(Christian Leadership) Lovers of the Truth — Zac Poonen

Truth in the Innermost Being Under the New Covenant

How the new covenant is superior to the old in many ways. And one of the ways we read in Psalm 51, David said when he had sinned and he was repenting of his sin, he says in verse 6, Behold, O God, thou didst desire truth in the innermost being.

He didn't have it. I don't believe anybody in the old covenant could have it. But he knew that God desired it. Truth, reality in the innermost being. And that means that one's external life or the impression one gives others of one's life is exactly what one is inside.

That's the meaning of that verse. Truth means reality. God desires reality in the innermost being. That means whatever impression you are giving to your fellow believers about your spirituality must be exactly the same.

No difference. And David realized that that was not possible in his time. He said, Lord, you desire it. That's one of the blessings of the new covenant. That that which David could not have, that which these great saints in the old covenant could not have, we can have.

And if we don't have it, then it's because we don't want it. And it's because of one reason that we seek the honor of men more than the honor of God. And it's amazing the number of Christians who never think of this as a serious sin to seek the honor of men.

To try to impress people. I remember many years ago when I was young and I started preaching. And the Lord asked me this question. Do you want to impress people or do you want to help them? I said, Lord, I want to help them.

And the Lord said, then stop trying to impress them. You have to make a choice. Particularly when you get up in a pulpit. And I know how it is for all of us because our flesh is the same. When we stand before people, whether it's before a group of ten people or a thousand, whether it's giving a message or a testimony, whether it's even in private conversation with other believers, we want to come across in an impressive way because we seek honor from created beings.

It's a terrible sin. God desires truth in the inner being. And I pray that we shall all become lovers of the truth. Of reality. That we hate unreality. That we hate lying in any form. The Bible says Moses brought the law.

He could give commandments. Many, many rules and regulations. It's easy. Throughout the ages, religious people have been giving their followers rules and commandments. Every religion has got leaders who give their followers rules and commandments.

The law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means there was no grace that anyone could receive till the Lord Jesus came. It means that truth which Jesus brought was not possible for anyone to have till he came.

Wasn't there truth in the old covenant? What does it mean when it says that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ? This life of reality was not possible under the old covenant. I don't want to judge others, but I must say that the vast majority of born-again believers that I have come across are not real.

They are not genuine. And that's why the flow of living water through them is hindered. And that's why God cannot walk with them. That's why God cannot be with their mouth when they speak because they are not real.

The Tongue Under the Control of the Spirit of Truth

I want to say to you my brothers and sisters, you know the most important instrument that God uses, the most important part of our body that God uses in this new covenant age is the tongue. And that's why when the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, there were tongues of fire on top of their heads.

And they spoke in other tongues, but the meaning of these tongues of fire was that from now on you would have a tongue that was completely under the control of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus called the spirit the spirit of truth.

Who will lead you, He said, into all the truth. And He's going to control your tongue so that your tongue will always speak the truth. Your yes will be yes and your no will be no. And Jesus said, you don't have to swear anymore.

Every word of yours will be as good as an oath. That's how God is. Every word He speaks is true. And in the new covenant we can partake of His nature. I don't know whether you have a great intense desire to cleanse yourself from all lying of every form.

But I believe that that is something so necessary in the day and age in which we live. If we are to be the light of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Shining His light for Him. If we love the truth, God will show us more and more.

I want to show you a verse in Jeremiah chapter 15. If the tongue is the most important instrument that God is going to use, why is it that there are so few tongues that God can use? Why is it that there are so few in every country on whose tongue God can put His word?

His prophetic word. Here is the reason. Many, many years ago, God spoke this to me. Jeremiah 15 and verse 19. The Lord says, If you return, I will restore you, and you will stand before me. And if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become my mouth.

You will become my spokesman. There is a condition for becoming God's mouth. And I want to say to you, to any brother or sister here. Yes, even the sisters. In the new covenant, the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the sons and daughters of God.

Every brother, every sister can be filled with the spirit of truth. Every brother and sister can be a witness for Jesus Christ. And the condition is this. If in your conversation you extract the precious from the worthless, you will be my mouth.

