The Holy Spirit as Rivers of Water — Zac Poonen

The Holy Spirit and the Fullness of Christ’s Work

I want to share with you today concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit. There was a time in my life when I was born again but a defeated Christian. Frequently discouraged, and not able to overcome sin.

And I never knew what Jesus had purchased for me on the cross. I thought it was only forgiveness of sins and heaven when I die. And I'm thankful that I discovered there was a lot more than that that I could have here on this earth before I die.

There are a lot of Christians who are just happy with the fact that my sins are forgiven. And that they'll go to heaven when they die. But if we do not live on this earth the way God wants us to, even if you do get to heaven when you die, you're going to have a lot of regrets there.

Because in that day when you see Jesus face to face, you will discover what you have not discovered on this earth till now. And that is the extent to which Jesus loved you. And the tremendous extent of his sacrifice.

And how deeply he suffered so that he could purchase eternal life for us. And when we see that, and we see how cold and calculating we were in our giving ourselves to God, I think many, many believers are going to have a lot of regret.

And will wish, Lord, give me one more chance to live for you on this earth. But you can't get another chance when Christ has come back. This is the only life in which we can express our gratitude to Christ for what he's done for us.

About 20 years ago I was riding my motorcycle in India and I was going across a railway crossing when it hit me. And I got thrown down on the rails and I was unconscious. But somebody picked me up and God saved me from a serious accident.

And when I came back to consciousness, I said, Lord, I have not finished saying thank you to you for what you did for me on the cross. I was saved when I was 19 years old. And by that time I had already served the Lord for about 34 years.

That was nearly 20 years ago. I said, Lord, I have not finished saying thank you to you for dying for me on the cross. Give me a few more years on earth to say thank you. Not thank you with words. Words are cheap.

It's easy. Words are easy to speak. Even money is cheap. When you earn plenty of money to give a little bit for God's work, that costs us nothing. We can satisfy ourselves that we've given a little bit of time, a little bit of money to God.

And that's because we haven't seen the greatness of Christ's love and sacrifice for us. And so, I through the years, as I've sought to serve the Lord, it is not for some reward in my life.

It's not for a reward in heaven.

When I think of how much Jesus sacrificed for me on the cross, I feel that I still haven't said thank you enough with my life. What about you? When you see what Christ paid for us, you'll find that the attractions of the world don't pull you so much anymore.

It's like, you know, if a young man finds a very attractive girl, nobody else is attractive to him after that. Or a girl finds a very wonderful young man, no other man is attractive to her after that.

Why do you find the world so attractive? Why do you find bad movies and television programs so attractive? It's because, I'll tell you the truth, it's because you haven't found Jesus as attractive. Most Christians are in that condition.

It was like that once for me too.

So, I'm not throwing stones at anybody. Jesus said, He who is without sin, throw the first stone.

There was a time I myself have failed, so how can I throw stones at anybody else who's failing today?

There was a time I myself have failed, so how can I throw stones at anybody else who's failing today?

Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the Gospel of John

But I can tell you, I found a higher way that changed my life completely. About 38 years ago, God baptized me in the Holy Spirit and fire. It was not the cheap counterfeit that so many people experience today.

It was a genuine thing that changed the whole direction of my life. So, I want to share a few things with you concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit from the Gospel of John.

So, I want to share a few things with you concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit from the Gospel of John. In the Gospel of John, Jesus spoke about water three times as the image of the Holy Spirit.

You know, Jesus very often used pictures to illustrate truth. He spoke about salt and light. And He spoke many parables. He spoke about water and fire. And the breath of God. Let's turn to John chapter 3.

New Birth by Water and the Spirit

I see in John's Gospel that he spoke about three steps in life in the Holy Spirit. Number one is John 3, verse 5. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you are born of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

These are not two separate births of water and Spirit. He's referring to water as a picture of the Holy Spirit. So, the first ministry of the Holy Spirit in our life is to bring us to new birth. And that's called being born of the Holy Spirit.

