Sixteen Truths That I Have Learnt - Part 4 — Zac Poonen

So, we'll begin with reviewing what we covered in the last few sessions about 16 truths that I have learned in these 63 years. The first one was, God loves Jesus' disciples as much as he loved Jesus, it's the foundation of everything.

We've got to begin there. The second was, God delights in honest people, that's what it means to walk in the light. And the third was, God delights in cheerful givers. He doesn't want robots, he doesn't want any compulsion on anybody.

And fourth, we must treat every human being with dignity, respect for human beings. And then, fifth, holiness comes not by any effort, but by looking unto Jesus. And then, the way of the cross is the way of life, number six.

And seven, this world's opinions about us are fit only for the trash can. Number eight, we must be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. And number nine, this world's values are the opposite of God's, not slightly different, but completely opposite.

Number 10, nobody can harm us except we ourselves. Number 11, knowing God intimately is the secret of being strong. Number 12, God has a perfect plan for each of our lives. We want to go now to number 13.

The New Covenant Is Superior to the Old Covenant

The New Covenant is far superior to the Old Covenant. This is something that radically changed my life. The Bible is divided into Old Testament and New Testament. We need the entire 66 books. But when we are talking about covenant, we are talking about an agreement that God made with man.

There was an agreement that God made with Israel on Mount Sinai, which Moses was the mediator. There's an agreement that God made with man after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the coming of the Holy Spirit, where the mediator was Jesus Christ.

And we need to understand the terms of this New Covenant very clearly because I know it changed my life when I really understood it. And it's described for us in chapter eight of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter eight.

See, the old life we had was one where people lived, first of all, an external life in the Old Covenant. It was not an inward life. There was only, out of the Ten Commandments, nine were external. There's only one that was inward, the last one, you shall not covet or desire anything that God hasn't given you, your neighbor's wife, or anything that's your neighbor's.

And that's the one which Romans 7, Paul says, really convicted me. I could keep all the others, but I couldn't keep the tenth one. You remember the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and Jesus said, keep the commandments and Jesus went through the list up to number nine and he stopped there.

Why didn't Jesus include number 10? Read that in Mark 10 sometime. Because he knows that nobody can keep it. Not a single human being can keep number 10. Then why did God put it there as number 10? To test people, to see how many people will be honest, to say, Lord, I could not keep the law.

Everybody would boast I've kept the law. Paul boasted like that till he got light. And he says in Romans chapter seven, when it came to the tenth commandment, you shall not lust. He says, I found all types of lusting in my heart.

And he was honest about it. And that's what led him into the new covenant. And any person who tries to keep the ten commandments and keeps all nine, it's very easy to keep the nine and comes to the tenth and is honest and says, I cannot keep it.

I find all types of lusts coming in my heart. God will lead such a person into the new covenant. So God was testing people's honesty there. How many people will be honest and admit, I can't keep it? A lot of people would just pretend, yeah, I'm keeping the law.

All of Israel people boasted they were keeping the law, but they were not. That's why the tenth commandment was put there. Very important to understand that in Romans seven makes it very clear. So in Hebrews chapter eight, we read in verse seven, if that first covenant had been faultless, then there would have been no occasion for a second covenant.

It's not like some new model of a car being produced because the first model was not good enough. God doesn't make mistakes. The purpose of the law was never to lead people to holiness. No. The book of Romans, sorry, James says the law was like a mirror.

In today's language, we would say the law is like an x-ray or a magnetic image resonance picture of your body. That doesn't heal you. But every doctor will order that to find out what's wrong. So what is the purpose of that magnetic image resonance or of the x-ray?

To show you what is wrong. And every doctor uses it even today. That is the purpose of the law, never to heal you, only to show you what's wrong. So people who think they can save by the law, the crazy people who think, well, the x-ray was taken about me, I'm okay.

No, you're not. Just show you what the 101 things wrong with you. So that's why there was a need for a new covenant. And God's plan was the old covenant was only meant to show people who were honest. Those who were dishonest when it came to the 10th commandment and would pretend they're all right, would never be led into the new covenant.

