening he’s drunk or committing adultery or something like that.
The Sunday so-called worship is an act. It’s not something we praise the Lord in unknown tongues. Nobody can understand. Praising, praising, yelling and screaming in unknown tongues. When you go to their home the same afternoon, in their mother tongue, they are shouting at their wives.
Reacting Against Hypocritical Christianity
It’s hypocrisy. It’s all a deception. I saw so much of this in my younger days, I got fed up. And I said, “Lord, this is not Christianity. I don’t want it.” That’s why I reacted against almost all the hypocritical Christianity I saw everywhere.
I said, “If it’s not genuine, it’s not worth it. What we say we must mean.” If we, for example, in a meeting, very often I would sing a song. And it was, say a song like, “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.” I was just singing the song.
Jesus Is Present When We Gather
I didn’t realize, you know, Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst.” I said, “Lord Jesus, You’re right here. Did I tell it to You?
Did I tell You, ‘Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold,’ or did I just like the song?” I realized I was just singing the song.
And I remember in those olden days, we didn’t have screens and all like that, we had songbooks. And song number so-and-so, and that was, say, “Take My Life and Let It Be.” I’m just saying one example. And then they would go to the next song.
And I suddenly realized, “Hey, I didn’t speak that to the Lord. I just loved the melody and I knew the words of the song. I didn’t even have to look at the songbook, I just sang it.”
Singing to the Lord Personally
Do you know what I do? While the others are singing the other song, I turn back to the old song. I say, “I want to read that out now, Lord, to You in Your presence. Quietly, I don’t want to disturb the others, they’re singing another song. But the last song we sang, I didn’t sing it to You. I just loved the tune and shook my head and sang it.”
And I said, “Lord, now I’m singing to You, You’re here, I know You’re here, and I said, ‘Take my life. Take my silver and my gold, not a mite will I withhold. Take my life and let it be always, only, all for Thee.'”
And then the songs became so meaningful. And I was blessed when I went back from that meeting. I want to encourage you to do that.
Recognizing Jesus as the Most Important Person
Do you really believe that the most important person in a meeting is the Lord Jesus Christ? Not the preacher, the Lord Jesus Christ. If the President of the United States were coming here and visited us, I’m sure all of you would be conscious, “Oh, the President is here.” Even if you’re a Republican, you’d be concerned.
Even if the President is a Democrat, it doesn’t matter, the President is here. Imagine, Jesus being here, and we don’t even recognize Him as being present in the meeting. How many meetings I’ve gone through and I’ve repented. “Lord, I was conscious of the preacher, conscious of so many people. And even when I was singing, it was just the song, I wasn’t conscious You were there, that I was talking to You.”
“Father of Jesus, love’s reward, what rapture will it be? Prostrate before Thy throne to lie and gaze and gaze on Thee.” Those things have become meaningful to me because now I sing it to the Lord.
Singing to the Lord at All Times
And I failed many, many years, but the Lord kept on reminding me, was very patient. It changed my life. So when I sing it at home or sing it to myself, I want to encourage you, sing to the Lord. Even when you’re alone, if you’re singing in the bathroom, when you’re having a shower, sing to the Lord, He’s there. It’s a wonderful thing, teach your children to sing to the Lord when you sing as a family.
Remind them, Jesus said, “If two or three are gathered together in My name, I am in the midst.” I believe in almost all the churches in the world, the most unrecognized person is Jesus Christ. We’re gathering in His name, we say the church is a church of Jesus Christ, and all these fantastic words we say, but He’s there, but we don’t even recognize Him.
Can you think of that, if the president of the U.S. came here and nobody bothered about him, he just sat there and went away, and not a single person bothered about him. What an insult that would be. But the Lord is so, He would never come again to that church, but the Lord still comes, every service, even though He’s unrecognized, insulted, He still comes.
Sing from the Heart, Not Outward Appearance
I say, “Lord, I don’t want to insult You anymore. I want to recognize Your presence in every meeting, even if it’s a few people, simple people, maybe.” I’ve been in meetings where they don’t sing properly.
So many people are out of tune. It makes no difference to me. I’ll tell you, the Lord’s not bothered whether you’re singing in tune. You know that? All those who can’t sing properly, be encouraged. The Lord does not bother whether you sing in tune.
He listens to whether you sing it from your heart, and it doesn’t matter. I praise God for that. Man looks on the outward appearance, he listens to the outward singing, but God looks at the heart.
Desiring to Be the Greatest
So when He heard those children singing there that day, He was excited. These children sing, “Hosanna, Son of David,” and all those Pharisees didn’t know this was the Son of David. Sometimes children know a little more than we do.
Turn with me also to Matthew chapter 18. Even in Christendom today, in many churches, there is a longing to be known as who’s the greatest. Who’s the most important person in this building? Who’s the most important person in this church? And they have all types of titles now to identify that they came up with the reverend. You know the Bible, there’s in the Psalms it says, “God is holy, His name is reverend.”
So it says, “Holy and reverend is His name.” And it’s Psalm 111 or something. “Holy and reverend is His name.” You know what the devil said?
Titles and Pride in Christianity
Before he became the devil, “I will be like the Most High.” He’s not the only one who’s going to have that title. So there are multitudes of people today who say, “My name is reverend.”
“Holy and reverend is God’s name and your name is reverend too, is it?” Then there were so many reverends that somebody said, “I’m right reverend.” Not just, then there were so many right reverends, somebody said, “I’m most reverend.” Is this Christianity?
