The Way We Must Live Every Day — Zac Poonen

Moving Beyond Rule-Based Christianity

For many Christians I have found through the years and including myself in the early years being a true Christian was a matter of following a lot of rules and if I followed those rules and I Convinced myself.

I'm happy and God is happy with me, but through the years I've discovered that That is actually going back to live under the law. The law had many rules and if you followed those rules, I'm sorry, if you follow those rules, then God is happy with you.

And if you didn't keep one of those rules and you feel condemned and feel guilty. Now I believe there's value in that. I believe there's value in that but We need to grow up So that we don't condemn ourselves Because we didn't follow a rule or don't Congratulate ourselves when we've kept the rules.

Reading Scripture as Meditation, Not Mere Duty

For example, one of the good rules we can have is to read the Bible every day and It's very very important for new believers and particularly those who don't know the scriptures to develop that habit.

Because that's the thing what will give you a solid foundation in your life. And I'm very thankful that in the early years of my life for the first six seven years after I got baptized I Would read my Bible and studied many many times a day.

I'd carry a pocket New Testament with me and Anytime I had a little spare moment traveling in a bus or a train I'd be reading it reading it reading it and that's going back 50 years ago and That laid such a foundation in my life.

That it established me and gave me answers to many many Difficult situations I've found myself in there was always a word in scripture so I'm not despising that and But you know you can read the Bible In order to ease your conscience.

That yeah, I read my Bible today. And I've done that too. It never helps. It's a good discipline. We must discipline ourselves read the scriptures every day. But I must get something from it I must meditate on it and ask God to speak to me.

Man Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth and And that's not just reading the Bible it's hearing God speak to me through the Bible that's the important thing.

So I want to encourage you to do that it says in the first someone that if you meditate on the Word of God day and night Whatever you do will prosper and that is a word that I have tried to live by for many years.

If you're not familiar with it some one.

And It's the.

Verse two it's talking talking about a person whose delight is in the law of the Lord and In his law, he meditates day and night. He's not reading the Bible day and night. But he's thinking about it day and night and Remember, this is written at a time David wrote this 1 ,000 years before Christ.

There was no printed Bible those days. How could a person read the Bible every day? They never had a Bible at home the only Bible or was in the synagogue and you could hear it on Saturday morning the Gwendolyn Sabbath day when they went to listen to it and they had to pay attention and Those who were a little more serious Would go during the week during spare time to the synagogue and ask the rabbi to read some other that'd be the scroll up there and they'd read it and then they had to keep that in mind and Meditate on it.

So think if you were living in those days. And you never had a Bible at home. And if you're really serious about knowing the Bible, you're going to walk up to the synagogue every day in your village. Ask the rabbi to open up the scripture and ask him to read a few verses and try and keep that in mind.

Go back home and meditate on it. Go back the next day. I think Jesus did that probably from the age of 5 to the age of 12 and he was so serious about it That by the time he was 12 years old, he knew the scriptures better than the chief the priests of his time.

It was not just by reading it was meditating is the great tragedy in today's Christendom is people ease their conscience saying I have read the Bible today and If they didn't read it one morning, they feel guilty.

Well, I need to feel guilty if I'm not meditating on it. There are times when I've read just one verse and Meditated on it and has done more good to me than easing my conscience that I read a whole chapter.

I Want to encourage all of you to develop this very good habit of Meditating it says here. He meditates on it day and night. Even though he does not have a printed Bible at home. How much more God can expect from us when we have printed Bibles at home.

To meditate day and night does not mean that I'm always thinking about it because we got work to do and I'm sure those people were farmers and shepherds and they had other work to do and There are a lot of their mind was occupied with a lot of things in their work just like ours.

But in the midst of it all The Word of God was there at the back and they had a spare moment they would think about something. That's a very good habit to do in the midst of all our work to develop this habit of Lord.

I want my life to be governed by the Word of God the Word of God and If we do that we will find in in different situations. That God brings to our mind the right word for that occasion. This is the tremendous blessedness That has come to me through many many years in many many situations and I'm in a tough spot.

