Freed From Wordly Attitudes — Zac Poonen

Turning the World Right Side Up

We were considering last Sunday about turning the world right side up and We saw how this was the way the folks in Thessalonica Reported the preaching of Paul. These are people who've come to turn the world upside down in Acts chapter 17 and I mentioned how actually the world became upside down.

The day that Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden because We need to see what was it that turned the world upside down. Adam and Eve sought their own instead of the glory of God. They didn't seek to please God but sought to please themselves and That is how sin came to the world and that's how man Became upside down.

So when you say that Jesus came to make man walk properly It should be the opposite of what happened in the Garden of Eden now. God gave an inkling of this in an Old Testament verse in Leviticus chapter 26 and Verse 13.

If you are not familiar with this verse I encourage you to look at it. You know the children of Israel being brought out of the land of Egypt in the Old Testament was a picture of our redemption from sin and Satan.

So apply this verse to ourselves and say that I am the Lord your God who brought you out of The land of sin and Satan. So that you will not be their slaves. And I broke the bars of your yoke and Make you walk erect.

Not upside down. That's the way God wants us to do, you know, he only can make us walk erect. Where We seek to please him. And not ourselves. You turn to Romans in chapter 15. You see that exemplified in the life of Jesus.

Jesus as the Pattern for Human Life

I've often said. But if you want to know how God wanted Adam to live. Look at the life of Jesus. That's how God wanted Adam to live and That's how he wants every one of us to live. One of the reasons why God sent Christ to earth.

Besides that dying for our sins was That he might show us how to live. I mean he would have died at the age of 18 for our sins. Why did he have to live 33 years with all that suffering. Because he came to earth not only to die for our sins and This wonderful truth that most Christians haven't understood that Jesus Lived on earth to show us how we should live.

99 of Christians only know that Jesus died for their sins. But his death for their sins was on one day of his life. Six hours of his life. That's all. What was he doing for 33 years? Compare one day with 33 years.

What's the proportion? 33 years he lived on earth. To show us how man is supposed to live. How a child is supposed to live. He demonstrated in the years of his childhood in Nazareth. How a young teenager with all the passions in his body He's supposed to live.

He demonstrated when he was a teenager how teenage men should relate to Young girls he was tempted and he demonstrated. And you say it's not written in Scripture. Jesus once said the Holy Spirit when he is come He will take of the things of mine and show it to you.

Why is everything not written in Scripture. I'll tell you why the secret of the Lord we read in the Psalms is with those who fear him and To them he will reveal his covenant. There are secrets that you don't publicize.

You whisper in people's ears. Forgiveness of sins is an open truth. But to walk as Jesus walked is a secret. It's called a mystery of godliness and That's why more than 95 of believers don't have a clue about it.

But if you fear God And your great longing Is to obey the command in 1 John 2 6 which says we must walk as Jesus walked. I tell you He will show you how Jesus looked at women when he was 18 years old.

Otherwise, even if you're 80 years old you won't discover it. Because God sees you have no desire to live that way. He doesn't know revealing his secrets to people of no interest and that's the reason why I believe many of us sitting here Have never overcome lusting with our eyes and you never will because God sees you're not keen about it.

You want to be free from the love of money. God will show you how Jesus Handled money. He showed you it's a promise in John 16. Let me show you that before coming to Romans 15. John 16 is to me. It's a wonderful promise and I've claimed it many times and I would encourage you to do it.

John 16 it says the Holy Spirit when he comes verse 14. He will the middle of that verse he will take of mine and will show it to you. Now you don't need the Holy Spirit to know that Jesus healed the sick that's written in Scripture.

You can be an atheist and read that. You don't need any fear of God to know that Jesus raised the dead. You just need To be able to read some language have a Bible you read that. But there are a million things about Christ that are not written in Scripture.

Which are secrets. That God reveals to those who fear and the more you fear him the more you'll discover. Then you will discover what true spirituality is. I tell you 95 of believers I've met don't have a clue about what it means to be spiritual.

They don't have a clue because they don't even know the difference between what is soulish and what is spiritual. They don't know the difference between what is religious and what is spiritual. They don't know the difference between what is human and what is divine.

