I think a lot of people have a hard time being a friend, not that they do not want to be friendly. It’s just that they don’t know how. To be a friend I think that we should learn to assess the needs of the other person and then be to them what they need. It seems that quite often we think the other fellow needs just the thing that we have to give, merely because we believe that it is right and it works for us. Maybe this is true and maybe it isn’t, but we should be sure before we talk. Sometimes we are apt to talk at great length to someone, and have a sincere desire to be a friend within our heart, and the only impression we get across is that we are “preachy” and think we have all the answers. This isn’t true in a lot of cases, but if the one to whom we are talking thinks it is, then all of our effort is lost. Our good intentions somehow didn’t get through. There are many people who are lonely, people who know the Lord and people who don’t know the Lord. There are many people with heartaches--people who know the Lord and people who don’t know the Lord. All of them need friends, but not all of them know how to be a friend. Being a friend is everyday living, not just sometimes when you visit someone. Wives and husbands and children need friends, and being a friend is everyday living right in the home. A man comes home from work. Whether he has worked hard or not doesn’t really matter. He’s been away a long time and the time is twice as long if he loves his family. He comes home and he likes to have his wife “talk to his heart.” Sometimes this isn’t done with just words--it’s done with, maybe a touch or a look, or it maybe the tone of voice that carries the message. The tone, the look, or the attitude communicates more effectively than words. It’s the same with a man. He can growl or kick the cat, or he can be understanding of his wife’s needs. She’s had a hard day too. And it’s the same with others. We must learn to understand their needs. Sometimes there is more communication in silence than ten thousand words no matter how well intended they were. What people want and need is to know they have a friend, not a phonograph. I think this kind of understanding should be the aim of every Christian. He can tell others of Christ more effectively if he learns when to be silent and just be around, and when to talk, and what to say. Too many people have been turned from the church and discounted Christianity because all people knew how to do was talk. They didn’t know how to listen or just say, “How are the kids” Or, “Boy, I’m tired, how about you?” Or maybe just be quiet and be available. Their heart was in it, but they talked without knowing the need that was to be supplied. To be a friend is the greatest joy we can experience. To be a Christian is the basis of all life; but to share this gift of love with someone else brings a joy that knows no bounds. Being a Christian is not just going to church and singing songs, and listen¬ing to the preacher, and telling someone else what they should do, but being a Christian is washing the dishes, washing the car, going to work, cleaning the house, visiting the lonely, and just being a friend everyday.

There is a liar. His name is Satan. Of Course, he does not like us to know this. If we should find out that he is a liar, no one will believe him; and if no one will believe him, he becomes powerless and ineffective. He is powerless anyway; but to those who do not know this, he is very effective. However, this does not change the fact that he is a liar. This Satan subtly hid his motive from the eyes of Adam and Eve one day causing them to fall into utter spiritual darkness. He told them they would learn good and evil if they would obey his words. They learned, but Satan never told them that when they did they would also die (spiritually) even as God had said. Adam and Eve became captives of the liar. Satan slew them through their minds. Adam's mind became blinded by the god of this world. By the way, Satan never told adam and Eve who he was. He didn't want them to know. That's why he was succesful at taking them captive. Now there is one called Christ who exposed the liar. He equips you so that you are not ignorant of the devil's devices. There is an example in the Bible of how this Christ uncovered Satan and showed men where sin, sickness, infirmity, insanity, and the like came from. He said it this way, "Ought not this woman whom Satan has bound be loosed?" --Luke 13:16. And another time, He said, "If I with the finger of God cast out Satan..."