The Blessings Of The New Covenant - Zac Poonen

when I started my ministry I did not know what God was calling me for I was converted 54 years ago when I was 19 I was an officer in the Navy in India and I had this great burden I mean the only thing I knew was how our sins could be forgiven so that's all I could preach and so I was in the Naval Base and in the two years I was there I covered every single Street in the town preaching the gospel and I thought I would be an evangelist I witness four tracks on the trains and buses I had traveled in really seeking to witness for Christ but gradually over a period of time I discovered through trial and error that I was not an evangelist I didn't have that I didn't see fruit even though I labored so much and but when I began to teach God's Word in little groups I started sometimes with just one little family I would ask them if I can come there once a week and share God's Word I found you know real results and fruit coming out of my ministry so gradually I discovered that though I wanted to be an evangelist God was making me a teacher it's very easy to find out what gift you have if you have a burden the burden in your heart is very often an indication of our calling in the body of Christ and then but sometimes we can have a burden for something that gives us a lot of prominence and that could be our own desire so if you try to exercise that ministry you find out pretty soon whether you've got that calling or not for example some people have come to me and said I think God's given calling me for a healing ministry well I say great I hope you have compassion for the sick but test it out pray for a hundred people and if nobody's healed you know that you don't have that gift don't waste your time go and seek for something else because in the the Lord Jesus said I have chosen you and ordained you John 15 that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain and I believe that there are different callings there evangelists there are people with a healing gift more rare now and there are apostles and prophets and all these gifts are there but there will be in their labor fruit that remains not that fruit that comes up and disappears and that's something which I have longed for in my own ministry that I want to see fruit that remains and as I developed in the ministry of teaching over the last 40 years or so I found God began to focus it on a few particular areas and I saw that was because those were the neglected areas in Scripture and so I spent a lot of time listening to what other preachers were preaching what television Christian TV was preaching and many others and literature and books and I discovered that there were whole sections of Scripture that were not being touched at all so God gradually began to show me particularly after I was baptized in the Holy Spirit the truths of the New Covenant now I never knew for 16 years after I was born again that there was something called a new covenant and that Jesus spoke about it at the Last Supper he spoke about it only once when he took the cup he said this is my blood of that this cup is the blood of my new covenant there was something new and in Hebrews chapter 8 this is the words I want to read to you this evening in Hebrews eight there are some amazing words and we want to look at them carefully verse six in Hebrews there's a lot of comparison between Moses and Christ and between the law and grace between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant and here it says he's talking about Moses first and then comparing you know in verse five he's talking about Moses and then he talks about Jesus in verse six Hebrews 8 verse 6 but now Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as he's the mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted on better promises Hebrews is a great book that speaks a lot about the New Covenant and the word that keeps coming again and again and again in Hebrews is the word better better better make a note of that it says here a better covenant the new covenant is a better covenant than the Old Covenant the Old Covenant was made with Israel on Mount Sinai and the new covenant began on the day of Pentecost - sealed with the blood of Jesus on the cross the beginning of it was there and there are better promises here the Old Covenant work was mostly promised for earthly blessing if you read the Old Testament God's promises to Israel there was nothing about heaven there there was nothing about partaking of God's nature there was nothing about overcoming sin there was nothing about eternal life these things were non-existent I mean such words don't even exist even the word fellowship you don't find it in the Old Testament because Israel was not a fellowship of people who could become one body there were a congregation and there's a lot of difference between a congregation and a body and a lot of churches are just congregations a lot of Christians are living under the Old Covenant without realizing it and here it says in verse 7 if that first covenant had been faultless there would have been no need occasion sought for a second so here it says the Holy Spirit says that the first covenant that God established was faulty can you imagine God giving out something faulty but it says here so clearly but it was not that God made a mistake I mean the second comment is not like a newer model of a car or something rectifying them mistakes in the older model no the Old Covenant was not meant to do certain things that's the point and God could not establish a new covenant unto Jesus came and shed his blood and rose again from the dead and the Holy Spirit was given until then and God couldn't establish this covenant and in order for Christ to come to earth he had to prepare a people through whom Christ would come that was the nation of Israel which began with God choosing Abraham and so he had to establish a covenant with them and through the law and the sacrifices and so that when Christ came and died they would understand what was what it was all about and how seriously God took sin etc so it's only in that sense we can say the first covenant was a temporary measure preparing the way for the second but it did succeed in raising Israel to a very high moral standard in fact most of the laws in the world today are based on the Ten Commandments and it raised Israel above all the nations of the earth morally because of the Covenant God made with them and not only morally but even their hygienic standards were much higher than in other parts of the world because that was also taught in the Book of Leviticus so but it was only a temporary measure preparing the way for what God's final plan was the new covenant we must remember that so he finds fault with that covenant he says I'm gonna make a new covenant he