What's the difference between human goodness and divine nature or human anger and divine anger. Human love and divine love just don't know. What's the reason? They're not serious about walking as Jesus was.

And I can offer this challenge to any of you sitting here. Any one of you even if you're a young child. If you're serious about one verse in Scripture 1 John 2 6 which says anyone Who says he's a Christian.

Must walk and live as Jesus lived. That's the living Bible translation. If you're serious about that just that one verse I Guarantee God will show you amazing things. Which other Christians even those who listen to messages like this won't understand.

He was ears to hear let him hear. I Tell you there are many many people who haven't seen him. Many of our elder brothers in our churches haven't seen him. I'll tell you honestly. But I've seen their life.

They haven't been gripped by the way Jesus lived many many others. The Holy Spirit will take of the things of Christ and show it to us. That's why we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now I'll tell you quite honestly I'm more interested in the Holy Spirit showing me the things of Christ than speaking in tongues even though I do speak in tongues.

That's not the main thing for me. It is the main thing for many people but to me. It's like a little finger. I don't cut it off. I keep it the right size, but the main thing for me is the heart of the Christian life to see Jesus and To be like and that I see is the main reason why the Holy Spirit's come.

And you can get taken up with other little doctrines of the Holy Spirit and miss out on the main thing. That's what the devil does. He gets us taken up with other things and the end result is we have been taken up with all these other things and we Still walk upside down.

You can have all the gifts of the Holy Spirit and walk upside down. An example of that is in the Corinthians. Bible says one Corinthians one they had all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But they're walking upside down.

They didn't even know that it was wrong to take a brother to court. They didn't know that. Immorality is not permitted in the Christian life, but immoral people will never enter God's kingdom. They didn't even know it.

Christ’s Self-Denial and the God-Centered Life

So Romans 15 you see how Jesus lived. What it means to walk? Upright. The way God wanted man to live. Romans 15. It says here in verse 3 Christ did not please himself. He did not please himself throughout his life for 33 years.

Imagine if the Lord told you listen, I Want you to live the next one month? Never pleasing yourself. He said why? But Jesus lived 33 years like that. You'd say that's a miserable life. That would be a miserable life if I can't never please myself on the contrary.

You won't be so depressed as you are now. You won't get angry like you get angry now. You won't lust with your eyes like you do now. Many things will change in your life. But you're wondering you're struggling you're struggling.

I've heard people tell me. Oh brother. I'm still struggling with lust. I'm still struggling with the love of money. I tell you you will struggle forever till you say the way Jesus lived is the way I want to live.

I don't want to live Centered in myself. I want to live centered in God. I tell you some of your sicknesses will be healed when you do that. You think you've all those multitudes of injections and pills and tablets and all will heal, you know, the problem is you're centered in yourself.

I'm not talking about every sickness. A lot of sicknesses come because we live in a sin-cursed earth. Like thorns poke our foot we catch the flu and I'm not talking about that type of stuff. But there are definitely at least 10 of sicknesses.

That come because man is self-centered. Which he can be free from. Many many problems in our life are not going to go by coming to church singing songs. Attending meetings or even listening to messages.

You got to say Lord. I want a radical change in my life. I want you to change my way of thinking. I wonder when are you to renew my mind? I want you to show me what it is to walk upright and erect. There is a life that's promised in Scripture, which I find very few Christians living.

Most Christians are just saying yeah one day. I'll be like that. They'll never be like that because they're not serious. It's like a Student saying yeah one day. I'll get my PhD and the guy doesn't even go to school.

He's playing marbles and playing the fool the whole day. Well, he get his PhD. He probably never even finished third standard. But he's not serious about his studies. We can have great ambitions. I want to be this and I want to be that.

I want to be like Christ and all That but if you're not serious Jesus the one said that the kingdom of heaven is Taken by people who do violence. Not external violence. We are men of peace externally but violence to everything in their life.

That stands in the way of their possessing God's kingdom all once found that there were desires in his body that he had to discipline and control if he was to Qualify and win the race. He says that in 1 Corinthians 9 the last verse.

And that's one reason the Bible says we go to fast sometimes. Fast means deny ourselves certain things which are normal. Not. I'm not talking about giving up sinful things. I'm talking about giving up certain legitimate things which hinder us from pleasing God.

