God's Commands Are for Our Good (Kannada) — Zac Poonen

Jesus once said these words, which all of us are very familiar with. In Mark chapter 8, verse 36 and 37, he said this in connection with being his disciple. He said in verse 34, if anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

Then he said, words which many Christians don't understand, in verse 35, verse 35, whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. Now, what does it mean to save my life?

What does it mean to lose my life? We all like to save our life. None of us like to lose our life. But here Jesus said, if you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you are willing to lose your life for my sake, then you will save it.

We need to understand what that means. The life that we have, which we have got from Adam, as it's interested in a lot of things in this world. And if you try to preserve and nurture that life, you will lose eternal life.

But, if you are willing to lose this life, which you got from Adam, and don't seek to nurture that, then you can have eternal life. Then he said in verse 36, what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, if he loses his soul?

That means, if you gain with this life of Adam, which is interested in so many things in the world, supposing you gain the whole world, you know how people fight for a little bit of property, or when the parents die, they fight for the family inheritance, some house, some property, some money.

And the Lord says, imagine that you not only get that property, but you get the whole world. But you lose your soul. What have you gained? That means you get all the money in the world, not just the little bit you want, you get all the property, not only from your family, you get all the property in Hubli, you get all the property in the world.

Will that make you happy? You got all the money in the world, and all the property in the world, and you have lost your soul, it's not worth it. That's what he was saying. And he said in verse 37, what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

The Soul's Value and the Folly of Worldly Gain

How much do you value your soul? You know, man is basically, all of us, you and I, we are all very selfish creatures. We will never do anything unless we get some benefit from it. You think about it. Have you ever done anything in your life from which you got no benefit?

All human beings do things because they get some benefit from it. Starting from the beggar, the beggar sits on the road because he is getting some benefit from begging. Why do you train your children to get education in a college?

Because then they can grow up and get some benefit from it. When you get your children married, you want them to marry certain type of people because you want to get some benefit. Everything we do is for a benefit for ourselves.

When you choose a particular location to rent a house, or you buy a property, what is it for? Always some benefit for ourselves. Or you come to a meeting. We have all come to a meeting. Why have you come?

To get some benefit for yourself. Everything we do is that. Supposing you give some money to God in secret, not publicly, people give publicly to get some benefit for themselves, some honor from people.

Okay, you are not like that. You give secretly. Why do you give secretly? Also to get some benefit for yourself because the Bible says that God will reward you. So when you think of everything you do in your life, whether it is material or physical or anything, everything we do to get some benefit for ourselves.

And the Lord says, okay, you seek some benefit for your soul. What is the thing that will bring maximum benefit for your soul? You know how some people make foolish investments. They go and spend their money in something and they waste it.

They go and invest it in some foolish business and lose lakhs of rupees. So none of us want to do that type of thing because money is very valuable. We don't want to go and invest our money somewhere where it is all going to be foolishly wasted.

That's why you don't give money, plenty of money to your teenage children because they don't have the wisdom to use it properly. But you are all grown up and you know how to be careful with your money.

Now the Lord says, what about your soul? What can you give in exchange for it? Even the whole world is nothing compared to the value of one's soul. So he says, if you are really interested in the welfare of your soul, then the best thing you can do for your soul is this.

Give up this life of Adam completely. You know, that is the reason why many of you are not very happy. Because you are not giving up this life of Adam. This life of Adam that is always grabbing something for oneself, always fighting for your rights, always seeking to please man, seeking to impress somebody.

All these things, these are the things that make you so miserable. And finally you come to the end of your life and you have nothing for eternity. You know how I can describe the lives of many Christians?

Supposing somebody went to Dubai or some Gulf country and made lakhs and lakhs of rupees. And then he is coming back, say, to Hubli to settle down. And on his way, he passes through Bombay for one day or two days.

And in those two days, he spends all the money he earned in two days. Then he comes to Hubli without anything and sits for the next twenty years like a beggar on the street. What would you call such a man?

