Do Not Despise the Day of Small Beginnings (Video) — Santosh Poonen

The Glory of God Revealed in Unity

You know there's a glory that the father gave to Jesus that he wants to give to you. Do you know what that is? Anybody want to guess or know? Yes that's our memory verse for this last week. So if you were memorizing your verse you'd remember you'd know that that's John 17 verse 22 the glory Jesus is saying to the father the glory that you have given me I have given to them.

And you think what glory is that that they may be one just as you and I are one. Do you think that's a glory? Do you do you really believe? Let's look at that verse John 17 22. By the way I want to add an encouragement to us as a church family and any of you visiting or listening online to take our memory verses seriously because they will really help you.

If you not just memorize them but meditate on them it will really be a help to you as they are. To me I can honestly say I don't just memorize them. I find that God speaks regularly regularly almost every week almost every week through the memory verse to me John 17 verse 22 the glory which you have given me I have given to them that they may be one just as we are one.

Do you know that the representation of the glory in heaven is manifest in your marriage when you and your husband are one in your home and parents with children experience a unity in a church where brothers and sisters set aside their differences even doctrinal disagreements or different ways of administering things.

And they say I want the glory. I don't want just an experience of church. I don't want just friends. I want the glory because friends will die friendships will end. But the glory of God never will. My dear brother dear sister if you are hungering and thirsting for the glory of God seek to be one with those whom God has called you to be one with.

It begins in your home with your wife your husband with your children and in the local expression of the church God has placed you in which is why it's important to be a part of a local church. We are planted you integrated go back and meditate on this worse and ask the Lord to make it a reality in your life.

Dying Like a Grain of Wheat

Last week I was speaking about the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies from John 12 verse 24. And accept it die. It remains alone. Jesus said there's a guaranteed way to remain alone all your life and be lonely.

Refuse to die. Now the loneliness that he describes there is quite a different loneliness than what we think of in the world as loneliness you might actually get by in your life with a lot of friends and a lot of attachments a lot of people around you popular but you will die lonely from the standpoint of eternity.

If you refuse to die that word of God will remain. And the people around you maybe that seem popular or the celebrities the world that seems to be popular and have all its clubs and societies and all of those things will God will prove that they were really alone amidst all their crowdedness.

They were alone because the only way to not be alone is to die. And if a grain of wheat does not die it remains alone. Doesn't matter how many grains of wheat are around it. See he's not talking about quantity if a grain of wheat see I have a few grains of wheat at home.

I brought a few last week. If I put a whole large number of grains of wheat into a bin that's not death. And you could say are they alone. They're around 10 ,000 other grains of wheat. But they're alone because what Jesus was talking about in this non loneliness if you will bearing fruit is what he calls it can only happen if you put that grain of wheat into a ground into the ground.

And so he invites you to do the same. But as I spoke about that my dear brothers dear sisters if you can pull up my slides what did what came to mind. What was the picture you left this room with last week.

When you when I when the Holy Spirit I hope presented before you the grain of wheat that must fall into the ground and die. Did you think of yourself as just this grain of wheat. When you think about your home when you think about your marriage when you think about us as a church River of Life Christian Fellowship.

How do you leave this place. Or how do you find yourself thinking about God's purpose in your life. Is it small. Is it. Is it empty. Is it. Is it few. Does it look like this. Okay my it's not working.

So you may. Can you start the slideshow. Actually Dorington that might help that way I can control it from here. Yeah. Let's see if my okay you can just move on to the next slide and drive it for me. I put a picture up here.

Think about us whatever circumstance in your life that is foremost on your mind. What is it that occupies your mind during the week. Is it your job. Is it your family situation your marriage. Maybe is it the church life.

Maybe the church life you were used to having and feels a little different now. Is this what it feels like. Is this the vision that you were leaving with. We can week out about us as a church or your home.

Or is it what I want to show you in the next picture. Is this what you see. Do you see fields of harvest. Is your eye set on what God wants to do through your falling into the ground and dying. Not just the falling into the ground and dying.