says in verse eight which is not like verse 9 the covenant which I made with their fathers in Sinai and at the end in verse 13 he says Hebrews 8 13 and when the Lord says a new covenant he has made the first obsolete and what is obsolete is ready to vanish so there is a covenant that's obsolete it's like I suppose it's true in Australia too but many other Western countries they are very strict about expiry dates for foodstuffs and they say not to be used after so-and-so date and it's a crime in many places - for big supermarkets to stock food that's been that's expired they can be sued anybody gets sick but and so all these markets are very careful to remove foods and cans and all that have crossed the expiry date fast expiry date and most of us when we buy something particularly medicines we would look for the expiry date is the expiry date it's over I don't want to touch it I want something that's current well I want to tell you there's an expiry date on the old covenant it expired long long ago two thousand years ago but still people are picking it up and thinking they've got to live by that let me give you an example in Deuteronomy chapter 28 we see something of the blessings and curses that would accompany in the Old Covenant the first 40 nurses are the blessings and the remaining 54 verses are the curses and what the Lord said was if you obey everything that I tell you these are the blessings that will overtake you verse 1 and 2 and then he describes it all but verse 15 if you don't obey then these are the curses and if you look at it carefully I don't have time to read through the whole thing I just want to mention basically he's telling them if you obey my old covenant laws you will be materially financially wealthy and physically healthy and if you don't obey me you will be financially materially poor and physically sick so basically Deuteronomy 28 was a health and wealth gospel it's very clear if you don't believe me just read it sometime if you do this I will bless you with health and wealth it's expired by the way 2000 years ago but there are people picking it up today there are an abundance of television preachers and how do they succeed in fooling a lot of Christians because most Christians today have not read the Bible carefully that's a sad thing and I often say if you got the Bible in your own language and you don't read it carefully you deserve to be deceived by anybody I mean I can feel sorry because I mean there are lots of people in our country who don't have the Bible in their own language they can be forgiven but what about people who cut their Bible in 26 translations why should they be deceived and every one of them those translations will tell you the Old Covenant is expired we're not living in Deuteronomy 28 there's a new covenant that God has made with man why do we go back to the old there's something in man's nature that loves the old you know Jesus said even after tasting the new wine people say the old is better and I see that the new wine speaks about the life of Jesus that's by the way is in the last verse of Luke chapter 5 they say behold is better but I see that happening around me I mean if someone offers tells you under the New Covenant you you can overcome anger you you'll never get angry with your husband or wife you can overcome bitterness you can overcome lusting after women you can overcome pornography you can overcome jealousy you can overcome pride and you overcome selfishness and you can overcome the love of money and all types of sins hypocrisy and another preacher comes along says if you accept what I say you'll be healed of your sicknesses and you'll get a better house and you'll get a better car which is which would a carnal person accept you know carnal person is not interested in victory over sin he says the blood of Jesus just cleanses me all the time doesn't matter if I sin because no matter how much I sinned I can always go to the blood the blood the blood the blood as for a lot of people say there's cleansing in the blood it's true but they say well I want to live on this earth and if this other gospel offers me material wealth and help that's what I really want and as far as the spiritual part of it so long as I just managed to scrape it into heaven that's enough for me can you imagine with Jesus having shed his blood sacrificed everything and given his life completely for us made that tremendous sacrifice first of all of coming from heaven to earth and my response to that is Oh Lord what's the minimum I have to do to get into your presence I would be ashamed of myself if one day I stand before the Lord and I looked back all my life and I've discovered that my whole life was animated by one principle what is the minimum I have to do to go to heaven and yeah that's how most Christians live and that's why there's so little joy in their life is the victory and triumph that the Apostles spoke about is not there in their life now I'm not throwing stones at anyone because I lived like that for 16 years after I was born again so I'm I'm not without sin I'm not qualified to throw stones I'm just saying but the Lord set me free from that and delivered me and showed me that I did not have to take that expired medicine anymore I could throw it away there was something better a better covenant and in this better covenant it's not that God doesn't care for our earthly needs he says if you seek my kingdom and you're my righteousness I'll take care of your earthly needs I'll provide for you and I'll take care of your children and but that's not what we seek it's sort of a bonus that's thrown in because we seek that which is what God provides for us in the New Covenant and so when you turn back to Hebrews chapter 8 you see there this he says is the Covenant I will make with them so I just want to share that with you the terms of the New Covenant the blessings of the New Covenant and it's not health and wealth it's something better than that it's something that deals with our deepest problem when our eyes are open to see the seriousness of sin we'll discover that a wrong attitude to another person is worse than cancer now most Christians don't believe that if they had cancer and a doctor told them or a scan that you've got cancer terminal cancer they've been really disturbed but if their conscience does them you got a wrong attitude to that person you got a bitterness against that person they're not so disturbed about that that shows the blindness of people who think that sickness is worse than sin in the Old Covenant they thought like that they wanted healing but in the New Covenant God opens our eyes to see that sin is much worse than sickness and I can prove it to you I know people who've gone to heaven who died of cancer I know them personally but jesus said if you don't forgive somebody