And there’s so many dumb Christians who sit there with their mouths open and say, “Oh, great man of God,” garbage. This is the type of thing John the Baptist stood against and they killed him.
John the Baptist has been my hero almost from the earliest time that the Lord called me to serve Him. A man who prepared the way for Jesus Christ’s first coming. And he was called Elijah, who would prepare the way for the first coming.
Elijah Preparing the Way
And in the book of Malachi it says, there will be another Elijah who prepares the way for the second coming. Malachi 4:5, “I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” The first coming was not the terrible day of the Lord.
But John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah. In the last days, it’s not going to be a single individual, it’s a new man, the body of Jesus Christ. The body of Jesus Christ. There’s no important individual in the church now. We have different gifts. Nobody’s a reverend or right reverend, most reverend in God’s eyes.
Imagine going up to heaven and saying, “I’m most reverend so and so.” The angels will laugh at you. Better get rid of it now itself.
The Elijah of the Last Days
The Elijah — there are people who have risen up in Christianity who said, “I am the Elijah of the last days.” That’s worse than saying you’re the most reverend. I asked the Lord for the light on this.
The Lord said, “The Elijah is the church. The one man, the one new man, the body of Christ. We are to be the Elijah together who are preparing the way for the coming of our Savior, preparing people, warning people.”
The way I live must be a warning to other people. If I waste my time, spend my money on all types of useless things, I’m not a testimony to others that I’m getting ready for the coming of the Lord, prepared for the coming of the Lord.
No, I’m just living a careless life like everybody else, but go on Sunday and sing about the coming of Christ and get excited for a little while and then go back to my same old life. I hope none of you will go back from here to live the same way of life that you live till now, till you came here.
Preparing for the Coming of the Lord
I hope there’ll be some change. Otherwise, we have wasted this conference. I take it seriously.
I’ve been attending conferences for 50 years, but I say I’m just as passionate today as I was 50 years ago that we shall prepare people for the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. That’s the reason why we have conferences. There’s a day coming when it will be too late to set anything right.
It’ll be too late. Jesus said don’t have to run into the house that day to settle something. Why does He say from the roof you have to run down to the house when the Lord has come? You know that place where He said you should not have to go down to the house. You should from the field. You should not have to say I have to go back home or from your office.
You shouldn’t have to say I have to go back home. Why? Because you had a fight with your wife in the morning and you’re out in the office and the Lord is coming and you say, “Hang on Lord, I have to settle things with my wife.”
Living in Perpetual Readiness
No, there’s no time for that. You should live in perpetual readiness for the coming of the Lord. Every day, every moment. There should be no moment in my life where if the Lord comes I say, “Lord, wait I’ve got to settle something with somebody. I’ve got to repay a debt, Lord. Hang on otherwise I’m not ready for Your coming.”
Meaning is I must be ready for the coming of the Lord. That’s what He meant by you should not have to run to your house or come down from even to the roof downstairs when the Lord comes. I live in perpetual readiness and God is my witness that’s how I live.
If I accidentally hurt somebody with my words I apologize as soon as I’m aware of it. And if somebody tells me that “You treated me like this” and even if I didn’t, I apologize.
Apologizing and Making Peace
Let’s have peace. It’s like he wanted my shirt, I said take my coat also. He wanted me to walk one mile, I’ll walk two miles with you. Isn’t that what Jesus taught us? He says, “You did me wrong,” you apologize, I said, “Okay, I apologize, what else?” Dear brothers and sisters, take the words of Jesus seriously.
You will not have any regret in the day He comes. I try to follow that literally. This business of forgiveness, I major on it nowadays, I don’t know why but the last more than a year, I don’t believe I’m a prophet, I don’t believe I’m an apostle, I don’t take any title for myself.
And the reason is because Jesus said in Matthew 23, “Don’t be called,” verse 8, “don’t be called a rabbi.” Those days it was a rabbi, nowadays no Christians don’t call themselves a rabbi. These days it is apostle, reverend, right reverend, prophet, they put that title “Prophet so and so,” “Apostle so and so.”
Being Brothers and Servants
They wouldn’t call themselves “Brother so and so,” but that’s what Jesus said. “You’re all brothers,” verse 8, why don’t we take what Jesus said and say “I’m brother, I don’t have any other title.” If you want another title, He gave us another one also, verse 11, “Be a servant.”
You can call yourself “Servant so and so,” that’s also good if you prefer that, but not apostle and prophet and right reverend and all that rubbish. But we don’t take Jesus seriously, and because we don’t take these little things seriously, there are many other things He said we don’t take seriously. I decided to take everything seriously, I’ve told people, “Tell me if you find something in the Bible I’m not obeying, something I’m not preaching, something I’m keeping quiet on because it would make me unpopular, tell me.”
If you show it to me from Scripture, I’ll preach it, in the New Testament, not some Old Testament law, like “Keep the Sabbath” or something like that. I’m not a Jew, I don’t live under the old covenant, I finished with the old covenant long ago.
I’m living in the new covenant where the spirit of the command is the important thing, and where mercy triumphs over judgment. So, dear brothers, I think it’s very important for us to be ready for the coming of the Lord. And when Jesus, you know, people want to be great, and we read in Matthew 18, I was just going to show you that.
Who Is the Greatest?
They asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 18:1. And Jesus called a child and — it was a real, maybe He picked up a baby from a mother’s arm, so “Give Me that baby in one minute.” It was a real baby.
