You Can Receive Power from Above — Zac Poonen

You Can Receive Power from Above — Zac Poonen

We have often said in the church that one of the things we Stand for Different from other Christians and other churches is that we emphasize the new covenant. In other words Jesus didn't come only to forgive our sin, but to save us from our sins.

And That is the first promise in the New Testament. So it's significant that the Lord has placed that as the first promise in the New Testament. Matthew 1 21 We will call his name Jesus Because he will save his people from their sins.

Now my guess is that for the 90 or 95 of Christians When they read that verse They only think of forgiveness and not Salvation from sin there are. There's a lot of difference between being forgiven of our sin and being saved from our sin but Most Christians are ignorant of it that when they read this verse in Matthew 1 21.

I Know that's how I read it for years. That's how I know all Christians read it. And if you look at your own past, you will probably see that you also read it like that That his name is Jesus because he's going to forgive our sins.

And that's how the devil prevents us from Experiencing all that there is in salvation. But that is not the only thing I mean there's some the second promise is very closely linked to that. You can't separate the two.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Fire

The second promise is in Matthew 3 11 the one who saves you from sin will baptize you or immerse you in the Holy Spirit and fire so just as much as we emphasize That we are to be saved from our sins one of the distinctive features of the emphasis in our church compared to other churches.

Equally We need to be distinguished by the fact that we Believe experience and emphasize the baptism or the immersion in the Holy Spirit and fire and we must never take that for granted. I Think a lot of Christians Even in our churches, I wonder.

But they have really entered into the fullness of the spirit. In Acts of the Apostles in chapter 19 we read of a time when Paul went to Ephesus and He found some disciples and he said to them Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed.

They said to him We haven't even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. I've often thought about that. How is it when it says he? found some disciples Wasn't out in the street. I think it must have been a meeting and it was not a Jewish meeting because these are people who believed in Jesus and They had been baptized it says in verse 3 with the baptism of John and they are called in verse 1 disciples.

So they are not Jewish people. They were I mean if they were not born again, you wouldn't call them disciples. But they had not understood Even about Christian baptism, but Paul recognizes that they had believed they were believers.

But what he's asking them is when you believe you receive the Holy Spirit. Now I think what he meant was have you been filled with the Holy Spirit because later when Paul writes Romans chapter 8 he says if you do not have the Spirit of Christ verse 9 You don't even belong to it Romans 8 9 so We must remember that the early Christians their theology was not perfect from day one.

They were Evolving and as the scriptures Got completed became more clear. For example all circumcised Timothy at one stage but later on into the Galatians, he says that's Completely wrong. You shouldn't serve to be circumcised.

So remember they were in a stage of evolution and As things became clear all Writes here that When you receive Christ, you're actually receiving the Holy Spirit. Because if you don't have him and you don't even belong to him, so when a person says Lord Jesus come into my heart Jesus himself is in heaven.

It's through the Holy Spirit that he comes in. So if a person does not receive the Spirit he doesn't even belong to him, he's not even born again. But beyond that I think what Paul meant in Acts 19 was Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

Power to Be Christ’s Witnesses

Have you experienced what Jesus said in Acts 1 8. In Acts 1 8 Jesus said There again when you look at the disciples and their experience with the Holy Spirit. First of all, let's look at John 20. John 20 the disciples were meeting together in a room and Jesus came into their midst and said in verse 22, which says here he breathed on them John 20 22 and Said receive the Holy Spirit.

This is very similar to Jesus breathing on Adam. He didn't have the name Jesus then in Genesis chapter 1. It was the Father Son and Holy Spirit Breathing on Adam and as soon as That happened Adam became a living soul.

It says That was the old creation and now in the new creation. Now Jesus is breathing on them not to make them a living soul. They're already living souls all of them. But now they were to receive the Holy Spirit and That is the beginning of the new creation.

There's Adam was the beginning of the old creation, but it was again the same way breathed on them. So when he breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit. Well as I see it they were born again.

The man receives the Spirit of Christ. He's born again. But to such people Jesus said in Acts 1 Wait until you receive power from on high. In a few days acts 1 5 You will be immersed in the Holy Spirit.

