He Who Does Gods Will Abides Forever — Zac Poonen

Doing the Will of God in a Passing World

I want to turn to a very, very important verse. It's 1 John, chapter 2, and verse 17. 1 John 2, 17, it says, the world is passing away, and also its lusts. But the one who does the will of God lives forever.

This verse reminds me of Noah's time when he preached a similar message. And nobody believed him outside his own family. The world is passing away and all that you see. But if you do the will of God and get inside the ark, he said, you'll be safe.

And the only ones who believed him were his wife and his three sons and their wives. Which shows what a godly man Noah was. And it's not just that his children saw. Our dad really believes what he preaches.

That makes a tremendous impression on children when they see that their parents believe what they talk about. That is not just pious language in the church, but something that affects their daily lives.

Anyway, the same thing is true today. Jesus said, the last days will be like the days of Noah. We proclaim the same message. This is one of the last books written in the Bible. The world is passing away.

He said that more than 1 ,900 years ago. How much more true today. And when he talks about the world, we're not just talking about the earth. The earth is different from the world. The earth is this physical earth that we live on, planet Earth.

But the world, when the New Testament speaks about the world, it sometimes refers to the people of the world. God so loved the world. God so loved the world that he gave his son. That's the people of the world.

But then it also refers to this world system, whose ruler, Jesus said, is the devil. The world and all its passions and lusts is passing away. It's going to gradually be destroyed. And Jesus died not only to save us from our sins, but to deliver us from this world.

And in the Message Bible, it says like this. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out. The world is full of people who want this and want that and want this and want this and want that.

It's on its way out. But he who wants to do what God wants, he is all set for eternity. So I see there are only two categories of people. Those who got the spirit of the world and want and want and want and want what the world offers, and those who want and want to do what God says, and these are very strong words in verse 15.

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. You can use them. You can use any amount of them, so long as you don't get attached to them, so long as you don't love them. Jesus used money every day of his earthly life when it's from the time he was grown up, but he never loved it.

Because love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. It's very important to know that. That's why it's so serious. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. How can I say I love God if I love the world?

It's not possible. A lot of people think they can, but it's not possible. And everything that is in the world, and it's paraphrased like this, wanting your own way, wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, and wanting to appear important.

Do you want your own way? Do you want everything for yourself? Do you want to appear important? That is the world. The world is not a particular color of dress or a particular fashion of dress. It's not a question of the length of your hair or whether you wear lipstick or not.

These are the easy ways out that Christians have sought through the years to avoid worldliness. It has never delivered them from the world. The world is wanting your own way. Why do a husband and wife fight?

Because each wants their own way, whether they wear lipstick or not. Wanting everything for yourself without any concern for God or other people and wanting to appear important. That is the world. And if that is there, that's got nothing to do with the father.

It just separates you from him. And I believe that's the reason why many, many Christians, even those who come to CFC for many years, I don't see much spiritual progress in many of them. I just want to be honest.

But it's true. If you look at some people who've been here many years, I don't see much passion or zeal for God because deep down inside, they want their own way. They want everything for themselves and they want to appear important.

They get offended if somebody doesn't give them the importance they think they deserve. Well, I want to tell you this. It's on its way out. Whether you believe it or not, it's on its way out. And if you cling to that, you'll be on your way out with it too.

So don't satisfy yourself that you've come to CFC for many years. Ask yourself whether you want everything for yourself, whether you want your own way and whether you want to appear important. That is willingness.

And all that wanting, wanting, wanting is on its way out. I believe that. And in contrast to that is another want, a desperate want to do the will of the father. These are the two categories that John speaks about.

It's a very sharp dividing line. And we want to proclaim that sharp dividing line in the church. I often see these roads, you know, in the main roads of a city, you'll find these yellow lines down the middle showing that traffic must not cross that yellow line.

Those going that way go the other side. Those going this side of the yellow line go this way. But over the years, sometimes after many cars have driven over those roads, those yellow lines get slowly obliterated.