And He said, “Truly I say to you,” and He pointed to this baby in His arms, “unless you get converted,” this is another type of conversion. We were converted from our ungodly life once upon a time when we were born again.
Be Converted and Become Like a Child
But here’s another conversion that all the converted people need. Unless you’re converted and to become like a little child, in your spirit, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself, what is the thing He’s emphasizing?
He’s not emphasizing cleverness. The little baby is not clever. He can’t answer your clever questions. He doesn’t even know how to spell “cat” or “bat” or any of those things, but he’s got a spirit. I’ll tell you, I’ve meditated on two people in the world, of course, other than the life of Jesus. I meditate on what a child is like, a baby.
And I meditated on a servant. We have a lot of servants who work in our homes in India. Poor people, illiterate, uneducated, so poor they work in homes as maidservants or little boys who work, or illiterate people who work as servants because there’s nothing else, they can’t get any other job.
Learning from a Baby’s Innocence
And I meditated on them, learned a lot by meditating on them. Jesus is not here. I read in the Bible, I try to meditate on that.
What do I learn from a little baby? It’s absolutely innocent. It doesn’t have — you think of that little three-month-old baby lying in the cradle. Jesus said, “I’ve got to learn from it. Learn how to be important in the kingdom of heaven.” And I think, what does that baby think lying down and thinking there? Is he thinking, “How smart I am? Everybody’s looking at me. I must be pretty good.
A Baby Doesn’t Remember Evil
I must be pretty beautiful. Everybody’s admiring me. They’re saying nice things about me.” He doesn’t even know. I say, “Lord, I want to be like that. People can say all types of things, appreciation and all, let me be like that baby.”
I would encourage you to meditate on how three-month-old babies, their mind works. And the other thing I meditated is, because Jesus said, “You’ve got to convert it and be like a baby to enter God’s kingdom.” I want to enter God’s kingdom. And I take His word seriously. I say, “What does it mean, Lord, to be converted?” Converted means to change our way of thinking.
Choosing Not to Remember Hurts
That was years ago when I changed my way of thinking towards sin and the world and decided to follow Jesus. Now, here’s another conversion of the converted. Need to be converted and become like little babies.
The other thing I saw with little babies is, they don’t remember the evil that you did. I’m not telling you to try this out. But if you go and pinch a baby today, you go back tomorrow, he’ll smile at you. He won’t even remember you’re the one who caused him some pain yesterday. Oh, Lord, make me like that.
I tell you, that’s honestly the truth. That baby will not remember that you were the evil person who pinched him unnecessarily yesterday. Have you meditated on this, to be like a little baby?
Learning from a Baby’s Humility
Lord, make me like that. That somebody hurt me yesterday and I don’t remember it today. That means I choose not to remember it. My memory is there. You can’t get rid of things from your memory. But I choose not to remember what you said yesterday about me.
Oh, the way you treated me yesterday. I choose not to remember it. I treat you as if you gave me a warm welcome yesterday, even though you didn’t. This is true Christianity. A lot of people who call themselves Christians and Spirit-filled and all the fantastic words they use, they don’t know the ABC of a spiritual life. I encourage all of you to learn from babies.
A Baby Is Not Ashamed of Its Needs
I also learned, there are many more things we can learn from babies. It doesn’t try to show off how much knowledge or impress anybody. It’s not a shame to express a need.
“Mommy, I’m thirsty.” Not ashamed to express the smallest need to the Lord in prayer. “Lord, I’m needy. I’m getting a bit discouraged. Please help me not to.” I used to be tempted with discouragement from my earliest Christian life. Because I wanted to live a godly life and I wasn’t able to. And I’d fail and I’d get up and I’d discourage, discourage, discourage, discourage. For 16 years, till God one day filled me with the Holy Spirit and turned my life around.
Speaking as the Utterance of God
Discouragement went away. It’s been completely different for me the last 50 years. But I’m still tempted. I’m tempted because I have such a high standard. I say, “Lord, you know, take a word like this. I don’t know how many people take it seriously. Because those who preach, I take it seriously.” 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 11, “Whoever speaks,” and this is referring to preachers. So it’s referring to people like me.
Let’s say whoever preaches. “Let him do it as one who is speaking the very utterance of God.” Have you read it? This is the first time you’re reading it.
Judging Myself as a Speaker
I’m sure all of you have read 1 Peter more than once before this. Did you notice this verse? Especially many of you here who preach God’s word. Even if you preach only for five minutes in a Sunday. How are you supposed to speak? As the utterance of God.
In other words, you have to speak as if God is speaking through you. And every time I speak, I go home and judge myself. I went home last night and I was lying in bed and I was judging myself very severely.
“Lord, I said many things today. I said many things today. Was it exactly what You wanted to tell all these people?”
The Awesome Responsibility of a Speaker
Like, this is what I said. I said, ‘Lord, all these people have spent so much money. Taken so much trouble. Taken leave from work and come all the way here to listen to me. What an awesome responsibility I have. Think of all, calculate all the money that has been spent coming here. And that has been spent for this from here itself. And I’m the cause of it. Is it worth all that money?’
I said, ‘Lord, please help me. I was, I didn’t get discouraged, but I was on the verge of it, being tempted. I haven’t done it as I should have.”
Seeking to Speak What God Wants
I didn’t even speak. I tried my best. But I said, “Lord, did I say exactly what You wanted me to say in every meeting? Was that what You wanted me to say?”‘ I mean, I tried my best to understand what You wanted to say in every session. And I tried to hear You.
