The Grace in Which We Stand and Overcome — Zac Poonen

Acceptance by God and Satan’s Schemes

Let's turn to Romans in chapter 5. Before Satan can get power over us to make us fall into sin, he has to somehow bring some doubt into our mind about our acceptance by our father. And this is a very common tactic of Satan.

We must remember, Paul says in one of the episodes that we are not ignorant of Satan's schemes and wiles and tricks. We must not be ignorant. And one of his most common wiles or schemes is to make us doubt whether our heavenly father has accepted us.

Because we are so aware of many weaknesses within us. Even what we hear in the church, we know we have not come up to that standard. And so we wonder. So one of the things that's helped me very much is to recognize that the primary thing that God requires from his children is not holiness.

It is honesty. And it's amazing what he'll do for an honest person, if he's 100 honest. The thing is, it's very difficult for most human beings to be 100 honest. Every human being has this desire to pretend as Christians that we are more spiritual than we really are.

And even in relationships with one another that I'm a good person, I'm a very loving person, or all types of things. I'll tell you my brothers and sisters from all the years that I've known the Lord, if there's one thing you must fight in your life, it is being dishonest with the Lord, or pretending before the Lord.

Get rid of pretense from your life completely. Fight it. Fight it more than any other sin. You know, in the Old Testament, there were many commandments. But if we were to make a list of New Testament commandments, the number one commandment would be don't pretend.

Don't be a hypocrite. The word hypocrite is a Greek word, which means actor. It's not an English word. It was imported into the English language from the Greek language. And it means actor. So what Jesus, Jesus said, you should not be hypocrite.

He said, don't be an actor. Don't pretend. Don't act something you're not. And among Christians, the great temptation is to pretend that we are more spiritual than we really are. You know the level of your spirituality.

I'm not saying you should confess your sins to others. Never. We sin against God. The only sin you confess to a human being is where you've sinned against him. But you don't have to tell your sins to human beings.

And you don't even have to tell human beings how carnal you are. But when it comes to God, we must be 100 honest. You know that verse, very well known verse in 1 John 1 7, if we walk in the light, as God is in the light, maybe I should turn there first.

Because some of you may not know it is a very well known verse. 1 John 1 7 tells us how we can have fellowship with God. If we walk in the light, I never get tired of saying this. I don't mind saying it 100 times.

Fellowship with God is the reason why Jesus died on the cross. And he wants everyone else to have unbroken fellowship with God. Unbroken fellowship with your husband and your wife. Unbroken fellowship with your brothers and sisters in the church.

There must not be a break in it. You know, a break in the electric line will put your house into darkness. Just a little break. You must look at it like that. There's a break in your fellowship with God.

It's darkness immediately. You don't need the electric wire to be put one mile apart. Just a small break is enough. The same way in our fellowship with one another. Even if another person walks in darkness, a brother in the church or a sister in the church, let them do that.

You can't change them. But you determine to walk in the light. That you will never allow the slightest bit of pretense to come into your life. I guarantee if you obey that from this day onwards in the next one year, you'll grow more spiritually than you've ever grown in any year in the past.

Bold Witness for Christ

So many things that limit us. Some of you are not bold to be a witness for Christ in your place of work, to your unconverted relatives. You're always seeking to please them. That's evil. I don't say that's a bad habit.

It's absolutely downright evil. I put it in the same category as murder. Imagine to be ashamed to let others know that I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. To people in the office, I'm not saying you should shout it out.

But don't ever be ashamed to be known as a disciple of Jesus Christ and your unconverted relatives especially. If you're ashamed to let them know that you're a disciple of Jesus Christ, you're not fit to be a Christian.

You should say, I'm a heathen. I'm ashamed to acknowledge Christ as my Savior and Lord to my unconverted relatives. Very, very important. How will they ever, if they go to hell, you'll be responsible.

And I'll tell you why you'll be responsible when you see your relatives burning in hell. You say to yourself, they are burning in hell because I was ashamed to tell them honestly the truth. I don't want any of my relatives ever to blame me for going to hell.

They'll say, you knew the truth, Zak, and you never told us. Yes, I did. You didn't want it. That's another thing. And the same way with the place I work. I didn't preach, but I would always seek to be a light.

