How To Conquer Satan And Win — Zac Poonen

Repentance from Idols and Restitution

The Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 9, where we read a clear meaning of repentance. It says there, you turn to God from idols to serve a living and true God. God created us to have the first place in our heart.

If you give anything or anyone else that first place in your heart, you are worshipping an idol. Christians think of idols as only external objects of wood and stone or brass. The biggest idols are the one we worship in our heart.

Some sinful pleasure that you keep on indulging in is an idol. If you only live to make money, that's an idol. If you fall in love with somebody and God does not want you to marry that person because he is a non-Christian, that person is an idol.

So repentance is to turn around and get rid of every idol in our heart. And to say Lord Jesus, you are going to be God and Lord and have first place in my life. And you don't have to say, I will give it up.

You must say, I want to give it up. Because some bad habits, you may not be able to give it up immediately. Repentance does not mean, from today I'm going to give it up. It means, I've turned away from it and I want to give up everything that is taking the place of God in my life.

It can be your job, your business or anything. So that is repentance. Restitution means to give back to others what we have taken wrongfully from them. It may be that I have cheated people of money in the past.

We read of one such person in Luke's Gospel chapter 19. He was a cheating tax collector. And his name was Zacchaeus. And Luke 19 verse 8 he said, Lord, I will give back four times to all the people whom I cheated.

That means he gave back with interest what he took from them. And then Jesus said, today salvation has come to this house. He didn't tell Zacchaeus, okay, if it will take ten years to do that, then you'll be saved after ten years.

No, he said, you took on a decision today, I believe it, salvation has come. It may have taken ten years for Zacchaeus to repay all that money. But salvation came the day he decided. Now, sometimes what we owe another person is not money but an apology for the wrong we did to him.

Then we must ask forgiveness by letter or by word. Again, it is the willingness that God sees, not whether we finally finish doing it. But I must not have with me anything that does not rightfully belong to me.

Sometimes it is very difficult to set right what we did in the past. God understands that. And then we don't have to condemn ourselves, if it is so difficult, there is no way to return it. Supposing you have committed adultery with somebody, it may not always be wise to go and ask forgiveness from that person.

Because that person may be married to somebody and you'll complicate the situation if you go and ask forgiveness. So, we must be wise in this restitution. But wherever possible, we must ask forgiveness and set things right.

Justification by the Blood and Righteousness of Christ

That is the proof to God that I am mean to get rid of all idols from my life. The Bible speaks a lot about justification in Romans chapter 4. And it also says in Romans 5, 9 that we are justified by the blood of Christ.

And that means, Romans 5, 9, that we are not only forgiven by the blood, but justified by the blood. Romans 5, 9, that we are not only forgiven by the blood, but justified by the blood. Justified means that righteousness of Christ comes to my hands.

Then I stand before Christ, with God, with Christ's righteousness, and I am accepted. So, to use an illustration, to show you that justification is much better than just forgiveness. When we are sinners, we are like a person who owes a debt of one crore or hundreds of crores of rupees.

Hundreds of crores of rupees which we can never repay. And if our creditor says, it's all forgiven, then that debt is wiped out. So, that's what God says, the blood of Christ has wiped out your sin. That itself is very good news.

But on top of that, God says, now I put hundreds of crores of rupees into your bank account. So, from minus hundreds of crores to come to zero itself is a great thing. And from there, to suddenly get hundreds of crores of rupees makes me so rich.

That is justification. It's greater than forgiveness, which is merely the clearing of my debt. Because the devil doesn't want you to know all this, because he doesn't want you to be happy that you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

You are spiritually a rich man. But when you know the truth, the truth will set you free from all discouragement. When you know the truth, the truth will set you free from all discouragement.

Baptism as a Public Testimony

Next, baptism. Is it necessary for me to take Gnanasthanam? How should I take Gnanasthanam?

Gnanasthanam is a symbol. And Romans 6 says, we thereby are showing that the old man, that is the mind that wanted to sin, is dead and buried. And when I come out of the water, I'm saying, a new man is coming out, which is a new attitude towards sin.

