======================================================================== (CLIP) FAILURE AND THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT by Zac Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the need to seek God for His power, particularly the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to overcome struggles, defeat, and the strong influences of the enemy, fleshly desires, and the world. It highlights the importance of continuously seeking the anointing of the Holy Spirit for daily living and service, not just for spiritual gifts but also for producing the fruit of the Spirit to please God. Topics: "Seeking God's Power", "The Role of the Holy Spirit" Scripture References: John 7:37, Luke 11:9, Acts 1:8, Galatians 5:22, 1 Corinthians 12:7, Matthew 3:11, Ephesians 5:18, Philippians 2:13, Matthew 5:6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the need to seek God for His power, particularly the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to overcome struggles, defeat, and the strong influences of the enemy, fleshly desires, and the world. It highlights the importance of continuously seeking the anointing of the Holy Spirit for daily living and service, not just for spiritual gifts but also for producing the fruit of the Spirit to please God. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You have failed and failed and failed so much, you know the reason. It's because you're not, God wants you through that failure to begin to seek God for his power. I found in the early days when I started preaching, when I was, I started preaching when I was 21 years old after my baptism, and I found preaching was such a struggle, such a struggle, even for five minutes. It is like a hand pump, you pump and pump and pump and pump and then you get a half a bucket of water. It was like that, my ministry, and I said, Lord, this is not the way I'm supposed to be. You said rivers of living water. This is, I'm pumping so much and I get so little. And I began to realize that I need to seek for the power of the Holy Spirit. And I began to seek God for the power of the Holy Spirit. I fasted and prayed and said, Lord, I will not, I cannot serve you if I don't give me the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's not just for preaching, for living the Christian life. I was defeated and I wanted to overcome and I realized I cannot overcome without the power of the Holy Spirit. You can struggle and struggle and struggle. You will not overcome. Because Satan is too strong, the lusts in your flesh are so strong, and the world around you is so strong. These are three enemies and you cannot conquer them in your own power. If you, the sooner you realize that, the better. So you seek God for power. So that's the second riches, the power of the Holy Spirit. And God doesn't give it to everybody. He gives it to those who hunger and thirst for it. Anybody who hungers and thirsts. Jesus spoke about a man who went to his neighbor's house and kept on knocking, knocking, knocking, knocking, knocking, until he got it. And he said, if you seek like that, you'll find. If you ask like that, you'll get. If you just knock once or twice and give up, you will not get. And Jesus said, if anyone thirsts, John 7 37, let him come to me. And if you believe that I will give you more than your earthly father will give you things, you will receive rivers of living water. And I said, Lord, I thirst. I'm willing to give up anything on this earth if you'll fill me with the Holy Spirit and anoint me. Because I know that in eternity, that's the only thing that's going to count. If I live my life on earth spirit-filled every day. That's all. I don't care for the opinions of men. I want you to be able to look at me every day and say, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. I hope you have a passion like that. This is my beloved daughter in whom I'm well pleased. Do you have a desire like that? I'll tell you before God, I have a passion that God will say that about me every single day of my life. This is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. At the end of each day, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. I hope you have a desire like that. This is my beloved Son, my beloved daughter with whom I've been well pleased today. How can you be a Christian? Talk about Jesus dying for you and suffering so much for you, and you don't have that passion? Something is wrong. So, seek for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Seek for the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. And this is not a once-for-all thing like the Pentecostal say. It's continuous. I believe in baptism in the Holy Spirit means an immersion in the Holy Spirit. And I need to be immersed in the Holy Spirit every day. Not just once. And not just for gifts. For life and gifts. For the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. Fruit is to please God with my life. And gifts are to serve Him so that I can bless other people. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/OzwEMF9w3WA.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/clip-failure-and-the-filling-of-the-holy-spirit/ ========================================================================