Zac Poonen emphasizes the importance of allowing the peace of Christ to act as a referee in our hearts, guiding us when we stray from God's will. He illustrates this with a football analogy, explaining that just as a referee signals fouls, our conscience alerts us when we have done wrong, requiring us to make amends before moving forward. Poonen stresses that if we ignore this inner referee, our actions, no matter how good, will not be counted until we set things right. He encourages believers to recognize agitation as a sign that the peace of Christ has been disrupted and to take immediate steps to restore that peace. Ultimately, he calls for obedience to this inner peace to ensure we remain aligned with God's will.

It is written in Col 3:15 - "Let the peace of Christ be the referee in your heart." How do you know when you are going astray? How do you know when you have missed God's will? There is a referee inside your heart to clearly show you. Have you seen a football match? There is never a football match without a referee, because without a referee everyone would be committing fouls unhindered. But when there is a referee, as soon as someone commits a foul, the referee blows the whistle. Let us suppose that you are playing a football match and the referee blows the whistle. Everyone stops playing. But you don't bother about the referee, and you say, "This is wonderful! Now that everybody has stopped, let me go and score a goal!" You may kick a goal, but the referee will say, "Just bring the ball back. There are no goals because you just committed a foul 2 minutes ago, and nothing is counted till you set this foul right." Then you have to humbly bring the ball back and set the foul right. All your goals are not counted because he blew the whistle. How does this apply in our Christian life? When you find in your conscience that a whistle is blown by the referee, you have done something wrong. Maybe you have spoken in a harsh way to your wife. Or that money that you took was unjust. Once the whistle is blown, whatever you may do for the Lord is not counted. The Lord says, "Come back, set this foul right first. Go and apologize to your wife. Don't do any evangelism, apologize to your wife first. All the goals you scored will not be counted." Let the peace of Christ be your referee. If you follow this referee you will never go wrong. How long are you going to wait until you obey the referee? Have you seen football matches where the players argue with the referee? But remember that the referee always wins the argument. The referee's word is always final. Sometimes players are sent off the field if they argue too much. So don't argue with your referee too much, he may send you off the field. Say, "OK, Lord. I will do what You say." Set matters right, then move on. How do you know that the whistle is blown? You will lose your peace. Peace is the referee. If you are agitated or troubled about something, and you come to a church meeting in that agitated state of heart, you should not open your mouth. The agitation will come out of your mouth. Never speak when you are agitated. At home too, if you are agitated about something, the best way you can bless your wife is to keep your mouth shut. When you are agitated, the referee has blown the whistle. Set that foul right. Every time your heart is agitated something is wrong. Let the peace of Christ be your referee.