5 Lessons God Has Taught Me this Past Year — Santosh Poonen

Examining the Heart in the Light of Christ

Good morning, family. It's good to be together again. I had thought I would, initially thought I would finish the messages I've been speaking on, the mark of God's presence in the church, and we've looked at prophecy and spiritual songs.

I want to speak on spiritual authority, but I'd like to do that later. The Lord laid a burden on my heart last night and even this morning in, as I reflected, as most of, probably all of you know, it's my birthday today, and it's a good time for me to reflect on what the Lord has done in my life, to examine my heart in the light of Christ, because one day we will all be examined in the life of Christ, in the light of Christ, and when we set our hearts to be prepared for meeting Him, you know, we sang, soon He is coming, O happy, glorious day.

It is going to be a wonderfully glorious day for certain people. Some of my favorite verses are in 1 John 3. Maybe I'd start there. If you turn with me into 1 John chapter 3, verses 2 and 3 are some of my favorite verses, but I'd like us to begin in chapter 2, verse 28 actually, which is where we should begin, or even verse 26.

He says, I'm writing these things that I'm about to say because there are some people trying to deceive you, and there is a version of Christianity that's a deception. It's not a version of some other religion.

It's a version of Christianity for it to be deception. It has to be Jesus, but it's another Jesus. It's the Bible, but it's another twisting of the Bible. And so he says, to avoid this deception, verse 27, you know this verse as well, as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you.

Is that true? Is it really true that the anointing is in you, every single one of you who are born again, brother or sister, and that you don't really need anybody to teach you? Now, thank God that he's given up teachers to the church, he says in Ephesians 4, but is there really an anointing that you shouldn't need to be spoon-fed?

Imagine if here I was in my 40s, and you still saw me being spoon-fed by somebody. Maybe Megan had to spoon-feed me every day, my food. It's a sad thing when it's physically the case, because there's a disability.

They don't have the motor skills, or the ability to feed themselves. We can't despise them at all. We shouldn't despise them, but it's, we are without excuse if that's the case spiritually. When we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit available to us, we have the Word of God available to us, if it can't be said that the anointing is in me, and I don't need anybody to teach me.

I'm hearing from God every day, and I'm able to feed my wife based on what I'm hearing from him. Or if your husband is backslidden, you're able to feed your husband, and you're both able to feed your children.

And as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true, and is not a lie, just as it has taught you, you abide in him. So now little children, abide in him, so that when he appears, we may have confidence, and not shrink away from him in shame at his coming.

Which means there will be people who will shrink away from him in shame. It won't be happy glorious day for a lot of people, including some people who sang, soon he is coming, oh happy glorious day, but lived in a way that they weren't ready for his coming.

And so when he comes, they shrink back. The anointing was not in him, in them. So let's abide in him, so that when he appears, we may have confidence, and not shrink away from him in shame at his coming.

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of him. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God. And such we are, for this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we what we will be, but we know that when he appears, we will be like him. That's why this is one of my favorite verses. Santosh will be like Jesus, and most of you don't know my past.

Most of you don't know the corruption of sin that dwells in my flesh, even now that I'm discovering unconscious sin that God is revealing to me constantly. And every time he shows me more un-Christlikeness in me, that I repent of and fall on my face and say, Lord help me to be more like you.

The more I just say, wow, what love that Santosh will be like Jesus. And you must put your name there. What love you will be like Jesus. Children, remember this. This is your destination. It's not to become great in the eyes of the world, not to have a lot of money, not to have a successful job.

Children are a blessing of the Lord, but it's in the Lord's hands how many children you may have. That's completely up to him. But there's one thing that cannot be taken away from you, except by your own unbelief, and that is that when you see him, you can be like Jesus.

And if you will read your Bible carefully, it says you will be like Jesus. And you can take that promise to the bank, to God's bank, and say, Lord, this has got to be true in my life. When I see you, I must be like you.

But he says, we will see him just as he is. Verse 3, the proof that you're really living in such a way that you're ready to meet him, is that everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself just as he is pure.

