Dan Mohler - On Parenting

This may be completely um off key, and if you want to adjust it later, that's fine. It's a parenting issue, I guess. Um, how do we parent out of love, not frustration? Um, because I knew that God, obviously, he loves us. He disciplines, or I guess we have consequences for our actions, right? And we need to instill that in our children. Sure. That's what discipline is. So, but how do you separate that? How do you separate the anger and just parent out of true love and not allow your emotions and frustration? Incredible, excellent, awesome question. We'll address it right now, okay? Cuz it pertains to a lot of people, even in this room.

One of the biggest areas I, I was challenged in my whole life was, you'd take what your kids do more personal. Somebody else's kid could do the same thing and you wouldn't even think much of it, and your kid would do it and you'd be like, "Ah!" You know. So, but it all goes back to the becoming love, seeing the value of your child, the blessing of your child, and it's this communion place. Rachel, and I'm talking to everybody else, too, but she asked the question. It's this, it's when you get that frustrated in correcting your child, it's because you're taking their actions, what? Personal. That's what it's showing you. You take that right to prayer and and you start putting that off. "Father, I thank you for the blessing of little so-and-so, little so-and-so. Father, I thank you that just the way you saw the value in my life, even when I was way off track. You never came and slammed me. You weren't frustrated. In fact, the best you could do is love me and send your Son and make a way for me. Thank you for making me that love, causing my eyes to see in little Billy, little Johnny, what your eyes see and have always seen, even in me and in them. Lord, I thank you for being my heart, and I don't want selfishness."

I, that you find yourself on your knees, you're weeping. Did you hear her tears in the question? Cuz obviously she's revealing this has been a challenge in her life in areas, and it's convicting her. That's good. Your tears are awesome. It's awesome to have those tears. And then because those tears are showing that she cares. And she's realizing this isn't the way, there has to be a better way, another way. How do I? So, the fact that she's asking the question with tears isn't, "Oh my God, there's a problem." No, it's, "Wow, there's an answer." Because there's a lot of people not even blinking in that scenario, and they're expecting to feel that way. And he did what? She did what? Well, no wonder you feel that way, honey. I'd have been kicked, too. I'd have knocked him across the room. That's how people talk. No. "Father, this is not your heart. What I'm feeling makes me uncomfortable. You get real with God. You get up. What, what I'm feeling makes me uncomfortable. Put your heart in me. I want to see the value in them. I don't want to be selfish. I don't want to be, uh, personal in this thing, and I don't want to touch them outside of love. You have never, I pray this kind of stuff. You have never touched me outside of love. God, thank you for moving in my life so that I never touch outside of love. What you've done in me, I want to do in others. Reproduce yourself. Have your way." Slip to my knees, sincere praying. Who knows that God starts doing stuff? I don't have the direct how he does that, Rachel, but I know if you'll do this, he'll do something. And all of a sudden, you'll just find yourself. Like people say, "You ever, you pray for patience, brother? God'll give it to you. Don't pray for patience." Who's ever heard that phrase? I'm thinking, "What do you mean, pray for patience?" Just become love. Love is patient. Cuz when you're praying for patience, what you're saying is, "I have a love deficit." Isn't that what you're saying? "I have a love deficit." So, don't break the attributes of love up and try to get one or the other. Just become love, and you'll find yourself very patient. What? Cuz love doesn't take into account of a separate wrong. Love's not seeking its own.

So, here's the deal. So, when she disciplines her children, her child, or when you discipline your children, her child, all of a sudden, it's truly for their sake. You actually see their value, and what you're doing is for them down the long road, and they might not even really understand it. But you take the time to try to explain that, and you put certain conditions and restrictions and disciplines out there because you're trying to teach them that if they continue to live this way, it's going to cause them great pain. You try to send that message through discipline, right? And a reaping and sowing kind of mentality, and and and teach them where. Cuz if it's just out of frustration, it produces rebellion, willfulness, tit-for-tat, push-shove, secrecy, getting behind your back, and all that. It creates a mess of stuff. Cuz there's no grace on that. You're not, you're not, you're not doing it because they've ticked you off, you're doing it for their sake. So, you're asking the Father by Holy Spirit to reveal their value, the beauty of discipline, the wisdom of it, and the right heart in it. And most of all, you can cry in your bedroom when nobody's looking and say, "You know, I know that I shouldn't feel this way right now. There's something I'm not seeing, and I want to see it." You can pray that humble and and real. Don't try to be so spiritual that you can't get along with God and and and say, "You know what? I've been struggling with this. This frustration feels like it's what's motivating me. It is so not your will." So, you come out of agreement with it. You call it what it is and isn't, and you realize it's not your calling in life or your lot in life. Don't label yourself as a person struggling with frustration. It is not who I'm called to be. And Father, I thank you for teaching and showing me." Right then, Holy Spirit might put a verse in you. He might put a scripture in you. He might just come and touch you or whatever. He might just be there and listening and doing whatever he does supernaturally, but you walk out of the room in faith, and you thank God he's transforming your life. Next situation you get in, you'd be amazed how things start changing. Serious. Because you don't bite your lip to be a better Christian. That's why people are discouraged. Cuz they realize they can't. And then they feel like something's wrong with me, and I mustn't really care, and maybe I'm not really not sincere, and well, I'll never get it. If I didn't get it by now, I'll never get it. And all those thoughts come. They're degenerate. They're discouraging, and they're not true. You get it? Okay. Why don't you guys go take a break? And then we'll hit Romans 6 when you come back. Bless you guys. Take a break. Thanks, Jesus.

Are you there? Come on, faith man. Who's in faith? Who's in Romans 6? Romans 6. Man, where do we even start? We were, this is just like we could start over, huh? No, we're not. It's just hard to even recap, man. Some of these chapters, you know, I tell people, I don't, people say, "What's your favorite verse, your favorite scripture, favorite chapter?" I really can't answer. I go to try to answer and I think of another one and another one and another one. I think, "I just love the word of God." So, but I'll tell you what. These chapters in Romans are incredible. And if you heard James comment about Romans and it's not to get to Romans 12, it's good to have those kind of insights, guys. You, you need to realize it's one big book, one big letter. It's not chapters, it's one big letter. And if you read it in context, you can see the intent of the letter and just the progression of things when you read things. So, I'd encourage you to read things like that through. Sometimes I'll, we'll get into communion with God here. See, there's a lot of things we think we're going to do. That's why we have 13 weeks, but we're going to get into communion with God. I've been saying that for 2 weeks now. Uh, and uh, there's times I'll just read a, uh, uh, a verse or a paragraph, and it's just all I need right there. And I'll just, we just. And then there's times I'll sit and just read chapter upon chapter. It just, it's, it depends. You see what I mean? But yeah. So, Romans 6, let's do this. You guys ready? You ready to roll? Okay.

