======================================================================== THE FORM OF GODLINESS WITHOUT POWER by Zac Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon delves into the signs of the last days as mentioned in Matthew 24, emphasizing the importance of not being deceived and being watchful for the signs of Jesus' coming. It highlights the significance of the nation of Israel as a symbol and the need for discernment in the midst of deception. The speaker stresses the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and live a life of holiness and love, urging believers to seek the grace of God in times of temptation and to entrust God's truth to faithful individuals for future generations. Duration: 1:13:44 Topics: "Signs of the Last Days", "Discernment in Deception" Scripture References: Matthew 24:4, Matthew 24:32, 2 Timothy 3:1, Hebrews 4:15, 2 Timothy 2:1, 1 Peter 5:8, James 4:7, Galatians 5:22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon delves into the signs of the last days as mentioned in Matthew 24, emphasizing the importance of not being deceived and being watchful for the signs of Jesus' coming. It highlights the significance of the nation of Israel as a symbol and the need for discernment in the midst of deception. The speaker stresses the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and live a life of holiness and love, urging believers to seek the grace of God in times of temptation and to entrust God's truth to faithful individuals for future generations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Every Christian Church says that we are living in the last days. And I believe the last days began sometime after the, at the end of the Second World War in 1945. And many many things happened after that. For example, Jesus said, I'll give you one example, in Matthew 24. Where they asked him a question. The disciples asked him, what will be the sign of your coming? Matthew 24 verse 3. Now there are many signs, but they asked, what will be the sign of your coming? And then he said many things. First of all he said, deception, verse 4. See to it that nobody misleads you, verse 4. That happens many times. He repeated that many times. Now, what will you do, if a news comes in the paper, that there are many many thousands of counterfeit 500 rupee notes going around. And many counterfeit 100 rupee notes. And many counterfeit 10 rupee notes. How careful you will be to look at every note that you get, to see if it is genuine. So Jesus said here, be careful nobody deceives you. And then he said one more thing. He said, verse 32 and 33. This is an answer to some sign of your coming. He says, when a fig tree puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see this, you can be sure the Lord is right at the door. In the same way, when you see this, you can be sure the Lord is right at the door. Now, all the people who listened to him those days, when he was speaking this, were Jewish people in Israel. And in the old testament, the fig tree was a symbol of the nation of Israel. In the old testament, the fig tree was a symbol of the nation of Israel. We read once, Jesus came to a fig tree and found no fruit there. And he cursed it. And it withered up. That is a picture of the nation of Israel, where Jesus came and looked for three and a half years, he looked for fruit, he found no fruit. He only saw leaves, leaves, leaves, which is religion, religion, religion. So he cursed it. So he cursed it. He said, I don't want a religion without fruit. But then he said, many years later, maybe 2000 years later, Verse 32, the fig tree will again start putting forth, that cursed fig tree will put forth its leaves again. The fig tree that Jesus cursed will start putting leaves again. Then you can be alert, then you know that he is at the door. Then you can be alert, then you know that he is at the door. Now the fig tree is not putting forth fruit, only leaves. Now the fig tree is not putting forth fruit, only leaves. What he is saying is, this nation of Israel will wither away very soon. If you read that passage, The fig tree did not wither as soon as Jesus cursed it. The fig tree did not wither as soon as Jesus cursed it. Next day when he came, then only it withered away. Next day when he came, then only it withered away. So that means, when the curse on the nation of Israel will not be immediate, it will be a little later after Jesus spoke about it. So that means, when the curse on the nation of Israel will not be immediate, it will be a little later after Jesus spoke about it. And that actually happened 40 years after Jesus was crucified. And that actually happened 40 years after Jesus was crucified. After the Jews killed Jesus for 40 years, God gave them opportunity to repent. After the Jews killed Jesus for 40 years, God gave them opportunity to repent. When they did not repent, he allowed the Roman army to come and destroy the temple and the Jews were scattered all over the world. When they did not repent, he allowed the Roman army to come and destroy the temple and the Jews were scattered all over the world. The fig tree had withered completely. The fig tree had withered completely. But then something happened in 1948. But then something happened in 1948. 