Because if all you can envision is falling into the ground and dying. And you leave this room thinking ah falling to the ground and die. This is just kind of a morbid life. Oh no it's not. I found that the more I meditate on what it means for a grain of wheat to fall into the ground and die and actually fall into the ground and die.

See there's a difference between hearing and thinking about falling into the ground and dying and the Lord actually seeing you die in your earthly circumstance. Because what happens when you actually die is you get this vision.

See I have really really small in there the picture of that that same picture that I had the hand holding those few grains of wheats. But that's obscured that becomes small. The reality of those few grains in the in the hands of the holder is diminished because of the expanse of the golden harvest.

The Lord wants you to lift up your eyes this morning dear brother dear sister for us as a church as well to take our eyes off of the grains of wheat that you're holding into your hand. The Lord will give you plenty of circumstances in your life for those grains of wheat to die.

But you look up and fix your eye on the vision. Turn with me to 1st Corinthians chapter 15. You may wonder how is this gonna happen. In fact you should wonder how are you gonna use us Lord as a church.

How are you going to accomplish your purpose in our lives. I've been reading this chapter a few times this week and the Lord's brought it to light in to my mind to my heart in a new light. I always thought about this chapter in the context of physical death and physical resurrection.

It is true that's what he's talking about. But I believe that it's also true about the spiritual death and spiritual resurrection. Let's look at that 1st Corinthians chapter 15. We'll go on to the next slide.

Resurrection Life Through Spiritual Death

1st Corinthians 15 verse 35. But someone will say how are the dead raised. Santosh you're asking me to look at these little grains of wheat that I'm holding in my hand. And I'm asking you how is it possible.

My situation is just too hopeless. My marriage is just too far gone. My home life my children they're perhaps they're already grown and out of the home. How is this gonna happen. The church life and my experience of and my hurts over what I've gone through are just too much.

How can God ever do something. How are the dead raised to life. This is a very very valid question for us in our situation as a church. For you perhaps in your situation in your marriage in your home life or if you're single in a situation you're dealing with.

Every one of us I believe is facing circumstances thoughts that we deal with week in week out. How are you gonna bring this dead thing to life. How are the dead raised to life. Let's continue reading.

And with what kind of body do they come. You fool. Oh you love how the Holy Spirit just kind of throws that in there every now that you fool like I was just asking a question. And it's like he has to you know.

Slap me upside the head to say wake up your eyes on the wrong thing. Lift up your head. You fool. You're looking at the little grains of wheat and trying to imagine something supernatural happening by those grains of wheat in your hand.

You fool. But that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And I had the Holy Spirit speak this very word to me even this week. You fool Santosh you're looking at the physical reality of your circumstance with the grains of wheat in your hand.

And you're and you're asking me questions. You're doubting. You're worried. You're unbelieving about what I can do through it. You fool quit holding those grains of wheat in your hand put it into the ground.

That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. So first of all you fool we must die. That's no option. We must die. But then he goes on to say what does the sowing look like. What will it look like.

When when you say okay Lord I take you seriously. You said unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone. What is that gonna look like. What will it look like. Day by day week by week month by month even year by year before you see the golden harvest what will it look like.

Let's look at this. Well let's continue reading verse 37. That which you sow you do not sow the body which is to be. You're not going to sow a stock of wheat and get wheat. That's what he's saying. That which you sow you do not sow the body which is to be.

You're not actually going to sow the thing which is going to be but a bare grain. And if you if you've done even a little bit of gardening you know this is true. But I have to belabor it because it's so difficult for take for us to take that which we know is true in the physical realm because we see it all the time we drive by cornfields all the time.

Don't you. And you know whether you actually consciously think about it or not that that five or six foot tall corn or wheat or whatever it is started out as a grain of wheat that's small. You know it.

You learned it in science class when you were in fifth grade perhaps. But now you take that into the spiritual. And I find I have found in my past that I come to God saying Lord I don't want to be this grain of wheat.

I want to be the long five foot six foot tall blade of wheat or corn. I want to be that. And I look at my earthly circumstances small and hopeless and think what good can you do with that. He says you fool you fool that which you sow you do not sow the body which is to be so apply that now to us as a church.

