New Year's Eve 2012

You must be born again!

        If you have never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, do 
        it now.....

       You can be forgiven of your sins and have fellowship with 
        God.

We are no longer condemned.
We stand before God whole and complete, and without sin.
We are cleansed in the blood of the Lamb.

When we were born again our conscience was cleansed from dead works to serve the living God according to Hebrews 9:14.

When we were born again, our communion with God was restored;
                     our spirit came into contacted with God who is Spirit.

Our born again knowing God isn't anything to do with our minds;
It has something to do with our hearts, our spirits.

Before we were born again, we questioned the existence of God.

But when we were born again, suddenly we knew, that we knew,
that we knew that God is!

We can't be talked out of our knowing. . .!

Jesus came to bring us new birth,
          to heal our spirits,
          to make us salt,
          to make us light,
          to make us new creatures.

Having been born in the spirit state of death, we needed help.
     We could not know God.
     We could not fellowship with God.
     We had no way of having our conscience cleansed from dead  works to serve the living God.

We came from our mother's womb, spiritually dead,
even as Adam was dead in his spirit after eating
of the forbidden tree.

The new creation is something unique that could only be patent by the manufacturer.

We  have now been manufactured by God and we are so unique that He has a patent on us.

                          No one can else can make one like us.
                          We are the apple of His eye.
                          We are loved of the Father.
                          We are one of a kind.

2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a newcreature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things become new."

The second illustration that Jesus used in the first Beatitude is in Matthew 5:14-16,"Ye are the light of the world. . . "

When we are born again, we will be like light, because we have received light into our spirit.

When we are born again,
   we add flavor to the people in the world
      we become a healing force morally and physically
         we become a preserving agent
            we can keep the weeds of life from prospering.

The First Beatitude in Matthew 5:13; 
     "Ye are the salt of the earth. . "

Jesus likens our spirit man [after being born again] to the character of salt.           Salt adds flavor.
                   Salt heals wounds.
                   Salt preserves.
                   Salt kills weeds.

If we can understand the word "blessed" we can understand what Jesus meant.

      The Greek word for blessed means fortunate, well off, and happy;
      it takes the mystery and confusion out of the Sermon on the Mount.

In the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5] Jesus talks about what is necessary to know God and to be known of God.

          Jesus starts teaching with the Beatitudes [which in French means blessing] "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Through this occasion with Nicodemus, Jesus was saying, healing is to the body as the new birth is to the spirit.

             If we will trust in the Son of God, we will be born again of the Spirit. With the new birth in the spirit, we will see the kingdom of God.

Jesus gives one last attempt to explain to Nicodemus what it means to be born again.

In John 3:14-15, Jesus refers to a story that He knows Nicodemus would be familiar with; the story of Moses and the serpent in the wilderness of the Old Testament, then He tells John 3:16.

Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand
what it is to be born again of the spirit;
to be born of the water and the spirit
to enter into the kingdom of God.

Jesus seemed to get irritated with Nicodemus;
He expected a religious leader to know and understand,
so Jesus replied, "Art thou a master [or teacher] of Israel,
and knowest not these things?" (John 3:10)

We would think that Jesus had told Nicodemus enough so he would understand, but he still replies, "How can these things be?"

Jesus clearly told Nicodemus that there is a difference between the birth of the flesh and the birth of the spirit.

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit."  (John 3:6)

If we are going to be part of the kingdom of God,
we must be willing for the spiritual new birth to be
seen in our outward conduct.

Jesus expects those of us who are born of the Spirit,
         to also be born of the water;
              that is, change our outward conduct.

There are many born again Christians who are sitting by as spectators, watching all that is happening in the kingdom of God.

                   But they are not entering in.

In Jesus' second reply to Nicodemus,
       was different than the first reply.

He gave him a bigger answer,
      trying to add some understanding to it.

Jesus tried to explain to Nicodemus what He meant by "born again".

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Nicodemus obviously couldn't understand what Jesus was saying,

        Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth,
                  but Nicodemus was thinking of a physical rebirth.
              This was obvious by Nicodemus' reply as to how can a man enter a second time into his mother's womb.