What baptize we don't understand sometimes it's a Greek word. It's a very simple word and I wish The original translators had not got scared of King James and I wish they are translated as it immersed.

Immersed and you clear a picture in the mind. Otherwise that ties the Holy Spirit sort of a anything don't understand. Immersed you'll be immersed in the Holy Spirit not many days from now and when you're immersed in the Holy Spirit You will see power acts 1 8.

I remember he's saying this to people on whom he has already breathed 40 days earlier and Told them receive the Holy Spirit but now He's saying shall receive power in the Holy Spirit's company. So I sometimes picture that when Paul went to Ephesus As I said, we didn't meet them on the streets they were in the meeting all these people were there and The I think as the meeting went on at the end of it Paul said is something missing here.

So did You know life here. That's what made him ask the question Hey, you guys know all the doctrine, but did you receive the Holy Spirit? Have you filled it the Holy Spirit? He didn't know anything about it.

So I applied that even today. I mean in meetings where Different people Sharing. And I have a question. You guys mean pillar the Holy Spirit same question that All had. Yeah, I know you're believers. I know you believe Jesus died for you.

You're born again. You want to give up your sins? Have you received power? Jesus said Come upon you when The Spirit has come and that that will enable you to be my witnesses and it's especially necessary for men because we are the leaders the spoken gifts are primarily given to men of Preaching and teaching and Sharing God's Word.

All can witness men and women. But in public proclamation the primary ministries for men and for that It's important to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. That empowering not only helps us in our ministry, but it also helps us in our life so Like everything else if we don't have sense and a need in our life We're not going to seek for it, why is it so many people don't even seek for salvation.

Basic salvation and the forgiveness of sins. It's because they don't have a sense of need in their life and all of us was through a sense of need that we sought the Lord and Came to the assurance that our sins are forgiven and that Christ came in and and I know in my own life.

Assurance of Salvation and the Search for Power

It took a number of years to even be sure that Christ has come to my life because I was born up in a Born again. My father was born again, and he's always sent us to a good Sunday school where we could hear the gospel.

Why I heard the gospel from childhood and being from meetings as a young teenager and I must have asked Jesus to come into my heart numerous times right from the age of 13 or so, but I was never sure and Here and there, here and there, here and there.

Till one day five six years later. I was sure Christ had come From one single one single verse in that coming to me. I'll not cast out that was 62 years ago and I've never doubted my Forgiveness and my salvation from that day till today not even one day.

Even in times my life was up and down. I never doubted that Christ had come in. It's amazing when God witnesses in your spirit that you're born again, not that somebody told you you're born again, but You have a witness that you have become a child of God.

We every child of God must have that inner witness. It's not a question whether other people think I'm born again or not. So I'm thankful that I got that assurance from God himself. And then I began to seek for the part of the Holy Spirit because I found I didn't have power but I had no doubt of my salvation.

Absolutely. No, no, I Wasn't seeking God for forgiveness. I wasn't seeing God to be will save me from hell. No, I said Lord I won't know and I Went somebody I was used to go to my brethren assembly where they never spoke about it.

So somebody said you've got to go to the Pentecostals. So somebody who was a Pentecostal took me up to Pentecostal pastor once and he asked me to repeat something. It's not what they did on the day of Pentecost.

When spirit came upon them and they were filled and nobody taught them anything. They were not coached into something now. What is happening today in a lot of Pentecostal charismatic circles? And their eagerness to Get people into this experience.

They're trying to coach people into it and counting statistics. How many people are baptized in the spirit and and I've been in a lot of Pentecostal charismatic meetings and my conviction is 95 of them have got a fake experience psychological manipulation human experience worth nothing.

But it's emotional it stirs them up. It doesn't give them any victory over sin doesn't give them any a lot of excitement. Yes. And so when this man tried to teach me that I said I don't want it. I found many of those pastors were all lovers of money and I said Lord, I don't want the type of experience, which these guys have got which leave them loving money and defeated by sin and this.

That they teach people to mumble something and I'm not interested in that. To tell you honestly, I was not interested in speaking in tongues. I was interested in receiving power. But that's what Jesus said.