Now, I've come through the years to discover that we cannot assume that even in a good church like this, everybody is born of the Holy Spirit. There are, particularly if you were born in a Christian family, you know, you come to church from childhood.

And all the truths are known to you. And you may not have experienced a radical birth in your life. It's very important to know that. To be born of the Holy Spirit. See, I was born in an orthodox Christian family.

But a very God-fearing family, where my father taught us about the new birth. And I never got out of bed any day without praying. I mean, I only prayed the Lord's Prayer, Our Father who art in Heaven.

But I prayed that every morning before I got out of bed. Every Sunday I went to church. I never robbed a bank. I never killed anyone. I never committed adultery. I never cheated in my examinations. I lived a fairly decent life.

But I was not born of the Holy Spirit. I was for namesake a Christian. A good external life. But not born again. And it took me 19 years before I was really born of the Holy Spirit.

And it took me 19 years before I was really born of the Holy Spirit.

So I know from my experience that you can be a very good, upright person. Going to church every Sunday like I did. And not be born of God. And it's those who live good lives who are in greater danger than the murderers and the thieves.

You remember Jesus told the Pharisees. You people claim to be healthy. So that you don't need a doctor. I won't come for you. I'll come for the sick, the sinners. It's the sick people who need a doctor.

I remember in one church I was speaking to some nomads. Some nominal Christians after the meeting. And they were regular church goers. I said I'll tell you why you're not born again. Because you're coming to Christ as a Christian.

And Jesus Christ never died for Christians. He won't accept you if you come as a Christian. They were shocked. Jesus Christ never died for Christians and who did he die for? I said he died for sinners.

You come to Christ as a sinner, you'll be forgiven. You come to him as a Christian, he'll say I didn't die for you. You claim to be alright. Then you don't need a doctor. It's the sick who need a doctor.

You remember the two thieves who hung on either side of the cross? Both were equally evil, equally guilty. Why did one go to heaven and the other go to hell? There was only one difference between them.

One man said get me down from the cross. In other words, I'm not so guilty to be crucified. That was the meaning. I don't deserve to be crucified. Get me down from here. Whereas the other thief said, I deserve this.

That was the only difference. And we'll discover when Christ comes back that it's those who have come to him acknowledging that they are good for nothing sinners that get into God's kingdom. And one way that you know that you're a good for nothing sinner is this.

You don't despise anybody else. If you look at someone else and say I'm not such a bad sinner like him. I want to tell you you'll never be born again. Jesus told a story once of a righteous man in a temple praying and saying God, I'm not like that sinner over there.

You read about that in Luke 18. That sinner, Jesus said, went home justified and saved. Because he did not compare himself with anybody else. He just looked at himself and said, I'm a sinner oh God be merciful to me.

The Pharisee compared himself with others. When a Christian compares himself with others and says I'm better than that person. He's not going to be justified by God. Jesus Christ did not come for the righteous.

He came for sinners. And all of us if you came to Christ as a good person you're probably not even saved today. Let me give you the example of the Apostle Paul who's held up to us in the New Testament as an example.

I say that because apart from Jesus, Paul was the only man who said follow me. Jesus said follow me a number of times. In 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1 Paul said follow me as I follow Christ. There's so much written about Paul in the New Testament because God wants us to see in him an example.

He was a very upright man from childhood. Do you know what his testimony was? Even when he was not converted. Let me read that to you in Acts 23 verse 1. He told the Jewish council that was judging him one day.

He said in Acts 23 verse 1 I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God right up to this date. And when he said that he was probably 57, 58 years old. For the first 30 years he was not even converted.

And now for the more than 25 years he had been converted. But he says from the beginning of my life I have lived with a good conscience. That was his testimony. How many of us can say we have lived with a good conscience from the day we were born?

Hardly anybody. But what did Paul think about himself? He says in 1 Timothy 1 .15 I am the greatest sinner in the whole world. I am the chiefest of all the sinners. Look at this thing that looks contradictory to each other.