72 years ago. Suddenly, a nation that had disappeared for nearly 1900 years came up again, the nation of Israel. Suddenly, a nation that had disappeared for nearly 1900 years came up again, the nation of Israel. There was no fruit in the fig tree. But the leaves had come. There was religion. And the Jewish people came together again. Then you know, not that he has come, but he is at the door. Then you know, not that he has come, but he is at the door. So, I believe that we are living in that generation. So, I believe that we are living in that generation. Because that is the only specific sign that Jesus said. Because that is the only specific sign that Jesus said. The fig tree he cursed and which withered away, will once again put forth its leaves, but not bring any fruit. The fig tree he cursed and which withered away, will once again put forth its leaves, but not bring any fruit. So, the nation of Israel has not become a spiritual nation, not at all. So, the nation of Israel has not become a spiritual nation, not at all. There is no fruit there at all. But the leaves are there. Lot of religious people practicing the Old Testament law. Lot of religious people practicing the Old Testament law. Things which never happened for 1900 years. Things which never happened for 1900 years. So, how shall we live if we are so close to the coming of the Lord? So, how shall we live if we are so close to the coming of the Lord? Jesus said there will be a lot of deception. Jesus said there will be a lot of deception. And so, we must be very careful about the things that are happening in Christendom today. And so, we must be very careful about the things that are happening in Christendom today. Lot of people will talk about Jesus and about the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit and all that. Lot of people will talk about Jesus and about the Holy Spirit and about the power of the Holy Spirit and all that. But, there will be a lot of deception. For example, when somebody tries to sell gold, if he knows that you are not very expert in gold, he will sell you something fake that looks like gold, only painted like gold. In all my life my wife and I have never had any gold at all. Not even one gram. I can easily be fooled because I don't know what gold looks like. I have never handled gold. So anybody can fool me. But an expert goldsmith will study that carefully so that he is not fooled. So if Jesus said there is going to be wide scale deception in the last days, I want to be careful. I have to say Lord just like I am not an expert in gold, I am not an expert in spiritual things. And so like that goldsmith studies gold so that he is not cheated, I want to study the bible so that I am not cheated in these days. And so like that goldsmith studies the bible so that he is not cheated, I want to study the bible so that I am not cheated. In the last letter that Paul wrote, he wrote about 13-14 letters. The last letter he wrote was 2 Timothy. The last letter he wrote was 2 Timothy. In 2 Timothy 3 he says, Verse 1 Realize this that in the last days difficult times will come. So in the living bible it is paraphrased as, in the last days it will be very difficult to be a true Christian. So in the living bible it is paraphrased as, in the last days it will be very difficult to be a true Christian. He is not talking about persecution. In the first century there was a lot of persecution and Christians had to run and hide. But the danger he said in the last days will not be only persecution. But the danger he said in the last days will not be only persecution. One thing we have discovered in 2000 years since the time of Christ. Persecution has never destroyed Christianity. Persecution has never destroyed Christianity. Persecution has made Christians stronger. Persecution has made Christians stronger. If you want to know where do you find the strongest Christians today. If you want to know where do you find the strongest Christians today. It is not in Tamil Nadu. It is not in Sri Lanka. It is not in Tamil Nadu. It is not in Sri Lanka. Because Christians are not persecuted in these places. Because Christians are not persecuted in these places. It is not in America or England or Australia. It is not in America or England or Australia. It is in China where the maximum persecution of Christians is. They have to hide in a house and meet and police will come and chase them out. And beat them and lock them up. Who will be a Christian in such situations? How many of you will be a Christian if the police come to your home and chase you out because you are a Christian? Those Christians will be really strong. Persecution only makes Christians stronger. And makes the church stronger. The people who are killed for the name of Jesus Christ are called martyrs. And there is a man who said in the early days, The blood of the martyrs is the seed on which the church grows. Those who die for their faith. Their blood is like a seed from which churches grow. What he meant is that the more they shed the blood, the more churches grow. That is an amazing truth. Throughout the years, wherever there has been severe persecution, churches have been very strong. They love one another because everybody else is against them. Whereas in our midst, why do you find so many Christians having conflicts and bitterness against each other? Because nobody is attacking us. We live quite comfortably. And so much bitterness and unforgiving spirit remains. When it says here that difficult times will come in the last days, it is not talking about persecution. The