

## The Road to Knowing

By Don Hatfield

Copyright 2013 by Don Hatfield

Smashwords Edition

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### Table of Contents

Introduction

1. God's will for the Christian

2. The Makeup of Man – Spirit, Soul, Body

3. The Fall of Man

4. The Blood of Christ

5. The Breaking of the Soul

6. Deliverance from Sin

7. Deliverance from the Law

8. Deliverance from Self – The Flesh

9. Deliverance from Self – The Soul of Man

10. Deliverance from Self – The Spirit of Man

11. Walking after the Holy Spirit

# Introduction - The Road to Knowing God

To walk with God one must know God. Salvation is given for the eternal life of the believer, yet many after long years of salvation still do not know how to walk with God.

God stated to His chosen people the Jews (and now us) in Hosea 4:6" my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge....." Could we say the same today? There is an abundance of information available to the believer. There are Bibles of all kinds, books, tapes, videos and many other materials for the believer. Yet it seems that people are still being destroyed because of a, "... lack of knowledge." They are not being destroyed because of a lack of information but because of a "... lack of knowledge..." Christians do not know God in experience. We do not know how He operates in our lives. How He speaks to us. What part of us He speaks to. We do not know how to tell whether the spirit of God is leading us or if we are just following our own whims and desires. God has certain principles that He follows in believers lives. If we are unaware of those principles then we cannot not walk with the Lord. There is much information in the following material. It is only intended as guide for the believer to begin to experience God. Learning the material will not let you know God any more than memorizing medical terms will make you a Doctor. However, letting Him teach in experience the information that is in the following pages will bring the believer much closer to His Father.

Time would not let me express how many different men God has used in my life but some of the key ones follow. I would suggest that you read their works. Watchman Nee (Living Stream Ministries), Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest), Andrew Murray (Waiting on God), and A.W. Tozer (The Pursuit of God). I thank God for these men who walked with God and left their writings behind for us to glean from.

# [Chapter 1  
God's Will for the Christian](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

Paul states in the first five words of Philippians 3:10," that I may know Him....." I believe in those five words is the secret of Paul's life. Paul states, "that I..." Paul have set my sights on just one primary goal, the knowing of God. Those five words describe the goal of the Christian life and that goal for us should be God Himself.

Here is a man who met God in the most magnificent way on the road to Damascus. Here is a man who lived a life of miracles. This Paul started churches; brought thousands to Jesus, saw the dead brought back to life. The book of Acts deals much with his life. He was the writer of most of the epistles. Yet, in the previous verse in Philippians 3:9 he states, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ."

All that he had, he let go. All that he had gained, he willingly lost. All that he suffered, he willingly endured. All that he won, all that he built was lost in the enormity of those five words, "that I may know Him...."

Salvation was founded on the agony of the cross. Redemption was paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. The tomb was overcome by the resurrection. All this was because of four words found in John 3:16 "for God so loved." God so loved his creation that he wanted them back. God missed what He had made and created. He wanted to be with them again. Words cannot describe the longing in the heart of God, to know again in the spirit of man, those He once communed with in the garden

In those five words of Paul's, "that I may know Him.", and those four words of God, "for God so loved." is found the will of God. His primary will for us in not in works, miracles, service, Bible reading, soul winning, success, failures, money or lack of money. It is not in seminars, conventions, and mission's conferences. It is not in families, family altar, good jobs, fine houses, or clean-living. Paul states,".... And I do count them but dung." There is no comparison to, no comparison with, no equaling of, nothing that can come up to, and nothing that can take the place of, I, knowing Christ. Christ in me and me in Christ. Christ moving in my spirit and I resting in His. This is God's will, "that I may know Him..."

There is no storm that can hinder, there is no prison that can hold, there are no chains that can shackle, and there is no punishment that can stop a person from knowing God.

There is no crippling disease, pestilence, outbreak of virus, blindness, deafness or language barrier that can keep a person from knowing God.

There is no demon from hell, no, not even Satan himself can keep a person from knowing God.

God's will echoes to us through Paul's five words, that I may know Him..", God's will thunders down from the cross of Christ in four words, "for God so loved.." His will is found in the pages of Genesis as He searched through the garden for Adam and Eve after they had sinned. It is found in the Ark of Noah as He invited all to come in who would come in. It was found in the blood sacrifices as atonement was made so that Fellowship could be restored with our Creator. It was found in the words of God's blessed Son Jesus as He said, "I have come to seek and save that which was lost."

There is nothing that should keep us from our pursuit of knowing God. There is nothing that should stop us in this heavenly quest. Yet few seek this relationship, few seek this fellowship, few seek this acquaintance. There are only four things that can stop this fellowship, this knowing, this seeking and they are four letters. The first letter is Capital W, the second is I, the third is L, and the fourth is another L. The four letters make up one word and that word is WILL. It makes no difference if the will of man seeks bad things and it makes no difference if the will of man seeks good things. A will that is not willing to seek and know this mighty God with all of its willingness is a will that has its heart on the things that are not God's will. God made the choice for His will in the garden. He made the choice for His will in the sacrifices; He made the choice for His will in the death of His beloved Son. God's will is for us and our will should be for Him.

We perform service and never know His power in our service. We work long hours and never know His presence in our work. We sing songs and never know His harmony in what we sing. We preach and admonish to soul win, tithe, be faithful and never see that the need in man is found in knowing his God. We write books on how to, when to, why to, and what too, yet, we do not seek to know our God. We do all, we are all; we speak all, and do not seek at all.

God is left as a rag in a cleaning room, a doll in a chair, a picture in a trunk. To be used only when our need seems to think it convenient.

Five words that Paul said describe God's will for us, "that I may know Him." Beside those five words all else should pale, all else should become minor. Oswald Chambers states it best when he says, "My utmost for His highest". If your heart and will are set on anything other than seeking your God then you have set your heart and will on the wrong thing. We must come back to those four words in John," for God so loved." We must again seek to know our God.

Why must I continually be seeking Him? First, simply because it is His will. That should be enough reason. Second, He wants us to know Him in all our circumstances The third reason is found in 1 Corinthians 2:5 which states," that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." If we do not seek the Lord then we will be taught by only men. God desires to teach us to walk with Him not to follow after men. I am in no way saying that we should not listen to brothers who have more experience than we in the Lord, No, not at all, for their words of wisdom are most precious to us. However, coming to church and Bible classes should be like coming for dessert. Our main meal should be given by God as we learn to walk daily, moment by moment with Him. Unfortunately, many come to church for their meat and then wonder why they are so weak.

God has several way of teaching us about Himself, yet they are occurring at the same time.

First, we learn to know God and be led by God through prayer. A man who does not pray cannot know God's path because there is no communication with the one who knows the path. . We must pray even when we think that we have no idea what we are doing. Our gracious Father knows how inept we are and pity's us. Remember we do have a free will and He does expect us to come to the throne no matter how ignorant we are. Here are some things that may help in your prayer life. (1.) Make a decision to pray every day. (2). Confess all your sin to God. Do not try to hide anything for you cannot. (3). Live in Reality. Reality is God sees me. God loves me. God hears me. (4). Start by praising Him. He enjoys the fellowship of His Saints. Thank Him for all external blessing's (food, water, air, remember they belong to Him and are just on loan to you. (5.) Fellowship with Him before beginning to pray for others. (6).Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. (7). Quit seeking answers and seek the one who gives the answer.

Second, we learn by the study of God's Word. Many do not how to approach God's Word. Here are some things you should be doing when reading the Word of God. (1). Realize there is a Spirit to the Bible. It was written by men who were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. If the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible then only He can truly interpreted it for people. So when you come to read the Word, admit to God that in your own power you cannot understand this book. (2). Ask Him if He would by His Spirit explain it to you. I John 2:27 states" but the anointing which ye have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, ye shall abide in Him." The Holy Spirit wants to teach you the Word of God. That is one the reasons He is in you. (3).Your conscience must be clear before you approach the Word of God. How do we clear the conscience" Simply get with God and confess your sins. Be willing to forsake them. (Notice the word willing). He knows how weak we are He only ask you to be willing. Even if you are not willing pray and ask Him to help you to be willing. Now you have cleared your conscience. (4). Pray and ask God what He would have you to read. It is hard to believe that He would want a person young in the Lord reading the Book of Revelation when that person has not even read the Gospel's. But you pray and ask Him. (5). Be honest with God. Tell Him if you do not feel like reading the Word. He knows anyway, and then ask him to help you want to read it. (6) The last thing may be the most important thing of all. You have to make a decision by an act of your freewill that you will read the Word of God every day. God will not force you to read His Word. He promises to explain it and as you grow He promises that you will fall in love with it, but, He will not make you read it.

So we come to our first fork in the Road to Knowing. We must decide if we will go on. We have seen a few suggestions on how to read our Bibles and how to pray. We must make up our minds if we desire to be a Disciple. We must decide if we want to know our Father better. We only have two choices yes or no and discipleship begins with an "if." So you must choose to know and follow. God will not make this choice for you.

The question comes to mind. What will I get if I do follow? The first thing I get is found in Galatians 2:20" I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives 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." I get life, the life of Jesus living in me. We often say that God changed my life but actually that is not what He is offering. He is offering and exchanged life. God offers the life of His Son Jesus for this miserable life of mine. You also get something else and that is found in Matthew 11:28" Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Isn't that what we want? Isn't that what our hearts crave? Rest and peace can be found in knowing our God.

What happens if I do not choose to follow the Road of the Disciple? Let us look at 2 Timothy 4:10a" For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world and is departed to Thessalonica." That is what you get. You get this present world. Demas abandoned Paul and was never heard from again. Paul later said I have finished my race. He looked forward to seeing Jesus.

It is your choice. Will you follow the Road to Knowing or will you turn back?

Key verses and statements for – Gods will for the Christian

Philippians 3:10" That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death."

The more we know God the more we will find we want to know Him.

How do we come to know Him?

Read the Bible

How do I read the Bible?

1. Realize that there is a Spirit to the Bible.

2. Ask Him if He would by His Spirit explain it to you.

3. Clear your conscience by confessing all sin to Jesus.

4. Pray and ask God what He would have you to read.

5. Be honest with God.

6. Make a decision to read every day.

How do I pray?

1. Make a decision to pray.

2. Confess all sin to your Lord.

3. Do not try to hide anything for you cannot.

4. Live in Reality.

5. Reality is the Word of God.

6. Reality is – God sees me.

7. Reality is – God loves me.

8. Reality is – God hears me.

9. God enjoys the praises of His saints.

10. Fellowship with Him in the above ways before you began to pray for others.

11. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you.

12. Quit seeking answers and seek the one who is the answer.

What will I get?

Life!

Galatians 2:20"I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives 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."

An exchanged life.

Peace!

Matthew 11:28" Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Isn't this what we want?

The Beginning and the End.

1 Chronicles 28:9" And Solomon my son learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately and serve Him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him you will find Him."

# [Chapter 2  
The Makeup of Man - Spirit, Soul, and Body](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

We begin our study together by looking at man, how he was formed and also what the purpose was in the way that God formed man.

Let's turn to I Thessalonians 5:23" and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Most people would agree that we are made up of three parts. There is the Body, the Soul and the Spirit. Look at the way God presents them in this verse. He states "and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." First is the Spirit, then the Soul and then the Body. I believe that there is a reason for this. The spirit is the noblest part of man and as we shall see later, the part of man that God communicates with. The Soul stands between the Spirit and Body. The Body is the part of man that comes into contact with the outside world.

Now that we see that man has three parts, let us see how God formed these three parts in man. Turn to Genesis 2:7,"and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." The Lord took of the dust of the ground and formed a man out of it. But this body that He has formed has no breath, it does not move. It does not react to its surroundings. It is perfect but it has no life.

God then, "...... breathed into his nostrils the breath of life...." Genesis 2:7. What was this breath that God breathed into this man? To find the answer we must go to the book of Numbers, Chapter 16 and verse 22. This verse reads, "And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be angry with the entire congregation?" We will concern ourselves with the first part of the verse in which is stated "...... O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh..." The Bible tells us that God is the God of the spirits of all flesh. This breath of life that God breathed into man in Genesis 2:7 was a spirit. The God of the spirits of all flesh breathed the breath of life into man's nostrils. He breathed spirit life into man. The instant the God did that Genesis 2:7 tells us that "........ Man became a living soul.

God had to breathe a spirit into man and when he did, man became a living soul. The body was formed and was lying there on the ground. The body was in touch with its surroundings but had no life. God then breathed into man a spirit and instantly the soul was formed. The soul was formed after the body. The body without the spirit was dead and soul was not formed until the breath of life was breathed into man.

In conclusion we need to understand that the spirit is the part that came from God. It is that spirit that brings life to man. The soul and the body were made by God and only began their functions after the spirit came and brought life to them.

This brings three questions to mind. What is the spirit and what is it made of? What is the soul and what is it made of? What is the body and what is it made of?

We will deal with those questions one at a time. First, what is the Body and what is it made up of? Probably all would be able to answer this question. The body is that part of us that is made up of the flesh, the skin, the organs, the veins, etc.

Second, what is the Soul? The soul of man is made up of three parts. They are the Mind, the Emotion, and the Will. The soul of man can also be described as that which makes up his personality.

Third, what is the Spirit? We stated earlier that the spirit of man is his noblest part. It is where God speaks to man. It is also where the Spirit of God dwells in a man when he gets saved. The Spirit of man is also divided into three parts as the soul was. The three parts of the Spirit are the Conscience, Intuition, and Communion. The Holy Spirit now indwells our spirit once we are saved.

