God Breaks Us to Humble Us (Tamil) — Zac Poonen

Believing in Christ’s Heavenly Life and Resurrection

That God wants us to live a heavenly life on earth, we will never come to that life. The great work of Satan is to make us doubt whether God can do something for us. When we read in the Gospels, whenever people came to Jesus with any problem, it doesn't matter what problem it is, he always solved it.

There was never a time when he said, that's too difficult or I can't do it. So what is the message we get from that? Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is just the same. What you read in the Gospels, he is the same today.

If we don't believe that, then we may believe that Jesus died, but we probably don't believe he rose again. See all the people in the world, they don't believe that anybody rose from the dead. The distinctive feature of our Christian faith is that we believe that someone rose from the dead.

The most important truth that we are witnesses to is not that Jesus died, but that he rose again. If we don't believe that Jesus died, then we are not witnesses to his resurrection. The apostles always said, we are witnesses of his resurrection, not his crucifixion.

But today, most Christians are witnessing to Christ's crucifixion. They tell everybody, Jesus died for your sins. They tell everybody, Jesus died for your sins. But there is very little emphasis on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and he is alive today.

See, the most important truth that we have to present to the world is that Jesus Christ is alive today. If there is a truth that we have to present to the world, it is that Jesus Christ is alive today.

God’s Unchanging Character and Changing Ways of Working

He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has the same compassion for people. When we say that God is the same, it doesn't mean that he always works in the same way. God may work in different ways at different times.

God was the same even in old testament times. God did not change when Jesus came to the earth. We know that he was the same. He has always been the same. But yet, we read in the old testament that God asked the Israelites to kill a lot of Canaanites.

But today, he tells us to love our enemies and never to kill anybody. Once upon a time, he told everybody that you must pay 10 of your earnings to God. Now, he doesn't say that. Does that mean that God has changed?

No, he has not changed. His way of working has changed. At different times, he works in different ways. He works in different ways at different times. If you read in the old testament, there were certain times when he did lots of miracles in Israel.

Then, in other times, there were hardly any miracles at all. Some prophets like Elijah and Elisha did so many miracles. But John the Baptist did no miracle at all. So, we find that God works in different ways at different times.

The mistake that many Christians make is that they think that God must always work in the same way, always. So, they say that if Jesus healed somebody somewhere, he must always heal everybody everywhere.

We must distinguish between two things. Jesus is the same always. But his way of working is different at different times. I will give you one example. In the book of Job 38, when God began to speak to Job, it says that the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind.

So, there was a mighty whirlwind. From that, God spoke. You read all those things in that chapter that God spoke. Now, you turn to 1 Kings chapter 19. In 1 Kings chapter 19, we read about Elijah hiding in a cave.

The Lord said to him in verse 11, go and stand in the mountain. The Lord was passing by. There was a great mighty whirlwind that rent the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces. But the Lord was not in the whirlwind.

In Job, we read that the Lord was in the whirlwind. Here, the Lord is not in the whirlwind. Here, we read in verse 12, there was a sound of a gentle breeze and then the Lord spoke to him out of the gentle breeze in verse 13.

In the last part of verse 12, the sound of a gentle breeze. So, does that mean God changed from Job's time to Elijah's time? Sometimes God works in a whirlwind. Sometimes He works in a gentle breeze. So, we can't dictate to God how He should work.

But when we say He is the same yesterday, today and forever, what we are saying is His character is the same. He will always be holy. He will always be humble. He will always be loving. He will always hate sin.

Whether that sin is found in an unbeliever or a believer, He will hate it. He always gives grace to the humble. Those are eternal characteristics of God that never change. But His way of working can change and we see that also in 2000 years of church history.

God works in different ways. But He Himself never changes. Therefore, we can rely on His character. For example, Jesus said, if you evil fathers know how to give good things to your children, how much more your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask Him?

That never changes. I don't believe that God ever gives anything bad to His children. It is impossible. God is a much better Father than me. Some believers believe that. I don't believe it. I don't believe God gives sickness to any of His children.