So, we found in Romans 6 that we died to sin, right? And that we were buried with him in baptism. I don't want to go too into detail with this because of time. I want to get a little further in the chapter and try to wrap it up so that we can just start next week real fresh, and you guys will see that our faces are unveiled. We have boldness to enter the holiest. We're holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight, and we're going to continue in faith, right? And we're going to have, uh, access to him. Amen? And we're going to really talk about communing with God. Last year we talked a lot about that, and it seemed to be a real impacting time in the school for folks. I know George Hok, uh, cried and said, "I've heard I'm to fellowship with God my whole life, but now I've seen what it looks like." And that was a morning where the Lord woke me up in the morning, and he said, "Dan, when you go in there today, I want you to forget they're in the room and just, just, just love me, commune with me like you do." And I will feel a little funny, cuz it felt like the door would be open or something, you know? And I felt a little funny. I was laying there and I said, "Lord, that's a pretty intimate time, and that's just my heart." And and he just told me to go ahead and do that. So, I took some time and did that. At the very end, I taught right after, and I just had a few moments, but it was, it was fun. Could I thought it was going to be a lot more, but it gave everybody the picture. The other day, yesterday, when I started praying and communing a little bit, but I could feel myself slipping away. I said, "I already forgot you were in the room." I said, "Oh God." But uh, we want to get on that and commune with God because what he said is, he said, "I've always been told I'm to do it, but nobody's ever explained what it really means to fellowship with the Lord and commune with the Lord." So, okay.

We're buried with him through baptism, through baptism into death. I'm Romans 6:4. I'm just kind of running through the chapter. I'm just kind of highlighting some things we cover. Cuz we're not going to, we're not going to continue in sin so grace abounds, right? Why? Cuz we died to sin. We died to its identity, its mark, its stain, its memory. Sin. We're not created for sin, we're created for sonship. Remember I said that this chapter reveals, and the whole gospel reveals, that Jesus did not just die on the cross because we were sinners. Jesus died on the cross to regain lost sons. It's a restoring of sonship. So, he died on the cross not to expose your sin, to remove your sin, the Lamb that takes away sin, why? To get to your sonship. Amen. To qualify you as sons. Okay. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in the what? Newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, well then certainly we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. So, it's not just about dying, it's about living. Oh, it's so good. Knowing this, so we're called to know this. We're supposed to know this. That's why we're going over this. We know this. We're knowing this. Don't get bored with this and think we're just doing the same thing over and over again. This is stuff that is so foundational in your life that you want this to become so real to you, it, it becomes exciting. It's so real because it's who you are. You'll never be sold short again. You'll never sell out cheap again. Like, "You can't buy me back, buy me out." There's not a sell-out price. My identity's secured through him. I'm not my own. I've been bought with a price. Do you get it? You're not going to talk me into anything less. You're not going to get me to feel bad about myself, or even feel bad about others. You see the best in people because of love. You see what I'm saying? You get renewed in the spirit of your mind. Now, watch this. Knowing this, that our old man was what? Was what? Was crucified. So, he's dead. The old man's dead. Oh, you can still remember things. You can still get flashbacks. You might even have a dream you wish you didn't have. You have a dream you wish you didn't have, don't get freaked out and think the devil has some subconscious grip on you and start praying for deliverance. You sit up in your bed after having a dream you wish you didn't have and you say, "Father, I thank you you've changed my life forever. I thank you there is no former things about me. There's just future today and the future things to come. You have your hand on me. God, I thank you you've delivered me from all things. You've washed me clean. You made me free. You made me whole." See, even don't even let your dream life feel like you're vulnerable in your dream life. Even if something slips through into your dream life, when you wake up and remember that dream, you enter into communion with God and you declare truth and you thank God for freedom, and don't you be afraid. You see what I'm saying? Cuz we take that stuff so face value, and just the fact that we had a dream from the past, Christians that don't understand the gospel will have a field day with that. At the cost of your identity. It is a strategy. It's good. Picking up on this stuff. That's all a strategy. Misunderstanding and misinformed people, and then all of a sudden it's a ministry thing, an oil thing, and a deliverance thing, and casting the devil out of you thing. And it's like, "Well, did that dream bother you?" "Yeah, it was horrible." "Good. That used to be your life, and now it bothers you. Why don't you lift your hand and rejoice and thank God that you're changed forever? And the devil no longer has access to you, even in your sleep. He's just reminding you of your transformation. You just rejoice and give God glory." See? We're not being taught that. We say, "You had what? Oh my God, well that sneaky devil. Well, he must this. Well, we need to pray this, and we need to do this, and we need to do." No, you need to lift your hands and rejoice and cast everything that rises above the knowledge of God down and bring it into obedience according to Christ. Hold it captive. Agree it with Jesus. You get it? Come on. Don't make this thing difficult, cuz a lot of these avenues of ministry that we've come up with are at the cost of strong identity. They're actually suggesting you have issues. If you're constantly, yeah, it's fear-based. If you're constantly suggesting that we have issues, when are you ever free, and when are you ever founded and firm and and rooted in Christ? Only if you're feeling like it. God forbid. Okay, enough on that.

Knowing this, our old man was crucified, the body of sin that the body of sin might be done away with. This is where Jesse said, "That word's not quite strong enough for me, might." Didn't you? That was good. He said, "I want a better word." But what it means is that the possibility for you to be free from sin, the door's been opened. God has made a way for you to walk free from sin, its guilt, and its memory. But you have to receive that and walk that out by faith. That's why it says "might." Not everybody accepts this gospel. Not everybody runs with joy into the arms of God. He's the best Father that ever will be, and not everybody's sitting on his lap being fathered. He doesn't need a parenting program. He's not doing anything wrong. Serious. Sometimes when a child goes haywire, we think it's the parents, and the parents think it's them, and "If I'd have done a better job," and condemnation. Come on, God's the best parent there ever was. He's the best Father there ever will be. But not everybody's running to his lap. Not everybody wants his counsel. And sometimes, if your heart's in an opposite place, you're going to run from the most wisdom there ever will be. Come on, it's not a reflection on the Father. Sometimes it's a lack of the identity of sons. It's not always the parent. Cuz we, we're hard on fathers in this society, and even the church, we're always talking about the fathers. It's not always the fathers. Sometimes you need to see you're a son so you can be fathered. Sometimes you need to see you're a part of something, so you're not so willful. Do you get it? Okay.

