You must be Born Again (Video) — Zac Poonen

Praise the Lord for another opportunity to share the word of God. The last couple of days I have been burdened about those in our midst who have probably first of all grown up as little children in the church and have now come to an age of understanding and probably have only heard about overcoming sin and building the body of Christ and many wonderful truths that belong to the superstructure of the Christian life.

And it is possible that many of them who have grown up in our midst as children have never understood the simple way of salvation. And that is also possible for many others who have come here challenged to hear messages that urge them to live a holy life but who may not be having a good foundation.

I have seen through the years that many Christians years later when they have problems in their life the reason is there was never a good foundation laid at the beginning. So I want to make sure that everybody here at least has the opportunity to hear clearly what the way of salvation is that God has prepared for us in Christ.

Sharing the Good News Without Compulsion

And for those of you who already know it you probably know how to explain it to others because it is our responsibility if we have received the good news to share it with others. It's like if we're all like people going through a desert and if we find water somewhere we shouldn't keep it to ourselves.

We must pass it on to other thirsty people around us. Not force it down their throat. There's no such thing as forced conversion because God gave man a free will and anything that's forced is never acceptable to God.

So we can only offer the good news, the water of life. And if people say no this is poisonous, we don't want it, well so be it. We don't force anyone to take it but it is our responsibility or to use another illustration if I had a very serious sickness and there's not generally a cure available for it anywhere but I happened to find a cure that cured me completely what should I do when I meet another person who's got the same sickness?

Shouldn't I tell him there's a place over there where you can get medicine free, you don't have to pay for it, it's absolutely free, cured me completely and if he says well I don't believe you, okay so be it, we don't force anyone.

But we would certainly do that if he found water in a desert or if he met somebody who had a sickness like we had and we were healed. Why aren't we so eager to share the gospel with others? I think it is because we don't realize the eternal consequences of rejecting Christ.

Salvation in the Name of Jesus Christ

Let me show you therefore a few verses. First of all in Acts of the Apostles in chapter 4. In Acts of the Apostles chapter 4 when Peter was preaching and filled with the Holy Spirit. So you know there are some things that Peter said which were a bit foolish like he denied the Lord but here what he said is introduced with this statement in Acts 4 verse 8.

Peter filled with the Holy Spirit. This was not the old Peter speaking. This was Peter filled means controlled by the Holy Spirit. We can say the Spirit filled life is a Holy Spirit controlled life. That's why I don't believe in people who talk about one experience of being filled with the Spirit years ago.

The Holy Spirit is not controlling our life today, our words, our thoughts, our actions. We are fooling ourselves that we are Spirit filled. Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit spoke to the rulers and said in verse 12.

There is salvation in no one else except Jesus Christ. There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. He mentioned that name in verse 10 as the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead.

That is the only name in which there is salvation. People can call us narrow minded, dogmatic, stubborn. It doesn't matter. This is what I believed which changed my life 54 years ago and I've never changed my view on it.

Right from my kindergarten days I believed 2 plus 2 was 4. I've never changed my view on that. If people say it's 5 or 3 or 3 .9 or 4 .01 I say you can believe what you like but to me 2 plus 2 is 4. Truth is pretty narrow minded.

Remember that. If you studied chemistry H2 plus O is water. It's not H2 plus O2. It's H2 plus O is water. There's no other way. Truth is very narrow minded. And people ask us why we are narrow minded.

I say because it's the truth. There are a lot of other things where you can be broad minded. You can wear whatever color shirt you like. There's no rule on that. Or you can live in whatever type of house you like.

But when it comes to truth 2 plus 2 is 4. 2 parts of hydrogen plus 1 part of oxygen is water. And there is no other name but the name of Jesus Christ by which any human being in all human history is ever going to be saved.

Those who lived before Christ look forward to the death of Christ. We never saw him die. We also never saw him die. We look back to the death of Christ but salvation comes only through that name. It's very important for us to understand that.

