Eternal Life Comes Only from Constant Dependence on God — Santosh Poonen

Romans 8 is a wonderful chapter. Spoiler alert, children. Who shall separate us? You'll find out in three verses, but you can know it today. You don't have to wait for three weeks. Nothing. I am convinced.

Nothing. Paul says, the Holy Spirit says through Paul, and I like how he goes on to say, you know, he it's like he adds a list. Who shall separate us? Shall. Let's look at it very quickly. Romans 8. Imagine that we got here today and some or all of us had experienced tribulation.

Maybe you found out somebody's not sitting here because they're in a jail cell being tortured. Maybe it was your wife, your husband, your father, your mother, one of your children perhaps, being tortured.

Imagine if that was the week we were facing. Distress. Some sort of distress. Perhaps you felt distress this week in some situation. Persecution. Already talked about that. Famine. Imagine if you came here and you say, I haven't eaten in a week, and can we have lunch already?

Famine. Nakedness. No clothes to wear. Peril. Means you are constantly afraid of what was going to happen. Somebody's going to do something. Real threat. Sword. That there are people waiting outside that door to put the sword to us as soon as we, or even came in with the sword.

In that moment, none of us has faced anything like this, I don't think. Not even one of these. The Holy Spirit uses this extreme example, first of all, I believe, to remind us that people have experienced this.

We live pretty comfortable lives, even with our problems, and even with, not to diminish the fact that we all might have problems and face situations of distress. These are all things that people have actually experienced, and yet, in the midst of it, they prove the love of God.

They prove that God loved them as much as He loved Jesus. And let's not fool ourselves into thinking we know the love of God, imagining that we really have come to know Him and are secure in it, if that is somehow tied to God answering my prayers the way I want Him to.

If God doesn't answer my prayers here on this earth the way I want Him to, and when that situation of peril, or tribulation, or persecution, or nakedness, or famine comes at me, and I say, Lord please don't let it, and He lets it, will that separate you from the love of Christ?

Jude says, he writes one chapter, one small letter, he says, keep yourself in the love of God. The love of Christ will never separate Himself from us, but you might. And that's the warning, don't let it, don't let these things.

Now it's true, I believe the real intent is that He's saying that the love of Christ won't be separated from us, even if God was to allow these situations in our life. But the devil wants you to think that the love of Christ has been separated from you, you've been separated from the love of Christ.

Don't let him. These small trials we face here on this earth, in a first world country, where the biggest thing might be a traffic jam, or some sickness, persistent sickness, should not, should only cause us to say, Lord keep me in your love.

I want to remain grounded and founded in your love, so that when the trial gets worse, and the flames get hotter, and I face a situation that I would never thought I would have faced, I'll know you still love me.

Yeah, amen. Thank you children for your memory verses, saying them so faithfully, and adults too. I've been thinking this week, or for the last few weeks, I would say that the primary characteristic of God is His authority, that He rules over everything.

And it's because of His authority, that He rules over everything, that He's holy, and righteous, and full of love. Because He rules over hatred, He rules over sin, He rules over the devil, He rules over everything.

And it's His authority, I've been thinking, and I believe it's true, that is why He is, can't be tempted even. And that's important for us also to recognize, because God wants us to become partakers of His divine nature.

Humanity Made in God's Image to Exercise Authority

And this is actually what God intended for us all along. Turn to the very first page of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, Genesis 1 verse 26. After God has created all of this, the rest of creation, He says, verse 26, let us make man in our image.

Now, it's not talking about the physical image, because we all look different. So you can't say, well God looks like me, because you look different from me. So it's a different, it's the inner image of the nature.

You can say, let us make man in our nature, our inner image, according to our likeness. It means, it's like me. And what would be the proof of that? Let them rule, not let them be fruitful and multiply.

That came later. Not let them have a good life and be happy, not let them be loving to each other, let them rule. That was the first characteristic that God mentioned of our being like Him. So I see there that God's intention for us is to have authority, and out of that authority, I will love, I will be full of joy, I will be full of peace, I will be fruitful and multiply.

