Zac Poonen - Entering the Life of Victory

as the church grows in numbers we have people at different levels of the Christian life as our children grow up and they are some of them are hearing the gospel for the first time in a sense even though they've been sitting here many years they were too young to understand so the great burden a true servant of God has is to ensure that God's Word is preached not in one single message but over a period of time in any church where the children spiritual children at all grades get something and that's not easy because there are some who never seem to get out of the kindergarten even after sitting in the church for seven eight years now I believe that a Christian should enter the promised land in two years and I'll tell you why I say that from two examples the Bible says that when we are born they're like little children baby is born and in almost every case by the time a child is two years old he can walk till then he's falling getting up falling yeah you don't get upset with it nine-month-old falling getting up even sometimes little over one year they're falling getting up but if a child is two years old and if you think of your child if it was two years old still falling still getting up falling many times a day you would get concerned are you concerned that you've been a believer for two years and you're still following him falling okay even I can fall I can trip on stone outside and fall even at my age so that can happen to anybody at any stage but victory over sin means does not mean I'll never fall victory over and sin means I've learned to walk so I'm not asking you whether you ever fall or whether you ever will fall my question is have you learned to walk are you more than two years old in the Lord now I know that's not true the vast majority of Christians but that's because they don't take the Christian life seriously if you I'll tell you if you keep carrying if you want to make sure your child never learns to walk I'll give you the prescription for it carry him all the time never let him on the ground put him on the ground you carry him carry him as soon as he goes gets out of the bed carry him let somebody carry him all the time or keep him in the bed all the time I guarantee even when he's 10 years old he won't learn to walk he's got to be put on the ground and he crawls and again something tries to walk and falls down and don't get disturbed he'd want to walk now fine today in Christendom there are so many pastors and preachers who are just carrying these little babies in that church all the time the only message I'll tell you what I mean by carrying a baby the only message they'll preach to them is God loves you brother you don't know how much he loves you he's always longing for you he misses you so much he's wanting to see you in heaven one day oh it doesn't matter if you fall he loves you he wants to pick you up and carry you you keep listening to that for five or ten years you'll be a baby you'll never in your life will you get victory over sin till somebody lets you on the ground and you've run and fall and you're determined to learn to walk that and you used to look at a child it doesn't matter how many times it falls in a day it's determined to walk it never gives up oh I fell down fifty times today so there's no hope for me foolish believers say that but not a child of God so the other reason why I say two years is Li God's plan I mean you know you can take longer than two years how long does it take for you to finish 12th grade or high school most children 12 years but you can take 30 years right why not you can how long does it take to go get it to be a graduate and a college four years well you can take for 40 years as well it depends on how seriously you take your education the average for the person is really sincere we'll finish 12 grades and 12 years finish college in four years the child will learn to walk in two years and a wholehearted disciple of Jesus will learn the life of victory in two years the I believe that's God's will which shows how few Christians are really wholehearted about overcoming sin they prefer to be carried and petted and cared for now if you turn to acts 2 the Apostles chapter 2 oh sorry I'm not EXCI autonomy in chapter 2 we read here about how the shell of Israel one his you know or Moses is describing they're wandering through the wilderness and I want you to see this verse Deuteronomy 2 verse 14 first of all how many years did Israel wander in the wilderness do you know altogether 40 years in the world that is a punishment God gave them now listen to this this is the border of the promised land he says in Deuteronomy 2:14 the time it took for us to come from Kadesh Barnea Cadiz Barnea was the place where they sent the spies into the land you read in numbers in chapter 13 the spice went into the land and came back and said oh we can't conquer this land Joshua and Caleb said no we can go but the other 10 spies said no we can't go and the 600,000 ten spies and said we can't go kenan as a picture of the life of victory deliverance from Egypt is a picture of being born again going through the Red Sea is a picture of water baptism the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years is a lot picture of life under the law the child trying to learn to walk for 40 years but it says here the time it took from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the brook zero which is ready to cross into Jordan is 38 years and during those 38 years all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp as the Lord had spawned them what does that prove that means in God's plan from Egypt to Kadesh Barnea where they were supposed to cross into the into Canaan was two years because they did not God sent them into the wilderness for another 38 years so it's from that words that I understand that God's plan original plan for the Israelites was that two years after they came out of Egypt redeemed by the blood baptized in the Red Sea God wanted them to overcome Canaan you say two years such a short time that was God's plan if they have trusted you know after two years Joshua and Caleb said we are ready they were ready after two years see what they say in numbers let me tell you the history what happened after two years two years after they left Egypt they came to this place in numbers in chapter 13 the Lord spoke to Moses this is two years after they left Egypt we know that from the worst I read in Deuteronomy send us people to spy out the land because I am going to give this land to the sons of Israel that's like the Lord saying in Romans 6:14 sin shall not have dominion over you I don't care how many giants have ruled the land of Canaan or your life and your body and your mind all these years they will not reign over you any more I'm gonna give you this land now send some tribes people from the tribes to search out the land and Moses sent at the command of the Lord from each tribe