God's Original Plan for Church Leaders — Zac Poonen

Let's begin with a word of prayer. Lord Jesus, you are the head of the church, and we never want to forget that. Yes. We want to recognize you as Lord in our midst at this time, and we believe you have appointed each one of us to this responsibility.

Yes. We don't want to take it for granted. We want to humble ourselves, be more devoted to you, first of all, have the ears of our heart and conscience more sensitized to your voice. You understand the dangers we are in, Lord, when we are in leadership, with nobody to correct us, nobody to exhort us, when everybody living in respect and fear of us.

Preserve us, O Lord, with your Holy Spirit. We will move in our hearts in such a way, not just today, but every single day. Yes. That we will lie on our faces before you at all times, and that we will truly be servants, washing people's feet all our days.

Help us this morning, and encourage us and challenge us. We trust you, Father. We want to be like the branch in the tree, incapable of producing any fruit apart from a constant and open dependence upon you all the time.

We know that you are more interested in building the church than any of us are. Yes. Any burden we have is less than 1 of what you have. Help us to share your burden a little more. Give us more fellowship with your heart.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, brothers, good morning, everyone. Praise the Lord. I want to begin with a little phrase that's found in Matthew chapter 19 and verse 8. Matthew 19 and verse 8. Here the subject that Jesus was...

He was talking to the Pharisees and the subject is divorce, but that's not what we're going to talk about today. But there's a principle here in a little statement of Jesus which applies to many, many areas and to our ministry.

When the Pharisees said, why did Moses command verse 7 that a woman could be divorced by giving her a certificate and Jesus said Moses never commanded it. He permitted it. Verse 8. That is the first thing we need to see.

It's very easy to misread Scripture, to make a permission into a command because it suits us or to alter a command into a permission. We have to be careful. But what we need to see here more than that is what Jesus said.

Returning to God's Original Plan

If you want to know the truth, go back to the beginning. How is it in God's original plan? So the phrase I have in mind is in the last part of verse 8, from the beginning it has not been this way. Please keep that in mind.

From the beginning it was not like this and there was no permission for Adam to divorce his wife. There were no other women there. From the beginning it was not like this. And when we think of building the church and we see what's happening in the world around today with thousands of tens of thousands of denominations all over the world and new ones springing up all the time and so difficult to distinguish where something is a cult and where people are preaching the commandments of men.

The phrase that comes to my mind is from the beginning it was not like this. We're talking about the day of Pentecost. We're talking about the first few years after the Holy Spirit was poured out and how the early church met.

Please remember this phrase dear brothers and try to understand how it was from the beginning. Study God's word and see how it was from the beginning. How God chose Paul to lay down certain principles about building the body of Christ and he not only taught it in his letters, but he lived it in his life particularly in his attitude to money and the strictness with which he conducted his oversight of all the churches.

He had this principle if I seek to please men I cannot be a servant of Christ Galatians 1 10. That's how it was in the beginning. Every true servant of God had that spirit that Paul had if I seek to please men I cannot be the servant of Christ.

I will not be a second class servant of Christ. No I will not be a third class or a tenth class servant. I will not be a servant of Christ at all. If I seek to please one man and that could be a fellow elder if I seek to please a fellow elder, I'll no longer be a servant of Christ in my church.

I will be a servant of men. So it's very important to keep this in mind from the beginning. How was it? What is the attitude of the early apostles who had walked with Jesus? Towards their flock. They were very strict.

Church Discipline and Freedom from Human Opinion

You can see the apostle Paul when a man fell into adultery in 1 Corinthians 4. I was sorry 1 Corinthians 5. He handed him over to Satan. Can you think what some carnal Corinthians thought about that? What they thought about the apostle Paul and who probably said well, yeah, he slipped up.

It's not so serious. It doesn't matter but Paul was concerned that the name of the Lord had been so reproached in Corinth by that man's behavior that he was led by the Holy Spirit obviously because he wrote that and he says put that man outside.

Don't spare him. It was standing up for the truth but that's what saved that man as you read in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 not only because Paul was strict but because the other disciples and the other people who were serious Christians in Corinth and perhaps I think all the church supported Paul and did not even visit this man.

