What Grace Can Do — Zac Poonen

The more I look at a lot of Christians, I feel that they are like children of a very very rich father who have been cheated of their inheritance by some crooked lawyer. It's like imagine of if your dad was a billionaire who owned a lot of money in different parts of the world and a lot of property and When he dies, he writes a will giving all the details of what he has left for you, which is Acquired through many years of hard work and labor and then you give that Will over to a lawyer to help you execute it and he cheats you of 99 .9 of it and you live with a few thousand dollars in a small little hut.

And you accept it. Have you ever heard a story like that? Do you think it would happen to you? I don't think it would happen to any of you. Because when it comes to money, we are all very shrewd and sharp Very careful to make sure That we get our entire inheritance.

Is there a problem? Okay. If you find it difficult to hear me at the back, you probably you're welcome to come forward. It's always good to come forward in the Christian life. So as I was saying when it comes to earthly things property money Our mind is very sharp.

We don't want to lose anything. The desire for gain Is very much rooted in the children of Adam, so why is it that when it comes to spiritual things We're losing out on so much that Jesus Paid such a tremendous price on the cross to purchase for us.

There's so much that's been purchased Through the death of friend resurrection of Christ that I find that most Christians are enjoying only a fraction of it. I myself Did not enjoy a lot of it for many many years and you need to ask yourself whether there is more That Christ purchased for you.

Which you're missing out because the devil Has cheated you has blinded your eyes. The Bible says the devil Blinds the minds of those who do not believe. Of course the first thing he blinds people to is the message of Forgiveness of sins.

Grace as More Than Unmerited Favor

But Christ purchased much more than that. And that's what we need to understand. Let me turn you to a verse in John chapter 1. During in the last session. I mentioned a little bit about grace. God gives grace to the humble and I mentioned the grace was not unmerited favor and a brother was mentioning to me during the break time that All his life.

He was told that grace is unmerited favor. So I said I would share a little more about that so that Many of you who have Left systems Where your leaders Controlled you with rules and laws For their own gain.

Whether financial or honor or whatever it is. They will answer to God one day for No government on earth can prosecute them for such for such criminal treatment. But they will answer to God one day For their criminal treatment of you.

Exploiting you for their own gain. Jesus came to earth Not to be a leader, but to be a servant. To serve others he desired no position. He desired no profit. He didn't want any money for himself. He sought to serve and the tragedy in Christendom today is it so rare to find leaders of that quality.

It's not only in our day the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2 verse 19 to 21 He said To the Philippians the only person I can send to you from my co-workers or with me is Timothy. Because he said in Philippians 2 20 all seek their own all Seek their own.

Not the things that are Jesus Christ. That is a perfect description verse Philippians 2 21 of the race of Adam. A Primary characteristic of the race of Adam is they seek their own. Their own honor. Their own gain their own profit benefit, whatever it is and If other people are exploited never mind.

So long as I get what I want. So long as my I and my family Orion my favorite ones in my group Get what we want. It doesn't matter whether others suffer that is Demonic. Absolutely demonic and that's characteristic.

Unfortunately of a lot of Christianity today. It was true in Paul's day, too. There were leaders like that Paul's co-workers, but he says Timothy was different. Timothy had absorbed Paul's spirit of Sacrifice and self-denial and he did not seek his own.

He was always seeking the good of others and He was concerned genuinely concerned says it's here in Philippians 2 20 for the welfare of others and for the interests of Jesus Christ. This is true Christianity and this is the position to which any true disciple of Jesus will come.

It's a very serious thing to be a Leader among Christians. I Have been an elder of a number of churches for more than 35 years and I Know I I live in fear before God all the time. I examine myself constantly with these verses like this.

Constantly say Lord. Is there any area where perhaps I'm blind? Where I'm seeking my own I I don't want to a smell of that in my life to me. It's like cancer. I don't know how many of you recognize that.

Seeking your own is like a cancer. You can hide it if I've got cancer in my system. What do I gain by hiding it from you? I can pretend to be very healthy. The cancer will still do its work and destroy me one day.