And I thought about it even in the days before the conference came. And I was willing to let the Lord change or modify any plan I had. But still, at the end of the day, I say, “Lord, I’m not sure whether I did it right.”
To the utterance of God. And secondly, did I do it with the strength that God supplies? That means, was it my own cleverness or my past experience?
Speaking by God’s Strength for His Glory
Oh, I’ve spoken so many times, I can always get up and speak. Was it, was it the strength of my past experience with which I spoke? Or was it, as I was listening to God, the strength that God supplies? Was it the utterance of God? Did it come from God, that word? Was it with the strength that God supplies?
And thirdly, was it only for the glory of God? Was there even the slightest desire that people should admire me or appreciate me or thank me or any such thing? Only that God may be glorified.
I thought about that verse many times and I said, “Lord, I’m not perfect, but I want to get there. And I’ll never get there if I don’t judge myself all the time.” In my, judging myself doesn’t make me miserable.
Sleeping Peacefully Because of Self-Judgment
I’ll tell you, honestly, I’m a very happy person. I sleep peacefully at night. I don’t toss around in bed. I don’t do anything. I don’t toss around in bed wondering what people are going to do to me or did to me in the past. No.
But the Bible says, “If I judge myself, I won’t be judged.” That’s why I take verses like this very seriously, that what I speak must be from God, utterance of God, through God, by the strength that God supplies, and to God, for the glory of God. I wrote a whole book on that, on those three verses. It’s from Romans chapter 11, the last two verses. From God, through God, to God. There’s a book called “Living as Jesus Lived.”
Answerable to God
But that’s come home to me, my heart very strongly. To be answerable to God. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. I’m really, really giving a testimony here. And I will keep doing this until the day Jesus comes, because when I stop doing it, I’m imagining that I’ve already become like Christ. That’s my conviction.
If I stop judging myself any day, I’m indirectly saying, “I’ve already become like Christ. No more judgment required.” But I haven’t become. I will become like Him only when He comes. And, yeah, let me turn first to 1 John 3. 1 John 3, this is where I, what I just said I got from.
The Hope of Being Like Christ
When He comes, 1 John 3:2, the last part. “When He comes, we will be like Him.” This is what the Elijah of the last days, the John the Baptist of the last days, that is the church. He’s supposed to proclaim.
When Christ comes, we will be like Him. Every true believer will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. So he says, that is the hope that we have. My hope is not Christ is coming alone. My hope is I’ll be like Him when He comes. That’s a very important part of my hope.
If when He comes, I’m still like this, I’d be miserable. I have a tremendous hope I will be like Him. And if I have this hope, how do I prove it?
Purifying Ourselves
Verse 3, “Everyone,” no exception, “who has this hope,” which hope? Not the hope of the coming of Christ. No, the hope that I’ll be like Him when He comes. Read that earlier. Not that He will appear, but that I will be like Him when He appears. That’s the hope.
What is your hope? Is it your hope? Is your hope that Christ will come again? Or is your hope, like it says here, we will be like Him when He appears? And everyone who has this hope, which one? That you will be like Him when He appears.
The Proof of Our Hope
What is the proof? Not that I confess with my mouth. “Yes, I will be like Him when He appears.” That’s not the proof that you have this hope. Everyone who has this hope will demonstrate it by praying. Who has this hope will demonstrate it by purifying himself until he reaches Christ’s standard of purity.
Are you doing that? If not, don’t ever say that you have the hope of the second coming of Christ. It’s an empty, shallow statement. Yeah, I never preach what I don’t try to practice myself. I’ll never do it by God’s grace until the Lord calls me home. I will preach what I’ve practiced.
Striving Toward Christ’s Standard of Purity
For me, the hope is not Christ is coming. My hope is that I shall be like Him when He comes. And I prove that to myself. I’m not here to convince you. Everyone who has this hope, I want to live before God and say, “I will purify myself and stop only when I’ve reached Your standard of purity.” And I haven’t reached there yet. It’s getting better.
Purifying Ourselves as Christ Is Pure
I compare myself with the things I used to react to even two, three years ago. It doesn’t bother me now. Many new things that the Lord’s taught me as I seek to purify myself as He is pure.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 11. It says here about, it relates to being ready for the coming of the Lord. Because do you know that at the coming of the Lord, we look back to His dying on the cross.
Everybody knows that this is symbolizing the Christ body that was crucified, His blood that will shed the cup. But that’s not all. Do you know at the Lord’s table, we’re supposed to look back to the cross of Calvary and look forward to His second coming as well.
Examining Ourselves at the Lord’s Table
We are in between. See what it says. Verse 26, two things, “As often as you eat this bread,” whether you break bread once a month or once in three months or once a week, as often every single time “you eat this bread and drink this cup, you look back to the Lord’s death” and “you look forward to His coming.”
That’s where you do that when you come to the Lord’s table, look back to His death. I think a lot of people do that, but look forward to His coming. Many people think about that. We are in this in between stage. And so I have to be careful.
It says here, I must examine myself. Verse 28, every time I eat this bread and drink this cup, not examine myself, whether I accept Christ as my Savior. I’m looking forward to His coming.
Judging Ourselves to Avoid God’s Judgment
Am I ready to meet Him? Am I purifying myself as He is pure? That’s the thing I’m going to examine myself when I break bread.
