09 New Wine in New Wineskins God Will Exalt Us in His Time — Zac Poonen

Passing the Faith to Faithful Generations

The Apostle Paul, in his last letter, he was around 67 years old, he was just about to be beheaded by Nero. He knew he was going to die. He wrote to Timothy, 2nd Timothy chapter 2, verse 2, the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Timothy was maybe in his early 40s or mid 40s, he had been with Paul for maybe 25 years and he was the second generation after Paul and Paul says, you Timothy, I know you're only about 45 years old, but you must entrust to other younger men who are in their 20s these things that you have heard and seen in me and then you must select such people who are in their 20s who will be able to teach others also when they grow up.

So that's the fourth generation. It's a sad thing when a Christian leader or a Christian ministry is not concerned about the fourth generation. The sad thing today is they're not even concerned about the second generation.

It's a one-man show in mega churches, when the man goes, it's the end of that church. We have never believed in that. We believed in planting local churches and as soon as possible appointing elders who are independent, who are not a denomination.

Each church is an independent church under the headship of Christ. We fellowship together, there's a lot of difference between fellowship and denomination. The early churches in the first century were a fellowship, they were not a denomination.

They had apostles but no bishops. And so over the last year or more we have been burdened to see that another generation rises up to run this relay race. We want to hand the baton over to them to take and run.

So and we have to, you know there's a, if you watch a relay race, there's a short space on the track within which period they got to hand the baton. It's not just one point, it's a point at which both are running and one hands over to the other.

So there's a sort of intervening period where we want to hand over the baton of leadership to a younger generation coming up, the baton of ministry in the conferences, churches. I was so delighted recently at a conference in Kerala.

It's one of the first times in 36 years that I never even went for the conference and I was so delighted to watch the whole thing on livestream and see what a wonderful conference they had. It's the same being in the church here in Bangalore where I gave up the eldership about 12 years ago and there are other wonderful brothers leading it and the church has grown, doubled in size and spiritually as well.

So I believe that is the way New Testament teaches ministry, should continue from generation to generation. The Israelites were told to always tell their children so that they could tell their children how it goes.

So during this conference, you know when we started our church by the way, I was 35 years old. Brother Ian was 34 years old. 36 years ago we started the church, 36 and a half years ago and we were not all that wise, godly, old people.

We didn't have any gray hairs but God gave us responsibility and we made mistakes like everybody makes mistakes. I became a father when I was 29 and I made lots of mistakes. As we grow older we get wisdom.

So during this conference we're going to hear at least five brothers who are under the age of 50 who've been elders in churches for some time, some for a longer time, some for a shorter time. Whenever I seek to invite people for ministry there are a few things I look for.

Primarily not how gifted they are. That is secondary. It's important but secondary. First of all I look to see do they live a godly life? Do they believe that Jesus came in the flesh and was tempted like us and overcame sin?

There are others who don't believe that. God bless them. I've got nothing to say about them. I don't invite them for ministry. That's all. Secondly I want to see how they have brought up their children whether small or grown up.

How have they brought up their children? And third, as elders how are they leading their church? These are the three things I look for primarily before I look at their gift and see whether they can minister.

Those are our standards. We are not here to judge anybody else in the world. There are a lot of great speakers in the world whom we will never invite to speak in our church because they fail on one of these counts.

Everybody has an excuse for their children going astray. Everybody has an excuse when they lose their temper. Everybody has an excuse when their church is a mess. From the days of Adam, man has always had an excuse to justify himself.

We don't want such people in our pulpit. We want those who learn to judge themselves. That's the way of life. So today we're going to have a brother who's going to speak now. His name is Victor. He's an elder in a little village church called Tirkatpally.

He's been in the church there for about 20 years or more and he's been an elder there almost from the beginning and especially in the last 10 -12 years on his own. He's built up the fellowship there. A brother whom I respect.

He'll speak in Tamil and be translated into English. Brother, please come.