Fool. That is what many Christians are doing. In eternity, they will be like beggars. Our whole life on earth is like one or two days compared to eternity. It is very clear to me. My whole life on earth has been only like one or two days.

And then comes eternity. The question is not how I spend these one or two days. That man who has earned so many lakhs in the Gulf countries, it doesn't matter if in Bombay, one or two days, he even stays in the railway station.

It doesn't matter. He can sleep on the platform one or two days. It doesn't matter. But then he is going to come and live here forever in comfort. So our one or two days on earth, and then there is eternity.

If you really think of your own welfare, your own welfare, we are all interested in our own welfare. If you are interested in your own welfare, think of eternity. God speaks to us because he knows we are selfish.

If I tell you, do this for somebody else, you may not be so interested. No, we won't be as interested in doing something for somebody else's welfare as for our own welfare. If I say, this will bless your children, you will do it.

You won't do it for somebody else's children. We are all like that. I am also like that. Why have I chosen Christ? Why have I chosen up to give up the life of Adam? For my own welfare. For my good. For eternity.

Jesus is saying, for your good. For your welfare because he knows you are only interested in your welfare. He is saying, don't just think of these two days on earth. Your soul is going to be there for eternity.

Why do you think of just these two days on earth? That's why the devil tries to fool us. He tells us that you got to take care of yourself for these two days. Never mind eternity, forget the future. But you don't realize that what you choose now in these two days on earth is going to determine your eternity.

I am not just asking you whether you are born again. Whether you are choosing every day to live for the things of eternity. Lord, this has got no value for eternity, so I am not going to give much importance to it.

If something goes wrong in the house, something gets broken. I am not going to spend my life worrying about that. I will be more careful next time that I don't break those things. I am not going to spend my life worrying about that.

I am not going to spend my life worrying about always eating good food. Or wearing fancy clothes or living in a fancy house. Or feeding what will please my senses. Why do so many Christians watch movies?

Because something goes through their eyes and feeds their senses. And a lot of things that go through our eyes into our mind, after some time, it begins to affect your actions in your life. You don't realize it.

But your values are becoming like those values that you see. The young girls who watch so much of those movies begin to comb their hair and dress like those film stars. They may go to the meetings, but they are influenced by those film stars.

You know, I have been watching so many English Christian church services. Nowadays, there are a lot of Christian television programs. And even many different Christian churches. And I find a lot of these music in a lot of these English Christian churches are all trying to imitate those worldly demonic rock musicians.

They shake their bodies and their guitars and all just like those worldly people. There is no difference. Only thing they are singing about Christ, not about the devil like those people sing. And they feel that this is the good thing.

What those worldly people are doing is the good thing. We must imitate them. You see how the devil has made fools of Christians? The devil has set up a pattern with all these demonic rock stars. And he says, Christians, now imitate this if you want to get people to your meetings.

And there are blind, stupid Christian leaders who don't know God who just go and follow the devil's example. And that's what the devil tells young girls. If you want to dress properly, look at those film stars.

The devil has set up a pattern with the way film stars dress and comb their hair and all that. And says to Christian girls, follow me, look at that. And I am absolutely amazed at the young people who are following these examples on television.

Eternity and the Goodness of God's Commands

And Jesus says, even if you get all these things for two days, and your life on earth is only two days, what are you going to do with your soul for eternity? Our life on earth, we are being tested. And if we can be gripped by one thing, that God is a loving father.

Everything he tells me is for my very best. That's what I am convinced about. That's why I studied the Bible. Because I said, God loves me so much, he has told me everything which is for my good. And he has written a long letter to me.

That's here. And if I read it, I'll know what is best for me. Why is it so many Christians are not serious about reading and obeying what's written here? I'll tell you. Because they don't believe that it's for their good.

Do you think our children believe, small children don't believe that what the parents tell them is for their good? Almost every parent I've met has always told me this. Oh brother Zach, it's so difficult to get our children to sit down and study for their examinations.