And there is no respect of persons with God if you fulfill the condition and you stand before Him. It says, before me, you will stand. Get rid of that spirit of accusation that comes forth through your tongue.

Get rid of that criticism, backbiting, finding fault. Get rid of that complaining spirit that you have in your home, complaining about this, that and the other. Get rid of fellowshiping with other people in your place of work and criticizing the boss and criticizing the government.

Extract the precious from the worthless. Throw away the garbage. Be upright. Speak the truth. Always the truth, even if it goes against you. Even if you have to lose your life for it. And God says, you will be my mouth.

Is it worth it? It certainly is. The work of God suffers loss because God does not have many men and women like that who are upright, honest, absolutely 100 truthful in their business and in every aspect of their life.

It is very common, you know, in our country, in India, we used to have very high customs duty if you brought anything in from abroad. And when Indians go abroad, they buy many things, electronic goods and various things.

And it is a very common practice to cheat the customs when you enter the country. I suppose it is true in every country. But I remember once when I was coming in back to India from somewhere and I had a few things and the Lord said to me, everything you bought must be right on top of your suitcase, not hidden anywhere like other people do.

So that when you open it, they can see it, the customs officers. And if you have to pay duty on it, pay duty on it. Whatever it is. And then the Lord said this to me, I have no shortage of money, but I have a great shortage of upright people.

So if you do something crooked, tell a little lie to save a little money, you are going to add to the shortage of upright people that God has in His church. Don't ever do it. Don't do it in your business.

Don't do it when you file your tax papers. Absolute truthfulness. Do you want to be God's mouth? Is it too big a price to pay? He has no shortage of money. He has a shortage of upright people. It was not possible in the old covenant.

But in the new covenant, grace and truth are realized through Jesus Christ. That's why it is very very important for us to teach our children from very early in life to speak the truth. That was far more important for me than whether they broke something in the house.

I didn't care if they broke something. I didn't care if they turned the furniture upside down when they were playing. That was their home. They could do that. But they must speak the truth. I believe that's very very important in the day and age in which we live.

Loving Righteousness and Hating Sin

Now I want to turn to 2 Thessalonians and chapter 2. It's more than speaking the truth. You know there's a difference between... Well, let me give you Lecopus' verse first. It says about Jesus in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 9 that he was anointed with the oil of gladness for one reason.

There are many times in Hebrews where it says God didn't do this because he was his son but because of some other reason. It says, for example, in Hebrews 5 that his prayers were heard because he feared.

Now although he was his son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered. And why was Jesus anointed? Hebrews 1 verse 9 it says he was anointed with the oil of gladness because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity more than his companions.

That's why he was anointed more than his companions. The measure of the anointing oil being upon our heads, the measure of the anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit being upon us and especially the oil of gladness of continuous joy of an overcoming spirit depends on the measure in which we love righteousness and hate sin.

Now there is a difference between avoiding sin and hating it. A thief may avoid committing a crime because he sees a policeman around the corner. It doesn't mean he hates it. When we avoid sin, we haven't reached great heights.

It's when we hate sin that we are following Jesus. When we do righteousness, we haven't reached great heights. It's when we love righteousness that we are following Jesus. It's not speaking the truth.

It's loving the truth. That's what we read in 2 Thessalonians 2. In 2 Thessalonians 2, it says here about the last days when there is going to be tremendous activity of Satan, the great liar. And verse 9, with all power and signs and false wonders, wonders that are a deception, healing done in the name of Jesus, demons cast out in the name of Jesus.

And when they stand before the Lord in the final day, He will say, depart from me you workers of iniquity. These people who did this. It's an amazing verse in Matthew 7, 23 and 24. He says many, not just one or two, many, Jesus said, will come to me in the last day and say, Lord, we prophesied in your name.

We cast out demons in your name. It wasn't in the name of some heathen God. It was in the name of Jesus. We did miracles in your name. And He will say, depart from me, you who work iniquity. Isn't that amazing?