When I come out of the water, I'm saying, a new man is coming out, which is a new attitude towards sin. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but when I see sin, I have a new attitude towards sin. Even though baptism is not necessary for salvation, because it's a testimony of salvation already experienced.

It's like a birth certificate for a baby after the birth of a baby. Or like a marriage certificate when a person is married. And so, you can get a birth certificate only after the baby is born. And you can get the marriage certificate only after the marriage.

When we are united to Christ, it is like a new birth or like a marriage to Christ. Baptism is a testimony to that reality of that fact. So, you can't get baptized before the thing has actually happened.

And even though it's a simple act as a symbol, it's still important. Because it's a public testimony, not only to people, but also to the devil and demons that I don't belong to you anymore. Because it's a public testimony, not only to people, but also to the devil and demons that I don't belong to you anymore.

Since Jesus has commanded it, we can't say it's unimportant. Since Jesus has commanded it, we can't say it's unimportant. It's not a small thing, it's a question of whether the one who commanded it is great or not.

Receiving and Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

Next, a feeling of Holy Spirit, laying hands.

See, when we are baptized, Jesus told us to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. See, when we are baptized, Jesus told us to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Some people ask, why did we get baptized in the name of Jesus Christ? That is, to identify the Son as Jesus Christ. No, there is only one name. The name of the Father, and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Not three names. One name. We must go exactly according to scripture. But we identify the Son as the Lord Jesus Christ. So many people are baptized carelessly because they don't read the scripture properly.

So I can say, I baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I also baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when I say, I baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I repent, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within us. But we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I see it like this. Our heart is like a house with many rooms. All rooms are dark. And the one room which we really want to get rid of the darkness is the room called guilt.

Guilt of our sin. So, we first ask the Lord Jesus to come into that room. In the Acts of the Apostles, they never ask people to receive Jesus Christ. They said, believe in Jesus Christ and receive the Spirit.

Which Spirit? There are so many Spirits in the world. The Spirit of Christ. So believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive His Spirit. Now, we combine that today and say, receive the Lord Jesus Christ.

It means the same thing. You can't receive Christ unless you believe in Him. So, you repent and you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as having died for your sins. And that He rose again. And when you say, Lord Jesus come into my heart, Jesus is in heaven.

He's got a body there. He is there. Physically, He is not on the earth. He is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit that is on earth. Now, the Trinity is a big mystery. We can't explain it easily with our mind.

No need to try and explain it. Just like a dog cannot understand a man because man is above a dog. In the same way, we cannot understand God because God is much more above us. So, if God was somebody you could explain, then He must be like you only.

But the fact that God is a Trinity whom my mind cannot understand proves that is the truth. There is only one God. But in three persons. And the Holy Spirit is the third person of God who is on earth today.

The Father and Jesus Christ are in heaven. So, when I say Christ come into my heart, it is the Holy Spirit who comes into my heart. But He has come only into one room. There are many other rooms. And He knocks and says, if you open, I will come in.

And He asks you, can I come into your television room to see what all you are watching? And if you say, no, no, no, I don't want you to come and control what I watch on television. Or He says, can I come and change the room?

Or can I come and check what all books you are reading? And if you say, don't come there because I don't want you to see all that. So, like that we shut some doors to Christ. Or the Lord says, can I come and see how you are handling your money?

Is it all righteous? How are you doing your business? We shut that door, we don't want him to come there. We shut that door, we don't want you to come there. In the future, what are your plans? What is your locum?

Can I come and check that room? You say, no. Can I come and tell you whom to marry? You say, no Lord, leave that to me and my parents will tell me. So, we shut so many rooms to Christ. So, we shut so many rooms to Christ.

The Holy Spirit has come in. But He has not filled you. Even if you pray for a hundred years without opening the door, He will not come in. He will not fill you. Many people are praying for the Holy Spirit to fill them, but they have shut all the doors.

You don't even have to pray for one day to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You have to surrender every area of your life and your future and your plans and every other area of your life to Christ. And to the best of your knowledge, if you have opened everything and said, Lord, I only want your will in every area of my life.

And I cannot live this life without the power of your Spirit. Please come and fill me. And I trust you that you will answer my prayer. What you need is faith. Let me give you a definition of faith. Faith is to believe that God is more eager to give you His promises than you are to receive them.

