Why God Allows His Children to Suffer — Zac Poonen

The Old Covenant and the New Covenant

And we've been thinking about understanding God's ways, and we see that there's a lot of difference between the way God dealt with Israel in the Old Covenant and the way God deals with His people in the New Covenant.

As I've traveled around different countries and met Christians in different denominations, I'm absolutely convinced that 95 of born-again believers don't have a clue that the Old Covenant was abolished and that we are in a New Covenant.

And that's why their lives are so defeated. That's why their lives are up and down. In the Old Testament, your life had to be up and down. Every Old Testament person was like that. You know, Abraham would trust God sometimes and not trust God, then trust God.

He would say that his wife is his sister, and then he would repent of it, and again go and say his wife is his sister a second time. Or Noah, wonderful work for God, and then he would get drunk and lie naked in his tent.

Or David, man after God's own heart, would end up marrying eight wives and commit adultery with somebody else's wife and kill the husband and marry her. Elijah, great prophet, would go sit under a tree depressed and say, Lord, I'm fed up with my life.

Take away my life. It was like that with all those people. You read Jeremiah, one of the great prophets, and he would complain against God, like saying you're like an unfaithful stream, oh God. Imagine talking to God like that.

And people go there to the Old Testament and find comfort for their defeat, for their depression, for their up and down life, for their failure, by saying these great prophets were like that. That's what I say.

Hebrews and the Better Covenant

Ninety-five percent of believers don't know that we are in a new covenant. People turn to Hebrews chapter 11. I never get tired of saying this. Hebrews 11 is called a great chapter of faith. And I say if you read Hebrews chapter 11, never forget that the most important verse is the last verse.

You know what the last verse of Hebrews 11 is? It is all these wonderful men who live by faith. At the end of it, it says, but God has provided something better for us. The book of Hebrews is one of the most unpopular books among believers.

They hardly ever read it. And that's why that shows their spiritual condition. In Hebrews 5, he says that there's this strong meat we want to give you, but you're still drinking milk. The book of Hebrews is one of the books that's really gripped my life.

I mean, if you have noticed in the 70-hour CD through the Bible, 70 hours to go through all 66 books, many of you have already heard that CD of mine. I spent four of those 70 hours on Hebrews. And it looks a bit disproportionate, because it's a pretty small book.

But it's one of the central books of the new covenant in the New Testament. And I think about 12 or 13 times you find the word better, better, better, better. Here's one of those. So don't read Hebrews chapter 11 and say, boy, I want to live like that.

God has provided something better. And that something better is written in the next four verses. Whenever you read the Bible, the two things I tell you, don't read fast. Read slowly. Be more interested in the Bible going through you than you going through the Bible.

You going through the Bible is knowledge. The Bible going through you is life. Like in the Garden of Eden, you have knowledge and life. You can go through the Bible 50 times and get the knowledge of good and evil, and it will only bring death.

But if the Bible goes through you once, you'll get life. The Bible can be the tree of knowledge of good and evil to you or the tree of life. That depends on how you go at it. You can go to it for knowledge, you can go to it to produce sermons, or you can go to it to let it go through you and bring life.

And so when you read the Bible, don't read fast. Read slowly. It doesn't matter if you take 50 years to go through the Bible once, but make sure that the Bible goes through you in that time. The second thing is, remember that chapter divisions were made by men for convenience.

So just, it may be convenient to read a chapter a day, but by the time you go tomorrow to the next chapter, you'll forget the connection. So very often, don't stop at the end of a chapter. At least read the next three, four verses of the next chapter, then stop.

Just a simple bit of advice. Many places you'll find, like John chapter 7 and chapter 8, there's a connection there. Many other chapters, Matthew chapter 11 and chapter 12, there's a connection. After he spoke about, come to me and I'll give you rest, in the next chapter he speaks about the Sabbath, what he did on the Sabbath.

There's a connection. And you'll miss that connection if you don't read continuously. The same way here, God has provided something better for us. What is it? By faith in the Old Testament, it was by faith Enoch, by faith Abraham, by faith, they all did external things.

