Are We Making God Happy？ — Sandeep Poonen

Controlling the Spirit as True Success

Don't know if you I just want to say a quick word of what Bobby said. Proverbs chapter 16 verse 32. I was reminded of that when he was speaking. Proverbs chapter 16 verse 32 it says he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty and He who rules his spirit is better than he who captures a city.

Imagine capturing a city. I mean back in the olden days imagine if somebody just captured a city. We tend to think of that as being so important. We tend to think of people who may jump pole vaults as we heard and all of that as being really special.

He the Bible says he is able to control the spirit. Is much more valuable. Our definition of success must be guided by the Bible not by the world. So something similar I wanted to build on that as I spoke today.

Evaluating Whether We Please God

What comes to your mind when you think of the state of your relationship with God. What comes to your mind when you when we think about the state of NCCF. Is God pleased and approving of me? Is God pleased and approving of NCCF?

How do we know whether we are pleasing and approving to God individually as an and as a church. I wanted to read this verse that came to my heart in this connection. Malachi chapter 1 verse 10 and 11 as the days grow nearer to the Lord's coming.

I Believe books like Zechariah and Malachi should be books we read often. We should be reminded of often because this was these were the last prophets before Jesus came for the first time. These are the last words that God was saying to his people before Jesus came and.

So as Jesus returns again a second time and his coming is near these books must become very familiar with us. The spiritual significance of it not the earthly spiritually earthly significance of it. Malachi chapter 1 verse 10 all that there were one among you who would shut the gates.

That you might not uselessly kindle fire on my altar. I am NOT pleased with you Says the Lord of hosts nor will I accept an offering from you. So here you got people who are offering sacrifices to God who are laboring for God and God is saying I'm not pleased with you.

I hope you will just shut the whole thing down. And he says in verse 11 for from the rising of the Sun even to a setting. I'm not just planning to shut things down because I'm never happy. From this rising of the Sun to a setting my name will be great among the nations and in every place like Incense is going to be offered in my name to my name and a grain offering that is pure.

For my name will be great among the nations says the Lord of hosts. And so that's the burden that is on my heart today is that we will have Dear brothers and sisters a laser focus on being pure from being a pure church as the good times increase as We increase as we experience blessings in our private lives or as a church.

Maintaining Purity as the Church Grows

As we have times of fun and enjoyment in our personal lives and even on our church. We can be distracted From our calling as a church to be pure. Not that all of us get along but that we be pure. Purity does mean that we will all get along but purity is a lot more than just getting along.

Purity must be the top of my focus and passion in my private life. Purity must be that at the top of our focus and passion as a church. Purity in my actions. Purity in my thoughts. Purity in my speech.

Purity in my conversations. Purity in the way I play music. Purity in the way I speak up here. Purity in my interactions everything purity. Let me just think back to yesterday. We spent most of the day together.

Let me ask myself about every action that I took together with all of you. Did I speak like Jesus in every word that I said to all of you? Did I look at others of the opposite sex in the way you would look.

We had men and women going down a slip-and-slide. Did I look at the opposite sex the way Jesus would? Did I see bad behavior in some children and judge them in a way Jesus wouldn't have. Condemning them condemning their parents.

Was I pure like Jesus was pure. Purity family if we don't lose a focus. As we drove back last night. Do we think about the wonderful time we had. I hope we did. I hope we thank God and we were grateful.

But would we also ask ourselves was I pure Lord Jesus as you were pure in my speech in my thoughts in my actions. Where Lord Jesus did I miss out on purity? Now this is not a negative thing this is Making the most important things the most important things.

This is a constant focus that we must have or we will lose our way into becoming a community. Into becoming a club and not being the pure Church of Jesus Christ. I Want to talk about the devil's deception.

The Devil’s Deception: Trading Purity for Quantity

We talked we talked a lot about the devil. I talked last week last time. I spoke about the devil's deception the devil's deception for purity is Quantity. You know that the devil offered when he talked to Jesus his final offering to the devil Jesus was this he offered all of the kingdoms of the world and their glory and.

The glory of the world in many different ways is quantity. What is the size of my army? What is the size of my nuclear weapons if I'm a kingdom? What is the size of my bank account? What is the title after my name?

What is the size of my church? What is the size of my Twitter followers. How many likes things like that. Quantity is so important to this world and when the kingdom of this world and its glory is being offered Quantity is such a big deal.

What was your revenue last year? How much did your stock portfolio grow last year? That's the way the world thinks. Quantity is the way that world thinks. Purity is the way the church thinks and I find that as numbers increase and we were seven years ago.

