Enlightenment on Resurrection Life — Zac Poonen

Faith in God’s Reward for Diligent Seeking

God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We know that faith is one of the most important things emphasized in the New Testament. And all of us would say we have faith, we believe. But I want to ask you this morning whether you really believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

If another brother or sister has progressed more than you, are you willing to acknowledge that it is because he has sought God more diligently or she has sought God more diligently than you have? You know we are, right from the days of Adam who blamed his wife, we are great makers of excuses.

Excuses that justify ourselves when, if another brother or sister is more wholehearted. We tend to excuse that saying well God's called him for that or God's gifted him with that. We'll never say that's because I've not sought him wholeheartedly.

Because that puts the blame on me, you see. We try to put the blame on God, so well God's called him for that. So therefore he's gifted him like that. Of course it's got nothing to do with me, I'm a wonderful person.

The Adamic Habit of Making Spiritual Excuses

And that's why we never progress. It's exactly the thing that the devil wants you to say. The devil wants you to say there's nothing wrong with you, well God's called her for that so she's like that or he's like that.

Or if somebody knows the scriptures better than us, we say well that's because he's got a good memory. Of course nothing wrong with me, I'm a wholehearted brother, but he's got a good memory. You know there are numerous reasons like that.

You see another brother whose children are following the Lord, your children are not. Well you say children are different. We are such experts at making excuses. I just want to encourage you my brothers and sisters, if you want to go on with God, get rid of this Adamic habit of making excuses.

If we see some other church has got something which we don't have, we say yeah but then of course they have some other problems. We're okay. And as long as we keep on saying I'm okay, my family's okay, my church is okay, you're guaranteeing for yourself that you'll never make progress.

That's a habit of Adam to make excuses. It's far better to say God I haven't sought you diligently. I have not sought you with all my heart and that's why I haven't got what's I want. Someone else has got it.

That could be mine if I seek God in the same way. There are many people who seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit and if they don't get it they say well maybe it's not God's time. I'm okay you see. I'm perfectly okay but God has some plan.

We don't realize that in all our subtlety and cleverness with which we make excuses, we are actually only damaging ourselves. I decided years ago I'd never make an excuse. If Paul said follow me as I follow Christ and my life is not as radical and wholehearted as Paul's, I wouldn't say well that was because Paul was called for that.

I'd say Lord there's something missing in me. I've been recently challenged as I've been many times reading the Acts of the Apostles about the tremendous power those apostles had. And you know the excuses?

Those were for the early days. The master of excuses, the devil, has got plenty of excuses to fill our clever mind with. Those are the early days and those are only for certain people. And it's the same old story.

As long as we make excuses we'll never experience what God wants us to have. So I'm just wondering. I've wondered about myself. See I've been a believer for 45 years and I asked myself this question. I don't know whether you ask it.

Seeking Everything God Intends for His People

Lord is there something you wanted me to have which I've missed out on so far? If so I want it. I don't want to leave this earth missing out on a single thing that Almighty God wanted me to have or experience on this earth.

Will you pray that prayer to God sincerely? Those of you who are serious. Lord before I leave this earth I want to experience everything that you want me to experience and have before I leave the earth.

I mean if there's something I'm going to have only in heaven that's fine. I don't want it now. And if there's something you want only certain people to have because it's their calling. I mean it's true that certain people have certain gifts because they're called for that.

We don't all have to have those gifts. That's fine. I'm not interested in having gifts which God doesn't want me to have because it's not part of my calling. And I don't think you should desire that either.

But what God wants you to have. You must have such a passionate yearning and longing that at any cost whatever price you have to pay however much inconvenience it may cost you God I want it. I want it at any cost.

I'm willing to pay the price. Send me the bill. I'll pay it. You know that's the earnestness that God honors. Jesus always spoke about those who are sick and tired of their own life. That's the meaning of weary and heavy laden.

Come to me those who are weary and heavy laden. Those who are sick and tired of your life. Of the way you're living. Or Jesus said if any man thirsts. Thirst. What a word. Desperate thirst. Come to me he said.