And the great mysteries of how God will deal with those who never heard about Christ. It's too big for my small mind. And I'll tell you it's too big for your small mind also. Let's leave that to God. He is more fair and righteous and upright than the most honest upright judge in the world.

So you can be pretty sure he'll do it right. We don't have to find the answer to that. I believe in a just and an upright God. But you are not like that. You have heard that name. There is only one name.

Jesus Christ as the Only Way to the Father

And Jesus also said that in John 14 verse 6. It's a simple truth but sometimes we forget it. Jesus said in John 14 verse 6, I am the way. Not one of the ways. Like many people like to say. Many ways to one God.

Sorry. I am the way. No one. No one comes to the father except through me. I've had when I witnessed to non-Christians they've asked me. Why are you so narrow minded? Why don't you accept that all our ways to one God?

And I asked them this question. Let me ask you. Do you believe the Lord Jesus Christ was a liar? Do you want me to call the Lord Jesus Christ a liar? They say, oh no, no, no. We don't want you to do that.

Well, let me tell you what Jesus Christ said. I am the way. No one comes to the father but through me. Either he's a liar or we are ignorant. He was not ignorant. Let me show you another verse. It's not just stray verses throughout scripture.

It says one single thing. John chapter 10. John chapter 10 verse 7. Truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. It's a pretty strong statement to make.

All who came before me and pretended to be the door were liars. I am the door. If anyone enters verse 9 through me, he will be saved. And verse 1. He who does not enter by the door into the fold but tries to climb up some other way.

Some other way. And there are many other ways. He's a thief and a robber. Those are pretty strong statements. And let me turn you now to Revelation and chapter 20. It's very important all of us understand what our church stands for.

We don't deviate from the truth that has been proclaimed by godly men in 2000 years. It's always been a small remnant. There's always been Christians who like to find acceptance before society and be popular with their unconverted friends.

I'm not interested in that. I'd rather be popular with God than with my unconverted friends. I'm willing to offend anybody in the world so long as I don't offend God. And you will discover in the final day, my brother, sister, those are the wise people on earth who decided they'd rather offend people than offend God.

Presenting the Gospel With Gentleness and Wisdom

Now I do not encourage, you know, witnessing to people in a stupid fashion. I want to mention that too. There are people who, you know, offend people by the way they present the gospel. Going sticking tracks in every car's windshield wiper and giving out tracks which people just throw on the street and the whole street gets littered.

I don't think Jesus would do that. That was a wisdom in the way Christ proclaimed the gospel and the apostles did. We're not to cause offense. We're not to become a nuisance in society. We're not ashamed of the gospel.

But we won't make ourselves a nuisance to society and give the garbage cleaners great work, more work to do by distributing tracks to everybody who throws it on the street. No. We're wise. And so, I'm not recommending.

There must be a graciousness about the way we present the gospel. I've seen so many people who got such a foolish zeal that they turned people away from Christ. Their message is right, but the way they present it is evil.

There's no other word for it. Evil. They're dogmatic, like the Pharisees were dogmatic. And they don't bring people to Christ. If some of you are like that, ask yourself, how many people have you brought to Christ with that type of approach?

You know, the Bible says, let me read this to you in 1 Peter chapter 3. A great verse for those of us who rightly have a burden to share the gospel with others. There are people who are ashamed of Christ who will let their faith be known only in the church.

When I was a young Christian, and I was in the Navy, I was attending an assembly in Cochin. It was a small assembly where people had the freedom, you know, to start a chorus while we were in time of worship and praise to God.

And I was, you know, people could pray brief prayers or start a short verse of a chorus. I was just about 23 years old, 24. And I was about to start a chorus. And the Lord said to me, if you sing a chorus here in this church, people will appreciate you.

Will you sing that same chorus out in the streets where people make fun of you? That was a challenge, and I kept quiet. I didn't sing that chorus. I said, Lord, I'll never again sing in the church if I'm not willing to sing in the streets.

