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  ELDERS, YOU SHOULD LEAD YOUR PEOPLE INTO THE NEW COVENANT
  by Zac Poonen
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Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of understanding the
implications of being a new covenant church, focusing on the indwelling
of Christ in believers as a key distinction from the old covenant. It
highlights the genuine baptism in the Holy Spirit without manipulation
and the need for a personal witness from God regarding the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit. The speaker shares personal experiences of assurance of
salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit, stressing the importance
of genuine encounters with God. Additionally, the sermon addresses the
need to be heavenly minded while living in the world, to avoid conflicts
with flesh and blood, and to resist the devil in spiritual battles.

Topics: "New Covenant Identity", "Spiritual Assurance"
Scripture References: Colossians 3:1, Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 5:21, John 6:66, 1 Timothy 2:1, Matthew 16:23, 2 Corinthians 12:14, Matthew 6:19

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon emphasizes the importance of understanding the implications
of being a new covenant church, focusing on the indwelling of Christ in
believers as a key distinction from the old covenant. It highlights the
genuine baptism in the Holy Spirit without manipulation and the need for
a personal witness from God regarding the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The speaker shares personal experiences of assurance of salvation and
the baptism in the Holy Spirit, stressing the importance of genuine
encounters with God. Additionally, the sermon addresses the need to be
heavenly minded while living in the world, to avoid conflicts with flesh
and blood, and to resist the devil in spiritual battles.

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CONTENT
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Most of us recognize that we are seeking to be new covenant churches and
there are I suppose hundreds of churches in the world that call
themselves new covenant churches but seeing some of them, I'm not
talking about our own churches but some others who use that title, I
wonder whether they've even understood what the new covenant is all
about. So it's very important that we don't just have a label but that
we recognize all the implications of claiming to be new covenant church
and that not only we but that we communicate this to the people in our
church and to our families, to our children that they grow up with the
understanding of this because we have a responsibility to the next
generation also and to everyone in our churches. So some of these things
I want to mention are things we have often spoken about but I just want
to emphasize them for clarity in our own minds.

The most important distinction I would say between old covenant and new
covenant is this expression which says Christ in you a hope of glory. It
was unthinkable under the old covenant that God could dwell within a
man. It was always outside and the emphasis was always on the external.

God spoke to Abraham, Samuel, everything on the outside but right
through the time of Jesus on earth also, Jesus was outside them and
that's why they were really concerned when he went away and that's why
he told them I'm not going to leave you alone. I'm going to send you a
helper who will be with you forever, the Holy Spirit. So that is how the
new covenant church began on the day of Pentecost.

They had a genuine baptism in the Holy Spirit. Nobody coached them,
nobody urged them and they didn't manipulate anything. Nobody trained
them to speak in tongues.

This rubbish, I call it absolute rubbish that goes on in a lot of
Pentecostal charismatic churches where people are trained to speak in
tongues. What a work the devil has done to make people satisfied with a
counterfeit just because they want to also join the club and say we are
also baptized in the Holy Spirit. Who are they seeking to impress? Man.

God must give us a witness in our spirit just like he gave us a witness
once that our sins were forgiven and that Christ came in. He must give
us a witness and we must never get that testimony from men. God must
give us a witness that he has made his spirit dwell within us and fill
us.

One of the things that really helped me, it took many years for me to be
sure of my own conversion and salvation. I think I must have asked the
Lord to come to my heart a hundred times perhaps over a period of four
or five years till one day I was absolutely sure from John 637. Now
anybody can read that verse and not get anything but the day I read it
62 years ago because I said the Lord spoke to my heart.

Him that cometh to me I'll never cast out. I was sure he accepted me and
it was like dropping an anchor. For 62 years I've never one single day
doubted my salvation despite my ups and downs and the same thing when I
was seeking for the baptism in the Holy Spirit when I grew up in the
early days in a church.

Originally I was in the Orthodox Church baptized as a baby and then I
got baptized in the Brethren Assembly and of course they never spoke
about the baptism in the Holy Spirit at all but I found a lack of power
in my life and I began to seek God soon after my baptism which is about
a couple of years after I was converted and I didn't know anything about
it. I'd never been to a Pentecostal church in my life and that's where I
first heard somebody trying to coach people to speak in tongues and I
said I'm never going to do that. I got alone in my room and I said Lord
I will if it takes me 10 years to have the genuine baptism in the Holy
Spirit I'll wait.