They shunned him and he was left alone outside. There was no foolish believer there who went and showed some human compassion and that's why that guy was saved as you read in 2 Corinthians 2. It requires a real freedom from the opinions of men to take a stand in things like this where the purity of the church means everything and I was going to say a million times more than what people think of us and I say not a million times more but everything where what people think of us is got zero value.

Whether you eat or drink 1 Corinthians 10 31 do all for the glory of God. That must be the passion of our life. God has appointed me in this church to make sure the glory of God is always preserved here and it doesn't matter what anybody thinks of me when that is concerned.

I'm not a politician. I'm not a diplomat. That's what we got to say to ourselves and if you're working with other elders in your church and you find one of them is maybe a bit lenient in a human way well, then you got to be firm even with that elder and say sorry, I don't agree with you.

I love you brother, but not more than the Lord. The first commandment is not love one another. That's the second commandment. The first commandment is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart all your strength and all your soul and all your mind.

What's left then? It's from that source that love for others flows never never directly. If it is just from ourselves, we love one another. There are a lot of people in the world like that. It'll be a club or a congregation, but not the church.

So remember this phrase from the beginning. It was not like this and I pray that we shall hear the Lord saying that to us many times so that he corrects the course. I remember when I was in the Navy and if I was on the bridge of the ship, which is right on top directing the ship and telling the person who was steering the ship which way to turn and you had to keep watching the compass in those days and if the ship, you know, because the waves and the wind can make the ship move away from the direction.

So initially setting the course did not guarantee that you would reach your destination. You had to keep correcting it all the time and this was such a constant requirement that the Navy required us to be on the bridge only for four hours.

They knew it'd be too much of a strain to go beyond that. Then your watch was over and somebody took over because you had to be constantly alert. If you allow the ship to drift away, you're going to end up somewhere else.

There must not even be a one degree change of direction. It must be constantly towards the point we are to go and if the ship has drifted, then we've got to change direction so that we are pointing towards our destination and that's how we are to lead the church forward.

The captain of the elders are the captains of the church and we have to constantly do a course correction. If we find that something is coming up which is moving the church away, in the beginning a few people come together and we're all going in the right direction, but as more and more people get added to the church, we find that not everybody has the same vision and then some of those people can gradually move others in the church so that the direction of the church shifts.

Certain habits come in, certain things that we had given up come back into our lives. People who had, you know, think of something as serious as this. Believers in our church who had completely given up pornography go back to watching it and they won't tell you about it, but you'll be able to sense it without their telling you.

If you are in touch with the Lord, you won't know anything about people's private sins. The Lord does not reveal other people's sins to us, but you'll see when a person's cooling off, not only in his devotion to Christ when he's probably becoming a bit hard on others in a human way or perhaps becoming very lenient in some areas in a human way, both drifting to the left or to the right, you can sense, hey, something is wrong here.

I remember in the early days in CFC Bangalore, I found a brother was not really seriously following the Lord, not one of the elders, but one of the brothers in the church. I said to him, I after the meeting, I walked with him, I put my arm around him and I said, brother, I want to tell you something.

I can't stop you from falling away from this church or from the Lord, but I'll tell you something because I watch over your soul. I'll warn you about it at least a few weeks or months before you actually fall away.

And then after that, it's up to you. We can do that when the numbers are small and I could do that only when the numbers were small. When the numbers increase, we need other brothers and other brothers came up as elders and they could help me.

But this business of shepherding people is not an easy thing. We need to distinguish between a brother who's like a sheep that's gone astray, slipped up, sincerely thinking the pasture was this side and ended up falling over a cliff.

Distinguishing the Straying Sheep from the Rebellious Son

That's one type of believer, drifted away. The other type of believer mentioned in Luke 15 is the prodigal son. He didn't drift away. He rebelled and said, I don't want any more of this and went away.

And Jesus taught us you got to distinguish between the sheep that accidentally went astray and the son who rebelliously went away. And treat them both differently. You got to go after that lost sheep and carry it on your shoulder, however inconvenient that may be and bring him back.

But the other one, you're not to talk to him or send him any money, let him starve, let him reach the level of the pigs and then he'll come back. That's the love of a father. Very few elders have that type of strictness because they haven't seen what God is like.

