New Covenant- God's Final Goal - Church -Part 4 — Zac Poonen

Building Financial Practices on the Foundation of Jesus Christ

Today, more than 95 of Christians in the area of money are not building on the foundation of Jesus Christ. In other words, their attitude to money is not the attitude of Jesus Christ. That's the meaning of building on the foundation.

The way they raise money to do God's work is not the way Jesus used money to do God's work. Do you know Jesus needed money to do God's work? How do you think, I mean for 30 years he was a carpenter, for most of those 30 years he supported himself, but then the last three and a half years, he was not a tent maker like Paul.

As a carpenter, he couldn't carry his carpenter tools around and make tools and benches. He was supported financially. There's nothing wrong in that. If Jesus was supported, what's wrong in supporting a Christian worker today?

Absolutely nothing wrong. But it must mean the same way Jesus supported himself. How was that? He never made his needs known to anybody. He never sent a prayer letter or reports or anything about his work to anyone hinting that I need this or I need that.

He never went around with torn shirts giving people hints that I need a new shirt. No. There was a dignity about him. He was the son of a rich heavenly father. How could he go around like a beggar? Most Christian workers I've met today are absolute beggars and the biggest beggars are on television.

You've heard me say this before. Supposing a man with a suit and attire, a white man on television appeared and said, I'm the ambassador for the United States of America and our country is a bit hard up.

We'd like you to support us. Give us some money. I mean they spent billions on the war in Iraq, but they still don't ask you for money. Imagine if one of them went on television and said, give us some money.

You'd say, that guy's a hoax. He can't be the ambassador of the United States. He can't even be the ambassador of Eritrea or Chad or some of these small African countries. No, nobody. That'd be disgraceful.

For him to appear on television and say, send us a donation and we'll give you a little memento from Chad for you to keep with you if you send us 1500 rupees. But if an ambassador of Jesus Christ gets up and says, I will give you a little memento if you send me 1500 rupees, send us money for your work, for our work, you'll say, oh, that's great.

Why? Because in your understanding, the kingdom of Jesus Christ is way below even the kingdom of Chad and Eritrea and everything else. He's the lowest in your list. Your understanding is like that and that's why you believe all these fellows.

And you're deceived by them. I'm not deceived by them because to me the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of Christ is far above even the kingdom of the United States. And an ambassador of that kingdom does not disgrace himself by being a beggar.

Wealth, Status, and the Rich Young Ruler

No. So the church is not being built on this foundation in the area of money. The way they raise money, the way they hint and the way they ask and the way they are excited when some rich person comes into the church or...

It's absolutely disgraceful. The way many people get excited when some rich man begins to be interested in that church. You know, when we started building the church, the first people who left us were all the rich people.

Because they never got used to being rebuked and corrected. Most of them left us. And I think that was how it was with Jesus. We have a rich young ruler who came to Jesus and thought he could become one of his disciples and Jesus said, turn him away.

He went away. And the other thing is music. You know, if you look at almost all Christian music today that I have seen, and you ask them, ask these song leaders, where did you get that style from? Invariably the answer is some worldly musician or some worldly church.

Christian Music and the Example of Christ

If you don't believe me, go and ask them. Where did you get... I mean, there is a particular style you follow. The answer is always, they watch some music video and they decided to imitate that style because... and that guy on that music video got it from some worldly musician.

How many song leaders can say, I prayed and I wanted to lead songs the way Jesus would lead if he were here? You ask the people who play instruments in any Christian group today, including some of ours.

Ask them, where did you get the style from of playing instruments? I saw it on some music video. I saw it in some other worldly church. And you ask them, do you think that's the way Jesus would play if he was playing that instrument?

They haven't even thought about Jesus playing a keyboard or a guitar. It's not built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. They've laid the foundation here, but then they go and build their music on the world.

Preaching and Ministry According to Jesus

They build their preaching on the world. They build their money attitudes on the world. No wonder the gates of hell are enjoying themselves working havoc in the churches. That's not a new covenant church.

Not at all. I'll tell you, when I started preaching, I said, Lord, I don't want to preach like these American preachers. I don't want to preach like Indian preachers either. I want to study the scriptures to see how Jesus would preach.

How would he speak? I mean, if he were here physically, how would Jesus speak? I want to speak like that. I want to speak the way he spoke to wicked sinners. I want to speak the way he spoke to self-righteous Pharisees.

I want to teach the way he taught the disciples. And I studied. I mean, God is my witness that 45 years I've spent studying the earthly life of Jesus to try and... I don't know how much I've succeeded, but I've tried.

God is my witness. I've tried to understand. That's my calling. And I think if I were a musician in the church, I would study and understand how would Jesus lead the singing. How would Jesus play an instrument?

That's how I would have done it. Or anything. Or in handling money in the church, I would think, how would Jesus handle this money? That is what has protected me for 41 years in Christian ministry. I've seen young people who came, started serving the Lord with me, and I see where they are today.

The New Covenant Church and the Foundation of Christ

They've destroyed themselves. Because they were born again. They laid the foundation, but then they built the pillar somewhere else. This is happening all over. That is not a new covenant church. The new covenant church is that this is the foundation, Peter.

Christ, the Son of the Living God. And I want to ask all of you. I told you about the importance of the home in Ephesians 5. What sort of a home should we have? How should we guide our children? I remember one young sister once came to me and asked me, how should I dress?

Christ as the Standard for Dress and Family Life

What advice did I give her? Did I tell her the length of her blouse, or the length of her salwar kameez? I mean, if you start on that, the list will become very long. I said something much more simple, based on this principle, that everything must be built on the foundation, Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Peter, this rock I will build my church. And I thought, well, and I said, Sister, this is what I would say. If Jesus were living in the next street, and He invited you to His house, saying, I want to go for a walk with you.

And He's going to take you for a walk down Commercial Street, or somewhere else. How would you dress? When you go to meet Him, and you go for a walk with Him. Dress like that every day. Not only when you come to church, when you want to look holy, but when you go to work, when you want to look smart, like the others.

And you've given up the foundation of Jesus Christ, because now I'm going to work. I'd like to be like the world. Aha! No wonder your Christian life is so shallow. You want to be like Christ on Sunday, and like the world the other six days of the week?

Well, go ahead, Sister. Nothing ever much will come out of your life. But you can change today. You'll be different. People make fun of you. You'll be odd, because you're the bride of Christ. I'm not making any rules.

Following Christ in Every Daily Decision

All I say is, do you want Jesus to go with you only once a week? Or do you want Him to be with you every day? Every moment? In everything you do, ask yourself. I remember once a brother came to me to sign as a witness for some sale deed that he was preparing, and I knew something about that house transaction.

I was only signing as a witness. Witness that this is the right person signing. I could have signed it, but there was something about that house transaction. It wasn't totally unrighteous, but I didn't feel free about it.

And I said, I think you can go ahead, there's nothing unrighteous in it, but I don't feel free in my spirit to sign that, because I didn't feel Jesus would sign it. Because there was something shady about it.

You know, some of these gray areas, not exactly black, but a little gray, not white. So I said, I'm not saying you shouldn't go ahead with this. Go ahead, but ask somebody else. And he, because he respected me, said, oh, if Brother Zak doesn't sign it, then I won't go through with it.

And he didn't. And he lost that house. Lost it means he didn't buy it. And within a very short time, he got a better one. The first was only a test.