And only here and there you see some patches. And then you find cars going this side and that side because there's no yellow line anymore. That is a picture of most Christian churches today. That yellow line has gone.

And people sit there, some are going towards the Lord, and some are going towards the world, but they're all mingling together, imagining they're all going, doing God's will. They're not. And that's one of the things we want to do in this church.

We can't guarantee that everybody who comes here will be spiritual. That's up to you. But we can make sure that that yellow line is never removed. And if it gets a tendency towards being wiped out, we want to paint it again.

And that's what I'm trying to do this morning. There are those who want everything for themselves and who feel that they are very important, want to feel important and appear important, and want to have their own way.

And then on the other side of the yellow line are those who want to do things the Father's way and want to do God's will. And that is the reason why the glory is missing from many Christians and many homes and many churches.

That's missing. The glory. And I want you to turn to an Old Testament passage in Exodus. I've often referred to this and I want to refer to it again because I believe there's a principle there. You know, in the Bible, we read about three tabernacles of God.

Three tabernacles of God. Tabernacle means a dwelling place. That's all. The first tabernacle is the one that Moses built, which became the temple of Solomon later. And that's, we read there, God dwelt there.

He dwelt in a glory in the top of that and in the most holy place of that tabernacle. If you turn to Exodus in chapter 39 and 40, you see how that Old Testament tabernacle was built. There's a phrase here that I think comes about 18 times.

Now, remember, this is God's Word. And God doesn't write something 18 times in two chapters unless he's got something to tell us. I mean, if you got a letter from your father and he wrote something 18 times in two pages, you definitely get an idea that's important, right?

18 times in two pages? He's afraid you may forget it. He believes it's very important. Here is something written 18 times in two chapters. I don't think there's any phrase like that anywhere in the whole Bible where you have it written 18 times in any two chapters in the whole Bible.

So I believe it's very important. And that phrase is concerning how Moses made this tabernacle. It says in the last part of verse one, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. That little phrase. How did he make all those things?

Just as the Lord commanded Moses. Even the garments for the priests. You see that again in the end of verse five. Just as the Lord commanded Moses, he made all that material of the high priest. And then all the other things there also in the end of verse seven.

Just as the Lord commanded Moses. And at the end of verse 21. Just as the Lord commanded Moses. At the end of verse 26. Just as the Lord commanded Moses. At the end of verse 29. At the end of verse 31.

It's the same phrase at the end of verse 32. All that the Lord commanded Moses. So they did. And the last verse as well. Just as the Lord commanded. This had been done. And then when you get to chapter 40, you find the same thing again.

At the end of verse 16. Just as the Lord commanded Moses. And at the end of verse 19. And again at the end of verse 21. And at the end of verse 23. And the end of verse 25. At the end of verse 27. Yeah, you can look through that.

Verse 32 and so on. And then you see this phrase. The last part of verse 33. It was thus that Moses finished the work. What was the result? Verse 34. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Now remember.

Moses was a man. Who had studied in the best academies in Egypt. He knew how to build pyramids. Which even today's engineers wonder how they built it in those days. This is the guy. Who knew how to build pyramids.

Whom God told to build a tabernacle. Which is such a simple structure. Even a 18 year old can make it. You don't need to study. And the wonderful thing about Moses was. He didn't say God I can make it better.

This is such a simple thing. Lord, I'm the one who made pyramids in Egypt. What are you telling me? I'll make a fantastic structure for you. He would have said that when he was an unbroken man at 40. But at the age of 80.

He wouldn't say it. Because he was a broken man. There are two categories of people. Among Christians. Believers. Those who are broken. And those who are not broken. Those who are broken. Will modify God's commands.

Because they think they know better. They will change little things here and there. In God's word. And say. Well think times have changed. Things have changed. And there are others who say. Well if God's word says that.

That's exactly how we're going to do it. One of the most common examples. I find this particularly when I go to western countries. I go to a church. And speak in a church of 2 ,000 people. And my wife would be the only one covering her head.