I'm not going to live on any counterfeit and satisfy myself. I don't
want to testify to anybody in the world. I don't want anybody in the
world to think that I'm baptized in the Holy Spirit.

That's not my intention. I want the genuine thing from you and I'll tell
you it finally it was only about 16 years after I was first converted
and I was around 35 years old after having been discouraged and that
discouragement led me to backsliding and I was still preaching. My
external testimony was good till one day God himself gave me that
assurance and that was 46 years ago and like my assurance of salvation
I've never doubted it.

See I'll tell you something when God tells you something deep within
nobody can I don't care if a million people come and tell me no it's not
true I know what happened in my life I know that and now I've got 46
years behind me to see what the result of that and the Apostles could
also I mean they experienced a genuine infilling on the day of Pentecost
but then in subsequent years they could see the result of that. They
were not sitting behind closed doors anymore the doors were thrown open
and the other thing we see is it's not a there's a difference between a
gradual growth in spirituality and Christlikeness that is a lifetime
thing spiritual growth we need to distinguish between being born again
which is not a gradual thing that initial filling with the Holy Spirit
which is not a gradual thing and growth into Christlikeness that growth
into Christlikeness is a lifetime thing we purify ourselves as he's pure
until the day he comes again so my dear brothers all of you who are
leading and have responsibility over New Covenant churches before you
preach to others make sure before God not that you convince me or
anybody else that's worthless that you can stand before God and be
absolutely sure that Jesus has anointed you with the Holy Spirit that's
what John the Baptist said he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and
fire and I tell you it's really true it's a baptism of fire and it's as
real as the baptism of water that we are sure about I mean if somebody
were to ask you have you been baptized in water you know definitely yes
or no and it has to be the same with the baptism of fire so that's a
burden I have in relation to many people because I feel that here is
where the problem lies that many are imagine yeah I'm baptized in the
Holy Spirit and the other thing is the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not
a once-for-all event yes there is an initial experience but it has to be
continuous you read in the Acts of the Apostles many times we read about
Peter at least three times he was filled with the Holy Spirit in the
Acts of the Apostles and it's continuous and Ephesians 5 18 the real
translation is be being filled with the Holy Spirit I like to say that
be being filled with the Holy Spirit be being filled so that I mean if
ever I if ever you or I sense that something in our life indicates that
the anointing is sort of going away or I'm losing it in some way in my
life or my ministry I'm sort of gradually getting defeated in my life or
I'm losing that liberty and anointing in my ministry or I don't find
that freedom that I once had boy I would say you should fast and pray
see God and it's very easy once you're established as an elder in one of
our churches to sit back and say ah now I'm accepted rubbish accepted by
whom my worthless men Lord save us from that we must live before God's
face every day and say Lord I want you to approve of me you know that
word that the father spoke to Jesus when he anointed him with the Holy
Spirit in the river in the Jordan River it says he was the Spirit of God
came down upon him and lighted on him remained on him and the voice from
heaven said this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased we need
both and one is the proof of the other the Spirit of God resting upon us
and an inner witness that to the level of our understanding and the
level of our spiritual growth the father is able to say you are my
beloved son in whom I'm well pleased that's very often the cry of my
heart it's a real cry that comes from my heart many times I say father
can you say that about me what you said about Jesus this is my beloved
son that beloved is also very important that we must it's very easy to
move away from the assurance that God loves me intensely and to begin to
think like the servant in that parable of talents where he didn't use
use the one talent God gave him because of the meaner God gave him
because he said I knew you're a hard and austere man do you ever feel
God is like that towards you hard and austere I said devil who brings
those thoughts into our life this is my beloved son we must have why do
I say this because I've been tempted like that myself sometimes you
think God is hard or austere and I say rubbish to be tempted like that
is okay we must resist temptation is from the devil we be tempted till
the end of our lives we don't you know take it lightly and live as we
like and say my father loves me that's true of a lot of people in
charismatic Christianity they emphasize the love of God and they live in
sin and that's why so many other leaders fall into adultery and so many
other wretched things like that that's why so many other leaders divorce
and continue in the ministry so much of lowering of standards and
christened in and in the midst of all this God has raised us up to be
like a light where the brightness of the light never dims and as all of
