In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of recognizing the sinfulness of man and the need for repentance. He criticizes the modern approach to evangelism that focuses solely on positive aspects and neglects the negative aspect of sin. The preacher also highlights the significance of the Gospel and its various aspects, such as the Gospel of God, the Gospel of his Son, and the Gospel of Christ. He encourages believers to serve God in the Gospel with their whole being and emphasizes the practical surrender of one's actions and reactions to God.

If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. And we pray that we might be able to drink, drink deeply from the wells of salvation, even in his last moment. God be with us, in Jesus' name. The book of Romans is the greatest theological treatise in the New Testament. Martin Luther said that every Christian ought to read the book of Romans once a month. He found his theology in the book of Romans, of course. But perhaps we should just go through it a little bit, just to see what the relationship is of the gospel to Romans 6 as well. Romans 6 is one of the great chapters in the Scripture, and I delight in its truths. In chapter 1, verse 1, we read that Paul speaks about the gospel of God. So there we have the source and purpose of the gospel. In verse 9 we have the gospel of his Son. There we have the sacrifice and passion of the gospel. Verse 16, we have the gospel of Christ. There we have the salvation and power of the gospel. He says in verse 1 that he is separated unto the gospel, undeserved in grace, unparalleled in glory. He says in verse 9, I serve God in the gospel. It's a great word for everybody who is involved in the work of God. We're not serving a pastor, we're not serving a Sunday school class, we're not serving a church, we're not serving a mission board in the first instance, we're serving God in the gospel. And we're serving God with our spirit in the gospel, for God is my witness and my servant with my spirit in the gospel. So he's serving God with his spirit. He's not doing beautifully the things that he has to do, but he's doing gladly the things that he desires to do, serving God in the gospel. Verse 16, for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, so he's experiencing the power of the gospel. In verse 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel. In verse 14 and 15, I am ready to preach the gospel. So here's Paul's relationship to the gospel. Separated unto the gospel, serving God in the gospel, experiencing the power of the gospel, not ashamed of the gospel, ready to preach the gospel. Great stuff. The gospel is the good news. The gospel is the glad tidings. So he begins to preach the gospel. Verse 17, the just shall live by faith. He learned that from Habakkuk. Martin Luther learned his theology from that verse. So Habakkuk is sometimes called the grandfather of the Reformation. Then he begins the gospel, the glad news. This is how he begins. Verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness, and then follows one terrible list of sin after another. Why, there's a list of sin in Matthew chapter 15. There's a list of sin in Mark chapter 7. There's a list of sin in Galatians chapter 5. But nothing like this. Here we have ingratitude leading to idolatry, leading to impurity, leading to impiety. And we have one terrible examination, one exposure of the heart of man after another. All the depravity, all the lasciviousness, all the idolatry, all the forsaking of God, and the defilement, the gross lust, and the atheism, and the carnal mind, and the fornication, and the covetousness, and malice, and envy, and deceit, and evil whispering. All there, that's the heart of man. The wrath of God is upon this. The wrath of God is real wrath. It's wrath from heaven. It's revealed from heaven. It's revealed wrath. And it's the wrath of retribution. Here's the wrath of God upon the heart of man. It's like this. Aren't you going to give them good news? And it goes on to the second chapter, Mark. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges. For wherein thou judgest another thou canst condemnest thyself. And thou judgest, doest the same thing. All external, you're pointing the finger at the man who's doing all those things, but you're doing them in your heart. So he says, you're also under the judgment of God, and you are going to be judged according to truth, verse 2. And you are going to be judged according to your deeds, verse 6. And you are going to be judged for God is irrespective of persons, verse 11. And you are going to be judged by the conscience, which I've given you, verse 15. And the secrets of your heart are going to be judged, verse 16. There's no hope for you. You think that you're going to escape because you don't enter into all the vile iniquities of all these others. You are under the same condemnation of God as they are. So we have the reckless man of chapter 1 and the self-righteous man of chapter 2, leading on to the religious man of chapter 3. What advantage then has the Jew? Much of the way. He's got the oracles of God. But some did not believe. What happens if somebody does not believe? So there's objection number 1. And objection number 5, is God unrighteous to take his vengeance? And then another