They always want to go and play. We tell them to study, study, study, they don't study. And then they go and get bad marks in the examinations. And they still don't study. For the next year. They're just happy they got 42 or something and they pass.

But the parents say, you're intelligent boy, you're intelligent girl, come on study. Those children don't realize that you parents are really interested in their good. All our children are like that. Don't you parents, don't you seek the good of your children in all the advice you give them?

Even if they get a small injury on their hand, they go and wash it off, don't let it get infected. They don't know, but you tell them. And if they're keeping on having a serious stomach ache or diarrhea or something, you say, let's, we have to go to a doctor because you're interested in them.

If the doctor says you've got to get some three, four thousand rupees scan, you're willing to spend four thousand rupees of your hard earned money because you're interested in your children. Is there any parent here who's not like that?

But do you think your children appreciate that? The children don't understand that. How much does a five or six year old child know that father has spent four thousand rupees to get a scan on my body?

He comes back and he's okay and he completely forgets that his father and mother have taken so much trouble to get him treated. And you know, we are exactly like that towards God. We are like two, three year old children who don't realize what our heavenly father has done for us.

You tell me, how many of your two, three year old children know how much you have sacrificed for them? Do they know how much you're sacrificing in the office to earn money for them? Do they understand how much trouble the mother is taking to look after them, cook for them, care for them?

They go, they play, they go to sleep. They're not interested to know all those things. That's exactly how many Christians are. They are like two year olds, three year olds who don't know what God has done for them.

And that's why so many parents I've heard say to me, Brother Zach, our children are not at all grateful for what we do for them. And if you were to ask God, he would say the same words. My children are not at all grateful for all that I've done for them.

They don't seem to be interested to even know what I've done for them. They don't even read what I've written for them to read. Supposing one day you took your child is in college far away and you write a long letter.

Maybe you take 2 -3 days to write 15 -20 pages letter to your son or daughter. All to protect him from all the evils of that hostile life he's living somewhere else. And he gets your letter. And he doesn't read it.

He reads one or two pages and keeps it there. And you go and see him after six months. And the letter is lying there. You read it? Yeah, I read one or two pages. Can you imagine how disappointed you feel?

That he got into all that mess there because he didn't read what you had written to him. You'll say, son, I wrote all these things to warn you. That's exactly how God feels about a lot of Christians who are not interested to find out what he has written in his word as to how we should live on this earth.

And if you would be disappointed with your child who didn't read your letter, I tell you, God is a thousand times more disappointed with you. You read the newspapers, you know what is happening in Karnataka politics, India politics, but you don't know what God has said to you, how to live on this earth.

But that's because you don't think that is good for you. Everything that God says is for our good. I found that. I've read this book 45 years and I've discovered everything he said is for my good. And the more I have obeyed it, the more I have found it is true.

Not only good for my soul, it's even been good for my body. I believe that I have a great measure of physical health because I've tried to obey God's word. I believe obeying God's word will give you a healthy, long life.

God's Word as Life and Health

See, the reason I say that is because some people are only interested in physical health. So, let's start with the lowest thing, you know, like children are interested in chocolates. Let me read in Proverbs chapter 4.

Proverbs chapter 4. Just read these words from verse 20 to 23. My son, give attention to my words and incline your ear to my sayings. Don't let them depart from your sight. Keep them in the midst of your heart.

They are life to those who find them. What is that? My words. My words is life to those who find them. And health to their whole body. Did you know there's a verse like that in the Bible? Listen to my words.

Keep it in the midst of your heart. And it will be health to your whole body. It's really true. Supposing I forgive everybody. Whoever does any harm to me, I forgive them. I'll be a healthy person. Supposing I'm never anxious about anything that comes into my life.

I do something, I take it, like the Bible says, immediately I take it to the Lord. Supposing your child, your six-year-old child has a problem in school. What does he do? He comes and tells, Daddy, I have this problem.

I need some notebook or some textbook. Teacher says, by next week you must bring this maths textbook. What can your nine-year-old child do about that? He doesn't have hundred rupees to go and buy the textbook.

