The New Life, Inc.

Many times down through forty years of ministry, folks have told me that I had become religious. I never considered myself to be religious so I would tell them: “No! I have become spiritual”. Do you believe you are on a spiritual journey or a religious journey? I ask this question because there are more people in the world on a religious journey than there are on a spiritual journey.

As we continue on in our spiritual journey, it is very important for us to see we are more than body and soul. We are also a spirit.  Even as we have to care for our body and soul, we must care for our spirit. If we do not, our spirit becomes weak and anemic; in turn our soul and body suffers as well.

It is important to know there are many different kinds of spirits in the world. Some are good and holy and others are evil and wicked. Some of them want to help you and bless you. Others want to possess you and use you. We must become knowledgeable and wise in regard to spiritual beings.

We all have the choice in our lifetime to decide for good or for evil. Some choose, like Satan did, to be our own god instead of recognizing the true God. It is important to see that when Satan made that choice he moved into darkness and lost something very important. If we make the wrong choice as he did, we also lose something. We begin to go into a greater darkness. There are some folks that turn to the Lord Jesus and they come alive spiritually but they do not continue on in their spiritual walk and go back into darkness. The foolish Galatians are an example of that.

When we begin walking and living as spiritual men and women and then are deceived into going back under the letter of the law that kills, we are going back into darkness and suffer loss. This is happening to many Christian people today. They are not aware they are losing their peace, love and joy. When you loose your peace, love and joy and become critical, judgmental and unloving, take a good look at what direction you are going; into darkness, or into the light?

I had a dream years ago I don’t remember every detail now but in this dream there was a great castle with many people in it, doing all kinds of jobs. There was a great king that lived in this castle and he would walk all through the castle observing all the things people were doing. The thing that amazed me was very few of the people seemed to be aware that he was there. The Lord spoke to me and said; “Very few of my people are aware that I am with them”.

One of the things that should be increasing on our spiritual journey is awareness of God’s presence with us and in us. If that is not happening we should ask the question; “why not?”

We can be so busy in spiritual activity; doing things for God, praying, fighting the enemy, looking for all the answers, that we don’t have time to just enjoy His presence.

I have been involved with many Christian people from a lot of different backgrounds and churches. It seemed there were not many of these folks that had really found a place of peace and rest in Jesus Christ. I say this because they were looking for it and wanted it. They were struggling for it but had not entered into it.

I am reminded of the song that always blesses me; “I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses”. The person that wrote this song had found the answer. I think also of Martha and Mary, when Jesus was teaching, Martha was too busy to sit at his feet. Mary was the one that was blessed. She took the time to enjoy His presence and to listen.

Another song I like; “Blessed Assurance”. We need another song; “Blessed Awareness Jesus is mine.

I have met a number of folks that like to stop in a church everyday. Why?  They enjoy the peace and rest they find there. Maybe some of you should try it! You might become aware of His presence and find peace.

We all come under spiritual attack; sometimes when we lest expect it. These attacks come in several different ways. They can be very subtle, we don’t always recognize it as an attack right away. The attack can be in our physical body, our mind, emotions or our spirit.

The Lord has given us everything we need to protect ourselves in these attacks. Our faith must be stirred up and actively applied in each attack. We are to set our mind on the things above not the things below; meaning we are to think positive and not negative. We must remember that old things are passed away and all things are new!  We are a new creation; our sin issues have been taken to the cross, no condemnation now.

Many times the attack will come in the form of thoughts tormenting your mind over and over again like a broken record. Go into prayer; pray in the spirit with all your mind and heart. Use the gift of tongues; that gift is to edify you, it will if you use it.

Another way to defeat the enemy; just praise God for everything you can think of including your problems. Do it with all your heart and spirit. Lift up your voice in song, praising God. And as you do something wonderful happens, the victory becomes yours, your mind, emotions and spirit are lifted up. You are brought right into the Kingdom of God within you and your peace and joy are restored and the Holy Spirit  fills you.

You already have everything you need to do this, the rest is up to you!

When I was a kid I was taught what folks called “The Magic Words”. It truly was amazing how these magic words affected people; and they did affect people. I am sure most of you know the magic words “Thank you”. It seems when we take things for  granted we do not use the magic words very often; other times when we are overflowing with gratitude we use them often.

Another thing I have noticed. The magic words have an affect on God. Of course when we use the magic words, hopefully there is some measure of gratitude in our hearts. You may ask the question; “What does this have to do with spiritual growth?”

I must confess there are times when it is difficult to speak the magic words. When I am the center of the world I love to have other people thank me, and it is difficult for me to thank others. I now realize that humility and the magic words go hand in hand.

One of the things we need to be on guard for in our spiritual growth is spiritual pride.

It is the opposite of humility and our “thank you” loses it’s magic.

At the beginning of our spiritual journey, when we first meet Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the magic words come very easy. As we become more spiritual, it is easy to become more demanding and less thankful.

