======================================================================== FOR CHILDREN： A CLEAR CONSCIENCE AND RECEIVING GOD'S GIFT by Zac Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of conscience, highlighting how God created man with a conscience to guide right and wrong decisions. It explores the significance of listening to one's conscience from a young age to avoid descending into a life devoid of moral compass. The sermon also delves into the concept of salvation, illustrating the need for personal response and faith in receiving God's grace. It warns against the dangers of sin, comparing it to poison that can lead one astray from God's path. Duration: 20:36 Topics: "Conscience", "Salvation" Scripture References: Genesis 1:1, Genesis 2:7, Ephesians 2:8, Luke 2:51 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of conscience, highlighting how God created man with a conscience to guide right and wrong decisions. It explores the significance of listening to one's conscience from a young age to avoid descending into a life devoid of moral compass. The sermon also delves into the concept of salvation, illustrating the need for personal response and faith in receiving God's grace. It warns against the dangers of sin, comparing it to poison that can lead one astray from God's path. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ So when we heard Santosh earlier, he told us about the conscience and it's very important for all of you especially children right from a young age to understand the importance of conscience and so to begin with I'll show you something from the first page of your bible. You know what the first page of your bible is? Genesis chapter one where there was nothing, all that we see today, the sun, moon, stars, sky, there was nothing there and we read on different different days God made different things and one of the first things he made was light, was all dark and then he made the heavens and then he made the earth and the seas and the trees and then on the fourth day he made the sun and the moon and then on the fifth day he made all the birds and the fish. I mean he just spoke a word and all the birds and fish different types of birds and fish all came to being that's how this world was created and God could have made, listen to this, he could have made the animals also on that day he made the fish and the birds which are also types of animals and then he could also have made the earth animals like the lions and the dogs and the cats and the pigs also on the same day but he did not. He could have kept the sixth day especially for man and said I'm going to keep one day especially for man and make man on that day but he didn't do it and you know whenever God does something or does not do something there is always a reason. So that's one way we go to study the bible seriously whenever you see God doing something and not doing something don't just read it as something God did or did not do try and understand why God did that or why God did not do that. I asked myself why did God when he made the fish and the bird just with one word oh let the fish and the birds come up millions of fish and bird different types came up he could have said let the animals also come and the earth would have been filled with every single animal and creature. Why didn't he do it? Why didn't he keep one special day just for man because man is the most important part of his creation. I'll tell you on the sixth day there were two parts to the sixth day and the first part he made he read in Genesis 1 24 and 25 all the animals on the earth the creeping things and the insects and everything was created dogs and pigs and lions and everything was created in the first part of this fifth of the sixth day and then the second part of the sixth day he made man and do you know children that man our body is made of the same dust God made our body from dust that's when a man dies and you go and watch that body after a few years it has become all the thing has become dust everything and the reason is I'll tell you why God made man on the same day as the animals it says here that God made man from the dust of the earth Genesis 2 verse 7 and then he did something I'm talking about conscience now he made man picture this God has made man hands eyes legs body and everything but man is dead and he doesn't just give him breath it says when God breathed into him he did something to man that he never did to the other animals the animals also when they were created immediately started breathing and likewise to the birds and the fish and all but when man was made he was not breathing and God breathed into him and he not only got breath like all the other animals it says in Genesis 2 7 he became a living soul a living soul means he got a conscience and like you heard Santos say the conscience is the thing that tells you when you've done something wrong even if you're a little child if you tell a lie to your mommy or daddy you know that you told a lie what's it that makes you feel that way that's conscience even when you hurt your brother or sister you know inwardly that you did something wrong whenever you do something wrong you hear that voice and you must listen to that voice because I'll tell you what happens if you don't listen to that voice one day that conscience will die and that'll be terrible because if the conscience dies you grow up to be a very bad man or bad woman you'll do all types of wrong things you'll get into a lot of trouble and if you get married you'll have a very unhappy marriage and all types of problems if you don't carefully listen to conscience which means if you did tell a lie go and immediately tell mommy or daddy I'm sorry what I said was a lie please forgive me and much better if you listen to the conscience