Humility and God’s True Exaltation

1 Peter chapter 5. We read in the 6th verse like this. Submit yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that God may lift you up at the right time. When my mind was not renewed, I used to think about this verse like this.

I thought if I would only submit in the mighty hand of God, God would only raise me to the status of a pastor. Because in those days I was in one of the denomination churches. I thought if I humbled myself under the mighty hand of God, God would lift me up in front of my relatives and other people.

I thought God would lift me up economically. I used to think like that when my mind was not renewed. But I need to look at Jesus Christ. More than all of us, it was Jesus Christ who humbled himself in the mighty hand of God.

God never lifted Jesus in a worldly way. Jesus was not lifted up above Anna and Caiaphas. He was not lifted up above Pilate and Herod. He was not lifted up economically. We can understand looking unto Jesus that all the teachings that are going on in the denomination churches are wrong.

They would quote Psalm 91 in those days. Just because you know the name of the Lord, God is going to place you in the high places. I did not understand that God is going to place me in the heavenly places.

Because I saw this word in an earthly way, I thought God would raise me up in the worldly status. They taught me that I shall not be the tail, but I will be the head. My dear brothers, this is the teaching that is going on outside our churches.

The message that I heard before 25 years is continuing even today in those churches. But we need to look at Jesus. God never lifted Jesus up in any of these worldly ways. In what way God wants me to be lifted up.

In what way God wants me to be lifted up, above what I should be lifted up. When I humble myself under the mighty hand of God, in what are the areas that God is going to lift me up? We can see four things.

First of all, I would like to quote four verses. Genesis 1 and verse 28. Let's read the verse in English. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 28. And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

Here we find that God says, subdue the earth, or rule the earth. I have to bring the earth under my feet. I have to rule the earth. Genesis chapter 4. We read the seventh verse. If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?

And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It was the mind of God that even before six thousand years, man has to rule sin. It was God's mind that even before six thousand years, it was God's mind that we need to bring the world under our feet.

When we bring out this truth to the people, they say that it is a strange doctrine. Some people say it is Zacchism. When you preach about the victory over sin, they say it is Zacchism teaching. It was the mind of God even before six thousand years.

It was not invented by man. It was the word that came from God. You have to rule the earth. Romans chapter 16. Verse 20 we read like this. A God of peace will crush Satan under your feet. It was the will of God that we need to bring Satan under our feet to be crushed.

It is not that Satan should be crushed under the feet of Jesus. But it is all the more desire that Satan should be crushed under our feet, under my feet. We read a verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Paul says in 27th verse of 1 Corinthians chapter 9.

I buffered my body and make it my slave, lest possibly after I have preached to them, I myself should be disqualified. My dear brothers. I have to rule the earth and I have to subdue it. I have to subdue the sin and I have to rule the sin.

I have to bring Satan under my feet and I have to rule him. I have to bring my own body under me and I have to rule it. It is the desire of God that I need to be lifted up above all these things. It is impossible without the grace of God.

Only it is possible by the grace of God. Romans chapter 5. It is a big verse. Romans chapter 5 and verse 17. I would like to summarize that. It is more sure that those who receive the grace through the abundance of the life of Jesus Christ, they will rule.

Those who receive the abundance of grace will rule all these things. How to receive that grace? We need to humble ourselves and receive that grace. That is why we preach more about the humility. We preach about the brokenness.

We preach about the humiliation. We preach about how to become weak. When we are humiliated and when we are having the humility, we receive the grace of God. Those who receive the abundance of grace through this life will rule all these things.

The Heavenly Calling to Rule Earthly Things

I would like to show one or two things in this morning. Book of Genesis. Chapter 1 and verse 28. They will subdue the earth and rule the earth. The man who came from the earth. Man who was made out of the dust.

God says to him, you will rule the dust. How is it possible? It is because God has breathed into his nostrils. God breathed into him his own spirit. The man who received this spirit has to subdue this world.