Do we want God to do amazing things through us. Not. I'm not talking in terms of numbers. I'm not talking in terms of influence. And I think perhaps that led us astray at some point as a church where how people talked about river of life Christian fellowship and what people knew about river of life Christian fellowship and how what they experienced outwardly when they came into our midst was so different from what God's perception God's opinion.

God's approval of us may have been but he was what he's saying here is that which you sow you do not sow the body which is to be. So we are not going to look like what God intends for us to be for a while perhaps that grain of wheat is not going to look like that five foot tall blade of grass or wheat or corn for a long time.

And if you hold on to this corn this grain of wheat refusing to go into the ground and dying saying no Lord but I'd rather be that. And you look at blades of wheat blades of corn thinking I want to be that make me that Lord make me that Lord make me that.

And he has two words for you for me you fool fall into the ground and die. And then you will become that it will take some time. That grain of wheat once it falls into the ground and is sown it said it must die.

When does the dying happen after it goes under the ground. And when that dying happens something comes to life. So you do not sow the body which is to be but a bare grain perhaps of wheat or something else.

But God gives it a body. You see the difference between me trying to make myself a body us trying to make ourselves a body in our marriages us trying to make ourselves a body in our homes. Us trying to make ourselves a body as a church.

That's me trying to do it. Me trying to fit the grains of wheat in a line so that it looks like a like wheat so that it looks like a blade of wheat or corn. I'm lined up and I try to convince others and convince myself that this is a blade of grass a blade of wheat.

And it's not because the death hasn't happened. And it will take some time that wheat must go into the ground and die. So the sowing looks bare. If your life feels bare my dear brother dear sister in your marriage in your home in your church experience.

If it feels empty if it feels bare have faith. If you're really that grain of wheat that's falling into the ground and die it will bear fruit. Don't look at the bareness. Don't look at the emptiness. It must be sown in bareness for it to come forth in glory in a body.

He says in verse 42. Skip down. So also is the resurrection of the dead. See. I believe my dear brothers and sisters I'm convinced of this. I'm speaking especially with regard to what and who we must be in the church as a church as a local expression of the body of Christ.

But you can apply that to any area that the Lord is speaking to you. I want to apply it to our to us as a church. If we continue as a church or are a church when Jesus comes that is lacking in the resurrection power of Jesus.

We came together every Sunday we sang songs we had Bible studies we had good friendship. We were in each other's homes we hung out together. We did all these things. But we didn't have the resurrection life of Jesus in us.

We will be the losers. Everything will be burned up. In fact I thought about this. I want to be careful how I say this. If the Lord had come three months ago. And I speak this for those of you that were here three months ago in this local church.

If the Lord had come three months ago we would be eternally grieving. I think over the Lord showing us the reality of what we were that there was not that glory that as the father and he are one that we had in our midst we didn't have it.

And I thank God in his mercy that he delayed his return so that he could open our eyes to pursue true unity to pursue the true resurrection life of Jesus because he says so also is the resurrection from the dead.

And I believe that for us to truly be a church that is pleasing to God and approved by him we must die river of life Christian fellowship must die. And I think to some extent we have. Perhaps I don't know if it's all the way but I think what we've gone through in the last few months is a death that must have happened and must continue to happen for us to experience the resurrection life.

And my dear friends dear family of God dear brothers your sisters don't trade any counterfeit for this. The devil will do everything within you. He'll convince you of this or that that there's some other option besides dying.

Don't let him. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is so perishable or fragile. What is perishable. You know when you say perishable goods that means it's got a life expectancy. It's it's sure it's on its way to death.

You better do something with it quick before you run out of time. That's what perishable means. And God is giving you and I my dear brothers and sisters opportunities to perish. To give that perishable so that we gain the imperishable.

So also is the resurrection from the dead. So also is river of life life Christian fellowship. If we are to be pleasing to God it must be so perishable so that it can be raised imperishable. So on fragile.

I like that word better because that's implied in that word perishable. It's fragile but it's raised up completely indestructible. This is the eternal the resurrection life of Christ. Verse 43 it is sown in dishonor.