In John, chapter three, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to    Jesus by night to ask about the miracles, "For no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with Him."

          Jesus' reply seemed out of context with his question.
     Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Man had proven that he, himself couldn't obey the law,
        for the letter kills but Spirit gives life.

        The law was ministering death to man,
                but God would minister life through the living Word.

God had to restore man's

knowledge of Him and his communion with Him,

so that he might walk after a living spirit.

If we are going to take dominion over the flesh and Satan,
                we need to be restored to God,
                                      spirit to spirit.

In our fallen state of being dead toward God in our spirit,
     we needed help if we were going to live our life as God
           wanted Adam and us to live.

We haven't been without excuse,
      because we didn't listen to our conscience,
           the blame for our judgment by God can no longer                 be transferred to Adam.

We are sinners because we have a spirit that is cut off from God.

Like Adam, we have no intuitive knowledge of God;
                       we have no spirit to spirit communion with God.

Satan was the first sinner,
                 but because of Adam's sin,
                                    we are born in sin.

In Luke 10:18 Jesus said,
"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven."

      Satan wanted God's power.
      He was thrown out of Heaven by God.
      Lucifer/Satan was the first sinner.

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
      for thou hast said in thine heart,
           I will ascend into heaven,
             I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
               I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the    sides of the north:
                 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
                   I will be like the most High."  Isaiah 14:12-14

This Lucifer that Isaiah speaks of is none other than Satan.

The term "original sin" should not be applied to Adam.

       There was one who sinned before him named Lucifer [Satan].
                  Isaiah 14:12-14

As Adam was designed to have a living spirit in order to function  righteously, we also were designed to function righteously with a living spirit .

When he lost his knowledge of God and his communion with God, so did we being members of his family.

We being born in the same image as Adam after the fall, became slaves to the flesh.

                              Romans 7:5
" For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which were by the law, worked in our members to bring forth fruit unto death."

                      Without a living spirit,
Adam couldn't tell his flesh to sit down and be quiet,
                      so he became a slave to his flesh.

As God created Adam and Eve before the Fall, they were to be led of the spirit.

                     The real Adam was the spirit man.

His soul was alive and was to be Lord over the flesh.
His flesh was simply to be a container; but when he fell, his flesh became a constant dictator.

As free moral agents,
  people who are free to choose between good and evil,
     we didn't always choose good even though our conscience tried to warn us.

Adam gained a functioning conscience.

 

In the fall it became programmed
with knowledge of good and evil.

 

Even before we were born again,
we had a conscience that knew good and evil.

"God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

                 After Adam fell, he lost his capacity to spiritually commune with God the Father and we had no spirit to worship Him until we became born-again.

Many think God [if there is one] would be a loving God who wouldn't deny anyone from going to heaven; that all shouldn't be blamed or excluded from Heaven.

The emptiness most unbelievers experience, is not apparent.

            Some label it as humanism, a belief that man and his government is his own god.

                     They give some pretence to religion, but make sure it includes everybody's favorites so that no one is offended.

Other unbelievers know there's an emptiness inside themselves,
          but do not understand what it is or how to satisfy it.

They turn to the stars for guidance, to fortune tellers or
         even to witchcraft.

Atheists claim they don't believe in God,
              but they us His Name in vain.

They blame Him for disasters in their insurance contracts,
    referring to acts of God when in fact it's the devil
        that kills, steals and destroys through his use of nature.

Most of us had many questions about the existence of God,
since we couldn't see, feel or hear Him.

We were guided only by our senses, our reasoning power.

Because we all were born after the likeness and image of Adam,
we had no knowledge of God, spirit-realm intuitive knowledge.

Because Adam lost it, we didn't have it.

All of us were born of the flesh,
born into a spiritual state like Adam after he fell.

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
[For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed where there is no law.]"
Romans 5:12-13

All the generation from Adam to Christ knew about God.

God spoke to them.