So 1 John 1 .7 says, if we walk in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. Fellowship with God is the most wonderful thing. That's why Jesus died on the cross. He lost fellowship with his father for three hours, the punishment of sin, so that we might have fellowship, unbroken fellowship with the Father all the time.

We must have a great desire. Just like in the past, you sinned so easily. You told lies so easily in order to gain something. You ran after money so easily. Even if it meant that you didn't have time for God, you had to make money, even if time for God was cut out from your daily life.

Now we've got to change all that and say, Lord, I want to long for fellowship with you, unbroken fellowship every moment. And if you want that type of fellowship, it says here in verse seven, we only have to walk in the light.

And that the first step of that is to be absolutely honest. Don't ever try to hide anything from God. If you had a dirty thought, tell it immediately to God. He knows it in any case, but he waits for you to admit it.

And I believe that is the thing that he tests us in. Will you be honest to admit your fault? You often heard me say, when God asked Adam a question, the reply that Adam gave to God was to blame Eve. She was the one who gave me the fruit.

Instead of honestly saying, I'm sorry, God, I ate it. That's a plain answer. Instead of saying that, she was the one who gave it to me and you are the one who gave me this wife. This attitude of trying to put the blame on somebody else, on your wife, on your husband, on somebody in the office, somebody else, instead of honestly taking it yourself is what kicked Adam out of the Garden of Eden.

And you will be out of fellowship with God too. And it's so simple. I'll give you another example. There was this one of the most evil women who came to Jesus. Five times divorced, the woman in Samaria.

She was not even a Jew. She was not from descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. An outsider, a Samaritan. Married five times, you read in John chapter four. Now today, sleeping with a man who's not even married to.

And Jesus asks her one question, tells her, asks her for one thing. Go and call your husband. I never get tired of saying this. She could have easily gone and brought that man she was sleeping with and pretended this is my husband.

Jesus is not going to ask for them. Where is your marriage certificate? He's not going to ask that. Oh, but there you see her honesty. Why? What was the need for her to say, I don't have a husband? She could have easily.

She did not know Jesus was a prophet. Just a man asking her, call your husband. She could have brought him. That was the test Jesus gave her. Let me see. Will she be honest? Will she admit that the person she's living with is not her husband?

And because she said that. Look at the blessing that came from her life. Imagine a woman. How would you feel if a sister came here, if a lady came here who was divorced five times and he knew that and is now sleeping with somebody who's not her husband.

You like to keep a little distance from her, right? Not Jesus. He came for sinners. He's a friend of sinners. And he used her more than his own disciples to bring a revival in Samaria. You read John chapter four, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.

Which of the disciples was the one who used to, whom God used to bring that crowd of people to listen to him. It was a simple woman and the only good quality I saw in her was she was honest. Lord, I don't have a husband.

She said in that you've spoken rightly. That to me is a tremendous example of how God blesses anyone who's honest. You, all of you are much better than, all of us are much better than that woman. But we may not be as honest as that woman is.

She has one quality which where she's far ahead of the vast majority of believers I have met. Because of her honesty she got into fellowship with Jesus. So many believers who don't, who are not divorced and who don't have all those sins in their life, they don't come into that fellowship.

They're not used by God to bring crowds to him. Look at that woman, in one day she brought so many crowds to listen to Jesus. How many people have you brought to Jesus? I'm not saying this to condemn anybody.

I'm saying if you're honest with God, absolutely 100 percent, you'll be amazed to see how God can do the miracles through you. Don't say I'm limited, I don't know the Bible and then what is, how much of the Bible did that Samaritan woman know?

Nothing. It was honesty. If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with God. And fellowship with God means we are plugged in to the source of electricity, humanly speaking as an illustration. The light burns up and people will be drawn to the light.

And the blood of Jesus will cleanse us at that moment from all sin. What is the requirement? Honesty. I hope all of you children from a very young age will learn one thing, be honest. Don't tell lies.

Don't tell lies to your parents. Don't tell lies in school. If you have to, if you get a punishment because of that, worth it, because you'll have fellowship with God. Very, very important. Now let's turn to Romans in chapter 5.