God did not make him from the dust and ask him to rule this earth. He gave him the living breath and asked him to rule this earth. We need to ask the spirit of God from the Lord. When the Lord asks you, why do you want the Holy Spirit?

What is going to be your answer? Lord, I have to subdue this world. Lord, this has to be brought under my feet. I need the spirit of God only for that purpose. We read in the book of Ephesians. Chapter 2 and verse 7.

It is a very favorite verse for me. God raised me along with Jesus Christ. He made me to sit in the heavenly places. Ephesians 2 and verse 7. Sixth verse in the English Bible. He raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

It is a life where we are seated in the heavenly places. Our citizenship is in heaven. We are on the earth. We have a dual citizenship. We are there and as well as we are here. I used to think like this.

Many people go abroad from Amish. Some IT companies send software people for their projects to be trained in other countries. They would stay there for 6 or 9 months. After completing their project, they would return to their motherland.

Their citizenship would be in India. But they have a project abroad. All their mind would be in this land. After completing their project, they would return to India. We have a project, my dear brothers and sisters.

Once we were on this earth. God has changed our citizenship and made us to be seated in heaven. We are here for a project. That project is nothing else. It is to change the divine curse of Jesus Christ into the property of His divine curse.

It is no other project than to become the inheritors of the nature of Jesus Christ. There is none other project than this one. Our citizenship is in heaven. Never should we come down. But do you know what do we see in many occasions?

Many people come down and sit in heaven. Many people from Monday to Saturday, they come down and Sunday they go up and sit there. They come down so that they can seek the earthly things. Sunday they go and sit in the heavenly places.

This is not a life where you come down and go up. That is a permanent citizenship. I would like to share one or two things about the heavenly life. It is not possible that you want to dwell in this earth and then want to rule this earth.

You have to sit in the heavenly places and then rule this earth. There we have battles in the heavenly places. It is only when we are in the heavenly places that we will fight against the principalities and powers.

We can never fight Satan and his armies when we are in this earth. It is only when we are living in the heavenly places we will be able to fight against the principalities and powers of darkness. Yes, my dear brothers, our battle is not of this world.

It is a life where we are seated in the heavenlies. As long as we are seated in the heavenly places, the pull of this earth will not affect us. I would like to explain with an illustration. Being a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, being a testimony, the area where we live, the area where we are dwelling, it is a life where we are seated in the heavenly places and we are subduing this earth.

Forgiveness, Peace, and the Testimony of Christ

There is an incident which took place recently in my family. There were some battles in our own families. In the backyard of my house, there were a few coconut trees. One coconut tree was in the border of my home, in my compound, and all the leaves and branches were peeping into the neighbor's compound.

Because some leaves used to fall, they used to say that they were disturbed because of the tree. I decided that it is more important to have peace with our neighbors, so I wanted to cut off the tree. Those who came there, we brought people to cut off the tree.

The people who were living in the next street, 10 or 15 people gathered immediately. They told me that, you are now cutting this tree, you have to cut the other tree also. I asked them, why should I cut this tree?

They were telling that, this tree is peeping into the road, and sometimes when we walk the road, something may fall and hurt us. It is not peeping into anybody's compound, it is peeping into the road, common road.

They were all joined together and said that, it should also be cut and removed. I did not know what to do. All my children, they went to my mom and they were asking, mummy you should be careful, daddy should not notice that and allow them to cut this tree also.

It is right to cut this tree, and it is not right to cut the other tree also. I told them that, I can cut only one tree today, and I will think about it and I will inform you later. I asked them about it.

Now you want this particular coconut tree which is peeping to the roadside to be cut, and see the fourth house, in that fourth house, few trees are peeping into the road. Will you ask them also to remove those trees?

They are worldly people, they cannot approach them. If they go to those people, they will fight. But we cannot fight back. They know that we are in Christ and that we will not fight our quarrels, so they are approaching us to test us.

