Soul, Mind and Body

Into thy holy likeness to grow, thirsting for more and deeper communion, yearning thy love more fully to know. And someone chose that song here this morning, goes well with our message. I'm gonna sing maybe afterwards here, take time to be holy.

And, um, let's turn in our Bibles this morning here to Ephesians chapter number two. I mentioned this a few weeks ago, and, and, uh, there's a word there that Jesus uses in the book of Revelation. Oftentimes, as he writes to the church as he talks about he that overcometh, he that overcometh.

And there's a number of promises or seven promises for the one who overcomes. And, you know, I'm a human just like you all on the grass that was spoken about. And we all face the same problems.

We all face the same challenges. There's nobody that is any different than any others. Some, some are availing of the grace of God.

Some are not. Some have no grace, but we're all in the same position. And, uh, just, you know, seeing my own life and the life of others here, I thought it would be good this morning to just go back and remind us how to be an overcomer, how to be an overcomer, how to live victoriously and to, uh, to have a life that is a life of an overcomer.

So I want to start reading here in Ephesians chapter two. This is kind of a commentary of our condition and what God has done for us through his grace and his mercy, starting in verse number one of chapter number two. And then we'll, uh, look at, uh, the idea of being an overcomer.

I don't know. Maybe you're sitting here this morning and, you know, you feel like, and we'll read it in a little bit. Romans chapter seven, the things I hate, those are the things I do, the things that I want to do.

Those are the things I don't do. And, and Oh, wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this, this situation or this body of death. And I want to talk about that.

I want to talk about how we can be delivered. I've had a cough this week, so I might be hacking away a little bit this morning, but bear with me. Um, here in Ephesians chapter two, starting in verse number one, and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature, the children of wrath, even as others.

But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace, you are saved and has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. So our condition here is laid out in the first three verses. And then we see the verse, verse four, but God.

And so God intervenes on our behalf and this world and humanity is in a hopeless condition. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, God so loved as he looked down upon the situation in humanity, he had compassion upon us humans. And he then saved us by grace through faith and for the purpose of creating in us the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and good works.

So let's start there in this passage, just a word of prayer, and then we'll come back and I want to lay some foundation here and then talk about being an overcomer, how to be an overcomer. Heavenly Father, we thank you that we have such a God that loves us and cares for our soul, that we would not perish and be separated from you throughout all eternity. And so we come here this morning desiring to be more like you and to learn and to understand your ways.

And so Lord, help me here this morning to communicate your will and your word. I pray for clarity. I pray that I can speak the truth in love.

I do also pray for boldness and Lord, fervency of spirit. Those four things, may they be a part of the message here this morning. We look to you now in Jesus name.

Amen. All right. I'm going to just look at a couple of these verses to start off here.

It says, and you hath he quickened who were dead, dead in trespasses and sins, without hope, dead in trespasses and sins. I have up here an illustration I'm going to be using here for much of the message. It's one I've used in the past here, but these three circles here represent our nature.

We are a three-part being, just like the scripture says, God made us in his image. He is a three-part being. He is a triune being.

And so we also are made in the image of God. We are three, and yet we are one. As you look at me here behind the pulpit, you don't think of me as three.

You think of me as one, and yet I am three. I am body, soul, and spirit. And so these circles here represent spirit, soul, and the body.

Each one of us have spirit, soul, and body. And those three are connected. They're connected.

All three of them are connected very intricately. And so we have spirit, soul, and body. 1 Thessalonians says this, and I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so each one of us have spirit, soul, and body. And we find ourselves here, as Ephesians chapter 2 says, dead in trespasses and sins. And what that means is this, that our spirit, which was connected to God, you know, when Adam and Eve walked in the garden, they were connected to him who is eternal life.

And by the way, if you're not connected to him who is eternal life, you don't have eternal life. The Bible says that God who only has eternal life. And so in order to have eternal life, you must be connected to him.

And of course, Adam and Eve were connected to him. They had eternal life until they sinned. And we all know what happened there when they sinned.

