======================================================================== GOD HAS SOMETHING BETTER FOR YOU by Zac Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of seeking victory over sin through the new covenant promises of God. It highlights the need to diligently seek God, believe in His ability to save us from sin, and hunger and thirst for righteousness. The speaker shares personal experiences of overcoming sin through faith and persistence, encouraging listeners to trust in God's power to deliver them from the grip of sin. Topics: "Victory over Sin", "Trust in God's Promises" Scripture References: Matthew 11:28, Psalm 34:17, Hebrews 11:6, Jeremiah 29:13, Philippians 4:6, Hebrews 8:6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of seeking victory over sin through the new covenant promises of God. It highlights the need to diligently seek God, believe in His ability to save us from sin, and hunger and thirst for righteousness. The speaker shares personal experiences of overcoming sin through faith and persistence, encouraging listeners to trust in God's power to deliver them from the grip of sin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For the last 12-13 years, I have learned to love the Romanian people. I've been to Romania 7 times in 7 years. And I've been greatly blessed. Especially because so many people there were so receptive to the Word of God. And I've made many, many friends there. And two of my sons have also gone there to preach. So we have a family connection there. And my wife and I have traveled there a number of times. And then after that, I've spoken in Romanian churches in Australia. And Romanian churches in France and Spain and Germany and America. So I've had many open doors and I'm very thankful to be able to speak here. I was an officer in the Indian Navy for a number of years. And 52 years ago, God called me to leave my job to serve Him. To teach His Word and preach His Word in India. And then to plant churches in the villages and towns. So now in the last 43 years, the Lord has planted about 70 churches in the villages and towns of India and 10 other countries. And the main emphasis the Lord has given me is to lead God's people to a higher life than they are living now. Because as I travel around, I find so many of God's people are defeated by sin. They have not possessed all the promises of God. So many born-again Christians are unhappy at home. So many people who speak in tongues in the church service shout at their husbands and wives with their mother tongue at home. What is the use speaking in other tongues in the meeting if I use my mother tongue to get angry with other people at home? That is a deception. I was a slave to the sins of the tongue and the eyes and thoughts and attitudes to people even after I was born again. And I said, Lord, this is not the way you want me to live. And I longed for a higher life. Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be satisfied. If you are satisfied with your defeated life, you will live that defeated life forever. But if you hunger and thirst for something higher, then God will give it to you. It all depends on whether you are satisfied with your current defeated life or you want something more. The way to life is narrow. Very few people find it. And Jesus said that. The way to destruction is broad and many people go that way. It's always a minority that moves into God's full promises. There were 600,000 people over the age of 20 who left Egypt. But out of all those 600,000 people, only two entered the land of Canaan. Why was that? See, to be delivered from Egypt is a picture of our salvation. When they killed a lamb and put it outside the door, that was a picture of one day the blood of Jesus saving us from our sins. He was the Lamb of God. And when Moses led them into the Red Sea and out of it, that was a picture of baptism. Pharaoh was a picture of Satan. And when Pharaoh's armies were buried under the Red Sea, that was a picture of the defeat of Satan. And when the pillar of cloud came down upon them, that was a picture of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So they had all these three. Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Baptized in water. Baptized in the Holy Spirit symbolically. But yet, they did not enter the promised land. What is the promised land a picture of? What is the purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit? The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not only to speak in tongues. That's just the beginning. There's much more than that. And that is where many Christians have missed out. 600,000 people were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Two people will enter into a life of victory. What is the land of Canaan a picture of? It's not a picture of heaven. Some people call the River Jordan a picture of death. No, it's not a picture of physical death. It's a picture of death to the self-life. And the land of Canaan is not a picture of heaven. Because I'll tell you, when we get to heaven, we don't have to kill any giants over there. Then what is the land of Canaan a picture of? It's a picture of a life where the lusts in our flesh are defeated. There are many giants of sin that stand like Goliath before us, much bigger than us. And they stand and say, Who can come and defeat me? And there were