God, more than He wants you to be happy, listen to this children, the world says, oh this will make you happy, that will make you happy, having a lot of money, having a girlfriend, or having a nice house, or winning the game, all these things, that will make you happy.

No. God is, and even God is not interested in making you happy. Even a lot of Christians think that. God wants to make me happy, that's why I want to go to heaven. He wants me to be happy. No. God wants you to rule, and if you have learned to rule by the power of God in you, then you will be happy.

Your happiness will not be tied to what you have and don't have. You'll be free from all jealousy, because God by His Holy Spirit, by the nature that He puts within you, will be ruling, you will be ruling.

So God's intention was for us to rule. He says that again in verse 28, you skipped on, God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over everything.

So God's intention was for us to rule and have that authority. And I believe that as we see clearly throughout Scripture, but especially even in Genesis chapter 1 and 2 and 3, that that authority came, not because Adam was stronger and Eve was stronger.

In fact Adam was no match to a lion or an elephant even back then. I mean think about the size of Adam, it wasn't like he was bigger than the elephant. How did Adam rule over the elephants? The elephant tamely came to Adam and said, hey give me a name.

And Adam said, yes here's your name, I have authority over you. It wasn't because Adam was bigger, but he had something in him, that authority that God had given him, and I believe that came from eating of the tree of life.

That's why God put the tree of life in the middle of the garden, saying if you eat out of this tree, you will continue to have, he didn't say it, but I believe it's implied there, that as long as Adam and Eve were eating out of the tree of life, all of creation would be subdued to them.

The elephants, the snakes, all the other scary things, they would say, Adam you're the boss, Eve you're the boss, what shall I do? That naming is symbolic, represents the authority that Adam and Eve had over all of creation.

They wouldn't have drowned. I'm not a very good swimmer, I think one of the scariest situations I could be in would be, I'm in the boat out in the middle of the lake or the ocean and I forgot my life vest or something like that, but Adam couldn't have drowned.

I would have authority over the waters as well. Isn't that a wonderful thing? If you're not a good swimmer like me, I'm sure you'd like to know that, but that was God's intention and the moment they ate out of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they lost that authority.

They died, you can say, yes physically their decay started. I mean Adam lived for another 900 plus years, but that moment, that very day that he ate out of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he lost the authority and it's the same thing that the devil is after today.

Christ Restores Authority Over Sin, Satan, and Death

The one thing he doesn't like is that Jesus defeated him on the cross and that now all of us who are children of God, because Matthew John 1 12, for as many as believed him he gave them the right to be called the children of God.

So now all of us also have authority over Satan. Something that we by, you know, through Adam handed to him. When we, through Adam, but we also ate out of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He said, here devil, you can have authority over us and so also the elephants and the lions and all that stuff, but really the one that mattered was the devil.

Because we ate out of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and Jesus took that authority back when he died and overcame the grave and overcame death. First Corinthians 15 says the final enemy is death, even greater than the devil.

That death, that loss of authority that we experienced in the garden of Eden, Jesus defeated that. He overcame even that and so we have authority again and that the devil doesn't like that. And our living a godly life, our living and overcoming life must really come out of this authority that God wants us to have.

Jesus Came to Give Abundant and Eternal Life

Let's turn to John chapter 10. If you ask children, this is something that you, if you grow up in RLCF, we are very keen that you should know, why did Jesus come to this earth? Most, unfortunately most Christians are being taught Jesus came to this earth to die for your sins and take you to heaven.

That's partly true. It's partly incorrect and mostly incomplete. There's much more to that and if you live your life just saying that Jesus came to die on this earth and take you to heaven, you'll be convinced that God is in the business of making you happy and you'll miss out on the real Christian life.

Children, hear it now if you've never heard it before. God is not interested in making you happy. He wants you to have authority even from a young age. He wants you to have power. Authority may be even a big word for some of you but it means you'll have power.