Dishonor, Persecution, and the Blessing of Christ

Do you know that if you want this life if you want God if we want God to bless and approve of river of life Christian fellowship there must be a dishonor. There must be a dishonor over my life. Not that I dishonor God by my actions or by my words.

No we must always seek to maintain a pure testimony before God and before men. But in doing so there must be a dishonor. This is what the sowing looks like. It's God's way. He is trying to prove that I'm not fixated on this grain of wheat.

I'm fixated on the on the wheat that I will be on the golden fields of harvest. And he says listen I'm gonna prove that your faith is really on that I'm gonna test your faith by allowing this grain of wheat to go through dishonor.

So Matthew 5 verse 11 blessed are you when. Let's look at that the Lord spoke this verse really powerfully to me this week. Matthew 5 verse 11. Take this to heart. Dear brothers your sisters dear church family take this to heart.

Do you want the word the Word of God to become flesh in you. You know it says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us John 1 full of grace and truth. What did that mean. That whenever there was something written in the Word of God both the Old Testament and the New Testament even though the New Testament wasn't yet written because it's written about Jesus.

Jesus knew what was going to be written. But everything that we know is the Word of God these 66 books. Jesus came to fulfill it. He says behold I have come. It is written in the role of the book about me it is written off me.

So when you read the Bible dear dear friends you know what it must be. You must be reading this saying it's written of me. So when it says in Matthew 5 verse 11 if you really want to follow Jesus if you really want to experience his glory you will come to Matthew 5 verse 11 and says it's written about me.

Blessed are you Santos. Blessed are you. Put your name there. Do you want to be blessed. Bless me Lord bless me. He says here's how I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna allow men to insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Because you stand for the truth. Blessed. Oh wow. And when we stop seeing the insult and the persecution and the false speaking of evil as the thing that occupies my mind why did they say that. Why did they do that.

Why do they treat me like that. What did I do to them all that I've done. That's God sowing you in dishonor so that he can bless you. My I have a simple question for you this morning. Very simple question.

Do you want Matthew 5 verse 11 to be written about you. Is it written about you. Is it written about me. I want it. I don't want to get to the end of my life. And says well Santos for the Lord to say to me.

You know I was able to fulfill quite a bit in your life. But when it came to Matthew 5 verse 11 you kicked at the goads and you didn't let me. You allowed yourselves to be preoccupied by all those negative things and those negative thoughts you you didn't allow me to take you and put you into the ground and bury you a foot or two deep.

And so I could never bring the resurrection life out of you. It is sown in dishonor. It is sown through river of life Christian fellowship. It must be said about us. And again like I said apply this to any area of your life that you want resurrection life as dead as it is.

Is it been dead for 10 years. That's fine. God can bring it back to life. And he will if you will trust him. But the only way that'll happen. It must be said about river of life Christian fellowship as it must be said about every single one of us who form that church that local expression of the body of Christ that we were blessed.

We were a blessed church because people insulted us and persecuted us and falsely said all kinds of evil against us because of Jesus. And he goes on to say in verse 12 rejoice. Oh it gets harder. It's one thing to say okay Lord thank you for blessing me.

Now I gotta rejoice. Are you willing my dear brother and dear sister to trade what last week has been like with its morning. If it has been the case for you because of your circumstance are you willing to trade your morning for dancing for rejoicing.

Now the circumstance hasn't changed the people you're dealing with. Maybe continuing to speak evil about you and falsely accusing you and persecuting you and doing all kinds of things to you. It may be even in your own home through your spouse.

But in the midst of that are you willing to say Lord I'm trading my sorrows for your joy. You have turned my morning into dancing. Last week was full of me being bogged down with a negativity that people cast at me but no more.

This week I choose to live in Matthew 5 verse 12. Rejoice and be glad because your reward in heaven is great. Turn back to that picture. Please that golden harvest. This is your reward in heaven. Rejoice and be glad because this is your reward in heaven in every area of your life in your marriage in your home in your church experience.

This is the future of River of Life Christian Fellowship. I believe it dear brothers and sisters. But I'm not trying to pitch you something. I'm not trying to convince you to stay here or leave anything like that.

