Faith
Ephesians 2:1,4-5 “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:”
4-But God who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us, 5-Even when we were dead in sins hath quickened (made us alive) us together with Christ (the Anointed One), [by grace are you saved]:”
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THINGS YOUR MIND DOESN’T KNOW:
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I want to make this statement that there are things your spirit knows that your mind doesn’t have a clue about yet. But through revelation of the Word of God by the Holy Spirit, your mind will eventually catch up with what your spirit-man knows. Your spirit, that is directly connected to God, the Father through the blood of Jesus, has been quickened and made ALIVE unto God. Jesus is the connector to God, the Father. He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me.” And the Holy Spirit makes it a real possibility as He works with the Word (Jesus is the living Word).
Your soul, which is connected to your spirit, is made up of your mind, will and emotions. And at the moment of rebirth, your spirit became reborn but your mind didn’t get saved. It’s still predominantly in darkness to the truth of God’s Word. And I want you to understand this, when you pass from this life and pass over into eternity, your spirit and soul will not be separated. Your spirit and soul will either go to heaven or hell together, depending on the choice you make while you’re still here on this earth. Depending on whether you choose to make Jesus Christ the Lord or your life. Or whether your choice is to reject Him and choose to let Satan be your lord. But when your time comes to pass into eternity, you will have your mind, will and emotions intact.
In the book of Revelation, it tells us that there will be no more tears in heaven some day. Tears come out of your emotions. In the 16th chapter of Luke, it talks about the rich man and Lazareth, the beggar. When the beggar died, the angels carried him to Abraham’s bosom. When the rich man died, he was buried, Luke 16:22 says. The rich man went to hell, and the Bible says, the flames tormented him. He was miserable. Misery comes from your emotions. He remembered Lazareth and his brother’s left on earth. He wanted them to be warned so they wouldn’t come to the place of torment where he was. His brain had been buried with his body on earth. But from out of his soul and from the memory bank of his mind, he remembered. He had his memory.
In heaven, you will also have your mind, will and emotions, but your will there will be in perfect submission to God. It will be in perfect unity with all of heaven. In hell, you’ll also have your will but there will be nothing you can do with it. It won’t get you out of hell and that's torture. That's hell. Being eternally separated from God will be pure hell and though you may will it, you’ll never be able to change this eternal judgment for the choice you made by rejecting God’s gift of salvation through Jesus. So, all tears will be wiped away in heaven. I believe this is not only the tears of the saints, but the tears of Jesus as well, when people by the multitudes will be swept into hell because they rejected Jesus and the free gift of salvation.
I believe the day the Bible speaks of concerning the wiping away of all tears is when Jesus splits the Eastern sky and comes back to this earth again to gather up the Church to meet Him in the air. It’s during this time that I believe Jesus will wipe away all tears, including His own. And at that time, we will enter into the joy of the Lord forever. There is joy in heaven now, but I believe on that day of the catching away of the Church, the heavens will ring out with a celebration of joy like never before. It’s this celebratory joy, after the catching away, that I believe we will enter into for all eternity to be with Jesus Christ, our Lord and King.
Meanwhile, we have much to do here on this earth, such as allowing the Holy Spirit free reign to get us ready for the second coming of Jesus. There is much preaching of the gospel---that is, the good news to the poor to be done yet. There is binding up the broken-hearted, and setting the captives free, bringing in the harvest of souls to the Kingdom of God--snatching some right out of the fire. So, let us all get busy doing what we see the Father doing and saying what we hear the Father saying.
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YOUR SPIRIT-MAN KNOWS:
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In speaking of our spirit, our soul and body---your spirit, if you’ve been born again, is in tune with the Spirit of God and with heaven. Our minds are still in much darkness about what our spirit-man knows. Lets look at this from the Word in 1 Cor.14:14 (read). Paul has been talking about the gifts of the Spirit and here, he’s particularly talking about praying in tongues. This occurs after you’ve been baptized in the Holy Ghost like the 120 in the upper room were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues. But praying in tongues is an ‘unknown’ tongue to the natural man.
