What it means to be a light by Zac Poonen

[Music] I want to try and explain this morning what it means to be a light in the world one of the things that we have thought about during many years in our church is what are the things that changed after Jesus came which people in the Old Testament could not have or never spoke about even though they had great men we've seen the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant there are many many things and God gives us more and more light as we go along if we are faithful to the light God gives us he gives us more light for example nobody in the Old Testament could ever say I am the light of the world but Jesus when he came he was the first person to say that I am the light of the world and what does that mean the Bible says that the whole world lies in darkness it's very important for us to see that let me show you that verse in first epistle of John and chapter 5 verse 19 the whole world lies in the power of the evil one now there are lots of people in the world who don't believe that they think well some parts of the world are not under the power of Satan when it talks about the world it's not talking about the earth there's the difference between the earth and the world system which controls the people in the world and a lot of things that happen here the devil is not called the ruler of the earth is called a ruler of the world and there's a lot of difference between earth and world so here it's speaking about the world lies in the power of the evil one and that evil one is the ruler of darkness and so the whole world lies in darkness and in the midst of this darkness ruled by Satan came Jesus as a light to show that everything that Satan said was alive it's very important to remember that because remember that sin first came into the world through a lie Satan convinced Adam and Eve Eve first of a lie and that lie was first of all that God's Word even if you disobeyed it's not serious parody Genesis in Chapter three Genesis chapter 3 we read the woman the serpent came to the woman and the first thing he said was has God really said that you shouldn't eat from any tree of the garden and see there are certain things we can learn right from the beginning and that is the first step which the devil uses he used it then he uses it now is to somehow convince you that God's Word doesn't mean what it says listen to this my dear brothers and sisters if the devil can convince you that something written in Scripture does not really mean that he has already won the victory he's just a matter of time before he drags you all the way down into the pit that's what Eve did not realize and you see that contrast how he the devil came with God's Word questioning God's Word as God really said you can't eat of all the trees here he knew very well what God had said and eaten you it very well also but he was trying to put a doubt in God's in Eve's mind concerning God's Word and then when Eve said yeah God has told is that that if you eat this you'll die then he goes to the next step in verse 4 and says now you won't die the first is to question God's world and then secondly to say no it doesn't happen once you allowed him to make you question God's Word he immediately goes the next step they know that won't happen it won't happen and he believed it and she discovered that it did happen what did the Lord tell tell them both told Adam and Adam Thole in the day you eat you will surely die and that was fulfilled in two ways first of all spiritually as soon as she ate her connection with God was broken how do we know her connection was God was broken because she made Adam's sin see when your connection with God is broken you make other people also commit sin that's one marker that your connection with God is broken how do you know you're connected with God the opposite of that you lead people away from sin all people who are connected with God lead others away from sin all people are not connected with God lead people into sin she could be a simple thing like a woman dressing in modestly what does that prove it proves her connection with God is broken because she's leading people into sin and when people lead others into sin it means their connection with God is broken how do we know that Adams connection with God was broken as soon as he ate he made accusations against his wife so here we see how sin came by Adam and he doubting the Word of God that is of Darkness gain and so it's the same thing the devil does today exactly the same he makes us question what God has said clearly in his word see for example I want to begin with one of the first things that we need to know 1 John and chapter 1 1 John chapter 1 and verse 9 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness this is where we must begin because we have all sinned and we need forgiveness and if we don't have forgiveness we can never proceed further not only if you don't have forgiveness we are not if you're not absolutely sure if you're not absolutely sure that our sins are forgiven we cannot proceed further it's like saying if you don't lay a foundation you cannot build a building that will stand it will collapse now why do I emphasize that because the Bible says the devil is the accuser of the brothers and I have seen so many people who sit in churches who are not sure whether some sin in their past has been forgiven