That people who heal the sick in the name of Jesus are finally going to hell. And I have contrasted that with another passage where Jesus said about people who stand before Him in the last day. Matthew 25, where He speaks about separating the sheep and the goats.

And He says to the sheep, come you righteous, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was sick and you visited me. You never healed me. Because you didn't have the gift.

But you visited me. You didn't pretend to have the gift. You just encouraged me and went away and I was still sick. Come in. The kingdom is for you. Isn't that amazing? That the man who healed the sick goes to hell and the man who visited the sick goes to heaven.

There are going to be a lot of surprises when Jesus comes again. The first will be last and the last will be first. It's not all these supernatural things God's looking for. He's looking for uprightness.

Honesty. Do you know what is the first sin mentioned in the Bible? It's not Adam's by the way. The first sin, not the first sin, that of course is Lucifer's, but the first sin mentioned in Genesis. It's Satan telling Eve, you will not die.

That's the first sin mentioned in the Bible. A lie. The first sin mentioned in the Bible is lying. Do you know what's the last sin mentioned in the Bible? I never went to Bible school, that's why I know.

I studied the Bible. Not what other people said about the Bible. Revelation 22 verse 15. It says about people who are outside the kingdom, those who, many many things, and finally those who practice lying.

Lying is the first sin mentioned in the Bible and it's the last sin mentioned in the Bible. Jesus said, Satan is the father of lies. You may be a born again child of God. When you speak a lie, something that is false, something that is not true, it doesn't matter who you are, the devil is the father of that lie.

And you are the mother. It's through a union of the devil with your mind. At that moment, that that child was born, a lie. The devil was the father and you are the mother. Imagine the number of times when we have allowed the devil to have that type of union with our mind.

No wonder, when we stand to speak God's word, God is not with our mouth. We can say a lot of clever things. We can say a lot of eloquent things. But when God is with your mouth, He will take that word like an arrow to people's hearts and convict them.

That's what we need in all of our churches. We don't need more clever sermons. We don't even need wonderfully arranged sermons. We need things that will go straight to people's hearts. And for that, God says, get rid of the garbage.

Take out the precious. Be careful about what you speak. Any brother, any sister, age doesn't matter. You can be 16 years old and a prophet of God. And you can be 60 years old and just an ordinary preacher.

Loving the Truth as Protection from Deception

Now let's turn to 2 Thessalonians 2. It says here in the last days, there's going to be a lot of these lying wonders, deceptive miracles. And there's going to be the deception, verse 10, of wickedness.

How can we overcome this deception? You're not going to overcome it by Bible study. We're going to overcome it by God giving us discernment. And the more we love the truth ourselves, in every area of our being, the more we will have discernment on what is true and what is false outside of us.

But we got to love the truth inside of us first if we want to see what is true and false in Christendom today. This is an age of deception. The Holy Spirit speaks expressly, 1 Timothy 4 .1, that in the last days, there'll be a flood of deceitful spirits.

That means the Holy Spirit has underlined that verse. All Scripture is inspired by God, but that verse has been underlined. That's the meaning of 1 Timothy 4 .1. The Holy Spirit speaks expressly. He's underlined it.

That there's going to be a flood of deceitful spirits in the world in the last days. How are we going to avoid deception? We must love the truth. There's a lot of deception floating around today. A lot of Gospels being preached today which sound right to those who don't have discernment.

There are preachers going around the world who appear to be men of God, who are humbugs and hypocrites, but who are fooling undiscerning people. How shall we give these people discernment so that they can see through these crooked men?

Teach them to love the truth in their own life. And then the anointing within them will tell them there's something wrong with that man. There's something wrong with that Gospel. They don't need to be believers for 20, 30 years.

They're born again yesterday. If they love the truth, God will show them this is wrong. Remember this, brothers and sisters. I'm not against supernatural gifts. I believe God can heal. Every time I'm sick, I pray to God to heal me.

Whenever our children were sick at home, I would always lay hands on them and pray for them. I'm not against medicine. I would always give them medicine. But I believe that the thing I should do is commit them to God to heal them.