which says don't tell that that's a lie don't say it or when you're tempted to fight back with your brother or sister fighting with you you say no your conscience is not don't fight with him listen to that if you keep listening to your conscience I'll tell you one day you will grow up to be a godly young man or woman one whom God can use there are so many Christians whom God cannot use and I'll tell you why God cannot use them they sit in churches absolutely useless to God the only thing they do is sing the songs listen to the message put some money in the box and go home what else do they do for God nothing they don't witness for Christ in their office they don't witness to Christ for their relatives they they're just useless because from childhood they neglected their conscience God doesn't even speak to them if you want God to speak to you always when you're grown up and however old you are you hear God will speak to you I'll give you one bit of advice keep your conscience clear always and I say that to older people as well see being so careful to keep uh let me before I get to that I'll tell you why God made the animals and the man on the same day it was to teach man you and the animals are made from the same dust they've got eyes and nose and legs and hands like you have and they've got in inside their body inside the body of those animals they have the same type of organs that you have inside your body but there's one big difference God says to man to all of you children you are different from a dog or a pig or a cat or even a beautiful animal or a fierce animal you have got a conscience and what the Lord was saying to man by creating him on the same day is if you don't listen to your conscience it is like not having a conscience you will descend to the level of an animal animals are beings that always look down have you ever seen a dog looking up to the sky to God never pigs anywhere you go anywhere in the world cows dogs pigs they're always looking down down down down they're looking for something to eat or something on this earth that's what happens when a man doesn't listen to his conscience his mind will always be on something on this earth something I can get for myself somebody to fight with that's how these dogs are but God has given a man a conscience which says you are you're answerable to a God up in the up in the sky and it's a wonderful thing you children if you listen to your conscience from a childhood in every little thing if you hurt somebody go and apologize go and say I'm sorry my dear brother my dear sister for having fought with you or hit you or whatever it is if you do that you will never descend to the level of animal I've seen lots and lots of human beings they are no better than the animals they're very clever but their whole mind is set on the things of this earth that's a mark of an animal always looking down down down down down down and even you can sit in NCCF and in your mind you may be always looking down on the things of earth how can I get more on this earth and how can I be bigger on this earth and more famous on this earth and make more money on this earth and it's all down down down down down whereas these things are meant to serve us everything God has created so that's the first thing I want to say another picture of a bad conscience is leprosy leprosy is such a terrible disease that like you heard Santosh say you don't feel sensation you prick if a man's got leprosy in his hand and you poke it with a pin he doesn't feel it in fact I heard of a person who had leprosy in India he was sleeping at night and when he woke up believe it or not the toes in his leg were missing imagine you wake up in the morning and your toes are missing and blood all over there where he was sleeping poor people you know sleeping on the floor some rats had come at night and bitten off his toes and he did not feel a thing that is the result of leprosy it's a picture of human beings who can do some very wrong things and don't feel any prick in their conscience even though they've done such a wrong thing to somebody else or cheated in some way or fought with somebody in a bad way and they don't feel a it's like having a it's better to have your toes cut off eaten by a rat I'll tell you honestly better to have your toes eaten by a rat than to have a bad conscience so that's the first thing on leprosy is a terrible thing so Jesus has come with salvation you know that he died for our sins and rose again and he wants to come into our life but Santosh spoke about our responding to God that means our answer to God so there's a verse in Ephesians which I want to read to you in everything there is man's part and God's part if God were to do everything to you without your response you'd be like a robot you've probably seen pictures of robots you know metal things made to look like a man or plastic things look made to look like a man programmed with a computer and you can make that robot do whatever you program it to do now God did not make man like that if God had made Adam like that like a robot then Adam would have gone up to the tree of which is forbidden in the Garden of Eden and the program would have said no you shouldn't look at this he would have just turned away but he was not a robot he had a choice God gave him a choice you can choose whether you want to take it or not you're going to go by your conscience or not Adam went against his conscience Eve went against her conscience so God does not do anything for us if we don't respond that's why the whole even though Jesus died for the whole world all the sins of the world were every human being that ever lived in the earth their sins were placed on Christ on the cross yet how is it so many people in the world are not saved because they have not done