Partaking of Jesus' Life Through Death to Our Self Life — Zac Poonen

Christ's Pure Virgin Church and Paul's Shepherding Burden

Let's turn to 2nd Corinthians in chapter 11. This passage has been on my mind of late. Paul was a true shepherd a Spiritual father and He was concerned That the Corinthian Church Which he had planted.

We were like his children that they should not drift away from Being a pure virgin for Christ. So he says I'm jealous for you with a godly jealousy. 2nd Corinthians 11 verse 2. For I betrothed you to one husband that to Christ I Might present you as a pure virgin.

See just like Every man would like to marry a pure virgin. Is the same with Jesus Christ and Paul was the one who was? Representing Christ to these people as his servant and He felt a responsibility To make sure that in the day when Christ came back he could present These people in the church in Corinth as a pure virgin to Christ a very very few Elders and shepherds and fathers who have that type of burden.

For the churches they plant, but Paul had it he that's why he wrote so many letters to them and that's why he exhorted them and challenged them and rebuked them and In Corinth he even handed one person over to Satan For the destruction of his flesh.

I mean he was pretty radical. You can't do that unless you really love the Lord and love the church but he loved the Lord and the church so much that he wasn't even willing to hand over someone to Satan because He wanted to present this church finally as a pure virgin to Christ.

And he was not bothered what people thought about him. Or whether people thought he was too hard or any such thing those things didn't bother him at all. He was a servant of the Lord, and he didn't want to please any human being.

So he says my burden is that one day when Christ comes back. I'll present you as a pure virgin. Now it's not entirely up to Paul it depends on the cooperation of the Corinthians as well. So, but he was going to do his part.

I Picture this in my mind. I get the picture of Abraham's servant. You know who had been sent by Abraham to Mesopotamia to get a bride for Isaac. It's a picture of the Holy Spirit and the servants of God going out and trying to bring a bride for Christ and It was a long journey from Mesopotamia all the way to Canaan where Isaac was and When he was bringing Rebekah on that long journey over many many weeks.

I picture like this if there were some other Handsome guys along the way who tried to get friendly with Rebekah Abraham's servant would just chase them off. He was determined to protect her and present her as a pure virgin to Isaac in that long journey and This is really the task that God gives to his servants to preserve The church in this long journey between the time they're converted To the time they meet the Lord is the responsibility we have for our children as parents to be able to present them as pure virgins to Christ and for a church.

And He says. But verse 3 I'm afraid Lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness. Your minds should be led astray from that simple pure devotion to Christ. Your mind can be led astray from simple pure devotion to Christ to something else.

Something else which doesn't look bad but Which takes you away from that simple pure devotion to Christ? And the craftiness of Satan Is seen he says in verse 4 in people who come and preach another Jesus Whom we have not preached.

And you receive a different spirit, which you have not received. Or a different gospel, which you have not accepted another Jesus a different spirit and a different gospel. We see plenty of evidence of that today In the world.

Today in Christendom. Christendom generally is preaching a Jesus Whom you can follow Without dying to yourself daily. Isn't that amazing? Jesus said if anyone comes after me let him deny himself. Luke 9 23 Take up his cross daily and follow me.

That's the real Jesus. But you hardly ever hear that preaching today. Today, there's a Jesus you can follow without denying yourself. Without dying to yourself without taking up the cross. Have you any of you been led astray by that Jesus?

Do you think you can follow Jesus even for one day? Without denying yourself Without taking up your cross then it is another Jesus not the real Jesus of Scripture. You can't be deceived if you read the words of Jesus clearly but the serpent comes with this craftiness and Offers another Jesus who will make you healthy and wealthy and externally happy without your having to deny yourself or a different spirit a Spirit that the the real spirit is called a Holy Spirit.

What does it mean to have a different spirit. Evil spirits make people evil. Unclean spirits make people unclean. So what would the Holy Spirit make people Holy. But that's not what is being preached in most churches today.

They don't teach that the Holy Spirit will make you holy. They teach that the Holy Spirit will make you make a lot of noise and clap and shout and jump and dance. I'm not against any of those things. But if you do all that you don't become holy that's not the Holy Spirit.