You shall receive power. Not you shall receive tongues. And I wish that had been emphasized in those who do preach the baptism of the Holy Spirit so I Said Lord, I want I want power and I did not have it all in one experience.

God met with me in one way I can say and it was all in my room all by myself because I was Disappointed with the Pentecostal church and pastors. I meant and I found a tremendous liberty in preaching My life it was obviously supernatural that was not something I produced.

I didn't know much of the Bible when I was converted. I Just started reading. I was baptized in 1961. Then God met with me, you know. It wasn't any particular Experience I had but I was seeking God seeking God for the part of the Holy Spirit in a couple of years.

Later God met with me. And then I found I could really preach with power. I remember even Two years after I was baptized. I Was preaching in a large conferences With 5 ,000 people and they wanted me to speak again.

I knew that God had met with me. It was not me to not do not natural For me to be like that because I'm basically a shy person. I've never spoken in public in school or anywhere, so I Know that without that part of the Holy Spirit.

We cannot fulfill The ministry we have as men in the body of Christ. You can drift along. And if you're satisfied with that type of experience Then you won't get anything more but if you are Passionate to have more.

And you say Lord, I won't rest until you meet with me. God's definitely will meet with any of us. But then as time went on I found though had liberty in speaking I was Defeated often in my life Frequently discouraged.

I did not have faith for an overcoming life. And so I knew that I had to seek God again. Now, I don't know what that means I I've never been interested in Explaining my experiences theologically. I say I want the reality not just an explanation so again, I Seeking God and seeking God.

This is what 10 11 years after my initial experience and It was just getting worse and worse Defeated frustrated and then It's almost as though when I hit had hit rock-bottom Thoroughly discouraged and defeated that God suddenly met with me.

Of course if you I was praying with one or two others fasting praying. Nothing seemed to happen month after month after month after month. But when nothing happened you get more and more discouraged and discouraged, but I still kept praying.

I said Lord I don't know what's wrong with me. But I will never Get an assurance from a man That I'm filled with the spirit that's worth nothing. The opinion of men is fit for the trash can. So I don't want any one man to come and tell me.

Yes, for exact you're filled with the Holy Spirit. I don't want it. Even if he tells me I'm not interested. I won't believe it. I Want that assurance from you just like I got Assurance of salvation from you.

No man told me if some man had told me brother is like your bone again. I may have doubted it frequently. But because God told me one day in July 59, I've never doubted it for 62 years. And I said it's the same way I Don't want any man to come and tell me I'm filled with the Holy Spirit.

I don't want Any Just an external experience. I want you to assure me in my heart That you have given me that same power That the Apostles received on the day of Pentecost. I don't want anything less than that.

You have to be desperate about it and serious about it and you have to feed with God. There's a lovely expression in Hebrews 4 that I love. Which says It's a part of a worse Hebrews 4 He was 4 and verse 13.

There's a title for God here, I don't know if you've seen there's a title In Hebrews 14 for sorry who's 413 in With whom we have to do. God is the only one with whom we have to do. And I've taken that seriously.

Lord, you're the only one with whom I have to do nobody else. What people think about me unimportant whether they think I'm good or bad or We it means nothing to me it's only you with whom I have to do it's all you and me.

It's you and me that tells me whether I'm really born again. It's you and me that tells me that I've really been empowered with powerful more I not man. So I would urge you Don't seek for assurance from man any man even the best of men.

Even if the Apostle Paul were alive here and Came and told me yes, brother Zack, you're born again. I wouldn't accept it or yes brothers. I believe you're filled with the Holy Spirit. I wouldn't accept it.

He's a man. He could be wrong. I Cannot base anything. These are eternal things. I mean Forgiveness of sins is a matter of eternity. I can't risk it with man's. Telling me that I'm forgiven and accepted by the Lord.

No in the same way. Being filled with the Spirit is so essential To fulfill our ministry in the body of Christ that I cannot be satisfied with a man telling me. Yeah. Yeah, I think you are. So I'm thankful that I did not accept the testimony of men he's the one with whom I have to do.