And I say Lord, what shall I do here and something that I read maybe years ago. The Holy Spirit brings it to your mind and that brings it to my mind at that time and I know the answer so many Christians Do not grow spiritually because they have not developed this habit.

It must be a habit. It's like eating our food eating our foods become a habit going to sleep at night become a habit. Many habits here is one very good habit that. It's elementary and you may think there's no need to mention it.

But I've discovered through the years when I see even in our own churches the tremendous ignorance of Scripture. Among people who have been with us for many years who get all their spiritual food just by listening to the Sunday meetings or the weekday meetings, that's good.

But you shouldn't be getting all your food from there. You should be meditating on a day I mean reading it every day and meditating on something. You don't have to read long passages. What I used to do was read long sections.

That was one of my daily readings and then read a very short section to meditate on. You can't meditate on a long section that is I would read a long section to know the Bible the story of the Bible the Truths in the Bible then that was one part of what I did in day.

And the second thing I did during the day was to read just a small part and meditate on that particularly in the New Testament. So I want to encourage you to do that because you'll find that Life changes man shall live capital L I V E.

By every word that proceeds from God's mouth. It's the answer you'll get in times of temptation. You know, Jesus was not different from us. He was exactly like us and He had to go through the same procedure to have God's Word in his mind.

And that's why in a time of temptation. How did he get the right word to speak to Satan the Holy Spirit brought that into his mind? When the devil tempted him to turn stones into bread. He said no, I live by the Word of God not by bread and the devil tempted him quoting a scripture.

Saying the angels will protect you if you jump off from the roof of the temple. He said no, there's another scripture. Which says you shall not tempt the Lord your God. How did that come? The devil would like to tell you that was because he was God.

No Jesus did not use his powers as God when he was on earth. That's the one truth that revolutionized my life. Because always I'd say oh, but he was God. That's why he did that. He was God. That's why he knew the scriptures.

No, he came to earth as a baby knowing nothing. But he disciplined himself that by the age of 12. He really knew the scriptures and that's the thing that challenged me when I was a young man. I said if Jesus could know the scriptures between the age of 5 and 12.

To go to a synagogue and hear the rabbi tell him tell him Repeatedly and know it if I spent seven years with the Bible in my hand I can know it. Now I want to tell you this has been a the foundation of my life.

It's helped me in numerous situations. It's helped me when people come to me for advice. It's helped me in different situations in my life and I want to encourage every single one of you now. This looks like an elementary lesson.

It's actually the kindergarten lesson in the Christian life, but I find that so many Christians haven't gone through this kindergarten lesson properly. Please develop this habit at least from today of Meditating on something in Scripture every day and go systematically through the New Testament.

Especially and say Lord speak to me speak to me and during the day. Try and remind yourself. I mean if it helps you Some verse that speaks to you write it on a slip of paper and keep it in your pocket and Once in a while take it out during the day in the middle of your work one minute.

I'm sure you can have a one-minute break or even a half a minute break in the middle of your work. Take out the verse and read it and put it back into your pocket and meditate on it while you're doing your work.

You know, it's a wonderful thing about meditation scripture that while I'm doing something practical I can Mind mind on scripture. This is very very important and the promise here in Psalm 1 is this is the thing that blessed me that Someone What is the promise verse 3 whatever he does He will prosper.

I wanted that I Said Lord, I want a life where whatever I do Must prosper. I don't mean financially. I'm not talking about making money. I'm not talking about Prospering in the stock market or some stupid thing like that.

I'm talking about my life becoming spiritually rich and Blessing other people that's true prosperity and That comes through meditating on God's Word and turning away from sin. So isn't that a good promise to take hold off as you begin a new year?

One month is over. Whatever he does will prosper. I Say Lord, I want it. I want to spiritually prosper every single day of this. I don't want to miss a single day of this year. I want to prosper every single day.

God is a good God. He doesn't make life difficult for us. He's not asking you to sit and read the Bible the whole day. And he wants you to live by his principles. The purpose with which God's given us his word is not for us to become Bible scholars.

But said we understand the principles of the Christian life by which we can Really live and prosper. God wants us to prosper spiritually. Okay. Having said that I mentioned earlier how we can live by rules.