Standing in the Grace of Justification

There's a little expression in Romans chapter 5 which I want to encourage you to be established in. It's a beautiful expression. Sometimes we read something and it doesn't hit us as it should. Romans is a great, it's the most systematic explanation of the Gospel anywhere in the Bible.

If you want a step by step by step explanation of the Gospel, it is in Romans. It starts in Romans chapter 1 with the terrible list of all types of wicked people. Terrible wicked people in Romans chapter 1.

You read the last half of Romans chapter 1 and you'll see every type of sin mentioned there. And then it goes on to talk about religious sinners in chapter 2. You know the religious sinners in chapter 2 are the ones who feel, oh we're not as bad as those guys listed in Romans chapter 1.

And then he says all have sinned. Let me show you one verse there in Romans chapter 3. There, Romans 3 10, there is not one single person who is righteous. All are under sin. The religious people, verse 9, the Jews, the non-religious people, the Greeks.

Today we would say the religious so-called Christians and the non-Christians. All are equally under sin. There is not a single person who is righteous. God did not choose any one of us because he saw some good in us.

As long as you think like that, you know the great danger of thinking, well I was a that's why he chose me in my family. Or I was a little better than my sister or my parents. That's why he chose me. Garbage, rubbish.

Don't ever think like that. It's amazing how God chose. I'm always amazed how God chose me. I was the first person in my family to be born again. And my father was born again. But I find among our children, I was the first one to be born again.

And I say why? It's not because I was better than the others. No. Don't ever think that God chose you because of something good he saw in you. That will hinder your spiritual growth for the rest of your life.

But if you can acknowledge there is no one who's righteous in the whole world. From all the world he just picked you and picked me. You say why? I don't know. I won't know. Even when I get to heaven, I won't know.

He just looked out over the world and he picked me. God has got the right to do that. And we got to be thankful. You know like it says he picked Abraham like that. Why did he pick Abraham? To be the father of the Jewish people.

I don't know. He just went out into that heathen land of Ur and picked out one man. And that's how he chose you my brother, sister. So don't ever look down on anyone else in your family or anyone in the world as thinking that you or I are better than any of them.

Even if he's given you a gift to serve him. I often think as to why in the world did God choose me to preach the word of God? I don't know. I was the shyest person in my class in school. Never. Everybody knew that.

Is that the right type of person God picks to preach his word? It's got nothing to do with me. He just picked me. And I recognize that. So I can never glory in the fact that I can preach. The whole world may praise me.

It won't affect me because I know what I was. And if you know what you were, you know better than anybody else what you were my brother, sister. And God picked you and made you his child. Don't ever ever think that you're better than anyone else.

That's very very important. And now he's brought you to the place where he's forgiven you completely you and me. And this is the expression I want you to remember in Romans 5 verse 2. Through Christ we have obtained an introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

The expression I'm thinking of is in the middle of that verse. This grace in which we stand. Please remember that expression. Always. Whenever you're discouraged. Whenever you think too highly of yourself as if you're important or better.

This grace in which I stand. I don't stand apart from that. Remember that expression. It's a beautiful expression and it's entirely his work. I had nothing to do with it. He picked me and brought me into this grace in which I stand and now I am, it says in verse 9, I have been declared justified means just as if I'd always been righteous.

Justified is being declared righteous and God looks at us as if we were always righteous. We were not. You know very well that you and I were not righteous. But he looks at us as if we were always righteous from day one.

This is unbelievable but it's true. But when you see that you will not condemn yourself anymore. This self-condemnation is such a thing that the devil puts upon believers. We must get rid of it. He's made us righteous.

We were enemies now but we've been accepted by him and from there he leads us on this grace in which we stand. He's brought us to the place where he says, you are my child. Don't ever forget that. I've accepted you.

Not because of any good I saw in you. I just chose you and I forgave you and I placed you in Christ and when you stand before God today, you and I stand before God, he sees us in Christ and when you think of that other brother or sister, you look at somebody else and say, well he's not as spiritual as you are.

Well, you may think so but God sees that person in Christ. He sees you in Christ and you're not called to judge whether he's spiritual or not. Leave that to God. He can do his job. He can do his job of judging very well without your help.