they're not sure they're always uncertain and then 20 years later the devil reminds them yeah but what about you what you did over there and their disturb began so this is very important to know the devil is a liar that's why I pointed you to Genesis chapter 3 questioned God's Word has he really said that no it doesn't mean that he doesn't mean that he will forgive all your sins yeah but he will forgive your small sins where does it say that in Scripture if you have not confessed your sin oh then it's true God can't forgive if you have confessed your sins and say Lord I really want to give it up and I don't want to do that again he doesn't ask you to promise that you'll never do it again because none of us can promise to God saying I'll never do that again that's like me saying I'll never trip and fall for the rest of my life can you can any of you say that however many years you're walked without falling you can't say I mean you may walk out of the gate and trip on a bananas or something in palm so but you don't choose to fall no unless you're off your head you don't choose to fall but you can fall so it's like that so God doesn't say promise me that you'll never sin again well I say Lord I can't promise that what the Lord does is you want to give up sinning that's the question it's very important don't let the devil accuse you and if you have confessed your sin he is faithful and what the devil is trying to say is he is not faithful he he says no you are faithful to confess your sin but he is not faithful to forgive you you know this is why unbelief is so insulting to God to say you're faithful but he's not faking you confessed your sin but he did not forgive you so faith is to say God is faithful I Who am so weak such a sinner I did my part I was I confessed my sin he is faithful to forgive me I believe I've been forgiven it's very important that if you have given your life to Christ and you turn from sin you're absolutely sure that not only your past is forgiven but more than that it says in Hebrews in chapter 8 and verse 12 I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more and when you hear a word like that in Hebrews 8:12 the devil immediately comes to you just like he came to Eve as God really said that he will not remember your sins anymore really are you sure that he means that and yeah you wonder and as soon as you begin to wonder the devil's already won and then it's just a matter of time before he leads you further down so it's very important that you say yes God's promised and I believe he's faithful that he doesn't remember my sins anymore not at all he doesn't remember my sins anymore confess that that's why the Bible says in Revelation and chapter 12 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 10 it says he accuses Satan accuses us to God day and night and how did the overcomers overcome that accusation first of all by the blood of the Lamb believing that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses them from their sins and secondly by speaking that word of testimony to Satan the blood is cleansed me I'm cleansed if you don't speak that word of testimony to Satan you cannot overcome him and the greatest example is Jesus himself he did the opposite of what Eve did when he questioned God's Word Jesus quoted God's Word every time Satan came to him with the temptation in the wilderness Jesus just said it's written that settles it for me the second time he came it's written that settles it for me it's written get behind me Satan and Satan left he had no chance with Jesus because Jesus said this is what God's Word says that settles it for me do you know what a difference it will make in your life if you take that position that's what God's Word says that settles it from me there's no further discussion he has said I will not remember your sins anymore that settles it for me you know what a tremendous difference it'll make in your life I remember more than 40 years ago 45 years ago a day in my life I remember where I was standing I was standing on the quarter deck of a ship converted about one-and-a-half years ago still doubtful whether my past was still remembered by God and I heard this word in my heart I will not remember your sins anymore and it changed my life I said Lord that settles it for me and it settled it for me for 45 years it makes a tremendous difference that is the light that shines in the darkness our calling is to proclaim that the devil is a liar that God is true and the devil is a liar in fact the Bible says that God be true Romans 3 and I think it's verse 3 let God be true and every man a liar even men can be liars let me show you two verses first of all Romans in chapter 3 Romans chapter 3 verse 4 let God be found true even though every man be found a liar that means all the six billion people in the world may say something it could be a lie God is true see this is a very important position to take because you know what is happening in Christianity today something new starts some preacher usually in America decides to do something maybe get people to fall down or get people to laugh or get people to do something and because they have the money and the power to spread that message all over the world all over the world Christians see this on television and hear this and read in books and thousands and thousands of people are doing it and you know