Maybe 15 20 people. We're not some big massive church. You know that but as numbers increase. We can be led astray from focusing on purity it happens. We can become sloppy in the way. We talk we can become sloppy in the way we dress we can become sloppy.

In the way we interact with one another. Casual in the way we play music. Casual in the way we speak in our pulpit. I was talking, you know, I had an interesting Event happened this week. I was in an off-site with my co-workers from work and the point was to bond with one another as Co-workers because we can then work better as a team.

So I had that during the week and then I come and I have a bonding experience with the church. Yesterday all day so it's an interesting parallel and comparison and They were doing something interesting.

They said that once an organization to gets to a certain size and they are not some experts in organization or anything. But they were just saying from their own experience that once organizations gets to a certain size.

Things of sloppiness just need to just start to happen and they were talking specifically about office affairs. They said once it gets to certain size. You can start hiding people can start doing things and hiding and people get lost and office affairs just start to happen.

Just based on the numbers and percentages. As people become more and more familiar with other people. Guards are let down. Things can be hidden more in secret texting here and there. Private conversations here and there all in the name of work.

Same things can happen in our church as we become more and more familiar with one another. What is it going to be said about NCCF as we grow? I haven't heard of anything. So I'm not addressing any issue.

I'm speaking to the deceiver. Family the deceiver comes in subtle ways. He's gonna try to trick us. And the only way we are going to be protected is if we keep our laser focus on personal purity and church purity.

May it not be said that we were flirtatious in the way we spoke. Definitely not more five years. Compared to five years ago. May it not be said that we more crude or personal attacks in the way we spoke towards other people.

May it not be said family of God. That we were no different from the world in the way we spoke. Let me give you one instance about this. I'm not here to criticize anybody. I've noticed that in the church.

Guarding Purity Against Worldly Obsessions

There's a lot lately even among brothers and sisters about talk about diet and healthy living. I don't have any. I'm not anti against any of that stuff. Please hear me, right? But that's what the world is talking about.

And I fear that we can get so caught up with. Carbs are bad and sugars are bad. Trust me sugars are bad. I believe that. With all of my heart. But we can get so obsessed and family the devil is a deceiver.

And all in the name of good health. All in the name of good health we can lose our laser focus towards purity. Purity of our soul purity of our spirit. We're talking about good things. We're talking about eating more fruits and vegetables, but that's what all dominates our thoughts.

You ask yourself dear brother dear sister, what are you thinking about all week? What did Jesus think about all week. Was he worried about his how much muscles is worse how big his muscles were. If he was a woman what was he concerned about?

Oh, I gained five pounds this week. My goodness tragedy is it. Ten pounds. What's wrong with this world? My walls come crashing down. Because the weighing machine the mirror dominates my life. Purity family of God purity the world can creep in in subtle ways and we must fight.

I'm not against it. You know me, you know me as I've talked among you. I talk about many many different subjects. But I want us all to guard. What is The main thing in our lives what dominates our thoughts.

For some of us is career. So for some of us it's retirement. I'm not obsessing just on diet or other things for some of us men. It may be our financial bank balance could be many different things. What does Jesus say?

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness very clear not the size of my waist not the size of my Bank balance not the size of my retirement plan. And as quantity increases in our church to there will be the spirit In of the world will come in where there will be Jesus and money Jesus and a good time Jesus and worldly fashions Jesus and a fit body and It'll slowly creep to have parallel thrones.

Jesus only is our message and Family of God, we've got to fight it. We've got to fight it. I'm not speaking at anybody. I'm talking about myself because I see about how it can easily come into my own life.

And I'm not saying that new people will come in and corrupt us more often than not it's the existing members. It's the ones who have been around for a while who've been Christians for a while who can talk a good game.

It's from there from the leaders. Those who have positions of authority. From there will slip in a little bit of the world and it'll make it okay for you guys to to follow. Because people who speak well.

Who do well who have given some position of authority used to be sold out for the Lord and now start to okay it. I'm not saying it's true in our church, please. I hope it's not true, but I have to guard myself.

And we all have to guard ourselves to make sure that Jesus Is Getting a pure offering from my life. Not a big quantity of offering and I have to ask myself as I come back from having a wonderful Time as a church together last night the question that the Lord is asking me not did you have a good time?

Well, they're big fights. You know, they were no big fights. We all left in great time great time of singing and praising God. But the Lord's are asking me was it a pure church? He used to be a pure church.

Are you still a pure church and watch it Salib as the church grows bigger. Purity will get compromised and we're not speaking at anybody. There's a verse in Psalm chapter 29 verse 2 Which says. Ascribe to the Lord.