So I believe in that. I believe in the gifts of the Spirit. But I say there's a lot of counterfeit. I believe in speaking in tongues, but I'm not being critical. Most of the speaking in tongues I have heard in my whole life, in many, many churches, this is my opinion, is not of God.

It's psychological manipulation of people. Now that's not because I'm against that gift. I speak in tongues. So you know I'm not against the gift. But 90 of what I've heard is not from God. There's a lot of deception around.

By their fruit you shall know them. And the fruit is not Christlike. It's not godly. And lot of simple people are being deceived. They're being manipulated because they don't love the truth. There's a lot of healing which is just mental, psychological, psychosomatic healing, which is supposed to be some miracle that Jesus did.

It's a deception. There's a lot of it going on in the world. And because people don't love the truth, they're being deceived. I know in my country, thousands of believers are being deceived by what's happening.

And when you get deceived, you begin to think that anything supernatural is of the Holy Spirit. There are people falling down in my country and barking, and everything is supposed to be the Holy Spirit.

It's amazing how... I can't imagine a man without any understanding of the Bible would say that's not the Holy Spirit. And here are people who are supposed to be born again who are thinking this is all the Holy Spirit.

It's not. The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is to make us like Jesus Christ. And if he does not do that in our life, everything else could be counterfeit. There are spirits in the world. There are spirits that can heal.

There are spirits that can make people speak in tongues. There are spirits that can do all types of things. The Bible says here, about the activity of Satan, with power, signs, false wonders, with the deception of wickedness.

And why did they get deceived, all these people? Here is the reason. They did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence. Just listen to this.

It's one of the most scary verses in the whole Bible. Do you know what it says? Now, earlier on it speaks about Satan deceiving people with false wonders. That's not what's referred to here. Here it says God will deceive people.

Just think of that, dear brothers. I've got, the Bible says in Ephesians 4, that I've got deceitful lust in my flesh. Lust that can deceive me. And you know that as well as I do. Lust that tells me you'll get a kick out of this, you'll enjoy this, and ultimately it brings me to remorse when I've yielded to that lust.

That's deception. Lust, the lust for more money. People think they'll be happier if they get it. And ultimately they get more miserable. The lust in the area of sex, thinking that you can get some pleasure out of it and ultimately it's remorse.

This is deceitful. Deceitful lust. Satan is also a deceiver. He's called the deceiver of the whole world in Revelation 12. And here I've got these two great enemies out to deceive me. The lust in my flesh and the devil himself.

Can you imagine if in addition God also is out to deceive me. I'm finished. I've got to be careful at least God is on my side. Then I can stand the deception against the deception of the lust in my flesh and the deception of Satan.

But here it says that God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they may believe what is false. They will believe that is the gospel when it's not the gospel. They will believe that the gospel is a way of making money.

The prosperity gospel. The health and wealth gospel. They'll believe that's it. Why does God allow thousands and thousands of people to believe what is false? Why does he allow people to believe that so many of these preachers who appear on television are men of God when they're not?

Why does God allow so many thousands of people to send their hard earned money to many of these deceivers? Why? The reason is here. They themselves, these people who are watching and listening to these people, did not, verse 10, receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

And that applies to you and me. There is no respect of persons with God. I remember many, many years ago as a young Christian, I said, Lord, you see, I came out of a Syrian Orthodox Church which is pretty close to the Roman Catholic Church.

And I didn't know much of the Bible when I was converted 41 years ago. And as I grew up, I saw so many groups of Christians all holding the same Bible and saying we're speaking the truth. We're the right group and everybody else is wrong.

And through the years, through the last 40 years, I've seen those groups multiply. So many different groups, many more groups have come of all holding the same Bible and saying we've got the right thing and everybody else is wrong.

And you can imagine how confused a young Christian is when he sees all this. Because he doesn't know. He's not smart to answer this cult group and that group and the other one group. They're all quoting from the same Bible, all things that look so convincing.

And this is what helped me. Jesus said, you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. And I saw that if someone was speaking the truth to me, it would set me free from sin. Whatever doctrine it is, if it did not set me free from sin, it's not the truth.