devil came like a snake in Genesis chapter 3. In 1 Peter 5 it says he comes like a roaring lion. Which do you think, which way does he feel is more effective to destroy Christianity? Coming like a roaring lion is like persecuting. A lion coming to kill you. It is a picture of Satan persecuting Christians. He comes like a roaring lion. But he tried that in the first 300 years of Christianity and he found Christianity became more and more. He tried it in China and he found so many thousands of people becoming whole hearted Christians there. So Satan has seen that coming like a lion does not succeed. But when he comes like a snake, he could deceive Eve and Adam. And in these 2000 years he has deceived millions of people when he comes as a very clever beautiful snake. A snake does not jump on you frightening you like a lion. It very quietly crawls at the ground level and comes and stings you on your feet and kills you. It hides, you cannot even see it coming. You cannot see a snake coming in the grass. But a lion you can see, even at night you will see a lion coming at you. When the devil comes like a snake, it is more dangerous. He could have got into the lion in the Garden of Eden and frightened Eve. What would Eve have done? Eve and Adam would have run away from that tree. So he knew that. He said I won't come like a lion, they will run away. Come very cleverly and deceive them. Paul said we are not ignorant of Satan's schemes. Are you ignorant of Satan's schemes? How does he come to destroy peace in a home between husband and wife? He doesn't come attacking the home from outsiders. Many of you are married, how did some tension come between you and your husband or you and your wife? It's not through burglars or thieves breaking into your house. That's not how the difficulties came. But very cleverly the devil came between both of you creating some small misunderstanding over some silly little thing. We must be alert to Satan coming into our home like that. It is not God's will that Satan should enter any of our homes. And Satan comes between parents and children very easily. He separates them. Many of you, see if you are close to your children. Many of your children are doing things in secret that you parents don't even know what they are doing. See what the devil has done. These are days when we need to really be together and not let the devil come between us. What is the mark of a good marriage? See the church is not just full of individuals. The church has got many families. Almost every church I go to, I see almost an equal number of brothers and sisters. There are married people there. And they are not all very happy. The marriages are not happy marriages. They come to the church and sing so nicely. And they sit there like very holy people. But during the week, there are so many fights and quarrels at home. So many misunderstandings. And when the husband goes to work, he is lusting after other women in the office and other places. What sort of Christianity is this? We are not facing persecution as Christians. But the devil has come like a snake and destroyed the churches. We may think our doctrine is better than other people's doctrine. Here in 2 Timothy 3, as I said, it is difficult to be a true Christian in the last days. Not because of persecution. But in the last days, 2 Timothy 3, 5, people will still hold to a form of godliness. But they won't have the power. The form of godliness is the doctrine. The power is the power of love and the power of the holy spirit. So a Christianity where people have the right doctrine but don't love Jesus and don't love one another. That is what is described in verse 5. They are speaking the right doctrine. They say we are not like the Roman Catholics. We left all that. We are not like Jehovah's Witnesses. We don't believe those false doctrines. And we are not also like the dead CSI churches. We are not like all these dead denominations. We are not like these hypocritical Pentecostals. We say we have a new covenant teaching. We believe Jesus came with a new covenant. We believe that sin will not have dominion over us. Oh what all big big words. People would think that we are the holiest people on the earth. But if they come and live with you in your house for one week, what do they see? If they could check all your account books and see how you handle money, what will they see? You may find a lot of unrighteousness and sin there. And then if they come to see how these wonderful new covenant Christians brought up their children. And then you see a lot of evil there too. Children also who have a form of godliness. They have been taught the right language because they are sitting in CFC churches. They know the right language right from childhood. And if they are clever they can even preach it. To preach the new covenant doctrine you don't need to have a life. You just need to be clever. There are people like that in our churches. That is the form of godliness. Don't be deceived by that. Don't be deceived because somebody can speak very well. Don't be deceived because he is preaching the right doctrine. All that is only a form. It says here in the last days people will have a form but they won't have the power. They will have words but no power. Their words will all be correct. But they love pleasure more than they love god. They would rather spend 3 hours watching a cinema than reading the word of