 
Colorful Truths

Volume 1

Rick L. King

Copyright © Rick L. King March 2012

Published at Smashwords

All scripture references are taken from the Authorized King James Bible. All Greek and Hebrew translations are taken from the Online Bible and used by permission.

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Table of Contents

About the Author

Colorful Truths Poem

Chapter 1 Appointed or Anointed

Chapter 2 Complete In Him

Chapter 3 Deliverance

Chapter 4 It Shall Be Done

Chapter 5 Leanness of Soul

Chapter 6 Let This Mind

Chapter 7 Minister to Me

Chapter 8 Normal State of Our Spirit

Chapter 9 Releasing God's Power and Ability

Chapter 10 The Chicken

About the Author

I have known the Lord for over 30 years. He saved me when I didn't want saved or even believed that it could happen. Over the many years the Lord has so changed me from what I use to be. He told me through a prophetic word that I was to teach the things of His Spirit. At the time that really didn't seem likely yet over the years He has taught me many things on this subject and it has become my deepest desire to see people set free, walking by the Spirit, and having an intimate relationship with Him. This I know could change the world if we would all just learn to listen to His voice and do what He asks for us to do.

I am not really a writer. Since I was around seven years old I would wake in the middle of the night with things running through me to write. I learned that I would not be able to go to sleep unless I would get up and write down what was in me. Once I met Jesus it made more sense to me. Now the Holy Spirit speaks to me and I must write things down. He alone is the writer and teacher. I just get the privilege of getting to write these words down and hopefully convey his messages to others. The articles that I have written were written at His direction. These are teachings from the Holy Spirit (He said that He would teach to us all things), that have helped me to not only change, to be different, and be closer to Him. If this is also your goal, to walk close with the Holy Spirit, then these truths will help you. Friends have been after me to start putting these lessons and teachings in a book that many may gain from what He has taught me. I pray that each is a real blessing to you.

Colorful Truths

White is white

And red is red

We can trust

In what Jesus said

Green is green

And blue is blue

You can believe

That God's Word is true

Yellow is yellow

And black is black

Your faith will avert

A spiritual attack

Purple is purple

And brown is brown

Jesus holds your hand

You will never drown

Silver is silver

And gold is gold

Accept Jesus as your Savior

Be grafted into the fold

Gray is gray

And pink is pink

Jesus will always do

Above all you can say or think

Orange is orange

Tan is tan

Jesus has for you and I

A glorious plan

There are many colors

That we may see

Yet the greatest is in Heaven

The colored radiance of God's Glory.

Chapter 1 - Appointed or Anointed?

Many years ago I worked for a major computer company. My job was on a production line where we built computer peripherals. The production line was long and had as many as 18 different positions on it. For the sake of simplicity in this example we will say that there are only five positions. Before any person was allowed to work the production line, they had to go through off line training. In other words, they were trained to do a specific task on the production line. They had to learn what they were to do and get to the place that they could quickly with knowledge do the task. They then were assigned a position on a particular production line. Once all were at their assigned station and each was doing the job that they were trained to do, all went smoothly. The production produced a great quantity of quality products.

Here was the dilemma that we faced at times. Let's just say management had no knowledge of some things and decided that they wanted a friend or buddy to work a station on the line. They pulled the trained operator from let's say station number two and put in their buddy. What happened to the quality and quantity? It disappeared of course. The operators that had been accustomed to producing many products with few errors all the sudden got to fix the new operators mistakes. Many became frustrated and unhappy with the current situation. The operator that had been assigned previously and was well trained and good at the job was out of a job. He was frustrated and discontent as he didn't know what to do with himself. So where there was once harmony and a flow that was very productive, there now was discontent and little productivity.

I would like to show this story as compared to the ministry. Each of us enjoys doing certain things. Sometimes we know someone that decides that they want their buddy in the ministry in the church. They have a neat personality maybe and they seem to be well liked and accepted. And maybe they just graduated from seminary. They are given a position of leadership based on those criteria. I would say these people have been appointed to do a ministry. On the other side who does the calling of ministers? Is it man or God? When God calls a person into ministry He trains them by the Holy Spirit, and He empowers them to do a particular task for the kingdom. God's ministers are anointed by the Holy Spirit to do and speak what God wants done in His church. They have learned to be a servant as the Word says he that will be chiefest among you will be a servant to all (Mark 10:44 KJV). When God exalts a person, they know how to serve, so when they minister it is based in God's heart and love. It produces much good fruit, as it is the Holy Spirit through the person. The person has learned to just be obedient to what the Holy Spirit says to do or say. Can you picture a church where every leader has this fruit? A church where each has been chosen by the Lord to be there and each has a particular anointing to accomplish what God wants to do. Because of the anointing each is accepted and respected by the other ministries so little conflict arises between the leadership and them. The church is blessed since they are not only receiving what the Lord has to say, but because the words are anointed and led of the Holy Spirit, then lives are changed in the congregation. The church most likely is growing or is accomplishing what God wants them to accomplish.

Remember I said earlier about the appointed person? Well, let's put in an appointed minister straight out of seminary. This person was placed in this group of ministers for many different reasons. Maybe there was no prayer or seeking the Lord as to His choice. So what happens? Just like the production line story, production falls off. The anointed ministers are forced to do the other guys work too since he can't do it well himself. They are forced to go into areas that they are not anointed to go into. Without the anointing they no longer are fulfilled and become unhappy and discontent. The church body no longer gets the quality words from the Lord because the ministers are no longer in unity and the prayer and study times and the quality time they once had to hear from the Lord are gone. The ministry is on a roll downhill. All of this happens when a person that is not called or anointed becomes appointed. Not only is the team miserable and fruitless; the one that God has chosen to fill the position is over in the corner unable to do what he is called by the Lord to do. The church body loses as God anointed this person for a reason. He was to be a blessing to the body because of why the Lord chose him.

Scripture says that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (Galatians 5:9 KJV).

Can we see this in churches today? I believe that it is time for people that are not anointed by the Holy Spirit to step aside and allow the people that God chooses to come in and occupy the places that they are supposed to be. The church has been unproductive ever since man decided to run it his way. Flesh or the carnal man does not understand nor have the ability to run God's church. It is time for leadership to get into the spirit and find out what and who God wants to be in leadership. I firmly believe that God will remove the ones that are not to be where they are. If a person is a pastor yet he is called and anointed to be the gardener, then he needs to get in the garden and be obedient to the Lord. All the frustration will leave, as he will find peace and happiness and productivity as a gardener.

What would have happened if the disciples skipped the upper room experience that is told to us in Acts? They were patient and sought the Lord. They did not go out into ministry until they were empowered to do so. They were led, anointed and prepared to do what the Holy Spirit required of them when they went. Had they skipped this experience, do you think the recorded miracles would have taken place? It is commendable that people want to serve the Lord. Yet, in our flesh dwelleth no good thing (Romans 7:18 KJV). We do not know how to serve God in the flesh. Our works mean little. Jesus said in Mathew 7:22, 23 that even though in their eyes they had done many works and even cast out devils that He did not know them. Jesus called what they had done iniquity. The only way we please the Lord is find out what he wants us to do, and wait till he empowers us to do it and opens a door so that we can. We may be impressing man by what we consider our ministry, but we may have to stand before Jesus and find Him saying to us, "I never knew you". To me that would be a tough thing to handle. Whose ministry is it anyway? It is not ours, it is supposed to be the Lord's anointed and led by the Holy Spirit. Since when did man get so smart that he knew how to be God and run the show? All I personally see are a lot of dead churches playing religion that have no power. People are hurting everywhere and disillusioned. They want truth and God's power, yet they go to church and find more love in a tavern. Will we ever wake up and quit trying to help God out? Will we ever do like the disciples and go to the upper room and wait on the Lord to fill us with power and send us where he chooses?

I realize that to some this is a very harsh word, but look at the ones that are dying and hurting because they can't find a place to help them. Is this what God has in mind for us? To the churches that are anointed and flowing in the spirit I say a big thank you. There are many that are flowing in what God wants. Unfortunately, there are many that are not also. God being God will raise up His church one way or another. His people have cried out a long time. Some so-called ministries I think will be in dismay as all the sudden they have no congregations to minister too. I see God removing men and women that He has not chosen or called to do what they do. God will prevail. His word is true; He will back it up with power through you or someone else. The choice becomes ours. It is time for the people to occupy their places in God's army. An anointed body going forward will not be stopped by man or the devil. The church shall win. Why? Jesus can not lose! He was never defeated and He never will be!