Did you know that? That God can judge people very well without your helping him? You wouldn't be in a court if you see a judge sitting there and trying to pass judgment. You don't try to go and give him some advice.

He doesn't need your advice and the same with God. He doesn't need your advice as to helping other people. No, he can take care of them. Try to be a blessing to others but don't think you can help God by saying that this is a problem with him, this is a problem with him or her and this is no problem with me.

Discernment Without Gossip and Backbiting

Christians are full of this habit of gossiping and backbiting about others. That's why they don't grow spiritually. I've done it myself but I decided this is hindering me. I'm going to finish with it.

I'm going to be occupied with the things of the Lord and whatever good I can see in others I appreciate. The rest I leave it. I'm not their judge. I'm not their judge in any area in their life. I need discernment because that is how I discern for example what books I should read.

I read, look at a book. I've seen so many books and I look through a little bit of it. Yeah, this is not what I want to read. It doesn't edify me. It doesn't help me. I looked in the early days. I used to look at so many commentaries to try and understand the Bible because I never read the Bible.

I never knew. It's all intellectual and I said I don't want this. Jesus never spoke as an intellectual. He spoke to the heart and so there are things which there are believers whose fellowship will bless you.

There are other believers you get nothing from. Okay, leave them alone. Don't judge them. I don't want to spend too much time with them because unless I can help them and bless them. Otherwise I don't want to judge them.

Let them go their way. I disagree with so many people in many denominations but I don't spend my time all the time speaking about them. We want to think about the Lord. We warn about others only because just like you would warn your children.

I remember a time when in Bangalore when there was a time when people were kidnapping children after school before the parents came to pick them up. Small children they would kidnap them and we had to warn our children.

Be careful of some stranger coming up to you and giving you a sweet which may have a drug in it. Be careful. We had to warn and so we warn people about as Christians. Be careful. There are deceivers in the world.

There are Christian preachers who are deceivers. There are books that will lead you astray. Don't read them. So we warn people but God protects us. So I want to go on from there to this grace leads us.

Grace for Victory Over Sin

First of all this grace in which we stand and then it says here this same grace in Romans the next chapter goes on it says can help us to overcome sin because sin is the greatest problem we have in our life.

So Romans 6 14 says now the next step is once God has placed you in this grace remember this expression the grace in which we stand. That grace will not only make you accepted before God just as if you had been righteous all your life and never committed a sin not only that but will help you to overcome the present sin that you see in your life.

You must believe it. Romans 6 14 sin cannot rule over you cannot be the ruler over you because of this grace. This grace that forgave your sin has also got the ability to overcome those bad habits that you have the fear that you have.

You know fear is one of the greatest weapons of Satan. I don't know whether you know that I'll tell you why. Many times when Jesus appeared to his disciples or came to his disciples his word was fear not.

Don't be afraid. There were two things Jesus said to people don't do. Don't sin and don't be afraid. Most of us have understood the first one don't sin. How many of you believe that to be afraid is just as bad as to sin.

Don't be afraid. You've got a father in heaven. We live in a world where there are all types of fears. You may die unexpectedly. You may die before you live your full time. Look how this COVID is spreading.

Oh fear fear fear fear and you're no different from the unbeliever then. I'm not saying we should take risks. By all means be careful and protect yourself and all that but fear must not after having protected yourself there must not be an atom of fear in your heart.

It's up to you how careful you are in your eating habits or protecting yourself from sickness. All that is good taking medicines etc but fear must never be in our heart. To me that is as bad as sin. I don't know whether all of you see it my brothers and sisters.

Any type of fear is as bad as lusting after women or getting angry or killing someone. Fear. Many people don't think of fear as a sin. Jesus all the time said sin not fear not. So please take that seriously.

God's grace is able to prevent sin from ruling over us. These are elementary things. We preach about this in the church all the time but I find that the bible repeats it. When I read the new testament I say why four gospels?

One would have been enough. Why so many episodes that are repeating the same thing written by the same man Paul. I found that there's a great need for repetition and if there's repetition in the bible which you can read again and again if you don't if you have a bible.