All that the father has given to us will come and we will not cast out any whom the father comes to us that we are sure of. We're never going to try to convince people to stay or to leave because we rely on the father.

But this is the future of River of Life Christian Fellowship. If we will die and if we will take the death that God has allowed into our life to bring forth this reality. I want this with all of my heart.

I don't want to be stuck just holding those little grains saying Lord I buried it in the ground and did nothing with it. I didn't die here I am now again I want you to know. I'm not talking about quantity.

I'm not talking about whether this church will grow in numbers or not. I really the Lord has increasingly set me free from that. I want life though. I want abundant life. I want the life of Christ growing in me in increasing measure and in you in increasing measure.

And I would rather as many of us as are here full of the life of Christ than many many more who are half of the life of Christ. What do you think is more valuable to God. The fullness that's more valuable to God.

And I want that with all of my heart. I hope you do back in Matthew 5 verse 40 no 1st Corinthians 15. It's sown in dishonor but it's raised in glory. We heard at the very beginning I started by saying that the glory is the unity.

Do you want that unity. Do you want to be raised. And you know anytime you read glory now not not always. I don't want to give you a rule of thumb but try to put in the word unity because he said this is the glory which the Father has given me that they may be one as you and I are one.

So we know that glory is unity at least in that context. I don't want to apply that to the entire glory of God because it's so much more. But there is an aspect of my partaking of the glory of God in my being one in those areas where God wants me to one beginning in my marriage and for us as a church.

So if we want to be raised in unity Lord build true unity in our church. I've been praying that for the last few months my dear brothers and sisters. I don't want to settle for a deception for a for a counterfeit.

I want unity. I want unity. And I'm willing to do whatever true unity Lord not a club friendship where we pat each other's back and scratch each other's back and do nice things for each other. No I don't want that.

And if the Lord had to take us through this experience over the last few months to say are you willing to open your eyes to what true unity is. Unity that can never be separated no matter what the disagreements.

Then I want that. Do you want to be raised in glory. You must be sown in dishonor there you must be willing to take a dishonor. It's the Word of God it's a principle. And if you're trying to find a unity that doesn't come from dishonor you may go we may go and spend our entire lives building a counterfeit which will one day fall down like a pack of cards.

And I pray it happens in our lifetime not at the judgment seat of Christ where all the pack of cards that have been built over the history of time will come crashing down. Read about it in first Corinthians three.

Wood hay and straw that gets burned up. But I want gold. I want silver. I want precious stones with you. My dear brothers and sisters. I want that with all my heart. True unity. He says in verse 44 43.

The latter part it is raised in power. How. Sown in weakness. It is a principle. You can't have power by starting out with power is what God is saying. You can't have glory by starting out with glory.

You can't have indestructible by starting out indestructible. You can't have fruit by starting out fruitful. No. You must start out bare empty-looking. That's what bear means. You must start out fragile almost destructible seeming.

You must start out in dishonor. You must start out in weakness. If you want the fruit and the imperishable and the glory and the power. I'm gonna dismiss our children for their son is actually your children.

Hang on here for a second. Let's look at this because I have a question for you. Maybe this will serve as a little bit of a Sunday school lesson on this next picture. What do you see children. What do you see.

What do you see. A mountain. Is it a big mountain. That's a pretty big mountain. Maybe else. What else do you see. Yeah snow. Okay. Yeah. There's snow. The sky. Yeah. Vienna. What do you see. You're saying something.

No anybody else. God's Majesty. Yeah. A peak. Yeah. A summit. Yes. Clouds. Yeah. There's some wisps of clouds behind that. This is actually a picture of Mount Everest the highest peak altitude wise from sea level.

Yes. A his eyes are pretty good. I guess I tried to make it as small as possible. Yes. Ali toss Ali. Right. God's creation. That's absolutely right. But and you're all correct. Yes. Baba tell me you see some rocks.

Yeah. I do too a big rock. But there is a little picture there that you if you look carefully you can see it may have missed it the first time but it blend. It doesn't quite blend. And I try to find a picture that blend and then so that it won't stand out as much.