I mean this can become a rule or read the Bible no meditate on it and Let that become part of my life. So In a day when there are so many people with so many teachings and all that going on I want to turn with you to 1 Timothy in chapter 1.

The Goal of Christian Teaching: Love, Conscience, and Faith

What I said at the beginning right now was just a sort of an introduction. But here's something I want to share with you from 1 Timothy chapter 1. He you know This is Paul's writing one of his last letters to Timothy and in 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy Paul is unburdening his heart To the man who's going to take over his ministry.

And Paul knows that he's not not alone to live much longer. So he wants to instruct Timothy in fundamental things that Timothy could Pass on that message to others and 1 Timothy 1 verse 3. He says I urged you upon my departure from Macedonia to remain at Ephesus and instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines.

So in the church in Ephesus where Paul had spent three years There were people getting up and preaching strange doctrines a few years after Paul had left. That's how it was and of course part of the reason was people didn't have a Bible those days.

There was not much printed matter for people to read of Paul's writings. But still even today, there's so many strange doctrines. The strange doctrines among the Roman Catholic the strange doctrines among the Methodist Episcopal's Charismatics Pentecostal strange doctrines everywhere in every single group how to know what they are and It says here in those days teach the people was for not to pay attention to myths.

That means False stories and endless genealogies all types of study of different things genealogy means. The list of names ancestors and all that and all this gives rise to mere speculation rather than the furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

They must occupy themselves. It says here with the things that will lead to Spiritual growth and having said all these things is avoid all this. Now what I want you to notice especially is verse 5. What is the ultimate goal of all our teaching?

What is the ultimate goal or what's writing to Timothy. When you preach make this your goal teach people to make this the goal in their life number one love. Not just love. Love from a pure heart from a pure heart love.

So we could say there are four things here you begin with a pure heart and from that must come love and a good conscience. Now a pure heart is different from a good conscience you need to understand that and a Sincere faith that means a faith without any hypocrisy without any pretense.

So, let's just think about that for a few moments beginning with a pure heart from which love must come. The difference between a good conscience, which will come to a little later and a pure heart is this.

A Good conscience means my heart. A conscience is part of my heart or my spirit. A Good conscience means my heart is not Convicting me at any time of anything. I've not confessed. As soon as I'm aware of a sin, I'm Confessing it immediately and it's cleansed.

My conscience is clear my Conscience is good. If I've hurt somebody I ask his forgiveness. My conscience is clear if I haven't asked his forgiveness. My conscience is not clear. So we got to begin. We come to a good conscience that's that's important but before I come to that a pure heart is different from a good conscience in this sense a Good conscience is a heart in which no sin is there.

A Pure heart is one in which nothing is loved except God himself. A pure heart is one which loves God supremely. It's not just a good conscience. A lot of people have a good conscience. They say I've not I've hurt anybody.

I ask forgiveness if I committed a sin, I Confess it immediately. If I have a bad thought I confess it immediately. Yeah, that's good. We come to that but begin With a pure heart, which is a heart which has no place in it for anyone but God.

I'll tell you why I say that it says in Romans 8 that the Reason why God gave us the Holy Spirit. I mean one purpose of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8 and verse 4 Is so that the Requirement of the law let's read from verse 3 Romans 8 verse 3 what the law could not do and then we come we come in a moment to what the law could not do.

Because it was weak because of our flesh God did. How did he do that? By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and As an offering for sin he condemned sin he puts in Judge sin in the flesh on Jesus when he died on the cross.

It was judged. The purpose is now see that requirement of the law which could not be fulfilled till now can now be fulfilled in us who walk According to the promptings of the Holy Spirit now we come to what is the requirement of the law?

Which the Holy Spirit seeks to fulfill in us? That we can see in Jesus replied to somebody who asked him in Luke Matthew 22 36. Teacher, what is the great commandment in the law? What does the Lord Lord really require from us?

And he said I'll tell you in one sentence You shall love the Lord your God Matthew 22 37 with all your heart and with all your soul and all your mind and He says that's like a coin you're going to turn the other side and see that side also.