what many Christians who don't know God's Word say oh if thousands say it must be true I say let six billion people say if it God hasn't said it it's not true that's what this verse says would you be able to stand let me ask all of your direct question supposing all the six billion people in the world except you decided to believe something that everybody must start falling down now and start laughing would you have the courage to stand up and say jesus never did it he never taught it I wonder that's why the devil gets far over you because he can convince you if he gets sufficient number of people to say something hundred thousand people say something oh it must be true I better not miss out on this I say I'm willing to miss out on everything that the devil invents because I know God's Word you know God must be able to do such a work in your heart that you can stand against the whole world and let them all believe that God's Word says this that settles it for me it's very very important let God be true and every man a liar so what if the whole world says something makes no difference to me absolutely no difference I want to say my brothers and sisters every one of you should come to that position everyone don't depend on the faith of another strong brother in the church or your parents or anybody else you must say God's Word is true and everything else is a lie that's what it means to be a light in the midst of darkness darkness is the lie of the devil and the light is to say God's Word is true let me show you the second verse John's Gospel chapter 8 and verse forty-four it says here about satan there is no truth in him verse 44 the last part there is no truth in him whenever he speaks a lie he speaks from his own nature for he is a liar and the father of lies that means every single lying that was ever spoken in the world this father was the devil that's how and can you imagine the number of lies that have been spoken in the world in 6,000 years since Adam millions and millions of lies and that's what made the world full of darkness and so many lies about God's Word so many lies about Jesus Christ so many lies about what true Christianity is and in the midst of this God says Jesus came as a light and the wonderful thing is Jesus says to us today Matthew 5:16 you are the light of the world nobody in the Old Testament could say that but we're supposed to say it now I am the light of the world what am I supposed to do the same thing that Jesus did when he was on earth to show that the devil is a liar you know what your calling in life is if you haven't understood it let me explain it to you today so that you know what your calling in life is your life listen carefully must be a demonstration of the fact that the devil is a liar got it your life must be a demonstration of the fact that the devil is a liar I mean I've taken that very seriously I want my life to be a living demonstration of the fact that God is true and the devil is a liar that God is true every word of God is true and the devil is a liar not just say it with my lips I mean that's great just confess it with our mouth is very important but that's the first step I confess with my mouth that my sins are all forgiven and then I live as one who believes it because it's true the devil's a liar and he cannot have any power over me and the only sin God will not forgive you know what that is the sin you don't confess got it the only sin God can never forgive is the sin that you will not confess you try to hide and cover it up well you won't forgive that he can't because he wants you to be honest and every person who came to Jesus honestly and asked for something the Lord always met with him supposing the blind man who said oh well Lord I think I'm not so bad well he wouldn't have been healed when he was not healed that was one blind man whom Jesus touched and he couldn't see properly he couldn't be confused men and trees imagine confusing men and trees you gotta be pretty blind if you confuse men with trees and the Lord asked him can you see he was honest he said no I can't okay I'll heal you that's all God wants honesty Lord I'm defeated Lord I can't love people I treat people like trees I chop down trees and I chop down men also and women something's wrong tell God Lord I'm very hard on human beings because I see them like trees please open my eyes and the Lord will show you the difference the trees are not made in His image you can chop them down if you like but human beings are made in God's image you cannot speak to your wife rudely like you chopped down a tree you cannot speak to another human being rudely they are made in God's image and a lot of people haven't seen that I tell you a multitudes of believers everyone who speaks rudely to other people has to say I still see men like trees but they won't confess it and so they remain with this 90% blindness all their life when they could be healed if they were just honest what a tremendous reward awaits those who are honest say Lord I'm very hard on people especially in my own home I treat my children like trees Lord I need to have my eyes open I'm ninety percent blind you have opened my eyes a little bit ten percent my sins are forgiven but I'm blind how long are you gonna live in that my brother's sister just be honest see Lord I'm like that my sins of her forgive me so that's the first thing there are