Being On Fire For Christ — Zac Poonen

Restoring the Churches Through Christ’s Repair

Look at some of the things we have seen so far in these seven churches. Very quickly, our theme in these days was restoring our churches. To bring us, you know, like a broken down wall we build up or a leaking roof we repair.

We do that for our houses at home. We need to make sure the church is always in good repair. These churches also, Jesus was trying to repair them. I tell you, we need a lot of repair in our churches also.

That is why I have told elder brothers, please read Revelation 2 and 3 many times. So the first church in Ephesus, he says, your problem is you left your first love. And we spent almost the whole of the first day thinking about that.

That the devil tries to take us away from simple devotion to Christ. If you lose your devotion to Christ, whatever other good things you do, you are a backslider. There should be a better word than bhakti, love.

The love for Jesus. Because this church did so many good things, but they lost their inner love for Christ. You know, like a wife who may have loved her husband much the first few weeks after marriage.

And then after a few years, she is still cooking the rice and the sambar and all, but the love for her husband is gone. Your husband may be happy with the rice and the curry, but Jesus is not. Jesus says, I don't want your work, I want your love.

Remember that. The second church was the church in Smyrna, Revelation 2 verse 8. And there we learned how God takes us through trial, but determines how long it should be. So we need not be discouraged because God has decided when it should finish.

So even you may be going through some trial now, remember God has already put the end date for that. And He will not extend it even one more day than is necessary. And during this period, He is trying to break you and humble you so that He can give you grace.

And the third church was the church in Pergamon, verse 12. And there we saw this wonderful martyr called Antipas, who was faithful. So wholehearted that the devil said, I've got to put my throne there because this fellow is a great threat to my kingdom.

And he said, we must be like that, that we are such a threat to the devil, that the devil himself wants to come and put his throne where we live. And not like how that church became after Antipas died, it went after the teaching of Belam, which is the love of money for preaching.

Or the love of honor. I don't think our elders have any love of money for preaching. They don't preach for money, but they could be preaching for honor. So we have to be careful about that also. Then the next church is Thyatira in verse 18 of chapter 2.

Faithfulness, Marriage, and Moral Purity in Thyatira

And there the first problem is a man who is controlled by his wife. There are some men like that. They just listen to what their wife says. If you are a husband like that, you know why these sisters are covering their head?

Do you know the meaning? I am submissive to my husband. That is what they are saying. If you are submissive to your wife, you must bring a towel next time and put it on your head and sit here. Say, I am submissive to my wife.

I listen to her. It's not God's plan. But it doesn't mean that you must be a dictator. I want all the husbands here to be kings in their home. Do you want to be a king in your home, all your husbands?

Yes? Okay, I'll tell you one simple, quick way to do it. Will you listen to me? Treat your wife like a queen. If your wife is a queen, you will automatically become the king. Right? So from today, how are you going to treat your wife?

Not like a dobie and cook. Or a producer of children. Or a house cleaner. Or one who is like an ayah. But a queen. And when she becomes a queen, what will you become? King. Easy way to become a king. Now you learned the secret.

Say, Lord, from today I will not treat my wife like an ayah. Or a servant. Or a dobie. Or a cook. Or a house cleaner. Or one who has to take the blame for everything that goes wrong in the house. I'm going to treat her like a queen.

God bless you. The other problem here in Thyatira was immorality. And all of you young people have got to be very careful about that. All you young boys and girls. There's a lot of immorality in today's young people.

Keep a little distance from the opposite sex. When I was in school, in the science laboratory, I sometimes used to take two magnets. You know how magnets, as soon as you come close, they touch. So I used to try, how close can I bring it without touching?

If I keep these magnets so far away, I can hold it. As it gets closer, it gets more difficult because it's pulling. Then, okay, now about two, three centimeters, I can still hold it. Then I try to bring it one centimeter.

Let me see if I can hold it there. Suddenly it would touch. I didn't want to touch it. I wanted to keep away. But it touched. That is how boy-girl relationships are. You may say, no, no, no, I don't want to touch, I don't want to touch.

If you get too close, you will touch. Please remember that all your life. So, keep some distance. Don't say, brother, Zack said five centimeters, so I can go five centimeters near him. That is false. That is only for magnets.