many like that in the land of Canaan. And when Moses sent his 12 spies to inspect the land, the spies, they said the land, the giants are so big we look like grasshoppers in front of them. And they looked at their own strength and muscles and they said, We can't conquer this land. And that's how many Christians are. The Bible says, Put away all anger. It says that in Ephesians 4, 32. Put away all anger. Anger is a big giant. It stands in front of us and says, Who can conquer me? Like Goliath. You can't conquer me. You can speak in tongues and be baptized in the Holy Spirit, but you can't conquer me, that giant says. And most Christians tremble before that giant and say, No, we can't conquer him. They say, My father could not conquer this giant. My mother could not conquer this giant and I cannot conquer this giant. Jesus said that the old covenant said you should not commit adultery. But I say to you that if you lust in your mind after a woman, you have committed adultery. And lusting in the mind is another giant that stands before men and says, Can you conquer me? A giant that stands before men and says, Can you conquer me? Like Goliath. We say, No, we can't conquer him. There are so many young people sitting in churches today who watch pornography in secret. There are married men sitting in churches today who watch pornography in secret. Nobody knows it. They have a good testimony. They sing in the choir. And they think that God is happy with them. You know, when David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he was not convicted for nine months. And it's only when his baby was about to be born, that Nathan the prophet came to him and said these words in 2 Samuel 12. Because of what you did, the enemies of the Lord are blaspheming him. And when a child of God sins in secret, when nobody knows about it, when a child of God sins in secret, at home, or in his mind, or when he sits alone in front of a computer, or on his smartphone, nobody sees. But Satan, up there in the heavenlies, who is called the accuser of the brethren, says to God, look at that man. He claims to be a born again child of God. He even claims to be filled with the Spirit. But look at what he's watching on his smartphone or computer. God, is that your child? He's behaving like one of my children, the devil says. He's behaving like one of my children. The enemies of the Lord are blaspheming. Are you happy that people think you're a spiritual person? You'll get a big surprise when Christ comes back. You'll get a big surprise when Christ comes back. The Bible says that when Jesus Christ comes back, the books will be opened, so that we'll see what we've done. And it says in 2 Corinthians 5, that when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, we will be judged by God for everything that we have done in our body. That's a very important verse, 2 Corinthians 5.10. For everything we did in our body, good or bad, we will have to give an account to God. And Paul said in the next verse, Therefore we know the fear of the Lord, and we persuade men to be free from sin. The message of the New Testament is not just forgiveness of sins. That is an Old Testament message. We read in Psalm 103, 1000 years before Christ, 1000 years before Christ, David said in Psalm 103, Blessed be the Lord who pardons all your iniquities. How many sins were forgiven for David who wrote that Psalm? All his sins. Then what did Jesus bring which David could not have? They could only get forgiveness of sins in the Old Testament. That was the blessed man. David also said that in Psalm 32. And verse 1. How blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered. That is an Old Testament message. But as soon as you come to the New Testament, the very first page of the New Testament, the very first promise in the New Testament, it says in Matthew 1 and verse 21, the angel told Joseph about the baby Mary was going to have. Matthew 1.21 You must call his name Jesus. And the meaning of that is he will save his people from their sins. Read that carefully. Not he will forgive their sins. He will save his people from their sins. Not he will save them from hell. Many people think salvation is only from hell. No. You shall call his name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. He will save them from anger. He will save them from murmuring and complaining in their homes. He will save them from dirty ways of thinking. He will save them from unloving attitudes to other believers. He will save them from their sins. That is the first promise in the New Testament. So that is why the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant. But many Christians I have discovered have not entered into the New Covenant. They are living in Psalm 103, their sins are forgiven. They are living in Psalm 32, their sin is covered. They have not entered into the New Covenant. The God of the world, Satan, blinds the eyes of unbelievers so that they do not know that Jesus died for their sins. We know so many people who call themselves Christians in the world, they are blind to the fact that they can be born again. We know so many people in the world who do not know that they have to be born again. I was born again 59 years ago when I was 19 and a half. I was born in a Christian family, I heard about the Gospel from the time I was a little child. And my