many other things in God's Word that we have in the New Testament that the Lord wants us to be like a light in the midst of darkness and prove to the devil that he's a liar let me show you Romans 6 and verse 14 the Bible says that God has abolished the law because there was something the law could not do and that's why he got rid of it then we can say why did God give it in the first place he gave it in the first place to show man his sin and his inability to obey God and also to show him that no matter how much you keep the law your sins cannot be forgiven so Romans chapter 6 we read in verse 14 sin shall not be master over you for you are not under law but under grace the law we read in James chapter 1 is like a mirror verse 22 to 25 do you need a mirror I think all of us looked at our mirror this morning you need it but when you see that your face is dirty you can't use the mirror to clean your face that's very simple right but that's exactly the law when you look at your the Lord shows you your sin but it can cleanse it but is it necessary yeah without the mirror you won't be able to see your dirty face so the law is necessary to show you this is God's standard you see oh I haven't attained to it here and here and here and here and urine so many spots on my face thank God for the mirror but then when to clean that place I can't take the mirror and wipe my face I need soap and water and sorry when I God shows me his standard in the law and I see oh here and there and the way I speak and the way I deal with money and the way I do so many things about the way you dress there's so many things Goods coming below God's standard it's not what man says man's a liar and not bothered what men think about me it's what God's law shows me and then what do I do I go to the blood of Jesus I confess my sin and get the blood of Jesus to cleanse me just like I use soap and water clean my face my face is hing so that was why God gave the law but the law could not do certain things and that's why he said okay now have you understood that the law cannot show you can cannot help you to overcome sin it can show you your sin and that's why we still read God's Word God's Word is a revelation of his mind and his character and as I read it it becomes like the Old Testament law to me I see my sin oh how many times in my life I have seen my UNCHR Iced likeness as I have read God's Word or as I've listened to a message and I'm sure you've experienced that too as you've heard God's Word anointed prophetic you've seen on Christ likeness now what do you do with that immediately take soap and water immediately go to Christ as he Lord that that's right that's my sin don't just sit there and say is the preacher trying to preach at me of course he's preaching at you he's not preaching to the walls and the chairs and all that he's preaching to you I've heard people come to me after meeting and say brother Zack were you talking to me yes of course who else I was not talking to the curtains in the windows no I was speaking to you don't have any mistake about it and if ever you come to me and ask me am eating bread you have me in mind when you say that yes you don't have to ask me that question you especially you and say Lord thank you thank you for that light that I got now I can cleanse myself in the blood of Christ and be free and be clean and then the wonderful thing is there was something the law could not do as I said and that isn't it couldn't cleanse us first of all it could not help us to keep from getting ourselves dirty again that's something more the blood of Christ can cleanse us soap and water can cleanse you but how to keep from getting yourself dirty again I mean soap and water can't help you to keep yourself from getting dirty again and that's why God gives us His Holy Spirit call the spirit of grace it's not by the blood of Christ that get we get victory over sin though some songs seem to teach that it's never taught in the Bible the blood of Christ cleanses us from sin but to get victory over sin you need something called grace and that grace is imparted by God's Holy Spirit and when it says here you're not under law but you're under grace that can give you power to overcome every sin sin shall not rule over you no it cannot be the master over you think let's stop at that version thing for a moment all through the years since the time Adam and Eve were put out of Eden the devil has told people you cannot overcome sin first of all he tells people your sin cannot be forgiven and so many people do many things they go on pilgrimages they give money to God they roll on the ground they do so many things to get their sins forgiven because there's the devil keeps on saying oh you've got it you gotta do more you've got to do more you'll never be forgiven and he leads them on a wild goose chase they never end and they die without their sins forgiven isn't it wonderful that our eyes have been open to know that Jesus took the punishment for all our sin every one of them oh how wonderful it is what peace comes into a heart to know that but then something more than that the devil tells such people who have already got the peace of forgiveness no you can't get victory impossible you can try and try and try it will not work it will not work it may work for some other people and some of these other people who talk about it may not also be having