That means you're not judging other people, you're not pointing fingers, you have no finger to point in accusation at even one other person. No complaint, no grumbling, or anything against anyone, because you say, it doesn't matter what they've done to me or what they haven't done for me, I want to purify myself as Christ is pure, and then when I see him, I will be like him.

The rest is up to God. You purify yourself, you examine your heart, and say, Lord, is there any un-Christ-likeness in me? That prayer I prayed earlier when we were praying is from Psalm 139, another prayer I pray frequently.

Psalm 139. It's a wonderful psalm where it talks about how God has planned for our lives from before we were even born. While we were in our mother's womb, he wrote every day of our lives, wrote it in detail.

What's going to happen today has already been recorded in God's book. What's going to happen tomorrow and the rest of this week, it's already been written down. It's already recorded. Trust him. The protection of his child is a care that he's taken on himself.

That's why he took such pains to write your book of your life. And I like to think of it like this way. It's just picture language, so don't read too much into it. That God wanted to write such detail about your life that he took nine months to do it.

That's why he had you in your mother's womb for nine months. Now maybe in some cases a little bit less than that. But he wanted to, you know, how quickly would it take for God to write? I mean, he could write in a moment.

But he took nine months or whatever number of months you were in your mother's womb to write in detail. April 3rd, 2022. April 4th, 2022. You picture God writing while you're in your mother's womb. You didn't even know all he was planning for you.

And at the end of this wonderful psalm that I hope you know well, he says this, So Lord, search me, verse 23, Psalm 139, verse 23. Search me, O God, know my heart. You know, it's true that God knows all things, but there's a sense in which he wants you to open your heart, to let him search you.

He will not take over your free will, even though he is God. We will have free will even in heaven. But he invites you out of your own free will to open your heart and say, Lord, search me. You know my heart, Lord.

I want you to know my heart. And then tell me about it. Those things that I don't know because they're too deep for me to even figure out. My thoughts, they're too complex. So Lord, you come and figure out my heart and you show it to me.

Isn't that wonderful? God doesn't ask you to figure out your own complex cities, your own doubts, your own fears. He says, you just open up your heart to the Holy Spirit. Let me search you. We read in the book of Corinthians that it's the Holy Spirit who searches the heart of God, searches our hearts and reveals to us the mind of Christ.

So search me, try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there is any hurtful way in me. The hurtful ways in our hearts are not the things that we do to hurt others. That we do with our words, with our hands, and hopefully we're done with all of that, right?

But the hurtful ways in our hearts speak of our attitudes and our motives, our ambitions. Those things that hurt God that nobody else can see. When I have a lofty thought that exalts myself, it hurts God.

Maybe I had a proud thought and I didn't hurt anybody, but you know how it grieved God? That self-ambition you had, that high thought about yourself. Search me Lord, show me if there's any way that causes you pain.

The living Bible paraphrases it. Is there any thought I had, a fleeting thought that just pricked your heart? Oh Lord, that's what I want to know. And so Lord, help me to cleanse, purify myself as you are pure so that my heart is like yours and lead me in the everlasting way.

Radiating God's Joy Through His Presence

So I thought I would speak today on some lessons that the Lord has taught me this last year and share them with you briefly. If you can pull those up. The first one I'd like to share with this first lesson is this.

The more you gaze on your Father, the more you will radiate His joy. The more you gaze on your Father, the more you will radiate His joy. Let's turn to Psalm 16. As we were praying even yesterday morning we shared some on this as well that as Christians we ought to exemplify to the world around us that God is a tremendously joyful God.

He's full of joy. In fact Jesus said in John 15 that He has spoken these things to us so that our joy may be made full. If you've been coming to RLCF for a few months or even a year, has your joy been made full?

Have you more full? Let's say maybe not fully full but more full. If not you're missing something dear brother, dear sister and I'm willing to take responsibility that as one of the elders I'm not doing my job faithfully enough to represent a joyful God and I hope to do so better in the years to come.