father was born again before I was born. I went to a good Sunday school where they taught me about Jesus dying for my sins. But for 19 and a half years I was not born again. But one day Jesus came into my heart. And my sins were forgiven. And they changed my life. But for the next 16 years I was defeated by sin. After being born again. Not externally. I didn't commit adultery. I didn't steal money. I paid my taxes. I didn't cheat anyone. I didn't kill anyone. But I was defeated by inward sins. You know that all young men are defeated by. Their thoughts. The pictures they watch. But I would say, Lord I am sorry, forgive me. And it would happen again next week. And I would say, Lord I am sorry. Please forgive me. So it was like these merry go round, children go round on horses, wooden horses. You go round and round and round and for one hour and you are in the same place still. That was my life. You sin. You say, Lord I am sorry. Forgive me. I am cleansed. Again I sin. I confess my sin. Lord forgive me. I am cleansed. And again, next week, around, round, round. And after 16 years. I am in the same place. I believed in Jesus. I believed I would go to heaven when I die. I could say my sins are all forgiven. I am on my way to heaven. But Satan would blaspheme to God against me. God, look at that man. There in India. In Bangalore. Look how he is living in sin. Nobody can see it. But you can see it. I didn't think of that. I only thought people in the church have a good testimony about me. I never realized that there is an accuser in heaven. There is an accuser. In heaven. Revelation 12, verse 10. There it says about Satan as the accuser of the brethren. And it says here, he accuses them before God day and night. Revelation 12, verse 10. Did you read that? Did you read the last part of that verse? He doesn't accuse worldly people. They are his friends. They are in his lap. He is the deceiver of the world, but the accuser of the brothers. The accuser of our brothers who accuses them before God day and night. But I didn't realize that. I say I've got a good testimony in the church. I'm preaching. What does it matter if I'm a little defeated in my thought life? What does it matter if I lose my temper and get angry with my wife now and then at home? People in the church don't know that. I have a good testimony in the church. You know what I was? A hypocrite. You know in the old testament there was no commandment saying you shall not be a hypocrite. The old testament was you shall not commit murder. You shall not steal. You shall not give false witness in the court. You shall not commit adultery. But no commandment saying you shall not be a hypocrite. Because everybody was a hypocrite. Why? Nobody in the old testament had victory in their thought life. Everybody was defeated. So God did not give them an impossible command saying don't be a hypocrite. But the moment Jesus came, you hardly hear him speaking against adultery and murder and stealing. Matthew 23 is full of hypocrites, hypocrites, hypocrites. He spoke against hypocrisy more than other sins. He spoke against pride. He spoke against dirty thoughts. He spoke against anger in Matthew 5. There was no commandment in the 10 commandments saying you shall not get angry. There was no commandment in the old testament saying you shall not lust in your thoughts. Do you know why? Because it was impossible for anyone to do that. Nobody could conquer the giants of Canaan in the old testament. I mean the spiritual giants in the life. Because they did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside them. In the old testament the Holy Spirit came upon people. They were called filled with the Spirit but it was only upon them. It never came inside. Upon, upon and they were used. Elijah, Moses were all used. But the Spirit was only upon them. But the wonderful thing that happened on the day of Pentecost was this Spirit that was upon all the great men of God in the old testament could not come inside. Jesus said that in John chapter 7. If you read the scripture carefully you will learn something wonderful. Jesus said in John 7 verse 38 He who believes in me from his innermost being rivers of living water will flow. In the old testament rivers flowed over people. But now it is from his heart. And it says in the next verse John 7.39 The last part The Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Read that carefully. The Spirit had not been given because Jesus had not been glorified. But you say the Spirit was upon Gideon. The Spirit was upon Elijah. What do you mean the Spirit was not given? Not given in the innermost being. Upon them. Even John the Baptist had it upon. But now So you see when the Spirit is only upon people He does not clean the heart. He can use the man mightily. Samson could tear lions because the Spirit of God was upon him. But his His heart was full of adultery. Any pretty woman he would lust after them and go and commit adultery. But he could do that and five minutes later he could go and tear a lion into pieces. Because the Spirit was upon him. The same with David. He could conquer Goliath. But Bathsheba conquered him. Who is stronger Goliath or Bathsheba? David could defeat Goliath but Bathsheba defeated him. Was David anointed? Of course he was anointed. Unless it was upon him. His heart could commit adultery. He went and married