If you would look at the Temple of God in the Old Testament you see that it is also divided into three parts. First was the outer most court. This is where the people would gather whether Jew or Gentile. We might say that this could correspond to the flesh or our body. The flesh or body can be seen by all and comes into contact with the world as does our body. The next part of the Temple was the innermost court. This was the part of the Temple where the priest ministered. This could correspond to our soul. No one but we and the Lord knows what goes on in our soul. The last part of the Temple was called the Holy of Holies. It is where God dwelt. Our spirit dwells in the inner most part of our bodies. God comes to dwell in the form of the Holy Spirit once we are born again.

We see that man is Spirit, Soul and Body. We will now dig a little deeper into these parts of man and see how these various parts function.

First is the flesh (body). It needs very little explanation other than to know that it is the vehicle that houses the soul and the spirit. It comes in contact with the outside world.

The soul of man we said has three parts mind, emotion, and the will.

The Mind is the instrument that God gave us to understand things. It is very important to remember that the mind only understands. It does not know. The mind often learns by rote memory. An example of this is the way you might have learned your ABC"s or Bible verses. Man can learn much about the Bible. He can have great Bible knowledge and still not know God. If we had to depend upon our minds to apprehend God, then the smartest man would have a much better chance of knowing God than one who is not as intelligent. Remember, the mind understands it does not know the will of God. This point will be very important later. Some examples of the mind being part of the soul follow; Lamentation 3:20 "My soul continually thinks of it.", Proverbs 24:14" Know that wisdom is such to your soul."

The emotion is the most dangerous part of the Christian. It changes rapidly. One minute it can cause a man to be on fire for the Lord. The next minute it can cause that same man to deny he ever knew Christ. Peter is a good example of this. He told the Lord he would follow Him to the death in a fit of emotion and then denied he even knew Christ by the same emotion. The emotion is made up of three parts, feeling, affection and desire. We will see how God deals with these three parts of man in later lessons. Some examples of the emotion being in the soul follow; 1 Samuel 18:1"Jonathan loved him as his own soul." 2 Samuel 5:8" who are hated by David's soul."

The will is where man serves God. We must serve God with the will. It is by the will that we walk by faith. The mind can change very quickly. The emotion can also easily change. Some examples of the will being present in the soul follow; Psalm 27:12" Give me not up to the will (original "soul") of my adversaries", 1 Chronicles 22:19" Now set your mind and heart (original "soul") to seek the Lord your God."

We have given some definitions of the mind, emotion and the will of man. We said earlier that these three parts made up the soul of man. We shall now look briefly at the spirit of man.

The intuition is the part of the spirit of man where God reveals His will to man. The intuition knows, it apprehends, it is capable of receiving revelation from God. It matters not if a man is clever, smart or a great thinker. For God speaks to man in the intuition and this makes all men equal at the foot of the Cross and capable of knowing Gods will. We base our Christianity on the fact that God has personally revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. We also state that God gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and guide us. If God played favorites and only the smartest of His saints were able to know His will I am afraid that many of us would be left out in the cold. Without personal revelation from God to us, Christianity is worth nothing. Some examples of the intuition in the spirit follow; Ephesians 1:17" A spirit of wisdom and revelation." Mark 2:8" Jesus perceiving (knowing) in His spirit."

The conscience is where God expresses His holiness. It tells us the difference between right and wrong. A Christian must have a clear conscience to be able to approach God. Some examples of the conscience at work follow; Psalm 51:10" Put a new and right spirit within me." 1 Corinthians 5:3" I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment."

Communion is that part of our spirits where we worship God. All direction from God comes as a result of our fellowshipping with Him. Some examples of communion in the spirit follow; Luke 1:47"My spirit rejoices in God my savior." Romans 8:16" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit. How can you ever know Gods will if you do not spend time with Him, daily, reading His Word and talking with Him in Prayer? My life never changed as a Christian until the day that I told God that I would get up every morning and read His Word and pray. I also had to admit that many times I did not understand it or want to read it. He knew that all the time. I told Him that if He would teach me His Word I would at least read it. The Holy Spirit was put in you to teach you the Word of God, 1 John 2:27, ask Him to do so and He will. If you will do this, you will come to love His Word and be excited about the time you have to spend in it.

Key Verses and Statements for the Makeup of Man – Spirit, Soul and Body

I Thessalonians 5:23" And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The spirit is the noblest part of man.

1. It is where God reveals His will

2. It is where God reveals Himself.

The Soul stands between the spirit and the body.

Genesis 2:7" And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

God breathed a spirit into man.

1. This was not the Holy Spirit.

2. This was man's spirit.

The soul was formed after the spirit was breathed into man.

Numbers 16:22" And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh..."

God is the creator of all life.

1. He is the God of all spirits.

John 4:24" God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth."

The Soul makes up the personality of man.

# [Chapter 3  
The fall of Man](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

We have discussed the makeup of man. We have looked at various definitions about the body, soul and the spirit. In order to go on we now need to look in the book of Genesis to discover what happened to that spirit and how it is functioning today

Turn to Genesis 2:15" And the Lord God took the man and place him into the Garden to dress it and keep it." The Bible tells us that God took Adam and put him in the Garden. Adam did not put himself there but God placed him there. What is this a picture of? It is a picture of the grace of God. Our Father made a place for Adam to dwell and placed him there. We shall see later that just as Adam was placed in the Garden and enjoyed all of its benefits that we were placed in Christ at the time we got saved and can enjoy all of the benefits that He has provided for us. Adam communed with God in the Garden while He tended to the garden. God intends for us to commune with Him at the same time that we live our lives. We were made to love and to have communion with our heavenly Father no matter what the circumstances. As we learn to walk with Him our spirits will again commune with Him.

Look at John 4: 23-24" But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him." God tells us that when we get saved we have come back to the place where Adam was originally. We should come back to the place where we walk with God in our spirits not in our minds or emotions. We again are given the choice to walk with God. Adam lived by the breath of God coming into him. He knew God by the spirit. He communed with God in the spirit. All was well in the Garden. That was the way it was intended to be and the way it is intended to be now for born again believers. God want us to follow Him by the spirit. Let's see what happened to Adam's spirit.

Read Genesis 3: 6-7" And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." We all know the story, Satan tempts and man responds. We must stop here and ask a question, why did Satan fall from Heaven?

Turn to Isaiah 14: 12-14, to find the answer to that question? Isaiah 14: 12-14 states," How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning star; how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations; For thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high." As you read theses verses two words stick out. They are the words **"** I will **."** Satan made a decision in his will to go against God. Satan stated the word **"** I will **"** five times in the verses. Satan was after Eve's will in the garden to get her to make a decision to go against God. Remember we stated that the will was the decision making part of the soul. Everything in our lives hinges on what our will decides.

Before we go on with the fall let me discuss two definitions with you. What do you think being spiritual is? The simplest definition that I can come up with for spiritual is, depending on God. Then non-spiritual would be the opposite. Non- spiritual is not depending on God or doing something apart from what God would have you to do.

We stated before that Satan was after Eve's will. Satan operates from certain principles as does God. First, we need to look at the way Satan operates. Satan always works from outside the body to get to the inside. He works through the mind, emotion or the body. He is always after one thing however – The Will. Why the will? It makes the decisions. Now let us go back and look at Genesis 3:6-7 again. Satan did not attack the will but he attacked the body, through the eyes, to get to the mind, to stir the emotions, to get to the will. We know what happened after Eve was stirred in her soul. She became obsessed with having the fruit. It was then that she made a decision not be spiritual. She decided not to depend on God. Satan cannot dwell in the spirit of a believer because that is where God dwells. However Satan's desire is for us not to listen to God in our spirits so he tries to get us to act out of our souls. He will try to oppress our spirits and get us discouraged or he will try to get us to defile our spirits through sin. When we act out of the soul as Eve did, we no longer depend upon God and we naturally do the wrong thing.

Having seen that Satan works from the outside in, let us see how God works in the believer. God works from inside the believer to the outside. Why? To get the soul and body to cooperate with Himself to do His will. God first reveals Himself to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then reveals the things of God to our spirit. Our spirit then tells our mind which can then understand what Gods will is. We then have a choice whether to follow God's will or not. God always gives free choice as He did in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve. Satan always tries to lead us into bondage. If we choose God's will we then direct our minds and bodies to cooperate with the Lord? This can happen in an instant. We will go into greater detail in later lessons how this works but for now we just need to know how God operates and how Satan operates.

Once more we turn our attention back to Genesis 3: 6-7 and find out what happened to Adam and Eve's spirits. The moment that they partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they knew that they were naked. At this very moment their spirits died to God. They were no longer able to commune with Him in the spirit. That is where man is today. He has a spirit but it is dead to God. Adam and Eve then began to make excuses for their sin. They tried to justify it. They tried to blame others. Sin is a brat everyone wants to play with but nobody wants to own.

In conclusion we need to remember three things from this lesson. First, both God and Satan are after the same thing. The will. No matter what we think we cannot remain neutral. We will either choose to cooperate with God or come into the bondage of Satan. Second, that until man is born again his spirit is dead to God. Third, that Satan always tempts from the outside to get to the inside. This is to get man to distrust God. God always works from the inside to get man to do His will on the outside. God want us to know that can we trust Him.

Key Verses and Statements – The Fall of Man

Genesis 2:15" And the lord God took the man and placed him into the garden to dress it and keep it."

Took – to take by the hand, to carry along.

Placed – to settle down, to rest and remain.

A picture of God's grace.

1 Corinthians 1:30" But of Him are you in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us, wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption."

The same God the same Grace.

Grace – of the merciful kindness by which God exerting His Holy influence upon souls turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them in the exercise of Christian virtues.

It was always grace and always will be.

Genesis 3:6" And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired (emotion of desire) to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."

Spiritual – believes that what God said is true even if the senses disagrees.

1. The eyes looked. Part of the body.

2. The emotion desired. Part of the soul.

3. The mind thought. Part of the soul.

4. The will decided. Part of the soul.

5. The spirit died. Part of the spirit.

Genesis 3:7" And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."

The hid from God.

Their conscience came alive to their disobedience.

Non-spiritual – wants something apart from what God has ordained.

The will - Satan's fall from Grace.

Isaiah 14:12-14"How are thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning star! For thou hast said in thy heart, (will), I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."

I am my own god but look at the cost.

Sin (disobedience) is a brat everyone wants to play with but no one wants to own.

Sin will take you farther than you want to go.

Keep you longer than you want to stay.

Cost you more than you want to pay.

The law of God and Satan.

Law of God- works from the inside to the outside.

1. Through the Spirit. (Intuition – knowing, conscience, communion).

2. To the mind (understanding, calmness, peace, choosing to following).

3. To the body. (Obeying)

Law of Satan

Works from the outside to the inside.

1. Through some part of the body (eyes, touch, taste).

2. To the mind (improper thoughts).

3. To the emotion (desire, affection, feeling).

God and Satan are both after the same thing our Will.

1. Choosing God brings freedom.

2. Choosing Satan brings bondage.

# [Chapter 4  
The Blood of Christ](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

One of the greatest changes in my life happened when the Lord taught me about the Blood of Christ. When I learned how the Blood of Christ worked it literally changed my life overnight. Our songbooks are filled with songs about the Blood of Jesus but few Christians really understand its wonderful application for their lives.

Here is what happens to many Christians. They get saved and they see forgiveness for their sins and that is wonderful. That lasts for a little while and then they have no strength to cease from their sins. Some who are very strong willed last much longer than others but they expend so much effort they too often wear out. For a weak willed person like I was, it is not long before they grow discouraged and quit or sink into the state of mind where they think there can never be anything better. Many grow discouraged and begin to doubt their salvation. If many were truthful, it sometimes seems that their plight is now worse than before they got saved. Often they silently slip through the cracks and are heard from no more. Take heart my brother and sister, for God has an answer for us. It is the blood of Christ. Let the Lord teach you its value. The blood has three uses for the Christian. The first use of the blood is for our Sins, the second for our guilt and the third is against Satan.

To begin with let's discuss how the Blood works for our sins. Turn to Exodus 12:13 " And the blood shall be a token upon the houses where you are and when I see the blood I will pass over you and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt."

This was to be the final plague upon the land of Egypt and its people. God had told the Israelites to take the blood of a sacrificed lamb, put it upon the lintels of the houses where they lived and when God saw the blood He would pass over them. Let us just imagine that we could go back and stand there in Egypt. Let us also imagine that we could know personally many of the people who lived there. Let's compare two of these people, one and Egyptian and one an Israelite. Let us look at their characters. The Egyptian is a fine good man. He does not hate the Israelites nor does he persecute them. He often will give food to those who are poor and needy. He has often helped them in many ways. He is a fine man all around. Now let us look at one of the Israelites. He is just the opposite of the Egyptian. He is sneaking and cruel. He cheats everybody that he can. He helps no one and thinks only of himself. If you had to pick someone to put behind the door and under the blood, who you pick? I would probably pick the Egyptian. But who was behind the door? What was the difference between those behind the door and those not behind the door? The only difference was the people behind the door were covered by the blood. What did God see? Did He see how good the Egyptian was and how bad the Israelite was? No, He only saw the blood. Did God see who gave the most tithes? No, God saw only the blood. The blood then is first for God so that He can look at me and not see my sins. Do you see that it didn't matter who they were or what they had done? It only mattered where they were. How would you have decided who to save, by looking at their works, by how good looking they were or by having them say three Lords prayers? What did God see? The glorious Blood of Jesus which covers my sins.

