The Baptism in the Holy Spirit - The Genuine and the Counterfeit -- Zac Poonen -- September 11, 2021

[Music] so dear brothers and sisters we are going to talk about a very important subject the baptism in the holy spirit the genuine and the counterfeit and i as i thought about it i said lord who is sufficient to speak about this glorious subject it is only jesus who baptizes in the holy spirit and he gives us the privilege and honor to speak about this amazing subject so i want to approach it in humility recognizing that i don't know everything but it has pleased the lord to fill me with the holy spirit to see the evidence of it in my life and my ministry and i long that i can honestly say this i long that every one of god's children will be filled with the holy spirit every one of you my dear brothers and sisters it made a world of difference in my life and i'm not exaggerating from just being an ordinary christian to one being filled with the holy spirit it changed my life it changed my ministry when god met with me 46 years ago i'd already been a christian for 16 years before that born again studying the bible i knew the bible pretty well and i was preaching i was in full-time christian work but i was defeated discouragement anger my thought life motives and you know in the old covenant they could only clean up your external life don't kill don't commit adultery don't steal but jesus came to do something within and he cannot do anything within you or me without the holy spirit's power now i know there's a lot of human programs psychology teaches a lot of human programs that can make you improve your conduct and your behavior and there are yogic exercises people teach to overcome anger and so many things like this yeah but there's a lot of difference between that external being nice and good and self-controlled and having a changed heart within jesus didn't just come to make us nice in our behavior he came to change us from within where our hearts are devoted in a fire that cannot be quenched devoted to god first of all and so fervent in love for one another that any amount of cold water people throw upon us will not quench this fire of the holy spirit will not move us out of love do you want such a life see jesus said concerning the holy spirit in john chapter 7 and verse 37 on the last day the great day of the feast jesus stood and cried saying if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink and then if he believes in me from his innermost being not on the outside from his innermost being that means from deep within his thoughts attitudes motives which nobody can see from there will come gushing forth a spring which will be rivers of living water that flow in many directions to bless people that is god's will not just for a select few for every single one of god's children but only those who are thirsty that means those who are fed up with their dry life i was fed up with my dry life that's why i began to see god 47 years ago along with others who were fed up with their dry lives so if you're sort of satisfied with your christian life god's not really going to meet with you it's like forgiveness of sins why is it so many people in the world have no desire to seek god for the forgiveness of their sins they don't realize how sick they are with sin see when a person is really aware of how serious his sickness is you won't have to urge him to go to a doctor he'll go immediately your going is off and it's the same way we seek for forgiveness of sins when we realize how sin is ruining us and leading us on to an eternal hell we'll go running to the savior and say lord save me forgive me in the same way when we realize that god has done so much for us through christ dying on the cross and that springs up within us a gratitude and say lord how can i express my gratitude to you that's how it came out with me i said lord you've done so much for me how shall i respond like we sing in that song by and by when we look on his face i wish i had given him more that's a song i sing many times to myself by and by when i look on his face i wish i had given him more and i said lord it's been like that in past years but i don't want it to be like that in the future i don't want to wish i'd given you more i want to give you everything now so that when i see you face to face i have no regret i believe all of you sincere children of god you really don't want to have any regret when you meet the lord face to face i don't want to have any regret because i don't have a second chance to live this life there's only one chance to live this life and i want to say this very plainly if you don't want to have any regret when you meet the lord face to face which will happen very soon when christ comes back you must be filled with the holy spirit every day it's not a once for all experience it begins and then it's like a river it starts flowing and then it must keep on flowing every day see this is what made the apostles so different it was not some new teaching that they got on the day of pentecost so you know we many of us listen to messages on youtube and perhaps some of you have heard hundreds of messages on you good that instructs us we've got the bible in so many versions and we see the what it says in this verb meaning and this translation and that translation but all of that is nothing compared to being filled with the holy spirit if you really want to please the lord it's not enough to know the bible it's not enough to listen to hundreds of messages it's all good you have to be filled with the holy spirit and until you see the desperate necessity of this you're not going to thirst for it i feel the reason why many many christians are not filled with the holy spirit is they're not thirsty they're not desperately thirsty they feel it's like a good thing yeah if we get it it'll be good it's like you already have enough and for example you're living in a nice house uh would you like a better house yeah if possible it will be with more conveniences sure but it's not so desperate because my present house is good enough that's exactly how many believers are yeah my present life is pretty good i mean of course i'd like it i can have the fullness of the spirit some people talk about it it'll be great but i'm not desperate it's not that urgent that i have to forsake everything and seek god for it no well i want to tell you i mean god may be merciful and fill you with the holy