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

I don’t see it in you--that’s what some say. Thank God, you don’t, but there is one thing I know above all else--if you look to Jesus you will see all that you need. It is God’s Word; it is established and it will not change. Jesus said it was necessary for Him to go away so that we could receive the Comforter. What’s the matter--couldn’t Jesus comfort? Listen--Jesus knew that comfort would only be on the inside, and He wasn’t on the inside! That’s why he had to go away--so the Comforter could come and He could be on the inside. So in Jesus’ Name know this: Comfort doesn’t come from people or places or things. Comfort comes from inside of you because that’s where God is. Jesus gave us His life and He said, “No man can pluck you from the Father’s hand.” This means that no man can reject you or put you outside the camp as they did in the days of Israel. God is the one that has given you Himself--it is not dependent upon people, or the choice of people. God has established it! People can say you can’t come here or go there, but they can not remove you from the heart of God. Sin is not against people. It is against God, and God has forgiven us our sins and placed us in Himself. Man’s laws say you have to do this and that, but God says you just believe me and I’ll do the rest. People can judge me of their law, but law only brings death and transgressions. People cannot give life-only God in Jesus has reconciled us to Himself. Therefore, I cannot be afraid of people--they have no power over God, and God is Life. Man can say you better not say this--I forbid it. The church people told Peter, “You dare not speak in this name any more; we forbid it!” And yet Peter talked and men believed, and God worked. Nothing is going to stop God! His Word has a purpose and that purpose is to feed the hungry, and that purpose can’t be withheld. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” God first had a mouth in Jesus, and Jesus spoke God’s word. He said the Words He spoke were not His own, but the Father’s who lived in Him. That’s why Jesus said the Words that He spoke were Spirit and they were Life. God has given to us these same Words if we will speak them. And many people will stop their ears even as they did to Jesus, but there are those who are hungry and their souls will cry out to God in thanksgiving for having heard the Word from your lips. You may not even know it, but because you opened your mouth and spoke God’s Word, that soul ate from God’s larder and grew strong. When we do not go and tell the words of Jesus, we feel a conflict within us. We wonder what can we do. Jesus says, “Go into the highways and byways and tell them of me.” Then Satan says, “You can’t do that--they won’t listen!” Then you say, “They will.” Then Satan says, “Where will you go? And so you’re listening to Satan! Jesus says, “Go tell them of me” Then you say, “Jesus, they will persecute me. They won’t listen. They hate me.” And Jesus said, “They hated me too. Don’t think they won’t hate you. Remember the servant is not greater than the Master. But know this: if they love me, they will love you--and if they hate me, they will hate you. If they will hear My Words, they will hear yours too.” So we can’t ever say, “I can’t talk because no one will listen.” The hungry will hear and listen. The hungry will hear and be fed. Listen, Jesus said this. “If they don’t listen to you, remember this: they wouldn’t listen to me either!” So I’m going to talk! Call it brazen, call me a fool, cal1 me whatever you want; but this one thing I know, if I speak God’s Word, that Word will accomplish the purpose for which God ordained it! It can’t fail! It’s God’s Word and to someone somewhere it will accomplish what God desires! I may not see it, but that doesn’t change it. God has ordained it--not me. It is His Word, not mine. I’ll babble on--some will hate me, some will laugh, some will say, “What a fool,” but some will live--some will see Jesus! No one can silence me. They can stop their ears, but they can’t silence me. In God I will speak and in God I will live. Flesh--it is death! God--He is Life! Wherever God is, there is Life. Anything that brings death is not of God--it is of this world. My life is of God--not this world and as God lives, I live. I cannot say, “There is no life,” because God is Life and God always is! Death is a lie, and I will not speak lies. God is Truth and Life, and my soul shall revel in Him. Nothing can touch me for harm. “He that dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord--He is my refuge, He is my God, in Him will I trust.” God has made us according to His own will. He has made us of