New Covenant- the First Body of Christ -Part 2 — Zac Poonen

The Holy Spirit Gives Power to Bring Forth Christ

He told His disciples, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, just like He came upon Mary 33 years ago, you also will receive power. So there's a connection between Holy Spirit and power here in Luke 1 .35 and the Holy Spirit and power in Acts 1 .8, where Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you'll have power.

Not power to do anything we like. What did Mary get power for? Not power to become rich and famous. And she didn't get a better house or a chariot. No. She didn't become a millionaire. She got power to bring forth Jesus.

That's what she wanted. What do you want? What do you want the Holy Spirit's power for? A lot of people in the world today are seeking for other things. But remember, the new covenant is all about power to bring forth Jesus in our life.

Mary's Submission to God's Impossible Calling

And then you notice this other word also, which the angel spoke here to Mary. Further down, she said, verse 37, nothing will be impossible with God. Nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, as it were, if I were to paraphrase his words, okay, Lord, verse 38, here I am.

Let it be done to me according to your word. Do you think she had to struggle to create a baby inside her womb? What do you think? Do you think any woman can struggle and produce a baby inside her womb?

No. And certainly not a virgin. It was the Holy Spirit. But he required Mary to submit her womb and say, okay, I'm willing to accept this. I know it'll bring me tremendous shame and reproach. I know people will misunderstand me.

They'll speak behind my back, but I'll accept it. Now I'll tell you something. If you really enter this new covenant life, you're not going to be the most popular person in the world. You won't get the Nobel Prize for anything.

You'll be despised and rejected and misunderstood. Then people will speak behind your back and, you know, in a flash of a moment, all that must have gone through Mary's mind before she said, okay, Lord, I accept it.

The Cost of Life in the Holy Spirit

Jesus always said, sit down and count the cost. Don't just rush into it. Yeah, this is a wonderful life. Well, it is a wonderful life, but you got to be willing to pay the price. There is a price to be paid.

And that price is the reproach of the world, which does not understand life in the Holy Spirit, the reproach of Christendom, which doesn't understand the true life in the Holy Spirit. They talk about it, but they don't know it, and they don't manifest the life of Christ.

That's the tragedy in today's Christendom. But for those who are willing, who will say like Mary, yes, Lord, I submit to you. The word is fulfilled. Nothing will be impossible with God. This is how the New Covenant began.

Faith in God's Promise and Victory Over Sin

The New Covenant began with a promise. Nothing will be impossible with God. You hear a word like Romans 6 .14, sin shall not have dominion over you, because you're not under law, but under grace. And you say, how can this be?

Nothing will be impossible with God. And if you can say like Mary, okay, I submit my body to you. No, she had to give her body. God didn't want her money. God didn't say, Mary, you got to pay our tithes.

That's what a lot of people preach today. It's not what God wants. In Romans, after explaining this wonderful gospel in the first 11 chapters, Paul says in Romans 12 verse 1, in view of these wonderful mercies of God, what are you going to give to God?

Are you going to give him some money? You're going to give him 10 Even if you give 100 of your money to God, there's something else God wants. He doesn't want your money. He's got plenty of money.

Do you know what God lacks in the world today? It's not money. A lot of Christian work gives people the impression God's work is suffering because we don't have enough money. Oh, brother, give money because God's work needs money.

I tell you, and I don't mind saying it aloud, it's all garbage. The God of this universe is not a beggar going around with a tin can saying, give me your money. What are your millions of rupees? It's like putting 10 paisa into a beggar's tin, as far as God is concerned.

Giving the Whole Body to God

But do you know what God lacks in the world today? He does not find something which he wants. And that is people who will give their body completely to him, just like Mary. That's how the new covenant began.

You know, in the Christian world, people are told, give your heart to Jesus, give your heart to Jesus. That's easy to say, give your heart to Jesus. In fact, that expression is never used in scripture.

Give your heart to Jesus. Always it's believe in him, lean upon him, trust him. I'll tell you what the scripture does say. Give your body to Jesus. Romans 12 .1. In view of the mercies of God, present your body.

And that reminds us of Mary. That's the new covenant. In the Old Testament, nobody was asked to do that. Nobody in the Old Testament was asked to give his whole body to God. This is a new covenant invitation in Romans 12 .1.

The Burnt Offering as a Picture of Total Surrender

And when in the Old Testament it was pictured, it was pictured in Leviticus chapter 1 with the burnt offering. In the burnt offering, they had to bring a bullock and they had to cut that bullock into pieces and put it piece by piece by piece by piece by piece on the altar.

And if once the last piece was put, the fire would fall. That's the picture of the Holy Spirit. Okay. So we take our body today. That's the fulfillment of that Old Testament burnt offering. And we don't just put our body, we cut it into pieces means then only we know what it means to give our body.

Lord, I give you my eyes. I don't want to look at anything anymore which I want. My eyes are yours. What would you think of a wife who's married to someone and gives her body to somebody else? What would you call such a woman?

A harlot. That's exactly what the Bible calls Christians who use their body parts for something in the world. Harlot. James says in 4 .4, you adulteresses. Revelation 17 speaks about Babylon the harlot, the mother of harlots.

Spiritual Adultery and Belonging to God

Who is a spiritual harlot? It's not those who belong to some particular church. I wish it were so easy. Then you leave that church, you escape. No, you don't. It's those who give their body to the world instead of to God.

If you give your eyes to the world, you're a harlot. If you give your tongue to the devil, you're a harlot because it belongs to God. He purchased it on the cross. If you do things with your hands which Jesus wouldn't want you to do, you're a harlot.

But if you give it to God and submit like Mary and say, God, what would you think of Mary after the Holy Spirit came upon her and produced Jesus in her womb? Supposing she went and slept with some other man.

Even Joseph, it says, he didn't touch her till Jesus was born. He recognized that her body, I'm married to her, but I can't have any sex with her till Jesus is born. You know, Mary didn't even give her body to Joseph.

It was totally for God. That's a picture of how we are to give ourselves to God, our body. Lord, it's totally yours. And it's because a lot of people don't give themselves to God like that, that they don't experience.