Paul tells us that when he prays in tongues, his ‘spirit’ is praying but his understanding is unfruitful. His natural mind doesn’t know and understand what his spirit is speaking directly to God, through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, God will automatically reveal to you what you just prayed in tongues. Other times, you have to pray and ask Him to enlighten your mind. You have to pray and ask Him to make your mind fruitful so you can have understanding of what your spirit was praying. While other times, God will let you know that what He had inspired you to pray about in tongues, you have no need to know the details lest you get in the way of God moving in some certain situation. Can you begin to see this now?
But eventually, if we’re diligent to seek God and His wisdom, our minds will catch up with our spirits. There will be times when we least expect it that revelation knowledge will come up out of our spirits, by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit and speak to us. Now listen, this revelation knowledge won’t come to you apart from God’s Word. But it will be based on what you’ve already stored of the Logos Word in your ‘spirit.’ Remember that the Holy Spirit doesn’t work independantly of the Word of God, but rather, He works with the Word.
So, in looking at our spirit-man again and what it knows, it knows that you’re born again because Romans 8:16 (read) says that ‘the Spirit (now notice this) bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.’ He didn’t say anything about the Spirit bearing witness with our mind, did he? Our minds only know this information on an intellectual level in the beginning. This is because your mind is still in the habit of thinking more carnally than spiritually. This is why, YOU, as a spirit, you have to learn and remind yourself NOT to think about certain things anymore that are contrary to God‘s Word.
Things such as keeping your mind fixed on problems and worrying about how you’re going to fix them. Thats your first mistake---YOU can’t fix the problems. If you could have, you wouldn’t have any problems now. Isn’t that true? This is where you have to quit allowing your mind to run out of control with fear, doubt and unbelief and cast your care over onto Jesus, because He cares for you. HE’S the one who can handle the problems. Besides, from 2 Tim.1:7, He said, He hasn’t given you a spirit of fear but of power, and of love and of a sound mind. And from the Greek text, that literally means, that you’ve been given self-control and self-discipline, which is a fruit of the Spirit. All the negatives that go crosswise of this comes because your mind hasn’t yet been renewed to the Word of God.
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THE STRUGGLE WITHIN:
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Since a persons soul doesn’t get saved at the moment of new birth, the reborn spirit of a man and the carnal mind are at constant enmity with each other. (read) Romans 8:5-7 says, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6-For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace 8-Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Why is this so, that the reborn spirit-man and the mind are at enmity? Because the Holy Spirit Himself is in residence in your human spirit, and you’re now spiritually alive. You’re no longer dead in trespasses and sins. You’re more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s thoughts and His ways, according to God’s Word.
Look at what Romans 8:14 says, “For as many who are led of the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” And because the Holy Spirit, as our Helper is in residence, your reborn spirit now has the power to rise up and let your unsaved, unrenewed mind know to shut-up those wrong thoughts. Those thoughts of criticism and judgment against Sister Yo-Yo at the church who doesn‘t wear the kind of clothes you think is appropriate for a ‘Christian‘ to wear.
Thats really not your business if she’s dressing modestly before God, despite the fact that her dresses don’t come down to her ankles like your’s. And if she is dressing unappropriately, then to go to God and pray for her eyes to be opened so she can see for herself and make the necessary adjustments. Amen? Its the truth! We’ve got to stop majoring on the minor’s and set our hearts and minds to seek the Kingdom of God first and His righteousness. God’s smart enough to look after His own children without any of our unsolicited help. Amen! Amen, you know I’m telling you the truth.
The Holy Spirit on the inside of you will let you know through the purging of your conscience that these sinful thoughts of judgement and criticism about one of His children grieves Him at His heart. And because it is, its being rejected and this is where you‘re going to know it from within your own spirit. When this happens, and He brings His gentle conviction to let you know you need to repent, you’ll do one of thwo things, # 1, you’ll either acknowledge His truth and act accordingly by repenting. Or # 2, you will choose to ignore His gracious permission to repent and allow your mind to bring justification to soothe over your conscience. Only the blood of Jesus Christ has the power to justify any of us. And we’ve already been justified--cleared of the guilt of sin by His finished work on the cross. Praise God!