Zechariah's Vision and the Work of the Holy Spirit

But this is a picture I want you to turn with me to Zachariah chapter 4. Zachariah chapter 4. God gave Zachariah a vision and I want you to look at this vision briefly with me. Zachariah 4 verse 1 you know where Zachariah it is is the second last book of the Old Testament.

It's not about building the church a prophetic vision of the building of the church. Zachariah comes and says he's speaking about building the church with the priesthood of through Joshua the kingship through Zerubbabel Haggai and Zachariah the prophets.

You see that beautiful picture all encapsulated in Jesus. Jesus is King and priest now. And that's what Zerubbabel and Joshua represent. And then there's the prophets seeking to exalt Jesus seeking to exalt the King and the priest.

And in the midst of this Zachariah has I think five or six visions and this is I believe the fourth maybe or fifth vision that he has. I just want to look at this one he said to me in verse 2 Zachariah 4 verse 2 the angel said to Zachariah what do you see now.

I want you to know that this was actually what was before Zachariah. This was this vision. It would look kind of like this. I'm saying we'll see that here in a moment. But it's like the angel of the Lord and the Lord showed Zachariah this picture and says what do you see now.

He's not saying well okay how good are your eyes. He's saying what do you choose to see. What do you choose to see Zachariah. He's asking you and I that question what do you choose to see in your circumstance.

He says Zachariah he's the prophet. He's got a prophetic vision. He's not seeing things the way human beings see. He's his eyes are open to see heaven because he's a prophet. And my dear brothers and sisters this is what it means to have the gift of prophecy that our eyes were open to see things as God sees and speak as the utterances of God that the motives and intentions of people's hearts are manifest through the words we say.

And prophecy is not just saying well I think this is what that scripture means. And this you know I look up that passage in that passage. No prophecy is I see heaven. And my vision has been changed. And the prophets of God if you see in the Old Testament all said after they were shown they were sent.

God showed them something and then they spoke. And we live in a world sadly my dear brothers and sisters bear with me if I take a little time where people want Bible studies where everybody says whatever they want whatever comes to the top of their mind thinking that's that's prophecy.

And it's the biggest counterfeit to prophecy. And I pray that we there's a greater carefulness in our midst when we speak in our gatherings not fear. But I'm not trying to speak fear into your lives. But I say Lord I dare not speak anything that hasn't come from a vision of you a revelation of you.

I shut my mouth and put it in the dust and say Lord I haven't seen you yet. How dare I speak in your church. Sisters in your sisters meeting let it come from a vision of God. Brothers in our brothers meeting let it come from.

I've seen God. I've seen him high and exalted. Now I can speak because my tongues has been cleansed like it was for Isaiah. And so he says to Zachariah what do you see. Come forward to that next picture.

He says I see and behold a lampstand all of gold with its by the way this is the picture that is a small version of it in front of the mountain. It's the same picture I see and behold a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it.

There's a bowl on the top of it and it's seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it. Also two olive trees by it flourishing green pouring olive oil one on the right side of the bowl and the other on the left side.

Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying what are these my Lord. We'll skip down to verse 6. Then he said to me this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel the king saying not by might not by power.

Not by nor by power but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts what are you all. Great mountain. See. There's the mountains. That is that cry. I didn't even see the mountain. Go back to that previous picture if you could.

Now as you look at this picture in your circumstance in your life as you picture a river of life Christian fellowship what will you choose to see. Will you see the mountain. The hurt the missed friendships the experiences we had or all these things.

Is that what you're gonna focus on. Go back. Actually one more. Yeah a big mountain in front of you. The memory of it haunts you day by day. Or will you say no. I see the church fed by the olive trees and it's not.

The lamps aren't burning because they are manufacturing oil. Their oil is being poured into them through the Holy Spirit full of the Holy Spirit. If this is what it takes to your church let's do this.

Let's seek God's face for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I don't believe that we've done that near enough in the last ten years as a river of life Christian fellowship. Not near enough because too many of us myself included I start I put myself at the start of the line have gone through life thinking that just by reading God's Word I can somehow get some idea of who God is.