How many of you have done that the last time you broke bread or every time you broke bread? Otherwise, you’re eating and drinking judgment to yourself. You don’t judge the body rightly, it says in verse 29. And that’s the reason why some of you are spiritually weak and spiritually sick, and some of you are spiritually dead. That’s verse 30. That’s how I interpret verse 30.
You don’t take it seriously. You’re spiritually weak, you’re spiritually sick, you’re spiritually dead. You’re not supposed to be like that.
The Importance of Judging Ourselves
But how to get out of that? Here’s the verse that’s helped me for years. 1 Corinthians 11:31. If we judge ourselves, you know, human, the entire human race is an expert at judging other people. We’re all experts. We know what’s wrong with everybody in the world.
We know what’s wrong with this politician and that politician, and we know who should be the next president and all that. I don’t know, to tell you honestly. I don’t know what’s good for this country. I don’t know what’s good for India. But I know one thing. It says in 1 Timothy 2 that the Lord appoints people to rule countries.
Praying for Those in Authority
And I say, “Lord, I don’t know the elections in India. I never voted in my life, but I’d vote in the prayer meeting. We’d have a prayer meeting on the day of the election. And I’d gather everybody and say, ‘Brothers and sisters, let’s cast our vote. And we vote, Lord, You know who is the best person to rule our country. We want that person to rule it.'”
We don’t have the option in India of, everybody’s a Hindu, who’s standing for the election. All idol worshippers. So there’s no question of Christian or not. Hardly anybody’s a Christian in the political field. But we believe that God is sovereign. When Paul wrote in Timothy, “Pray for those in authority,” 1 Timothy chapter 2.
Praying for Freedom to Preach the Gospel
Do you know who was in authority in Rome? The worst emperor, Nero. Pray for him. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, “Pray for him.” Pray for what? “So that we can live a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” as Christians.
That’s what we pray in India, too. I don’t care which religion guy is on the top. We pray that we shall have freedom to preach the gospel in this country and proclaim Christ till He comes again. That’s what I’m interested in this country, too. I’m not a Democrat or Republican or anything. I’m a Christian.
Trusting in God’s Sovereignty
And I pray that the Lord — the Lord knows what is the best for this country and who should rule. So I don’t have any choice. And honestly, see, I don’t have a choice.
If I have a choice, it’ll be because I use my mind to think this, this, this, this, this. Yeah, I’m not against people who think of all those things and vote. I’m not saying anything about voting. I’m saying I believe that as I pray, I believe and I’ve seen that for 40 years in India with different people coming into power. I’ll give you an example.
Many years ago, in the 1970s, I was coming back from a preaching trip to the northernmost part of India, it’s called Kashmir. And I was coming back and I think I’d taken a flight to Delhi and I was then coming there from Bangalore. And that one night, I had a vision.
A Vision and Prayer for India
Now, I think I had only one vision in my whole life. That was it. I’ve had many dreams. But in that vision, I saw the one who was the second leader, political leader in our country at that time. There were two parties who joined together and were leading our country at that time. It was what’s called a coalition government.
Coalition government means two parties, neither of them could get the majority, so they joined together to get the majority. Because in India, we have not just two parties, we have so many parties voting for the elections and you need to get more than 50%. Sometimes two parties have to join together to get more than 50% of the seats in what they call Parliament Party there.
And the leader of the second party, not the Prime Minister, but the Deputy Prime Minister, I saw his face. And I saw the face of the North Indian people. And I heard the voice saying to my heart, “The power to free these people is in the church.”
Praying in Tongues for India’s Leaders
So I said, “Lord, what does this mean? Why am I seeing this politician’s face and the power to free these people who are in bondage?” So when I don’t know what to pray for, I pray in tongues.
So I kept praying in tongues with this man in mind. Because I’m not a politician, I was not for him or against him. So the best thing is to pray in tongues. And I did that, did that for days, many, many days. I shared that with people in a small — we had a small local church meeting in my house. It was the early days of CFC, the 1970s.
And I think it was the next day or so he had a heart attack. Oh, I didn’t pray for him to have a heart attack. I prayed in tongues.
Continuing to Pray for India’s Situation
And anyway, I said, “Something’s happening.” But he didn’t die or anything. He just had a heart attack. Anyway, I continued praying. And a few weeks later, he resigned from the ruling party. So he was no longer supporting the government.
He resigned over some dispute. “Oh,” I said, “Lord, it looks as if You really gave me a meaningful vision. There’s something I have to pray for, for this political party, even though I’ve never been interested in politics. So I said, “OK, I’ll continue praying in tongues.”
God’s Answer to Prayer for India
And I did that. And I think this is around April or so of that year. Eight months later, in December that year, a vote, they wanted to pass a law in the parliament in India to ban the use of the word, the ban, all conversion to Christianity.
And the government was going to take a vote on it, not just in one state. There were some states that were having that law in the entire country. But they could not pass that vote because the party had split into two in April. I presume there are others who prayed, but I certainly prayed. I didn’t know what I was praying. I was not praying for a split in the party.
I was not praying because I knew that eight months from now, some serious issue may come up. But I see how God prepares us. If you’re in touch with God, He’ll give you burdens to pray for.
God’s Purpose for Our Lives
And do you know the result of that? Since that time in the late 1970s till today, in 50 years, there’s never been a law passed in India that bans conversion to Christianity throughout the country. In a few states, they have done it in the local states, but never.