Well, they say the Holy Spirit will make you speak in tongues. I'm not against that either. But if that's all this spirit does and doesn't make you holy. That's not the Holy Spirit. That's what I mean by a different spirit.

And remember this is connected with Paul saying that I'm afraid That the serpent with this craftiness Will lead you astray. So that at the end of it all you find that you're not really a virgin ready for Christ.

You've been led astray by another Jesus and a different Holy different spirit. Which claims to be the real Jesus and claims to be the Holy Spirit, but it is not and I've seen plenty of that and a different gospel a Gospel which does not tell you how you can be saved from sin but how you can be saved from poverty and And saved from sickness no, it's good to be saved from poverty and sickness.

I'm not against that just like I'm not against speaking in tongues or Jumping and dancing and praising the Lord, but if you miss the main thing which is being saved from sin and You just become healthy and wealthy.

That's a different gospel. I've got nothing against someone saying God bless me with good health. I can say that I've 76 years old. I've hardly ever been sick in my life. It's God's goodness Preserving me so I'm not against it.

I'm thankful for it. We can if you're healthy we can serve the Lord much better and God provides us enough for our needs and most of us more than we. More than our needs and that is the blessing of God too, but If I have health and wealth and I'm not saved from sin.

That is a different gospel. To me the central part of the gospel is not health and wealth. It's it's a byproduct you seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. These other things are added to you, but when these added things become central, it's another gospel so you see there's a lot of that going on today and It's the craftiness of the devil.

That's so many people who go through Bible schools and who studied the Bible so much don't seem to see. That this is another Jesus, this is another spirit. It's another gospel. So that's why we have to be very careful in the days we live in when.

Deception as a Sign of Christ's Coming

The when the disciples asked Jesus about the last days where many people speak about. We're in the last days. And the disciples asked Jesus what will be the sign of your coming they asked for one side.

Turn with me to Matthew 24 and verse 3. As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately saying tell us when will all these things be and What will be the one sign of your coming and of the end of the age they were not asking for many signs.

They were asking what is going to be the sign that your coming is near and you know what he says. You know we think of famines earthquakes wars those are the things that come first to our mind. When we hear about the coming of the Lord because you read that and that is also true famines earthquakes and wars.

But that he mentions, you know much later in verse 7, but the first thing he says is See to it that no one deceives you. So what is the one sign? That Christ's coming is near massive deception and It's not the non-christians who are being deceived.

I mean they don't even know the Lord. He's saying to his disciples See that no one deceives you. You disciples see that no one deceives you that means there's gonna be massive deception among Christians and that's going to be the sign of his coming.

So if we are in a time when we see whites deception being practiced, you know, it's to me it's one of the signs that Christ's coming is near and Among all the signs that he mentioned like wars rumors of wars and all all those things.

He he mentions only once. Only in verse 7. He doesn't say it again and. But when it comes to deception you see how many times it repeats it. Verse 11 many false prophets will arise and will mislead. Many and then he goes on to say again in verse 23.

If someone says to you behold, here is the Christ there is don't believe him. They're deceiving you. Again, he repeats in verse 24 false Christ and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and Wonders so as to mislead if deceived if possible even the elect.

So what's he speaking about again and again and again deception deception deception deception? Much more than he spoke about wars and our famines and earthquakes and yet the vast majority of Christians.

If you ask them, what are the signs of the Lord's coming? They would talk about famines and earthquakes and wars, which he mentioned only once. This is the craftiness of Satan. That he gets you occupied with the things that you can't do anything about.

I mean you can't do anything about an earthquake. What can you do about that? You can't do anything about a famine going on somewhere. You can't do anything about there's a war between nations, but you can do something about Deception if that comes your way and that's the one thing Satan doesn't want you to think about.

He wants you to think about all these other things that are signs of the Lord's coming and be occupied with that and Not be worried about the one thing Jesus said and then you remember what Jesus said at the end of it verse 25.

Behold I Have told you in advance. Again he speaks about deception. If they say to you he's in the wilderness or he's in the inner rooms or like some people say he's come secretly and taken Away the church don't believe them.

