======================================================================== THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES US FROM WITHIN by Zac Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit within us in the New Covenant, contrasting it with how God spoke externally in the Old Testament. It highlights the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to grow spiritually and fulfill God's specific plan for each individual's life. The speaker encourages seeking God's will diligently, being led by the Spirit, and letting go of past successes and failures to press forward in God's plan. Topics: "Listening to the Holy Spirit", "Spiritual Growth and Guidance" Scripture References: Isaiah 30:21, Hebrews 5:11, Philippians 3:13, John 16:13, John 21:25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit within us in the New Covenant, contrasting it with how God spoke externally in the Old Testament. It highlights the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to grow spiritually and fulfill God's specific plan for each individual's life. The speaker encourages seeking God's will diligently, being led by the Spirit, and letting go of past successes and failures to press forward in God's plan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'd like to continue on what we heard about the memory verse this week. It says in Isaiah 30 and verse 21, Your ears will hear a word behind you. This is the way you walk in it when you turn to the right or the left. Now, when you read in the Old Testament, we find that God spoke from the outside. And sometimes we wish we could hear him like that, like God would say, Abraham, Abraham, or in the middle of the night, Samuel, Samuel. But that was God's way in the Old Testament, and it had nothing to do with the man being spiritual. Because even an ungodly Satan worshiper like Balaam, you know, later on it says that Balaam was a sorcerer. So even Balaam could hear God speaking from the outside. So that's not a great thing to hear God speaking like that. Even King Saul and others heard. But this is the New Covenant where we hear a word behind us saying it's a voice in our spirit. This is God's highest way in the New Covenant. The way of speaking from outside, we think it is better. It is not because it will never enable us to grow spiritually. Those Old Testament people could not become like Christ. But if we develop the habit of being sensitive to what is the voice of the spirit and what is some other voice in my heart, we grow spiritually. If you don't develop that sensitivity, it says you're not growing spiritually. If you're always confused, is it my voice or is it God's voice? But God wants us to grow. And what is it that hinders us? In Hebrews in chapter 5, we read what prevents us from hearing that voice saying, this is the way you walk in it. First of all, you must be convinced of what I just said, that it is more important to develop a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit speaking within. You must work at it. Of course, the most important thing is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, they could not have the Holy Spirit within. It was on the outside. That's why he spoke from outside. And it didn't help the disciples to be spiritual. They were scared. After even though they saw Jesus risen from the dead, but the moment they were filled with the spirit, it was completely different. They were no more scared. They threw the doors open and all fear had gone from their life. They were willing to lay down their lives. Everything changed when the Holy Spirit came within. That's when you begin to hear the voice from within saying, this is the way you walk in it. This is why it's so important to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We hear about that often, but I think a lot of Christians, they're not sure if you ask them, are you sure God's filled you with the Holy Spirit? Well, brother, I'm not so sure. I hope so. Well, that would indicate I'm not really serious about it. I remember when I was not sure for years about being filled with the Holy Spirit, and I was so desperate after some time because as a result of it, I was being defeated in my life. And I said, Lord, I've got to settle this. I've got to be filled with the Spirit and would pray and fast and cry out to God and do everything that I knew should be done till God finally met with me. It changed the whole direction of my life, and I'll never forget that day. And CFC was born only after that. I don't believe that we can do any lasting work for God without being filled with the Holy Spirit. The apostles did a lot of good things. They went out and preached. If you read Matthew 10, they even raised the dead and healed lepers before the day of Pentecost, but they couldn't build a church. The Lord commissioned them, Matthew 10, go out and heal the sick and cleanse the lepers, but they couldn't build a church until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. And after being filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul could not heal himself of his own sickness. That's not important, but he could build a church. So I see that building the church is more important than physical healing or anything else. And then they could hear the voice of the Spirit saying what to do and where to go. It's a wonderful thing to be led by God like that because I believe that for every one of you, dear brothers and sisters, God's made a plan for your life. He made it long before you were born, and the most useful life you can live on earth is one where you fulfill that plan. Not just doing all the routine things. We come to church. We sing the songs, and once in a while we get up and share something and come to the weekday meetings, and it can become a routine. Good, very good. It's better than nothing. But ask yourself, do you believe God's got a plan for your life, a very specific plan? Do you have a passion? Lord, before I leave this earth, I want to fulfill that. That's what gripped my heart when God filled me with the Holy Spirit. Lord, you've got a plan for my life, and I don't care what else I don't do. I want to fulfill that plan because I know when I get into eternity, it's not all the various meetings I attended and how much of the Bible I knew or what other people thought about me. All those things are going to be worth nothing. The important thing in eternity will be, did you fulfill the plan God made for your life? If you're gripped by that, I'll tell you one thing. You will earnestly seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, even if you're young. Seek for that. In Hebrews 5, it says the same theme about hearing. Here the Holy Spirit says through Paul, concerning Jesus, verse 11. Hebrews 5 and verse 11. Concerning Jesus, we have so much to say. That means there are so many things about Christ which are not written in the Gospels. That's the thing that gripped me. There are so many things about Christ not written in the Gospels. If it is already written in the Gospels, there's no need for this sentence. Concerning Jesus, we have so much to say, and it's very hard to explain. What's hard to explain about what you read in the Gospels? That he healed the sick and he raised the dead and he went here and did miracles and all types of things. That's not hard to understand. But he says there are certain other things about Jesus which are very hard to explain. But I want you to know it. But you're not able to know it because your hearing is not good. You're not able to hear the voice of the Spirit within your heart. And the sad thing is, even though you're not hearing it, you're quite satisfied. I think if you begin to lose your hearing in the year, it would disturb you tremendously. Imagine if you woke up one day and you discovered even in one year you lost hearing. You'd rush to the doctor. Doc, I've lost hearing in one year. We'd really be concerned. I wonder if we are as concerned that we don't hear that voice behind saying this is the way you walk in it when you turn to the right, when you turn to the left. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. That has never changed. He has said you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. And I want to say to every one of you here, if you seek God with all your heart and you don't find him, God has broken his word. He'll never break his word. I guarantee to everybody here in any area if you're seeking to find God's will, if you seek him with all your heart, you will find that. You'll find God's will. You'll hear that word saying this is the way, don't turn right, turn left. I found that again and again and again in my life. And when I don't get it clearly, I say, Lord, something's wrong. Some other thing has become priority in my life. But I don't want anything to be priority in my life except the will of God. Because I know that's the only way I can live a useful life on this earth. And I never want to look back over what is accomplished. That's another thing Paul said, forgetting what is behind and reaching forth to what is before. I'll tell you one way we become dull of hearing. If you keep looking back and pat yourself on the back saying so many good things you've done and what you think you're doing for the Lord and how useful you are, how you're using your home for the Lord perhaps and you're doing things for the Lord and you keep thinking about that, you'll become dull of hearing. Paul said forgetting the things that are behind. We like to forget our failures. All of us do. But we must forget our successes also. The good things we have done must be forgotten. I think of it like a curtain that falls right behind me. A curtain right behind me. When I look back over my life, I can see nothing. There's a curtain there. I can't see the bad things because the Lord says I don't remember your evil anymore. I can't even see the good things. That's the only way to press forward. Paul says forgetting Philippians 3.13, the things that are behind. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And if that is our goal, we will be able to hear in different situations. Say Lord, even if I failed in the past or done good things in the past, I want to know at least the rest of my life. I would urge all of you to say Lord, the rest of my life. Forget about the past. Maybe I failed. Maybe I succeeded in some areas. But the rest of my life, however little or much is left of it, I want to walk in your plan. I want to hear that voice which says don't turn left here. Turn right. Don't take that. Take this. And for that, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Because it's the Holy Spirit that made the difference in the new covenant. The Old Testament was from outside. The New Testament from within. And I pray that you will seek for that so that we don't become dull of hearing. And it says here it's concerning Jesus that we have much to say. The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus. And so many times I've asked the Lord, the Holy Spirit, to tell me, how did Jesus do it? I mean, after he started his ministry, that I need to read the Gospels so I can understand. But, Lord, before he became 30 years old, when he was living at home, how did he live with his brothers and sisters? Can you tell me? How did he do his work as a carpenter or whatever job he did? Well, there's a verse which I would leave with you. John 16. Please. This is a verse that's helped me. John 16 concerning the Holy Spirit. And verse 13. The Spirit of truth will guide you into all the truth. And the truth is not the truth of 2 plus 2 is 4 or something like that. The truth is Jesus Christ. He said, I am the truth. I am the way, the truth, and the life. The Spirit of truth will guide you into Jesus. He's the truth. He will glorify me, verse 14. John 16, 14. And this is the verse I was thinking of. He will take of mine and disclose it to you. Now, you don't need the Holy Spirit to read the Gospels and see whether Jesus healed the sick. You can be an unbeliever and read the Gospels and know Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead and all that. What is it that the Holy Spirit would disclose to you which you cannot understand if you're not filled with the Holy Spirit? It is those hidden things in the life of Jesus which are not written in the Gospels, which teaches us how to live our daily life. And there are so many of them that we read in John 21, verse 25. John 21, 25. There are many other things which Jesus did which are not written in the Gospels, which if they were written in detail, the whole world would not be able to contain the books written. Those are the things the Holy Spirit will tell us, you and me. How Jesus lived in the areas of not his ministry, but his daily life. Every little thing, if you're serious about it. What were his food habits? I'm talking in terms of discipline in eating, discipline in sleeping. How did Jesus do it? What is his attitude towards friends and enemies and everything? Things which are not written in the Gospels. You'll hear a word behind you saying, this is how Jesus lived. Dear brothers and sisters, seek with all your heart to be filled with the Holy Spirit as the answer to everything that lies in the future. Amen. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/tKBG2gHyITk.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/the-holy-spirit-guides-us-from-within/ ========================================================================