Jesus Example In Ministry — Zac Poonen

Jesus as the Perfect Example of Human Life

Okay, as we come to this last session we want to In the few sessions we've had we can't cover everything about proclaiming the full purpose of God. But I think we have touched on a number of important things and when we see that in Jesus God gave us the an example a perfect example of how He wanted man to live When God made Adam we don't have a single example of how he lived even for a single day and No man in the history of humanity Ever lived the way God wanted man to live but finally Jesus lived that way and If you believe That Jesus came not only to die for the sins of the world.

I mean that was just for Six hours of 33 and a half years. But what he did in 33 and a half years was he lived a life and Demonstrated to us how God wanted man to live when he said I am the light of the world.

That's what he meant and why and when the Bible says if you say you're a Christian you must walk as Jesus walked live as Jesus lived. Very few people are gripped by that. I have you ever heard a message on You must live as Jesus lived.

I think outside of this church. I don't know if anybody in this country even preaches it and Even when we preach it also people begin to question us. I see it's in the Bible 1 John 2 6 You had to walk as Jesus walked.

Prophetic Confrontation and Loving the Truth

So we find that we are living in the midst of a Christendom that does not preach a lot of important things in the Bible and. And one of the ministries of Old Testament prophets Was to proclaim to the Israelites What they were not doing not The things they were already doing.

So to apply that to today. If a prophet Were to preach in a Pentecostal Church, he will not preach about speaking in tongues. Because they're doing far too much of that he preached him about being free from the love of money.

If a prophet were go to a Brethren assembly, he'd probably tell them about speaking in tongues. And that's why he'll be kicked out of the bread Protestant Pentecostal assembly and be kicked out of the product Brethren assembly too because people don't like to hear Things which are in the Bible, which they are not practicing.

This is the trouble with all of Christendom. They're not bold enough to say hey show us something in the New Testament. We are not practicing and if you show them something they'll have some crooked interpretation to say that doesn't apply to us today.

Well, if it doesn't apply to us today, then why in the world is it in your Bible? I say, why don't you scratch it out and say don't know if doesn't apply to us. Don't read it. Be honest. There's a lot of dishonesty among God's people.

That's what I'm disgusted with. I don't mind disagreement, but dishonesty and I believe that's the reason why God does not allow them to see the truth. Anybody who is dishonest Scripture you see something you see that is contrary to what you have believed and taught and you don't study that carefully.

And you just sort of go around it. I guarantee you God himself will deceive you because you don't love the truth. If you want to know the full purpose of God, there's one fundamental requirement. You must love the truth.

That means when God shows you some selfishness in yourself love it and say yes, it's true. I Love the truth. And when God shows you love of money or lust in your heart Acknowledge it and say Lord. I want to be free.

God will help you. It may take years to be free, but he'll help you. But if you beat around the bush and give some other excuse for it, he'll never help you in the same way if you see something in Scripture and you don't.

It's contrary to what you believe and you don't love the truth. Say Lord this seems to be against what I have always believed show me. Let me study it more and you're not serious about finding out what God actually says because you're afraid it may be.

You may have to change your ways. Or change your doctrine and get up and publicly say hey, I was wrong all these years. Now I know the truth and God sees you're more concerned about your name than about the truth.

He will allow you to be deceived. I've often spoken about 2nd Thessalonians 2 verse 10 and 11 the scariest words in the New Testament. That if you don't love the truth God will allow you to be deceived.

Never forget those verses. 2nd Thessalonians 2 10 and 11. If you don't love the truth about yourself or what you see in the word God himself will allow you to be deceived. I don't want to be deceived.

Jesus Taught What He Practiced

That's why I've decided to love the truth and Jesus also spoke about you know in Jesus life when we think of Jesus life there was not only life, but ministry. God has given to us an example in Jesus how we must live our life and How we are to carry on the ministry in the body of Christ because there's the first body of Christ the perfect example of What the church is supposed to do and as you have often heard me say Acts 1 verse 1.

There are two things I learned from that one. Jesus only taught what he did Acts 1 1. Jesus began to do and teach. It's a fundamental principle of the Christian life that you must never teach what you have not done.

We're not to practice what we preach. We must preach what we have already practiced. You can't teach people how to bring up children if you haven't brought up children yourself properly. You can't teach anything that you haven't done.