If you think you are more eager to be filled with the Spirit than God is to fill you with the Spirit, that is unbelief. If you think you are more eager to be filled with the Spirit than God is to fill you with the Spirit, that is unbelief.

Many people pray like that. I am eager to be filled with the Spirit. But I don't think God is eager to fill me. That itself is unbelief. You will never be filled with the Holy Spirit. When it comes to faith, if you are filled with the Spirit, then I am to be filled with the Spirit.

That's faith. And if you have opened every area of your life, you don't have to wait one minute to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You can do that today. And you don't need anybody to lay hands on you.

The Lord did give that supernatural power to some apostles in those days. But in my entire life, I have never met a single person in the world who can lay hands and transmit the Holy Spirit to everybody.

So many people lay hands and think they are giving the Holy Spirit. They are fooling themselves and fooling other people. Jesus is the baptizer. John the Baptist said, I can baptize you in water, you go to Jesus to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Ask God to give you an assurance that you are filled with the Spirit, just like He gave you an assurance that your sins are forgiven. And God will give you an assurance. Just like He assured you, your sins are forgiven.

Bible Reading, Prayer, Fasting, and Revelation

The importance of Bible reading and prayer, fasting and revelation.

Now, it's very important to read the Bible because this is the only book in the world that God has written. But more important than reading the Bible is obeying the Bible. There are more than 31 ,000 verses in the Bible.

But it's better to obey one verse than just to read 31 ,000 verses. And it is better to claim one promise in the Bible than just to read it. The Bible has got like two legs like we stand on, commandments and promises.

Many commandments were for Israelites in the Old Testament. We don't have to obey them because they are not for us. They are written there for our instruction, how God dealt with Israel. There are many promises given to Israel, like He would give them a land called Israel.

Those are not for us. There are promises for Christians. There are commandments for Christians. Those we must obey and claim completely. So, you must not satisfy yourself every day saying, I've read the Bible.

It's better to read the Bible for one minute and obey it for 24 hours. Than read it for one hour and disobey so many commandments during the day. Many people are disturbed, oh, I did not read the Bible for even 15 minutes this morning.

But they commit so many sins during the day, they are not so disturbed. What is the purpose of reading the Bible? To know what God wants me to do. To know the promises He has given me to help me to do those things.

So, that is the purpose of Bible reading. And revelation means God showing me something in the Bible which I cannot understand just with my intelligence. See, Peter was not the greatest Bible scholar in Israel.

There were other people who knew the Bible better than Peter. But how did Peter know that Jesus is the Messiah? It came by revelation of the Holy Spirit. So, there are things in the Bible you cannot understand with intelligence alone.

But if you come with humility, God will show you things which clever people cannot understand. Now, prayer and fasting. Prayer is basically talking to the Lord. Telling Him our needs. Thanking Him. I prefer to call it talking to the Lord.

You know, like a telephone call. When I make a telephone call, I talk to someone and he talks to me. That is the best way to pray. Whether I am walking or standing or kneeling down, anywhere. Like a telephone call.

I talk. And listen. I talk and I listen. Now, if you only talk, talk, talk, talk, that is not really communication with God. Think of a phone, telephone. When you speak to somebody, you also listen to what that person is saying.

So, when you pray, don't just talk, talk, talk, talk. Pause a little and let the Lord speak to you. And then the question may come, how can I recognize the voice of God in my heart? See, in the beginning, it will be difficult.

How can you recognize your mother's voice even if she is on the other side of the wall in the midst of ten other women talking there? Because you heard it so often. I have not heard your mother's voice, so I cannot recognize it.

But you can recognize the voice that you heard many times. So, if you read the Bible regularly, you begin to recognize the voice of God in the Bible. And then, you gradually recognize his voice in your heart also.

Fasting is not a commandment of God saying, you must fast. But Jesus did it, the apostles did it. And Jesus also said, when you fast, don't let other people know about it. See, fasting speaks of intense fasting.

Intensity of desire. When a child is seriously sick in the hospital and the doctors have given up all hope. Why is it the mother doesn't even feel like eating food? Why is she fasting? Because there is an intensity of desire in her that my child must be healed.