And then the last is, by faith Jesus. You miss that, if you don't see chapter 12 verses 1 to 4 as actually the last few verses of chapter 11. What is this better thing God has provided? He's shown us the way Jesus lived by faith, who never split the Red Sea, who never pulled down the walls of Jericho, who never did things like shutting the mouths of lions or destroying his enemies, but loved his enemies.

The Old Testament people destroyed their enemies by faith. Jesus loved his enemies. This is the better thing. You know that it's better to love your enemies than destroy them? I don't think many Christians have understood that.

If you're happy that your enemy is suffering, you're in the Old Covenant. In the New Covenant, you do not rejoice when your enemy falls. Even in the book of Proverbs it says, do not rejoice when your enemy falls.

From Kindergarten to the New Covenant

So, what I'm saying is, it's not that the Old Testament is unimportant. We see God's dealings, but he was preparing people. We can say the Old Covenant was like kindergarten. Is kindergarten unimportant?

How can your child ever learn anything if he doesn't go to kindergarten and learn ABC and 1, 2, 3, 4? So we don't say the Old Testament is unimportant. But we must remember, like the difference between kindergarten and college is the difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant.

Now if you want, you can sit in kindergarten for 50 years. That's up to you. But God wants you to move on to college. He's provided us something better. And the reason why, just like a person who sits in the kindergarten for 50 years won't know anything about geography or history or science or mathematics, a lot of believers are like that.

They're happy with ABC and I know how to read and that's good enough for me. But then there are other people who pressed on in the same period of time and got a Ph .D. spiritually, who come to a victorious life and who can say like the Apostle Paul, thanks be to God who always, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, leads us in triumph in Christ, 2 Corinthians 2 .14.

Or like Paul can sit in a rotting Roman jail and say in Philippians 4 .4, rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice. And sitting in a rotting Roman jail, not knowing when he'll be executed or released, he says be anxious for nothing.

It's one thing to say be anxious for nothing when you're living in your comfortable house. It's quite another thing to say be anxious for nothing when you're sitting in a prison waiting to be executed.

That's when Paul wrote that letter. He was not like Elijah saying oh please take away my life. Was Paul better than Elijah? I wouldn't compare the two. But Paul had resources that Elijah didn't have. He had the Holy Spirit within.

Elijah had the Holy Spirit upon him. All the Old Testament people had the Holy Spirit upon because it says in John 7 .39, the Holy Spirit was not given to dwell inside man until Jesus was glorified. That's why things can be better for us.

That's why I don't have to get depressed like Elijah. I don't have to commit adultery like David. And I don't have to go to the Old Testament to find comfort for any of my sins. I don't have to behave like Abraham who tells his wife it doesn't matter if the king rapes you, but let him not kill me.

Just say you're my sister. I mean imagine a man allowing his wife to be raped to protect his own life as a man of God. But you know Abraham could have been a much better man than you and me because he didn't have the Holy Spirit within.

So don't find comfort in your telling lies by saying Abraham said or Rahab told lies. Anybody who goes to the Bible to find comfort for his sin will find comfort for his sin. God will allow him to be deceived because God sees this person is not interested in being saved from his sin.

He's only interested in finding some excuse for his sin. And you'll find a hundred excuses for your sin if you want to find it in the Bible. God himself will help you to find it because he sees that you are not interested in being saved from sin.

God sent Jesus not to give us excuses for our sin. He sent Jesus to save us from everything that is un-Christlike, everything that is displeasing to God in our life. Do you think God is displeased with your being depressed and gloomy and your living up and down life?

You accept it and because you accept it you live like that forever. If a day comes in your life and say I will not accept it because the Bible says I'm supposed to walk as Jesus walked on this earth. See two verses let me show you and I want you to keep that in mind always.

Walking as Jesus Walked

First is 1 John chapter 2. A lot of you are new and many of these things we have said many times but you have not heard it and I want you to hear it. 1 John chapter 2 and verse 6. Anyone who says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same manner as he walked or as the living Bible says.

Anyone who says he's a Christian must live like Jesus Christ lived. Just take that one sentence. How many of you can say that you have even tried to say Lord that's my goal. If it takes me 50 years to get there I'm going to get there.