I'll never sing again for you where people appreciate me if I'm not going to sing in the streets where people make fun of me. So I went to the streets. Even though I was a naval officer and people thought I was a bit crazy.

For two years, I went down to every street corner twice a week, just five minutes in a street corner with a brother translating into Malayalam. Every street in Hernakulam we covered just preaching the simple gospel.

People out there didn't appreciate us. They thought we were a crazy bunch of people standing up there, but we preached Christ. That's where I learned to preach. I didn't learn to preach in a church. I learned to preach on the streets where people made fun of me and laughed at me and called me the devil.

I'm not ashamed. I often used to sing that song, I'm not ashamed to own my Lord or to defend His cause. I often thought of Jesus hanging in an underwear on the cross, not ashamed of me or my sin. And I said, Lord, let me always remember that whenever I think I should be ashamed of you.

And I will never be ashamed of you in the presence of my naval officers and the ship and everywhere. I always wanted people to know I am a Christian. I do not do unrighteous things. I do not participate with you in your drinking and gambling and card playing and cinema going and all those type of stuff.

I'm different. I'm not better than you. Probably worse. But Jesus saved me. And I want to keep my garments pure. 1 Peter chapter 3 it says here, verse 15 Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart. That's the first step.

Make Jesus Lord in your heart. And always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you. To anyone who asks you, why do you have this hope? Why do you say Christ is the only way?

Always be ready 24x7 to give an answer. Why I believe what I believe. But, do it with gentleness and reverence. That's the part which is most important for people who preach in an offensive way. If you can't speak the gospel with gentleness and reverence, I have one advice for you.

Keep your mouth shut. You'll do more good for God by keeping your mouth shut than if you preach the gospel without gentleness and respect for human beings. Please remember that. So, but we stand for the truth.

We don't compromise. So, I want to show you the seriousness of this gospel in Revelation chapter 20 and verse 11. Revelation 20 verse 11 it says I saw a great white throne. This is speaking about that future day after Christ has returned.

The Final Judgment and the Book of Life

It's the day of judgment of the whole world. Right from the time of Adam every human being that ever lived and who died however he may have died is going to stand before this throne. A great white throne and him who sat on it that's God from whose presence earth and heaven fled away.

Think of that. Can you picture this in your mind? Earth and heaven disappearing before the God who spoke earth and heaven into existence many years ago. And I saw the dead. The great and the small. It makes no difference on that day.

Now there's a lot of difference between the great and the small between the prince and the beggar. But in that day absolutely no difference. Everybody stands before the throne and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged from the things which are written in the books.

That means there was a book with each person's name. And they were judged according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who had been drowned in the sea. And death and Hades is the place of the departed dead gave up the dead which were in them for thousands of years.

And they were judged every one of them according to their deeds which they did on earth. You think it's important? The deeds you do everyday? Very important. And by deeds it's a big word which includes our actions our words our thoughts are also deeds before God.

Our attitudes to people our motives and then death and the place of the departed was all thrown into a lake of fire. Is there a lake of fire? Finally, yes there is. This is the second death. The lake of fire and eternal hell.

And if anyone's name this is the verse I want you to notice if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire. Is it important for our name to be in the book of life?

It is the most important thing on earth. Whatever name whatever church register your name is in counts for nothing. There is no church register membership list going to be open in that day. Remember that.

He's not going to check which church you attended. There is a book of life and if your name is not there it doesn't matter how many years you attended this church I want to tell you you'll be thrown into the lake of fire.

I believe that. I believed it for 54 years. Never changed my mind on it. That's the reason I left my job 47 years ago so that I could travel and preach this truth to people. It has cost me something. I'm not saying something lightly.

I believe this is the most important message that I needed to preach when I was 26 years old I quit my job so that I could spend my life preaching and warning people about eternity. And I've never regretted it.

