Sermons & Devotionals by Zac Poonen
Zac Poonen
Pharisees love money
"The Pharisees were lovers of money" (Luke 16:14). When we think of the Pharisees, we don't usually associate the love of money with them. But in actual fact this is one of the clearest marks of a Pharisee. Even if you do not have any of the other 49 characteristics of a Pharisee, but have just this... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees love positions and titles of honour
They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend'. Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that (Matthew 23:6-8 - MSG).... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees neglect their family responsibilities in the name of religion
"Why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'....ut you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God," he is not to honor his father or his mother'" (Matthew 15:1-9)... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees persecute God's prophets
"I am sending you prophets....ome of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the so... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees persecute those who don't listen to them
"The Pharisees told him (the blind man who was healed), "You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?" So they put him out (of the synagogue). (John 9:34). The Pharisees could not heal that poor man who was born blind. But when Jesus healed him, they were upset and called him a sinner an... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees pray long, impressive prayers in public
"Woe to you, Pharisees, because for a pretence you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation" (Matthew 23:14). I have observed through the years, that those who pray the longest in public are those who are prayerless in private. They are all Pharisees. Next time you hear a m... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees say they would never have done the evil that others did
"You Pharisees build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'" (Matthew 23:29, 30). Pharisees look at the sins and failures of othe... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees seek honour from men
"The Pharisees do all their deeds to be noticed by men" (Matthew 23:5). Jesus said that the Pharisees would pray standing in the street-corners and pray loudly (Matthew 6:1). Jesus was obviously exaggerating here - but with a purpose. He was a great master at exaggeration whenever He wanted to highl... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees seek to catch others in their words
Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?" (Matthew 19:3). Pharisees seek to catch people in something they say in order to accuse them before others. They may even ask you questions to try and trip you up. We read in Mat... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees strain out mosquitoes and swallow camels
"You Pharisees, hypocrites and blind guides - who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:24). Pharisees are very careful in small unimportant matters (straining out dead mosquitoes). But they neglect to obey the commands in Scripture (swallowing dead camels). Jesus was not thereby telli... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees take advantage of poor people
"Woe to you, Pharisees, because you devour widows' houses" (Matthew 23:14). We don't know how exactly the Pharisees "devoured" the houses of these widows. They may have urged those poor widows to give their property for "the work of the Lord", telling them that God would bless them for it - and then... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees test God by asking Him for signs
"The Pharisees said to Jesus, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from You'" (Matthew 12:38). Pharisees always want some sign or miracle to be assured of the truth. They cannot live by simple faith. And that is why religious charlatans are able to deceive such Pharisees with their false signs and wonder... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees think that holiness is in the style of one's clothes
"The Pharisees broaden their phylacteries (small cases containing Scripture texts worn on the forehead) and lengthen the tassels of their garments" (Matthew 23:5). Another characteristic of Pharisees is to glory in the "holiness" of their clothes!! God had told the Israelites to attach tassels (a bu... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees trust in their own righteousness
"He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous" (Luke 18:9). There is a righteousness of faith, which is a gift from God. And there is a righteousness which we can produce ourselves. The way to find out which one you have is to ask yourself whether you a... Read More
Zac Poonen
Pharisees value their traditions more than God's Word
"Jesus said to the Pharisees, 'You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition'" (Mark 7:9). All churches have traditions of some sort or the other. If those traditions have become more important to you than God's Word, then you are a Pharisee. Jesus told the ... Read More
Zac Poonen
Power for Life and for Service
We could never have met that first need by ourselves. God had to meet it. It's likewise with the second. We cannot live a life that pleases God or that fulfills all His will, in our own strength. Some are wise enough to acknowledge this right at the beginning of their Christian life and so they seek... Read More
Zac Poonen
Praising The Lord In Holy Attire
It is the spirit of praise confessing our faith in the Lord that puts the enemy to flight. We also see that Jehoshapat's army praised the Lord in holy attire. This is the balance we need in the church - the spirit of praise along with the spirit of holiness. In Christendom unfortunately, we find bel... Read More
Zac Poonen
Prayer - Speaking to God
Communication with God is a two-way matter. We hear God speaking to us through His Word first. And then we speak to Him. But prayer is not just making requests to God. A primary part of prayer should be having fellowship with God, like a bride with her bridegroom. There are no rules on how a bride s... Read More
Zac Poonen
Preserve Your Devotion to Jesus At Any Cost
In 2 Cor.11: 2-3, Paul spoke about how he was leading them to be engaged to Jesus Christ to be married to Jesus one day. He had a tremendous jealousy that they should not fall in love with anybody on the way. Think of Abraham's servant who was taking Rebecca all the way, 40 miles, to Isaac. During t... Read More
Zac Poonen
Preserving The Church From Satan's Agents
Jesus said that the church He builds has one identifying mark : It overpowers the gates of hell (the forces of spiritual death). On the other hand, if a church is itself overcome by the forces of spiritual death - that is, by jealousy, or strife, or a competitive-spirit, or by honour-seeking, or imm... Read More
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Zac Poonen ( - Present)
God called brother Zac Poonen to a new work early on in his Christian experience. The movement is now called Christian Fellowship Churches where the New Covenant of New Testament Christianity is clearly preached.Brother Zac Poonen has written 25 books most of them being on the deeper Christian life. Many of these have been translated into a number of languages and have been circulated widely around the world. He clearly and passionately shares the narrow way of Christian discipleship that is neglected by so many modern preachers.
Recommends these books by Zac Poonen:
Through The Bible by Zac Poonen
The Final Triumph-A verse by verse study of the book of Revelation by Zac Poonen
Beauty for Ashes by Zac Poonen
Zac Poonen is a former Indian Naval Officer who has been in full time ministry in India for nearly 50 years as a Bible teacher and preacher. He holds responsibility for a number of churches in India and abroad. He currently pastors the Christian Fellowship Church in Bangalore, Karnataka.
He has written more than 25 books and numerous articles in English - which have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. His messages are available on audio and video format.
Like the other elders in his church, Zac Poonen also supports himself and his family through what he describes as "tent-making" and does not receive any salary for his services. He does not receive any royalties for any of his books, CDs or DVDs, that are published by Christian Fellowship Centre, Bangalore.