seven wives. All these Old Testament people. Even John the Baptist, the greatest prophet. The Spirit was upon him so powerfully he could preach repentance. But when he was in prison and the Lord did not deliver him he lost his faith. He sends his disciples to Jesus. He said, are you really the Messiah? He had heard the voice from heaven at the baptism. He saw the Spirit descending upon Jesus. But when he is in prison he loses his faith. Because the Spirit was not in him. But you see a man like Richard Wumbrandt. How many years he was in prison? He did not say, is Jesus the Messiah? Was he greater than John the Baptist? No, there was a big difference. Richard Wumbrandt had the Spirit inside him. John the Baptist had the Spirit upon him. There is a tremendous difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Jesus told his disciples from the Last Supper before he went to the cross. In John chapter 14 he said to them, verse 15, if you love me you will keep my commandments. And what are his commandments? His commandments are not like the ten commandments. All the commandments God gave Israel was external. Don't worship idols. Don't take the Lord's name in vain. Keep the Sabbath. Don't commit adultery. Don't murder. When Jesus came he said, in Matthew chapter 5 you heard it was said don't commit murder. I say, don't be angry. You heard it was said don't commit adultery. I say, don't lust in your mind. And you say, you're telling me to keep those commandments? If you love me you will keep the ten commandments? No. You will keep my commandments. And you know the standards of Jesus. Don't just love your friends. Love your enemies. The Old Testament it said love your neighbors and hate your enemies. But Jesus said love your enemies. Can we do that? Can we overcome anger? Can we overcome dirty thoughts? Jesus said your yes must be yes your no must be no always. The standard of his commandments is so much higher than the Old Testament. If you want to know how much higher the word of God says the law came through Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1.17 So the new covenant is as much higher than the old covenant as Jesus is higher than Moses. The ten commandments Moses standard. The summon on the mount is Jesus standard. It's as much higher as Jesus is than Moses. And when he tells his disciples if you love me keep my commandments they would have thought how can we keep it? How can we keep this victory inside our life? And Jesus knew that it was difficult. So in the next sentence John 14.16 he says Don't worry I will ask the Father he will give you a helper A helper for what? Not to help me speak in tongues but to help me keep his commandments Always read a verse in its context If you love me keep my commandments It's difficult but I'll pray the Father to give you a helper I mean help you to do what? Not just preach the gospel I thank God for the baptism in the Holy Spirit I was a very shy reserved young boy afraid to stand before people I was scared I could never speak but I knew that I had to be a witness for Jesus Christ when I was born again And I said Lord I want to be baptized in the Holy Spirit Because you said when the Spirit of God comes upon you you will be my witnesses in the uttermost parts of the earth And that's what taught me how to preach The anointing of the Holy Spirit And that was so many years ago And every time I get up to preach I always say Lord I cannot speak But if your Spirit is upon me I will have the words And you will give me the power And I will not speak to please men I will speak to please you And that's how the Holy Spirit has helped me for all these years 50 years And then Jesus said This helper John 14 verse 17 This helper is the Spirit of Truth which the world cannot receive The world cannot see him does not know him Now listen to that last sentence Read carefully We must read the Bible carefully At present He dwells with you But in that day He will be in you Now He is with you on the outside But when the day of Pentecost comes He will be inside you That is what happened The Spirit who was with them came in them That's why Paul and Peter did not commit adultery like David That's why they did not lose their faith when they were in prison like John the Baptist Even Elijah after bringing fire down from heaven He got scared when one woman said I'll kill you Can you imagine the great prophet Elijah running away from a woman How? Why? Because the Spirit was upon him not in him But Paul and Peter did not run away from anybody They were not afraid of anyone Because the Spirit was in them This is our privilege in the new covenant That's why when the Spirit was on the outside they could only keep the outside commandments External commandments Don't commit adultery Don't murder But when the Spirit comes inside He delivers me from adultery inside He delivers me from the spirit of murder which is called anger inside Anger is not only in the tongue In Ecclesiastes it says anger dwells in the heart of a fool There are Buddhists and people who practice yoga who control their tongue There was a brother who came and joined our church who was a non-Hindu before And he came to our church and said I could conquer anger before I became a Christian I was surprised I said there are Christians who can't control anger This man was conquering anger as a Hindu I said how? He said through yoga I would not lose my temper I could control my tongue I said that is not victory over anger That is only control of the tongue I asked him what about anger in the heart? He said that was there but I could control my tongue That is yoga that's not deliverance from anger That's like saying I've got cancer inside but I've covered it up nobody can see it That's not victory Victory is when the anger is taken out of the heart Because Jesus said it is from the heart that the tongue speaks And to control the tongue you don't have to be a Christian You just got to practice yoga or be a good Buddhist You can control your tongue but you cannot deliver anger from the heart Only Jesus can do that Only the Holy Spirit can do that And that's what I wanted So I began to seek God First of all if you want deliverance you got to be honest If you pretend If you keep on pretending that you are a spirit filled overcoming Christian you'll never get victory in your whole life What does it mean to walk in the light? We can have fellowship with God only if we walk in the light To walk in the light means first of all to be honest If my shirt is dirty I would like to be in the darkness and not come in the light Because in the darkness and only in the darkness nobody will see my dirt To come in the light means to be honest My shirt is dirty That's honesty So the first thing to deliverance when you come to the Lord is to be honest Lord, I know Jesus died for my sins I have confessed my sin and I know the blood of Jesus has cleansed me from every sin Not only cleansed me I know that I'm justified clothed with the righteousness of Christ But in spite of all that Lord, I'm defeated in my life If people could look inside my heart I'd be ashamed of myself Lord, I'm defeated and you want to make me a conqueror I'm not under law now I'm under grace I'm not The law came through Moses I'm not following Moses Grace came through Jesus Christ I'm following Jesus Christ It's easy to say that with our tongue But what is the proof of it? Let's see the word of God Let's turn to this wonderful verse that challenged me Romans chapter 6 Romans chapter 6 and verse 14 It's a very simple verse Even a 10 year old child can understand it and give the answer Romans 6 verse 14 Sin will have no dominion over you Sin will have no dominion over you That means sin cannot rule you Because you're not following Moses You're not under law but under grace If I tell a 10 year old boy look at that verse and give me an answer I'm not asking you anything else in the Bible just that one verse give me an answer a 10 year old boy read that verse tell me how do you know you're under grace? Sin cannot rule over me How do you know you're under law? Sin rules over me It's as simple as black and white How do you know you're a follower of Moses? Sin rules over me How do you know you're a follower of Jesus? Sin does not rule over me You meditate on that verse for 10 hours and tell me if you can get any other answer from that verse That is our birthright That is what Jesus purchased for me by his death and resurrection That is why he sent the Holy Spirit who is called the Spirit of Grace That is why he sent the Holy Spirit who is called the Spirit of Grace You know when I preach I use a lot of scripture Because like Paul said I don't want your faith to rest on my wisdom the wisdom of men I want your faith to rest on the word of God There are many preachers who just read one verse and then give up the lecture from their mind They keep on going to scripture Because I don't want anybody's faith to rest on my cleverness Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God Otherwise a good lawyer can use his mind and convince you about anything But you can't go against the word of God If you're under grace sin will not rule over you Grace is a very big word Many people haven't experienced it fully Maybe you got a few drops of grace But the Bible says the Holy Spirit is like a waterfall Like the Niagara Falls Waterfall You can put your hand under that Niagara waterfall and take a few sips And you can say I've tasted the water of Niagara But it's quite another thing to stand underneath it and have the whole Niagara Falls drench you completely And so many Christians have got a few drops of this waterfall of grace It says in Ephesians in chapter 1 Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7 Ephesians 1, 7 We have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace That is grace Forgiveness of sins It's a few drops we are collecting from that waterfall But when the fullness of grace comes sin will not rule over you There are many things that come through grace Forgiveness of sins Romans 6, 14 We read sin cannot rule over us And here is another blessing of grace 2 Corinthians 12 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9 My grace is sufficient for you because my power is made perfect in your weakness Paul is speaking there about some weakness he had in his flesh He called it a thorn in his flesh Some type of sickness he had And he prayed and prayed and prayed and God said No, I'm not going to heal you That's amazing that God did not answer the Apostle Paul's prayer because he says you're in danger of becoming proud verse 7 The thorn in my flesh was to keep me from exalting myself So to keep me from becoming puffed up because he was such a mighty servant of God He was raising the dead planting churches laying hands on people and they'd be filled with the Holy Spirit gossing out demons Mighty man of God writing scripture and he was like us he could get puffed up and God wanted to protect him from pride Paul understood that So he gave him a sickness to keep him humble He says that but he didn't understand that in the beginning He prayed, Lord deliver me from this heal me, heal me and the Lord said, no but I'll give you something better than healing Is there something better than healing? He said, my grace my grace is sufficient for you In spite of this weakness my power will be manifested through you and you will be able to serve me just as much as a healthy man That's a promise I have claimed for myself many times Whenever I'm sick even with a small sickness I say, Lord heal me In Jesus' name I ask for healing My body is yours It's your temple Take care of your temple Heal it But if you don't heal me then give me your grace to overcome this limitation and still serve you with all my heart so that even if I'm 79 years old I can still serve you just like a young man Your grace is sufficient because his power it says he is made perfect in weakness It's a wonderful promise that in our weakness God's power that is his grace So, grace is not just forgiveness It's a power A power that comes in our weakness It's our weakness that makes us sin And here is a power that can help me in my weakness It's not just enough to understand it in the mind We are so clever We are so educated But we need something more than cleverness Hebrews 13 and verse 9 It speaks about not the mind but the heart Hebrews 13 verse 9 It says it's good for the heart to be made strong by grace Don't just be taken up with so many strange teachings it says That is in the mind Clever people can argue back and forth about this doctrine that doctrine the other doctrine If you can argue about a doctrine that only proves you are a clever man But if your heart is strengthened by grace you can overcome sin That is the new covenant Turn with me to Hebrews in chapter 8 In Hebrews chapter 8 it speaks about the new covenant being better than the old covenant You see India was under the rule of the British up to 1947 And now we are free a republic like the United States And if you ask any Indian do you want to go back under the British rule? No thank you we are happy to be free America was under the rule of the British up to 1776 You ask any American today would you like to go back under the queen of England again? They say no thank you But there was another deliverance that was accomplished on the day of Pentecost Where we could be delivered from under the old covenant and to come in the new covenant And why do you want to go back to the old covenant? Sin shall rule over you when you are under the law and under the old covenant But sin will not rule over you if you come under the new covenant under grace You know to some of you when you hear me you think this is a strange message That's why I wanted to show you scripture for everything But do you know the first time the message of forgiveness of sins was preached that was also a strange message when Paul preached it to the Jews You know even many non-Christians who think they have to work and go to temples and go to pilgrimages to get their sins forgiven There are many people who roll on the ground to get their sins forgiven They go and dip themselves in some holy river to get their sins forgiven They go on long pilgrimages to get their sins forgiven They give money to the poor to get their sins forgiven And the preacher then comes with the gospel saying it's free you don't have to do any of these things You just believe that Jesus died for you They can't believe that that's a strange message They never heard anything like that Because the God of this world has blinded their minds from hearing the gospel That's the same Satan who has blinded the minds of unbelievers He has blinded the minds of many believers to see that you can overcome sin He makes those sins stand before you like Goliath and say you can't conquer me Where are the believers who will stand before this giant called anger and say I'm going to bring you down in the name of Jesus Where are the believers who will stand before this giant called pornography and say I'm going to bring you under my feet in the name of Jesus Where are the believers who will stand before sexually dirty ways of thinking and say I'll bring you down in the name of Jesus The devil is always there to say no you cannot conquer that giant These giants cannot be overcome God says sin will not rule over you when you're under grace and the devil who's a liar says you cannot overcome I want to ask all of you do you believe God or do you believe the devil If you have never heard this message before I want to tell you this is the full gospel Half the gospel is your sins can be forgiven You won't go to hell but you will dishonor God in the heavenlies by always being defeated in your private parts and the devil will always accuse you to God but the full gospel is you can overcome these sins I was as I said defeated by for many years I was defeated by discouragement days and days and days but the bible says rejoice in the Lord always that's not a suggestion that's a command Philippians 4.4 rejoice in the Lord always that's in the bible Philippians 4.4 what does it mean always there is a word we use for always nowadays 24 7 that's the word they use nowadays always means 24 7 rejoice in the Lord 24 7 God says that the devil says no impossible who are you gonna believe you know the number of believers who believe the devil I'll give you another verse Philippians 4.6 Philippians 4.6 be anxious for nothing don't be anxious about anything so our anxiety must be zero is that a suggestion or is it a command the same God who said don't murder said don't be anxious the same God who said don't commit adultery said don't be anxious is it some other God who said don't be anxious do you believe the bible is the word of God for many years I was always anxious and discouraged but I said Lord I want to come into this new covenant life and today I can stand before God and say God heard my cry Jesus said if you hunger and thirst for righteousness you will be filled I know why I was not filled in the first 16 years after being born again I asked for righteousness but I did not hunger and thirst for it I didn't want it more than everything else I wanted it if I could get it if I couldn't get it doesn't matter do you know it says in Jeremiah chapter 29 this is a law in man's dealings with God and God's dealings with man and God's dealings with man Jeremiah 29 verse 13 the Lord says you will seek me and find me when only when you seek me with all your heart what if you don't seek him with all your heart what do you seek for victory over sin half-heartedly you won't find him you'll remain defeated I'll show you that in the New Testament Luke chapter 18 Jesus spoke a parable he says there was a judge in verse 2 who did not fear God or man Luke 18 verse 3 there was a widow who kept on coming to him saying give me justice against my adversary this poor widow had no husband no son she had to go herself what is she saying deliver me from my adversary my neighbor is occupying my property and I am helpless I don't have as much strength as him he's my enemy he's occupying my property the judge says don't disturb me I don't fear God and I don't care for man but verse 5 the widow kept on bothering him that means she went to his house at 2 o'clock in the morning and knocked and knocked and said open up give me justice he said go go away she would go to him again 10 o'clock 2 o'clock again and again next morning 2 o'clock wakes him up give me justice and then he said in verse 5 she will beat me down by her continual coming so ok I'll do something for her just leave me alone and then the Lord said in verse 7 don't you think God will do something for his elect if they cry to him day and night what is this parable a picture of a helpless person coming to God Lord, deliver me from sin. The devil is making me sin, sin, sin. He's occupying this territory of my body which should belong to You. Deliver me, deliver me. Those, what did we read in that verse? Those who cry to Him day and night. Not if you once in a while ask Him, Lord, if you can, please give me victory. If that widow had gone just once in six months and said, please help me, she would have got nothing. What did Jesus say? Those who cry to God day and night? I want to ask you all a straight question. How many of you can honestly say you cried at night for victory? Lord, Lord, I lost my temper again at my wife today. I lost my temper against my husband today. Please deliver me. The devil has come into me. Lord, I again lusted so many times today. Sexual lust in my thoughts. Crying to Him at night, deliver me. Deliver me from my enemy. At night, there are many nights when I used to weep on my pillow. Many nights. Lord, I'm defeated. I'm born again. I know I won't go to hell, but my life is dishonoring You. The devil is blaspheming You because of me. I cried to God day and night. And I want to testify for the glory of God. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Yes, Hebrews 11.6. What is the mark of faith? Hebrews 11.6 says, without faith it is impossible to please God. Because what is the mark of faith? You believe that He rewards those who seek Him diligently. Otherwise, you don't have faith. Why did I cry day and night? Because I believed my Father will hear me. If there is no Heavenly Father for me, then I'm wasting my time. But I have a Heavenly Father. He is better than that unrighteous judge. Let me show you Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9, we read, verse 27. Two blind men followed Jesus. They said, have mercy on us, son of David. And they wanted their eyes to be opened. And it says in another Gospel that Jesus asked them, what do you want me to do for you? And they said, we want our eyes to be opened. And then, Matthew 9.28. He asked them one important question. Very, very important question. You want your eyes to be opened? You want both your eyes to be opened? Answer this question. Very simple question. Do you believe that I am able to do this for you? He didn't ask them, are you able to just do some strength, train yourself and open your eyes? You can't do it. Even if you try 50 years, you can't open your eyes. That's what the Lord said, you can try 50 years, you won't be able to overcome sin. But that's not the question. Do you believe Jesus said, I can do this for you? And you know what they said in verse 28? Yes Lord. And their eyes were opened. No, I have thought like this. Supposing there were two men, one of them, they went one by one into the room. One of them goes into the room. Lord open my eyes. And the Lord says, do you believe I can do this for you? He says, I'm not sure Lord. But I think you can open at least one eye. And the Lord says in verse 29. In Matthew 9, 29. According to your faith, let it be done for you. According to your faith. What is your faith? That I can open one eye. He's very happy. A blind man is happy even if one eye is open. He jumps and says, Hallelujah, my one eye is open, I can see. Then the second fellow goes in. Lord asks him the same question. Do you believe I can open your eyes? He says, yes Lord, I believe you can open both my eyes. Same answer. According to your faith, be it unto you. And he comes with both eyes open. So the first man says to this man. How did you get both eyes open? Jesus opened only one of my eyes. He says, I just believed. According to your faith, be it unto you. You know what, this is a picture of these two eyes. One eye. My sins are forgiven. That's great, that's better than going to hell. Both eyes. I can get victory over sin as well. What do you have faith for? One eye or two eyes? You know what will happen? This one eyed man says, this is all a false teaching that Jesus can open two eyes. It's wrong, it's a false teaching. I went to Jesus, he opened only one eye. I'm going to preach that Jesus opens one eye. And the other man says, you can preach what you like, but Jesus opened both my eyes. So, it becomes two denominations. One eyed denomination and the two eyed denomination. This is what's happening in Christianity. Not according to Jesus' ability, but according to your faith. Jesus' ability is the same, he's almighty. Your sin can be forgiven and sin will not rule over you. But without faith, it is impossible to please God. So, let me tell you what Hebrews chapter 8 says about the new covenant. Hebrews chapter 8. Don't worry, I'm only going to speak for another three hours. No, I'm only joking. I'm going to finish very soon. Hebrews chapter 8, verse 6. Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant. Because it is enacted on better promises. That's more excellent than the old covenant. That only told you how your sins can be forgiven. But the better promise is he can save you from your sins. That is the better promise. Is there a difference between being forgiven and being saved? Let me use an example. Supposing I have a six year old son. And outside my house, the construction people are digging up the road for putting some sewage pipes or something. And they dug six feet into the ground. And I tell my son, don't go there. You'll fall into that. And if you know how little children are, they try experiment. And they go near and he falls inside. And from inside that pit, he cries out, daddy. What happened, son? Please come help me. And I come to him, what happened, son? He says, I'm sorry, daddy, I disobeyed you. Okay, son, I have forgiven you. Goodbye. Have I forgiven him? Yes. Have I saved him? You know the difference between being forgiven and being saved? Today we ask people, are you saved? I ask people this question. Is Jesus your savior? Say yes. Where did he save you from? Did he save you from getting angry? No. Did he save you from sexually dirty ways of thinking? No. Did he save you from murmuring and complaining? No. Did he save you from getting discouraged? No. Did he save you from the love of money? No. Did he save you from anxiety? What did he do then? He forgave me all these sins. Ah. Then he's your forgiver, not your savior. But he says he saved me. But he saved me from hell. Hell is at the end of your life. What about now? He has forgiven me, but he's not saved me. That is the honest confession of a truthful Christian. But the better promise is he saves us. And God wants many witnesses on earth who can testify by their life, Jesus can save me. Because that is the better promise. You shall call his name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Dear brother allowed me to speak for 1 hour 20 minutes. Thank you very much for listening. Shall we bow our heads in prayer? Shall we stand up and pray to God? While our heads are bowed in prayer, will you pray to God one little prayer? Lord, I may not get victory in one day. I may not get victory in one day. But from this moment I want to hunger and thirst for righteousness. But from this moment I want to hunger and thirst for righteousness. I want to be like that widow who keeps on knocking at your door until the enemy is defeated. I want the better promises of the new covenant. Oh Father, this seed that you have put into my heart today, don't let the devil take it away. Don't let it fall on shallow ground and just disappear. Let it sink deep and produce eternal fruit. Hear me Lord. Thank you Father for this evening. And that so many brothers and sisters could hear the word of God. And that so many brothers and sisters could hear the word of God. And please bring us the fruit of eternity. Bless this church. Bless every family here. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/PeTF4PdG-yE.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/god-has-something-better-for-you/ ========================================================================