So I want to speak particularly to those sitting here Who are determined that whatever the price you have to pay whatever the cost. You want to please God in your life? I Don't know how many of you there are like that.

But I believe there are some and to you I say God will do that in your life. There is a light promised in the New Testament. Like Paul says in his own life. Where he says thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ always in triumph.

Never gloomy always giving. Thanks. Never losing our temper never depressed never in a bad mood. Never anxious. It's I can show you verses for all of these, you know those verses yourself. But you have assumed for so long That those are just high concepts.

It'll never be achieved. It will never be achieved by those who are seeking other things in life. If you're seeking honor for yourself, I guarantee you'll never achieve the light. The Bible speaks about if you're seeking your own name and fame and please yourself.

I agree, you'll never come to that life even in a hundred years. But if you're serious and wholehearted and say Lord I recognize now that you didn't create me to live for myself. You didn't even create me to live for other people.

You've created me to live for the glory of God. I Want to do that in my life and I want to. I'm willing to pay any price for it. I want to walk erect. I want to walk different from everybody else on the earth.

I don't want to assume that People around me live like that. I also live like that. I don't want to assume that as a husband and wife we'll always argue and fight Forever till Jesus comes that's rubbish.

That's a lie of a devil if you accept it, it'll be true in your life. But if you see that the Bible teaches another standard you will live by another standard. It's all up to you. If you're satisfied with exercising some gifts of the Holy Spirit.

That's all you'll have and you can even go to hell without all those gifts of the Spirit. Because The Lord is calling people To follow him who will deny themselves and take up their cross every day. Now you don't hear that much in the pulpits of Christian churches today.

Because the gospel that's being preached today. Which has made man can even those who say they are believers walk upside down is a man centered gospel. Whereas the Bible teaches a God-centered gospel and there's a world of difference within the two.

Doing All Things for God’s Glory

Let me show you a verse 1 Corinthians in chapter 10. I'm talking about those who want to be radical Christians. Who really want to live for God and not waste their earthly life because we have only one earthly life if you waste it.

It's gone. It's like having a billion dollars and just Wasting it or flushing it down the toilet. That's how many Christians are living. I believe my life is worth more than a billion dollars and so is yours a billion rupees or billion, whatever and If I waste it, it's like taking all that money and flushing it down the toilet.

No, I don't want to do it. I'm not gonna get this money again. I'm not gonna get this life again one time in my life God gives you a Billion minutes to live for him. It's up to you. How are you going to use?

And we are more careful with our money than with our time and how we use our life. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 31 says He takes the simplest thing that we do on earth every day eating and drinking and He says whatever you do whether you eat or drink Do all to the glory of God.

That's an amazing word, you know, you could take that one verse and Live all your life without any other verse in the Bible. Just keep asking God in every situation. Lord. Here, I'm supposed to do something now.

This is more important than eating or drinking. I'm getting married or I'm looking for a job or moving location going here and there whatever you do. Let's show me Lord. What is for your glory here? Not.

What is for my comfort what is for my gain and what is for your glory. I Want to ask you my dear brothers and sisters many of you being believers for 10 15 20 years. Whenever you've taken a decision you've taken many decisions in the past.

You've taken decisions concerning marriage concerning job concerning location concerning and many many things. Now answer this question to yourself. How many times in those decisions you took? Did you say Lord?

What will glorify you most here before I take this decision? I have this option and this option and this option. Which of the three will glorify you the most. I want to choose that. Can you think of instances in your life where you sin?

Sincerely Purposely sought what would glorify God the most. And you may find very often. That that didn't even enter into your thinking and that most of the time you thought of your convenience and your satisfaction your pleasure.

But you still go to church. You are a very good religious person. You haven't understood true spirituality. A truly spiritual person will say Lord. What is for the glory of God? What will glorify you in this.

How shall I respond to this person. The rude remarks to me. I Don't want to please myself. What will glorify you the most in every decision? That is the happiest most wonderful most triumphant Christian life anybody can ever live now if a man doesn't start there.

And he says brother. I still lose my temper. I still lust and I still get angry. I still get depressed brother. You will you will for the next hundred years you will. Because you've got your foundation wrong.