Spiritual substance. He has endowed us with Himself. God is our Life. When a man comes to the Lord and calls upon the name of God and believes in Jesus Christ, God destroys the network of lies that is this “body of death” and recreates us in His image after His likeness. Then as we look to the things which the eyes of this world can not see, we see the things that are eternal. The fabrication of flesh is exposed for what it is--an enemy of God, steeped in lies, knowing no Truth, having no substance, being only something that today is and tomorrow is withered away. And with the eyes of God, we see the things that flesh cannot see because we see that which is eternal--we see God. He is revealed for what He is--the fullness that fills all things, the everlasting Father, the source of all love and understanding, and we see that He is our life and that we live only in Him. The eyes of flesh can only see flesh. They see destruction and hopelessness, and destitution and discouragement, and despair and imprisonment. This is because flesh can’t see beyond flesh, and it becomes a captive to itself. But Jesus came and set the captive free! He made us a new creature in His own realm. And now He says, “Reckon yourself dead to the flesh, but alive unto God.” And so in Jesus name I reckon it so. How it can be, I do not know. That’s why I was without hope--because I couldn’t see how. But Jesus says that it is so and I shall make every effort to believe that it is so. I cannot live in God and say, “I’m filled with despair.” Despair is in the flesh; fulfillment is in God! Fulfillment--not the fulfillment of the flesh but the fulfillment of God--that is what is in me. I have received of His fullness so there is no lack in Him. When is the time that all these things will belong to us?--In the day that we are converted and brought into His fullness. All things have been brought into fruition right now because Jesus died on the cross and said, “It is finished.” That was all He could do. He laid down His life, and there was nothing left. He entered the grave, but God raised Him from the dead so our victory would be complete. If we die with Him, we shall also be raised with Him. Therefore, when I say, “Here is my life, and I give it up,” then Jesus gives me His Life--and it is mine now! Now I know when I can come into my inheritance. I know how long I have to wait. I have to wait until I give up my life. I have to wait until I reckon myself, the old man, to be dead. Then I don’t have to wait any longer. I receive God’s Life and enter into Him now! This is God’s provision! God meant for it to be mine. He gave it to me. All that He is, He gave to me. You see, now is the time I need it. I don’t need it when I reach that realm after this physical life, but I need peace, and joy, and rest now. I do not need righteousness when I get to that place where all is righteousness. The Word of God says that without righteousness no man shall see God. If I shall believe what many people would have me believe, I would believe that not until the time this life is over will I have righteousness. This is not so! Jesus Christ is my righteousness--not then, but now. If I couldn’t see God until I attained unto righteousness and I could not have righteousness until I see God, I could never have anything--I would be forever lost! Therefore I know that God has given me Himself now. Oh Hallelujah! Now! All of heaven rejoices because of the love of God that is revealed to us now! Without the knowledge of these things, we cannot possess that which God has provided. The only result of this is loneliness. It is hopelessness. We hope that more can be done, but Jesus said, “I have done all--it is finished.” Jesus died for us so we don’t have to die. God raised Him from the dead so that we could have His Life. He brought us into Himself because we could not find Him ourselves. He has done all these things because we could do nothing. He has given Himself to us now so we no longer need to be a captive of despair and hopelessness. He gave Himself to us now so we would never be lonely. He dwells within us now so He can give us comfort now. That’s when we need it--not some future time. But I cannot have God and my old life too! Only in those things where I am willing to be no more in myself will I be in God. If I say, “I am lonely, “and will not say, “Lo, you are with me now,” then I will be lonely still. If I say, “I am shut up,” and will not say, “I am alive in Christ now,” then I will be shut up and know not the presence of God. When will I have these things that God has provided? When I turn from myself, and say, “I have them now.” The possession is up to me. God has completed the provisions.

