Have An Unshakable Life In The New Year

Come & Die!

May the following message from Pastor Zac Poonen encourage you in this new year.

• Jesus said that in the world we would have tribulation, but in Him we have peace (John 16:33).
• The coming year is going to be a year of shaking.  The things which can be shaken, will be shaken.  The things which cannot be shaken will remain (Hebrews 12:26).
• If both of your feet are planted firmly in the Kingdom of God, then you will remain firm and unshaken no matter what happens.  Such persons will show gratitude by serving God in reverence and godly fear.
• Man is basically a selfish creature who does not think of expressing gratitude easily; not just saying "thank you", but having a deep condition of appreciation in the heart.
• Only service arising out of gratitude is acceptable to God.
• Today's Jesus is often presented by the church like He is our 'buddy', with no reverence.  This is why sin abounds so greatly in many lives.  We cannot approach Jesus like that.
• There is nothing physical which makes us priests for God, but the power of an endless life which is given to us through the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 7:16).
• Not everyone who claims to be filled with the Holy Spirit really is. It is an absolute insult to God for a person to claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit but then lose his temper, love money, lust after women, be bitter, anxious, or unforgiving...
• The Holy Spirit will give you a joy no one can take away and peace that surpasses understanding.  He will fill you and make this real in your life if you yield every area in your life to Him.
• One definition of faith is to believe that God is more eager to bless me than I am to be blessed.  We must not be misled into thinking that there is any good thing we desire for ourselves more than God desires it for us.  We don't have to twist God's arm or pray long prayers to obtain God's favor in this way.
• You can pray for a hundred years for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and never receive it if there are areas of your life which are shut off from God.
• Those who are established on the Rock - who is Jesus - will not be moved, even though the storm beats against them fiercely (Matthew 7:24-27).  Both builders - on the sand and the rock - were the same in that they each were hearers of the words of God.  However, the builder on the Rock was a doer of the word.
• There is a line being drawn this year between those who just listen to God's words (build on sand) versus those who also obey God's words (build on the rock).  The ones who obey will not be shaken.  Such obedience was more costly as it took more resources, money, time than simply building on the sand. 
• There is a hidden area in your life which determines whether you will be shaken when the winds come.  It is the foundation - which is not outwardly visible - which determines our ability to stand.  Don't be impressed with the externals around you, but look for the hidden light.  What you are when you are alone before God; the rest is just public show.
• There is something you can do to make your life unshakeable this year: live after the instructions in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapters 5-7).  It is the only way to build a ministry, manage a family, raise children...
• Jesus said that we should go into our prayer closet when we pray (Matthew 6:6).  This is not to say that we cannot pray in public.  There is a principle here is contrasting people who pray as the hypocrites to be seen by men.  We should pray - even in public - with our hearts minds focused only on the Lord and not seeking honor from others.
• An unshakeable life is one where our focus has shifted from ourselves to God, not only in prayer but in all things.  We must all die with Christ (dying spiritually) to have this endless life; and dead people have no expectations of others.  The message to preach is, "Come and die!"
• The secret to having the life of Jesus manifested and bearing about in our bodies is seen in II Corinthians 4:10, "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."
• Jesus came in our flesh so that He could die to self-will.  If you think the life you inherited from Adam is better than the life of Christ, then you will never choose to die.
• You cannot make a better plan for your life than God can make for you.  When God says that He has forgiven your sin and blotted out the past, He has!  We can trust Him in all things for He is our Father, our Dad.  He loves us and can do anything He wants.
• God has us pray - even though He already knows what we need - so that we will have the joy of answered prayer.  If you don't learn to pray as Jesus taught, then your life will be shakeable.
• If the devil cannot distract you with sin, then he will distract you with being busy.
• You cannot expect God to deliver you from evil if you choose to walk into temptation.
• Seek the Kingdom of God first and all other things will be added unto you.