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  GROWING UP IN CHRISTIAN LIFE
  by Zac Poonen
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Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of spiritual progress and
repentance in the Christian life. It highlights the need to examine
one's heart, seek forgiveness, and aim for perfection by turning away
from sin and seeking God's grace daily. The speaker encourages humility,
love, and a deep hatred for sin, urging listeners to press on towards
becoming more like Christ.

Topics: "Spiritual Growth", "Repentance and Forgiveness"
Scripture References: Hebrews 4:15, Acts 17:30, Matthew 23:3, Luke 9:23, Proverbs 4:18, Revelation 3:19, Matthew 11:28, Psalm 139:23, Mark 9:24, Romans 6:14

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon emphasizes the importance of spiritual progress and
repentance in the Christian life. It highlights the need to examine
one's heart, seek forgiveness, and aim for perfection by turning away
from sin and seeking God's grace daily. The speaker encourages humility,
love, and a deep hatred for sin, urging listeners to press on towards
becoming more like Christ.

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CONTENT
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I have spoken in more meetings across the world in the last two years
than in any other two-year period in my life. So I praise the Lord for
that. There's nothing that can hinder the spreading of God's word.

In the early days, they tried to kill the messengers and thought
Christianity would die by killing all the apostles and other Christians
and torturing them in the Roman amphitheaters with spears and lions and
all that, but it never killed Christianity. Two thousand years, it
spread more and more and more and more and pandemic or no pandemic,
God's word still goes on. So we praise the Lord for that.

But now when we come together at the end of two years, it's good for
each of us to look back over the last two years. For example, a lot of
our children have, anyway, in most countries in the world, the children
have not suffered by losing their school classes. They studied at home,
online, and most of the ones I know in India and US and elsewhere, they
got promoted every year to the next class, they completed their courses.

And we expect our children at the end of two years, if they were in
sixth standard two years ago, they should be in eighth standard now. If
a child of ours was in second standard two years ago, we expect the
child to be in fourth standard now, not sitting in the same class. Even
during a pandemic time, they're eager to complete their courses.

They don't want to sit in fail and sit down in the same class year after
year, they want to progress. And that is where each of us need to ask
ourselves, in the last two years, since we met together, how much
spiritual progress have we made? Has our life become purer? Have our
thoughts become purer today than it was two years ago? Have we become a
little more humble? That's the mark of progress, that you don't have
such high thoughts about yourself like you had two years ago. If so,
praise the Lord.

Have you learned to love others more? First of all, in your own family,
husbands, you love your wives more today? Have you got a promotion from
whichever class you were in two years ago to where you are now? Or
you're sitting in the same class? I know some married couples in some
parts of the world where they go from fourth standard back to second
standard in their married life. And sometimes to the kindergarten. And
sometimes drop out of school altogether.

That's how it is in the world. They don't make progress, they go
backwards in their married life. They may have loved one another and the
day they got married, but four years later, they fight and quarrel and
that's all right for ungodly worldly people.

But if Christ lives in your heart, and that's not enough. If you're
listening to him when he speaks to you, and when he tells you to deny
yourself and take up the cross every day and follow him. And when he
urges you to seek to be filled with his Holy Spirit, because you cannot
live the Christian life without the power of the Holy Spirit.

I mean, it's like trying to run a car without petrol. Or trying to turn
on the lights without electricity. Not possible, we know that.

But you can't live the Christian life without the power of the Holy
Spirit. And you know, the Holy Spirit is like a dove. He read when Jesus
was baptized, a dove came over him.

The Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit is a real
person. He's Almighty God, the third person of the Trinity.

But why did he come in the form of a dove? You know, I heard a story
once, it's a true story. Of a man who was a Christian man who was in
his, just outside his house, outside the window. A dove came and built a
nest and was there sitting peacefully.

But if the dove heard a door bang in that room, it would fly away. If he
heard the husband and wife shouting at each other, the dove would fly
away. And he said that was a parable to him.

Doves don't like noisy situations. The Holy Spirit moves away when a
husband and wife decide to fight with each other. He comes and settles
wherever people are humble and quick to ask forgiveness.