spirit but i doubt it very much because jesus is not inviting everybody he's inviting those who thirst it's like forgiveness of sins he's not inviting everybody those who are fed up with their defeated life those who want forgiveness of sins come unto me all you labor and are heavy laden those are the ones he invited what about those who are quite comfortable and sitting back and saying we're okay he's not inviting them come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden come to me all who are thirsty for something more than you already have who reads the scriptures and finds that the apostles had something that you don't have and you read the testimonies of other godly people or you hear the testimonies of other godly people and you discover that something happened in their life that changed them after they were born again and you discover it as the fullness of the holy spirit this is how it was with me you know after i was born again i was in a church which did not preach the baptism of the holy spirit at all but as i read the scriptures i found there was a need for it as i looked at my own life and i saw my powerlessness and lack of authority and fear of satan i wouldn't know what to do if a demon princess person came me my way and i was afraid to stand out and boldly proclaim christ in the streets i said lord i'm scared to be a witness and then i read in the in the gospels and in the acts of the apostles how the disciples were like just like me in the beginning not only in the beginning after three and a half years of walking and talking with jesus christ imagine one would think that their lives would be completely changed after that and that when the lord said go into all the world they'd be ready to go but they were not we read even after they saw jesus risen from the dead you read that in john chapter 20. they were in in a closed door and when the lord appeared to them they were locked up there out of fear and seven days later again they were locked inside the door they locked the door they were afraid to go out and then jesus appeared again and even though they saw jesus off and on for 40 days now and then they were still behind closed doors but one day when they were filled with the holy spirit on the day of pentecost they threw open the doors and nobody could shut it after that then they didn't care who thought what about them whether they were locked in prison or anywhere they went out in the world and you know what happened those 12 disciples changed the world in such a way that the effect of it we see today 2 000 years later what was it did those 12 disciples get a phd in some biblical theology or something like that no thank god they never went to a bible school that was their salvation they didn't accumulate knowledge you don't need so much knowledge most of us if you read the bible you got more knowledge than most of the apostles because we have a written bible with us we can read all the time in so many versions they didn't have that but what did they have that we don't have the mighty power of the holy spirit you know john the baptist is called the forerunner one who came before jesus to prepare the way there's a sense in which the holy spirit does the work of john the baptist and thus also preparing the way and he first like john the baptist in john 1 29 pointed to jesus and said there is the one who the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world john 1 verse 29 remember this is john john the baptist preparing the way for christ and think of john the baptist ministry now preparing the way for you and me to meet with the lord he first points to jesus and says john 1 29 behold that means look carefully there that jesus that is the lamb of god who takes away your sin and we look carefully and most of us have looked there and we saw him as the one who's taken away our sin on the cross and we were free what a difference that made when christ came into your life and the burden of sin was gone and we could say he doesn't remember my sin anymore i'm declared righteous now i'm accepted before god i don't come with fear that god may punish me no he's accepted me i am his son i can call him father all that happened in a moment when we looked at the one who took away the sin of the world john the baptist pointed him out then the next thing after that that john the baptist said is also this is the one he said behold one who takes away the sin of the world john 1 29 but he said another thing he is also the one verse 33 who baptizes in the holy spirit the two things he said pointing at jesus there is the one who takes away the sin of the world and there is the one who baptizes in the holy spirit he says don't come to me i can't forgive your sin john the baptist says and i say the same thing don't come to me for the forgiveness of sins i can't forgive your sin go to him he's the one who forgives and i say john the baptist said don't come to me for to be baptized the holy spirit i'll baptize you in water he said but he's the one who baptized the holy spirit i say the same thing to people who say to the sack will you come and lay hands on me to be filled with the holy spirit no i can baptize you in water he is the one who baptizes the holy spirit jesus go to him i thank god i went to him no man could baptize me in the holy spirit a thousand godly men laying hands on my head would not be baptized in the holy spirit it's jesus there was a day in my life when jesus laid his nail pion's hand upon me and filled me with the holy spirit ask him to do that if you have a thirst if you if you have a longing because you find your sub defeated by sin and what happened these people spent three and a half years after that listening to jesus these disciples and they were still not ready they had so much information all the wonderful truths in the four gospels amazing truths think of john matthew chapter five six and seven think of john 14 15 16 17 those chapters what amazing truths the parables in luke chapter 15 they heard it all they were not ready did they have a desire sure did they have a spirit of sacrifice sure they had given up their jobs their earthly jobs in order to follow jesus and proclaim the gospel they were not ready you may know the bible you may be sins may be forgiven and you may have a great eagerness to preach the gospel you may even have given up your job to send the lord but you're not fit there was one more thing they