I'll tell you why I don't believe it. Because I will never give any sickness to my children. Never. God is a much better Father than me. If I don't give sickness to my children, God will never give that to His children.

The Curse of Sin, Sickness, and the Earth

All sickness is from the devil. And not only the devil, but because there is a curse in this world. If somebody got cancer, we can't say that the devil gave it to him. But if we can say that the world is under a curse.

And the Lord told Adam when he sinned, that there is a curse not on you, but on the earth. Because you live on this earth, that curse will affect you. You read Genesis 3, God never cursed Adam. He never cursed Eve.

He never cursed the serpent, the devil. And He cursed the earth. But because we live on this cursed earth with all types of wild animals and poisonous snakes, and thorns, and the changes of temperature, that's why we perspire in the heat.

That's because of the curse. In the garden of Eden, there was no heat like that. Adam never perspired in Eden. But on this earth, God said, now there is a curse, you will perspire. If sin had not come, Eve would have had normal child birth without any pain.

But because of the curse, every woman, believer or unbeliever, has pain when they have delivery. And this is the reason for the curse. Because of the curse, many women say the pain is so bad, they almost feel like dying.

That pain is not given by the devil. Because the child is a gift of God. So who gives the pain? That pain is because there is a curse in the world. It is all written in the Bible. You read in Genesis 3.

If we read the scripture, we will not be deceived. So more than 80 of the sicknesses in the world are because of the curse on the earth. So when I say it came from the devil, it came from the devil originally in the garden of Eden when he trapped Adam and Eve.

So when you read in the book of Job, that Satan went and smote Job with all types of sicknesses in his body. But God allowed it. When we are children of God, we are children of God. So if you are given everything in your life to God, you are completely under God's protection.

But if you don't give yourself completely to God, then the part of your life that you don't give to God comes under attack of the devil. So you can have a heavenly life in some part of your life and a hellish life in another part of your life.

But it shouldn't be like that. Our whole life must be heavenly. It is something like this. When it is raining very heavily, if you hold an umbrella and it is a big enough umbrella and you stand completely underneath it, no rain will come on your body.

But if you stand underneath half that umbrella, half your body will be dry and the other half will be wet. Now nobody is so foolish to have an umbrella and only keep half of his body underneath it. But when we give ourselves to the Lord, many people give only half.

Some part of their life they give to the Lord. Some part they don't give. They say, Lord don't disturb me in the television programs I watch, that I will decide myself. I won't ask you. And the books and magazines I read, I won't consult you, that I decide myself.

But the Bible and prayer and meetings and all I will go. That is like a person who has put half his life under God and half his life he lives himself. So part of his life is protected by God. But the other half which is outside that umbrella, the devil can attack it.

And that is why there is so much confusion in the lives of many Christians' homes. They are born again. But they have not given up 100 under the umbrella. Because they want some things they want to do as they like.

They don't want to do God's will. And God will not force us. He says, ok whatever you give to me I will take, whatever you don't give you keep. Now if you got 10 ,000 rupees and you keep 5 ,000 in the bank, 5 ,000 you keep at home, the 5 ,000 in the bank will be safe.

The 5 ,000 you keep at home, somebody may steal it, you don't know. But if you kept everything in the bank it would all be safe. It's like that. You give your whole life to God then your whole life is protected.

But if you give only part of your life to God then only that part is protected. And no bank will force you saying you must put all your money here. No. And God also doesn't force anybody saying you must give your whole life to God.

But the most foolish people are those who don't give their whole life to God. That's why you find some believers who are always triumphant. They never are discouraged. They are always victorious. The devil can rob nothing in their life because everything is in God's bank.

But there are other believers who are always having problems because some part of their life they haven't given to the Lord. Remember this, the devil cannot touch any part of your life that you have given to God.

Job’s Hedge of Protection and God’s Permission

Now sometimes the devil may, God may allow the devil to come and attack something. If you read in the book of Job, every time the devil came to attack Job he had to get God's permission. Let's look at that passage in Job chapter 1.