Why is it repeated again? I see there's a tremendous need for repetition. Many preachers I have found are afraid to repeat their sermons because they lose a reputation for always saying something new.

That's one thing I had to get rid of very early in my life. The lord said to me don't seek for a reputation for always preaching something new because people need to hear the same old things. How many times your children had to learn how to multiply?

Multiplying big numbers. The teacher had to teach them again and again and again and they got it or subjects in physics and chemistry. It's not with one lesson and say okay done. In school they understand the need for repetition and that's why we need to read the bible again and again and again and that's why we need to hear truth again and again again.

It's by repetition that it sinks in. Sin shall not rule over you. You've heard that said many times from this pulpit. I want to ask you today do you really believe it? Hearing it once was not enough. You need to hear it again.

By grace, the same grace that enabled you to stand as a forgiven sinner, that same grace can help you to stand as an overcoming person, as an overcomer. That no sin, think now of the sin that is ruling you the most.

Are you a slave to anger? You find yourself unnecessarily bursting and losing your temper. Will you say before God today lord that sin is not going to rule me anymore. This Goliath is not going to stand and defy me.

And say no you cannot conquer me. There are Goliaths like that that stand in front of believers and say you can talk what you like but this sin of mine you will always be a slave to and you've got to turn around to that Goliath and say no more.

Today I have faith that I'm going to bring you down. I'm going to cut off your head. You will not rule my life anymore like you've done in the past. Whatever it is, love of money or lusting or anger or seeking honor or any type of thing, fear, say you're not going to conquer me anymore.

It may take time for the giant to be killed but tell the giant to his face you're not going to conquer me anymore. I read in Romans 6 14 today that by the grace of God no sin will rule over me. One by one I want to tell every one of you, you can conquer the giants of Canaan that dwell in your body.

Everyone. Right let's go to Romans 7. So you know Romans is a progression. So we're standing in grace, sin cannot rule over us and then we want to be honest. Okay we've understood victory over sin is there but still we find that we have a flesh that is tempting us every single day and you'll be tempted every single day till the end of your life and that's what comes in Romans 7.

Romans 7 and the Ongoing Struggle With Sin

Many people can't understand Romans 7. When Paul says things in Romans 7 they say no no this must be when Paul is unconverted days. See what he says for example. Turn with me to Romans 7 verse 16. I do the very thing I do not want to do.

Then I agree with the law it is good because I'm doing the very thing I don't want to do. Is Paul speaking of his unconverted days? You mean he comes all the way up to Romans 6 that sin will not have dominion over you and then goes back to Romans chapter 3?

No. He had a very clear mind. The fact is even after you're born again and even after you've understood victory over sin you will still find sometimes you're doing things that you don't want to do and Paul is absolutely honest about it and he tells you what to do about that.

For example he gives you an example in his own life. He says for example I read in the law Romans 7 verse 7. Remember this this is after Romans 6 14 which says sin shall not have dominion over you. You're going into the next level.

It's like going from grade 3 to grade 4. You don't go backwards. After having understood that sin shall not have dominion over you he says I know God's word says Romans 7 7 you shall not lust. The word covered there in the margin of my Bible it says you shall not lust and all men understand that what the strength of that temptation but Paul is honest.

He says sin taking opportunity through that commandment produced in me lusting of every possible kind. Do you read that in verse 8? Lusting of every possible kind. You say hey Paul I thought you were a holy man.

You mean you were tempted to lust in every possible way for money and after women and every kind Paul says. That doesn't mean he fell into it but he was constantly tempted tempted tempted produced in me and and he says this commandment which is supposed to bring life to me killed me.

So what shall I do? This is a very important passage verse 14 to 25. Most Christians have I'll tell you something most Christians have never understood it. You go to all the commentaries you'll never find a good explanation of Romans 7 14 to 25.

It is the difficult passage in Romans. I myself never understood it for years. When you do understand it it will change your life so please listen carefully. God's word let me say the law God's word is spiritual but I am a flesh sold into bondage to sin.

That's one thing you need to understand because you're born again and you really want to please the Lord does not mean your flesh your self-will has changed. It has not. Those lusts in the flesh still remain there.