Do you know what they said? First you cut this tree, and then quoting this, we will ask them also to cut the four trees. I don't know, there is no English word for that. First you cut this tree, then we will ask them to cut their trees.

After that, we entered in a home and we had a mini conference. We should not come down from heavenly places just for these mangoes and coconuts. You can buy with five rupees mangoes and coconuts. Just for this sake, coming down from heavenly places is not a Christian life.

It is the testimony of Jesus Christ that we spread the aroma, fragrance of Jesus Christ to others. So we had a mini conference in our home. So my children started asking many questions. Today they are asking you to cut one tree and you are cutting the tree.

Second tree they are asking you to cut, you are cutting. Tomorrow they will ask you to approve the house. Will you do it? They don't have the same faith that we have. They are asking poor people. They will reach that faith in one day.

But we need to teach them. God will not test us beyond our ability. God will never test us beyond our ability. God tested Isaac once. They were digging the well. People from Kerala they came and told that this well belongs to us.

So he left them. Again they started digging second well. That also he left it for them. But third well they did not come. That was the faith of Isaac. That was the strength of Isaac. God will never test us beyond our ability.

Who will say these words? Who will utter these words? Those who never once gave themselves to this test. They will only utter these words. Is it possible to go on yielding to all the temptations, tests?

Is it not foolish to yield to all these requests? Will we not be cheated if we go on yielding like this? To such people the question is how many times you yielded and how many times you were deceived?

They would not have gone through this. God will never test us beyond our faith, my dear brothers. Then only to have peace we decided to cut that tree and also remove that one. So when the tree was being cut people gathered there to take the coconuts and to take the coconut leaves and all.

We allowed them. How are we in the area where we live? We are having peace with all men in our area. Never once we should come down from the heavenly places. God has kept us a very good life for us. Another person, another neighbor he said that he is going to court.

He says that the ground belongs to him and the house belongs to me. He says that the house which I have built belongs to me because I have built it and the ground on which it was built belongs to him because there is some small problem in the survey number.

He says that he is going to court. He used to threaten me now and then. Once a village administration officer came to my home he asked me to show all the land documents. Immediately God impressed me that I should drive this man out and let him come to court and see whatever it is there.

So now and then people used to trouble. But I can say for the glory of God God is teaching me to do good unto them. Never once we should come down from the heavenly places just because of these worldly things.

A life where there is no battle. It's a life where you subdue this earth. It's a life where we don't fight for our possessions or the things which we want. We read in the book of Romans chapter 16 verse 20th verse we read and the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

We need to bring Satan under our feet. How should we be zealous for this word? There are so many ways where we can crush Satan under our feet and I will tell you one way. Second Corinthians chapter 2 verse 10.

Second Corinthians chapter 2 verses 10 and 11. But whom you forgive anything I forgive also for indeed what I have forgiven if I have forgiven anything I did it for your sake in the presence of Christ.

11th verse. In order that no advantage be taken off by Satan and we are not ignorant of his schemes. I have forgiven so that I will not be taken advantage by Satan. When we don't forgive Satan will not be under our feet but we will be under him.

It is not the will of God my dear brother. We should never have any bitterness unforgiving attitude in our heart. It is a scheme of devil. Matthew 5 verse 44. Matthew chapter 5. It is a lively verse I would like to be a testimony for this verse.

But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Do good to those who hate you. You pray for those who insult you and persecute you. In order that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven.

It is a life where you love your enemies you pray for those who persecute you you bless those who insult you and this is the life where we glorify God. It is a life of new wine. If this verse has to become a life in us God has to take us through this verse.

And we need to have enemies. If we want to be blessed we need those who will curse us. If we want to do good there should be somebody who will hate us. We need to have people who persecute us and insult us then only we can pray for you and thus this word will be fulfilled in our lives.

A Family Testimony of Forgiving Enemies

We have seen this verse as a living verse in our family and in our children's life. I would like to conclude with a testimony. Sometime before one incident happened took place in my family. Four young people from our church young boys they were playing volleyball and they were returning home.