You've not laid the axe to the root of all the problem. I think of when antibiotics were discovered before antibiotics is discovered. They used to have ointments to rub on your sores to remove them superficially that come somewhere else then somebody discovered antibiotics.

You know what antibiotics did you don't drop the antibiotics on the on the sore? You swallow it so it hits the root of the disease and when the root of the disease is hit the sores disappear all over the body.

It's something like that. The law was only an old a temporary measure, you know rub it here rub it there keep Keep the body healthy, but Jesus came with an axe to the root of the tree and Said now I will solve the problem at the root.

So that you can you don't live with these problems that Old Testament people lived with. Elijah was depressed. Moses was angry. David committed adultery. You don't have to have those things when the axe is hit to the root.

Why do Christians go into all these things because the axe is not laid to the root in their life. That's the sad thing. Whatever you do do all for the glory of God. Imagine if you make that a motto in my life that from now on I'm not going to take a decision in my life.

That's not for the glory of God and Start when you're young. Lord, what will glorify you in my life? Ask yourself. I started when I was 21. I wish I'd started earlier. But I'll tell you at the end of your life you can look back over a very fruitful life.

There is no limit to what God can do for a man who's totally yielded to him or a woman. If you will decide even now you say Lord many years of my life I wasted but at least the rest of my life. I want to live for the glory of God.

I don't want to seek my own. Let me show you a couple of other verses in Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2 here's another good verse. It's another verse which you can just take and live all your life with.

You don't need any other verse in the Bible. Philippians 2 and verse 5. Have the same attitude in you. That Jesus had have the same attitude in you that Jesus had and What was that? There are two things particularly mentioned about him.

One that he did not consider equality with God is something we grasped and emptied himself and came down and humbled himself. But the two things that Mentioned here are his concern for others his total freedom from selfishness and From pride those are the two things mentioned in verse 3.

Don't do anything from selfishness or Pride. Imagine if I take that verse seriously Lord from today onwards. This is scripture Philippians 2 3. I don't want to do anything in my life that is selfish. Where I think only of myself but Verse 4.

I don't want to look out only for my personal interests, but for the interests of others. That is the attitude Jesus had number one. Long before he humbled himself on this earth when he was in heaven and he looked down on this earth.

He saw People living the miserable self-centered life that was taking them all to hell. He could have said well, I'm okay I'm having a good time here with the Father and Holy Spirit and all the angels and others.

But he couldn't sit there comfortably when he thought of all these other people Who didn't enjoy what he enjoyed? He wanted them Desperately to enjoy what he enjoyed and he said if I can go down and Tell them about this wonderful life up here in heaven.

And I know I have to pay a tremendous price because they will reject me kill me. That's fine If I can get them To come to this life It's worth it. That was the spirit that brought Jesus to earth. That tremendous compassion That had a concern for other people that they should enjoy the spiritual life He enjoyed.

I Want to say that's part of true spirituality. Now when you're a Christian only concerned about yourself. Yeah, I'm okay. I'm gonna heaven my sins are all forgiven and Not concerned about others. It's not the spirit of Christ.

The spirit of Christ was one that is willing to pay any price To bring other people into God's kingdom that never sought its own. You know, it's the spirit that drove missionaries for a hundred and fifty years from about the late 1700s To mid 1900s from about 1780 to 1950.

We had a tremendous or 1940 years for this tremendous missionary movement that drove people to all types of jungles and People are not people who didn't have jobs. Couldn't get any job and become Christian workers like 90 of Christian workers in India.

I don't talk about I'm not talking about those third-rate Christian workers. I'm talking about people who could have earned a lot of money where they were and Who gave it up could have lived in a lot of comfort where they were and Gave it up and they didn't come here to foreign countries and live in five-star hotels like today's preachers.

Come from foreign countries. They went into the jungle to preach the gospel. They went into difficult places. They sacrificed everything in order to bring others to Christ and If any of us think we are spiritual I'd encourage you to read some of these missionary biographies.

They'll reduce you to this size when you read them. They reduce me to that size when I read them. We have a generation growing up today. Unfortunately, we've not read these biographies. I want to ask you young people you are even older people.

How many missionary biographies have you read? Of what missionaries did during those years? Why did I stop at 1950? Because the missionaries who come to far to Poor countries after that have all been visitors and tourists.

They're not missionaries. They come for what they call short-term missions two weeks one month three years three months one year. They're not mission. They're trying to ease their conscience. But the missionaries before 1950 I really respect them.

They were godly men and women. No, they were not tourists. They were not Seeking their own. They were seeking the good of others seeking the spirit of Christ. I enjoy so much this wonderful life. I've got to give it to others.

Now God may not call you to be a missionary to heathen land, but that spirit should still be there Lord. You've given me a life. I've got to give it to others. I can't keep it to myself. I've got to do everything possible to spread this word.

Even if your calling is maybe not an evangelist but to share the wonderful truth of overcoming sin. Look at the millions of Christians who are defeated. Look at the million of Christians who are depressed.

Who still lose their temper. Who still love money who still lust with their eyes? Who fall into adultery who watch filthy movies on television? Don't you need to deliver them? Don't you need to tell them there's a better life than watching all that rubbish?

How can you do that? Unless you yourself are free? Dear brothers and sisters is a tremendous need as we approach the end of time. For people who walk upright what different from the world around who don't seek to live the way the rest of the world lives.

But live the way Jesus lived. And I want to encourage you to take that challenge say Lord the rest of my life. I want to live like this. He did not seek his own. Do nothing from selfishness. Do nothing from conceit that makes you.

Look down on other people. You see in the world. Our selfishness is seen in things like this. You wish everything good for your family. But you don't wish good for other people if you see something really good happen to somebody else.

You feel a little unhappy about it. You feel that you wish that some calamity would happen to that person. That shows the crookedness and evil. That Satan has put into the mind of Adam that has come filtering down sinking down all this way.

It's come down all the way down to us. This desire that Good should happen to me. But not for others. It's if you think like that. I want to tell you you've got the spirit of hell right inside your heart.

How do you I mean however much you may sing and clap and do all that in the meeting? Hell dwells in your heart. Because that's spirit of hell. I don't want other people to have a good time. I don't want other people to have anything.

That's really good. I don't want it to go well with other people. I don't want it to go well with other people's children. But of course it must go well with me must go well with my children. That is the spirit of hell.

It's not the spirit of heaven. Ask yourself whether you have it and If you didn't know I want to tell you we all have it when we begin our Christian life it's called the flesh and The only person who's free from it is the man who has cleansed himself who's detected it say Lord.

I have it. I want to rid myself of it. How do I know that you have it but I saw it in myself and I know you are a descendant of Adam just like me and I know that until I radically dealt with it wouldn't go.

It's pretty deep re-enrouted like a cancer. Ask yourself. Are you are you really can you really rejoice? With others who are rejoicing or do you find a secret reluctance despite years of being in CFC?

How hell still lives in your heart? How is that? You haven't taken the word seriously, I Want to deliver you from being religious my brothers and sisters because I have to answer to God in the final day.

When you stand before him, I mean, I can't stop you from going to hell. No. But I can at least warn you. That you can sit here for 25 years break bread for 25 years and go to hell. Listen to that. I believe that.

If you don't take the Christian life, seriously If you don't say Lord deliver me from the self-centeredness. Deliver me from wishing any evil for another person. Deliver me Lord from a secret delight when evil happens to somebody else deliver me Lord from a secret Sadness when something good happens to somebody.

Almighty God get hell out of my heart. I want heaven in my heart I.

Repentance, Humility, and Restitution

Want the Holy Spirit was you just saying a prayer Lord Jesus come to my heart. What is dwelling in your heart? Yourself. Is the spirit of Christ? All what I need there is for repentance. When we hear the truth of God and the light of God shines upon us and we see how Jesus lived say Lord Oh unlike you I am.

You know, I still weep at night on my pillow because I'm unlike Christ in some area. He shows me. When was the last time you did it? When was the last time you wept at night on your pillow and say Lord?

I'm sorry. I was a bit unlike Christ in that way. I spoke there or did this thing. You're not serious about the Christian life. No wonder you have so many problems. No wonder you have so many sicknesses.

Take the Christian life more seriously. Yeah, I speak especially to those who've been here for many many years. I'm not talking to those who have just started coming here recently. You haven't heard the things we preach here.