On one hand I have lived my life with a good conscience till today. On the other hand but when I stand before God I see myself as the greatest sinner in the whole world. When he stood before men he could say I have lived with a very good conscience.

When he stood before God all his righteousness melted away. And he saw himself as the greatest sinner in the world. Let me share something with you my dear brothers and sisters. If you have never once in your life felt never once.

That you were the greatest sinner in the world. If you have never once felt that you were the greatest sinner in the world.

I doubt whether you really know God. I felt like that many times. The closer you get to God where the seraphims who have never sinned cover their faces and say holy, holy, holy. Isaiah who was the greatest prophet of his time said I am a man of unclean lips.

The trouble with a lot of people who say they are born again today is they have never seen their sin first of all. They compare themselves with others and say I am better than them. They compare themselves with other Christians or other friends and they say I am not so bad as them.

And their parents or somebody says to them ask Jesus to come into your heart. Maybe you have said those words Lord Jesus come into my heart. But what has changed? If you are honest probably hardly anything has changed in your life.

And then your parents urge you to get baptized and you get baptized in water. And you don't seem to experience the change that real new birth can bring. Let me show you what the Bible says about new birth.

2 Corinthians 5 Verse 17. 2 Corinthians 5 .17. If a man is in Christ he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and new things have come. Now first of all when we are born into the world we are in Adam.

That is the old creation. And when we come into Christ it is a new creation. What is the difference between the old creation and the new creation? How do we know that the Holy Spirit has taken us out of Adam and put us into Christ?

It's a radical thing to be taken out of Adam and put into Christ. That's what we are testifying to in the waters of baptism. If I were to use an illustration our whole attitude to sin changes. That's what happens in a new creation.

We don't get a new body. We don't get a new face. We don't get a new intelligence. But it says something old has passed away and something new has come. What is the old that has passed away? When we are born again.

When we are born of the Holy Spirit. The old attitude to sin has gone. And a new attitude to sin has come. That's what Romans 6 calls the old man. The old man that's crucified is the old attitude to sin.

The new man is the new attitude to sin. See, for example, I can take an illustration from the animal kingdom. Think of the attitude that a pig.

Has to dirt and muck.

A pig just seems to love dirt and muck and is not bothered if it's eating all that filth and all dirty all over. But look at a cat. A cat never likes to be dirty. Have you seen cats always licking themselves and making themselves clean?

It's not the result of instruction. It's nature. When a mother pig gets little baby pigs the mother doesn't have to teach the baby pigs hey, remember you got to be dirty. You must love dirt. No, you don't have to teach a baby pig to love to be dirty.

It just loves dirty. It's just nature. And when a cat has got little kittens it doesn't have to teach its kittens, now listen, you're a cat so you must always keep yourself clean. It's not instruction.

It's nature. A cat does not have to teach its kittens to be clean. A pig does not have to teach its little piglets to be dirty. The children of Adam don't have to teach their children to tell lies. Who taught your children to tell lies?

I'm sure you didn't teach them. Who taught your children to fight with each other? Who taught your children to be disobedient to parents? It's not instruction. It's like that pig. Nature. A new bird to use that illustration is like this cat's nature coming inside the pig.

Very often we live a better life just because we hear so many things in the church.

Very often we live a better life just because we hear so many things in the church. It doesn't seem to come from nature, it comes from instruction. It doesn't seem to come from nature, it comes from instruction.

Dear brothers and sisters, have you got a new nature? Has the Holy Spirit come and brought you to birth? Has the Holy Spirit come and brought you to birth? Has the Lord taken away the old heart and put a new heart there within you?

We can never do this ourselves. Who can change the nature of a pig into the nature of a cat? Only Almighty God. This is the new bird. And I was born again at the age of 19 and a half. I suddenly found a new attitude to sin.

A new attitude to the things of the world. A new attitude to watching dirty movies and any type of movies that I was watching before. Nobody had to tell me you shouldn't be going and watching all those filthy movies.