But I do believe that for those of us who have been willing to pay attention we have seen a more joyful God. Not the temporary pleasure and passing excitement that comes from the things of this world but a joy that comes from being in the presence of God.

Are you more joyful? I'll tell you I'm more joyful but I'll tell you what the Lord has convicted me about is I need to show it more. I want to show the joy of the Lord more in my countenance, in my face, in my words, even in the strictness with which I preach God's word.

I want people to see God is a really joyful God because sometimes He's a really joyful person and He seems to be taken up with God. Psalm 16 verse 11, you will make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy.

In your right hand there are pleasures forever. And this other verse in Psalm 34 I'd like you to see as well. Psalm 34, the more you gaze on your father the more you will radiate his joy. Now we were out in the sun quite a bit yesterday because we had a whole hours and hours of soccer games for the kids and you can't tell it as much with me because I'm already pretty dark but if you look at some of my kids and Megan you'll see, you can tell we were out in the sun quite a bit.

And I always think about that. They turn reddish if you have a lighter skin complexion you're out in the sun you'll turn red. Tan they call it. I've thought about that like that. When you really look at the sun, the Son of God, the light of God is shining upon you, you should be tanned with His joy.

That's the way I think of it. They should be, oh he's been in the presence of God. He looks so joyful. Covet that dear brothers and sisters, I do. I want to come out and I never want to leave God's presence but I want people, when I interact with people to see me they're like, wow he's been in the presence of God.

He's so joyful. I know what he's going through. I see that things are not hunky-dory for him. I hear what all they're saying about him and those accusations and the names they call him but I see a joy in his life.

And it's not by the things of this earth. And it's not in religious things either. It's a joy that comes from dwelling in the presence of the Lord. If you're really in the presence of the Lord, you would have been at his right hand and experienced that joy that is there at his presence.

Psalm 34 we read in verse 5, Santosh looked to him and he said, I want to come out and I want to live. And was radiant and his face was never downcast is how I read it. His face was never like, oh yeah bro I'm kind of having, struggling, bitter about this or disappointed about that.

No, that's a mark that you're not dwelling in the presence of God. They looked to him and their faces were tanned with joy. I want that. I hope you do. I've experienced a little bit more of it this year I can tell you honestly.

But I want more. I want my whole being to radiate. You know what radiate is? Where there's a light that's shining on you and you're reflecting it back. It's not my own. It's not a manufactured pleasure.

See a manufactured pleasure is one that comes from things going my way. I'm doing what I like and everything's as it should be and I like my friends and all these wonderful things. But radiating is that the light is coming from some other source.

It's the light of God that's shining on me that is just bouncing off of me. I'm radiating it from here because I've been in the presence of God. And the secret to having the joy of God radiating is to come into his presence.

But it begins with repentance. You know if you turn to Luke chapter 15. Let's turn there together. Luke chapter 15. There's a number of names that you could call this chapter. Luke chapter 15. My Bible has a caption or a title at the top saying the lost parables like the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son.

I like to think of it as you could also think of it as the chapter of repentance because the prodigal son came back. But I like to think of it as the chapter of joy. It's a chapter where the joy of God is manifest as being triggered by that which was lost being found.

And that's common in all three of these chapters. You know when you want to get to the point of the story you go to the end right. You want to see what happens at the end of the story. You go to the back the end of the book.

You see oh that's how it ends. Okay. So if you really want to understand the story you can skip ahead to the end. Dear brothers, dear sisters, dear children. And see what the was the point of the story all along.

This isn't a true story. It's a parable that Jesus told. And when Jesus went to great lengths to say it this parable. There must have been a reason for it. And so I want to know what that reason is. The story is not as important as the lesson in the story.

And the lesson in the story you'll find out you can be absolutely certain about because it's the same lesson in all three stories. Luke 15 verse 7 or verse 6. When he comes home after finding his sheep he calls together his friends and his neighbors saying to them rejoice with me.

That's the point of the story. Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost. And I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. He says the same thing in verse 9.