He is not going to come secretly just as the lightning comes from the east and Flashes to the west so will my coming be. I couldn't be clearer than that and there's so much of deception concerning the rapture and the Church being taken up as to when it will happen.

You know that most Christians believe it's going to happen secretly and suddenly. They don't believe that the coming of the Lord will be like the lightning that shines from the east to the west even though Jesus Said it so clearly.

Even it's going to be secret. Nobody's going to know about it. How in the world did the devil manage to Put such a lie upon Christendom for so many centuries and among so many good people. It's because They don't read the scriptures carefully.

This is a doctrine that came up In the last 150 years. It was never preached For 1 ,800 years that the church will be secretly raptured. There is going to be a rapture when Christ comes again. This is just one area of deception.

I just mentioned that so that we can be clear on it and one Thessalonians. We read about the rapture one Thessalonians in chapter 5. Chapter 4 sorry one Thessalonians 4. Here is how the Lord will come verse 16 now notice the things mentioned here which are the predominant things that are mentioned by the Holy Spirit about the second coming of Christ.

The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout the voice of the archangel the trumpet of God and then the dead in Christ and those are alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and Is this going to happen like a thief in the night?

That's another deception a lot of Christians say the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. We won't be ready for it again because they don't read scripture carefully. Let me read it to you.

For you know full well chapter 5 verse 2. It's all the same subject. You know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night but verse 4. You brothers are not in darkness that that day should overtake you like a thief.

You see the point? He's gonna come like a thief in the night for all unbelievers if you're an unbeliever. He's certainly gonna come like a thief in the night. So if you say the Lord's gonna come like a thief in the night for you, you're an unbeliever.

For believers, he says you brothers are not in darkness that you should well He should come for you like a thief in the night. You're gonna be awake. You're sons of light and Sons of the day. So these are some areas where We've been deceived.

I mean Christendom has been deceived. Let me give you another verse 2nd Thessalonians in chapter 2. We request you brethren with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to our rapture.

The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our being taken up to be with him. Don't be shaken. Don't be disturbed by some spirit or message. Saying that as that the Lord has come secretly. No, no, no, no, no.

Don't be deceived by such teaching. Let me say to you that day will not come. Until first there's going to be a great falling away among Christians and the man of sin the Antichrist is revealed. To me it is so crystal clear That Christ will not come till the Antichrist is revealed and I might as well tell you that 95 of believers don't believe that.

I Didn't believe it for many years till I studied the scripture carefully. Many people say hey listen if you say that. You're going to make people live carelessly. People are going to live very carefully if they don't know when the Lord's coming.

He may have come tonight, so I better be ready. And I say well think of the illustration Paul uses of a bride. Waiting for her bridegroom. Think of a think of a practical situation where a girl here has been engaged to some man who's had to go on business or In the army or something to a distant country for a long time.

Here's a virgin keeping herself ready for Waiting for her bridegroom to come supposing she knows He's not going to come for three years. He's been posted there for three years. He won't get any vacation.

He won't be able to come for three years and she says ah. In that case I can fool around. Because he's not going to come for three years. What type of bride is that. She's a harlot. Do you keep a bride pure by saying you better keep yourself pure because he may come any day.

No. You test a bride by saying he's not going to come for five years. Let's see whether you keep yourself pure. So this false teaching that the sudden coming of the Lord is going to make people holy is a deception.

If a person is wanting to be holy because he's afraid he'll be caught by the Lord in sin. He's not a virgin at all. He's not part of the bride. He's a harlot. He's just thinking of himself. He doesn't want to be caught at the last moment.

The Lord comes I'd say if the Lord I say to a true disciple of Jesus supposing, you know, the Lord's not going to come for 15 years. How are you going to live the next 15 years carelessly? In sin and Just before two days before he's coming.

You're gonna set everything right? I'd say you're a harlot without a doubt you're a harlot a Person who's the Bride of Christ. It doesn't matter if he never sees the Lord coming in his lifetime. It doesn't matter to me if the Lord doesn't come for the next 50 years.

That's not going to make me any less holy tomorrow. Because my holiness has got nothing to do with the coming of the Lord. It's got to do with the fact that Jesus loved me and gave himself for me and that my sin crucified Christ.