This is eternal life that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. That's how Jesus was. He could turn around to Peter and say, you are Petra, a small little stone but on this rock that you have confessed, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

And Peter, I give you the keys, you can open and no man can shut and you can shut no man can open. You can bind and it'll be bound. What an authority in the presence of all the disciples and one minute later or two minutes later to the same Peter, get behind me Satan, to the same person.

Two minutes later, that's how it was in the beginning. He loved Peter so much. It wasn't the wishy-washy type of love that so many Christians have today. It was a strong love that desired the best for Peter that wanted him to be a man of God that told him, you're gonna deny me three times before the cock crows and I will not pray that you will not deny me.

Let me paraphrase Jesus words. You will deny me and you need to fall because you're so proud Peter. You think you're the best of these disciples, but you're not. You don't realize your weakness and the only way I've tried every other way to humble you but you've not been humbled.

Now the only other way was the last resort, the last method that God uses to humble a man is to allow that person to fall into sin which God hates so much. That's not his best method. It's not even one of his methods.

It's the last resort. I've tried every other way to humble you Peter and you don't succeed then you've got to fall. That'll humble you. Satan has desired to sift you and I allow Satan to do that so that you fall and boy Peter when you come back after that you will be another man.

You'll never lift up your head again thinking you're somebody. You'll bring 3 ,000 people to Christ with a 15-minute sermon and not just anybody 3 ,000 of the most difficult people to convert Jews. Try converting one Jew today.

3 ,000 converted with a 15-minute sermon and when Peter when people come up to you and say your fellow disciples come to you Peter and say wow Peter what a wonderful word that was you'll shake your head and say I know what I did six weeks ago when my savior was being tried.

He never forgot that for the rest of his life and sometimes God will allow something like that to happen to us where it may look as if God did not stand with us at that time when we fell so deeply. Sometimes he may reveal it to others like in Peter's case like in David's case.

I've noticed in some cases God will not allow anybody to know about your fall. I asked the Lord about this once I said Lord why is it I meet I know two believers I know personally what happened both fell into exactly the same sin and it was pretty serious and Lord you exposed one and you did not expose the other.

They were both servants of God. One was publicly humiliated because his failure and sin was exposed. The other was never humiliated Lord I want to learn your ways eternal life is to know you and your ways and the Lord told me that this is many many years ago because one was humble and the other was proud and I never forgot that what the Lord showed me.

This was way back in the early days of CFC's 1975 or something or 77 or something like that and I saw how much God values humility because that is the characteristic of his son the primary characteristic of his son which he said to others learn from me for I am humble of heart that God values that so highly that he gives grace to everyone who humbles himself and will even cover up the person's failure permanently so that not even in eternity in heaven will anybody know where that wonderful servant of God fell that is God's way and God hates pride so much that even if the man is God's greatest servant he will expose him.

This is light and darkness humility and pride. There are two opposites from the beginning. That's how sin came when you think of from the beginning that phrase from the beginning before Adam sin came through pride.

Humility, Pride, and the Fall of the Anointed Cherub

Like the Lord tells. The anointed angel who became the devil in Ezekiel 28 your heart was lifted up. Turn for a moment there, please. Ezekiel and chapter 28. Can an anointed person lose the anointing?

Yes. How did the first anointed person the first anointed person in the universe? The anointed cherub verse 14 you were the anointed cherub. Verse 12 you had the seal of perfection. Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty anointed cherub.

How did he lose it? He could not submit to authority. That's all. He wanted to be something himself. If God can receive worship, why can't I? And it says here. Your verse 17 your heart was lifted up. Because of your beauty your wisdom.

And your position today you apply that. Your heart was lifted up because People see you are so christ-like in your conduct. You're so anointed in your ministry. And you have such bible knowledge. Wow.

You can even quote the greek and the hebrew. And nobody sees it. Everybody in your church Sits in awe of you. The great man of God who's got such a christ-like life. Who's brought up his children so well.

Who knows the scripture so well? And whose every message of his is challenging and a blessing to us. And you meditate on all that. Oh, yeah. The devil will allow you allow you to meditate on it. He wants you to.