your heavenly Father won't forgive you I mean that's Matthew 6:15 so if your heavenly father doesn't forgive you because you didn't forgive somebody else you're a wrong attitude a bitterness and you die in that condition no matter how much healing and wealth you god and your heavenly Father hasn't forgiven you and you died is there a second chance it's appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment so is there another opportunity to be forgiven after he's dead no there isn't but he may say but he did so much good in his life ah then your understanding of the gospel is the heathen understanding that God will take a wing balance and put all your good deeds on one side and all your bad deeds on the other side and depending on which is heavier determine whether you go to heaven or hell is that the gospel you believe it I don't that is the understanding of every heathen religion then God's gonna weigh your good deeds versus your bad deeds and determine whether you go to heaven or hell but the Bible says our good deeds are like filthy rags everything is bad in God's eyes so what is going to be the condition of a person who died without forgiving somebody let God be true and every man a liar that's what it says in Matthew 3 I don't want to get anybody under condemnation but I want to speak the truth it's so clear in Matthew 6:14 and 15 and I say words could not be plainer if you forgive men their transgressions your heavenly Father will forgive you I mean that verse itself should be enough but Jesus amplifies it in the next verse and says if you do not forgive men your father will not forgive your transgression when he says your father he's not talking about God if he said God then he's talking to the unbeliever he's telling the unbeliever you guys don't forgive somebody God will not forgive you when he says your father who's he talking to you think the whole world can say he is their father God is not their father your father will not forgive your transgressions let's take Jesus word seriously so that's why I say you can have cancer and go to heaven and you can have a bitterness against somebody and go to hell so which is worse to me it's pretty clear now that was not true in the Old Covenant in the Old Covenant you know Jesus said to whom less is given less is required to whom more is given more is required but the kindergarten class teacher does not expect as much understanding in that kindergarten child as someone who's in a ph.d class obviously I think that's about the comparison Old Covenant is kindergarten in New Covenant his PhD the Lord expects more David died without forgiving Shammi I when he went to heaven but in the New Covenant is different that verse is not found in the Old Testament if you don't forgive others God will not forgive you it isn't the New Covenant we can rise higher in the New Covenant and sink Lord that's how it is in the Old Covenant you couldn't rise high you couldn't fall very low on Hebrews chapter 8 let's get there and see what are the terms of this what are the blessings of the New Covenant and I want to read from verse 12 to verse 10 upwards Hebrews 8 verse 12 first of all because you know the reason why I start like that is it says for this and this and then finally it says for so when it says finally for that's where it begins in verse 12 wherefore means because so that's really the starting point that's really the foundation the first blessing of this new covenant there are three of them the first is in verse 12 I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more in the Old Covenant sin was never cleansed it's important to know that in Egypt they could say the blood was on the door they were under the blood in psalm 32 it says blessed is the man whose sin is covered when I Christian when I hear Christians singing that I'm under the blood and covered by the blood I think you guys haven't read the Bible that's all covenant I don't sing those songs you may have sung it all your life but I just want to tell you it's all covenant you'll never see that expression anywhere in the New Testament under the blood covered by the blood covered means you know you your sins are all written down there on the board and you take a sheet and cover it that's what God did that's all that the blood of bulls and goats could do cover your sin if you lifted up the sheet was there but the blood of Jesus cleanses it's like taking a wet rag and wiping it all out it's gone it's not there anymore I'm cleansed by the blood I thank God I'm not covered I'm not under the blood I'm cleansed by the blood it's like a lot of people speak about being at the foot of the cross I'm not at the foot of the cross I'm crucified with Christ on the cross you'll never see the expression in New Testament at the foot of the cross now if people use for I take license and that's fine but if you think our position is that the foot of the cross it's not all didn't say I'm standing in the foot of the cross he's and I'm crucified with Christ I'm just showing you how careless Christians are with words we've got used to be been brainwashed for so many years hearing certain expressions that we think they are true and like I said it's because they don't read the Bible carefully when I was converted 54 years ago I didn't know much about the Bible well I I don't know how I somehow came to the faith that there is one book and only one that God gave to the human race and that is the Bible and I decided as a young 19 year old just converted to Christ Lord if there is one book and only one that you've given for the human race I'm determined to study it and I don't have to go to a Bible School and our window Bible school I said I'm gonna study it while I was in the ship I used to sit in my cabin and read the Bible and say Holy Spirit of God teach me and I just read it carefully and I found that you didn't need a you didn't need a teacher to teach you if you really came and read it now I thank God I knew English so I could read it and allow the Holy Spirit to teach me and all I had to do is read carefully and take a concordance for example and of all the words where grace came or faith came a mercy game or and I caught real understanding of what the New Testament was all about so as I read the scriptures I found that so many things that many Christians spoke about and sang about were not true I could give you a numerous examples it may puzzle you surprise you for example do you know the Bible never talks about sinful nature never found in the New Testament the Bible speaks about the old man and the flesh so when it's all right you can use another expression if you like sinful nature there's no nothing wrong in that but I when people talk about sinful nature I ask them the question are you talking about the old man are you talking about the