So I say, “Lord, thank You for giving me a small part in that so that Your word of God can still go forth in this country.” God allows us to be born at a particular time in a particular country with a purpose. He has allowed you to be born in a particular time in a particular country with a purpose. Make sure you fulfill it. Don’t worry about whether others are fulfilling it or not. God has got a plan for your life.
As I’ve often said, how do we glorify God? If you want to know how to glorify God, here’s one sentence. You know, the Bible says, “Whatever you do, do for the glory of God.”
Finishing the Work God Gives Us
If you hear John 17, Jesus, great example to us to follow, how did He glorify His Father? One simple sentence, I hope you remember it all your life. John 17:4, “Father, I have glorified You because I finished the work You gave Me to do.”
You asked Me to do a work, 33 and a half years, I did that work. It wasn’t all preaching. 30 years, He lived as an ordinary man. Three and a half years, He did preaching. But He finished the work. Had He traveled to China, Africa, America, no? He hardly ever traveled outside Israel. Small country, how many preachers would be happy to spend all their life in a small little, small little state of this country? Never go outside.
Focusing on God’s Plan, Not Our Own
People have a lust to go, “I must go here, I must preach there, I must go there.” Jesus was tempted like us. I’m sure He was tempted to go to Rome and all types of places. You know, a lot of preachers go preaching. They go sightseeing also, a nice place to go. And, you know, I like to see the Alps, the snow in the Alps and all that.
And I also go to Switzerland to preach. It’s all honor-seeking, selfish things are going under the guise of serving the Lord. Jesus had nothing of that. He had one task, single-minded. “I have to finish the work My Father gave Me to do when He sent Me to this earth.” I don’t know whether you believe it or not.
Finishing Our God-Given Purpose
I believe I’ve been sent to this earth with a purpose. Whether you know it or not, it’s true. Whether you accomplish God’s plan with which He sent you, I don’t know. But I have a great passion that before I finish my earthly course, whether that will end with His coming or with death, I don’t choose. That’s up to the Lord.
But before that happens, I want to finish the work God’s given me to do. I hope you have that desire. And if you didn’t have that desire till now, I hope you get it today. “Lord, I made many mistakes in my life.” And I’ll tell you, I made a lot of blunders in my life. I have not lived a perfect life.
God Can Still Use Us Despite Our Past
For so many years, this wasn’t the serious passion of my life. It took many years before I came to this passion of my life to finish the work God gave me to do. And now it is.
And that’s a question that came to me at that time. When you wasted so many years in backsliding and so many in discouragement and all the early years of my Christian life, how can you finish the work? And then the Lord showed me that the Apostle Paul wasted 30 years of his life, not just in discouragement, in killing Christians, in discouragement, in killing Christians, persecuting Christians and fighting against Christianity for 30 years.
And yet at the end of his life, he says, “I finished the work God gave me to do.” Same testimony.
Paul Finished the Work Despite His Past
Second Timothy chapter 4. Amazing. That encouraged me. That if a man who spent his life fighting and killing Christians could say at the end of his life, “I finished the work God gave me to do,” then there’s hope for me because I never killed Christians. I never fought against Christianity. Second Timothy chapter four.
“I have finished the course.” Verse 7. I said, “Paul, you finished the course, even though 30 years you wasted, not only wasted, but you fought against Christians and killed them. And you say you finished the course.
How is that? Spirit of God, tell me, how is it that Paul finished his course? I want to know because I messed up my life in the many years of my life too.”
God’s Grace for the Sincere but Wrong
And then the Lord showed me God’s grace is so great that He knows the future. He knew that this sincere guy called Paul, known as Saul of Tarsus, he was utterly sincere, but he was utterly wrong. But he was really thinking he was serving God when he was killing those Christians.
Deep down in his heart, he was sincere. He was not a crook like Judas Iscariot. No. He was sincere and he was sincerely wrong. And God doesn’t treat such people in the same category as crooks like Judas Iscariot. There are crooks like Judas Iscariot in the church. Many preachers who are crooked like Judas Iscariot. Their only interest is money. Lots and lots of them.
God Overlooks the Times of Ignorance
In fact, most of them are like that. Paul was not interested in money or honor. He was interested in pleasing God. And he felt the only way to please God is by killing these Christians or opposing the truth of God, which he thought was the Jewish Old Testament. So God, in His sovereignty, looked at him and said, “Yeah, I can overrule that.” Like my favorite verse, Acts 17:30, which you heard me quote many, many times.
I never get tired of quoting it. Acts 17:30. For those who did not hear it earlier. “The times of ignorance, God overlooks.” Praise God. Praise God. Ignorance means what?
Living a Life of Repentance
Not just ignorance of Christ being my Savior. Ignorance of God’s plan for my life. When I didn’t take His plan seriously. Okay, what does God do? He says, “Forget it. My son, forget it. I overlooked it. You are ignorant. I’ll treat it as blotted out.” In the Old Testament, sin was covered. In the New Testament, it is blotted out. There’s no record of it. “Your sins and iniquities, I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12.
Encouraging Those Who Messed Up
Praise God. But now, live a life of repentance. And that’s what Paul did. From the time he got light, he took repentance seriously. Turned right round and became the opposite of what he was before. And so I say that for the encouragement of those of you who feel that you messed up a major part of your life.
You didn’t take things seriously. And some of you are late going on in your years. And like we sang in the song, “Jesus loves me. This I know, though my hair is white as snow.” But I feel sad that I took so long to discover how I should fulfill His plan for my life. Don’t get discouraged.
