Peter Brandon emphasizes the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer, illustrating the transition from being in the Adamic family, which is dead to God, to being in the Christ family, which is alive to God. He explains that through faith and baptism, Christians are freed from the law of sin and death, and are called to live by the Spirit, which empowers them to fulfill God's commandments out of love rather than obligation. Brandon highlights the importance of understanding the Holy Spirit as a divine person, not merely an influence, and stresses that true Christian identity is marked by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He encourages believers to appropriate the power of the Spirit to overcome sin and live a life that reflects the beauty of Christ.

Now we're going to look at a vast chapter tonight, and what I'm going to do, because I feel that some haven't really got the full meaning, I'm going to give a little demonstration with three brethren, and so this will not be recorded, and I hope the brethren will come, so that we can see what it means to die to sin, what it means to die to the law principle of holiness, and if we can see that, it will only take me five minutes, it will make it absolutely clear, so you don't mind if I leave the platform and come down there. This way to represent Adam, this way to represent the Christ family. We have seen that we were all born in Adam and because we were born in Adam, transmitted to us would be, when a person becomes a Christian, he sees the Christ done for his sins, he puts his faith, and then his faith and then the Christ family. Now when he was in the Adamic family, he was dead to God, alive unto sin. Now he's in the Christ family, he's alive unto God, and he's dead to a sinning life. When he was in this family, he was dead to righteousness. When a person is baptized, he goes down under the water to show that it's died to Adam, died to sin. Then he looks right, now our baptism shows to us that we have died. Secondly, he has to see that on the cross, the old man was crucified, and all that he wanted has been put to death. All the judgment has been put to death. Now because he is like that, just when he was in Adam, he was completely guilty to sin. Now he's in Christ, he's to be absolved. Now because he was in Adam, he was under the same commandment, but now he's taken out of it. He's served the Lord in an entirely different way, and this is the way now he is to serve the Lord. Number one, is to do all things out of love. Number two, he is to implicitly trust the Lord. Number three, now what we've got to discover tonight is this new law called the law of the Spirit Christ Jesus, and what we must try to discover is how to use or appropriate this new power. Now I was looking through the text, and we shall never get through the chapter, so I'm going to try and get through 14 verses, and then I think we shall be helped. Shall we read it together? Romans 8 verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made us free from the law of sin and death. For what the Lord could not do, and it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, meaning a sin offering, condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, and they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ being you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in us. Therefore brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh, for if ye live after the flesh ye shall die. But if through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Now I'm going to give you tonight all my points first and then we're going through the exposition. First of all I want to show you the unique identity of the Holy Spirit that's seen in verse 1. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is our unique identity. Then we're going to verse 2 and we're going to see the glorious discovery. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Then we're going to look at verses 3 and 4 and we're going to see that the law of the Spirit of life is a grand possibility. For what we couldn't do in Adam we can now do in Christ so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Then we're going to see that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is a tranquil mentality and if you look at verses 5 to 8 you will see that there is the mind of the flesh and the mind of the Spirit and the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. Then we're going to see that it is an honored responsibility the law of the Spirit of life and we'll look at verse 12 and 13 and there we shall see that if we live after the flesh we shall die but if through the Spirit to mortify the deeds of the body we shall live. And then lastly we're going to see that it's a beautifying maturity. For verse 14 says for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God and if this time we shall look at verse 11 which is a glorified transformative because the same Spirit that dwells in us that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead is going to make alive our mortal bodies. Now if we can get through that we shall do well. Now would you turn please to verse 9 and look at that carefully because that gives us the secret of the understanding of this chapter. But ye are not in the flesh that means Adam but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of this. Now please note the three titles given to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit. The Spirit of God shows to us his deity. The Spirit of Christ his objectivity. The Holy Spirit his identity. Now let's think of that because unless we know who the Holy Spirit is the whole of this chapter will remain a mystery. Now when we think of the Holy Spirit we must never think of the Holy Spirit as an