flesh they're confused I say the old man in the flesh are not the same thing Romans 6 that says our old man was crucified with Christ God did it but Galatians 5:24 says those who are Christ must crucify the flesh God crucified the old man Romans 6 but Christians have to crucify the flesh the old man is symbolized in the Old Testament by the armies of Pharaoh God buried them under the Red Sea he's relaxed did nothing the lusts of the flesh are symbolized by the Giants of Canaan God didn't kill them the Israelites had to kill them the picture in the Old Testament is exact but why is it that Christians don't see the difference I would say most Christians in the world that I have met think that the old man in the flesh are the same take a concordance and study it you see it's different Lord told Adam that by the sweat of your brow you will earn your bread and I've discovered that if you want to get bread from the scripture you have to perspire you to work hard if you're going to be lazy you'll get all types of wrong ideas God has given us Scripture and he's a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently Jesus the Word of God says in Jeremiah 29:13 you shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart those are type of Christians I want to find or seeking God with all their heart I've seen businessmen in Bangalore in India who are so gripped by the possibility of making money through business that they work from early morning to late at night and I presume dream about it when they go to bed and that is their God Mammon is their God and they worship it wholeheartedly and I've often said to the Lord Lord let it never be said that a worshipper of Mammon that false god worships that God more wholeheartedly than I worship the true God is actually in your life are there businessmen in Australia who are more devoted to making money that you are devoted to living for Jesus Christ and being a witness for him and serving him by your witnessing by your life and words don't you think that should put us to shame people who worship false gods like Mammon so wholehearted but the worshipers of Christ so casual and careless saying what is the minimum I have to do to go to heaven whereas those businessmen are saying what's the maximum I can do to open another store expand my business go across the country across the world to expand my business to make more money yeah so I just say that in passing the Lord says I will remember their sins no more the blood of Jesus not only cleanses me it it says in Romans 5:9 that it justifies me now that's another thing which I mean this may be very elementary but I don't mind emphasizing it for the sake of those who are not clear on it there is a difference between forgiveness cleansing and justification justification is more than forgiveness it says in Romans 5:9 we are justified by his blood declared righteous and you know I when I read scripture I like to think in pictures or illustrations and the way I see it is supposing I'm taken to court and accused of a numerous charges serious charges which could give me the death penalty and the judge looks at all those charges and he says they are true but I forgive you you can go free of course I'm happy this is forgiveness and people outside the court are waiting to hear that I got the death penalty and I walk out of forgiving criminal declared proved to be a criminal in the court by the prosecution but forgiven that's forgiveness now justification is not that justification is those charges are read out and the prosecution presents the case and the judge examines carefully and says all these charges are false he is not a criminal he's a righteous man and I walk out of the court more than forgiven with my head held high there's a lot of difference do you but do you believe that through the blood of Christ you're not only forgiven but God says I look at you as if you've never seen in your whole life don't you think you'll have a lot more boldness to go to God if you had never sinned in your whole life don't you find in yourself something like a hesitation something like driving your car by putting a foot on the brakes you know it's very sure whether you can go so freely to God because the devil is there to accuse you and remind you of all the wretched things you did it's a wonderful thing to be justified I wish somebody had told me that the day I was converted I wouldn't have been so gloomy for so many years forgiveness is great but justification is so much higher imagine I'm 73 now and I say I've never sinned in 73 years as far as God is concerned can you imagine actually supposing I'd actually never never committed one sin in word or deed or thought or motive or attitude in my whole life with what boldness I could come before God that is what the blood of Jesus does for a wretched sinner and criminal like me that's what it's done and that's what gives me boldness as the first step in the New Covenant I will not remember their sins any more I'll be merciful to their iniquities and declared righteous justified and I want every person who has really turned to the Lord here was come to the Lord in sincerity acknowledge that you're a sinner made no justification for yourself not blamed other people like Adam that's one of the things I tell people I say don't go to God blaming somebody else like Adam yes Lord I did it but it was because of my wife you'll get turned out of paradise if you want to stay in paradise have you seen this comparison between Adam blaming somebody else and being turned out of paradise and the thief on the cross blaming nobody he says Lord I'm to blame the Lord says really come with me to paradise you see the contrast he didn't say well Lord my parents brought me up badly and that was a reason or I got into bad company when my teenagers know it is me Lord 100 percent me to blame Lord says today you'll be with me in paradise that's the difference so when you confess your sins don't blame anybody else take the blame 100 percent yourself you can walk with Jesus in paradise your life on Earth will be like a walking in Paradise I tell you I've experienced it I I'm there were in the olden days when I was ignorant I blamed people I got him being a true child of Adam pointing fingers at others I finished with it I said Lord in my flesh dwells nothing good I have no business to point a finger at anybody else I am guilty not 99% but 100% and that's why I believe whenever there's a tension between two people if you're a spiritual person you should be the first one to go and apologize and set matters right I asked this question in India where headon culture traditionally makes the husband like a king and the wife like a slave not the queen slave and I asked people if a husband and wife have a tension as can happen in every marriage who should