And you lift your face from the ground from the dust. Just a little bit in the beginning. But it's just a matter of time. Before you're no longer washing the feet of the disciples. Now be careful dear brothers.

Christ's Servanthood and the Bruised Reed

There are a number of times in isaiah. We find this phrase coming. You know isaiah Chapter 40 onwards. Is really it's very interesting. Isaiah has got 66 chapters. Just like I mean that wasn't divine Inspiration the division of the chapters, but I think there was something in the sovereignty of god there.

66 chapters are like the 66 books of the bible. And isaiah the first 39 chapters are really old covenant stuff. And the next 27 chapters like the 27 books of the new testament are new covenant stuff from isaiah 40 to 66.

And isaiah 40 is about john the baptist and that's the beginning of the new covenant. And then number of times in isaiah. In those chapters you read this expression isaiah 42 1 for example. Behold my servant.

In whom my soul delights. I put my spirit upon him. That's a prophetic reference to jesus christ. But when it says behold my servant it means look carefully. At my servant. That's how we are to be servants.

Look carefully at my capital s Servant. We are not capital s servants. We are small s. But look at my capital s servant the lord says My soul delighted in him. Twice I said about him god says this is my beloved son in whom i'm well pleased.

Don't ever compare him with moses or elijah or anybody else. This is my son listen to him. That's what they heard on the mount of transfiguration. Behold my servant. And so many wonderful things if you take all those places where that comes up.

You know Verse 2 isaiah 42 2 he will not cry out or raise his voice. Or make his voice heard in the street. That's not the way his he did not. Uh impress people with loudness and shouting and frequent hallelujahs and Occasional bursting out into tongues and all that.

That's not the how he impressed people. It's all these modern gimmicks that today's preachers have. Don't ever admire any of them. Steer clear of them behold. The first servant. He will not cry out or raise his voice.

There was a an anointing in him in jesus that Did not need to do anything spectacular. The holy spirit. Moved in a way that people Were convicted. There's some wonderful things about this servant. Verse 3 he was very tender with the bruised reeds.

In his Congregation in his church in his group. There are bruised reeds in our churches. And there are rebellious prodigal sons. And you need to have discernment to distinguish one from the other. We've got to break the prodigal sons, but not the bruised reed.

And if you don't know how to distinguish that if you have one policy. Yeah, we must be gentle and kind to everybody. You'll never be a servant of god. Jesus knew. How to deal with a five times divorced samaritan woman and you read that passage in john 4 when he said to her You've had five husbands and the one you're living with is not even your husband.

She knew it was true. She said you're a prophet. That didn't puff jesus up. And don't let it puff you up if anybody calls you a prophet. And then she changed the subject. She said you know. Your people say we must worship in jerusalem.

But we say it must be in samaria. She was changing the subject from that awkward questioning about her marriage relationships. And I see this wonderful spirit of christ. He did not say hey, hang on hang on let's talk about your who you're sleeping with.

He left it. That is wisdom. He would not break a bruised reed. We need to know where to be silent. Not to embarrass a person. I believe i'll see that woman in heaven. I don't have any doubt about it. That day itself god used her.

To bring the samaritans out to meet him. God's ways are not our ways. He would not break a bruised reed. But you know to be like that you have to be always sensitive to the holy spirit. If you think yeah, yeah, I have enough experience.

Many a time I fall on my face before god. And I say lord 45 years ago you filled me with the holy spirit and you filled me again and again. But I don't know. The more I come closer to god the more I discover.

How little I know and how much of unconscious. Unchrist-like things there are in my flesh. Then I need to work out my salvation from every day. It's very important For us to live before god's face like that always challenged by The example of John who walked with jesus for 65 years filled with the spirit.

And when he the one on whose breast he leaned At the last supper when he sees him in revelation one he falls at his feet no question of leaning on his breast now. Falls at his feet like a dead man. And that's where we must be all the time.

And then the lord anointed him. And gave him words for every single church according to the need of each church. And he'll give you too The word for your church. According to the need of your church, which may be different from the need of some other church.

But you'll get it only if you're on your face before the lord. And the lord even gave him a word for the elders of each church. And gave him a vision of heaven and gave him a vision of the future. Yeah, he was So overwhelmed by the presence of god.

