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  VALUABLE TRUTHS THAT GOD TAUGHT US
  by Zac Poonen
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Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of passing on the truths
of God's Word from generation to generation, focusing on living a life
of humility and obedience to God. It highlights the need for individuals
to grow in spiritual maturity, learn from Jesus' example of humility,
and seek to please God above all else. The message encourages believers
to hold fast to the standard of sound words, avoid useless arguments,
and be vessels for God's use, always seeking to live a life that
glorifies Him.

Topics: "Generational Faithfulness", "Humility and Obedience"
Scripture References: Psalms 78:3, 2 Timothy 2:2, Matthew 11:29, John 6:38, Romans 15:3, 2 Corinthians 5:9, John 5:19, John 15:5, Philippians 4:13, 1 Timothy 3:15, 2 Timothy 2:1

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon emphasizes the importance of passing on the truths of God's
Word from generation to generation, focusing on living a life of
humility and obedience to God. It highlights the need for individuals to
grow in spiritual maturity, learn from Jesus' example of humility, and
seek to please God above all else. The message encourages believers to
hold fast to the standard of sound words, avoid useless arguments, and
be vessels for God's use, always seeking to live a life that glorifies
Him.

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CONTENT
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There is an old English song which says that even if you roam around the
world and find many palaces there is no place like home. And if you have
found a home in the church like I have found for 43 years, then we will
say with me Sare Jahan Se Acha Hai CFC Hamara which means there's in the
whole world there's no place like CFC. The great tragedy is even in our
own homes you know how children grow up and they don't value their home
enough until they go away and see how it is elsewhere.

I don't know if all of you really value this church if you're a part of
it. I can honestly say this is my family. I have many earthly relatives
but none of them are close to me like this church family and it's been
like that for all these 43 years from the time when we started when we
were only two families right at the beginning.

So the thing is to continue that spirit in the coming generations
because time moves on and when we started Ian and I were the ones who
prayed together and before the months before CFC started and I don't say
that Ian and I are getting old. I just say we are not getting younger so
we need to pray that the new generation will rise up everywhere in all
the churches that the Lord has planted so that his name will be
glorified. I want to first read from Psalm 78.

The Psalmist is not a Psalm of David. It's a man called Esaf who wrote
it. He says here verse 3 what we have heard from our fathers and what
our fathers have told us we will not conceal them from their children
but will tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord.

Psalm 78 verse 5 and we his strength his wondrous works that he has done
the reason is that they verse 5 last part should teach them to their
children and here's the Psalmist concerned about grandchildren that the
generation to come might know even those children which are not yet born
that they may arise and tell them to their children to the fourth
generation and what should they teach them they should that they put
their confidence in God and not forget the works of his works of God but
keep his commandments. So that is our burden also as we move on from
generation to generation. We read in the Bible that the Israelites
wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and that was one generation and
we have passed that 40-year mark in cfc so we really need another
generation among all those of you sitting here to rise up and take the
responsibility seriously and it's like a relay race when Jesus went up
to heaven he passed that baton to the next person running the race those
are the apostles they took the baton and handed it to the next
generation and like that through the years there's always been a remnant
not the big churches i mean if you read the history of christianity the
big books on the history of christianity tell you about the big big
churches the big denominations but the people of God were not usually
there the people of God was in a small remnant i mean you see that for
example in the time of king Saul the real people of God were a small
remnant that hung around with David in a cave and even in the time of
Jesus the big church or the big recognized religious group were the
Israelite Pharisees and the Sadducees and all but the real remnant was
Jesus and his few disciples 12 of them who wandered around and were not
recognized so all these two thousand years there's always been a small
remnant which has existed and there are one or two books on that subject
that take up the history of this remnant that has been right through
generation after generation after generation the reason is you know when
God starts something for example you take the apostle Paul he did a
great work in Ephesus and started a church there he worked three years
there and he preached day and night for three years he told him i never
took any money from you i didn't even want any clothes or gifts or
anything i served you day and night and he says now i'm going away and