Do you have a goal at least? I'm not saying you reach there overnight but do you have a longing and saying Lord I want to get there. This is not a suggestion. You know that the Bible has got no suggestions only commands.

If you say you're a Christian you must live as Jesus lived. And 1 John chapter 4 says verse 17 the last part as Jesus is so also are we in this world. Just think of that statement. Read it slowly. As Jesus is so am I in this world.

That's why the devil is scared of me. Is the devil scared of you? Before I ask you that question let me ask you another question. Is the devil scared of Jesus? You have no doubt about that. The devil's scared of Jesus.

I think when he walked on this earth the demons would say hey he's coming he's coming let's be careful now he's going to do something to us. They were scared of him. When he came to Galilee and the demons couldn't get all worked up the demons possessed man sitting in the synagogue for 30 years the Pharisees preached all their boring sermons and the demon possessed person was not disturbed.

But this moment Jesus came and opened his mouth in one sentence that demon possessed person would get all worked up. That's the difference. When Jesus came the demons were scared. And it says as Jesus is so am I in this world.

You say no no no. Well according to your faith be it unto you you will not be like that. But think of some brother or sister maybe it's somebody much younger than you who says yes I believe God's word not because of what I am but because of what God is.

He has said in his word as Jesus is so am I in this world. I will be like that in this world. Demons will be scared of me. How many of you can believe that you can come to a life where the demons and the devil himself will be scared of you?

Because this verse says as Jesus is so am I in this world but you can't be as Jesus is if you don't surrender everything to him. I mean if your goal in life is to make money and live for yourself and get honor and just get some honor in the church as an elder or some preacher or something like that but your life is not totally committed.

You're not totally surrendered every area all your money and possessions and ambitions and everything is not on the altar then I tell you you will not be like Jesus is in this world. There was a reason why the demons were scared of Jesus.

They knew that there was no area in his life which was not committed to his father. But when he looks at many of us he knows all our private plans and ambitions and our love for this and our love for that in the world and he says to you Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are you?

I know all about your private life. Think of the dishonor and disgrace we bring upon the name of Jesus Christ because we hold back something in our life from him and you may not know till you reach eternity what you have missed on earth.

Pursuing a Life That Pleases God

I often am gripped by this truth Lord I will never get another chance to live this life. I've got so one life is so little and do you realize that? Do you want to spend all this life in a wrong way? I mean you may go to heaven I don't want to go to just go to heaven.

I want to go to heaven having pleased God in my entire life on earth. That's how I want to go. I don't want to go just living for myself on this earth and somehow get to heaven at the end. I want to hear Jesus saying well done good and faithful servant.

I want to ask all of you hundreds of people sitting here do you really have that passion that Jesus will say to you when you enter the portals of glory well done good and faithful servant or will you have to say oh you managed to make it here is it?

I never thought you'd make it. Is that what he's going to say to you? What do you want him to say to you? So you scraped by and made it and you see all those people there in heaven who sacrificed their lives and lived for him and I'll tell you you'll feel ashamed of yourself you'll have to go and sit in some corner when you see person after person after person who lived totally for God and how God could do something in their life and here you are seeking honor and position in the church or somewhere else and there were areas in your life that were not surrendered and you just try to give everybody the impression that you were very surrendered and very committed and very spiritual but your life was up and down you never made an effort to make your home life godly.

You blamed your wife all the problem was with your wife she's not spiritual and that's why you don't have a good home life. Or you blame your husband he's not spiritual. That's why you don't have a good home life.

Instead of saying if Jesus is with me how can I ever let the devil come into my home. Do you think Jesus can the devil can live in the same home. All these foolish preachers who say that a believer can have a demon.

There are some people who believe that. Can you imagine people believing that Jesus takes half of your heart and the devil takes half of your heart and Jesus says okay let's live together in peace with each other.

I'm amazed that Christians can be so stupid to believe this type of preaching that a believer can have a demon. I'm absolutely amazed. Or this other teaching that Christians can have a generational curse that my great great great great grandfather worshipped some idol.