he took one person and the total was twelve people and they all went over sixteen these men they Moses sent to spy out the land and Moses verse 17 sent the despite the land and he'll go there and come back and tell me what is like what is the land like is it good or bad verse 19 what are the camps like and how is the land is it fat or lean we're studying what about the trees try and get some fruit from there were study and they went out and spied out the land he seized he also told him personally see whether the people are living it whether they are strong or weak okay they went out and spied out the land and came back and they you know the grapes were so huge it says in verse 23 that when they cut down a branch of a pill one cluster a single cluster of grapes was 23 it was so heavy that two people had to carry it on their shoulders and then they came back worse 25 after forty days they'd gone around 40 days examining the land and they came to the congregation and they told them we went into the land verse 27 and it certainly does flow with milk and honey you see this is the testimony of those who've come into a life of victory it's a wonderful life when we are living in fellowship with Jesus all the time filled with the holy spirit it's a life of overcoming like Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 2 and verse 14 he says thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ there's only one meaning for always if you look up the dictionary is 24/7 who 24/7 leads us in triumph in Christ now it's almost unbelievable but there was a man in the Bible who said that the Apostle Paul and there are many men since then not many but a few through the ages who had that testimony thanks me to God who always leads us in triumph who brings every giant of Canaan under our feet without exception there's no giant too strong for the Lord but they said even though it's a beautiful land of land of love and joy and verse 27 and paraphrasing it the land flowing with love joy peace longsuffering and gentleness and goodness and faithfulness and meekness and self-control it's a wonderful land the fruit of the land but the Giants who live there are strong the cities they have is fortified are so large and the descendants of anak was there the huge Giants and so Kaylin quieted the people said no we can go in and possess this land see you he was also one of the spies according to Genesis I mean numbers 13 6 he was one of the spies he said I saw those giants I know they're huge but we can't take possession of it we can overcome sin but the men who had gone up with him said no no no no this anger I tell you my father had it my mother had it my grandfather had it my parents told me that and they said it runs and runs in the family I tell you it runs in everybody's family not just yours and we I cannot overcome it that's the language of these people no no they are too strong this sexual lust oh boy it's too strong too strong a giant I know God says sin will not have dominion over you but not when it comes to this that this this particular giant is particularly strong and we're not able to go up against if we are too strong for us think of whichever sin the sin which easily besets you and see if your language is this language of unbelief in verse 31 this is too strong for me and they gave a bad report what is the bad report God wants you to conquer that land and you come saying no it's too tough they're too strong the land is a wonderful land oh boy I really like to live the love joy peace rejoice always be anxious for nothing young thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph I know I'd like to live there but it doesn't seem to work because Giants are too strong and when I look at these massive sins that rule my life verse 33 I look like a grasshopper which this giant called anger can crush every day and this giant called sexual lust can crush every day and I'm a little grasshopper their Scripture is given so that we can learn from it for ourselves all scriptures given for us to learn the things that are written in the past were written for our instruction and everybody was you know one thing you can see that they wept because they were sick and tired of this two years wandering in the wilderness they said we thought we could enter into this land and the spies come and tell us I think these spies are pictures of pastors preachers will never enter the land themselves older leaders who disheartened all the people saying no no we've lived for don't try to come with all your new religion I've been a Christian 25 years and I couldn't possess the land what are you talking about you're just a young upstart that's what they told me when I was a young person I'll tell you I thank God I did not listen to them it took me many years to come to victory but I would never have come if I had listened to all those old men preachers and pastors were defeated in their lives and tried to dishearten me everybody around me was accepted their word and I said no I don't care I remember telling the Lord Lord if I'm the only person in India who believes it I'm gonna believe it because I believe your word I'm not gonna just say I believe God's Word and this neglect it like a lot of people do I am absolutely convinced that many of you listen to me carefully you say you believe the Word of God but I tell you to your face some of you do not believe God's promises it's not true because you've sat here in NC SIA for so many years and it doesn't change your life much it hasn't change your family life much what are you believing where is the light shining it's darkness in some of your homes the people could come secretly to your home and watch what's going on start this and yet I want to say to you in Jesus name it should not be like that let's move on let's possess the land and it says here in but just over six chapter 14 verse 6 and Caleb they spied out the land they spoke to the congregation look at this language of faith the land which he passed through is an exceedingly good land it's a wonderful life brothers and sisters like it says in proverbs 14 14 in the Living Bible the godly man's life is exciting that's how it's supposed to be every day challenge to overcome situations circumstances sin and the Lord is if the Lord is pleased with us verse 8 he will bring us into this land and give it to us and he did tell the others don't rebel against the Lord don't fear these people don't feel these sins that have ruled you for so long they will be appraised like they're gonna be like the animals we capture we're going to capture them that protection has been removed from them the devil was defeated on the cross don't act as if the devil is still Victor when you live a defeated life you're proclaiming by your life Satanist Victor I tell you he's not the victor Jesus is Victor I don't care what you say with your mouth what is your life proclaiming what is your family like proclaiming Satan is Victor in my home Satan is Victor in my life Satan is Victor in my thought life it doesn't matter than what you say with your lips Satan sits back and laughs ha ha these fellows can say what they like with their lips they can sing such beautiful songs but their life is testifying something else and all my fellow demons sicknesses can see it all my fellow demons can see it every day that their life is proclaiming something completely different from what they sing on Sunday morning dear brothers and sisters how many of you will rise to the challenge the Joshua and Caleb gives it says if the Lord is with us it says don't be afraid their protection verse 9 has been removed from them and the Lord is with us I will not be afraid in one translation it says they are like bread we're gonna eat that there are food you know and that's really true they are like our food like let me repeat that story I've the parable love then I've heard before and some of you probably heard me say it but for those of you who haven't heard it there was this ugly looking lizard or iguana one of these big lizards sitting on a man's shoulder it's a picture of sin that had conquered his life and in angel comes to him and says get rid of that get rid of that and that li kaigu on a lizard says no no no no don't get rid of me you know you and I have been friends for years I'll behave myself I'll behave myself and so he says okay and and he argues of this angel allows this sin to remain and then finally he gets fed up and he says okay you do it and the angel pulls out that ego on a lizard and throws it on the ground and suddenly it becomes a horse and he's seen the angel tells us man now you don't have to walk anymore to the promised land you can gallop on this horse this sin it ruled your life is what slowed you down slowed you down throughout your lives if you ponder it and put it down it becomes a horse on which you can run go full speed into God's kingdom I've never forgotten that parable every sin I conquer is something that I can write on and go fast into God's kingdom remember that brothers and sisters and don't listen to the devil when he says keep me keep me I'll be here myself he'll never be here himself she had to ruin your life and it says when you hear such a wonderful message of victory one would think all of Christendom should rise up - and says yes this is what's written throughout the Bible it says in Romans 6:14 still will not have dominion over you it says in Romans 8:37 we are more than conquerors not just conquerors we are more than conquerors through him who loved us it says in 2nd Corinthians 2:14 thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in Christ Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4 verses 1 to 4 I know nothing against myself my conscience is absolutely clear Paul says in acts 24:16 this is my testimony I live with the perfectly good conscience every single day all the time 24/7 what a life example of these men Paul John says is at the age of 95 in 1 John 5:3 God's commands are not a burden there's not a single command of God John says at the age of magnify that I found to be a burden in the last 65 years since I was filled with the spirit on the day of Pentecost can you give that testimony even for one year leave alone 65 years there's a Chinese proverb that says the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and then another step you don't have to walk thousand miles just one step one step continue continue and you'll reach the end of the thousand miles God's got a plan for your life it was planned before you were born it was planned before I was born and all of us have messed up that plan for a lord for many many years you and I I know I have I've been a backslider in my life too and I repented and wept and cried out to God for years till God one day fill me with the Holy Spirit and turned me right around I had my day of Pentecost and continuing in filling with the Spirit you cannot do it without it it is impossible don't even attempt it and don't go for these fake counterfeit spirits fullness found in a lot of Pentecostal churches go for the real thing then the Apostles got on the day of Pentecost where Jesus said you shall receive horror not tongues power I wanted power I was thoroughly defeated in my life more than all of you but I said Lord I want power I was at rock bottom when God met with me fill me in the spirit and I'll tell you why if I were to draw a drug graph of my life when the time I was born again I was really wholehearted and it was climbing climbing I was really wonderfully according to the light I had till I came in my life I said lord I give up the ambition in my had in my life to go to the top of my profession and I chuck it because you can call me to leave it and serve you and I continued like that but the one thing I lacked or a couple of things I liked I did not have a spiritual father I did not have a mentor to challenge me to a life with victory I never heard a preacher preach saying sin will not have dominion over you come on be an overcomer I never heard that so I was defeated and the second thing I didn't have was fellowship I never saw a church which functioned like a body of Christ where people love the Lord and loved one another and functioned together as a body you know it makes a tremendous difference when you have a body because if this hand is paralyzed there's another hand that comes to hell and if any part of this body is injured when you're part of a body it functions and helps and restores it can massage it and bring it back to life but imagine if this hand is all by itself and it's dead it's just like that dead forever I didn't have a body I didn't have a spiritual father and it's the years of my defeated then I you know my graph started going down and once you're discouraged you get more and more defeated when you're discouraged you condemn yourself on reaching so many things it's not true I finally got so fed up with my life way back nearly fifty years ago I said Lord I'm not gonna preach anymore because I'm a first-class hypocrite I'm preaching and singing things which are not true in my life I don't want to fool anybody anymore sitting up there in front and standing up in front and acting like a holy man when I'm not I'll I won't give up being a Christian I love Jesus I know he died for me I know it's the only way of salvation but I'll sit at the back of some church and never preach again I really said that to the Lord unless Lord you do something for me make only one thing I don't want a gift of healing or even preaching nothing make my inner life correspond with what I'm singing and saying that's all I don't ask for anything anything else make my inner life correspond with what I'm saying I believe with my testimony with the songs I sing that's all I ask you Lord and I was at rock bottom I prayed like that and nothing seemed to happen I'll tell you this sometimes it can be so discouraging when you pray and pray and there doesn't seem to be an answer to and you go down and down and down and down and on and I was at rock bottom in my backsliding and [Music] there one day when I least expected it God met with me and fill me with the Holy Spirit all of a sudden and began a life in me of course he has a supposed script he also gave me a little finger called the gift of tongues only this side so it wasn't 12 feet long like in some churches a little gift of tongue that was not the main thing the main thing is something began to change in my life and I said lord if this is what real fullness of the Holy Spirit when I read the New Testament now it should become a new book because the Holy Spirit wrote it I should see things in it that I have not understood or seen in the last 16 years that I have studied it I'd studied the Bible thoroughly from 1959 to 1975 16 years but I believe you'll show me and I will tell you this from that time and God met with me and fill me the Holy Spirit and I have been even continuously being filled with the Holy Spirit not just once for all experience I have seen some of the most amazing truths in scripture that I never knew before about overcoming sin about spiritual maturity about building the church and overcoming Satan I never knew before that for example what it was to cast out a demon but since that day no demon could stand before me it was a demon the person he'd go at the name of Jesus well I never knew these things before I really knew then signals defeated the kingdom of God has come Jesus once said if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God then the kingdom of God has come you remember that verse if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God the kingdom of God has come and it really came it became really in my life does not just verses in Scripture so not just was this to memorize it became real in my life and boy was I encouraged and the Bible became a new book and I found so many things and it was not a sudden going up to the top of the mountain the graph slowly began to move upwards and it is not a perfectly straight line I want to say that also fear encouragement there were little dips in it but not such huge dips like before small little dips but the dips were on a graph that was going upwards that's the encouraging thing I was going upwards but too small small dips and I was going up and up and up and up and the dips became less frequent it's a wonderful life I'm not telling I'm not telling a fairy tale this is really my testimony and the most important thing the Lord showed me was I allowed you to go to the depth of defeat to teach you that I do not give the Holy Spirit to those who think they deserve him but to the most undeserving and at the time when they deserve it they deserve him the least that cured me of ever thinking that the Holy Spirit is something you were or and get you know how the entire religious world thinks they have to work for forgiveness of sins back in India there are people who roll on the ground to get forgiveness of sins who go and dip themselves in rivers there are many people in many religions who light candles and pray to Mary and so many other gods to get forgiven so what all they do to forgive forgive sins they give hundreds of thousands of dollars to get forgiveness of sins or rupees in India no we how did you get forgiveness or since how many rupees did you pay how many dollars did you pay to get forgiveness of sins how many times did you roll on the ground to get forgiveness of sins we look at all those people and say boy I wish they could understand you don't have to roll on the ground brother you don't have to dip in a river it's free you mean it's free yes it's free what about our undeserving wretch like me you're the most qualified if you are an undeserving rich are you the chief of sinners aha Christ died for you man come right at him get and how long will it take me to get this forgiveness of sins me do I have to wait six months or something no it's immediate the birth process in the kingdom of God I mean there may be a lot of preparation for it like in the mother's womb a baby's form but the book itself is a moment that's how new birth is there may be a lot of preparation for it of repentance but you're born again it's a moment and it's not for those who are deserving no I certainly didn't deserve it no far from it I mean if God picked on the basis of merit you know picked a lot of other people before me lots of other people it's not unmarried that I got my forgiveness of sins that's why I can be bold to say that and it's not on my merit that I got filled with the Holy Spirit God showed and if he had God had filled me the Holy Spirit of joy when I was not backsliding and I was living a pretty good life I might have thought because I'd been so faithful God fill me with the Holy Spirit I thank God he filled me at a time when I was utterly utterly defeated to show me that the Holy Spirit is given not to those who deserve him but to those who need him desperately oh boy I needed him desperately that day I say that for your encouragement because some of you though you hear this so often you still live under the illusion that I have to pray some more out of a storm or I've got to do something more no sir no sister you have to yield everything and be honest about your defeated life and believe that God is true when he says something in this in his book if you don't believe he can't do anything without faith it is impossible to please you can have everything else in your life but you don't have faith it is impossible to please so we read in Luke in chapter 11 two parables one is related to being filled with the Holy Spirit and the other is related to overcoming sin and Satan two parables do you know that Jesus only spoke two parables on prayer and those are the only two parables I want to point out today number one is Luke chapter 11 how to get into this promised land of Canaan and Lord where the disciples came to Jesus and Lord teach us to pray the chapter 11 verse 1 Luke 11 verse 1 and the Lord gives a long answer teach us to pray many people finish at verse 4 and say okay you know our Father who art in heaven they go through a whole prayer that's over you see the fuller prayer is in Matthew 6 this is a little extract but that is not the end of the answer to the Lord teach us to pray we just appraise the question in verse 1 and the list is ok I'll tell you what you should do when you pray say this be concerned about God's name be concerned about God's kingdom be concerned about God's glory and not your own needs first God is not honored or glorified by your defeated life that's what you need to be concerned about first of all forget about your daily bread and your even forgiveness of sins comes later on but God is not honored by your life we pray for that father hallowed be your name let your kingdom come and so on and then he said I want to continue my answer your question is teach us to pray I'll tell you how to pray supposing you have a friend and that friend is God he is your friend and you go to him in the middle of the night and say lord please give me something to help someone who's in need here I want here he's thinking of serving God you shall receive power what is acts 1:8 say you shall receive power when the holy spirits come upon you and you shall be witnesses to thee out of most parts of the earth you shall be witnesses so the Holy Spirit comes into our life to make us a blessing to others not just to satisfy ourselves you remember what Jesus said if any man thirst let him come to me and drink and out of his innermost being will flow rivers rivers are not for myself I don't need a river a well is enough for me well the Lord told the Samaritan woman a well of water springing up that's enough for me the Lord says no you got to be a river not one river but many rivers it wherever you go people are blessed you know I really come look at the maps of the world not nowadays but you look at some of the ancient maps the ancient civilization always gathered together in certain areas of a country and it's always around the rivers it's always like that because they needed water you go to the desert places Sahara or the middle of Australia nobody lives there why this is no water rivers that's where people gathered and when rivers are flowing out of a person the Lord will bring the people those were thirsty for that water that's how we have to build a church that's how the church is built [Music] that I understood much later rivers of living water will flow from so you concerned about others we are not concerned about others you can't build a church and tell you that if you only concern about yourself sorry you begin there and you say you go to him and say give me three laws not for myself I'm quite happy but a friend of mine has come I don't have anything to give him so the two things I need to recognize one I'm a concern for these other people who are in need on me who are lost without salvation or who are defeated in sin I must have a concern for them Lord a friend of mine is thoroughly defeated by sin I want to paraphrase that please give me some power to help him to come into this godly life I am satisfied you brought me the victory but he isn't come to that life and I have nothing to set before him I mean I got victory but I don't know how to lead this person into this life you feel like that well this guy was honest and now God doesn't actually say that but he tests our persistence in the story the neighbour says don't bother me I can't get up now and get my chiller in bed and the Lord is trying to show you the apparent ridiculousness of someone first of all you won't go to your neighbour at midnight and ask for bread if a friend has come in the middle of the night it's better not to asking whether he ate or not if you don't have any food in the house because you'll be embarrassed if you don't have any food in the hood but this guy asked and he found he didn't eat and say I'm gonna get it for you I don't care how much embarrassment it cost me I'll go to my neighbour and knock until I get it and even if the neighbor says now please keep quiet I have to sleep my children are asleep as I don't care I'm gonna keep on banging here until you give me a look at the burden he had to help other people to be fed with a message of victory you know when you're really filled with the spirit that's what happens I know it happened to me when I got forgiveness of sins it's excited me so much that I wanted to share that with others I'd give out tracts and the buses and stand on the streets because I wanted people to know that Jesus forgives sin you got to do nothing and the same thing happened when I got filled with the Holy Spirit and I found a life of victory I had such a burden I got to share this others I said lord I don't know how to do it Lord but I want to help others because I see around me people are constantly defeated families that are in a mess because sin rules they're like help me to help them and I need power for that I don't have anything to help them that's how you win if you're like that brother sister if you are like that if you've got a burden not just for your selfishly for yourself but if you've got a burden for others I had a burden for my children I said Lord how in the world can I lead my children into this life how in the world can I lead our there's no by no into this life I have a burden your children will never follow the Lord if you don't have a burden for them I'll tell you that you gotta have a burden not just that they get educated and fed and clothed but that they will come into a godly life that rivers of living water will flow out from their life if you have a burden you've got to have a burden from the time they are one year old you gotta have a burden to pray for them and it says here this is the wonderful verse verse eight last part because of his persistence the neighbor got up and give in whatever he needs and then he says now what's the point of this parable you're teaching your thing you asked me to teach you to pray right verse one okay I'm teaching how to pray you ask like this man asked and you'll get it and you ask to bless your neighbor you'll get it and see like this man salt and you'll find are you seeking for some understanding of Scripture seek like this man sought you'll find it if you have to lazy to read the Word of God you'll never find it snog like this man knock and the door will be open to you the very few believers would not like this man lock they knock a few down there okay I gotta go to sleep now well no wonder you don't get anything even after 50 years you won't give anything in a hundred years this man was determined I'm not gonna give up until I get something because first and everyone who asks like this will receive everyone there's no partiality with God you haven't received AHA here it says everyone who asks like this receives why didn't you receive you did not ask like this everyone who seeks finds how is it you didn't get find because you didn't seek like this everyone who knocks like this it'll be open is you haven't found it has not been open to you you know the answer and then he says you think God is reluctant the only God is reluctant like this neighbor who was unwilling to open the door God is not reluctant God is like a father verse 11 not like this name he's contrasting a father with this reluctant neighbor who's unwilling to open the door he says now on I tell you of a father if your son asks you for fish do you think you'll give him a snake there are people like that you know it's at home I better not ask keep on praying with the holy spirit I don't know I've heard of some people who had evil spirits come apart oh ha it's not my father he won't give an evil spirit to someone who's seeking for the Holy Spirit impossible he's you evil father's know how to give food to your children how will your heavenly Father give anything else if he asks for an egg verse 12 will he give him a scorpion and then he says verse 13 the best of you fathers are evil God is much better than that if you know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give what the Holy Spirit to everyone know to those who ask him like this to those who seek him like this to those who knock like this who say Lord my life is not the blessing it should be to others not even a trickle is coming out of my life hardly a single soul has been blessed through my life in the last one year or in the last 10 years 10 years I've been a believer and hardly anybody didn't bless through my life Lord what am i doing and I'm not asking for the power of the Holy Spirit boy what a laid-back way to live the Christian life but I don't have the part to witness uh-huh this guy didn't have the food either what did he do he knew there was one place where he could get food and there is one place where we can get power to serve God in whatever way he want you to serve him I want to tell you this my dear brothers and sisters oh I wish I could convince every one of you one single thing that God has got a wonderful plan for your life that just made before you were poor I'm absolutely convinced about it when I'm snowed around 60 years of believer and a lot of those early 16 of those years I wasted well not wasted I learned the wrong way to do it I learned I remembers telling the Lord Lauren I wish she had shown me all this not sixteen years after I was saved when I was 35 years old I wish I'd known it when I was 20 when I got converted or 21 when I got baptized and I believe in my case because of the particular ministry the Lord had prepared for me which I did not know then the Lord said I needed to take you through every street in Babylon to show you what Babylon is really like the buildings and the streets and the idols in Babylon that's why I took you not every believer has to go that way because they don't all have that ministry they have different ministries but your ministry was this to expose Babylon and you could never do it unless I showed you all of Babylon thoroughly so God gave me a guided tour through all of Babylon in 16 years and I saw it through and through that's why I'm not fooled today by what goes on there that some people will still seek to have interdenominational fellowship with Babylonian groups not me I've seen through it and I don't blame them I see you guys haven't got a guided tour through Babylon yet that's what you think there's something there I know there's nothing there I know that everything in Babylon in Christendom runs on the principle of money nothing will happen in Babylon without money the preachers will resign the pastors will resign churches will collapse because Babylon runs on money so I'm convinced so that's why when we started we decided we love nothing to do with money we won't even take it offering we will never have a single paid worker in any of our ministry in our churches now you know today that's become so common that you can glory in this we don't want a glory of it because I say we haven't if I have an elder brother in one of my churches who doesn't take money didn't take an offering but he's defeated by sin I say that's no better if you are defeated by sin you're part of Babylon again it's not just the money so this is one parable this other parable of this is building the church you know let the rivers flow out from the other parable on prayer is in Luke chapter 18 the only two parables Jesus spoke on prayer I want you to see the similarity in both he was telling them a parable again in verse 1 Luke 18 verse 1 how they ought to pray and never give up it's always this thing you see in the New Testament never give up never give up asking God for something which is promised in his word that's the meaning of it can you did you find something written in God's Word and you haven't got it oh don't give up till you get it okay here's the parable for that in a certain city you know always the Lord takes some extreme case and compares it with a loving God like this reluctant neighbor and a loving father it's a contrast if a reluctant neighbor can give you bread how much more a loving father will give here's another one like that and this honest judge who did not fear God or respect man and he's comparing you to the loving faithful father who's your God there was this judge who did not fear God verse 2 he did not respect man hard-hearted there was a widow in that city the widow is a picture of the believer you know the Lord always pictures believers is someone where we she and around our wolves and lions and a widow who doesn't even have a son or a daughter to go and plead for her case with the widow no children a childless Widow husband and no children a neighbor is encroaching on her property she has a little property that she got from her husband but the neighbor knows that she's a helpless Widow what keeps on occupying her property this happens in India by the way they move the fence closer and closer and closer and they know that this poor widow can do nothing and she comes in says please give me legal protection from my from my enemy and he keeps on hammering at the judges door at middle of the night and house in the office and he was unwilling then finally he said even though I don't fear God a respect man because this Widow bothers me verse 5 I will give her legal protection otherwise she wear me out and the Lord said verse 6 hear what this unrighteous judge says and do you think God will delay you think God will deliver seven in bringing justice for his elect not elects who sing a few songs and go to sleep know the elect who cry to him day and night Lord Satan's getting power areas of my life Lord Satan is invading my family Lord Satan is getting hold of some of my children they've begun to misbehave Lord don't don't leave me like this and to father the judge day and night that we don't and we go to God and keep on saying cry to him day and light you think God will delay I tell you if God finds one believer like that who cries to him day and night he will bring justice for him quickly speedily but when Jesus comes will he find anybody with such faith where will he find believers who have such faith they revile a hold of God he will drive the devil out of my home and out of my life and out of my children and wherever the devil's encroached upon the property and the Lord says what I see is a whole lot of my children Laidback okay what to do my child is wayward he will always be wayward and nothing's gonna happen I am NOT I have not been a blessing to a single person in the last 10 years and I won't be a blessing to anybody else in the next 20 years either and my life will be like that they are laid-back God doesn't do anything for such people they'll just drift along you can't even say about such people that they live it they existed on earth as believers to live with a capital L is quite different will he find faith not really find people who are killed on he's not asking will I find any widows on earth who are muscular enough to drive the enemy out no no no will he find helpless widows who have faith to believe that their heavenly father will come down and support them and drive the enemy out of their lives in their homes that's the question you're supposed to be a helpless Widow it's wonderful the picture the Lord gives me I said Lord the pictures you give me a myself what am I supposed to be a widow helpless old we know that's a Jack Coonan or a she dumb she if I don't have a shepherd I'm lost I can follow the cliff that's what that's me or the other picture the Lord gives is the little baby he picks up the little baby and says the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to this I love these pictures because I see that's no problem Lord if you if I'm only supposed to be like a helpless Widow or a sheep who doesn't know head or tail about what to do or like a baby that I qualify sure got some dumb person me what did Jesus ride on not on a horse you know I wrote on a donkey because that's the dumbest animal like it says in Genesis 3:1 the sharpest animal was the snake the dumbest is a donkey and all the rulers all kings in those days rode on horses Caesar and all the others and here's the King of Kings who came on the earth like it says in Zechariah behold your king comes riding on a donkey and you know it says that when he sent his disciples to lose that donkey to bring him if somebody asks you why you losing this donkey tell him the Lord has need of him I have a picture in front of my table where I work it says it's a picture about Jesus riding on a donkey and underneath other words the Lord has need of you I say thank you Lord that's the place I always want to be the Lord has need of me and when people appreciate me and throw their shirts of the coats on the ground and says hey what are wonderful things happening here I don't think that they are celebrating me this because who is riding on me and if he ever gets off me that'll be the end of people throwing any courts in front of me the donkey knows that and I hope you and I know that never never forget that we're not worthy of anything but that is God's will my brothers and sisters I hope you will believe that God wants you to be victorious and triumphant not defeated his children are not supposed to be defeated I don't care what your circumstance I think of those early Christians how brave they were I read of a disciple of the Apostle John my reading in Christian history his name was pauly Polycarp Polycarp was the leader of some church there and the Roman soldiers were sent to capture him because he was confessing and he was about 90 years old or so they'd been preaching faithfully and when they came to capture is him just hang on let me pray and then I'll come and he came with him and they brought him before the magistrate and the magistrate said deny Jesus and we let you go then apparently Polycarp said eight T and six years 86 years I served my Savior and he's done me nothing but good all these years how can I deny him you can doubt do what you like and instead of saying Caesar is Lord they would all say Jesus Christ is Lord burning they're burning you and I are going to meet these people in heaven and they'll tell us their testimony I want to have something to tell them also of what the Lord did for me I don't want to be ashamed in that day and said well Polycarp I thought I'd lose a little money there so I told a little lie I thought I'd lose my job so I did not confess Christ made him telling Polycarp that story when we meet him in heaven I don't want to say that I don't care what job I lose which money I lose or what I lose I remember in the early days way back in 1975 when we first started CFC in our home the Lord said to me you know people would come and go come and go hardly anybody left from those days today with us because for me what there's a big turnover people would come and go and come and go because message was too strong we spoke about spiritual harlotry we spoke about Babylon the harlot we spoke about being free from the love of money be free from anger and bitterness and murmuring and complaining and the sexual lust and everything we spoke about the same thing we're preaching today a little by little people came and they'll go away and the Lord said to me one day what if finally only you and your wife are left I said makes no difference you'll be with us and that's enough and tell you and there was another brother with me at that time he and Robson he stuck with me I knew that I mean he we were great both of us but I said if everybody else calls it's almost become like that now all those people were with us they've all gone but this brother and I are sticking together and the Lord said if they've all gone what do you do I say Lord we'll still be here so what if we are like Noah holy 8 people you don't had only eight people in the ark that says the last days will be like the days of Noah full of sexual evil and violence but I also see that the last days will have people like Noah on earth who stood true even they had only eight people in that church even though he preached for a hundred and twenty years some of my great heroes in the Bible have been Noah Elijah John the Baptist who stood in world stood it for the truth no matter what happened whether they lost their head or whatever and Noah the last days real at least know that God wants families like noise he know one good thing about him he had his family in the Lord he brought his wife and his children up properly that they got into the ark with him and believed him he was a wonderful father a wonderful husband a wonderful family man who brought all his children into the ark I don't forget that the last days will be like the days of Noah let there be any amount of sexual evil and violence and terrorism and all types of going down in the sexual area marriages and all types of marriages I won't be surprised if they finally start marrying animals as well that's the next stage by the way it'll happen mark my words and they legalize it the world is going in that direction in the midst of such a world to stand true to the Lord it'll be unpopular sure I mean if you want popularity forget it don't join something else but if you want to stand true to the Lord stick like Noah he never changed his message for 120 years Peter calls him a preacher of righteousness it's a wonderful title a preacher of righteousness who never compromised no matter if people called him madman or crazy or whatever it is it'll make it slightest difference to him dear brothers and sisters God wants you I think of you young people here listening to me I hope he will grow up to carry this torch in the next generation you can't become a prophet overnight but you can become one if you're faithful the great godly