Just like the cat didn't have to tell the kittens keep yourself clean. Something within me made me hate that. And I knew I was born again. I'm not saying I didn't fall. Yeah, I fell. I fell a number of times.

Into sin. But it was a different reaction when I fell. See like, you can't say a cat will never fall into dirty water. Cats can also fall into dirty water. But the difference between a cat falling into the muck and a pig falling into the muck is this.

The pig just stays there and enjoys it. The cat jumps out and licks itself clean. So, I'm not saying that a believer will never fall into sin. Yeah, believers fall too. But their reaction will be immediate.

Do you find when you fall into sin a reaction immediate that you want to turn away from it and cleanse yourself? Or do you fall into sin and enjoy it for half an hour and then decide to come out? The pig may also come out after enjoying the dirt for half an hour.

But a cat will not stay in that muck even one second. I don't want to bring condemnation to anybody here. But I have come through the years to see that many who claim to be born again are not really born again.

And the fundamental reason is they have not come to the Lord as dirty, filthy sinners in the beginning. They have not turned from their sin to God. You know, when the Apostle Paul preached the Gospel, we read in Acts chapter 20 and verse 21 Acts 20 and verse 21 that there were two things he preached as necessary.

One was repentance and the other was faith. Repentance and faith are the two things God has joined together in the preaching of the Gospel. But most evangelists and preachers have separated what God has joined together.

Repentance, Faith, and the Seriousness of Sin

Today, there's very little preaching on repentance. There's a lot of preaching on faith. If you don't believe me, just listen to any of these television preachers or listen to all these videos of these mega churches.

What are those preachers preaching? Mostly psychology. How to be good people. But they don't preach against sin. They don't tell you that anger is a sin. They don't tell you that lusting after a woman is a sin.

They don't tell you that seeking the honor of men is an insult to God and it's a sin. They won't tell you that cheating on your taxes is a sin. They won't tell you that telling a lie is a sin. They won't tell you that pride is one of the worst sins.

That spiritual pride will make you a Pharisee. They won't tell you that hypocrisy, pretending to be more spiritual than you are is a terrible sin. They won't tell you that the love of money is a sin. They won't tell you what the Bible says, that the love of money is the root of all evil.

There are a lot of verses like this which are in the New Testament which are not preached today. And so, a lot of Christians don't know what sin is. I preached against sin in my own church in India for 37 years.

And I'll never stop preaching on it until Jesus comes. And there are people who come to our church who've said, Brother Zach, I never knew what sin was until I came here. Jesus said in Luke 24, verse 47 Luke 24, verse 47 that in every nation on the face of the earth, the message that must be preached is first repentance and then the forgiveness of sins.

In every nation, I hear hardly anybody preaching that in India. So I say, Lord, I want to do it. Because your word says so. So dear brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit will do a wonderful work if I turn from sin and say, Lord, I want to be holy.

I'm a sinner, forgive me my sin. When you see what Jesus suffered on the cross, you really begin to hate sin. Jesus, who could carry the universe on his shoulders, found the weight of my sin heavier than the universe.

He found.

The weight of my sin heavier than the universe. It was not the weight of the universe that crushed him on the cross, it was my sin.

And the more I've meditated on that, the more I've hated sin. So that's the first ministry of the Holy Spirit. And we are born of water. We get like a cup of water. You know, the psalmist says, I lift up the cup of salvation.

From a Cup to a Well: The Fullness of Joy

We are born of the Holy Spirit. The second time Jesus spoke about water is in John chapter 4. He told the woman of Samaria verse 13 Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. Verse 14 But whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst.

But the water I give him will be like a well of water springing up to eternal life. So now the cup of water becomes a well of water. I start out holding up my cup of salvation and the Spirit of God fills it.

I'm born again. I'm saved. But He doesn't want me to remain a cup. He wants to expand my capacity so that this cup becomes a well. God wants to lead us one step higher. And when I have a well one proof that I got the well is this.

He said it there. You will never thirst again for all the water that this world can give you. There are so many pleasures and entertainments the world can give you. Most of that is controlled by the God of this world, the devil.