needed that is vital they were very eager to go out and preach and jesus said no no no no wait you think you've got zeal you've got desire all that is there but you don't realize you're powerless you'll go out and then you'll come back and fear after a little while or something or the other will happen and you'll give up but if you're filled with the holy spirit nothing will stop till the day you die you'll go on serving me so the lord said wait acts 1 verse 8. wait and that you will receive the power of the holy spirit when he comes upon you and then not you should go out and witness for me no you will be it will drive you the holy spirit will drive you to be my witness it's a inner pressure that comes through the holy spirit have you experienced that that's god's desire and enough pressure and burden to sacrifice to give up everything for jesus to forsake the attachments to this world to proclaim the gospel to everyone possible to lead people to christ into a godly life you will receive power to be witnesses unto me and that will not only be with your words he didn't say you will be have power to bear witness to me you will have part of b to be means with your life first and then with your words and so they waited and they didn't know when the holy spirit would come upon them they waited waited waited and it says here on the day of pentecost suddenly acts 2 verse 2. there came a noise it doesn't say there was a wind it was a noise like the sound of a wind and it filled the house and the first thing that happened listen to this was not speaking in tongues if you read the scripture carefully you will see that they did not first speak in terms it's very very important to see that and i've hardly heard any preacher point this out but i keep pointing it out all the time the holy spirit came and tons of fire verse three rested on each one of them there was a tongue of fire on their heads on all 120 of them as it were the lord was saying there's one part of your body from now on that i'm going to set on fire primarily that's your tongue not your hand or leg your eyes anything your tongue you're going to be my witnesses and your tongue will be set on fire by the holy spirit so that not just when you preach but all the time your speech will be controlled by the holy spirit so let's stop there before we go into anything further and ask ourselves do you want that do you want your tongue to be under the control of the fire of the holy spirit purifying everything that's unclean [Music] and dishonest and unloving from your speech every day 24 hours a day do you want that i don't know a lot of people would like to have the anointing in the holy spirit to preach god's word you hear some mighty anointed preacher and say wow i'd like to preach like him i'd like to be anointed the holy spirit to preach like him hang on what about the way you speak to your neighbors and friends and people in your office and your wife and your children do you want your tongue to be under the control of the holy spirit then i'll tell you my own testimony i was defeated with my tongue in [Music] general life anger discouragement words of discouragement and etc and i my first prayer was not i don't want to speak in tongues lord i never asked for speaking in tongues but i said lord i want my mother tongue to be controlled by the holy spirit in other words my ordinary speech that's what i see in acts chapter 2 verse 3 tongues of fire your mother tongue will be controlled by the holy spirit and i said lord in my ordinary speech i want to be controlled by the holy spirit that's where that that's the thing that drove me to the lord i'm defeated discouragement in my heart and an uncontrolled tongue anger and other things in my in my tongue i want that to come out of the control of the holy spirit so that's what i see in acts chapter 2 verse 3 do you want that in your life if so seek the lord thirst for it say lord i do not want ever to speak words that dishonor you see this verse for example take this verse as a challenge i've done it myself in colossians in chapter four colossians 4 and verse 6. let your speech always 24 hours of the day seven days of the week that's the meaning of always let your speech always be with grace you know it isn't it isn't with all of us that's how we start it's not with grace it's with rudeness it's with anger and it's with bitterness sometimes and spite and trying to hit people and jealousy and strife and everything comes out through the tongue and here is the lord holding up a standard before us jesus said if you love me keep my commandments let your speech always be with grace not most of the time i mean if you want it just most of the time forget it this is not work not for you but if you want your speech always to be with grace so that you will know exactly how you should answer every single person you meet or who talks to you it doesn't matter if they speak rudely or kindly to you you will know how to answer that person this is the meaning of having salt it says in this verse in your speech that adds taste to the food that adds taste to the good taste to our speech and if you need to just take that one verse it'll drive you to seek the power of the holy spirit for the tongue of fire to give you and i know i began to see god for that and that's what drove me and made me made the lord meet with me and i'm very thankful and it says here that then they also had the gift of tongues they began to speak in tongues as god gave the muslims that's not a gift that god gives to everyone it's very clear in one corinthians chapter 12 you are all prophets are all apostles you see towards the end of one corinthians 12 do all speak in tongues they all interpret very clear that all are not apostles all are not prophets you read the end of one corinthians chapter 12 and you see that all do not speak in tongues so don't think that being filled with the holy spirit will make you an apostle or a prophet or a teacher or make you speak in tongues but it will give you the tongue of fire control your mother tongue and if you give you boldness to be a witness for christ you shall receive power and not you should be now acts 1 8 is very clear it doesn't say after you get power you should be my witnesses you know we have a lot of preachers telling people in the churches god you should be a witness for christ man you should be a witness for christ right we tell people you should be witnessing for christ in your office in your in your office and in your school and everything and college that's not what jesus said he never said you should be my witnesses i don't see that anywhere you know the difference between somebody telling you you should be this and you shall be this especially when jesus says you should be means okay lord i see an obligation i have to be your witness and i try to be your witness that's how i took it until god filled me with the holy spirit then i became his witness you see you don't have to push a river you don't have to push a river saying come on flow i remember in the early days of my life when i was seeking to be a witness or the preacher for christ it's like these hand pumps in india we have in the villages where there's no running water in the houses hand pumps that are in some streets they keep a hand pump where the women in the village will come with their buckets and collect water you've got to bump and pump and pump and the water comes out little by little that's how my christian life was pump and pump and pump and pump that's not a river nobody pumps a river it just flows how is it in your life i praise god that the fullness of the holy spirit changed my whole attitude towards witnessing for christ or wanting to love people and to love god it wasn't somebody had to push me come on love them and come on love god come on read the bible come on listen to god no it's all wet there was an inner urge it was not pumping pumping pumping and getting a few drops out even my preaching was like that those days pumping pumping pumping pumping from a little whatever comes out but boy when i was filled with the holy spirit and i continued to live the fullness of the spirit that's a world of difference i'm not saying you'll all have my gift my gift is teaching that's god gives different gifts but whatever gift god gives you he didn't say here you will all be teachers you will all expound the word no you will be my witnesses and there are different ways in which the holy spirit makes us witnesses but you will be a witness not you should witness no when the holy spirit tells you you should be a witness no you will be a witness there'll be that inner urge that pushes something out you can't stop it it's like a woman giving birth to a baby just pushed out and like a river flowing that's a better illustration a river just flowing out flowing and flowing in well you can't stop it that's how it is it's like a fire that keeps burning and there's a verse in the song of solomon that i love to think of in relation to this fire see jesus spoke about the holy spirit as the rivers of living water john the baptist called it a baptism of fire here it says here that in song of solomon the lost chapter chapter 8 verse 7 many waters cannot quench the fire of love even rivers cannot quench it imagine such a fire that you send a river through it and the fire just dries up the river and keeps on burning think of that picture in song of solomon chapter 8 verse 7. what a picture that is of the power of the holy spirit that no opposition rivers of opposition rivers of temptation the fire keeps burning don't you want a life like that that's what happened to the apostles on the day of pentecost you couldn't shut their mouths after that you could put fear into their hearts after that the rivers of fear and discouragement were wiped out with the fire of the holy spirit that is the baptism of fire and not only that another thing happened was you see before that even on the last day that they spent with jesus at the lord at the table when the at the last supper they were not united they all wanted to be the leader and they were all fighting with each other for leadership and but what a difference when they were filled with the holy spirit they were united those 120 people became one see it was individuals were set on fire a fire that many rivers could not quench but also this fire burnt these 120 people and made them into one body it's like 120 pieces of iron all individual strong pieces of iron thrown into the furnace and come out as one piece you couldn't separate it these 120 pieces of iron have become one that's the other thing that happens through the baptism means the immersion of the holy spirit baptism baptizer is a greek word that means immerse we immerse people in water that's called baptism water immersed in the holy spirit is to be filled with the holy spirit like standing under a waterfall you're immersed the waterfall from heaven symbolizing the holy spirit and so when this they experience this it says here there's amazing words in acts chapter 2 when peter stood up to peach he we all standing alone have you noticed this little expression acts 2 14 peter took his stand with the 11. that 11 the 12 had become one peter was just a spokesman but there were one body it's like the mouth speaks but the whole body is cooperating in the mouth speaking and peter was just the mouth there it's amazing what the whole fullness of the holy spirit does that's how our churches should be that's we need to emphasize in our churches that everyone should be filled with the holy spirit the sad thing is so many christians are content with something much less than that they don't have it they don't have a tongue of fire their speech is all uncontrolled but they're quite happy they're quite happy as it is and if you're happy of course you'll never make any progress i mean it's like the man who's happy in his sinful life he dies and goes to hell you have to have a desire to turn away from sin to come to christ and be saved in the same way you have to have you be fed up with your defeated life to be able to seek god for power fed up with your lack of boldness fed up with your lack of control of your tongue and control of your thoughts and fed up with the inability to love people that's the other thing jesus said all men will know you are my disciples when you love one another if you find an inability to forgive somebody who hurt you badly you know what you need not ten sermons on forgiveness being filled with the holy spirit you read in romans in chapter five i believe this is the primary mark of being filled with the holy spirit i know some christians say they're speaking in tongues it is not speaking in things is one of the gifts god gives it to some people it's a useful gift of god gives it god gave it to me 46 years ago i didn't look for it he just gave it to me and i use it in my private devotion to the lord never in public but it is not the biggest thing in my life here is what is the biggest thing in my life romans 5 and verse 5. when the holy spirit is poured into my heart it's the love of god that fills my heart that is what i seek for in heaven we're not going to speak in tongues which shows that it is only a temporary thing for here on this earth in heaven we are not going to prophesy or have teaching or healing or any such thing those are all temporary the gifts of the holy spirit but there's something that's eternal and that's love and it says here the love of god is poured out through the holy spirit given to us that is the fire the fire that burned in jesus heart was a fervent love for his father and a fervent love for god's people and for all people and he was filled with the holy spirit and this is the same spirit he gives to us he said i'm going to send you another helper what does it mean to have the love of god poured in our hearts i i see it like this first of all it's the assurance the holy spirit comes into my heart and says god is not angry with you you know the number of christians who constantly feel god has got something against me all the time he's such a strict demanding person who tells you that the devil and the devil's convinced so many believers who live in constant tension once god angry with me every morning get up and say what is god angry with me today well i'll tell you he's not angry with you he loves you and he wants to assure you of his tremendous love he who gave his only son for us how will he not with him also freely give us all things we read in romans 8 that's the first part of the love of god with which the holy spirit i remember in my life i lived with this tension of oh i'm not pleasing the lord he must be angry with me and there must be something wrong with me all the time thinking there must be something wrong with me he isn't looking at me he's not looking at me with a very loving way there's a frown on his face every time he looks at me and says ah you're not all that you should be i remember i had a dream once and in that dream i saw myself coming back from a meeting at which i had spoken coming back to the house in which i was staying somewhere in some distant place and i felt i had poured out my heart done my best to preach the word that day and as i came back i heard a voice from behind me saying that was not good enough it was not good enough and i was so discouraged after having served the lord so wholeheartedly to hear the lord saying it was not good enough and i said lord why are you saying that when you when i speak to you face to face you always encourage me when you speak from behind my back you say it's not good enough and the lord said to me in my dream turn around and see who it is who's speaking and i turned around in my dream and i saw it was a devil some black figure that ran away as soon as i turned around i learned something that day more than 45 years ago and i've never forgotten the voice that says that was not good enough is always always the devil you think it is the holy spirit trying to challenge you to a higher life no that's the devil trying to discourage you you parents who keep telling your children that's not good enough that's not good enough it's the voice of the devil coming through you whether you realize it or not god's voice is very different he encourages us yes that was great well done of course he challenged us to do better next time sure just like you want your child to go from second standard or second grade to third grade to fourth grade you want your child to go on from one standard to the higher so does god want but he doesn't keep saying to us that was not good enough that is not good enough no that's not god so the first thing that the holy spirit does assure you god loves you perfectly he loves you like he loved jesus that was the revelation that came to my heart from john 17 23 as the father loved jesus he loves me and the holy spirit brought that it brought such rest into my heart and i want to live there the second thing in which it says the love of god is poured in our hearts is secondly first this foundation of god's love for me and the second is the holy spirit produces in me a fervent love for jesus and he's kept that fire going in my heart now for 46 years to love jesus more and more and more the flame becoming more and more and more and more so that in your waking hours even in the middle of the night when you wake up you say lord jesus i love you and your heart is full of love for christ and you're willing to sacrifice anything in the world for him god so lovely the world that he made the greatest sacrifice possible he gave his son a sacrifice is one of the great marks of love if you love jesus you'll be willing to make any sacrifice for him and the holy spirit does that when you think of the great saints and missionaries who made tremendous sacrifices for the sake of christ to spread the gospel he said boy how did they do it i'll tell you the holy spirit move them within giving them a love for christ that's the second part and the third is the holy spirit comes and fills our heart to love other people god's children and others and that enables us to forgive those who hurt us like jesus forgave people on the cross see the worst sin that any human being has ever committed against another in the history of the world is the crucifixion of jesus christ there was never a greater sin that anybody committed in this world at any time since the beginning of creation than the crucifixion of the son of god and that sin the greatest sin ever committed on this earth jesus looked at the people who committed it and he said father forgive them they don't even know what they're doing what a gracious way to save didn't they know when you kill a man you mean you don't know what they do you're doing of course they knew it but they didn't know who they were killing they don't know what they're doing they don't know who they are killing forgive them father even if they knew it forgive them many people hurt you and me have hurt you and me knowingly and sometimes unknowingly but even if they did it knowingly forgive them you see it's difficult i know it's difficult you know what you need you need to be filled with the holy spirit when you are filled with the holy spirit it will be as easy for you to love the person who did the worst crime