Have you been appointed or anointed? It is time to find out. Personally I would rather be in the presence of an anointed bum (a person according to the worlds standards), than an appointed celebrity that has made millions. Money can't purchase salvation, healing, deliverance, peace, joy, and love or eternal life. Isn't it time to please Jesus instead of ourselves?

Chapter 2 - Complete In Him

Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete (to make complete in every particular, to render perfect) in (fixed position of rest) him, which is the head (Lord) of all principality (the first place, principality, rule, magistracy, of angels and demons) and power (the leading and more powerful among created beings superior to man, spiritual potentates)

James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect (wanting nothing necessary to completeness) and entire (whole, faultless, free from sin), wanting nothing.

Just because we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, does not mean that we are always "in Him". If we were in Him all the time, we would be in a fixed position of rest. We would always be complete, whole and wanting nothing as He alone brings total completeness. We would never sin. The problem is, we are not in Him all the time. Some are closer than others are as they have learned what to yield to and what not to yield to. The devil may suggest things to them, but they have walked with the Lord long enough that they choose not to accept the suggestion as they realize where it comes from. This takes time and effort on our part. It takes learning the Word, and learning to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. It does not come automatically when we are saved. Let me show you why.

Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation (deliverance from the molestation of enemies) with fear and trembling

Ephesians 2:

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

The word salvation translated means deliverance. We cannot work for our salvation as in being saved, for Ephesians says that it is not of works, but is of grace. James above said that it took patience to become perfect (wanting nothing to completeness) and entire wanting nothing. That goes along with the fact that we must work out our deliverance. Why do we need to do this? When we are in Him, we do not sin, as He cannot sin. It is the times that we are not in Him that we wrestle with.

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they were perfect and entire and wanting nothing. They were completely in Him. Who tempted them to sin? Scripture says that whosoever commits sin is of the devil (1 John 3:8). Was it not the serpent that Eve yielded too? The serpent of course was the devil.

1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

If sin is of the devil, and all have sinned, that means that when we sin that the devil is involved somewhere. Just as Eve was tempted, the temptation came from the devil. He did not make Eve sin, he only sugarcoated it that she wanted to give in to the lust of her flesh and eyes. The devil was then behind her sin as he is always behind ours.

At the beginning of sin, we have a choice. Once sin has conceived and it controls us, we lose our choice unless we deal with the spirit behind it. If you ever have sinned and found afterward that you no longer had much say so in doing it again, most likely you took on an evil spirit.

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

What we are being told is that when we are free if we yield to sin, we then allow the devil legal ground to come in and take over once again in our lives. Galatians 5:13 states that instead of serving self, we should serve someone else in love. This keeps us from going back into bondage with the devil and losing our freedom again. Our focus must be external and not internal. We must learn to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all things will be added unto us (Mathew 6:33). When we try to add them, our focus is selfish. Because we all do sin occasionally and get a selfish focus, we need to be able to be free once again. This is why we are told to work out our own deliverance from the molestation of enemies (Philippians 2:12). Why else would we need too? If when we met Jesus we automatically never sinned again, why would we need to deal with the devil? Since we all sin, when we are not in Him, then we need to deal with the devil. It is a learning process as we walk with Jesus. Unlike Adam and Eve, God gave to us a way back into fellowship with Him even after we sinned. He forgives us through Jesus if we will ask Him for forgiveness.

The Lord's Prayer contains this statement. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. In one translation the word evil says evil one. Why would God need to deliver us from the evil one if he was not still a problem or after us to sin? Sin was not eliminated because of Jesus, the price was paid by Him for us to be forgiven and cleansed over and over again. Not that we just go and sin all the time, but we do slip up occasionally.

Let's look at it another way. Do you ever experience fear, impatience, selfishness, and a lack of love for another person or God? If this is the case then you are not yet made complete in Him. What is impatience? It is being discontent with what you have or maybe where you are at present. In Him we found out earlier that we were complete wanting nothing.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

So it is then safe to say according to scripture that if you experience fear, that you are not perfect in love yet, or complete in Him. Where did fear come from? Adam and Eve did not experience it until after they sinned. Eve said that she hid herself from God because she was afraid (Genesis 3:10). The fear came after the sin. The fear came after she yielded to the serpent. What is fear?

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The Word says that fear is a spirit. God said that He doesn't give the spirit of fear. Eve got it after she sinned, or yielded to the devil and gave him the legal right to come into her life. Look at what fear takes away according to the above scripture. It takes our power, love, and our sound mind. It must influence our mind if it takes it away. Fear when manifesting, tries to control us. I have experienced it in the past before I was delivered of it, where I just froze. I had no power, love, or a mind at all at the time. It took over. That is what a spirit will do to us. It wants to take over and control us. In the flesh, we have little or no control over it. That is because fear is a demon spirit. It is not flesh and blood. This is why once again that we were told to work out our own deliverance (from the molestation of enemies). We are fighting a spirit of fear, not just fear. This is a spiritual battle that must be fought with spiritual weapons. What else does fear do? Fear believes something bad will happen. To me it is negative faith. Fear believes for the bad, God's faith is creative and believes for the good to take place. To please God, we must walk in faith (Hebrews 11:6). This is why an evil spirit of fear attacks, it kills your faith so that you cannot please God, nor see creative good things happen.

Hopefully now you can see where as long as we have fruit in us that does not line up with the Word that we still have some areas that need to be worked on by the Holy Spirit. God has the intention for us to go back into the Garden and have true fellowship with Him. Adam and Eve lost it and had no way to return. We started out without it, but God gave to us through sending His Son to die for our sins, a way back to the garden and true fellowship. Next time we think we have made it and that we are perfect, maybe we need to read Galatians 5:22-23. If we are not 100% all the time walking in this fruit, then we need help still. I don't know about you, but I need help and grace every day to stand. The battle is daily.

Going back to the first scripture that we are complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power, as we get in HIM we have dominion through our Lord over every demonic force that comes at us. As we use that authority we get back into completeness and wholeness with Him. Adam and Eve didn't get to do that. Jesus gave to us that ability in Him.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Our fight is not against flesh and blood, our fight is a spiritual fight against satan and his demons that try to cause us to sin and takes us out of fellowship with God, just as he did with Adam and Eve. Our fight is to always have the ability in Jesus to make choices. Satan tries to control us so as we can no longer make a choice. Why is that? He knows that when we are free that we always will choose God, as we have learned that God is the best that has ever happened to us. If he can put us into bondage and take our ability to choose God, then we become his prisoner. Once his prisoner, we miss what God has for us. The devil came to kill, steal and destroy according to John 10:10. Yet Jesus came to give to us life and more abundant life.

Our flesh cannot change itself. It is powerless over the devil. It takes God's power to change. We are told to Walk in the Spirit, and we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). The only way we can win is through the Spirit of God, not by our flesh. True fellowship with God comes as we are "in Him" or "walking on the Spirit". When we are in that place spiritually, we are able to have dominion over all the wiles of the devil. He can no longer win when we are in true fellowship with God. The times that we have been in His presence, did we experience fear, lack, discontent, impatience, etc.? No and we never will. In His presence is fullness of joy. In His presence we are whole and complete. Our journey with Jesus causes us to find that presence more and more as we surrender to Him as Lord. As we allow Him to change us, we will find we are back in the Garden more and more. It is a process that takes time. It took years for us to accumulate all the hurts and garbage that is in us through lots of sin. It doesn't happen overnight that all of it is gone. As we yield those areas of our lives to the Holy Spirit, He will go in and bring change.

I like to look at it as a natural house with many rooms. Jesus came in and is in the living room. There are many rooms in our house. We need to invite Him into each one. Until He becomes Lord of all our rooms, closets, etc. we will not be complete in Him. Think of a painter. He paints the living room and it is so pretty and clean. The rest of the rooms have walls that need painting too. He cannot paint them unless we ask him too. We must ask and allow if we are to see liberty

and freedom and completeness in Jesus. I pray that is your deepest heart's cry like is mine. God does have a way for you to be free and complete in Him. He loves you more than you can realize. He wants only good for you. He has equipped us with weapons of warfare that will set the captive free. I will discuss these in a later booklet.

Chapter 3 – Deliverance

What is deliverance?

Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

The word salvation here means in the Greek translation:

Salvation-4991 swthria soteria so-tay-ree'-ah

feminine of a derivative of 4990 as (properly, abstract) noun; TDNT-7:965,1132; n f

AV-salvation 40, the (one) be saved 1, deliver + 1325 1, health 1, saving 1, that (one) be saved + 1519 1; 45

1) Deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation

1a) deliverance from the molestation of enemies

1b) in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation

1b1) of Messianic salvation

2) Salvation as the present possession of all true Christians

3) Future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.