And I wonder why. I say don't these people have 1 Corinthians 11 in their Bible? 1 Corinthians 11 has got two parts. One which says that women should cover their heads when they pray. In the church. And the other half which says we must break bread.

How is it they take the second half and ignore the first half? They ignore the first half because they say. Oh that was not. That's not really for us today. I've never seen a spiritual man. Who believes in that type of teaching.

You know you can. Because that's how some other people talk about divorce also. Once you open the door. To say some things were only for those days. There are people who say divorce. Yeah that was those days.

Now things have changed. And God understands. So it's right to divorce your wife or husband and marry again. And I suppose the next step people will say. You know we got to be sure that we are marrying the right person.

We've sort of got to live together for a few years. Before we actually get married. And that's happening also in the world today. Because God understands every. Once you've opened the door for one little thing.

And you let the devil put his foot in there. He's going to occupy the whole house. That's what's happened in Christendom. It's not exactly as the Lord commanded. And so the glory has departed. You wonder why the glory departs?

There'll never be a glory. What he says 18 times. Just as the Lord commanded. Just as the Lord commanded. Small things. Big things. Just as the Lord commanded. The glory came. And I can tell you in Jesus name.

Because I've tasted a little bit of that in my life. Small things. Big things. Do as the Lord commands. And the glory will be in your life. Otherwise you'll just be a religious Christian. Talking pious language.

Without ever becoming spiritual in a hundred years. Lots of people like that. There are small things in which God tests us. I think of the time when God sent Adam into the Garden of Eden. And I believe there was something of a sort of a sheen of glory.

I mean that's not written in scripture. I sort of believe that. Because God made Adam and Eve in his image. They were so pure and innocent. And that the clear conscience. There was a sheen of glory. As they walked together.

And they saw each other. They saw the glory of God in each other. You know what happened when they sinned. Immediately they saw each other naked it says. That's why I believe something happened. They didn't seem to see that nakedness before.

Because there was a glory there. And suddenly the glory departed. And say hey you're naked. That's what's happened to a lot of people in Christendom. And how did it happen? By their disobeying a small command.

You know if God had said. Let's assume that God told Adam many things. Now Adam you must wholeheartedly love me. You must love your wife. You mustn't slap her. You mustn't hit her. And Eve you must fellowship with the husband.

All that now many many good good commands. And one small command. There's one tree there. Just don't eat from it. And the devil catches hold of the small command. He knows they won't disobey the big ones.

How many of you will disobey the big command? Don't commit murder. Don't commit adultery. No our obedience is tested in the small things. That's why I always say. Teach your children to obey in the small things.

Where do you test your children's obedience? When you send them to school. You say son don't commit adultery today okay. He comes back and says mom I obeyed that. Don't murder anyone in school. Says mom I obeyed that too.

Don't steal a bank on the way. Mom I obeyed that too. Those are not the areas where you test your child's obedience. Your child's obedience is when he's doing something very interesting and you say now stop that.

Particularly if it's a cricket game and it's his turn to bat. And at that time you say okay time to come in. What does your child say? Unless your child is special. All children say wait mommy. Five minutes which is usually 45 minutes.

And that's that's where their obedience is tested. It's exactly the same with the word of God. A person who obeys God in the little things and does not judge other people who don't obey in the little things.

That's the most important part. I've seen people who obey God in the little things and spend all their time finding fault with other people who don't obey God in little things. That's like making a first class chicken curry and putting a lizard inside it.

Spoils the whole thing. Spoils the whole thing. You obey God in the little things and most important don't put that lizard inside that wonderful curry you made. Don't judge other people who don't do those things.

That's not your business. It's not your command. It's God's command. He can take care of dealing with them. That's very important. In my younger days nobody told me this. They told me to obey but they never told me don't judge other people who don't obey.

It's very very important to understand these little principles. We obey God but we are not here to check whether other people are not obeying. The devil took that small command. One little tree. What does it matter if you eat it?

You think God's going to be so upset that if you just eat it. Obey the major commands. Don't slap your wife and don't get angry with her and yell at her. But this little thing in fact it looks so attractive.