It has become my habit over the last few years now. Whenever I meet a
married couple whom I haven't met for some time, to ask this question,
do you still forgive one another? Are you quick to ask forgiveness from
each other? Well, many of them are honest and they say, well, Brother
Zach, it takes a little time sometimes. I say, okay, thank you for being
honest.

But just like a man running the 100 meters likes to improve his time or
a man running a marathon likes to improve his time. You also should
improve your time. Make it less and less the time taken to ask
forgiveness.

Maybe you waited one day to ask forgiveness. Okay, reduce it to half a
day and gradually over a period of time. Why don't you come to one
second? As soon as you discover you've done something wrong, immediately
say, I'm sorry.

That is my fault. Please forgive me. Do you know what that will do to
your marriage? If both of you follow that rule, simple rule, your home
will be like heaven.

Do you think the devil wants that? No. And that's why he keeps telling
you, no, no, no. You told him exactly what you think.

He needs to hear that or she needs to hear that. And if you don't speak
straight, they won't take advantage of you. And all these stories, lies.

As he was singing that song just now, that's the CFC stage. You'd have
probably seen the verse hanging up on top of the singers. Be merciful to
others just as God has been merciful to you.

You know, when we built our first meeting hall in 1981, which is 41
years ago in Bangalore, the brothers asked me, Brother Zak, what verse
should we put on this screen at the back behind the pulpit? I thought
about it and I said, what is the biggest problem that people pursuing
righteousness and holiness, like we in CFC are going to do? What is the
biggest problem that we shall face? The biggest problem or danger is the
danger of becoming Pharisees. Self-righteous, thinking that we are
better than others and being very unmerciful when somebody else makes a
mistake. So I said, I want you to put this verse up on top.

We've had that verse for 41 years. Be merciful to others just as God has
been merciful to you. I followed that rule myself.

To be quick to say sorry to anyone, whoever it is. I've gone sometimes
and apologized to people who are younger than my youngest son. Not that
I lost their temper at them, but I remember once in CFC where I
corrected a young brother very strongly for the way he was handling the
electronic equipment and the recording equipment and something went
wrong and something was damaged.

And somebody told me this brother made the mistake. So I went up to him
and I said, you're going to be very careful handling these things.
They're expensive.

And afterwards, somebody told me, Brother Zack, that was, he was not the
one. It was somebody else who caused the problem. So I immediately
rushed back and put my arm around that young brother whom I've corrected
and said, I'm really sorry.

I thought it was you. Please forgive me. He was younger than my youngest
son.

I have followed that policy all my life. I used to tell my children in
India, you know how the beggars come to the gate and bang and so many
people will get upset with them and say, go away, go away. I say, you
must never be rude even to a beggar because he's part of Adam's race
made in the image of God.

Maybe due to circumstances, he's become poor. And if you are ever rude
to a beggar, go back to him and say, I'm sorry. I tell you, if you
follow some simple rules like this, your life, you'll make, you'll get a
promotion, just like you expect your children to get promoted every
year.

You'll be promoted every year and you'll get to know God better and
better and better. See, God filled me with the Holy Spirit 47 years ago
and the six months after that, that CFC started in Bangalore and I can
really see how God has led me these 47 years. I'm not sitting in the
same class, I can say that.

That's not something to glory about. The Lord has just kept lifting me
up to a higher class year by year. I wish the same for all of you
because your life will be so much more wonderful and peaceful and
blessed.

I want to share a verse with you from Proverbs chapter four. Please
remember this verse. Proverbs chapter four and verse 18.

You must remember this verse all your life. It's the verse I usually
quote to people when their birthdays. It's a good verse to remember on
the first of, on a new year and at other times.

The path of the righteous person and when you accept Christ as your
savior, your sins are forgiven and God declares you righteous. And the
path of this righteous person in God's plan is to be like the sunrise.
Sunrise is when you're born again.

Before that it was all darkness, all dark night and then one day you
were born again. You can say the sun rose in your life. But the sun
doesn't stand there on the horizon.

The sun goes up and up and up and up and up and up until it comes right
overhead at noon day. And that is a picture of how our Christian life
should be. From the time we are born again, that we get our Christ
alive, become more and more Christ-like, Christ-like, Christ-like.