The first word in the definition is deliverance. What do we need deliverance from? It is Deliverance from the molestation of enemies. Who is our enemy? The devil and his evil spirits are our enemy. We are told in:

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We have to work out our own deliverance. That means that we have a part to play in the process. Our battle is against spiritual forces not fleshly forces. Satan has one purpose, to control us to lead us to death spiritually and physically, or to steal something that God has for us. We are not fighting a fleshly battle. We are fighting a spiritual one. During the times that we did not serve the Lord, or even after we met Him and did not make Him Lord, we allowed many things to come in. Anything that has a control over us, most likely has an evil spirit involved somewhere. God always gives us freedom to choose. Satan wants to take away that ability.

The first step in new freedom is gaining back our control and ability to choose. There are strongholds that have been erected in our minds that must be pulled down. Our minds must gain the ability to choose and not be controlled. God does not control us. We choose to allow Him to rule our thoughts and actions. He does not make us do things His way. Satan on the other hand, will entice us through our senses. He plays on our selfishness. He gets you into something enticing and deceiving you into thinking that his suggestion is good for you. He just doesn't tell you that it will eventually control you. His job, bottom line, is to kill, steal and destroy you. He only has this ability because we let him through our ignorance or self-will. We are told that "My people are destroyed through a lack of knowledge". (Hosea 4:6) Jesus came to give us life abundant (John 10:10), so when we don't get it, it is because of our lack of knowledge. This is not natural knowledge; it is spiritual knowledge.

In order to get free from the enemy's control, you may need to go through deliverance. Light dispels darkness. Truth will set you free. When you know the truth concerning something, the lie or untruth will no longer have power over you. Depending on the situation and how long you yielded to a sin, a demon may have entered you that must be cast out. Demons control us when they are present. I have heard people say, I thought that was just me. Believing that you will find yourself powerless to change or stop doing something. It controls you. Just like fear. Are you able to control fear when it hits? God said that He did not give to you a (spirit of fear), but power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Is your mind sound when fear is in control? Do you feel like you have power? Well, when that happens you are dealing with an evil spirit of fear. Fear is such that it will bind you, prevent you from functioning, or keep you from walking in faith. Faith is what it takes to please God (Hebrews 11:6). If not of faith, God says that it is sin (Romans 14:23). Where does sin come from? Sin is of the devil (1 John 3:8). The devil sinneth from the beginning. Can you see what happens? The devil attacks with fear so you cannot walk in faith and please God. The devil wants to cause you to sin. Every demonic spirit of the devil has a purpose to keep you out of faith and pleasing God. Once your faith is gone, your fellowship with God is broken. You may say that I am a Christian. I cannot have a demon in me. Well, let's look at the scriptures.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Now, going back to the fact that sin is of the devil, and then we all sin, then where does the sin originate that we commit? If we continue in sin, which we all have done at times, then we open a door for an evil spirit to come in. Think of it this way. When you first sin, you control it. After a time, you find that it controls you. If it controls you then a great possibility exists that a demon spirit has entered and is controlling that area of your life. It is all about who is in control. If you cannot be in control through Jesus, then you are most likely fighting a demon spirit. Since you don't wrestle against flesh and blood, then it must be a spirit.

Deliverance means that you are set free from the molestation of evil spirits so that you have control to choose. Evil spirits need to be cast out usually by someone full of faith that knows their authority over all the power of the devil. Even though you get set free from an evil spirit, you still have to make the correct choices when you have the freedom once again to do so. Just getting rid of the demon spirit does not automatically fix the problem You must learn to make choices that line up with or agree with the Word of God, plus whatever the Holy Spirit speaks to you. So, once again, you must know what the truth is and walk in agreement with it to stay free. The Holy Spirit will give you the strength in Him to stand, but you must learn to trust in Him alone, no longer yourself. I am not saying all this to cause people to go on a demon hunting spree. The Lord once told me, "It is not a demon unless I tell you that it is". You must learn to rely on the Holy Spirit to tell you the truth that you need when you need it. Once you have some insight here, it will help you to understand better the battle that is really going on. As you are aware of the part a demon spirit plays in our sin, it makes it much easier to deal with it. The truth sets you free.

Chapter 4 - It Shall Be Done

As Christians, do we believe the Word of God? Do we believe that what God said, He also will also do? God said:

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Jeremiah 1:12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

Ezekiel 12:25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.

Psalms 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

The above scriptures show the credibility of God to do what He says that He will do. He is faithful to do what He says. We must first believe this as a foundation of our walk in Jesus. Without our belief, then many things will never happen in our lives.

Matthew 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Hebrews 3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Scripture is emphatic on many subjects. One of which states in Romans 10:13, whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved". For those of us who met Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, when God said that we shall, we were. We found that His Word is true, as He saved us. If this is true, which we experienced already, then all the rest of scriptures that says it (shall, shall be, or shall be done), then must mean that they are true also. When we met Jesus as Savior, we acted by faith on His Word. Our head did not understand, but yet we stepped out in faith (God's faith in us) and believed what the scripture said. As we acted in faith, God responded by doing just what He said that He would do. If He hadn't, then none of us would have ever gotten saved. I want at this point to make an emphasis on a truth. Whose faith did we use when we were saved? Was it our faith? No, it was faith that was given to us by God.

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Our faith is God's faith in us. It is not faith that we try to believe in our natural mind or intellect. We cannot produce it by works. Let me show you why I say that. Let's look at a scripture.

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Our natural man cannot receive things from the Holy Spirit. We cannot understand them nor really believe them. Everything we are and have comes from God. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2). Faith is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, not our flesh or carnal mind. Our faith to believe comes from Him. Our faith rewarded comes from Him. The reason I say this is to hopefully keep people from becoming disappointed and frustrated. Many say I did this, it didn't work. The key is not trying to confess yourself to death out of your intellect. If instead you would learn to draw near to God, spend time with Him, worship Him, praise Him, learn to pray as He leads, and be obedient to what He asks you to do, you would find that God is very faithful. Many of us try to make God a formula and actually put our self into works. If I only do this, I will get this. We are not under the law any longer. Instead of the works idea, which by the way could not save us (read Ephesians 2:9), we eventually should learn that as we spend our time entering into His presence and are more concerned with His desires and not ours, we will see Him add all things. I know this may upset some religious apple carts, but our true joy and peace come by the Spirit of God. The fruit of the Spirit, (Galatians 5:22,23), is by the Spirit, not by the flesh. Unless we do things to get into the Spirit, we will never experience what God really has in mind for us. The Word cannot do what it should by itself; it needs the power of the Holy Spirit to energize it. Remember the letter of the law killeth.

2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Just because we haven't seen the manifestation of something in the Word of God yet, does not negate the truthfulness and validity of what He promised to us. God in His wisdom has many reasons that He doesn't answer on our time schedules. There are many things and lessons we need to learn in our walk with Him. Sometimes answering a prayer immediately when we are unprepared or changed to handle what we want, will bring more harm to us than good. We must learn that God always has a higher purpose in His decisions. His purpose is much more important than is our own. Until we can learn to trust Him totally and know that what He wants for us is far greater than what we want for our self, we are going to be very frustrated and feel like God has forsaken us. If our emphasis is on His will alone and we spend the time to draw near to Him and find out, we will be much happier and bear much more good fruit. Let's now look at some of the promises that shall be done unto us.

Ability to quench all of satan's fiery darts

Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

All Things Added

Mathew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you

The Baptism in the Holy Ghost

Acts 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Binding and Loosing

Mathew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Comforted

Mathew 5:

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the

children of God.

Exalted

Mathew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Filled

Luke 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Forgiveness

Mathew 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Full of Light

Mathew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

Given, Find, and Opened

Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Having What We Say

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Healing

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Mountain Moving Faith

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Mathew 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done unto you.