And so some curse comes down to me. Yes it comes down to me if I'm not born again because once upon a time I was in the tree called Adam and I was connected not only to my great grandfather I was connected all the way to Adam.

The curse that came on him came on me too. But there was a day in my life when the Holy Spirit cut me off from that tree and placed me in another tree called Christ who's in my generation now not my father or grandfather Jesus Christ.

Which curse is there now. He took my curse. But there are so many foolish believers who believe all these teachings that come from America of generational curses. And they say how is this how this particular believer had a generation.

Because the guy was not born again. He just said some magic words Lord Jesus come into my heart. He never surrendered all his life to Christ. He remained in the tree called Adam and he said Lord Jesus come into my heart.

And he stayed there. He didn't surrender all his life to Christ. That's why he's got a thousand generational curses. But show me a person who's really repented cut off from Adam and surrendered to Christ.

There is no curse. There's no demon. There's nothing. It's only every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. That's our position. That's our birthright. Don't let the devil rob you. God's ways are perfect.

Suffering as Part of New Covenant Discipleship

We need to understand that. And in the new covenant there are certain things that God allows his children to go through nothing that Jesus did not go through. Jesus is a forerunner. That's another title of Jesus which 95 of Christians don't know.

Forerunner. One who ran the same race in front of me if he got depressed one day in my life in his life I am permitted to be depressed one day in my life. At least one day because I said Jesus was depressed one day in his life.

He never was on the last day of his life before nine hours before his crucifixion or a few hours before his crucifixion. He went around telling the disciples I have so much joy in you John 15. My joy I give unto you.

Can you imagine if you're going to be hanged tomorrow morning that you spend your day going around and encouraging all the other believers around you. That is a true Christian. That's the way of the Christian.

He's not disturbed. So what if I'm going to be hanged tomorrow morning. Nothing can happen to me without the Lord's permission. Are you disturbed. But what can happen tomorrow. A day after many of us are disturbed.

What will happen to my children. What will happen to this person. Jesus was not disturbed about anything when he said don't worry about tomorrow just take care of today. That's how he lived. Because he knew that his father would take care of tomorrow.

And this father would never allow something to come tomorrow to him which is too much for him to handle. We have so many wonderful promises in the Bible in the next 50 years. If I live that long nothing can come to my life which I cannot handle.

I believe that there may be tough situations. That's just like saying in the 10th standard I get tougher examination paper than in the first standard. Do you want your children to get the same easy question paper in the 10th standard that they get in the first standard.

Then they will remain in first standard forever. If your child comes to you and say daddy my question papers are getting tough this year compared to last year. You say son that's good for you. Do you understand the same thing in the Christian life that every year God gives me tougher tests.

If you're failing the same old test you failed 20 years ago you're getting angry just like you got angry 20 years ago my brother you're in the kindergarten. When are you going to get out of it. I'm talking to you just like you would talk to your child who's sitting in the kindergarten for 20 years.

You wouldn't hate him. But you say son. When are you going to leave the kindergarten. You've been sitting 20 years. Isn't that enough. And that's what the Lord says to you. When are you going to get out of the kindergarten and get rid of your anger and your unforgiving spirit and your gossiping.

These are all kindergarten lessons. When are you going to get rid of it. The Lord is greed. He'll never allow us to face something Jesus never faced. But because we are sinned so much and there's such a tremendous temptation to pride in us.

Jesus could get victory from day one. He wants to give us victory from day one. But he cannot give us victory. And I'll tell you why. Because he sees that if he gave you victory from day one you would get so proud that you look down at other believers.

If many of you are honest you have to admit that even though you don't have perfect victory in your life you still look down on other believers. Isn't that right. I've met believers in our churches who come out of Roman Catholic churches.

All they do is criticize the Roman Catholics and look down on the Roman Catholics. I don't agree with Roman Catholic doctrine. But I'll tell you I don't look down on them because Job 36 5 says God is Almighty but he despises nobody.

I don't despise the Muslims. I don't despise the atheists. I don't despise the Hindus because Almighty God my father despises nobody. I disagree with a lot of people but I don't despise them. If you despise a person you need to be born again.