Now, if you’re a strong-willed person---otherwise known as being ’stubborn as a mule,' you’ll fight to maintain the level of control you’ve operated in before you were born again. Many people think that their fight for control is between themselves and the other person---persons whom they believe are opposing them. They believe the struggle to be outside of themselves, when the real truth is, it is within yourself, between your spirit-man and your soul---your mind, will and emotions. It is a struggle between you and God. Others close to you just get caught in the middle of that struggle with God. Plus, they’re in their own struggle on some level. It’s easy to come to that conclusion. We’d rather think that the struggle for control is with those people you can see, instead of with God, whom you can’t see.
Our spirit-man has been reborn by the blood of Jesus, through God’s Word and by the Holy Spirit working with the Word. The Holy Spirit quickened our spiritually dead spirits and made us ALIVE unto God. Our spirits were supernaturally hooked up to the Spirit of God, and we became aware of the eternal God, Who’s come to live in our human spirits. We are then supernaturally and eternally connected to the life-support of God by His grace.
Because your soul didn’t get saved at rebirth, this is why the Bible speaks of the soul needing to be converted. This is where Romans 12:2 comes in at. “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” We’re transformed by the Word to the place where our spirit-man and our mind, will and emotions comes into agreement together on the Word of God.
Jesus said, a house divided against itself won’t be able to stand and prosper, isn’t that true? Doesn’t the Bible say we’re the temple---the ‘house’ of God? Yes, it does. So, its important that we listen attentivelyly to the Word’s of Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into its truth so we can be transformed. And because of this transformation by the Word and coming into agreement with it, we’re continually being changed from glory to glory. Hallelujah!
Because I believe this is so important, let me say it again, it’s not enough to have unity with the brethren and unity with the Spirit of God unless we’re allowing Him to bring us to a place of unity within ourselves first. And that comes by the renewing of your mind to God’s Word. It has to begin internally first before it can be truly shown externally. This comes by our faith, which ultimately comes because of the Word that we’ve spent time reading, praying over and meditating on. Amen!
So, what am I saying? I’m saying that we’ve got to come to the place where we learn to submit our will to God’s will and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in our destiny---to help establish God’s Kingdom here on this earth. And often, we don’t realize just how much we really are being led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, He’s the Spirit of Truth, and He would lead us into ALL truth, both practical and spiritual. And step by painful step sometimes, He is leading us into God’s revelation of His Word. And because of that, He works WITH the Word to transform us into being who God says we really are in Christ (the Anointed) Jesus, and in His Anointing. And that's our ultimate goal---to come to the place where we act just like Christ. Amen? Praise the Lord!
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TAKING BACK CONTROL:
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So, where do we begin once we’ve been born again? We begin by diligently feeding our spirit’s the Word of God. We need this spiritual food so our faith can rise to new levels. We need the Word, by which faith comes so we can become rooted and grounded. Established and strong in faith. As the truth is revealed to us, and faith is rising, we can then begin taking back dominion to rule over our soul and body in accordance with God’s Word. Even as God told Adam and Eve to have dominion and rule over the works of His hands, don’t forget that the first couple was also a work of God’s hands. Therefore, they would need to exercise dominion over their soul--their mind, will and emotions. They would need to guard their spirits just as we have to because out of it flow the “issues of life.”
Then Satan brought sin into the garden and man’s spiritual system malfunctioned. Up until then, Adam and Eve lived out of their spirits. They were the “just living by faith---by the Word of God” (Gal.3:11). They were alive with the Zoë life of God. And this is where we strive to come to again, being “the just living by faith---by the Word of God.” Living out of our spirit’s instead of out of our soul entirely. The spirit and soul of man was designed of God to work in unison together, being vitally connected to the Zoë life of God.
Adam and Eve knew God, not just from their intellect, but they communed with Him from out of their spirits. Every part of them, spirit, soul and body was in harmony with God. But ever since sin contaminated the world, man has tried to know God from out of his mind---by mere head knowledge. That is a part of it but head knowledge alone is useless until the Holy Spirit breathes on it and cause it to live in us.