And I'll tell you this, Christians who don't take the 10th commandment seriously, you shall not lust, will never enter into the new covenant. How did Paul take it? Let's turn to Romans chapter 7 and see what he says.

In Romans 7, Paul says, the last part of verse 7, Romans 7, 7, I would not have known that coveting was a sin if the law had not said you shall not covet. But when I came to the law, I found coveting, verse 8, of every kind.

I said, Paul, were you lusting? He said, lusting of every possible kind, lusting after people's property and money and women and lusting of every imaginable kind. And then he says, another law, Romans 8, 2, the law of the Holy Spirit, which brought life in Christ into me, that's the one that set me from the other law, which only brought sin and death.

Now it's possible to listen to the commandments in the New Testament. You can read the New Testament commandments are found in the Sermon on the Mount. And you can read the Sermon on the Mount and feel condemned.

I get angry. I lust with my eyes. I love money. I'm anxious. I'm just telling you the things listed in the Sermon on the Mount. When I pray, I'm very conscious that other people are listening and I seek to impress them.

And I'm anxious. And I'm worried. And at times I judge other people. I'm just going through Matthew 5, 6 and 7. And we are guilty on every count. But it doesn't stop there. What is the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount?

Like the law, it was like a mirror to show you your need. If you stop with the Sermon on the Mount, you'll never be saved. Because you cannot live it. Just like you cannot live the Tenth Commandment. The purpose of it all was to drive you to the Lord and say, Lord, how can I live this life?

Have you noticed the answer at the end of the Sermon on the Mount? Read Matthew. Matthew 5, 6 and 7 is the highest possible standard of morality that you read anywhere in the Bible. And many people don't take it seriously.

Do you know the number of people who have come to me in Bangalore and CFC and said, Brother Zach, I never knew that anger was a sin till I heard you preach against it. I never heard anyone saying that lusting with my eyes was sinful.

Look at the number of born-again believers who watch pornography. It's absolutely amazing. The number of born-again believers who watch it, they are enslaved to it. I tell people, imagine if that was your sister.

Your own sister whom you love very much. Stripping herself to be exploited by some man and somebody is filming the whole thing. Think of that as your sister. To earn some money. And you're paying for it.

Would you do it? You say, oh no. But that's somebody else's sister. I don't care for her. Aha. You don't care for it because it is somebody else's sister. What type of Christian are you? If it were your own sister, you would never permit it.

But if it's somebody else's sister, I don't mind paying for it. Or if it's free, watch it. Watch some woman being exploited, who is poor and being exploited by those people. It shows up the condition of many Christians.

There are born-again people who have admitted to me. Brother Zach, I remember, you know, who admitted, I cannot take any responsibility in the church because I watch pornography. I admired that man immensely.

Because he was a really godly person who was honest about his struggle. Unlike so many others who would pretend that they're very holy and watch it all secretly. And it has proliferated so much with cell phones and everything else.

The one who's needy will enter the new covenant. And in the new covenant, see what he says in Hebrews chapter 8, like when he cries out like Paul, I found lusting in me of every kind. And he says in Romans 7, Who shall deliver me from this body of death?

It's a tremendous cry. Have you heard that in Romans chapter 7? Wretched man that I am. Romans 7 .24. Have you ever cried like that? Oh, wretched man that I am. With all this lusting going on of all types of things in my life, how will I be delivered?

That's the man who comes to the freedom. In Romans 8 .2 says, The law of the Spirit has set me free. If you just read Romans 8 .2, without going through Romans 7, I can tell you in Jesus name, you have got no victory.

You're just fooling people. You're a defeated person. But if you come through Romans 7 and say, Lord, I find all types of lusting in me. Wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this body of death?

I thank God. Verse 25, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, the law of the Spirit has set me free. So when we come to Hebrews 8, it's very important to understand these terms of the new covenant. Very important to see.

The Sermon on the Mount and the Promise of Life

What is the new covenant like? In verse 10 to 12. Listen carefully as I read it. And tell me the difference that you see immediately between this and the old covenant. It will be very obvious. Okay, the old covenant was, Thou shalt have no other gods but me.