their part of receiving what God has offered so let me show you a verse in Ephesians chapter 2 you have your Bible you can turn there Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 which says by grace you have been saved through faith so let me picture what this means in a very simple way salvation is a very very expensive thing now here is something which is not as expensive as salvation it's a cell phone but it's expensive I mean people try to steal it and all now here is God offering something to you salvation very expensive if somebody were to give you a gift of a cell phone it'll never become yours until you reach out your hand and say thank you otherwise he has to keep holding it like that here it's free I'm giving you a gift it's free this is how God offers salvation forgiveness for all the sins you have ever committed in your life here take it take it it'll never become yours until you say thank you so that's what this verse means by grace that's God's hand you're saved by faith that's your hand taking it let me say that again by grace through faith you can be saved what if it is only grace no salvation if you only had faith God's not offering anything then there's nothing for you to take but God's offering is grace forgiveness salvation by faith you take it it's as simple as that so that's one picture of how we receive salvation the other picture is marriage think of a marriage all of you children would have seen some marriage somewhere or the other in a wedding I mean a wedding not a marriage when you go to a wedding you see a man and a woman standing up there in front getting married and the person who's conducting the marriage asks the man a question will you take this woman to be your wife he said yes so think of Jesus and you he wants to be united with you just like that man and woman are married and they live with each other for the rest of their life Jesus wants to be united with each of us it's like a it's like a wedding and supposing if you go to a wedding and the man asked the man will you marry the woman he says yes very happily and then he turns around to the woman and says will you marry this man and she says at the wedding well let me think about it and she's standing there and saying let me think about it or turns the other way and scratches her head and say I'm not so sure I need to pray about it a little more and all that is okay before you come to the wedding but imagine have you ever come to a wedding like that where a woman says I've got to think about it I'm not so sure or turns her head away that's exactly what a lot of men are doing and that's why they never get united with Christ it's very simple Jesus is standing there saying I want to be united with you I want to change your life you know when a man gets married to a woman the woman comes and lives with the man for the rest of his life everything that the man has belongs to her everything that Christ has belongs to me if I get say yes to him so this is important it's not enough that God says yes to you you have to say yes and you have to keep on saying yes because God's got abundant many many things to give to you so that's what Santos was speaking about our response to God if there's no response then God is not able to do what he wants to do sin is a very serious thing you have to be very very careful that the devil does not fool us with sin see sin is like poison if a person wants to kill someone somebody who hates someone an enemy and he wants to kill someone what he'll do is he'll give him a glass of milk or something very nice some juice or something and put just a few drops of poison in it a few drops of poison is enough to kill a person but this man who gets this stuff things all this bad chap is giving me a a cup of chocolate or some juice and he drinks it and he dies because there's poison in it now the reason I say that is to tell you that many things that look very attractive in this world which can be sinful because the devil's put some poison in it it looks very nice but the devil's aim is to make you go there and go away from God even in a little thing like we have examinations in India in schools children write examination it's a great temptation for children to cheat in an examination you know to look at somebody else's paper and copy it or to bring some little paper in their pockets and take it out and copy it that's cheating that's take you away from God it's a little sin the devil tells you to do it saying you can pass in the examination you pass in the examination but you lose your conscience you lose your soul it's like having your toes bitten off you got leprosy so it's not worth it remember to keep your conscience clear always so we heard Jeremy say about making God happy I'll tell you one way to make God happy is by reading your Bible even if you can't understand it even I when I got gave my life to Christ I was 19 even then when I read the Bible I didn't understand most of it but as I read it read it read it over a period of years I began to understand more and more so get into the habit of reading the stories in the Bible the New Testament especially and that's one way you can make God happy when you read the Bible you say you read something there then you say hey I want to do that for example it says that Jesus when he was a little boy yeah Jesus came came as a little child and he as a little boy we read in Luke chapter 2 that he obeyed his father and mother Luke 2 51 all the time he never disobeyed his mother or father in anything so when you sing in the church I want to follow Jesus it starts there to do whatever your mom and dad tell you that is so very important that is your response to God then what God gives you you can take God bless you all 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