They were disconnected from the Lord. They had a connection to him, much like Jesus talked about the vine and the branches. I am the vine, you're the branches.

There's a connection there with him who is eternal life. But when they sinned, this connection was broken. And so man is disconnected from him who is eternal.

And if you are disconnected this morning from him who is eternal, you have not eternal life. There is no life in you. And so in the condition we find there in Ephesians, all of us come into the world with a dead spirit.

Our spirit is dead. It's disconnected from God. Do you remember what God told Adam and Eve? The day that you eat thereof of this fruit, you shall surely what? Die.

You shall surely die. Well, Adam and Eve kept living. No, they died the very day they ate.

Their spirits were disconnected from him who has eternal life. They died the very day they ate of that tree. They also have a soul.

And I'm going to use the word we're going to see in the Bible. There's three words for the soul, the mind, the will and the emotions. We're going to focus here on the mind this morning.

And then we have this last part, which is the body. And so spirit, soul and body. And so here in verse number one of Ephesians, it says, And you hath it quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually dead.

And so when Adam and Eve died spiritually, then they gave birth to children. Guess what? You and I are all being born into the world dead in trespasses and sins. Because we're children of Adam and Eve, we are dead.

That's why John chapter three says, You must be what? You must be born again. You must be born again. You must have a living spirit connected to him who is eternal life.

And so the Lord wasn't just saying that to hear himself speak. He was telling them, Nicodemus, you're a religious man. You've got a lot of things going for you, but you must be born again.

You must have a quickening of your spirit and to be made alive and connected to him who is eternal. And then we have here a mind and a body. Now I'm going to put some numbers here.

We're going to use them here in just a minute. These are just arbitrary numbers. Their relation to each other have meaning, but the number has no meaning.

I'm going to put a 10 here and a two here for the sake of using this as an illustration. The flesh has a power of 10 and the mind has a power of two. And we're going to read about this in Romans chapter seven.

The problem with lost people who are dead spiritually and not connected with the Lord is that in them, their body is more powerful than their will and their mind. And you know how that is, how many times we make promises to God or we have New Year's resolution, and we think that somehow I'm going to be able to get this accomplished in my will, and I'm going to will it to come to pass. I'm going to lose weight.

I'm going to, you know, exercise every day. I'm going to do all these things, quit smoking cigarettes. And we will, and we will, and we will, but we don't have the power to get it done.

And that's human nature. And the reason why that is, is because we're going to see here in a minute that the body is too strong for the will, and the will cannot overcome the body. And that is why Jesus said of this person who's a lost person, disconnected, that this is what's reigning in you, your body, and you are a servant or a slave to sin.

You're under a bondage, and that bondage is a servanthood. Verse two, let's keep reading. We're in time past.

You walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And notice those two there, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Our nature, this is our nature, and we fulfilled these two.

You know how it is, the mind gets some signals from the flesh, you know, I want some pleasure, I want to sin, I want to do this and that. And you know, the mind is under bondage, it cooperates, and we give in, and the flesh is ruling, or the flesh rules us. And so we are, we are, that's our nature as an unconverted individual.

And then it says here in verse two, we walk according to the course of this world. Then you have, you have outside here, you have the world, and there's something else mentioned there. In verse two, according to the prince of the power of the air, you have the devil out here.

So here's the nature of man before he's converted, he has a dead spirit, he's disconnected from God, his body is vile, it's, it's fallen, and it is controlling him. And even though he wills to do better and to reform, he cannot find the strength to do it because he is being ruled by this, this body. And we'll see that in Romans chapter seven.

And then here, the world's out here also tempting him and the devil. By the way, our three enemies are who? The world, the flesh, and the devil. The world, the flesh, and the devil.

So here you are, you're sitting in here, your soul, your mind, will, and emotions, and you see this body that's all around you, this vile body that's pulling on you and having power over you. Then you see the devil out there, he's tempting you, the world is tempting you, and it's a very difficult situation. Paul said, oh, wretched man that I am.