Secondly, whatever doctrine a person preached, if it brought me in bondage to him, it cannot be the truth. A man who preaches the truth will not only set me free from sin, he will set me free from being his slave as well.

He will set me free from rules and regulations and laws to follow Jesus in freedom. You shall know the truth. The truth will set you free. The sun shall set you free. You shall be free indeed. Jesus came to set people free.

The devil is always seeking to bring people into bondage. There are lots of believers sitting in bondage to overbearing postures and leaders and charismatic people with charismatic, in terms of personality, leaders who have such a hold on people.

That's not the truth. The truth will set people free. If you are in bondage to any man, you are in bondage to rules and regulations, you can be sure that's not the truth. The truth will set you free. So, that became a guideline for me.

Okay? That's the way for me to test the truth. Is it making me more free? More free from sin? More free from fear? More free from the devil? More free from the world? Well, then it's the truth. Is it bringing me more into bondage to sin?

More into bondage to some person? More into bondage to a system that cannot be the truth? And, this is the other verse. The Lord said to me that if throughout my life I would love the truth which He showed me about myself and acknowledge it so that I want to be saved from my sin, I would never be deceived.

God would guarantee. He'd never allow me to be deceived. Because this verse says, it's those who don't receive the love of the truth so as to be saved who are deceived. I have a close friend of mine. It's not in our church.

Who went to a healing meeting. He was suffering from a serious sickness. And, he said he got some experience there and he went up on the platform in that meeting and testified that he was healed. Now, I never knew about this.

I read it in the magazine put out by that healer who conducted this crusade. And, I saw this photograph of my friend there with his testimony. I knew he was seriously sick with an incurable disease. And, here was his testimony that he was healed.

Well, I'm like Thomas. Unless I see, I don't believe. So, I said, well, I ought to find out this. And, I met him some weeks later and I found he was much worse. Much worse. And, I thought supposing he sends another testimony to that healer now and says, well, what I said earlier was not true.

Actually, he published that in a magazine with his photograph. Never. That's what I mean by deception. That's what I mean by fooling people. That's the first hand example that I came across of the deception with which lots of people are being fooled today.

They don't love the truth. Now, if that person really loved the truth he would publish that second testimony. This fellow was not healed. There's a lot of that going on. It's not only in the area of tongues and healing.

It's in many, many areas. What was the first sin that we read God judged publicly in the early church? It was the sin of lying. Again, first sin mentioned in the Bible is lying. The last sin mentioned in the Bible is lying.

The first sin God judged publicly in the early church is also lying. Not adultery. Not murder. Ananias and Sapphira, they were not guilty of adultery or murder. They were guilty of a sin which millions of Christians are practicing today.

Ananias and Sapphira: The Sin of False Religious Impressions

What was that? We read in Acts 5 that at a time when many people were selling their property there was no command to sell property. This is something people did voluntarily and they felt like doing it.

If there was a command like that it would have been mentioned in the epistles. Very dangerous to follow examples in the Acts of the Apostles if they are not mentioned in the epistles. I just want to mention that to you.

There are many things in the Acts of the Apostles like Paul quarreled with Barnabas and all. These are not doctrines for us to follow. Paul shaved his head and certain good things too but it was done voluntarily.

They sold all their property and they gave it. And in the midst of that Ananias and Sapphira, they sold some property. Let's say they sold it for $50 ,000 and then Ananias and Sapphira sat and discussed it and they said well, we'd like to keep a little bit back for ourselves for the rainy day and we'll give $25 ,000 to God.

Now tell me today if somebody sold his property for $50 ,000 and gave $25 ,000 to God we'd call him a wholehearted believer? How many people would give $25 ,000, 50 of their sales proceeds to God? That wasn't wrong.

It was excellent. But it was this impression he was trying to give when he stood in the queue in that meeting place that he was giving everything. That was the sin. God never told him to sell his property.

It was his property. He need not have sold it at all. He could have kept it. God loves the cheerful giver. There's no law in the New Testament saying you must even give 10%. Everything is voluntary. And he need not have sold his land.