You need to get another life. And if you say you are born again you better check up your salvation because your heavenly father despises nobody. Do you despise somebody because they don't understand the truth like you do.

Do you despise somebody because they don't have victory like you do have on some area. That's why God has to allow us to fail and fail and fail and fail. Many people wonder why is it I'm not getting victory over sin.

This is one of God's ways. God's ways is allowing us to fail ten thousand times or a hundred thousand times if necessary. Until when does he stop. He will stop. When you are convinced that you can never get victory then he'll give you the victory.

Learning Dependence on Grace

I'll tell you my own experience. I cannot count the number of times I failed after I believed that sin will not have dominion over me. I failed and failed and failed and failed. But I kept on saying but sin will not have dominion over me.

The devil would harass me and say ah see you got angry again and you did this again and you had some bad thought again. I say yes. I agree. But one of these days I'll get victory. I will not be like this.

Sin will not have dominion over me. I kept on saying that for years even when I was down in the dumps. And I know why God allowed me to fail and fail and fail and fail and bring me to rock bottom. Do you know the result of that.

Today in my life two wonderful results came as a result of that total failure in my life. One is I don't even feel that I can get victory without the Lord's help every day. If grace is removed from me today I can fall into adultery.

I can murder people. I can do all you may not think that is I can ever do that. Let God take his grace away from me. And I will commit the most horrible sins. I can be like Osama bin Laden a terrorist.

I don't know whether you believe that. Do you believe that if the grace of God is taken away from your life you could even be a suicide bomber or a terrorist. If you don't believe that you have not yet come to rock bottom.

That's why you're still not getting victory over sin. I've already come there but I came there through repeated failure where I said Lord I cannot live this victory. And even after knowing the Lord so many years I know if God takes his grace away from me I will get depressed tomorrow.

I'll be discouraged and gloomy and in bad moods from morning till night. And I will stand here and I'll bore you in two minutes. I'll bore you. Is the grace of God and I cannot take credit for it. That's the first result of failing and failing and failing and failing and failing that you can never imagine that you can do anything without the grace of God.

Now theoretically we all say that but practically we think we can do a lot of things without the grace of God. And I'll tell you why. Because you have not failed enough you need to fail some more. That's God waits.

God waits till you come to a zero point where you say Lord I can do nothing. It's one of the greatest lessons that Jesus wanted to teach his disciples is in John 15 verse 5. Without me you can do zero.

Now you know the worse. But I don't think you know the reality that when the day comes in your life when you realize this not as John 15 5 or worse in Scripture but you know it in your life without Christ I can do zero.

I cannot preach for one minute in the way God wants me to preach without Christ I cannot live even five minutes without lusting and hating and being bitter without Christ. Some of us may think well I've lived a pretty good life till now.

Well you gotta go a long way brother before you get victory over your sins. You'll have secret sins that you never get victory over which you can conveniently hide from other people and pretend that you're an overcomer.

But you know in your life you're defeated in your thoughts and the reason is you have not come to a zero point. When you get victory over sin let me tell you even your health will become better. Doctors will tell you that disease that if you're worried in your mind that can give you ulcers in your stomach is there a connection between mind and stomach.

There is even a doctor will tell you that that if you got a bitterness and an unforgiving spirit against somebody you can get arthritis. You can get migraine you can get asthma. All these things. There's a connection between bitterness and asthma.

Doctor will tell you that unforgiving spirit can cause sicknesses in your body. It happened to me many many years ago before I got married I remember I had to go to a hospital for a little minor surgery but in order to do that they put me under anesthesia.

General anesthesia. Well just small little thing. It was over and I came out. But a few days later I found a severe pain down my hand a very nerve type of pain just didn't seem to go like day and night.

So I consulted a top neurosurgeon. So what do you think is the cause of this. And I told him I had been through a little surgery. He said it's not a surgery. But during general anesthesia when they lifted you from the table and put you on the bed or something your neck may have twisted in some way because you were in anesthesia you didn't feel any pain.

If you're awake you would have done something about it but twisted in some way. And something that got happened here to that nerve or whatever it is he says it really can't be cured. You just got to live with it.