In the book of Job chapter 1, the devil tells lies to us all the time. But he can never tell a lie to God. Because in the presence of God you cannot tell a lie. Are you thankful for something the devil said?

Are you thankful to the devil? I am very thankful. Because there is one truth that the devil said which has blessed my heart. And it's not written anywhere else in the Bible. And that is what the devil said to God about Job.

And remember, when the devil speaks to God he has to speak the truth. When he speaks to us he tells lies. So this is the truth. When the Lord asked Satan verse 7, where are you coming from? He spoke the truth.

I am wandering around the earth. That was 100 truth. Because now he is speaking to God. And when the devil comes to attack Job, he has to speak the truth. And then he says another truth. Verse 9 and 10.

Just Job feared God for nothing. You made three hedges around him. One around him, one second around his house, and third around all that he has. See, he says there are three hedges God you have put around Job.

One is around his person. The other one is around his wife and children. And then another around all his money and property. That is an amazing truth which is not mentioned anywhere else in the scripture.

So I am very thankful that the devil has informed me about something. So I am very thankful that the devil has informed me about something. I am also a child of God. I also fear God like Job. And so there is a hedge around me.

You can't see it but it is there. But the devil can see it. He can't come through that hedge. Because God has put it around me. But if you fear God it is around you also. And then there is a second hedge around my wife and my children.

Why? Because I am a God fearing man. When you are a God fearing man there is a protection around your wife and children even when they are not God fearing. They have to be thankful to God. They have to be thankful that they have a God fearing father.

And then there is one more hedge around my bank account. Around my house and my property and my school or scooter or car or whatever I have. There are three hedges around every God fearing person. Now if you don't fear God you are one of those Christians who are just playing the fool with God.

There is no hedge around you. If you are a hypocrite there is no hedge anywhere around you. But if you are a sincere God fearing person even if you don't know the Bible. Even if you were converted last week.

You are really God fearing. You are giving yourself completely to Christ. And there are three hedges around you. I praise God for that. But we read here that God opened those hedges one by one. God opened it.

Then only Satan could come through. So we can ask ourselves why did God open it? Remember God never gives a bad gift to his children. He may allow his children to go through some pain. If you are a loving father don't you allow your children to sometimes face some pain?

You take them to the hospital and give them an injection. That is painful. God never gives a bad gift to his children. And sometimes if they need an operation you even allow the doctor to cut open your son's stomach.

And if your wife's delivery is having a problem you allow the doctor to cut open her stomach and take out the child. That is painful. So even parents, even those we love, we allow pain if the pain is going to bring something good out of it.

Because you know if you don't cut open your wife's stomach the child may die inside. So sometimes God also allows pain because that is good for us. Sometimes God also allows pain because that is good for us.

But we must believe that a loving father will never allow pain to his children or wife or anyone unless there is some good going to come out of it. You won't allow a murderer to put a knife on your child but you will allow a doctor.

So God allowed Satan to attack Job. First God opened that hedge number 3 and the devil could come inside and destroy Job's property. Then God opened hedge number 2 and who was inside hedge number 2? Job's wife and his children.

And the devil could have killed all of them but he killed only the children. You know why he didn't kill the wife? Because he said I want to use that wife to keep on irritating Job everyday. So it is better to keep her alive rather than kill her.

Don't let the devil use you like that or a husband. And then Job was still worshipping God. Then God opened hedge number 1 and the devil could go inside but the Lord told him, Job chose the hedge number 1 and the devil chose the hedge number 2.

Job 2 verse 6. He is in your power but you cannot touch his life. Job 2 verse 6. If God had permitted he could have killed Job also. But he said you cannot take his life. Any other way you can trouble him.

So the devil went and it says here in verse 7 he smote him with boils from head to feet. Job is the earliest book written in the bible. Because he lived before Moses and Moses wrote Genesis. So in the first book of the bible we read that sickness came from Satan.