You don't have to yield to them. They may look attractive. God makes sin look temptation look attractive. Think of that I've often thought about the garden of Eden. If God wanted just that Adam should not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil well he could have made the tree of good and evil so smelly ugly full of thorns and stinking Adam would have kept a hundred yards away from it but it was not like that.

Who made that tree of knowledge of good and evil so attractive something that made Eve's mouth water wanting it and feeling not only it's going to be good taste is going to make me intelligent and knowledgeable.

Why did God make temptation so attractive and then tell Adam and Eve don't eat from that tree. I'll tell you why because God wanted Adam and Eve to grow up to reject every creative thing no matter how attractive it is.

That God is more important to me than the most beautiful thing in the universe and at that time the most beautiful thing there was the tree of knowledge of good and evil and that was a test. This created thing of this created tree are you going to choose that or the creator.

Always the temptation is this. Are you going to choose that beautiful creative thing or the creator. Why has God made so many pretty attractive women and most of them are in the movie industry and fashion models and all that into sinful ways of life.

The most attractive women. Why has God made them like that if God had made every woman ugly and repulsive in appearance then no you wouldn't even have to give a command to a man saying don't lust after women.

There would be no need for it. You'd say well I'm not interested but God has made every woman most women so attractive and then says don't lust. You know what is the reason for that. Same thing as the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Why has God made money and gold and the desire to get money so attractive that everybody longs for it. Even believers find it so bad difficult to overcome that desire for more and more money and more and more.

You got enough more than enough for your needs but you still want more and more and more and more. Endless desire because God is just testing you in one thing and he'll test you in that all your life.

Am I the creator more important for you than this beautiful thing I've created. Whether it's a woman or money or anything am I more attractive to you than that. It's the same thing Adam and Eve faced when they stood before the attractive tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Same thing today which is more important and God's waiting for people on earth who will stand up and say Lord you are more attractive to me and you can test me if you like. You can test me with anything you like.

No I will not be drawn to it. What if you read in the news that somebody won millions of dollars through gambling or through a lottery or something like that. When you read that you say I wish I had got it.

I wish I had bought that ticket that got me that money. Okay it's all right if small children and young people feel like that. What about grown-up adults who know the Lord. Let me read you a verse in Proverbs 23.

Proverbs 23 tells us two things to be careful about. One is the lust for food and the lust for money. It says here when you sit with a ruler be careful about what you're going to, what the food set before you.

Put a knife to your throat. Proverbs 23 too. It's picture language. Put a knife to your throat to your lust for eating if you're a man of great appetite. Don't desire his delicacies. One thing, food. Many believers are a slave to food.

Why did Jesus speak so much about fasting? Fasting is a way I prove that food is not the most important thing for me. God is more important than food. You can eat good food. Jesus, I'm sure Jesus ate very good food whenever he could, whenever there was an opportunity.

But he also learned how to fast. But if a person has never learned how to fast, then he's a slave of good food. You can eat any good food if you like, if you also know how to fast. And you ask yourself, it's possible that some of you have never fasted even once in your whole life.

Never fasted for 24 hours in your whole life. I'm not teaching that as a way of spirituality. But it's a way of telling God, you are more important to me than food. And I know in my younger days, I practiced it regularly.

Every now and then, say, Lord, I'm going to serve you. And I want to prove that you are more important to me than food. Definitely. I will not be a slave to food. I can enjoy a good meal, enjoy a good piece of food, but I'm not going to be a slave to it.

Because that's what will make a lot of people complain. Look at the number of husbands in the world who complain the food is not tasty. Upset with their wife because something's not cooked up to the mark.

They're slaves, absolute slaves. I'm not saying that you cannot tell your wife that there's not enough salt or not enough something, but to have a complaint about it. It's believers or slaves to food.

So that's one thing. And the other thing he says about money in Proverbs 23, verse four, don't weary yourself to gain wealth. Yes, we need to work hard to earn our living. But don't weary yourself to gain more and more and more and more much more than you need.

And seize from your consideration of it. Seize from always thinking of how can I make a little more money. You have enough brother. You have enough for your family, enough to lay up something for your children as well.