God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Jeremiah 29 .11. Imagine for a moment Jesus is standing before you right now and saying to you personally as if nobody else is in the room it's Jesus and you and Jesus saying to you I have plans for you plans for your welfare to give you a future and a hope Jeremiah 29 .11 to make your future glorious to do something wonderful for you it doesn't matter how old you are even if you're 85 years old, 90 years old you haven't died yet maybe you've got one more week to live.

God says I've got plans for you for that one week. Don't you want to do something in that one week? Even if you're 90 years old before you go I would if God said to me you're 90 years old you've got one more week to live but I've got plans for you for that one week.

I say Lord fulfill it before I go. You don't have to be young it doesn't matter how old you are even if you're a young boy think of it all the years God says I've got plans for you plans for your welfare to give you a future and a hope but you've got to call upon me for it.

You can't just sit back lazily and say oh it'll happen. It won't happen it will never happen. You'll miss out completely. You've got to call upon the Lord verse 12 and it says in verse 13 you will find me when you search for me with all your heart.

It's the same old story whether it's Old Testament or New Testament. God there must be something I haven't got that something I've missed. I want to seek you with all my heart. I want to seek you with fasting and prayer.

I've often wondered why does God want me to go hungry fasting. You know the answer. I can answer it in three words. I don't know. Lot of questions I can answer in three words I don't know. Then why do I do it.

Because Jesus commanded it. That's all. That's all. I'm a son who lives by faith that my father tells me to do something. I don't need to know the reason. How would you like to have a son three year old son or five year old son who says dad.

You explain to me why I should do it. Then I'll do it. Boy you bring up your children like that. You're going to have a headache. Why should they do it. Because daddy said it. Because mummy said it one day.

They'll understand when they're 25 years old. We haven't got there yet spiritually. So God Jesus said it. I tell you I haven't understood the logic of prayer. I haven't understood the logic of prayer at all.

You think God is not more burden for India than I am. Of course he is. The things we pray for. Are we informing God about something he didn't know. Are we trying to have a burden. Are we trying to twist God's arm and say God you got to do this.

I haven't understood it. And the reason I don't understand it is because my mind is like a cup. God's wisdom is like an ocean. So I'm not surprised. There are lots of things in the Bible I don't understand.

You know. That's why I've discovered the more intellectual and more logical you are the less you pray. It's true. I've seen throughout my life that those who are very clever they pray very little because unconsciously the logic works.

There's no need to inform God. He knows everything. And then I've seen simple poor people who don't use all their logic they pray. And they get something which these intellectual people miss out on. Consider that consider that possibility.

God says you'll find me when you search for me with all your heart. And I've been thinking about the title of the Holy Spirit. You know we've seen many titles of the Holy Spirit. Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Love.

The Spirit of Resurrection Life

Here's a title of the Holy Spirit which just struck me. Romans chapter 8. I don't know whether you've seen this. I'm sure you've read it hundreds of times. But sometimes we read and we don't notice it.

Romans chapter 8 and verse 11 the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead. That's the Holy Spirit I want to be baptized with and I want to be filled with.

The greatest problem of man is death. Spiritual death. It's not sickness. It's not poverty. Jesus was poor. Paul was sick Timothy was sick. Those are not man's biggest problems. But spiritual death. And Jesus came to earth to conquer that spiritual death.

If He had not conquered that all the good that He had done healed the lepers did kind things washed disciples feet and all that would have been useless. He did all those things. But He primarily came to conquer spiritual death because death was reigning over all men.

See Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 it says verse 12 through one man sin entered into the world. And when sin entered into the world death also through sin. That's what the Lord told Adam the day you eat you will die.

And we know he died because the contact with God was gone. It was like pulling out the plug. It's like telling a child who doesn't know. If you pull out the plug the lights will go or the panel will stop working.

God said to Adam you you don't want to live dependent on me. You'll die. And he died. The lights went out in his life. And one of the clearest proofs of it is he started accusing his wife. You know the lights have gone out in your life.