influence. We must never think of the Holy Spirit as an active force. We must always think of the Holy Spirit as a divine person. And we must remember in every single detail he is divine as God. Now that's vital. We know sometimes we call him the third person of the Trinity that the Bible never does. In fact the first person to be mentioned in the Bible concerning the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The word there is Elohim which refers to the Trinity. Now what makes God God? Now this is very interesting. God must be first of all omnipresent. That means he is transcendent and he is immanent. Transcendence means that he is outside of time and space and looks at all creative matter as a small thing. Think of that. Imminency means everything that he makes he projects his glory in it. So Isaiah says the heavens declare the glory of God and the expenses show forth his handiwork. Now that is God and the same applies to the Holy Spirit. And this is what the psalmist says in a Psalm 139. Whither shall I flee from thy spirit? If I ascend into heaven thou art there. If I descend into the lowest parts of the earth, meaning hell, thou art there. If I take the wings of a morning and fly to the uttermost part of the earth thou art there. Therefore the Holy Spirit is outside of time and space, inside time and space. He fills the whole universe and this is the miracle he can fill up. Secondly with the Almighty God there must be omniscience. What does that mean? God never thinks. Now you're raising your eyebrows. God never thinks. He knows. That's why the Lord Jesus is called the Alpha and Omega. That's the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the last. He sees the whole of this little world as though it were yesterday. Now the Holy Spirit is exactly the same. That's why in 1 Corinthians 2 we are told that he searches the deep things of God. Think of that. God is omnipotent. That means he has all infinite power. There is nothing that the Almighty God cannot do. In fact the Bible only tells us one thing he cannot do. He cannot lie. Isn't that wonderful? Therefore all power belongs to God. All power belongs to the risen Lord Jesus. Now note this. All power belongs to the Holy Spirit. Every single miracle that was wrought in the Old Testament was wrought by the Holy Spirit. Even the incarnation that great mystery was the work of the Holy Ghost. Every miracle that the Lord Jesus did he did in the power of the Spirit. When he was doing his dying on the cross he did it in the energy of the Holy Spirit according to the Hebrews. When he was raised from the dead the Holy Spirit raised him. When he went back to heaven it was the Holy Spirit that took him back to heaven. And when he comes again it's the Holy Spirit that's going to change him. The whole of the miraculous belongs to the engineer of the Trinity the Holy Spirit. Now please bear that in mind it will help. Now we notice that there was a gigantic power within us that was evil called the law of sin. Now we're going to look at another power that's a million times multiplied greater than the power of the flesh. It's the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. Now beloved think of the glory and the majesty of the one that dwells within us. All power, all knowledge cannot be located and squeezed into tram lines. Can fill every one of us at the same time and not be overcome by the mystery of it. This is the person that dwells within us and now I want to ask a question. Do you think you're besetting sin is a problem to him? Do you think he looks at your bad temper and says oh dear how can I conquer that? You see the moment you see the grandeur and the majesty and the glory of the Holy Spirit you will see immediately you have potential victory. Now notice too what it says but you're not in the flesh that means in Adam but in the spirit if so be that the spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ that's the next title. Now what is the purpose of the Holy Spirit? The main purpose of the Holy Spirit is to make the Lord Jesus absolutely real to you and he can do that in two ways. First of all he wants to make the Lord Jesus real to you as a person who lives at God's right hand. There are two ways in which a person can know Christ. If he has a good mind he can read the Old Testament especially the types and the shadows and he can read the New Testament and he can amass in his mind a great number of facts concerning the subject of Christology. Now that's excellent that's vital but that doesn't mean to say you know the Lord. It's only the Holy Spirit that can take all those facts and figures and the whole doctrine about Christ and make Christ absolutely real to you. Now do you know in China there are boys and girls just nine and ten whom the spirit of God has made absolutely real to them. We wouldn't think that was possible but it's happening and unfortunately in the western world we treat our boys and girls as though they're infants all their days but if a child's willing and he submits to the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit can make the Lord Jesus real to a child as well as to a senior person. And secondly he wants to make the Lord Jesus real to you subjectively. Now what does that mean? You have a personality and he wants to so feel and flood that personality so that the beauty and the loveliness of Christ is seen in you and therefore he wants to do a two-fold work. He wants to make Christ real to you objectively and he wants to make Christ real to you subjectively. But there's something more. In each local church he wants you to function in body life. We haven't got time to speak about that but if you read 1 Corinthians 12 you will see the truth. And year by year the Holy Spirit wants to fill our local churches