Listen to me people! You will receive a lot more from God by being humble and thankful than you ever will by being prideful and demanding.

No! I Am Not Going There! 

This is a statement you might have made! I have heard it several times in the past couple of years. These people were not speaking about a place. They were referring to some argument, hashing over some old thing that made them miserable, that robbed them of peace and joy.

In Col. 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

It seems that at times our thinking can be our worst enemy. It can rob us of joy and drag us right down into a pit. We need to recognize when our thinking has become our enemy and talk to ourselves with authority, saying: “No! I am not going there! I refuse to dwell on those issues”.

Other times, people will bring up things that are better left alone. In that case we need to speak to them firmly and say; “No! I am not going there!” There are times when we need to add wood to a fire to stay warm and there are other times when we need to put the fire out because we are getting burned. Some people, Christian and non-Christian, never learn to control the fire.

James 3:5-6 speaks of this: “So also the tongue is a small part of the body and yet it boast of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life and is set on fire by hell.”

If we think we have come to some higher level of spiritual growth and still have no control on our thinking or our tongue, then we have deceived ourselves. Have we learned to set our mind on the things above?  And learned to say to ourselves, and others. “No! I am not going there!”      

I had a strange dream one night. As the dream started, I was standing before a small group of people. There were also several small animals with the group. There was a rather large man that seemed to be the center figure of the group, something seemed very strange about his head. I looked more closely at his head and there was an opening right across his forehead and it looked like some small animals in the opening in his head. He put his hands up to his head and two small animals came out into his hands for a few moments and then went back into his head. They looked like little skunks. At this point I woke up.

The next day I shared this dream with Pauline and two other friends and right away they said; “Stinking thinking! As I thought more about this dream I realized it was speaking of the natural mind. Like “animal thinking” instead in contrast to the spiritual mind, like the mind of Christ.

Two days later I had another dream. The earth was coming to an end. They were loading the people on to space ships and sending them to some other planet. Someone came up with the idea of using airplanes by putting rockets on them to try to save the ones left behind. Pauline and I were a part of that group. They loaded us onto an airplane to send us out into space hoping we would make it.

The dream changed, we were on a ship on the ocean. We came to an island and the ship stopped there for some reason so Pauline and I got of the boat to check out the island. We walked way to the other end of the island and then came back. Just as we got to where we could see the boat, what looked like a whirlwind grabbed the ship and rolled it over and over and it sank. We realized that everything we owned was on that ship, and we had nothing but the clothes on our backs. Then I thought, “I have my credit cards”, then I remember the earth was gone and so were all the banks. We had nothing.  I turned around and started walking and thought, “What will we do now?” I turned to Pauline and said, “I know what we will do. We will preach Jesus Christ and him crucified! The dream ended.

As soon as I woke up I started thinking about this dream and I knew that both dreams were talking about the same message. Then a scripture came to mind, 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”.

Another scripture came to mind Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?  

Why was Jesus Christ and Him crucified so important that Paul left everything behind to preach that message?

I remembered a little incident that took place a couple of years ago. We were in a restaurant having lunch. A man was waiting on us and I asked him if he knew Jesus. He said yes. He is standing right over there in the lounge. I was in a Mexican restaurant and many of them are named Jesus. I also remembered being in Egypt and the people there made a point of telling us that Jesus spent some time there. They believed in Jesus as a prophet but not as the Christ that was crucified.

This made me think of a scripture reading in 2 Corinthians 11:4  For if one comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.

Then I realized what was so important about Jesus Christ and Him crucified, it was the sin issue.

What does stinking thinking have to do with Jesus and Him crucified? Many Christian people believe they are going to continue to sin and fail over and over again. They do not understand that Jesus died for their sin and not only that he set us free from the bondage of sin that we do not have to continue sinning any longer.

Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 

We have no excuse to fall into sin anymore because Jesus Christ and the Cross, and the helper, guide and teacher, the Holy Spirit is here to lead us out of the darkness into the light, so that we can walk in holiness and godliness.  Peter did such a wonderful job of laying out the path for us in 2 Peter 1:1-9

         Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

         Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;

         seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

         For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

         Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

         and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

         and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

         For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

         For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

As long as I keep professing that I am a sinner, I will continue to sin. When I begin to believe that Jesus has totally dealt with all my sin; set me totally free from sin bondage; and start believing that I do not have to live in sin anymore; I become a free man. I then have the greatest peace and joy I have ever known.

I had an interesting experience a while back.  I was in a restaurant and I asked the waiter if he knew Jesus, he said: “Yes, he is right over there!” and he pointed to another man working at the bar.  Then I realized this was a Mexican restaurant and many of them are named Jesus.

What made me think of this was a scripture reading in 2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”

There are many people that believe in Jesus, they do not believe that He is the Christ. They use the name Jesus to sway you to their kind of religion. When we were in Egypt, the Arabs made a point of telling us that they believed in Jesus, that He had come to Egypt and spent some time there. I have had people come to my door and say we believe in Jesus.  The only problem, they don’t believe he is the Christ; he is just another prophet.

In Corinthians 1: 2-2 Paul wrote; “for I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” Again in 1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no man can lay a foundation other then the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Any Jesus that is not the Christ can do nothing for us because it bypasses the crucifixion. There is no atonement for our sins which separates us from God. The cross and the crucifixion are a stumbling stone, an offence, to some people. I have had people ask me: “Why do I need Jesus?  I answered; “Because you are a sinner! They were insulted that I called them a sinner. These people stumble over the cross. It is an insult to them to imply that they need a Savior, a Christ, just someone named Jesus is good enough for them.

Romans 9 :33 “Just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. And He who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

There is another Jesus preached in some churches, he is powerless, he cannot help anyone. You can recognize this Jesus because no one is changed.  They try to change themselves and fail. They practice religion and law, they are unchanged inside where it counts. This other Jesus does not deal with the sin issue and we remain separated from God.

Controversy 

No matter what church or group you may belong to or in your home or workplace there is a certain amount of controversy that springs up. It is very easy to get caught up in it. I would encourage you to stand back and not be hasty to get involved in this sort of thing.  When we get involved we have to take sides and all too often when we take sides, it brings division.

There our times when we need to be involved and choose to make a stand. There are other times when we need to listen and observe and not be too anxious to tell others what we think. Sometimes our silence or lack of action speaks louder then words. Webster’s dictionary; “Turned opposite” A discussion of opposing views; A dispute; Quarrel; Strife. 

An interesting aspect of not picking sides gives us the opportunity to look at the whole picture and see the whole controversy and maybe make some wise decisions by listening to the Holy Spirit; gaining some wisdom to eliminate the controversy.  

In the spiritual realm we are not a democracy; all too often we function that way. Democracy is not spiritual.  Democracy is of this world and it is filled with controversy. How much controversy is there in your life?

In the spiritual realm the question is not what the majority votes. It is a matter of discernment of what the Holy Spirit says. For example, a group of people may be voting on who the next pastor will be.  All of them vote for the same man except one. The one person may be the only one listening to the Holy Spirit and as a result they land up with the wrong man for the job. They did not have good discernment and did not realize that the church is not a democracy but a spiritual body that has a King.

In your spiritual journey never forget that you have an enemy waging was against you. Our enemy is not stupid. He is very intelligent.  Satan has been around for a long time. His purpose is to destroy us.  He wants to rob you of everything God has given you; your peace, your joy, and your love for one another.

(Revelations 12:17)  And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went of to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

When we are babies in Christ, many of his attacks are very obvious.  As we increase or grow up spiritually, his attacks become more and more subtle. I would encourage you to pray for spiritual discernment, you are going to need it!  He is going to attack your thought life and emotions if you do not guard them.  He is going to try to disrupt your home life, and relations with your family.

Satan will try to make you judgemental with the church, the pastor and yourself.  Refuse to become a judge! God has not called you to be a judge, you do not have enough light in your life to judge properly. Judging will injure your relationships with family and church. If you do this, you are making yourself a tool of Satan; leave the judging to God.

Satan also attacks the physical body. Keep in mind that many of our physical problems have a spiritual root.  Medicine alone will not deal with these.  We need to be knowledgeable in how to take care of these problems by prayer, laying on of hands and using the authority God has given us over spiritual things. Remember the warning in the bible in both the old and New Testament; “My people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge!”

For spiritual growth I would encourage you to take advantage of every opportunity the Lord gives you to expand your faith. We do this through numerous ways; through our speech we share our faith by telling others what God has done for us and what we believe. Sometimes our actions speak louder then any words, as we see the needs of people around us and do something about it, as we lay hands on the sick and use the authority God has given us over evil spirits. All of these things take faith.

Faith can be active or dormant. The question is, which is it? Some might say; “I believe in God!” So do the demons and they tremble in fear. I think of a statement a friend of mine often made; “We affect the world around us just by being there”; I believe that all right and that effect can be good or bad.  Jesus certainly affected the world around him in a wonderful way.

I have never given much thought to the fact that faith is a very powerful thing. You can’t see it, but it can move mountains, it moves the hand of God. Faith also can see things the natural eye cannot see. You have probable heard this statement; “That person has blind faith!” No, when you have no faith, then you are blind!

Many people are fearful. They are fearful because they are blind and in the dark. When their faith becomes active many of their fears are gone, because now they can see. Pauline is a wonderful example of this. She was terrified of death and dead people. She would run out of the room of a dead person. After she experienced the Holy Spirit, her faith became active and her fear of death was gone, she could now see.

Some Christian people have a negative affect upon their family and their own spiritual walk, because they are functioning from fear instead of faith.