When you are blaming other people or blaming God the lights have gone out. Brother, sister you are in darkness. You may not know it but you are in darkness when you are blaming your wife for something or blaming your husband or blaming the elders or blaming a brother.

Or or if elders blame the brothers and sisters oh these brothers and sisters they are wretched. If I blame you lights have gone out in my life. That's one of the clearest proofs. The lights have gone out when you blame other people.

Adam did that the light went out in his life. Life went off. And since death spread to all men because all have sinned. Now listen to this verse 13. Until the law the law came through Moses maybe about 2500 years after Adam.

For 2500 years after Adam all that period there was no law. So when there is no law you can't sin. For example if there is no sign on a road saying no entry people can go in and out. I mean even if the police have in mind well nobody should go through this road.

If they haven't made a law there there is nothing wrong. So where the point is that when God has not given a law he doesn't ask you to be responsible. You are not. You are not guilty because I haven't told you that's wrong.

For example our children they may do something wrong. But if you have not told them that's wrong. You know you can't blame them. Sometimes your child may come back from school and use a bad word. You know he is not really guilty because he doesn't know it's a bad word.

You ask him where did you learn that. One of the boys used it in school. What does it mean. I don't know what it means. Something you say when you are angry. Ok then you have to tell him. Ok now there is a law that's a bad word.

Don't use it anymore. Then he is guilty after that. But up until then it's a bad word. He should never use it. But he is not guilty. That's what God says. Where I have not given a law you are not guilty.

But what I want you to notice is even if you are not guilty because there was no law death still reigned. Verse 14. Death doesn't make a difference. Death doesn't discover whether you know the law or you don't know the law.

It just reigns. You know nowadays they say they have discovered that if you eat too much coconuts and butter and cheese your cholesterol level goes up. But supposing somebody hasn't studied that he says no I didn't study it.

But I just keep on eating all that stuff. Do you think the cholesterol will say oh this guy hasn't studied it. So we better not raise the cholesterol in his body. No it doesn't matter whether you know the rule or not.

I mean if you know the rule it's good. But if you don't know the rule still the laws of the body still work. Whether you know the laws or not it's the same thing here. Okay. You didn't know the laws. It was not deliberate fine.

You are not guilty. But death still reigned. Whether you are guilty or not death still reigned all the way from Adam to Moses. Because spiritual death has got nothing to do with laws. That's what I want you to notice.

No spiritual death has got nothing to do with laws. It's like cholesterol. It doesn't know. Cholesterol doesn't bother whether you know the rules or not it just operates. Death is like that it just operates in our life whether you know it or not.

And law may have come through Moses. But death was from Adam. And it makes absolutely no difference whether you know the law or not. And you know some areas you may say but brother I don't have light on it.

It doesn't make a difference. Death still reigns in your life even if you didn't have light. So what some other area you say. Well I'm still pressing on. That's fine. But death still reigns in you brother.

I'm struggling to get victory over anger. That's fine. Take 20 years to get victory. But death will reign over you all those 20 years. That's not going to make an effect. You know. It's like saying brother I'm trying to give up butter and cheese and all that in my life.

That's fine. You can take 20 years to give it up. You probably may not live 20 years. But these things take over the laws of the body. You've got the laws of the body. You've got nothing to do. Whether you're struggling or you're not struggling.

Guilt may be another thing. But death reigns universally because death is connected to sin. And Jesus came not to bring more laws. Laws don't help. He came to bring something that deliver man from this death.

That's reigning. That's why resurrection is so important. That's why you know Jesus said you must be witnesses of my resurrection. And the apostles always talk about being witnesses of Jesus resurrection.

The spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is going to fill me. That means all death of every sort is going to gradually disappear from my life. And one day it will even disappear from my body when Christ comes again.

That means death won't even be able to touch my body one day. But it begins in our spirit right now. That's the meaning of being raised from the dead in the resurrection life. Even my body death won't be able to touch it anymore.

But this is the wonderful gospel. The gospel is all connected with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And such an emphasis on Jesus risen life risen life his resurrection is not just that he rose but that I can experience that power.