god. They would rather spend 3 hours watching a cinema than reading the word of god. But they will come to church. I must read the bible so I better read it everyday. But it is like people who take a pill which is very bitter. The doctor says you must take it if you want to be healthy. So they read the bible like taking a pill. They don't love Jesus. The power of godliness is not there. The power of godliness is not there. If you ask them would you rather spend 3 hours in fellowship with godly people or 3 hours watching a cinema, which would be your correct answer? If you ask them would they rather spend 3 hours watching a cinema or 3 hours in fellowship with godly people, what would be their answer? You can all share the word of god. The right answer is to say yes yes I like fellowship. Deep down in your heart what is it you love? That is what I mean by having a form of godliness without the inner power. The greatest power in this world is not the power of the atom bomb. The greatest power in this world is not the power of the atom bomb. The greatest power is the love of god. That was manifested on Calvary when Jesus died for us. That was the power that broke open the tomb and raised the dead. That was the power that broke open the tomb and raised the dead. The greatest power is not the power of the atom bomb. It is not the power of electricity or flying planes or rockets or anything. Listen carefully. The greatest power that was manifested on this earth is when Jesus conquered death and came out of the grave. And satan was defeated. That is the power you and I need. That is the power you and I need. That is the power Jesus offers us through the holy spirit. Sin drags us down into spiritual death. The power of resurrection lifts us out of that death so that sin cannot make us fall down. There is a force in this world called the force of gravity. It pulls everybody down. The power of sin is exactly like that. It comes into our children from the time they are born. It operates in us throughout our life till we die. We will be tempted by sin till the day we die. The great message of Jesus is not some theory of the new covenant. The great message of Jesus is not some theory of the new covenant. It is not saying that we don't have pastors and we have elders. Those are all words. The real power of God is seen in lifting us up so that sin does not pull us down. The real power of God is seen in lifting us up so that sin does not pull us down. See here is a pen. If I leave it, it will drop. Why? Because there is an unseen power called the power of gravity pulling it down. Because there is an unseen power called the power of gravity pulling it down. But now see, it is not falling. Because another power is lifting it up and overcoming the law of gravity. What power is that? That power is the power of life in my body. That life flows into my hand and that life can overcome the law of gravity. That is how Jesus keeps us from falling into sin. That is how Jesus keeps us from falling into sin. It is not by painting this pen into some color that it will overcome gravity. Or buying some expensive pen, that also will be pulled down. Or buying some expensive pen, that also will be pulled down. Nothing can prevent this law of gravity from pulling it down. But this power of life in me lifts it up. And lifts it higher and higher. But supposing I die this moment. But supposing I die this moment. Life in my body goes and it falls. This is a picture of Jesus' life. If it comes into us, it will always enable us to overcome sin. If it comes into us, it will always enable us to overcome sin. But if I only have the knowledge of Jesus but not the life of Jesus. But if I only have the knowledge of Jesus but not the life of Jesus. It will be like a dead man's hand. It can't hold it up. That's why it is not the knowledge of the doctrine that will keep us from sinning. It's the life of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit came to give us the life of Jesus Christ. That's the most important thing. He gives us many other gifts. For example, He has given me the gift of teaching the word of God. Take the Bible and make it simple for people. That's the gift of the Holy Spirit. It's not my cleverness. The Holy Spirit gives me that ability. It's not my cleverness. The Holy Spirit gives me that ability. He may give you some other gift. There are some people who have a tremendous gift of prayer. They can change circumstances through prayer. Not many like that, but there are a few. And then there are some people who have a tremendous gift of giving the gospel to others and bringing them to Christ from a heathen religion. These are all different gifts God gives. But all of them must have the life of Jesus. So more important than gifts is life. Unfortunately in Christianity, gifts have been given more importance than life. We admire people who can preach well. Just like people admire a politician who can speak very well. But you will be deceived like that. If you want to admire somebody, admire somebody who is trying to live like Jesus. If you want to admire somebody, admire somebody who is humble like Jesus. When he talks to you, he does not make you feel small. He may be a great man of God. But he makes you feel that you are very important when he talks to you. Even if you are the poorest person in that church. Or even if you are a small little girl. Or a small boy. A man of God will speak to that little child as if he is very very important. That is the mark of a godly man. It is a life. That man may not be able to preach, but he loves people. He loves people like Jesus loved him. That is the power of godliness. Here it says people will have a form of godliness, verse 5, 2 Timothy 3 verse 5. But they don't have the power. Why they don't have the power? Because like it says in the previous four verses. Like it says in the previous four verses. They love pleasure more than they love God. They don't have a great love for God in their heart. They love for an easy comfortable life. They want to have various types of pleasures. And sometimes sinful pleasures. There are so many so called Christians. Who watch dirty sexual pictures on their phone. But they will also come to church and sing songs. Or if they have a computer, they will see it on a computer. And some of them may be sitting in CFC churches. You know what I would say to such people? Examine yourself and see whether you are really born again. See whether you got the life of Jesus in you. Or just a doctrine of the new covenant. It's a life. The life of Jesus will not tolerate impurity. It's a life. The life of Jesus will not tolerate impurity. You will be tempted. Jesus himself was tempted. You will be tempted with sinful pleasure. But you will resist it. So the question is not whether you are tempted. Everybody is tempted. So the question is not whether you are tempted. Everybody is tempted. You will be tempted till the end of your life. Jesus was tempted throughout his life. But he overcame. Now then the devil will come and tell you that's because he was God. But if Jesus was God, he cannot say to you, follow me. How can I follow him? If he lived on earth as God, I would say I cannot follow you. I am a man. Jesus was certainly God. But he lived on earth as a man. And the Bible says he was tempted just like us. Let me use an example. Supposing you are living in a very very poor slum, earning very little. You earn say 300 rupees a month. And you are trying to live supporting yourself. You got this little hut and you are trying to live on 300 rupees a month. And you say this is impossible. And I can never keep my hut clean. It's so dirty. Now supposing some very rich man comes to you And says I will build a hut just like yours over here. And I will go to work in the same place you are working. And I will earn the same salary as you. And I will show you how I can live for 30 days. On that salary in one month. No. Very simply, maybe I eat only one meal a day. But I will keep myself healthy. And I will show you how we can live clean even though everything around us is filthy. And he does it. He works with you and earns 300 rupees. And you will tell him I think when we are not looking you are going to the ATM and using your credit card and taking out some money. That's how you are living. I have found out how you are living. When we are not looking you are going to the ATM and taking out some money and earning. You have got thousands of rupees in your bank account. And he says I tell you honestly I am a very rich man. I have got lakhs in my bank account but I do not use my credit card. I have got lakhs in my bank account but I do not use my credit card. I will throw my credit card to teach you how to live on this amount. And he is honest. He is sincere. Now you ask this question. Is he a very rich man? Yes he is a millionaire. But he is living here just like me. And he is able to live on this income. And he is keeping his place clean. That is a small illustration of how Jesus lived on this earth. He was spiritually a millionaire. He was God. But he did not use that power just like this man did not use the credit card. And that is why he is an example for us. So don't let the devil deceive you to say that Jesus lived as God on this earth. So don't let the devil deceive you to say that Jesus lived as God on this earth. He was God but he did not use his heavenly credit card when he was on earth. He lived like us and overcame. And that is why he was able to say no to me. Just like I said no to many things in my life. Let me give you one example. If you don't eat food for 40 days And you only drink water. That is called fasting. In fasting you can drink water. But you don't eat. You won't be thirsty because you are drinking water. But you will have tremendous hunger. And that is how Jesus was at the end of 40 days. He was not thirsty. He was hungry. And he had the power to make bread to eat it. Because he was anointed with the Holy Spirit he had all power. And the devil said now turn this stone into bread and eat it. Tell me what is wrong in that. Supposing God has given you power. He turned even stones into bread. And Jesus had that power. And you are not stealing the bread. You are not going to a store and stealing the bread. And if you make that stone into bread you are not depriving somebody else of his food. You are not harming anybody in the world by turning this stone into bread. And you are not turning this stone into lakhs of rupees. No just little bread to eat because I am hungry for 40 days. But Jesus said no. It was a very strong temptation. What was the temptation? When God gives you a power. Are you going to use it for yourself or to bless other people? That was the passage of scripture. God spoke to me when I left my job 56 years ago. This is what the Lord said. I have given you a certain power. Which you never had. The power to preach powerfully. The power to teach and explain the word of God in a simple way. That is not your ability. I gave it to you from heaven. Now lot of people will want to invite you and listen to you. And you can use this power to make money for yourself. I have given you the power to write books about what you teach. And like all the other authors in the world you can sell those books and make money for yourself. But the Lord said you must never never use my power to get anything for yourself. Not only money you can get a lot of honor through the gift I have given you. You must not receive any honor for yourself either. Never take any title except brother. No pastor, no reverend, nothing. The Lord said that to me 56 years ago. And by the grace of God I have tried to be faithful to that command of God. Never preaching for money. Never writing any book for money. Never preaching for honor. Jesus was tempted. Now how did I overcome that? By looking at Jesus' example. He had power and he did not use it for himself. But he used that power to make bread for 5000 people once. And another time for 4000 people. He would use that power to make bread for others but never for himself. I am giving you one example where I could follow Jesus' example and it helped me. And it has protected me. And I have taught this principle to all CFC elders. Don't try to gain anything for yourself money or honor through your preaching gift. If somebody gives you a gift because they love you, take it but don't preach or teach for the sake of money. I am not saying if somebody gives you a birthday gift you should not take it. People gave Jesus money, he took it. You read that in Luke chapter 8 verse 3. But he never preached for money. He never healed people for money. So that is an example we can follow. In the same way he was tempted the Bible says in every point as we are. Hebrews 4 verse 15. We have a high priest who was tempted exactly like us in every area but he did not sin. So you say therefore what? It says in the next verse. Therefore let us also go to that same throne of grace and get the same grace that Jesus got so that we can also overcome. See grace is the power that helps us to overcome sin. God's throne is called the throne of grace here. The throne where he gives power to overcome sin. And here it says we can get grace in the time of our need. Do you know what is the time of our need? Not when we have less money in the bank. No. The time of our need is when we are tempted to sin. It is not a sin to be poor. But to do something against God's law that is a sin. That is our time of need. Not when your bank account has come down to 10 rupees. No. The time of need is when you are tempted. In that time of need we should go to the throne just like Jesus went and get the same grace. That is what we preach in CFC. A life that helps us to overcome. When you are tempted in your home to get angry. To speak a rude word to your husband or wife. To do something unrighteous in your place of work to make a little more money. To get into an argument with an auto rickshaw driver because he asked you for a little more money. So many situations where we can seek for peace. We need grace from above. That is how Jesus lived. What is the greatest miracle that Jesus did? If I were to ask you what is the greatest miracle that Jesus did? 60 years ago when I was a young man if you asked me I would have said raising Lazarus after he was dead for 4 days. That is what many of you will say. That is not the answer I give. What is the greatest miracle that Jesus did? He lived for 33 and a half years without sinning even once. Not even one sinful thought. Not even one sinful word. Not even one sinful attitude towards anybody. Not one sinful action with his hands or legs or anything. And not even one sin in the motive with which he did things. To live like that for one day is a miracle. And he lived for 33 and a half years. Can you live one day without sinning even once? I don't mean in words. That we can do. If you come to life with victory you can control your words that you can live without sin in your words. And you can even avoid sin in action. But sin, even thoughts you can overcome. But in attitudes, you know your attitude towards another person. Looking down on someone. Or comparing yourself with that person. It is so difficult to live in freedom from all sin even for one day. Or in the motive with which we do things. See these are the areas where we sin. In our actions. Words. Thoughts. Attitudes to people. Which is hidden. And the motive with which we do things. These are the five areas where we sin. And Jesus did not sin in any of these areas for 33 and a half years. And he did it as a man through the power of the Holy Spirit. And he told his disciples when I go I will send the Holy Spirit to help you to live this life. You know the greatest gift we need is not healing from our sickness. Sickness is not as serious as sin. Let me ask you a question. If you have a little injury on your hand, is that more serious or cancer in your body? Cancer is so serious it will kill you. A small injury will get healed in no time. In the same way, sickness in the body is only like a small injury. Sin that takes you to hell is like a cancer. Now tell me. Which is more serious, sickness or sin? How much we get worried