New Covenant Truths - the Inner Life - Part 1 — Zac Poonen

The New Covenant and Overcoming the World

So we've been looking at the truths of the New Covenant the last few sessions and we've seen how in the early chapters of the New Testament there is such an emphasis on different aspects of the New Covenant.

Jesus' Temptation and the Glory of the World

We were looking at the temptation of Jesus in Matthew chapter 4 in our last study and here we see in the last temptation the devil showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world Matthew 4 verse 8 and their glory and saying I'll give you this if you fall down and worship me and if you turn to the parallel passage in Luke chapter 4 you find he says there in Luke 4 verse 6 I'll give you this because it has been handed over to me and I give it to whomever I wish so if you worship me I'll give it to you.

So what we learn from that is that there is a glory in this world of the world which is very attractive so attractive that it's a temptation and it's all in the hands of the devil. He says there it's been handed over to me that's by Adam when Adam sinned he gave it all to the devil and the devil says now that it's mine I give this glory of the world to whomever I wish and you can have it Jesus if you bow down to me.

So what we learn from that is to get the glory of this world you have to bow down to Satan somewhere or the other to some extent you don't have to be a worshipper of Satan but you got to bow the knee somewhere to get it.

The glory of the world is wealth, honor, position and this is where Jesus overcame. Now in the old covenant you never read of anybody having to overcome the world. They had to avoid sin but the world was something to be enjoyed.

I mean David and Solomon all those people in the old covenant they didn't try to conquer the world. So we see here that in the new covenant there is something higher the Lord leads us to which he could not lead people in the old covenant to and that is to overcome the attractions of this world.

Living in the World Without Being Ruled by It

We can use the world but not be overcome by it. When we talk about the world we're not talking about this physical earth but there is a system called the world which the New Testament calls the world a whole system the ruler of which is the devil and it's that system we have to overcome and it's a tremendous exercise to live in the midst of that system and overcome it.

Now when you get to heaven to say we have overcome the world means nothing because you're not in the system you can't overcome it and nobody in the Old Testament had to overcome it. You couldn't overcome it in the old covenant you didn't even know what the world was.

One of the marks of a new covenant Christian is that he knows what this world system is and he's determined not to let it rule him. I want to show you a few verses you know Jesus was the first one who was offered that and refused it overcame it and he said that in John 16 no human being ever walked this earth who had overcome the world like Jesus.

Jesus' Example of Engagement Without Conformity

It is not what we read in many religions of being detached from the world and living like a pilgrim or a hermit in some forest. Jesus was not living like a hermit in some forest. He lived right in the middle of the world worked in that world lived in that world ate the food and dressed like everybody else and overcame.

That's what he's called us to. He's not called us to live in a monastery or a convent lock ourselves up and sometimes Christians sort of you know confine themselves to a little ghetto separated from the rest of humanity and say we've overcome.

No Jesus lived right in the middle of the world and overcame it. It's like a ship in the middle of the sea but not one drop of the sea gets into the ship because you know what happens if the sea gets into the ship and the ship drowns.

So that's how we are to be in the world. We're not to be like a ship kept in a dry dock. You know what a dry dock is? It's a dock where they repair ships. There's no water there. So for a ship kept in a dry dock to say I'm watertight means nothing.

So God hasn't called us to live like ships in dry docks but ships right in the middle of the sea. That's why he wants us to work in a secular world and I think people in full-time Christian work who are pastors and preachers should have had some experience of the secular world if they are to preach about it.

Secular Work and Authentic Christian Service

You see that's the tragedy with a lot of Christendom today is that a lot of preachers and pastors have come straight out of a Bible school into a pulpit. They've never had one day's experience of living in a secular world surrounded by the pressures of this world.

So they've never overcome it. So what are they going to preach from the pulpit? A whole lot of theories. That's why Jesus never called an apostle who was not doing a secular job. Every apostle he called was someone who had been doing a secular job.

He knew that and he called them out to serve him. So it's very important. Some of you may be finding it difficult in your place of work and say I'd like to run away from all this and serve the Lord. Well you're not going to be able to serve the Lord if you don't serve the Lord right where you are.

It's like saying I'd like to get away from the sea and get into a dry dock so the water doesn't come into me. Well then you don't conquer anything. You've got to conquer it and Jesus is our example there.

Courage to Overcome Worldly Ambition

And he said in John 16 verse 33, on the last part of that he said, Take courage. I have overcome the world. No human being ever said those words before Jesus said it. It's distinctively new covenant to overcome the world.

And when a person has no understanding of the new covenant then he's taken up by the world. Even preachers. This whole prosperity gospel that we hear being proclaimed today is 100 of the world. Preachers and everybody else.

You know Jesus said, Don't seek after those things which the Gentiles eagerly seek for. What do the Gentiles eagerly seek for? A lot of money, position, power, better house, better car. When you seek for all those things instead of the kingdom of God then you know that you're seeking what the Gentiles are seeking.

And what a clever thing the devil has done to get preachers to encourage Christians to seek what the Gentiles are seeking for eagerly. Jesus overcame the world and he says in Revelation chapter 3 verse 21 he says, If you overcome then you can sit with me on my throne exactly as I overcame and I'm sat down with my father on his throne.

The Ruler of This World and the Purity of Christ

So we see here that Jesus overcame something. We know from John 16 .33 that what he overcame was the world. And he overcame the ruler of this world. He said in John 14 verse 30 The ruler of this world comes and he's got nothing in me.

That means when Satan comes he can find nothing of the spirit of the world in him. No love of money. No love of honor. No love of position. No love of the praise of men or for power or glory or anything on the earth.

Once they wanted to make him a king he ran away and said, No, I'm here to be a servant. Now I want to say brothers and sisters if you're not serious about this you'll never enter the new covenant.