When this woman who lost her coin found it she says calls her friends and neighbors saying rejoice with me for I found the coin which I lost. In the same way I tell you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

And then the last story he says verse 32. Listen this is the father telling his older son who doesn't know the joy of God. He's very religious. Comes to all the meetings but he's got this sour look on his face like I've been serving you all years.

What have I got out of it dad? Didn't know his father. And here was the son. What do you think you know here in this situation at the end of the story there's three people. There's the father radiating joy out of his face.

And then there's two sons. And if you look at the countenance of the two sons you can tell who has been with the father really. Here was the son who lived in the house but had not really dwelt in his father's presence you can say.

He was in the house. He obeyed his father. He did all the things that his father told him to do. But he was not in the father's presence. His countenance showed it. He was downcast. He was upset. He was bitter.

He had a grumble in his heart. How dare you throw a feast for that young son of mine. He's jealous. He's envious. In the house but not in the father's presence. And there was a younger son who had spent years away from the house.

But in that moment of repentance he had come into his father's presence. And oh you should have seen his face. We're not told what his face looked like. But I can imagine it. Can you for a moment pause and imagine what that younger son's face looked like.

Radiating joy. It's like are you kidding me. I was expecting to sit there in the servants quarters. And just at least have a piece of bread which was better than the pig's food which I couldn't eat. But you're kidding me.

Really lamb roast and a ring on my finger. And wonderful robes on me. And sandals on my feet. Really. And this must be how we must represent God to the world around us. Dear brothers and sisters. Not this grumpy Christianity that a lot of people have.

The holiness of God is truly represented in his joy. I believe that. We never compromise his holiness. I'm not for a frothy smiley Christianity that I see in the world as well. That doesn't proclaim the holiness of God.

But the holiness of God is most accurately represented by his joy. And you can't separate the two. A joy that comes from repentance however. It doesn't condone sin. You see this verse in Hebrews chapter 1.

I believe not because I think it but because God's Word says so is that the happiest man that ever walked the face of this earth bar none was Jesus Christ. And he showed it on his face. Now he wasn't always with a plastic smile.

He wept in John 11. He grieved over Jerusalem. And when they pressed the crown of thorns on his head and they beat him and there was blood streaming down his face. He was still the happiest person that ever walked the face of this earth.

Why? We're told in Hebrews 1 verse 9. Because he loved righteousness and hated sin. And so God poured joy over him. You know if you really want the joy of God it can't be something you'll manufacture.

You can't say okay I'm gonna try to be joyful today. You tell your wife honey I'm gonna try my best to be joyful today. I guarantee you will fail in a matter of time. I've tried it. I didn't actually say it to my wife but I'm gonna try to be joyful today.

Next thing you know something comes along the way that just irritates you and the devil will bring exactly the the temptation that will get you right where you didn't expect it. And there goes the joy.

But you know the joy of God is something different. It's a joy that's an anointing over you. Well you don't have to try to manufacture it. It's it's dripping down you. And it's a fragrance that comes out of you.

Where you know when when he pours that. Imagine if somebody poured sweet fragrance over me this morning. You could be the back of the room and you could smell it from there. What's going on? Something like you put too much cologne on man.

I mean I want joy like there's too much cologne on me. That's what I want people from far away to be able to smell and sense that joy. Therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.

Why was Jesus the most joyful man and or human being that ever walked the face of this earth? Because God poured. His Father anointed him with the oil of gladness. Oh seek for that. Instead of saying I'm gonna by hook or crook be more happy today.

You say Lord I fall on my face before you and say Lord I want to hate sin. I want to love righteousness. And oh he will pour the oil of gladness over you. As he did for Jesus he will do for you. He will.

That's why Jesus is our forerunner. So the more you gaze on your Father the more you will radiate his joy. Secondly the more you become like Jesus the more merciful you will be to others. We sang a number of songs about mercy today.

I didn't you know again I didn't pick the songs. But there they were. He's planned a special mercy for each hour. You know you've probably heard the story of a man who took a saw a snake in a fire. It's a parable.