what this holy spirit has told me is that all once you go the wolves
will come in and the wolves will come and destroy this flock and the
elders will be the first ones who are attacked and those elders will
make little groups and get people to join them you read that in Acts
chapter 20 that's what Paul told the elders when he was leaving but what
i want you to notice there in Acts 20 is Acts 20 verse 29 i know that
after my departure savage wolves will come in and they won't spare the
flock and from you elders i don't know how many of them were there we
read in verse 17 he called the elders maybe four or five elders and Acts
20 verse 30 some of you will begin to say perverse things that means to
draw away people after yourself can you imagine an elder who sat under
the ministry of the apostle paul for three years could not get his
spirit but he never sought his own and never took anything for himself
labor day and night foregoing his own health in order to bless the
people and these elders never got gripped by that spirit they were
seeking their own and so once paul went it says in verse 30 they would
draw away disciples after them now this was not a prophecy it was a
warning there's a difference between a warning and a prophecy prophecy
means it will be fulfilled warning means like jonah went and told
nineveh the city of nineveh in 40 days the city is going to be destroyed
and they they repented from the king downwards they repented and that
prophecy was not fulfilled because they took the warning seriously so
here is a warning if these elders had taken it seriously what that great
apostle of god had spoken the church in ephesus would not have declined
to what you read in revelation chapter 2 the lord tells the church in
ephesus you left your first love what paul said as a warning they didn't
take seriously it became like that and in our church also god has given
many warnings through the years we warn strongly against sin we teach
people to submit to their elders for their own in church matters anyway
for for their own protection we teach parents to bring up their children
in the fear of god those who take these things seriously it goes well
with them those who take it lightly and think that oh well that's not
going to happen to us that's how all the warnings that god gave through
the prophets in the bible many people said no no it won't happen to us
and it happened so we have to be very careful we are not any different
from any of them there is a need for us to take what we hear seriously
so in that connection i want to turn to 2nd timothy 2nd timothy is the
last letter that paul wrote we read here in 2nd timothy chapter 1 paul's
writing to and saying to timothy in verse 2nd timothy 1 13 he says
please hold on tightly to the standard of sound hygienic healthy words
which you have heard from me in the faith and love which is in christ
paul was happy that there was at least one person who was gripped by the
truth and so he says hold on to that what you have heard i would say to
all of you those who are serious those who have the spirit of timothy to
take heed to what you've been hearing here through the years please hold
on to the standard retain the standard everywhere in christendom the
standard is going down in western countries it has become so bad that
divorce which is unheard of in the church become very common and not
only divorce if people divorce and get remarried in the same church and
they even become pastors in that church it was not the standard in the
beginning jesus said if you divorce your wife it's adultery that's what
we have preached that's why in all these 43 years we have never had a
divorce in all of our churches for those who are committed members of
this church i'm not saying that those who were divorced in their
unconverted days if they repent we will not welcome them if god welcomes
them we will welcome them too but in the church we will never see a
divorce and we will never marry a divorced person but in the west it's
become common among the leaders and even very well-known people they
marry divorced people and they well-known preachers i mean people accept
it the standard has gone down so much so paul's word is very important
retain the standard of hygienic healthy words which you heard from me in
faith and love i think timothy held on to that till the end of his life
but in succeeding generations decline went in so what happens is when a
movement or a church like ephesus declines and the elders don't take
what is said seriously you know in the book of revelation it speaks
about overcomers and even the whole church declines there will be some
turn with me to revelation in chapter three to this church he says to
the leader of this church the messenger word angel means messenger that
means the senior elder in that church the last part of verse one you
have a name that you're alive but you are dead it's possible to be in a
church which over the years has built up a name for holiness for a
standard of god's word and people can join a church like a lot of people
join cfc oh it's got a good name let's be there but you yourself could
be dead you have a name that you're alive but you're dead and that's
what happened to a lot of people in that church so god was going to
reject that church but see what's for but you have a few people i told
you about the remnant and that's what god's looking for in this church
in every church a remnant a few people who have not soiled their
garments in other words who kept their conscience clear we have taught