it they may be just bluffing you and you believe all that and what is the result if you believe the devil's lie you live according to the standard the devil says and that is you'll never have victory impossible but it's true you can have victory in your life if you know the power of grace if you open yourself to the Holy Spirit and for many many years I have told people you need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and Fire just like you open your heart to let Jesus come and forgive your sin and you got forgiveness on the day of Pentecost the Apostle Peters got up and said there are two gifts that God is giving all of you from now on acts 2:38 one is the forgiveness of your sins and the other is the gift of the Holy Spirit the first time the gospel was preached Peter did not preach only forgiveness of sins he says the good news is one God deals with your past forgiveness of sins and to God helps you in the future the gift of the Holy Spirit because we have two sides the past in the future many people their past is dealt with praise God what about the future the good news is acts 2:38 God gives you forgiveness of sins for your past the gift of the Holy Spirit for the future it's so it's really good news I tell you it's really good news and a lot of people have got half the gospel they miss out on the other half it's like going to buy a two-volume encyclopedia and sorry getting a 2m when you get a 2m you won't be able to find out something about some country that begins with S or T you wonder what happened it's paid for why didn't you go and collect it it's free it's lying there in the shop for you free as free as the first volume a lot of people think oh to get my sins forgiven that's easy let's come to Jesus and ask him how many of you believe that you got a fast and pray for 40 days and things like that before you get your sins forgiven I don't think I met a believer in the world who believes that but they do believe that the rain come to the second volume the second gift oh that's not so easy that's another lie of the devil and if you believe that lie like I believed it for some time you just wander around one around trying oh I've got to do something more I'm not yet ready to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit I'm not yet ready I'm not ready when you be ready he'll keep you waiting till you get to heaven now when you get to heaven if you get there you'll say now you can receive it it's to name the gift of the Holy Spirit is not for use in heaven it's for use on this earth I need to be overcomer in my life I need to have the gifts of the Holy Spirit to serve God in my life to bless other people I can't do any of these things without the power of the Holy Spirit I can have my sins forgiven without the Holy Spirit you know that all I need to do is confess and say Lord Jesus your blood cleanses me praise God and I can spend fifty years of my life from pressing my sin my sins are forgiven confess my sin my sins are forgiven but I'll never overcome sin in my life like some of you are defeated by the same old since you were defeated twenty years ago by why is that I'll tell you some of the sins I was defeated by complaining grumbling murmuring bitterness unforgiveness anger after I was born again bad thoughts and I could have lived like that all my life but I with it finished with it years ago because I understood I could be not only be baptized in all history but live every day filled with the Holy Spirit so that I'd never get angry with my wife or with people I work or never I have worked with people in the office here in CFC for many different brothers who worked there with me for many many years and a lot of thing didn't mean them did a lot of wrong things go and ask them if I got yelled at them and got angry with them God gives victory over anger God asked my wife about yell at her God gives a victory it's true now I'm not saying this to boast I'm saying this to tell you the truth that Devils a liar you can overcome your anger you can live a life where you're never depressed I say that because that's that's my experience now for many years and it was not true in my early part of my Christian life I'm not saying this to boast I'm saying this to prove the devil's a liar when he tells you no no no no you have to be depressed once in a while rubbish I I remember once where I said this some people came to me and throw a brother Jack but you don't understand there's a thing called clinical depression and all that type of stuff and some women get depression at different times I say well then you got to have a different Bible which says rejoice in the Lord always accept women who are going through certain difficult times in their life or those who have clinical depression all the others please rejoice in the Lord always that's not what my Bible says you believe all the lies that 6000 million people in the world say go ahead I say let them all say it God is true that's what changed my life I said God is true I don't care what the doctors say and I don't care what all the psychologists say I believe God's Word is true you say that and I tell you to change your life it'll make an insane person saying it'd make a depressed person permanently free from his depression I believe that because God's Word says that I remember once a man came to my house and said brother Zack you must teach people