In Romans chapter seven, who can deliver me from this, this situation, this body of death? And so hold your finger there, look back to Romans seven, I want to read this passage. Romans chapter seven, Paul talks about this condition. We'll jump in here in verse 14 of Romans seven.

It says this, for we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. I'm a slave to sin. For that which I do, I allow not.

For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

In other words, he's kind of trapped in this situation, you know, I want to do right, but I have no power to accomplish it. Verse 18, for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me.

I want to do it. I don't like my anger. I don't want to be an alcoholic.

I don't want to smoke two or three packs of cigarettes a day. I don't want to look at pornography. I don't want to do these things.

For to will is present with me. But then he says, but how to perform that which is good? I don't, I can't find it. I find it not.

For the good that I would, I do not. But the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. You ever felt that case, felt that way? When I would do good, it's just like it's right here because it is right here. It's right here.

The temptation in this flesh, it's always right here. Verse 21, I find that a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members.

That's that body warring against the law of my mind, fleshly lusts that war against the soul and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? So that's all of us. We have in our fallen nature, we have this predicament.

And it doesn't matter who you are, the Pope or some drug addict, it's the same situation. We have a willing heart in many cases, but the power of this body is too tough. I'm going to get up every morning at five o'clock and pray and seek God.

It's just, I do want to do that, and I'm going to do it. Our alarm clock goes off the next morning, you sleep right through it. And why, why? You know, many things you want to do good and I'm going to be a witness for Jesus.

Yes, one of these days, but we have a hard time getting it accomplished. So oftentimes, it's like you're sitting in this soul of yours and you're thinking, I want to do good, but I just don't seem to be able to get it done. Or I don't want to do evil, but I can't seem to stop it.

And that is the condition that we find fallen humanity. And unfortunately, as we'll see in a little bit, sometimes even God's children find themselves in that condition. But notice here in verse 23, something important.

It says, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity into the law of sin, which is in my members, the law of sin in my members. And the word law there has to do with a force. You know, there are certain laws in nature, the laws of gravity, and this is a force.

The force of sin in this body is stronger than the force of my will to do right. So we have this makeup. I mean, when we fell, we fell a long way.

And that body of yours, that body of yours is not good. It's not good. As a matter of fact, the Bible says, the only thing we need to do with it is to crucify it and mortify it.

There's no changing of it. God will change the body when he returns, right? We get a new one. But in the process, until we get there, all we're asked to do is to crucify it, to mortify it, and to put it, put it to death.

No willpower can accomplish this. That's one of the reasons why oftentimes we try harder. Maybe if I can get a few other people around me, we can try and accountability and I'm all for accountability.

But you need to hear what's the real answer this morning. The real answer for the problem is God's answer. And it's a biblical answer.

And so Paul feels this way, and maybe you feel this way sometime. Verse 24, Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Can anyone relate to Paul there? Is Paul and me all way out on limbs there? Can anyone relate to that? Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Now, I think about this same condition was when it was in the Israelites. And this is a beautiful thing.

You know, the Israelites are under bondage. They're being driven as slaves, and it's a bad situation. And what did they do? The Bible says the Lord heard their cries, right? They cried out to the Lord there in Egypt and said, Oh, God, deliver us from this condition that we're in.

You know, that's what the Lord wants us to do, too. Amen. It's called repentance in the Bible.

God, deliver me from this sinful situation that I am in. I don't want to live this way anymore. And the cries came up, and God heard their cries.

And he came down and he delivered them with a mighty hand. And sometimes the Lord is waiting for us to get to that place. Amen.

He's waiting for us to get to the place where, Lord, I'm sick of this. I'm sick of it, Lord, and I'll do whatever it takes. I want to get out of this slavery.

Sometimes I think the Lord looks down and sees people saying, I kind of like it down here. It's kind of nice. There's pleasures and things that I like.

And I don't think that we're going to be delivered by the Lord until we get tired of it. You know, this prodigal son came to the place where he said, I'm tired of this, eating the husk that the swine do eat. I'm going to go back to my father.