Peter, the Way of the Cross, and Dying to Self

So Seeking my own is the cancer. We've all inherited from Adam and That is what has made our Christian life. So miserable is the root of sin Seeking my own. In fact when Peter Who one moment had such a revelation from heaven?

That he could say to Jesus in Matthew 16 You're the Messiah the Son of the Living God and Jesus said blessed are you Simon son of Jonah? For flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. You got a revelation right now from my father in heaven and you know more than these great scholars who studied the by the Old Testament and Two minutes later Just two minutes after that This man who had got a revelation from heaven and Whom Jesus said you are blessed.

Two minutes later Jesus said to him You're speaking like Satan can a man Who gets revelation from heaven one moment? Two minutes later be the voice of the devil. You see that in Matthew 16 Verse 17 blessed are you Simon?

Because it's my father in heaven has shown you that I am the Messiah. There are cleverer people than you any in Israel who haven't seen it. But I want to tell you fellas something he tells the disciples Matthew 16 21 I have to go to Jerusalem and suffer and be crucified and killed and Peter rebuked him out of human compassion.

And said God forbid it Lord this will never happen to you. You know that sometimes human compassion can be Satanic. Yeah a human compassion. That prevents us from going the way of the cross. Is the voice of the devil.

Jesus turned around and said to Peter get behind me Satan. He didn't even say you're the voice of Satan. Satan he addressed Peter as Satan. In other words for that brief moment Peter was the embodiment of Satan, I don't know whether you have seen it.

What did Peter do. To be called Satan. I mean if there was a Satan in that midst It was Judas Iscariot was swindling all the money from the common pool here were the money kept which belonged to everybody and.

And Judas Iscariot was swindling it and using it for himself just like a lot of Christian leaders today. Who take money given by God's people and swindle it and use it themselves? If that's the guy who we think of the devil, but here what did Peter do.

He wasn't unrighteous with money, but Jesus said you're a stumbling block to me. All that Peter said to Jesus was don't go the way of the cross. Don't go the way of suffering and self-denial. Choose the pathway of ease.

And that's a choice that comes to all of us at different times in life. You know in the Old Covenant there was no way of the cross. There was no such thing as taking up the cross in the Old Testament.

Nobody could do it because you need the power of the Holy Spirit to do it and People didn't have the power of the Holy Spirit within them in the Old Testament. They only had power to do things on the outside.

Jesus was the first person who carried a cross every day for 33 years and Said to others if you want to follow me. You must take up your cross every single day and follow me. Otherwise you cannot follow me.

It is impossible you can believe all the right doctrines and that was all that Peter said don't go the way of the cross and Jesus said that is the voice of Satan and He said such people are a stumbling block anyone Who avoids the way of the cross?

The way of total death to self. And seeking one's own and seeking one's own honor and gain if you don't die to that. You are a stumbling block to Jesus Christ, I want to say that to myself everything I preach I say to myself first.

I Say to myself you are a stumbling block to Jesus Christ and his work if you ever Avoid the way of the cross at any situation in your home with your fellow workers with other believers. If you don't go the way of death, you're a stumbling block to Jesus Christ and You're the voice of Satan even if you're a preacher.

I say that in myself and Something more he said the reason is you're setting your mind. Listen to this Matthew 16 23. Peter you're setting your mind on man's interests not God's interests. What is the way of the cross.

The way of the cross is to remove my mind from my interest and Set it on God's interests. That's the man who's taken up the cross and Who's the man who avoids the cross? The Christian who's got his sins forgiven.

But who set his mind on his own interests and his family's interests. What's the difference between him and any godless atheist? The atheist in the world. He's also got his mind on his interests and his family's interests.

The only thing he watches television while you sit and read the Bible. But if your mind is set on your interests and your family's interests. You're no different from the atheist. He avoids the way of the cross.

You avoid the way of the cross. Only you're a religious seeker of your own and he's a worldly seeker of his own. Just the same thing. It's just This demonic seeking one's own painted with a different color.

That's how it is with so many Christians they have not seen the way of the cross. Many people are seeking for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Are the Holy Spirit in the light. Why are they going astray.