For girls, at least one arm's length. Even when you talk to them, just keep a distance. Because there is a spirit of immorality all over the world. Married people can fall into it. Don't ever get too close to someone who is not your wife.

Don't go and tell all the problems you have with your wife to some other woman. If you want some help, go to your elder brother, but nobody else. Otherwise, you will increase the distance between you and your wife.

And God can help you to come close to your wife. Be careful of the spirit of immorality. There is a lot of it in all these Tamil movies and television and everything. If you keep on watching that, you will find it very difficult to overcome that spirit.

That's like, you know, if you are a smoker, you keep cigarettes in the drawer and you say, I'll overcome. No. I remember one man who used to smoke and said, brother, I'm finding it very difficult to give up smoking.

I said, do you have cigarettes in your drawer? Yeah, it is there. Then you'll never overcome. First of all, you throw that away. So don't go near temptation. Then in chapter 3 verse 1, you read about the church in Sardis.

Self-Examination Before the Judgment Seat

And their problem was, we just spoke about it this morning, about having a name that we are alive before people. Only wanting the elder brothers to think I'm all right. What is the use of your elder brother thinking you're all right?

What is the use of brother Zach thinking you're all right? You think I'm going to sit on the judgment seat on the final day? I'll be standing in the queue along with you. Jesus is going to sit there. Think about that.

Live before his judgment seat. You know, sometimes I use my imagination. All of us have used our imagination for many filthy things in the old days. Now, don't shut that down, but use it for some good things.

So, here is one thing I use it for. I sometimes close my eyes and I imagine I'm standing at the judgment seat of Christ. And one by one, he's calling people. And he's saying, this is wrong, this is wrong, you didn't set this right.

One by one, then my turn comes. And the Lord takes my sheet. Nothing. You're okay. I say, Lord, that's what I want. How can I have that? One verse. Please remember this verse all your life. If you do it, in the final day, the Lord will say, there's nothing wrong with you.

1 Corinthians 11, verse 31. 1 Corinthians 11, 31. If we judge ourselves rightly, we will not be judged. Now, if you judge yourself rightly, in the final day, you will not be judged. So, I want to obey that verse.

Lord, I'm going to obey that verse. Every day, I'm going to judge myself rightly. And if I judge myself rightly every day, your promise is, I will not be judged. The Lord looks at the record, nothing.

Because I judged myself every day. When somebody said something about me, even if it is my enemy, I don't ask who said it. Sometimes, when somebody criticizes you,.

You say, who said it? Is it an enemy of mine?

Then I won't listen to it. I don't do that. I don't ask who said it. If I get a letter, and I get many letters criticizing me, I don't say who said it, is it my enemy? I don't ask who said it, is it my enemy?

I ask only one question. Lord, is it right? Do you know that sometimes your enemies will tell more truths about you than your friends? It's true. Your friends will only praise you. Your enemies are the ones who will tell you the truth about yourself.

So, if you don't listen to your enemies, you may not discover certain truths about yourself. I listen to all. If I get a critical letter, I read it. I may read it twice. Those who praise me, I may not even read fully.

It's not necessary. But those who criticize me, I read every sentence. I don't get condemned by it. Because he may be hating me like a lot of people hated Jesus. But I take it before the Lord. I say, Lord, I know that my enemies will tell more truth about me than my friends.

So, please show me, is there anything right in what he says? Then I want to judge myself. I have done that for many years. And I feel like someone who has had a nice bath, I am so clean. The enemy only gave me the soap to clean my body, clean my heart.

Thank you very much. Supposing the enemy sends you some very expensive soap one day. Very expensive. You get angry? Thank you very much. That's how we should take these letters. Lord, I can cleanse myself.

I will be clean. I will be clean. I didn't do it with wrong motive, but it worked out for my good. The next chapter 3, we read about the church in Philadelphia. And there we saw about the one who has got the key to every door.

We don't have to sit in depression saying, Oh, I can't do this, I can't do that. That will make a church weak. Or make a home weak. Our home can become weak also. No, we believe Jesus has got the key to every door.

I can open verse 7 and nobody can shut. And even though we are very weak, the Lord says, verse 8, I will give you my power. So, don't worry if you are weak. Don't be afraid that some door is not going to open.