And it's not something which we can understand. You know I can explain this to you and you can listen to ten messages on it. It won't help. We've really got to ask God to open our eyes of our heart to see it.

And when we see it it's tremendously different. I want to show you here in Ephesians in chapter one when Paul was writing to the Ephesian Christians he says here in Ephesians one he says you guys are great believers.

Because I've heard of verse fifteen I've heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus your love for all the saints. You know that's got to be a pretty good church if it loves all the believers don't you think so.

They love all the saints not just the folks in their own group. And they don't see. He says I don't see giving thanks to you verse sixteen. But I also pray for you. You fellows are wonderful believers.

You don't have any wrong doctrines there in the church in Ephesus. But I'm praying for something else. I'm praying verse seventeen that God the Father will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation. You know revelation is a New Testament word not just understanding but revelation in the knowledge of him.

I pray that the eyes of your heart not your mind. It's very important to distinguish between the mind and the heart. When you study physics chemistry geography you've got to use your mind. It doesn't matter if you don't use your heart.

But when you study the scriptures it's your heart. It's the only book in the world where you've got to use your heart. Maybe love letters also include in that. But other than that it's the Bible. It's where you've got to use your heart to hear what God is trying to say.

I pray the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. That means Paul is praying that I pray the light will be switched on in your heart that you'll see something. You know how you go into a dark room and you can hardly see anything.

There may be some wonderful things there. You can't even see it. And when the light is switched on you suddenly see it. That's what he's praying he says in your heart. I pray that God will turn on the light.

And you'll see something now if this was something we could understand with the mind you know what Paul would have said. Paul said please read what I'm writing ten times. Read it ten times. Read it again.

Read it again. Read it again read it again. That's what they said in the Old Testament. Meditate. Meditate. It's good to meditate. I'll tell you something. Sometimes God just turned on the light and I haven't been meditating.

Hey that's amazing. A lot of the light I have got has not come through. I mean I've also studied the Bible carefully in order to fill my mind with the knowledge of scripture. That's important. Particularly if you're in a teaching ministry like me.

But more important than that see most of you are. I mean most of you are not in a teaching ministry. So you don't have to know the Bible so well like I need. I need to know it in the mind. But all of you need to know it in the heart.

And it doesn't matter if you can't teach like me or explain the scriptures like me or illustrate make things simple like me. That's a calling for teaching but to understand in the heart. You have to say Lord just switch on the light.

Revelation Through Fellowship in the Body of Christ

And I've known different times in my life when and I'll tell you something which may surprise you 90 of some of the things which have really opened my eyes about things in the scripture I have discovered by revelation when I am fellowshipping with other believers.

Not listening to a message. Sometimes in a message but very often when just sitting and talking to other believers. Hey I got light on that and that person sitting there may not even know that I got light.

Something got turned on in my heart and I thought a lot about this and I said Lord why is it that I seem to get more light when I am in fellowshipping with other believers than when I am just sitting reading the Bible on my own.

And I felt the Lord say to me that it was because He wanted me to recognize my dependence on the body of Christ. You know we are such independent people. One of the sins we never confess to God perhaps is our independent spirit.

We are independent children are independent and we grow up independent. If that independent spirit is not destroyed and we don't learn our dependence not only on Jesus but on the body of Christ we are not going to grow.

I think I am not exaggerating. I think 90 of my revelation on scripture I would not have got if I had not valued other brothers in the body of Christ. And it doesn't matter what their denomination is it doesn't matter.

I got light from reading Mother Teresa. She is a Catholic not on Catholic doctrines but on some other things about love for Jesus. So what I am trying to say is be dependent on the body of Christ. You are not going to get it all on your own.

You lonely individualistic type of people you are going to be. You are going to miss out on something which you are really going to regret. When you get to heaven learn to value the brothers and sisters and learn to fellowship with them and say God switch on the light in my heart.

So Paul says I will just show you a verse on that in Ephesians chapter 3. He says in verse 18 of Ephesians 3 that you may be able to understand or comprehend along with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth.