Why have so many millions today gone astray in the pursuit of something good? Is there anything better than you can seek then seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit? That is the primary blessing of the new covenant to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And Why is it so many people? Go seeking for the fullness of the Spirit and end up worse Than they were when they were in some dead church. Why is that? It's because They missed the way of the cross. I remember when I was a young Christian about 23 years old.

Now I was really born again. I was baptized in water. I was studying the Word of God. And I felt I was dry. I had doctrine. I was correct doctrine and all but there was a death in me. Spiritual death and I Knew I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

So I began to seek God about it in prayer. I was single. I had a room to myself where I was working and I began to seek God and I Went to different assemblies that spoke about this, but I'll tell you honestly.

I was disappointed with everything I saw. And I came back to my room and I said I don't want that. That's just a lot of emotionalism and noise and I'm not interested. And I saw many of them pretty worldly.

I Said how can the fullness of the Holy Spirit make you were more worldly than you were before? That's impossible. So that cannot be the genuine thing and I as I began to seek God on my own. The Lord gave me a very unique revelation.

It's amazing what God shows you from the scripture. When you begin to seek him in earnest in sincerity and say to him Lord, I'm willing to pay any price. I'll tell you that there's no partiality with God.

You go to God in some area Where you're really seeking for his will in your life and you say Lord, I'm willing to pay any price. Whatever you price you ask for. I Want you to meet with me in this area and I'll tell you God will meet with you and give you a revelation Such as you've never heard before and the Lord showed me from how when Jesus himself was baptized.

That's when the Spirit came upon him and He before the Spirit came upon him he was immersed and I saw that baptism at that time as Allowing somebody else. John the Baptist was putting Jesus down into death symbolically.

And What the Lord showed me were and then as Jesus came up As he submitted to somebody putting him into death and burying him as he came up the Spirit of God came upon him. So this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased and What came to me at that time was as if the Lord was saying to me if you go this way You allow other people to put you to death and don't resist it.

Just die with me. Go down humble yourself. Die, I will raise you up and my spirit will rest upon you all your life and The day you avoid this way of death to self. My spirit will no longer be upon you.

I have never forgotten that and that was the day I got a revelation on this truth. That the fullness of the Holy Spirit was very closely linked with the way of the cross. I've never forgotten it. It's been a great revelation in my life.

The Holy Spirit’s Power Through the Way of Death

You cannot live the spirit-filled life except going the way of the cross. Every day the way of death to self. The way where you allow other people to push you down and you don't resist it. Imagine in a baptism.

If you go to baptism and somebody's trying to immerse you in the water and you resist it you'll never go down. So I see there that the way of the cross is where if God allows other people to push you down and Crucify you accept it and I've sought to go that way and it's brought the power of the spirit into my life into my ministry.

Most of all into my life, it's brought a freshness into my life. The Holy Spirit makes you fresh. So I can see how is the voice of Satan that tells people don't go that way. Yeah, get excited with some emotional experience of the Holy Spirit and make a lot of noise and all that.

But don't ever go the way of the cross because the devil knows you'll never have the power of God in your life. That's why Jesus told Peter. That's the voice of Satan. You have to die to seeking your own interests.

Your mind must not be set on your interests, but God's interests. So I want to encourage all of you my dear brothers and sisters if you will take my exhortation today. Please remember this verse by heart memorize it.

Matthew 16 23. Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. Because you're not setting your mind on God's interests but man's and There's a lot you can get from that verse if you meditate on it.

Maybe write it on a little card and keep it in your pocket and read it and read it and read it and read it. And say Lord teach me what this means. That I'm a stumbling block to you. If my mind is set on my own interests.

In the Old Testament, as I said, there was no way of the cross there was no inner part of the Holy Spirit and This is how Satan has deprived us of our inheritance in the new covenant. Because the way of the cross.

Wherever a person dies with Christ, there will be a resurrection. The greatest power. And I'll show you how the way of the cross is linked with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said You will receive power when the Spirit has come upon you.

That's what happened to Jesus when he came up out of the waters of baptism and the Spirit came upon him in Ephesians chapter 1. We read an expression like this. Paul writes to the Ephesians in chapter 1 and verse 18.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. He's not saying that my mind should understand he's saying my heart's eyes should be enlightened. You know today we would say read the chapter ten times.