If it does not open, then it is not God's will for you. The door that God opens, that's God's will for you. We go to chapter 3 and verse 14. This is the church in Laodicea. We saw a little bit about it.

The Laodicean Danger of Lukewarm Christianity

How he says, I am rich, verse 17, and I don't need anything. This is the man who does not judge himself. And if you are like that, I am alright. Oh, all these people are just saying, but I am alright.

I am sorry to say, there are brothers like that, there are elders like that, they will not listen to anybody. They always think, I am perfectly alright. I am just like God, nothing wrong with me. Such people are on the way to hell, no matter how much they have done for the Lord on the earth.

Because they are not judging themselves rightly. I will give you my honest testimony. Every single day of my life, I repent. Every day, God is my witness. Many times a day, the Lord shows me, that is not Christ's life.

Even my sermons, I repent of many of my sermons. 90 may have been good, but Lord, I want 100%. I don't want just pass marks. I don't want just 40 before God gives me 40 for my sermon, and says you have passed.

Many of you elders, when you preach, are you happy that God gives you 40 and you pass? No, I am not happy. I am not even happy with 99%. I say, Lord, 100 is what I want for every message I preach.

If you want that, what should you do? When you finish, go home, judge yourself. Ask the other elders, what do you think of that? Ask your wife, what she thinks of it. I judge myself constantly. My life, my preaching, my talk, everything.

Because I want 100 from God in the final day. I don't want to say, Oh, I am rich, I am alright. I will say I am alright, when I have completely become like Jesus Christ. I have not yet become like Christ.

I am becoming slowly. I am trying to increase the speed with which I become like Christ. I don't want to walk, I want to run. The Bible tells us to walk the walk. Let us run the race following Jesus. Hebrews 12, let us run the race.

Have you seen anybody in the Olympic games walking during 100 meters? No, they are running so fast. I want to run faster than them, following Jesus. Another thing we learn here in Revelation 3, I don't know whether many of you realize this.

This is what I was telling you earlier. Are you happy with 40 Pass, pass marks. Supposing your child comes home from school. Daddy, I am so happy. Every subject I got 40%. I passed. Oh, you say what a good boy you are.

How many of you will say that? With 40 you won't get admission even to the most useless college. You say son, 40 is not enough. That is enough for passing. You must try for 100%. And at least get about 80%.

You got the intelligence. God has given it. Work hard. Won't you say that to your children? That is what Jesus is saying to you. This church only got pass marks. And so the Lord says, Verse 16. You are neither hot nor cold.

You didn't get 100, you didn't get 0. You got 40%. You are lukewarm. So in schools and all here, you can pass to the next class if you get 40%. But see what the Lord says. With me, if you get 40%, verse 16, I spit you out of my mouth.

What is the meaning I spit you out of my mouth? What do you vomit out of your mouth? Supposing, you get some nice ice cream or chocolate in your mouth. You don't say, throw it away. No. You say, I want it.

Give me some more. But if it is some spoiled food, really spoiled. Particularly meat that is spoiled. As soon as it touches your mouth, I don't want it. I spit it out. It looks so nice, but you look inside, there is a dead lizard lying there.

That is why the problem is. You will also spit it out. But the person in the restaurant will say, hotel person will say, Okay, I will take out that lizard. Please eat it now. Will you eat it? No, I am not very hungry today.

Thank you. You lost all your hunger as soon as you saw the lizard inside that. And you can say to the Lord, Lord, it is only one small bad habit.

I have done. Rest of the curry is good.

Only this one bad habit I have done. The Lord says, I want you to be hot or cold. Verse 18. I want you to be either cold or hot. You get to get 100 or 0. I don't want all this 40%. That's what the Lord says.

That means, all of my life must be on fire for God. I think some of you were like that when you were converted many years ago. You didn't know so much of the Bible those days. You didn't have all the knowledge that you have today.

But your sins were forgiven. And Jesus had come into your heart. And remember those days, you didn't want any money from anybody. You didn't care what your monthly salary was. You were on fire for Jesus.

You wanted to give out tracts. You wanted to witness to people. And you wanted to live for the Lord. You never went to the cinemas. You had no time for television. You were reading the Bible. What has happened today?

Oh brother, I am busy. I don't have time to read the Bible. You are not busy. You know, I sometimes tell people, you want me to pray that God will teach you how to get time? You say you are very busy.