objection, third objection, verse 7. And so he deals with all these objections. And he comes to the place where he says, all are under sin. And verse 10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no not one. Verse 19, every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before God. What a terrible state of affairs. Is this the good news? May I just say friends, this is how Paul began the gospel. So often we have the positive aspect only of the gospel. Come to Jesus and you can have joy. Come to Jesus and you'll have peace. Come to Jesus and you'll have happiness. Well that's true. And so they come, chewing their chewing gum, walking down the aisle, thinking to do the almighty a favor. I'm going to accept Jesus. I'm going to have joy and peace. And so I come to accept Jesus and to be part of the scene. And they just add joy and peace, they think, upon their life. They've never come to the place like this. Paul's first foundational truth are the sinfulness of man. The heart of man must be seen to be sinful and must be repentant of the sin. That's the missing link in modern evangelism. We can talk so nicely and biblically about the positive aspects, but my dear friends, there's a negative aspect. I remember sitting at the back of a church one day and a preacher got up and he was preaching away and suddenly he was talking about this sort of thing and he said, The gospel is only positive. I nudged my wife, I said, No! I hope not. I don't know how many people heard me, but my word, I couldn't agree with that. Unless you have the negative, you'll not get the positive. You've got to repent of your sin. And Paul laid the good foundation and he teaches us how to preach the gospel. Take that home with you, brethren. Chapter 4. No, chapter 3, by the way. Let's go on to chapter 3, verse 21. You with me? Verse 21. But now, the righteousness of God is manifest. Hallelujah. Now we're coming to something. See, that's a pivotal word, but. Right through scripture, but, the turn, the whole turn, the thing turns. But now, when? When I see my sin. When I see my iniquity. When I can repent of that. But now, the righteousness of God is manifest. See, the wrath of God is revealed upon all these, the reckless man, the righteous man, the religious man. There's no hope, every mouth is stopped. But now, now, the righteousness of God is manifest. Now the turn comes. Now we can speak about justification. Now we can speak about righteousness. Look at what he says in verse 24. Being justified freely by His grace. I said the other night to some folk. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. We deserve hell and God doesn't give us that mercy. Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve. We don't deserve heaven, He gives it to us. It's free, unmerited favour of God. He gives us Himself. And He gives us justifying grace. So being justified freely by His grace. Now look at these ten mighty words and these words right here where the change comes. Verse 23. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins of the past through the forbearance of God. Fantastic. There's an accumulation of mighty gospel words. Because now the change is coming. And here we go into this mighty fourth chapter and fifth chapter. The justifying grace. So here we have the fourth chapter. What shall we say then? That Abram our father is pertaining to the flesh. He shows Abraham as the father of the faithful. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform. So we are children of Abraham who was before the law. Abram believed God and was counted unto Him for righteousness. What did he believe? He believed God, that's all. And when God comes to us and gives us justifying grace, we have got nothing else to believe but God. So we are children of Abraham by faith. So now we go on to the fifth chapter. And we find there, at the end of the fourth chapter by the way, he was raised for our justification. So there is the resurrection connected to the justification. Notice chapter 5 verse 1. Therefore being justified by faith. Chapter 5 verse 9. Much more than being justified by his blood. So we were justified by grace and by blood and by faith and the resurrection was the proof of it all. So we are justified by grace alone. And we are justified by blood alone. And we are justified by faith alone. And we are justified by Christ alone. Hallelujah. And the resurrection is the guarantee of our justification. The faith is the principle of justification. Blood is the ground of justification. Grace is the spring of justification. My word. Give me a week. Give me a week. And then we come to the blessings of justification. See, access by faith. We have peace with God. We have access by faith. Chapter 5 verse 2. We stand in this blessing. Rejoice in the hope. Glory in tribulations. Notice verse 6. The love of God is shed abroad in our heart. My. What a wonderful thing has happened to us. We've come into his joy and into his fellowship. So there in the sixth verse of the fifth chapter. For Christ, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Verse 8. Christ died for us. So here we are. He is our substitute. He died in my place. He died for me. In chapter 6 verse 6 we have another truth. Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him. Chapter 5 for substitution. Chapter 6 with identification. Chapter 8. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Who walked not after the flesh but after the spirit. In union. So chapter 5 for substitution. Chapter 6 with identification. Chapter 8 in union. Now we need a convention. To start now. Oh these things fill my soul. So now we get to chapter 6. Here we have a wonderful verse. Verse 6. Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him. That's what happened when Christ died 2000 years ago. That the body of sin might be destroyed. Or put out of action or rendered inoperative. As you may like to translate that. That's what happened when the Holy Ghost applied the blood of Jesus and the crucifixion of Christ to my own soul. That henceforth we should not serve sin. That's the practical result. So here we have crucifixion and destruction and emancipation. In that wonderful verse. Giving you little tips along the way preachers. Wonderful word. Knowing this. Now I want to speak about deliverance in Romans chapter 6 today. And sort of a formula for victorious reliving if there is such a thing. So you can go away from this place with something tucked under your belt. Knowing this. That's the first word. Know. Knowing what does he know? He knows that our old man is crucified with him. A. W. Tozer speaks in one of his books of an old man who was asked what it meant to be crucified. He said. First. The man who is crucified is facing only one direction. He can't look behind him anymore. He's looking in the direction of God. And of Christ. And of biblical revelation. And of world evangelization. And of a spiritual life. And secondly he said. He's not going back. He finished with sin and with carnality. With the world and with the lust of the flesh. He's crucified. Thirdly. He has no further plans of his own. How busy we are with our own plans. So vitally important to have these plans worked out. But now he plans for me. Knowing this. That our old man is crucified with him. It's a difficult thing to die you know. We'll do anything but die. We'll make a great show of consecration. If we can escape death. We'll show how dedicated we are. And we'll pray very nicely in the prayer meeting. So that everybody will realize how spiritual we are. If we can escape death. I remember we were at a convention similar to this. There were about a thousand people on the canvas for a week. Some convention. And I remember a lady. It was a tremendous convention. I mean God was mightily in it. And a lady said to us. One of the friends there. She said. You know what I feel like doing? I feel like going amongst these people and kicking them. I said. Suzie what on earth are you talking about? Yes. She said. I feel like just going amongst them and just kicking them. I said. What do you mean? She said. You know they talk so beautifully. They're so pious. They're so religious. They're so spiritual. But if I started kicking them. I wonder what would come out then. The hidden sinful egocentricity hinders the flowering of the life of God within the soul. And it spoils the beauty of the Lord coming through. And it defiles our own soul. Your hidden sinful self is always finding secret lines of supply. From our own courage. It's always discovering impenetrable retreats from our own cleverness. And it's subtle poison. This selfishness weakens and sickens our whole life. It lurks in the innermost recesses of the soul. Dr. Tozer calls it the hyphenated sins of Christianity. Self-hyphen-seeking. Self-hyphen-righteousness. Self-sufficiency. Self-aggrandizement. Self-love. The hyphenated sins of Christianity. And as long as self-love remains. We're always dead scared that it will be shown up. It will be discovered by some unexpected incident. And we will be laid bare before the eyes of our fellow believers. But God doesn't let us off. He pursues it. By some infinitely merciful blow he forces it into the open. And suddenly we see ourselves. Self-love forced into the light sees itself in its deformity. And its despair. And its disgrace. And you despise yourself. Have you ever had a time like that with yourself? And you look at the mirror and you think, My word. God. Please. Get rid of what's in there. Francis Thompson wrote a marvelous poem. The Hound of Heaven. You know it? The Hound of Heaven. God following me. My track. He says, I fled him down the arches of the years. Isn't that a beautiful phrase? Down the arches of those years. From those strong feet that followed, followed after. But with unhurrying chase, And with unperturbed pace, Deliberate speed, Majestic instancy, They beat. And the voice beats. More instant than the feet. All things betray thee who betrays me. You can't hide it. It's going to be exposed. We had an instance once in mission work. And it was a very unsavory thing. And I was so moved that I wrote a poem. And here it is. I'll read it to you. And do you writhe in outraged pride, O soul crushed by remorse, To think that such a thing could hide Within where blood had been applied, And find not there recourse? The deed is done. The word is said. And shame brings agony. You have been seen of men and read. And their appraisal is your dread. The carnal self they see. Beware lest you sidestep the cross In this your crisis hour. Excuse, so shut these selfish draughts. And gain your