And till finally it reaches overhead that day when Christ returns. That
is when the sun is overhead and we'll be exactly like him. So from the
time we are born again till the day Christ returns and we are made like
him, we should not be in the same condition.

We should not be defeated by the same sins we were even one year ago in
the schools. They don't give them promotion every month. No, you know
that.

They wait 365 days, teach them for 365 days and then check up whether
they're ready for promotion. Okay, that's a good way. God has ordained
that the earth goes around the sun in 365 days.

It's a good time in which we can check up. So since the last time we all
came together in this hall two years ago, have you had a promotion to
two higher standards in your life? How was your thought life? How was
your speech? How was your attitude towards money? There's nothing wrong
in earning money. You know, you can be a millionaire and still be a
wholehearted disciple.

But if you love money, you cannot be a disciple. And you don't have to
be rich to love money. Poor people love money too.

We have many beggars in Bangalore who are absolutely poor. They sit on
the streets. Do you think they love money? Of course they do.

They're the poorest people in Bangalore, but they love money. What does
that prove? That love of money has got nothing to do with your bank
account, nothing to do with how much you earn. It's an inner thing.

You can be as poor as a beggar and love money. And I know some very rich
people, extremely rich people, millionaires. I know some Christians who
do not love money, who are large hearted and generous.

And so those are areas where we need to check up I'm not saying whether
you become perfect. I'm not saying whether you got your PhD, whether you
become like Christ. No, have you got at least a promotion to two higher
classes in the last two years since we met? Don't let the years go by
without checking out.

Which of your parents would not be bothered whether your children get
promoted at the end of the year? Not even one. You're eager when the
report card comes at the end of the year. Hey son, did you get a
promotion? Did you go to the next class? And how disappointed you will
be, you will feel if you feel that he's sitting in the same class next
year too.

God is like that. He's disappointed. You're not angry with your child.

You're disappointed. You say, you probably didn't pay attention to the
teacher in the class. And I would say you probably have not paid
attention to what the Holy Spirit tried to teach you in the last year or
two years.

I'll tell you something. You can do nothing about the past. Remember
that.

And there's no use weeping and weeping and weeping over the past. It's
good to feel sorrow, but there is a saying in English, don't cry over
spilt milk. If you're carrying a bowl of milk, and you trip and you
accidentally spill something, once she's crying, it's on the ground.

You can't drink that milk anymore. It's on the ground. Just be careful
for the rest of your trip with that bowl of milk that you don't spill
anymore.

So don't cry over spilt milk. Yeah, feel sorrowful about your failure,
but make sure you don't spill anymore. And what is the reason for lack
of progress? Primarily a lack of repentance.

If you were to, you can test this out. You ask the average Christian,
what is the last message that Jesus gave to the church? Go and ask any
Christian. Most of them will tell you, the last message Jesus gave to
the church was going to all the world and preach the gospel.

Well, that's the last message he gave when he was on the earth. I say
more than that. He said, go and make disciples.

Don't just preach the gospel, but make disciples. But that's not the
last message. The last message that Jesus gave to the church is in the
book of Revelation.

And you know that in his messages to the seven churches in Revelation
chapter two and chapter three. And when you get time, you look at it. To
five of those churches who are living in sin, he said, repent, repent.

Otherwise I will come and punish you in some way. And to all seven
churches, he said, if you overcome, I will give you a reward. So what is
the last message of Christ to the churches in the Bible? It is not going
to preach the gospel to all nations.

65 years after he gave that message, he says, repent. That's the last
message to the church. Be an overcomer.

That's the last message to the church. John had heard Jesus saying when
he was 30 years old, John, the apostle heard Jesus saying, going to all
the world and make disciples. And 65 years later, at the age of 95, he
hears the same Jesus saying, tell the churches to repent.

They are not the type of churches I wanted on the earth. Only two of the
seven. Are the type of churches I want.

The other five are backslidden. And the elders were backslidden. And the
last church of Laodicea, you know what he says? You're supposed to be a
Christian church, Revelation 3, 17.

And you say, Revelation 3 and verse 17. You look at your earthly wealth
and you say, I'm rich, I become wealthy. Yeah.

I'm not in need like all the other poor Christians around me in the
world. But you don't realize that spiritually, you're not rich. You're
not wealthy.