with the glory of the Lord Jesus so that in each local church year by year you are conforming to his beauty. Now you say what does that mean in a practical way? A person should be able to come to your local church and see so much of Christ in it in 1993. Then he should be able to come back in three years time and see more of Christ being conformed in that body. So that the whole company moves up to the head and the beauty of the Lord is seen in that local church. Now that's the main work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the work of the Holy Spirit is not to give you an it but to give you a hymn. To make Christ absolutely real to each one of us. And then he is called the Spirit. There is a great mystery with the Godhead and praise God for it. Comprised of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But everything that God makes he makes in threes. You are body, soul and spirit. There is a triunity. Time is past, present and future. And yet it is a mystery. We find it hard to harmonise the past and the present or the present and the future. But they have their distinction. Distance is threefold. The atom is threefold. Everything that God makes he makes in threes not fours. Why? Because the glorious Trinity made it all. Now having said that notice what the apostle says. Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his. Therefore I have called this unique identity because in the sight of God it's not the blood that identifies you but the spirit. The moment you are born again of the Holy Spirit it is the blood that cleanses you but it's the spirit that seals you. And the idea of the seal speaks of ownership. For instance if you were in Ephesus and you bought a consignment of wood you would put your seal upon it and everyone would see that that consignment of wood has been sold. That's where the word came from. And therefore God puts his holy seal upon you and praise God there is no power in the universe that can break it. Even when you sin it doesn't break the seal. Grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby he has sealed unto the day of redemption. So can you see what marks you out to be a Christian is the sealing of the Holy Spirit and without that you're not a Christian. Now may I say something that's a little disturbing but I believe it's vital. We must be very very careful when we lead a person to Christ to make sure God has worked in them. That there's conviction, there's some revelation. Otherwise we shall be leading people to Christ who have an empty profession. And one of the reasons why the church is so weak is because there are so many people with a lamp of profession and they're holding it up saying I am a Christian but there's no oil within them. There's no Holy Spirit. Now I do say this with great care. I feel sure that when the Lord comes many that break bread will be left behind because they were never sealed with the Holy Spirit. We must all make our calling and election sure that the Holy Spirit is within us. Now if you come now to verse 2 you will see now it's not only a unique identity it's a glorious discovery. Let's read verse 1 so that we get the connection. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. I'm leaving the other part because as you know it's in italics. That means it's not in the original. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. First of all note the dignity of the discovery. He had discovered within him that there was the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. That meant the Spirit of the living God was in him. Think of it. The Spirit of Christ was in him. The same glorious Spirit that made the worlds. The same glorious Spirit that performed all the miracles. The same Holy Spirit that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead dwells in you and me. Think of the dignity. Therefore your body has become the inner shrine of God's dwelling. Think of the dignity of that discovery. Then I want you to note that it's a liberating discovery. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Now what does that mean? The law of sin and death refers to the ten commandments. Now why? The ten commandments were never given to the Christ family. It was given to the Adamic family. And the moment you were taken out of Adam through the death of the Lord Jesus you were delivered from the law way of getting salvation and holiness. And therefore every Christian has been delivered. Now you say law and sin and death Mr. Brandon. Doesn't that mean the law of sin within us? Not here. The law of sin within us was the flesh. But here he is referring to the ten commandments that revealed sin and brought judgment because of the violation of the law. And then I want you to know it's a quickening discovery. Notice now what he calls the law of the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of Life. Life. Life not death. In the seventh chapter we were looking at the groan of the Apostle and it almost seems the groan of death. But in the eighth chapter the groan of death is not there. In fact the groan that's mentioned in the eighth chapter is the groan of birth pains. Not the groan of death. And therefore where the Spirit is moving among God's people and where the Spirit of God is filling a Christian he always brings life. Now where we see death among the people of God it's a sure sign that the Spirit's been grieved. Where we see spiritual life among the Lord's people it's a sure sign that the Spirit is being liberated among his people. And therefore it is the quickening spirit. But then I want you to note it was a personal discovery. Notice what he says. For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Notice the personal pronoun me. It's what the Apostle discovered. Now personally I do not believe