Repent and Turn Around
In the times of ignorance, God overlooks. Have you wasted 50 years of your life? Never mind. God overlooks it. He says, “Start today.” But now He’s telling everybody to repent. Repent means turn around. Turn around from that way of life. Like the military command, “About turn.”
Don’t turn left turn, right turn. That’s only 90 degrees. About turn, 180 degrees.
Seeking to Live as Jesus Lived
Turn around from that way of life. And say, “Lord, I really want to follow after You wholeheartedly. I want to seek to live as Jesus lived. Listening every day. Willing to let my mind be changed. That I won’t get disturbed when children sing and shout in the temple. That I will say ‘Hallelujah’ along with them.” Yeah, I want, you know, Jesus said we got to be little, like a little child. If nobody else was here and only the children, I would have danced to them as well.
Just to make them happy. But I thought somebody here would get offended. So I just, I don’t want to cause offense to anyone.
Being One with the Children
But I remember once in another meeting, right in this church, I stood up with the other, some, and I think some of the others stood up. And like they did all this, I also did all this turning around. And one of those little children came to me afterwards and said, “Uncle, I really liked it. I felt you were one with us.” That was, that blessed my heart. It was as if Jesus was saying, he spoke to the little child.
Be like a little child. Encourage them. I love to encourage little children, not make them feel that they’re distant. That’s, you know, because of that, they listen to me when I speak. I go up to little nine-year-old and 10-year-old children. “Did you understand what I said?”
Judging Ourselves to Avoid Judgment
“Yes.” “I’m happy.” I don’t go to the older people. I go to the children. I said, “Do you understand what I…” I want to win their hearts so that they will listen to me so that their lives will be changed. I want to win the hearts of people so that they will listen to me when I say, because I want their lives to be changed. So if we judge ourselves, we will not be judged.
And the picture I have in my mind, I’ve often said this is in the final day of judgment. You know, it’s like in schools, they have prize giving day. One by one, people come for their awards.
And I picture that in mind, Jesus sitting on the throne. And one by one, the believers, time for judgment of believers, not the separation of unbelievers. That’s another time.
Everything Repented of Is Blotted Out
Believers come one by one. And the Lord says, “OK, play his video on the screen of his life from the time he was born. All the things he’s repented of are blotted out, blank, blank, blank, blank. But everything he repented of is blotted out, cleansed in the blood of Christ. That won’t be on the screen. But everything else in his life.”
And some people, there’s only about one percent of their life left, because they did so many wrong things. They just spent their life repenting of wrong things and never did anything right. But anyway, in that little period of their born again life, whatever time it was, the times of ignorance God overlooks.
Did he judge himself? That’s the question. If he judged ourselves, we will not be judged.
Failing to Judge Ourselves in Various Areas
So the Lord sits there. And He says, “See, from the time you took the Christian life seriously, even then I see so many things you never judged yourself. I’m not talking about the times when you’re unconverted and all that, forget that.
But even after you became a Christian, even after you went to so many missed meetings where you heard about judging yourself, you didn’t judge yourself. You speak rudely to your wife, you didn’t judge yourself. You had problems with other believers and you didn’t ask yourself whether you could be at fault, not just the other person.
In your financial dealings, you didn’t judge yourself. Were you righteous? Did you cheat anybody? Did you pay your taxes righteously? Did you clear all your debts? You didn’t judge yourself.”
Judging Ourselves to Please the Lord
So, makes a big list. “I have to judge you. Not to send you to hell. But there will be some type of loss in your life for all eternity.” I believe that. I don’t know what it’ll be, even if you’re in heaven.
I don’t want to go to just go to heaven. I want to go to heaven and look my Savior in His face and to see that He’s happy with the way I lived from the time I got light. Because the other part He overlooks.
So, then my turn comes in my imagination and I come and stand before the Lord. And I want this. I want the Lord to say, “I have nothing to say against you.
Seeking to Judge Ourselves Daily
Not because you were perfect. You made the same blunders that some of these other people did. But you judged yourself. You didn’t judge the others, you judged yourself. And the next day you judge yourself. And the next day you judge yourself. And according as I’ve written in My word, those who judge themselves, they will not be judged.” That’s the verse in 1 Corinthians 11 we just read. If I judge myself, if we judge ourselves, we will not be judged.
I’m just amplifying that statement. So, if I judge myself, I seek to judge myself. God is my witness.
Judging My Preaching Through Playback
I seek to judge myself every single day. As I said, even after yesterday going home, I judge myself about what I preached. Many times when I’m at home, after speaking in a meeting, I go to YouTube, play back my message, listen to the whole one hour, and I sit there and listen.
And say, “Lord, tell me, did I say it right?” This is how I have judged myself after preaching after almost every sermon I preached. I say, “Lord, I want to do it better. Did I glorify You?”
I don’t take it casually and preach and go, “Of course, I did it right.” Those are the people who never judge themselves. “Of course, I did it right. How was it yesterday? Yeah, I did it right.” I don’t say that because I’m not perfect. I’ve not become like Christ.
Not Assuming We’ve Become Like Christ
Those of you who go around never judging yourself, I suppose you assume that you’ve already become like Christ. I have not become like Christ. I need to judge myself.
And therefore, I know, according to the basis of 1 Corinthians 11:31, I will not be judged. In the day when Christ comes again. I recommend that way to all of you. It’s not a miserable way. It has not made me a gloomy person. It has made me a supremely happy person.