The important thing in this life is not what we know so much, as it is who we know. It’s always wise to make friends with those above you. However, of all the people we can know, there is One that it is imperative to know if we are to have real enjoyment in this life--that is the man called “Jesus Christ.” We recognize that He exists when we divide history into B.C. and A.D. But what about His existence--what does it mean? For one thing, it means that all who will believe in Jesus shall have a new Life--one that turns from serving the desires of man and thinks only of how he can please God. It means that death holds no fears in this new Life, not because we think we are brave, but because this new Life’s very existence comes from the heart of God, and with God endures forever. But it means something for right here and now too! It means that we may have the conscious possession of this knowledge; and along with it, we will have the peace that this knowledge gives. This man Jesus said, “My peace I leave with you…” He teaches us that this peace is of a different quality than the peace the world has provided. It is not dependent upon some passing transient of time--it is a peace that is deep-rooted, stable, and proven. To know this Jesus as the Christ is to establish again our rightful place in God’s creation. It means that we have turned from the belief that man is sufficient in himself and have come to know and depend upon the mercies and riches of God. To believe in Jesus Christ is to know that we are of a different root than the animals. We know that God has given us His Spirit. Self-preservation is no longer paramount in our lives. We have a God-given purpose and God-given direction to guide us. To believe in Jesus Christ is to know that man is made to reflect the glory of God to those about him, and this is a faith that surpasses all personal ambitions. To know Jesus is to know that in Him is Light, and this Light is the Life of men. Do you believe this? Listen to what the Bible says in John 3:8-21. “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth (the Word of God) cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

When a person tries to memorize the things of God, they are only putting it in their mind. But God will bring to our remembrance everything we need to know. We don’t learn from God or about the things of God the way we learn with our mind. That’s simply because God is Spirit and the mind is carnal and of this world. The realm of God is a foreign realm to the mind. The mind can’t even imagine the things of God. It is beyond its capability. All things necessary to know must be revealed. For instance, why must I be born again? Simply because the Bible tells me I cannot enter the kingdom of God unless I am. Also I cannot perceive the things of the Spirit in my first estate because in it I am flesh. The Bible tells me flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God. God’s realm is the realm of the Spirit. Jesus plainly stated to Nicodemus and in his conversation with the woman of Samaria that God is Spirit. He is like the wind--He is invisible. That’s why I must become born again so that I might become Spirit and enter God’s realm--the realm of Spiritual things. Flesh and blood is not capable of knowing God, but I am capable because Christ in me is my capability. But Christ is no longer flesh--He is the “Spirit of Truth” and a Spirit has not flesh and bone according to Jesus. Flesh, which appears to me as everything, becomes as nothing when compared to the reality of the Spirit. My flesh cries out and says, “Recognize me, I am reality, the life is in me.” But Jesus said, “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing.” I do not wish to be nothing, so I will identify with Christ as my new life and I find my significance in Him. I am only complete in Him! The Bible says that the flesh is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. I do want to live so I will abide where true life is found--in God. If there is life only in the Spirit, then I cannot live in the flesh, because that’s not God’s realm. In fact, Paul says in Romans 8:8-9, “Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be the Spirit of God lives in you,” and “They that are in the flesh cannot please God.” To live in the identity of the flesh is to live in lies, and I do not wish to live a lie. But I must claim this new life for my own. That’s what being born again does for me; it makes me a new creature in the Father and in the Son because they are one. If I am new, then I am no longer the old. All of the old things have passed away--they are gone. They died when Jesus died. I need not worry about dying now because the old man has already died with Christ and Christ has given me eternal life. My flesh doesn’t have eternal life, but the real me--the one Peter calls the hidden man of the heart does. Where is this hidden man? Paul says in Colossians that he is hid with Christ in God. So I have already passed from death into life and that’s what the Bible calls Life in the Spirit.