And even after he sold his land he need not have even given 1 of it to God. It was still his. And Peter made that very clear to him. But Peter said Ananias, Acts 5 .3 Why has Satan filled your heart to tell a lie?

Now what lie did Ananias say? He didn't even open his mouth. Do you know you can tell a lie without opening your mouth? Here was a queue of people coming up to Peter and laying the money at the feet. And Ananias also with the pious look that all the others had.

He also stood in the queue and quietly left the money there without saying one word. And as he was going Peter said come back. For we need more men like Peter in our churches today. I really believe that's the greatest need.

And if we love the truth we will be like that. We can be like Peter. Who can have discernment, who can see through the humbug, the deceivers. And he called Ananias and said Why have you told a lie? He hadn't opened his mouth.

It was an impression he gave that I am also wholehearted. I am also giving everything. And Peter said to him You have not lied to men. You have lied to God. And his wife came later and did exactly the same thing.

Honesty in Testimony, Ministry, and Daily Life

Now let's just examine our heart. Have you ever been guilty of a sin? Have you ever tried to give an impression when you talk about prayer that you are a great man of prayer? Have you told people honestly that your thoughts also wander when you pray?

Mine does. Even after 41 years of being a believer. It's a battle. You give people a wrong impression when you talk about fasting. You give people the impression that you are a great faster. One who fasts and prays.

What a lot of lying there is. In testimonies, reports of Christian work. I come from a country there is a lot of mission work going on. There are hundreds and thousands of reports being sent from India to the United States and other places.

And everywhere it's supposed to be revival. I live there and I know it is not true. But I see all these reports going on and all these gullible people in the West just believing it all and sending money back.

I'm amazed. I've seen so many people come from Western countries to India with a great lust to start an organization. To start a mission. And to start something which they can go back home and report was a success.

And when you come to a country like India where there is such a lot of unemployment even among Christians. There are multitudes of people ready to believe any doctrine you preach. To agree with everything you say provided you pay them.

And willing to give you any report you want. They are happy. You are happy. The devil is happy. Only God is not happy. This is what's going on. And why is it? It's because of this lust for statistics.

I heard it said by someone there are three types of lies. Black lies, white lies and statistics. You know there is a tremendous lust for statistics in the Christian world. To impress people with the size of our work.

The number of people there are in our church. How it's growing. This is all basically the sin of Ananias. Wanting to impress. It may not be in exactly the same way but it's the same spirit. Wanting to impress.

Why? Because we seek the honor of men. More than the honor of God. We care for the approval of men. More than the approval of God. We want to be known as men of God. You want to be known as a man of God?

I tell you. I don't. I look at Jesus who called himself the son of man. An ordinary man. That's what he meant. He became like his brothers in all things in order to save us. It's the first principle of Christian ministry.

To become like other people in all things. That's why he said to his disciples don't even take a title. Don't be called rabbi, reverend, pastor. Nothing. Just be a brother. Just be a servant. That's our calling.

To be like our brothers in everything. But do you think Christian preachers and leaders want to be like that? No. They want to give the impression of being great man of God. One who brings a sense of awe upon other people.

Great prophet. Great preacher. Who is admired. Who cannot mingle with the ordinary people. Have you seen in these great meetings and crusades the preacher? He just come on the platform before the meeting and disappear after he's spoken.

You can never meet him. He's not an ordinary man. He's a great man of God. This is not Christianity. It's some other religion. It's another Jesus. And so many are being deceived. Jesus became like us in every way.

He mingled with ordinary people. He never disappeared after preaching a message. He never appeared suddenly on the platform just before he spoke. This is all the spirit of the film star. Of the actor.

The actress. Not the spirit of Jesus. Why is it Christians don't see through this? Because they don't love the truth about themselves. That's deception in many, many, many areas. What did we read here?

2 Thessalonians. Let's look at that verse again. 2 Thessalonians and chapter 2. God for this reason and that is the reason. They did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a strong deception.

A deluding influence. I want to ask you my brothers and sisters. When you study the scriptures and you find something there that does not seem to fit with the doctrine you have believed for the last 30 years.