When you get the Holy Spirit involved with the head knowledge you’ve learned from God’s Word, and He breathes fire upon it, then you’ve got a living and powerful thing when it’s released by faith. I mean, the rocket has shot off the launching pad---the limits are off and all things are possible to him who believes! Praise the Lord! Amen. This is what effects real change in the hearts of men and women who need to be lifted out of the rut of being carnally minded. Allowing their soul to have rule over their spirit-man.
And most people have been in the habit of living out of their soul before they were born again, never giving their spirit-man too much thought. We didn’t know any other way to live. But when your spirit has been made alive---been saved by the grace of God, change begins right then through the transforming power of the Word. And as you go deeper into God’s Word, there will come a time when you, as a spirit being---you’re going to wake up one day to the truth that you’re created in the image of God and made in His likeness. And you were given dominion to rule over the enemy and whatever pertains to your world.
When this happens, your spirit-man will want to take back this God-given dominion. But look out, your soul will rise up also to argue with that. “No way, Jack! I’m not giving up my control!” Well now, you’ve got a challenge on your hands but if you’ve been consistant to become rooted and grounded in God’s love and His Word---if you’re strong in faith, then you’ve got something solid to stand on in the matter. But if you’ve not been diligent to hide God’s Word in your heart, then it’ll be real easy to wimp out and say, “Well, okay. I guess you can keep control.” Thus, we have round one with your soul out front in the lead.
Listen to this, when you’re a new Christian in Christ Jesus, your unsaved mind don’t give two-hoots and a holler about being lined up and in harmony with God’s will. Your soul is still operating out of self-centeredness and it wants to continue having its way. YOU, as a spirit, you have a soul and you live in a body. When you give in to your soul and allow it to have its way, in essence you sit down and quit, telling your soul to just, “Go ahead, I give you permission to do whatever you want to do.”
As a reborn man/woman, giving over your dominion to your soul is about like giving a 10 year old child dominion of a rolling Mack truck down a steep hill. What does this mean? It means, YOU, as a spirit, are out of control. It means that you’ve set yourself up as a passenger to ride with someone who has you heading toward disaster. YOU are the one God gave license to drive that Mack truck (your human vehicle), as you’re led by the Word and the Spirit. YOU are the one God gave dominion to and it’s YOUR responsibility to get that 10 year old child out of the drivers seat of your life, and YOU get under the wheel!
Your soul is the actual passenger and its supposed to be in harmony with your reborn spirit. Your soul and body is to assist you and help you on this journey of life. Not the other way around. Your spirit wasn’t created to be an assistant of your soul and body. Are you hearing what I’m saying? It’s up to you to take dominion over your soul and if it puts up a fuss, just tell it to shut up in the name of Jesus! YOU’RE in the driver’s seat now!
And if it can’t get in line with the Holy Spirit leading your spirit, then tell it to get in the backseat and ride! Amen! I know that may sound a little silly but I think you see what I’m talking about. I’m talking about putting your soul in its proper place as YOU allow yourself to be lead into all truth according to God’s Word and by the Holy Spirit. I’m not talking about selfishness or any such thing as that. I’m talking about learning to yield to the Holy Spirit as your Helper and Guide. Allowing Him to teach you in how to take rule over your soul and body. Amen!
The Bible says in Proverbs 16:32 that a man who doesn’t allow his spirit rule and have dominion over his soul, he’s like a man with no wall around his city. Remember, 2 Timothy 1:7 says, we’re to use the self-discipline and self-control we’ve been given. Not only do our spirits need to be fed the Word of God in order to keep growing stronger in faith, but our minds must become renewed to God’s Word. I’ve said this before, but I wanted to say it again because it’s so vitally important. As I conclude this message, I want to spend a few more minutes talking about the ‘mind.’
A few minutes ago, we read from Romans 12:2 that we’re not to be conformed to this world---not to conform to this world’s system. Not to agree with and operate in the world’s way of doing things. In God’s Kingdom, which you now belong to if you’re born again, we’re to adopt God’s ways of living and His ways of doing things. We’re not to continue in the world’s ways of thinking, speaking and acting the way we’ve done in the past. But by the Word, we’re to begin thinking new thoughts, speaking new things and acting in the same way that God does. The Holy Spirit, by His grace, is there to help us do these things, which also helps us to become more Christ like.