We also read that God permitted it. So we read in the first book of the bible that sickness can come to a man of God but only with God's permission. If you understand these things we live a triumphant life even if we are sick.

Paul’s Thorn and God’s Protection from Pride

Paul had a thorn in the flesh. Paul had a thorn in his flesh. Paul had a thorn in his flesh. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12. 2 Corinthians 12 we read verse 7. Now two things I want you to notice here as we read carefully.

First of all notice it says there that the thorn was a gift. It says here it was given to me. The thorn was a gift to When somebody gives you something, it's a gift. God gave Paul a gift. Why did he give him that gift?

Because of the surpassing revelations that he got to keep him from becoming proud. When God uses you mightily, you are in danger of becoming proud. Because God is using you more than He is using the people around you.

Nobody can say he is not tempted to be proud. You and I, every one of us can be tempted to be proud. God wants to save us from pride. Why? Because God is the enemy of the proud. The Bible says He resists the proud.

He does not want to be our enemy. God is the friend of the humble. So He always tries to keep us humble. The best way to be humble is to keep looking at Jesus all the time. You will always be humble. Never compare yourself with other people, but always compare yourself with Jesus.

But sometimes we are not always so faithful to keep looking at Jesus. Sometimes we tend to look at other people. We unconsciously compare ourselves and think I am better than them. You can even compare yourself with people in another denomination.

You can say like the Pharisee, Lord I thank you that I am not like other people in other churches. You may not say it with your mouth, but you say it in your heart. Immediately God becomes your enemy.

He resists you, but He does not want to resist us. It is a wonderful life if you keep looking at Jesus alone. We may disagree with other denominations. God may have made us better than them in our life.

But we must never be proud of it. It is okay to disagree. If God has made you a better person, give the glory to God. You cannot be proud of that. Sometimes a husband may think he is more spiritual than his wife.

There are many wives who think I am more spiritual than my husband. Then God begins to resist them. Because He always resists the proud. Even the apostle Paul was in danger of becoming proud. Therefore God gave him a thorn in the flesh.

It was given by God. But he calls it also a messenger of Satan in verse 7. What an amazing gift this is. Supposing somebody gives you a gift on your birthday. A nice big box wrapped in colored paper under the ribbon and all that.

Happy birthday. And you open it. And inside is a thorn. What type of gift is this? What type of gift is this? God gives good gifts. Sometimes you don't understand it. You expect some CD player or something and instead of that you get a thorn.

Because God knows the thorn will help you more than the CD player. CD player you can play the CD and get some knowledge. The thorn will make you spiritual. Human beings don't really know what is the best gift for us.

God knows what is best. In Paul's case it was a sickness. A messenger of Satan. Like Job. But it was given by God. And every time Paul felt this sickness troubling him. It made him think about God. So God does that with a good purpose.

Job’s Righteousness and Hidden Pride

Job was such an upright man. If you want to know what a godly man he was. Let me show you something in Job chapter 29. See what he says here. This is the type of life he lived. Verse 12. I delivered poor people who cried for help.

Orphans, I helped the orphans. Verse 13. I made the widow's heart sing for joy because I helped her. Verse 15. When I saw a blind man. I became like his eyes. I helped him to cross the road. When I saw a lame man.

I carried him because he didn't have feet. When I saw a needy person. I became like a father to that poor boy. Verse 16. When I saw a needy person. I became like a father to that poor boy. I became like a father to the poor.

When I saw poor people. Verse 17. I took hold of them. And he blessed others with his mouth. We read in verse 22 and 23. He preached God's word. And verse chapter 31 and verse 24. First of all chapter 31 verse 1.

I made a covenant with my eyes that I would never look at a pretty girl. I made a covenant with my eyes that I would never look at a pretty girl. What a man. He was about 70 years old but he made a covenant with his eyes.

That he would not look at pretty women. He would be faithful to his wife. He would only look at his wife. This is an old testament man. Chapter 31 verse 24. I never made gold my trust. I never became proud because my wealth was great.