She is not going through a religious ritual. She has such intense desire that she forgets about food. That is real fasting. What most people call fasting is all just religious exercise. But there is a place for fasting as a discipline also.

Once a week, you can miss your meals for three meals in a week. That has got some practical advantages. It will keep you healthier. It will give you greater compassion for people who are hungry as to how they feel.

Discipleship and the Cost of Following Christ

But don't make it a religious ritual and boast about it. Next, discipleship.

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Jesus told us not only to go into the world and convert people, but to make them disciples. If you only convert people, it's like a job half done. See, Jesus was a carpenter. So, if somebody asked him to make a table, he wouldn't say, here is the table.

Four legs are necessary for a table. There must be a top put to it. Then the table is complete. So, going and preaching and converting a person to faith in Christ for forgiveness of sins is like making the legs.

And then, if you make them disciples, then only the job is complete. So, let's take putting the top on top of the table. Then you've got one full table. Then you put the top on top of the four legs. So, the tragedy today is, there are so many converts, but very few disciples.

Let me use an illustration. Supposing Jesus got an order in Nazareth to make hundred tables. And he hires ten carpenters. And all of them are only making the legs. Legs, legs, legs, legs, legs. And so many days are going by, they are only making legs.

Then another carpenter comes. He does not make any legs. He makes tops. And all the other ten get upset with him. Why aren't you making legs like we are making? He says, you people are not completing the job.

After so many weeks, there's not even one table here. Now, after I've come, at least I've made one or two tables. That is discipleship. So, when you see so many people making converts, God has to call some people to complete the job and make disciples.

When we make disciples, the evangelists say, what are you against evangelism? I say, no. Thank God for what you are doing. We are trying to complete the job. So, the conditions of discipleship are mentioned in Luke chapter 14.

It's in Matthew 28 and verse 19 that Jesus said, you must make disciples. They knew what that meant. In Luke 14, he said, the three conditions of discipleship, verse 25 to 33. In very simple words. One, love Jesus more than any human being.

Father, mother, wife, children, everybody. Number two, you must die to yourself and your personal choices every day. That is taking up the cross. Number three, love Jesus more than all material things, verse 33.

So, can you say that every so-called believer that you have met has fulfilled these three conditions? Most of them have not even fulfilled one of those three conditions. So, Christian world is filled with converts, very few disciples.

Confession of Faith and Christian Priorities

There are thousands of legs of tables and one or two tables. You must become a disciple. Next, confession of faith. The Bible says in Romans chapter 10. That it's not enough to believe in our heart, we must confess with our mouth.

Romans 10 .9 is very clear. You confess with your mouth, Jesus as Lord. And believe in your heart, God has raised him from the dead. You'll be saved. It's like, you know, the two wires, electric wires touch at a switch and the light comes on.

There need to be two wires. Believe in your heart, confess with your mouth. Because it says in verse 10. When you believe in your heart, it brings righteousness. When you confess with your mouth, it brings salvation.

So, it's important to confess with our mouth. Not to give a big, not to give a big long lecture. But to confess with my mouth that I was a sinner but Jesus Christ is now my Lord. So, make sure you do that whether in a church meeting or in some smaller group.

Jewelry and festivals. There are certain things in the Bible which are very important. Others are not so important. Turning away from sins, very important. To love your enemies, very important. To be free from sexual sin, very important.

To give up anger, very important. To give up bitterness and complaining. To give up hypocrisy and pride. These are all very important. Then there are things which are not so important. But we can't neglect them.

For example, unnecessary expenditure of money in things which are useless. Or to display ourselves before others in some way. So, when a woman wears jewelry, the question she needs to ask is, what is the reason for it?

So, like one sister who was wearing jewelry once said like this. Doesn't it say, God looks at the heart, man looks on the outside? I said, right. We only see the jewelry. We don't say anything. We don't criticize you for that.

But God looks at your heart as to why you are wavering the jewelry. Can you give an answer to God that I am doing this to glorify Christ? Or is the reason I want to show people? Let me ask you. If everybody in the world was blind, would you be blind?