And he saw the snake suffering in the fire. And so he grabbed the snake and picked it out with his hand. You know risked his hand. What did the snake do? Bit him. And so he dropped the snake because the snake bit him and the snake fell right back into the fire.

So what did the man do? Says uh-huh see serves you right. You bite the hand that feeds you. Go back into the fire. But this man you know what he did. He took a little metal pole and stuck it into the fire and took out the snake and rescued it.

Somebody asked the man why'd you do that? This was a snake that bit you. And the man said you know it's the snake's nature to bite. It's what snakes do. They bite. It's my nature to be kind. And just because the snake is true to its nature in biting doesn't mean that I should be like it in its nature.

And who you are especially in how you respond to how others treat you is an indication of the nature that you have. When others treat you badly what should you say? Oh she started it so it's his fault.

And you return evil for evil. No do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with I would say mercy. This is the mark of God's goodness. Mercy. And the more you become like Jesus then you partake of his nature.

Becoming Merciful Through the Nature of Christ

The more you will be merciful to others. Let's turn to Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9 we read in verse 10. It happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house right after he called Matthew.

Matthew was so excited that Jesus had called him. Matthew was not a compromising tax gatherer I believe. Otherwise God wouldn't have called him. There was a righteousness about Matthew that God saw and Jesus used to call him.

But Matthew said listen Lord you've called me to be a disciple but I've got a whole bunch of ungodly friends of mine, co-colleagues, co-workers of mine. I want to throw a party in my house not to have a good time but for them to meet you Jesus.

Because now I have met you and you've changed my life and I'm following you as your disciple. I want all these colleagues of mine to also come. That's what's going on here. Matthew threw a party to try to draw the people in his circle to Christ like Christ had drawn him.

And here's Jesus sitting at the table and there were tax collectors and sinners we read in verse 10. And they were dining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisee saw this they said to his disciples why is your teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?

But when Jesus heard this he said it is not those who are healthy who need a physician but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means. I've read this verse many times and some years ago this this is how this verse spoke to me.

When it says go and learn what this means it was like the Lord was telling me go and do your homework. You know you ever tell the teachers, the teacher at the end of the day the teacher will tell the kids go do your homework now then you'll understand all that I taught you in class.

Now you could sit there in class and listen to all of it but you don't go and do the homework then you never learn it. And there were a lot of Pharisees in Jesus' day almost all of them who sat in the synagogues and read God's Word and prayed long prayers and all of those things but they didn't do their homework.

And if you don't do your homework one day you will face the final exam and you will flunk it. And it's like Jesus was telling them I want to tell you now go do your homework because this is what I'm going to ask you on the final exam.

What is God going to ask us on the final exam? Children we must know this too. Brothers and sisters we must know this. What is God going to ask us on the final exam? It's right here in verse 13. Matthew 9 verse 13.

Go and do your homework. This is what I'm going to test you on the final day. I desire compassion. I desire mercy. Is there mercy in you? Not a mercy that sweeps sin under the carpet. That's a false mercy.

Not a mercy that just ignores sin. It's a mercy that comes from knowing God. Now the mercy of God is far too complex to understand I believe. It's a merciful God. It's a God full of mercy who has created a place, who has allowed for a place like hell.

It's a merciful God who has allowed suffering to go on even in the place, on the face of this earth. Think of what's going on in Ukraine right now and other parts of the world that we don't hear about as much perhaps.

It doesn't mean that God is any less merciful. But God is full of mercy and He wants us to represent that mercy. And the mark that we are really partaking more and more of Christ's nature is this. That we are becoming more and more merciful.

Now what Jesus was saying here when He says I desire compassion and not sacrifice for I did not come to call the righteous but sinners. He was quoting from Hosea chapter 6. If you turn there with me. Hosea comes right after the book of Daniel.

He's the first of the minor prophets. So you get you know Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea. Hosea chapter 6. Jesus is quoting. Now sometime it's useful to look at where all Old Testament passages are quoted in the New Testament and how they're actually very often quoted differently in the New Testament.