--Luke 11:20. Again he exposed the liar. Man, blinded by Satan, thought his trouble was what his mind classified as sickness. Jesus had Spiritual knowledge and called it what it really was-- THE WORK OF SATAN. Jesus exposed the source again. This Christ (Truth) stops the mouth of the liar. This is because Christ reveals the truth about God, the truth about man, and the truth about Satan. This truth cancels all lies. In fact, he cannot even exist! Satan looks upon being known or recognized as the liar with much distaste. When one is brought to the realization that Satan is a liar and he recognizes (discerns) his lies, Satan's potency is swept from his hands. Actually, he doesn't have any, but he doesn't like us to know that. You see, the instrument used by the liar is the carnal mind. That's something that man has never been told. He has never known that it even existed. Satan doesn't want him to know either (Rom 8:6-7, 2 Cor 4:4). Satan does not like the truth to be told about himself, for he refuses to believe it. He doesn't want you to either. Satan just won't face up to it. He realizes that it is so much his nature to lie, that if he were to make a promise to himself, he could not keep it. That, you see, is because he was made to do nothing but lie. Satan has a complete lack of integrity. There is not truth in him! Satan doesn't like us to know this, but he does not really have anything true to back up what he says. For instance, he has been the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10). Because of our justification (righteousness) in Christ, he has nothing LEGAL against us--only his lies. God's word reveals Satan's avenue of approach (the mind) when He says, "I fear lest any means as the serpent (Satan) beguiled Eve through his subtlety so too your mind might be corrupted from the freedom and simplicity that is given you in Christ." --2 Cor 11:3. He is the one that lies to our mind and when we allow our imagination to run rampant and wild, pushed and driven by those lies. He is the one who is responsible (the source) of all sin, worries, sicknesses, cares, and anxieties. He will never tell you this so don't bother to ask him. You can believe God's word though because it came from the mouth of the Christ-- "SATAN IS A LIAR..."--John 8:44. Satan is the one that goes about LIKE a roaring lion seeking whose mind he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). The Bible uses the word like a roaring lion . He is not a roaring lion. this is just to show you the eagerness to devour your mind. But you can remember one thing--he is defeated and Christ holds the chain that harnesses him (1 John 3:8, Col 2:15). You see, Satan's lies are the absolute sum total of nothing. When he suggests to you defeat, that's a lie. When he tells you that you are not righteous, that's a lie. Everything he suggests is a lie. Everything he gives birth to is a lie. Satan is just a talker. He's the master salesman in a crooked department store. You must first buy his product. He sells cares and perplexities for you peace and joy. He thinks it's an even exchange. He needs you in order to be effective and to get rid of his merchandise. You have to watch him because you can't trust him and you always end up being shortchanged. A lot of times, this salesman brings something to your attention when he really has in mind selling you something else. Maybe he will offer you thoughts of pleasure and care when really he's dipping deeper into your pocket for your soul. Yes, Satan is a talker, but if you don't have a mind to listen, he speaks into the air. We have the mind of Christ. (See 1 Cor 2:16). He knows that the success of his influence is dependent upon how well he can convince someone of the truth of what he says, while all the time he knows that he cannot tell the truth. He's like a confidence-man and he wants your confidence; he wants to seduce you into the realm of reason and encourage you to reason things out. He can put up a pretty good argument as long as he can keep you within the realm of materialistic thinking. The success of Satan's efforts depends wholly upon deception, deceit, subtlety. He hides behind a clock of unrighteousness fearing to be exposed. This is why Jesus came--to unveil God and the light of His presence shove Satan out in the open. Jesus came and pointed out with the finger of God the source of all man's trouble. Satan knew if he were to work effectively, he must not make himself obvious; he must remain incognito (hidden). The Spirit of Truth came and is here to reveal good from evil--(God from Satan). Man for the first time can see the difference with the eyes of the Spirit and exercise proper judgement. Satan is exposed and the man in Christ can recover himself from the devil's snare, because he can now see the way out--he can see Christ. the man in faith, in Christ, has a spiritual eye to see the source of trouble he has the eye to see God. the man in Christ now knows what Satan promised him and hid from him (2 Cor 4:4). He is now equipped to shun the appearance of evil, resist the devil, and wait it the confidence of his God.