You won't be afraid in any situation. You won't be angry in any situation. You'll be able to love anybody and everybody. You won't have any hate in you because you will have authority. You will have power over that hatred and that's the wonderful life God wants us to live.

That's much better than just thinking God wants me to be happy here on this earth. Why did Jesus come? He made it very clear in John 10 verse 10 the last part. I came that you, put your name there when he says they, I came.

Jesus saying that Santos may have life and have abundance. An abundance of life. Have abundance in his life. Now you can say well I was I'm alive so it's clearly he was talking about a different life.

It's not just that you might live here on this earth because people lived on this earth before Jesus came. People have lived on this earth after Jesus came but they don't necessarily have what he said he came here to give.

It is a life, a particular type of life you can say and we know that as eternal life. You can say Jesus came to this earth to give me eternal life. Can we say that together? Children, pause whatever you're doing.

I know some of you like to color or write notes. Let's all say this together. Jesus came to this earth to give me eternal life and so now you ought to be able to know that for the rest of your life. Shall we say together?

Jesus came to this earth to give me eternal life. Let's say it one more time with authority. Jesus came to this earth to give me eternal life. I hope you'll remember that all your life children. And what is eternal life?

If you turn over a few pages to John chapter 17 we read that this eternal life or abundant life whatever term you want to use for it. John 17 verse 3 this is eternal life not living forever. Again something you've heard in this church many times I'm sure.

This is eternal life. So two verses you can try to memorize or at least know what they say and know where to find them. John 10 verse 10. John 17 verse 3 Jesus came to give us eternal life. What is that eternal life?

That they may know the Father and Jesus Christ whom he sent. To know the Father and to know Jesus. This is eternal life. If you have if you know the Father and know Jesus guess what you have right now today December 18th 2022 you have eternal life.

You don't have to wait to die and go to heaven to get it. You have it now. If you truly know the Father and know Jesus you have eternal life. So don't wait till you're 18 or 30 or till you go to heaven to have eternal life.

Children if you're old enough to understand what I'm saying God wants you to have eternal life beginning today. And it's a quality of life. And this eternal life as I see further on in this chapter is a that knowing is to know God in such a way that I am dependent on him.

The more we know God the more we become dependent on him. This is a true principle. How do I know that I really know God? You can say well of course I know God. I know the Bible. I know Jesus. I know he's in heaven and you can say no that knowing God is so much more than that.

Because I want to tell you somebody who knows God or knows about him but doesn't have eternal life. The devil. The devil listen to this very carefully. The devil knows more about God than you or I know.

I mean the devil was in heaven before you and I ever existed. He saw God face to face. He knows about God much better than you or I will ever know about God here on this earth. But he doesn't know God in the way that John 17 verse 3 says.

He doesn't have eternal life. And there are a lot of people who are on the other side of eternity in hell. Who have seen God for who he really is. But they will never have eternal life. So this eternal life is a knowing of God.

Is a partaking of his nature. Is a partaking of his authority. Is having his life within us. And I'll tell you it's very simply this is something I've learned through knowing God's Word. Seeing it the truth in God's Word.

But also through experience that you really know that you know God if you have become more dependent on him. We're coming to the end of 2022. Is it true dear family that you know God more this year than you did at the end of 2021?

It's a simple test. Are you more dependent on him? Because the more you know God the more you will depend on him for everything. Are you dependent on God for more today than you were last month or a year ago?

Then you're really knowing God and you're laying hold of eternal life. Why do I say that? Because if you read further down in John 17 Jesus shows us how the Son and the Father know each other. And that's an example.

He says I want them to know you like I know you. John 17 verse 20 he says I do not ask on behalf of these alone that is the 11 disciples who are there. Judas had already left. I don't ask on behalf of these alone but for those also who believe in me through their word.

Do you know where your name is in the Bible children? Right here is one place where my name is. Jesus is saying I don't ask on behalf of Matthew and Peter and James and John and Simon and all those but for Santos who will believe in me through the word of the disciples.