Earthly wise, oh yeah. You've got a grand house and you've got a car and
you've got nice clothes and you've got so many other things like that.
But you don't realize that spiritually, you're wretched, miserable,
poor, blind, naked.

Say, Lord Jesus, how many adjectives do you need to use to describe your
people? Isn't one word enough, wretched? No, wretched, miserable, poor,
spiritually blind, spiritually naked. To whom is it written? To the
messenger of the church in Laodicea, to the leader. And when the leader
is like that, the whole church is like that.

So what does he say? I've given up yet? No, he did not give up either on
that church. That's the encouraging thing, brothers and sisters. He
never gives up on us.

Even if you're in this wretched condition, he doesn't give up on you. He
says, it's because I love you. Verse 19.

Remember this verse, Revelation 3, 19. Those whom I love, I rebuke and I
discipline. Be zealous therefore and repent.

So he doesn't want this bad student in his class, this Christian who has
failed, to remain like that. He says, I want you to pass. I'm giving you
another chance.

So Revelation 3, 19. Do you know this verse? Everybody knows John 3, 16.
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

That's a mark of God's love. When I was a young Christian and somebody
asked me, how do you know God loves you? I quote John 3, 16. He loves me
because he sent Jesus to die for my sins when I was a sinner.

But today if you ask me how God loves you, I have one more answer. He
rebukes me if I make a slight slip up. He disciplines me like a father
using a rod on his son to make him more perfect.

And that is the proof of his love. Revelation 3, 19. It is only those
who I love, the Lord says, whom I rebuke and discipline.

I want to ask you, my dear brothers, please be honest with me or be
honest with yourself. Have you ever heard the Lord rebuke you in your
spirit? Rebuke. No, that's wrong what you did just now.

That's not the way to speak. That's unrighteous what you did there in
the office. It's a mark of his love.

If he had given up on you, he would not rebuke you. You know, the Bible
says those who are without discipline are not real children. The man
does not discipline all the wayward children on the streets.

He disciplines his own children. And so God, God's discipline is a mark
of his love. And the purpose, Revelation 3, 19 is to repent.

So I see that repent is the last message of the Lord to his church and
be an overcomer. The two are connected. If you repent, you can become an
overcomer.

And immediately after that, he says in verse 20, Revelation 3, 20, I
stand at the door and knock. Now, many people quote that word to the
unbelievers. Jesus is standing at the door of your heart and knocking.

But read carefully to who was that word written in verse 14 to the
leader of the church in Laodicea. He's telling an elder of a church to
open the door of his heart. Does it mean that he's not a Christian? He
was a Christian, but he backslid.

So how can you open the door of your heart, according to verse 19, by
repenting? When he says, behold, I stand at the door and knock, the word
immediately before that is repent. How do you open your heart for Jesus
to come and repent? Repent means when you see something wrong in your
life, say, Lord, I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry I did that.

I got that attitude, wrong attitude towards that person. I got upset
there. Forgive me.

I repent. I want to turn from it and I want to give it up, Lord. Please
help me.

You don't have the power to overcome sin. But God's promise is that if
you come under grace, sin cannot rule over you. We've preached that for
47 years in CFC.

And we've also preached the only people who get grace are those who
humble themselves. Now you say, Brother Zach, these are all elementary
lessons we have heard for so many years. Right? Absolutely right.

But what I ask you is, if you have not made progress in your life, you
haven't learned those elementary lessons. You know, I remember years
ago, I went to an automobile factory in India. I think they were making
the new Maruti cars many years ago in India.

And I saw on the wall, a little notice written on the wall in that
factory. I'll never forget it. It was written on the wall, we aim for
zero defect.

We aim for zero defect in making a car. I've never forgotten it. I said,
Lord, that's my aim too.

They are aiming for zero defect in making a car. And here God wants to
make me his child and make me like Jesus. I'm also going to aim for zero
defect.

I'm not happy if the Lord says, well, you're only 1% wrong. 1% wrong.
I'm aiming for 100%.

I'm not aiming for 99%. I'll tell you that. I'm aiming for 100% in every
area of my life, every subject in the Christian life.