If everybody in the world was blind, would you be wearing jewelry? I don't think. That itself shows why you wear it. It is not to show God. It is to show people. No, I am not saying it is a sin. You ask yourself why you are wearing it.

And then festivals. In the Old Testament, there were a lot of festivals. In the New Testament, the only thing Jesus said is breaking bread, symbolizing his death. We don't know when Jesus was born, so some people have made Christmas and made it a festival.

I don't make an issue of it. I don't celebrate Christmas because I don't see it mentioned in the Bible. I don't see anybody celebrating the birth of Christ in the Bible. Nobody knows when he was born.

It was definitely not December because it is so cold and rainy in Israel that the shepherds could not have been outside in December. But some people blindly follow it. I don't judge them because they may not have light.

These are unimportant things. Hold on to your conviction. As it says in Romans 14, forgive others if they don't have light. So, don't force people to remove their jewelry. Don't force people to celebrate Christmas.

Overcoming Sin, Temptation, and Hypocrisy

And don't force people to give up Christmas also. Don't force people to put on jewelry also. Give each person freedom. Overcoming sin. It's not only enough to be forgiven, we also have another problem that we must overcome this sinful nature.

So, I heard of a story. One lunatic asylum for mad people where they test whether a man has come to his senses or not. How to find out if he has come to his senses? So, they put him in a room where a tap is open and the water is flowing.

And they give him a mop and a bucket to keep the floor dry. Now, if he tries to mop the floor without closing the tap, then you know he has not come to his senses yet. Because the sensible person will know if I want to dry this floor, I must first close the tap.

Now, we have a wet floor which is full of sin. And we have a tap that is open. Now, does God have enough sense only to mop the floor or also to close the tap? Even if man doesn't have sense, God has got enough sense.

God will not only give us a mop, the blood of Christ, to cleanse the sin. He will also give us power to close the tap. That is why he has given us the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. It's very simple.

Man has made it all complicated. The Holy Spirit gives us grace, which is God's power. And that helps us to overcome sin. That's why we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and filled with the word of God that we read.

Temptation. There is a difference between temptation and sin. In the Garden of Eden, the Lord did not say, you must not be attracted to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He said, don't eat it. So, supposing they went near that tree and Eve told Adam, I'm really attracted to this tree.

It makes my mouth water. And I feel drawn towards it. But I will not eat it and walk away. Tell me, was she tempted? Yes, very strongly. Did she sin? No. Sin comes when you yield to the temptation. So, if you find some particular thing in the world very attractive and pulling you, you're tempted to go to that pornographic site on the computer.

You're tempted to speak angrily to that person who spoke angrily to you. That is temptation. When you yield to it, you sin. For example, when you look at a pretty woman, there's a temptation. Like somebody has said, the first look is temptation, the second look is sin.

Because the Holy Spirit will say, don't look there. You will be tempted more. Now, I'm not saying the second look is sin, but if you lust, then you sin. And if you look too long at tempting matter, you will fall into sin also.

So, we must be careful. Let me ask you a question. Who is stronger? The devil or a woman? I'll give you an answer from the Bible. The Bible says in James 4, verse 7, resist the devil and he will run away from you.

But in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 18, it says you must run away from a woman who is tempting you. So, who is stronger? You resist the devil, he runs away from you. When a woman is tempting you, it says you better run away from there.

If you obey these simple instructions, you'll be safe. This is all in the Bible. What is grace? Now, many people use many definitions of grace. They say it's the unmerited favor of God. But unmerited favor of God, everybody in the world receives.

Grace is a power that helps us to overcome sin and to face any trial on earth and be an overcomer. 2 Corinthians 12, 9 The Lord said to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you because my power is made perfect in your weakness.

So, there you see grace is God's power that comes through the Holy Spirit and helps me not only to overcome sin but to face any trial in the world and to come up as a victor. That's why the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Grace in Hebrews 10, 29.

Next, hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the one sin Jesus condemned more than anything else. The Lord never told adulterers you will go to hell. He was very compassionate to adulterers. Even the thief on the cross he forgave and took to paradise.