And you can put your name there. That they may all again my name there be one even as you father look at the oneness the knowing that Jesus and the Father have. You father are in me and I am in you that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me.

You see that Jesus is knowing of the Father is him being in the Father and the Father being in him and he says I want you to be that way. Now when you say something is in something think about this little piece of paper it being in the book.

That means now this is it I've lost my identity as it were. I know this paper knows this book because it is in the book and that is eternal life. He goes on to say let's read further down and we'll continue reading.

The glory which you have given me I have given to them that they may be one just as we are one I in them and you in me that they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you have loved me.

This is the love this is the knowing that the Father and the Son have and Jesus is inviting us to come into that knowledge. Jesus knew the Father and that Father caused him to that knowledge of the Father caused him to live in such utter dependence on the Father throughout his entire life.

Binding the Strong Man and Overcoming Sin

There's another phrase that that's been going through my mind I'd like you to see it it's in Mark chapter 3 verse 27. It's a very small phrase first bind the strong man. I don't know if you've seen this verse in your Bible before it appears three times Matthew 12 or something and then Mark 3 and then again in Luke 11 Matthew so in Mark 3 he says no one can Mark 3 verse 27 no one can enter the strong man's house except no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man and then he will plunder his house.

Now what Jesus is talking about here is not I'm the strong man and the devil overpowering me but the devil has a foothold in some area. There's a strong man in the house and Jesus by his authority through the power of the Holy Spirit is going to come and overpower that house plunder the house by binding the strong man because if you read the context it was Jesus casting out a demon from somebody and then the Pharisees and his enemy said oh he casts out Beelzebub by the power of Beelzebub and Jesus said no I you must first bind the strong man that's in the house.

Do you want love? Do you want joy? Do you want peace? Do you want patience? Do you want all the virtues of Christ? That's what it means to plunder. That means the devil has had a foothold in that area in your life where there's hatred, where there's bitterness, where there's jealousy, where there's complaining, where there's irritability and the only way to come and plunder that where the life has been full of bitterness and ungratefulness and all these things is to bind the strong man.

There's no point trying to not be irritable and trying to not be impatient and trying to not lust and trying to not get angry and trying to not be jealous if you haven't bound the strong man. Let's turn over to Luke 11 that parallel passage that I just mentioned.

Luke 11 you can read the whole context sometimes but just look at verse 21 on onwards. Luke 11 verse 21 it's the same passage. When a strong man fully armed this strong man is somebody inside your house, inside your heart who is causing you to fight with your sibling or fight with your wife or your husband or get jealous or be angry or irritable or be in a bad mood or whatever this is when a strong man fully armed guards his own house and you're saying Lord I don't want to be like that but the strong man there is guarding the house preventing you from having Christ come in.

When a strong man guards his own house his positions are undisturbed and so that bitterness that complaining spirit that lust that anger that jealousy that love of money remains there undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he verse 22 attacks him and overpowers him remember we're talking about the authority that we have by partaking of Jesus nature.

When someone stronger than this strong man attacks him and overpowers him he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. And now you have love instead of hatred.

Now you have peace instead of anxiety and worry. Now you have patience instead of irritability. Now you have good moods instead of bad moods. You see the secret is to bind that strong man. And who is that strong man.

Jesus exemplified that in John chapter 6 and John chapter 5 I'd like you to see that. Let's turn to John 6 first of all and while you're turning there I'll tell you the strong man is the you who is wants to be independent of God.

This is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The you that wants to do it on your own. I mean I see it in my children. I'll pick on Xander because he's about that age. But all of my children including when I was that age it started.

Then it's like no no dad I got this. I can do it. You don't have to help me. I can do it. Okay whether it's tying my shoelace you know I'm gonna miss the fact that I can barely tie most of my kids shoelaces anymore.

They can do it on their own. They've got independence now. It's good when it's things on this earth that they need to know skills. But in the Christian life it's the exact opposite. If as you're walking with the Lord you're able to do the Christian life more in your own strength.