You don't have time to read the Bible. Shall I pray that God will teach you how you can make time every day? But before I pray that, I will tell you what I am going to pray. Tell me whether I should pray like that.

I will say, Lord, this man says he is very busy. He has no time. Please make one of his children sick and put in the hospital. And then let us see whether he says, no, I have no time to go to the hospital.

No. All of a sudden, he will find time in the middle of all his busy work to go to the hospital. And say, no brother, don't pray like that. I don't want that. I say, I am not going to pray like that. I never pray that people should be sick.

I only pray that people should be healed. But I am just trying to teach you a lesson. Don't say in future, you don't have time. Speak the truth. I am not interested in reading the Bible. Lord, I have got some interesting program on television.

I have to go to that house and tell them the latest gossip I heard from somewhere. And they are all waiting for me regularly because I am the regular person who takes gossip everywhere. So, when I was newly converted, I knew no gossip.

I had no time for that. But now I am in the church for 10 years, I get so much news which I can spread. I can write a whole newspaper with all the news in the church. Don't say you don't have time to read the Bible.

You become lukewarm. You are not on fire for God. You say, oh brother, I read the Bible, I know everything there. I have read it more than you. I have read it for 50 years. And today, nowadays I am discovering new things in this book.

New things that I never saw before. Many times what I am sharing, sometimes God shows me only that day. Many things that I share, God shows me only that day. God is always speaking to me through this book.

And that blesses my life. And then I can share it with others. So, say Lord, I want to be on fire for you like I was in the old days. Like that burning bush. Very often that's the picture in my mind. Moses, for 40 years, he went up and down, he saw all those bushes.

Becoming a Burning Bush in Everyday Life

But one day, he saw a bush on fire. But it was not burnt up. Fire was keeping on burning. And he stopped and said, what is this? God spoke to him. Moses, many years ago, I said, Lord, make me like that burning bush.

Will you pray that prayer? Lord, make me like that burning bush. Not just one or two branches on fire. The whole bush on fire with love for Jesus Christ. With a zeal to live for God. That when people come by and they listen to me, they'll stop.

I've got to listen to this. Because, I hear God speaking through this man. Do you think God is partial with me? I want to tell you in Jesus name, I want to tell you in Jesus name, God may not give you the gift to stand in the pulpit and preach like me.

But he can make you a burning bush in your home. That people come to your house. Think of your sisters. Some sister comes to your house. And you open your mouth and talk to her. And no gossip. You're just sharing what God has put in your heart.

And that sister came to your house discouraged and unhappy. And goes away encouraged. She spent only five minutes in your house. You were a burning bush. God spoke through you. In your life you may never stand in a pulpit.

But you were a burning bush in your home. Or some of your students in the school or college. Do you know that many many students are depressed and discouraged. Maybe they didn't do well in their examinations.

Problems at home. There was a time when Joseph, a young man was in a jail. It's a true story. You can read it in the Old Testament in Genesis. Chapter 39. How he was in jail. And those jails were rotten.

Mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats all running around. No proper sleep. And he was there for many years. One day he saw two new prisoners in the jail. All prisoners in the jail are discouraged. But these people are really discouraged.

So Joseph saw them and he said, Why are you discouraged? And he spoke to them and they told him their problem. And they had a dream and Joseph explained that dream to them. And he helped at least one of them to come back to Pharaoh.

That man got encouraged. In a jail. And Joseph spoke to him only 2 -3 minutes. He was like a burning bush. You can be a burning bush for God even if you are in a jail. There are many students like that.

In schools and colleges. Discouraged. God has put you there as a witness. Just become friendly with that person. And tell them what Jesus has done for you. I used to do that when I was on a ship in the Navy.

They used to make fun of me. They made more fun of me than anybody will ever make fun of you. You know how evil military people are? In the midst of the military if you are going to be a witness for Jesus Christ that you don't go to the cinema you don't do dirty things like all the others do they will make fun of you.

But the more they made fun of me the more stronger I became. I was only 21 years old. You can be a witness in your school and college. And those days God prepared me for my ministry today. So don't be happy.

Yes, I have a little desire for God. You must be on fire for God. Because Jesus says you either become hot or just be cold. Cold means be like a worldly person. Imagine Jesus saying if you can imagine and see be like a worldly person.