God ever gives us a revelation of the Holy Spirit until we have been broken. I have never met a person who is living in the joy of a Spirit filled life who has never been broken. Never. It seems to me that when we go through this Romans 7 experience struggling for holiness and being utterly defeated and we cry out oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me then God gives us the spiritual click. He gives us that revelation. Now I believe it's true to say there are two kinds of Christians. There's the Christian who is saved but is so caught up with the material things of the world he's lost all his hunger. Now that person will never understand Romans 8. Then there's the Christian who has read the scripture and he has this insatiable desire that God might give him victory. Now that's the one that God is going to help. And I believe there are those here tonight that the God wants to give a living revelation of the Spirit and make this verse real to them. Therefore let's read it again so that we see the force of it. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. There came a moment in his life when he realized that the Spirit of God was within him and there was potential victory for him over the law of sin that was in his members. I remember coming out of a prayer meeting in Fleet. I shall never forget this. And I was climbing a little hill that was leading to a bridge over a canal and I heard a man coming behind me on a bike and he was puffing and panting and when I turned around he had a moped bike. You don't see them here but it's a bicycle with an engine attached to it and you can use it manually or you can use it mechanically. Well this man was using it mechanically and because of the weight of the engine the bike was twice its normal weight and the poor man was struggling to get over the hill and I could see the perspiration dripping from him and I nearly said to him if you don't utilize the power old chap you're going to have a heart attack. The next morning I came out of the prayer meeting and I was just about to walk up the hill when I could hear him coming. It was heavy breathing like a man with asthma and I looked at him and I could see he was almost blue and I nearly said to him why don't you switch on the power. The third morning was the last morning and I came out of the prayer meeting I was just going to climb the hill when I heard a motorbike engine. Really it was a pop-pop engine. Now I can't bear a motorbike engine if you've got a motorbike forgive me but I can't bear them but that was like Handel's Messiah. It was beautiful and I said I hope it's the man and I turned round and there he was there wasn't even a sweat on him he was whistling and smiling and he was going over the hill without effort. He had learned to utilize the power that was under him. There are thousands of my beloved brothers and sisters they're going to heaven the manual way the law way and they're making hard work of it struggling striving falling struggling striving falling and they're nearly having a spiritual heart attack. Why don't you turn on the power that's within him the holy spirit is there and he's waiting for you to appropriate him and that's what we've got to learn tonight. Now the second thing I want you to note it's a grand possibility look at verses three and four for what the law could not do and it was weak through the flesh God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin meaning a sin offering condemns sin in the flesh. Now let me say this again so that we grip it the sin that's in you the flesh that's in you has already been condemned at the cross so none of us will go to hell for it that's the good news but then look at verse four that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit so you see in verse three it's what we couldn't do we couldn't keep the law why because we were too weak but now the flesh has been condemned at the cross and the righteousness of the law now can be fulfilled in us why when we walk not in the flesh but in the spirit and therefore what we couldn't do in Adam we can do in Christ why because we've got the holy spirit and he has the power to not only help us to achieve everything that's in the ten commandments but all that the lord has commanded but there's a difference now last night i didn't explain to you the love way but i must explain it someone will say to me what do you mean brother Peter serving the lord in the love way now you will notice john says i write a new commandment and if you go through that epistle you will never see commandment number 11 so what does he mean i write unto you a new commandment and you can't find commandment number 11 so what does he mean it's a new way of keeping those commandments and it's the love way if you love me keep my commandments well you say brother Peter how does this love way work well let's take the three symbols it's Sunday morning and it's the breaking of bread you can get up and say oh i suppose i ought to be there if i'm not there the elders will know and they'll be visiting me i suppose i ought to go that's the law way far better not to go now this is the love way Sunday morning we're going to break bread the lord Jesus has requested it out of real love i want to be there you obey it in love take for instance baptism oh i suppose i ought to be baptized won't get into the local church unless i have and i want to be in the local church but i don't really want to be baptized i suppose i will far better never to be baptized but if you read the scriptures and say i can see the lord has requested this why out of a real love for the lord i'm going to be baptized take for instance the little symbol of covering someone might say well i don't want to wear a covering these old strict legal brethren