Needs Supplied

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Never Thirst

John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Peace

Philippians 4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Power

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Prayer in Agreement

Mathew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Receiving Good Things from God

Mathew 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Salvation

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Wisdom

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Words to Speak

Mathew 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

These are but a few of God's many promises. Notice the word (shall) in these verses. It is the same (shall) that saved you. All the others must also be true. They are contingent on our belief and faith. They are contingent on us doing what they say that we should do to get the results as the Holy Spirit directs us. This is God's way of doing things, not mine. These are His Words that He has promised to perform for each of us. Remember that God is not a formula. It is not based upon our works; it is based on our obedience to the Spirit of God. We are not under the law. It is not a religious exercise. We must have a relationship with Him. He will talk to us through His Holy Spirit, just as we talk to Him. As we act upon what He tells us in obedience, we will see results. As we draw near to Him and allow Him to be Lord and lead and guide us, we will see the manifestation of many things that He will do in our lives. I pray that all of us will learn to seek for quality in our relationship with Jesus instead of a quantity of works. God said that we were to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. It is possible, as He told us to do it. It was not that we should if we wanted too, or may do it, He said that we should do it. With that as your heart desire, God will perform all that He has promised in all the shall's and the shall be done's; that are in His Word. They will come in His time and season to fulfill His will and purpose. I have found that when He does it and I see His hand doing it, I gain much more satisfaction than from anything else that I have ever found on this earth. There is no greater joy than to see God do what His will is and be allowed to share in His blessings. May you have a Happy Journey with Jesus and His precious Holy Spirit.

Chapter 5 - Leanness of Soul

Ps 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

Often we experience leanness because of the way that we are thinking. The word "leanness" in the Hebrew text refers to "scant". Scant is less than is available. In cooking a scant means a small amount, like a scant of salt. The opposite is a large amount. Our "soul" is our mind, emotions, will, and intellect. The Apostle Paul wrote that we should "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Php 2:5). If we choose to have his mind then the scantiness would not be there. It is only there because we have chosen our mind over the Lords. Ps 34:10 says, "The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing". Mt 6:33 says "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you". The keys then are for us to seek first the kingdom, seek the Lord, and let His mind be in us.

Fear can sometimes be a reason that we choose our mind over the Lords. We know what we want or like, but to surrender to God's mind is often strange to our way of thinking and may be scary to some. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours are. We lose our control over things when we surrender to His ways and let's face it; man really likes to be in control of things surrounding him. Part of the reason that we have trouble with surrender is that we say we trust the Lord, but how far or to what depth? Being in control seems safer. What if we surrender and he doesn't come through? These are fears and doubts that we all must face. Yet, I have learned the hard way that He is faithful to do what He promised that He would do. He can be trusted with your life, finances, ministry, and every area you face on earth. Oh that man could only realize that what he wants is far less than what the Lord wants. Though we may not understand God's ways at times, I personally have found that I have so much more pleasure and joy when the Lord does things than when I get what I think that I want. His ways are just far better. Another reason that we choose our mind over His is the words of Paul in 1Co 2:14, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned". God's ways just sometimes make no sense to our head. This is supposed to happen as it should force us into the Spirit so we may hear with our spirit and not our natural mind or understanding. We so try to understand that we miss the Lord because of the lack of understanding. Yet we are told in "Pr 3:5, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding". God does not work according to our understanding. We must walk by faith and trust that what He said He would do, he will do, no matter how strange or odd that it may seem.

Leanness can come in many forms. We may experience it in the natural by a lack of resources. Sometimes it appears that we are lacking since so much of ministry these days promotes worldly prosperity. Walking by faith with the Lord and learning to be content with or without is far more prosperous than having this huge bank account. We seem to forget this as it is rarely taught these days as Luke 22:35 states, "and he said unto them, when I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said nothing". Leanness may come in a spiritual area also. The spiritual area is the major focus of this article.

For years the Lord has led me to different churches and places and given me words to share with leadership. I have never planned this nor have I had any desire or intention of trying to take over, but was only sent to be a support and encouragement. What I am writing is what the Word says as spoken to me by the Holy Spirit. In me I am nothing. I am just a nobody except when the Holy Spirit speaks to or through me. I am just like everyone else. He can speak through whomever He chooses. Yet, when He talks, I listen as I have learned that His way alone is the only way to have any victory. Unfortunately when someone gives a word to leadership, leadership often feels threatened. They often do not understand that the person was sent to them to support and help them. The words that the Lord had given to me were to show the leadership God's way of bringing about things that He had placed into their hearts.

I recall three instances over the past four to five years. I had become friends with the leadership and was known in that body. I had given the words and one body rejected them, and to the other two they were accepted but just never acted upon. I have realized that when the Lord does this with me that I was sent for a specific purpose. My call doesn't even kick in until people are praying and crying out for an answer. The problem is that the Lord sends an answer but people do not want an answer that is different from their current mindset. We know that God's ways and thoughts are higher than ours are. Usually His way is different than what we would expect, yet if we are going to go forward then we must stay open to new direction from the Holy Spirit. We must remember that in 1Co 2:14 it states, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned". If man does not take them to the Lord and seek spiritual discernment, then they reject them out of a fleshly mind as they do not understand. The flesh and the spirit are in opposition. I have heard this statement over and over and it so applies. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. Yet, there are many leaders that would rather keep doing things the way that they have always done them even if they are not really working or bearing the fruit that they desire in their hearts to see.

I found something interesting in that the places that I have been sent once had prayer warriors and intercessors. Once the leadership rejected what the Lord wanted, it was only a short time later that the intercessors were removed from that group. The power seemed to leave as the rejection of the words were obvious. The scripture above says that God gave to them their request but also brought leanness to their soul. The leanness was spiritual. God was unable to answer their prayers and cries, as they were not willing to accept what God had in mind. Therefore the groups or churches still existed yet never grew. They never really experienced God's power and the move of His Spirit because they were determined to do things the way that they wanted.

I have learned over the years that until we drop our own agendas and come to the Lord with humility, desiring to know only what His will and direction is, then we will experience leanness of soul. The Bible says that in our flesh dwells no good thing (Romans 7:18). It also states that there is a way that seemeth right unto man but the end thereof is the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). Our ways just do not work. Somehow we have believed the lie of the pit that we are to ask God to bless our ideas and works. No good thing comes from our flesh, period. It may sound nice and look religious. It may tickle a few ears, but to God it is not pleasing. Nothing short of hearing His voice and being obedient to what He says is really acceptable to the Lord. We can do things our way but we will never experience the depth of what God desires to do. We may never see the move of His Spirit and see His mighty works because we only accept our way of doing things. We must learn to surrender our own agenda, ideas, and ways, and seek only His. The three places by the way that the Lord had sent me too have never really grown. The numbers of people are very small. The power warriors are no longer there and the ministry is producing little fruit. The warriors and intercessors leave, as they cannot fulfill what they are called to do, possess the land. We must move with the cloud of the Lord if we are to experience what He desires. The choice is always ours.

Disunity will come because of the lack of acceptance of what the Lord has said. In Psalms 133 we are told about unity, the anointing, and the blessing. When there is no unity in leadership the anointing that brings the blessing does not come. For any to stay and challenge leadership will bring about only striving and contention. Division will occur. I have had to just walk away from these groups as if I stayed if would only bring contention and the division. You cannot possess a land under those circumstances. Had they accepted the words then unity would exist and we all would be going the same direction. We can't go forward when there is disagreement of the members. There must be unity with no division if we are to fight the enemy and possess what the Lord has called for us to possess. There is so much division in churches. I have always believed this. If I cannot agree or support what the pastor believes that God desires, then I am in the wrong place. God is a God of unity. He does not enter into contention. Contention is from our natural soulish realm and unity comes through our spirit. By backing off, even though it does take some time, if the Lord really desires for the word to come to pass, He will water the seeds planted in leadership and show them the correct ways to go. It just doesn't always happen overnight. All of us have mindsets that we are unaware of. It sometimes takes time to destroy them so that the Lords' mind is what we are seeking and following.

The bottom line is that the Lord will give us what we desire even if it is not His best. We can go on playing our religious games or if we will submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can experience a great move of the Holy Spirit in our midst. I pray that no one will settle for leanness of their soul as there is so much more that is available from the Lord.

There is still hope!! Leanness doesn't have to be permanent. The Leanness Can Be Reversed!!

2Ch 7:

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Isaiah 30: (Doing it by the flesh. Man's Way)

15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses (flesh); therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer.

20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Psalms 91: (Doing it God's way by the Spirit)

2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

God's way

(Psalms 91) ten thousand shall fall at thy right hand.

By the flesh

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee (Isaiah 30).

Seems that when we put Him and his will first, the enemy runs from us. If we do it by our flesh, we run from the enemy as he pursues us. A church, group, or individual that has not prospered or is not in a healthy state may have the problem because of a lean soul. The leanness may be the result of not totally walking in truth, but as stated in Isaiah 30 trusting in man or the flesh more than the Spirit or voice of the Lord as your guide will cause leanness. We are deceived and not in truth if we trust in another's opinion or our flesh way of doing things. All instruction or council that we follow must come by the Holy Spirit as other than that we are to be considered in rebellion by the Lord. (See Isaiah 30:1).

Whose mind will we allow and follow? Spiritual leanness does not have to be. Natural leanness will come, as we must learn to be content as Paul, with or without. That is prosperity and not leanness, when we can trust and be at peace without, and just know that the Lord will take care of whatever is needed, not just wanted.

Chapter 6 - Let This Mind

The thought life of a Christian is one of the most important areas that we need to get control over. What we think on and what we allow to enter our minds, determines who and what we are in Christ. A person that does not have his thought life in control will find them self with many problems. We must learn how to think God's way if we are to be successful in attaining our destiny in Jesus Christ. This study will hope-fully help you to not only understand the importance of correct thinking, but will also show you how to achieve this goal. This study is based upon the following scriptures. The translations in these are taken from the Online Bible translations of the Greek and Hebrew words.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind (to be of the same mind i.e. agreed together, cherish the same views, be harmonious) be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness (integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting); and all these things shall be added unto you.

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Why should we think correctly? In Mathew 6:33 above we are told to seek first not only God's kingdom, but also His righteousness. The word righteousness defined one way, means, correct thinking. According to this scripture then if we think correctly then all things will be added. What is correct thinking? Philippians says that we are to let the same mind that is in Jesus be within us. Notice the 'let", which implies that we have a choice here. Just because we meet Jesus as our Savior, does not mean we automatically think correctly. Thinking correctly is a process of choosing the correct things to think upon. If we do not know God's Word or ever read it, then we will not have any idea of what is correct to think on.

All thoughts precede an action that we take. Our body does not act independently of our mind. Our body only carries out the thought we have told it carry out. Everything that we do is based on a choice that we made somewhere. God has allowed us to make choices. Satan on the other hand wants to take away our ability to choose. He wants to control us. God does not control us. He wants us to choose to serve Him. Just as we said previously, we have to "let" this mind be in us, or we have to choose to do it. It is not forced upon us.

The two areas we need to master are:

1) Getting rid of the past thoughts already engrained within our mind

2) Learning to think the right thoughts.

First, let's look at the source of our thoughts.

Our minds are sometimes full of thoughts. Many of the thoughts we have are not thoughts that we should think upon. Let's look at where thoughts come from.

1. Self

2. Demon spirits

3. Jesus and the Holy Spirit

4. Suggestions from other people

Self thoughts

Thoughts come from these four sources. Three of them can lead you astray in your thought life.

First let's deal with the self-thoughts. Self-thoughts are selfish. Their focus is on what to do to fill selfish desires. Many people are so caught up in trying to feed self, that they will never know real freedom in their minds. Why do we focus on self? The world has taught us to be so concerned about our self and what we possess, that we have no spiritual life. It has taught us to trust in our ability to supply our needs or happiness. This may not be a popular statement, but that is a lie of the devil. When we trust in self, we are not trusting in the Lord. God has given us many promises. Unless we believe them, how can we expect Him to do anything for us? Jesus said in Matthew 13:58, And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. If we don't believe it, then God said that He could not do it. In Mathew 6:33 above we were told to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. When we are focused and thinking on how to feed self, we are not seeking first the kingdom. We are not seeking His will, but we are instead seeking our own will. We love ourselves more than we love the Lord when we put self first. We have not yet learned how much God does love us, and that He has promised to take care of us and meet all of our needs. We have not realized that what God does is sufficient. Though we may not possess abundance at times, we are very happy and full of joy and peace just knowing that we are pleasing Him. Paul said in Philippians 4:11, Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. If our focus is still on what we think will make us happy, we are failing to realize that God is the only source of true happiness, peace, and contentment. It is a great deception that our wants will make us happy. Because we have believed this deception, we are inclined to fill our minds and lives trying to supply what we think will bring to us joy and happiness. Until we learn and experience God's presence and the completeness of just being sold out to Him, we will never gain what God desires for us. We must learn to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and might. We must learn to trust Him.

Let's look at some of what God says to us that we need to believe.

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul (mind), and with all thy might.

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

God's ways and thoughts are higher than ours. He is able to do above what we ask or think. We must learn to believe that what God has for us, is far greater than what we desire for our self. Without knowing this in our heart, it will be impossible to trust Him for our lives or needs.

The Devil or demon spirit instigated thoughts

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness?

In Romans 6:16 above, it is stated that to whom we yield our self as a servant, to him we are a servant. When the devil places suggestions in our mind and we allow them and or act upon them, we make self a servant to the devil. When Eve sinned, the serpent tempted her. He made a suggestion to Eve that she should eat of the tree. She already knew truth, but she entertained the lying thought and it cost her. (Read Genesis 3). The devil is constantly bombarding our mind with untrue thoughts and suggestions. Unless we know what truth is, we will never know or recognize the thoughts that are devil inspired. Let me give an example here. All the sudden you think you are afraid. The fear tries to make you believe that you cannot do whatever you should do. You realize that God had said that He did not give you a spirit of fear, (1 Timothy 1:7). So you have a choice to make. Do you believe the fear from the devil, or what God said? Do you allow the fear a place in your mind or do you cast it down?

I had an experience once with fear that I thought was funny. I was on my way to church one Sunday. While driving I was hit with this fear. I considered why would God give me fear? Of course He doesn't. I just turned to the devil and said thank you for confirming that I was to go to church today. Since God doesn't give me a spirit of fear, then I recognize that you are trying to rob me in some way. I went on to church and was blessed. I could have allowed this fear to rule my thoughts, instead because I knew what God said about fear, and that fear was from the devil. I made a choice to not accept it. Everything we do works the same way. One major point I need to make here, I had freedom to choose. If we have entertained a spirit it may not be as easy to choose as the spirit is on the inside of us, not on the outside. Remember, I said earlier that satan wants to control us and take away our ability to choose. If you seem to have no ability to choose then you are going to need some deliverance. You have an evil spirit that is binding you from being able too freely choose. Until we all realize that the devil is real, he has evil spirits in this world that are planting thoughts in the minds of men, we cannot truly find real freedom in our mind.

The Holy Spirit inspired thoughts

We have been promised that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all truth (John 16:13). If we believe that then we need to learn to listen to Him. The Holy Spirit never goes against the Word of God. He is truth and truth alone. We can trust Him. The Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit, which is then transferred to our minds to make a decision.

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

To be spiritually minded is life and peace. To me, that is a very good reason to think correctly. Carnally minded means that the thoughts or purposes of our mind are ruled by our flesh and is in opposition to God's divine nature. We are ruled then by our sensual natural appetites. The serpent got to Eve because she yielded to the lust of her fleshly appetites, instead of the truth from God. Spiritually minded means that our mind is full of the things of God's Spirit. It comes down again to whom or what we allow to fill our mind. God's thoughts bring life and peace. Whose servant do we choose to be? Do we serve self, the devil, or do we serve God?

Suggestions instigated by others

People for the most part mean well. Unfortunately meaning well for someone does not mean you are giving to them truth. Let me relate and experience that I had to help show what I mean.

Some years ago, the Lord had me locked away in prayer and in intercession. Sure, in the natural eye I was not doing what the world thought that I should be doing. I wasn't concerned, as I knew I was in God's will. I had decided to please Him, not myself or the world view. This well meaning Christian lady approached me and told me that I should be doing something different. I asked her if the Holy Spirit had told her that. She wasn't happy with that statement. I then told her that I had no idea what God wanted for her until the Holy Spirit revealed to me this truth. I could only just pray generally, as I knew no specifics. She got upset and left. About one week later she approached me again. She said that as she was praying one day the Holy Spirit convicted her of what she had done. He told her that she had been playing "god" over me. She repented. She told me of this and apologized. All was well between us. The point I wish to make is that even though people mean well and think they are trying to help that unless they hear from the Holy Spirit, they can and do lead us down paths we should not ever go. If we are sold out to Jesus, and determined to listen to His guidance, then what others say will have no effect upon what we decide to think and act on. We must learn to depend on the Holy Spirit alone for guidance. Yes, He does speak through others, but I believe that it should be a conformation as to what you already know. If you trust in man to lead you, you are going to have many problems in your walk with Jesus.

We Must Renew Our Mind

Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed (renovated or reformed) in the spirit of your mind;

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure) by the renewing (a renewal, renovation, complete change for the better) of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In Romans 12:2 above we find that when our minds are transformed we are changed into another form. We become a different person! This goes along with Proverbs 23:7 that says as a man thinketh so is he. Becoming a different person involves thinking correctly. Allowing true thoughts to replace old thoughts that are not true renews our mind. Unless we believe that what God said is truth, then we will not be very prone to want to think His thoughts. God put His Word above His Name (Psalm 138:2). God said that His Word will not return void, but that it will accomplish what He sent it to accomplish (Isaiah 55:11). Do we believe this to be true? As a Christian, did not God confirm His Word? When you asked Jesus to save you, didn't He do just that? His Word was true then, and it still is now. You must believe that regardless of how you feel or what you see. The faith that saved you was not based on how you felt or what you saw with your eyes. The faith just believed that what God said was true and accepted and acted upon it. It then produced your salvation. The number one thing on the road to correct thinking then; is the knowing what is correct or true to think on.

The two areas we need to master are;

1) Getting rid of the past thoughts already engrained within our mind

2) Learning to think the right thoughts.

To do this we must be committed to walking in the Spirit. We must be committed to having our mind free to follow Jesus and have His mind in us. So how do we get rid of the past thoughts?

Removing Past Thoughts

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

An imagination is a thought. Casting down says that every thought not in line with the knowledge of God needs to be brought into obedience with Christ's thoughts. This still implies our choice. The thought of fear I had earlier was against the knowledge of God. It was trying to exalt itself or rule my thoughts to rob me. I had to literally cast it down. I had to refuse to accept it. I have found that when a thought I do not feel comfortable with attacks me, I take this scripture literally and act upon it. It works for me to do this so I am giving you an example that I use.

I take authority in Jesus Name over any and all thoughts that have entered my mind that are not led of the Holy Spirit or Jesus. I bind their power and command them to loose my mind and go. I also pull down any stronghold of the enemy that has been erected in my mind, and loose my mind to the will and purposes of the Lord Jesus Christ. I choose to have the mind of Christ. As for me and my house, I shall serve the Lord. This will work as you rise up in the authority of Jesus name.

The strongholds of the enemy are thoughts that we have accepted as truth, which in reality are lies of the devil. These strongholds keep us locked into a particular thought or pattern of thought. They will be against God's Word. To have the mind of Christ, these strongholds must go. This will be a process as the Holy Spirit reveals what and when to deal with any area that needs to be removed. Remember, it is His work, not ours. We just walk with Him as He leads. We don't lead Him. He leads us. One of my favorite scriptures is found in Zechariah 4:6 which says, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord. I have learned that my ability or strength is rather fruitless. As I yield to Him, He will do what is needed through me, by His Holy Spirit. It is not dependent on my ability or strength. He will deliver us when we allow Him too.

Also, we are told that:

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

If you are experiencing confusion then your mind is full of things that it should not be full of. Confusion is of the devil. It will keep us from knowing what the Holy Spirit is saying to us, thus keeping us from doing and knowing the will of God and His blessings. Confusion can be an evil spirit. We need to cast down all thoughts not of the Lord and command them to go in Jesus Name. We also can take authority over a spirit of confusion by binding it according to Mathew 18:18, Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We bind it in Jesus Name and command it to loose our mind and go. This takes faith and belief in God's Word. This should be led by the Holy Spirit, as our flesh is no match for an evil spirit. It takes God's power to do this. If you are unfamiliar with spiritual warfare, then you need to have someone help that God has called in this area and knows his or her authority in Jesus.

What Do We Think On?

If we do not know what God said to think on then how could we know what not to think on? Let's look at a few scriptures that will help us to know what to think on.

Philippians 4:

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

According then to God's Word, thinking on these things will bring peace. When we have the mind of Christ in us, then our thoughts will be peaceful. If you realize that if you yield to Christ in you, your mind will not be full of other things. Your mind becomes in tune to the thoughts of Christ and the Holy Spirit as a normal way of doing things. The more you yield to Him, the less your own mind will try to rule. Scripture says, in Galatians 5:16, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. The more you listen to your spirit man, the less the carnal nature will be a problem. It once again comes down to who you serve. Do you serve the spirit or the flesh? The choice is ours. We get fruit from both. Only one way produces God's good fruit. Are we going to let this mind be in us? Do we want the mind of the Lord? The choice is ours. These next scriptures are some good ones to contemplate.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Matthew 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

Luke 12:26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?

Seems some good reasons to "Let" this mind be in us!

Chapter 7- Minister to Me

The Holy Spirit talked to me about this. My ministers, minister to me. As they minister to me, then I can minister through them, not until.

Revelations 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Jeremiah 33:21 Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

Jeremiah 33:22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

Ministers who are more concerned about ministering to the congregation or others more than about ministering to the Lord, have left their first love. If we cannot minister to the Lord, then how do we even know what He wants to do or say? Jesus in us is the minister. We are but the vessel. The above scripture in Jeremiah talks about 'my ministers". This can have a dual meaning. One is the function. One is the title given by God. We can operate in the title, and have no clue what the Lord wants to say or do. We are powerless. If we follow the function, we minister to the Lord in our praise and worship, and intercession and prayer. The Holy Spirit then gives us what to say. We are just speaking His words, not just the written Word. We are told that the anointing breaks the yoke. The written Word alone can do that, but it will not produce what God wants it to do, unless it is anointed and led by Him to speak.

Unless we as ministers of the Lord get back to seeking first the Kingdom by our prayer and intercession, and worshipping and pleasing the Lord, then we cannot minister in power to others. God wants us to spend time with Him, minister to Him, worship Him, and let Him empower and lead what He wants to do and say. Unless we do this, we will be very dry and frustrated. Just because you are preaching the written Word, does not mean that you have an intimate relationship with Jesus. Any unsaved person can preach the written Word, and have some results. If you do not spend time with Him, you cannot learn to know Him and what is on His heart to do or say. Our responsibility in the Lord is to bring the kingdom of Heaven down to earth. That kingdom will be one of pure worship and praise. That kingdom will be of power and will change people's hearts and lives. That kingdom is God's presence and Glory. If we focus on the works, we miss it. If we focus on His presence, we gain all.

We are not the ministers, we are the vessels that Jesus and the Holy Spirit use to minister through. It is not "our ministry". It is His ministry through us. Unless we draw from Him, we are just religious and walking in the vanity of our mind. Even if we know a truth, unless God anoints that truth and leads us to say it, it will produce only minimal results. We cannot side step the Holy Spirit. We cannot side step spending much time with the Lord in prayer and intercession. If we do, we will walk powerless. Scripture says that the natural man receives not the things of the spirit of God, for they are spiritually discerned. When we try to minister without our time with the Lord, we can only see through the natural carnal mind. We cannot see through the spiritual, where God resides. Problems look like giants in the natural, but in the spiritual they are not a problem. The spiritual says that we have authority, God cannot fail, His Word cannot return void, He will meet all of our needs, etc. The natural cannot see that. The natural sees only the circumstance. The Holy Spirit once told we change, circumstances automatically change. They are a problem circumstance only because of the way that we view them". What has to change is our viewpoint. We must learn to see through the eyes of the Holy Spirit instead of the eyes of the natural man. When we minister to the Lord, we think and speak His perspective. We see things through His eyes. We hear through His spirit, not ours. His Spirit produces power in us through His anointing.

To me, it is like going into the Army. You join the Army and you are not immediately placed on the front line. You must go through preparation and training. You must get equipped with your weapons of war. If you went to the front line immediately after joining, you would get killed quickly. A minister is no different. He can go out and preach, but he will get killed. Oh, he may take out a few of the enemy, but he is destined to fall. When we learn to minister to the Lord in praise, worship, intercession, and prayer, we get equipped for the battle or mission. When we are equipped, there is no man or devil that can stop us, as it is God in us. Sure we will get attacked, but we cannot lose. God cannot lose. He is all power and knowledge. He knows what the enemy is going to do before he does it. God many times will have you pray or do warfare to avert the enemy's plans so that you will never be attacked. God is on the offensive. Why go through what you do not need too? When we are in God we are protected. His Holy Spirit will talk to us of dangers ahead. He will prepare us for the battle we are chosen to fight. It is better to be equipped by God and let Him choose the battles that we are to fight, and the words that we are to speak, than to walk in the natural and let man or the devil choose them. We win God's battles. This should be enough of a reason to learn to seek first the kingdom, and worship and hear from God. It is so much easier to do things God's way.

If you want to walk in power and see God do things in and through your life, then learn to minister to God. You will find His presence and power and guidance to do whatever He chooses for you to do.

Chapter 8 - The Normal State of Our Spirit

First let me give you an example in the natural realm. Let's say you are driving down the road in your car and all the sudden you start hearing a strange noise from the engine, or the car starts vibrating. What do you do? Do you stop and see what is going on, or do you just keep driving hoping and praying all is well anyway? Wisdom says that this is not normal for the car to have these sounds or feelings. Wisdom says, get the car checked out before major problems occur. Many people don't stop and find out, thus having major engine or suspension problems, or even a bad wreck. These noises or feelings are warning signs or red flags. If heeded. Then we avert problems.

A second analogy brings this across too. We have many warning signs along the highway that we travel. These signs are posted for our protection. If we ignore these signs, we are likely to have a problem up ahead. If you are driving lets say the speed limit and you see a sign saying a sharp curve, do you continue driving at the same speed? Unless you are on a death wish you will change your speed. The warning signs tell us of impending danger unless we do something different by heeding what the sign says. Our spirit is no different. There is a normal state for our spirit. Any variation is also a warning sign or a flag that there is something that is needed to be done. Let's see what scripture says. This can be a protection for us or someone else given by God for our good.

Galatians 5:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Isaiah 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Daniel 2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled (disturbed) to know the dream.

Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Our spirit should remain in the state of love, joy, and peace as the norm. Any other state is a flag or a sign that we need to do something. If we are going to walk in the Spirit as we are told to do (not asked), then we must learn to be aware of the state of our spirit at all times. Romans 8:6 says, that to be spiritually minded is life, but to be carnally minded is death. The one spiritually minded has learned to listen to their spirit. They are aware when something is not normal, so it is a protection of the Holy Spirit if we listen. On the other hand, if we are carnally minded we will be unaware of the signs or flags that come from our spirit, and often may ignore them. Ignoring them takes us out from under God's protection as we have chosen to walk in our own way. I think we seem to think that we are untouchable with evil or destruction. Please remember that unless we are walking with the Lord and listening, we get out from under a lot of His protection. His grace protects us many times when don't listen, but why go through problems that we do not need too when God has given us a way to know?

Personal Experience:

I was riding my motorcycle one night and only going about six miles from one town to another. All the sudden in my spirit, I heard "watch out ahead". I was going the speed limit and could not see anything to be alarmed about. Then, all the sudden I saw this dead dog in the middle of the road in my path of travel. By the time I saw the dog, it was too late. I was already on top of it. My front tire hit the dead dog and I went air born. The motorcycle was not on the ground and was swerving back and forth. I didn't have much control over what it was doing. I saw the headlights of oncoming cars coming towards me and I wondered if I was going to live through this one. God and His grace came all the sudden. The motorcycle was on the ground as normal in an instant and I had full control once again. I tend to think an angel must have helped me, though I cannot prove it. Once I got to town, I stopped, got off the motorcycle and shook awhile. That was a scary ordeal for me at the time. I learned my lesson. I didn't slow down even though I looked ahead. I learned that these impressions in our spirit are for a reason, and that we can trust them. Had I not known the Lord the situation may have gone another way, who can know but Him. We all can probably tell of experiences that we have had that maybe are similar that we know we somehow escaped. The previous experience and the analogies had more to do with our protection. As a child of God, we have Jesus in us leading and guiding us as to what He wants to do. So more than just a protection, listening to our spirit is part of the work of the ministry of Jesus through us. Jesus wants to touch people. He can only do this through us, as we are willing and obedient. If we do not listen, then how can He fulfill what He desires for someone else through us? The carnal mind is selfish. The spiritual mind gives life to self and others and glorifies Jesus Christ.

Personal Experience Regarding Something Jesus Wanted to Do:

Recently, I had uneasiness in my spirit. I started praying with understanding then in the spirit (tongues), I then kept having the impression that I needed to take something to a person. I did so and the uneasiness dimmed. I still didn't have total peace, so after I got back home, within minutes a person came over, which by the way was at the house I had just gone too. She was heartbroken and upset and needed love and support. I hadn't gotten all of the purpose of the flag, though I had gone the right direction. I had no impression at the house to do anything different than what I had done. But, God had my attention and made me aware of something that He wanted to do through me. I then consoled the person and listened to their cry for help. I then prayed for her before she left, and my spirit then returned to its normal state. The uneasiness was a flag that I needed to do something. By asking the Lord and praying, He was able to tell me what He wanted to do. We need to draw nearer to Him at times, as He wants to speak to us or do something through us.

Listed are some of the things that I have learned to do and have experienced results.

1. Prayer in the spirit

2. Praise

3. Just plain asking the Lord what is up

4. Casting down imaginations

5. Breaking the assignment of the enemy against me in Jesus Name

6. Slow down or change course

Some of the causes of our spirit not in its normal state:

1. Going a wrong direction, change course

2. Attacks of the enemy to kill our faith (takes faith to please God)

3. Attacks of thoughts upon our mind, if allowed causes a separation in our mind from our spirit, thus taking us from God's presence

4. Need to pray

5. Need to worship

6. God just trying to get our attention, if we allow Him to do this, we may avert an upcoming problem or attack. God may want us to do something else so we need to draw nearer to Him

If something is going on in the spirit realm that the Holy Spirit wants you to be in prayer about, praying in the Spirit, no matter how long it takes, will bring your spirit back to its normal state of peace, love, and joy.

We are told that we are to go out with joy and be led forth with peace. Peace and joy are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. If everything is right, we should experience these as the norm. Any variation then tells us that something is needed. The Holy Spirit is putting up a red flag that there is something that is needed for us to do. Something He wants to do through us. If we will learn to listen to the state of our spirit and be sensitive, the Holy Spirit will be able to accomplish His will through us. We must make it our priority to always listen to our spirit. Be sensitive to Him, you will not regret it. Someone's life may be saved or changed as a result. You may get to take part in a miracle of salvation, healing or just give hope to a hurting soul. We will not always get it right, but as we keep yielding our will to the Holy Spirit and try to listen, we will get better and not miss it as often. No one is perfect, but we can at least go down the right road. That is all Jesus asks.

Realizing that the enemy will always try to take our peace and kill our faith, which it takes to please God, we could be experiencing a demonic attack. If this is the case, as we pray in the spirit, the Holy Spirit will pray through us in authority over whatever is trying to come against us. The attack will be squelched, as we are obedient to the Holy Spirit.

I hope that by reading this little study that you have become more aware of your spirit man and the need to learn its normal state. This is a learning time for all of us, but my priority is to learn to listen. If Jesus is going to touch people, then He needs you and I as vessels to do so. There is a blessing for everyone as we learn to listen. One of my favorite scriptures is found in Zechariah 4:6.....Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. If we will learn to listen, His power will be demonstrated through us. Personally, there is no greater joy than to have Him work through me to touch a life. I pray that this will also become your priority also.

Chapter 9 - Releasing God's Power In You!

Have you ever faced a battle and felt that you didn't or just couldn't win it?

2Ch 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

Have you ever considered that the battle is really the Lord's to fight? What I am going to do say may bother some, but if you will consider what I am saying that is verified through scripture, you may find victories that you never dreamed that could be. First of all, we must understand a basic truth that is not taught or preached often. The reason being it requires us to give up self. Much of what we hear taught is feeding self and is in opposition to God's Word. Jesus was our example when He said in John 5:30, I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. Do you see what Jesus said? He said that of his own self that he could do nothing. He was the Son of God. He was all powerful yet he said of himself that he could do nothing. He came not to do his own will but the will of the Father that sent him. If Jesus had to do this then where does it leave the Christian (one that is saved or born-again)? Jesus was totally dependent on the power of God. He walked on this earth as an example before he became the Savior.

Mt 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

We must lose our life to find it. This does not mean our physical life on earth; it means our carnal natural life. Otherwise none of us would find life until we went to Heaven.

Ro 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (The carnal mind refers to our flesh or natural mind).

Ro 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. The word flesh means our carnal natural mind. It does not mean flesh as in our body. If we cannot please God in our flesh and being in the flesh is enmity against God, then how are we to live?

Ga 5:16 states, This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

The only way to not walk in the flesh is to walk in the spirit. The reason God is not pleased when we walk in the flesh is because it is self-pleasing. It puts everything in our ability instead of God's.

Ro 7:18 states, For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

No good thing is in our flesh. We must lose our life therefore to find real life. We must learn to not walk by our natural carnal understanding, but walk listening to the Holy Spirit. He will lead and guide us into all truth.

Ga 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The above scripture is a real key to our victory. Many seem to believe that once they accept Jesus that they are crucified with Christ. This is not a true belief. We receive a new nature and desire, but it does not mean that we are dead to our flesh. Note that the scripture says that we live by the faith "of" the Son of God. It cannot be our faith if we are crucified. A dead man cannot have faith. The faith is God's faith through the Spirit. Faith is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Getting out of the flesh and into the Spirit will cause faith within us, as it is God's faith. Jude says:

Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.

Praying in the Holy Ghost produces faith as it gets us out of our natural carnal mind and into the Spirit where God dwells and gives revelation knowledge and reveals His will and ways.

Php 2:5 says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

We are to make a choice to have the mind of Jesus. It is not automatic once saved. It is a choice. So what was the mind of Jesus? His mind was a surrendered mind to the will of God alone. It was not about what He wanted. He came to do God's will not His own. He did what He saw the Father do and spoke what He heard the Father speak. He was just a conduit for God to work through on earth. He was our example. If we are crucified and it is He alone living in us, then the same thing will be happening through us as what we read about Jesus. Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit to flow through Him. We must depend on the Holy Spirit also. It is His power, not ours. I mentioned earlier that we were to walk in the spirit. This means that we are allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us. This means we are seeking the will of God and not our own. This means that we are no longer asking God to come into agreement with what we desire, but we are coming into agreement with what God desires instead. God's ways and thoughts are much higher than ours are. His plans are much different than ours. Ours are always selfish in some form.

The Battle

2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

If we now understand that it is only God by the Holy Spirit that works through us, then we should be able to understand who is actually fighting the battles. Our weapons are not carnal. This means they are not fleshly weapons like guns, and bombs, etc. They are spiritual weapons. It says that they are mighty through God. Through God means He is doing the fighting. He does this through us just as He did through Jesus. He pulls down strongholds. A stronghold can really be two things. First in the spirit realm demon spirits will rule or reign over cities, houses, places, etc. They have a strong hold over the area and their being there restricts and keeps God's power and blessing from manifesting. See Ephesians 6:12.

Secondly, a thought is an imagination. An unscriptural thought believed can become a stronghold in one's mind. It has a strong hold over the person. It is a thought that governs their life, even though it may be a lie, they have called it true. When this takes place, the lie from the devil is the stronghold. It says that what God's Word says is not true. This lie believed and acted upon allows an open door for the enemy to bring in a demonic spirit to keep the person in bondage to the thought or imagination. We are told to cast down the imagination. Once we cast it down, we gain the knowledge of God. This is not knowledge about God; it is His knowledge in us! The imagination is against or in opposition to and actually blocks God's thought. We can't have both. We must get rid of the false one to have our mind clear to receive the true one. Having both at the same time causes indecision and confusion. The Word says that God is not the author of confusion. By getting rid of the false thought or imagination, we have the ability now to have God's thoughts. We have allowed or "let" the mind of Christ be in us. This is accomplished because we allow only the Holy Spirit to rule and reign. We must get out of the flesh and into the spirit. How do we accomplish this? I find that there are at least two ways. One is praise and worship. When we learn to praise and worship the Lord, God shows up, and changes us because we are drawing near to Him. Change always occurs when we get into His presence.

We get into the spirit by praying in the spirit. Praying in the spirit is praying in tongues. Praying this way gets us past our natural mind. It allows our spirit man to rule rather than our carnal mind. We become spiritually minded.

Ro 8:6 says, For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

When we pray in the spirit we release God's ability to work in and through us. It takes us into the spirit realm and out of our flesh. God then prays through us. God's authority works through us to deal with spiritual foes. It causes us to know things that God thinks and knows. It allows us to see the root cause of many things and how to pray and do warfare concerning them. We just become the conduit for the Holy Spirit to pray and do warfare through us. It is here that we find that it is no longer I that liveth, but it is Christ that liveth within me. If we try to do the warfare in the flesh, we don't get far. God desires to do the warfare in and through us by His Spirit. This way works. This way pulls down strongholds. This way sets the captives free. This way will bring revival. This way will change cities and nations for God. This way is His way. It is His plans, not ours. It is His ability and power, not ours. It is God battling the enemy, not us. In order to win, we must flow in His power.

Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeded from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

All of the previous scripture refers to the Holy Spirit and His power.

Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

John 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Ac 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Chapter 10 - The Chicken

The Holy Spirit uses many things to get a point across to us. This point came using a personal experience I had as a small boy that at the time I did not know Jesus. I was at a friend's house that had chickens. It came time to slaughter one. I have always been rather squeamish in this area, as I never have liked killing anything, let alone observing it being done. I had never considered a method for killing a chicken, I guess farmers and people that were raised with animals for food would think nothing of this, but for me, it was a eye opener that at the time I thought I could have done without. Anyway, the process for killing the chicken went like this. The person grabbed the chicken by the neck and kept twirling the chicken in the air until its head came off. The chickens body then flopped all over the ground until eventually it just laid there dead. Sorry for being maybe gruesome in this story, but the Holy Spirit really does have a point through this one. Trust me.

When we as a Christian start our day, we get up, make coffee (if you drink that), take a shower maybe, eat breakfast, and go to work. We spend the day doing our job then come home all tired. We eat dinner, shower, maybe watch TV, and then go to bed. We spent our day wrapped up in many works. I want to show you a contrast to the story about the chicken.

The Word says that Jesus is the head of the Body.

1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

When we start and run our day as I stated earlier, we have left off the head. Without the head, we are just like the chicken, as we flop around all day till we have no more life. Even though Jesus is our Savior, He has not become our Lord. We are walking a carnal walk as a Christian. We are trusting in what we think that we should do or think. We are spiritually powerless. Let's look at some of the reasons that we do this.

Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

When we allow the cares of the world or the deception of riches or other lusts to occupy our time and efforts, we have settled for so much less than what God has ordained for us to be and have. God's Word is unfruitful in our lives. We are trusting in our own mind and ability to run our lives. We are in control, not Jesus. We have actually bought the deception from satan and are agreeing with him that we need or have to do all these things. We have unknowingly made satan the Lord of our lives. For us to be connected to the real head, Jesus Christ, it takes a focus change on our part. We must decide to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (correct thinking). This is a choice. This is a decision that we must make. We must choose to follow Jesus. We must choose to have His mind. We must choose to serve Him and not self. Until we make this choice, we are just like the chicken. We are flopping around dead, lifeless, and accomplishing really nothing that is eternal. The choice involves do we want to build a Heavenly kingdom that is eternal, or do we build an earthly kingdom that is temporary? If you want to build a Heavenly kingdom, then these steps should help you.

What do we need to do to stay connected to the head, Jesus Christ?

1. We must learn to love the Lord with everything in us, even more than our self

2. We must learn to worship Jesus, with all of our heart, mind and might

3. We must learn to study the Word, have our mind renewed and washed

4. We must learn to pray and intercede for others

5. We must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks

6. We must learn to be obedient to the Holy Spirit leading

7. We must make spending time with Jesus, a priority

8. We must desire His will only for our lives, give up our own wills

9. We must desire God's presence and the power of the Holy Spirit

10. We must desire and allow the Holy Spirit to go into every room of our heart and do a house cleaning of all the past sins, hurts, areas of demonic influence

11. We must make Him Lord!

Maybe this sounds like a lot that we must do, but if we really love Him, we will want to please and become what He desires. Our life is really not our own once we accept Jesus. He has a plan for us that will far outweigh any plan that we can come up with for our self. The joy He gives, the peace, the purpose, the fulfillment, can never be compared to anything this world has to offer. We all have a choice to make. Do we flop around in our life like the chicken with no head, or do we let the real head Jesus Christ stay connected to our body as Lord? Personally, there is no choice here. I cannot imagine trying to be Lord of my life as I always made a mess of it. Even when I achieved or gained what I desired, I was still not really happy deep inside. The only fulfillment that I have ever found is Jesus. He alone satisfies the longing within me. I pray that this is you also, and this little story might show the importance of loving Him totally and putting Him first in your life. You will never regret this decision. He is very faithful. I pray that you will stop flopping around disconnected from Jesus, the head, and make Him Lord of everything. This will be the best choice that you ever made!

Thanks for reading my E-Book. Stay tuned for Volume 2 and more. May the Lord Bless you mightily as you seek to find Him on your journey.

Books presently available on Smashwords by this author:

  * The Warrior Poet

  * Releasing God's Power in You

  * Pupper Tales

Colorful Truths Series

  * Can We Have the Mind of Christ?

  * The Chicken

  * The Fruit of the Spirit

  * Our Free Gift

  * Victory Over the Flesh

  * Do Miracles Still Happen?

  * Minister to Me

  * Peace in the Storm

  * Colorful Truths Volume 1 & 2

New Life Series

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Ministry In Poem series

A total of 18 volumes

Please go to Smashwords and check for new releases or how to sample and view or purchase.

Thanks for allowing me to share with you what the Holy Spirit has shared with me. May you be as blessed reading these as I was by the Lord in writing them.

Rick

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/believer