Thirst and Faith for the Fullness of the Spirit

And so he tested me no doubt. See how eager I was. But even if I was Sinking defeated. I would still say Lord. You're the man meet with me. And I think that's the meaning of what Jesus said in John 7 37.

But he said if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. And from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water a very well-known words, which he says here this he spoke about the Holy Spirit Who those who believe in him would receive and What does that thirst mean to me that thirst was I?

Will not be happy until you assure me. That's one part of that thirsty others. I Don't care how much I'm defeated. I'm still going along for it. I believe you're gonna meet with me. It's thirst and the second thing is faith.

He who believes in me. Basically, I've discovered there are only two requirements To be filled with the Holy Spirit generally. One is thirst and the other is faith. So thirst is I said that you'll never be satisfied Until God actually meets with you and assures you that he's met with you.

Thirsty thirsty thirsty and no matter how defeated you are I'm gonna seek him and I wanted to be also Useful for the Lord in his service. Hey, I didn't want to just be one who You know, I knew the Bible pretty well even at that stage I think by I studied the Bible so well in the first seven eight years after I was converted that I knew it very well but I Wasn't satisfied with that.

I wasn't even satisfied with the fact that I could preach and explain and teach. I said Lord, I want an assurance that You have empowered me. And that must come from you, of course the evidence will be in an overcoming life.

And in a freedom and liberty. In whatever ministry you have for me now all of us don't have the same ministry but all of us do have some ministry and Certainly if you're not called to be an evangelist or a teacher or an apostle or a prophet you are called to be a witness.

That is for every Christian. Every Christian is meant to be a witness. And Jesus said you shall receive power To be my witnesses and the Spirit of God has come upon. So I found that thirst was necessary and the result would be.

It says here in John 7 38 rivers of living water Will flow. And the picture that I had in my mind as I looked at my own life ministry was. Even though I could teach and all that it was very often a struggle.

With which you know with great amount of effort. It's like In India we have in the there's no running water in the houses in the villages in India. But in some public place, there will be a hand pump Connected to some well underneath.

And all the women in the village will come there with their buckets and vessels To collect water. And they pump and pump and pump and pump and pump in the water comes. No, it's not by electricity. And I felt that my Ministry, yeah, some water was coming out of me living water, but it is with such tremendous effort.

Effort effort effort effort effort effort and then some of them would come out. But that's not how a river is nobody pumps a river. God himself opposite. The flow of a river is effortless and I said Lord, that's what I want where from the innermost being.

Rivers flow. Is that for every believer? You feel it's for you. That's the question. Is it only for preachers or apostles or prophets? He who believes in me that include you rivers of living water Will flow from his innermost being is not from certain special Believers.

He who believes in me includes every single believer. Really truly born-again believer in the world. But he's got a thirst. Verse 37. In other words if you're satisfied that Yeah, some trickle is coming out of me now and then I Guarantee the next 50 years.

You'll only have a trick. I Was not happy. I Said Lord, this is not it's not a river. Yeah, I'm really not. It's with great effort. I Fill a bucket. This is that's not what I see is the part of the Holy Spirit and I believe that's.

Witness, Evangelism, and Making Disciples

If you have that type of thirst, so you meet with you as well. Next one eight, you know when Jesus said to them when the Holy Spirit has come upon you you receive power. You shall be be My witnesses. Different from bearing witness for me.

Bearing witness means by word of mouth. Being my witness acts 1 8 means by life and by word and you know when you think of those Early fishermen. They don't have a Bible. They hadn't been to any Bible school, they didn't know any theology to be able to impress people they were they were not great intellectuals like many of us are who got abilities and educated and they're not graduates and They were supposed to take this strange message to the whole world.

I thought of that, you know in India, for example he called we experienced some things of trying to witness in primitive situations in the villages in India and you go to I Mean in some very simple places where places where there are no Christians at all.

You go and tell a story you won't preach the gospel in a village in India. They're all Hindus and You want to tell them? About Jesus dying for their sins, so you tell them the gospel story. How do you start.