not to take medicines when they are sick where does it say that in the Bible it it says that in the New Testament I'll preach it you got that crazy idea in your head don't try and convince me I'm not going to let the whole world say I'm not going to listen to them God's Word is my guide you know why some of you are defeated because you don't know what God's Word says you know more about the newspapers and the bombings in London then you know about the news then then about God's Word okay well have no wonder you're defeated if you knew a little more about God's Word it make a difference in your life I tell you I'm sorry to say we have a generation of people today who know more about what television preachers preach then about God's Word what is the result defeated the home life that's miserable there's no overcoming there's no victory the same old things again and again my brothers and sisters let me tell you it need not be like that from today if you will open yourself to the Holy Spirit and say lord I want to live a life where sin does not rule over me the devil is a liar when he says this sin has to rule over you oh but you're you're young you'll be defeated by lust till you get married I mean if that's the work if that is true then the devil here then the Lord has to say okay all those who are married and who lust with their eyes that is adultery that's not what he said you can be tempted to lust with your eyes when you're 15 years old or probably younger nowadays with all the evil on television 13 years old you can begin to lust with your eyes what are you going to tell this young man sorry there's no big tree till you get married oh you mean for the next 15 years I've got a God like this yeah sorry that's the that's a good that's not good news not for a person who wants to please God is there no message for such a person that till he gets married he can never overcome you just got to be defeated defeated defeated but one day he gets married and he discovers he's still defeated after that don't think you'll get victory by getting married over just because you got married you'll be defeated by the same thing you're defeated when you're 14 years old victory is not true married sin shall not have dominion over you because you're married no sin shall not have dominion over you because you're under grace whether you're thirteen over they are 18 it's grace it's the power of the Holy Spirit that can keep you from sinning take it seriously the devil is a liar and let every man be a liar God's Word is true everything every sin can be overcome that is the message of the New Covenant of course we get more and more light just like the Bible says we grow it's like you know like school the Bible speaks about our Christian growth like an education you go from first standard the second and third standing fourth standard now it's like you ask a student in second standard or something when they can you get all your addition sums right yeah 100% can you understand square root and geometry and trigonometry no no no not yet but he's got hundred percent in maths even though he doesn't know geometry and he doesn't know square root and he doesn't know cube roots and trigonometry and all that he how did he get hundred percent because that's his level next year he'll go to a higher level we can get a hundred percent again five years later he'll understand more about geometry and trigonometry and 100 percent there so God doesn't expect you to live beyond the light you have sin overcome sin in the areas where you have light somebody whose 30 years more being walking with the Lord more than you 30 years he'll have more light naturally so God expects a higher standard from him do you know that all of us sitting here God not expect us to have the same degree of victory over sin here's somebody was converted yesterday you think God expects him to have the same degree of victory over sin as me no not at all now he's just in the kindergarten some of us have been in school for twenty years God expects a lot more from you so the only sin that God that God expects you to overcome is that what you have light on and it may be very little right now but it should not remain there you don't want your son to remain in the same class every year and God doesn't want you to remain in the same class studying addition every year he wants you to go on and discover other things and that's Christian growth and then as you grow sin shall not have dominion over you there and then you get light on some other sin in your life that sin will not have dominion over you and 20 years later you get light on some other sin that sin will not have dominion and 40 years later you get light on some sin that you never even knew was sin and that sin doesn't have dominion or you and gradually you become more and more like Jesus and you become a sweet overcoming Saint who's a blessing to everybody you meet every word that comes out of your mouth is from God words that bless and strengthen and encourage you don't get there overnight know you get there if you walk with God every day and two little secrets to walk with God to be filled with the Holy Spirit all the time one is keep a pure conscience always keep a pure conscience as soon as you sin immediately go and set it right with God and with man that means if you lust it tell God Lord I committed adultery just now five