But in Matthew 23 he told the Pharisees you hypocrites, how will you escape hell? Murder, adultery are all sins. But the Lord never told his disciples beware of committing murder, beware of committing adultery.

But he said beware of hypocrisy because hypocrisy is like an unseen cancer which you can't even see is a sin. Murder and adultery are like things on your hand which you can see sickness on your body. But hypocrisy is like unseen sins.

The solution to hypocrisy is to be absolutely honest with God and with men. Don't pretend to be more spiritual than you really are. If you ask a little boy what class are you? If he is in second standard he will not say sixth standard.

Finding God's Will and Recognizing Godly Leaders

Only believers are like that. They may be second standard spiritually but they talk as if they are in tenth standard. Just be honest. Hypocrisy is a very serious sin. Next, finding God's will and his voice.

There is a book of mine called Finding God's Will which you can read in English and Tamil. But basically four things. Before that let me say that you cannot find God's will if your whole life is not surrendered to him.

But once you have surrendered your life to him there are four ways by which God shows us his will. One, by God's word. So ask yourself what does God's word say? And second, seek the advice of godly believers.

And third, see the circumstances Is God opening a door or closing a door? You try for a job you didn't get it then it's not God's will. You wanted to marry a girl she said no that's the end of it. That's not God's will.

And some of the door God opens that is circumstances. And number four finally is the witness of the Holy Spirit in your heart. If you have peace in your heart you know that's God's will. Marks of a godly man.

These are some of the things I look for to recognize the real man of God. Number one, is he a humble person? That's the primary mark of a godly man. That he will make you feel important and equal to him.

That is how Jesus even spoke to adulterous and bad people. Secondly, what is his attitude to money? Any preacher who is even slightly interested in your money is not a godly man. Any church that is interested in collecting your money most important is not a godly church.

And I would ask also does he preach holiness and live in holiness? And if he is married I would ask how does he live with his wife? Are his children God fearing? Why do I say that? Because our children know us better than everybody in the church.

So if a man's children are not following the Lord it's probably because they have not seen the Father following the Lord in the house. So those are the marks of a really godly man. And I don't care whether he has got preaching gifts or other gifts those are secondary.

Because there are many godly people who cannot preach well. But they live well. So these are some of the primary marks. I would also say that he is a man who really can love people. He can love his enemies he can love brothers even though he may not agree with people in other churches he loves believers in other churches also.

Union with Christ and Spiritual Warfare

That is a really godly man. Those are the type of people I would like to fellowship with. What's the meaning of in Christ? Now in the book of Ephesians you find this word in Christ many times. And God placed us in Christ before the worlds were created because he knew looking into the future that we would accept Christ one day.

And in Colossians it says in Colossians chapter 1 Christ is in you. Christ is in you and I am in Christ. How could I be crucified with Christ 2000 years ago on the cross? Because before I was born God placed me in his mind in Christ and I was in before he created the world.

And in God's mind because he knew I would accept Christ in the 1900s he knew that before the worlds were created so he put me in Christ then. So when Christ came to earth and died I died in him. And when he rose up I rose up in him.

And now I am seated in the heavenly places in him. But I am living on earth. But the Holy Spirit brings the reality of heaven into my life. But that will be true in my life only if I die to myself every day and make that choice every day.

It is not just sitting back and saying I am in Christ and living like a worldly person. That is a false teaching. That I am in Christ and now I think he is everything. Many places in the Bible it says we must pray, we must wrestle and we must and we must wrestle.

You have to fight the good fight. Paul said he fought the good fight till the end of his life. He was just not saying I am in Christ and I sit back. So a lot of false teaching comes when people don't take one truth along with the other truth.

And the devil in the temptation told Jesus it is written. Jesus said it is also written. Okay. Curse, witchcraft and demon possession. Galatians 3 .13 says that Christ became a curse for us so there is no curse for us anymore.

So there is no curse for us anymore. A true child of God can never be cursed. If the whole world tries to curse me it won't touch me. No witchcraft can touch me unless I myself go and open myself to the devil and to darkness.

But if I keep my conscience clear no witchcraft, no curse can ever touch me. It cannot touch my family. It cannot touch my house. It cannot touch my property because there are fences around me and my family and my house.