apologize first that's a very big question who should apologize first who do you think should apologize first I say well let's take an example from God and God and man had attention who took the first step to restore that relationship who was it God not man even though he had not made any mistake mistake was an entirely on my side but he took the first step God so loved the world that he sent his son why did he do that because he was more spiritual than me so now we get the answer when a husband and wife have attention who should take the first step the one who is most spiritual and since both imagine that they are spiritual they should be just running into each others arms why isn't it so was your carnal is the carnal person who waits for the other person to take the first step well you know the answer now I hope from today onwards you'll be just running into each others arms every time you have attention because we all want to be spiritual right at least we want to be known that yes virtual thought the Lord treats us as we treat others so that's forgiveness cleansing justification the second promise of the New Covenant is here verse 11 Hebrews 8:11 they shall not teach everyone in his fellow citizen everyone his brother saying know the Lord for all shall know me from the least to the greatest that's the next step first is forgiveness cleansing justification then he's not saying there won't be any teachers Ephesians 4:11 says Christ has appointed teachers in the church but the teachers job is to teach people scripture to teach people the doctrines of God but knowing the father you can know him yourself the teacher can only tell you what's here but it's the Holy Spirit Romans 8:16 says the Spirit of God when he comes in witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God and cries out from within us if I were to translate it daddy father Abba is just it's a Hebrew word unfortunately not translated but if it were translated it would be daddy dad the Holy Spirit you know dad is more intimate than father father is a sort of a formal word and when it says in Romans 8 that the Spirit of God cries out within us saying about Romans 8:15 about father it's dad this is one of the great blessings of the New Covenant the Holy Spirit comes in and tells us were not orphans we got a dad in heaven any man in the security that a little child who had been in an orphanage where they treated him nicely for five years never experienced never experiencing the hug of a dad or mum getting his food education clothing and all when he's five years old he suddenly discovered that he's not an orphan that his dad is alive he doesn't never stay in the orphanage anymore and he goes and lives in a home and his dad hugs him and says boy I found you after five years you were lost can you imagine the excitement of that boy I don't have to live in an orphanage anymore I've got a dad have you experienced that I see so many Christians living exactly like orphans you know Jesus said all shall know me it says now you don't have to be a very mature Saint the second blessing here in the New Covenant Hebrews 8:11 says all shall know me from the least to the greatest that means from the baby to the old man all shall know me as father jesus came to reveal God as a father in John 17 when he said father I have revealed your name to them what did he reveal God was a dad to those who would receive Christ as their Savior and Lord God became their dad as many as received him to them he gave the authority to be the children of God so it's this to me is the greatest truth I mean he changed my life I'll tell you that I grew up as a very insecure timid little boy and very shy and when I received Christ as my savior I really believed in him to the best of my knowledge I loved him but I was not secure I was like an orphan for many many years I mean theoretically I knew God's my father but it's like an orphan saying yeah I know go I've got a father somewhere I don't know where he is it's something like that that's was my condition it wasn't a real father who could hug me and take care of me it was purity I had a father I would pray our Father who art in heaven but I didn't know him as a father you know Jesus the very first time that he spoke about the Holy Spirit about the coming of the Holy Spirit was on the night before he was crucified he never explained it so clearly as he did in John 14 15 and 16 and he said in John 14:16 I want you to listen to these words I will ask the Father he will give you another helper I mean I've been your helper till now but I'm going away and another helper will not go away like I am going away now to heaven he'll be with you forever and that is verse 17 the Spirit of Truth whom the world lis person cannot receive because his heart is unclean his sins are not forgiven that's why nobody in the Old Testament could receive the Holy Spirit within it's very important to understand that in the day the world cannot receive an Old Covenant people could not receive you know God spirit came upon people in the Old Testament it could not come within and it was like water being poured on a cup let me illustrate that if this is your heart and imagine there's no water inside and here's a veil you know the Bible speaks about a whale between the most holy place in the holy place the tabernacle by the way is a picture of man's being body soul and spirit 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and the tabernacle was outer court holy place most holy place body soul and spirit but between the soul and the spirit was a veil you couldn't get in there was this division between soul and spirit that was blocked off God could not dwell with man and so when the spirit was poured out on such people who lived in the Old Covenant it would go over that and forward it wouldn't go inside it will flow and bless millions I mean Samson could do mighty works but his heart was dirty David could kill Goliath and do mighty works and establish a kingdom but he'd sin with Bathsheba it was all from the outside Gideon says the Spirit of God closed Gideon judges 6 but then he after he finished he went around making idols and worshiping them Old Testament was like that Elisha the great prophet who could bring fire down from heaven the next day he's sitting depressed under a juniper tree saying oh Lord I'm fed up with my life take it away this is Old Covenant experience of the holy spirit it was all outside because there was this veil when Jesus died that veil was torn and it was open now and on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit could now come inside and from within bubble up and flow out and bless millions like rivers of living water that's how it was that's how it is in the New Covenant so that's what he says here in John 14 17 the first time he speaks about