We preach these things for 30 years and If you've heard these so many years and you haven't changed I tell you there's no chance. You will change in the next 30 years unless you begin to take something radically now.

Lord, I want to root out this. I want you to lay the axe to the root. However much pain it causes me I want to be honest I'm willing to go and apologize to everybody in this church if needed if I hurt them because I want to set it, right?

I tell you Do a little apologizing to others that will humble you pretty quickly. But we get around it. We hurt somebody and we don't set it right by going and apologizing to that person because that hurts our pride.

We've spoken evil about people behind their back and we don't go and apologize to the person. We don't go and tell that person to me spoke evil. I'm sorry brother for speaking evil about mr. Or mrs. X or whatever it is.

I want to take it back. Do you ever do that? You don't do it. But no wonder you have problems. You'll continue to have problems because God sees you're not serious about taking back what you did wrong.

You don't have to confess the sins of others, but what you did yourself. There is so much like this we take so lightly. Because we want to retain our pride and our dignity and our reputation. You know unless you come to Jesus and say Lord, I'm willing to pay any price.

I'm willing to humble myself to any extent. I want to get rid of everything that dishonors you in my life. I want to set right every wrong thing that I did think our radical Zacchaeus was. When if you have taken money wrongfully from other people.

How many of you would be so radical that you'd say I'll give four times back what I took. I've hardly ever met people in my life like that and people are so reluctant even to give one time what they took back.

Imagine giving four times. I mean Jesus could have said to him. Hey, hang on. You don't give four times. He's like go right ahead make those guys happy after all you Destroyed their happiness by cheating from them and stealing from them make them happy.

Now give them four times what you took from them and make them happy. He didn't stop him and if you want to give four times back to somebody else I won't stop you. You'll be a happier person and they'll be happier people, too but If we are selfish and calculating see a lot of Christians are calculating.

Wrong is calculating. What is the exact down to the night? I saw how much should I give to God and how much he did and you know God is also very Calculating and he gives to you you get little spoonfuls of grace from God because you give little spoonfuls to him.

And that's all you'll get and there are other people are getting rivers from God upon their life. As they're giving rivers to God themselves. If you give and you get back in the same measure, it's like that I've seen this.

God will treat you the way you treat other people. You treat them with mercy and compassion and kindness. God will be immensely merciful and compassionate and kind to you. It's all being different from the world a walking upright in a crooked upside-down world.

Rejecting Curiosity and Gossip

See this. Let me mention another thing. One thing that's characteristic of people in the world is curiosity. Everybody in the world is curious. You don't have to be educated for that down from the illiterate villager to the most educated executive.

Curious about other people's affairs. They want to know about other people. They want to know this and that all useless information. Which will not help us one bit. But they want to know they want to know they want to hear this is how gossip spreads and it's not only among Unbelievers is plenty of gossip among believers, especially at prayer meetings small prayer meetings.

Gossip sessions where they talk about this and talk about this person and that person and the other person. In fact, it's the favorite pastime of many Christians when they come together and they're curious to know.

Who's getting married to who who is pregnant? I see I couldn't care less. I'm not interested. I want to know how I can overcome sin in my life. I want to know how I can become like Jesus in my life not who's pregnant and who is getting married if you're interested in Those things no wonder you have so many problems.

No wonder you spend your time coming to the meeting singing and praising the Lord, but never growing spiritually. How many of you will be radical now say Lord, I don't want to be curious about anything.

That doesn't concern me. I want to be curious about sin in my own life. I'm pretty curious about that. But I'm not interested in other people's affairs. Except to bless them help them if they have a need let me help them.

But I'm not interested in finding out this and finding out that but where did they get this and where did they get then? What are they doing here? What are they doing there? The number of things that the devil puts into your mind.

I tell you the number of things that Christians are occupied with. And they call themselves Christians. They're not Christians. They're just downright unbelievers pretending to be Christians. Christian is a person who you know what the word Christian really means.

It's mrs. Jesus Christ if I were to put it reverently. She just like my wife got my name when she married me when a person marries Christ. He becomes a Christian Lord. I'm committed to you now. I want to do what you want me to do.