So once he has told you that, what do you do? You say, son, leave that with me. I will get it for you before next Monday. He goes and plays. He's not worried about his textbook. Why? Because his father has said, I'll take care of it.

There is a problem. But he has left it with his father. That is exactly what God says. He's not saying we won't have problems. But he says, what your child does to you, you do to me. So when you have a problem, you say, go to God and say, Lord, I have to get something by next Monday.

I need it. I don't have the ability to do it. I leave it with you. Is there any problem too difficult for him? Anything too difficult for God? No. Not at all. Then I leave. Then I'm not anxious. Bible says, be anxious for nothing.

But take your request and leave it with God. And then thank him. It says, I'll be healthy in my body. Everything that God has said. I really believe that many believers are sick with so many sicknesses they'd never need to have if they obey God's word.

No. Not only for our body, not only for our soul, but also for our body. Because God is the one who created my body. He's interested in my body also. That's why it says in James chapter 5. It tells us what to do.

James chapter 5. Verse 13. Is anyone among you suffering? Anybody suffering here? With anything? Anybody suffering? Financial problem? Physical problem? Children's problem? It says here, let him pray.

It says here. Is anyone very happy because something good has happened? Something good has happened to you? You got a promotion? Or something else could happen to you? You also need to do something. It says, let him sing praises.

Don't just keep quiet. It's a wonderful word. We are either suffering or cheerful. One of the two. All the time. If you're suffering, you pray. If you're cheerful, sing praises. It's a complete verse for everything in life.

Wholehearted Discipleship and Obedience

So all through my life, I can pray or sing praises. And I'll be a healthy person. Everything God says is for my good. Why does Jesus want us to be a wholehearted disciple? Because everything succeeds when we are wholehearted.

Now, have you seen a... I'm sure all of you have seen this tug of war where people pull a rope. Now, you know, when you have one full strong people on one side, and a lot of weak people on the other side, you look at them and say, hey, this side's definitely going to win.

No, not necessarily. It depends on who's wholehearted. Supposing these big fellows just hold it like that, they don't pull with all of their heart. And those young fellows are pulling with all their might.

They'll win. Because they are wholehearted. I have seen tug of war. And I tell you, some of the most wholehearted people I've seen in my life are in tug of war. They are so eager. I say, boy, if these fellows are like that in their Christian life, can you imagine what their life will be like?

They are so eager to win that little competition for two minutes. And what do they get? Usually there's not even a prize for it. But the Christian life, if I'm wholehearted, what fantastic rewards I can have in eternity.

You know, it is for your good that you stay away from sin. It's for your good that you stay away from quarreling, fighting, backbiting. It's for your good that you stop speaking evil about other people.

All of us have spoken evil about other people. I have also spoken evil about other people. But I have repented. And I try my best now not to do it. Sometimes as an elder, I have responsibility to expose certain things.

But otherwise, I'm not interested in speaking evil about other people. Whenever I know something evil about somebody else, I say, Lord, I don't want to talk to a single person about it. Now let me ask you a question.

All of you have spoken evil about other people. Can you tell me one good thing that happened in your life because you spoke evil about other people? So many years you spoke evil about other people. What good did it do to you?

Tell me one example. You cannot give me one example. Have you heard of any businessman who runs a shop which is never making any profit? After one year, he'll close it down. Why don't you close down this shop of speaking evil about other people today?

It has not done one good to you till today. It has probably made you sick in some way in your body. Why not give it up? Why not just start judging yourself from today and say, Lord, I've finished today.

I'm closing this shop permanently. I'm packing it up. I'm not going to speak evil about anybody else for the rest of my life. If I hear some evil or see some evil, it's just going to die with me because I want to live long on this earth.

I don't want to die early because I disobeyed God. If I die early because somebody killed me for preaching the gospel, that's okay. But if I die early because I got sick because I disobeyed God's word, I'm going to be very disappointed when I stand before the Lord.