Thou shalt not worship idols. Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain. Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy. Thou shalt honor thy father and mother. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness, etc. And thou shalt not covet anything that's thy neighbor's. What is it? Thou shalt, thou shalt, thou shalt not, thou shalt not, thou shalt not, thou shalt, thou shalt not.

Or you shall and you shall, you shall not. Now, now listen to the new covenant. Verse 10 of Hebrews 8. After this covenant, I'll make a new covenant with the, those days. And you find you shall and you shall not is missing completely here.

The Lord says, I will put my laws into their minds. I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God. They shall be my people. They shall not teach not. They should not. They shall not teach every man his fellow citizen, knowing the Lord.

All shall know me. From the least to the greatest. There's no need for anyone to teach his fellow citizen. Everybody will know me personally. Not through somebody else saying, know the Lord. No. I will be merciful to their iniquities.

I will remember their sins. Do you see clearly between the thou shalt and thou shalt not? The I will, and I will, and I will. Now, if you, when you hear the message in the church today, and all these years you've been in the CFC church, and you always got it as thou shalt.

You must do this. You must do that. And you must do that. And you go home condemned. It's clear proof you have not understood the new covenant at all. Because the new covenant, God says, I will do this.

Have you heard it? I never understood it for years. I was living under the burden of, I went to the Sermon on the Mount, and I found thou shalt. Even there. And it was a much higher standard than the thou shalt of the Ten Commandments.

Ten Commandments said, don't commit adultery. The Lord says, don't even lust. The Ten Commandments said, don't murder. It says, don't get angry. Boy, did he come to liberate us or to raise the standard high and make us more miserable?

And many people, when they hear that, then you say, why did God give it like that? To see at the end. See what it says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew chapter 7. After presenting this impossible high standard, much higher than the law, the Lord says, what should you do?

Matthew 7, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Ask, and this life will be given to you. This life that I've just described. Seek, and God will help you to find this life. Knock, and the door will be opened to you, this life.

For everyone who asks sincerely, wholeheartedly, for this life will receive it. He's telling you to ask. You won't get it otherwise. And you've missed it completely. You stopped at Matthew chapter 7, verse 6, and says, boy, I just feel condemned more after reading the Sermon on the Mount.

Go on. When you want that life and you don't have it, ask. Seek. And then he goes on to say, if you evil people, verse 11, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give what is good?

What is good? Matthew 5, 6, and 7. To those who ask him, what's he telling you to do? He's not telling you to strive like those people under the law. He's telling you to ask, and seek, and knock, and you'll get it.

Because the new covenant is, I will do it for you. So I fear that many people, even in our CFC churches, have taken the Sermon on the Mount as a higher level of commandments and get condemned. And like Paul says, I found lusting of every kind in me.

Every single commandment in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 I'm disobeying. I couldn't keep any of them. So what did you do about it? Just live under that condemnation? I found I couldn't keep any of them. But I went to Matthew 7, verse 7 onwards, and I asked.

And the Lord opened my eyes to the new covenant. It's liberating when the Lord says, don't worry, I'll do it for you. You can't do it. You'll never attain to it. I will do it. What will he do? Number one, verse 12.

I'll be merciful to all your past iniquities. You've got to begin there. Hebrews 8, 12. And here's the wonderful part. Never found in the Old Testament. Never anywhere in the Old Testament. I will not even remember their sins anymore.

Do you know that when Jesus forgives you, even if you sinned this morning, and you confessed it, you may remember it if you want. And you will. But God says, I won't remember it. He doesn't say, I've forgotten about it.

How can he forget what I remember? His memory is better than mine. But what he's saying is, I choose not to remember it when you come to me. I don't hold it against you. When you come to me, I'm not remembering what you did this morning or yesterday because you confessed it.

It's gone. Isn't it a wonderful thing to be able to come to God and know that there's not a single sin against my name. I come before God. Justified means just as if I'd been righteous from day one of my life.

That's justified. Just as if I'd been righteous all the days of my life. I'm accepted. Accepted in Christ. Accepted in the beloved. God looks at me and says, I don't see a sin in your life. I want to ask all of you here who have really confessed your sins and have made Christ Lord of your life.