That's why I hate sin not because I'm afraid of I might be caught The Lord suddenly coming and I want to say that to all of you any of you who are who takes in lightly any type of sin you take your anger lightly or your Dirty thoughts lightly.

I don't believe you have seen Enough that it was your sin that crucified Christ. And if you can take it lightly though, I can just confess it and get the blood of Jesus to cleanse me so This is where we can be deceived from that simple pure devotion to Jesus Christ.

So turning back to 2nd Corinthians in chapter 11. If you see there You know the Paul's tremendous passion as a true father and shepherd to protect his flock From this type of deception. He says I have a godly jealousy.

There is a jealousy, which is good a Godly jealousy. I don't want you to fool around with other men. It's like a Man telling his fiance to whom he's engaged. I'm jealous for you that You must not be interested in any other man, but me.

Is that wrong? No, that's the right type of jealousy Paul had it that these people in Corinth should not be devoted to anyone other than Jesus Christ. They should not be led astray by False manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

They should not be led astray by another gospel. And anyone who doesn't have that type of passion, I don't believe such a person should ever preach you should go and do some other business. He's not fit to be a servant of God who does not have a passion to preserve God's people in purity.

That's the passion Paul had. What will you think of Abraham's servant bringing Rebecca from that long distance and he just allows her to fool around With other men on the journey to meet Isaac. He'd be an unfaithful servant and I tell you there are thousands and thousands of unfaithful servants in Christendom today and the proof of it is they don't seek to preserve the church in purity and purity from sin and worldliness.

That's the tragedy. So Paul didn't have, Paul was faithful there in seeking to preserve the church in purity and He's battling not the devil's persecution. See the devil is pictured in the Bible as a lion in 1 Peter 5.

He says the roaring lion Seeking whom he may devour that's one picture of the devil and the other picture of the devil is as a cunning serpent Seeking whom he may deceive. So in the garden of Eden when the devil wanted to tempt Eve To turn away from the tree of life and partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

He did not come as a lion. He could have got into the lion and roared at Eve and frightened her and made her eat. He knew he wouldn't succeed. He would run away. But he came as a cunning serpent and that's where he succeeded.

So the lion speaks of persecution. The devil's attacked the church with persecution through the years. But he's never succeeded in destroying the church with persecution. Persecution only has made the church purer In every country.

Why do we have some of the finest Christians in the world today in China and in the olden days in communist countries? People who were imprisoned for the faith. They were some of the finest Christians.

Because when the devil came at them like a lion or in the first century all the Apostles were killed and Beheaded and whatnot. He came at them like a lion. He didn't kill the church. It made the church pure but When he came as a serpent From the 4th century onwards he came as a serpent and began to deceive and Infiltrated the church and brought worldliness and corruption into the church.

Then he succeeded in corrupting the church and Through the years it's been through deception. That he's defiled and corrupted Christendom more than through persecution. There was an old Christian who in the early days who said that the blood of the martyrs is actually the seed of the church.

So that means when the martyrs shed their blood it was the seed that is going to produce new churches and new believers. So here also Paul doesn't say I'm afraid 2nd Corinthians 11 3 lest as the devil like a lion Will lead you astray.

No, it's a lion. He cannot lead us astray. He says I'm afraid that he will come with his craftiness like a serpent and lead you astray. He can lead a Christian astray by making him love money. Is one of the biggest things that leads Christians astray today all little little sins that people don't take seriously and What are they going to be led astray from?

2nd Corinthians 11 3 from simple pure devotion to Jesus Christ. So when I compare that with the Record in Genesis chapter 3 of how that's what is mentioned here like the serpent deceived Eve. So that reminds us of Genesis chapter 3.

So what did the serpent take Eve away from? He took her away from the tree of life to the tree of knowledge of good and evil and Told her that that's how you'll get life. He told her that if you eat of that You will be like God.

Those are exact words you read in Genesis chapter 3 and He tempted her with the same sin that he himself was tempted by. You read in Isaiah 14 that he wanted to be like God. That's how he became the devil.