I want to tell you that's the strong man who needs to be bound who needs to be removed. If you think I've been a Christian for so long I think I've got it or I've been married for so long I know how to get along with my wife.

I know how to get along with a husband. I've been in this church for so long I know how to fit in in this church or whatever the circumstance might be. I know how to overcome lust. I know how to overcome irritability.

Because I got this I'm figuring it out. I'm becoming more independent of God. That's the strong man. And as long as that strong man remains free in the house you might have moments of freedom from anxiety moments of love moments of joy.

But it won't be the joy and the love and the peace and the self-control and the patience and the kindness goodness gentleness faithfulness that comes from the authority of God by partaking of his life.

First mind the strong man which means get rid of the I the I that sits on the throne that says I know how to do it even if it's how I know how to do good things. So that's why this tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not just a tree of the knowledge of evil it's the knowledge of good and evil which means it's you.

If you know how to do good and how to not do evil that's the buying. That's the strong man. And if you're eating under the tree of the knowledge of good you know maybe you picture the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as this side fruit is good this side fruit is evil.

And you think all the rest of the world is eating out of the tree of the knowledge of evil. How can we do more evil more this more that more sin. And then you're eating from the other side of the same tree it's just the knowledge of good.

And you look at the people eating out of that side of the tree says thank God. I'm not like that. That was the Pharisee in Luke 18 he says I thank you Lord that I'm not like that tax gatherer who's eating on the other side.

But you're eating out of the same tree you will die still. It's the tree of the fruit on this side not the fruit on that side. It's the same tree it's the knowledge of good and evil. And as long as you're eating out of that tree you may think well I'm not like that.

I used to eat on that side of the tree but now I'm eating from this side of the tree. Am I better. No bind the strong man. The strong man is the eye that wants to know good and evil and have the power in my own strength to avoid it.

And Jesus came down to this earth as we see here in John chapter 6 and John chapter 5 to exemplify the life that says I can't I cannot overcome evil in my own strength. Let me say a bold statement which I think won't be that bold because many most of you have been in this church for a long time you've heard it in one form or the other.

When Jesus was here on this earth his essentially what he was saying was I cannot overcome evil on my own. Have you heard that before Jesus as God but as man here on this earth having emptied himself said I'm just an empty shell.

I as an empty shell cannot overcome evil unless this shell is full of the power of God. We'll see that here. John 6 verse 38. First of all Jesus said I came down from heaven. John 6 verse 38. I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

Now you might think well okay I don't though my own will may be lust or anger or love of money or this or that. No even in the good things even in the good things Jesus came down from heaven to always say no.

I can't do it. I can't. I'm not going to do my own will. I'm only going to do the will of the father. It's even more clear if you go back to the previous chapter in John 5 verse 19. Now here very interestingly if you read in verse 18 actually they are angry at him because he is making himself equal with God.

You know he says I'm the son of God. And they thought he was making himself equal with God. And he says no. No no no. You don't understand when I say I'm the son of God I am putting myself independence on my father.

That's what it means to be a son of God. If he didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped we read in Philippians chapter 2 but emptied himself. And you can say he put made himself of no reputation and put himself in a place in a situation in circumstances where he was dependent on the father for everything.

So when they were saying you know they're they were. They wanted to kill him. Verse 18 because he made himself equal with God he says you have missed it. You don't understand it. Therefore verse 19 because they thought he was making himself equal God he's saying no.

Listen God can do everything on his own. I can do nothing on my own. Verse 19 I say to you the son can do nothing of himself unless it's something that the father does. The son can do nothing on himself.

Are you a son of God. Here's the test. You can do nothing on your own. I can't love my wife. I've been married 16 years and I'm realizing even more than ever before I cannot love Megan. And I believe as I'm realizing that I'm seeing more and more of the life of Christ and becoming more a son in the true sense of the word who's dependent on his father.

