Precious Fellowship With Father — Zac Poonen

Fellowship With the Father as Christ's Highest Treasure

Because to Jesus, that was the most precious thing in his life. Fellowship with the Father. Now, I don't know what is the most precious thing for you. For most people in the world, their precious thing is their money, their gold or their saris or something like that.

Or perhaps their children or their house or their car or something. But for Jesus, it was nothing like that. The most precious thing for Jesus was fellowship with his Father. And I'll tell you something.

Testing Spiritual Growth by What We Are Willing to Surrender

This is the way by which you can find out whether you're becoming more like Jesus Christ or not. A lot of you may be thinking that you really are growing spiritually. It may be just a bubble with a balloon with a lot of hot air.

It may not be real. But this way you can find out. If you can honestly say to yourself and can say before God that fellowship with you is the most precious thing to me on this earth. And for that, I'm willing to give up everything else.

I'm willing to give up money, my friendships, the opinion of my relatives, the opinion of my other church members, and the opinion of 7 billion people in the world. And anything, any comfort, I'm willing to give up anything, even health.

But I want fellowship with you. The man or woman who can honestly say that to God is a spiritual person. But I tell you, most Christians, 99 of them cannot say it. And the proof of that is they take sin so lightly.

Taking Sin Seriously to Preserve Fellowship With God

One dirty thought will break your fellowship with God. How many of you take one dirty thought seriously? How many of you are willing to pluck out one eye rather than lust after a woman? In other words, you're saying the pleasure I get by lusting after a woman, I'm willing to lose it.

I'm willing to pluck out my eye and throw it away. I'm rather cut off my hand than sin with my hands. I'd rather become blind than sin with my eyes. Give me twelve people like that, we can shake all of India.

Very difficult to find. A lot of people come to church, sing songs and act very active in doing this, that and the other for the Lord. But they don't value fellowship with God. It is not the most important thing for them.

Gethsemane and the Cost of Obedience

I thank God for the day I discovered that. That that cup which Jesus said, I don't want to drink is, Father, I don't want to break this fellowship with you. I'm willing to lose anything. Take my money, take my life, take my mother, take my relatives, take everything.

Fellowship with you, obedience to you is most important. Is God, fellowship with Him the most important thing for you in your life? You ask yourself. Is that the most important thing? Then you know whether you are a real disciple of Jesus Christ or not.

I told you a disciple is a learner and a follower. He looks at Jesus, learns from Him and does the same thing. What shall I learn from Jesus? That fellowship with the Father should be the most important thing in my life.

Where do I learn that? In Gethsemane. For religious people, that is not true. For religious people, all types of rituals and many other things are more important. So many external things. Many people when they meet me, ask me, Brother, which church do you go to?

Religious Rituals and Denominational Identity

And then the questions they ask me, tell me which denomination they are in. They'll ask me, do you break bread every Sunday? I know, they are from the brethren. I know it automatically. Do you speak in tongues?

This man is a Pentecostal, I know that. The question they ask is very revealing. And then they want to know, how many people are in your church? These must be people from some mega church who think that large numbers means God is with them.

They think if they are a big church, it means God is with them. If that is true, I would join the Roman Catholic Church. That is the biggest church. And the fastest growing church is Jehovah's Witnesses.

Those are not the tests. I have never heard anybody ask me this question. In your church, do you love one another? That nobody is interested in. That is the one thing Jesus said is the mark of his church.

Love for Jesus as the True Test of Discipleship

Nobody in the world has asked me that question. That is an indication of how far Christianity has drifted from the truth of God. Do you love Jesus with all your heart? Is fellowship with him more important than everything on earth?

Betraying Christ for Money and Convenience

We despise Judas Iscariot for selling Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. What about when you tell a lie in your office to earn a little more money? You sign a false statement in some document because it is not really true, but you can make a little money like that.

Or your office pays you part of your salary in cash, as black money. And you don't declare that for the income tax. What is the difference between you and Judas Iscariot? You are also betraying Jesus for some money.

You are telling a lie, breaking fellowship with God, because you can make a little more money. Do you tell lies to gain something for yourself? Do you tell a lie to get leave from your office for something?

Christian Activity Cannot Replace Obedience

Where are the Christians who say, I will not tell a lie? If they don't give me leave, that means God doesn't want me to have leave today. India needs to see more Christians like that. Not just those who are engaged in a lot of Christian activities.

Christian activity is not the main thing. Fellowship with God is the main thing. And I will tell you honestly, very few people understand this anywhere in the world. It's not any different in America.

It's the same thing there. The value of a fellowship with God has gone down. And all types of little sins we think are not serious.