in this church the importance of keeping a good conscience before god
and before men that's the meaning of they did not spoil their garments
and they will walk with me in white because they are worthy it's an
amazing statement in a book like revelation where it says lord thou
alone art worthy oh lamb of god thou alone art worthy the lamb of god
turns around to some people sitting in the church in sardis and says you
are worthy can you imagine that jesus turning around to some people in
one of his churches and saying you guys who kept your conscience clear
and you did not become like all the other believers in your church they
lived on the good name the church had but you didn't live on that good
name you just kept your conscience clear you will walk with me in white
because you're worthy i want to hear that word when jesus comes again i
hope you want to hear it too it's very simple very easy to keep your
conscience clear to keep your conscience clear does not mean i have
overcome every sin in my life no it means that if i slip up i set it
right immediately that's the meaning of keeping your conscience clear
you will never come to victory over sin if you don't start with keeping
your conscience clear let me tell you that they have not soiled their
garments that means when some dirt came on the garment they washed it
off immediately so the garments were clean we have a they will walk with
me in white we have a great example of that in acts chapter 23 acts of
the apostles in chapter 23 we read the apostle paul saying to the when
he was standing in a court before the high priest he didn't know it was
the high priest some man sitting up there and he says to the whole
council that was judging him acts 23 one brethren i have lived my life
with a perfectly good conscience he did not soil his garments not only
before god but also before men up to this day that means during the
first 30 years when he was a jew before he became a christian he lived
by the standard of the 10 commandments and kept his conscience clear
according to the standard of the 10 commandments and after he became a
christian and the standard was higher which was that you don't get angry
and you don't lust after women and you always speak the truth and love
your enemies etc again he kept his conscience clear by the new standard
not always perfectly but he kept it clear that means kept it clean and
as soon as he said that the high priest who was so angry because he
never kept his own conscience clear and he didn't believe anybody could
like a lot of people today they don't believe there's any such thing as
victory over sin just because they don't have it themselves they think
nobody can have it so he's commanded the people there to strike paul on
the mouth and now see what happens in verse three paul immediately loses
his good conscience he speaks to the high priest in a way that jesus
would never speak and when you speak in a way that jesus would not speak
it's a sin whoever it is paul or anybody god will strike you you
whitewashed wall verse three you sit there according to the law and in
violation of the law order me to be according to the law according to
the legal standards paul was right in what he said the high priest had
no right to tell somebody to slap him on the mouth when he's standing
there that's against the law so what paul said was right but he had no
right to speak like that sometimes you know what you say is right but
the way you speak to an older person that may not be right it's what you
got to learn there's a lot of disrespect in the world today you can
argue and say but what i said was right yeah what you said was right but
that is not the way to speak to an older person to someone older than
you so when the people told him that was high priest oh he said i'm
sorry he set his conscience right immediately because i see that god's
word says you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people and i did
it so i learned something from there how paul kept his conscience clear
all the time as soon as he was aware he apologized acknowledged his
error that's where all of us have hope dear brothers and sisters and
there's only one thing required to acknowledge your error and that is
humility and that is the one thing that is lacking in many many
christians even in cfc the humility to immediately say i'm sorry that
was my mistake please forgive me the 10 most difficult words for human
beings to speak i'm sorry that was my mistake please forgive me most
difficult words for a husband to speak to his wife when he hurt her in
some way i'm sorry darling that was my mistake please forgive me or for
a wife to say to her husband why is it so difficult pride and that is
the reason why people don't grow when we think of 43 years cfc has gone
by what is it we have emphasized in these 43 years god gives his grace
only to the humble we used to have that verse somewhere here that's over
there yeah according to god used to have it in the other building too
and it's over there god gives his grace only to the humble that's what
you've emphasized all these years how many people have taken it
seriously you know you can see a verse on the wall and sometimes get
familiar with it and it doesn't even affect you i never in my life want
to be unaffected by that verse god gives his grace only to the humble i
want grace i cannot live in this world without grace i cannot preach
without grace i cannot serve without grace i cannot be a father a good
father without grace i cannot be a good husband without grace i cannot
be a good brother to all of you without grace i cannot be a good elder
without grace in fact i can do nothing without grace and god says he'll
give it to me abundantly only one condition humble yourself that's what
we have stressed from the beginning 43 years we have preached god gives
his grace to the humble how many of you have understood it in your head
all of us how many live in the reality of that every day i don't know
because if you were living in the reality of that every day there would
be such fantastic spiritual growth in you i must say it's not there in
many many people as i expect and in this area what are we stressed we
have stressed that this humility is not something we learn from the
dictionary you can look up the dictionary what is the meaning of
humility and try to follow that you'll go astray turn with me to matthew
11 and verse 29 what have we taught in cfc for 43 years jesus said learn
from me the middle of that verse for i am humble in heart what is the
difference between the humility of jesus and the humility that you see
in some people you say he's a very humble man even some non-christians
they say he's a very humble man but most christians their humility comes
from sin i have sinned so much so i think of that and i humble myself
that's good that's called the humility of the sinner and sinners must be
humble but when jesus said learn humility from me he was not humble
because he was a sinner no he had not committed a single sin how can a
person who's never committed sin and has got no sin in him always
overcome how can he be humble that is a mystery to be humble when you
have so much sin in you that's fairly easy in fact you should be humble
if you have failed so many times but jesus said learn humility from me
it is another level of humility which is more than the humility of the
sinner the humility of jesus christ and that's what we have stressed the
humility of jesus was seen i'll tell you in one single statement turn
with me to john chapter 6 and i believe that is the mark of the humility
of a saint not the humility of the sinner the humility of a saint who's
living in victory over sin john chapter 6 the humility of jesus is seen
i'll read two or three verses to you and you'll understand it john 6 38
i came from heaven never to do my own will that is true humility lord
heavenly father i never want to do what pleases me i never want to do my
will but i only want to do your will that is true humility uh romans
chapter 15 romans 15 and verse three one simple statement you see his
humility here if you want to learn the humility of jesus jesus said
learn from me christ did not please himself at any time romans 15 3 do
you want to live this life it's an invitation no compulsion i'm inviting
you to live a life where you never do your own will where you never
please yourself in anything but you only want to please the father you
say is such a life possible the apostle paul was a human being when you
think of jesus you say oh well he was perfect let's look at paul 2nd
corinthians and chapter 5 he says 2nd corinthians 5 verse 9 this is our
ambition paul says whether we are at home in heaven you read the
previous verses you know he's talking about heaven is our home in the
first eight absent from the body at home with the lord so whether at
home with the lord in heaven or absent from the lord here on earth let
me paraphrase it whether i'm in heaven or i'm on earth my one ambition
is to please god to please the lord you know young people have ambitions
they want to get a good job and be an engineer or a doctor or some big
job and earn a lot of money and build a house and live comfortably and
get a good car good ambitions good for young people to have ambitions so
that they don't become beggars but get a good job and support themselves
i encourage all young people to work hard for that but over and above
all that here's the ambition that any christian should have our ambition
is to be always pleasing to the lord that is a really humble person i
don't want to please myself very often somebody gets angry with you you
want to say what pleases you give it up say i will not please myself i
will not do my own will that is humility i tell you something you walk
that way you will experience such grace in your life that you'll be
amazed many of us are not experiencing it you're missing something turn
with me to john chapter 5 jesus said in verse 19 here's another example
of the humility of jesus verse 19 truly i say to you the son can do
nothing of himself unless it is something he sees the father doing i was
recently in our church in loveland where one message santosh was
speaking my son and he was quoting something that he heard in an audio
bible bible which is spoken story of the bible spoken an audio for
little children and he said something that really moved my heart it
brought tears to my eyes he said in that bible that man says like this
that when jesus was hanging on the cross you know the well-known words
we have read my god my god why have you forsaken me i mean the way he
spoke it was papa where are you you get that you get it jesus hanging on
the cross and saying papa where are you it's like the cry of a little
two-year-old who's held his dad's hand and walked and then suddenly it's
dark and the father has left his hand picture this in your mind a little
two-year-old walking holding his dad's hand all along and suddenly it's
dark and the father has taken away his hand and he's lost and he says
papa where are you that's how jesus lived all his 33 and a half years
he's not like these proud people who say ah i can walk myself i can
cross the road myself big 10 year old says that the two-year-old says
papa hold my hand do you say that is that your relationship with your
heavenly father i don't want to speak something which i feel like
speaking you know paul said that's what jesus is saying here the son can
do nothing by himself except what he sees the father do paul said in one
corinthians in chapter 13 verse 11 when i was a child i spoke like a
child reason like a child when i became a man i did away with childish
things you know then on earth it is like that i want you to understand
the spiritual meaning to this verse speaking like a child shall i
explain it to you i can do everything i don't need to pray as long as i
earn my money and i'm in good health come sunday to the church show my
face here and don't do anything that will spoil my testimony everybody
accepts me i'm okay that is speaking like a child but when we mature and
become a man then we begin to speak like jesus i don't know i need to
seek god i don't know what to do father what should i say i'm not very
sure what i should say 30 years ago when i was a young believer i knew
what to say today i don't it's my own testimony as a preacher i started
preaching 55 years ago i knew what to say i could study the bible and
give a good message even to 5 000 people i did it but today it's
different that was when i was a child i spoke like a child but now i put
away those childish things i've come to see what maturity is like jesus
the son can do nothing unless what he sees the father doing because what
we think is going to benefit everybody may not be what they need my own
cleverness i say oh yeah i think i know what will benefit people or i
can work out a good sermon for these people once i could not now now i
say i don't know the son can do nothing unless he sees what the father
is doing this is what we have taught and i'm not saying this has
happened to me suddenly it's something i've grown into and i'm not some
of you are young i'm not asking you to condemn yourself maybe you are in
the you're like i was when i was a child okay but now what i say is are
you growing some of you been here 20 30 years are you growing are you
growing in humility are you seeing jesus example or is your head full of
very high thoughts about yourself if you don't know how to speak in
kindness to your wife you're a child even if you've been here 30 years
or to your husband if you don't know how to speak in kindness to your
son and daughter you're a child spiritually you have to grow up and
growing up is to be like jesus and saying i don't know i want to lean
upon the father the best example this is something we have taught in
this church for 43 years i'm just trying to remind you of the things we
have taught for 43 years john 15 and verse 5 what jesus said apart from
me you can do nothing i look at these two verses behind me here on the
wall as i was sitting there without christ i can do nothing that's here
john 15 verse 5 that's what we have taught repeatedly and the other side
of the coin philippians 4 13 which is with christ i can do everything
the more we grow in the christian life the more those two verses become
real to us and when those two verses become real to us there cannot be
any glorying that i did this or i can preach like this or i prayed for
somebody and they got healed or i did this i did no no no no it was all
the lord and then the verse in the middle becomes true we learn to be
merciful to others when they make mistakes just as god has been merciful
to us i mean i think of the years when i spoke like a child and i
thought i was i was an arrogant proud creature capable of doing things
and the lord was merciful to me i can be merciful to people today
because he was merciful to me i have been such an object of god's mercy
through the years and i'll tell you honestly my testimony it is
impossible for me not to be merciful to others impossible because god
has been so merciful to me this is what we have taught in this church
all these 43 years let's live in the good of that that's why we put some
of these verses up in the old hall as well you know things like trust
god all things are possible if you can believe that's another verse it's
over there we have emphasized faith you're facing a difficult situation
nothing impossible for god we've also taught though we never take an
offering here we have taught another verse it's more blessed to give
than to receive and that's what we have taught people who come to the
church you receive receive the word of god receive receive receive dear
brother sister you're missing out the main blessing of god learn to give
learn to share with others the goodness of god to you let your heart
overflow with blessing to others and in a world of uncertainty we need
that other verse which we have at the back if you fear god you need fear
nothing else those are the things we have taught in this church for 43
years what shall we do what we read in psalm 78 we have to teach it to
the next generation you have to teach that to your children and we have
to teach it to the young people growing up here these amazing truths how
jesus lived that jesus came like us and was tempted like us and he did
not sin this has been our central message because it says in one timothy
in chapter three that cfc i believe it refers to cfc because many
churches are not doing it when other churches don't do it cfc has to do
it what is that the last part of verse 15 1 timothy 3 15 let me read it
like that cfc which is the church of the living god must be the pillar
like these pillars here and support of this truth how you can live a
godly life verse 16 jesus came in the flesh kept his spirit pure and
that's how he lived in the world and went up to glory an example for us
and we must never go astray from being a pillar and support of this
truth because there's hardly any other church that i know around here
who's proclaiming that that we can walk as jesus walked that we can
learn humility from christ we can live that life where we don't want to
do our own will we always seek to do god's will in the beginning it's
difficult you know like a paralyzed hand if your left hand was paralyzed
now you're slowly getting some physiotherapy done to slowly can become a
muscular hand one day we have done our own will so many years that we
are paralyzed now we are learning something not to do our own will with
the will of god we got to do that physiotherapy little by little one day
we will be so strong we'll be able to say i never do my own will i only
do the will of god that's a muscular hand i don't speak what i feel i
should speak i speak what god wants me to speak i don't know please
myself i seek to please god that's become my ambition my passionate
ambition as much as it will be in heaven in heaven we'll only be seeking
to please god is becoming like that here on earth and if we have to pay
a price for it or we suffer for it we are willing okay in closing let me
read to you what i got from the message translation of second timothy
chapter 2 second timothy chapter 2 paul wrote to timothy saying a lot of
people in asia have left me he says in second timothy 2 and where second
timothy 1 and verse 15 many people have turned away and we've seen that
happen also in our church so many people have turned away from the truth
so my son timothy let me read this to you throw yourself into the work
of christ this is second timothy 1 sorry second timothy 2 and the whole
chapter pass on what you heard from me and the whole church says amen
pass it on to reliable leaders who are capable of teaching others and in
your life when the going gets rough take it strongly the way jesus did a
soldier must not get caught up in things in the marketplace he should
not be a businessman he should not be taken up with money he
concentrates on carrying out his orders and you are a soldier an athlete
who does not follow the rules will never get anywhere the farmer who
works hard is the one who's going to get a good crop think it over god
will make it plain fix this picture firmly in your mind jesus came from
the seed of david just like us and he's raised from the dead an example
we can follow that's what you've heard from me all along and that's why
i'm sitting in jail today but god's word is not in jail that's why i
stick it out so that everyone will get to hear of the salvation in
christ in all its glory here are some things that are absolutely certain
absolutely certain if we die with him we will live with him if we stick
it out with the lord we will rule with him one day but if we turn our
backs on him he will turn his back on us if we give up on him he doesn't
give up his purposes he will continue and fulfill his purposes so these
basic truths repeat them over and over and again and again and again
preach the same thing again and again and again to god's people warn
them before god don't get argumentative about small small little verses
here and there because that will destroy your faith concentrate on doing
your best for god work in such a way that you won't be ashamed explain
the truth plain and simple to everybody and stay clear of all this
religious language which is only religious talk your words must be
backed by a godly life otherwise it's like poison to your soul hymenaeus
and philetas are examples of people who miss the truth by a mile saying
the resurrection is over meanwhile god's firm foundation is firm what is
that god knows those who belong to him so turn away from evil in a well-
furnished kitchen verse 2021 there are valuable goblets and silver
platters but there are also garbage bins and we don't use garbage bins
to serve meals so you've got to give up trying to be a garbage bin be a
valuable container that god can use to present his gifts to others run
away from the lusts that our youth run after run after rich
righteousness and faith and love and peace join with those who in honest
and serious prayer seek god refuse to get involved in useless
discussions because they always end up in fights god's servant must not
be argumentative he must be a gentle listener a teacher who keeps his
cool working firmly and patiently with those who refuse to obey you
never know one day god might give them a change of heart and they may
turn to the truth and escape from the devil's trap brothers and sisters
let's make that the vision for the future let's pray heavenly father as
we bow before you we pray that your name will be glorified through us in
this coming year and all the rest of the years you have for cfc until
you return to earth help us to glorify you to proceed from glory to
glory as individuals and as a church we humbly ask in jesus name amen

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/xjDYN-tuMrs.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/valuable-truths-that-god-taught-us/
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