Can't tell you how many mothers, I just got one again last week, called me. Cuz they feel like their kids aren't doing well as a parent. And their child's just little, that keeps throwing some tantrums and rages. "What are we doing wrong? What am I failing in?" Is a mother, is the first thought. Well, first of all, your little 2 and 1/2 year old's going to need born again someday. So, don't freak out and take it personal and get condemned. Just keep shining Christ and living like Christ and modeling Christ to your child so one day they say, "Mommy, I want to be just like you." "Mommy, there's some things about me that that I never see in you, and there's things about you that I don't seem to have. What's different about you, Mommy?" Wouldn't that be a joy? Sitting on the bed when they're 8 years old, and they cry and they say, "Mommy, I don't ever see you feel this way or do this or act this way. In fact, when I get around you, it makes me see inside. I feel this and this and this." She said, "Well, I can explain it, honey." And you talk about Jesus and who he created to be and born into Adam, and Mommy got born again, and I know we go to church and stuff, but there's a time for you to realize, and and you come of age, and I haven't talked to you till now strongly about it because I knew one day you'd see this. "I see it, Mommy, and I don't want to live this way anymore, and I don't want these things in my heart." I'll tell you what, I'm going to go fill up the bathtub. We're going to pray. We're going to pray, and I'm going to go dunk you in there. And when the bubbles stop, I'm going to lift you up. You ain't ever going to talk back TO ME AGAIN." NO, I'M JUST A JOKE. CUT THE TAPE. STOP. NO. DO YOU see what I'm DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? DO YOU SEE HOW POWERFUL THAT IS? Born again. So, you're not getting your little child to pray this prayer. Oh, she prayed the prayer. No, she's convicted and convinced by your life. And she doesn't think Christianity is getting up on Sunday morning and going to church. You can teach your kids religion by having strife in the home and anger and living just like you've always lived, but then say, "Listen, we need to get to church." And then live in a certain way at home. You're actually teaching your kids religion, that Christianity is going to church, not being. Don't do that. And even if you have done that, it's not the end of the world, and don't you go, "Well, if you do that, go ahead and die, but then make sure you get up." So, if you suck wind like that and die, just get up and do right. See, cuz you can always start now, right? So, once you get understanding, you can start now. God's a redeemer. He's bigger than the mistakes we've made. Cuz even your children need to see the humility of repentance and change. And, "Wow, Daddy, you used to do this and live that." "Remember?" "Yeah, and I got really convicted." "You know what? Well, you sure took it to heart because you're different." "Well, that's cuz people can change, son. And I'm sorry for the day when I this, and I'm sorry for the times when." And you know what it really grabbed my heart, and I thought, "You know what? I'm not teaching my family a good lesson. I'm not being a good example priest." And I thank you. I appreciate that you acknowledge. You see change. "Oh, Daddy, there's a lot of change in you. You're not like I remember." "Well, thanks for seeing me for who I am, and you don't have to remember that fellow. I'm telling you, son, he's dead and gone." All of a sudden, there's integrity towards you in your son, who you might have taught religion. Why? Cuz you took to heart and said, "Hey, it's not the end of the world. Now, I'm actually teaching through my repentance, my son, that people can change and be integral and live sincere." All of a sudden, God works with all that and reveals his glory. Amen? This is a good day. You got a, where's the microphone? We got the mic? Thanks, buddy. Shana. I've upset you. Thanks, Jesus. Um, I'm sorry. It's more of a comment, I get it, an insight on, um, comparatively of what you're saying there. Um, isn't that how we should be with each other, too? Because we end up making it so complicated with holding each other as adult Christians in that comparative, because you should know better because you're older. Shouldn't we be like that as we are with our children? And, yeah, we're going to, we're going to hit, we're going to cover love so extensively and what it means to walk in love. And, uh, yeah, absolutely yes. We should love one another just like God loved us. If you're looking at each other a way that God hasn't looked at you, then re-, re-look. Redefine your view. Amen? Come on. If I'm treating you at a level and I'm mandating you and holding you on a thing that God hasn't held me on, then what am I doing? Come on. Can't do that. Okay? And we're going to cover it. We're going to hit it real hard. But, but the answer to your question is yes. Yes. And then what do, what do we do then to one another? We inspire one another in the way. We can actually be a conviction and a helpmate with one another, and we can all sharpen one another in a life lived in Christ, right? Yeah, this is beautiful. See, I just know that I'm called to live from a certain place and manifest certain things that what you see is what you get, and that there's an integrity there. Even what we read in Corinthians when Rick gave that, and I kept reading, and how they were commended to their consciences. Remember how the other day, how they were, what manner of men they were for your sake? You see that? All of a sudden, it's easy to hear. All of a sudden, there's, you're not on edge. All of a sudden, there's this, man, if we start living and let our love be sincere without hypocrisy, we, we grow really fast in the church, won't we? Cuz we're not on edge. We're not, there is Christian books on bookshelves that tell you how to build walls and set boundaries so your trust isn't broken and your heart's not hurt. Uh, it's just mind-boggling to me. That's self-preservation, self-protection. You're going to say God's your rock and defense. No, you're trying to protect yourself. That means you're subject and vulnerable to be attacked and plundered. No, he's my rock and defense. How's he my rock and my defense? Cuz he's changed the, I, I live from. He's changed my view on life. You have no ability to hurt. There, there is nothing. Come on. That's craziness. That's self-preservation. That's me protecting myself from your weakness, faults, and failures. I thought love is greater than that. Does God have himself edged in? Is he protecting himself from you and your fallacies and your weak moments so that his heart doesn't get broken? See, we're only doing that because we're basing it on past life and past experience. And we're not being renewed in the spirit of our mind. I'm already to preach love now. You got a comment? Question? Question? Thanks, man. We're get, you're getting your exercise today, buddy. See how thin we keeping guys? Look at him. The reason he's so thin. No. Right here. Maybe a part of the love thing. So, if you don't answer it now, that's fine. But I'm talking to Rachel and Bobby, and you mentioned one of the other days about the covering for your children. And I was wondering if that fits in love, and just, is that coming right from, um, the Father's love? Is that where we find how that fits, how like our responsibility is covering our children? Because that's a big deal to us. That, oh, when I made the comment about when my kids were small? Yeah, and you said something about them not missing school and the whole nine yards. What it was that one? Something about, um, there was a time where I kind of like left them out there like, "You need to have your own faith," but I realized I'm their father. Yeah. I have, I can cover them. Yeah. What I did was, yeah, that's good. That's a good comment. Yeah, you're, you're in a place even in a marriage, if your spouse isn't on page, don't fall apart and don't think that if they don't change, you can't walk in completeness and fullness. You have Christ. You have the Spirit of God. You know, well, yeah, but brother, I'm limited. They're my one flesh, and and you get so analytical and intellectual, and a lot of the church will agree with you in that you have this great deficit until they're on board. Man, I wish we'd throw that stuff away. I understand you can have oneness. You can walk in sin and etc., but you have Christ. It says the believing spouse sanctifies the unbelieving husband, lest the children be unclean. That means the righteousness that God