Crystal Clear Stones for God Alone — Sandeep Poonen

The Bride of Christ and the Crystal-Clear City

I wanted to share something, first from Revelation chapter 21, Revelation chapter 21 talks about our future. Our future as people of God is that we will be the Bride of Christ, that's what God has in store for us.

God wants us to be the future of, that's what God wants in all of our future, that we will be that. And when we see the Bride of Christ in Revelation chapter 21 verse 9, He says in the second half of this verse, one of the angels says to him, come here and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb, and he carries them, carries John and shows him a city.

Doesn't show him a woman, shows him a city, Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. And here's what I wanted to underline in verse 11, it had the glory of God and her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear jasper.

That is our future. God wants us to be absolutely crystal clear so that the glory of God can shine through 100%. How much of self can be present to be crystal clear so that the glory of God can shine through?

Zero. God wants the glory of God to shine through. That is in our future, that none of self, so that the glory of God is not at all affected by us. And God wants us to make us into almost, you look at that, it was like the glory was that of a very costly stone, it was almost like it was one stone.

Unity as One Spiritual Stone

There is such a unity that you can't separate one believer from another believer. We know the bride of Christ is not a person, it's a group of people, it's a group of Christians. But the clarity through which the light could shine was as if it was one stone.

There was such a unity that had been built into that stone that you couldn't figure out where one brother or one sister began and the next started or ended. Such a crystal clear stone. God wants to build that unity in each one of us.

Groaning to Be Present With the Lord

And what is that unity? In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, please turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, this is a unity that the Lord has been putting on my heart. This is the unity that God wants to have in me.

And there's a sense in which the church is a group of people and we've talked about it, we've thought about it, but I also, I want to talk today about the unity that God wants to have with us individually.

He's talking about our earthly bodies in verse 1, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1, he says our earthly body, a tent, which is our house, is torn down, we have a building, we have another body. For indeed in this house we groan, here's why we groan.

Because we long to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. Verse 4, while we are in this body we groan, being burdened, because we don't want to be unclothed, we want to be clothed. And he's given us verse 5, the spirit as a pledge.

And this verse 6 is what really grabbed a hold of me. Therefore being always of good courage, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. And verse 8, we walk by faith and not by sight, verse 7, and we are of good courage, I say, verse 8, listen, look at this carefully, we prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Every single Christian must have in us this longing, this burning, this groan is what it says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. It's this groan to say, Lord Jesus, no matter what I have, I have a husband, I have a wife, I've got children, I've got grandchildren, Lord I have a groan to be present with you.

This body, I groan because I'm in this body, I'd much rather be with you, not because my pain goes away, not because my suffering goes away, but because I'll be with you. And the Holy Spirit has been given to us as that pledge.

Longing for God Above Every Earthly Comfort

That is what has grabbed a hold of me. That has said, similar to what we heard, whom have I in heaven but you, there's nobody on earth I desire besides you, Lord Jesus, that is why there's a perpetual groan, not because I didn't get a raise, not because my child got cancer, but Lord Jesus, because even if I had everything in this world, I'm groaning because I'm not one with you.

A lot of us don't have much to complain about and that is why the Lord often finds fault with us because He says, I don't find a groan in you. You groan when you get sick. You groan when you have trouble.

You groan when you lose something that doesn't go your way. You groan when ministry opportunities don't happen like they should. You groan when something or the other doesn't happen, spiritual or not spiritual.

What I want you to groan about is because you want to be one with me. And that's an individual thing. It's got nothing to do with anybody else. Do you feel naked compared to being one with the Lord? That's the word He uses here.

I feel so empty because I want to be one with Christ. That is what satisfies me. Money, please. Children, come on. None of these things can ever compare. I still feel so naked compared to my unity with the Lord.

This is what Paul is saying. We are of good courage, say, and we prefer. He brought me into this. He says, Paul was saying, surely I'm not the only guy who feels this way. We prefer to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.

It's got nothing to do with the pain in our lives. It's got nothing to do with all the wonderful things we'll have in heaven. It's got nothing to do with the relatives that we've lost who we'll see. All of that stuff is great.