And I believe that in eternity I will see a lot of people who will thank me that I told them the truth without compromise. You can do that too. You don't have to quit your job in my case God called me for that.

But be a witness for Christ. There are people around you who are headed for that lake of fire. So we need to be alert. I think of a song which says You were such a friend of mine but you never mentioned Jesus to me.

You knew where I was headed but you never mentioned Jesus to me. And now you're in heaven and I'm in hell. I say Lord help me. Help me. I don't want to thrust religion or Christianity down anybody's throat.

But I want to be a witness. I want my light to shine before men. I don't want to behave in such a way in my office or towards my servants that I make them reject Christ. The servants in our home where are they going?

Have you got servants in your home? We had one who came to us as a non-Christian. He's a Christian today on the way to heaven. And if that servant stands before Christ one day and says you didn't receive Christ.

And that servant woman says well after I saw the way my master and mistress behaved who call themselves Christians I didn't want you Lord. I didn't think that was a true faith at all and I saw the way they were yelling and fighting with each other all the time and treating me so badly.

You'll be there. What will you say to the Lord when that servant woman says that you were the cause of her going to hell because she never saw Christ in you. I take it seriously. I don't believe in social distinctions.

I believe there's only one human race. We're all sinners. All these people who boast about their family and their education and their culture and their position. They don't realize. They haven't seen God.

We're all the same. Doesn't make a difference what race you're from. How much you're educated. What your intelligence level is. When we stand before God if you don't discover it now you will discover it in that day.

All whose names are not found written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. We don't want any of our children to be in the lake of fire. Do you want any of your children to be in the lake of fire?

Do you want to just be happy that people in the church think your children are saved? Oh! Shame on you! If that's all your desire. People in the church must think my children are saved. People in the church Do you fear God?

What does God think about them? I'm least bothered what other people in the church think about my children. I never wanted my children to be baptized so that people in the church will say, Oh! Brother Zak's children are baptized.

I couldn't care less. I never told my children what will people think of you if you dress like this or you do this. I always told them what would God think if you act like that. Don't train your children to be hypocrites.

To put up a good front before CFC and the church. You will regret it one day when you see them cast out into eternal darkness. It's my duty to warn you. I can't deliver you from seeking the honor of people in the church.

But I can warn you. Fear God who can cast both soul and body into hell. Jesus spoke more about hell than anybody else. Let me show you some of those verses. Matthew's gospel chapter 10 verse 28. Matthew 10 verse 28.

Jesus' Warnings About Hell and Stumbling Others

Don't fear those who can even kill your body. I mean we seek honor from people who are not even trying to harm us. Jesus said don't even be afraid of people who are trying to harm you. If you want to fear somebody fear him who is able to destroy your soul and your body in hell.

Wow! I must fear him. There are a lot of verses like that. A lot of people think that's an Old Testament message. No. There is no preacher who preached as much about hell as Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter 9.

Sorry Mark chapter 9. Sorry. Mark 9 and verse. You know Jesus spoke about how we treat little ones, little children and simple childlike believers who are also like little children you know. The poor, the uneducated.

Mark chapter 9 verse 41. If whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name is followers of Christ. And remember he is talking to unlearned fishermen. I tell you he will not lose his reward.

We like to give gifts to rich people to influential people but to help a poor believer in Christ to give him a cup of water to seek, to go to the poor. That's not a burden many people have. When God called me to quit my job I knew that my calling was a lot to the poor people in India.

And that's where I spent most of my time. Most of our churches, about 75 of our churches that we planted are in the poor, some poorest villages in India. And I was when I was considering marriage I said Lord I want to marry someone who cares for the poor.

Otherwise my married life will be pulled in two directions. If she is interested in grand clothes and money and things like that. And so when I heard that my wife Annie was before our marriage was interested in working among lepers and had gone as the first lady doctor to work in that leprosy hospital I said wow.