In the way that Jesus was dependent on his father on the father when he was here on this earth. If even Jesus himself having never sinned ever even Jesus himself having never sinned ever said in order for me to be loving and kind and good I need to be dependent on the father.

How much more you and I creatures of flesh who still have sin in our flesh. How much more don't we need to be dependent on the father. He goes on to say that also in further down verse 20. Yeah let's read.

Continue reading verse 24. The father loves the son. Look at the love of the father that look at the knowledge of the son and the father. It's like this unbroken relationship where the father is just giving life giving life.

This this is what it means to know God and to know Jesus is that I'm so connected with them that their life his life not their his life. Three persons one God. The life of God is flowing into me unhindered.

This is knowledge of God. It's not intellectual it's spiritual where my spirit my heart is so surrendered that there's nothing that prevents. That's clogging the connection the channel for me to receive the life of God.

This is what it means to know God. And this is how you'll have eternal life. And why does Paul tell Timothy then lay hold of eternal life. That means keep a hold of that make sure that that connections always clear.

Because if you had eternal life yesterday but you allow a blockage to come in today guess what. That connection is now being hindered and little by little it'll get suffocated. And you will no longer have the eternal life of God.

And Jesus lived his entire life constantly constantly constantly making sure that that channel was open so that the life of the father could always be in him. He goes on to say the same thing in verse 30.

I can do nothing on my own initiative. I can do nothing. I can't even I can't do evil. I believe there was not even then anything in Jesus that wanted to do evil. That like oh I want to do evil but it was the good.

I want to do what I feel like doing that he saw as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as death. Paul says the same thing if you look at Galatians chapter 2 after Paul was born again on the road to Damascus something changed and you can say okay he was no longer a Jew.

He no longer was an enemy of the Christians. He was now a friend of the Christians. But it was much more than that. He summarizes the difference between the pre Christ Paul BC you can say before Christ and AC after Christ.

What was the essential difference. It wasn't okay. You know now I only read the Old Testament. Now I read the New Testament. Is that what distinguishes you. You read the Bible versus some other book. If you're born again it must be absolutely clear to you what is the difference.

And here's the essence of it. Galatians 2 verse 19 if you're born again through the law you have died to the law so that you might live to God. And then he says I because I'm born again I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live. I'm not alive anymore. I have died and I will forever be dead. See this is the thing some of us and I know I've been there myself that I say okay Lord I want to die with you.

On the day that I was born again or when I realized my sin it says okay I'm gonna die with Christ today. But tomorrow I come back to life. I start to say well okay now I want to live again. And so I would say verse 20 I have died and I will forever be dead.

Because the moment Santos comes back to life it will start to choke out the eternal life of Christ coming into me. So in any situation this is why we who the next verse you're going to read Romans 8 is we who live are constantly being put to death daily.

Is that Romans 8 or is it 2nd Corinthians 4. Anyway that's Romans 8 next verse is actually that we are being put to death daily. Why. Because I recognize that any day that I don't continue to die is a day that I will choke out the life of God from flowing freely into me.

So that's why Jesus said anyone who wants to be my disciple must daily take up his cross daily die to yourself so that the life of Christ can flow freely through you. I have been crucified with Christ is no longer I who live and I am dead.

I was dead yesterday. I was dead the day before that I'm dead today. But if you choose not to be dead today you can say well I died yesterday. I'm born again. I died I baptized in water and came back to life.

Christ lives in me. Well prove it today by the fact that today also I'm just as dead I was as the day before. I mean do you expect to go to somebody's funeral and you bury them. And then the next day you see oh they're up.

I thought I attended your funeral. What are you doing here. You're clearly it's not you weren't really dead. And have you ever done that. Where you wake up one morning and you realize man Santos is still very much alive.

I thought he died yesterday or he he was dead yesterday but he seems to be alive today. Put to death the deeds of the flesh with its lusts and desires die to yourself today as well and then the life of Christ will be manifest in you.

It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by faith and children. I want to give you a very simple definition that I learned when I was young.