How many of you know that the entire movie industry of Hollywood is controlled by the devil? A lot of politics is controlled by the devil. A lot of businesses are controlled by Satan. There's so much of unrighteousness and crookedness and evil.

In all these areas. There's so much of unrighteousness and crookedness.

In all these areas. And the whole purpose of all this is for the devil to draw Christians away from God. Those of you who watch all these movies, you find at the end of it you are drawn a little closer to God?

Or do you find a thirst to watch another movie? That's what Jesus said. Whoever drinks this water will thirst again for another. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst again for that.

But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst again for that. The devil is out to weaken.

Believers in some way or the other. And he's done that with pastors and preachers and with everybody. Do you know the number of young people sitting in Christian churches who are slaves to internet pornography?

Married people who watch pornography secretly on their computer and now on their cell phones but they are Christians, they sing in the church. What a work the devil has done! The Bible says in 1 John 2 .6 if we call ourselves Christians we must walk as Jesus walked.

Why do we find ourselves thirsting again and again for things we know are not drawing us closer to God? We don't have a well of water. You know you drink a cup of water you thirst again. But if you have a well in your house like a spring that's springing up all the time it's always satisfying your thirst.

It's a picture of such joy.

An extraordinary joy. You know man was created for joy.

Man was not created by God to be gloomy and discouraged and depressed. Man was created to have joy but not the joy that the world gives. Let me read to you Psalm 16 in verse 11. Psalm 16 verse 11 Lord thou will make known to me the path of life and in thy presence there is fullness of joy.

There is a spring of living water in your presence. In God's presence there is fullness of joy. I want to say that again. In God's presence there is fullness of joy not a few drops fullness of joy. You know what I get from that verse?

Meditate on scripture. Don't read a verse and jump to the next verse. Blessed is the man who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night. We don't read the word day and night but we can meditate day and night on it.

You know I can read one verse in the morning. In thy presence there is fullness of joy and I can meditate on that verse for the whole day even when I'm not reading the Bible. Lord what does it mean that in your presence there is fullness of joy?

So I'll tell you what I got from it. Listen. Whenever I'm not full of joy I am not in God's presence. Did you get that? You may think you're in God's presence but if you're in God's presence there is fullness of joy.

Why are you gloomy? Depressed? Discouraged? Condemning yourself? In a bad mood? Why are you so upset with your husband or wife? The Bible has one answer. You are not at that moment in God's presence. So for me this has been a test.

How do I know I'm in God's presence? For many years I did not know. But as I meditated on this verse I found. The answer. The Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is joy. The kingdom of God is righteousness and joy in the Holy Spirit.

He says that in Romans 14 .17 When Jesus said seek the kingdom of God first He is saying seek righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit first. That's what He meant. To seek the kingdom of God first does not mean to go out and be a missionary.

Because the kingdom of God is defined in Romans 14 .17 as righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. They could not have it in the Old Testament. They could only have a kingdom of earth in Canaan.

But after the day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit they could find this joy in the Holy Spirit. We read in the Acts of the Apostles when the Apostles were beaten, imprisoned and they were released they came out with joy in their hearts.

Nothing could take away their joy. The Apostle Paul when his hands were in chains and his feet were in stocks he was praising the Lord in the Philippian jail. They were in God's presence. You can be in God's presence in a jail.

The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4 .4 Rejoice in the Lord. And again I say rejoice. Do you know where Paul wrote that letter to the Philippians? He was lying in a Roman dungeon called a jail. See the Roman jails were not like the prisons in Australia air conditioned and all that.

It was a pit with cockroaches and rats and mosquitoes all over. And in that condition he writes Brothers rejoice in the Lord always. Why? Because in that prison he was in God's presence. That is the well of water that springs up no matter where you are.

This is the real fullness of the Holy Spirit. A joy that nothing can take away. Jesus said that in John 16 Your joy no one can take away from you. I praise the Lord for that. That God has given me that joy described in John 16 .22.