I mean bachelors may have all types of theories on bringing up children, but what do they know and I have found let me tell you something the people who have criticized me. Concerning the way we run churches every single one of them have never planted one church themselves.

But they are critical. It's exactly like a bachelor trying to criticize a married man the way he brings up children I say instead of criticizing. Why don't you go and do something yourself and Produce something let me see if God bears witness to you.

I'll respect you take a verse like it says in Hebrews 13 there are some difficult verses in Scripture. I'll show you a difficult verse for many Christians in the New Testament Hebrews 13 and verse 17.

I'm just taking one example among many obey your leaders and Submit to them for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy not with grief, but that'll be unprofitable for you.

I Remember asking somebody I say who is who are your leaders whom you submit to do you obey this verse by the way? Is this verse in your Bible? Whichever translation you use it says the same thing. Who is this leader you obey.

He says I obey Christ. I say fine. That's great, but who is the other leader because it says your leaders plural. Christ is not plural. And he's stuck. What does he do with that verse? He's dishonest.

I can guarantee that such a person will be deceived. I'm just giving you an example. I Want to ask all of you sitting here? Do you obey your leaders? You submit to them. See. I'm not telling you that you must have confidence in somebody who?

Just because the guy sits in your church and calls himself your elder. Confidence cannot come by being forced. Confidence has to come automatically and if you cannot respect the one who calls himself an elder in your church.

You can't have confidence in him. In my younger days I've been in many many different churches. And I have to tell you honestly I did not have confidence in many of those elders as Godly men. But when I sat in that church.

As long as I attended that church I obeyed all the rules of that church. I didn't allow the elder to run my private life. That was my own business. But if I sat in that church, I would obey the rules.

If they said the meetings at 930 I'd go at 930. And they said this is the way we do it in this church. We do it in this church. I wouldn't question that. In the various forms they've practiced in that church if I want to be a part of that church.

I must follow those forms. So obeying your leaders doesn't mean you have somebody who's trying to tell you whom you should marry where you should live. What type of shirt you should wear and this that and the other no they have no control over your private life.

Only God can run that but in church matters they are your leaders. Do you submit to them or if there's a spirit of rebellion in you against? Church elders well. You're not obeying a scripture. But then in the New Testament we read that those elders also had God put an apostle over them and.

And Paul had such authority that he could. He was not an elder in Corinth. But he could tell the elders in Corinth remove that fellow from your midst. When the authority God has given me I commit that person to Satan that Satan should Give him some sickness in his flesh so that He will repent.

The apostles have some authority and you know those Corinthian elders submitted to Paul and did it. They did exactly what he told them. The problem today in Christendom is there are a lot of Elders or pastors and churches who have no authority over them they want to have authority over everybody in their church.

They say you must listen to me. I am the elder here. But do you believe in having any authority over you know? That's the problem, and that's why they create so much confusion. They become like little dictators.

They call themselves elders and. And they're like little dictators. So you can never have confidence in a dictator. I mean as long as you sit in that church you may listen to him, but you can't have confidence in him.

Freedom, Humility, and Christlike Leadership

Jesus demonstrated to us Life and ministry and there's so many things in his ministry. You know for example He never forced anybody To stick with him never. One young ruler came. And he said this is the price you got to pay you got to give up all your money to the poor and come.

He said no, I can't okay. Goodbye. Some of his disciples got offended when he spoke about eating his flesh and blood and they left he said okay fine go. He never once went after somebody say oh, please hang on come back.

I've never done that in 37 years. I've never done it and people wanted to go. I say go. Go where you like. Because all that the father has given me will come to me. But if you are an insecure elder. Like these political leaders, you'll always want hey, I hope you don't leave my party.

And I'm sorry to say we have some insecure elders in our CFC churches. It's pretty obvious by the way they try to control people and try to get gang up by having Supporters in the church who will support them through thick and thin even if they do something wrong.

Those are ungodly men even if they call themselves senior elders. I say they're ungodly men, and I would have zero confidence in them, and you should have no confidence in such people. Godly elder is one who behaves like Jesus Christ who gives you complete freedom.

The Apostle Paul once told Apollo Apollos. Apollos was a junior person who got light on spiritual things through the Apostle Paul and once the Apostle Paul told Apollos I want you to go to Corinth now remember.