The church is very near to my home. They were playing in the playground in the church and they were returning home. One of the boys was my son. When these four young people were returning there was one drunkard near my house and he started creating some problem.

It's not a big problem and these four young people were coming and one of them hit that drunkard in the shoulder. That's the matter. They returned home. Within an hour ten rowdies entered into my home.

All of them were drunkards. It was around 7 pm in the night and they all entered suddenly into my home. In one place we have a computer keyboard is there and my wife was sitting in one place. Entering into my home they started using all bad words.

They say that they want to beat these four young people. By God's grace I was at home present at home and I came out of my room. From the ten people drunkards one person was known to me. I asked him what was the problem and he narrated the story.

I asked for forgiveness and we came into peace and before leaving they threatened that hereafter they should behave well and they left the home. They said that otherwise we will smash the church and the church will not be found in that place.

We finished all these things and after that we came to rest and we wanted to pray and we wanted to go to sleep. One of my boys said we have to go to the police station to give complaint. To my knowledge if we give a complaint in the police station this problem will increase.

The other three young people's parents received the message and they also came to my home. Spirit of God please help me that was my prayer. God showed me Matthew 5 and verse 44. All of you kneel down and thank God for this.

And God asked us to thank God for all the drunkards who came home. Those who spoiled our name in that place locality. In that street big mass gathered and they started narrating different kind of stories which never happened.

God showed me Matthew 5 and verse 44 and based on that He asked us to pray. But my children did not have that faith. They say that I am a coward. We have to go to the police station and give a complaint.

But Spirit of God did not lead me. We say it's okay if we don't have faith so we concluded our prayer and left it. But I didn't have the peace of mind in my heart. Again we went to prayer that night. I sat with my children and my son said that they didn't want to do it right but they should to the police station and we should correct it or there is danger behind it.

But I asked my son a question that day because Spirit of God did not lead me. I asked him if he believed in Matthew 5 verse 44. It is a living word. We have to crush Satan under our feet and wholeheartedly we have to forgive them.

If we don't forgive we can never lead a Christian life. Let us talk about the police station and all afterwards but before that we need to forgive them from the depth of our hearts and we need to pray for them.

One of my sons who didn't have faith who said that he has to go to the police station to give complaint he had rashes in his body because of some insect bites. We were fighting against the disease for more than three months.

Allopathy medicine did not give any healing. Homeopathy also didn't work. He could not go to the college and he was short of attendance. He was in medical leave. In that situation we prayed to God we asked God one thing Lord please prove that Matthew 5 verse 44 is a living word to us to our family.

Without your permission not even a single hair will fall. We are not cowards. This is the occasion where we need to manifest the image of God mind of God. Lord not for our sake Lord this night you have to do a miracle Lord so that my children's faith will be strengthened.

Lord not for my sake. Lord I don't want to walk by seeing. Lord you have told us to walk by faith. Lord you are present in this home. Lord your kingdom is present in this home. Your presence is in this home.

Lord open their eyes. Lord please open my children's eyes. Lord prove that Matthew 5 verse 44 is a living word. Lord when we get up in the morning my son's rashes should not be seen. Lord whatever is impossible for allopathy or homeo medicines.

Lord tonight you do a miracle. Lord you are a living God. I believe that you will do it. We prayed. We prayed and we slept off. It would be 5 o 'clock in the morning. We all were sleeping and we were lying down in our beds.

I had four boys. One boy was having curiosity. Because we prayed in the night. Something should have happened. Matthew 5 verse 44 is a living word. God is an unchanging God. Now it should be proved whether going to the police station is going to be right or wrong.

It should be proved whether God is there or not. So one boy had a curiosity. He woke up at 5 o 'clock. He switched on the lights. The leader who asked the question is lying down. He removed the bed sheets and he started seeing the body.