the Holy Spirit he says till now he was with you but in that day he would be in did you notice that difference in John 14 17 that was the prophesying what would happen on the day of Pentecost the Spirit of God would come within and then what's the next thing he says the very next thing when he comes within verse 18 you won't be an orphan anymore you see there you'll have a father the Spirit of God from within will cry out dad well as I was telling you I was a very insecure Christian for so many years after I was born again theoretically I had a father but how do you know whether you really experience God is dad you won't be anxious you won't be afraid you won't worry about the future will I have enough for my needs this is what Jesus was saying your heavenly Father feeds the birds and floats the flowers if you have anxiety you may be a born-again child of God I don't question that but you don't really know God as dad in the New Covenant you can you heard the story of the total of birds talking to each other probably you probably have it's very common little rhyme where one bird asks the other why these human beings always so anxious and brow furrowed wondering what's gonna happen and the other bird says oh well perhaps they don't have a Heavenly Father like we have so the birds say that about you when they look at some times in your life in one bird cisterna though why is that family like that where it says well maybe they don't have a heavenly father like we have I mean they sing about it Sunday but they don't actually have a flock you know there's a lot of difference between theoretically knowing because I have received Christ God is my father it's like an equation like an algebra equation a lot of difference in the that and being hugged by a real dad that's what the Holy Spirit does I will not leave you orphans it happened to me I could experience in my heart you see this is why the baptism in the Holy Spirit is so important to be immersed in the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit to fill every being every part of our inner being and to assure us God is your dad and this great truth gripped my heart which is written in John 17 23 it's an amazing truth I call it the greatest truth in the whole Bible that I've discovered John 17 23 he's praying to the father and say Lord father I in them and thou in me that they may be perfected in unity that the world may know two things when they look at my disciples the world must see two things they are my witnesses of two things number one that you sent me I think a lot of Christians are witness to that God sent Jesus to the world to die for the sins of the world but here's the second thing they must also be witnesses to the fact that you father love them as much as you love me that is what I was not a witness to I was a witness I as I said I preached in the streets that God sent his son to die for the sins of the world but I could not be a witness to the second truth that God the Father loved me as much as he loved Jesus but when I was filled with the Holy Spirit that became real to me the Spirit of God bore witness with me the Father loves you exactly like he loved Jesus and I can prove it to you from Scripture apart from that verse the Bible says in Romans 8 verse 29 that the reason and that God has predestined now there's a big dispute about this word predestination and Christendom that divides Chris Christians into Calvinists and Armenians and they confuse predestination predestination has got nothing to do with going to heaven or hell predestination it says in Romans 8:29 is to become like Jesus he predestined me not to go to heaven it's so clear there he predestined to me to become like Jesus and the whole purpose of making me like Jesus is also written there that Jesus might be the eldest brother among many brothers and sisters he's called the firstborn many years ago when I had only one son he was my only begotten Son then I got two three more and he became the firstborn you see how the only begotten becomes the first born you just have one more son then he becomes the firstborn that's what happened on the day of resurrection you read in John chapter 20 God Jesus told Mary who saw him at the tomb go and tell my brothers he never called them brothers before he says your servants John 15 even just before the crucifixion he said I don't call you sermons I call you friends that was higher than servants but now after the resurrection he says tell my brothers Jesus called his disciples my brothers I had sent to my father and your father it was a special relationship now before that he would only speak about my father or sometimes about your father but never combine the two and said my father and your father the first time he said that was after his resurrection because he says now you guys are my brothers I'm the eldest brother and that's why Jesus is not the only begotten son of God today that was before the day of resurrection that's why the resurrection of Christ is so important today he's the firstborn because I'm his brother - and what is the consequence of that romans 2 verse 11 there is no partiality with God how does that affect us well I applied to my own life I have four sons and I have never done God is my witness to the best of my ability and knowledge whatever I did for my first son I tried my best to do for all my other three sons I did not love my first son more than the others now I know some parents have got partiality towards one of their children for one reason or the other but I knew that I had to represent God to my children and the little children their first understanding of God is from their father in the strictness and kindness of their father and grace and truth that they see from their father they're supposed to see God and I realized that if I have to represent God correctly I must be absolutely impartial to all my children and anyone who's not impartial towards this children is not like God and I have tried my best to be that anything I did for my oldest son I would do for all my others and from that I learned a great truth about God that what he did for his eldest son he would do for me the eldest son is Jesus firstborn there is no partiality with God what he did for Jesus he will do for me if I fulfill the same conditions the other our conditions even for Jesus there were conditions because when he came to earth as a man let me show you some amazing verses why was Jesus exalted to the highest place in the universe so that that his name every knee should bow it's not because he was the son of God let me read it to you in Philippians - being found in appearance as a man verse 8 Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross humility obedience death to his self therefore verse 9 God exalted him there was a condition he will exalt