Lord, I want to do what it says in Hebrews 6 verse 1. Let us press on to
perfection. I mean, if you saw those people singing from CFC at the
beginning of this meeting, you saw what was written on the pulpit.
That's another word that I chose.

I said, everybody who comes to this church must see that pulpit and see
what we preach here. Let us press on to perfection. Hebrews 6 verse 1.
The path of the righteous should be like the sun.

Do you know the sun never backslides? No, it never backslides. From the
sunrise all the way up to noonday position, it keeps going up, up, up,
up, up, up, up, up. Never a moment does it go back.

That is the example for us in Proverbs 4.18. The path of the righteous,
it's like the sunrise that shines brighter and brighter and brighter
until it comes to the perfect day when we have become 100% like Christ.
You know, that is the message we preach continuously because that is the
most needed message. It's like a doctor who says, if you got a family
doctor, the family doctor will tell you, hey, listen, I want everyone in
this family to have perfect health.

That's what you would want for your children. Supposing your child has
got, say, a number of sicknesses, say seven or eight different
sicknesses and you take it to the doctor. And the doctor says, okay,
we'll kill one or two of them.

You say, no, I want my son to be cured of all eight. I think the doctor
says eight. Why do you want all eight to be cured? Why not at least be
happy with at least six or seven are cured? No, I want all eight to be
cured.

Isn't that what a loving father or mother would say? If your child had
eight diseases, would you be happy with the doctor says, I cured it of
six or even seven and leave one disease still in his body? No, neither
does God want one sin remaining in our life, whatever it is. And you
know what sin is remaining in your life or whatever sins are remaining
in your life. I want to say to you, God is very patient.

He's very merciful, but he wants to make you perfect. He wants to make
me perfect. And that's why we say, let's press on to perfection.

So the way to press on to perfection, Jesus said, we got to do something
every day. We must certainly ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit
because it is only the power of God that keeps us strong. God gives his
grace to the humble.

So we must humble ourselves every day. We must listen to God's word
every day. I want to encourage all of you, my brothers and sisters, when
you get up in the morning, before you get out of bed, did you hear me?
You say, many of you say, I've got a good habit of reading the Bible in
the morning.

Okay, before you even get out of bed to read the Bible, as soon as you
wake up, talk a few sentences to Jesus, to your heavenly father. Begin
the day, the day begins for you when you wake up. Before you get out of
bed, say, heavenly father, my dad in heaven, I'm so happy that you're my
dad.

I'm not telling you words to say, but speak to him. Take a minute. I'm
not asking you to pray for one hour.

Take one or two minutes. That's not too long. When you wake up and say,
Lord Jesus, I want to be a little more like you today.

I want you to make me sensitive to sin. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and
help me to do what you told me to do in Luke 9, 23. You all know Luke 9,
23.

Very, very important verse. Luke chapter nine, verse 23. The path of
spiritual progress, the pathway to perfection.

Luke chapter nine, verse 23. Jesus said, if anyone wants to come after
me, he must deny himself, take up his cross every day. Not just at the
beginning of his life.

It's not a thing, you know, you accepted the Lord once and say, okay,
I'll take up the cross. No, every single day. You know, there's no verse
in the Bible which says, read your Bible daily.

It's a good habit. But for 1,400 years after Christ, there was no
printed Bible. The first printed Bible was around the end of the 15th
century.

So how could people read the Bible for 1,500 years? It's a good habit.
But there's the only thing the Bible says you must do. Jesus said you
must do daily.

The only thing is take up the cross and follow him. So what does it mean
to take up the cross? It means to die to myself. In my heart, there is a
throne.

And self sits there from the time we are born. That's why children
fight, grab, yell, scream, hurt one another, disobey their parents. It's
all because self is in the throne.

That's why we must teach our children from childhood to be obedient to
their parents, to break that power of self sitting on the throne. And
when we become a Christian, there's someone competing with Christ in our
heart for the throne. Self.

Self is saying, I've ruled in this man's heart, the woman's heart for so
many years. I want to continue to rule. Self is the one that tells you
don't apologize.

It's his fault. There is no situation where it is 100% the other
person's fault except when man sinned. When man sinned, it was 100%
man's fault and God's fault was zero.