But it's nothing to do with why we groan. And the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a pledge. I want you to think about that for a second. The Holy Spirit has been given. Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God.

He's part of the Trinity. How long was He with the Father and the Son? All eternity. For all eternity, the Holy Spirit has been one with the Father and the Son. Now what the Holy Spirit has been given is, the Holy Spirit has been given to me to live inside of me.

The Holy Spirit's Groaning for Oneness With the Father and Son

And what happens when the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of me? I hope you can take this analogy not as some big theological truth, but as the picture I'm trying to draw. That the Holy Spirit gets trapped.

Because He's surrounded by myself. And what is the Holy Spirit groaning for? Do you know it says in Romans 8, the Holy Spirit groans within myself? What is the Holy Spirit groaning for? He groans to be one with the Father and the Son.

For all eternity, the Holy Spirit didn't want money, the Holy Spirit didn't want riches, the Holy Spirit didn't want comfort. The Holy Spirit for all eternity, He is a person, has been groaning to be one with the Father and the Son.

And now the Holy Spirit has been given to us, He's been given to me, but now He's trapped with all the self. And because He's so patient and kind, He waits on us, but He groans, longing like a powerful magnet, north and south that is drawn to each other.

The Holy Spirit's groaning that He may be one with the Father and the Son. And Paul understood that. Paul was so one with the Holy Spirit's desire in him, that he said, I groan too. The Holy Spirit has so filled me and opened my eyes, to see what the Holy Spirit has been given to me for.

He's been given to me as a pledge, so that I can long to be present with the Lord at all times. 24 -7, 365 days, Lord as long as I'm in this body, I'll have this groan about me, because I long to be present with the Lord.

Enduring Trials With an Unchanged Spiritual Longing

That is why we ought to groan. And I want to ask ourselves, a lot of us who are living in comfortable lives, we have trouble, all of us, I'm not trying to diminish trouble that we have, but we all live relatively comfortable lives.

Compared to Houston, compared to Nepal and India, the many other places that are hit by tragedy, even in that physical sense, what is the groan we have? No matter if we come across persecution or sword, our groan must be unchanged, and it's got nothing to do with whether there's a sword, or whether there's famine.

Our groan must be because we have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge, and that Holy Spirit's groaning to be one with the Father and the Son. If we don't have that groan, we have to judge ourselves and say, Lord, I want to groan with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit doesn't want me to have more money. The Holy Spirit doesn't want me to be happy. The Holy Spirit wants me to be one with the Father and the Son. That is the definition of holy happiness.

The Quarry Where God Forms Crystal-Clear Stones

And God wants to take me and do that to me alone. He wants to draw me into the quarry. That's where the temple is built. That's where the stone is built. That's where the crystal clear stone is built.

And that's what I got from 1 Kings 6 -7. It says that the temple was built out of stones that were hewed in the quarry. And God is preparing us in this life to be this crystal clear stone, with no sharp edges, but no self left.

Crystal clear. That He can take us when this life is over and place us into the holy city, Jerusalem, where the glory of God can shine so clearly through. And He takes us out into the quarry now. Our whole lives, we get married to people, we have children, but in a way, it is just us and the Lord.

And there's a groan inside of us that says, Lord, I know what you've given me. I know you've given me a wife. I know you've given me children. You've given me grandchildren. You've given me a beautiful church.

But you know this, I prefer to be with the Lord and absent from all of you. That's what Paul was saying. And I see how far I am from that groan. Because I kind of like my family. I kind of like all of you.

It's a wonderful life I have. And I see the difference between me and a Paul. Paul nurtured this groan of the Holy Spirit. Individually, nothing to do with anybody else. No closest family, you've got to leave them far behind.

Allured into the desert. Him and I, no other. You'll have to leave your closest far behind. There's a poem like that. And He takes you into the quarry. And He hues you. And He chops you. And He puts you in the fire.

Dying to Self and Giving an Account

And He wants you to agree with Him. He wants you to be violent too. Against these thoughts of self. Self-righteousness. Self-pity. All the kinds of selfishness that comes in within us. He wants you to be violent.