Glory to his name. Worship the Lord in In the dress of holiness in the beauty of holiness the King James Bible says Psalm chapter 29 verse 2 Family of God if you say you worship God. This is what it means that you Genuinely see have seen the beauty of holiness.

Worshiping the Beauty of Holiness

This is the mark that we are worshipers. That we are not looking at the mirror and seeing beauty. We're not looking at our bank balance and seeing beauty. We are looking at the holiness of God and seeing beauty and God knows What a deep work has to be done in all of us.

Let me ask myself a deep question. Do I worship God? Because His holiness is so beautiful to me. If not, I have work to do. That is the way we need to worship God. Worship is not about music. Worship is not about feeling good.

Worship is about seeing the holiness of God and saying that's beautiful. Seeing when I see a beautiful woman and turning away and saying that's beautiful. When I turn away from an act of loving money I turn away and I hear the Lord telling me that's beautiful and my taste buds are changing to more of the beauty of God.

The beauty of his holiness family that needs to happen in our lives. And the other verse of word in Malachi chapter 1 verse 11 three times in that verse. He says my name must be great. He talks about my name.

Making God’s Name Greater Than Our Own

My name three times in that verse. And I find that purity has a connection to the name of Jesus and this is what I Practically mean about the name of Jesus. Am I interested in God's name or my name? Am I interested in God looking good or Sandeep looking good in the way I speak.

Do I want to win the argument? Do I want to be the winner? Do I want to have the last word in marriage relationships and conversations with others in the way I act? Do I want to look good? Do I want to come across as better than others?

Children I want to. I want to tell you something beautiful that happened yesterday. I'm not gonna tell you who. There were two there was a game we were playing yesterday. All of us were playing that it was called capture the parachute.

I don't want to say capture the bacon because some people may have problems eating pork. So stay away from that. Capture the parachute. We were anyway capturing parachutes and we had adults and children on two sides and The children were matched up with somebody around their same age and the adults were matched up.

According to people of their own athletic ability, of course, supposedly. But the children and the children also had to go and capture the flag and see if they could get back to the other side. Without getting tagged and something beautiful that happened.

I saw two of the children were running up against each other and One time one child won and the other time the other child won. It happens all the time, right? Thankfully that that happened to it was a split one won.

But here's the beautiful thing both times. The girl one girl went up to the other person in both times and said good job. To the other person when she won and when she didn't win. And there was no difference in the way she said good job.

One wasn't an act of pity. Benevolent. Oh, I'm feel so sorry for what good job. Get ribbon for trying participation medal. No, it was an equal innocent good job happiness both times. And she meant it.

It was not about winning. She cared about the person more than about winning. I've seen in myself that there's a very dangerous thing about winning that is in the kingdom of this world. It comes through we played sports and there's a dangerous Sinful spirit that comes in as you've got two sides trying to win.

Because the question is whose name. And I make it about my name or his name my name or her name and We never win that right battle. We have to family as a church make it about God's name. This is what is special about the church.

Purity as the Presence of Christ’s Life

We are laser focused on Honoring God and his name that is purity. Purity is not just the absence of evil. Purity is the presence of the life of Jesus. We're not gonna get purity by going and closeting up ourselves and saying I'm never gonna compete with anybody else again.

I'm not gonna have any fun. I'm just gonna be a Monastic person that's not purity. That's just keeping yourself clean because you're so afraid. There's nothing virtuous of a clean empty cup to a thirsty man.

Here you go. Clean cup for you. I cleaned it up perfect for you, but it's empty. What the thirsty person needs is water in a clean cup. The life of Jesus the life of Jesus, which is love a Lack of spirit of competition towards others must come up and we're all works in progress.

We must share that Family. I want to read Some things and I want you to know if you recognize this Blessed assurance Jesus is mine. Perfect submission. All is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blessed all this full and perfect peace.

In a love which cannot seize. I am his and he is mine. Oh to live who to lie forever here. While he whispers in my ear. I am his and he is mine his forever only his. Who the Lord and me shall part, you know, we recognize those words.

You sang it ten minutes ago. We sang it ten minutes ago. The focus of the singing the focus of this church is About if Jesus and you are all you have that's way more than enough. All you need is Jesus.

Jesus only is our message. We Don't want to lose sight of that family. That will take us through tribulations that will take us through good times and bad times. Blessed assurance Jesus is mine family of God.

A Church Measured by Purity, Not Numbers

I pray that purity in our church will increase. May the test that our church is growing is not that we're growing in numbers that all of us will be laser focused on God. In making sure that this church is pure may God help us.