me to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he might exalt you in due time why did God hear jesus prayers was it because he was the son of God let me read to you hebrews chapter 5 verse 7 in the base of his flesh that means during the thirty three and a half years he was on earth Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his godly fear I can be heard to if I have godly fear so there were conditions so everything that God did for Jesus he will do for me if I fulfill the same conditions if I humble myself he'll exalt me he will care for me as he cared for Jesus you know this brought such security into my life this is what it means to know God his father Jesus was not in a panic if there was storm in the sea it's amazing how he was so much at rest you know that instance in Luke chapter 4 you read there that verse 28 all the people in the synagogue are furious didn't allow him to finish his message grabbed ahold of him and it says in verse 29 all those maybe 200 people in that synagogue caught him and took him verse 29 to the hill on which the city was built to throw him down 200 people gang up on one man take him to a cliff to throw him down because they're angry with what he preached and the next verse says but passing through the midst he just quietly went his way how in the world did that happen it was not like it says Philip was taken up once and taken out in Acts chapter 8 no it wasn't like that well Jesus wasn't lifted up and taken out by some angel he quietly passed through and went his way and I've meditated on that I stopped at some places and say how does that happen lord I don't know but this is my guess maybe there was an argument among these 200 people as to which particular cliff to throw him down was it this one or this one and you know what happens when people get in an argument like the Democrats and the Republicans tooth and nail at each other and while this discussion was going on Jesus quietly went away and by then they decided which cliff to first oh they look around he's not there I say Lord what you did for Jesus you'll do for me when I have to deal with angry people once Herod tried to kill him when he was a helpless baby God took him out of danger I've experienced that in India where people tried to harm me I didn't know anything about it God took me out of the way I live in a security because of one truth I've discovered God loves me as he loved Jesus he's my elder brother I'm a younger brother and what he did for Jesus he'll do for me they shall not teach each other their neighbor saying o the Lord all shall know me from the least to the greatest you see all brothers Act that's because you're known the Lord so long no it says in Hebrews 8 from the least where you converted this morning it's for you brother it's for you as many as received him to them he gave the authority to be the children of God why have you allowed the devil to rob you of that perfect security that look free you from anxiety but that will enable you to obey the command rejoice in the Lord 24/7 Philippians 4:4 I have begun to taste a little bit of that since I discovered the security this is the new covenant it's far better than health and wealth I'll tell you that people do with health and wealth live with so much tension and anxiety but this is so much better the third blessing of the New Covenant Hebrews 8 and verse 10 I will put my laws into their minds and I will write them upon their hearts and I will be their God in the Old Covenant God wrote his commandments on two tablets of stone I think there were four commandments related to God on one of them and the six Commandments related to man and the other tablet written with the finger of God we read in Exodus when Jesus spoke about casting out demons he called the finger of God you know what he called it the holy spirit you you can read that in Matthew 12 28 I cast out demons by the Spirit of God now if you compare that verse with the parallel passage in Luke there it says the finger of God that's how I know that the finger of God is the Holy Spirit so as God wrote those tablets with this finger he writes his laws now the tablets are my mind and my heart those are the two tablets it says in the New Covenant in the Old Covenant it was external in the New Covenant it's internal it's one of the great differences between Old Covenant and New Covenant everything was external in the old cone and the sacrifices the temple the blessings but in the New Covenant it's internal I will write my laws in your mind and in your heart and I will be their God and I understand mind to mean that he'll give me a desire to do his will that's writing his law into my mind and heart means he'll give me the ability to do his will desire alone is not enough or to use more scriptural language and Philippians chapter 2 and verse 13 he'll work in me to will and to do his good pleasure Philippians 2:13 that is writing his law in my mind and in my heart now God couldn't do that in the Old Covenant because the heart of man was hard you remember Jesus saying Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of your heart it was harder than that rock on which I could write the laws that's what God is saying so hard he couldn't write the laws in man's heart he could write it on rock but now Ezekiel 36 says I will take away that stony heart and I'll give you a soft heart I'll put my spirit within you and he will write his laws means he will give me the desire to do his will in every area he will give me the desire to overcome all sin he will give me the desire to be totally pure and he will give me the ability do you find it difficult to forgive somebody has the Lord given you the desire do you know the same God who gave you the desire will give you the ability you don't have to look for that within yourself he will work in you to will and to do he will write his laws not only on your mind but also in your heart it's wonderful the Bible is a really a very simple book once you feel that after you hear this not a complicated book at all very simple and all fits in its exactly here the same thing over there we just got to read it a little more carefully so he's working me to will and to do his good pleasure in the Old Testament David could say in Psalm 40 I delight to do thy will O God but when I see but Sheba everything changes like a lot of Christians today this Laura I'd like to do that I will look at the songs we sing but wonderful new covenant he'll give me the desire and the ability not only I delight to do thy will I like to compare New Testament verses with the places they are quoted in the Old Testament and let me show you something wonderful in Hebrews chapter 10 the psalm 40 is quoted Psalm 40 says I delight to do thy will but hebrews 10:7 says when Jesus has come into the world verse 