He says, I'll play you a dirge. I'll play you a song. I just wanted you to be violent against self. Because one day, you're going to have to give an account for all your deeds. That's what 2 Corinthians 5 says.

We have as our ambition, we can go back and end with that. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 10. We have as our ambition that we will be pleasing to the Lord. Knowing that we'll have to give an account. God is looking for stones that are going to be crystal clear.

Clear of all self. That is the real enemy. This thing within you that longs to be relevant. That longs to be cool. That wants to be somebody. That has to die. Others will never be crystal clear. Will never be able to be fitted into the holy temple of God.

And you can't go with somebody else in this journey. I know the temple is the body of Christ. But today I want to focus on us individually. And say, can you say it? Can you say, Lord, I want that as the mountaintop.

That I can agree with Paul one day. Lord, I'd rather be absent from the body. Even when you give me the greatest comforts in this life. Even when you give me everything I want. I will still say, whom am I in heaven but you.

There's nobody I desire. I want that life, Lord. I want to have that cry in my life. Even when everything is going this way. That Lord, I much prefer to be with you. You. Not the stuff you give me, but you, Lord.

I need your Holy Spirit to fill me. Because of myself, I can't feel this way. I'm so drawn to the things of this world. But Lord, you've given me the Holy Spirit as a pledge. Fill me, Lord, with that Holy Spirit.

That groans for you longer and longer. The Holy Spirit, if he comes on us. He has this groan that comes with him. That says, draw me to the Father and the Son. You can't stop him. He is that way. We just need to get out of the way.

Yielding to the Spirit's Work

We need to be violent to ourselves and allow the groan of the Holy Spirit to say, take me to the Father and the Son. That's my home. That's the home of the Holy Spirit. And he's keeping on wanting to draw us to that.

And we are the ones getting in the way. There's nothing my God cannot do. But he's waiting. He's waiting for us to get out of the way. He'll do wonderful things through weak, helpless people. But he needs us to die.

If a grain of wheat will fall into the ground and die, it will bear much fruit. Let's bow our heads. Let's come before the Lord and ask the Lord and repent of all laid-backness. Let us repent of all carefreeness.

Prayer for Solitary Longing and Sanctification

And let us seek the Lord that we may be violent. God has such beautiful plans for you, dear brothers and sisters. He wants you to be a crystal clear stone fitted into the temple of God. May that vision grip you.

May the vision of what the Lord wants to have with you individually, to be one with you as much closer than any human bride and bridegroom are. He wants to be one with you. You can't take your husband, you can't take your wife, you can't take your children.

Leave them all far behind as you go before the Lord. And let's pray, Lord, create in me this solitary longing for you. That I will one day be able to say like Paul, Lord, I much prefer to be with you.

That's the longing of my heart. I'm absolutely convinced as that longing grows, we'll become more useful for the Lord here on earth. We will stay on this earth and we'll be more useful for Him. But the Lord needs us to be so united with Him.

He's jealous for you, dear brother, dear sister. He's jealous for you. Let's bow before the Lord and let's cry out of our hearts. Say, Lord, I want this to be true. It's a far mountaintop. I'm far from this.

I am for sure. But let's unite in that journey. God wants us to make us a crystal clear stone. Father, we come before you, Lord. I come before you, Lord Jesus. And I know how you've convicted my heart.

I know how you've spoken to my heart, Lord Jesus. And I want this to be an increasing groan in my heart, Lord Jesus, that I may be one with you. Lord, I want to be a crystal clear stone one day, Lord Jesus, that I can be fitted perfectly when this life is over, when my life comes to an end.

That I'll be ready to say, Lord Jesus, that you've done all the work in private, out in the quarry. You've hewn me, you've corrected me, you've cleansed me, and brought me to a place, sanctified me, Lord Jesus, to where I'm ready to be in your temple for all eternity, for your glory to shine through me.

Dear brothers and sisters, please pray short, meaningful prayers. It can be a groan that comes out of the groan of your heart, out of a burden of your heart, cry out to the Lord.