It's quoting but it's kind of like there's a little twist and if you just ignore it you'll miss it. So let's read carefully again. I desire compassion and not sacrifice where we read in Matthew 9 verse 13.

This is Jesus Himself. He's not misquoting Hosea. He's not misquoting the Old Testament. He's clarifying. He's shining the light more clearly so that we can understand what is the New Covenant meaning of what Hosea told us in the Old Covenant.

And we're told in Hosea chapter 6 verse 6 that God delights in loyalty rather than sacrifice and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. So Hosea said I desire, God spoke through Hosea saying I desire loyalty and the knowledge of God and the Pharisees thought okay so that means you tithe the mint and the cumin and you pray long prayers and you give a lot and you sit there and study the Torah and you you're disciplined and you're exact with God's law.

That's loyalty to God and the knowledge of Him. And Jesus said no I'm gonna show you what loyalty to God really is. Loyalty to God is being true to His nature who He is. And Jesus said that's compassion.

Loyalty to God is being merciful to others. When when you're merciful to others out of the mercy of God coming from within your heart God says there's a man who's loyal to me. There's a who's loyal to me because I am merciful.

Loyalty means you stand with who somebody is. And the Pharisees thought that means the law of God and the Sabbath and you don't even let your you know lift a finger to help a man in need and you don't perform miracles and the guy who's been paralyzed now is carrying his bed and so they pick on that says loyalty to God loyalty to God loyalty to God.

And Jesus said let me explain to you what loyalty to God really is. It's mercy. Let's be loyal to God in mercy. And I we sang that song a special mercy for each hour. Can we start planning for our spouses a special mercy for each hour.

Like hey it's 10 o 'clock let's plan a new mercy for my wife. It's two o 'clock let's plan a new mercy for my husband. Something new in which I can be merciful or my children or that person who's being unkind to me my co-worker who's ungodly when his mouth and his speech and and just you know make makes me do more work or or that other neighbor who's always you know irritating me or that person who speaks evil me.

Let me plan a special mercy for this hour because that's how God is. When you know a God who's silently planning for you in love out of his mercy can you likewise silently plan in love and mercy for those whom God wants you to be merciful to.

Be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful. You know that verse Matthew 5 it says be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. And the parallel passage in Luke 6 we can read Matthew 5 48 is the parallel of Luke 6 36.

Again it's you see one side of the coin the other side of the corner and says therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. The pharisees would the pharisees of the new covenant you know there are pharisees in the new covenant too.

The pharisees of the new covenant say okay your dress must be this long and you must not do this on Sunday and you cannot have this other thing and you do and these laws laws laws laws laws you must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

And those who really understand the new covenant who want to know Jesus who are becoming like him say okay well what did you really mean? Well compare scripture with scripture and I read Luke 6 verse 36 which says you must be merciful.

This is the perfection of God. Perfection and mercy. You can be merciful. You don't have to wait to become uh you know a mature Christian to be merciful. You can be perfect in mercy today. Is there anybody that God wants you to be merciful at this moment?

Be merciful. Be long-suffering and be patient in that mercy. Long-suffering. In order for you to really be mercy you must be willing to be long-suffering. Make allowance. Be slow. You know when you think about mercy here's a verse you should think about because this is how God's mercy is.

Psalm 103. Psalm 103 verse 8. The Lord is compassionate. This is what he wants. I desire compassion and God says that's how I am. The Lord is compassionate and gracious and here's what that means. Slow to anger when your children don't do what they what you ask them to do and or they break something.

They're careless. They didn't listen to you. They're being too loud and you got a headache and you're doing something else that's annoying you. Say Lord I want to represent you. Now you could stand on the on the law that says children obey your parents and the Lord you haven't obeyed me children and you laid on the law like the father does.

You say Lord I'm just upholding the perfection of your law and God says oh you've missed it. Yes uphold the perfection of the law but will you be merciful to them. Be long-suffering. Be patient. Work with them.