And Adam listened to the voice of his own reason. The Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't depend on your reason and understanding. It will lead you astray. Our even our eyes and our ears deceive us.

We can't trust it. I've told the story here of the two little boys who were watching the sunset and the 10 year old said hey the sun was there in the east in the morning and it's moved it's come to the west in the evening.

The sun moved and the five year old said no my brother it's not the sun that moves. It's the earth underneath our feet that's revolving underneath our feet. And the older boy said no I didn't feel any earth revolving underneath our feet.

Have you ever felt the earth revolving under your feet? I believe what I see. The younger boy said I believe my daddy because that's what he told me who was right. You'll find when Jesus comes back that those who believe their heavenly father and what he wrote in the book were the wisest people that lived on the earth.

Not the great scientists and politicians and the people who win the Nobel Prize and all that. But those who humbly studied God's word and did the will of God will be the wisest people that ever lived on the face of the earth.

Do you want to be one of them? You can if you say I want to choose God's will. You may feel discouraged that well I've already messed up my life for so many years. I've just done my own will for so long but I want to say why should you mess it up some more?

Okay it's true you messed up your own will. Maybe you went to churches where they never told you the whole truth. But at least you know it now. I mean if you had bad eating habits and destroyed your body till now why do you want to continue with those bad eating habits?

Why can't you change? I mean can't you stop smoking and drinking and like that? Stop a lot of other bad habits that you have in your life. Let me tell you the story of a man who messed up his life for 30 years and still completed the will of God and that's the Apostle Paul.

Hope for Those Who Have Wasted Years

There are two examples we read in the New Testament. One is Jesus who did God's will perfectly from day one and the other is the Apostle Paul who also said follow me and he had messed up his life for 30 years.

He even killed Christians. How many of you have killed Christians? Imagine a man who killed Christians that bad and what does he say at the end of his life? This man who had killed Christians who messed up his life for 30 years.

Here's a message of hope for us. In 2nd Timothy 4 and verse 7 he says like this I have fought a good fight. I have finished the course. I have finished the course that God appointed for me. If you were to argue with Paul you say how can that be Paul?

How can you finish the course which God appointed for you? You messed up 30 years of your life. You mean God didn't have any plan for those 30 years? You mean God wanted you to go around killing Christians?

That wasn't part of God's plan. How can you say you finished the course? There's something wonderful about God's will. He factors in if you understand the meaning of that word that he allows for. He factors in the fact that you don't know him and you don't know his ways for so many years and allows you he overlooks the times of ignorance.

That's how Paul who murdered Christians who messed up his life for so many years could still say at the end of his life see he lived only about 37 years after he was converted. I think he was converted on the road to Damascus around 30 years old because he was an important member of the Jewish hierarchy and you don't get there until you're at least 30 and he died when he was around 67.

Only 37 years of which half his life 30 years he had messed up killing people and all that but he still finished his course and that's what gives us hope that at least from the time you have heard the message maybe that's today.

Maybe it's only today that you really seriously understood that only those who do the will of God are going to remain forever. Those are the ones who are inside the ark those who have done God's will and it wasn't easy for him because it says here in before that in verse 7 2nd Timothy 4 7 I fought a good fight.

It's not just it wasn't easy. How did he manage to finish the course? He fought a fight and he didn't fight with human beings. For years he fought with human beings other Christians and messed up his life and I'll tell you this if you're still one of those who fight with human beings you'll continue to mess up your life.

Do you fight with your husband? I prophesy you'll mess up your life. You fight with your wife? I prophesy you'll mess up your life. Because the Bible says in the New Testament Ephesians 6 12 we do not wrestle with human beings.

We do not fight with human beings. We do not wrestle with flesh and blood. That's old covenant religion. The old covenant they fought with the Philistines and the Canaanites and the Midianites and the Amorites and all type of iths and your husband and wife maybe another type of ith but you don't fight with them in the new covenant.