He sent the Angel of the Lord to direct them.

He anointed them for special ministry and service.

But the still needed to be born again.

 

 

They all died in faith toward the coming of the Messiah,

who would redeem them from the spiritual death which they

had inherited from their father Adam.



All generations through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were spiritually dead toward God.

Even Moses, Joshus, David, Solomon and John the Baptist had no spiritual knowledge of God or spirit to spirit communion with Him.
They all were spiritually dead.

The sons of Adam and Eve, Cain, Abel and Seth
       had no spiritual knowledge of God,
       had not communion with God spirit to spirit.

Adam and Eve were cut off from God
and so were all the generations born after them;
        they were born of the flesh,
        born separated from God.

Adam and Eve died the day they ate
of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

          They died spiritually.
          They lost their knowledge of God.
          They lost their fellowship with God.

      The gained a knowledge of good and evil.

Physical death came as a result of their separation from God.

If Adam wanted to eat, he was going to have to till the soil by the sweat of his brow.

This is real death.

To live in a physical body, full of fear, constantly needing to justify themselves by the reasoning of their intellect.

Out of that comes emotional sickness
Out of emotional sickness comes physical sickness.
Out of physical sickness come physical death.

Adam and Eve after leaving the Garden of Eden;
           could no longer enjoy the fruit of the garden.
           could no longer enjoy the freedom of the garden.

When God asked Adam and Eve, "Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?"

            Adam reasoned and quickly passed the blame on to his wife Eve.

                    After losing their spiritual relationship with God, they began to reason and justify themselves.

When Adam and Eve lost their spiritual relationship with God, their
soul-realm emotions became fearful.

        Before they ate, their emotions were at peace

In Genesis 3:8 Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of God in the Garden.

        They had enjoyed His presence beore they ate, but now they were afraid.

Fear had replaced love.
Condemnation had replaced confidence.

Adam and Eve were naked before they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but were not aware that nakedness was needed to be covered.

                   Their conscience did not condemn them; they had no knowledge of good or evil.

After Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis 3:6, they became body consciencious.

            They knew they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.

The Bible says that the life of the flesh is in the blood,
in the Old Testament Leviticus 17:11,14.

          But in the New Testament, "the spirit is life because of righteousness."

                 In Romans 8:10, death is the absence of the spirit of life.

We might think it wasn't fair, but Adam and Eve had all they needed in their knowledge of God and their fellowship with Him.

It wasn't necessary for knowledge of good and evil.

Adam and Eve didn't know that what they were about to do was evil, because they had no knowledge of evil before they ate.

God didn't want Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God knew that they would lose their intuitive knowledge of Him and lose their communion with Him.

The knowledge of good and evil,
        isn't about intellectual knowledge that comes from
        logic or memorization,
        it isn't about judgments or moral situations,
        it is about a spiritual function.

When Adam ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he programmed his conscience to know good and evil.

Before then, he had no knowledge of good and evil.

Adam didn't die physically that day.

          There was some influence on his soul-realm, his emotions, intellect and will.

         He died in his spirit-realm, the intuitive knowledge, communion with God and conscience.

God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden to prevent them from
           eating of the Tree of Life and living forever.

           The Tree of Life was a tree that would give them eternal life physically.

Adam and Eve contined to live physically since God talked to them

and drove them out of the Garden

after the day they had eaten and died.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they died;
          God said they would.

They didn't die physically,
          they continued to live even after they fell.

Adam chose to yield to the temptation.

          They both chose to eat of the tree.
          They both disobeyed God.
          They both fell and suffered the consequences.

Adam had only one negative instruction from God.

          Had He chosen [with his free will] to ignore the serpent 
                  and call on God, he never would have fallen.

Adam did not have physical eternal life.

          The Tree of Life in the middle of the garden
would have given him physical eternal life.

                He was free to eat of it, Genesis 2:15.

          God even commanded him to eat of the trees of the garden,
except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

In this real, touchable form and likeness of God,
    Adam had a body that was whole and healthy.

          Adam, in the image of God, had an active intellect in his soul realm; he named all the beasts of the field.

                           He had perfect peace with no shame.

His will was free to choose to take part in God's creation with Him.
His soul realm was whole.

In man's intuitive knowledge in the spirit
and his spirit to Spirit communion with God,
man didn't have to have his conscience programmed
with knowledge of good and evil.

Adam and Eve didn't have the knowledge of good and evil that God had.
                 They really didn't need it because they were not called to judge any matters.
                 They were called to fellowship with God, to know Him and to obey Him in one command.

Man was created after the likeness and image of God Himself
and they had a free will.

               But they still had a dependence on God.

If man had been made robots without free will,
temptation wouldn't have had any effect on him.

Man's freedom of choice was a
        freedom to choose God or to choose self.

That made man vulnerable to temptation.

With the freedom of choice,
man was also given the freedom to be creative.

God created man with a freedom of choice.

God took a chance
but He had to take that chance
if His creation was to agape love Him
and glorify Him.

If man had no freedom of choice,
     he could not have a willing heart;
          he could not exercise agape love
               nor be willing to glorify God.

Agape,

the God kind of love,

can only come from a willingness,

from a choice of a free will.

In the state of being in the image and likeness of God, man had the freedom of choice.

          It was necessary for God to create him with that freedom if man were to love and glorify Him.

God made man in his likeness [tangible]

and image [intangible]

according to Genesis 1:26.

Adam's body was bone, flesh and blood.

His soul functioned with an intellect, will and emotions.

His spirit had an intuitive knowledge of God,
       a conscience that knew only good
              and communion of spirit to spirit fellowship with God.

Spirit Realm

Intuitive knowledge feeds conscience

Intuitive knowledge shapes communion

Communion vitalizes intuitive knowledge

Communion influences conscience

Conscience guides intuitive knowledge and communion

Conscience keeps communion alive and real

Soul Realm

Intellect feeds will

Intellect shapes emotions

Emotions vitaliize intellect

Emotions influence will

Will feeds intellect and emotions

Will keeps emotions sensitive and vital

Body Realm                      

Bone produces blood   

                                                                            
Bone shapes flesh         
                                        
Flesh moves bone        

Flesh contains blood

Blood feeds bone and flesh

Blood keeps flesh supple and mobile

A clean conscience is to the spirit

as right decision making is to the soul,

even as clean blood is to the body.

1 John 1:9 is a great encouragement. . . .
"If we confess our sins [moral transgressions that produce spiritual sparation or conscience defilement], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [cleanse our conscience]."

A free operating conscience is as important to the spirit,
as a free operating will is to the soul; these compare to
free flowing blood that feeds and cleanses the body.

It's only by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ that God
will cleanse our conscience from sin to live for Him.

Conscience is of the spirit realm.

            Few would disagree,
            they often treat it as though it were a soul realm function.

            Keep in mind that there is little difference between the spirit and the soul.

There is no way to cleanse the wrong bucket from sin
         [definement and searing] before we are born again.

         This can only be done by faith in the shed blood of Jesus
Christ. It's only by faith that our conscience can be cleased from dead works.

Conscience is like a right tube
and a bucket called wrong.

Anything we do or experience that is right goes into the right tube,
passing through without disturbing the operation of the conscience.
Anything we do or experience that is wrong, in God's eyes, goes into the bucket
called wrong, filling it up and ends up running into our soul realm thinking, emotions and decisions.

We follow our senses and ignore our conscience.

By doing so, we defile 1 Corinthians 8:7
and sear 1 Timothy 4:2 our conscience
making them inoperable.

Adam in his fallen state,
and all who were born after him,          
are born with a functioning conscience.

It would lead us to Jesus if we would follow it,
but most do not.

Adam ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,

receiving knowledge of good and evil.

So, he lost his intuitive knowledge of God

and his spirit-to-spirit communion with God.

The life of the spirit is in the conscience
.......and not the mind.
It is the knowledge of good and evil that Adam
.......took part of and fell away from God.

The life of the flesh is in the blood.
The life of the soul is in the will or decision making process.
The life of the spirit is in the conscience.

Conscience is to the spirit
as the will is to the soul,
even as the blood is to the body.

We must exercise our communion with God

in prayer, praise and worship

to clothe the bare bones of our intuitive knowledge of God

so that our knowledge of God

will become mobile and vital with the muscles of communion

so that our spiritual intellect will be vitalized with the

reality of spiritual emotions, love, joy and peace.

Communion with God is to the spirit
as emotions are to the soul,
even as flesh is to the body.

Without the knowledge of God

which comes only by being born again,

our spirit is like that double minded man

receiving no good thing from God.

This intuitive knowledge of God initially comes to us by the Holy Spirit; but after receiving it, we feed it by the Word of God.

Intuitive knowledge of God is to the spirit;
just as the intellect is to the soul;
even as bone is to the body.

This knowledge of God is the backbone of our spirit,
giving it strength and authority, form and definition.

Before we are born of the Spirit,
...........we have no knowledge of God.

Once we are born again of the Spirit of God,
..........somehow we know, that we know, that we know,
..........................that God IS.

The intuitive knowledge of God is more ,

it's a function of the spirit realm,

it's not head knowledge of God that comes from philosophy,

it's not knowledge of Bible verses;

it IS the knowledge of God that comes to us when our spirit is alive towards God.

The intuition displayed in the spirit realm, isn't women's intuition.

Woman's intuition is a function of the soul realm, it comes out of emotional sensitivity.

Body.............Soul..........;...Spirit
Bone.................Intellect.............Intuition
Blood................Will...................Conscience
Flesh.................Emotions..........Communion

Most theological arguments

stem from differences

in the understanding

of soul and the spirit.

......Body Realm..............Soul Realm
Bone produces blood.....Intellect contributes to
...................................................the will.
Bones shapes flesh.........Intellect shapes the
...................................................emotions.
Flesh moves bones.........Emotions strengthens
.................................................the intellect.
Flesh contains blood. ....Emotions influence
....................................................the will.
Blood feeds bone ...........Will feeds the intellect
and flesh. ........................ ...and the emotions.

Blood keeps the flesh .....The will keeps the
supple and mobile. ...........emotions sensitive
............................................and vitally active.

We are free moral agents.
It is necessary for us to operate in love,
because the God-kind-of-love
can only come forth from our free will.

As the blood feeds and removes waste from bone and flesh,
our decisions feed our intellect and emotions.

As the blood is to the body,
....bringing life to the flesh and bone,
....keeping the flesh supple and the bones fed;
so is our will to our soul.

As flesh is to the body,
.............giving movement and form to the bones,
so the emotions are to the soul,
.............giving activity to the thinking.

There are some parallels between the body and soul.

As bone is to the body, shape and structure; so is the

intellect to the soul, thinking gives it shape and structure.

Intellect is the backbone of the soul.

The emotions and intellect affect the will.

The will is our ability to make decisions,
it draws facts from the intellect and the emotions
to make a judgment of what we should or want to do.

Defining the intellect of the mind
....from the Word of God means,
.....mind,
......thought,
.......think,
........ponder,
.........meditate,
..........know,
...........reason and others.

Now that we are born again,

we should be letting the Word of God govern

our lives and enjoying the positive emotions

of knowing God and Christ.

Our emotions have ruled all of our lives

before we were born again

far more than we know.

We can't be lead around by our emotions, but

the positive emotions are given to us by God

to enjoy.

Without feelings, we can't find life;
in the emotions we find the satisfactions of life.

The negative definitions of the emotions are
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, factions and envey.

The positive definitions of the emotions (feelers)
.....are love, joy peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
..........goodness, faith [faithfulness], meekness,
...............and temperance!

The three functions of the soul realm are:

emotions, intellect and will.

The relationship between bone, flesh and blood.

....................Bone produces blood.
....................Bone shapes flesh.
....................Flesh moves bone.
....................Flesh contains blood.
....................Blood feeds bone and flesh.
....................Blood keeps flesh supple and mobile.

The blood brings life to the flesh.

It delivers oxygen and protein to the flesh and bones.

If all the blood leaks out, we die.

Without flesh, the blood would have not container.
..............Leviticus 17:11,14
......................."the life of the flesh is in the blood.:"

God in His wisdom, designed us to have our bones
..........wrapped in flesh, muscle and skin,
.................giving fulness and shape to the structure
.......................and mobility to the bones.

The Bible speaks of God having bodily parts:

a head, feet, hands, fingers, arms, ears, a mouth;

". . ., just as He created us."

Bones give the body strength, form and structure.

All three elements perform a vital function.

The body is made up of three basic elements:
....................bone, blood and flesh.

By subdividing the elements

of the body-realm,

the soul-realm,

and the spirit-realm;

we can gain an understand of their functions.

1 Thessoloninas 5:23

When the soul is in agreement with the Word of God,
...........there is no difference between it and the spirit.

Since the Word of God can divide soul and spirit,
there is a difference between them.

The terms spirit, soul and body are used all through the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament.

.........................................Spirit.....Soul.....Body
Old Testament...................241........415.......39.....uses
New Testatment...............253.........38......134.....uses

Genesis 2:7
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Hebrews 4:12

are the most frequently used when teaching about spirit, and soul, and body.

Since spirit and soul of man can only be divided

by the Word of God;

spirit and soul

must have distinguishing characteristics.

God breathed of Himself [John 4:24; God is Spirit]
...........into the body of man and he became a living soul.

"For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and joint and marrow and
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
..................................Hebrews 4:12

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;
and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ."
.........................1 Thessalonians 5:23

Spirit and Soul are separate.

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul."
........................................Genesis 2:7

God made man in His tangible likeness

by forming Adam's body from dust.

Then He created man's intangible image,

by breathing into him a personality.

Man is created in the tangible likeness of God's shape

.......... with head, hands, feet, arms, legs, etc.

Man is created in the intangible image of God,

...........with His ability to think, feel and decide.

God made man in His own image, after His likeness.

Image means shape, illusion or resemblance and

Likeness means model, shape or resemblance in Hebrew.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image,

after our likeness. . . .

.......So God created man in his own image,

..........in the image of God created He him;

............male and female created He them."

...........................Genesis 1:26-27

If men had simply turned to the Word of God,

they would have found the answer to who they are

in Jesus Christ.

Great philosophers and psychologists have written much
.........about man without coming to any real conclusions.

Having been born again of the Spirit, we have a choice.
Are we going to be in the world or in Christ.
WHO IN JESUS CHRIST ARE YOU?

We are empowered to be like Jesus;

not because the law demands it [although it does]

but because love inspires it.

The Spirit of the living God energizes us to

live and move and have our being in Him.

When we become so aware of what the
..........Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
....................has provided for us
in the spirit-realm new birth,
in the soul-realm peace and understanding,
in the body-realm health and strength,
in the social-realm favor, and
in the financial-realm prosperity,
we become inspired to glorify God every minute of our lives.

This love that caused God to give His only begotten Son,
.....is so great, that we are motivated to live a life beyond
............what the Old Testament Law required of us.

We can place ourselves in the hands of a loving father
who provides all of our needs according to His riches
in glory by Christ Jesus.

Now we are beginning to see what is ours in Christ,

not that things become our objective,

but that Christ is our all in all.

Others are beginning to understand through

diligent study of the Bible

that the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

has provided salvation for us in every realm of life.

We learn how to walk after the Spirit to experience
......soul-realm salvation which can only be experienced
.............after the new birth of the spirit.

Even the soul realm must be saved by grace
.......through faith and that not of ourselves.

We do not comtinue in sin that grace may abound.

Salvation goes beyond the spirit realm.
......It includes the soul realm,
..............................the body realm,
....................................the social realm and
..........................................the financial realm.

When we continually entertain soul-realm unbelief, worry,

vain imaginations, and lack of peace,

we are not saved in the soul realm, although we may have

been born again or saved in the spirit realm.

There is a difference between born again and saved.

A person can be saved or born again in the spirit realm

and still have problems in the soul realm.

Much emphasis in placed on obedience

by turning back to the discipline of the flesh

for present and future cleansing and salvation.

Although many who are born-again believers,
............live as though there is little assurance of
...........................cleansing from their present sin.

Those who believe in being born-again understand
......that we must trust in the shed blood of Jesus
........to cleanse our spirits from the death that came
..........from past sin.

Many other people understand that we must be
born-again of the Spirit,
as Jesus instructed Nicodemus in John Chapter 3.

The new birth has to be more than a decision to change
our life style in response to the emotional appeal
of the death of Jesus Christ.

In ourselves we can not decide to love like Jesus loved
and accomplish it without His help.

It is not that the church members
............do not want to love one another
......................[a few may not];
the problem is that they have no ability
............to "agape love" one another.

The world does not know that we are His disciples.
Jesus said,
"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one for another."
John 13:35

The body of Christ, the church,
has fallen short of showing the love
and service exemplified by Jesus.

The cross becomes only an emotional appeal
.......for us to change our way of living
..............from immorality to morality
.....................by our own disciplined decision making.

Many people only understand that the life of Jesus
was an example that we must follow in order for us
to go to heaven.

Most differences that come between Christians are
.............because of what it means to be born again.

Covered by the blood

Jesus shed His blood for us!

It is acknowledging what Jesus has done on the inside of us
..........and what He has done for us that makes us effective.

.............................It's the New Testament way.

Even New Covenant Christians think more lowly
............................of themselves than they ought.

It makes them totally
.........self-centered
................and self-dominated.

The Law points our attention to
...................ourselves,
.....................our sin,
..........and our unworthiness.

The Bible says the purpose of the Law
.........is to give us the knowledge of sin,
................not knowledge of Jesus, God, or forgiveness.

We need to cleanse ourselves from thoughts that have
.......................Old Testament scriptures attached to them.

Most of the time we rebuke the condemnation from the devil, but sometimes condemation comes from thoughts we get from religion.

Most believers agree that Satan is the author of condemnation,
but one of the biggest things he uses to condemn us with is the
................................Old Testament Law.

Conviction draws us to God and leads us in His ways.

But condemnation drives us away from God
.....and makes us feel helpless to do anything but sin.

The Holy Spirit is inside of us and will let us know
if what we are thinking of doing or have done is sin
or not God's will for our life.

Condemnation is not to be confused
with conviction of the Holy Spirit.

The Law makes us fell guilty.
.......it condemns us, according to
..........2 Corinthians 3:9 and Romans 3:19

The Law points to our sin,
.......................brings it to life,
.......................................and condemns us for it.

The Old Testament Law actually drew uncontrolled lusts and desires out of us.

We heard the commandment
....."thou shalt not covet" Exodus 20:17
..........and we saw ourselves as covetous.

Once we were confronted with the Law and saw God's
perfect, holy standard, we realized how sinful we were.

There was a period of time when sin was "dead".

Then came the knowledge of right and wrong
..............................and the Law was understood.

There are some truths to correct the Old Testament Law
with New Testament grace, love and forgiveness.

2 Corinthians 3:7-11 says that the Old Testament

...................................administers death and condemnation.

1 Corinthians 15:55-56 says that the Old Testament

...................................................Law gave strength to sin.

My God is bigger. . . .

Romans 8:21

The New Covenant [Testament] was
sealed by the shed blood of Jesus.

The New Covenant brought greater
glory to God than the Old Covenant.

The Old Testament couldn't make anything perfect,
.................so God had to bring in something better.

If the first covenant, the Old Testament,
...............had been without fault,
.....then there would have been no reason
for the second covenant, the New Testament.
........................................Hebrews 8:6,7

The Old Covenant wasn't a good representation of God,
it was inferior to the New Covenant.

The New Covenant is a more excellent and a better Covenant
which is established upon better promises.