You got to love your neighbor as yourself. That is the requirement of the law. Let's get it very clearly. God created man and This is his requirement that his heart Should love God supremely with all his heart.

It's like when you fill a vessel completely with something there's no place in it for anything else. There's no place in my heart for anything or anyone else other than God. That's why Jesus said if you even if you love your father or mother you love your wife or your husband.

More than me. He said you can't be my disciple. It's because many people don't take these commandments seriously. That all their life. Their Christian life, they are struggling. They're falling get climbing up falling back climbing up falling back and never seem to make much progress in the Christian life.

They never have a revelation from God when they read the word. It's a dull routine. I mean even if they leave some dead church and come to a good church with this in your way. We love one another and care for one another great.

But if you don't love God with all your heart if there's something in your heart other than God something you're interested in other than God. You're always going to have a problem. Because the ultimate goal of our instruction Is love from a pure heart?

That's the number one thing that All says this is all the other things. There are so many strange teachings, but don't let that lead you astray from the number one thing love from a pure heart a heart that is no place in it for anyone anyone or anything other than God and People say what about loving my wife and children.

You love your wife and children much more faithfully and much more sacrificially. If God is the one you love the most. If you don't love God, you're the most your love for your wife. I assure you will be selfish.

You will love in the eyes of the world, but it'll be a very selfish love. Because you are still in the center. You may do so many things in the eyes of the world you may be a very loving husband, but you don't really.

Deep down you love yourself. The only way to eliminate that Is to love God more than you love your wife more than you love your husband more than you love your children more than you Love and nor than you love your brothers more than you love anyone else.

That's the way God made us. So that's where we begin the first commandment is you shall love God with all your heart. There's no place for anything else with all your mind and all your soul. Our Ability to do our work with our mind.

Will be much better if I love God with all my mind. It doesn't mean I have to think about God all the time. No, I don't think about God all the time. No, I do 101 other things during the day. But My mind is God.

I will not let Some thought which is contrary to the love of God come into my mind as soon as I come there throw it away. I don't want it. But I'm not thinking about God all the time. To love God with all your mind doesn't mean that it means God is a supreme important person in every area of my life.

And I want to ask you dear brothers and sisters. Is that true in your life? Is it true you do your work much better? You don't have to be a full-time Christian worker to do that in your secular job. But you may have to spend 10 hours in your office being occupied with your work in your office.

You'll do every part of that work much better If God is the supreme desire and affection of your heart even as a wife or a mother looking after your children. You'll do it much better If God if you decide God is going to be the supreme desire and affection of my heart if you can say.

Like the psalmist said in Psalm 73 25 whom have I in heaven, but thee and There's nothing and no one I desire on earth beside thee. I believe that's one of the greatest Expressions of our love for God.

I remember as a young Christian I Got gripped with that verse in Psalm 73 25. If you don't know that verse you must remember it as one verse you must Keep in memory all the time. Psalm 73 verse 25. It's a great verse.

It is a It's written by a psalmist who said my foot almost slipped When I compared my life with that of others. But then he discovered God is good Psalm 73 1 to those who are pure in their heart but when I didn't understand that my feet almost slipped when I looked at the prosperity of the wicked and it's so easy for our feet to slip when we Think of how well it's going with others and so many problems we have but he said all disappeared.

When I came to this place Psalm 73 25, I came to the place. He says the psalmist That I'm going to desire nothing on earth. But God and when I get to heaven, I'm not. I'm not looking for the golden streets.

I'm not looking for mansions or crowns or Freedom from pain and suffering and all the things people look for and they go to heaven. I'm looking for God. I I'll tell you honestly the early days of my Christian life.

I thought going to heaven was the great thing I'll tell you honestly honest and speaking before God. I have zero interest in going to heaven. Absolutely zero. My desire is to be with Jesus Christ. He's the passion of my heart.

And I even told the Lord this once I said Lord if you are in hell I'll spend eternity with you in hell with all the fires burning around me and the worms biting me if you're there. That's my heaven is there.

My heaven is not in a geographical location where everything is comfortable and easy and Nice. No, my heaven is Jesus Christ. And that's fine for me. Heaven has begun already. I'm really speaking the truth.

Dear brothers and sisters your life will be radically changed if you decide to love God with all your heart. It's not it's not a strain or a burden far from it. Do you think Jesus life was a strain or a burden his life was the most relaxed life?

That anybody ever lived. He had no anxiety in his mind. He could sleep peacefully at night. He had no bitterness against anyone. Nothing he because he loved to the father with all his heart and He never never wanted to do anything that displeased his father.

He loved God with all his heart and When we say that is the first commandment, it's like it's like God saying to us I want I want to make you like Jesus. I Want to make your life like the life of Jesus.

And the secret of his life life was that he loved me with all his heart. God says Come there come there determined to get there and Examine your heart and see Lord. Are you first in my life or am I living by the rules?

Yeah, I must pray a few minutes I must read the Bible a few minutes and I must go to church or attend some zoom meeting at least once a week if possible twice a week. You know, you're not gonna be happy following the rules and you ease your conscience.

I've done it. No, I don't live by rules. I did once one time. It's good to be lived by rules if you're a thoroughly indisciplined person then do make a rule to read the Bible every day and if you are not if you're careless about church, then do make a rule to Attend a zoom meeting at least once or twice a week.

But that's you shouldn't be satisfied with that. No Lord if I there's a moment in my life and I don't love you with all my heart. I have backslidden. That's the rule I've made for myself anyway Anytime my life and I don't really love God with all my heart.

I'm not saying I can't do other things. I can do a hundred and one things secular things earthly things. You can enjoy a good meal. You can do so many things but if it's not leading you if it's you're not loving God with all your heart and all of that is just I Wouldn't say a waste of time, but it's not Christianity.

So Let's begin with that love from a pure heart. Let's pursue that with all our heart because Paul Paul says the Holy through the Holy Spirit. That is the ultimate goal of our instruction. That's what we are aiming at.

I'm Aiming to be to have a love from a pure heart and he says keep comparing that with all the other teachings that people are Giving it's not worth it. And then secondly, let's get back to 1 Timothy 1 and verse 5 and a good conscience.

See before getting that I just want to say the second part of the love from God is Love God with all my heart and love your neighbor as yourself. That's also part of love Jesus said when they asked him for one commandment, he said I can't give you one command.

I have to give you both together because they're sort of stuck together. You cannot say you love God with your all your heart if you're not done the other part of it which is loving your neighbor as yourself and It's like a coin if it's only printed on one side.

It's counterfeit and That's why John says in his Letter if you're not familiar with that verse in 1 John 4 it says if you say you love God and You don't If you love God then you must love your brother as well and If he says a man says 1 John 4 20, I love God, but he doesn't love a brother.

He's a liar. He's not a believer. Because if one who does not love a brother whom he can see How can he love God whom he has not seen? This is the logic in 1 John 4 20. How do I know I love God with all my heart?

I love my brother. There's so many weaknesses in him. So many things wrong in him. Maybe Irritates me in different ways or his mannerisms bother me, but that's okay my mannerisms must be bothering God, but he still loves me and I do love him and that is the proof that I love God.

The Holy Spirit Produces Love and Good Works

So I think in that connection of a word written about Jesus when he was filled with the Holy Spirit Acts chapter 10, you know, I did not grow up in a Pentecostal or a charismatic church. And to tell you honestly, I'm very thankful that I did not.

Because if I'd grown up in a Pentecostal or charismatic Church I'd have been brainwashed in my mind about what the fullness of the Spirit was and once you have brainwashed for years and years and years and years you grew up in a that sort of church for 20 years and Then to come to what is the true understanding of being filled with the Holy Spirit be very difficult so I Never was in my entire life.

I was never a member of a Pentecostal or charismatic Church, but I Read the Bible and I knew that I had to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So I wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit and I did not have this Pentecostal charismatic background.

And I discovered so many things in Scripture what it means to be filled with this Holy Spirit and I Discovered that like that you don't have to speak in tongues to be filled with the Holy Spirit not at all and so many godly men Have never spoken in tongues and then Jesus himself never spoke in tongues and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

At the same time I didn't go to the other extreme because I saw God had given that gift and So I must not be against that gift. It is a gift God has given all said I thank God I speak in tongues more than all of you.

But I never use it in public. So if Paul could say he thanked God for that gift. So I'm not going to be against that gift. I want to be open to that gift and when God gave it to me I will thank thankful for it, but it did not become everything for me.

It was like my little finger. It's like saying I speak in tongues. I have a little finger, but you can live without a little finger. You can live with four fingers in your hand. But I'm not going to cut off my little finger.

It's very useful sometimes. So that's the balance I got because I did not grow up in a Pentecostal Church. I'm very thankful for that. So I discovered many things in Scripture. For example Romans 5 5 the love of God.

The Holy Spirit fills my heart with the love of God. Let me turn to that first. See we talked about a heart being filled with love for God. Well, here it is how God does it like this? Romans 5 5 The love of God is poured out in our hearts Through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

So the love of God is Poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit and I see that as meaning three things first of all, the Holy Spirit assures me that I am a child of God who's Immensely loved by God.

That's very very important. See Romans 5 verse 5 the love of God is Poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. So that means first of all three things I want to say first of all that my Foundation is that God loves me intensely in Christ.

Just as he loved Jesus. The Holy Spirit pours that truth into my heart. God loves you my child. God loves you. My your father loves you. He's your dad. He loves you Just like he loved Jesus. Thank you father.

That love is poured out in my heart then on top of that foundation He fills the Holy Spirit again. Says here the Holy Spirit fills my heart with love for love for God love for Jesus. He has to do it. I say Lord, I love you with all my heart and Thirdly on top of that the Holy Spirit helps me to love unlovely people and all the people around me.

So that not just that I don't hate anybody. That's a negative statement If you I mean if you say that you don't hate your wife, that's not a great thing. Love is something positive. So in that connection I want you to turn to Acts of the Apostles chapter 10 where it speaks about Jesus being anointed with the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 10, we read, you know, Peter was speaking to Cornelius and Cornelius knew nothing about the Bible.

I Mean, he was a God-fearing man, but he was not a Jew. He was a Roman centurion Military man and Paul speaks to him about being filled with the Holy Spirit. It's the very first time when he preaches the gospel and He says I'll give you the example of the one who was anointed with the Spirit Jesus of Nazareth.

Acts chapter 10. Please turn to Acts of the Apostles chapter 10 and verse 38 this is a great passage which tells us how what happened to Jesus when he was anointed with the Holy Spirit and Power the thing which so many Christians are seeking for.

I want the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to be anointed What was the result in Jesus life? It was a love for people that the father gave him Flooded with love the Holy Spirit filled his heart with love.

Commandment you love God with all your heart and you love your neighbors yourself he went about.

Doing good and.

Delivering people who are oppressed by the devil. The world is full of people oppressed by the devil to a greater or a lesser extent. They're not demon-possessed. It's not just talking about demon possession.

Very few are demon-possessed but oppressed by the devil. Every single home on earth is oppressed by the devil in some way or the other. That's why there's so much anger in so many homes. That's why so many wayward children.

That's why so many husbands and wives fight because the devil's oppressing them even Christian homes and Jesus went around delivering people who are oppressed by the devil. This is our calling to go and Bless people you may have no you may never cast out a demon.

You may not have any gift to cast out demons. Forget it. But you can deliver people who are oppressed by the devil all around you of people oppressed by the devil. God wants to fill your heart with love you go about.

Jesus was filled to the spirit. He went about doing good. You know, that's it. I've often thought that's a great thing if that can be written on your tombstone. After you end your life this man went about doing good and Delivering all the people around him who are oppressed by Satan.

What do you want? He didn't become a great preacher. No, he didn't have the gift of preaching or teaching but he went about doing good. He had a testimony that he did good. To people who can't do that little children can do that he went about doing good and setting people free who are oppressed by Condemnation and guilt and anger and so much.

He just went about blessing them and setting them free. I've often thought about that and That was the proof. It says in Acts 1038 that God was with him. If God is with me and I want God to be with me all the time I Will go about doing good.