against you as it was for jesus to forgive those people who did the worst crime ever committed on this earth the crucifixion of the son of god the worst crime anybody did against another the crucifixion of the son of god jesus immediately forgave them he didn't take time father forgive them and he meant it from his heart and so any of you finding it difficult to forgive somebody who did some harm to you or to your children or to your family to your son or daughter sometimes many years ago and you still hold that grudge you're ruining yourself the devil wants you to keep that grudge in your heart and ruin yourself go to god say lord fill me with the holy spirit everything we read in scripture must drive us to seek god to be filled with the holy spirit for example when i read matthew 5 6 and 7 and i read this impossible standard it is an impossible standard to attain you read matthew 5 6 and 7 honestly and you will say this is an impossible standard it is jesus said in matthew 5 and verse 20 your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees and he said i'll give you an example the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees verse 21 matthew 5 21 is don't commit murder my standard is don't even get angry anger equals murder how many of you believers know that anger equals murder in the new covenant in the old covenant anger is not equal to murder it's just murder in the ten commandments so if there's a new covenant list of commandments it is don't get angry not don't kill that's old covenant that's what he said in verse 22 your righteousness he's explaining verse 20 your righteousness must be more than that of the pharisees and he says let me give you a few examples one they don't murder you must not get angry exactly the same and if you did get angry with somebody and then you come to pray to god verse matthew 5 23 leave your offering stop praying go to that man settle it then come and pray it's so serious that god won't even listen to your prayer if you have hurt somebody and you did not settle with him this is so very important and he says i'll give you another example the righteousness of the pharisees verse 27 don't commit adultery but i said you if you look once with your eyes at a woman somewhere on the street you don't even know who it is and you lust or in a magazine you look and you lust or in a video you look and you lust you have committed adultery that is new covenant standard and in both those cases in verse 22 he says anger can lead you to hell and verse 29 he says lusting can lead you to hell is it that serious that getting angry can lead you to hell yes lusting after a woman can lead you to hell yes read verse 22 and 29 and there are many other things he says here you must always speak the truth you must love not only your neighbors but you must love also your enemies verse 44 and then all these amazing things when you pray don't let anybody know about it when you fast don't let anyone know about it and don't get anxious and don't be worried you read all these things and say lord how in the world can i live this life have you ever felt like that when you read matthew chapter five and chapter six lord how can i live this life i'm surprised i'm really surprised that so many christians read matthew 5 and 6 just casually read it as if it's a newspaper reporters about something it's not it's god's command to you you should never get angry you should never lust with your eyes you must love all your enemies you must bless everyone who curses you and you say lord i can't do it i'm thirsty jesus give me that life that's how i saw god and that's what it says at the end of the sermon on the mount here's the answer you you come to the end of the sermon on the mount and you just got a nice teaching [Music] then you don't have a need for this verse but at the end of the sermon on the mount for those who feel lord this is a standard i cannot attain to jesus said matthew 7 verse 7 ask us and it will be given to you ask for help to live this life it will be given to you seek for help to live this life you'll find it knock at the door and say lord give me this everyone who asks like this will receive everyone who seeks like this will find everyone who knocks like this it will be open and be filled with the holy spirit and then he goes on to say let me tell you how good god is if you being evil verse 11 know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father give what is good what is the good thing that what is the greatest good god can give you the holy spirit the power to live this life described in matthew 5 and 6 the power to control your tongue a ton of fire for the lord see if you were expecting to come to this meeting to learn of a technique to be filled with the spirit i said there is none but if the holy spirit is through what you heard today created a hunger in your heart then that is what he wants to accomplish a thirst that can never be quenched until god meets you this is a great example in the old testament which i want to point out to you if you turn with me to genesis genesis and chapter 32 please turn it with me it's a very lovely passage genesis 32. [Music] there we read of a man who was a very crooked man and thankful that god speaks gives us examples of people who are not so great and upright i mean there were great and upright people like daniel joseph but jacob was not in that category jacob was a crook he knew how to cheat his brother of the birthright he came out of the mother's womb grabbing his brother's leg wanting to come out first missed it and says okay i missed coming out first but i'm determined young are not going to get the birthright i'll get it and he cheated him by offering him some soup to get birthright what a shrewd guy he was and then he goes to work for his uncle and cheats him of all his flock of sheep a crook do you identify with him i'll tell you there's a crookedness in all human beings in you and in me whether you know it or not you may cover it up with a nice polished behavior but there's a crookedness just like jacob in every one of us in you and in me it's wonderful that the bible speaks that god means to the man like jacob thank god he meet for jacob he can meet with me that's the hope i have and we read in genesis 32 that his brother esau is when he thinks he's coming to kill him and he's scared and he says he gets alone with god genesis 32 verse 24 before he meets esau