You fight with the lust in your flesh. You fight with demons and the devil. The reason why you can't overcome the lust in your flesh and you can't overcome the devil and his demons and you're scared of them and you get dirty dreams and scary dreams is because the energy you have is limited and you're using so much of that energy to fight with human beings.

You're using so much of that energy in your mind to think what you will say to that enemy of yours next time you meet him. Well naturally you'll have dirty dreams. Naturally you'll have scary dreams because you're not fighting the devil.

Oh the devil's a deceiver. He wants to you to use up your energy fighting the wrong thing so that when you go to fight with him you're so weak and limp that you can't fight with him. Don't let him make a fool of you anymore.

He made a fool of me the early years of my Christian life because nobody ever got a hold of me and said brother Zach don't ever fight with human beings. I would get a hold of young people today and say that.

I said I've seen enough people in my life who messed up their life because they fought with human beings. How many of you will take a decision today? Ephesians 6 12 We will not wrestle with human beings.

I fought a good fight but it's not with human beings. It's not against other Christians. Saul of Tarsus fought with other Christians. You want to follow him or you want to follow the apostle Paul? Do you fight with other Christians?

Don't even fight over doctrine. We have certain doctrines. I don't fight for them. My earlier days I did because I was foolish and stupid and I didn't have a spiritual father to guide me along the right way.

I had to find a lot of things out myself. Today's 7 -8 year olds know that the earth goes around the sun but there were 80 -90 year old people in the 1300s and 1400s who never knew that. Until some guy called Copernicus decided to check up.

And today we know it because we got the benefit of those who have taught us the same thing spiritually. You don't realize how blessed you are to have someone to teach you or a number of brothers who are your elders to teach you the ways of God.

You don't have to mess up your life anymore. Learn this and stick to it and say Lord by your grace I'm never again going to fight with human beings. I'm not going to argue with them even about doctrine.

I have sometimes people who come to my house who want to convince me about some doctrine. All types of things. They want to convince me that I shouldn't be a teacher. I must be an evangelist. They try to convince me that I should preach healing without medicines in the church and all types of strange people come to my house.

People, strange type of people send me emails as to what they think I should preach. And when they come to my house and they only send me an email I can ignore it. When they come to my house I can't turn them out.

So I listen to them for a little while and then I try to show them from scripture and when they discover they are wrong they get hot under the collar. You know what that means? Means they get angry. Then I immediately change the subject and talk about India versus Australia cricket match or something like that.

Because then I know he's on my side. We're both fighting for the same team. But now in this doctrine he's on the other side. I never want to fight with people about doctrine. I never want to fight with people about anything because I realize that truth is something that God has to reveal.

Jesus said, I thank you father you have hidden these things from clever intelligent people and you have revealed them to childlike people. If you're childlike God will reveal wonderful things to you. So we don't fight.

Paul said, I fought a good fight against my lust, against the demons, against the devil who tried to hinder me from doing God's will in my life. But I stuck to it and I did God's will. And do you know the price he paid for it?

Because he did God's will. It wasn't an easy life for him. He was shipwrecked sometimes seeking to do the will of God in some other place. Wasn't comfortable. He was imprisoned sometimes because he stood for the truth.

If you had just compromised a little he could have been saved from being imprisoned. They took him to court. They did all types of things to Paul. They whipped him and beat him. But he did the will of God.

And I tell you this. It's easy to study about the life of the apostle Paul. But this was the secret of his life. He decided to do God's will. He said, enough time I have done my own will. It's not only Paul but Peter also.

Choosing God's Will for the Rest of Life

He says similar words. I want you to see this in 1 Peter and chapter 4 and verse 3. Just read this carefully. I don't know whether you've noticed this verse. The time already passed is sufficient for you to have done your own will.

The will of the Gentiles is your own will. But now you should be spending the rest of your life verse 2 to do the will of God. See he's contrasting doing the will of God from now on and says you mean you don't feel you've spent enough time doing your own will?

How many of you feel that no I haven't spent enough time doing my own will? I need to spend some more years doing my own will. I want to spend some more years fighting with human beings. I have not fought with human beings enough.