And to know the love of Christ which passes human knowledge. See there is a love of Christ you can understand with human knowledge. You know you study about it you read about it. People explain it with stories.

You say oh that is another love of Christ. You see a movie on Christ and you see the love of Christ. Fine. But there is something that goes beyond knowledge it surpasses knowledge. Do you know that there is something of the love of Christ which goes beyond.

No matter how much you read no matter how much you hear a message you can't understand it. It is not like history and social studies and all that. This is something which goes beyond knowledge. But you can see it in your heart if you seek fellowship.

It says in verse 18 with all the saints one of the things I have said to myself is listen carefully every person in the body of Christ every person he may be much younger than me maybe a new member in the body of Christ.

Every person in the body of Christ has something to teach me and I want to learn that. I mean there may be 10 ,000 things I can teach him. But there may be one thing which he can teach me. I want to learn that something of Christ something of for example if I don't have an evangelistic passion to reach people to Christ to witness people.

And I meet a brother who sits in a train and he is immediately witnessing to somebody before the end of the journey has led him to Christ. Don't you think I can learn something from him instead of sitting back and making an excuse.

That's not my calling. I believe that if we are open like that you know what will happen in another in 5 or 10 years you will become spiritually a fantastically rich person because you are learning something from that person and that person and the other person and somebody else you meet another denomination who doesn't have the light that you have on maybe 10 ,000 things but you see something in him and you got the humility to say there is something there I want to learn.

There is something I want to learn there. There is something I want to learn from that person. And here you are going around the world meeting different believers and just picking up things. Can you imagine what a fantastically rich person you will be.

I become tremendously rich this way. Even people whom I don't agree with in so many things I learn something from them. You know I say there is something I can learn there. I may reject 99 things and pick up that one thing.

I am not saying we should pick up everything. You see the trouble with a lot of believers is they appreciate something in a brother and they go wholesale for that. It's a bit risky because there may be things there which are not you got to be careful.

I mean there may be some brothers where you can pick up 90 of the things but maybe not 10 And some other brothers even some servants of God maybe you can pick up only one thing a lot of things which we can't pick up.

You know I've thought of some of these folks who got a tremendous healing ministry. Some of them have such a compassion for people and I say God I want to learn that. I don't want to learn how to raise money through those people because that's not the way Jesus raised money.

I leave out all that but ignoring all that. Now I disagree with them completely in their methods of ministry and all that. But look at their compassion for sick people. Look at their compassion for people who are suffering.

I say God I don't have 10 of that. That's something of Christ. But Jesus had such compassion. But we rule out the whole person completely just because his attitude to money is not right. I agree. I mean when you go to get your scooter repaired with somebody you don't find out how he's getting along with his wife and things like that.

I only want to find out can he fix his scooter. I don't want to find out his attitude to money whether he loves money and whether he lives properly with his wife. It doesn't bother me. If he can fix my scooter I get something out of him.

If I want to fix my teeth. I don't go to him because he can't help me there. I go to somebody else. Don't we do that in life? You know we go to different people because that fellow can help me here and this fellow can help me here and the other chap can help me somewhere else.

It's like that he has a brother who can teach me something which I don't know. Let me learn that let me get it from him. He may be so prejudiced against me that he says oh I can't learn anything from brother.

Jai. He's a heretic. Fine. He's enriching me but he doesn't want me to enrich him. Who's the loser? Who's the loser? If you're this exclusive type who says no we are the only holy ones in CFC. I'll tell you something.

I've seen people who have that attitude who feel the only real wholehearted believers in the world are the ones connected to CFC. You'll be some of the poorest believers in the world. I'll give it to you in writing.

I never want to be like that. We got to have a heart open. We may not agree with other believers and because of that I cannot work with them. Do you know that if John Wesley were in Bangalore and John Wesley by the way lived in 1700s in England was one of the godliest men in the history of the church.

Do you know that if he were in Bangalore he and I would not be in the same church. How do you like that? Because he'd sprinkle infants. Sorry John Wesley. I really respect you as a godly man. But I can't sprinkle infants and call it baptism.