Well that's the type of person I'd like to marry. God cares for the poor. The Bible says God has chosen the poor of the world rich in faith. And your Christianity is tested by your attitude to the poor not to sophisticated educated Christians.

Just like we have to be color blind when we see people. We don't care whether they are white or black or yellow or brown or red or whatever it is. We have also got to be blind to social levels, economic levels when we think of the Christian church.

If you are not blind to that ask God to correct your eyesight. A lot of us need some correction to our eyesight. Because we are not color blind. We should not be color blind in the wrong sense. We need to see people as God sees them.

Truly color blind. That means it doesn't make a difference. And if you give one of these poor people a cup of water you will not lose your reward. But if you cause one of these little ones to stumble, whether it is a child or a poor simple believer who has got some crude ways about him and you despise him because of his crudeness he is not as cultured and civilized as you are.

Let me tell you, it is better for you to have a millstone put around your neck and to be drowned in the sea. You better be dropped off in the middle of a lake with a millstone around your neck. Those are strong words.

Do you believe this is the meek and mild Jesus speaking? Yeah, it is. And then he said if it is your hand that is causing you to stumble, cut it off. Because it is better for you to enter life crippled with one hand than having two hands and to go to hell.

Verse 43. Into that unquenchable fire where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. And if it is your foot that takes you somewhere to some place where you shouldn't be going causing you to stumble, better to cut off your foot and be lame and enter life than having two feet that took you to wrong places, two hands that made you write and do wrong things.

We could add many other things, cut off your eye, cut off your tongue anything that causes you to stumble. Then having all of your full body and to be cast into hell where the worm never dies, repeated twice in verse 46 and the fire is not quenched.

If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.

Three times. How many times do you want it repeated? This is Jesus Christ. This is the real Jesus Christ. And I'm pretty sure that most of us have probably not heard many sermons on these verses. It's not a very popular subject today.

But it's true. Because when it says, as we read in Revelation 20, the books are opened. You know in those days when John wrote that, books were not like this. This type of printed books began only in the 15th, 16th century.

In John's days, a book was a scroll. You've probably seen that in pictures. A long parchment rolled up and then if you want to read the next page, you turn this side and you read that and return. That's called a scroll.

And the closest to that that we can see today is a videotape. We don't use it much nowadays but you know what videotapes are.

A long roll of many meters of tape.

And as it winds, it goes on to the other side. That's what an old book was like. A scroll. The closest to that as I said is a videotape. So we can say, read it like this. The videotapes were opened on that final day and the rewind button was pressed and then God pressed play and everything you ever did from the day you were born and thought and said in secret, in private your thoughts and your attitudes were all as the videotape was played on the screen.

Why does God do that? Doesn't God already know who deserves to go to heaven, who deserves to go to hell and the book of life is already there, those whose names are there. If it's already there in the book of life, all the others are going to go to hell, why in the world does the books have to be open and all to be displayed like that?

It says everybody was judged according to their deeds. What is the necessity? There is a saying in justice and judgment in the world. That justice must not only be done but it must be seen to be done by others.

That's why when in the supreme court or the high court a judge passes a verdict he doesn't say okay that guy is guilty. He writes 500 pages and at the end he says guilty. So that people can read and understand fully why he declared him guilty.

That's why they take a long time to go through these court cases. That's why people sit in death row sometimes for 10 years before they are finally hung. Justice must not only be done but people who look at it must see that it's done not feel that the judge had a prejudice against him or hated him or something like that.

So when God plays the videotape of a person's life he can ask everybody what do you think? Do you think that person deserves to go to heaven? This guy who called himself a Christian you see how he lived?

You see the type of thoughts and words he did in private? It's all there on the screen now. You see how he handled money? He pretended to be so generous and large hearted and all but see now what are you saying?

The whole world will say guy was an absolute hypocrite and the world will say he deserves to go to hell without a doubt. Maybe he sat in CFC so what? When the videotapes are open and it's played a lot of things are going to be exposed which nobody knows about your life and mine right now.

Confession, Forgiveness, and the Seriousness of Sin

That's where the message of the gospel comes in. There is a way of forgiveness for sins that we have committed. I want to show you in 1 John and chapter 1 even if you are a 7 -8 year old child or a 15 year old sitting here.

There are a lot of things in your life that your daddy and mommy don't know which are going to come out that day when the videotape of your life and you know where the videotape is stored by the way? It's in our memory.

You say where does God produce all these billions of videotapes? He doesn't have to produce any billions of videotapes. There is no storage place in heaven. When everybody is raised up from the dead in the final day for judgment their memory will come back and stored in our memory whether you know it or not is everything that you have ever thought, said, done, attitudes to people.

It's all stored from the day you were born. Because a lot of our cells die we can't remember everything. That's true even of older people. As I get older I find I can't remember certain things which I could remember very sharp when I was 30.

But that's because those brain cells are dying. But memory retains it. I've heard of people who were going through a brain operation and the surgeon touches one part of their brain and they when they wake up they can recall something which they thought they had forgotten for years.

It was there. They couldn't consciously bring it to their memory but it was there. I've been amazed to hear that. So everything will come forth as the videotape is rewound and played each person one by one.

There is plenty of time. We have moved into eternity. There is plenty of time to sit and watch all these things. That's the day when the word of Jesus will be fulfilled. Many who are first will be lost.

Many who you thought were wonderful Christians will get the shock of your life. And some who were lost who you despised because they were not so cultured. They were not great preachers and they just sat there and they were very faithful in their private life.

Maybe they were faithful mothers. They helped others. They were kind and good. You will see that in that day. They'll be first. 1 John chapter 1 verse 9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As it says in verse 7, the blood of Jesus can cleanse us from all sin. When Christ died on the cross, He was atoning or paying the price for the sins of all humanity. There's some group of Christians who say Christ died only for believers.

It's a lot of rubbish. Because 3 verses later in chapter 2 verse 2, it is written for anyone who can understand English, He died for the sins of the whole world. It can't be clearer than that. He died and is the propitiation or solve the problem of sin for the whole world.

How much clearer than that can it be? So don't you believe these Calvinists who say that Christ died only for believers. Don't let God be true and every man a liar. But why is it the whole world is not saved then?

If Christ died for the sins of the whole world. They won't accept the forgiveness. They won't confess their sin. And what is it that's preventing people from confessing their sin? Pride and dishonesty.

That's all. There are only 2 reasons why people go to hell. Pride and dishonesty. And if people go to heaven it's because they humble themselves and are honest. These are twins. Humility and honesty. The other virtues that you must seek for more than anything else.

Everything else will flow from that. Humility and honesty. They go together. When we are to confess our sin, what do we require to confess our sin? Honesty. And to be honest we have to be humble. A proud person will never be honest.

He will not acknowledge that he's committed sin. Think of you husbands and wives. Very often when I counsel husbands and wives I ask them one question. Have you ever hurt each other? Everybody is honest there and say yes.

Then I ask the next question. Do you ask forgiveness from your wife when you have hurt her? I mean it's yes or no. When they say uh, I know the answer is no. It's another way of saying no. Why is it so difficult to ask forgiveness from your wife?

If you traveling in a crowded bus in India you accidentally stamp on somebody's toe who's standing behind you and he says ouch. Would you ask his forgiveness? Would you ask his forgiveness or not? Tell me.

Stranger? Total stranger? Never met in your life? So ready to say I'm sorry please forgive me. Or if you turn on the road on your scooter without showing a signal and the guy behind you had to brake to avoid a crash.

Would you say I'm sorry? To strangers? I remember a wife telling her husband if you speak to me at least like you speak to strangers that'll be enough. Why is it so difficult to ask forgiveness from a wife or a husband?