======================================================================== THE BLESSED RESULTS OF BEING FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT by Zac Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit, leading to transformed family relationships, victory over the devil, and physical health. It highlights the need to avoid fighting with human beings, forgive others, and trust God's provision. The speaker shares personal experiences and biblical principles to encourage a life dependent on God's strength and guidance. Topics: "Holy Spirit Empowerment", "Forgiveness and Trust in God" Scripture References: Ephesians 5:18, Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 6:14, 2 Chronicles 25:9, Psalms 23:5, Isaiah 58:9, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 3:8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit, leading to transformed family relationships, victory over the devil, and physical health. It highlights the need to avoid fighting with human beings, forgive others, and trust God's provision. The speaker shares personal experiences and biblical principles to encourage a life dependent on God's strength and guidance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Praise the Lord. It's so good to see so many people, hardly a seat empty in the church. I remember the days when we first met, 48 years ago. We used to have 3 or 4 people, sometimes it would go up to 10, next week it would be 4 again. And then there was a great turnover, people would come and people would go. But as time went on, the Lord gathered together a few who really wanted to seek God. And we had some wonderful times of prayer in those days, when people were baptized in the Holy Spirit. And that was how this church was founded. That's how the first church was founded on the day of Pentecost. It was not some new doctrine, it was not people gathering together to hear a particular truth. They had heard truth for 3 and a half years from Jesus, the greatest preacher that walked on this earth. But at the end of it they were scared, they were locked up in a room. And teaching will not change us. That's what we learned from the lives of those disciples. It's very important to learn that, that even if Jesus were here, and you're not one of a crowd of 600 people, but you were just part of 12 people. Walking with Jesus every day for 3 and a half years. You'd think you'd be a very spiritual person by the end of that time, no. Still, Peter denied him, saying, I don't know who he is. He was scared, he wanted to save his own life. And when he was crucified, all the disciples ran away. And even after they heard from Mary Magdalene that the tomb is empty, he has risen. You know, can you believe this? They went there, Peter and John, and looked inside, and saw the clothes in which Jesus was wrapped, lying there. Christ was not there. And a couple of angels, imagine if you met some angels, who said, he's not here, he's risen. You know what they did? They went back to bed, to sleep. You look at that and say, I wouldn't do that. You would do it. That is the result of not being filled with the Holy Spirit. They never did that after they were filled with the Holy Spirit. So one of the things I learned from those early stories of the disciples and the Acts of the Apostles is, any amount of teaching from the best teacher in the world, Jesus Christ, will not change you, will not change me. It will give you more instruction. You will be able to teach others things which they don't know. Particularly if you are a person who comes to CFC regularly and you've got a good mind, you can teach other people. Do you know there are many people who are taking the truths that they hear from us, which are preached on the internet and published in all our books, they take it and publish it with their own name. Good. Not disturbed. I say, if the truth goes out to more people, why should people know it came from Zakfunen? First of all, it didn't come from me, it came from heaven. So I don't have any copyright on any of these things. But there are people who are only interested in proclaiming some truth to get a name. And we can also be satisfied in knowing the truth and say, I got it. But dear brothers and sisters, I want to urge you, I know in my own life, what changed my life was not a new doctrine. It was a thing that God one day met with me, filled me with the Holy Spirit. Just like those apostles on the day of Pentecost, that changed their life, turned their life upside down, or right side up rather. And since that day, I have sought with all my heart to really seek God, to be filled with the Holy Spirit all the time. That's the thing that changed my life. She met the Lord even before me. She was in desperate need, discouraged. She was a newly married wife with a baby. And we were rock bottom poor. Poorer than any of you sitting here. When we were married, let me tell you that, we were poorer than anyone sitting here. So we struggled. Three or four years and naturally she was discouraged. But God met with her. What is the solution? The solution was not money. God didn't give us more money. It remained the same amount of money we got. But God filled her with the Holy Spirit. That changed everything. And that's why we have labored together. And it's gone well in different places. And it's that early group of people who sought God and were filled with the Holy Spirit through which this church was born. And if we continue now on the basis of some doctrine and knowledge and understanding, I can say this church will collapse. Marriages will collapse. You need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Most important. What is the most important requirement for a married life? Because many of us are married, many of you will be married. And most churches are built not of individuals but of homes. There are very few single people in churches. There are sometimes a few. But otherwise almost all churches are built of families, homes. And in the Old Testament there was not much teaching on family life. Just like there was no teaching on overcoming sin in the Old Testament, there was no teaching on family life. If you go through the Old Testament, there's only one thing it said about family life. Teach children to honor their father and mother. And if they don't obey, stone them to death. That's what the Old Testament law was. If your son is deliberately disobedient, the command to the father was, imagine if you were in the Old Testament and you had a son who was deliberately disobedient again and again and again and again and again. The law was, bring him to the elders outside the gate of the city and stone him to death. Can you believe that a loving God taught that? You read in the Old Testament, I'm not telling you stories. That was the punishment. If a woman was caught unfaithful to her husband, she was stoned to death. Take her outside and stone her to death. She's been unfaithful to her husband. That was how it was under the law. And is the message of God's grace lower than that? Or higher? That's like asking, is college higher than the school? Or school is higher than college? Which do you go to first, school or college? Grace is much higher than law. So how is it that so many people who claim to be under grace, they don't even have the fear that the Old Testament people had under the law. It teaches us that what we call grace is a false grace. It's a fake. It's like having a counterfeit 500 rupee note. And you have a pile of them. And you think you're very, very rich. You take it to the bank one day to put it into your account and the bank says every one of these is fake. Some counterfeit, somebody cheated you. And in a moment you suddenly realize that you're not a millionaire, you're a beggar, you're poor. And I believe that's how it is. But many people who have got doctrine and understanding, you must not be satisfied with that, my brothers. And if you find, you young people, let me tell you, if you find older people in CFC who are not a good example, or you find them to be arrogant and proud and bossy, ignore them. Forget about them. Don't waste your time criticizing them. Ignore them. They are the ones who never took the word seriously. You follow the Lord. I was in a church when I was 21 years old and I had just taken baptism. I'll tell you honestly, I did not find one person whom I could follow as an example. Not one of the elders. I did not hear one anointed message in those years. It was all academic knowledge. It was a brethren assembly. They knew the Bible but there was no anointing of the Holy Spirit. But as I grew up, I was a young Christian and I realized that what I needed was a part of the Holy Spirit. And so I was telling you, in the New Testament, what is the basis for family life? I want to show you that in Ephesians chapter 5. The Bible talks a lot about family life. And if you are honest, all of you married people, you will admit that a lot of our problems are in the family. Between husband and wife. Between father and children. That's where the biggest problems are. Bigger than problems you have in your office. And so the New Testament speaks a lot about family life. There is only one place in the entire New Testament where there is a clear command. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Isn't that interesting? Only one place in the entire New Testament, or I could even say in the whole Bible, where there is a command given to us. You be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that is in Ephesians chapter 5. And verse 18. It's an important verse because it's the only verse in the whole Bible where it says be filled with the Holy Spirit. And then it tells us what will be the result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. It's not doing miracles and healing the sick or even preaching the gospel. No. God gives that gift to less than 1% of people. Maybe 1 in a thousand or 1 in 10,000 have those gifts. And you and I are not in that number. But something else. Everybody who is filled with the Holy Spirit will have a spirit of singing. It says in this, speak in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and singing and making melody with the heart to the Lord and always giving thanks for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. There will be a song in our hearts. And I can certainly say that that's what happened to me. That hymns and songs became very living to me. I don't sing hymns only on Sunday morning. Some people do only Sunday morning. I have memorized so many of those hymns. And many times when I am alone, I sing. I get up in the morning. I sing softly to the Lord. There are many other places when we are alone, when we are traveling or when you are having a shower, having a bath, to sing to the Lord. And when we sing to the Lord, it doesn't matter if our singing is a perfect tune or can't sing too well. Everybody can sing. And I believe that Heaven is full of that. When you get to Heaven, you find it says that people are singing unto the Lord. So if you have not developed the habit of singing unto the Lord, now and then, I'll tell you what you should do. Seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Singing is a tremendous instrument that drives the devil away. I told you the other day, last Sunday, how the devil is always accusing us. Pointing to God and saying, look at that child of yours. Look how they are behaving. Look how she is talking now. Look how he is talking. And look what they are doing right now. And look what they are running after. They are not running after you Lord. They are running after money. The devil is always accusing. And we have to overcome him. That also comes in, being filled with the Holy Spirit. But it begins with singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. And if you don't have that habit, I want to encourage you to pray that God will give you a song in your heart that you will sing when you are alone. And nobody is listening but the Lord. Those are some of my best times. When I sing alone to the Lord, the tune doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if my tune is all wrong. If my tune is all wrong, I can't sing loud in the church because you will disrupt everybody else. But when you are singing to the Lord, He doesn't bother about whether you are singing to the right tune. He listens to the heart. It says you are singing with your heart. Verse 19. Not with your lips. Lips are there but it must come from the heart. And the melody it says here in verse 19 is in the heart. And the Lord delights in that. That is the way we can be prepared for heaven. And I will tell you if you can develop this habit which I have written here of one singing and the other is verse 20. Giving thanks. Always giving thanks to the Lord for everything. It will make a tremendous difference in your life, in your home, in your family. Because one of the characteristics of the human race from Adam is complaining. You see that in Garden of Eden. As soon as Adam says to God, See this woman? She is the cause of all the problems. I am paraphrasing his words. He is pointing at Eve. God, see that woman whom you gave me? The cause of all the problems. She is the cause of all the problems. Do you find husbands say that sometimes about their wives? Do you find wives say that sometimes about their husbands? This man whom I married is the cause of all the problems. I will tell you something. That habit came from Adam. You did not invent it. It is in your nature. It came from your forefather Adam. To point at another human being and say he or she is the cause of all the problems. Especially if it is your wife or husband. Now it is no use saying I want to break free from Adam and be under Christ. Christ never pointed a finger at anyone. I remember reading a poem years ago how when Jesus came he did not have any fingers to point at anybody. He did not come here to point fingers at people. He took those ten fingers and nailed them to the cross. No possibility of blaming anybody. And hanging there on the cross he said to his father nobody is to blame. I am to blame. And he took our punishment. He took the blame. So I would encourage you in this new year to try and get rid of this habit of blaming people. Or pointing the finger at others. Especially at your wife or your husband. Instead say Lord teach me to judge myself. You know there is a beautiful promise in Isaiah. I want you to turn to that. Isaiah is one of those wonderful Old Testament books which has got a lot of New Testament promises in it. And Isaiah 58 And the Lord is saying here these people seek me day by day. And they say they delight to know my ways. And they say why are you not listening? We fast at verse 3 and you don't see. We humbled ourselves and you don't notice. Isaiah 58 verse 3 But he goes on to say you fast for contention. And there is strife in your home. Verse 4 But if you really want God to hear you it says here in verse 9 You will call. And the Lord will answer. That's definite. You will cry. And the Lord will say here I am. What do you want? If you do one thing. This is the condition. If you remove this pointing of the finger This pointing of the finger The last part of verse 9 And saying she She is the cause. He is the cause. If you don't get rid of that pointing of the finger at other people in your family or other people in the church You can pray all night and all day. I tell you in Jesus name he will not hear you. But here it says You will call and the Lord will answer and say here I am. I'm right here. Imagine when I pray and the Lord says I'm right here. What do you want? The Lord says I'll do that if you stop pointing the finger at others and turn that finger towards yourself and judge yourself and see where you're wrong. The other person may be wrong in many areas but you must be wrong at least in one area right? Judge yourself. And then verse 11 The Lord will continually guide you. That's one of the things I desired from very early in my life. I say Lord I have only one life and I don't want to waste it. I don't care if I don't make much money. I gave away all my money when I left my job to serve the Lord. That's not important. But I want to make use of my one earthly life in the way you wanted. When you sent me to this earth as a little baby you had a plan for my life. I want that fulfilled. And I want to say to every single person sitting here if you have given your life to Jesus Christ even in a very simple way even if it was only yesterday I want to say to you in Jesus name that God has got a plan for your life. Take it seriously and say to yourself God Almighty has made a plan for this insignificant unknown little person like me. He's got a plan for my life. And that plan is basically two things to bless me and to make me a blessing to others. That's what God told Abraham. I will bless you and I will bless all the families you come in touch with. And do you know that promise is for us? Do you know that is why Jesus not only died on the cross but one of the terrible things that happened on the cross was he became a curse. Let me show you that before I move on. Galatians chapter 5 If you've heard it before you need to be assured of it again. Galatians chapter 4 I'm sorry. Galatians 3 and verse 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Do you know that God has cursed people who don't keep the law? We're all cursed because we violated God's law. Not cursed by man, cursed by God. And Christ saved us from that curse. How? We know he died on the cross, we know he did shed his blood but here it says he became a curse. He actually became a curse. Why? Because you and I were cursed. So that we might be saved from it. Never forget that. And never forget to be thankful to the Lord that he saved you from being a curse. I thank God for that. And that is why he had to hang on a tree. Jesus could not die like the way Paul was killed by his head being chopped off. And some of the apostles were killed with bows and arrows and so many other ways. But Jesus could not die like that because there was an Old Testament law which is quoted here from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy 21 that anyone who hangs on a tree is cursed. And that was written about Christ. And it says in verse 13 fulfilling that word Jesus hung on a tree on the cross and became a curse. Not that somebody cursed him. He became a curse. Why? Because we had broken God's law. You meditate on that. Think about it. Somebody becoming a curse in order to save you from it. Somebody taking death in order to save you from death. I remember when I used to meditate on these things as a young man I said Lord I'll be grateful to you for the rest of my life. And that's what's kept my devotion to Christ all these 60 years since I came to know him. I mean my love for the Lord just keeps increasing because I think of how much he did for me. I don't think of how other people let me down or people accuse me. It doesn't bother me. I say Lord you have died for me. I owe my life to you. And I want to express that gratitude and a lifetime of service. And I want to always remember that you became a curse. That there will never be a curse in my life. And not only the curse was removed but it says Christ became a curse in verse 14 so that the blessing of Abraham might come to us through the promise of the Holy Spirit. So I was telling you about being filled with the Holy Spirit. So when we are filled with the Holy Spirit the reason we can be filled with the Holy Spirit is because the curse that is on us has been removed because Christ became a curse for us. So therefore now I can receive the Holy Spirit. And when I receive the Holy Spirit it says here this blessing of Abraham can become mine. So turn to Genesis 12 to see what the blessing of Abraham is. You've probably heard this before but until it becomes real in your life you have to hear it again. The blessing of Abraham is mentioned in Genesis chapter 12 and never forget it. In very simple words, two sentences. Genesis 12 verse 2, the middle. I will bless you. It's the greatest thing God says, I will bless you. Number one. And second, the last part of verse 2, you will be a blessing. In a nutshell, that is it. I will bless you and you will be a blessing. And it says in verse 3, last part, you will be a blessing to all the families on the earth. In other words, I look at it like this. That when Christ has removed the curse from me He did that on the cross. And I'm really eager to be filled with this Holy Spirit. Because remember we read in Galatians 3.14 that it's through the Holy Spirit that this blessing of Abraham comes to us today. So if you're not filled with the Holy Spirit, it will not happen. But when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, God's blessing comes upon our life. We begin to overcome sin. And not only that, we become a blessing to every family we encounter. Every family. If I meet one family, I'll be a blessing to them. If I meet 1,000 families, I'll be a blessing to all 1,000. Not because of who I am, not because I know the Bible, but because I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to tell you that many of you know the Bible better than many of the early disciples. Because they never had a written Bible. You can quote verses. Peter and John and James could not. They didn't have a printed Bible with them. But what's the use of our knowing the Bible more than them? They were filled with the Holy Spirit. And they accomplished a lot more than many of you who know the Bible. So don't be satisfied with Bible knowledge. When God fills you with the Holy Spirit, He'll bless you and make you a blessing to every family you meet. I think of that verse in Psalm 23, which also refers to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Turn with me to Psalm 23. It says there, You anoint my head with oil, verse 5. That's again a picture of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows from within like rivers of living water. And what will happen? Wherever I go, verse 6, wherever I go, goodness and loving kindness will follow me. That means you go into a home, and when you left the home, you have left some goodness and loving kindness of God in that home. Isn't it wonderful to live like this? You go and meet with a brother, maybe for five minutes, and you have left something of the goodness and loving kindness of the Lord with that person. And he's so thankful to God that he met you. Imagine if everyone sitting here was like that. That wherever you went, the goodness and loving kindness of the Lord will just follow you and you leave it behind as you go. Whether you meet a person for five minutes or you sit in a home for one hour, you have left something of the goodness and loving kindness of the Lord in that home or with that person. Like a perfume, the perfume of Christ that came forth from you and enveloped that person. I've heard of people who sit in a room with a lot of people smoking cigarettes. I've actually heard this is true. And that person comes out of the room and meets somebody and he smells of cigarettes. He didn't smoke a cigarette at all. But the smoke that these other people were smoking in the room where he was sitting got into his shirt and and he actually smells like a smoker. Now that can happen with cigarettes. Why not with the aroma of Christ? That I am saturated with the aroma of Christ because I am filled with the Holy Spirit. Because I take time to talk to him every day. And everyone I meet, I leave something of the aroma of Christ. In a world where everybody is fighting and quarreling and something goes wrong, they get upset in the house and the rest of the world is fighting for money and property and all types of things. In a world full of strife for earthly things and about earthly matters. Imagine if God has a people who will spread the aroma of Christ, the loving kindness and goodness of God wherever they go. So that is the importance of being filled with the Spirit. You can't produce it. You can't just determine OK, I'm going to do that. If God fills you with the Spirit, it will happen automatically. But it goes on in Ephesians. We were reading in Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5, it says here, Be filled with the Spirit and singing and making melody to the heart of the Lord and giving thanks in the name of Jesus. And it goes on to say about the family life how a Spirit-filled wife, verse 22, will be subject to her own husband as if she is being subject to the Lord. Some of you wives think you are very good wives. Compare yourself with verse 22 here. Are you subject to your husband as unto the Lord? If not, work out your salvation till you get there. And husbands are delighted to hear something like that. But there is a word for you which is more difficult. Do you think that is difficult for a wife to submit to her husband as unto the Lord? Yes. But listen to this. This is even more difficult. Husbands, you must love your wife, verse 25, exactly like Christ loved the Church and gave up His life for the Church. The meaning of that is, you husbands, you have to give up your life for your wife every day. I don't mean physically. That also you must be willing to do. But you lay down your life, your self-life, that pride. Put it down for your love for your wife, by forgiving her. Forgiving her. Peter asked the Lord, shall I forgive someone seven times? He said, no, it's not 70 times. 70 times 7 in a single day, 490 times a day, he said, you've got to forgive. Those are the words of Jesus. That means every 3 minutes, you calculate that, 490 times a day works out to every 3 minutes, you keep forgiving. Somebody in your home keeps hurting you every 3 minutes and you keep forgiving. That's the type of forgiveness Jesus thought, and not, well, I forgave you this morning, I'm not going to forgive you again. That's not Christianity. Christianity is where you forgive 490 times in a single day. You read that in Matthew 18, those are not my words. That's how Christ forgave, and that's how husbands do. You thought it's tough, hey, you thought it's great, wives have to be subject to their husbands as under the Lord, but husbands have got to love their wives like Christ loved the church. So it's not a question of demanding this or the other. It's a question of voluntarily choosing to be what God wants you to be. But what I want to say is, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, according to this passage, the change primarily comes in your home. It starts with your singing unto the Lord, and it changes you as a wife, and it changes you as a husband. That's why from the beginning of CFC, we emphasized family life. There's hardly any church, I would say, that keeps on emphasizing family life like we have emphasized. Relationship between husband, spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, everything. Every part of that relationship. We have spoken about it. If you go to the YouTube and listen to some of my messages, there are so many messages there on family life. And I've spoken there openly about how husbands and wives must relate to each other spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically also. That's how God wanted it. That's how God wanted it for Adam, and Eve, and that's how he wants it for us. And so Christ has come to restore us into that position, and then not only husband and wife, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember, this is all the result of Ephesians 5.18, being filled with the Spirit. So when you seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, say, Lord, it's because I want to be a better wife. Not because I want to speak in tongues. I want to be a better wife. I'm not a good wife, so I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Or you say, I'm not a good husband, so I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Seek God like that. Because that's what it says here. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, and wives behave like this, husbands behave like this, Ephesians 6.4. Fathers, don't provoke your children to anger. Do you ever make your children angry? I mean, children get angry on their own for so many things, but do you do something as father or mother to make them angry, make them more angry? By the way you treat them, or the way you scold them, or the way you treat them? Let me ask you, has Jesus ever scolded you in such a way to make you feel small? And can any of you say that when you did something wrong, Jesus scolded you so badly, you felt so small? He doesn't do it. When you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you will not make your children feel small. You'll correct them. You'll correct them to lead them towards God, and they'll be closer to you. My dear brothers and sisters, married people, don't let your children drift away from you when they grow older, because you did not draw them close to you when they grew up. You were too busy with your work. You were too busy earning money. Take time with your children. Just like lovers go on a date. You know what a date is? A young boy and girl going out together because they love one another. Go out on a date with your little son. Go out on a date with your little daughter. Once a month, spend one hour with them. Go out and go to some restaurant or something and eat a little. Not a fancy place, just some place you can afford. Go out together, and if you can't afford it, just go and sit in a park for a little while. Spend time with your son and daughter. I used to do that with each of my children once a month. I'd tell them, today I'm going to date with you, just you and me. And they would look forward to that. Do that with your children, one on one with each of your children. Try and do that once a month. It doesn't take long. Don't tell me you're so busy that you can't do that. It makes a tremendous difference. My children, all four of them, are attached to me today, very much so, and to their mother. It's because we spend time with them. It was a priority for us. In the midst of it, it's not that I had nothing else to do, I was traveling a lot, going here and there. It's no use. It's no use preaching to the whole world if I can't bring my own children up to love you and love me. So take time with your children. The world is going in such a bad direction. And I tell you, our young people are facing a lot of temptations out there in the world, in school and college. They won't tell you about it. But there's a lot of filth that they're being exposed to. Much more than my children were exposed to 40 years ago. It's much worse today. Please protect them. Spend time with them. Fathers, bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. One of the results is this. It's home life that changes when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. And then it talks about how masters treat their servants at home. In many countries they don't have servants, but in India, many, many homes, even poor homes have a servant at home. A servant helper. And it tells us, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, how you should treat your servant at home. I'd like to know how you treat your servant at home. That's how I'll discover whether you're filled with the Holy Spirit or not. Because it says here in verse 9, Masters, don't threaten your servants. Remember that your master and their master is in heaven. They've got a master in heaven. You're not their ultimate master. And remember, there's no partiality with that master, it says in verse 9. He'll treat both of you the same. So, be good to them. Be fair. So, and then if we are like this, and this is the type of life we want, I believe God will fill us with the Holy Spirit. My family life changed when I was filled with the Holy Spirit. And your family life will change when you're filled with the Holy Spirit. And the next thing after that is our attitude to the devil. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 6.10, remember all this is flowing from that one verse, Ephesians 5.18. From that, a river is flowing, which affects husband-wife relationship, father-children, and even the servants in our home. And then in our attitude to the devil. Be strong in the Lord, verse 11, Ephesians 6.11. Put on the armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil. Now, I don't want to go into the detail about the armor of the Lord, but I want to tell you one thing which the Lord spoke to me years ago when God first filled me with the Holy Spirit. And that is this simple verse, Ephesians 6.12. When you're filled with the Holy Spirit, your struggle will no longer be with human beings. Flesh and blood means human beings. We don't struggle with human beings anymore, but we struggle with these evil, satanic powers against these spiritual forces of wickedness. And what the Lord told me many years ago when He filled me with the Holy Spirit is never, never fight with human beings about anything. Don't fight for money, don't fight for property, don't even fight about spiritual matters. Proclaim the truth, and if they don't accept it, leave it. Don't go fighting with them saying you must accept it. No, no, no. It's not by fighting that we convince people of the truth. We proclaim the truth and we say, there are people who say, Brother Zak is a heretic, he's preaching nonsense. Okay, I'm not going to fight with you about it. You can call me whatever name you like. I'm a servant of God. I'm not, they call my master the devil, so you can call me whatever you like. But I will not fight with you. I refuse to fight with any human being for anything. And the Lord said, if you keep that principle that you never fight with a human being for anything, I'll give you such authority over Satan that Satan will be afraid of you. And I believe that has been true in my life. I said, I say that boldly. I'm not afraid of Satan. Satan is afraid of me. You know, whenever Jesus came into a place, the devils began to tremble. We read in a synagogue, there was a demon-possessed person sitting in that synagogue, I don't know for how many years. And all the boring Pharisees would get up and preach and the demon sat there comfortably. But Jesus came one day and he erupted. Suddenly he began to scream because Jesus had come. The devil got disturbed. Be a person who disturbs the devil wherever you go. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. But if you want to be like that, determine in your life that you will never fight with a human being. I told the Lord, I will never fight with my wife. Zero. I will not fight with my children over anything. As a father, I'll command them, but I'm not going to fight with them. I will not fight with anybody in any office. I will not fight with a shopkeeper. I will not fight with an auto-rickshaw driver if he charges me a little more. I'm not going to waste my time fighting with him. I'll tell him what I think is right, but I'm not going to go into a fight with him. I will not fight with anybody about anything. You say, why? Because I want to fight against the devil. And if I start fighting with this man, I will lose my power to fight against the devil. And that is the reason why many of you are not able to conquer the devil. I'll tell you. That's why the devil can run and kill people. That's why the devil can take charge of your children. Because you're fighting with human beings. Your husbands and wives are fighting with each other. You're fighting with your neighbors. What? Over some silly little thing. What are the things human beings fight about? Small, silly little things which matter nothing in eternity. Take the decision I took. I'm standing before God and saying I took that decision. Do you know that there are brothers and sisters some of you know them they've cheated us run away with CFC property taken money that they made out of selling my books and the Lord said, don't fight with them. Let them take the money. Not one or two rupees, lakhs of rupees. A building worth a lot of money. The Lord said, don't fight. I said, I will not fight. I want the devil to be scared of me. That's all. And if I want the devil to be scared of me I must never fight with a human being about anything. Many years ago, the Lord gave me a word which I've never forgotten. You know, sometimes we feel somebody's cheated us and we feel, hey, this guy's cheated we've got to teach him a lesson. No, no, no, no, no. It's not your business to teach anybody a lesson. Let God teach him a lesson. I remember this. I learned this when I was in the Navy and somebody had sort of cheated me and I've got to get it back. And from 2 Chronicles 25 remember this story. It will help you sometime in your life in some situation. Some of these Old Testament stories are beautiful. There was a king called Amaziah. 2 Chronicles 25 and he was 25 years old when he became king. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He was 2. But he was not wholehearted. You know, he was sort of partial in his devotion to Christ. And then it says here they were going to fight with the enemy. In the Old Testament, Israel was always fighting Judah. The kingdom of Israel was split into two. And the more wholehearted group was two tribes underneath called Judah. And the top part, ten tribes, was called Israel. Ten kingdoms were called Israel and two kingdoms were called Judah. And Amaziah was ruling over the two tribes of Judah. And they wanted to fight against some other enemy. So he thought, let me get some Israeli soldiers also to come and help me. But the Israeli people were all idol worshippers. Judah was a little better. So Amaziah, verse 5, assembled Judah and he gathered all the army together of all the people there were and he said, there are 300,000 people ready to fight. Verse 5. And he said, that's not enough. We need more people. He said, okay, let me go out to Israel, to the northern kingdom, the idol worshippers. And he hired 100,000 people from there. And he paid them 100 talents of silver. 100 talents of silver is probably many millions of crores of rupees. He paid them in advance for me. And a man of God, verse 7, came to the king and said, don't take those 100,000 Israelites with you on battle because they are idol worshippers. And if you get those idol worshippers in your army, you'll be defeated because the Lord is not with them. Verse 7. But if you don't listen to me and you go and do it, you think that you've got more people, God will bring you down before the enemy. Verse 8. Because God is the one who decides whether it's going to be defeated or victorious. And Amazigh said, here's the question that came to my mind. But Lord, what about this money? I've already given these millions of rupees. I mean, in my case, it is not millions of rupees. But some amount of money I'm going to lose if I don't take a stand in this situation. These 100 talents, these millions, verse 9, are millions of rupees that we have given, already paid. They're not going to give it back. And this is the answer the Lord came to me, which I've never forgotten in more than 50 years. The last part of verse 9. It may help you also. The Lord can give you much more than this. Oh, what a word it was to my heart. The Lord can give you much more than this. Let Him take it. So many situations I have faced, even recently with people in CFC churches who have cheated us. The Lord can give you much more than this. Let Him take it. Don't fight with Him. Don't fight with flesh and blood. The Lord is able to give you much more than this. And I have proved that over 50 years. Jesus and Amaziah sent them off. Maybe that is a word for you. If not today, in some situation you'll face in the coming days. Don't struggle with flesh and blood. Keep your energy to fight the devil alone. Many Christians are not able to overcome Satan because they are fighting with flesh and blood. They are fighting with human beings. They are fighting in their own home. They are fighting with their relatives for some silly earthly thing. They are fighting with their relatives and neighbors and all types of people they fight with. The devil just sits back and laughs. Ha ha, wonderful, look at these guys fighting. Great. They have no power over me now. The devil won't be able to laugh that way at me because I decided long ago I will not fight with human beings. The Lord told me if you struggle with flesh and blood you will not be able to struggle with Satan. He said to every single person sitting here if you struggle with human beings you will not be able to struggle with Satan. He will overpower you and your family outright. He will overpower your children with no problem at all because you who are set as a father and mother to protect your children, you don't protect them. You are fighting with human beings. Fight with the devil. The devil wants to enter your home. We are learning in this church how to make sure the devil does not enter our home. So take seriously my brothers and sisters what I say to you today because it's very very important. The coming of the Lord is near. People have said that for 2000 years and I still say it. To me, the Bible says one day with the Lord is a thousand years and a thousand years is one day. If a thousand years is one day Jesus left this earth just two days ago. Have you read that verse? 1 Peter 3, 2 Peter 3 The 1000 years with the Lord is one day. So when did Jesus go up to heaven? Just two days ago, day before yesterday. He'll come back. He went to heaven day before yesterday. He'll come back. I'm waiting for him to come. I don't think it's such a long time. Day before yesterday he went and he'll come back. This is to live in eternity. This is the way you can make the maximum use of your life and not only that you'll be a healthy person as well. A lot of people are sick because they've got bitterness and grudges against others. Yeah, I tell you their sickness comes because they've got some unforgiving attitude towards someone. I read a book when I was a young man called None of These Diseases. It's a very good book. It's a Christian book. It's not about medical healing at all. It's written by a doctor, a Christian doctor called None of These Diseases. If you get a hold of that book, read it. He gives case by case by case by example. It's not a theory book. Practical examples of his visiting different homes as a doctor. And they were healed not by medicine. No, that's the interesting part. He healed them by telling them to forgive somebody. Stop fighting with that person. He gave them some spiritual principles and they were healed. And he was saying that the Lord's will is that you should not have any of these diseases. But these diseases come because you've got some wrong attitude in your home towards somebody in your family or towards your neighbor or relative or somebody else. And you're sick and your children are sick and you're taking medicines and tablets and all types of things and the sickness is not going. Get rid of that wrong attitude. I'll never forget that book. I say, Lord, I want to follow the laws of scripture. God has been amazingly good to me in all my 83 years. 63 of those years I've been a believer. And he's kept both Annie and me in remarkably good health. Because we will not fight with flesh and blood for anything. We will not depend on flesh and blood for anything. We will never ask anybody for anything. My children went, they got scholarships to study in the United States when they were 18 years old, each of them. I have a brother and a sister living in the United States, extremely wealthy, millionaires. But I never took one dollar from them for my children till today. When my children struggled in college to meet their needs, I said, go and work in the kitchen. Don't ask your uncle or aunt for one cent. They never did. We did not depend on uncles or aunts or anybody. If you need, I said, go and work. Do some work in the college campus and earn some money and support yourself and live simply. You don't need to live in grand style. You don't need a car or anything. Just take the bus. So, if we seek to follow the principles of scripture, it will go well with your children. And I've seen it go well with my children as I've taught them not to depend on man even when you are in need. Just somehow get over it. I remember when we did not have, I did not have money to buy woolen clothes for them and America is a very cold place. I went to a cheap Salvation Army store where they would give free second-hand clothes. And I said, oh Lord, that's all we can afford. So we bought some second-hand woolen coats and sweaters and gave them all a thorough wash to get rid of all the germs and all that. And I told my boys, here, you wear this. You don't have all the fancy clothes that other people can wear. This will keep you warm because of certain principles. We say, Lord, I will never be a beggar. I will never depend on man in my life. I will teach my children not to depend on man. Even if it's an uncle or an aunt or anybody. No, I will not depend on them. We have a Father in Heaven. That's what I taught my children. You've got a Father in Heaven. Go to Him. Teach your children that they've got a Father in Heaven. Not some rich uncle or aunt somewhere. I'm telling you from my own experience. It's not just theory that we want to teach our children. We want to teach them practical obedience. And if your children have to go through a struggle, it's good. My children went through many struggles. Financial struggles, other struggles. Good. Don't protect them like babies. They'll be spoiled. Teach them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We want our children to grow up. To be bold witnesses for Christ. God will help you. I believe God is on our side. And you're very blessed to hear these truths in CFC which affect your life and your family life. May God help us all. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you will help every one of us, many families here. Lord, give us a tremendous thirst. You said, if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. Give us that thirst, Lord, that we come to you. We want to drink and be filled with the Holy Spirit. We want to be a spirit-filled church. A church which the devil is afraid of. Homes that the devil or devil is afraid of. Children who are protected from the attacks of Satan. Make it so, Lord, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/i5iBVRt7wQg.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/the-blessed-results-of-being-filled-with-the-spirit/ ========================================================================