Do you really believe? Be honest. If you have confessed everything and you are sincerely seeking the Lord, can you really believe that God looks at you today and says, I don't see a single sin in your life.

Not even one. But Lord, this morning I had a bad thought. Oh really? I don't see it. Can you imagine what your life will be like? I'll tell you, I live under this tremendous liberty of the sons of God.

It's made my life supremely happy. I don't live under condemnation. Zero. Romans 8 .1 There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Zero. Many Christians live under condemnation. I drew a little diagram once, which some of you have seen, with a no entry sign.

Self-condemnation. Don't enter that road. Don't enter that road. It's a no entry road. Self-condemnation. So when you come into a meeting and you hear the word of God and you feel condemned, either the preacher preached it in the wrong way or you received it in the wrong way.

One of the two. But otherwise there's no condemnation. If you have not entered into a relationship with Christ, then you deserve to be condemned. Definitely. Until you have truly repented and turned to the Lord.

I'll be merciful. I will not remember their sins anymore. And next, you won't have anybody else to teach you to know the Lord. I will personally reveal myself to you from the least to the greatest, as their father.

Do you know God is your father? Simple question. When you pray, do you pray like Jesus taught? Heavenly Father? Or do you pray, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord. Most believers that I have heard praying, there's nothing wrong in praying Lord.

He is the Lord. Paul also sometimes prayed Lord. But a more intimate way of praying is Father. Every morning when I get up in bed, before I get out of bed, I look up and say, Father, I would encourage you to do the same.

Before you get out of bed, say, Dad, I'm so happy that I'm your child. That you look upon me with joy. Not with a frown. No. He never looks at me with a frown. I live under the smiling face of my father.

That's what makes my life happy. That's what makes my home life peaceful. You know, if a person is living under tremendous tension in his place of work, in the office, when he comes home, he'll be miserable.

He'll make life miserable for his wife because he had a tough time with his boss. So you wake up in the morning and you have a tough time with God looking down upon you with a frown. You'll make life miserable for everybody else in the home.

But imagine if you wake up in the morning and you see God smiling at you. It'll make a tremendous difference to the way you are in your home that day. Because you started the day right. Before you get out of bed, even if you have one minute or five minutes, stay a little longer in your bed.

Five minutes is not too long. And rejoice in your heavenly father says. You say, but I'm a little child. Well, it says here it starts with the youngest child. Have you noticed that verse 11? In the world they say from the greatest to the least, but here it says from the least to the greatest.

Were you converted just this morning? He comes to you first. From the least to the greatest. That's what it says here. I use this example. Supposing I have a number of children of mine sitting around the dining table and the 14-year-old boy says, Dad, I want to say something.

And the two-year-old says, Dad, I want to say something. Who are you going to listen to first? Tell me. The two-year-old. I say, you 14-year-old, hang on. You can wait. Yes, my little boy, my two-year-old, what do you want to tell me?

That is how God is. He's a father. Do you know him like that? Or do you say, I'm too young. I'm not like Brother Zach, mature, sane. God will listen to me last. I'll tell you that. He'll listen to you first.

I'll tell you why. Not because I'm the greatest, but because I've been converted a longer time. From the least to the greatest. The law in the kingdom of God is always the least to the greatest. The kingdom of heaven is like little children.

Not like grown-up adult people. Like little children. And the third part of the new covenant is, I will put my law into their mind and in their heart. Mind means I'll give them a desire to do my will.

Heart means I'll give them the strength to do my will. Two things I need. Desire and strength. Some of you may think, I have a great desire to do God's will. Where did you get it from? Oh brother, I just had the desire.

No, you didn't. God put it in you. Humble yourself and acknowledge it. Don't be conceited and think, I have a desire to do God's will. No, you don't. You have a desire to live in sin. You have a desire to watch pornography.

You have a desire to yell at your wife. You have a desire to do all types of wrong things. But God put a desire in your mind to please him. Give him the credit. And then he says, I who put that desire in your mind to please me will also give you the strength to please me.

Philippians 2. Verse 13. God is at work inside you. It's always the work of the Holy Spirit. To do what? First of all to will his good pleasure and then to work his good pleasure. That is putting it in the mind and the heart.

That is the new covenant. That is how we partake of God's nature. That is number 13. Meditate on it. There's a huge wealth of riches here. Possess it all. It's been purchased for you by Christ. No condemnation.

Persecution for Those Who Live Godly Lives

Number 14. We will be rejected and persecuted by the world. 2 Timothy 3. Verse 12. 2 Timothy 3. Verse 12. Indeed, certainly, everyone, all means every single Christian who desires to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

I'm not thinking of the places where they torture you and put you in prison. No, no, no. Could be in your office. They're making life in some way miserable to you because you don't do some crooked thing.

I remember once in the Navy when I refused to do something unrighteous. They transferred me in half an hour from my post. I got a transfer. I said, praise the Lord. And I had many experiences like that where I found that if you're godly, if you really like to live godly in Christ Jesus, 2 Timothy 3. Verse 12, you will be persecuted in some way or the other.

In China, it's much worse. But it's the same principle. In your place of work, if you keep quiet and you're not going to be a bold witness for Christ, you do crooked things and go along with all the other crooked people in the office who do unrighteous things, then you won't be persecuted.

It says you're only those who are really eager to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. Are you one of those? Then you will be persecuted. And that's going to happen. And Jesus said in John 16. And verse 33.

In me, you will have peace. John 16 .33. In the world, you might have tribulation. No. You will have tribulation. But take courage. I've also faced it, the Lord says, and I overcame the world. So when you face this tribulation, you can overcome also.

You may suffer. Jesus suffered. You'll be called bad names. You know what all names Jesus was called? Beelzebul. Prince of devils. I'll tell you some of the names I've been called. I wrote it down. Devil.

Son of the devil. Evil spirit. Actually, people have called me Antichrist. Most of them were Christians who called me with these names. No Hindu or Muslim have called me bad names. It's always some Christian who calls me bad names.

Antichrist. Deceiver. Terrorist. Spiritual terrorist. Murderer. Diatrophist. Jesus said, rejoice when they call you by name. Because if they call the head of the house prince of devils, how much more?

So, I want you to read this verse in Matthew chapter 10. Here it says, how those who deny me, verse 33, before men, I will deny him before my father. And he went on to say further on, I'm looking for that verse.

If they call the head of the house Bilzebul, how much more the members of his household? Anyway, you know that verse is there. I can't find it immediately. 10? 10, 25. I knew it was in 10 somewhere. 25.

Oh, here it is. There's 25. 10, 25. Matthew. It is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher. If they have called the head of the house Bilzebul, prince of devils, how much more the members of his household?

I want to ask you. Are you a member of his household? You say yes. What are the names you've been called? Or have you cleverly navigated your way without offending anybody? And trying to keep a good name?

It says here, how much more? If you're a member of his household, how much more will they malign the members of his household? I am a member of his household and I have been called by all types of names.

And I tell you this, not a question of the names they call you. It's a question of how they treat you. When you are upright and you're seeking to be a bold witness for Christ, it doesn't matter which country, which century you live in.

You'll find sometimes persecution, and sometimes that persecution can come for Christians. As I told you, it's Christians very often who have called me by these names. Some who have left our church and left CFC and gone away.

They're the ones who called me by their names. People for whom I have done numerous good things. Helped them financially, taken care of them in so many ways. Helped them when they were in hospital. Now they call me deceiver and all types of things.

God bless you, brother. It's perfectly okay. Who are the ones who called Jesus by these names? Was it the Romans? The Romans in Turin said, this is the Son of God. The Greeks said, we want to see this person.

Who are the people who called him Prince of Devils? The people who read the Genesis to Malachi every day? The Pharisees. Who are the people who will call you by these names who will stand against you?

People who do not like that you stand up for the truth and expose hollow Christianity. So, I believe as we come to the end of time, it'll be even more and more like that. You know, Jesus said that in Matthew 24.

He said, there will be all types of persecution and they'll deliver you to tribulation and kill you and many people will fall away. That time hasn't yet come, but this is the preparation for that. So, we will be rejected and persecuted by the world because all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Come back to that verse in 2 Timothy 3 .12 and ask yourself, in whatever way, are you being persecuted because you seek to live a godly life in your place of work and you refuse to tell a lie? You refuse to do what is wrong?

I remember when someone who was a secretary in an office in Bangalore asked me once, Brother Zach, what shall I do if I'm sitting with my boss in the office and the phone rings and as I pick up the phone, the boss says, if it is for me, tell him I'm not here.

What should I say? I say, okay, pick up the phone and if the person asks, is your boss there, put the phone down. He will ring again. Before he rings again, tell the boss, Sir, I'm a Christian. Please don't ask me to tell lies.

It's going to ring now. Please ask somebody else to pick up this phone. You may lose your job. Better to lose your job than tell a lie. My boss is not here. I want to ask you, what would you do in that situation?

I'll tell you what happened to one of our believers who is not exactly this type of situation but who refused to tell a lie and it put the boss in a very awkward situation. But you know what happened?

That boss trusted that person much more after that day. I said, this guy is really upright. He'll never betray me. He's got such a fear of God. He valued him after that day in the office. It turned out for his good.

God honors those who honor him. It actually happened to somebody in our church. So don't be afraid but don't be surprised when the persecution comes. Okay. Number 15. This especially applies to those who are in full-time Christian work but it generally applies to everyone.

Trusting God to Supply Every Need

We must trust in God alone to supply all our needs. Philippians 4 .19. It's something I learned and because I've been in full-time Christian work it specifically applied to me because I saw everywhere around I saw preachers in every single country sending prayer letters pretending they're asking for prayer and even an idiot can know they're asking for money.

And pleading in the church. I remember Santosh telling me before we had any CFC churches in Bangalore when he was a student, he went to one church and they took an offering right at the beginning. And if I remember right I don't know, they counted it and they said, it's not enough.

We're going to take another offering. I've heard someplace where they took four offerings in one church. What type of crazy thing? Can you imagine Jesus doing this? We read once when Jesus saw a big crowd today if a preacher sees a big crowd he says, let's get the offerings first before some of these people go away.

I remember this actually happened in Bangalore where a man, a Hindu man came for a healing meeting where some American preacher had come claiming to be a healer and he brought his handicapped wife who was on a stretcher she couldn't walk, paralyzed because this advertised healing this Hindu man said, okay and he brought her to the meeting and you know how these preachers are they'll always take the offering before they pray for healing you know why?

Because nobody's healed and the offering will be less. So before the healing prayer they pass the bag around and this chap being a Hindu has the idea that only if you give a large amount of money to God you'll get healed.

He put a large amount of money and at the end of the meeting nobody was healed, he took his wife away. Some time later they arranged another meeting like that and they wanted all the leading preachers and I was not a pastor but I was in charge of one church said we want all of you to come and sit on the platform we're going to have a public meeting with some great American guy coming.

I said, hey I want to ask you a question. I've had this experience where I bought some gadget from a store a Hindu man and when I operated some electronic gadget it didn't work and I took it back to the store and he gladly took it back and gave me back the money.

I said, I'm sorry. Many stores will do that. I said, you had a meeting the other day and you offered healing and you collected the money and that guy's wife was not healed will you give him the money back?

No. I said, you're all crooks. That Hindu storekeeper is a hundred times better than you. He gave the money back when the gadget didn't work and your prayer didn't work why don't you give the money back to all these people?

Don't ask me to come and sit on the platform with all of you hypocrites. I will never sit there. I was very unpopular in Bangalore. They thought I was the antichrist standing against Christian meetings.

I said, it's all hypocrisy. How can I have anything to do with all the others? Meekly go and sit there because it's a great honor to sit on the platform with all these thousands of people watching. I have no interest in that.

Zero interest in that. I want to, I fear God and I want to answer to him. I'm a servant of God, not a servant of these men. Yeah. So, I don't, I say we have to be faithful. So, I read this verse in Philippians 4, 19.

My God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. So, we don't have to ask for money. We don't have to take a collection in our meeting. We have about a hundred churches with about 150 elders in all our churches.