Seek Earnestly For A Heart Of Wisdom — Zac Poonen

Moses Reflects on Life's Brevity in Psalm 90

I'd like to read again Psalm 19. This is the only Psalm written by Moses. And it says here, you know, he was seeing people dying around him every day for 40 years. There were 600 ,000 people who came out of Egypt and if they all had to die in 40 years, was that about 15 ,000 people every year dying, dying, dying.

And he saw that all around him and that's how he says here. Because God was judging them for not going into Canaan. So he says in verse 9, Psalm 90 verse 9. All our days have declined in your fury. We have finished our years like a sigh.

As for the days of our life, they are 70 years or due to strength 80. Now some people have thought that's all that God ordains for people, that they should live up to 70 or 80. That's not what he's saying.

He's saying the people who came out of Egypt who should live beyond 100, they're already dying at the age of 70 or 80. They shouldn't be dying. 600 ,000 of them died. And he says at the end of it, their pride is but labor and sorrow.

So who can understand verse 11, the power of your anger? And this is the verse I want to concentrate on, verse 12. Teach us to number our days. Even if you're young or old, it's good to recognize that every day is important.

Numbering Our Days for a Heart of Wisdom

Not to number our years, but to number our days so that one day at the end of our life, we can present to God a heart that has unlearned all the foolishness that we have from Adam. All the foolish things we have done in our life because of our flesh, that we have unlearned it, everything.

And we can present to God a heart of wisdom, a heart where we have no bitterness against a single human being, a heart that loves everybody, has forgiven everyone, has asked forgiveness from everyone we have ever hurt, have set right every wrong that we have done like Zacchaeus, that we need to set right.

What Dementia Reveals About the Heart

We heard about dementia, that what is in a person's mind and stored up there, good or bad, comes out when they lose their memory. Now you can hear that and say, boy, I better think good thoughts. And the reason may be not to glorify God, but I don't want to get a bad testimony when I'm old and I say all types of things and people say, well, this is what guy was really like.

And I can be more concerned about what are people going to think of me when I lose my memory. Forget it, brother. Their opinion is worthless. If you get dementia, I hope it doesn't happen, but if it does, what does it matter if somebody thinks this way or that way about you?

False Prophets and Growing Cold Love

Think about what God is thinking about you right now. If that is what is going to come out, you better deal with it now, not because they'll know about it, but because God is displeased. So especially when it says in Matthew 24 in relation to the last days that there's going to be a lot of false prophets, verse 11, who mislead many people.

And we have plenty of them today who almost say that you can live as you like. Once saved, always saved. You'll never be lost. It doesn't matter. You slip up. Everybody slips up. We will always fail, fail.

The message that most Christians hear is as long as you live, you'll be sinning. So thank God for the blood of Jesus. Now I'd like you to find some words like that in the New Testament. It's not there.

The New Testament constantly challenges us to be overcomers. That false prophets will mislead many. And because of that misleading, what is the result of this misleading? Sin is going to increase. Lawlessness is another word for sin.

If sin increases and it's increased tremendously in Christendom, it's because there are false prophets preaching the wrong thing. And as a result people's love will grow cold. How do I know whether I'm listening to true prophets or false prophets?

Well, I'll tell you. Is your love for Christ increasing or decreasing? Simple. If my love for Christ is not increasing, somewhere or the other I'm listening to some false prophet who's told me it's okay, it doesn't really matter.

Enduring in Love to Be Saved

Jesus has warned us the love of many people will grow cold. But, verse 13, the one who endures in love till the very end, he'll be saved. Now, there are many people who would just like to quote one verse, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

You just accept it as a gift. Yeah, that's true. But it also says here that the one who endures in love till the end is the only one who'll be saved. Those are the words of Jesus. And if I think there is no conflict, but if I think there is a conflict between the words of Jesus and the words of Paul, there isn't any, as I said, but if there is, if I think there is, I'd rather go by the words of Jesus.

Supposing you heard Jesus say something and Paul say something, whose words would you take as final? I'd take Jesus' words anyway. As I said, they're not contradictory, but we may misunderstand. So this word cannot be misunderstood.

The one who endures in love till the end will be saved. Remember that, my brothers and sisters, you will never be lost if you endure in love for Christ and for other people until the end. Determine that you will never allow anything contrary to the spirit of love to enter your heart.

Turning Unloving Thoughts into Wisdom

Then one day you'll be able to present to God a heart full of wisdom. Lord, as soon as you find an unloving thought coming in, put it to death towards anybody, an unforgiving attitude, put it to death immediately.

Think of that verse, you have to present a heart of wisdom to God one day. So Lord, teach me to number my days that I will be able to present a heart of wisdom to you because the days are short. I'm not going to live forever.

I want to make full use of every single day, just like we are very careful to use every dollar you earn. We must be careful to use every day of our life to get a heart of wisdom. I believe that is God's will for every one of us and the world around us is pressing us in so many other directions.

Learning to Support Ministers Through Prayer

But if you endure to the end, you'll be saved. And therefore, I must only listen to words that will help me to endure to the end, that will help me to love God and be concerned. I was thinking also, you know, when people come in here, you have different brothers sharing, and it's very easy to sit there and say, oh, well, that brother was boring today.

Maybe he was. You know, different brothers who share, they don't have the same measure of gift. But before you say that that man was boring, I ask you a question. While he stood up here to speak, did you pray for him?

Did you pray that God will help him to give a right word? You did not? Then blame yourself. Don't blame him that he was boring. You never prayed for him. You're supposed to support him in prayer. So often, we think the fault is with the other person when it is with us.

Let's learn to judge ourselves. Thank you.