The Presence of God Above Doctrinal Precision

I was speaking the other day To the nccf meeting how. You read that john. Towards the end of revelation you read he fell down and worshipped the angel. Or he was going to do it twice. First in chapter 19 and later on in chapter 21.

And you and I wouldn't do that. Would you? You wouldn't worship any man. We've got our doctrine, right? So right that we could even correct the mighty apostle john john that's not what you're supposed to do.

You know, don't you know it says in colossians what paul wrote that we are not to worship angels. Specifically says that. And here you go doing that. Yeah, you can correct people's doctrines which are slightly wrong.

But you may not Experience the overwhelming sense of god's presence that john experienced and I want to say There could be people Whose doctrines are slightly wrong compared to the correct doctrines we have in our churches.

And yet those brothers May be so much more living in the presence of god Than we who Got our crossed out t's and dotted our i's so that we don't make any mistake in indian doctrine beware of that. I don't mind if I discover when I stand before the lord that some of my Understanding of minor doctrines was an error won't disturb me at all minor ones.

If I dwelt in the presence of god constantly Every day and was overwhelmed by that day by day. Seek that my dear brothers. It doesn't matter if you make a little mistake like john did. He fell down to worship an angel because he and the thing is he was so overwhelmed by the presence of god that He didn't even think What he was doing boy you know when paul says I'm the chief of sinners.

We all know that that's what we should be saying. But we say that because we know that's what we should be saying. As humble people but john paul didn't say that. Oh, I got to say something humble. So I would say i'm the chief of sinners.

No. He was so overwhelmed by the holiness of god That he spontaneously said christ jesus came to save sinners and of whom i am chief. He's writing scripture and he just wrote it. That was not a calculated statement to impress anybody or to Say what is right.

It was he was so convinced of the reality of it. God doesn't give us that type of revelation often. And I hope you've got it at least once. There have been a few occasions in my life I mean theoretically I know all the time every day.

I'm the chief of sinners. Glad to say it. But there have been a few occasions in my life when I've been so overwhelmed by the presence of god That I really felt in my heart I must be the greatest sinner in the whole world.

There cannot be anyone worse than Mercifully, we don't have that too often. Otherwise we'd get discouraged but I hope you've experienced that At least once or twice you know when isaiah saw the Glory of god.

Nobody had to tell him. Hey, listen. You know what? You're supposed to say that woe is me for i'm a sinner. That was not a verse he found somewhere in Deuteronomy moses said it and so I better say it too.

No. It was the spontaneous result of his being taken up With the presence of god. I don't think as I had that experience frequently maybe once maybe john also his experience of Seeing christ like that was not every day but If you have never had in our life anything of that type of Overwhelming sense of the presence.

I'm not now. Let me explain. I'm not talking about some light or Some of these things that pentecostals speak about. I'm not talking about all that rubbish. I'm not talking about angels and light and all it's.

You don't need any of that. You can be fooled by light. The devil comes as an angel of light. So that's not what i'm talking about. But a sense of god's presence that Makes you put your face in the dust.

It's I find for myself one of the best times to do that is early morning. Or if I wake up in the middle of the night. Those are some of my most precious times. Alone with god the whole world is asleep.

My wife is asleep. It's just god and me. It's almost impossible to get a time like that at any other time. Even when you don't have children like in my case at home. But there all alone with god. Take some of those times precious times.

It you will not suffer if you lose an hour of sleep. I'll tell you that You'll be blessed in the presence of god to be overwhelmed. You can't manufacture it. No, don't try to manufacture it tomorrow morning.

It won't work. You say lord. It's it's you know The the law the rule is this jeremiah 29 13 one of my favorite verses. You shall seek me with all your heart. And you will find me. And that law applies to everyone.

You seek the lord with all your heart and you'll find him. You don't let him manufacture anything. You will experience what isaiah experienced what john experienced. And it'll make you a humbler. And a more effective servant of god.

Speaking as One Who Ministers God's Word

You will have the word of the lord In your mouth. You will experience what it says in 1 peter and chapter 4. 1 peter 4 and verse 11 whoever speaks let him speak as if God himself is speaking. Is that a greater challenge than that?