when we get sick. Oh lord heal me. How much money we are willing to spend to go to hospitals to be healed. Do you make even half that effort to overcome sin? When you become a godly person, sin will be more serious to you than sickness. And that is the type of brothers and sisters we need in CFC. That is the type of elders we need in CFC. You know Paul had a great burden in 2 Timothy chapter 2. He had come to the end of his life. He died when he was about 67 years old. He was converted when he was 30 years old. And he had about 37 years of a Christian life. What a lot he accomplished in those 37 years. Such a work that has continued for 2000 years. Now he knew he was dying. He says in chapter 4 that the lord has told me my time has come to go. In chapter 2 he says, Timothy I have a burden. Whatever you heard from me. 2 Timothy 2. Whatever you heard me teach you. You must look for faithful men and entrust it to them. He doesn't say teach them. He says entrust them. It's like here is 100 lakhs, 1 crore rupees. I am entrusting it to you. That is the treasure of God's word. He says look for faithful men. You won't find many but you find 3 or 4 faithful men and entrust it to them. And those faithful men teach them to teach others in the next generation. So Paul says I am the first generation. Timothy you are the second generation. You are like my son. And then you must find people who are younger to you for the third generation, faithful men. And teach them to teach the fourth generation. What a burden we had. Many of us who have been in CFC now for 40-45 years. We have become old. I am not saying we are going to die tomorrow. I am not looking forward to death. I am waiting for the coming of the Lord. I never look forward to death. I look forward to the coming of the Lord. So I am not saying we are all going to die. But the work has increased so much. We need many Timothys. And we need many Timothys who will train other people. And who will train other young people who are 18-19 years old in our churches today. That is our burden. That God will raise up such young, zealous brothers and sisters in our churches. Who don't just speak words but who have a power to overcome. Who can manifest the love of God through their life and their actions. And for that you need the Holy Spirit. You must pray to God. Oh Lord fill me with the Holy Spirit. I was so defeated by sin when I was in my 20s. Even though I was born again. I said Lord and I cried out to God and I prayed and I fasted and said Lord fill me with the Holy Spirit. And God filled me with the Holy Spirit. And changed my life. And gave me a wife who was filled with the Holy Spirit. And together we could serve God. We want many many many brothers and sisters like that. I love Pentecostals. I love believers in every church. But I feel so sad that the Pentecostals emphasize speaking in tongues as if that is the biggest thing. No the biggest thing is to overcome sin. The biggest thing is to love everybody. Not hate anybody. I can say before God today I don't hate anybody in the whole world. All the people who have harmed me I have forgiven them long ago. The power of love is so strong. But I can't do it myself. The Holy Spirit gave it. The Holy Spirit also gave me the gift of speaking in tongues. But that is like my little finger. I don't cut it off. I don't say I don't want the gift of tongues. But I don't make this little finger 20 meters long. That's wrong. Making this everything is wrong and cutting it off is also wrong. That is why I feel sad that the Pentecostals are speaking in tongues the main thing. They made this little finger 20 meters long. And so the result is this life of holiness and love is gone. And God has raised up CFC churches to say this life of holiness and love is what you need and you also need the little finger. But your heart is more important than your little finger. And that's what we emphasize. Love God with all our heart and love one another just like we love ourselves. And to love others in the church just like Jesus loved us. That is the power we must see in every single CFC church. If that power of love is not there, we have just got a form of godliness. We need elders who got the spirit of a servant to serve people to bring them to this life. I pray that God will raise up many people like that. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Please bow your heads. And close your eyes. And speak to the Lord Jesus directly. Say Lord I am sorry I have a form of godliness. I know the doctrine. I speak nicely, I sing nicely. But Lord I don't know how to love. Help me to love my wife as you love me. And to love my husband as you love me. Help me to love my fellow believers. Even if they don't love me. Lord I want to be a useful member in your church even if I have no gift of preaching. I want to serve. I want to encourage others. Maybe with one sentence. And I want to pray. I want to pray for my fellow believers. I want to be ready for your coming Lord. Help me to keep my heart clean. And help me never to forget what I heard today. Thank you for hearing me. In Jesus name. I bless you all brothers. I am very happy. Thank you for paying attention. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/_plPG3jm6cw.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/the-form-of-godliness-without-power/ ========================================================================