I tell you in Jesus’ name, I rejoice always, 24-7. I’m not discouraged. And I was a person who was frequently discouraged.
Using Only the Titles Jesus Allowed
That’s because I judge myself. Compare myself with Christ, not with other preachers. Even a little thing, like I said, when everybody takes titles, and Jesus said, “There are only two titles for you, brother and servant.”
I say, “Okay. Call me a brother.” The only people I allow to call me uncle are those below 15. If you’re below 15, you’re permitted to call me uncle. In India, it’s uncle. Here, they say Mr. Poonen or sir, different countries.
But I say, once you’re past 15, call me brother Zach. Call me brother Zach. However young you are, I may be 70 years older than you, but I’m your brother in Christ.
Hearing God’s Guidance in Trials
That’s what I am. We are brothers in Christ. Dear brothers and sisters, if you take that way, I’ll tell you one of the blessings that will come to you.
I’ll close with this. Isaiah chapter 30. If you look at Jesus as your teacher and guide, He may have taken you through many trials. Isaiah 30:20. “The Lord has allowed you to go have the bread of privation and the water of oppression.” He’s allowed people to oppress you. He’s allowed you to go through many trials. That’s the meaning of that. But He won’t hide Himself.
Hearing God’s Voice at Crossroads
Your eyes will see your teacher. You see Jesus in your spirit and say, “Lord, I want to walk as You walked.” And if that is your passion, when you come to some crossroad in the life and you don’t know which way to turn, your ears will hear a word in your spirit.
“Turn right.” Or “Turn left.” And you will not miss the way. I praise God for that. It can be like that in your life. I invite you to this wonderful life of looking unto Jesus. Acknowledging that you have not yet become like Him.
Living with the hope that you want to be like Him. And therefore, judging yourself in any area where you see you come short. And don’t compare yourself with others.
Minding Our Own Business
Don’t judge. Find out whether other people are judging themselves. That is none of your business. Mind your own business. That’s another thing I have to… I always say that’s the last verse, but I have to show you another verse.
1 Peter chapter 4. It’s very important. You know, a lot of people have this problem of being a busybody in other people’s matters.
They spoke their nose into all types of things that don’t concern them. Why do you want to be interested in knowing what’s happening in that person’s home or family or this? You waste your time.
Focusing on God’s Word, Not Petty Details
Spend your time meditating on God’s word, man. Not what’s happening in that home and this home and this. What happened here or there. Even the news, you know, very often I see the Lord says, “Don’t worry too much of all the details. Concentrate on the headlines. Know what’s happening.
But you don’t need to know too many details of what’s happening there. Also.” Okay, here it is. Let me paraphrase this. “One who is a busybody in other people’s matters.” That’s how it’s translated in one translation.
Busybodies Grouped with Murderers and Thieves
“Busybody in other people’s matters.” Or one, it says “one who oversees other people’s affairs.” Who made you an overseer over other people’s affairs?
A busybody in other people matters. I’m in verse 15. The last thing mentioned there is a troublesome meddler. Also translated as “busybody in other people’s matters.” One who oversees the affairs of others. Many translations.
“A busybody in other people’s affairs.” He’s in the same category as a murderer and a thief and an evildoer. There are four evil people mentioned here, all in the same boat.
Getting Out of the Busybody Boat
Look around in the boat and see the other people sitting with you there. Murderers, thieves, evildoers and you. You’re just a busybody in other people’s matters.
I’m sorry, you’re in the same boat, brother. Did you know that? At least you know it today. Murderers. Are you offended? Thieves, evildoers. Poking your nose into other people’s affairs. Sitting and gossiping with your wife about other people’s matters. Get out of that boat.
Speaking Like a Surgeon, Not a Murderer
Let the murderers and thieves go in that boat. You get out of it. Being a busybody in other people’s affairs. It’s a serious thing. Well, I’m glad I showed you at least that verse before you all go home. May the Lord be with you as you go home and remember all that you heard.
Please remember, I have nothing against you, even if I speak strongly. I say, I’m like a surgeon. It’ll pain you. I mean, I’m going to cut the knife to remove the cancer. But I’m not, it’s not the knife of a murderer. It’s a knife of a surgeon.
God’s Anesthetic of Love and Overlooking Ignorance
I’m only going to remove things that are going to destroy you. Cancer. Will it pain? Yes, it’ll pain. But I’ll stitch you up. I’ll give you a word of encouragement.
That is the anesthetic to that is to tell you God loves you. The times of ignorance God overlooks. That’s the anesthetic.
Be encouraged and the Lord will be with you. What do you say? Amen?
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray.
Thank You, Father, for this wonderful times we have had with these dear brothers. I love them. What a lot of trouble they’ve taken to come here. I feel humiliated, humbled, rather, and ashamed that I want to be zealous, Lord, and be more of a true servant of Christ in every area of my life. More sensitive to exactly what Your word is to speak to Your people.
Thank You for helping me yesterday and today and Friday night. Bless every single brother here as they go home. Give them a safe trip home, Lord. Provide all their needs, financial needs. Those are facing difficulties and trials in their home, please help them, Lord. Those are having family problems, please help them. Those are facing divorce and other situations like that, please help them, Lord.
Bring peace into these homes. And we pray that You will help brothers here to go home and be a witness. And You’ll gather them into little churches in different parts of this country. We commit each one here to You. We know that is Your will. We are praying in accordance with Your will. Do more than we ask or think. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.