minutes ago in my thoughts nobody knew it except me I'm really sorry Lord and half an hour later if you do it again Lord I'm sorry I did it again you got to deliver me confess it immediately and if you got angry with somebody confess it to God and confess it to that person settle it immediately with God and man don't wait till the evening if a thorn gets into your foot when do you take it out evening next day if you have an argument with your wife and you have a bad attitude it's like a thorn when are you gonna take it out some people keep it in for five days that's not God's will you can take a thorn out of your body immediately you don't take a thorn out of your relationship and your soul and your spirit for days you've got to be crazy that's like the person who who's got a sick child and a sick dog and takes the dog to the hospital first don't you think that person is mad he should take his child first then the dog and if you got a thorn in your relationship and I thought in your body get your relationship straight first before you remove the thorn from the body I mean that's simple otherwise we're like the animals the animals only care for their body they don't care for relationships and every human being who doesn't care for his relationships he's like an animal he's living at the level of the animals you know that God made animals and human beings on the same day the sixth day to teach man you can descend to the level of the animals very easily if you don't live by the holy spirit so first thing keep your conscience clear the second thing only two things always humble yourself always always if you remember these two things I guarantee you live a life filled with the Holy Spirit every day you don't even have to pray God fill me with the Holy Spirit I do pray that a number of times but I may not always remember to pray Lord fill me with the Holy Spirit but I don't need to if I keep these two things clear now tried my best for many years to always keep my conscience clear always and in every situation every situation to choose the way of going down of humility not of arrogance and fighting for position but going down going down you choose that way my brothers and you live a spiritual life and sin will not have dominion over you I want to show you in other words Romans 8 verse 28 we are to be a living demonstration to the world that this word is true Romans 8:28 says we know now a lot of people don't know that but we must know it Paul says we know it we know four absolutes with absolute certainty that God Almighty God our loving father causes that means God manipulates things does things all things everything in the world that happens in my life to work together not individually notice every word in this verse is important we know that it's Almighty God who causes everything to work together for our good means our very best if if we love God that means with all our heart that means in my life money is not important job is not important God is important first and are called according to his purpose that means I see that God has got a purpose for my life and I want to fulfill that on earth I don't want to be the greatest in any field on earth I want to fulfill God's purpose for my life if that is the type of person you are that means you love God with all your heart you want to live according to the plan which God made for your life okay and if there are people like that here you really want to love God to the best of your knowledge with all your heart and you want to live according to the purpose God has for your life I want to give you a promise from the Word of God that every single thing every single thing that human beings or the devil tried to do to harm you will work together for your good and all the discipline God sends into your life will work together for your good to make you a better person you know that God disciplines those whom he loves when I was a young Christian I would say I know Jesus loves me because he died for me as I've grown older I say I've got one more reason I haven't forgotten the old reason I still say Jesus loves me because he died for me but number two jesus loves me according to revelation 3:19 he rebukes me and disciplines me revelation 3:19 says as many as I love as many as I love I rebuke and I disciplined Hebrews twelve verse six onward says if you are children then God will discipline you if God does not discipline you probably he are not his children that's it it's that serious I have never in my life spanked anybody else's children thank God I hope to keep that testimony to the end of my life but boy did I spank my own children I have rebuked my children more strongly than anybody else because they're my children and I'm sure you your testimony is the same as a father if you see a boy on this on the road doing something terrible you can't go and spank him but if your child does 10% of that you spank you and when you do something wrong now what is the application of this when you do something wrong and God doesn't immediately spank you discipline you brother's sister something is seriously wrong perhaps you are not a child of God according to Hebrews chapter 12 perhaps God's given up on you because the last time you did something wrong he spanked you you got so offended God says okay do what you like you know I have seen people like that I don't know whether they're still believers but they were good believers for a long time that I knew them even some who were here in our church once but they didn't listen they didn't listen to God they wouldn't accept correction they wouldn't accept rebuke and now I see they do so many wrong things and nothing happens to them they go around speaking evil so much and they are living in good health do you envy that I tell you I don't envy that I don't want to be like those street boys I want to be a child of God and I've seen in my life sometimes I do this much wrong and God's hard on me and I asked the Lord Lord why did you do that and the Lord says you remember the little thing you did last week boy that little thing for that little thing you gave me a spanking Lord please Lord do that all my life because that's what I want I don't even want to go one degree off and there are other people going 90 degrees at 180 degrees off they seem to be happy yeah the street children not God's children God doesn't spank them you know in the Old Testament they couldn't understand this there was a man called a serf who wrote Psalm 73 he says Lord why do the wicked prosper I can't understand it I am so faithful and keeping my heart clean it looks as if it's all a waste of time because I'm suffering so much and I have so many problems and difficulties but these wicked people who disobey you Lord they just seem to enjoy life and they're healthy and strong and everything seems to go well with them and he said this almost made me lose my faith till I came into your presence and I discovered what their final end is going to be and what my final end is going to be so he says thank you Lord I desired nothing on earth but you Psalm 73 25 and what do I desire in heaven but you I'm willing Lord to be poor and to suffer all my life if I have you they didn't understand it fully even Jeremiah had a problem with this in Jeremiah chapter 12 he says Lord why do all these wicked people seem to have a good time and I am your prophet and and suffering so much and everybody's out to get me even though I'm not doing anybody any harm and these other fellows were doing so many wicked things they just seemed to enjoy life and once he even told the Lord Lord you're like a deceitful spring to me I come to you for water and there's no water and the Lord says Jeremiah stop all this nonsense stop staying these stupid things you want to be my mouthpiece get rid of these bad words from your mouth speak words of faith but in the New Testament you never find Paul saying that Lord why are these wicked prospering never he's understood Romans 8:28 that every single thing works for good to those who love God and who are called according to his purpose now I want to say to you my dear brothers and sisters our calling in life I told you only three things today to be a living demonstration of the fact that when I have confessed my sins and turned from them my sins are all blotted out permanently there's no record of it anywhere in this universe you go searching for it you won't find it [Music] but I want to say one qualifying thing if you don't forgive somebody some somewhere that record comes up again that's what the Bible says only one thing if you don't forgive somebody he said all your debt will come back up on your head again so that's why it's very important to forgive other people the second thing I said was we got to be a living demonstration to the devil into the world that sin cannot have dominion over me when I am under grace cannot have dominion over me God's grace is greater than the greatest temptation there is in the world the devil says no I've got temptations greater than God's grace and God's Word says no God's grace is greater than every temptation if somebody looks at your life who will they believe is true the devil or God if somebody observes your daily life carefully who will they believe is true the devil or God the devil who says I've got temptations that are greater than any grace God can give or God who says grace is greater than every temptation what is your life proof I hope it'll be different from today lord I believe grace is greater than any temptation maybe I haven't got it enough and why don't I get it because God gives us grace only to the humble God gives us grace only to the humble just acknowledged Lord I'm not humble that's why I didn't grace I thought I was a very humble guy but I discovered today I am not how do you know you're not because you're defeated by saying and if you had grace you'd have overcome that sin let's be honest let's not say God's Word is not true God is true his word is true but I'm not willing to humble myself and number three to testify to the devil and to the world every single thing works for my good discipline is from good all the bad things other people try to do to me all works for my good everything works am i good so I praise the Lord this is what it means to be a light in the midst of darkness the whole world lies in darkness they don't believe these things and the midst of that world God has put you and me to be a light may God help us

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Views: 23,149

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Keywords: Zac, Poonen, Revival, Repent, God, Sermons, Jesus, SermonIndex

Id: -GMkseiBPjQ

Length: 56min 55sec (3415 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 13 2012