I became so bitter against that doctor. I was born again but I had no understanding of victory. And I really wrote him a stinker of a letter. He was a believer. And some of you think brother Zack had victory from day one.

No I didn't. I was more defeated than you but this didn't get any better till the Lord one day said to me forgive him. And you know the worst part of it is I was going to get married in a few months. I said Lord I wrote to this doctor I said is this the wedding gift.

You're giving me this thing in my hand. You know you can write some really strong letters when you're not a Christian when you don't behave like a Christian. And the Lord said to me one day forgive him.

He didn't even do it deliberately. Even if he did it deliberately you must forgive him. I said Lord I forgive. Doctors make mistakes. I was healed instantly. Never had a pain more than 43 years. No pill no injection no surgery could have healed it.

Forgiveness healed it. Do you have some sickness. Try forgiving people. Stop criticizing those people of other religions and other denominations you may get healed. Forgive those people who did a lot of wrong to you and who speak evil about you.

You may get healed. Those are God's ways. We need to understand God's ways. Many years later again a doctor made a mistake with me. But this time I learned my lesson. Forgiveness was instant. No problem.

I could love the person forgive him. Even now even if I have to live with that problem all my life never doesn't make any difference. Have you ever faced a situation where a doctor gave you the wrong medicine or treated you wrong or did some mistake in the surgery.

And because of that you're suffering. I want to ask you do you love God. Well then do you believe that God makes everything work for your good. Even the mistakes that doctors make or the mistake that somebody else makes.

Maybe you suffered because of somebody else's mistake. In some way I don't know what it could be a legal document or something. Something was done wrong and because of that you're suffering. If you love God and you're called according to his purpose it doesn't matter what another person does to you.

It will work for your good and make you Christlike. But if you react in bitterness and unforgiveness you'll become more like the devil. That's all. That's your choice. I decided years ago I want to be more like Jesus.

I've had enough years living like the devil. I don't want it. I don't want that anymore. I want to be more like Jesus. I'm just telling you God's ways are forgive. Many of our prayers are not answered because we don't forgive.

Many of our prayers are not answered because we blame somebody else. All the problem in my home is because of my wife brother. You can keep saying that you will not understand ABC of the new covenant.

Learn to forgive. Learn to take the blame upon yourself. What is the difference between Adam and Christ. The Old Testament is the history of people who followed Adam. The New Testament is the history of people who followed Jesus.

Taking Responsibility Instead of Blaming Others

I see this one big difference among many other differences. Adam committed a sin. He opened his mouth and ate that fruit and he blamed his wife. He couldn't take the blame for his own sin. Those are the followers of Adam.

They blame others always. Look what that person did. Look what the other person did. Look how this person treated me. Look what this person is saying about me. It's all false. Look at this. Look at that.

Look at that. Look at the other thing. Of course I'm holy. I'm pure. That's Adam. How is it with Jesus. When he hung on the cross he took the blame hundred percent for other people's sins. He never sinned.

He took the blame for other people's sins. That is new covenant. There was a great saint of God many years ago in Europe called Henry Sousa and just to help you get rid of your prejudice. He was a Roman Catholic.

He was a godly man more godly than many Protestants and Charismatics and everybody else. He was a man who was. He was a single man. When he was he wanted to be like Jesus. He prayed Lord make me like you.

And he prayed more passionately than many CFC believers to want to be like Jesus. He was living in a street in one little house in an open street where house after house after house next to each other.

One day a woman came with a baby in her arms and knocked to the door and Henry Sousa opened it. He had never seen this woman in his life. And she shouted out here is the fruit of your sin. And dumped the baby into his hands and went away.

You know she was some prostitute who wanted to get rid of her baby and thought the best person to dump it on is this saintly man who lives on that road. He will not complain. But everybody in the street heard it and they said aha.

Now we know what this chap has been doing in secret giving us the impression that he's a very holy man and all that. And this is what he meant. He was shattered his reputation was gone. In a moment he took that baby and knelt down in his room and said Lord you know the truth.

I don't even know who this woman is. I've never seen her in my life. What shall I do. And listen to the word of Jesus. Do what I did. Suffer for the sins of others. What a word suffer for the sins of others.