But in every other problem that has ever happened between you and
somebody else, part of the problem is with you. Even if the major part
of the problem is with the other person. Always remember, there's never
a situation where 100% the problem is with your wife or with your
husband or with that person and zero with you.

Impossible. As long as we have a flesh that is corrupted by sin, there
is sin even in our good actions. We can be seeking our own honor,
motive, your attitude to somebody, even if you never speak about it.

That's a sin to have a wrong attitude. How much do you want to be
cleansed? You only want to be cleansed like the Pharisees from the
outside of the cup. Let me show you two good qualities of the Pharisees.

Have you heard me speak on the two good qualities of the Pharisees? Turn
with me to Matthew 23. Jesus himself condemned the Pharisees for many
things. He says you exploit the widows and you travel as missionaries
and make people double the children of hell.

But you have two good qualities. Number one good quality your Pharisees
have is your doctrines are all correct. Matthew 23 verse three.

Jesus told the disciples everything that the Pharisees tell you to do,
do. How can he say that if their doctrine was not correct? Will Jesus
tell you everything that the Roman Catholics tell you to do, do? Or
everything that the Jehovah's Witnesses tell you to do, do? Never,
because they've got some wrong teachings. But when it came to the
Pharisees, everything that they tell you to do, do.

That means their doctrines are all correct. Jesus is saying you
Pharisees, your doctrines are all correct. Second good quality, verse
25.

Matthew 23 verse 25. You clean the outside of the cup but the inside is
full of robbery. Inside their hearts is full of sin but their outer
life, it says is clean.

They were not committing adultery on the outside. They were doing a lot
of good things on the outside. They were paying their tithes.

They're going regularly to the meetings every week. Their external life
was good. Isn't that a good thing? There are many people whose external
life is bad.

Pharisees were not like that. You remember the Pharisee who prayed, Lord
I thank you that I'm not like other men thieves and adulterers and all
that. It's true.

They outwardly, their life was pure. So that's the second certificate
the Lord gives the Pharisees. Your external life is very good.

When people look at you on the outside, they think you're a very fine
person. So what are the two good qualities? Absolutely right in doctrine
and very good in your external life. Now you examine your own life.

What can you boast about sitting in a CFC church? I thank God that I've
got the right doctrine. Good. I thank God that my external life is very
pure.

I'm righteous with money and so many other things. My external life is
all very good. If that's all you can say, my brother, sister, you're no
better than the Pharisees.

It's the heart that's important. The thoughts, the attitudes to people,
even if you never speak about it. The motives with which you do certain
things.

The things you do in secret, in the dark, when nobody can see you. How
you behave yourself at home, which is really 90% of your life. That is
where God wants us to become truly godly.

And I want to tell you that God wants to fill you with the Holy Spirit
to make you do that. Let me give you one last verse. Hebrews in chapter
four.

One of the things we have taught in CFC through the years is that Jesus
Christ, when he came to earth, came with a man just like us and was
tempted like us, but he did not sin. Hebrews 4, 15. This is the verse
that helped me to overcome sin in my life.

When I said Jesus was tempted like me and he did not sin, through the
power of the Holy Spirit, then he can help me also. Hebrews 4, 15. He
sympathizes with us because he knows the struggle we have against sin,
but he was also tempted, but he did not sin.

So what? You say, so what? So what is in the next verse? Therefore,
because he did not sin, what shall we do? Just worship him? And say, oh
Lord, how wonderful you did not sin. No, therefore don't just worship
him. Therefore, you draw near to the throne of grace and say, Lord, give
me mercy.

Mercy is forgiveness for my past failures. Jesus never needed that. He
never sinned, but we need it, mercy.

And let's ask God for grace to help me in my time of need. What is my
time of need? Verse 15, when we are tempted. So we could read it like
this.

Let us come to the throne of grace every day and say, Lord, first of
all, give me mercy for all my past failures, cleanse it in the blood of
Jesus and give me grace today in my time of need when I'm tempted to
overcome because if grace is upon me, Romans 6, 14, sin cannot rule over
you. It's a wonderful message for the last 45 years and more. It changed
my life completely.

It changed my married life. It changed the way I brought up my children.
I'm very thankful now my four sons are following the Lord and they're
bringing up their children also in that way.