I mean, okay, we are all sinners and there's a way of forgiveness and salvation and then you have to explain that. You know 2 ,000 years ago in a land called Israel. They don't know anything about geography somewhere over there somewhere in the world a little baby was born and It was born with a mother who didn't have a husband.

Immediately that guy knows you're a little off your head when you say that God came upon him the Holy Spirit came on him and we're trying to get the gospel across to this person and anyway, he's patient enough listens to you and then he says he grew up and He went around healing the sick.

Can anybody you touched was healed and All those things and then Finally they killed him. Now the average Hindu is absolutely surprised that anybody can kill God and You got to you you try it out if you ever go into a village and nobody knows anything about the gospel.

This is exactly what happens. They say oh, how can anybody kill him? Anyway. They feel you're a little off your head because you started off saying that a virgin gave birth. So this is okay. I love all that and Then that's not the end.

They killed him and then three days later. He rose from the dead they just absolutely convinced you're off your head and He died there 2 ,000 years ago for your sins man. You think he's gonna believe it if the power of the Holy Spirit is there.

But then in the early days yet to say the Lord said it will be confirmed. So this is what happens in many of the villages. I say, okay now Bring your demon-possessed people here who could not be delivered.

And I'll prove to you that this Jesus is alive and then Almost every village. There are some demon to this people and then you the person comes there the kicking or screaming or the different types some are subdued and In the name of Jesus.

You cast out that demon and the person is freed they believe he's living. It's a demonstration of power. That's why Jesus said These signs will follow those who believe now that is you see there are two great commissions.

One is in Mark 16 where He said go into all the world and preach the gospel. This is evangelism. John Mark 16 15 he who believes in his baptized will be saved. And how in the world I mean the Lord knows how in the world is that guy gonna believe the strange thing you're talking about a virgin birth and Resurrection from the dead and all that.

It says even in Acts 17. I went for When Paul preached that in Athens all the Greeks laughed at him when they spoke about the resurrection from the dead. But still there was a church in Athens one time he left.

And it says here these signs will Follow those who believe in my name. They'll cast out demons. Then they will see oh there's power. See that is the way the Lord confirmed. Like it says in the last part of verse 20 they preached and the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word.

With the signs that followed that was the reason why they had to be empowered with the Holy Spirit. I Tell you you go into these villages where they're team possessed people and who know nothing about Jesus Christ.

Well, you you can never do anything without the power of the Holy Spirit. He the world is to be confirmed. Which signs that followed? Okay, but the other great Commission is in Matthew 28 where It says make disciples of all nations.

This is this is the next step after they are converted and they are baptized then we have to teach them to do Matthew 28 20 make disciples those 19 and teach them to do all that I've commanded you here.

There's no mention of Signs and wonders and no casting out demons or laying hands on the sick or Not even speaking in tongues nothing here. So when it goes into these new areas Where they don't know anything about Jesus there.

The need is for supernatural science to confirm the word Spoken but then when you're making disciples the need is not for supernatural science. The need is to teach them to do every single thing I Jesus has commanded and that is Particularly Matthew 5 6 and 7 so for both of these we need the power of the Holy Spirit if you're going out Preach the gospel.

You need the Lord to confirm the word which signs following that is part of the Holy Spirit and then To teach people to do every single thing that Jesus commanded. You really need the power of the Holy Spirit to build a church like that where the emphasis is on Total obedience to every single thing Jesus said.

The Spirit’s Continuing Work Through the Church

When it doesn't stop there because I believe that After the day of Pentecost Jesus continued to speak through the Holy Spirit all that is written in the Epistles so Things written in the Epistles are in a sense what the Lord continued to do and teach.

See acts 1 1. Luke's gospel and acts of the Apostles were both written by Luke as far as I know he's the only non Jew who wrote scripture all the other books of scripture written by the Jews except Luke and acts which are written by Luke who is a Greek and Referring to his first gospel.

He says in acts 1 1 the first account I composed of Theophilus. That's the Luke also. He mentions Theophilus. That's how we know that this new Google wrote this. How does Luke describe His gospel you were to ask Luke.

Give us a heading for your gospel. Here it is everything that Jesus began to do and began to teach. Jesus did not practice what he preached it says here. He preached what he had already practiced, which is very different.