wonderful passage of scripture genesis 32 verse 24 to the end of the 231. re please read it jacob was left alone that's the first thing you have to be alone with god to be filled with the holy spirit there may be other people you can go to a meeting where 100 people are praying but you've got to be alone with god there your eyes are shut and everybody's cut out as if you're alone the best is if you're all alone in your room or if you're no room and alone at night in the bed when everybody's asleep and you're crying out to god in your heart without making any noise you're crying out in your heart oh god i want to be filled with the holy spirit that's how i did it many many times oh lord at night lord fill me with the holy spirit jacob was left alone you've got to be alone it's a sad thing that our life is so busy that we don't have time to be alone with god no wonder we don't live the life that god wants us to live one day that we pass out of this world and we've wasted our life because we didn't spend time alone with god during this time we had the opportunities but you didn't take it maybe you spent too much time watching television or scouring the internet or doing so many other things some things are good but if you if it drives out time alone with god something is wrong with your life you're a christian and god met with him and god tested him he there's his pictorial language here somebody struggled with him god was trying to teach him you're struggling with me jacob and jacob would not yield and god says okay i've got to break you now and he dislocated jake the socket of jacob's thigh genesis 32 25 he broke him and sometimes god has to break us i know he had to break me before he filled me with the holy spirit it's like the alabaster vial of perfume which the woman brought a lot of lovely perfume inside but the aroma of that perfume couldn't come out till the vessel was broken and it was broken the aroma filled the house we read it's like the atom there's a parable in nature the atom is the smallest thing small it's so small that we can't even see it you can't even see it under a microscope but when that teeny-weeny atom is split what tremendous power is released that it can give electricity to a whole town one little atom being split giving electricity to a whole town can you beat that that's a parable in nature brokenness you remember when jesus prayed with the five loaves and two fish nothing happened you know that nothing happened but when he broke it it became thousands of loaves brokenness that's the secret when the rock was there no water came out when it was hit when it was broken rivers came out of that it was rivers that came out of that rock because two million people in the wilderness had to be satisfied in their thirst jacob had to be broken and you need to be broken god has to do something to break you your pride is special because you can't fill a proud man man has been broken and humbled maybe you have accomplished some wonderful things in life that's why you need to be broke maybe you think you're a very holy type of person you haven't committed gross sins like other people well thank god for that but that's made you so proud that you've got the worst sin of all worse than those people who commit adultery you're proud that you haven't committed adultery that pride is worse than adultery you need to be broken the next thing we see there is verse 27 the lord asks jacob what is your name tell me who you are you know the meaning of jacob jacob means deceiver so the lord's asking you what's your name lord i am a deceiver can you say that can you say to the lord honestly the crooked deceiving person you are inside and confess it to god lord i am a luster i'm a person full of anger i'm a person full of bitterness i'm a deceiver i'm a lover of money lord i love this world really i'd like to have a little religion and go to heaven but i really love this world be honest with god well when all that happened god met with him touched him and said okay you're going to be different from now on you will not be a deceiver your name will be verse 28 israel a prince of god because you have had power with god and with men it's a picture of man being filled with the holy spirit alone with god broken honest with god and god meets you are you willing to go through that being alone with god honest with him allow him to break you and saying this final thing where jacob says when he tries to depart he says verse 26 i will not let you go unless you bless me that's the final thing i want to say to come to god and say lord i will not let you go break me humble me do what you like dislocate my thigh if you like humble me in the presence of others if you like but i will not let you go until you bless me and the blessing i want is being filled with the holy spirit and the lord says you will not be the same person anymore you'll be a different person from today and i remember that happened to me 46 years ago and god met with me and i became a different person and not only that my whole ministry from there began to flow like rivers that i could as i look back on my life and say lord i thank god i didn't waste my life doing a lot of good things no i'm glad i could fulfill your plan for my life dear brothers and sisters i want to tell you very lovingly god has got a very specific plan for your life you cannot make a better plan for your life that was planned before you were born he wants to fulfill that in you he wants you to fulfill a wonderful purpose before you leave this earth and you may say well i've already wasted so many years of my life let me give you one word before i get there to complete the jacob story jacob was this style was dislocated he said i will not let you go until you bless me and god blessed him and changed his name and said you're a prince your power with god and power with men that's what he said in genesis 32 to him power with god and power with men you pray that that will be true in your life also exactly like it was jacob like he said in genesis 32 and verse 28. you have power with god and power with men i want that lord and then we read because he was this his thigh was dislocated he had to take a staff he was a young man compared to the length of life people lived those days he was a very young man and he was walking imagine a 25 year old person walking with a staff he was walking with a staff and we read in hebrews chapter 11. in the midst