us grow older little by little and I'm very conscious of that myself we
need to raise up another generation that is gripped by these same truths
yeah all of us have that responsibility in your church there are many
people younger than you work with them you can't work with anybody Jesus
is very selective he gathered 12 and one of them betrayed him so from
the 11 also he worked mostly with three he I mean I have often thought
about that I can't handle too many people neither can you we have to
work with that's not partiality when we work with a few Jesus worked
with three because they were the most responsive and you'll find
everyone in the church may look sincere and they may be but there are
some who are really hungry and eager to move on with God and are
responsive and we must discern who they are and work with them and it
doesn't matter if others accuse us of partiality I'm sure Jesus they
accuse Jesus of partiality they accuse Jesus why you always with these
three people and they were also said yeah I noticed that two of them are
your relatives James and John by the way were his first cousins his
mother Mary's sister sons maker accused him of that you're choosing your
relatives to be in your inner circles he was not bothered by any
accusation if they were the most responsive he would choose them and if
the other nine disciples were disturbed by that so be it they could also
be wholehearted so we really have to think about all these things
because we are not to think only of ourselves love does not seek its own
we do not seek our own we seek the things of Christ and that means
leading others also into this life that we've experienced so I want to
say brothers that you yourself must be having such a satisfying
experience of your relationship with Jesus Christ personal intimate
relationship with Christ that you long really long that others will
experience it too this should be a great desire oh I wish that everybody
could have this type of wonderful relationship with Christ where he
frees my mind from anxiety and bitterness where it makes it impossible
for me to hate anyone that sounds like an amazing statement impossible
to hate anyone but I believe that is what the Lord brings us to he wants
all of us to come to that place where we may not come there overnight
because we have grown up with hatred and prejudices and all types of
things and wrong attitudes but it is God's will that we come to that
place where it is impossible for us to hate anyone our love is to grow
sure but hatred is a negative thing and it must we must come to the
place quickly where we say the Holy Spirit has done a work in me that I
cannot hate anyone no matter who that person is no matter what they've
done to me or my family it is impossible for me to hate anyone and so we
must really seek to work towards that in our life and never give up and
in seeking to lead others to this remember the people who Jesus called
who were the leaders of the next generation that he was training were
people who had put Christ supreme in their lives I mean these were
people who are earning their living fishing or like Matthew earning his
living as a tax collector and making a lot of money and just in a moment
they quit that because the Lord called them to leave now we're not all
called to full-time Christian work but we're all called to total
detachment from other things taking priority in our lives you must do
our work faithfully God expects us to do that in our earthly job that's
how he wants us to earn our living and Jesus the first 30 years of his
life is a great example for us and I'm so thankful that the Lord the
father allowed Jesus to live 30 years to show us that spirituality is
not all preaching and healing the sick and casting out demons no
spirituality for Jesus began in working hard in a carpenter shop earning
his living and supporting four brothers and two sisters and a widowed
mother yeah supporting eight-member family not many people have an
eight-member family Jesus had an eight-member family and he worked hard
to support them and I'm sure it was just as difficult to earn one's
living those days in a poor town like Nazareth to find people who wanted
to buy what he had to sell as a carpenter and all types of situations
that he would have faced in earning his living and being a spiritual
person that's our example so they were disciples and that's why Jesus
said when he saw this big crowd in Luke 14 it's what I always emphasize
and you've heard me many times say that large crowds Luke 14 25 were
going along with him what a lust today's preachers have an excitement
carnal excitement carnal worldly excitement when they see a huge crowd
listening to them and lots of people come to your church to find a
carnal worldly excitement it means nothing if they are not disciples
please be honest brothers ask yourself are you excited when the numbers
increase in your church Jesus was not I'm here to follow him he looked
at this huge crowd and he said if you don't hate your father and mother
and wife and children and brothers and sisters you just cannot be my
disciple there was no such thing in the old covenant absolutely not this
is unique and it didn't matter if a lot of people went away so many
times we read in the Gospels that people just left Jesus there was
another time we read in John chapter 6 where a lot of people followed
him after he had multiplied the loaves and the fish and I learned
something there in John chapter 6 about how Jesus built that first
fellowship of twelve people in John chapter 6 he spoke some very strong
words which people couldn't understand he said that unless you eat my
flesh and drink my blood John chapter 6 and verse 55 54 onwards you
don't have eternal life now today we understand that but remember that
in those days they did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them do
you think they could have understood that if we didn't have the Holy
Spirit we wouldn't have understood it either and today we live post
Calvary we know that Jesus died for us but they haven't come there yet
and he tells them my flesh verse 55 is true food and my blood is true
drink it's almost like inviting them to cannibalism and you eat my flesh
and drink my blood you abide in me and I in him and he when many of his
disciples were 60 John 6 60 heard this it's a difficult statement this
is cannibalism what in the world is he saying and Jesus was aware we're
61 that they were disturbed and he said does this cause you to stumble
and he never the interesting thing I see here is he never explained it
to them he never said hey what I mean is that spiritually is not I'm not
talking about you guys having to physically eat my flesh and blood but
he never explained it that's something that amazes me you know if people
misunderstand us we have a great desire listen that's not what I meant
and we try to explain to them because we don't want to lose them we
don't want to lose them from our church he was not disturbed this is
where he was so sensitive to the Holy Spirit where do you know Jesus
lived like us as a man and I believe the Holy Spirit said to him don't
explain forget it and then he goes on to say no one can come to me were
65 under the father grandson and let her see the result of this we're 66
many of his disciples withdrew and did not walk with him anymore and
then only 12 left from that huge crowd dwindled down to 12 today we have
preachers who talk about how their little church of 12 grew into a great
multitude mega church how many people have this ministry of making a
mega church into 12 that's what Jesus did but he had 12 people who
turned the world upside down and started the ministry this lasted 2,000
years all these mega church people don't accomplish anything like that
it's quality quality quality you see that Jesus valued and that's what
we must value in our church and when he had 12 with them he didn't turn
around and say oh I hope you fellas also don't leave me no see what he
said do you guys also want to go away verse 67 because he knew what he
had said earlier that all those whom the father gave him would
definitely stick with him and no one can come to him unless it's being
granted from the father I believe that I believe that all whom the
father has given me will come to me John 637 you must believe that if
you're a wholehearted anointed disciple of Jesus seeking to lead a
church my brothers please believe the first part of John 637 the last
part of John 637 was what gave me assurance 62 years ago that I was a
child of God and I never doubted it and the first part of John 637 is
what has given me assurance when we started CFC churches that we don't
have to worry about who comes and who goes the second part related to my
personal life the first part I found related to my ministry I know no
matter what people try to do no matter what lies people say about me or
my ministry and no matter what people misunderstand what I said all
every single person without exception whom the father has given to me to
shepherd will definitely come to me I don't have to go grabbing them I
don't have to go grab pulling them out of any church they will come to
me that's the dignity of a servant of God and if you are an anointed
servant of God that's the dignity my brothers with which you must live
we don't go pleasing people or buttering them to get any favors we're
not trying to build numbers we want to present to the Lord the father a
church of good quality that he can accept and so when Simon Peter said
to Jesus in John 668 Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of
eternal life there will be some who are really longing for eternal life
which is the life of God which is so different in quality from the life
religious Christianity you know when people go to the market to buy
something if they don't care for quality they're easily taken in by
somebody who offers something cheap but those who are determined to have
quality I want I want something of real good quality whether it's a
washing machine or a computer I don't want something that's made by some
third-rate company that will pack up after a couple of years I want
something that will last me perhaps a whole lifetime they don't make
gadgets like that nowadays because it's bad for their business but
that's the type of quality the Lord looks for Lord we want people who
are going to stick with you for a lifetime we're not trying you out
we're not trying out our church and seeing is it a good church that I
can join that we never lower the standard of what we preach in the
church and discipleship wholehearted discipleship there's nothing less
than that that we will ever preach and if people get offended like this
many if it's written about our church one day John 666 as a result of
the preaching of this elder brother many withdrew and did not come to
this church anymore hallelujah praise the Lord we will turn to the
others who are still sitting there and say do you also want to go away
we're not going to lower the standard of what we preach sorry we're not
here to please anyone or impress anyone we're not a club we're not just
a bunch of people who will help one another and care for one another and
do things for one another which is like a club we're not that we're
trying to make disciples of Christ in a world that detests them you see
when you see around you the things that are happening in so-called
Christendom and the things that are happening in this country of a
country which had so many wonderful Christians double a hundred years
ago that has drifted away so much into all types of ungodliness and
things contrary to the Word of God in the midst of such a generation God
calls us to be a light for him that will not lower God's standards in a
single area in any area when we will not compromise in Matthew chapter 5
verse 19 I've often thought about this verse you see as I look at it
Matthew 5 6 & 7 are the New Testament equivalent of Exodus 20 which is
the Ten Commandments Exodus 20 is a great chapter in the Old Testament
for the Ten Commandments are listed there 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and when
that old covenant is abolished and a new covenant is established here's
the here it is Matthew 5 6 & 7 is what replaces Exodus 20 because the
reason I say that is because in Matthew 5 Jesus is mentioning those Ten
Commandments not all of them but some of the important ones in the Ten
Commandments he's taking them and for example murder one of the most
serious violations of God's law mentioned in the Ten Commandments you
shall not murder you shall not kill and Jesus takes that first of all in
Matthew 5 21 that's why I say Matthew 5 6 & 7 is a replacement of Exodus
20 it's an enhancement of Exodus 20 it is a new covenant equivalent of
that old covenant by Ten Commandments and we must never forget that we
must continue to preach this you heard it said in the Ten Commandments
Matthew 5 21 you shall not murder I say to you let me paraphrase it
anger is equal to murder that's why I had spoken so much against it I
was defeated by it for years after I was born again for 16 years and I
said Lord what am I am I an old covenant Christian preaching new
covenant stuff then I'm a first-class hypocrite let me take anger
seriously first of all the other day when I was speaking at the global
zoom on the baptism in the Holy Spirit on Saturday I mentioned that
here's where I disagree with the Pentecostals I said they say that the
first thing that happened to those apostles when they were baptized in
the Holy Spirit they speak in other tongues I said no that was the
second thing what is the first thing the first thing was there were tons
of fire on top of their head that's not Acts chapter 2 verse 3 Acts
chapter 2 verse 4 they spoken unknown tongues so I said let's begin with
the tongue of fire on top of our head I said that is your mother tongue
being controlled by the Holy Spirit that fire of the Holy Spirit
controlling your mother tongue and the way you speak to your wife the
way you speak to other people who irritate you or trouble you the way
you speak to people in the church the way you speak to people whom you
have to discipline a tongue under the fire of the Holy Spirit it's
almost as though the Lord is saying this tongue the primary part of your
body that I'm going to use in this new covenant age is your tongues and
that tongue must be under the fire of the Holy Spirit 24 hours a day
seven days a week 24 7 that is the first thing he says here in
opposition to murder this is the old covenant you shall not murder so
you can satisfy yourself I've not killed anybody so no you must not get
angry because Matthew 5 22 anger will lead you to hell I preached that
for 45 years that anger can lead you to hell I got it from Matthew 5 22
and then he goes on to say you know the other big commandment in Exodus
20 you shall not commit adultery verse 27 Matthew 5 27 but I'm enhancing
that by saying if you lust in your thoughts after a woman that can be in
your imagination when you think of a woman or when you actually see a
woman on the street or when you see a woman's picture on a billboard or
on some news program in the middle of it some advertisement comes with a
immodestly dressed woman and there are plenty of plenty of opportunities
to lust after women without seeing an actual woman or this skimpily
dressed women there are today that even sit in Christian churches well
the devil's gonna flood the world with such remember if you lust in your
heart you have committed adultery don't glory that I did not commit
adultery physically that's if you're a Jew living under Moses living
under the new covenant it's not good enough you shall not lust in your
heart in your mind and I know as a young man like all young men that's
what I battled within my mind it was almost impossible to overcome my
thoughts even though people keep ourselves from physical sin in the
thoughts is such a battle and I said Lord I am gonna fight it every time
I slip up I'm gonna confess to you and we all the nights when I used to
weep on my pillow at night Lord I failed you today in my thoughts
blessed are those who hunger and thirst for this righteousness the
promises they will be satisfied that's how Jesus introduced this section
in Matthew 5 or 6 those who hunger and thirst for this standard of
righteousness they will there's a promise they will be satisfied and my
brothers any of us who are still defeated in these two areas let's ask
ourselves why are we not satisfied by God when he said they will be
satisfied their request will be granted that's the meaning why is it not
being granted perhaps you're not hungering and thirsting enough one of