places upon your life blows away any unrighteousness under the roof, and that your children are even protected as you're walking in sanctity and holiness and love. Come on. Yeah, but he's into witchcraft. Yeah, but you're into Christ. Yeah, but he's reading smut stuff in the bedroom. Yeah, but you're in Christ. Why do we make what people are doing wrong greater than what Christ has done right in us? Greater is He that's in me than he that's in the world. And all of a sudden, I can't have peace in my home because I believe what they're doing is greater than who Christ is in me. And all we're revealing is we have a lesser revelation than what's become real to us. A lesser revelation this way, and this is bigger than this. That's all that's happening. And then natural wisdom, once again, ruling our life. See, my children are covered. So, I would pray certain ways over my children, forgiving them and showing mercy. And, "God, thank you for the right to train them up and teach them." And as I got older, or they got older, I was, I believed that they were more on their own because they had to acquire their own faith and stuff like that. And then I kind of left them come out under my covering in some areas, and I saw some things happen that I don't think had to necessarily happen, even physical stuff, different things. Uh, there's a place for me to keep them before God as a priest unto God. There's a place for me to believe for them. Watch this. Even if I know they're living out of line of the way I brought them up, and something comes upon them, mercy still can step in there, and they can be healed, fixed, restored. Cuz the goodness of God goes and sobers them to come back. Rather than, "Well, you're going to have to learn the hard way. You're the one that chose that path." "Well, you're reaping what you've sown." "Well, I told you over here's the way. When you're ready, you know, hey." That's what we do. And mercy triumphs over judgment. Love covers a multitude of sin. Overcome evil with good. The goodness of God turns men's hearts. We forget all those scriptures when it's close to home. Okay? So, you cover your children. You pray. You believe. You, you're a believing wife. Now, you have a believing husband. But even if you didn't, you're a believing wife. Thank God you have a believing husband. There's a synergism there. When husband and wife is on page and in agreement, and the beauty of unity and stuff, it's an amazing place. Amazing place. Are you limited if they're not on page? If you believe so. If you believe so. There's some things that I've experienced in the Lord with my wife in agreement spiritually that I haven't on my own personally. That's where people say that you're limited. But I have total peace in my heart. I'm in the anointing of God. I know I'm loved. I'm walking in love whether she would be saved or not, I'm who I am in Christ. Now, if who she is in Christ adds to who I am in Christ, of course there's a synergism, and two have become in one. It's the highest picture of God, two becoming one. Because two souls, two wills, two emotions becoming one is a high place. That's, that's the expression of God, or he'd have left Adam Adam. But he reached into Adam, not made another lump of clay. He reached into Adam and brought forth. So, they were already one in God, but he made them two from one. Cuz there was, cuz they were made in God's image, so there was nothing to make them not one. That's why it's not another lump of clay. Cuz they're in him. So, everything about them is, is him. So, there's not another lump of clay. He reaches into what's already full of God and the manifestation of God and brings forth the woman. So, the woman came out of the fullness of God in the man. And then together the two become one. That's powerful. I was better ready. BJ, what you got going, man? Yeah. Um, that's demonstrated perfectly in Job. But that's what God says about Job when he sets the whole story up, and he says Job is faithful and loving and he's perfect. And he says that Job makes sacrifices for his wife and children. Job is the faithful one in the household. And God says, "I put a fence around his family because of Job's faithfulness." So, I mean, that's a perfect demonstration of what you're saying is as the faithful person in the house, you have to walk in that authority. There's a place for, there's a place for love that works apart from fear because of love. It's love. Because you're perfected in love, you can cover an unbelieving spouse. If you forgive the sins of any, they're forgiven. If you let your heart get hard, grace is hindered, right? That's just amazing in your house what you can, you can take authority in your house as a believer, even if you're a woman. Don't you be deceived, cuz you're in Christ. It's an authority shift. The believing spouse sanctifies an unbelieving spouse, lest the children would be unclean. So, as you remain in faith and realize you are unlimited and unhindered, and it'd sure be nice if they'd be on board, but you know what? It is the way it is right now, and God, you're amazing, and thanks for loving us. And you don't miss a step. And you start feeling sorry for yourself, and it's been a long time now, but "When are they ever going to change?" Then it's just back to all about you, and you need them to be a certain way so you're okay. And then it's all about who? All about yourself. And it's not even love. It's not even loving your spouse. It's actually needing your spouse to be a certain way so you're okay. You see how we demean this beautiful thing called love and bring it into human reasoning, and then all of a sudden we have the permission to write books to defend and protect ourself and build boundaries because we were so hurt in ministry and we're never going to let that happen again. How about getting rid of the reason and foundation for being hurt? What are we doing hurt in ministry? Who are we ministering for? The kingdom or ourselves? If God's not a basket case, why are we? Probably cuz our motive, probably cuz our motive is a little different. And we cover it with spiritual language. Yeah, but I just want to see God save people, and I just want to, and they're always in the way, and they're stopping the hand of God, and God's heart is grieved, and that's why I feel the way I do. That's religious deception. I've seen intercessor after intercessor take that line upon themselves. Give themselves permission to be hurt by everything. And lose their joy of salvation because they're carrying this heavy burden that God never put on their shoulders. Romans 6. You, you good? All right. I know I throw some stuff out there. Just forgive me. Love me. For he who had died. Oh my, verse 7 of Romans 6. For he who has died is what? What is it? Freed from sin. So, you are not still a sinner. If you've died, you're free from sin. That doesn't mean you don't have the ability to miss the mark at times. That doesn't mean. But see, I don't talk about that much. You don't hear me because I'm not giving permission for the flesh, and I don't want you even thinking, "Well, what are we perfect? Well, don't we ever going to sin?" You are freed from sin. So, he doesn't even want you asking THAT QUESTION. JUST TAKE ON RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JOY, BEING RIGHTEOUS. BE A SON, AND YOU'LL BE AMAZED WHAT THAT looks like. It's not about trying not to sin ever again in your life. You're freed from sin. Who just saw you're freed from sin? So, our war is not trying not to sin. Our war is actually embracing and staying with an unveiled face, looking in the mirror, realizing we're sons. We're sons. We're daughters. We're daughters. WE'RE WE'RE THE CHILDREN OF GOD. THAT BECOMES YOUR BIGGEST BATTLE. JUST YOU'RE LOVABLE. GOD IS FOR YOU. HE MADE YOU. YOU'RE THE ELECT. YOU'RE HIS PURPOSE. All that good stuff because life tries to steal that away and convince you otherwise. The devil is so afraid that you'll see this. He's trying to tell you why it can't be true. And unfortunately, sometimes you can have 10, 10, 10 good strong truths in front of you, and one little whisper, and you grab the whisper. So, if you died, that's why we deny ourself, pick up our cross and follow him. We're freed from sin. Now, if you don't die to yourself, selfishness is still there. Your conscience is still violated. You still have wrong motives. You still have manipulation. You're saying one thing but motivated by another. That gets muddy. I'm not talking about perfection here. I'm talking about a pure heart. Dying, surrendering, getting along with God. "God, I'm not living for myself. Right now, I'm feeling." Remember Rachel's question? "There's a little frustration in my heart. In fact, it feels like a lot of frustration, and I'm telling you, it is not your will, and it's not my created value, and you didn't make me for this. And alone with you in this room with nobody looking, I'm getting real, and it feels good to be able to be in contact with my heart and say, 'Listen, I don't want that in my life. I want to see through your eyes. I want to love my children like you love me and the world, and I want to be the woman of God you made me to be. And here I am, God. Frustration has no part in me. I will not accept it, tolerate it, make excuses for it. I am a woman of God.'" That's how he prayed. You can move. See, I feel that, and I feel like Rachel now. I said, "That was her prayer, and I'm feeling it." I WAS FOR YOU, and I got down. Get down. Oh, man. That was serious. That was fun. I just came all over me. I said, "Good job." Why? Cuz it's a giving of yourself. That's this wedding thing Rick brought up. If you really think about it, what is covenant and communion with God? All that is mine is yours. And I see that all that is yours is mine. So, in return, all that is mine is yours. Yes, I do. I receive you. And I give myself to you. Communion, the elements can be like a wedding service. His body and his blood is speaking to you. "I promise that by my stripes you are healed, and I'll never leave you or forsake you." And the blood has spoken better things than Abel. You're in and never out. I'll never reject you. I'll bless you forever. It's all these covenant vows through these "I do's." And, "Father, I give my life to you." And I vow. And all of a sudden, your heart exchanges back. It's like a wedding. We took communion of it. New Life for Girls one time, long time ago. I said, I said, "This is just like a marriage." And I said, "He doesn't want a girlfriend. He doesn't want to park in an alley and have an experience." Da da da da. And these girls are like, "Oh my God, preacher." And I just, I said, "He wants a wife." I said, "He doesn't want a concubine that serves him relentlessly and then brushes against him now and then." He wants a wife. He wants a queen, and you're his queens. And they're all like, I took off my ring. I said, "We're going to have covenant ex, we're going to marry him right now." And we did this thing, and oh, it was a mess. It was really good. You can take that truth and embrace it in your personal life and heart, right? And it can be your life in covenant with God. Why? Cuz we're freed from sin. If you don't get that out of the way, you won't have the confidence and conscience to do what I'm saying. But if we died, we shall live, knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead dies no more. What's the death he died? He died to sin, verse 10, once for all. That the life he lives, he lives to God. Likewise, you. It's a major, major verse. We hit it all hard. I'm just breezing over it the best I can right now. Reckon yourself dead to sin, alive to God in Christ. So, what are you? You reckon yourself. Consider yourself. See yourself dead to sin. It's huge. Therefore, you're not going to let sin reign in your mortal body. Why? You're not created for it, for its lust. You're not going to obey it. You're not going to come under the power of it. You were created for God's image and God's glory. The more you believe that, focus there, pray there, the dimmer and fainter the drive of the flesh becomes. The more you camp in this truth, you set your mind on this truth, and it puts to death the dictates of flesh. Sometimes they shout and scream, it seems. Why? Cuz you've given them so much life. You've nurtured them yourself. You've actually yet fed them. And now all of a sudden you're saying, "I'm changed," and they're saying, "Yeah, right." So, you stay in this place and you put to death those things. Set your mind. Right? Look, do not present your members. Oh my. Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. That doesn't just mean don't do the acts of sin. Watch this. Don't see yourself as an instrument of sin. Don't label yourself as sin waiting to happen. Don't wake up conscious of the ability to sin and fear it or whatever. Don't present yourself as an instrument for unrighteousness. You see it? Look, watch this. But present yourselves to God. "I'm yours. You love me. You've received me. I'm elect. I'm holy. I'm beloved. I'm blameless. I'm above reproach," right? Watch. Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead. Do you hear that's prayer? Do you hear that's communion? "Father, I was dead, but I'm alive now. Father, you've raised me from the dead. I am alive, and your Spirit's in me. Your image is working in me effectually, and you are stripping me from every weakness, every flaw, every false motive. The light in my life is delivering me from the power of darkness. I have been made free." Yay. And you're just growing in this place. You need something like this. And and we're going to get into meditating on the word and communing with God probably this whole coming week. But, but watch this. You present yourself alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. I would, I remember walking my bedroom, I was weeks old in the Lord. I'm a tree. I was reading Isaiah. Somehow I got on Isaiah, and it said I was a tree. The righteousness, you know, tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. I said, I, I was, I just, so like a child, like a kid, I took it face value. I started walking my bedroom, and my wife was, "I'm a tree. I'm a tree. A tree of righteousness, and you planted me. You nurtured me. You fertilized me. You raised me up, and the fruit of who you are is hanging all over me. I AM RIPE FOR THE PICKING. THERE'S PEOPLE THAT NEED LOVE AND CAN COME TO ME AND EAT AND BE SATISFIED. THERE'S PEOPLE THAT NEED MERCY, AND I WOULD PRAY THAT OUT." I would walk my bedroom and get so flipped out just believing that. And then I'd go to work and see my co-workers just like God saw. And they're mocking and persecuting and not understanding, and, and I would realize they don't understand. They're just mocking and scoffing what they don't understand. "Oh, bless their hearts." And all of a sudden, I couldn't get angry anymore. All of a sudden, I realized I wasn't insecure. All of a sudden, I realized it doesn't even matter what they say because of what I know. Oh, it was so fun. Why? Cuz every day presenting myself, presenting myself. See, that's what people. See, you can call this, you can say, "Oh, Dan, you've been touched by a sovereign touch of grace." Well, I've been touched by grace, but I've sought the Lord. I've sought the Lord. I've believed what he said about me. Open face and unveiled, unreservedly. I've been alone with him, thanking him that he made me this precious damn. That's what I found a lot of folks haven't done. They've just read their Bible or sat under preaching, and they go, "Oh boy, I got my work cut out for me now." And then they try to be a better Christian, and soon after, settle into a mode of whatever. Yeah. Going, going out into the woods. I remember taking, man, when I first got saved, tapes were still in, you know, 16 years ago, tapes were still. I'd take my little tape player and I'd walk right out into the woods. I remember setting a blanket up at the water company and just worshipping Jesus in the woods. So, I wouldn't, I'd only take a blanket when I took my wife and kids, but I'd just go sit on the log somewhere and I'd just turn that thing up. I remember going to Montana and getting up before daylight, making sure in the mornings I was on the top of mountains as the sun was coming up. And I would just be shouting and screaming out over the mountain, "Jesus!" and worshipping, and just having a ball. Countless, countless, countless, countless times like that. Was on a mountain one day. I got the impression somebody was right there. Did you ever get that? I'm on a, I'm on a high mountain full of rocks, and it's overlooking the whole city of Helena. I get this impression, I turn, there's a lady standing there watching me worship Jesus at daybreak on the mountain. And I looked at her, and here it was, a lady I asked directions in the city of how to get somewhere the day before. The same lady. And I thought, "I know this lady." I said, I said, "Oh, I said, hello, good morning." And she said, she came over. She said, "I was over on the other side. I heard this noise. I heard singing. Honestly, I thought I was hearing angels. I thought it was angels. I got drawn over here. I had to come and see." I said, "Well, probably is angels around." She said, "I'm just here worshipping."