I'm ready to die for Jesus. I was ready to die for Jesus when I was 20 years old. But I don't want to die because I disobeyed God's word and get sick. I don't want to disobey God's word, not forgive somebody, speak evil of someone, be filled with anxiety or fear or bitterness against someone.

No, all these things will destroy my body. So I'm interested in myself and I'm asking you to be interested in yourself. I'm asking you to be interested in your body and your soul. And I'm telling you obey God's word because that's the best thing for your body and your soul.

Sin's Consequences and the Need for Repentance

If only you can be convinced about that, it's so difficult. And when God says don't do that, that's for your good. When God told Adam and Eve don't eat from that tree, that was for their good. But they didn't believe it.

The devil came and fooled them like he's fooled most of us. I know the devil fooled me for many years but he can't fool me now. I believe the devil is fooling many of you just like he's fooled Adam and Eve.

You read a bad story, you look at a bad picture, you see a dirty cinema and the devil says you'll get a little excitement from that. And you know in your conscience that is forbidden by God. And the devil says no, no, no, only just little while.

You need some relaxation. Yeah, this won't harm you so much. Something happens, you can always ask blood of Jesus to cleanse you. And he fools you and you destroy yourself. Now we all know that if you get a cut in your hand you don't worry yourself too much about it.

Because you know if you just put a little medicine after some time it'll heal. There may be a scar if it's a deep cut but it'll heal. Right or wrong? That's right. We've all experienced injuries which healed.

Then why don't you take a blade and cut yourself every day and here and there and enjoy yourself a little bit. They'll all heal. That's exactly what the devil is saying. You know there was a man in the Bible who used to cut himself like that?

You know who it was? He used to cut his body. Nobody knows? He was a man who had 2000 demons. Jesus cast it all out and put it into the pigs. You know what he used to do? The Bible says he used to cut himself.

I'm sure he saw those after some time those injuries healing up. Oh he said that's not bad. He said it heals up. So it doesn't matter if I cut myself some more here also. Do you do that? That's what you're doing to your soul.

But you don't realize that when you do it to your soul there is a permanent damage to your soul forever. Even if the blood of Jesus cleanses you there is still some effect that remains. I'll give you an example.

Supposing you spent 10 years seeing filthy movies reading dirty pornographic books all sexual movies and all that and pictures your mind is polluted with that. And then you say Lord I'm sorry for all these things that I saw.

Please cleanse me and forgive me. Immediately the blood of Jesus cleanses you from all that sin. Immediately. Forgiven 100%. But the pictures in your mind will live with you for the rest of your life.

You'll dream about it years later. You'll think about it 50 years later. That is what it means when it says you reap what you sow. You're forgiven but you can't escape reaping. Supposing a man fell into sexual sin and got AIDS and then he gets converted.

I've met people like that who are born again who got AIDS and then repented and got born again and they are really born again. But they never get healed of the AIDS. They die early long before God wanted them to die.

Maybe they lost 30 years of their life on earth because of AIDS. But they go to heaven because their sins are forgiven. But what sorrow they'll have in heaven because they wasted their life. You know, God can forgive us but there are certain effects of our sin which we can never escape.

Supposing a student thinks like this Okay, maths is my weak subject but I've somehow got to pass this examination. So, I'm going to cheat. I'm going to buy the question paper from somewhere or I'm going to look at my neighbor and cheat sit next to some good student and I'm going to pass.

And after I've cheated and I passed I'll say, Lord Jesus, please forgive me for cheating. And it's all forgiven. What a clever boy he is, no? He cheated and he passed and he also got his sin forgiven.

You think he's going to be happy? All his life he will reap the result of that cheating. I believe that. If he does not repent of it You know, I know one brother who cheated in his college exam and he got a degree and then with that degree certificate he got a job and many years after he got his job he got convicted I cheated.

So he heard what I preached and he took his degree certificate and went back to the university and he was going to tell them, I cheated and he knew that he'd not only lose his certificate he'd lose his job also.