It's very necessary that we keep our honesty and integrity before the Lord. This is our standing before the Spirit of God, not before man. Wrong is never done first in the flesh; it has its origin in our spirit. There are quite a few people who do not understand this fact. They take great pride in directing the activities of their bodies--“self discipline”--they call it. Yet their spirit goes its own free way. The man who lives before God must live before Him in his spirit, because God is a Spirit. When a man is honest in himself and consciously lives in the presence of God, then he finds that the habits and actions of his body will begin to conform with the purpose of his heart. That’s when we begin to show to others that God can change a man. But this understanding that God is a Spirit and that our responsibility is to Him, must come first. At one time it seemed to man that God was only concerned with what he did. He thought that it was perfectly all right to think whatever he wanted to as long as he controlled his actions. That’s the fallacy of man’s thinking. The Psalmist began to see the truth when he said, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart (or spirit) be acceptable in thy sight...” Jesus taught it very clearly in what we call “The Sermon on the Mount.” Read Matthew 5:27 and 28 and see what I mean. God expects us to pay attention to what He says. Then when we hear and understand Him, we are to become “doers” of His Word. An illustration of what God expects is found in Joshua 7. It has to do with a man called Achan. He heard the instructions of God as given by Joshua, but he moved in his own will, doing what he wanted to do. He died because his sin found him out. The law is very demanding. A man can’t live without mercy. So Jesus Christ came and brought mercy. Now, if we believe in Him, we can have all that we need. Jesus Christ brought a dedication to us too. The dedication of the Old Testament was to the Law, but the dedication that Jesus Christ brought is of the Spirit. He said, “God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit.” He tells us that the Father is seeking such to worship Him. Then again the scriptures tell us that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. So, you see, our first responsibility is before God. When our hearts are right before Him, our actions will follow, because “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

I'm thinking of people and people have problems. I do not necessarily like that but I guess it's the way we are made. We must come to the place of recognizing the Spiritual life of God within us as being the only source of life or we will always be overcome with problems. When we forget that we are children of God and pay attention to the things of the flesh, we are in real trouble. The worst part of it is that when we look only to the flesh, there is no way out. You see, we are in trouble when we obey the appetites of the body. Sometimes we think that we can exercise great control over our desires, and by sheer discipline we either do or do not do that which we feel we should. But in doing this we completely overlook the mind that is in us. There are desires generated within our bodies but they are hade more intense by the desires that Satan puts in our minds. It seems that Christians have a particularly rough time of it. You see they have been born again. They have a new nature at work within them. Being a Christian does not automatically mean that you have the peace that Jesus meant for you to have. It is available, but you have to take hold of it. When a man does not know how to take hold of these things, he’s in trouble. A battle takes place within him and sometimes it’s too much for him to handle. Then it spills over to the outside and we see or hear a word or a deed that is evidence of these battles that rage within. It’s these battles that I’m so concerned about. None of us are immune to them. Sometimes we are not too aware of the battle that goes on in others because we are so occupied with our own. We generally consider the battle that goes on within us to be the greatest and so we are apt to belittle the problems that others are having, or if we do not happen to have the same type of trouble that someone else is having, we are quite apt to condemn the other fellow by thinking, “what’s the matter with him; he should have better sense.” The person who thinks this way is wide open for trouble. Another thing that quite frequently happens is that we look at a problem with our mind and say, “boy, you sure do have a problem.” Man has a tendency to think that if he can’t solve the problem, there is no solution. I wish we could forget that kind of thinking. Is anything too hard for God? In God there is no big problem nor is there any little problem. He has overcome. He is the answer. “we are complete in him.” All we have to do is turn to him. His word is, “he that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” So, come, taste, and see that the Lord is good. We must major the fact that our father’s heart is never closed, and we must never forget it. Another thing--sometimes we feel that our sin is too great, God can never forgive us. Watch out! You’re thinking like a man again! Man can’t really forgive. He can overlook, but he always remembers. When God forgives, he forgets. Your sin is no more. We must know that all we have done, no matter how sinful we think it may or may not have been, no matter what we have done or ever will do, in God’s eyes it has already been done, even before Jesus died on the cross! In that act of dying on the cross Jesus cleansed us from all sin, for all time--forever! Jesus knew all about our sin. He became every sin that we ever sinned or will sin. God laid our sin upon him. Remember, then Jesus died and our sin died with him. In him our sin is no more. God showed us how much he loved us by giving Jesus as payment for our sin before we ever knew him! I can’t comprehend such things, but the bible says it’s so, so I won’t argue it. But sometimes the battle rages so vigorously within me that I can’t think straight. I guess every one of us remember sometime when the “I will” and the “I won’t” forces were at work within us. Sometimes we said, “I won’t” when we should have said, “I will” and sometimes it was the other way around. It’s hard sometimes to do the things that we should, especially in the Lord. A lot of times we know that we should act a certain way or say a certain thing, but there is a contrary spirit within us and we want to be contrary. That’s where we lose the battle--wanting to be contrary. There is something that we have all learned but we don’t always keep it in mind--if you want to get along, abide by the rules. It seems to be quite popular nowadays to forget the rules. That’s why we have such a chaotic condition in our world today. Let’s forget the rules, let’s make up our own, and each group goes their separate way wondering why the whole world is out of step. God gave us a pretty good set of rules--we call them “the ten commandments.” They are still valid today because all they do is define our relation and attitude toward God and our fellow man. Man, as usual, has a hard time interpreting them, so Jesus gave us a new rule that encompasses the other ten. He said, “love the Lord thy God with everything that’s in you, and to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.” That’s a pretty good rule and it’s one that many people seem to forget. You must mind the rule if you want to get along. You play a game of football or baseball or whatever. You play by the rules or you don’t play. You drive a car. You obey the law or you are apt to end up dead--you and maybe others. The universe obeys God’s laws. The sun, the moon the stars, the planets are all where they are because they are in obedience to certain laws. Man has orbited the earth and walked on the moon because he obeyed certain laws. The Bible says the flesh brings forth death and the Spirit brings forth joy and peace. This is a statement of one of God’s laws that it would do us well to consider and obey. Now, concerning our relation with each other, we will get along when we obey the laws of the society in which we live. Break them and you will have trouble. This is not anything to be surprised at. Our whole life is based upon this truth. We select our friends because we like them. We get along with them because they do the things that we think they should. In other words, the same set of ethics, or rules, by which you live, govern them as well. You see, we are governed by rules whether we think so or not. Jesus once suggested to a group of people that they were in bondage to certain laws and that made them quite upset. “We be Abraham’s seed,” They said, “And are in bondage to no man.” Jesus answered them in this fashion, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts (desires) of your father you will do.” That’s pretty plain talking. Let’s put it this way: you are Satan’s children and you will obey the laws of Satan. A whole lot of people breathe a sigh of relief and say, “I’m surely glad that isn’t me.” But it is you and it is me, at least until we are born again. And then if we don’t walk in the newness of life, it’s still us! The latter end is worse than the first because we have been made new and yet we have not claimed that which we have professed we both need and want! Sometimes I think that maybe we are not too bright! The people to whom Jesus was talking--the bible says that they “believed” Jesus. A better translation would be they “followed” Jesus because Jesus very soon pointed out that they didn’t believe him. The fact is they were so violent in their unbelief that they picked up stones and would have killed him. Many people profess to believe Jesus yet quite often they say, “This is a hard saying, who can hear it?” This says that there is something in us that rebels against God’s word. “He that is of God heareth God’s word. Ye therefore hear them not because you are not of God.” That’s straight talking; but the question is, does he mean me? You bet he does! He is talking to every man and woman who is not born again so that they might know clearly their position before God. He is talking to every man and woman who is born again so they can get straightened out in their thinking and know what is causing them so much trouble. Man is born in sin. He is of his father, the devil; and the desires of his father he will do. Man is born in iniquity and by unrighteousness is he formed. Man is a creature of the flesh and for this reason he obeys the laws of the flesh. We can discipline ourselves and perhaps appear to be something that we really are not, but we can not, by any stretch of the imagination, make ourselves to be anything but what we are--creatures of flesh. Because we are creatures of flesh, we will do that which is natural to the flesh and in the doing we most likely will think that we are perfectly right. Listen to what the Bible says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Also, “They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.” Again, “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Therefore, “They that are in the flesh can not please God.” So, you see, it is not at all unusual for a man who lives in the flesh to become angry, to hate, to murder, to kill and to perform all manner of evil, both in his thoughts and in his actions. There is only one end to this kind of life: “To be carnally minded is death.” There were some people that followed Jesus but they didn’t believe his words. Of them Jesus said, “Ye are of your father, the devil, and his desires will ye do.” Certain things come natural to the flesh. We do not have to think about them. We seem to have an inborn knack of doing the wrong thing. We don’t have to think how to be impatient; we are just naturally good at it. When someone says something about us that is not too complimentary, it is quite easy for us to retaliate in kind. Humans are good at that sort of thing. I wonder why? It is because that is the natural thing that the flesh produces. The flesh brings forth evil just like apple trees bring forth apples. Again listen to what the bible says, “now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these: 1. Adultery 2. Fornication 3. Uncleanness 4. Lasciviousness 5. Idolatry 6. Witchcraft 7. Hatred 8. Variance 9. Emulation 10. Wrath 11. Strife 12. Sedition 13. Heresies 14. Envyings 15. Murders 16. Drunkenness 17. Reveling These are the things that are natural to the flesh. The fact that man, as a whole, is not completely overwhelmed by them is proof that God has poured out his spirit upon all men. Now, the thing to do is to allow this spirit--this life of God--to bring forth his life within you. Again, let’s see what the Bible has to say: “That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” Also, “they that are after the Spirit do mind the things of the spirit.” Then this, “To be spiritually minded is life and peace.” When we believe the words of Jesus, we are made to become children of God. We are born of the Spirit according to the will of God. He becomes our father. His life, his Spirit, is within us. This releases us from the bondage of the flesh. We are no longer a child of Satan; we are a child of God. “Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you.” There can be no argument about this. Listen: “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And, if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” We have life in our mortal bodies now because God raised Jesus from the dead. Now because we are new creatures, we have been given a new nature. We have a new life source-- the Spirit of God, himself. There are things that are natural to our father and they are natural to this new life that we have. Listen to this: the fruit of the Spirit are things that make us pleasing to God. The fruit of the Spirit is: 1. Love 2. Joy 3. Peace 4. Longsuffering 5. Gentleness 6. Goodness 7. Faith 8. Meekness 9. Temperance These things are in us and will be manifest through us as we allow God to live his life through us. The trouble is we try, by our own effort, to bring these things about. Go back and look at number nine of the works of the flesh. We enter this life of God by believing the words of Jesus. You see, he is God’s expression to us. He is the word of God. The children of Israel that came up out of Egypt did not enter into that which was promised them because they did not believe that which God told them. We are cautioned not to let unbelief be in us thereby keeping us from inhabiting the promises of God. There is a rest that comes to those who will believe the words that Jesus spoke. It is a rest that comes about by the complete cessation of our own efforts to produce Spiritual qualities within ourselves. God desires to be formed within us and he wants to plan and he wants to do. All he asks of me is that I will reckon myself to be dead to the old things of the flesh and alive by his life. If I will do that, if I will keep my mind fixed on this, then my father will transform my life. This transforming of our lives--it’s a delicate process. It is slow. It takes time. I feel that sometimes we are too anxious for a change and try to bring it about ourselves. (go back and look at number nine of the works of the flesh.) The change that God brings about is going to be a transformation. God is not so concerned about what we do, but He is very much concerned about what we think about in our “inner man.” It is here that the soul is and He desires that our soul shall see Him.Then there is no problem of what we shall be because when we see Him, we shall be like Him because we will see the real thing. We shall see Him as He is. There are many facets to our lives, more than we really know. One day we are subject to one mood and another day we are subject to an entirely different one. If we are honest with ourselves, we see a mixture of things within that somewhat surprise us. It is just as good that no one else sees these things because we are not at all proud of them. Sometimes we might be kind and sometimes we might be a monster too. Maybe we like to consider ourselves honest, but when we think no one is looking, we discover there might be a bit of thievery within us after all. A lot of times we are patient, and then, for no apparent reason, we blow our tops. We are indeed quite complex. We have to make allowances for these things so we divide them. Under certain conditions we are supposed to act a certain way and under other conditions we follow a different set of rules. Now, we come to the Lord. There is honesty in our heart in this regard and we are born again according to the will of God. It has not been our habit to think of all the virtues that we should reflect in times past. Now there is something within us that makes us very much aware of our shortcomings. We see our lack of wisdom and love and kindness and patience. We feel badly about this and try to do something about it. But it doesn’t work. Our mind feels as though it were worked beyond its capacity. We say that we want to be like Christ, but something happens; and before we think, we have done something for which we are sorry. Sometimes there are struggles within us that do not come to the surface, but they are so severe that they tend to destroy our very life. That’s the trouble with being your own general! We are continually finding out things about ourselves that we didn’t know existed, naturally we do not know how to handle it. But God does! He is our father and he desires that we cease from our own trying and leave things up to him. When these two ways, the old and the new, struggle for supremacy within us, they are struggling for just one thing--control of your mind. Satan wants you to think about the problem and react according to his desire. Your father wants you to think about him and believe his word. This is the crux of the whole situation regarding mankind--what do you think about? Eve considered Satan’s word and dwelled upon it. The result was that she reached forth her hand and did take of the fruit and did eat. We learn from our father a little at a time. It is hard to see him in all things, because we do not know all things, and so we learn a little here and a little there. That is why our spiritual growth seems so slow at times. Let’s look at another law of God. This one says that if we will renew our mind we shall be transformed. This transformation does not necessarily take place immediately, but our Father’s word is that it will take place as we keep our mind on Christ. The carnal mind, the Bible says, is enmity against God. That word "enmity" has some potent synonyms: Hostility, antipathy, antagonism, animosity, rancor, and animus. Listen to what they suggest: enmity suggests a positive hatred that may be open or concealed. Hostility suggests all enmity showing itself in attacks or aggression. Antipathy and antagonism imply a natural or logical basis for one’s hatred or dislike, antipathy suggesting a repugnance, a desire to avoid or reject, and antagonism suggesting a clash of temperaments leading readily to hostility. Animosity and rancor suggest intense ill will leading readily to hostility. Rancor is applied to bitterness. Animus adds to animosity, the implication of strong prejudice. So there you have a picture of what the carnal mind is up to. Let’s look over in 2nd Corinthians and find out what we are supposed to do with the old mind. In the tenth chapter you will find the instruction is to cast down our imagination and every high thing (thought) that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of the Lord. When our minds are renewed in this fashion, our lives will be transformed by the power of God and that transformation will be real and it will endure. This business of renewing our mind is not an easy thing. The question that we ask is: How do we renew our minds? If the answer lay in the realm of flesh, I would listen to your problem, categorize it, analyze it and then attempt to tell you what to think, say, and do in order to bring you out of your dilemma. If it worked, you would soon have another situation that would throw you. But the answer is not in the realm of flesh! It’s in the realm of the Spirit. So I can tell you how to renew your mind. Think of Jesus and what he has made you to become in him. It is in Jesus that the fullness of God dwells and the Bible says that you are complete in him. You are alive because you have been born anew by the power of God. You are alive in a new realm and you have been made one with God in Christ. Everything else in this world is of no importance. All that you need to be, all that God wants you to be is in Christ. That is the foundation of your new mind. If you need wisdom to meet a certain situation, remember you do not have it yourself. What wisdom the old man had is gone, the old man is dead, Christ is your life. God made Jesus to be our wisdom. If I need salvation, I can not work it out myself, God made Jesus to be my salvation. If I feel condemned for some stumbling, for some shortcoming that overwhelmed me and I feel the need for righteousness, I may look up and thank my father because he made Jesus to become my righteousness. The fact of the matter is, everything that I need, or ever will need, is supplied to me by God through Jesus. This is the word of God, therefore it is established. It will never change. The renewed mind refuses to consider. Any other thought. So now my thoughts go back to people and their problems and I think again of what the Bible says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you you fall into divers temptations." I think of what Jesus said, "Blessed are you when men shall persecute you and revile you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” Then I think of Paul’s problems-- his thorn in the flesh. “Lord, take it away,” he cried. The Lord said, “No, my grace is sufficient,” and so Paul said, “Therefore I will glory in my tribulations.” It sounds like trouble is a good thing. Why? Because we are born in sin and shaped by iniquity. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to God nor indeed can be. My carnal mind is hostile to God, it is suspicious of him and if there was nothing to cause me to seek deliverance, I would not know God. There is a law of the flesh, and my body obeys this law. The flesh continues to produce that which is natural to it. But there is also a law of the Spirit and I am born of the Spirit so this law is at work in me. It also produces that which is natural to it. The law of the Spirit is life in me as I obey its precepts. I have the privilege of a new life. I have the indescribable privilege of being made one with God. Of what good is the old life compared to that? What does all this mean? How can I be overcome when I am no more? It is Christ who lives in me. He is my life. Who is it that can prevail against him? By what circumstance can he be overcome? Some wondered how it was that Jesus could do the things he did. He answered them in this fashion. “You can enter into a strong man’s house and if you bind him, you can do whatever you wish.” And so Jesus has made us to become one with God. He has given us all things whatsoever we need and there is none who can stand in his way. People have problems. Yes, but isn’t it wonderful what we can find because of them!

In Christ, I am a new creature, I have been born again. My Life is in God. But I still have this physical body, even though I have reckoned it to be dead. Now, a puzzle comes before me; how can I be dead and still live? Jesus was dead. He was crucified, yet God brought Him back to life. That’s the way He lived again the second time, was it not? This is what the Bible says about us, now listen: “We believe that if we died with Christ, we shall also live with Him.” Does it not say that? After all, Jesus told Martha that He was the Resurrection. Again, the Bible says that God, who raised Jesus from the dead, if He dwells in you, He will also make your mortal body to be alive. That’s pretty plain. The only thing man knew about up to this time was a physical resurrection, which was understandable, because all he knew was a physical life, which is also understandable, because all he knew was a physical God. But Jesus brought about a change. He introduced us to a Spirit God, and He prepared a way for us to have a Spirit Life and live in God. Here are some of the things that happened. First, Jesus died for me. This was of the utmost importance because only death could free me from sin! It was required, if I were to live in God, that I be free from sin. So, I had to die. But, it was also God’s fore-ordained and predestined plan that I should be like Jesus. This meant that I must remain in this world. How else could I tell those who do not know God about His love for them and how they could become a new creation in God? That meant that even though I was crucified with Jesus, I had to have life in this body of flesh. The Bible tells me that God gave this life to me. I do not understand how this can be, but I can only say what the Bible says. God sees me in Jesus; that’s the only way He accepts me. So, as far as God is concerned, I am in Jesus! When Jesus was resurrected, I was resurrected. That simply means that once my body was dead, now it’s alive. I live in Jesus, and because He is the Resurrection, I live in the Resurrection.

Have you ever considered the philosophy of a man who plants a lawn? He fascinates me. It is one time in his life that he has a clear cut objective. He has a goal--he wants to see some green stuff come up. I think the man who plants a lawn offers us a rather clear illustration of the responsibility that we should exhibit in living for the Lord. Let’s consider it for a moment. A man plants a lawn because he is not satisfied with the way things are. He wants to improve the place. So here is what happens--first he prepares the soil and then he plants the seed. Here is where he exercises his responsibility. He begins to care for this patch of ground. He doesn’t let it get too dry nor does he let it get too wet. He takes steps not only to keep people from walking on it, but he attempts to keep it from becoming a picnic ground for the birds. He acts like a man possessed. Why?--Because he has planted a new lawn. He knows that if he lets people tramp over the place and the birds feast to their hearts’ content, there won’t be enough seed left to grow. In effect, his actions say, “I have a new lawn here and I’m going to treat it as such. The old lawn was a mess and I’m glad to get rid of it. I’m going to take care of this one. I’ll water it every day until it gets established. Then if any weeds show up, I’ll dig them out.” This man is going to have a nice lawn. And if he doesn’t do these things, the new one is going to end up as badly as the old one. It won’t be because he didn’t have a new lawn, but it will be because he just didn’t take care of it! When a man comes to the Lord and believes in Jesus Christ, the Scriptures say, “He is a new creature.” If a man believes this, he will recognize the existence of this New Life and treat it with proper respect. He will not continue old practices that he knows will not aid this Spiritual Life any more than he would allow folks to tramp over his new lawn. He will not allow his mind to become saturated with the pride of material possessions, nor will he dwell on thoughts that do not glorify God. Such thoughts become the birds of prey that rob the seed. This man will say, “I have a New Life; it was given to me by God. I will see to it that it has the proper environment to survive; I will seek God’s ways.” This man has found a New Life--he knows it, and he acts accordingly. How about you?

“They that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth…” “And truly, our fellowship is with the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.” I want to think about our “fellowship” with our Father. It is a very quiet and restful experience. Sometimes we think that we have to be vocal and active when we fellowship. We read in the Psalms that we should enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, and we make a formula out of it. I guess that’s the way they entered into the presence of the King in those days, but for the one who is born again, those things have changed. We do not have to enter into the presence of God--we LIVE in Him. God does not sit in the Heavens and say, “If you praise me I’ll listen to you.” He loves me, He gave His life for me; and as I come to Him, He takes me to Himself and says that He will never leave me or forsake me. My Spirit longs for you to know that you live in God, that you have become a new creation in Him. You no longer have to seek the favor of God for He has given you all that He is. He has held nothing back. He has made you to be One with Himself. That is the basis of our fellowship with our Father. We do not have to beg for His ear, we live in His heart. I form words with my mind. I want these words to tell my Father how very much I love Him. But my mind is not knowledgeable about the things of God. How, then, can my mind find words to express that which it is incapable of understanding? We have the privilege of speaking to our Father in a Spirit given language, but there are some who have not yet learned to exercise this gift. However God does not withhold His fellowship from us because we have not yet learned to speak with other tongues. There is yet another way. It is a way without words. It is a way of rest and peace, and it is a way of strength and confidence. It is the way of the Spirit. It should not be a strange way to the one who has been born of the Spirit. We have been made to be One with God. It is no longer God and me; He has taken me to Himself and made me to be alive in His heart. Now, while I am in this flesh form, there is an Inner Being that knows the Life of God and can say to my mind, “You will listen to God and learn from Him.” The Bible says that God’s Spirit witnesses with my Spirit that I am a child of God. My Inner Man says to my mind, “Learn that and rejoice” because that is what my Father made me to be. God’s Spirit did not bring this knowledge to my mind; that is my responsibility. God has made me in such fashion that He can communicate with me, but for me to become aware of this communication, I must be Master over my mind. I must bring it to the place of obedience; that means that I must listen to God. That’s very much different than it was before I came to the Lord. Before I came to the Lord, my mind taught me. Now, that has changed, I have a new Teacher. Now I am beginning to understand that My Father communes with my Spirit. I am not aware of what He says unless I bring my mind to the place of obedience to my Father. There is a scripture that I feel is trying to tell us this truth; it says, “Be still and know that I am God.” There is a place of fellowship with our Father wherein we can be perfectly still. There will be no need for words, and in this quietness we will know a perfect harmony with our Father. I believe that this is the kind of fellowship that our Father desires for us. It is in this quietness that I have the privilege of knowing the heart of my Father. There are no time restrictions to this kind of fellowship because there is no conscious effort of doing on our part. A moment can contain all that God is. His strength and compassion and care envelopes us. A moment can contain so much that we could never put it into words, or it could contain just a Word from His heart that we so desperately need to know to guide us through a particular way that we should go. What I’m trying to say is that it is these moments of “Spirit witnessing” that we are in perfect harmony with our Father. It is a fellowship known only to our Spirit. Sometimes, when we fellowship with the Father in this fashion, we enter again into our everyday routine and do not have any more conscious knowledge of God’s thoughts than we did before, but we feel a comfort and we have a knowledge that goes beyond our conscious knowledge that we are in God, and of God and that He is all of our life in every way. Things in this world do not seem to be as important as they were before. You see, we have been in fellowship with our Father. There are other times that we will be so full of what God is to us, that we will feel as though we are in an entirely new world. As we bring our mind into sub¬mission to the knowledge that God has imparted to us, we will be overcome with the wonderful provision that God has provided for us. We will enter into an understanding that goes beyond our ability to comprehend. God has revealed Himself to us. It’s all because we have been in fellowship with our Father. It’s a sweet fellowship. It’s restful because I am in the place of knowing that it is not of works, but it is by His Spirit. It’s a time when I refuse to think. It’s a time when I am quiet in my Spirit, and in this quietness my Father talks to me. We have wonderful fellowship.