He had practiced that means he did it first for 30 years then priesthood for three and a half years. So that's what he says. My first gospel is about what Jesus did and taught. So if you were to ask him that's the first verse of Acts.

So Luke, how would you describe the Acts of the Apostles? He would say well first gospel, which I wrote was all that Jesus began to do and teach in his physical body and Acts of the Apostles which you call actually the apostles is what Jesus continued to do and teach through his spiritual body.

That's it. So it's again Jesus do doing him teaching but that was through his physical body. And this is so his spiritual body the church that was done in the part of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was born of the Spirit and filled with the Spirit and this spiritual body was also born of the Spirit and filled with the Spirit and continued to to do and to teach.

What Jesus? Began to do and teach in Nazareth when he was on earth so for this too We need the part of the Holy Spirit. It's central and fundamental To the Christian life we cannot think of living the Christian life and it is not a once-for-all experience because We read here in Acts 2 and verse 4.

They were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in tongues, but then when you go on to Acts chapter 4 You read there in verse 31 They prayed the place was gathered and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit again.

So obviously this is not a once-for-all experience. It was not that they just got it on Acts chapter 2 and then it was it. No, they had to be filled with the Holy Spirit again and in Acts 5 also we read then Peter Into the spirit, I mean somewhere further down there I see so it was.

Again, and again, you find that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. So that shows us that they is something continuous and In when we read about the only place in the epistles where we are told to be filled of the Spirit is Ephesians 5 18 if you turn there meaning there is.

There's a when he says be filled of the Spirit in the original language, it's present continuous. Not once for all. So the correct translation of that Ephesians 5 18 would be the last part Be being filled with the Spirit.

That's the right way to read it. Keep on being filled with the Spirit. He saw Peter's experience you see how The Apostle Paul when he was The Lord met with him on the road to Damascus you read in Acts chapter 9 the Lord met with him there and he Said who are you Lord?

He was I believe he was converted there but we just saw Jesus there and he received accepted that Jesus was the Messiah immediately and. But then we read here that he went into Damascus and he's waiting there and Ananias came to him sent by God and said to Paul That you're a chosen instrument.

Acts 9 15 the Lord Said to go for he's a chosen instrument of mine and analyzed it entered. And said to him in verse 17 Jesus has sent me So that you may regain your sight and that you might be filled with the Holy Spirit so.

And an eyes prayed for Paul and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's how he began his Christian life and when Paul Was later on sent out by The Church in Antioch to go and Preach. It says in Acts 13 and verse 4 Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the Holy Spirit.

They encountered a magician in verse 8 Who was opposing them? Who had some supernatural demonic power and Saul verse 9 filled with the Holy Spirit rebuked him and that brought Faith in the pro concept when he saw verse 12 and the pro concept saw what had happened.

He believed he came to faith so we see this fullness of the Spirit was in was the secret by which they did their ministry and I think the devil has done a tremendous work in Devaluing it but so many Christians will only talk about being born again and right doctrine and And it's forgiveness of sins and it's possible for us also to talk a lot about new covenants and Overcoming sin and all that and which is very necessary and very very important.

But it can be academic dry doctrine. Correct doctor. But Apart from the power of the Holy Spirit It'll be dry and empty accurate but dry and empty. And I've seen number of believers in CFC churches, I feel like Asking the same question which Paul asked the Ephesians.

Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? He said something I mean he saw all these people in Ephesus and they were maybe they were sharing nicely and Some clever things and They didn't have a Bible if they had a Bible.

They probably could say it say even more impressive things quoting this verse and that verse the other one. And we can do all that and a discerning apostle like Paul would come in and say hey all you say is great.

Now you guys feel to the Holy Spirit very very very important. I Really felt like that in some dead meetings. This is not Jesus is not present in this meeting it's not something you're missing altogether.

The Fire of the Spirit and Christ-Centered Ministry

I Remember, you know the baptism Holy Spirit is called a baptism of fire so fire is a Fire gives light and warmth. It's not just light. And I I remember as a young Christian as I was beginning to preach God's Word.