In order to have a victorious awareness of God, we must know that Jesus is The Life Giver, not just a Problem Solver. Our problem is that, generally, we only look to Jesus for direction when we want to be delivered from a difficulty. When things go smoothly we are apt to be more aware of the everyday happenings that we encounter than we are of the Life of God that is within us. We expect to go along our own way, living our own life, being an individual within our own selves; then when we meet difficulties, we ask Jesus to help us. Sometimes it seems that He does, and sometimes it seems that He doesn’t. The result of this is that most of our requests are made in desperation. We have no confidence, no faith, only hope. We pray and ask Jesus to help us and hope that He will. This is generally what happens when we consider Jesus to be a problem solver. Jesus has brought us to a new source of life. This new life must be our prime consideration. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to us that the fact that we have a new life, the Bible tells us over and over again that this is so. We would do well to consider it. This new life is completely independent of the laws of the material, physical existence that man considers his life to be. This new life is God’s Life and it has been given to us by Jesus Christ. This life is the gift of God! Yet, instead of accepting it, we continue to struggle in the old. We are continually finding ourselves in all kinds of difficulties. This seems so unnecessary in view of what we read in the Bible. We are endowed with NEW LIFE when we are born again. A man must first see that he is dead. This is why Jesus died. He died so that we might reckon ourselves dead. Without the death of the old life, there can be no new life. Jesus said that you don’t put new wine in old wineskins. A lot of us are unwilling to give up the old life. We have no desire to reckon ourselves dead. We are willing to reform, we are willing to suffer persecution; we are willing to have most anything happen to us just as long as we can keep our identity. We want to say, “The life is mine, I am a1ive, I am me.” But it just isn’t so. If one believes the words of Jesus, if they accept Him as being their Savior from sin, it just isn’t so. Salvation means a new life. It is God’s life given to man. Jesus did not give man the power to live the old life, free from sin, but He gave man the power to live a new life, a life completely different from the old. The Bible says, “Old things pass away all things become new.” Naturally it’s hard to understand this because it means the cessation of life as the flesh knows it or so the carnal mind imagines. But we are not left lifeless. Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live. Yet, it is not I, but Christ liveth in me.” This is a very clear statement of our Life Source. This must be the fundumenta1 basis of our life in this world if we are to be continually aware of God. It seems unnecessary to say that we are only aware of that which we think about, but it’s true. Our thoughts seem to focus only on those things that seem to be most pressing. To know that these “most pressing” things are in the hands of our Heavenly Father, and that He is shaping them for our good and His glory, is not a natural thing to think about. But it must be the foundation of every thought, every word, and every action of our life here in this world, if we are to be aware of God as He really is. In the 17th Chapter of John, Jesus prayed to the Father and said, “Glorify me with Thine own self, with the glory I had with Thee before the world was.” Then, speaking of us, He said, “The glory Thou hast given me, I have given them.” In order to understand what Jesus is saying, it is necessary to know that “glory,” as Jesus used it, means “all that God is.” Notice how Jesus phrased it, “Glorify me with Thine own Self.” So Jesus received all that God is, and He gave Him to us who by faith receive His Words. That is salvation. In Jesus we have received a life that is free from sin. It is a life that is eternal because it is the Life of God. We have been set free from the law of sin and death, which is in our members when we abide in the Father. In fact, Jesus told us that we could be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. Whether one believes this, or not, doesn’t change the fact that Jesus has prepared our place of abiding in the Father, but it makes a world of difference to us! If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, if we believe Him, then we have been given a life that is free from sin! If this were not true, we would still be in our sin and there would be no salvation. To abide in the Father is the only way that we may obtain salvation, there is no other way. Jesus gave His life so that we might have God’s life. He did this because He loves us, so naturally it is His desire that we believe Him. It is my desire that you will be encouraged to consider Jesus as the total Life Source of your existence, because only in this way will you have the peace and contentment that God meant for you to have. We will see conditions forming around us that seem insurmountable, and because we in our old selves do not know how to cope with the situation, we proceed to do what we can, not knowing for sure just what will happen. Problems have a way of growing when faced in this manner. Then, when we find out our efforts are not getting the desired results, we become desperate. We cry out to God for deliverance, hoping, but not knowing for sure whether we will be delivered. If we are conscious of God’s Life within us, we will not fear no matter what the circumstance may be. God knows how to handle them. Trouble will always be present; those things which we have considered to be problems will continue to surround us. But now it is no longer a matter to worry about; they are in God’s keeping and He is working them out for our own good. Paul made a statement that reveals this attitude. He said, “I have learned that whatsoever state I am in therewith to be content.” Today Paul might say it this way, “No matter what happens to me, no matter what conditions come against me, I have learned that I do not have to be disturbed by them.” You see, this is the man that said, “Christ lives in me.” To know this independence is to know a victorious life. I know of no one who has lived a victorious live except Jesus. I can not imagine the magnitude of my new Life. I only know that it is beyond the capacity of my mind to understand the things that God has prepared for me. I read things in the Bible that alert me to certain facts so that I might believe. Jesus brought salvation to me. He was the Son of God and He gave me favor in God’s eyes. I am not bound by sin because the Bible tells me that He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. This is the beginning of my heritage in Christ. Jesus, as the obtainer of my salvation, did battle with Satan, who is the one that desires my bondage. He is the Prince of this world. Jesus invaded this world. He encountered every force that Satan could bring against Him. He emerged triumphant in all things. Jesus displayed His victories for all to see. One way that He displayed His victory over Satan was by “casting out demons,” and healing those who were sick and lame and blind. Most everyone agreed that these “sicknesses” were from Satan, or Beelzebub, as they called him. What they couldn’t understand was by what power Jesus could do these things. Some said that naturally He could cast out devils because He was the Prince of devils. Other weren’t so sure. “Can the devil open blind eyes?” they asked. And so there was a division among the people because of Jesus. Jesus set them straight on this matter. He said that if you enter a strong man’s house and bind that strong man, then you can do whatever you want. This word, “whatever,” covers a good bit. All things became subject unto Jesus. It was not originally that way. He ruled, exercised authority, if you please, until all things were subject unto Him. The scriptures say that the last enemy He conquered was death. So if death has no power over Him, and He is my life, then death has no power over me. Here is what the scriptures say, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I can not look at this as being the old life that was the flesh, because that life God declared came from dust and would return to dust. The new life that I have is of God, and He is Spirit. So my new life is in Christ, not myself. Now, if He is victorious over all things, and He is, and He is my life, then I have victory over all things. You see, it really isn’t me--the old me, that has the victory--it is Christ who is in me that has the victory. So, here’s the essence of what I’m saying: If I consider my life to be my own, I will exist from one problem to the next, and never really be aware of the constant abiding presence of Jesus. But if I consider myself to be alive in Christ, then I will live every moment of every day, knowing that my life is hid with Christ, in God. I can live in the peace that He gave me because He has overcome the world. Isn’t that wonderful? But how am I to know that this is true? How am I to know that this is for here and that it is for right now? Earlier in these words, I said that to know the magnitude of this new Life is beyond the understanding of our carnal mind. I do not want to stop on that hopeless note. The Bible says, “God hath revealed it to us by His Spirit.” So that’s how you know these things; there is no other way. It seems that in order to stay pointed in the right direction, I must always come back to certain things that Jesus said. They seem to be such strange things. Sometimes we think, because they are so strange, that they are mystical words, uttered by Jesus, and not meant for us to understand. Not so. They are Words that tell of Spiritual truths; that’s why they sound mystical to the carnal mind, and these truths are revealed to us, not by the carnal mind but by God’s mind. Paul wrote these words of revealed knowledge, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” Jesus knew that this was true. He told His Disciples that the Words He spoke were not His own, rather they were the words of the Father who lived in Him. He said the same thing regarding the works that He did; it was the Father who was responsible for them. You see, Jesus had God’s mind. So, let’s keep this in mind, Jesus knew and understood something that man didn’t understand. He told His Disciples and us what these things were, because soon they would have that which would enable them also to understand. We can know that the privilege of having God’s life is a “now” thing because certain things that Jesus said would happen have happened. When Paul wrote the words that said Jesus would rule until all things were subject to Him, He also said that the Son would give Himself over to the Father so that God would be “all in all.” That happened. It was necessary for this to happen. Jesus put it this way, “If I go not away, the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, will not come.” The Holy Ghost did come. The scriptures are exceedingly plain on this point. It happened on the day of Pentecost. If it didn’t happen, you might as well wipe out the whole New Testament. You could no longer believe Jesus because He said it would happen. If I can’t believe Jesus, I can never know God because Jesus is the only one who has revealed the Father. But it DID happen. The Bible says that it happened, history says that it happened, and the events of man since then has lent credence to the truth of God’s Life, or Spirit, within man. Jesus asked God to “glorify” Him with God’s own self, not His own self, but God’s own self. This was something that was entirely independent of material things because it was a “glory” that existed “before the world was.” Jesus, while on earth, lived in this “glory” by faith. He entered into it in actuality when He gave Himself over to the Father. You see, this made God all in all, and that’s the way it was before the world was. Jesus desire to have this “glory” has been fulfilled. He laid down His life to receive it. I’m referring to the day that Jesus gave Himself to the Father. He desired that we also should receive this “glory.” How did this come about? To me this is such a wonderful thing that words seem inadequate; God gave Himself to me! Call it the Holy Spirit, or whatever you like, but that’s God! I don’t deserve this, I have done nothing to merit it, but it is the free gift of God. This is because of Jesus’ desire that we share His Glory and be with Him where He is. Jesus honored the Father and the Father honored the Son. God said to Jesus, “Thou art my Beloved Son,” and He gave Jesus all power and all authority, to work, to judge and to give Life. Jesus said to the Father, “I love these people. I want them to be one with us, just as we are one.” Then Jesus gave up His life and proceeded to the Father. Then this magnificent Oneness of the Father and the Son came to man and made him one, even as Jesus and the Father were made one. As Jesus was made alive with God’s Life, even so, are we privileged to be made alive with God’s Life. This is our heritage, this is our perfection, this is our righteousness, and this is our salvation. I once knew a man who wanted to become a Christian, but he felt that he would have to give up too many things. Not knowing the sweetness of God’s Life, he did not know whether it was worth it. Chief among his interests were flowers, especially orchids. The man had gained statewide recognition for his successes in cultivating orchids. He asked me, “If I become a Christian, will I have to give up my flowers?” I answered, “No, just love Jesus.” The man gave his life to the Lord and became a Christian. Years later he asked me if I remembered his question. I said, “Yes.” Then he told me that if I had said he would have to give up the flowers, he was prepared to forget the whole thing. I asked him what became of the flowers and he told me that Jesus filled his life with better things. He still likes flowers but he had found a new life. I tell you this to illustrate the truth that we can give our life to Jesus without any reservations. We will not know the future because these things are withheld from our carnal mind. We can receive God’s life confidently, knowing that herein is our salvation. To know Jesus as our Source of Life is all that we need. Jesus does all the rest.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The keeping of Christ’s commandments is not done by conscious effort or direction. Love is the force that “keeps” the commandment. When we find ourselves in a situation wherein we failed to keep Jesus’ word, we will do well to know that somewhere we have let our love for Jesus be overshadowed. We have for the moment lost sight of His great love for us. When we again “see” His love for us, our love towards Him will revive and again be the dominant factor in our living. Our love will respond to His love with an eagerness that will transform our thoughts and our actions. The Law of Life which is in Christ Jesus is a statement of reality. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Love never fails.

The way I understand it, it is a matter of emphasis. It is for sure that a wise man will look up. He will look up because he finds no comfort in looking down. Above the things of this earth he finds Jesus and in Him is light and there is no darkness at all. The wise man, not only knows, but he believes that if he will place his affection and attention on the things which are above, he will find himself departing from the things that would drag him beneath. He will depart from his fears, his problems, and all his weaknesses because God’s Word tells him this is so. The wise man is wise simply because he believes God's Word. He does not possess any unique capabilities within himself but he knows what Jesus has told him and he believes His Word. Jesus said that he who hears my word and does it is like the wise man who established his abiding place on the rock. The winds blew, the rains and the floods came, but his house did not fall. The unwise man hears God’s Word, but he does not obey it. His house is built on the changing sands of emotion where there is no sure foundation. His house will most certainly fall. Wisdom is doing or acting on what you know. It has been said that the streets of hell are paved with good intentions. Jesus has said in so many different ways that hell is prepared for the foolish. The foolish are those who hear but do not. Jesus said that many shall say, “Lord, Lord,” but not enter the Kingdom of God. It is good to say “Lord, Lord,” but it is better to enter the Kingdom of God. We must enter of our own accord. Jesus has made this abiding place ready for us. When we learn to look up into the face of Jesus Christ, the light of his countenance will transform us and we will depart from all the inadequacy of the flesh. I know of no hell that could be more real than the hell of unbelief (not heeding God). The wise man knows where his real life is to be found and his knowledge moves him to action. Only the wise know how to escape the torments of hell. He knows because he listens to what Jesus tells him. The wise man is wise because he refuses to give place to the things of this world that seem to scream for his attention. Jesus has told him that the ways of Life are above the things of this world. You have to look up in order to see them. Satan’s desire is that we pay attention to the things that oppress us; and if we listen to him, we will surely be oppressed. But Jesus says, “Look up--Here I am! I have lifted you above the things of earth. You are not of this world even as I am not of this world, therefore, look up. When you see me, you shall be like me for you shall see me as I am.” He is victorious!

Some of us cannot seem to direct our thoughts without someone helping us along. I guess that is why most people go to church. God will keep us in what He is if we will stay our mind on Him. If we are wise, we will keep our mind on the Lord. We can choose what we want to think about, God made us that way. To be conformed to the world is to allow the world to shape our thoughts. A Christian should let God alone shape his thinking because God is the only One who is not of this world. If people don’t take hold of the things they do not see, they are not walking by faith. God’s truth does not elevate flesh. Jesus died to make sure that His death would be my death. He says that if we die with Him, then we will also live with Him. No death, no life! Our Spirit is not subject to the things of the flesh. That is the reason God made us Spirit. When it comes to faith, I don’t need faith. I need to hear God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I’ll never hear God if I don’t learn to listen to Him! If I spend my whole life just listening to sermons and don’t seek God for myself, all I will ever know is what others believe. God wants to be more personal than that. He wants me to know Him intimately. He wants me to have a heart knowing not just a superficial knowledge about Him. He is not just the God of things. He is the God of Life. He brings Life to the soul, not just a lot of detailed facts to the mind. Heart-knowledge brings a real rest and peace to the soul. The knowledge of the mind doesn’t do that. We only enter into this heart knowledge by meditating on the Word of God. No wonder David said that he meditated on God’s Word day and night. That is the only way your mind can be transformed and renewed. The Word of God brings Life. The reasoning of the mind only brings death! I want Life--How about you?

When a person tries to memorize the things of God, they are only putting it in their mind. But God will bring to our remembrance everything we need to know. We don’t learn from God or about the things of God the way we learn with our mind. That’s simply because God is Spirit and the mind is carnal and of this world. The realm of God is a foreign realm to the mind. The mind can’t even imagine the things of God. It is beyond its capability. All things necessary to know must be revealed. For instance, why must I be born again? Simply because the Bible tells me I cannot enter the kingdom of God unless I am. Also I cannot perceive the things of the Spirit in my first estate because in it I am flesh. The Bible tells me flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God. God’s realm is the realm of the Spirit. Jesus plainly stated to Nicodemus and in his conversation with the woman of Samaria that God is Spirit. He is like the wind--He is invisible. That’s why I must become born again so that I might become Spirit and enter God’s realm--the realm of Spiritual things. Flesh and blood is not capable of knowing God, but I am capable because Christ in me is my capability. But Christ is no longer flesh--He is the “Spirit of Truth” and a Spirit has not flesh and bone according to Jesus. Flesh, which appears to me as everything, becomes as nothing when compared to the reality of the Spirit. My flesh cries out and says, “Recognize me, I am reality, the life is in me.” But Jesus said, “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing.” I do not wish to be nothing, so I will identify with Christ as my new life and I find my significance in Him. I am only complete in Him! The Bible says that the flesh is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. I do want to live so I will abide where true life is found--in God. If there is life only in the Spirit, then I cannot live in the flesh, because that’s not God’s realm. In fact, Paul says in Romans 8:8-9, “Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be the Spirit of God lives in you,” and “They that are in the flesh cannot please God.” To live in the identity of the flesh is to live in lies, and I do not wish to live a lie. But I must claim this new life for my own. That’s what being born again does for me; it makes me a new creature in the Father and in the Son because they are one. If I am new, then I am no longer the old. All of the old things have passed away--they are gone. They died when Jesus died. I need not worry about dying now because the old man has already died with Christ and Christ has given me eternal life. My flesh doesn’t have eternal life, but the real me--the one Peter calls the hidden man of the heart does. Where is this hidden man? Paul says in Colossians that he is hid with Christ in God. So I have already passed from death into life and that’s what the Bible calls Life in the Spirit.

I owe the Lord a great deal. He died for me, but how could I ever repay such a debt. I couldn’t die for myself so what could I do? The only thing I can do is to believe His Word and really that’s all He wants me to do. But if I truly believe His Word, then I have to count myself dead. But then what happens after that? To my mind that leaves me with nothing. That means that everything I might think of myself both good or bad is no more! What will happen to me if I should believe God’s Word that says, “Ye are dead...” That scares my flesh and my flesh fights to maintain its status, its worth, its pride. God doesn’t leave me void. Something happens! Christ comes to live in my place. The old standard of thinking that Satan built within my self-identity is destroyed by the brightness of His presence. “Old things pass away, all things become new, and all things now are of God.”--all things! That’s a miracle! I couldn’t do this for myself. It’s beyond my capacity. So again I go back to what I can do--believe God’s Word. It’s true you know--God doesn’t lie. If He says I am dead and a brand new creature in Him, then I am what He says I am. Actually I am a part of Him because Colossians says that my life is hid with Christ in God and I am complete in Him. Paul said this too in different words, “I am (that’s my flesh) crucified (put to death) with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me...”--Gal. 2:20. He also said, “For me to live is Christ...” Well, it sounds to me like I’ve got to do some changing in my way of thinking because there has already been a change of identity. God did that part for me by the new birth, but my part is the thinking part. If I am a new creature, I can’t think like the old. But what does the new creature think like? To answer that I need to know the truth of God’s Word because Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” He also said, “Thy word is truth.” The devil has so well taught my mind how to think that I have a real hard time breaking the habit. But God promises me in His Word, that if I present my body to Him, I will be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Well, that takes me back to where I started when I asked the question, “What can I do?” I can believe His Word and give my body to the Lord--that’s what I can do. After all, He gave His body for me.

The Bible says the believer “lives by the faith of the Son of God,” not by his own faith (Gal.2:20). I have no faith of my own. Faith is a gift given by the Spirit of God and not something of man's own doing. The Bible says, “Not of works...”- -Eph. 2:8-9 People need to know this because they try so hard within themselves to have faith, but nothing happens. Faith is a gift from God. It is not something you have to strive for. It comes by hearing God speak within your soul and then resting in that Word. There is no worry or fear in this faith because it comes from God. It is when we try to take control ourselves that fears arise. That's because man was never made to shape his own destiny--that's God's business. The Bible says that the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord. Who is man then that he should try to direct God? Faith doesn't come by trying! Man was not made to do his own will. He was made to do God's will. Yet man thinks it is his responsibility to tel? Faith lets God do the work and the directing. Man does not even know what to pray for as he ought, according to the Bible, so how could he possibly direct God? (Rom. 8:26) God doesn’t need our direction; He is the director. Faith considers no other alternative. Faith rests in God and never tries to force its own agenda. Real faith is in God, not in what man can do. Man knows nothing about this faith. He knows about a physical kind of faith--a faith for things but that kind of faith isn't the faith of God. God's faith is Spiritual. It doesn’t look to things. Man’s faith is fashioned after his own thoughts and desires. The faith that comes from God only functions within the perimeters of the will of God. That is why things don't always turn out the way man thinks they should and man ends up disillusioned. God was wise to make man last. That way there was no one around to tell Him what to do--no one to give Him advice. When God speaks, all man can say is, “Amen.”