I didn't tell him to do it. I said, I may do it but I won't tell other people to do it because another person may not have my faith. I live according to my faith. You got to do according to your faith.

I said, I'm willing to lose degree, certificate, job, everything in order to please God. Because nothing like it says here, I cannot give anything in exchange for my soul. I'm ready to do. But he went and he gave it and he told the registrar, I've cheated, you can take the certificate back and I may lose my job.

Those university authorities were good to him and they said, okay, we forgive you, you can keep your certificate. And because he took a decision like that, all the rest of his life, it has gone so well with him.

Always kept a very sensitive conscience. Such a person is going to be very happy on earth and in eternity. I want to say my brothers and sisters, everything God says is for your good. The Bible says in Luke 19 about Zacchaeus.

You know, Jesus never told him anything about the money he had stolen from people. He just said, I want to come and have some fellowship in your home. And he was sitting on top of a tree, we read here in verse 4, Luke 19, 4.

And it's very wonderful what it says in verse 5. When Jesus came to that place under the tree, he looked up. See, this man was sitting on a tree and Jesus walking with a big crowd down the road. He was going somewhere else.

As he came down that road, suddenly the Holy Spirit said, stop. And Jesus was so sensitive to the Holy Spirit. You and I don't hear that voice because we are so deaf. Because there's so much sin. Sin makes us deaf.

You try putting cotton wool in your ears and see if you can hear anybody. If you keep on putting cotton wool in your ears, you won't hear anybody. Sin is like that. You can't hear the Holy Spirit. But Jesus' ears were clear.

He's walking down the road. Holy Spirit said, stop. He stopped. He said, look up. Oh, there's a man there. And the Holy Spirit said, his name is Zacchaeus, call him down. Jesus had never met this man.

He said, Zacchaeus, come down. And Zacchaeus was so surprised. How in the world does this man know my name? He said, I want to come to your house. And Zacchaeus' house is no Jewish leader would ever go to his house.

Because everybody knew he was a crook. Cheated people. But Jesus knew that the Holy Spirit knew in this man's heart is a desire to turn from all that. You know, there are many crooked people in the world who are sick and tired of that crookedness, who want to turn.

And Jesus was not bothered about anybody's opinion. He went there. And the people said in verse 7, look at this Jesus, he's gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. Jesus was not bothered. One of the wonderful things about Jesus, he was not bothered about anybody's opinion.

I want to be like that. And when he went to Zacchaeus' house, as he came, and he neared Zacchaeus' house, Zacchaeus stopped. Verse 8. And this is what he was basically saying. Lord, before you come into my house, I want to tell you something.

I have cheated lots of people. I am ashamed that you will come into my house. Lot of this money I got from cheating others. But before you enter my house, I am giving you my word, I am going to return four times what I took from anybody.

And Jesus said, verse 9, salvation has come to this house. You know, he was so convicted by what he saw in Jesus. Half his money, verse 8, he gave to the poor. And four times he returned to everybody he cheated.

So, his huge bank account suddenly became about 20 of what he had before. 80 was gone. 50 to the poor, 30 to returning to the stolen. Now, supposing you ask, can a man live better with 100 or 20

I am sure, Zacchaeus lived a much happier life with that 20 of his honestly earned money than he would have lived with this huge amount of money that he got by cheating. I think he would have lived a long life.

He would have been healthy. Because the Bible says when you obey God's word, you become healthy. If he had kept all that money, he would have died early of all his anxiety and worry. I am sure, Zacchaeus got many more friends when he returned all this money to all the people he cheated.

And after he returned all this money, if he got up in the synagogue to speak, everybody would listen to him. What a tremendous blessing came to Zacchaeus just because he decided to obey God in a little thing.

You know that everything God has said is for our good. Many, many things we are not getting because we are not doing these little things God tells us to do. That's great. Heavenly Father, help us to obey your word.

To recognize that our soul is more important than anything in this whole world. Help us to take some decisions this afternoon. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.