Jesus. I said, "Why are you up on this mountain this early in the morning?" I said, "Hey, I know you. You Oh my gosh, yeah." I pulled up in the car. I said, "How do you... you're the lady. Why are you on this mountain?"

"I came here this morning. I felt impressed to come up on these rocks, high to a high place in the morning early, 'cause my heart is so hungry to know who God is. And I felt like I was being compelled to come here, that if I came here, I'd find out WHO GOD IS. Guess where I'm sitting at daybreak."

"So the Lord must have confidence that I'm a good representative of who he is. Because he said, 'I'll tell you what, you go here, and if you go here, he'll go there, and if you meet him, YOU'LL KNOW ME.' It's too fun."

"So I said, 'Oh my goodness, honey, this is amazing because this is what happened to me this morning. I get up and the Lord told me to get up on this mountain this morning and be up here by daylight.' And I just figured it was to come to worship him, but it was so we could meet and talk."

"I want to talk with you." And she said, she cried, got saved. We prayed. She never heard a message so beautiful. And she finally understood. You know, a lot of people have a a hardness towards the Christian church 'cause they've been touched so wrong with the message. They don't even understand. We've so misappropriated and misrepresented the message, you know, from "turn or burn" to whatever.

I shared with her the love that sent Jesus Christ and her value and her identity, everything I'm preaching you in the school. And I watched miracle grow, pour into her spirit. Isn't that cool? That you'd ask directions from one lady in a city and have that little contact just for a moment, and she tells you, "Oh, thanks, hon. God bless you." Shew. The next morning, you're on a mountain worshipping Jesus. She's standing behind you on a rock. Doesn't even know why she's on the mountain. She just felt compelled to come up in her search for God.

So, see, if you're getting up in the morning presenting yourself as something less than a son, you're probably not equipped and ready, or even hearing all that good stuff. 'Cause you're still fighting a battle he already won. Come on. 'Cause sin's not going to have dominion over you. Why? Well, you're not under the law.

Now, I'll be honest with you, what he's talking here is that even if you find yourself slipping up or messing up or backtracking into a moment of weakness or an expression of flesh, it's not the end of the world. Don't you curl up and die. Your heart's sincere and pure. You're not looking for a way to sin and get away with it. It's grace. You have grace. Your heart's been changed and God can work with that.

Now, he addresses the people that aren't sincere, maybe, or the people that'll use this gospel as an advantage for the flesh. And he says, "What then? Shall we sin because we're not under the law but grace?" Of course not. It's never again about sin. Do you not know? This is powerful, guys. This is the rest of six that we didn't cover yesterday. I'm trying to get it done. I'm scared to look at my watch. Oh, we're going to get it done. We really are.

Do you not know that to whom? Do you not know? It's a question. Don't you know this? Guys, do you know this? Don't you know that to whom you present yourself a slave to obey, you're that one slave whom you obey, whether it's sin leading to death and obedience leading to righteousness. But you're going to be someone's slave. You're going to be tied to something here, and it's called your belief system. Do you see that?

But God be thanked that though you were a slave to sin. What were you? Slave to sin. You were. You hear the language? Do you see this isn't heresy? It's in the Bible. Though you were slaves to sin, yet you obeyed from the heart. That's the key. That form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

Now, here's the unfortunate thing. From Paul's day, when this was written, to our day, this doctrine hasn't been delivered to everyone. Hasn't. Look at verse 18. Here's this phrase again. And having been set. So, if we're in denial over the sin thing, we're not facing the reality. God must be having issues too, because he seems pretty intent to be telling us we're free. He's saying, "And having been set free from sin, you became a slave of..." Look that up. Look that language up. That'll have fun. You just throw away the key. I'm chained and tied to righteousness to be its prisoner and serve it the rest of my life. So, forever, till the end of time, whatever that means, Jesus will be in position to be my redeemer, the lamb slain, and I'm a son forgiven for eternity. Never changes mind. A million years from now, he's not going to blow a whistle and stop heaven's party and say, "Wait a minute. Is there a Dan Mohler in the crowd? Look, I was reviewing some records and there's some things I missed and I'm not sure how you got here. If I'd have saw these things, I probably wouldn't have let you in. You're going to have to go now." No, you're in. You're loved. You're forgiven. You're redeemed. There's no turning or shifting of shadow. Isn't that amazing?

But God be thanked. Having been set free from sin, you're slave to righteousness. Now, look, I'm speaking in human terms 'cause of the weakness of your flesh. He's meeting them right where they're at. And he's saying, "I'm going to put this on a level where you can embrace this and see the beauty and power of it." Watch this.

For just as you presented your members as a slave to uncleanness and of lawlessness, leading to what? More lawlessness. So now present your members. So now you're to present your members, what? As a slave unto righteousness. And what's its purpose? For holiness. So, I present myself as a member of righteousness leading to holiness. Do you see the instruction here?

What fruit did you guys have? What fruit did I have? Man, I told you some twisted motives I had. Man, it was ugly. Wasn't it? That's Hannah's looking at me like, "No." I said, "Hannah, if you didn't know these things, you would never let me hug you." But see, she knows I've changed. She ran up and gave me the biggest hug today, the best. She gives the best hug 'cause it's from her heart. She did. She gave me a big squeeze. But I remember looking at her laughing, saying, "Man, if you didn't know this stuff, you wouldn't even want me to hug you." Think about it. When you tell a testimony of how you used to be, and people go, "I can't even imagine that." That's the whole idea. It's transformation of life.

When I start saying, "I was this, and I did this, and I thought this, and I did this," people get weirded out a little bit. They're like, "It's all to the glory of God. It's the transformation of life." You want people to say, "Oh, I can't even imagine that." Well, good. 'Cause that's the man that was, and he died. And this is the man that's now slave to serve righteousness. All the difference in life. Do you get it? Oh.

So, what fruit did we have in the things in which we're now what? Ashamed. So, those things came to us, and we realized at some point that, "Wow, that was so not God." So, it doesn't mean we're living under a yoke of shame now. It means that when we look back on those things, there's no life there. There's nothing there for us. There's no nothing there. We're actually... I just had a talk with the young lady on the break. It's the feeling of it's... it's... it feels like regret. It's like, "Why did I have to..." Yuck. Well, thank God I'm changing. I see that for what it is now, and I'm cleaning that, right? This is... this is 'cause we see it for what it was.

But now, here we are. Oh my goodness, he's going to say, say this. But now, having been set free, free from sin. So, we were set free. Oh my goodness, back in verse seven. We're set free in 18. We're set free in 22. I wonder if we're free. I wonder if, out of the mouths of two or more, every word is confirmed and established.

But now, having been set free from sin, you became slaves of God. You have your fruit to holiness. Some lady came to me once and said, "I don't like that scripture. I don't like feeling myself like a slave to God. That feels like bondage." And I said, "Honey, you're missing the whole connotation. What it means is you've been captured to think nothing else. You have been captured and seized to think nothing else. There is no other option. There's no other alternative. It's the truth. It's so beautiful."

So now, having been set free from sin, you become a slave to God, and you have your fruit. You have your fruit to holiness. And the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus our Lord.

Now, he just said how many times you're freed from sin. So, now he goes into Romans seven and teaches, "Or do you not know, brethren?" And he teaches man living under the law, living by... For I speak to those who know the law, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives. For the woman has a husband, shares in marriage, talks about dying here and not being free till there's a death. He's talking about dying to the law, to the to the old way, to your own ingenuity, your own strength, your own ability. There's a whole lot involved here. And that the law was actually used by God in a very holy and awesome way. That the law was spiritual in the fact that it tutored me to Christ. It... it identified sin. And before the law, I was free in regard to sin. But when the law came, I realized I had fallen short from the nature of God. You get it?

So then, he's going down through here. Now, we've been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held to, that we should serve in the newness of one of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except for the law. So, the law revealed. It actually revealed sin, showed me the fall of my nature. It showed me my need for Christ. It tutored me to a savior. You get it? You follow me?

Sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. And apart from the law, sin was dead. But I was alive once without the law. But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. So, there the law is. It's... it's actually an amazing thing. But the key is that you receive grace through Jesus Christ and you die to that which tutored you to him now that he came. You follow me?

So, he goes on and he... he describes that the law can't save you from sin. He says, "Therefore, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good." Why? Because it's bringing things into the light. The law actually marked us for who we really were. There's no place for denial when you look through the law. When you hold up the 10 Commandments, there's no way to get around the fact that we are way short from the standard of God. True? Okay.

Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not. But sin. It's sin. It's sin. So, it's not the law. The law's not... Oh my God, the law. No, the law's exposing what's killing me. The law's exposing what's killing me. What's killing me? Is it the law or sin? It's sin.

So, see, Paul goes and describes then that process 'cause we've all lived in this, that it might appear sin producing was producing death in me through what was good, so that sin, through the commandment, might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

So, here's the law, it's spiritual. I'm carnal, sold under sin. PAUL IS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE MAN he just wrote about in Romans six. The man he just WROTE ABOUT IS THE MAN THAT'S FREED FROM SIN. He's not carnal and sold to sin. This is the man before this revelation. He's... he's... he's making an example here. He's saying, "Let me break this down for you and show you what the law did. The law's a good thing. You don't live by it anymore. You live by grace. But the law made sin exceedingly sinful and revealed that I was a carnal man, sold to sin, born into Adam, and I had a need to be born again."

PAUL'S NOT TALKING ALL THIS RIGHTEOUSNESS and freedom AND JOHN WRITING THESE THINGS SO WE DO NOT SIN AND THEN TURN AROUND and saying, "Look, this is our dilemma though. We still got sin living in us and sin's in us and we're going to be carnal. We're always going to sin, guys." HE COULDN'T BE FARTHER from what he's saying. Watch this.

For we know that it's spiritual. Carnal. For I am... What I am doing, I don't understand. For what I will to do, that I don't practice, and what I hate, that I do. Who knows that we all got into that place in the process of repentance and getting saved? We got to a place where our conscience is God real and said, "You know what? There's a lot of things working in me that aren't God. And even the ones that I don't want, still come, and I end up doing them." And the... Who knows that we've been through that? All of us at some level have experienced that. True?

But he's not saying that's who you are and are always going to be. HE JUST TOLD YOU IN ROMANS SIX, YOU ARE FREED from sin. You present your members unto righteousness. HE'S NOT TURNING around in hypocrisy and saying, "I'm carnal." He's spiritual. And he's free. He's not carnal. He's talking about under the law. He introduces this whole chapter talking about something has to die so it lives. Right? So you're dying to the old. So the law of the spirit of life through Christ has made me free from this law that he's now talking about. Because that's chapter eight, which is all one big letter. See how progressive and awesome this is?

'Cause some people read this and it says, "But it's no longer verse 17, uh, I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." And people say, "See, sin's still in us." They take that right there out of context, out of... If you read Romans five, six, seven, eight, you couldn't possibly misinterpret this. But I've heard preachers, I've actually, I can name some that you would know, that say, "Well, we have to face the fact that Romans seven says sin is still in us." Well, that's pretty blasphemous then. God's pretty mixed up 'cause he just told me I'm free from it. Yeah, that's... that's what you have to reduce it to then. Well, then he didn't really mean that. No, I'm free. He said it how many times in that one chapter? Four. It's in eight, too. It's actually a lot of places.

Reckoning yourself dead to sin is a big deal. So, if you reckon yourself dead to sin, are you carnal, sold under sin? No, you reckon dead to sin. He's taking you out of that and into him. Right?

For the good that I will to do, I don't do. And the evil I do do do do do do do. This is a man sold under sin. I've heard Christian after Christian get trapped in sin and say, "Well, you know, Paul, I mean, the things he wanted to do, he didn't couldn't do either. I'm not perfect. Paul had the same dilemma." And then all of a sudden, we use grace as an occasion for sin. Scary things. Watch this.

I find then a law that is... that is... that evil is present with me. So, the law is to expose that, "Wow, evil is present with me. I'm born into Adam. I'm sold under sin. I have a taskmaster. I'm driven in life. Life is driving me." That's what it means. That's we not to come to that understanding. The one who wills to do good down in my heart, I could do good. Maybe I would want to do good. There's some things I'd want to, but all of a sudden, I find myself doing other things and driven, captive, puppeteer, a slave in bondage. True?

Well, the children of Israel in the land of Egypt, they were in bondage. They were... they were serving the will of another. They were in the muck and mire, laboring every day, their own sweat, their own energy to build another's kingdom. We're created in the image of God for God's glory and sold under sin, building the kingdom of unrighteousness when we're called to be spiritual house, stone upon stone. See that? See that connection?

So, we come out of the land of bondage into the promised land. New master. He delivered me out of the muck and mire. I'm no more making bricks for Pharaoh's monuments. Fact, now I'm empowered to tear them things down that we all built. You get it? That's the raw, raw side of it.

For I delight in the law of God accordingly to the inward man. In other words, God, I thank you that you illuminated me. And the law reveals my musty. Man, if I didn't have that sense of knowing what's right, I'd be blind, deceived, and like a brute beast, I'd walk into destruction. Right? So, I rejoice in that. But I see another law that's working in my members, warring against the law of my mind and my good, good desire, and it's bringing me into captivity. It's the law of sin.

So, this is all happening through looking at God's law. I'm realizing I need help. I need a savior. I'm powerless to walk in love, powerless to walk in the image of God, powerless to fulfill the statutes of God. Right? Isn't that what he's saying?

Now, look. "O wretched man that I am." This is what happened to me in '95 at work. June 9th of '95. "You're so pitiful. Your life is pitiful. You're so selfish. You're so full of hypocrisy. You hurt everybody you say you love. You don't... You don't care about anybody but yourself, and you don't even like yourself." Remember Ballinger saying that? "You want everybody to love you, and you don't even like you." I'm so pitiful. I said it. I said it 10 times. I'm so pitiful. My life is so pitiful. I said it 10 times. Oh, it was a good day.

"O wretched man that I am. Who's going to save me from this place?" See what I was doing? "Who will DELIVER ME? WHAT HOPE IS THAT FOR ME? WRETCHED MAN. NO LONGER CAN DENY THE WICKED, TWISTED MOTIVE OF MY HEART. I THANK GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. Our Lord." Watch.

So, then with my mind I myself serve the law. This is what stumbles people. Some people don't understand 'cause they don't... they stop reading as if it's a chapter. "With my mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." So, they say, "See, sin's still in me 'cause with the flesh I'm damned to serve it." That's what they say. I've heard people preach it from the pulpit. 'Cause they forget this is one big letter and they don't say, "Therefore."

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ." Why? 'Cause we don't walk according to the... So, we don't serve sin. We live by the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life through Christ has made me free. There I am again, free. So, am I carnal, sold under sin, or am I free? Haha. Yeah.

For what the law could not do, 'cause it was weak through the flesh, meaning our flesh, you and my flesh, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of our own flesh on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh. He cursed and crushed what was killing us and rendered it voiceless, powerless, and remembers it no more. Took it away. Man, that's so good.

And then watch. That the righteous requirement of the law would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. So, now I'm not in works going to try to live up to a standard. I've been called to a standard. I already passed. I already have an A+. I'm already in. I'm already his. So, from the place of being his, I begin to live my life as a son. And God grows me up into him in all things. Watch this.

For those who live according to the flesh set their mind on the things of the flesh, but those who live according... So, if you set your mind on the things of the flesh, what are you going to bump into immediately? Sin. Right? But if you set your mind on the things of the spirit, present your members unto unto righteousness for holiness, what are you going to bump into? The fruit of righteousness, right?

For to be carnally minded is death. But to be spiritually minded is... If you didn't run the risk of and couldn't possibly live carnally minded, he wouldn't write this. You set your mind on things about us. The devil would love to keep you carnally minded as a Christian that sees a need for a savior, but stay carnally driven, carnally minded, sell yourself cheap and short, even though the kingdom is here. You follow me?

To be carnally minded is death. If you couldn't walk carnally minded, why is he addressing it? To be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God and it is not subject to the law of God, for indeed it cannot be. That's amazing. Jesus says, "You're either for me or you're against me." Who knows you can see your need for a savior and have a mindset that's moved by things that are against him and his kingdom? Who knows you could be a member of a body of Christ and have a lack of understanding and actually live as if you're against him, even though you're crying out to him, because of a lack of understanding? It doesn't make you evil and wicked. It just means you don't understand.

So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. What's that mean? It's impossible to please God without faith. So, if you don't see by faith what he's accomplished through Christ, you'll remain in the flesh. And even though you'll sing the right songs and be in the right atmosphere, you won't believe the right things and manifest the fruit of his finished work. