Overcomers Will Reign In Christ - Part 6 — Zac Poonen

The Need for Continuous Filling with the Spirit

A person may have been baptized in the spirit and may not be described as full of the spirit. That's like saying, your petrol tank was filled yesterday or last week. So what? Filled to the brim, may have overflowed.

So what? May be empty today. Isn't that possible? So with your heart. You were filled last week. But you may be empty today. Don't let the devil make you believe what is false. Think of that verse, God himself will make them believe what is a lie.

Because they did not receive the love of the truth. I tell you, I'm mortally scared of not facing up to the truth about myself. You know, one who is serving the Lord like me and has been for the last 40 years, you can imagine that I get a lot of letters and emails criticizing, abusing, accusing, saying all types of things.

Learning from the Criticism of Enemies

Do you know what I do? I don't reply to them, that's one thing. But I'll tell you something, I read them. I read all of them and some of them I read 2 -3 times. Written by people who hate me. You know why?

Because I believe that our enemies tell us more truths about ourselves than our friends. Do you believe that? Do you believe that your enemy will tell you more truths about yourself than your friends?

When was the last time a friend came up to you and said, Brother, I think you're pretty proud. When was the last time a friend of yours came and told you that? When was the last time a friend of yours came up to you and told you, I think it is downright selfish of you to behave like that.

Christlike Friendship and Loving Correction

If he was a really good friend, a Christ-like friend, and those are very rare. One in a million, a Christ-like friend. He would tell you, like Jesus would tell Peter, that's the voice of Satan, get behind me, Satan.

Boy, only Jesus, someone who loved like Jesus would do that. But most friends never tell us anything which they know will hurt us. They allow us to go to hell. They allow us to remain carnal. Because they are worried about relationship.

I don't want to spoil a good relationship. Let him go to hell, never mind. But let me keep the relationship. I can see he's downright carnal, but let me not tell him that, because that will spoil our relationship.

It's like a doctor who says, it's pretty clear he's got cancer, but I won't tell him, because that will ruin our relationship. I won't tell him. I'll just hide the x-ray and talk about, everything's okay.

Liars. They're not friends. Jesus is a true friend. So to love the truth, our enemies tell us more truths about our... Enemy couldn't care less for relationship. He'll tell us exactly what we think of us.

Receiving Truth Without Condemnation

And perhaps there's some truth in what he says. That's why I read the letters of my critics. Every letter, email I get, that criticizes me, accuses me, I read it. I say, Lord, there may be some truth there.

I don't get condemned. Oh, no. Self-condemnation, discouragement on no entry roads for me. I obey the traffic rules. I never go down those roads. Nobody can make me condemned, because the Bible says, who is there to condemn you?

God is on your side. Who is there to accuse you? Christ is there to intercede for you. So, I never get discouraged or condemned. Impossible. But, I read them to find out the truth about myself. I mean, if there's a black mark on my face and all of you are too kind to tell me it's there and some enemy of mine says, Hey, look at your face, man.

Go and look in the mirror. Oh, I see. Hey, all my friends never told me that. And I discover something. We're too kind to one another. You know, there are a lot of thoughts we have about people which we won't tell them.

Honest Self-Examination and Spiritual Growth

Even our good friends. For example, somebody speaks and he's got bad breath. Will you tell him that? When was the last time you told somebody that? We don't. Because we're too kind. But an enemy will say, Hey, man, your mouth is smelly.

Oh, maybe it's true. Thank God that I discover it. I can do something about it. So, it's like that, you know. I mean, those are not serious things. You can go to heaven if your mouth smells. But you can't go to heaven if you got other things wrong in your life which are more serious.

I believe if we want to be overcomers, we've got to love the truth about ourselves and say, Lord, I want to be an overcomer. I want to be one who is a pillar in your house. I want to inherit all things in that final day.

And I don't care who it is who tells me the truth. Either I get the truth from scripture or I get the truth in a meeting or I get the truth from a friend or from an enemy. It doesn't matter if it's the truth.

And if you're sure that you won't be condemned because you know God's on your side against the devil. See, that's the thing that encourages me that I know that God is always on my side against the devil.

I don't have the slightest doubt about it. If I'm the biggest sinner on earth and I've committed the worst crime that any believer can ever do. Think of this. If I have committed the worst crime that any believer on earth can ever do, God is still on my side against the devil.

God Helps Believers Overcome

Because God can never be on the side of the devil. That's completely out of the question. He's on the side of man against the devil. And that's why I can face up to the truth about myself without getting condemned, without feeling discouraged.

Because I say, I know God will help. God has shown me that. He's going to help me to overcome it. He's going to help me to come through as a victor. And that's why in the last book of the Bible, more than in any other book, you read about overcoming, overcoming, overcoming, overcoming so many times.

Overcoming, overcoming. Isn't there a message there? Think of Jesus' own words. Maybe we can close with that. John 16. The verse that we read at the beginning. Verse 33, the last verse. These things I've spoken to you that in me you might have peace.

Reigning with Christ Through Overcoming

In the world you shall have tribulation, but be bold. Take courage. I have overcome the world. And one more verse. Revelation 3. Verse 21. Where Jesus says, He who overcomes, I will grant him the privilege of sitting with me on my throne even as I also overcame and am sat down with my Father on His throne.

He who has a ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying. Jesus overcame and sat with the Father on His throne and He says, you can overcome as I overcame. He was a man like us, tempted like us and He overcame like we can overcome.

Don't ever lose sight of that truth. So my brothers and sisters, whenever God shows you something about yourself from anybody, don't get offended. That's the worst thing you can do. Love the truth. Thank you Lord.

Judging Ourselves Before God Judges Us

Doesn't matter who it came from. Whenever you hear a criticism, don't ask, is that person a friend or an enemy? Just ask, is it true? Judge yourself. If we judge ourselves, we will not be judged. Shall we just bow our heads for a moment of prayer?