This is what Jesus did as He conformed His will to the Father‘s will. In obedience, He said and did only the things He heard the Father say, and He did only the things He saw the Father do. He conformed to God’s Word in how He thought, how He spoke and how He acted. He said, “I came not to do my own will, but the will of the Father.” How was He going to do that? By “Every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” That's how. And thats how you and I conform to the Father’s will.
I can remember having to conform to my earthly daddy’s will. This happened on a few occasions when I wanted to do the opposite of what I was suppose to in church on Sunday mornings. I wanted to move around to several people in the congregation, especially to some of my cousins. We’d start out trying to be quiet but it wouldn’t be long until everything was funny and then we’d be trying even harder to keep the giggle’s stifled. But it seems like that the harder we tried to stifle the giggles, the louder they got.
By this time, my daddy would come get me. If I rebelled because I didn’t particularly like his will but wanted my own instead, then he’d take me out of the church and apply the rule of wisdom to my backside. That usually got my attention real good. Afterwards, we’d go back inside the church where I would sit quietly until the service was over. I had conformed to my daddy’s will. But his will for me was good because it was teaching me to have honor and respect for the house of God, and for the man He had put there as its pastor.
So, just as Jesus conformed to His Father’s will in all things, as children of God, we must come to the place where we do the same. And don’t forget that as much as God loves His children, He also chastens them when they rebell. So, lets don’t continue in unbelief but believe God while being transformed from glory to glory by the renewing of our mind’s to His Word. And as we do, we ultimately learn that God’s will is good, its perfect and its acceptable.
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YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!
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I want you to consider this, if the mind of mankind has to be renewed to the state it once was in the Garden. This would mean that in it’s present state, it would have a problem being effective in the things of God. Adam was the first NEW creature, created in the image and likeness of God. His spirit, soul and body was in prefect harmony with the will and purpose of God, his Creator. After Satan introduced sin into the Garden and man’s spirit died spiritually, he needed, as it were, a make over.
Jesus went to the cross, shed His blood for the remission of the worlds sins. His precious blood became the antidote for the deadly poison of sin. He was buried and He arose again on the third day to give man eternal like instead of eternal death in a devil’s hell. Through the blood of Jesus, the door was opened for man to be able to come back into his rightful position with God, the Father again.
Man had been born once, if you will, in the Garden of Eden by the faith and Spirit of God. God breathed the breath of life into him and he became a living soul. But because of man’s fall from right standing with God due to sin, he would need to be spiritually re-stored again. He would need to be re-born. Thus, we understand better why Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” Nicodemus tried to figure this out mentally. He didn’t understand what Jesus had said. How could he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?
Jesus meant that Nicodemus would have to be born again from above by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, Who would now work with the Word to bring salvation to Nicodemus. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, therefore, in order to see the Kingdom of God, you must be born again from above. You need to confess your sins before God, repent of sin and allow the blood of Jesus to wash you clean.
Then supernaturally and instantly, your spirit-man is reborn. Re-stored and put back in its original state as it was in the Garden. When this happens, you’re now spiritually alive and you’ve been reconciled back to the God, the Father, through the blood of Jesus. And just as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “You’re a NEW creature in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away and behold all things have become new.”
Remember that your spirit was reborn. Your soul didn’t get saved. So, its no surprise when your mind puts up the argument, “I don’t FEEL like going to church today. I don’t want to hear Mr. Zulu, that big bag of hot air.” Then next, your body joins in, “Yeah, I don’t want to go either. I’m tired, and I’m still sleepy.” Now comes the big question, who’s going to make the final decision among this group? Your spirit-man has a desire to go and be in the Presence of the Lord.
Your spirit-man desires fellowship with other believer’s. But if you haven’t learned God’s principles of self-discipline and self-control, chances are, you may give in and allow your soul to make the final decision. Or, you could take a firm stand in your God-given dominion and tell your soul and body, “That's enough out of both of you. Get yourself out of bed; we’re going to church!” When YOU take back dominion, your soul and body has no other choice but to get in line and say, “Yes, Sir,” or, “Yes, Ma’am.”
Plain As Day Ministries
Shirley Williams
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