For your sermons I stand in awe when I read that verse. When you stand up there or nowadays when you sit In a zoom meeting and speak. And people listen to you. It must be As though god himself is speaking.

Who is sufficient for these things like the apostle says? Some time ago God gave me a revelation. Years ago on What gold silver and precious stones was? To build with gold silver and precious stones. And what wood he and straw was.

What are the three things which are gold silver and precious stones? And what are the three things which are wood he and straw? And God gave me that revelation. Actually while I was in the middle of a message From Romans 11 the last verse from god through god and to god are all things.

And the lord showed me that is gold silver and precious stones. Whatever in your life originates in god. From god Is done through god's power the power of the holy spirit. And is done for the glory of god from god through god to god that's.

That will be gold silver and precious stones for all eternity. In the day of judgment the fire can never burn that up. But what is from man? What originates in your bright clever mind? Bright ideas. What you read in some book?

What you heard? Some preacher you admire. Did you try to imitate him from man? Through man you've studied hard and you've worked hard. And I'm, not saying we should not prepare our messages. Sure. A lot of people who don't prepare what they have to say.

End up wasting people's time wandering from subject to subject and boring people. But it must be through the power of the holy spirit from man. Through man means through my own cleverness and ultimately to man to man means I Congratulate myself at the end of it.

Wow. Oh. That was a good message. I preached right? From man through man to man. It'll be one day. However good that message was. It will be wood hay and straw burnt up for all eternity. So one peter four we see the same thing repeated here if you look carefully.

From god through god to god. Whoever speaks it doesn't matter who you are. However, you've been a christian for 50 years or you've been a christian for two years. You're serving god today. You're preaching the word.

Whoever speaks it must be from god. Speak as though god himself is speaking. And it must be done through god verse 11. 1 peter 4 11 by the strength god supplies. And it must be to god so that god may be glorified in all things.

The words of peter agree with in line with paul's words in romans 11 36. Let me go back to another thing. We saw that expression from the beginning it was not like this. Turn with me to genesis in chapter 1.

The Sabbath Rest and God's Original Pattern for Leaders

In genesis chapter 1 we read of. We're talking about from the beginning. What jesus said from the beginning it was like this. When god made man in the beginning He created man in his own image. Genesis 1 26 and 27.

And he gave him authority. It says in verse 28. See what god said to adam directly. Be fruitful unto eve adam multiply fill the earth and rule. God's given you elders authority to rule as a servant. Over the church rule.

Over the fish the birds. Every living thing. I have given you everything something like God has said to you. I appoint you as an elder in this church something like that. And the day you were appointed as an elder Verse 31 it was very good.

It was. I hope it still is. You were a humble brother that day. When you were appointed as an elder you really felt you didn't deserve it. It was very good. I hope it is still like that today. But the secret of remaining there in that position always is what happens on the seventh day.

After you hear all these wonderful things. I've given you authority and everything's under your feet and Everything is good. Not only good very good. Genesis 131. Then the lord says okay now I don't want you to go out and work for me.

Hang on. There's a lot of work to be done in the garden in the church, but that can wait the seventh day. Genesis 2 verse 2. How was it in the beginning. He completed his work and he rested. And that was adam's first day.

Like the very first verse of genesis in the beginning god four words in the beginning god. Adam was also taught. In your work in the beginning god not the church. Not the ministry. Not the sermon you have to preach.

Not the people you have to shepherd in the beginning god. So adam You got to spend one day with me. That's the difference between law and grace in law. You work for six days and then you have a sabbath in grace.

You begin with the sabbath on the very first day. One day you shall rest. And that rest will continue in your spirit Throughout the remaining six days as you work. Those who work under the law is different.

They work without any rest. For six days and struggle with bitterness and complaints and grumbling and all types of things and Like I said, that's not the way. The work in the garden can wait adam. You got to have a relationship with me.

And that's what I want you to spend your The next 24 hours. I want to put something into your mind that should characterize you. Not just for these 24 hours of the seventh day but All your life. Live in my presence all your work must be done.

From this position of a sabbath rest. That's why jesus spoke so much about this rest. Very important words, I think. Some of jesus most important words were in matthew chapter 11 from the beginning. It was this way.