5 he says I've come to do thy will you see then that's wonderful that's New Covenant it's not I delight to do thy will I've come to do thy will that's more than desire its ability and he's the one we follow they don't follow David you know it's good to study the characteristics godly characteristics of Old Testament people the things you see in Moses Elijah David but whenever you study Old Testament characters please remember one verse you know in Hebrews 11 you have the lists of these great heroes of faith in the Old Testament and at the end of it the last verse says but God has given us something better so whenever you study Old Testament characters remember that verse but God has given you something better in the New Covenant and that's what it says in the next verse is in Chapter 12 we can follow Jesus so our example is not Elijah or David I don't have to fall into adultery after preaching for so many years like a like Buster's do because I'm not following David look at the new number of pastors nowadays here and there who suddenly are discovered to be in adultery or homosexuality and then they will weep over television and say forgive me but David was forgiven and he came back into the ministry as a king so God is putting me back after six months of counseling I'm back in the pulpit can you imagine the Apostle Paul saying anything like that what respect would you have for the Apostle Paul if he suddenly says hey fellas I wrote all this about sin not having dominion over you but I'm sorry I was sleeping around with some women and well forgive me most Christian preachers live under the Old Covenant there's one proof of it they don't have a clue about the new covenant that god works in us to will and to do and that's what brings such a bad name not only for Christians before the world imagine the blasphemy that the devil you know you know from the book of Job the devil is always watching people on the earth he's called the accuser of the Brethren and he turns around to God and says God is that guy one of your servants fooling everybody in the congregation that is a great preacher because he's gifted and living in sin and secret look at the blasphemy going on in heaven does it concern us we are taught to pray our Father hallowed be thy name I wanted to be hallowed up there I want to shut them out of the devil that he can't say anything about me I hope you had that passion not just my witness here on earth but the devil can't find anything in me to accuse before my heavenly father God will work in me to will and to do his good pleasure one last thing it's great for me to compare the Old Covenant with the New Covenant in this way what was the Old Covenant let me read it to you in Exodus 20 the Ten Commandments thou shalt thou shalt not reading was three and four thou shalt not verse five thou shalt keeping the Sabbath thou shalt honor your father mother verse 13 thou shalt not thou shalt not thou shalt not thou shalt not thou shalt not basically the Old Covenant is you shall you shall not you shall you shall not the whole thing now let me turn you to the New Covenant what we just read I don't know whether you noticed it Hebrews chapter 8 verse 10 the Lord says I will I will I will I will do you see a difference oh it excites me it's not you got to do this and you can do this and you can do that but the Lord will write his laws in my mind and heart fill me with the Holy Spirit and make me do it that's a great verse if you read the Bible carefully you would have noticed it in the Book of Ezekiel 36 when the Spirit of God comes and fills us you know what happens let me read it to you Ezekiel 36 27 I will put my Holy Spirit within you this is not possible in the Old Covenant he's prophesying the day of Pentecost I'll put my spirit within you and I will cause you to walk in my statutes Wow and you will be careful to obey my Commandments this is not thou shalt thou shalt not so many Christians are laboring under thou shalt thou shalt not and no wonder they're defeated they're living under the Old Covenant the devil's blinded their eyes to what Christ purchased for them on the cross it's like your father slugged away and worked hard for many many years and made a billion dollars billion and wrote a will giving it all to you and you allowed some crooked lawyer to cheat you of all your inheritance that's exactly what the devil has done the Christians cheated them of this wonderful life he cheated me of it for 16 years of my Christian life after I was born again and I decided Lord since I when I began to see these thing not just see it but experience it I said Lord I'm gonna spend the rest of my life going everywhere as long as you give me health teaching your children about the inheritance they have lost and that they've missed that they allowed the devil to cheat them off let's pray sir our heads before God there's one question the Lord asks you and it's not will you do this but the same question he asked the blind men do you believe that I'm able to do this for you do you believe that I can do this work in you in your heart or are you going to continue trying to obey the DAO shells and thou shalt nots in the New Covenant the standard is much higher it's not adultery they're not even to lust it's not murder don't even get angry the standard is higher but he says I'll do it in you dear brothers and sisters this is not a fairy tale this is absolute truth I stand before God and tell you that to a great measure I've begun to experience this in my life it change my life completely there's no partiality with God he can do it for you if you trust him seek him with all his heart all your heart and say Lord Jesus I want to open up every area of my heart to you I don't want to have anymore closed doors in my life you can decide what I watch on television you can decide the books I read you can decide how I spend my money how I spend my life every area every single room in my heart is open to you fill me with your holy spirit and bring me into this new covenant he will do it for you there's no partiality with them Heavenly Father I pray that it'll not be like on the borders of Canaan where six hundred thousand turned away saying that Giants are too strong I pray that we'll be like those to Joshua and Caleb who said God will help us and bring these giants under our feet yes father we trust you I pray that you really wake people up to possess their inheritance bless this church and its witness all the leaders and pray that the light will shine brightly from here to draw many people to you to this wonderful life of the New Covenant pray in Jesus name

Channel: CFC India

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Keywords: zac poonen, cfc

Id: KJMxfQd8f4M

Length: 74min 14sec (4454 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 28 2013