far better not to have one but if you read the scriptures and see it's a matter of headship it's a matter of having restored the creatorial glory in the local church and if you see it shows a picture of christ in the church and you say out of a love for christ it's not someone at the door with a great sergeant major voice saying all attend the lord supper all be baptized every sister be covered that's the law way if you love me keep my commandments isn't that lovely liberates us all doesn't it it's just following in love the teaching of the law i'm sure you will see there's great liberty there now let's have a look at this tranquil mentality look at verses five six seven and eight for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they that are of the spirit the things of the spirit for to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace because the carnal mind is enmity against god it is not subject to the law of god neither indeed can be so then they that are in the flesh cannot please god now let's look at the fleshly mind meaning this is an unconverted mind they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh if you went to a crowd of ungodly men and said to them isn't the lord jesus lovely they say that if you said to them isn't it wonderful to be in the kingdom of god got a slate list but if you went up and spoke to them about football an event against a then about pornographic literature they would seize it immediately you see that's how the flesh thing is then he goes on and he says something else about the flesh for the carnal mind is death what does that mean the carnal mind is completely shut off from god what a state to be in alive to sin dead to god that's the carnal mind all right he's going to tell us something more because the carnal mind is enmity against god that's why romans 7 could not refer to paul in his unconverted state why because the carnal mind is enmity against god in absolute opposition to god and then he says they that are in the flesh cannot please god but now notice what he says to those who are in the spirit but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit when you go to a christian who is aware of the holy spirit and say to him isn't the lord lovely he will say amen brother if you say to him isn't it wonderful to be christ the new creature amen amen if you say to him it's grand that the lord's coming any moment praise god for that you see they that are of the spirit mind the things of the spirit then he says something here that's very interesting they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit for to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace now you've heard this quotation haven't you he's too heavenly minded to be any earthly good that's the lie of the devil what we should be saying today is the reverse too earthly minded to be any heavenly good that's it today but he says when you're spiritually minded you have life in all its abundance and peace a man that's spiritually minded will never have a serious mental breakdown it's peace it's peace it's peace someone said to me because i studied the scriptures two to three hours every day don't overdo it peter you'll have a mental breakdown and don't be too don't take spiritual things too seriously no you could upset your mental health how ridiculous when you're spiritually minded it's life and peace life and peace may the lord bring us into that we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh we were debtors when we were in adam but no longer for if ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if through the spirit to mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live now notice what he says if ye live after the flesh ye shall die now that word death is really tantalizing it's what i would call a theological teaser it's exactly the same word the wages of sin is death so what does it mean if i allow the flesh to dictate the terms in my life i could be eternally separated from god if that were the case none of us could be sure of being saved so then what does the word die mean now the word death has to be strictly translated and expounded within the confines of its contents and here the word basically means if i may give a paraphrase if we live after the flesh we shall not look like christians can i prove it to you if you see a man caught in a flaming temper does he look like a christian does he or if you see two people gossiping and pulling another christian character to pieces do they look like christians if you see a person laughing does he look like a christian if you see someone constantly in a state of irritation do they look like christians the flesh comes in and they die they look like the people of the world but then notice what he says but if through the spirit to mortify the deeds of the body he shall live now what does that mean what is the nature of mortifying or mortification it's the strongest word that we have in scripture for a malicious death the best illustration comes from samuel and you remember when he told Saul to slaughter the amalekites and Saul did up to a point but he heard how that he had spared some and samuel came to Saul and Saul came to him thinking that he was consecrated and he said i've done what the lord has commanded and all of a sudden there was a bleating sheep and a lowing oxen Saul could have strangled them so samuel being a man of discernment said what means this bleating sheep and this lowing oxen oh he says i'd use them going to use them for the purpose of worship you can't use the flesh for worship and then who should come before him was Agag the king and he came delicately and because Saul refused to slaughter the amalekites a picture of the flesh he lost his kingship now i hardly like to say this but samuel cut