man did not become godly man overnight God worked on them discipline them over a number of years maybe got a hold of them by the time they were 15 or 16 or 17 and worked in them and led them through all types of disappointments and frustrations by the time they are 30 or 35 years old they are into a ministry God has for them that can happen to you yes I want it to happen to you and if some if you're older than that nevermind you started late in the race it doesn't matter you still press on God needs you my brother says God does not need just three or four people getting up here and proclaiming the truth he wants many because the more he has the more he can spread the word to many many more people through your to your witnesses to all the people who you communicate with but you got to know the word he got to know God's Word let me conclude turn with me to Hebrews in Chapter five Hebrews five this is the really the burden which I be sharing he says I want to speak to you about Jesus Hebrews 5:8 the son of God how he learned obedience by the things which he suffered and he became perfect means complete and he has become the source of eternal salvation to those who obey Him and concerning Jesus in this way as a forerunner who has gone ahead of us there's so much I want to show you about Jesus is our example but it's very hard to explain not because you guys are not clever enough but you're dull of hearing your conscience is not sensitive to sin and has made you spiritually death and because of that by this time verse 12 you should have become teachers instead of that you're sitting there like babies still wanting to be taught some of you should have been like Caleb and Joshua but you're not you're sitting there waiting somebody has to teach you again the elementary principles of the Oracles of God and you still need milk and not solid food you know what milk is God loves you brother he desperately in love with you God is madly in love with you he cares for you he rejoices over you with shouts of joy it's true I mean I drink milk even at my age but I drink a lot more than milk I eat a lot of solid stuff too I'm not against that milk sure we need to know all our life that God loves us immensely in fact it's one of the great truths in my life that God loves me immensely but that's not all solid food this love of God is so wonderful that he doesn't want a single giant to live in my life he not only died to forgive my sins he died to deliver me from sin that is the love God has for me but everyone listen to this verse 13 everyone who partakes only milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness word of righteousness is solid food compared verse 12 with verse 13 milk and solid food verse 12 in verse 13 is milk in the word of righteousness so you know solid food is the word of righteousness that is what we've been and he says that's what we've been preaching the life of righteousness overcoming sin where every area of her life becomes righteous and they don't want that they want always God loves you all the songs you sing must be how wonderful you are Oh Lord how wonderful you are how much you love me how much you care for me when you were dying on the cross you thought of me oh and I get moved with all these songs what about a word of righteousness like sin will not rule over you rejoice in the Lord always give up all murmuring and complaining can't you it's too hard I'm still a baby that's solid food verse 14 is for the mature who because of practice have their senses dessert trained to discern between good and evil therefore challenging us leave aside these elementary teaching about Christ I wish I could go across Christendom and proclaim in every church leave aside this elementary teaching about Christ and press on to maturity that's the worst we put on our CFC pulpit right from the beginning let us press on to perfection when people accuse us of claiming to be perfect I said read what's written there we are pressing on to perfection which proves you are not perfect if you guys don't preach it the other guys will think you're perfect we are publicly confessing we have not become perfect when you read that words in front of our pulpit and every person who stands behind that pulpit and preaches is proclaiming I'm not yet perfect but I'm not lazily sitting there drinking milk and pressing on to perfection let us press on to perfection not laying again the foundation of repentance and belief in the forgiveness of sins and baptisms and laying on of hands and healing and resurrection of the Dead let's move on let's move on to follow Jesus who is a foreigner verse 19 was gone in within the veil as our forerunner and overcome let's follow him that's our message in this church and that's the message we have preached for more than 40 years and those who have ears to hear have heard it and many lives have been changed many families have been changed many young people have grown up to be wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ and I pray that'll be true here as well I pray that all of you my dear brothers and sisters will grow up to be those who challenge others by your way of life that when people see your life and your family life they'll be challenged that your life will be a rebuke to their defeated life like you know the book of Hebrews is one of the strongest books but some of the passages I just read strong as letters in the New Testament and by the time he comes to the end of that letter he's concerned that a lot of people would think this is too strong and so he concludes like this in hebrews hebrews 13 and verse 22 dear brothers please bear with this word of exhortation and challenge and it's 13 chapters long but he says I've written unto you briefly so the unified spoken one in our fires I've spoken briefly he's bare with this word of exhortation because it is for your good and for the glory of God let's pray our Heavenly Father help us never to disappoint you by the way we live in our homes help us never to let you down by our language the way we speak by our attitudes by anything in our life that the devil can accuse us to you Lord we want to shut them out of the devil as far as we are concerned in our families that the devil leaven will have nothing to open his mouth about concerning me and my family I pray that it will be true of every family here your son Burton help us to be true disciples who love you more than we love our parents more than we love our wife and children and brothers and sisters help us to be disciples we'll take up the cross every single day and never get tired of it because we are following Jesus help us to be disciples who are detached from our possessive attitude to earthly things give us grace we pray in Jesus name Amen

Channel: NCCF Church

Views: 18,968

Rating: 4.7977529 out of 5

Keywords: NCCF, CHRISTIAN, Zac Poonen

Id: 0vWFrmMkhHo

Length: 68min 56sec (4136 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 28 2019