This is an apostle telling Paul Apollos I want you to go to Corinth. 1 Corinthians 16 in verse 12 He says I Encouraged him greatly. Come on Apollos. I want you to go. I want you to go there Apollos is.

Sorry, brother Paul. I don't feel like. And look at the greatness the largeness of heart of the Apostle Paul. He says that's fine Apollos Go when you feel like and he writes to the Corinthians. I encouraged him greatly to come, but he didn't feel he should come right now, but he will come later on when he has opportunity.

We want elders like that who are not dictators. Who don't pretend that they are the voice of God? I've often said all these people who get up and say thus said the Lord the Lord's told me to tell you this.

I Have no respect for them zero. You read Jeremiah 23 the Lord says these people who get up and say thus said the Lord. They never heard me. I have respect for a man like the Apostle Paul who wrote scripture and Who says at the end of 1 Corinthians 7, I think I have the Spirit of God.

Oh Brother Lord give us a hundred men like that Who can speak prophetically the very voice of God and at the end of it say I'm not so sure. But I think I have the Spirit of God and God Almighty backs it up and says that is my voice.

Puts it in Scripture. Those are the people I respect not the ones who get up and say that said the Lord all this humbug prophecy that goes on in Charismatic Pentecostal service trash can that's where they should go.

The Holy Spirit’s Anointing Rather Than Emotional Manipulation

We don't despise prophesying. But it says examine everything and hold fast to what is good. Jesus gave us a demonstration of how to live and how to minister. I told you that he was not the type of person who was shouting and yelling and screaming.

Those are all the marks of people who are not too sure. They don't know how to Get people to be stirred up and so they shout and yell and scream in order to get people worked up. There's some people who are masters of that.

I mean if you have to raise your voice and do all types of gymnastics in order to Impress people. I don't believe Jesus was like that. Jesus was so sure of the mighty anointing and power of the Holy Spirit that he didn't have to scream.

He didn't have to jump. He didn't have to go here and there and you know move people with emotion. Because when you move people with emotion you're trying to substitute the work of the Holy Spirit with your human soul power.

And I want to say to you the greatest deception going on in Christendom today in charismatic and non-charismatic circles is human soul power. Being confused for the power of the Holy Spirit and I urge you brothers and sisters when you listen to anybody.

Listen carefully is this human soul power this it may be one of your elders in your church. Using human soul power to Manipulate you or to convince you that he's speaking with the voice of God or some such thing.

You need to recognize if it's the voice of the Holy Spirit. It'll be gentle. It'll be very convicting and he won't have to shout and yell and scream at you. That's how it is. Because I believe that's how Jesus was.

He's demonstrated to us how to minister and he's also demonstrated to us the type of subjects to speak about. He wasn't interested in presenting truth in a very Pleasant way or sometimes he was not even systematic, but it was he was always speaking to the heart.

So Jesus has demonstrated to us The perfect example of how to serve God, you know these verses in the Old Testament that says behold my servant. Meaning look carefully at my servant and learn from him.

This is the way you should be serving me. And all those who minister God's Word I want to encourage you there's an article on our website Which I have written called the My style of preaching which is following Jesus style of preaching you read it and see the principles by which Jesus preached that I mean.

There's no better style of preaching than Jesus style. And that's the best style to follow and let me repeat again Jesus attitude to money and Giving reports to other people about his work. I Never hear Jesus saying, you know when I was over there I raised the dead and when I was over there, I healed a blind man.

These are all today's humbugs who call themselves television healers who talk about what happened there and what happened there. It doesn't seem to happen here. Jesus never spoke about that. He didn't need to speak about that because he'd raise a dead person right there.

He would heal a blind person right there. Why did he have to talk about what happened five years ago in some strange place that nobody knows about? These are all people who are humbugs and hoaxes. Don't believe them if they've got the gift.

You'll see it right there in front of you. That's how Jesus did it. Jesus demonstrated and of course if you don't have the gift you can't do it you can't do anything without a supernatural gift from God and We should not assume that we have a gift when we don't have it, you know.

For example if a person wants to know whether he's got the gift of healing I've had different people come and tell me that they have that I say fine. Just pray for a hundred people who are sick and you'll find out pretty quickly whether you got the gift of healing or not and Those other hundred people will find out also whether you got the gift of healing or not and If none of them are healed or only one of them are healed you just go back home and say Lord I don't have this gift.

If you're if you want to know whether you're an evangelist. Just go around preaching the gospel to here and there and everywhere wherever you got a chance you find you have a burden to preach. And nobody gets converted you discover.

You don't have the gift of evangelism pretty pretty clear. Or you say somebody accepted the Lord. Where is he and you say like a lot of today's evangelism. I don't know. He must be somewhere. That's not evangelism.

That's just seeking honor counting up statistics. I converted three thousand four hundred and fifty four believers. Where are they? I don't know. That's not evangelism you got to bring them to a church and in the same way with teaching if you find that when you start teaching people and Nobody seems to get any light from what you're saying people are bored and they start looking at their watches.

You know that you don't have the gift of teaching don't try that limit yourself to two minutes. Because you don't have a gift to speak more than that. I have for years and years and years and years told people Dear brothers, most of you have the gift to speak for about 20 minutes.

But you go beyond that you're gonna spoil it. I've seen so many cases in my life of People who have been wonderful if they had stopped at 20 minutes, but I take the example of a carpenter Who who's working in a shop where he's got a nine-to-five job and he's finished the table perfectly at four o 'clock.

What to do the table is perfectly finished. When I've got till five o 'clock, so let me plane some more. It spoils the whole thing. He should have left it at four o 'clock. It's done a lot of sermons.

I've heard we're done at 20 minutes. And the remaining 40 minutes they bored people because they heard brother Zack speak for one hour. They say I can do it, too. Well, I hope so. I hope you can speak for two hours.

I I'm not jealous of anybody but just make sure that People are not bored. I you know, I listen to my own sermons many times. Because I want to know I want to judge myself. I every one of you if yet if your messages are taped.

Please listen to it. Take a little time. It'll really this is the way to improve even women who cook Seek to find out if they can do it better. But I find a lot of preachers don't do it. That's why year after year after year the level of ministry is exactly the same.

I Never preach without judging myself. I've been preaching for 50 years. I judge myself today. I Would say Lord was there something I said which I could do it better. I've been doing that for years. I Listened to myself.

Oh, I shouldn't have said that I could any not have said that part or this thing was left out. I need to think a little more. I need to have a little more compassion there. I need to be a little more firm and making that clear or that a particular thing that was so important and I just sent It in one sentence and went off.

I should have taken a little more time Explaining it or I had three points and I spent 50 minutes on point number one and rushed through point number two and three all these things you'll discover if you listen to yourself and Your next time you preach it'll be better and you keep on doing that a hundred times boy.

People will want to sit and listen to you all the time. The secret is judge yourself. Just like your life improves if you judge yourself your ministry improves if you judge yourself. We must seek God earnestly for supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit to build the church.

Jesus’ Baptism and the Need for Anointing

Jesus has given us a demonstration how to Serve God. How is that? He had lived a perfect life for 30 years and During those 30 years. He knew the scriptures when he was 12 and if knowledge of the scripture was enough To preach he could have started preaching at 12, but he didn't he didn't preach when he was 18.

He didn't preach when he's 25 he went out into full-time ministry when the father told him to do do do that and When he stepped out in the full-time ministry, there was something he prayed for. Do you know that Jesus prayed for something?

Specifically before he stepped out into his ministry. He was tempted and then we read in Luke chapter before he was sorry before he was tempted. In Luke chapter 3 when he was being baptized. It says in Luke 3 21 that while he was being baptized now, he had just come out of his home for the very first time.

Preparing for his ministry. The first thing was baptism and as he was being baptized it says in Luke 3 21. He was praying. It doesn't tell us there what he was praying for but I know what he was praying for you see.

How do you know because every prayer that Jesus prayed was answered? Instantaneously. So if you read the next sentence, you know what he was praying for. Because that's the answer to what he was praying.

So he was praying and heaven was open then. I know what he was praying for the Holy Spirit descended upon him. He was praying that he would be anointed with the Holy Spirit. Because he knew he dare not dare not Step out into the ministry based on I have lived a holy life for 30 years.

I'm qualified to teach and preach. You are not. That's the thing that challenged me. I tell you to seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. If the one who lived a perfect life for 30 years Did not dare to go out into the ministry without a genuine supernatural anointing of the Holy Spirit.

I said Lord who in the world am I. I haven't lived a perfect life for 30 years and even if I did I couldn't dare to go into the Ministry without a supernatural anointing and that's why his life his ministry was so blessed.

The secret of his ministry was the anointing of the Holy Spirit and I have no hesitation in saying about myself. If anything at all has ever been accomplished in God's ever been able to do through me.

It is only because he baptized me in the Holy Spirit and fire one day. That's it. Don't devalue it and I refuse to go for cheap counterfeits that I found in. I went to Pentecostal churches, and I found it as a cheap counterfeit.

I didn't want it. I Heard them making a lot of noise, and I didn't want that noise. I Heard them imitating tongues and saying Baba Baba Baba, and I said Lord I don't want that and that's like little children would like to learn how to talk.

I Don't want that. Let me tell you something about speaking in tongues in passing. The word tongues is unfortunately a bad translation. It is language the word is a language they spoke in unknown languages.

Now when you hear a man speaking in Spanish or Chinese or Russian or Mongolian or Portuguese and I don't know any of these languages, but when I hear a man speaking I can make out. This is a language.

This is not a Baba Baba Baba. This is a language this man is speaking. That's the way to find out whether tongues is genuine or not you don't need to know the language. But you can know whether there's some baby babbling or whether it's a somebody speaking a language.

I've had in the early days sometimes. Some enthusiastic young brother would get up in the church and in our church and do some Baba Baba. And I had to go to him afterward and say brother. You don't have the gift.

Just if you want to do that go go alone before God and keep doing it. But don't get up and cause confusion in the church. Speaking in a language even if you don't know the language you'll recognize. It's a language if it's not a language just just recognize that God doesn't give the gift of tongues to everybody.

He doesn't. Forget it then if he wants to give it to you. He'll give it to you. I Know when I speak in tongues in an unknown language to God, that's so I do it almost entirely only to God. I know it's a language.

I don't understand it, but it's a language it edifies me, but it's not Baba Baba Baba. No, definitely not. I don't stand before God and say Baba Baba Baba. No. What I mean is have some reverence. I find these people don't have any reverence for God.

They just want to say I belong to the club. Hey, I belong to the club, too. There's so much of counterfeit. 95 of the tongues. I've heard in these churches is counterfeit. It's not a language at all.

Any sensible person can say that you don't need to be discernment. Any unbeliever will say that that's not a language. What's this guy saying? People will say you're mad, and that's exactly what a lot of people say the Bible says that.

So Jesus was seeking for a genuine anointing of the Holy Spirit, and you I want to tell you in Jesus name I believe the reason why so much of our ministry is so dry and we have so much complications and our sermons are so boring.

And we don't have accomplished more is because we have not sought for a genuine anointing of the Holy Spirit. But Jesus sought for you see I prayed for a little while and gave up, but Jesus didn't. And I didn't.

I said Lord I'm not gonna be happy with the counterfeit and what I said the Lord was if you if it takes ten years to get the real thing I'll wait ten years, but I don't want any cheap counterfeit and After God met with me.

I continue to seek God. I say Lord. I want more. I don't want to be satisfied with what I have and I still pray the same thing today. Because in Jesus I see the full purpose of God, and I want to say something else.

Total Surrender and Receiving God’s Gifts

How did Jesus receive so much from the father? I look at Jesus as the example of the perfect accomplishment of the full purpose of God. John 17. In John 17 Jesus said verse 10 is a very very important verse.

This is the way we can get everything that God has for us. Do you want to get everything God has for you? Here is the secret. I look at Jesus life, and I say that he said to the father read slowly father all Things that are mine are yours.

Slowly all things that are mine are yours and therefore All things that are yours Are mine. Do you want all that God has for you? God hasn't got the same thing for everybody. He gives one person one gift and gives another person another gift, but you must get all the gifts God has for you.

I Don't want the gifts God wants to give to somebody else, but I certainly want all the gifts God has for me. Definitely, I don't want your gift. I don't covet it. But I certainly want all the gifts God has for me, but in order to get that the first part of that sentence I have to say Lord Everything that I have on this earth is yours.

Not 10 like people say you want 10 from God give 10 to God. But Jesus didn't pay tight. He said all that is mine is yours. All that is mine is yours father. My. Not only my time my money my bank account, but also my ambitions and my plans for the future my body every part of this Every everything I have and everything that I am.

It's yours and Therefore my father in heaven since you love me like you love Jesus. You're my elder brother. If I fulfill the same condition and I honestly to the best of my knowledge and the best of my abilities say Father everything I have is yours.

I believe you will give me all that you gave Jesus. All that you gave means what he needed you gave him what I need you'll give me that means every gift You have meant for me to have you will give me with a mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit and that's the reason some people don't have it because They make they do bargaining with God.

Do I have to give everything. How much does this pearl cost? Boy this pearl of great price. It's gonna cost everything I have. Can I bargain? Can I give you 50 of what I have? No. The merchant says can I give you 75

No, he says It'll cost everything you have and that wise man gave everything he had to get the pearl of great price. That's that's how you get the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I'm not surprised that a lot of believers don't get it.

And they wonder why they don't. I say you won't get it for a hundred years. Here's the secret. All things that are your mine are yours and all things are yours are mine. It's a very simple exchange. See this is what a marriage is like a marriage a man commits himself 100 to a woman says all that I have is yours and he expects the woman to say all that I have is yours.

What type of marriage is this where a woman says I'll give you my tithe 10 out of 365 days 36 .5 days. I'll stay with you. What about the rest of the time? Oh, I've got a lot of boyfriends. I've got to spend time with them, too.

Which husband is gonna marry that which man is gonna marry such a woman and you expect Christ to marry a person who says I'll give You my tithe. So much of wrong teaching in Christendom, which is found nowhere in the New Testament.

Testing Religious Claims Against Scripture

All these false preachers flourish because of one reason. Because they know that 95 of people sitting there don't know the Bible. I remember reading a an advertisement leaflet of an Indian preacher.

You know a leaflet where he was asking for money. For his ministry from for himself. His name was there with the title and all that. And underneath was the verse Matthew 10 so and so He who gives to a prophet will get the reward of a prophet.

You read that verse right in Matthew chapter 10. Yes, or no. It's not in Matthew 10. But he knows that nobody will look it up and say he puts a reference and he fools 99 of Christians. And that's why these people can't fool me because as soon as I saw it, I said that's not in the Bible.

There's no verse in the Bible that says if you give to a prophet, you'll get the reward of a prophet. Go and check up the last verses of Matthew 10. It's completely different. He who receives a prophet into his house welcomes him to his house.

Give him a meal. We'll get the reward of a prophet. That's what the Bible says nothing to do with money. This is how deceivers flourish and That's why most of these people are angry with me because I know the Bible they can't fool me.

Jesus’ Example in Money, Ministry, and the Father’s Will

Dear brothers and sisters. We want a generation growing up in our churches who know the scriptures who can't be fooled by these quacks and deceivers. Who demon who want to stand up and hold up. Jesus is our example ministry take the matter of money, which I've often repeated.

Jesus never sent out a report to anybody about his work. He never asked anybody for money. He never said I'm doing a great ministry. Can you support me? Wasn't he doing a great ministry? Supposing Judas Iscariot got up from somewhere once when Jesus was in a crowd and say hey fellas.

I know Jesus won't talk about it but don't you think you should get by a chariot for Jesus so he doesn't had to walk all the way from Galilee to Jerusalem. He's going up and down so many times. Jesus would have put it on say shut up Judas.

You'll sit down here. That's what he was said. Where are the preachers today? Who'll say that? That's the problem today. People don't know the scriptures. Jesus is our example in life and ministry and Everything for example, why did Jesus raise as far as we know only three people from the dead?

Weren't there more people dead there in those days in three years you mean only three people died whom Jesus knew. There were hundreds of people who died in three years in Israel. And I'm sure Jesus knew some of them.

Why didn't he go and raise them up from the dead. He had the power he had the power to do the father's will not to do his own will. So he could only do what the father told him to do. The father told him that guys dead just attend his funeral and Go home.

He'd do that in some other case he'd say don't. Stop that funeral procession and raise that boy a young man from the dead. He did it. See Jesus wasn't just exercising his gift as he liked. He did according to the father's will.