Standing Apart From The World (Video) — Zac Poonen

Readiness for Christ’s Return and the Days of Noah

When Jesus spoke about his return to earth, he said in Matthew chapter 24, that the coming of verse 37, Matthew chapter 24 and verse 37, for the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. And they did not understand until the flood came and took them away.

And so will also the coming of the Son of Man be. Two will be in the field and one will be taken and the other will be left. Two will be working in a mill. One will be taken and the other will be left.

And so stay awake and be alert. He especially, Jesus especially warned us to be ready. Many Christian groups spend their time studying about the details of prophecy. What's going to happen, what's going to happen to Russia and Israel and Iraq and what the Antichrist is going to be like and the church is going to be raptured and all that.

But Jesus never concentrated on that. He always said in relation to second coming, you've got to be ready. It doesn't matter if you don't understand all the details of prophecy. If you're ready, you'll be taken up with him.

He said there will be two people working in the same place. One will go, the other will be left behind. That's literally going to happen. So many things that the Old Testament prophets said, people never believed, but it took place.

Even Noah, I don't know whether you know that up until Noah's time, which is about, Noah lived about nearly 2 ,000 years after Adam. The flood came then. There was no rain that had ever fallen on the earth for 2 ,000 years.

The Bible says in Genesis 2, a mist would go up and water the earth. So when Noah stood up in the streets and preached that rain is going to come, people really thought the guy is crazy. He said nothing has ever happened like that before.

And he kept on preaching that for 120 years. Of course, nothing happened. Then all of a sudden it came. And Jesus said it's going to be like that. His return to earth when he waits a long time, like he waited a long time in the days of Noah.

I have often wondered whether in Noah's time, you know, that only eight people were saved. Finally, in the last day, when he said let's get inside the ark, it was only his family. I'm sure he would have had little meetings in his home.

And I wondered whether there were some people who heard Noah's preaching and came along to some of the meetings in his home but then dropped out after a few years. And said, well, nothing's happening.

This is crazy. I mean, I got a little scared when I heard him preach the other day on the street. And I thought I'd come along for the meeting. But I've been with him for a whole year. And they just talk about being holy and everybody else in the world seems to be having a good time.

Why should I miss out on that? I wonder whether there were people like that who might have been in the ark who dropped out. Well, there's certainly going to be people like that in the church who come along and stay along faithful for a while and then find that I'm missing so much of the good time that people are having in the world.

I'm missing what they're having. So they go away. It's exactly what it says here. They were all carrying on as usual, having a good time right after the day that Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing until the flood took them away.

And in Hebrews, when we read a commentary about Noah's attitude, I mean, the reason why this is important is because Jesus specifically said that the last days, and I'm absolutely convinced in my life that we're living in the last days.

I don't have the slightest doubt about it. And, you know, many people have said during the past years, yeah, Christ is coming and all, but if you read church history and you read the books written by great godly men through the centuries, I've noticed one thing.

In the first century, they spoke a lot about the second coming of Christ. I mean, in the episodes, in the book of Revelation, Christ is coming. I think a lot of people in the first century thought Christ would come right then because the Roman Empire was so bad.

And certainly when Jerusalem was destroyed 40 years after Christ's crucifixion, they really thought Christ is going to come now. But from the second century onwards, that preaching died out. They don't speak much about the coming of the Lord after that third, fourth, fifth, sixth centuries.

There were people who pursued godliness and all that, but the truth of the second coming of Christ was almost not preached. Even Martin Luther, when he brought people back to the truth of justification by faith, he almost never preached about the second coming of Christ.

In the 16th century, in the 18th century, John Wesley was a great man of God. And in all his writings, you hardly ever hear preaching on the second coming of Christ. And it's only about 100, 150 years ago that again, once again, there was a revival on preaching of the second coming of Christ.

It was as if God was preparing people. And there's something significant that has happened in our generation that's never happened in 2 ,000 years. And I want to show you that before I go to Hebrews 11, and that's in Luke's gospel.

Jerusalem, the Times of the Gentiles, and the Signs of the End

Something that Jesus said in Luke's gospel, and I think it's chapter 21, verse 24. First, he spoke about, verse 20, about Jerusalem being surrounded by armies. Then you know that Jerusalem's going to be destroyed.

That happened about 40 years after Christ's crucifixion. I don't know if it's right, but perhaps it's true that God gave all those Jewish people 40 years to repent for crucifying his son. They didn't repent.

Then they were scattered and led captive, verse 24. All those Jewish people fell by the edge of the sword to the Roman soldiers, and they were led captive into all the nations. That happened 40 years after Jesus said it.

And then in 70 AD, the Jewish people were scattered all over the world. And then he said, Jerusalem, which is the capital, will be ruled, trampled down means ruled by, Jerusalem was supposed to be for the Jewish people the holiest place on earth where the temple was.

It's going to be trampled down by non-Jewish people ruling Jerusalem. That's the Gentiles means non-Jewish people. Until the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled, and then Jerusalem will come back into the hands of the Jews.

Jesus said that in way back, 29 AD. Even when he said it, Jerusalem was not in the hands of the Jews, it was in the hands of the Romans. You read throughout church history, first century, second century, third century, never did the Jews get Jerusalem.

All through the centuries, different people ruled it. And then the Turkey and the Muslims ruled Jerusalem for a long time, and the British ruled it. And even when the British and the United Nations gave land to Israel, they still didn't get Jerusalem.

They finally got it only in 1967. Some of us are alive. From the time that Jesus spoke those words, for more than 1900 years, it was not fulfilled. Many of the other things he spoke about like wars, earthquakes, famines, that have happened all through the centuries.

Maybe it happens a little more now. But this never happened. He said they'll be scattered through all the nations of the earth. Jerusalem will be ruled by non-Jewish people. But one day, the non-Jewish people will not be ruling it anymore.

That's the time when that time is going to be fulfilled. And then, very soon after that, verse 27, they'll see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up, lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing nigh.

In another place, Jesus compared this to the birth of a child. He said the new earth that's going to be, this earth is going to be recreated, and the new heavens and the new earth is like a birth of a child.

It's something you've got to look forward to, like every mother. Every mother looks forward to the birth of a child. But he said, just like a mother goes through tremendous pain, I mean, such unbearable pain that some women almost feel like dying, just before the childbirth, Christians will go through a time of pain before this child is born.

He said, when you see some of these little things happening, these are the beginning of the birth pains. So Jesus said that Christians will face a time of persecution and tribulation, but it's going to be a very short time, you know.

A mother's birth pain doesn't last for months. It's just sometimes just a few hours, and then the baby's born. And then Jesus said, when the baby's born, she completely forgets about her birth pain. She's so delighted.

It's going to be something like that. Those are Jesus' exact words. These are the beginning of birth pains when preparation takes place for the baby to be born. So I personally believe we are living in such times, and we need wisdom to understand how we should live in this time.

Jesus said we've got to straighten up, not be like all the others, because he said what's going to happen is, verse 32, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place. Now that's my personal conviction.

The generation that sees these things happen is going to be the generation that sees the coming of Christ. There are two generations that are especially blessed. One is the first one that saw Christ come to earth, and the other is the last one that will see Christ come to earth a second time.

So I look forward to that. I'll tell you honestly, I'm not looking forward to death. I don't believe I'd look forward to death even if I'm 100 years old. You know, we sing in that song, the sky, not the grave, is our goal.

Even the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4, he wasn't looking forward to dying. He says in 1 Thessalonians 4, we who are alive will be caught up. Those who are dead will be raised from the dead. But he says we, includes himself, who are alive.

That was written about 54 AD. He was really looking forward to being alive for the coming of Christ, and that's the way all of us should be. But about 12, 13 years later, the Lord told him, you're not going to be alive.

Then he writes in 1 Timothy 4, okay, the Lord has shown me that I'm not going to be alive, but I'm going to die for the Lord's sake. So my time of my departure is at hand. But until the Lord shows us that, we must always live as those who are expecting the coming of Christ.

Most important, we don't know the time. Jesus said nobody knows the day or the hour, but you will know when it is near. Then you must be ready. The important thing is to be ready for his coming, not to know the time and all that.

Spiritual Alertness and Faithfulness in Small Trials

Then he said in this connection, verse 34, be on guard so that your hearts are not weighted down. You see, if I want to be taken up, I should be a little light. You know how light things float. Have you seen feathers flying in the sky?

You don't find bricks and all flying in the sky. Too heavy. So I don't want to be weighted down. I want to be light so that when the Lord comes, I'm ready to go. Don't be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness.

Now, what type of drunkenness is he talking about? He's not talking about drunkenness of the mouth and the stomach. Make sure your hearts, what did he say? Make sure not your stomachs, but your hearts should not get drunk with the worries of life.

What does it mean for the heart to get drunk, saturated with the things of this world? And then that day will come on you suddenly like a trap, but it'll come like that on all those who dwell on the face of the earth.

So keep on the alert at all times and pray, especially verse 36, that you will have the strength to escape these things, to overcome, to go through this time of birth pains, that you will have the strength to face persecution, to stand before the Son of Man.

God gives us little trials in life to prepare us for bigger trials when we may have, I mean, you may be called upon to deny Jesus Christ if you want to save your life. I remember some years ago when there was some wave of anti-Christian feeling in North India at a particular time.

There were some of those anti-Christian activists who were standing on the roads, stopping the vehicles and asking everybody to say victory to some non-Christian God's name. And if you didn't do it, they wouldn't kill you, they'd just deflate your tires, that's all.

And then you've got to fix the puncture and move on. But if you're willing to say that, just one sentence. Like in the first century, they used to tell people, say Caesar is Lord. They'd say, no, Jesus Christ is Lord, and their head would be chopped off.

So here, if a person didn't say victory to the name of that heathen God or idol, he'd be deflated. I remember once when we were traveling in Bihar, and we were traveling in a bus and there was this festival going on and people stopped the bus and said, we had this idol and said, give us some donations.

What do you do in such a situation? Yeah, I mean, they may deflate your tire. It's only that stage now, but a time may come when it'll be worse. And, you know, if you're not prepared for it now, if you don't think about it now, you won't know what to do then.

You'll say, okay, it doesn't matter. It's a small thing. You know, Christians are, lots and lots of believers have got used to saying, oh, that's a small thing. It's not important. Let's obey the major commands of scripture.

These are small things. Those are the ones you'll find ultimately compromising because their attitude is, oh, that's a small thing. Okay, for one minute we'll say victory to whatever God it is. I don't mean it in my heart.

But I'll go on and I'll say, Lord, forgive me. God tests us today in small things to see, to prepare us for the future. That's always his way. So when the little things that come your way, don't take them lightly.

Don't think that losing your temper is a small thing. It's not a small thing. God will allow you to be provoked, to be irritated by others. And that's just a little thing to overcome. God will allow you to lose a promotion, and if you can rejoice in that, or lose a job, it's okay, fine.

If I'm a Christian, and because I stand as a Christian, I lose my job, or I lose my popularity with my colleagues, or lose an increment, or lose popularity with my relatives. That can be sometimes a terrific test.

Many believers I have found, they don't want to lose popularity with their relatives for the Lord's sake. They want to make sure they keep their relatives happy, keep their religious leaders happy. Well, we're going to get a big surprise when Christ comes again.

You know, these are little things along the way where Jesus tests us to see whether he means more to us than all these people. So that's the way we pray and seek for strength to escape the things that are taking place, and finally to stand before the Son of Man.

So turning to Hebrews 11 now, what did Noah do? When he was building the ark, it says here, by faith, Noah, verse 7, being warned by God about things that had not yet been seen. That means he had not yet seen all those things.

Jesus has also warned us, through some of these scriptures that I read, about things that are going to happen. Noah was warned about things that are going to happen. The Lord told Noah, this whole world is going to be destroyed, and only those who get inside this ship, which you build, will be saved.

That was his message. The whole world will be destroyed, and those who get inside this ship that you build will be saved. So concentrate on building the ship quickly. And it says here, when he got this warning, he was reverent, in reverence.

That means he had a tremendous respect for what God had said. And with that reverence, he took God's word seriously, and he built this ark, and he saved his family. And not only saved his family, every nail he put into that ark, he was condemning the world.

That's what it says here. He condemned the world. How do you condemn the world? It says in the Message Bible, his act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world.

Have you seen these roads where the dividing line has sort of been rubbed out through the years? That clear yellow line down the middle of the road where you're not supposed to cross. Traffic that way, traffic this way.

Through the years, it gets erased. And then the police come and paint it again. I've often thought of that as a picture of the Christian church. The Christian church going this way, the world coming the other way, going in two opposite directions.

And this line, this clear line that Jesus drew between the church and the world being erased. And the traffic, now you don't know who's going where. That's what the devil is aiming at. To erase the line between the church and the world.

And Noah drew a sharp line. He condemned the world and he says, this is it, this is the line. You're going another way, I'm going another way. I want to ask you, right from the time you're in school, is there a sharp line between you and the children, other children whose values are not the values of the Bible or of Christ?

You parents, do you encourage your children to have this yellow line very clear in the things they talk about, the way they dress, and everything else, their whole behavior and conduct. And then in college, is there a clear line between you and the other students?

The type of music you listen to, the type of music they listen to. The type of movies they want to watch and the type of things you're interested in spending your time with. Or do you seek popularity?

When they speak about worldly things, you also say, well, I've got to be accepted in this society. And you can have a, you can justify yourself with it. You say, well, I've got to be friends with these people to win them.

But after many years, they're winning you to the world. You're not winning them at all. You haven't even won one of them. But they have won you to their way of thinking. And Satan has won a victory. It's happening to our young people.

That sharp line that Noah drew is gone. Noah condemned the world and he got his children together. And they were grown-up children. They were not little babies. They were grown-up. They were married.

But he said, I'm your dad. Whether you're married or not, I have a responsibility for you. I don't want you to be lost. I don't want to take that attitude which says, oh, well, now they're married and my responsibility is over.

I'm before God. They would have gone to hell if he had taken that attitude. My responsibility for my children is not over just when they get married. Noah certainly teaches me that. God didn't give a revelation to Noah's children.

He gave it to Noah. And he had to explain it to his wife. Convince his wife, first of all. And I don't know how much time he took convincing his children, but he was determined to convince his children.

This world is going to perish. Don't live for it. Don't live for it. It's going to perish. Yeah, you need to eat food and earn your living and all that. But remember that you don't belong here. Draw a clear line between you and the people who think this world is going to last forever.

There should be a clear line. And, you know, the result was Noah had only three sons. All three of them got saved. And all their wives got saved. So he made sure that those three children married God-fearing women.

He was a pretty strict father, I think, you know, to control children that were two, three hundred years old. He must have been a really strict father. Say, fellas, you've got to come and help me build the ark now.

And I tell you, when they came out of the ark, they were thankful for their father. Your children will be thankful for you in the day Jesus comes if you keep on exhorting them. Your life must demonstrate that you don't live for this world.

Then only you'll have the moral authority to tell your children that. Otherwise, you know, like Lot one day got up and told his sons-in-law, we read in Genesis 19, hey, fellas, God's going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah.

Let's escape. They laughed at him. The Bible says they laughed. They mocked him. You fellow, you left Abraham and came here to make money and now you're trying to preach to us. Don't talk so much. We know what you lived for all these years you were in Sodom.

You came here to make money, not to be a witness for God. Don't try and talk to us. Your sons-in-law, your children will say that to you. Dad and mom, you live to make money. You had a little bit of religion and whitewash.

We never saw that you were wholehearted for God. You had a little religion. It's good, decent to have a little bit of religion. Are you like that? Or can you see, can your children testify that though you earned money to take care of your earthly needs and their needs, that was not primary in your life.

God was first. That's what people saw in Noah. They'd see him get up early in the morning and pray. And they'd see him get up much earlier nowadays because he had gone chop down wood, hire people with his own money to chop down wood to make a ship.

He there said, Dad really believes it. He's not just preaching. I mean, if he were just preaching there, that'd be one thing. But he really believes it. He gets up two hours earlier and goes and chops wood.

And he's spending all the money he has earned to hire people to build a ship. He really believes it. And it says, it was this act of building the ark by which he condemned the world. That's what it says here.

He prepared an ark by which he condemned the world. In other words, how did he draw this line between him and the world? It wasn't just by preaching. It was by his whole being being taken up with what he knew would last after the world was destroyed.

Living in the World Without Living for the World

I want to ask you, it doesn't mean Noah didn't eat. He ate, he drank, he slept. And for 120 years, I'm sure he had to buy new clothes. How do you live in the world for 120 years? You need food, you need clothing.

Maybe the house leaks, he needs repairs. He'd take care of all that. Everything necessary for his earthly life, he had to feed his family, earn his living, take care of the vineyards, take care of the fields so that they can earn money to take care.

He was a good father, good head of the home. But in all this underlying they saw, this is not what this man's living for. This is just means of earning a living. This man's got to go. I find him going out there and building the ark, hiring people, spending money, building the ark, building the ark.

I tell you, when people see that, that's what will convince them that you mean what you say. Otherwise, you know, Christianity can be just another religion, another philosophy. Oh, you believe that? Oh, you believe it like that, is it?

Well, I believe it like this. Let's discuss this and discussion and all that, but doesn't change either person's way of life. That fellow believes in one God and this fellow believes in another God and this fellow believes in a third God.

But they all live for the same things. They all live to make money, to get the honor of the world, to get out of the world, but they have different religions. Noah was not like that. In the midst of all the religions, he says, I'm different.

I don't just say I believe in this God. Here's my proof. What do I spend my time for? Building the ark. Where do I spend most of my money? Building the ark. When people see that, there's a clear line drawn between you and the world.

Otherwise, if we say the only place where I draw the line is Sunday morning when I go and praise the Lord for some time and raise my voice and sing some songs, and the rest of the time my values are exactly the same as the values of people in the world, I have not condemned the world, no.

My values are the same Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, that guy goes to the temple, the other guy goes to the mosque, the other guy watches television, and I go to church. Each worships their own God, but it's only for a few hours on Sunday and the rest of the six days of the week we have the same values.

We have not drawn any line between us and the world. So that's something we must bear in mind. I want you to see Galatians in chapter 1. Galatians chapter 1, it says, Jesus Christ, verse 4, gave himself for us, not only to die for our sins, to save us from our sins, that's one thing, he gave himself for our sins, number one, but also that he might rescue us from this evil world according to the will of God, our Father.

What did he want to save us from? We are not physically saved from the world, we are living in this world, but he wanted to save us in our spirits, from the spirit of this world, which is completely contrary to God.

So he died not only to save us from our sins, but to rescue us from this spirit of the world in which we were trapped. That means a mindset where all my values are the values of the world, he came to rescue me from that.

He came, first of all, to get rid of all my past sins. That's right, that's why he died. He said, all my past sins are cleansed away. But even when a person's past sins are cleansed away, his mindset is according to the values of the world, because that's what we have grown from childhood.

To do and believe. And Jesus came to rescue me from that, so that I have a different attitude while living in this world. So that's what I want to ask you. Your sins are forgiven, that I know. Has Jesus rescued you from this way of thinking?

Rejecting Love of the World and Guarding the Heart

It says in 1 John, in chapter 2, please try and remember these verses, what scripture says about the spirit of this world. It's quite an amazing thing. We know that Jesus said that you cannot love God and money at the same time.

Here it says, the Holy Spirit says, the words of Jesus, really. 1 John 2, verse 15, don't love the world or the things in the world. Anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Or as this translation says, love of the world squeezes out love of the Father.