Or Paul didn't say read this letter ten times. You can read it a hundred times and you may not get it. One day as you read it, suddenly the eyes of your heart will be enlightened. I remember I I Remember very vividly the day and even the exact spot.

Where I was sitting. Many years ago about 35 years ago and suddenly I saw the glory of the new covenant. After having read the Bible for 16 years and not seeing it. Suddenly, you know like Peter got a revelation.

God it says here. I'm praying that you'll get in verse 17 a spirit of revelation. Revelation is a New Testament word. In the Old Testament it was study and understanding. You had scribes who studied studied studied studied and compared this verse with that verse and we got a lot of knowledge.

But in the New Testament, the word is revelation. Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah because you got revelation from my father. And Paul says in Ephesians 1 17. I'm praying that you'll get revelation.

In the knowledge of Christ, there are no such prayer in the Old Testament revelation. Jesus once said in Matthew 11 verse 25. Oh, I thank you father that you have hidden these Wonderful truths from the clever and the intelligent and given revelation to those who are like babes these truths of Scripture Hidden from the clever and the intelligence.

I've often asked people at this question. Can you tell me any book in the world on any subject maths physics history any book on any subject in the world. Which only babies can understand which clever people cannot understand.

Can you think of any book? There's only one the Bible. You come to this with your cleverness and your intelligence. I guarantee you'll go astray. I've seen it. The Pharisees were the cleverest people they went astray.

Among the twelve disciples the cleverest was Judas Iscariot. I don't have a shadow of doubt about it. He went astray a Lot of clever people today go to the scriptures they go astray. The Revelation is given to those who have the spirit of a babe.

Jesus took a babe and said humble yourself like this babe. So what I learned from that is if I come to scripture now all this wisdom and knowledge is good for earthly things if you're doing business or You're doing some work in the world use your brains by all means, but when you come to scripture.

Just set that all outside outside the door and say Lord. I Can't understand this book. I'm as Ignorant as a baby. I Want you to reveal to me? That's what Paul is praying. I pray you'll get revelation.

I pray the eyes of your heart will be enlightened. And what is he praying for? I'm praying that you will know. One of the things he mentions is verse 19 the surpassing greatness of his power. Toward us who believe now.

I wanted to see these Expressions he uses the working of the strength of his might. Which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead. Now the message I get from that is the greatest manifestation of God's power in this universe in history.

Was not when he created the Sun and the moon and the stars. Not when he created the heavens and the earth in a moment the world says that is the great manifestation of God's power. But the Christian says no.

Resurrection Power and Dependence on God

The greatest manifestation of God's power is when he raised Jesus from the dead. Have you noticed that in the Bible it never says that Jesus Christ raised himself from the dead. Never. You take a concordance and have a look.

Never never does it say that Jesus raised himself from the dead. Jesus said in John chapter 10 Verse 18. I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it up again. He had the power to raise himself from the dead.

But he never did it. He had the power to call 72 ,000 angels from heaven in Gethsemane, but he never did it. Because he took the cross in the cross the way of the cross you don't assert your power. Did you know that?

Did you know that a man who's walking the way of the cross never seeks to assert his power? The way most Christian leaders I have seen do it and there you see they don't know the ABC of the way of the cross.

They know so many other things, but they don't know the way of the cross and so there they are the voice of Satan. Their mind is set on their own interests in baptism in. If you really immerse a person you can't really come up unless he lifts you up.

You submit to him and he lifts you up and in the spiritual application which came to me was if you allow God is in control of all circumstances and Jesus when he when they came to capture him in Gethsemane.

He said this is a cup which my father has given me. It's not Judas Iscariot. I don't see Judas Iscariot. I don't see the Roman soldiers. I see my father's hand here. He's giving me a cup. It's pretty Bitter and painful, but there's no poison in it.

The cup of the Lord may be bitter, but there's no poison in it. The cup the devil gives you is sweet, but there's poisonous and Jesus said I'm gonna drink it. I'm not worried which mailman brought it.

It's from my father Judas Iscariot. It's only a mailman the Roman soldiers and all are just mailmen. The cup is from my father and I'm gonna drink it and When he submitted to that God raised him from the dead.

Always in Scripture it says God raised him. God raised him and from that what I learn is I Never have to raise myself. I Never have to lift myself up anywhere. My duty is to be pushed down to go down.

Let other people push me down. God will raise me up. I remember the days when I was a young Christian and God had given me the gift of speaking God's Word, that's not Something naturally I have it was a supernatural gift God gave me when he filled me with the Holy Spirit and gave me the ability to speak God's Word.

And I thought I was only 23 24 years old. I was speaking God's Word and I had such tremendous liberty and There were a lot of people who were 20 years older than me. Who were elders in churches. I was not an elder.

I was only 23. They'd be jealous of me. And they would always try to push me down and never give me an opportunity To speak in the church. I said fine. My duty is to be pushed down. I will not assert myself my duty is to humble myself under God's mighty hand and Those days God's mighty hand for me was these elders who would push me down and say keep your mouth shut.

I'm not gonna fight with him. I Would go out and preach out in the streets. Preach the gospel there. I learned to preach in the streets. Where I'd be mocked and laughed at and called the devil and all types of things.

It was good for me. There nobody nobody wanted to come out there and preach. Everybody wanted to preach in the church where they'd get some honor and there as I and I saw that when God's time came he'd lift me up.

He did that. You can't fight against God. You can push a piece of wood right into the water as long as you like the moment you lift your hand that wood comes up. You can't make a piece of wood sing no matter how hard you're trying.

And if you walk with God the way of the cross God raised up Jesus from the dead. And that is the greatest manifestation of God's power in this universe. You got to see it much greater than creation. Imagine if you had the power if God says I'll give you the power to speak a word and a Cut-off limb will be recreated.

Can you imagine what part is in creating a limb that's been cut off from somebody's body? Boy, I Wouldn't be impressed by that. To me the greatest manifestation of God's power is not that not even the if God gave me the power to create a universe.

There's something greater than that is the raising of Jesus from the dead and it says here that power Ephesians 1 is available to me. It's available to you. It's very clear the surpassing greatness of his power.

Ephesians 1 19 Toward us who believe. Now if you don't believe it, of course, you don't get it. But if you believe this power can be yours. In other words, there is no circumstance in the world that can depress you.

I Discovered that long ago That no no circumstance can depress me. God lift me up. No human being can put fear into my heart. How can I be afraid when Almighty God is on my side? I've had a lot of people in my life who tried to harm me.

And God said to me do you want me to deal with them or would you deal with them yourself? I said no Lord you deal with them. Are people trying to harm you. Hurt you let God deal with them. Don't deal with them yourself.

Don't go fighting with them. There's a mighty power available on the part. On God's part on the side of those all those who commit themselves totally to the way of death to self. You die to self. God says I'll raise you from the dead just like Jesus he submitted to death.

He said I'll drink this cup. I'm not gonna fight. I'm not gonna call the angels to defend me. I'm not going to justify myself. I'll die. God says I'll raise you up and the promise to us is in 2nd Timothy and chapter 2 Verse 11.

It's an absolutely trustworthy safe statement. It says This is a faithful saying. It is a trustworthy statement if we die with him. We shall live with him. We need more and more Christians. Who lived this in their daily life?

Who choose the way of death in their homes. Who choose the way of death to self in their place of work and in every situation? Who choose the way of death to self. Thank you and who trust that God will raise them from the dead.

Have you had a few experiences like that? I've had numerous experiences. Humble yourself into the mighty hand of God and he will exalt you in due time. This is very closely connected with grace. That is why I'm saying it this way was not known.

Humility, Grace, and the New Covenant

Before Christ came God, let me read now 1 Peter 5 verse 5 and you'll see how this is all connected to what I was just saying. And the 1 Peter 5 verse 5 the last part says God is opposed to the proud. He fights against proud people.

It's a law of God you cannot change that law of God and It's not a question of whether you think you're humble. It's a question of whether God sees your humble. I can think I'm very humble and I can convince other people.

I'm humble. God says I couldn't care less. I know whether you're really humble or not. I know whether you're humbling yourself under different circumstances and if God sees that I'm really, you know, you a person could be proud of so many things if his human abilities or Spiritual abilities, but if God sees that a person is proud proud of anything would be proud of Bible knowledge.

Proud of his ministry. Proud of what he's accomplished proud of anything God will oppose him. It's a law. It's like the law of gravity. It doesn't matter whether you're a believer or an unbeliever. It makes absolutely no difference if you jump off the roof.

The law of gravity is not going to check up whether you're a believer or an unbeliever. It's no difference just pulls you down. It's the same with here God's law, which says he's opposed to the proud.

It doesn't matter whether you're a believer or unbeliever. You can think you're a spirit-filled believer. But if you're proud God is opposed to you that moment he opposes you. Proud of anything. Proud of your position.

Proud of your Knowledge. Proud of your Bible knowledge. Proud of your spirituality. Anything God opposes you but he gives grace to the humble. Grace is a new covenant word. It's not available for everybody.

A lot of people can think it's theirs. It's not theirs. The fullness of God's grace is for the humbly pushes them from the back and then it says therefore therefore what shall we do? If that is the case or since that is the case humble yourself.

Under the mighty hand of God and the mighty hand of God is all the circumstances He brings into our life. Those are the that is the mighty hand of God the mighty hand of God trying to use that way he allows people to Push you down and crush you and crucify you and insult you and whatnot.

Just keep your mouth shut and die. That's the proof of humility. And if you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, what is the promise? He will definitely exalt you at the proper time. God didn't do it for Jesus the same day.

There was a time for it three days later, but once the three days were up at the proper time he lifted him up. He will exalt you In due time and if we have that faith We will gladly submit ourselves. To whatever circumstance God sends into our life.

We will have. No complaints against people. Circumstances we never say so-and-so is treating me badly or so-and-so is doing this to me or the other thing. We'd be glad to forgive everybody who is hurting us.

Believing that God will raise us up raise us up from the dead. This is the grace That came through Jesus Christ. Now. I want you to turn to John's Gospel chapter 1. In John's Gospel chapter 1 we read if you turn there with me, please.

This is a very important verse. John 1 17 the contrast between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant now. Some of you may already know this maybe it's revision class for you. But for many of you sitting here who've been converted more recently.

You're possibly hearing this for the first time. Please pay attention. The law Was given by Moses. That was the Old Covenant. But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. These are two different Mediators of two covenants.

Moses is the mediator of the Old Covenant. Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant. Moses brought the law. Jesus brought grace and truth. Truth means more than just Two plus two is four that's also truth.

Truth means more than even truth of doctrine. I'll talk about it later. But grace, let's look at just this one word now. There was no grace in the world till Jesus Christ came. Just like there was no mosaic law in the world till Moses came.

There was a period before Moses where it was without the law. It speaks about that in Romans chapter 4 it has appeared without the law and Then there was a period of the law for 1 ,500 years after Moses brought the law which Galatians says only it was only our tutor or schoolmaster to lead us to Christ.

Then came Jesus with grace. And if you use that word Schoolmaster which is used in Galatians chapter 3 in verse 24 the law has become our schoolmaster or child conductor or tutor or nanny to lead us to Christ.

If you use the word schoolmaster, then you think of a schoolteacher. The law was like a schoolteacher. Only necessary Until you came to Christ. That's all it's like a nanny who helps a little child to cross the street or To have a bath or take the little child to school or take care of it.

Until it's grown up. Then he then that nanny is not needed a Period comes where we can become free from the law. Not because now we don't have to obey God. I mean when a grown-up child crosses the road.

Why is it he doesn't need a nanny anymore? It's not because he's going to be run over. He knows how to cross the road without getting run over. He knows how to keep the law without having a law. That's it.

It's not that he doesn't keep the law he keeps the law at a much higher standard. The law says don't commit adultery. He doesn't even do it in his heart. The law says don't kill. He doesn't even get angry in his heart.

So the law is only our schoolmaster a Tutor to lead us to Christ. It's like we go through school in order to go to college University so the law is a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ and there we get grace.

True Grace Produces Holiness and Victory Over Sin

So Moses brought the law and Jesus Christ brought grace. Grace is superior to the law far superior. Why is it so many Christians? Who say that they have received grace? Live lives which are lower in Moral level than Old Testament people.