life when death seems lost. And miss his path, his power. Pure freedom comes when that big eye Determinedly is brought. By faith to Calvary to die. No more in hidden forms to lie. Delivery then is wrought. Then will you come and bring your load Of sullen, wounded pride? No other way, no other road To perfect rest and joy in God Than with him crucified. Fenelon, that 17th century preacher Cried, you ask for a remedy That your problem might be cured. You do not need to be cured, You need to be slain. Quit looking for a remedy, And let death come. Roy Hessian calls it, You know what he calls it, The Calvary road. How glibly we speak about going to Calvary. One thing that happens at Calvary, Death, it's a difficult thing. And it's a drastic thing. When Agag was spared by Saul After he'd been commanded to destroy them all, It's a very interesting word in the authorised version, It says, Agag walked delicately And said, surely the bitterness of death is past. Samuel said, no, no, give me the sword, And he killed him. Surely the bitterness of death is past. It's difficult, yes. But, and it's drastic. But, Paul speaks about this most clearly. Knowing this, that our old man Is crucified with him. Paul speaks about crucifixion. John speaks about cleansing. John doesn't speak about crucifixion. And Paul speaks very little about cleansing. But it's the same truth From both different sides, Seen from different angles. John speaks about one aspect of it, And Paul speaks about another. So that the pure cleansed heart And the crucified life Fit together as both sides, Either side of the coin. Here we have this word destroyed. And it sometimes is translated rendered inoperative, Put out of action. But whatever the theological interpretation, The practical result is emancipation. That we should not serve sin. So here is a death Where we are identified with Jesus In the great illustration of the corn of wheat Dying and bearing fruit. We are identified with his death. We die with him. And he's speaking about knowing this, see. He says we can know this. And he's not speaking in the Greek sense Of an intellectual understanding. He's speaking of the Semitic sense, The Hebrew sense of experientially knowing. You remember we read, Adam knew his wife, And she conceived and bore a son. So there's an experiential knowledge With the Hebrews. So he says, knowing this, There's a knowledge, There's an understanding, Not merely with my mind, But with my whole being. I grasp this great truth. It comes to be part of me. I am to die with Christ As I grasp this great truth. He has died already for me. I accept that for me now. And so I can know it. That's the first word, knowing. And the next word here is in the 11th verse. Reckon ye, likewise reckon ye also yourselves To be dead indeed unto sin, But alive unto God Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Reckon is the next word. Reckon here is an arithmetic term. It's a mathematical term. Two plus two, I reckon to be four. I'm reckoning. So I know what I'm reckoning upon. If I have a thousand dollars in the bank, I can reckon upon that And write out a check for a hundred dollars Because I know that I have a thousand dollars in the bank. I'm reckoning upon what I know. What do I know? I know that I have died with Christ. I know that this has become real in me. Not only has He died for me, But I sense now that I have died with Him. I die with Him. I receive that great death of His And it is applied to my heart. I die with Christ. Now I reckon upon it In the midst of all kinds of temptation Every day. When the thoughts of evil come, You remember that Spurgeon said That I can't stop the birds flying over my head But I can stop the nesting in my hair. Not that many of us have got lots to nest in, But nevertheless. The thoughts come And are cast upon the screen of our minds. They are thrown there. But it is then to resist And to say I have died to this thing Because it is going to happen all through life. Now the battle is on. You are going out from this place And you are going to meet the temptations back there. Now you need to know how to reckon yourself To be dead indeed unto sin. Do you remember that Jesus, When He was in the temptation There in the wilderness, Satan said to Him, Change these stones into bread Because you are hungry. And so Jesus said, It is written. And He quoted from Deuteronomy. And then Satan took Him up onto the pinnacle of the temple And it is pretty high. It is about twice the height that it is now. If you have been there, It was twice as much as that then. And He was up on the height of the temple And He said, Now just cast yourself down. And these angels, God will give you the angels to protect you And care for you. Jesus said, It is written. And then Satan said the last thing. He took Him up onto a high mountain. He said, Look, just worship me. Just fall down and worship me. And I will give you all these cities. All these cities. You see, all the whole world is yours. Just worship me. It was to get Him away from the cross So that He wouldn't have to go to the cross. Now, If I had such a temptation come to me, And if I suddenly, This temptation came to me And I was tempted to fall down and worship the devil, I would be horrified. I would say, Oh God, please forgive me this terrible, terrible sin To fall and worship the devil. No, please God, please get it out of my mind. But Jesus had those thoughts in His mind. He couldn't have been tempted any other way. The temptations came to Him. It came to His mind. So He thought, I must worship the devil. And it was a terrible temptation to Him. I must worship the devil. And if I worship the devil, All these things are mine. And I don't have to go to the cross. So the temptation was real. And it was in His mind. But Jesus never sinned. It came to His mind. But it didn't, It wasn't grasped. It wasn't taken on board. It was merely the temptation. You see the devil sometimes brings the temptation to us And he turns around and accuses us of his own temptation. And he makes us to believe that we have sinned And we cast away our confidence And we don't know where we are. We don't know whether we've got victory or not. We say, Oh my world, it doesn't work. I suppose, Oh I suppose I'll have to start again. And next time, Wait for next year and I'll come out again And I'll pray again Maybe it will work the next time. But you've got to learn to do it daily. And you've got to learn to do it Reckoning yourself to be dead in deed and to sin. So sin is coming. Sin lies at the door, brethren. It's going to come to us. And temptations are going to come to us. For instance, if you're walking down the street And these scantily clad girls walking along It's cast upon the screen of your mind. It is then to say, Lord, I am dead. I am crucified with Christ. I am dead to this temptation. Right now, I'm reckoning upon what I know. I know that I died with Christ. I know that I'm reckoning That that was a real knowledge. I know that that happened to me. And now I'm reckoning upon it Right here and now in this terrible temptation. And sometimes, And by the way, it's not imagination. It's faith. This is the victory that overcometh the worst. Even our faith, 1 John 5, 4 It's the exercise of faith in the cross. The cross is our deliverance. The cross is the center of our being. The cross is the center of our deliverance right through life. So now, as we come, The temptations come to us. It approaches us. It is cast upon our minds. It sometimes reaches our senses. It comes through the ear gates at times. It comes through the eye gates. It comes through the senses. It gets to the intellect. It even touches the emotions at times. But my will is the guardian of my soul. And as I say, No, my God, no. I died with Jesus Christ. I know that I died with Him. I am dead to this thing now as it comes to me. This terrible temptation. I'm dead to it. I reckon myself to be dead indeed and to sin. I'm reckoning upon Calvary. I'm identifying with Jesus now. And I'm free now. Lord, apply it now. Now, in the American history, in the war, in the internal war long ago, there was a man called George Wyatt who was called up to fight. And in those days you could hire somebody to fight in your place. And George Wyatt hired a man by the name of Pratt. And Pratt went into the battle bearing the name and number of George Wyatt. And in due course, he was killed. And later on, George Wyatt got a note from the army to say, Come to a report to the headquarters. You will be drafted to such and such a regiment. So he sent back word. He said, I am dead. And they said, Dead men don't talk. You'd better be here. So he came. And there he was. And they were about to say you're drafted to such and such a regiment. He said, Wait a minute, gentlemen. Consult your records, please. So they pulled out the books. And they saw George Wyatt, number so and so, date, killed in action. He said, Gentlemen, I'm claiming the documents of death. Yes, sir. I'm claiming the documents of death. And they could nothing, could do nothing to him. They had to let him go. Because he was identified with that man. And when Satan wants to draft us once again into sin's fierce war, it is for us to say, There was a man. He died in my place and I died in him. And Satan, you have no... I die in him. I exercise faith in that death. Now you can come with your temptations. I died in Christ. You have nothing in me. Now this is exercising faith. This is applying the death of Christ daily to me as I go through this next year. Brethren, this is an open secret. If you take this now, it can help you right through the year. Reckon. Reckon yourself to be dead indeed unto sin. But reckon yourself to be alive as well, notice there. Verse 11. Reckon yourself to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Alive. So we are reckoning not only upon his death, but upon his life. He lives. Hallelujah. And he who died and I died in him, he now lives and he lives in me. So here we have a power which enables us to continue. Because I am reckoning upon his life. Now in these moments. Reckon upon his death. I am dead to this temptation. And I am reckoning upon your life. Lord come to me now, even now. And fill me with your presence. And fill me with yourself. Give me the sense of my presence even as I am battling through now this very day. See sometimes the temptation comes with tremendous force. And you reckon and you get through. And you breathe clean air and it's gone. You say praise God. Suddenly it's back. And sometimes you have to reckon again. And you get through again and suddenly it's back. And you have to reckon again. And slowly God brings the victory. Now this is a constant thing right through life. It's constant. That's what the present tense of reckoning. Reckon yourself daily. Every day you are going to reckon yourself dead. Reckon yourself alive every day. This is the secret of victorious living right here. The reckoning. Reckoning by faith. Applying faith to Calvary. Applying faith to the Lord Jesus Christ who is alive in me now. I am reckoning myself to be dead. Reckoning myself to be alive in him. And so we continue. So we have knowing. Know. Reckon. Next one. Yield. Verse 13. Look at that wonderful word. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. So I have to yield. It's a voluntary surrender. It's a voluntary surrender. I yield. It's so beautiful because I'm bought at the price. And he's done so much. He gave his life, I give my life. He gave it all, I give my all. I'm yielding. So it's a voluntary surrender. And then it's a total surrender. Yield yourself. It's everything. It's my mind and it's thought. See? Whatsoever things are noble and pure and lovely and of good report, think on these things. Now that's a discipline. So I cannot exercise that discipline if I switch on that box in the corner day after day after day and see all kinds of rubbish on that thing. It's not going to help my mind. And if I pick up some rubbish in a book that I'm reading and it's not wholesome, it's not going to help my mind. So it's got to go. And that's what I've got to do. And it's the mind and it's thought must be yielded. The will and it's choices. For it is God who works it in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Sometimes we know the will of God but we can't do it. But it's God working in me now to will and to do of his good pleasure. So I'm yielding myself to him to operate in me. And then the will and it's choices and the body and it's instincts. The Bible says keep thyself pure. But the Bible also says we are kept by the power of God. So we have a responsibility and God has a gracious responsibility to keep us. He keeps us by the power of God as we keep ourselves pure, as we keep ourselves free from these other things. Not that second look, you see. Not that wrong attitude. So I'm turning myself away from wrong things because God says keep yourself pure. And God says give your mind and it's thoughts to me. It must be a wholesome mind thinking good things. Whatsoever things are lovely and good reports, think on these things. Notice not only the mind and it's thoughts, the will and it's choices, but the heart and it's affections. Set your affections on things above where Christ sits on the right hand of God. We can be so choked with things. We can be so involved here with things and get gripped and be absolutely involved so much involved that we are attached to the world. We're bound by the world. Outside of Johannesburg in South Africa, there's a place called Uncle Charlie's where everybody used to meet. There's now flyovers and all. But there was a big cafe there. And just alongside of Uncle Charlie's there was another cafe. And I went past that many times. There, outside of the cafe, and part of the cafe, was an old aeroplane. And they had built it into the cafe so that the kids come along and play at the controls and everything else. They're enjoying it all. And that's an attraction. And the people used to go to the cafe with the aeroplane so that the kids can get into the controls and play with the controls. I've been past that many times and it has challenged me every time. That thing was not built to be worked into a cafe. That aeroplane was built to roar down the runway and to soar into the ether and to play in the sun. That's its natural habitat. But now it's bound to the earth. God, help us not to be bound to the earth so that we cannot fulfill that for which we are born again. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. We can be so held back by that which encumbers us and comes around us. All the things, the cares of the earth. So, not only the mind and its thoughts and the will and its choices and the heart and its affections, the body and its instincts, the personality and its prejudices, life and its relationships. It's a total surrender. I'm giving all of me, all that there is of me, giving it away. It's a total surrender. And then, it's an intimate surrender. Notice, he says there in the 13th verse, This is the joy of intimacy. Yield yourselves to God. He loves you. You don't need to fear. You don't need to fear what he will do with you or where he will send you. You will be in his will whenever he sends you. Now, yield yourselves to the one who loves you best of all. You can do it easily, can't you? It's so beautiful to do that. I'm yielding myself to God. An intimate surrender. And it's a grateful surrender as those that are alive from the dead. See? We heard a testimony, didn't we? Alive from the dead. Hallelujah. Alive from the dead. God has brought us from the dead. We were condemned. Every mouth was stopped and all the world became guilty before God. We were in a dark dungeon. There was no light there. There was just condemnation. There was damnation. We were doomed and damned. Hopeless. No way out of that terrible dungeon. But he lifted me up. And he placed my feet upon a rock. And he gave me a new song in my lips. And my heart is praising him. Many shall see the song, by the way, Psalm 40. Many shall see the song and trust in the Lord. There is a song that is seen. God places that within us. He lifts us up. It's a grateful surrender. And because he has done that for us, and because he has saved us, we can give ourselves gladly to him. A grateful surrender. And notice it's a practical surrender. Verse 13. Yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead and your members. Your members. So here it gets very practical. It's my feet where I go. And my hands what I do. And my ears what I hear. And my tongue what I say. And my eyes what I see. And my whole being how I react. What's your reactions brethren? Or my whole being? My whole being I give. It's a practical surrender. You see, this is fingertip religion now. It's coming out at the fingertips. And it's coming out at the feet. I'm being led by God. And where the rubber touches the road. That's where it's at now. There where we're moving into communion with other people. And we're having to do with other people outside of Christ and inside of Christ. That's where it's counting now. Because it's my members. So my encounter alone with God affects my communion with other people and relationships with other people. So this is not an isolated thing. My encounter with God. My dealings with God. My relationship with Him. Alone in a room. Alone away there. That's not detached from life. It works it's way clear through to my fingertips. It's a practical thing see. And then it's not only a practical surrender. Your members yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead. And your members as instruments. Instruments brethren. Not ornaments. Yes. Not ornaments. He wants us to be used. And He wants to take us up and use us. Instruments having teeth. Thou shalt thresh the mountains. My word. God wants to take us up and use us as we go forth from this place. Instruments. Surrender for service. Instruments of righteousness. Notice. So the kingdom of righteousness is being extended and the righteousness of God is being extended through us to others because of our encounter with Him. There behind the scenes. It's now working right through. And we are being used by God as instruments of righteousness. And righteousness is now being spread. We're being sought in the community. And then it's a decisive surrender. Notice. He says yield yourselves. And that's in the Aorist Tense for those of you who know Greek. The Aorist Tense is an instantaneous thing. It's untranslatable in English and most other languages. It's an instantaneous thing. I yield. What a fantastic thing. I give myself away. Lord here I am. I yield myself. You're so wonderful. Can't hold anything back now. You relish my wrath. You'll be bright and morning star. You're the Lord of my life. I yield my word. Isn't that beautiful. So I know I've been crucified with Christ. I identify with that. I reckon myself to be dead. I am reckoning upon what I know. And I'm reckoning upon His life. And now I'm yielding myself. Totally. Every bit. And this wonderful encounter flows now through my fingertips. Now there's one more. You're still with me? Verse 16 and 17. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey? His servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin. But ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered to you. So you have obeyed. That's the will. You've obeyed volitionally. From the heart. That's the emotion. You have obeyed emotionally. That form of doctrine. That's the intellect. You have obeyed intellectually. So here is a total obedience. I'm giving myself to Him and I want to obey Him. You see, it's trusting and obeying. I'm having faith in the death, faith in the life, reckoning upon it, and now I'm obeying. There's no other way to be but to trust and obey. Trust and obey. Trust and obey. Trust and obey. That's how you walk. That's how you walk right through the next year. Trust and obey. Trust and obey. I'm trusting in the death. I'm trusting in His life. I'm reckoning upon it. And I'm obeying Him. Obedience builds solid character. Matthew 7, 24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, said Jesus, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. You see, Christ's likeness is not formed by massive brain power, but by obedience. It builds solid character when I obey Him. Because I'm walking in righteousness and building upon righteousness. And then it's a key to spiritual knowledge. If any man will do his will, John 7, 17, he will know of the doctrine. So I'm willing to do his will. He is leading me and guiding me into the truth. And it's a condition for divine manifestation. Obedience. John 14, 21. Favorite verse of mine. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, said Jesus. And he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father. And I will love him. He that keepeth my commandments and doeth them. I will love him. And will manifest myself unto him. And that's the wonder of the life in Christ. The manifestation. Now we heard the other day that you just do it because it's right and you pray because it's right. But every now and again there's a manifestation when you're open to God. And there's that manifestation, the touch of God and the openness of heaven. Sometimes you get into prayer and you're right there. He is manifesting himself and you sense that he is there and you draw upon his strength and you are acquitted by and revived by the strength and by the vision glorious. But sometimes it takes five minutes to get there. Sometimes it takes ten minutes. You're fighting with wandering thoughts. Do you have any problems with wandering thoughts? I do. Wandering thoughts. You fight and fight and fight and fight and there you are. You say Lord I'm coming to you now. And I'm coming to seek your face this very day. And Lord I'm quietening my heart before you. And you go and find yourself thinking about what you did last week. And what you're going to do next week. And if there are pressures on at work, those pressures come there all the time. And you kneel for half an hour and you get up and you think you've prayed for half an hour and you haven't. You've been daydreaming. Any daydreamers here? You've been daydreaming. You haven't got anywhere near to God. You see? And you're fooling yourself. But to pray through. Sometimes it takes half an hour. Sometimes it takes 40 minutes. You're still battling and the day's begun. You've got to get up and go. But you haven't got through yet. But the moment when you get through into the presence of God. Sometimes you get battling through not only a wandering thought but a tired body. My word I've found myself at two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning. Where am I? I'm still kneeling. I must have fallen asleep. Get back into bed. And that's also a battle. But you get through. And when you get through, he takes the veil aside and you see Jesus. And when you see Jesus, consecration is easy. Because he is wonderful. And it's easy to say, Lord I give myself away. And it keeps consecration fresh. What? The revelation of Christ. The manifestation. You see? And when God manifests himself and shows himself at the lattices, and shows himself and comes nearer, then it's easy to give. He dominates the scene. He becomes so precious. And the tears fall and the heart breaks. And you rejoice in his presence. And you give. I used to get into this bondage when I was a young lad. Every now and again I'd give myself. But I've already given myself to God. What am I doing again? But then I realized this is the language of love. Don't you like to give your wife something? Give. Give. So I'm giving. What can I give? I can only give myself. And so I give myself. And Lord, here I am again. I give myself to you. And he takes what I give, friends. He takes what I give. But he also loves. And he also gives. And he gives, what can he give? He gives himself. And I take what he gives. And I decrease because he's taking it away. And he increases because I'm taking from him. And I love to call it the heavenly exchange bureau. The heavenly exchange bureau. It happens on my knees when I see him. Now brethren, this is the open secret of spiritual vitality and growth. Reckoning for victory, obeying for manifestation, and revelation, and communion, and consecration. Oh, are we going to do that this next year? We're going to live in these truths. Get this paper and hear it over and over and over again because this is necessary. To hear, to respond to what he is saying to my soul. Now let me take you back to the American history. I'm an authority you know, oh yes. There was a day when the slaves were set free. You remember that day? You don't remember this, but you know it in history. The emancipation of the slaves. That was what it was called. The next day they were to be set free. They had wild parties. My word, tomorrow we'll be free. They had their drinking parties. They had their wild parties. Tomorrow we're going to be free. The Christians got together and they prayed through the night. They sang through the night and drank through the night. But the Christians prayed through the night. Tomorrow we're going to be free. They sent their young men up onto the hills to herald the first grey streaks of dawn. And yes, they waited till those grey streaks, those white, the light began to shine in the eastern sky. And as it did, the young men on top of the hills called down to those in the valley. The day has dawned. We are free. 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, for he that is dead is freed from sin. We are free. Has that day dawned for you? You want to get back to that first point and say, Lord, I want to know it in my heart. I'm coming to you now, right now at this moment. Please God, make it real in me and enable me to discipline myself and enable me to partake in all these great truths that I've heard this morning so that my life will go from strength to strength and I will be caught up in the flow of the Spirit as Jesus becomes more and more precious to me throughout this year. Brethren, I love you. God needs men like this to take these truths on board. Take them. Don't go away without absorbing them. Get on your knees or get somewhere quiet and say, Lord, please let me die. If I'm still very much alive, please God, apply that death now. I want to go from this place a new person and applying these principles. God bless you. Thank you for having me. Thank you, my dear brethren, for the invitation. God bless you.