So he put that same desire into Eve's heart. You will be like God. You will have life if you take part of this tree, but that was not the right tree. It was the tree of life that He led her astray from because that's what God wanted her to partake.

Isn't it very interesting that you read in Genesis chapter 3 that the devil's temptation was God knows that you will be like him. That's why he doesn't want you to eat of it. Temptation was you'll be like God and you find Jesus coming and saying you can also be like God.

Same message. How do you distinguish the two? Satan is saying you can be like God and Jesus also saying the same thing. The big difference is Satan says you can be like God with authority and power and Jesus says you can be like God in character in love and humility and.

So a Christian who seeks authority and power is going to be led astray. A Christian who seeks character and love and humility is going to be on the right path. So what I see there is being led astray from the tree of life is called here in 2nd Corinthians 11 3 if I take this the into as the interpretation of Genesis step 3 the tree of life is 2nd Corinthians 11 3 simple pure devotion to Jesus Christ.

So anything that leads me astray from simple pure devotion to Christ is leading me astray from the tree of life. And if you turn back to Genesis chapter 3. You read that that before sin came into the world Genesis chapter 2 it says the tree of life.

Where Genesis 2 9 was in the middle of the garden? There was one tree right in the middle of the garden and that was not the tree of knowledge good and evil that's somewhere on the side right in the middle of the garden God put the tree of life.

2nd Genesis chapter 2 verse 9. That's what he wanted Adam and Eve to go and take. But he left the choice to them. He was not going to force them because he doesn't force anybody To accept his life or even to come to heaven.

He wants man to choose for himself. Just like he gives us freedom today to choose for ourself. Simple pure devotion to Christ the life of God you can choose that. Or you can choose. Knowledge knowledge of the Bible.

And you know the number of Christians who have chosen knowledge of the Bible. Knowledge of the Bible means knowledge of what is good and evil over devotion to Christ and being attached to him, but anyway Adam and Eve could have gone to that tree of life easily straight away, but after Adam sinned.

You could not go to the tree of life easily. You could still go. But it says here in Genesis 3 24 the last part God Stationed angels cherubs with a flaming sword. Turning in every direction to God the way to the tree of life.

That was not there before sin came. But the moment sin came there was this flaming sword. That went around the tree of life and all this is symbolic. So today if you want to go to this tree of life, you can't just go and take it.

You can't just go and take of the life of Jesus. The sword has to fall on Your self life if you don't let the sword fall on your self life. You cannot partake of the life of Jesus Christ. That's the message here so plain.

And that's where the devil leads us astray by saying no I'll show you a route to the tree of life where you don't have to slay your self life. There is no sword. Come I'll show you and he leads you to some other tree and Tells you that's the tree of life.

There's no sword in front of it. And you can follow Jesus without denying yourself. You can follow Jesus without judging yourself. You can follow Jesus without taking sin seriously. You can follow Jesus without dying to yourself great.

And that's the Christianity that Satan has offered the world today and vast majority of Christians have swallowed it. But it's not the tree of life. How in the world could you get to this life without the sword falling on you.

That is the craftiness of Satan. There is a sword in front of the tree of life and This fits in with everything that is taught in Scripture. See 2nd Timothy in chapter 2. So let's look at 1st Timothy 1st.

Dying With Christ to Receive His Life

1st Timothy chapter 1. Then we go to 2nd Timothy chapter 2. In 1st Timothy chapter 1 Paul says verse 15. This is a faithful saying. Very rarely Paul uses that expression. This is a trustworthy statement.

This is a faithful saying what is it. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's the first statement, which is a faithful statement a trustworthy statement, and that's why we must begin.

I'm a sinner. Christ Jesus came to save wretched miserable sinners like me. Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. That's the first step. The second trustworthy statement is in 2nd Timothy and 2nd Timothy 2.

Where we go to you know we go from one to the other. 2nd Timothy 2 verse 11. This is a faithful saying again the same expression. It is a trustworthy statement. What is it now? If we die with him. We will live with him if you let the sword fall on you.

You'll get to the tree of life. Many have accepted the first trustworthy statement in 1 Timothy 1. But they don't believe this is a trustworthy statement. They don't believe this is a faithful saying as faithful as the other one.

What would you think if somebody came and said no. No no it's not only Jesus Christ who saved sinners. There are other people who can save sinners. There are other religious people who can save sinners.

You see that's impossible. There's only one. There is only one way for a sinner to be saved. 1 Timothy 1 15. It is a faithful saying only Christ Jesus can save sinners. I think all of us would fight for that and not allow another teaching that somebody else can save sinners.

But when it comes to the second statement I wonder Whether all of you are equally firm in saying We cannot live with him if we don't die with him. Do you believe that? You believe it as strongly as you believe the first Faithful saying.

I don't think most Christians do they say we can live with him without dying with him. What does it mean to die with him? What does it mean to take up the cross every day. Is this the only way to get to the life of Jesus?

Let's turn to 2nd Corinthians in chapter 4. He in 2nd Corinthians 4 he speaks first of all about the new birth. That's the first thing you know just like we saw the first trustworthy statement is Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners.

The second trustworthy statement is if we die with him we will live with him. In the same way here the first step is the new birth. 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6. Just like God said light shall shine out of darkness.

He's talking about Genesis 1 the first day. God said let there be light. He says that's the first step in salvation into the darkness of our heart. God said let there be light and The light of the knowledge of the glory of God verse 6 shone into our hearts and we got light and We were born again.

Christ Jesus came to save sinners the first statement. Now we go to the second statement. How do we get this life of Jesus now in us the tree of life Verse 10. There's only one way to get it. Always carrying about in our body the dying of Jesus because that's the only way the life of Jesus will be manifested in our body and that's why Every day and many times a day verse 11 We are constantly delivered over to death that means we are brought into circumstances every day.

Always. Constantly means all the time. We are delivered over to circumstances where we have to die. We are delivered over to death and the purpose is that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

I mean Words could not be clearer than that. That there is only one way to the tree of life by the sword falling on yourself life. It's everywhere in Scripture if you want to see it. But if you don't want to see it you don't see it and If I'm really serious, you know, the Bible says God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

He's not a rewarder of every Tom Dick and Harry. He's a rewarder Hebrews 11 6 of those who diligently seek him earnestly diligently. For in other words if a person is sick and tired of his Adamic life and his murmuring and his complaining and his grumbling and his anger and his bitterness and his dirty thoughts and his jealousy and every other evil that we've inherited from Adam.

And when a Christian begins to manifest all those things just like the unconverted people have covetousness and love of money and deception and all those things. And he's happy with it. He says well as long as we're in the world we'll be like that we just confess and Get forgiveness confess and get forgiveness confess and get forgiveness endlessly.

He's not passionate about getting the life of Jesus and the life of Jesus. These things I mentioned were not there. They were just not there in the life of Jesus. But most Christians are don't have a passionate desire.

I'm not diligently seeking to have the life of Jesus. I Say that even in churches where I have preached this truth for years. I Mean I've preached this truth for 40 years in India. But I still find a lot of people are not Diligent to have the life of Jesus and I presume this is the same over here in this church.

There could be people here I don't know your lives. But I presume there must be people here who are sat here for years who are not passionate to get the life of Jesus. Just sort of content with their defeated life.

You think you'll get the life of Jesus not in a hundred years. I Might as well tell you that not in a hundred years. You can sit in this church for a hundred years and listen to message after message after message.

You will not come to the life of Jesus because you're not. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him and you're not diligently seeking for the life of Jesus. You're content with your defeated life.

God never showed me the truth till I was sick and tired and fed up with my defeated life. And I said Lord, I cannot go on like this. I'm just an outright hypocrite and that's when the Lord met with me.

I've discovered in my life. He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Like it says in Jeremiah 29 and verse 13 You will seek me and you will find me only when you search for me with all your heart.

What about somebody who doesn't seek Jesus with all his heart? He won't find him. He'll find some Third-rate Christianity and be happy with it. Because he doesn't want to pay the price. For the real thing you have to pay a price for the real thing.

And that price is death to self and the wonderful thing here is it's you see verse 10 and 11 here speak of the life Of Jesus coming in up us in us as we choose. The death to sell the dying of Jesus is not the dying he died on the cross of Calvary you need to understand.