I want to change the situation. Does the Lord deliver those who want to stay in their condition? No, he's looking for people who repent, who want to get out of this state. Lord, I am longing, we sang this song, earnestly longing for something different than my condition.

That's a good place to be. Well, let's keep going here because we want to change the course here a little bit. In Romans chapter eight, he continues here and he says this, there is therefore now, here's the solution, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

I'd like you to notice that word walk. That word walk shows up for the first time right here in this letter that Paul writes in verse number one of chapter eight, walking. We're going to talk about that here in just a minute.

Verse two, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me, there's another word that shows up, it's a good word, free. Free is the opposite of slavery. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

And so we have a couple of new words here. We have this idea of of walking. We have this idea of being free.

And also there's another word that shows up here that's not, that's not in the book of Romans to this point, the word spirit, capital S. Spirit, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Here's what happens to you when you get converted. I'll draw this on the board.

When you get converted that day, that day, the day of your salvation, when you come to Christ, you repent, you cry out to God, you have faith. The Lord connects you to eternal life. He connects you at that moment to eternal life and he places his spirit inside of you.

You are quickened. Ephesians says he has quickened you. He makes you alive in the inner man, in your spirit.

And you're a born again, born again. Or as the Bible says, you are born of the spirit. Now here's something that's really, really important to remember.

And that is that I got my number 10 here, my number two, we're going to give this a 20. Amen. The body has a 10 and the mind has a two and in your lost condition, the spirit is dead and the body says, I'm ruling.

You do what I say. I want that lust. We're going to get it.

And I want that extra piece of pie. We're going to get it. I want those drugs.

We're going to get it. I'm going to get what I want because I'm stronger than you. I rule over you.

All of a sudden now, things have changed. Now, there is greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Greater is he.

And so this is what the scripture calls. If the sun shall set you free, you shall be free indeed. You know, just placing the spirit of God in you with a 20 power frees you from this 10 here set you free.

Now, once you notice this, the 10 doesn't change. You get the same body and the same desires and the same lust in that flesh as you had before you were converted. However, you got a more powerful force, right? You got the spirit of God.

And it's the law, it says in verse two of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that has set you free. Now, this here is what the book of Ephesians calls the new man. The new creation.

We are a new creation, right? In Christ Jesus, this disconnected individual with not the Holy Spirit is called the old man, the old man and the new man or a new creation. So freedom, think about this freedom is in the fact that you have a greater power that's been placed in you. It doesn't mean the flesh is now gone.

You all probably have realized that those who have the spirit of God, the flesh is still kicking, right? The flesh is very much there. It's got some of the old, the old lust, the old, old temptations, they're there. But you have in you now the spirit of God.

And if the sun makes you free, you shall be free indeed, free from having to obey this anymore. I'm no longer a slave. I have freedom.

You know, some people think, well, I'm a Christian, I'm free now. And then they wake up one morning, you realize, whoa, I've got some of the same temptations I had 20 years ago, 10 years ago. It's like, well, that's not unusual.

You got the same body, nothing changed, nothing's changed in your body. This body is the same vile body I had before I was converted. But we have a greater power.

And notice here in verse number three, this word shows up again, for what the law could not do, and that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. That's what God's heart is. The righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk, there's our word again, walk, not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

So as an unconverted person, I only had the flesh, and I walked in the flesh. But now as a believer, I've been given the Holy Spirit of God, and now I can walk, as the Bible says here, in the spirit. Now, what does it mean to walk? We've talked about this, I think, in the past.

If you go back to the very beginning of the Bible, you read about how Enoch walked with God. Enoch walked with God. You see, Noah, he also walked with God.

And Genesis chapter three, it says this, and they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the voice of the Lord walking. Enoch walked with God. And then you come to the New Testament, it talks about walking in the spirit.

Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of your flesh. Now, here's what walking is. Walking, by the way, walking is something they did on a regular basis.

You know, we have cars nowadays, and motorcycles, and bicycles, but back then, walking was a daily routine. You walk to the well, you walk to the market, and you walk pretty much everywhere you went, unless you had a little bit of money, had a nice horse, but walking was a daily activity. It dominated much of your day, you're walking.

And oftentimes, as we'll see an example in the Bible, you're walking along with someone. So the Bible says, walk with God, and walk with the spirit. You know, some of you ladies like to take walks, right, with your husband, like to walk.

What do you do in your walk? Hopefully, you talk, right? Walking is turning your mind. Now, here's something beautiful. Your mind was in bondage to go this direction.

Your mind was trapped by the flesh, and you'll find lost people, their minds are consumed with the flesh, the world, and the temptations that are there. But walking is turning the mind towards the Lord, turning the mind towards God, towards the things of the spirit. It is communing in your mind with the Lord as you walk out your daily life.

I like that Genesis 3, it says, and they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the cool of the garden. Oh, the Lord is coming. You know, they were in the garden, they heard the voice of the Lord, and they walked with God.

You know, God didn't have a physical body that they walked together, but they walked, but they heard his voice, and they walked together with him. That's what Noah did, he walked with God, he heard the voice of God. He had a heart and a mind that was turned toward the things of the spirit.

Amen. And he heard the voice of God, and he walked with God, and he communed with him. Jesus said this in the New Testament, if any man will hear my voice.

Are we going to see Jesus come in here in a physical body and talk to us? No, but he expects us to hear his voice. If any man have an ear to hear what the spirit is saying to the churches, I trust that we heard the voice of God as believers, and the spirit spoke to us about this ordination. And as we talked about praying and seeking God and hearing his voice, the spirit is speaking.

And are you walking with him? Are you walking with him? Walking has to do with our daily life and activity. And oftentimes they walk together in communion. I like this story, I'm not going to read the whole thing, but listen as I read it.

Here in Luke 24, it says, and the old two of them went the same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem, about three score furlongs. This was after the resurrection, the Lord was appearing to different people. And they talked together of all these things which had happened, and it came to pass that while they communed, notice these words, talking together, walking, communing, and they reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, what manner of communications are these that you have one to another as you walk, and are sad? Of course, they said, you know, what was all happening there about the Lord and how he had been killed? And someone said that they'd seen him, he had been raised up. And then keep reading here in verse 25.

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone further, but they constrained him.

And you know the story there, but in verse 31, I want you to pay attention here. It says, and their eyes were open, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us? And he opened unto us the scriptures.

Did not our hearts burn? By the way, there's a good heartburn, amen? This is not a bad heartburn, Brother Wolfe. Would you agree with that, being a doctor? This is the kind of heartburn that we ought to have in our walking with God. And he comes alongside these two.

They're walking along, and he starts to speak to them about the scriptures. And he opens to them the scriptures in a beautiful way. And their hearts begin to burn within them as these scriptures are being opened to them.

By the way, what do you think the Lord would like to talk to you about? Do you think he'd like to talk to you about who's winning the football game, the big Super Bowl game that's coming up here? Do you think he wants to talk about that? If you walk with God? Do you think he wants to talk about the weather? Do you think he wants to talk about that nice truck you have, and how you know you need a bigger one, and all the money that you're making? What do you think he wants to talk about? He walks beside him, and he opens their understanding of the scripture. Doesn't the Bible say that the Spirit of God you need not that any man teach you, but the anointing which you have received shall teach you in all things? Amen. We used to have this in our church here, and we've had it here recently.

Maybe after this message, we'll get it back. I always felt, and it seems like the early church had this, but I always felt like we would have an open time here for people to get up and share. My understanding is this.

You got a whole week to walk with God. Amen? You'd think that after walking a whole week with God that he'd have shared something with you that your heart would be burning. So when you come here on Sunday, let me up there.

I want to tell what God spoke to me this week. Wouldn't that be normal if you're walking with God? So we opened the time up, and expected the men especially. I mean, men, you want the ladies to be silent in church.

So where are the men? Stand up and tell us about Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. How do you commune with God? And he opened the scriptures to you. By the way, if he opens the scriptures to Brother Yossan back here, he probably did so because Yossan needs to share it with us.

Amen? So those open times were times to give opportunity for those who walk with God to come up and let that burning heart speak up, right? Do you think these people, when their hearts were burning, do you think they kept silent about what the Lord opened to them? Go back here. Let's go back to Romans chapter 8. And you may be already there, but Romans chapter 8, starting in verse 4, you notice this word mind starts coming up here in verse 4. 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.

That's an unconverted person dominated by the flesh. Where do you think the mind is turned? It's turned this way. They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Oh, that's where you want to be there. Spiritually minded.

Now notice here when you're unconverted, this is dead, disconnected. The mind has really no place to turn but to the flesh. And so the mind is consumed with the vanities of this world.

It's consumed with the lust of this world and it's occupied. But the beautiful thing about being converted is now you have the Spirit of God, which is stronger than that body. Now you can turn your mind towards the things of God and to be spiritually minded.

You know, I think about maybe some of the young people here, even us older ones. What's wrong with football? What's wrong with this subject? What's wrong with that subject? I'll tell you what's wrong with it. It fills your mind with vanity.

That's what's wrong with it. You know, you got a mind full of, well, it's not bad stuff. No, it's just chaff.

It's just emptiness. And you know what? A mind like that is a mind that's ready to fall. You're going to see that in just a little bit.

It's ready to fall. And there's no victory in that mind. So walking with God is having a spiritual mind.

By the way, if you love, you know, some of you, Brother Conrad here, he just was in a courtship. Of course, he's newly married right now, but I guarantee this courtship. He had his mind turned toward Lord.

Would you agree with me on that? Yes. Why did you have your mind turned in that direction? Because you loved her, right? He had a love. And that caused his mind to be turned.

And so as we love the Lord Jesus, and his spirit is now quickened us, our mind is turned in that direction. Amen. Amen.

Ought to be at least communing with him on a day-to-day basis. See, God wants to talk and walk with us. He wants to, he's in us.

He wants to commune with our mind and heart. And we need to hear his voice. Spend the day.

And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own, right? In the garden, remember? Walking with him, talking with him. I think it ought to be a normal thing for us to just, Lord, you know, just mumbling even under our breath, just be talking to God on a regular basis. We're going to see a few examples of that here, but talk to him.

And you know what? He'll talk to you. And he'll open unto you truth. And the scripture is communion.

Now I'm going to get in trouble here. I could say a lot of things get me in trouble, but I still want to be an elder here. So they'll probably, on the votes, of course, many of them ran, you know, we want this person in and we want Jerry out.

But you know, the Bible never uses the word devotion, devotions. A lot of people put a lot of weight in devotions. I'm not against devotions, but it's not a biblical concept.

You know, we've kind of relegated God to a half hour in the morning where I'm going to go talk to him and he's going to talk to me and I'm going to do my devotion. And then outside the door, the devil's waiting for you to get out so he can hammer you the rest of the day. Because you've given your little half hour or an hour to the Lord, and yet God has called you to come out and walk with him all day and have communion and fellowship with him all day.

Would you agree with that? And so a lot of these things, you know, you go to the Bible, where is devotions? You know, where did Paul say, make sure you get up early in the morning and spend your hour with the Lord. It's not in the Bible because he said, make sure you get up and spend your day with him and walk with him. And while you're doing the dishes, talk with him and meditate on the scriptures and have him speak to you and open your understanding to live in communion with him.

This walking with God is what gives you the power to live overcoming sin and the world and the devil. Here's how we are. And we're going to see a verse here in a little bit.

We have the spirit, but our mind is turned this way. And we fall back into Romans chapter seven. I'm back in Romans seven.

I have the spirit of God. I believe in Jesus, but I'm back under slavery, right? Because I'm powerless. How many of you know that if the heart and mind is turned this way, there's no blessing, there's no grace, right? If the heart and mind is turned toward the world, many of our minds and hearts are filled with the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things.

And we're being choked, right? It's choked. So we read in Galatians this walk in the spirit or walk with the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. There's your answer right there.

Walk in the spirit and you shall not fall. You shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If you look there in Romans eight, verse 13, it says this, for if you live after the flesh, speaking of believers, you shall die.

But if you through the spirit, everything is through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. By the way, isn't faith looking unto Jesus? Looking unto Jesus, not looking the other way. And so in the Bible, we're told things like this.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. How many of you could say that's what's happening in your heart? My mind, the word of Christ is dwelling in me richly. Here's another one.

Teaching and admonishing one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Take time to be holy. You know, I really, we don't do enough of that.

I don't do enough, but I really can get ministered to when people sing. You know, maybe it's a quiet place you're working in. Someone starts singing, just listen to their words.

And singing, letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Here's another one. I like this one.

Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. This is how to have a spiritual mind. The word of Christ dwelling in you richly, singing praises to God, giving thanks.

Not just at the meal. You ought to be at wake up in the morning, first thing out of your your mind. Lord, thank you for waking me up this morning.

Give me another day. Thank you, Lord. Putting your socks on.

I'm getting to this place now. Lord, thank you I can get my socks on. No, seriously.

There's coming a day when I won't be able to, but my legs used to bend real good. I just, now it's a little difficult. Got to turn sideways.

Lord, thank you that I can have a warm shower. Oh, oftentimes in the shower. Thank you, Lord.

This is so good. Thank you, Lord. I can use the restroom.

Just simple things. Thank you, Lord. Sometimes you feel guilty.

Thank you, Lord. My wife makes these nice sheets there in the bed and got it just so comfortable. Thank you, Lord.

Lay down in the bed. Thank you. Thank you that I have a warm car to drive in.

Don't have to walk in this cold weather. There's a lot of things you can be thankful for. Thank you for the brotherhood.

I oftentimes thank God. Sunday is a great day for me on Sunday. I just am so thankful that I have you all.

Amen. It's good to be here. Just thank God you're a part of a church.

Just tell him quietly, just say, thank you, Lord, and live a life of thankfulness. You'll find that as your mind is turned toward the things of the spirit, oh, I'm getting grace and power over sin. One of the reasons why people fall on a regular basis is their mind is preoccupied with the natural world.

It may not be bad things, but it's just preoccupied with chaff. So a spiritual mind, you probably all have this one memorized here. This one affected me in a great way when I was a young man, young Christian.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law that he meditate day and night. So much for devotions there, huh? And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in his season.

Man, this guy is going to have life. He's going to have fruit. His leaf also should not wither.

He's going to be someone who has life on a regular basis like those evergreen trees. Even through the cold, the winter, he's still green. And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

That really got me when I was a young man. Everything I do is going to prosper. You know why? Because I'm walking in the spirit.

I'm meditating upon his word. My mind is filled with spiritual things. I have a spiritual mind.

Therefore, God is going to bless my hands in all that I do. Then the next verse says the ungodly are not so. But are like the chaff, the ungodly are not so like, so, yeah, the godly are meditating, filling their minds with the things of the spirit, the ungodly are not.

You've heard me tell this illustration here that the missionary went to the Indians, you know, and the Indians, there was an Indian man there that got converted. And so the missionary left. And a couple of years later, the missionary came back to the Indian and wanted to see how he was doing in his spiritual life.

And the Indian said to the missionary, well, you know, Mr. Missionary, it seems like I have a white dog in me and a black dog in me. And they're always kind of fighting together. He was kind of expressing Romans 7 there.

And the missionary said, oh, really? He said, which one is winning? And the Indian said, whichever one I feed the most. That's what I found out that if I feed the spiritual mind, I'm victorious. If I feed my fleshly mind, I'm falling.

On a regular basis. So young people, older people, if you feed your mind with vanity, expect to fall. Right? Expect it.

You say our young people are falling, expect it. If they're always here, if they're always involved in all the cares of this world and all the things that this world has to offer and their minds are filled with it, expect failure in the spiritual realm. And no rules and regulations are going to get them to be overcomers unless they realize that I must overcome by the Spirit of God at last.

Amen. If you feed your mind with the things of the Spirit, expect to succeed and to be an overcomer. Your heart is full of thanksgiving.

Your heart is full of the Word of God. Your heart is full of song and praise to God. Expect to succeed.

All you do will prosper. Turn with me to Galatians chapter five once. By the way, I don't mean to offend anybody here.

I've preached this before and I don't have anybody in mind. Believe me, I don't. I just want to throw this out.

The Bible says in Ephesians, to labor with your what? Hands that you might have to give to them that have need. Adam was told to work by the sweat of his brow. You know, what has happened in the last 50, 60, 70 years is men have turned their labor from their hands to their mind.

And they're now sitting behind desks. And their minds, I remember a man told me this, how can I meditate day and night on the Scriptures? My mind is exhausted for what I'm doing. There's something not right about that.

Amen. And so sometimes if you find your place in a situation where you can't obey the Scriptures, you have to say, wait a minute. Is this a good situation? I would encourage you just to, to make sure you're able to have a spiritual mind.

Galatians five here in verse 22, it says this, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance against such there is no law. I'll just throw that out there. You know, there is no law against these.

You go out there in the West, like in Montana and stuff, they don't have any speed limits. You can just go as fast as you want. I guess we should tell the young people that, right? And, you know, against these things, listen, you can have as much love as you can give.

You can have as much joy. You can have as much peace, goodness, gentleness, all these things, there's no law slowing you down. Verse 24, and they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Now notice verse 25, if we live in the spirit, if we have the spirit of God and we're connected to eternal life, if we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. That means that a person can live in the spirit and yet not walk in the spirit. Do you agree with that? That you could have the spirit of God and yet not be walking.

The Bible says don't grieve the spirit, don't quench the spirit of God, right? And so living in the spirit of God does not automatically mean you're going to walk in the spirit. If you live in the spirit, that means you have a connection with the Lord. You're alive in him.

But in that connection, make sure that you walk in the spirit. And that walk is a communing on a day-to-day basis, having him walk with you. And wow, hey listen, when he does tell you something amazing, like he opens things up, write it down and come and tell us about it.

Amen. Come and tell us about it. I want to know what the Lord is speaking to you, right? As a matter of fact, when we open the pulpit up here, there ought to be lines of people ready to go.

On Tuesday, I was talking with the Lord. He just opened up some things. I want to share it with you.

My heart's burning. So some can live in the spirit and not walk in the spirit. And so if you're here this morning, first of all, if you're here this morning and you're not even connected, you've not been born again, you need to get connected.

If you die unconnected, disconnected, you're not going to make it. Because you're going to die and descend into hell. But most of you here are converted and you're connected.

You've come to the Lord, you've repented, you've cried out and said, Lord, deliver me from this mess. And the Lord has given you his spirit, you've been born again. Now, if you live in the spirit, make sure you're walking in the spirit.

Don't settle for anything less. Don't settle for a half hour devotional time. Don't settle for a little daily bread.

Walk with God. Walk with God. For morning to night, just thank God.

Sing praises to him. Just praise him and meditate upon his word. Let him teach you.

That's how to be an overcomer. There's no other way. There's no other silver bullet.

No secrets. God has given us the power and eternal life. And so turn your mind and heart towards him.

Let's sing together. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

Heavenly Father, we do pray this morning that all of us, including myself, would yearn to have a spiritual mind. That we could truly be full of you and your word and song in our heart and thanksgiving unto God. Let it change the way we are.

Change the way we live and give us the power and the grace to be an overcomer. Help us to make wise decisions and to turn our hearts in your direction. We pray also for anyone this morning who's not connected to the eternal life, never been born again, that you would bring them, draw them to yourself.

Have mercy upon us as a congregation. And Lord, as the scripture says, draw an eye to God and he will draw an eye to you. May we make that step and seek your face.

Bless each one here this morning. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.