Verse 19. I gave clothing to the poor. He was an absolutely righteous man. Everything he did right. But he had one problem. One weakness. Can you tell me what it was? He was proud of his holiness. Many of us are very holy people.

But we have one weakness. We are proud that we are holy. And God wanted to remove even that one weakness from Job. You know when a man boasts that I did this and I did this for so and so and I did this for so and so.

I did this for so and so and I did this for so and so. He doesn't say God did that. See even when we talk about victory over sin. When we say I got victory over sin. The Lord spoke to me about that. And said don't say that.

Say Jesus kept me from falling. That's a better way to say it. That's better than saying I got victory over sin. Because then the glory goes to God. He kept me not I. You know it's very subtle sometimes the way pride comes into us.

Humility, Grace, and Rejecting Contempt for Others

The moment pride comes in. Immediately hell has come into our life. And heaven goes away. Because heaven is a place of humility. Whenever you despise another person. Hell has come into your heart. See this verse in Job 36 and verse 5.

See this verse in Job 36 and verse 5. God is almighty. But he does not despise anybody. I want to show you something. Here this side let's say God is there. This side is the devil. Here on my left is the devil who despises everyone.

Here on my right side is God who despises nobody. And all of us are somewhere in the middle. If you despise nobody then you have become like God. If you despise nobody then you have become like God. If you despise one person then you have come a little bit away from God.

You have come a little bit closer to Satan. If you despise only two people in the world. Then you have come a little bit away from God. But you have come closer to Satan. I don't know how many people you have despised in your life.

Many believers despise their wives and their husbands. They have come away from God a little closer to the devil. Or they despise somebody in their church. They have come a little more away from God. Or they despise somebody in another church.

Or they despise Hindus or Muslims. Or they despise atheists. It doesn't matter who they are. The more people you despise, the closer you have come to Satan. And then you pray for a heavenly life. You won't have it.

It will be hell. If you want a heavenly life. Don't despise anybody. Say Lord, I am what I am by the grace of God. Apart from the grace of God, I will be like the devil himself. I heard of a godly man who said like this.

He saw a drunken man going down the street. Walking like shaking like that. And that godly man said. That is me, if it were not for the grace of God. That's what I would be. So, I won't even despise this man.

If I am not walking like that drunk man. It is because of the grace of God. This is the mark of a godly man. He is like God. He doesn't despise anybody. He didn't say I got victory. He didn't say I got victory.

But God protected me. Jesus protected me by the grace of God. Job was not like that. Job said, I helped the poor. I helped the orphans. I helped the widows. I don't lust with my eyes. I don't love money.

It was all true. But the man was proud of all those things. But the man was proud of all those things. So, we can say this righteous man Job Had the worst sin of all in his life. Of course, all the others also had it.

But he also had it. And God said such a good man. I have to deliver him from this sin also. I have to deliver him from this sin also. I have to deliver him from this sin also. How to deliver him? To remove the cancer I have to cut the stomach.

I have to cut the stomach. It's painful. Sometimes it's very painful. The way God has to deliver us from pride. The way God has to deliver us from pride. It's very painful. That's why God gave Paul a thorn.

When you look at Paul's life, It's like a balloon. As the air goes in, The balloon keeps getting bigger and bigger. It's actually such a small thing. The balloon. But it's blown and blown and become so big.

You did miracles. You planted churches. You wrote scriptures. And the devil is always there to remind us Of all the things that we have done. And this balloon is going up and up. And this balloon is going up and up.

And this balloon is going up and up. God gives him a thorn. God gives him a thorn. As soon as the thorn fell, The balloon went away. The balloon went away. Now he has become small again. Now he has become small again.

God says, Now I can give you my grace. Be humble. Remain with your face in the ground. Remain with your face in the ground. Don't go up so high. So a thorn is very useful. And God may give you also a thorn.

It may be a sickness. It may be a financial difficulty. It may be a difficult wife. It may be a difficult child. Something to humble you Because you are so proud. Something to humble you What should you do?

Lord, thank you for loving me so much. Lord, thank you for loving me so much. Lord, thank you for loving me so much. Lord, thank you for loving me so much. So, dear brothers and sisters, Let's remember this verse in James chapter 1.

Let's remember this verse in James chapter 1. Let's remember this verse in James chapter 1. It says here in verse 17. Every good and perfect gift Comes from the Father of life. Every gift from God is a perfect gift.

Every gift from God is a perfect gift. Even if it is a thorn, It will not come until God opens the hedge and says to the devil, It will not come until God opens the hedge and says to the devil, Okay, you can give it now.

Discipline, Repentance, and Restoration

Sometimes it can be very painful. There was a man in the church in Corinth who was actually living in adultery with his father's second wife. And there was nobody in the church to rebuke him. But Paul did something.

From far away, from one thousand kilometers away, He did something because he had apostolic authority. The elders who live in Corinth can't do anything. I'll do something from here. 1 Corinthians 5 verse 5 I deliver that person to Satan To make him sick.

How did Paul do it? Only a man with apostolic authority can do it. Not any believer. A man who is walking with God. Just like Paul could speak to God, He could speak to Satan. And he told Satan, Okay Satan, In Jesus' name, I am telling you, You can take that man.

You can't kill him. Make him sick. Just like God told Satan in the book of Job. No. How could Paul say something like that? It's amazing the authority God gives to his servants. Not to 99 of his servants, But very few, those who are faithful.

They become his mouthpiece. And they can speak to Satan just like God can. What is the purpose? Not to send that fellow to hell. But to save his soul. So Paul says, Satan, make him sick. And the man became so sick.

He also told the elders, Put him out of the church. So he became sick, And he was out of the church, And nobody would visit him. That was amazing obedience to Paul, That nobody in the church went to visit him when he was sick.

Some people would have thought, Paul is a very hard man. This chap is sick and he doesn't even allow us to visit him. Paul has more wisdom than you. You fellows could never help him when he was living in sin.

But Paul was strict. Put him out of the church. Satan, make him sick. And that fellow became sick. Nobody in the church visits him. He is in darkness. No contact with God. What happens? He repents. And he comes back to the Lord.

2 Corinthians 2, Paul says, Now welcome him back, he has repented. Who was the man who loved that sinful man? Not those fellows who sat with him and fellowshiped with him. But the Paul who was strict with him, That was the man who loved that brother the most.

That was the man who loved him the most. There is another example like that. Matthew 18, We read about a brother who could not forgive another brother. He himself was forgiven so much by God. But he could not forgive his brother.

Read Matthew 18, verse 21 to 35. In verse 24, we read, He had borrowed 10 ,000 rupees. And the king said, Okay, I forgive you. In verse 27, All 10 crores forgiven. If you are forgiven 10 crores, You should be the happiest man in the world.

But he goes and meets another man who owes him some 100 rupees. Verse 28, And he catches him by the throat and says, Give me back my 100 rupees. And that brother said, Please forgive me, I will give you.

Just give me some time. Just give me some time. I can't wait anymore. I have already waited for two weeks. I can't wait anymore. He took him to the court and put him in jail. The king heard it. The king called him back.

I forgave you 10 crores. You could not forgive that fellow 100 rupees. Now you go to jail. And not only go to jail, Listen to this. Verse 34, I am going to send the torturers into your jail cell to trouble you every day.

That is the same as being handed over to Satan. The torturers are the demons. Who make you sick. Who make you mentally depressed. Who make you act foolishly with your money. Because the torturers are troubling you because you would not forgive somebody.

So when you live in sexual sin without repentance or when you don't forgive somebody God allows the torturers to trouble you. Let's repent. Let's allow God to break us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Help us to honor you in our life.

To fear you and to allow you to break us through the circumstances you take us through. We don't want the devil to have power in any area of our life. We want the power of the Holy Spirit to rule every area of our life.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen.