"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (I Corinthians 6:19-20).
We have being bought. Like a slave being bought. You were under one master when you got saved--Jesus redeemed you with His blood--you no longer have that old master. But you have another Master--and that is God--and God owns you body, soul and spirit. And so, when we don't think that anymore, and we go out like in the me-generation--I'm going to do this, and I'm going to do that because I'm ME--have fun, Christian. Because that means that you told God to go take a hike. You don't really want what God has for you.
Maybe you think you won't have any fun any more, I won't be able to do anything. How do you know? That's why you give things to God. When you give them to God you'll be amazed what God allows you to do for His glory. But when you don't do things for His glory, you have a problem. And you will have a problem.
You have these laws going on. And me know that the Spirit works in the yielded believer and we know that from what we read in Romans 8:2-4. But what I find amazing is the whole Book of Romans--well, from Romans all the way up to chapter eight--did you know that the Holy Spirit has only been mentioned ONE TIME.
And that is here . . .
"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).
We could go through chapter seven and read about the members, talking about the spirit?--we're talking about the Holy Spirit. The real love of God is God through you. And because iniquity waxed, the love of God is not found. So, the more we give to the flesh--the more we give to the old person--that love of God is less and less and less. We get more self-centered.
And so, we see the Holy Ghost there, but what you need to understand though, is, in chapter eight ... in this one chapter alone . . . He is mentioned 19 times.
So from Romans 3:21 all the way to chapter 5:11 the Bible speaks of the redemptive PRICE--and when you get to chapter eight, you are encouraged because it speaks about the redemptive POWER.
Everything is about power--and it is not your power--it is the power you have, and you can make yourself available to, and that is the power of the Holy Ghost. So we are back to IF you understand that you were lost, and you got saved--and when you got saved, the presence of God moved in--and you know it. So, from that day on as your mind and body starts to mature--more and more of that body starts to mature--the more you are going to notice that it is harder and harder to do good to where you almost can't do it any more. And when that happens, what do you do? You start to learn about the presence of God. You ask God for help. And Lord have mercy, when you get power to go the whole day thinking about God, thinking about people lost on their way to hell, thinking about doing a good job at work or at school, Wow!
I mean, you went the whole day--at the end of the day, even though evil was present, do you know Who won out? God won out. Why? Because God is working His life through you. Can you get that? This is so deep and complex. Do you know why? Because it is so simple.
Well, yes. Sometimes it takes some of us thirty years to figure all this stuff out, so stubborn we are and full of pride. But that is it in a nutshell. When you got saved--when you got converted--you got a connection. Oh man, you are connected now. And being connected, you can't do evil and like it. You can get as high as you want to and try to forget it--but you know what?--as soon as you come down off your high you feel guilty. And you got to keep getting high over and over again, to keep doing wrong, it is no more the pleasure of the high--you want to do wrong now--you've been consumed with the old person.
And yet you are saved--and you can't figure it out. And the devil will keep giving you wrong information because you are open to it.
When the Bible says you left your first love, you need to return to it. You need to remember, maybe you were young, but you need to remember that time--it had to be that time, and you should remember, because you were there. And how good everything seemed to be, like a honeymoon. Well, you have to mature. You have to stop being a carnal Christian, a baby Christian. You have to start to mature. You need to understand that this flesh is not supposed to rule over you, but you are to rule over it by the power of the Holy Ghost of God. That has to happen.
You do a study of Romans seven. Do a study of chapter six--getting saved and walking in newness of life--and then you come to seven, wow, what a mess! And then you come to eight, that's your river crossing--that's your Canaan--all of sudden you come to eight (new beginnings) and you say, "Oh my goodness! Now therefore there is no condemnation!"
Because in seven you went through it--thinking you are condemned--why? Because you keep sinning. You don't know why? You're saved--and you keep giving in--and God says because there is a law ... that stinking flesh!
So, once you figure it out you can't just say, "Okay, I'm just not going to do good any more, therefore evil is not present." No, dummy. If you don't do good any more you ain't gonna no nothing--because evil has taken you over. Already took you over.
But if you are saved, you got that Spirit of God, you need to start learning how to communicate and get the presence of God in your life in that area. And then you can branch out. Right now, you know yourself and you know what you are going through. And I'm telling you--it don't get easier. The older you get, the faculties aren't working as quick, you start getting into legacy-type things, mind-sets and the devil knows how to keep messing you up. He keeps messing you up. And you forget that it is a law. I'm not dead yet. I'm still wrapped in this prison of flesh--it's still there.
So, the inside requires an increase in diet of the Word of God and prayer. That's what has to take place. Don't lay back and give in and give over. Don't stop doing good. You start learning how to communicate with God so He gives you power to do good in the presence of evil. That's what you have to do. Amen!
We have being bought. Like a slave being bought. You were under one master when you got saved--Jesus redeemed you with His blood--you no longer have that old master. But you have another Master--and that is God--and God owns you body, soul and spirit. And so, when we don't think that anymore, and we go out like in the me-generation--I'm going to do this, and I'm going to do that because I'm ME--have fun, Christian. Because that means that you told God to go take a hike. You don't really want what God has for you.
Maybe you think you won't have any fun any more, I won't be able to do anything. How do you know? That's why you give things to God. When you give them to God you'll be amazed what God allows you to do for His glory. But when you don't do things for His glory, you have a problem. And you will have a problem.
You have these laws going on. And me know that the Spirit works in the yielded believer and we know that from what we read in Romans 8:2-4. But what I find amazing is the whole Book of Romans--well, from Romans all the way up to chapter eight--did you know that the Holy Spirit has only been mentioned ONE TIME.
And that is here . . .
"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).
We could go through chapter seven and read about the members, talking about the spirit?--we're talking about the Holy Spirit. The real love of God is God through you. And because iniquity waxed, the love of God is not found. So, the more we give to the flesh--the more we give to the old person--that love of God is less and less and less. We get more self-centered.
And so, we see the Holy Ghost there, but what you need to understand though, is, in chapter eight ... in this one chapter alone . . . He is mentioned 19 times.
So from Romans 3:21 all the way to chapter 5:11 the Bible speaks of the redemptive PRICE--and when you get to chapter eight, you are encouraged because it speaks about the redemptive POWER.
Everything is about power--and it is not your power--it is the power you have, and you can make yourself available to, and that is the power of the Holy Ghost. So we are back to IF you understand that you were lost, and you got saved--and when you got saved, the presence of God moved in--and you know it. So, from that day on as your mind and body starts to mature--more and more of that body starts to mature--the more you are going to notice that it is harder and harder to do good to where you almost can't do it any more. And when that happens, what do you do? You start to learn about the presence of God. You ask God for help. And Lord have mercy, when you get power to go the whole day thinking about God, thinking about people lost on their way to hell, thinking about doing a good job at work or at school, Wow!
I mean, you went the whole day--at the end of the day, even though evil was present, do you know Who won out? God won out. Why? Because God is working His life through you. Can you get that? This is so deep and complex. Do you know why? Because it is so simple.
Well, yes. Sometimes it takes some of us thirty years to figure all this stuff out, so stubborn we are and full of pride. But that is it in a nutshell. When you got saved--when you got converted--you got a connection. Oh man, you are connected now. And being connected, you can't do evil and like it. You can get as high as you want to and try to forget it--but you know what?--as soon as you come down off your high you feel guilty. And you got to keep getting high over and over again, to keep doing wrong, it is no more the pleasure of the high--you want to do wrong now--you've been consumed with the old person.
And yet you are saved--and you can't figure it out. And the devil will keep giving you wrong information because you are open to it.
When the Bible says you left your first love, you need to return to it. You need to remember, maybe you were young, but you need to remember that time--it had to be that time, and you should remember, because you were there. And how good everything seemed to be, like a honeymoon. Well, you have to mature. You have to stop being a carnal Christian, a baby Christian. You have to start to mature. You need to understand that this flesh is not supposed to rule over you, but you are to rule over it by the power of the Holy Ghost of God. That has to happen.
You do a study of Romans seven. Do a study of chapter six--getting saved and walking in newness of life--and then you come to seven, wow, what a mess! And then you come to eight, that's your river crossing--that's your Canaan--all of sudden you come to eight (new beginnings) and you say, "Oh my goodness! Now therefore there is no condemnation!"
Because in seven you went through it--thinking you are condemned--why? Because you keep sinning. You don't know why? You're saved--and you keep giving in--and God says because there is a law ... that stinking flesh!
So, once you figure it out you can't just say, "Okay, I'm just not going to do good any more, therefore evil is not present." No, dummy. If you don't do good any more you ain't gonna no nothing--because evil has taken you over. Already took you over.
But if you are saved, you got that Spirit of God, you need to start learning how to communicate and get the presence of God in your life in that area. And then you can branch out. Right now, you know yourself and you know what you are going through. And I'm telling you--it don't get easier. The older you get, the faculties aren't working as quick, you start getting into legacy-type things, mind-sets and the devil knows how to keep messing you up. He keeps messing you up. And you forget that it is a law. I'm not dead yet. I'm still wrapped in this prison of flesh--it's still there.
So, the inside requires an increase in diet of the Word of God and prayer. That's what has to take place. Don't lay back and give in and give over. Don't stop doing good. You start learning how to communicate with God so He gives you power to do good in the presence of evil. That's what you have to do. Amen!
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