the scary things I find for myself and it can be for all of you is the
fact that over a period of time we build up a good testimony before
people and a lot of people respect us in the church I tell you that
should scare us more than anything else we have a reputation in our
church oh we have a godly elder what does that matter if I'm slipping up
in these areas it comes for zero that people esteem me highly Lord help
me to take this seriously and speaking the truth your yes must be yes
and your no must be no but particularly these two you know murder and
adultery being replaced by anger and lusting in the heart those are the
only two places in the map in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said
you can go to hell the word hell is mentioned twice only twice in the
Sermon on the Mount and it's in relation to anger and lusting after
women yeah and including in lusting after women was Matthew 5 30 is
masturbation that's mentioned there to sexual sin cut off your right
hand it says it's amazing how Jesus took these sins so seriously and we
have to take them seriously too and these are some of the biggest
temptations that come to us anger and sexual lust so we have to really
proclaim what the Bible says in the New Testament the very first promise
in the New Testament he will save his people from their sins so when we
hear this we're not now going to say oh I'm gonna grit my teeth and
overcome this you'll never be able to overcome it I thought I could not
overcome it I could not overcome my anger or my dirty thoughts but I
praise God for the first promise in the New Testament that Jesus his
name is Jesus Matthew 121 because he will save me from what I cannot
save myself from so I have to go to God and say Lord I'm sorry after so
many years I'm still unable to overcome my anger I'm still lusting after
women I'm fighting it but I'm defeated so often is it going to be like
this Lord all my life don't let me be a hypocrite now the solution is
not to resign your eldership and say okay I'm not gonna be an elder
that's the easy way out that's the way for a coward it's like a father
who's finding it difficult to bring up his children say okay I'm walking
out folks you take care of yourself I'm leaving this home and going you
wouldn't do that to your children even if you're struggling as a father
you'd never give up because you've taken your responsibility as a father
seriously must be like that without church Lord there's no question of
my walking out of this I'll die doing my best to shepherd this church
till you come again and if I'm struggling in defeat I'll keep on
struggling to be an overcomer and I believe you'll help me because you
said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness they will
be satisfied I want you to satisfy me Lord I want you to bring me to
that place where I'm happy with the victory you've given me in these
areas but I can speak with authority when I tell people that you shall
call his name Jesus because he will he will w-i-l-l Matthew 121 save his
people who cannot save themselves he will save his people from their
sinful defeated life and the other thing I want to emphasize is that in
this new covenant we are going to battle with Satan no human being and
I've said this many many times in the old covenant no human being ever
battled with Satan one-on-one you read about Satan in Genesis chapter 3
that's the only time you read of Satan and a man and a human being
encountering each other in the Old Testament only Genesis chapter 3
nowhere else after that after that he works behind the scenes you read
in one place that he instigated David to number the people and behind
the scenes just like he's doing today and you in one vision you read
about Joshua standing as Zechariah seeing that as a vision of Satan
opposing Joshua in the heavenlies the high priest but other than that
even Job, Job never encountered Satan the battle was all in the
heavenlies what the devil was talking to God and God told Satan to do
but you never read that Job who encountered Satan nobody in the Old
Testament could do it because they would have all been crushed the first
person who encountered Satan directly was Jesus Christ Matthew chapter 4
and then once Satan was defeated on the cross then we could encounter
him too but till then until he was defeated on the cross we read that
Satan even tripped up Peter the wholehearted apostle of Jesus the man to
whom Jesus said Simon Peter on this rock of your confession that Christ
is the Son of the Living God on that rock I will build my church and
I'll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven etc Matthew 16 18 and 19 and 30 seconds 30
seconds after that or one minute after that to the same Peter Jesus says
get behind me Satan this man to whom Jesus had said those fantastic
words in one minute later he calls him the devil see Peter could not
overcome Satan what happened there he tried to avoid the way of the
cross Lord don't go to the cross every voice that tells me to avoid the
way of the cross is the voice of Satan and if I choose that way the Lord
will say get behind me Satan you are interested in the things of man not
the things of God Matthew 16 23 those are serious words meditate on
Matthew 16 23 what did Peter do he told Jesus to avoid the way of the
cross why should you go that way you're interested in the things of man
it sounds hard to proclaim the cross the way of the cross in the church
all the time you'd rather I know I would rather preach on oh God loves
you so much you guys are always so discouraged and gloomy don't you know
God loves you he cares for you yeah there is a place for that but you
keep preaching that you'll build a wishy-washy church that can never
accomplish anything for God there is a place for that but Christendom is
hearing that too much nowadays I'm not saying we shouldn't preach it I
do preach it now and then but there must be a balance in our ministry
you must proclaim that every voice that tells you to avoid the way of
the cross in any situation is the voice of Satan and he'll say you are a
stumbling block Matthew 16 23 you are setting your mind on God's in
man's interest and not on God's so we find that one Satan was defeated
on the cross now in the new covenant God allows Satan to confront us
directly in our church perhaps demon possessed people or in other subtle
ways without demon possession the devil tries to influence the church
and corrupt it in some way and we are called to resist you know the
well-known passage in Ephesians 6 our struggle is not against flesh and
blood verse 12 but against principalities and powers this is part of the
new covenant to resist Satan and he will flee from you resist the devil
in the name of Jesus and he will flee from you but I remember the time
when the Lord showed that the worst to me clearly in Matthew 6 12 if you
want to do that you must determine in your life that you will never
fight with flesh and blood it's very easy when you have a disagreement
among between you as elders that can happen if you're a strong
wholehearted Christian we were not perfect in understanding we want to
work together and the other brother may have a this disagreement with
you if you're not a dictator he'd be willing to admit it to you if
you're a dictator you keep quiet but none of us are dictators at all but
our fellow elders even if they are younger to us and say brother I don't
agree and I'm not saying that we encourage that but people must have
freedom I've always felt that all my life that the elders I work with
must have the freedom to say brother Zach I don't agree there I said
praise God that you have the freedom to tell me that I shall yield we
want to move forward together and let's see what is the way forward we
want to be united it's the devil trying to bring something between us as
elders and one of the things I've learned is that the devil wants if he
wants to destroy a church you start with bringing a division between the
elders if he can come between you and your fellow elder not with an open
fight no the devil's not a fool with just a little distance that comes
in your heart from your fellow elder that's all something he said upset
you some stand that he took disturbed you and you don't resolve it you
keep it that's exactly what the devil wants beware of it because the
church will suffer and you will be responsible we wrestle not with flesh
and blood that's what the Lord showed me you must not fight with human
beings never not even inward imaginary battles with human beings you
know how we have that imaginary battles in our mind if he tells me this
I'll tell him that and then if he tells me this I'll tell him that what
are you doing we wrestle not with flesh and blood I said let him win I
don't care if it's an earthly thing I'm not going to fight for it at all
but if it concerns the glory of God the good of the church I'm going to
stand true I will not fight with flesh and blood I won't know that
spirit I want to stand for the Lord but that is very very important that
is why it's very important that we never have a fight with our wives
ever ever ever you may say well then she'll have our way all the time no
she won't have her way you can be firm without fighting we must be the
head of our home the Bible says if you can't run your home properly how
we gonna run the church if you can't be the head in your home you can't
be the head in your church I know elders who are miserable slaves of
their wives at home but they try to be head in the church then the
absolute failure they must be loving head at home then they can be a
loving head in the church I'm not saying you to our eyes but you must
never fight with flesh and blood if things don't go our way we must say
okay let's leave it for a while and think about it you don't have to
immediately take some action but we must not wrestle with flesh and
blood many years ago the Lord said that to me and said that if you do
that you will lose your power with Satan and I believe that's happened
to many people they fight with the number of Christian leaders are
fighting with each other arguing about all types of things I say I'm not
interested I'm not interested in getting an argument on politics as to
who should be elected as president that can be a very big thing for so-
called elders of new covenant churches I say I believe in 1 Timothy
chapter 2 and verse 1 to 3 that I pray for those in authority and I make
sure that God controls the situation I cast my vote in the prayer
meeting and say that God will control and decide and I'm not going to
campaign for in the church or privately or in my house or important
personal conversation with anybody or any human being because when I'm
fighting for one person I'm fighting against another you're trying to
say you should not vote for that person I'll tell you I'm not interested
in that for me that is fighting with flesh and blood and if any of you
have done that you can see why the spiritual power is leaked out of your
life the devil is a very subtle enemy keep clear of that let the world
get involved in all those fights I will not fight with flesh and blood
about anything that does not have some eternal results see I'm a hundred
percent against abortion but I'm not going to go on a campaign against
abortion that's not my calling my calling is to build the Church of
Jesus Christ India is a place where every the political party will
support abortion what do you do then you hear you may have two parties
that differ on that but what do you do in a country like India you just
kneel and say oh well it's hopeless we might give up no that's not my
primary goal in life to carry on an anti-slavery campaign or black lives
matter or white lives matter or anti anything I'm not I do not fight
with flesh and blood period and if I have some opinion I keep it to
myself I don't have to talk about it because I'm too busy fighting the
devil I don't want the devil to get a slight bit of inroad into my
thought life my inner life into my home or into my church that's what I
want to encourage you to concentrate on that and please don't get
sidetracked you have your opinion work for whomever you like but I don't
tell people about all that but don't get into conflict in these areas
these are very subtle subtle areas where we get into conflict with flesh
and blood you must determine and ask God to show you where you're having
any inward conflict with flesh and blood I guarantee you it'll weaken
you in your battle with the devil in your personal life and your family
life your children will suffer because the devil is going to get after
our children he knows one way to ruin your ministries by making your
children go astray he knows that we have to be very strict with our
children especially in the younger days and if you're not strict within
the younger days they will go wayward because that's the bent of the
flesh of man is in that direction we have to really say Lord I want to
concentrate on living in a wonderful way have a good family before I can
build a church help me Lord help me I will not fight with flesh and
blood the other big area that I've been the Lord keeping telling me
about is from this verse in Colossians in chapter 3 again which is not
in the Old Testament and that is to be heavenly minded and that's a nice
phrase which we can talk about heavenly minded we sing in that song no
heaven came down and glory filled my soul that's exactly what happened
on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and filled their heart
heaven came down and came into people's hearts to make them heavenly
minded that's another area I really sought to battle and say Lord I want
to be that otherwise I will not be an effective servant for you set your
mind Colossians 3 verse 1 you have been raised up with Christ you died
with Christ on the cross you were buried with him you symbol I agreed
you did that in water baptism testified to it you were raised up with
him when he was raised up and you rose and ascended with him it's
written in Ephesians 2 as well and now you are with Christ in the
heavenly places set your mind then on the things above and not on the
things that are on the earth we have to do our earthly job definitely we
must not ignore that we have to take care of our families provide for
them Romans 12 14 even says we must lay up money for our children so
that they don't run into any need later on yes you don't lay up treasure
for yourself that's clear Jesus said that in Matthew 6 but he the Bible
also says in 2nd Corinthians 12 and verse 14 lay up for your children
you have to provide for them and this is the thing to find a balance how
shall I be with money all the time I have to earn enough for my family
I'm going to take care of them I must provide for housing and shelter
and so many things and and in the midst of that I must be heavenly
minded to be a like a monk or something go and live in a monastery and
have nothing to do with money that's easy how to be a worldly
businessman just how to make money that's easy but to live in this way
where I'm I'm heavenly minded but I'm living in the midst of this world
and I have to earn my money just like anybody else I have to have a
savings account and provide for the future and take care of so many
financial matters and in the midst of that be heavenly minded that is
what God calls us to and he will help us definitely that's what the Holy
Spirit has come for that's why he's called a helper I praise God for
that title he's a helper what's the thing you find need for need help
him he's the helper he'll help you whatever it is so brothers that's I
try to share whatever is the burden on my heart and I pray that in our
churches we will really seek to emphasize these things yeah we can talk
more about it but our one hour is up and we'd like to have a five minute
break now and then we will break bread together then after that we'll go
on for the rest of the time together let's bow our heads in prayer
Heavenly Father please help us to be gripped by the things help me Lord
not to be one who just preaches to others help me to be gripped every
single day till the end of till Jesus comes again to be gripped by these
things that you have spoken to us and every one of us that we can be
worthy servants of yours to lead others also into this life because we
found the glory of this wonderful life in the new covenant help us each
one Lord and help us to encourage one another along this way we pray in
Jesus name Amen

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/m-IWPF164Lc.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/elders-you-should-lead-your-people-into-the-new-covenant/
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