A joy that no one can take away from me. If I dwell in God's presence. So I want to encourage all of you from now on make this the test. How do you know you are in God's presence? You will have a fullness of joy.

Not just a few drops. A well of water springing up all the time. You know how these springs are? You don't have to pump them. It just comes up out of the earth all the time. It's more than a well. It's springing up all the time.

A spring of joy. Dear brothers and sisters this is what Jesus purchased for us on the cross with His blood. For so many years in my life after being born again the devil robbed me of this. It's like your father leaving a billion dollars for you and some crooked lawyer cheating you of your inheritance.

Imagine if your father worked hard and earned a billion dollars and wrote it all for you in his will. Will you allow some crooked lawyer to cheat you of that inheritance? Do you know what Jesus purchased for you on the cross?

A life where I can always dwell in God's presence. This is the meaning of the veil being rent in the most holy place when Jesus died. In the Old Testament tabernacle there was a most holy place where God dwelt.

And also in the temple. But there was this thick veil teaching man that you cannot go into God's presence. That's why they could not rejoice always in the Old Testament. That's why there's no verse in the Old Testament which says rejoice in the Lord always.

Such a verse could only be written after the veil was rent. That's why even the great prophet Elijah got depressed after fire came down from heaven. Immediately after the fire came down from heaven. The very next day.

You would have thought Elijah should be full of joy. But he was so depressed the very next day he said Lord I'm fed up of my life take it away. What a great prophet he was. But the veil was not rent. He could not dwell in God's presence.

But today the veil has been rent. I'm not a greater prophet than Elijah. But I've got a greater savior than he had. I'm not living in the Old Covenant with the veils closing up the most holy place. I'm living in the New Covenant.

Jesus has made a way into the most holy place. And I can have this continuous joy every day 24 -7. I'm not telling you a lie. God has changed my life when he filled me with the Holy Spirit. Joy is one of the clearest marks fullness of joy is one of the clearest marks of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Joy is one of the clearest marks of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

In the Acts we read the disciples are filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. A spirit filled person is never a gloomy depressed person. It's bubbling up. Joy in our heart because our sins are forgiven.

The devil was defeated on the cross. I remember in the early days how frequently I used to be discouraged. But it went out of my life when God filled me with the Holy Spirit. I'm not saying I'm not tempted.

Even Jesus was tempted. The Apostle Paul was tempted. He says in 2 Corinthians we're tempted but we don't lose our courage. And now when the temptation comes to me to be discouraged or gloomy I say well Lord my sins are forgiven.

When so many things around me may be going wrong and I'm facing different trials or maybe I made some mistake and lost a lot of money what shall I do? Get discouraged? I say Lord my sins are forgiven.

The devil was defeated on the cross 2 ,000 years ago.

God is now ruling the universe. Greater is He that's in me than the one that's in the world.

Christ is coming back to take me. Well all the main things are okay. Some minor problems.

Maybe let them be there. And I keep on praying in tongues until the discouragement goes.

That's what Paul says. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself. It's been a wonderful life for me since God filled me with the Holy Spirit. Then number three the third place where Jesus speaks about water.

Rivers of Living Water Flowing from the Innermost Being

John chapter 7 and verse 37 and 38. We start with a cup of water then it becomes a well of water a spring of water and now it becomes rivers of living water. Verse 37. If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink.

If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me.

It's all dependent on faith. It doesn't say he who believes in me will get a new car or a new house but rivers of living water will flow from his innermost being. That means multitudes of people can be blessed through my life.

So many of us are very shy and timid. I was like that when I was first born again. I was afraid to stand before people. I could never stand up and speak to people. But I said Lord I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Because Jesus said when the Spirit of God has come upon you you will be my witnesses. It's not when the Spirit of God has come upon you you must try and become my witnesses. It's almost automatic. When the Spirit of God comes upon you you will automatically be my witnesses.

It's like saying when you put on the switch the light comes on. You don't have to coax that bulb to burn. When the power comes in the lights come on. And that's what I found. That God could make my life this shy, timid person.