What shall we say? Glory to God. The rashes which came because of the insect bite disappeared on that day and till now he never had rashes. It will be like snakes and worms. And from that some secretion would always be there.

The front and back it used to secrete. Some fluids will be secreted. And in the morning nothing was there. He was having a normal skin. It was healed completely. He was shouting Daddy, get up. Daddy, wake up.

Mummy, wake up. He was telling to his brother, Anna, get up. When he got up and saw his body nothing was there. We all cried and we committed ourselves to God. I asked him, what do you say? Matthew 5 .44 is a living word.

Police station is not a matter. Life is important. Forgiving is the matter. There is power in forgiveness. We can bring Satan under our feet. Now shall we thank God for this particular verse Matthew 5 .44 as a family?

We cried, wept and prayed. We thanked God. And God spoke to us. A treatment which cannot be guaranteed by homeopathy or homeopathy for three months by this drunkard. God brought this healing through a drunkard man.

Do you know how many thousands of rupees would have been spent for medicine? How much lack of attendance for him in the college? God can do anything. God is an almighty God. He is a God who is living.

All that we need is that we need to be witnesses for God. Things did not end that way. After a few months the drunkard who came and disturbed us his intestine was damaged and he developed ulcer and he was hospitalised.

I never knew that he was in the hospital. I went to the hospital for another son of mine. The drunkard who came to my home who caused the disturbance he was there lying on the bed and saline was going and dips was going.

As soon as he saw me he came and fell at my feet. He started crying forgive me, forgive me, forgive me. I have done a mistake. He asked me forgiveness he asked me apology for the matter that took place.

He took hold of my hand and put it on his stomach and asked me to pray for him. We prayed for him. Within a few days he was healed and he came home. Wherever he sees me now he gives me a lift in his vehicle.

He used to take my son also. Now he is very thick with us. He says to me sir tell me if anybody disturbs your church come and tell me we will see him. We won't go to him. To that extent he became thick with us.

May God be glorified my dear brothers and sisters. We need to bring Satan under our feet like this through forgiveness because we seek peace with men because we do good unto those who hate us. This is the life that God has for us in this new covenant.

Never to come down from the heavenlies a life where we keep Satan under our feet a life where we keep sin under our feet it's a life where we keep our body under our control. Those who receive the abundance of grace will rule everything.

A Narrow Commission to Make Disciples

May God be glorified. May God lead every one of us to this life. Amen. Many years ago when we started building the church in our home 36 years ago one of the prayers we prayed was Lord lead us to those who are seeking to live a godly life in our city in India.

We're not looking for those who want to go to heaven. Everybody wants to go to heaven. There are people doing evangelism God bless them who are seeking to find people who want to go to heaven who don't want to go to hell.

But the commission we got was go into every nation including India and make disciples. That means those who will learn from Jesus' life and follow in Jesus' footsteps. Go into every nation and make people like that.

So our commission God gave me and us was a very narrow commission. Only those who want to actually follow in Jesus' footsteps. Not those who want to be blessed and get cars and houses and healing and all that.

Those who want to follow in Jesus' footsteps die to themselves and their rights and their reputation and follow in Jesus' footsteps. Lord, lead us to them. We don't know where they are. There are 1200 million people in this country now.

Those days a little less. How can we find them? But you know where they are. Please bring us in touch with them. Or bring them in touch with us or bring us in touch with them. If you don't do both of them Lord, show us what is wrong with us.

Why can't you bring us in touch with them? I would think that if in the city of Bangalore there was a God-fearing man like Job and he walked past our church to some other church, I would fall before God and say, Lord, what's wrong with our church?

Why isn't He coming here? That Godly man is not coming to our church. Is there a better church somewhere else? Then let's.

A Church That Pursues Peace and the Life of Jesus

Close down our church and go there. I was serious because I realized that we're not here to build a huge congregation. We are here to be a witness in the land of India of the life of Jesus in the midst of darkness.