of all the wonderful miracles mentioned in hebrews 11 amazing miracles the world red sea split open and the walls of jericho pulled down and lions being mouthed shut and people being raised from the dead all mentioned in hebrews 11 in the midst of that is this amazing miracle jacob verse 21 leaned hebrews 11 21 leaned on the top of his staff and he said what type of miracle is that does that come in the same category as other mentioned miracles mentioned here are splitting the red sea and pulling down the walls of jericho it's a greater miracle because here is a man who was so broke until the end of his life he leaned upon his staff as it were to say lord i've got to lean upon you every single day and it's a great miracle when god does that in your life where you say lord i cannot do a single thing without leaning upon you i've got to stop i'm going to lean upon it every single day i've got to lean upon the lord or to you to be better illustration like jesus said you're like the branch in the vine this is how i always picture myself jesus is the vine or the tree i'm only a branch and if my connection with the tree is broken even a little nothing comes out of my life i don't have to produce a single fruit i have to just stay in the tree and the sap a picture of the holy spirit will flow from the tree into this branch and keep on producing fruit and you look at this branch and say hey how do you produce all these wonderful mangoes or these wonderful apples france will say i don't do anything i can't produce a single mango i can't produce a single apple i just remain in the tree don't ask the tree how it happens the tree just faithfully sends this sap into me all the time i've got to make sure that the connections are all open and not blocked the flow of the sap must not be hindered for any blockage in the branch keep it open always every sin confessed and the continuing hunger and thirst for the power of god yes continuing and the sap will keep on flowing and you won't even know how the fruit is produced that is my testimony as i look back over these 46 years i can say i never planted the church i never produced any fruit i'm like the branch i've tried to stay in the wine in the branch in the tree and the sap keeps flowing and i myself am amazed when i see the fruit that's how your life will be and i want to be like that till the very end till the lord comes i want to be like that a branch bearing fruit completely dependent upon the lord even when i get up to speak uh when i have to speak a word i say lord i'm like the branch i don't know what to say you've got to say to me of course i prepare studying the bible and all that but in utterance if the lord doesn't speak it's not going to accomplish anything you remember when the disciples were walking to miss you read in luke 24 this has been my pattern for speaking god's word in luke 24 we read the disciples walked in this and that was a seven mile 10 11 kilometer journey as we read in luke 24 13 and jesus walked with them and that distance of seven miles 13 kilometers 11 or 12 kilometers would take about three hours and jesus spoke to them for three hours and at the end of it they said boy luke 24 32 our hearts were burning within us when he spoke to us for those three hours and i said lord if the holy spirit could do that through you you've given us the same holy spirit can't you do it through me that when you speak through me even if it is for three hours people won't get bored but their hearts will burn i can't do it i can say clever things but i can't make people's hearts burn that's the ministry of the holy spirit what god did through jesus he can go through you and me i believe that do you believe it that's why jesus said i will not leave you alone i'll give you another helper read john chapter 14. i don't have time to speak about all these things but if you have a hunger and person say lord i want to walk as jesus walked i want to have a love in my heart for your fervent love for you that will be willing be willing to sacrifice anything a fervent love for people that will forgive everybody whoever did any harm to me and to bless people wherever i go till the end of my life i want rivers of living water to flow through me break me break me break me i want to lean upon this stuff lean upon the lord and be like a branch in the tree always i want to live that overcoming life as sin cannot rule over where i don't live in fear but i'm not discouraged but i don't live in anxiety and tension temptations come and i'll reject them in the power of the holy spirit like water off a duck's back you can throw any amount of water on a duck it just drops off it doesn't stick to it that's how temptation is to be temptation will come in fact when jesus was filled with the holy spirit the very next thing is he was tempted and you'll be tempted but jesus overcame and you can overcome too this is the wonderful life into which god wants to lead you i cannot give it to you like john the baptist said don't come to me he he's the one go to jesus he's the one who can fill you with the holy spirit and set you on fire may god bless you all let's bow our heads as we bow our heads if there's anything you feel is stopping the flow of god's power just very quickly say lord i'm willing to give it up i don't know what it is if there's anything else show me i want to give up everything i want every blockage in my heart to be removed i want the river of god to flow from heaven through my heart from today onwards as a beginning till the day you come the end of my life on earth i want rivers to flow through me when you pray that prayer i can't do it for you but jesus can i point to him he's the one who baptizes the holy spirit on fire go to him set me on fire lord a fire that will never be quenched let me to forgive everyone who has hurt me right now i open my heart lord to you fill my heart we pray thank you heavenly father thank you lord jesus you know our hearts you know the hearts of everyone who's praying here answer meet the knee they pray heavenly father we pray in jesus name amen [Music]

Channel: River of Life Christian Fellowship

Views: 7,257

Rating: 4.8881121 out of 5

Keywords: rlcf, river, life, christian, fellowship, church, god, jesus, bible, scripture, global, online, meeting, baptism, holy, spirit, sermon, zac, poonen

Id: D5165RjqOx0

Length: 64min 12sec (3852 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 11 2021