What do you do then? Every time a child is born John Wesley says we got to sprinkle him. And I say no. We're not going to sprinkle him. Ok brother I'll meet you regularly but we'll have to work in separate churches.

And somebody asked me what do you think of John Wesley. I think he's the godliest man in Bangalore. Why don't you work with him? He sprinkles infants. I don't believe that's the right way to baptize people.

So what I'm trying to say is the other person in that church may be ten times more godly than I am but I'm not working with him because there's an area where I'm absolutely convinced and I'm sure there John Wesley is right and he's wrong.

There's one area where I'm right and he's wrong and that's the matter of baptism. But that doesn't mean I'm more spiritual than him. Can you acknowledge that? That you could be right in some area another much more godly man could be wrong.

But yet he may be a hundred times more spiritual than you. If you can acknowledge that you're on the way to becoming a spiritually rich person. Lord there's something of the life of Christ along with all the saints.

It says here with all the saints you can comprehend the breadth and the length and the height and the depth of the love of Christ. Paul wrote in four dimensions. Have you heard of four dimensions? Length and breadth and height and depth.

It's amazing that itself surpasses knowledge. That's exactly it. It goes beyond all geometry and all that type of stuff. It's beyond mathematics. You know four dimensions height, depth, length, breadth surpasses knowledge.

The Hope of Christ’s Calling: Becoming Like Jesus

Ok, chapter one. Let's come to chapter one. It says I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. That means something should be switched on in your heart. And that you may know number one thing you need to.

There are three things mentioned here and I want you to see it. Three things we've got to have the light switched on in our heart to know. Number one is the hope of his calling. That Jesus called you.

Perhaps all of you know. Why did Jesus call you? Can you give me an answer in one comprehensive sentence. There may be many many things but all comprehend in one sentence. Why did Jesus call you? And that the answer to me for that is in Romans 8, 29 where it says very clearly that whom he foreknew he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son.

That Jesus might be the first or the eldest among many brothers. And these whom he predestined he called. Okay. So when I go to that verse I understand why did God call me? He called me for one reason not to go to heaven.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say God called me to go to heaven. I want to surprise you with some of these things. Nowhere in the Bible does it say God called you to go to heaven. You know what the Bible says.

He called you to become like Jesus. And that starts right here on earth. It ends when we get to heaven. But it starts right here. He called me to be more compassionate. He called me to be more holy. He called me to look at women the way Jesus looked at women with absolute total purity.

He called me to look at money the way Jesus looked at money with complete detachment using it but not attached to it. He called me to look at circumstances the way Jesus looks at circumstances. You know God is in control that faith.

He wants me to be like Jesus. And at the same time he wants me to be like Jesus. In my ministry Jesus had such a tremendous passion to serve God and to do something for his father his whole life. Once when he didn't even eat food and he brought one soul to God that Samaritan woman.

And he told his disciples I've already eaten my food. My food's over you fellas have brought lunch for me now. But I got a soul saved. And I'm so excited about that I lost my hunger. Have you ever lost your hunger because a soul got saved or something God did something.

And boy you say I don't feel hungry now because I've eaten something. If you've not known that I believe we should know that many times in our life that type of excitement that God did something. I'm so excited that I'm not really bothered whether I eat or not.

Think of the number of believers who complain about food and all types of things. How, what a million miles. They are away from being conformed to the image of Jesus. So I'm just telling you these things.

You know how we really God's will is that I might be exactly like Jesus. One of the things that's exercised my mind over the last few weeks is the subject of partiality. I've been thinking much about it partiality.

I've been asking myself Lord is there any partiality in my life. Jesus was totally impartial. He looked at his mother and his brothers and said these are not my mother and brothers. These are on me who do the will of God.

He valued the brothers and sisters around him more than he valued his own family members. Can you say that it has to be like Jesus. You say well my family members were believers. Do you know that Jesus' mother was perhaps the godliest woman on earth at that time.

It's to her. He said my mother and brothers are these who do the will of God. If you are in that category. Fine. But you are not going to be in that category because you are my physical mother or my physical brother or my physical son or anybody like that.