If Jesus were standing here today He will say the same thing He says in Revelation 3 .15 If you don't want to be wholehearted for me go and be a worldly person. Get out of the church and go somewhere else.

Somebody asked me the other day Why do you always say if you want to go away from this church. In other churches they are saying please come, please come, please come. Here you are saying if you want to go away I say I don't want people to go away.

But I say if you are half hearted if you want to live for the world please join one of those other churches. Sit there. What will happen if you have a cup of hot coffee and you pour some ice cold milk into it.

What will happen? This thing is going to be cold. I say please don't bring that here. I want a hot cup of coffee. You want it. Jesus also wants people who are on fire. You bring all these cold people inside the whole thing becomes lukewarm.

That's what the Lord is saying. Heat is good in one thing cup of coffee. It's good to have hot coffee. But if you add something cold it goes off. So that is what I say. If you are not whole hearted for God Dear brother and sister please find some other church.

Go and find some lukewarm people and go and sit there. If you want to be a gossiper Go and find some other church and go and gossip as much as you like. But if you want to love Jesus with all your heart You want to live a pure life.

You want to be free from all sin. You want to live a holy life. Then this is the place for you. So we are not telling everybody to go. We are saying all the lukewarm people go. Because Jesus says if you are lukewarm I will spit you out of my mouth.

I was not the first person to say that. Jesus says I will spit you out of the church. Have you read that? Not because you are worldly. Cold means worldly. If you are lukewarm What does he say in chapter 3 verse 16?

16 He doesn't say because you are cold I will spit you out of my mouth. No, you are not cold. You are not worldly. But you are not on fire for Jesus Christ. You are sort of half and half. You don't keep on living in sin like these worldly people.

You are not going and watching cinemas everyday. It's once in a while. A little bit of worldliness. That is lukewarm. What does the Lord say? I don't care which church you sit in. Don't say I belong to Christian fellowship.

Revelation 3 verse 16 If you are lukewarm I will spit you out of my mouth. Many people say Brother Zachary is preaching all these strange doctrines. This is a strange doctrine what is written here. But I am sure you have never heard this from any other preacher.

Have you heard a preacher tell you that if you are lukewarm Jesus will spit you out of his mouth? Why do people think it's a strange doctrine? Because they don't read the Bible. I never preach anything which is not in the Bible.

But I point out the verses which other people don't preach. We want to restore our churches to the fire of God. If you don't have the fire all your meetings and conference and preaching is useless. We can glory in so many things.

We don't take a collection. We preach the truth. We sing good songs. And our sisters are dressed modestly. That's like the Old Testament tabernacle. Everything is according to the pattern. The pillars are the right size.

The curtains are the correct size and color. Only one thing is missing in the tabernacle. The fire of God is not there. What's the use of that? When the fire of God was not on the tabernacle or in the temple that was the proof that God is not there.

It was like a man with ten fingers, ten toes two eyes, two ears everything but no breath. Dead. What is the use of counting the fingers of a dead man? What's the use counting seeing if all our doctrines are right?

Is there life there? Is the fire of God on the tabernacle? Is the bush burning? Or is it like all the other bushes in other places? Dear brothers and sisters we want to restore the church not just to a pattern but to the fire that the presence of Jesus is in our midst.

The Fire of Scripture and the Burning Heart

You know the story where on the day of the resurrection Jesus walked with two disciples to Emmaus? It was seven miles that means ten kilometers, eleven kilometers and those eleven kilometers he would have taken about three hours walking and it says those three hours he was preaching to them from the Old Testament Luke 24 verse 27 from Genesis to Malachi he was preaching to them for three hours from Genesis to Malachi he was preaching for three hours for three hours what a wonderful Bible study Jesus taught them and it says here at the end of it they said in verse 32 our hearts were burning when he opened the scriptures to us they didn't say oh what nice illustrations he used oh what a nice outline he gave for the Bible study.

No, our hearts were burning when he spoke. That's how it must be in every meeting of our church when people come in touch with us they get a little bit of the fire you say but brother I am just like a small candle.

Ok, you are all clever people. Tell me one question how many candles can one lighted candle light up two three ten hundred one thousand. There is no limit. You may be like one candle. Now another question if this candle is not lighted how many candles can it light.