So, so many results come when we humble ourselves and God takes care of
our needs. And also as we have served the Lord through the years, Annie
and I, God has helped us to support ourselves so that we don't ask
anybody for money. We never send any prayer letters and we have trusted
God and we're not supported by anybody.

The Lord himself has supported us through our own resources. And I'm
very thankful for that when God has done that. And that's how the
apostle Paul lived, you know.

He tried his best not to be a burden to anybody. And that's what we have
taught in all of our, more than 100 CFC churches around the world now,
in 11 countries. That's what we have taught all the elders.

Yeah, support yourself and build a church. And we praise God. And I
thank God for you all in the church in Singapore that God raised up a
few years ago.

And through the years he's added different ones of you there. And I pray
for you, my dear brothers and sisters, that you will press on to
perfection. We can do nothing about the past.

What about if we have failed in the past? Maybe I should show you one
more verse. Acts of the apostles. It's one of my favorite verses.

Acts 17 and verse 30. Acts of the apostles, chapter 17, verse 30. We
have all failed in the past.

So if you look back over your life, any of you, and you say, well, my
past one or two years has not been too good. Take this verse. God is
overlooking.

That means he's not bothering about the time of ignorance. Ignorance
means you knew about the Lord, but you didn't know how serious sin is.
You are ignorant about the seriousness of sin.

That's why you sinned. And hopefully you'll become a little more serious
about sin today. God is overlooking your times of ignorance.

And now he's declaring that you should repent. You should repent and
turn, turn around. Repent does not mean give up sin.

It may take some years to give up some sins. It means change your mind
about it. In Tamil, translation of repent is the best translation I've
ever heard in any language in the world.

That means the mind must turn around. That is repentance. Not overcoming
sin.

That's the second step. First of all, the mind must turn around. That
means my attitude to sin has changed.

I hate it now. That's the question I want to ask you. Has there been a
manam tirambal in your life? Has there been a change of mind towards sin
in your life? Say, Lord, I want to hate sin.

Just like I hate snakes. It's like I hate poison. And I hate all filthy
things.

I want to hate it. I don't want to see it. Just like why do you flush
the toilet after you're finished using it? You don't want to see that
anymore.

I want to finish it all. Get rid of it. Take that attitude towards sin.

Lord, I want to hate sin in my thoughts, in my attitudes, in my word.
Well, from today onwards, I want to take this very seriously. I want to
manam tirambal, the change of mind.

Even if it takes me another whole year to overcome some sin, never mind.
My mind has changed today. I tell you, if all of you do that, something
will happen.

Your life will change from today onwards. Your married life will change.
Your home will become a little taste of heaven.

Yeah, I can say my home is a little taste of heaven. I wanted my
children to grow up in a home which is a little taste of heaven. I don't
want my children to grow up in a home where they are fighting and
yelling, and husband and wife, no.

Where there's peace reigning. Thank you for listening patiently,
brothers and sisters. Let's pray.

Bow our heads in prayer. Please examine your heart. Ask yourself one
question.

Is there anybody you need to forgive? Why your head is bowed? Forgive
that person. Say, Lord, I want to forgive that person. And that person.

And the other person. And that person. One sentence, that's all.

You will remember what he did. All your life you'll remember, but you're
forgiving him today. Second, is there anybody you need to ask
forgiveness from? Whom you hurt? Make a decision now.

Lord, at the first opportunity, I'm going to call up that person, or
meet that person, or write to that person, and ask that person's
forgiveness. I decide right now. Done.

There's been a manantirambal in your life today. The turning of mind,
and ask the Lord to cleanse your heart from that unforgiving attitude,
or the pride that prevented you from asking forgiveness. And say, Lord,
thank you.

Cleanse me in your blood. Heavenly Father, we thank you for these dear
brothers and sisters. It's been such a joy after so many years to be
able to meet them, and to see how you have added to their number.

You've given them good leadership, and been able to meet together
peacefully. And I pray that they'll grow in love for one another, and
together become one body, so that others in Singapore who are needy can
come. We're not looking for a big church.

We're looking for a pure church. We're not looking for rich homes, but
we're looking for godly homes. Thank you, Father.

You know that you will do more than we ask of you. Pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/s0MFthI1tNU.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/growing-up-in-christian-life/
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