The more we love the world, the love for God is squeezed out of our life. And you see that. You see that in your lack of devotion to Christ, lack of time to read the Bible. You know, that's what television does.

Robs you of time to spend with God. Tell me honestly, those of you who watch a lot of television, hasn't it squeezed out time for God in your life? You may say I'm watching good programs. I remember a brother who, in another country, who ordered a television set and he was doubtful about it.

Should I get it or not get it? And then, anyway, he ordered it and the Sony truck brought the television to his house with a big advertisement. Sony brings the world into your home. Oh, that was enough for him.

He said, God spoke to me. He asked them to take it right back. It does. It brings the world right into your living room. And your children may not have as much discernment as you. Many of us, in our younger days, we grew up without television.

We spent a lot of time studying the scriptures, reading the Bible, praying, and we've got a solid database. So even when we see some of these things, we can reject it. Our children don't have that database.

They never had the time that we had to study the scriptures. They've grown into a world flooded with these values. They're not able to resist it like we can. Older generation. You've got to be careful.

And I believe that's one of the main reasons why we don't have a spiritual generation growing up that values God more than everything else in this world. I don't believe merely by getting rid of television you get rid of the world.

You can get rid of it and still have the worldly people long before television was invented. Thoroughly worldly people. So I'm not saying the solution is to get rid of television. There may be some good things you can get from it.

But all I say is remember that there is a potential source of danger there. It's not just television. It can be your computer with the internet connection. So the solution is not to get rid of it because it has some advantages.

But remember that that is a source of danger. Don't play the fool with it. It's like a plug point. Electricity is very useful but I don't go putting metal things into the plug point. It's dangerous. Children don't know that.

They'll go putting those metal things into the plug point and get a shock. So we have dangers not only in the television and internet we have dangers in the plug points. So I'm not saying we get rid of all that.

Be aware of the danger. Be careful. Plug points are dangerous. Danger. See outside these electricity things when they come into the house. Danger. 140 volts. Skull and crossbones. You need to put something like that in front of the television and computer also.

Use it. I mean people use those electricity cabinets when the fuses go. They've got to change it. I'm not saying we've got to get rid of it. If we get rid of it, we lose all the advantages of electricity.

But put a skull and crossbones there and say danger. And then handle it. People who play the fool with electricity and say oh well I'm okay. They die. It's the same with people who indiscriminately watch programs on television or watch anything on the internet.

They die. The thing is people who get electrocuted the death is obvious. Because it's physical. People who get killed by television and the internet their death is not obvious. So it's more dangerous.

And so think of Noah. Jesus said the last days will be like the days of Noah. Plenty of sex. Plenty of violence. That's what it was in the days of Noah. Sex and violence were the primary things in the days of Noah.

He said it will be like the days of Lot. Sex and violence. Abnormal sex and violence were the things in the days of Lot. And the pursuit of wealth that Lot was after. These are two different types of believers.

I mean Lot also escaped. But he escaped with a lot of regret. He lost all his family. He lost his daughters. He lost his sons-in-law. He lost his wife. And when I say lost his daughters it's lost his daughters to immorality.

Because his values were not right. Noah also escaped. But Noah escaped with his whole family. All his three daughters-in-law and all his sons. Because he drew a clear line. Lot did not draw a clear line.

So he escaped himself. And he lost his whole family. So there are two types of people going to be there in the last days. One who escape with their family like Noah. And others who maybe escape themselves but lose their family.

Would you like to stand in heaven without your family? Now is the time to repent and say Lord I want to draw a clear line between me and the world. Religion is not enough. Do not love the world nor the things in the world.

It says if anyone loves the world, love the part that's not in him. And then it says in verse 17. The world is passing away and all its lusts. And that's translated in this translation as the world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting, wanting this, wanting that.

Wanting this, wanting that, wanting this, wanting that is all going to go. That's the meaning of lust. Lust means I want this and I want that. It's not just sexual. It's not evil always. I see something and I want it.

That's called the lust of the eyes. Sexual lust is called the lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes is the desire to buy everything that you see. I want that and I want that and I want that. I see somebody wearing something I want that.