Well then there's no hope for you brother, sister. But those who have sick and tired of their old life and said I have spent enough time doing my own will. I want to now spend the rest of my life doing the will of God and I'm going to fight against everything.

That stands in the way of my doing God's will in my life. I want to do just as the Lord commanded. I want it to be written about me not only 18 times but 1800 times and 18 ,000 times. He did just as the Lord commanded here.

He did just as the Lord commanded. Small things, big things and the glory of God will rest upon you and me if we live like that. Don't you want it? I told you there are three tabernacles in the Bible.

The first one is the one we just read where Moses did exactly as the Lord commanded. The second tabernacle is the earthly body of Jesus. You read in John chapter 1 and the literal translation of that verse if you've got a margin in your Bible it says that the word became flesh and tabernacled among us.

It says here in the margin of my Bible the literal Greek word is tabernacled. The word became flesh and tabernacled among us. Jesus was the fulfillment of that Old Testament tabernacle and what was true in Jesus life?

He did everything as the Father commanded not 18 times as it mentioned 18 million times. He always did what his Father commanded and what is the result? Same as in Exodus 40. Verse 14 The glory of God was seen in him full of grace and truth.

That grips my heart. I say Lord I know I've seen it in the Old Testament tabernacle and I see it in this New Testament tabernacle of Jesus that if you do exactly according to the will of the Father the glory of God will be seen was seen there in the Old Testament tabernacle and it's seen here in the New Testament tabernacle.

See what Jesus says about his earthly life in John chapter 6 and verse 38. John 6 38 Why did I come down from heaven? Here is a one sentence autobiography of Jesus life. You know what an autobiography is where you write the story of your own life.

A one sentence autobiography of Jesus life. I came from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. Every day he always sought to know what is the Father's will and he did it. The third tabernacle is the one that was formed on the day of Pentecost when 120 people prayed together and the Holy Spirit the fire of God came upon them and took these 120 pieces of steel and put them in the fire they became one piece.

You know you put iron into the fire and 120 pieces become one unbreakable piece. That's how they weld and join steel together. That's what happened and that became the third tabernacle of God. That's why it's called the body of Christ.

The church and the glory of God rested on that early church at least up to chapter 5. Acts of the Apostles. After chapter 6 they started grumbling one group of widows. It was a communal problem. The Greek widows started ganging up by themselves and the Jewish widows ganged up by themselves and the people who served the food were Jews so they'd give more food to the Jewish widows.

Backsliding and worldliness started pretty early in that church. Don't speak about the early church as if that was a very spiritual church. It was spiritual up to chapter 5. After that it became pretty worldly.

By the time it came to the days of Corinth it was really worldly and Laodicea and Sardis and all in the end of the first century. The first century church was not a spiritual church. It was spiritual up to chapter 5 of Acts of the Apostles and that's where we can see why wasn't it spiritual because everybody wanted to do their own thing.

The elders wanted to do their own thing and we see a lot of that in Christendom today and when the Lord saw that happening in what was supposed to be his tabernacle you know when the Lord writes to the churches in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3 he says to the church in Ephesus and to the church in Smyrna and the church in Pergamos and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea, seven churches and to their elders.

The elders were like the Moses who was building the tabernacle. There was an elder in Ephesus who was building the tabernacle there and there's an elder in Philadelphia and an elder in Laodicea building the tabernacle there and they were not all doing it exactly according to God's will and in some of those churches like Smyrna and Philadelphia there was a glory particularly Philadelphia but the others there was no glory at all but they still had their meetings but to all the churches the Lord says but just because the whole church is like that backslidden, wretched, miserable, blind the elders are like that and they have only a name that they are alive he says I want to challenge some of you who want to be overcomers to all those churches don't ever say that oh our elders like this.

So no no no or so many people in the churches like this I used to sit in churches where people didn't have any interest in victory over sin for many years as a young man and I couldn't find I'll tell you honestly I couldn't find examples that I could follow.