Look at 1 Peter 1: 18-19" Forasmuch as ye know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. But with the precious Blood of Christ of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

If we took this verse and put it in place of Exodus 12:13 it would fit very nicely. We are saved by the shedding of the precious Blood of Jesus. Do you understand that once we get saved God is not talking about our sins anymore? We need do no more than place them under the blood of Christ. But what usually happens is we get saved and our sins loom larger than the Blood. We spend all of our time worrying about our sins. One of the basic steps in the Christian life is to see how God looks at our sins once we confess them. He only sees the Blood of His Son Jesus. Yet we keep looking at our sins instead of the Blood. You must begin to look at the Blood that covers your sins and begin to praise God for it. Just as the Israelites praised God for the blood on the lintels of the doors. We must praise Jesus for the precious Blood that He shed and place ourselves under it to maintain fellowship with God.

What is faith? It is looking at things the way God looks at them. How does God look at my sins once confessed? He only sees the Blood. I could be committing a sin a minute and some of us feel that we do. God only asks that we look at things the way He does. He only looks at the Blood.

After I got saved I was having a terrible time trying to stop smoking. No matter how hard I tried I could not stop smoking. I had almost given up in despair. I would confess it and determine that I was going to give them up only to fail time after time. I looked at those cigarettes as a mountain that was impossible to get over. God taught me that I needed to quit looking at the mountains and start looking at the Blood. It changed my life. I could fellowship with God because I no longer had to look at my sins and neither did He. He just looked at the Blood. Jesus shed His Blood for your sins. Why will you not use the provision that He has provided for them? I must say something however before I go on. I assume that you are willing to stop or give up the sin that God convicts you of. God covers with the blood those who are in bondage to sin and willing to give their sin up. They are just not aware of how to be delivered. God on the other hand will chastise those who are not willing to give up their sin. He will work on us until we are willing to give it up. He treats us like His children. Let me try to illustrate this concept for you. If you had a crippled child and every time he tried to walk through the house he knocked things over because he was crippled. Would you punish him for it? Of course not! However, let's say that you were able to get the child an operation that fixed his legs and he is now able to walk correctly. Instead of getting better, the child goes through the house and knocks things over because he purposed to do it. He also thinks that because you let him get away with it when he was crippled that you will let him get away with it now. That is the difference between willful sin and un-willful sin. The one child sins because he is crippled and in bondage to his legs. The other child sins because he wants to and hopes that he can get away with it. The blood will cover those who are willing to be delivered even though they are in bondage and crippled. Our Father will deal with those who think they can get away with it.

I would ask you to try an experiment. Bow your head and close your eyes, Pray, 'Dear Jesus, I am coming to you right now and asking you to forgive me of my sins and placing them under your Blood. It matters not how large my sins are or how small, for I believe that you're Blood covers them all. It does not matter whether I feel like they are covered or even if I act like they are covered. I am just going to believe you that they are covered. For I am going to look at things the way God looks at them and believe Him." If there is a beginning in the Christian life after salvation it is the Blood of Christ. We must come by it every day and every minute of the day for it keeps us walking with God. Remember in previous lessons we stated that all God wanted was your will. That is still all He wants, for you to be willing to come to Him by the Blood and to be willing to believe that by using it you can stay in fellowship with Him There is a song that the choir of our church sings and part of it goes "write me down as righteous where no righteousness has been." Do you not see that God is saying that to us? The Blood makes you righteous not your deeds. The Blood does not take into account your sins, it covers them.

We stated that the Blood had three uses. The first use we have just discussed. The second use is for our guilt. We look at the blood for our sins and it is wonderful. But now another problem comes up. When we got saved our conscience which had been dead to God now has come alive to God because it is part of our spirit. Every time I sin I put it under the Blood but I still feel guilty. I want to come, worship God, fellowship with Him and be in His presence but my guilt keeps me away. Let's see how the blood works for our guilt. Turn to Hebrews 10:19" Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the Blood of Jesus." It works by faith. It works by looking at the Blood the way God looks at it. How does verse say I should come? We should come by the Blood and with boldness. Why? Because my sins are covered by the Blood but Praise God so is my guilt. If the Blood of Jesus is so precious to God don't you think we should use it according to the value God places on it and not by the way we feel? Look at Hebrews 10:22" Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from and evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Paul states let us draw near to God being sure of our faith and our conscience cleansed. How is my conscience cleansed? It is cleansed by the Blood. We are tempted to say. "You don't know how guilty I feel or how guilty a person I am. You don't know what I did today or yesterday." My dear brother or sister in Christ I do not need to know. Just come by the Blood. You say, "But I am so weak." Well, just come by the Blood. "But sometimes my thoughts are so wicked." Come by the Blood. Just please come by the Blood for that is the way He wants you to come.

Turn to Ephesians 2:13" But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the Blood of Christ." The verse tells us that we who were sometimes far off from God are no longer in that condition. That is past tense; we are no longer far off. Where are you? You say, "Well I feel far off." I did not ask you how you felt. You say, "Well I act like I am far off." I did not ask you how you acted. I asked you where you were. You state, "I am far off" Whose fault is that? God is looking at the Blood for my sins. I can look at the blood for my guilt. The amazing thing is no one is looking at me. The old song goes "Glory I'm saved, Glory I'm saved my sins are forgiven my guilt is all gone." Is not the Blood of Jesus amazing?

The Blood has one more wonderful use for the Christian. It works for us so that we can use it against Satan. Have you ever heard these words or something similar ringing in your ears? "You are a sinner. You just keep sinning and no matter how hard you try, you are never going to stop sinning. You may be a big sinner or a little sinner but you just keep sinning. Everyone is going to find out how terrible you are." I remember when I used to smoke. I would try so hard to hide it. I never wanted anyone to see me. Of course everyone could smell me. I was so ashamed and these accusations would just keep coming at me. I would begin to make excuses for my sin. I would begin to make promises that I would not do it anymore. I would compare myself to others and look at their faults so that I would not have to look at my own. Is that not what Adam and Eve did? All to no avail, for the accusations just kept on coming.

One day it dawned on me that what this accuser was saying about me was true. I came to a complete stop. I quit defending myself. I literally said, "You are right." Then I said, "I am a sinner but I have the blood." I began to sing," I am a sinner but I have the Blood and it covers me." All of a sudden this accuser left me and a peace settled on me. He had nothing to accuse me with because he could not stand against the Blood.

Look at Revelation 12:10a, 11a" And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down...... and they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimony." They conquered Satan. How? They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb. My life has never been the same after I started using the blood. God can help anyone but He cannot help people who are trying to defend themselves or who are feeling guilty all the time when He has already provided the answer for those problems.

Use the Blood every day for your sins, for your guilt, for the accuser of the brethren. Will you use the provisions that God has made for you or will you continue as you are?

What a wonderful free gift God gave to us when Jesus shed His precious Blood. Its value is immeasurable for new Christians as well as older Christians. God gave it to us and we should be ashamed if we do not take full advantage of its wonderful power. The Blood is free for us but it was not free for everyone. My dear brothers and sisters it cost Jesus the agony of the Cross. It cost God His Son. We should use it and use it to its fullest extent. However we should always look at the price that was paid so that we could have it. If we will do this we will never take lightly its application.

Key Verses and Statements – The Blood of Christ

The blood has three uses for the Christian.

The first use is for our Sins.

Exodus: 12:13" And the blood shall be a token upon the houses where you are and when I see the blood I will pass over you."

What was God looking for?

1. The most righteous.

2. The most giving.

God sees the blood.

1 Peter 1:18-19" For as much as ye know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. But with the precious Blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

God is not talking about our sin anymore.

1. Do your sins loom larger than the Blood?

2. Write me down as righteous where no righteousness has been.

Sin Confessed = Sin Covered

The Second use is for our Guilt

Hebrews 10:19" Having therefore brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the Blood of Jesus."

The way to God is a bold way but only by the blood.

Hebrews 10:22" Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from and evil conscience...."

1. To be bold one must have a clear conscience.

2. The conscience is cleared by confession.

God's way with me.

Ephesians 2:13" But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the Blood of Christ."

1. God looks at me through the blood for my sins.

2. I look at God through the blood for my guilt.

3. Praise God! No one is looking at me.

The third use of the Blood – Satan's accusation.

Revelation 12:11a"... And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimony."

1. He accuses after sins are confessed.

2. Many of his accusations have some truth to them.

3. We have often done what he says.

4. Do not attempt to justify yourself.

5. You have only one defense.

Our only plea.

1. The blood for our sins.

2. The blood for our guilt.

3. The blood for Satan's accusation.

# [Chapter 5  
The Breaking of the Soul - The Teaching of the Holy Spirit](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

Adam and Eve have left the Garden. Paradise has become but a memory with their leaving. When they partook of the fruit their spirits died to God and they had to get saved (God provided the sacrifice). That is why God made them a covering out of animal skins. Man still has a spirit today but it is dead to God and alive to the god of this world, Satan. Man can even still use his spirit but he uses it in the wrong way. He uses it for witchcraft, devil worship, esp., etc.

When we get saved, God comes into our spirit and dwells there. We are born again in our spirit because the Holy Spirit of God dwells and lives in our spirit. Before the fall our spirit was first, then soul, and then body. The soul and body were in subjection to the spirit. The position of our spirit after the fall is one of the following, either we are controlled by the soul, (emotions, mind and will) or we are controlled by the body. It is usually a combination of both. Some people are ruled primarily by their emotions (fear, anxiety, worry, anger etc.) while others may be ruled by their bodies (drugs, alcohol, gluttony, etc.). We could say that position of man's being after the fall is Soul, Body and Spirit or Body, Soul, Spirit. The bottom line is that the spirit is surrounded or hidden by the soul and the body.

God wants me to be like Jesus that is His will for my life. He is the answer to all my needs. I know if I were just like Him all my problems would be solved or I would be able to handle them in Him. However, there is a problem. My soul and body have been so tainted by sin and my soul so long in control that I do not know how to follow my spirit or Gods Spirit. Most Christians follow their mind or emotion and mistake this for Gods leading. They do not realize God came into their spirits via the Holy Spirit to lead them in this way. Our salvation is so wonderfully put together that God has made a way to release His Spirit in us. My term for this is called the breaking of the soul.

What is Gods reason for breaking and dealing with the soul? It is twofold. First, He wants to give us life and peace. Second, He wants others to sense Jesus in us. Is it not peace and rest that we seek? Is it not Jesus that we want?

Look at John 12:1-3" then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment." When did the odor of the ointment fill the room? It came only after the vessel was broken. That is what God must do with our soul. He must break it so that people can sense the odor of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

This breaking of the soul is usually a twofold experience. First, the vessel must be broken but then there is usually a teaching and refreshing time from the Holy Spirit. This teaching and breaking can be related to Hebrews 4:12" For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart." This verse tells us that the spirit and the soul must be divided so that we will walk by the Holy Spirit and not by the soul. In other words we must be able to tell the difference between the leading of the Spirit and the leading of the soul. How does God usually bring this about? First, He sees the area in your life that must be dealt with then He begins to arrange your life so that you must confront this part of your soul. He usually does this by bringing about a crisis in your life. Then when you have been brought to the end of your strength and you cry out to Him that you are powerless without Him. He will minister to you through the Holy Spirit so that we can become more like His Son Jesus. Why does God bring this dealing and dividing of the soul and spirit? Why is it necessary? John 6:63 states, "It is the Spirit that quickens the flesh profits nothing." It is the Spirit that gives life (Gods life), not emotion, not thoughts, not cleverness but the Spirit. The soul will never walk by the Spirit if it is not dealt with. It will always follow its own whims and desires. We see the breaking of the vessel in John 12 and now the dividing and teaching of the Spirit in Hebrews 4. Remember God does not always deliver us from our circumstances but from our responses in our circumstances.

Why do people not recognize this dividing of the soul and spirit by God? Quite often they think that men are opposing them. They think environment is too difficult or circumstances to blame. But most of all people do not see this teaching of the Spirit because of self-love. We love ourselves so we deliver ourselves from the working of the Holy Spirit. So God first breaks the soul by bringing trials and circumstances into our lives. Then He ministers and teaches us by the Holy Spirit. We end up with the spirit and soul being divided. We learn to follow the Spirit and not the soul.

Can you not see what God is doing in these trials, problems and experiences? He is trying to break the outer man, (soul), so that Jesus can come through. Do you not see that everything that comes into our lives is meaningful? Do we really want Gods best? If you are a born again believer then something inside of you says yes (His Spirit), I do want His best. Maybe what you are going through is Gods best. He gave His Son. What makes you think that He would not give you the best of everything else to make His Son shine forth in you? Why is it that we scream and cry as soon as God raises His hand to change us? Don't you know that if you and I were just like Him then all would be well? All that comes is ordered by God. I would be a liar if I said that it did not hurt because it does hurt, and yet a broken man is a satisfied man for the emotions no longer screams every time something happens. A broken man is one whom the Lord can use because that man is listening for God and not listening to every whim of his emotions.

In every situation God has one question that He always asks his sons. Is Jesus enough for this day of your life? What else can He give after He gave His best?

God is arranging things for you and I to become like Jesus. I know that what I have told you is hard but you must know the truth. Our loving Father is doing everything just to make us like our wonderful Savior Jesus.

Our thought should be if God never allows us to do anything else other than praise His name all day long then that is enough. Will we be satisfied with what God gives us, knowing that in everything He gives, He gives in love? Only one question remains in this lesson. Is there anything in your hand that you will not give to your Lord? Is it your dreams, plans, works, loved ones, your soul? God will never be happy until others sense Jesus in us?

Key Verses and Statements -The Breaking of the Soul – The Teaching of the Holy Spirit

The position of the spirit before the fall of man.

1. The spirit was first and in tune with God

2. The soul (mind, emotion and will) obeying God.

3. The body performing God's will.

The position of the spirit after the fall of man.

1. The Soul in control (mind, emotion and will).

2. Body following its own will.

3. Spirit enveloped by the soul.

OR

1. Body in control (addictions, etc.).

2. Soul (mind, will, emotion).

3. Spirit enveloped by the body and soul.

It is not in its proper position.

God has a way of putting the spirit in its proper position.

It is called the dividing of the soul and the spirit.

Hebrews 4:12" For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Why this dividing?

1. The spirit and the soul must be divided so that one does not walk by the soul and the body.

2. How does He divide?

3. Trials, problems and experiences.

The Holy Spirit then teaches.

What hinders the dividing?

1. Self – love

2. People

3. Self – delivery

Gods reason for releasing the Holy Spirit.

John 12:1-3" Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiped His feet with her hair and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment."

The soul must be broken so that others can catch the aroma of the Holy Spirit in us.

What is the result?

1. Life and peace for the Christian.

2. That others might sense Christ in the Christian.

3. Gods path to freedom.

4. Everything that comes into our lives is meaningful.

5. Everything works to break that outer shell so that the Holy Spirit can be released.

What's in your hand?

Is Jesus enough for today?

# [Chapter 6  
Deliverance from Sin](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

Most Christians never get victory over their sin in this life. That is not the way God intended it to be. God has made a way for us to be delivered from our sin if we will trust and believe Him.

We must first start however by seeing some of the other things that God has done for us. We need to break this lesson into three parts. The first part is where we are in Christ. Turn to 2 Corinthians 5:17, "therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new." We learned in the Garden that we were in Adam. All that Adam had becomes ours by birth. We did nothing to get what Adam had. Now the verse states that if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. Let me ask you a question, "What did you do to get saved? You would probably say something like the following. I saw my need as a sinner and asked God to save me and He did. Then according to 2 Corinthians 5:17, you are a new creation or creature in Christ, right? Now look at 1 Corinthians 1:30" But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." This verse states that "... of Him are you in Christ..." How did you get in Christ? You might say, well, if I were honest, I did nothing. I guess God just put me in Christ and made me a new creation the moment I got saved. You would be absolutely right if you stated this. In a previous lesson we saw that we were covered by the Blood of Jesus. We learned how to use this precious Blood and by using it we can walk in fellowship with God based on 1 John 1:7" But if we walk In the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." Again, for us to receive all of these blessings we did nothing but get saved. Do you believe those words of God? If you do turn to Psalm 106:2, "Then believed they His words, they sang His praise." Then you may sing His praise and say thank you Lord Jesus? You just believed and it all came with salvation.

We have looked at where we are in Christ. We will now look at what Christ has done for us in delivering us from our sins. From the first Chapter of Romans up to Romans 5:11 the word sins is used over and over again. But it is not used at all in Romans Chapter Six. The word sin is used not the plural word sins. This is very important because God does not actually deliver from sins but he delivers us from the sin nature. There is a vast difference between the two. It is not our sins that we have need of being delivered from; remember Christ died for our sins. It is the sin nature in us which produces the sins that we need deliverance from.

Now, look at Romans 6:2 "God forbid, how shall we, that are dead to sin, live in longer therein?" Paul states that how can we who are dead to sin live in it or continue in it any longer. But Paul we might cry, I am a sinner and it is my nature to sin. Paul states that you are dead and if you are dead how can you continue in sin? What in the world is he talking about? I do not remember dying. Where was I when all this happened? My dear brother and sister in Christ, you do not remember getting placed into Christ in 1 Corinthians 1:30. You also do not remember getting covered by the blood but you did, 1 John 1:7. When did you become a new creation do you remember? No, but a moment ago you were ready to sing His praise and believe Him Psalm, 106:12. Do you remember what we said faith is? Faith is looking at things the way God looks at them. In Romans 6:2 God states that you are dead, "God forbid..... That we who are dead to sin." Will you just for the moment agree with Him because He stated it? You might be thinking, Okay if I am dead, I am sure of one thing, there is something in this dead person still sinning. Well, at least you admit that according to God you are dead. Would you just say Lord Jesus, I do not understand it right now, but I thank you that according to your word I am dead to sin. What did you do to become dead to sin? Nothing! Praise God.

We now need to move on to Romans 6:3" Know ye not, that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death." Paul again comes back with a statement about death. Let me try to explain this in a simple manner. Romans 6:2 states we are dead and we said, okay, we would accept that. All that Romans 6:3 say's is that Christ died and just as we have already seen that we have been placed into Christ, I Corinthians 1:30, at the moment of salvation, we have also been placed into His death. If you would put coffee into a thermos then whatever happens to the thermos happens to the coffee because the coffee is in the thermos. We were placed in Christ. What happened to Him happened to us. Everything we think we are getting we already have. We are just beginning to realize what it is we have. Romans 6:2 say's we are dead. Romans 6:3 states we are baptized or placed into Jesus's death. Hold on for a couple of minutes and just agree with God.

Now let us look at Romans 6:4" Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4 states that we are buried with Christ into His death. It also goes on to say that He was raised from the dead by God. We would all agree to that for that is what we base our salvation on. Then the verse also states that like as Christ was raised from the dead we should also walk in newness of life. Paul tells us that we should walk in this newness of life. How hard it is to walk in this newness of life when we seem to be saddled with this sin problem all the time. We all would probably say out loud that we desire much to walk in this newness of life but this sin problem keeps weighing us down. Again, I would ask you to just agree with God for the moment and tell Him, yes Lord, I should walk in newness of life and I want to. Romans 6:5 states, "For if we have been placed together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. We would all say, Amen, brother, we shall be like Him in the resurrection. Glory to God!

We believe that we shall be like Him but do we believe that we can be very much like Him now. Feast your eyes on one of the most glorious verses in the Bible. Romans 6:6" Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Remember I told you that in this section of the lesson we were only concerning ourselves with what Jesus has done for us. Well, let us refresh our memories with those things before we discuss Romans 6:6. We stated that we ask Jesus to save us and He did because we asked. We stated that when He saved us that we became a new creation in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:17. We agreed that we were placed into Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:30. The blood covers our sin, 1 John 1:7. We were baptized into His death, Romans 6:3. That like as He was raised, we too, have been raised, Romans 6:4. What did we do to get all of this? You must answer; I did nothing it all came with salvation. Now look at what our wonderful Savior has done in Romans 6:6. He has crucified the old man, the old man or old nature is in the tomb. The Father has said that we have been raised up out of the tomb to walk in newness of life (spirit). There is no old nature anymore to contend with for Christ crucified it. We are not to be a slave to that old nature anymore for it has been crucified. Jesus is the only one that I know of that has been raised from the dead and we that are dead with Him have also been raised. If the old nature still exists then who took it out of the grave. I don't have that kind of power and I sure don't believe that God would raise the old nature. You are probably thinking, then why do I sin if I have no sin nature (old man)? It is because of the flesh that we sin. We will deal with and explain the flesh in a later lesson. But for now we must see that the old nature or old man is in the tomb never to be a bother to us again. What I need for you also to see is that not only is your old man destroyed but that you did absolutely nothing to make this happened. It is essential that you see that God has done it all and you did nothing for that is grace. It all came with salvation. So, should we serve sin? No, the Bible states, but how do we stop it:

We have discussed where we are in Christ. We have discussed what Jesus has done for us. Now we need to discuss how it works our lives? We as Christians usually try to suppress our sins. Sometimes our pastors even preach that we must suppress these sins and overcome them. Have you ever tried that my brother? Just as soon as you get one suppressed another pops out somewhere. Those who are very strong willed can often overcome their sins by great acts of will power. Those of us who are born very weak willed just try to hide them from everyone else so that our sin will not be seen. Neither way is the right way. Look at Romans 6:7 "For he that is dead is free from sin." I went out to visit a young man. When I got there he started to tell me about the problems he was having with sins in his life and how he could not get victory over them. He asked if I could show him how to get victory over the sins in his life. I asked him the following question, if I were to tell you to get up and turn around seven times with your hands waving in the air and that would deliver you from your sins, would you do it? He looked at me for a minute and stated that he might. I then said, okay young man, you want to be delivered from your sins and here is the true way you can be. Do nothing for you already are. I then pretended to get up and walk out the door. Needless to say he looked at me as if I were crazy. Here was a young man with many sin problems and I was telling him that he was already delivered from them. That would be the way most would look at me, as if I were crazy, if I gave that advice to others. The reason he said that he might get up and turn around seven times is because we always want to do something. Christianity begins with a done not a do. Let me ask you again. What did you do to get saved? Nothing, except ask. What did you do to get placed in Christ or become a new creation? Nothing! My brother and sisters in Christ, just as you needed to do nothing to get all of these other things you need to do nothing to get delivered from your sin as even that came free with your salvation. God does not have us overcome sin at all. He has just wonderfully moves us out of the way, "For he that is dead is freed from sin." When we come to the place that we will admit that we are helpless to overcome these sins and just begin to look at what God has done, then all the power of heaven will be ours. We are praying for what we already have. We are praying for deliverance and God is saying you are delivered but we just keep on praying. Why? Because we do not fully believe that He has moved us out of the way by placing us in Jesus. We go at this backwards. What do we usually try to do? We pray and pray and ask God to make us stronger so that we can overcome sins. For many, God does not seem to ever answer that prayer. Some have been saved for many years and are still struggling with the same old temper, envy, jealousies, and habits that they had when they first got saved. Only God knows how much time you have spent in prayer over them but alas things are still the same. If you could overcome them would that not make you stronger? Is that not what Eve wanted? She sinned because she did not depend on God. God makes us weaker, so weak in fact that He pronounces us dead in Romans 6:7, "For he that is dead is freed from sin." When we come to the place that we will admit that we are helpless to overcome this sin and just begin to look at what God has done, then all the power of heaven will be ours. We are praying for what we already have. We are praying for deliverance and God is saying you are delivered but we just keep on praying. Why? Because we do not count on Romans 6:11" Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Reckon or put it to your account. Just believe it. God stated that you are saved, in Christ, buried into His death, raised to walk in newness of life, your old man is crucified and you are dead to sin. What else can He do? What else would you have Him do? Don't you see why God does not answer that prayer? He already has in Jesus. Victory is ours. We don't need to make great resolutions and great vows. We need only to look to see what He has already done for us.

Let me try to explain it another way. Crack cocaine is a major problem in the United States today. What if everyone who had a crack problem decided that they were going to try to give it up. That would be wonderful. They all brought their crack to the police station and turned it in. Problem solved, right? Some would say, No my brother, the problem is not solved at all for the plants still grow that produce the crack. If the plant is not destroyed it will not be long before the crack is right back on the streets and the poor addicts will be right back to using it again. Can you not see that God is saying the same thing? Your problem is not your sins but that is what you focus on. Your problem was the sin producer in you. The old man (just like the plant that grows the cocaine) the old nature. But God has taken care of the sin producer by crucifying him and leaving him in the tomb that you may walk in newness of life. Does it make any sense to stop one sin or two or five? God did something greater for us. He stopped the (plant) nature that produced the sin. God deals with cures not symptoms. God deals with the cure for sins, guilt and Satan's accusation with the blood. God deals with the cure for our sin nature He crucifies it. Would it not be a cruel joke from our loving Father if He only covered our sins and did not make a way for such helpless ones as we to have victory over them? The answer for your problem it is very simple, as most things in Christ are. Quit trying and start trusting in what God has said and done.

Let's go back to Romans 6:11 once more, the verse states reckon or believe that you are dead because God told you that you are dead. We all have been taught that our salvation depends not on how we feel but on what Christ did. Why should it be any different now? You might say, but brother I do not feel dead. We are not talking about how you feel. We are talking about what God said. You might again counter with, but brother; I do not act very dead. My friend, in Jesus, can you not see that we are not even talking about how you act? We are talking about Jesus Christ the Son of God and what He has done. Can you not quit looking at yourself and look to Christ to see that the sin problem is taken care of? It is already done whether you act like it or it feels like it. It is done whether you believe it or you do not believe it. It only matters what Jesus did. Oh, if we would only look at things the way God looks at them, but it seems we only refuse to do so. God dealt with our sin nature at the cross. You are trying to deal with your sins and God is saying that He has already taken care of the sin producer. You are free, you are dead in Christ.

So what do you do? Nothing! You just ask God to give you a revelation of what you already have in Jesus. Then the power of God will become effective in your life. You will start having victory over sin because you believe what God has done for you in Christ. No more will you grit your teeth and with all your determination set out to stop sins. Because you will look to Jesus and see that He has already gained the victory for you.

Look at Galatians 2:20," I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Do you see what God offers us in Christ? We often say that Jesus changed my life and that is not so wrong. But what God actually offers is not a changed life but and exchanged life. He exchanges that sin producer in me for the risen Jesus Christ. Sin need no longer have dominion over me for I am dead in Christ. It is not by trying but by trusting in Him. It is not by self-effort but by grace.

This is what God offers at salvation. My sin for His righteousness, Glory! My guilt for His blood, Glory again! My weakness for His power, Glory one more time! The most amazing thing about it all I did nothing to get all of this but get saved. It is already mine. Will you take it or continue in a life of frustration?

Key Verses and Statements – Deliverance from Sin

Where We Are!

In Christ

1 Corinthians 1:30"But of Him are you in Christ Jesus..."

1. How did you get there?

" **Who of God is made unto us..."**

2. What did you get?

" **Wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption."**

What did you do to get it?

3. You prayed and God put you in Jesus

What we are!

2 Corinthians 5:17" Therefore if any man be in Christ...."

Are we in Christ?

" **He is a new creation..."**

1. Are we a new creation?

" **Old things are passed away; behold all things are become new."**

2. Do you believe that God did what He said He did?

Psalm 106:12"Then they believed they His words they sang His praise."

How did He do it?

Romans 6:2-5"God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?"

Romans 6:3" Know ye not..."

Don't you know what He is about to tell you?

" **That so many of us that were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death....."**

I did not know that!

Now what?

" **Therefore (these things being so) we are buried with Him by baptism into death that like as Christ (remember we are in Christ) was raised up from the dead by glory of the Father, even so (likewise) we should walk (conduct one's self) in newness of life."**

The truth shall set you free.

Romans 6:6-7"knowing this...."

Knowing what?

" **That our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed (his power is gone), that henceforth (no more) we should not serve (be a slave to) sin. For he that is dead is free from sin."**

1. We are baptized into His death.

2. We are covered by His blood.

3. We are in Christ.

4. The old man is destroyed.

5. We are dead.

6. We are free.

What did we do to get this?

We just got saved and it all came with salvation.

How it works.

Romans 6:11"Likewise (even so) reckon (this is reality I am dead to sin and I will believe it even if I do not seem to be living it for whatever contradicts the Word of God is a lie no matter how real it may seem to my senses) ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

1. Not a changed life but and exchanged life.

2. Not by trying but by trusting.

3. Not by effort but by grace.

# [Chapter 7  
Deliverance from the Law](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

We have forgiveness of our sins. We have the blood which we can use every day for our sins, guilt, and Satan. We have been delivered from sin. We have been raised to walk in newness of life. Aren't we happy? You might answer and say, "Well, brother, you make it sound so wonderful but I'm still falling apart; my failures are so much greater than my victories. Others seem to live such good Christian lives but mine is so miserable. I try so hard to live right and do what God asks of me. But if I were honest sometimes I don't like God very much. Oh, I like His forgiveness but the harder I try the worse it gets. I get so discouraged though I try to hide it. Sometimes I just feel so dead inside. Sometimes I feel like just quitting. It just seems that being a Christian is so hard. If I were really honest I would say God just seems to be asking and demanding too much of me." I believe that most Christians have no idea of what God really is asking of them or demanding of them.

Turn to Romans 7:1 "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he lives." The problem is we are trying to live by a law that does not even pertain to us. We know about the Law of Moses or the Ten Commandments. Those laws state things like thou shalt not steal and thou shalt not commit adultery. If we do one of those things then we break one of the commandments of God. It seems that the harder we try to live by those laws the worse things get. In Romans 6 we stated that we are dead to sin because Christ has dealt with the old nature. Here in Romans 7, we must see also God had dealt with the Law of Moses through the grace and power of His Son Jesus.

Look at Romans 7: 2-4 "For the woman which hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead she is free from that law: so that she is no adulteress, though she is married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ: that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." What in the world is Paul taking about in these verses? Paul is saying that we are not under the Law of Moses anymore, that the Ten Commandments have no more hold on us. It is now Christ we obey. Let me try to illustrate using the verses we just read. The women in verse 2, is married to a man. The law tells her that she is married to that man as long as the lives. If he would die then she is no longer bound to that man. If she would fall in love with another man while she is still married to the first and run off with him according to the law she would be an adulteress. Let us look at these two men for a moment and compare them. The one she is married to now we shall call Don Law, (Law of Moses). Don Law is a very strict husband and is always demanding everything of this poor women. He is always demanding that she do everything that he wants and that she do it just the way that he wants her to do it. He will constantly tell her things like do not be jealous, do not be angry and do not lose your temper. She knows what he is saying is true and he never seems to do those things. She cannot deny that she should be exactly the kind of wife that he is describing. She knows that she should be gracious and thankful to her husband who points these inconsistencies out to her. For what he demands of her he seems able to do. But if she were honest she finds that there are times when she does not like what Don Law asks of her. If she were even more honest there are times when she does not like Don Law her husband very much. Now to make matters worse she has met another man and his name is Don Grace, (Jesus). He is kind and gentle and loving to her all the time. He is never too stern or strict. Oh, he knows her faults well enough but where Don Law does nothing but order her around and demand of her, Don Grace tells her what is wrong and sets out to help her. He not only corrects her but is quite willing to help her meet all the demands that he places on her. What can she do? If Don Law would die then she could marry Don Grace and all her problems would be over. Unfortunately Don Law is alive and well. As a matter of fact he is in much better health than she is. She is wearing out from all of his demands. She is frustrated. She wants to give, up but his demands are relentless. My brothers and sisters, the answer is found in verse 4, Don Law does not die she does. The verse states that ye have become dead to the law. Insert the word Don in front of the word law in verse four to help you get a better picture of this. Now read it. It would say "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the (Don) Law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another (Don Grace or Christ Jesus even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."" Do you see it? The woman that Paul is talking about in these verses is us. The Law is the Ten Commandments with all of its rules and regulations. The other person is Jesus and His grace. We try to live by the Law because we think that is what God is asking us to do. Yet if we are honest, we would admit that the Law offers us no help. It only makes matters worse for us. It only condemns us. We try so hard to please God by the Law and we become frustrated and discouraged. Why? We are applying a Holy Law which is Gods, to a sinful person which is me. The Law demands what I cannot give it and that is perfection. Is this not true? Why do men and women teach and preach what they cannot live up to? Is it because they are afraid to live by the truth in Romans 7:6 "But now we are delivered from the Law wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." It is so much easier for us to try to live by the Law than to let grace have her perfect way. The Law tells us what to do and we can readily grab hold of that because rules and regulations are easy for us to understand. But, Grace is another matter. We are afraid that maybe if we let go of our rules or Laws that maybe Christ is just not as powerful as we claim. Worse than that, we confuse a loving heavenly Father with the Law and then wonder why the Christians life is so hard and frustrating. We also confuse the Grace of God with the Law of God. If God is asking us to live by this Law which we cannot do then do away with the blood, do away with grace and do away with the cross for we do not need them anymore. Do you not see? It is grace we live under and are married to. What do you think God is asking of you? Goodness? Where in you is this goodness? Is He asking you to be less envious or angry or a million other things? Where do you find it in yourself to meet these kinds of demands that you think God is asking of you? What can you give Him? Money, He owns the cattle on all the hills. Service, He needs me not to accomplish His plan. Time, how much time does He demand? What can you give Him? You're will, my dear brothers and sisters. Just be willing to let Him teach you. Maybe God is asking nothing of me but my WILL, because I have nothing else to give Him. Would it not be wonderful if God was demanding nothing of me? What a life I could have just praising Him and living under His grace. We are married to the one who wants to do everything for us if we are just willing to let Him do it. We have seen the blood. We have seen deliverance from sin. When will you stop trying so hard to please a law that does not even pertain to you? When will you stop thinking that God is so stern and demanding of you, when you can do nothing? When will you just fall in love with Jesus again? When will you come back and marry grace again? Or do you think God not big enough to help? You have to prove yourself because you think He cannot prove Himself. The highest point that I can reach is to be willing. Will you reach that point and sit back and see what God can do?

Key verses and Statements – Delivered from the Law

What is a Law?

Romans 7:1"Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he lives."

Law – a rule producing a state approved by God.

Dominion – to have the rule over.

A law when broken has the same effect every time it is broken.

Is the problem really Gods Law?

1. We have forgiveness of Sin = Peace with God.

2. We have the blood to cover our Sins = Peace through Jesus.

3. We have been delivered from our Old Nature = Peace in Jesus.

Aren't we happy?

1. God just seems to be demanding and asking so much of me.

2. It seems the harder I try the worse it gets.

3. God has dealt with the Law of Moses through the power and grace and of His Son Jesus.

Romans 7:2-4" For the woman which hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if he be dead, she is loosed form the law of her husband.

1. Her husband Don Law is very demanding.

2. What is worse is that her husband is right.

3. Don Law has no problem doing what he demands of her.

4. Even worse she has met someone else Don (Jesus) grace and what he asked of her he is willing to perform with her.

What's even worse!

She cannot leave (don law) and be with (don grace).

Romans 7:3" So then if, while her husband lives, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband be dead she is free from that law (Law of Moses) she that she is no adulteress though she be married to another man."

1. Don (Law) is ten times healthier than she is.

2. Don (Law) is unrelenting – he demands perfection because he is perfection.

Remember – What is a law – a rule producing a state approved by God?

The Bottom Line.

Romans 7:4" Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."

We are trying to apply a Holy Law which is God's to a sinful person which is me.

1. The law demands what I cannot give it and that is perfection.

2. If we must live by the law then do away with the cross, do away with the blood and do away with the grace of God.

3. If He ask what I cannot give then what does He want from me?

Romans 7:6" But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of letter."

1. Delivered – to make idle, to pass away.

2. Held – to restrain

Newness – the new state of life in which we are placed by the Holy Spirit.

So what does He want from me?

1. My money – I do not have enough.

2. My goodness – I cannot find enough.

3. My service – I could never serve enough to repay the purpose that the cross served.

Maybe He is asking only one thing from me and it is the only thing that is truly mine to give.

My Will

1. We are married to the one who wants to do everything for us.

2. When will we stop trying so hard to please a law that does not pertain to us?

3. When will we stop thinking that God is so stern and demanding of us?

4. When will we just fall in love with Jesus again?

5. When will we reach the highest point that man can reach?

To be willing to see what God can do in our lives.

# [Chapter 8  
Deliverance from Self – The Flesh](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

We have come a long way in our lessons. We started with God's will for the Christians. Then we moved on to the makeup of man then to the fall of man. We also talked about the Blood of Christ and being delivered from sin. In the last lesson we talked about how God had delivered us from the law and wanted us to live by grace. We have one more thing to encounter in deliverance and perhaps it the greatest problem of all. The problem is myself. I find that most of my problems in the Christian life are caused by me. My unhappiness, restlessness, not being able to wait on God, all come from me. I am a source of great discouragement to myself. The word "I" comes to mind most often. Paul encounter himself or the big "I" in Romans 7:7-25. We will not discuss all of these verses but major on several of them to discover what self is and how to deal with it.

Turn to Romans 7:7 "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet." Paul states, "Is the law sin." He answered that and says of course not. The law is Holy and good for God gave it. He then says that it was the law that pointed us to Christ. For it is by the law that sin is known. What sin is Paul talking about? I thought we dealt with sin in Romans chapter 6? Now he seems to be saying the same thing again when he says that he had not known what lust is except by the law. It is the sin of lust he is talking about, but was this lust for another women? That is the way that we generally think of lust. Was it for all the things the world had to offer? I really do not think so for Paul had grown way beyond that point in his life. This is what I think might have happened. Paul had gotten saved, he saw that he was delivered from sin. He saw that the law had no hold on him anymore and that he lived under grace. He set out to serve God and to please Him. That is a very noble thing to do. Then right in the middle of that he saw something that he lusted after. Something that he coveted. Was it something bad? I don't think so. I think that it was something good and noble but it was not his to have. Paul found himself desiring something that he should not. Perhaps it was a church like some other brother had or perhaps he wanted to lead some group of people because they needed it so much. But God was not giving him this and he desired it, he craved it, he lusted after it but he could not have it. So he tried to forget it and he could not let it go. Have you been there my brother or sister? What you wanted was not bad but good. But the way you wanted it was wrong. Because you lusted after it, you coveted it, you desired it with a wrong motive because you had to have it. That is called self or the flesh. Self (Flesh) is to desire, to feel, or to have great affection for something or someone, more than we have a desire for God, more than we have a feeling for God,, more than we have an affection for God. Lust is something I must have and I must have it now

We must skip to Romans 7:14" For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal (of the flesh, of self) sold under sin." Paul states that the law is spiritual. We all would have agree again that the law is spiritual and though as Christians we do not have to live by it, the law still points to sin. However Paul makes another statement and says I am carnal sold under sin. Another word used for carnal is flesh. I am of the flesh, or I am of self. The flesh in us is made up of two things the first is just plain old sin. Just not following the Lord, not making Him Lord of your life. Living half in the world and trying to live half for God. Coming to church on Sunday but spending no time with Him during the week. Of course we all know that living like that often results in further sin such as alcohol, porn, yes even drugs for some Christians. If only we would look at those in the Old Testament who tried to do the same things. Samson would be one. Or those in the Corinthian church in the New Testament. That is sin but there is another side to this flesh and it is called self. Some come to that place where they truly want to follow God. They have rejected what the world has to offer. Then they encounter self.

Few Christians are ever delivered from self. If we do not experience this deliverance from self we will never have the rest, peace and power of God fully manifested in our lives. This self is extremely treacherous because it often does not desire bad things but good things. What we do not realize that desiring what we think are good things which are not God led things are really bad things. Even when God leads often self takes over and we run ahead of God. This self is what we will take a closer look at.

We move to Romans 7:18" For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me. But how to perform that which is good I find not." Again Paul brings us back to this question of the flesh or self. What is the flesh that he is talking about and where is it in me? Let me try to explain it a little better by using a simple black pined striped suit as an example. If you could remove the black pin stripes out of the suit you would be left with a plain black suit. However the stripes are ingrained in the suit and if you or I would try to take the stripes out of the suit we would make quite a mess of the suit and it would be left in shreds. The flesh or self is very similar to that suit. We are born with flesh and as we grow it develops with us. The flesh is formed by the way I was brought up and by the environment I was brought up in. It is formed by what I exposed to and even by my genes. It is ingrained in us and brought over from the old life after we are saved. It can manifest itself in various ways. It can be very sinful and be manifested in habits such as drinking, smoking, drugs perversion, or numerous other overt and easily seen sins. If a person comes to the place where he sees that he is truly dead in Christ and his sin (old nature) problem is take care of these things will go away. Christ did away with the old man at the Cross. We are now manifesting signs of the flesh in the sins we commit. Many habits can be brought over from the old life. Also, the way that that we have been taught to respond in our thinking and our emotions can create great opportunities for the flesh. However, the flesh shows itself in another way and that is self. The self-life or the flesh life can be very moral, well mannered, have great talent, make great speeches, preach great sermons, and serve God in thousand different ways. However the flesh always leads backs to one place and that is self. It always leads back to position, glory, promotion or various other things. One thing is certain; there is always something in it for me, for myself. Paul states that he set out to please God, to serve Him and he discovered the flesh or self and to his utter horror it lives in him. Though I try to deny it, though I try not to think about, it is always there like a giant wall and I can't get around it or over it or under it for it dwells within me. Men through self-effort can get rid of the outward sins but no one can have the flesh inside controlled unless it a supernatural work of God. To live in the flesh is to desire things whether good or bad that God does not want me to have. To live in the flesh is to use my natural strength to get things without depending on God, or things apart from a communion with Jesus. To live in the Spirit is to trust God to overcome in me what I cannot overcome in myself. With each new demand, I look for Him to do it. If we were honest we would say this is hopeless for I know what I am on the inside. I know the petty jealousies, gripes, envy, malice, and revenge, the desire to be seen and noticed, to be great for God if someone sees me.

Paul came to the same conclusion look at Romans 7:24" O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of death of this death?" He found the old man to be crucified but the flesh life or self-life very much alive. Do we not all echo these same words? We live in a body of death that is wrapped up in self.

Take heart for God has an answer and it is found in the very next verse, Romans 7:25" I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord....." God's answer to our every need is always Jesus. He is all we need for all situations. Be careful; do not set out with great effort to deal with this flesh because it will overpower you as it did Paul. In all of these lessons we always come back to the same thing and that is the grace of God which we did nothing to get or deserve. Why would it be any different now? I will not set out with a determined effort to change myself, but will look to Christ to do it in me. Here is a simple formula to use.

First, comes conviction; God convicts me of something in myself. Usually we take off trying to change and that does not work as many of us well know. I simply say, Yes, Lord I see that is wrong and I want to stop it. That is confession and willingness. Second, I cannot, but Lord you know how I am; my natural way is to put all my energy and self-effort into it so I can stop. But Lord, I can't change or stop, but I am willing because being this way brings no peace or rest. It only brings frustration and discouragement. Third, Thus I will not, so Lord instead of setting out on a path that just leads me to frustration, discouragement and failure I will not do anything. Fourth, let me see how in Jesus how I can have victory over this for I can do all things through Him. Oh my brother is that not glorious, is that not power, is that not like our Lord and Savior Jesus. He is the helper of the helpless. My brothers and sisters, we put no confidence in the flesh but all confidence in Jesus. We put no confidence in the law but all confidence in grace and power. Remember the object of Satan is to always get me to do something out from my natural energy or self. If he can just get me to do that he has accomplished his purpose as he did with Eve in the garden. If I will move in my natural energy to accomplish even the will of God then I will naturally do the wrong things. We must wait on the Lord to accomplish His purpose in us.

You might still be confused somewhat about this. Let me say this, if we let God deal with the Soul, (Mind, Will and Emotion), then the flesh or self-life life will be dealt with.

I need to give a little more explanation as to what I believe the flesh or self-consists of. Based on Romans 6:6, the sin nature, not the human nature (soul, flesh) is crucified. The body of sin (old nature, old man) has become inoperative. This happens at the moment of the new birth as the Holy Spirit comes to indwell the human spirit and the new nature is born from above. Man is now, in effect, what God had planned for him to be in the Garden of Eden. Man's spirit is once more alive to God and God indwells him.

The problem that remains however is the flesh, (soul). God created man in a unique way. Each man has his own personality or soul. God intended for it to be like that. If Adam had chosen the tree of life in the Garden he would have still had a soul or personality. The soul would still have had all of its functions of mind, will, desires, affections, feelings, and body. God does not want to destroy the soul only the sin nature, the problem is that the soul or flesh had been infected by the sin nature before the new birth. It still carries many of the passions, prejudices, and lusts that it knew formerly. It also carries good moral things that are not under control of the spirit. Jesus stated in John 3:6"That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit."

The flesh remains even though the sin nature is crucified. Paul, in Romans chapter 7, ran into the flesh. He thought that after he had discovered that the sin nature to be crucified, that everything was going to be great. This is when he realized the flesh had also been tainted by sin. He uses the terms "I" and "flesh" often in the Chapter.

The flesh, soul, self, is where the battle takes place, in the mind with its carnal thoughts, in the emotion with its wrong desires, affections and feelings. The battle is not in the sin nature but in the flesh. The Christian spends much time trying to deal with the sin nature. Jesus already did that at the cross. The flesh can be brought under the subjection of the spirit, which is its rightful place. How? It is done by an act of the will.

Galatians 5:17" tells us, "for the flesh lustiest against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary one to the other..." The flesh formerly had the sin nature to hook up with. Now the sin nature is crucified so the flesh battles with the Spirit. But now, thanks to Jesus, it is two against one. Our new nature plus the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. How can we not have victory? Why will we not have victory? We try to battle the flesh on our own. The flesh must be battled through the power of the Holy Spirit. That is dependence on God. If you recall, not depending on God in the Garden is what brought on the flesh in the first place.

In conclusion, Paul goes on to talk about the flesh in Romans chapter 8 and how it can be overcome in the Spirit. That will be dealt with as we go on to other lessons.

Key Verses and Statements – Delivered from Self – The Flesh

Romans 7:7" What shall we say then is the law sin? God forbid nay I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shall not covet."

1. The law is not sin.

2. It points to Gods Holiness.

3. It shows me what I must do to be approved.

4. It shows me I am not holy.

5. I lusted – I desired.

6. I coveted – for that which is forbidden.

Discovering Self.

Romans 7:14"For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal (fleshy), sold under sin."

1. Carnal – fleshy, governed by human nature not by the Spirit of God.

2. Sold – a slave under the control of.

The flesh (old man) is made up of two things:

1. Sin and Self.

2. I am of the flesh it dwells in me.

Recognizing the Self's Presence.

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

1. The flesh is brought over from the old life (life before Jesus).

2. As it was in Adam it is in me.

3. It is interwoven in my personality (soul).

It is formed by;

1. The way I was brought up.

2. My environment.

3. What I was exposed to.

4. My genes.

The flesh manifests itself in sin and in self.

1. In Sin - addiction, sexual immorality, drunkenness, etc.

2. In Self – desire, intellect, talents, etc.

3. To live in the flesh – is to do something from my natural strength whether good or bad.

4. To live in the Spirit – I trust in the Spirit to do in me what I cannot do.

5. With each new demand I look to Him to enable me.

Recognizing the need for a Deliverer.

Romans 7:24-25" O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliverer me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord..."

I will look to Jesus not self – effort.

How do I do that?

1. First comes conviction.

2. Next usually comes defeat.

3. Then comes revelation – I cannot.

4. Now comes power – I will not but I know that He can.

The object of Satan

1. To get me to move in my natural energy.

The object of God

1. To get me to rest in and rely on the Spirit.

# [Chapter 9  
Delivered From Self  
The Soul – The Emotion, Mind, and the Will](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

We must now look at the soul of man in greater depth than we did at the beginning of these lessons. You may remember that the soul of man consists of three parts. They are the Emotion, the Mind and the Will. We will first deal with the Emotion, then with the Mind and finally with the Will.

In looking at the emotional part of man I would like to make some statements about the emotion before we go on with the actual lesson. The emotion is the most dangerous part of a believer and yet we make almost all of our decisions based upon what emotion feels, desires or is attached too. We are supposed to make our decisions based upon what the Spirit of God tells us. That is why it is so important not only to see how our emotions work but also to understand how God wants to deal with them.

I would like to make some statements about our emotions to help us get started. There is nothing that can change so rapidly as our emotions. They are also very reactionary. Usually how far up they go when stimulated by one thing is how far down they go when they get to the other side of the situation. An emotional Christian does not require much of a change in circumstances to change him if we cannot let the Spirit deal with and quiet our emotions we will never learn to walk with God. Emotion enters from the outside to disturb our peace with God. Have we all not experienced great regret when we made our decisions based on how we felt? God does not lead the believer who is in turmoil for the believer only can sense his emotions. However we can take emotion to the other extreme and say, well if I am not supposed to live by my feelings then I won't have any. That is also living by emotion if you think it through. God gave us emotions to have and enjoy but they need to be in subjection to the Spirit not soul. The last statement that I want to make is that to be controlled by emotion always leads back to the place where we do not want to be and that is self, back to our feelings, our desires, our affection and our sins.

We need to discuss these three parts of the emotion separately. We will look at feeling first. Turn to Matthew 11:29" take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Jesus said take my yoke upon you and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Is that not what we are looking for, rest for our souls? Do we not all want rest for our souls (our emotion)? Yet, do our feelings not lead us to say, even if all forsake you I will not and then the very next day deny we even knew Jesus three times (Peter). Feeling can become instantly unhappy with God. Here is what usually happens in the life of a Christian. We get saved and God feels very close to us and we think how wonderful to be saved. But we cannot live there my friend, for God requires us to walk by faith especially since Satan can also rouse the emotions. So God withdraws a little of the feeling to begin to teach us to walk by faith. We begin to fret and wonder what happened to God. It is not long before we find fault with what God has ordered for us. Do you not see why God must have us walk by faith? I am very sure that Jesus did not feel like going to the Cross. He went to the cross by faith. Faith follows God while feeling follows self. God is going to bring things into our lives to make us walk by faith. Will you see His hand in all things? Will you not see Him in all trials and sufferings? In yes answers to prayer as well as no answers. A person who does not walk by feelings can lead a truly restful life in Christ.

We now need to look at the part of emotion called desire. Turn to John 12:24-25" Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and that that hated his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." Desire is what Paul ran into in Romans 7. Remember it was not something bad that he desired but something good. If we took those verses in John 12 and put the word desire in place of the word life it would fit very well. If our desires are not brought under the control of the Holy Spirit we are bound to live a miserable life as a Christian. If you keep the desires of this world which are not from God no matter how good they are, how can God lead you? Our many desires create many confused feelings in our mind. We must let God deal with us so that we can discern what is of the Spirit and what is of emotion. Our desire will unite with sin and bring forth sin but it will also unite with self and bring forth self. When we do not wait on God in our spirit to reveal Himself but instead search our emotion and desire we will not follow His will. We will follow what our mind or emotion deems to be spiritual. We then call it God's will. Often the true feeling and desire of our heart is summed up by the thought, I don't care what I do. I just want to do something. I just want something to happen now. A believer ruled by emotion is unable to be hidden according to God's will. If he does become hidden then he is unable to deny himself and if hidden he complains the whole time that he is hidden. Do you have to be seen by others in the thing that you are doing? Our natural desires make us very ambitious. Is it your desire that pushes you on for God or God himself? Is not a desire for spiritual fame as corrupt as a desire for sin? Can you be hidden in Christ? Can you do something just because you love the Lord? A person who is hasty is one who is led by their emotion. God has promised us rest in Him. Are you at rest in the thing you are pursuing? Are you willing to wait on God or does He move much too slowly for you?

A person who is led by emotion can easily recognize themselves if they will but look. They cannot wait on God. If God does tell them His will they will not walk step by step in that will but will either run ahead or fret and lag behind. Even when an emotional Christian knows Gods will they just cannot wait in peace for His time. God will deal with our hastiness by wearing us out. A person who is going to walk by faith cannot afford to be hasty for God delights in our waiting on Him. Oh, how eager desire is to help God for as I have stated before, God moves much too slowly for the desires of an emotional believer.

Let us go back to the book of Romans again just for a moment and look at Romans 7:24" O wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death" Could we not say who will deliver me from this body of desire or feeling or self? Our desire must go into the ground like the corn of wheat in John 12: 24-25, for God wants to destroy our craving for anything but Him. Will you give your desires to Him? Whatever you want for me Lord when you want it? Would it not be wonderful to say I desire Jesus above all things?

Last we come to the part of emotion called affection. Turn to Luke 14: 25-27" and there went great multitudes with Him; and He turned and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot by my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me cannot be my disciple." I know that what we have been discussing is not easy for it cuts to the soul. But my brother, it is the truth. Look at the verse in Luke and see how many people were with Jesus. He turned to the crowd and said those words found in the verses above. If you want to be my disciple you must die to your natural affection. We may say we love Him but where is our affection? Is it tied to someone or something? Was Jesus talking about losing your salvation? Of course not, but He was talking about discipleship for discipleship is preceded by a big "IF". Jesus loved the multitudes but he knew they could not have two equal loves. God must be first in our affections.

Psalm 73:25" whom do I have in heaven but thee? And there is none on earth that I desire beside thee." All of us would say a great Amen, to the first part of that verse which says whom do I have in heaven but thee. What about the second part of the verse? Is there someone or something that you are attached to more than God here on earth? God ask us to love Him totally and utterly follow Him. What if your wife or husband turned their back on the Lord? Would you still follow Jesus? Is your affection contingent on someone or something? All on the altar is the way to power. Today the thing or person that propels us on to love God may cause us to abandon Him tomorrow. I have ask before, is there something in your hand that could separate you from Him. What would it be or who would it be?

We go back to Romans 7:24 one more time, "O wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death or affection or self." Only God can truly satisfy a Christian's heart. If we are sincere in seeking God, He will deprive us until He is the only one left. The person who is free from affection is free indeed. Rest in God is worth more than anything one can imagine. It is rest you are looking for my brother. It is rest you need. It is rest you want, let God have His way with your emotion and you will find rest for your soul.

The second part of the soul is the mind and we need to look at it next. Romans 12:2" And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." The mind is not where we receive Gods will but it is where we understand God's will. If Satan can control the mind he will be able to keep us from understanding what Gods will is. We get a renewed spirit at salvation we do not however get a renewed mind. God tells us that we must be renewing our mind so that the Spirit can guide it. If our mind is not being renewed then we are lopsided, Satan attacks our mind to keep us from sensing the leading of the Spirit. If he can get us to follow our minds and emotions then he will have victory because we will not follow the Spirit.

What is a thought? A thought is something the mind grasps at. Is your mind grasping at something or are endless thoughts grasping at your mind? Thoughts that are not from me must be from the devil or the flesh. Who controls your mind? God intends for you to control your own mind. Many believe today that God wants to control the mind but that is not true. Satan wants to control people and bring them into bondage. God wants us to work in union with Him while in control of our own mind. The mind's purpose is to prove God's will as we see in Romans 12:2. How can I know if something is from God? How do I prove it with my mind? Here are some steps to take. First, always remember that God wants you to control your mind so that you can bring it into contact with the Spirit. Second, God wants you to examine with your mind what you think is given to you in the Spirit. If it is from God then intuition in the Spirit will emit an even more accurate sense of God's will under probing. The Spirit is not afraid to let you examine it, pray about it and meditate upon it. If it is from the flesh, conscience will raise its voice in opposition. Self and Satan are always in a hurry. Whatever is afraid of being probed is from self.

Look at Romans 8:6 "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." What is a carnal mind and how can I tell if I have one? Here are some indications of a carnal or fleshy mind. A mind that is controlled by self is not in subjection to the Spirit. First, there is the improper mind. The improper mind cherishes in the mind what God does not allow. Do you dwell on improper things? Satan can place a thought in the mind but if we control our mind we do not have to dwell on those thoughts. Second is accepting every suggestion that comes into your mind especially about circumstances and the future. Do you take every suggestion that comes into your mind as from God because it agrees with your personality? The trend in the spiritual world today is to let your mind go blank so that God can fill it. This does not agree with God at all. God wants our minds to be active and working in union with Him. Do you let your mind go blank waiting for God to fill it? Do you wait for something to come and move you to do something? Do you wait for flashing thoughts or some external force to move your mind into action? My friend, you are inviting evil spirits to control your mind. You must renew your mind by being in the Word of God. You must be actively cooperating with God, not letting something control your mind. God gave you your mind to bring willingly into cooperation with Him.

The acid test for the mind follows. What flows from God agrees, with God and agrees with the Bible. Will we follow what God tells us or follow the soul?

We will now look at the last part of the soul, the Will. Look at Philippians 2:13" for it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure," We must remember that God gave us a free will. He will only work in us to the readiness we are willing to do His will and to the readiness we are willing to do His work. He then leaves us to make a decision with our Will. That is freedom. God refuses to will in place for us. Satan on the other hand wants to grab our Wills and bring us into bondage to him. How deceived so many are today who think that God is leading them when actually they are being brought more and more under the control of evil spirits. God wants man's will brought into union with Him. God's Spirit always asks man for cooperation not bondage. Remember God reveals His will to us in the intuition of the spirit. He will not think though our minds, feel through our emotions or decide through our Wills. Many think that to be spiritual is to have God think, feel and decide for them. That is not freedom that is bondage. Our attitude is to submit to God's will, however, our practice of God's will should only follow after we are sure it is God's will. Obey in will only after being assured of the source. Once we are sure it is God's will we must bring our soul and spirit in to cooperation with God's Holy Spirit; and be employed with all the power God gives to do His will.

Matthew 26:39" And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt." To follow God, the will must walk by faith. All of our feelings must be denied. All wrong thoughts and desires ignored. All affection that is above our God forsaken. Faith moves by the will and the will moves by faith. We must pray to arrive at the place where Jesus arrived at. Where we will do God's will even if it goes against our souls?

Key Verses and Statements – Delivered from Self – Mind, Emotion, Will

Emotion – friend or enemy?

Nothing changes so rapidly.

1. It is reactionary – how far up it goes is how far down it comes.

2. An emotional Christian requires little change in circumstances to change them greatly.

3. If we do not learn to deny emotion we will not learn to walk by the Spirit.

4. Emotion enters from the outside.

5. Emotion is emotion whether happy or sad.

6. Deeds done under emotion produce much regret.

7. God does not lead those who are in turmoil.

8. We must decide when emotion is controlling.

9. Gods emotion is always under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

10. To be controlled by emotion always leads back to self.

Emotion is made up of three parts.

Feeling

Matthew 11:29" Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Those who seek not their own pleasure but become satisfied with what God gives become truly satisfied.

A life of feeling finds fault with Gods arrangement.

Dangers in the life of feeling.

1. We feel close to God.

2. God withdraws to make us walk by faith.

3. We began to feel that God has left us.

4. Feeling is part of the soul not the spirit.

God wants us to follow His will not our feeling.

Faith follows God – feeling follows self.

Will you discern divine arrangement?

1. In all trials and suffering.

2. In yes answers to prayer and no answers to prayer.

Desire

John 12:23-25" Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."

Our many desires create confusion in our soul.

Desire unites with sin and brings forth sin.

Desire unites with self and brings forth self.

An emotional believer is unable to be hidden according to Gods will.

1. A desire for spiritual fame is as corrupt as a desire for sin.

2. A desire for haste is a sign of an emotional believer.

Am I at rest in what I am pursuing?

One controlled by desire.

1. Does not know how to wait on God

2. Know His will.

3. Follow step by step in His will.

4. God will wear us out to stop our hastiness.

He who walks by faith cannot be hasty.

1. God delights in our waiting on Him.

How eager desire to help God.

1. God moves much too slowly.

Affection

Luke 14: 25-27 " And there went great multitudes with Him, and He turned and said unto them, if any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me cannot be my disciple."

We say that we love Him but where is our affection.

1. For someone

2. For something

Psalm 73:25 "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee."

The thing or person that propels us to love God today may cause us to abandon Him tomorrow.

Only God can satisfy a Christian's heart.

1. Are we sincere in seeking Him?

2. Then He will wear us out until He is the only one left.

3. Is your Isaac on the Altar?

**Affection – that which is attached to someone or something more than it is to God.  
**

The Mind.

Romans 12:2" And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

If the Christian does not continually renewed his mind he is lopsided.

Satan attacks the mind.

To keep faith from working.

Thoughts:

1. Thoughts not from me must be from Satan or my flesh.

2. A thought is something the mind grasps at.

3. Is your mind grasping at something?

4. Are endless thoughts grasping at your mind?

Who is controlling your mind?

1. God intends for us to control our minds.

What is the proper use of the mind in finding Gods will?

1. Gods will is for us to cooperate actively with Him.

2. Intuition knows Gods will.

3. The mind proves Gods will.

Is it from God?

1. Intuition will emit an even more accurate sense of Gods will under probing.

2. If it is fleshy conscience will raise it voice in opposition.

3. Whatever is afraid of being probed and examined is from self.

Christians need to know Gods will.

God intends for us to know His will (Ephesians 7:17).

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

Symptoms of a Carnal Mind.

1. Improper Mind – cherishing in the mind what God does not allow.

2. Accepting Suggestions – especially about circumstances and the future.

3. Blank Mind – waiting for God to fill it. A blank mind means not using it.

4. Passive Mind – waiting for something to move it.

What flows from God?

1. Agrees with the Bible.

2. Agrees with the Spirit.

The Will

Philippians 2:13" For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

God works in us to the readiness that we are willing to do His will.

God refuses to will in our place.

Law of Satan – grabs man's will and brings it into bondage.

Law of God – wants man's will brought into cooperation with Him.

God reveals His will in man's intuition.

God will not think through our minds.

Feel through our emotions.

Our attitude is to submit to God's will.

Our practice – obey only after we are sure it is God's will.

Matthew 26:39 " And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will but as thou will."

The will must walk by faith.

All feelings denied.

All self-desires ignored.

All affection forsaken.

The will moves by faith.

# [Chapter 10  
Deliverance from Self - The Spirit of Man](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

Let us now talk about the spirit of man. We are not talking about the Holy Spirit but our spirit. We stated earlier that the spirit of man is made up of three parts, Intuition, Communion, and Conscience. We will discuss the Intuition first.

Mark 2:8" And immediately when Jesus perceived (knew) in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves He said unto them....." The intuition is the part of the spirit where God reveals His will. This spiritual sensing in a person is called intuition. It acts without the aid of thought, emotion, or will. It acts directly without reason or cause or without passing through any process. It works like this. God reveals His will to the Holy Spirit who resides in our spirit. The Holy Spirit then reveals Gods will to our spirit. Then with our mind we examine and prove that this is from the spirit. This process takes place in our intuition. It can happen in a moment. Have you not ever been somewhere and God told you to witness to someone? The place did not seem to be the right place. If you sat and figured it out with your mind you would have never done it. But you went ahead and witnessed and the person got saved. You just knew it was Gods will for you to do that. Our ordinary sensing is brought about by people, things and events. There are times when the intuition will oppose all emotion tells it. If men had not followed what God had told them in their spirits but rather sat down and figured it all out many great works would have never been started for God. As a matter of fact, I doubt that the Gospel would have been preached because of all the opposition against it.

Let me give you an example of intuition at work. I knew a young lady who was having a very difficult time of things. She wanted to serve the Lord and yet everything seemed to be working against her. It came to my attention that she had very little food in her house. God spoke to me about this matter. He spoke to me while I was having my devotions in that private little place that we all should have. Of course my first reaction was to go and give her some money for food or go out and buy her some. I knew that was the thing to do and yet it seemed that I was not able to take that step. Something kept telling me not yet. Then on a Sunday morning after church God seemed to give the go ahead. I went and got her some food and went over to her apartment. Sure enough her cupboards were bare. I went away rejoicing that God was able to use me. It was not until the next week that I discovered why God would not let me buy food for her at an earlier time. The young lady told me that the night before I had gotten the food she had been up until three in the morning praying for God to supply her needs. At three in the morning she said that God gave her peace, the peace that she needed. He told her that He would supply her needs. She then went to bed and fell asleep. Had I used common sense and got her the food and paid no attention to that leading in the spirit she would not to have gotten to know this great God of ours a little better. To perform Gods will we must heed the leading of intuition. We must learn to follow the Holy Spirit in our spirit. Every believer has the Holy Spirit dwelling in His spirit. God desires to teach us. No matter how smart or how dull one is God promises to lead us if we will just seek Him. Look at the promises God gives in I John 2:27" But the anointing which ye have received of Him abides in you and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, ye shall abide in Him." You say how will I know? God will teach you, is all I can tell you. It is the living God dealing with His children. Is He alive to you? Does He teach you? If not then seek Him for He promises to do so.

God has two basic ways of guiding the Christians. The first is direct revelation. God draws near to the believer's spirit and reveals what He would have the believer do. The other way is seeking revelation where the believer has a special need and seeks Gods answer. The biggest danger for the Christian comes from the soul because we will not wait for God to answer even though He promises to do so. We seem many times to pray and then as soon as we get off our knees we go and try to figure out the answer in our mind or let our emotions lead us. We never give God the chance to answer and lead. Instead of waiting for more instructions we take off on a course of our own leaving the Lord far behind. We must get to the place where we are willing to learn and wait on God. Walking after the Spirit is a lifetime occupation. I will close this part on the intuition with a couple of steps that we can take discerning Gods leading in a matter. First, we must get ourselves into the place where we can say, Lord if you do not want this for me then I am willing to give it up. This is not an easy place to get ourselves into but we must be sure that our wills are in this position. Second, we must be able to say, Lord, I am willing to wait until you do answer. This also is not easy to do. Third, Lord, I will proceed no further in the matter than you have given guidance. Fourth, what we are doing must agree with the Word of God. Fifth, we must spend time in prayer and reflection about the matter. Sixth, sometimes we must seek out spiritual brothers to talk to. Let me warn you however that no one can tell you what Gods will is for you. You must get in the habit of seeking God for yourself. Time would not permit me to tell of all the answers to prayer that God has given. I would suggest that you read the life of George Muller.

We now move on to communion with God. 1 Corinthians 2: 9 – 3:2 "But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, and the deep things of God. For what man...." If we cannot know what God has for us would it not make sense to try to get to know Him? Most people try to get to know God based on what their Pastor and Sunday school teacher tell them. Neither our heart nor minds can discern Gods will, promises or love that He has for us, only the spirit can while we are in communion with Him. The Holy Spirit searches the things of God and reveals them to our spirits. There are many in this world who may have a great deal of knowledge about the Bible and yet still do not know God. We can all acquire much knowledge but the spirit acquires much of God for us. You say that you know Him and yet you do not fellowship with Him. Something is wrong if that is true. All matters pertaining to God such as seeking His will, obeying Him, proclaiming His message must arise out of fellowship (communion) with Him.

We turn our attention last to the conscience. Romans 9:1" I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost." Our conscience is where God expresses His holiness. The Spirit cannot speak if our conscience is not clear before God, Hebrews 9:14 " How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Our conscience will become uneasy when going against God. When our conscience speaks we must listen to it. The intuition cannot work if the conscience is not clear. When our conscience speaks to us we must not argue with it for it does not reason. Conscience only tells us right and wrong. If we do not heed it, it will become weak. The steps to take when conscience convicts are as follows. First, stop what you are doing. Second, confess it as sin. Third, repent of it and ask God to cleanse you from the thing. Fourth, claim the blood of Christ. The conscience opens the way to the soul. Remember we cannot be someone else's conscience as we are not in the same place spiritually as they are. Our conscience will lead us to a closer walk with Jesus and a more Holy life. An unbeliever's conscience can do nothing but condemn them for it has no power to lead to God. When Adam ate the fruit intuition died to God, communion with God died but the conscience, the power to know good and evil increased. Innocence was lost. An unbeliever's conscience only adds to his anguish. We must be careful to keep our conscience clear because it can also lead to emotional problems in the Christian if not cleansed.

Key Verses and Statements – Walking in the Spirit – Our Spirit

Intuition

Mark 2:8" And immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned with themselves He said unto them..."

Spiritual sensing is called intuition.

1. It acts without reason or cause.

2. Without passing through any procedure.

3. It comes forth in a straight manner.

Our ordinary sensing is brought about by;

1. People

2. Circumstances

3. Events

Intuition at work.

At times it will oppose the will, emotion, and mind.

At time it urges us to do something that we would not normally do.

To perform Gods will we must heed the leading of the Spirit.

Every believer has the Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit desires to teach the believer.

1 John 2:27" But the anointing which ye have received of Him abides in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him."

No matter how smart or dull one is God promises to lead if you will just seek Him.

Gods way of guiding – two kinds of revelation.

1. Direct – God draws nigh to a believer's spirit and speaks to him.

2 Seeking – the believer has a special need and seeks Gods answer.

The Danger

Not waiting on God to answer but following our own emotion and desire.

To learn to walk after the Holy Spirit takes a lifetime.

Communion

1 Corinthians 2:9 -3:2" But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them, unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God..."

Man's heart cannot envision what God has for him.

The Holy Spirit searches the things of God.

1. We cannot depend upon our soul.

2. The Holy Spirit reveals them to our spirit.

The cleverest brain fails to know Gods mind and heart.

1. Man can acquire much knowledge.

2. The Spirit can acquire much of God.

All matters pertaining to God such as seeking His will, obeying Him proclaiming His message must arise out of fellowship with Him.

Conscience

Romans 9:1" I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost."

Conscience is where God expresses His Holiness.

A believer's conscience.

1. Makes us uneasy when going against the Holy Spirit.

2. In order to commune with God our conscience must be clear.

Hebrews 9:14" How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God , cleanse you conscience from dead works to serve the living God.?

Intuition works when the conscience is clear.

What to do when conscience speaks;

1. Do not argue with it.

2. Do not reason with it.

3. Conscience does not reason it speaks for God.

The steps to take.

1. Stop it.

2. Confess it.

3. Repent of it.

4. Claim the blood of Christ over it.

Conscience is the window to the believer's soul.

An unbeliever's conscience.

1. Can do nothing but condemn.

2. It has no power to lead to God.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed.

1. Intuition died.

2. Communion died.

3. Conscience the power to know good and evil increased. Innocence was lost.

An unbeliever's conscience only adds to the anguish of the sinner.

# [Chapter 11  
Walking after the Holy Spirit](tmp_d84149696974ecdb70085b65891085e7_Qhsfn8.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_000.html#ref_toc)

We have covered much ground in our previous discussions. We have come to our last one. We need to discuss walking after the Holy Spirit. It is not as hard as we think if we will follow some basic principles. You do not have to be a Christian for 20 years to walk after the Spirit because God deals with us where we are. As a matter of fact, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians stated, that he was shocked that they were still waking in the flesh and they had only been saved a short time.

Let's look at Romans 8:1" There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." We have learned much about the Intuition, Conscience and Communion. We also know much about the Soul and its functions of Mind, Emotion and Will. We must now learn to check our spirit; to see what condition it is in. We already know that the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit and that is where He reveals His will to us. Our spirits must be in proper working condition for God to have communion with us. There are four conditions that our spirits can be in. We need to know what those conditions are. The first condition the spirit can be in is defiled. The spirit can become defiled by sin. The cure is simple. I John 1:9" tells us that if we will confess our sins He is just to forgive us. If we have become defiled in our spirits because of sin we need to go to the Lord and make things right.

The second condition that the spirit can be in is under compulsion to act or to be hasty. The remedy for that is found in Psalm 62:1" Truly my soul waits upon God; from Him comes my salvation." And Psalm 130:5" I wait for the Lord: my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope" Wait on the Lord, bring your soul in to subjection to the Spirit and wait on God for direction. Whatever is affecting you, search it out, examine it, and see if it is from God. If there is doubt then don't.

The third condition that the spirit can be in is to be oppressed. The spirit can be oppressed by Satan. Oppression usually starts in the mind. How do we get out of it? Go back and see if there was someplace you failed to cooperate with God. Have we let improper thoughts or suggestions get a foothold in our mind, thus opening the way for the spirit to be oppressed. If you have failed to cooperate with God or have let improper thoughts get in then pray about it, sometimes even praying out loud. I Thessalonians 5:17" tells us to pray without ceasing while Philippians 4:6 tells us to be careful for nothing but to pray. The way out of oppression by Satan is by prayer.

The spirits rightful position is always calm, firm, free and floating. Our emotions stable, our thoughts controlled and willing to follow God. If we maintain our spirits in this condition we will soon be walking with God.

Romans Chapter 8 speaks much of walking after the Spirit. Let's look at Romans 8:2" For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of the spirit of sin and death." What in the world is Paul talking about? What is the law of the Spirit of life and the law of sin and death? What does all that mean? Let's start by asking what is a law? A law is something that happens over and over again in the same way with the same result. A law puts some kind restriction on something else. For instance look at the law of sin and death. It is opposed to all that is God whether we think that something is good or bad. If God says go it wants to wait. If He says wait it will tell you to go. Paul in Romans 7 came face to face with this law. He found that when he wanted to do good that the law (self) was there with him. He asked the question, who will deliver me from this body of sin and death? We sin because sin or self exists in us. Remember we said that the flesh was ingrained in us. We want to be different but we cannot seem to change for nothing can overcome this law of sin and death because it lives in this body of death, it lives in the flesh, it lives in self. For just a moment let us turn our attention back to Romans 6. Paul stated in that Chapter that the old man was crucified that the body of sin might be destroyed. Here is the difference? In Romans 6 he talks about the body of sin being destroyed or crucified and it was. There was nothing that could overcome this body of sin (old nature) but the cross. In Romans 7 he talks about the body of death. There is nothing that can overcome this body of death but the Holy Spirit of life which now dwells in us. Paul states that there is a law of sin and death in us and that the Spirit of life can overcome it. Simply put, this law of sin and death is going to continually pull us down into sin and self if we do not learn how he Spirit of life can overcome it.

Before we go on with the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus let us look at a couple of things. Do you not exert much will power in trying to be good? Is this not a tiring experience? How good can you be? Will you ever be good enough? You are trying to overcome the law of sin and death. If you become so tired from all of this exertion and effort does this not say that you are not really like what you are trying so hard to be? Have you ever watched a person who is a natural musician or athlete versus a person who is not? There is a vast difference in the two. The one who is the natural just seems to glide smoothly through all they are doing while the one's who are not natural's seem to be stiff and mechanical.

Do you not often work yourself up to resist those things which seem to defeat you? Do you often fail after you have put so much effort forth? My brother, there are no natural Christians. We drive ourselves to the point of exhaustion or apathy to prove we are not really natural Christians. Then the law of sin and death has its way with us once more. Why do we exert all of this willpower? Do we do this to please others? Do we do it out of a sense of guilt or do we think that by all of this self-effort we might please God?

Before we talk about the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus let's talk about one more law. It is a law that we are all familiar with. It is the law of gravity. The law of gravity never changes and nothing can overcome it. If we drop something no matter how light or how heavy the law of gravity takes effect and whatever we drop falls to the ground. How can we overcome the law of gravity? We cannot do away with it but we can introduce a greater law. When we drop the thing we simply put our hand out to catch it and we overcome the law of gravity. As long as our hand is there the law of gravity is no longer in effect.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is a greater law than the law of sin and death. Of course this law is based on grace doing what I cannot do. How does the law of the Spirit of life work?

Look at Romans 8:3-4" For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. Who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit?" In this verse what could the law not do? It could not overcome the law of sin and death. Why? Was it because the law was weak? No! Why? Not because the law is wrong but because the only way I could overcome it was through the flesh or self-effort. So God did something greater. He sent Jesus to overcome this law. How? He put the Holy Spirit in me. I want to ask you a question that should sound very familiar by now. What did you do to get all this? All I did was to be born a sinner and God sent Jesus because He loved me. He sent Jesus to do what I could not do. What should you do? Will you believe God if He tells you?

Stop trying and start trusting. Believe that God wants to do in you what you cannot do in yourself. My friend, it is so simple and yet it is the difference between torture and bliss. God has done it all from beginning to end. Bring your emotions to the Spirit. Renew you mind everyday with the Word of God. Control your thoughts by yielding to Jesus. Set your will to seek God. You must come to the place where you see what Jesus has done for you and quit trying to do it yourself. What will happen if you do?

Romans 8:6" For to be carnally (fleshy) minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." You will begin to experience the life of Christ in your life. You will begin to experience the peace of God. You will begin to know what it is to rest in Jesus and will be amazed as He overcomes in you things you thought impossible. Is that not why we got saved to find rest and peace? Instead of dreading devotions you will look forward to them. Your service will become joy. You will want to come to church instead of looking for excuses to stay home. Most of all you will just fall in love with Jesus. God offers us a choice. What do we want? I want Christ.

Romans 8:9 starts like this "but you are not in the flesh....." The moment you got saved God put you in the Spirit. You know now what He has done to keep you there. It is only your soul, your will that keeps you from this blessed walk with God. In conclusion let me say this. If you will follow the above principles you will find yourself walking in the Spirit and not being aware of it. Those who walk with God are often not aware of it for they are too busy praising Him but others know it for they sense Christ in that person and after all isn't that what we desire. If we do not have a continual feast at Gods table whose fault is it?

We now come back to the place where we first started, "That I may know Him.... Those four words uttered by Paul and the four words God answered back "for God so loved....." We must seek to know our God.

Key Verses and Statements – Walking After the Holy Spirit

Walking After the Spirit – Guidance

Romans 8:1" There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

The four conditions of the spirit of man

1. The spirit is defiled by sin.

Remedy – 1 John 1:9" if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

2. The spirit is under compulsion to act.

Remedy – Psalm62:1" Truly my soul waits upon God: from Him comes my salvation."

3. The spirit is oppressed – by things, people, Satan.

Remedy – Philippians 4:6-7" Be anxious for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus."

4. The spirit's rightful position- calm and free

Isaiah 26:3" Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind (thoughts) is stayed (fixed) on thee: because he trust in you."

Law of the Holy Spirit

Romans 8:2" For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

What is a law?

1. It happens over and over again.

2. It can be brought on by different circumstances.

3. It always results in the same thing.

4. Examples – worry, fretting, lying, self-ambition, etc.

The Law of Sin and Death.

1. It is opposed to all that comes from God.

2. It cripples our will to follow God.

3. We sin because of sin in our members.

4. We want to follow God but we cannot change.

5. Nothing human can overcome it.

The plight of most Christians.

1. We expend much effort in just trying to be good.

2. Many drive themselves to the point of exhaustion.

3. They come to believe that they cannot be different.

If we have to exert that much effort are we really like what we are trying to be like?

1. Will power is exerted to be what we are not naturally.

2. There are no natural Christians.

The Law of Gravity.

1. It is a law.

2. It never changes.

3. Nothing can overcome it.

4. Unless a greater law is introduced.

The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.

1. It overcomes the law of sin and death.

How?

1. The grace and power of the Holy Spirit.

How does it work?

Romans 8:3-4" For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after flesh but after the Spirit."

The law of the Spirit of life is more powerful than the law of sin and death as grace is more powerful than sin.

What should I do?

1. Stop trying and start trusting.

2. Believe that God wants to do in you what you cannot.

3. Emotions yielded to God.

4. Mind should be renewed and controlled. Devotions a must.

5. Will set to seek God.

What will happen?

You will begin to experience Romans 8:6" For to be carnally (fleshy) minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

1. The Bible will become precious.

2. Prayer will become alive.

3. Communion will take place all day long.

4. Rest and peace will become normal.

God offers us a choice.

It all comes back to where we started – Free Will.

The choice is yours.

Romans 8:9" But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you..."

The End