How many. Zero. So don't say oh I am just a small little candle one by one by one. You can set other people on fire. When I started sharing God's word when I was 21 years old I never preached to crowds like this.

So I did not know the Bible so much. I used to go sit in a home of people who knew less than me and there would be three people in that home and I would sit there and share. That's how I started. Every week I would go to that room teach them, teach them, teach them.

Today after 50 years they are still following the Lord. You never know. Don't look for big crowd just visit one home and encourage them. There is one more thing I want to show you in Revelation 3 Lord told the church in Laodicea verse 21 he who overcomes I will grant him to sit down with me on my throne even as I also overcame and sit down with my father on his throne.

Overcoming the World Through Christ’s Victory

God wants us to be overcomers. Jesus is speaking to you overcome as I overcame. Jesus overcame the world. He says you must also overcome the world if we allow him to come into us. Many people think how can I overcome.

Let's first look at John 16 .33. What did Jesus overcome. John 16 .33. Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. He overcame the world. What is the world. 1 John 2. We want to know what Jesus overcame.

When he said he overcame the world. We don't know what the world is. He didn't overcome Caesar and the Roman armies. That is not the world he was talking about. There is something, a spiritual world that he overcame.

What is that spiritual world. See 1 John 2 verse 16. This is what Jesus overcame. All that is in the world is this lust of the flesh lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Fight against pride. Yes he was tempted like us and he never became proud Lord.

Did you have to overcome the lust of the eyes. You such a holy person. Yes I was tempted like you and I never sinned even for one second. Did you have to overcome the lust of the flesh. Yes I overcame the world.

Desires that came into my mind. I said no. Have you ever been tempted to worship satan. Anybody here tempted to worship satan. Satan has never come to me and said worship me. Satan has never come to me and said worship me.

Do you know that satan came to Jesus and tempted him to worship him. What. All temptations satan took to Jesus. Even temptations you are not tempted with. He tempted him with. I don't think anybody here was tempted to fall down and worship the devil.

But he tempted Jesus. He said no temptation is not sin. If you look at a if you find that you look at a pretty girl and you are tempted. That's not a sin. No you turn your eyes away. You don't sin. We cannot avoid being tempted.

We can't walk in the world with our eyes shut. No it's impossible. If you walk with your eyes open you will be tempted everyday. But you don't have to yield to that temptation. You say no lord I don't want to see all that.

I want to keep my eyes on you. Jesus was tempted and he overcame. And now he says verse 21 of chapter revelation 3 overcome as I overcame. That means look at my example. That is what we have preached in this church for 20 years.

The same message. Jesus came to earth like us. He was tempted like us. And through the power of the Holy Spirit he overcame. There is almost nobody in India preaching that message. And you can also overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That's what we preach. That's what we have preached all over Tamil Nadu. Who is preaching it in Tamil Nadu. You have to preach it. Because if you are gripped by it you must share it with others. Brother, sister, overcome as Jesus overcame.

Don't just tell them to overcome. No, how? Overcome as Jesus overcame. You just tell them you must have victory over sin. That's not enough. Overcome as Jesus overcame. And if you want to sit with Jesus on his throne Revelation 3 .21 you have to overcome as Jesus overcame.

Otherwise you will not sit with Jesus on his throne. Now let me tell you something how to overcome as Jesus overcame. He says in verse 20 I am standing at the door and knocking.

He is the overcomer. Now listen carefully listen carefully.

The one who overcame everything is standing at your door and knocking. Allow the overcomer to come inside and overcome you first. That means in every door he knocks come inside. Come into my TV room. Come into my library.

Come into my finances room. Come and occupy every room in my heart. Tell me what I should throw out things in my books and DVDs which should not be in my house. Unrighteous practices in my business. I want you to come and overcome me.

Allow the overcomer to come inside in every room and let him overcome you. Then you will be an overcomer. That is what he says. Let me in, I am knocking. I have overcome the world. Will you allow me to come inside.

I will overcome through you. This is what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When we ask Jesus to come into our heart his spirit comes in. The Holy Spirit has come. If you ask Jesus to come into your heart the Holy Spirit has come.

But you may not be filled with the Holy Spirit. There are so many areas you have not yielded to him. One room you opened but ten other rooms are closed. The Lord says, let me into all those rooms. And then you will also overcome.