Agag to pieces he mortified him now that's the meaning of the word mortify look at your flesh hate it and say all its manifestations are going to be cut to pieces now that's the meaning but you can only do that in the power of the spirit you cannot do it the law way notice what it says if through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body now why the spirit is diametrically opposed to the flesh the flesh lusts against the spirit the spirit against the and therefore if we're on the side of the spirit we shall mortify it but then you will notice mortify the deeds of the body and you will say well brother peter how can that be done someone said to me quite recently if i could take out the flesh as you have suggested it i would get a knife and stab it all over and he meant it but he says i can't do it if i could take out the flesh i would mortify it but how do you do it would you know what it means we have to look up saying practically no to all the ugly dictates of the flesh and we have to obey the loving overtures of the spirit and when we do that we are mortifying the flesh in the power of the spirit then he says we shall live do you remember lazarus when he was raised from the dead that must have been quite startling if lazarus walked in this building and sat in this front seat with all his grave clothes i'm sure most of us would disappear it would be a terrible sight to see a man coming out of the grave like that so the lord said loose him and let him go and when he got the grave clothes we read in the 12th chapter they came not for jesus sake only but to see lazarus whom he had raised from the dead you see there was the beauty of resurrection about him now could you ever imagine lazarus saying to his sisters i'm going back to the grave just for old times sake i can imagine martha saying you must be joking no going back just for old times sake and he doesn't come home for his midday meal and there's no one seeing him concerning where he has been around the grave and they're making inquiries and it's almost getting late and they're all worried so mary says i'm going to the grave to see if he's there and she gets to the grave and the stone is rolled away so she says to a bystander you've not seen my brother lazarus that was raised from the dead yes i saw him hanging around the mouth of the tomb and someone rolled away the stone for him so she holds her nose for it was a common grave there were others that were there decomposing and she looked in the dark hole and she shouted lazarus are you there and she got the biggest shock ever she heard a muffled yes she says are you in there lazarus yes you're not speaking properly dear i've bound myself up with grave clothes just for old times sake dear i can't understand you now some of you think i've had a theological breakdown but i'm not every time we let the flesh out that's exactly what we do we go back to the grave we find all the grave clothes around ourselves and we look like a corpse but now he says if in the spirit you mortify the deeds of the body you shall live have you got it let the flesh reign and you die let the spirit mortify the deeds of the body and you'll live and that's our honorable responsibility now look lastly at this what i've called beautifying maturity for as many as are led by the spirit of god they are the sons of god now i do not believe like some of our brethren that there are some of god's children who are just children and there are some of god's people who are sons and when jesus christ comes the second time he will not come for the immature children he will come only for the sons and that is the doctrine of the partial rapture now i do not believe that i believe that we're all the children of god we're all the sons and daughters of god but it's only a spirit-filled man that looks like a son of god it's only a spirit-filled woman that looks like the sons of god you see there are three stages in a spirit-filled life number one it's living in the spirit that's being aware of the spirit in your life secondly walking in the spirit that refers to appropriating the spirit so that when any problem any difficulty comes you draw upon the resources of the spirit then thirdly it's being led by the spirit and this corresponds to a spirit-filled life and when people are spirit-filled they look like the sons of god in one village where we were working in tingewick i was visiting on a hot day and i looked down the road and i saw a hay rack in the middle of the road that's a thing we never see in britain and i rubbed my eyes for it was about a half a mile along the road and i said that's a hay rack then i saw it was moving then when it came nearer i noticed there was a man on the top of it and there was an old farmer right on the top of this moving hay rack on a horse cart controlling the horse with a long piece of string and that's all he had an australian hat on an australian 1914-18 war jacket and he had those old-fashioned trench what they call bridges and he looked a real character and he was going from side to side and it was a miracle that he could stay on and i was watching this man with a smile on my face and suddenly i noticed another person beside me he said mr brandon give you three guesses who that person is i said one of the local farmers no he said it's not a man it's a lady i said you're joking well i said i wouldn't know he said that's lady keys the wife of sir roger keys the admiral of the phoenix i said well she's a lady but she doesn't look like it we're all the children of god we're all the sons of god but we only look like the sons of god when we're filled with us then the beauty of the lord is seen in us may god fill us all with the holy spirit so that the reflection of the loveliness of christ may be seen in us all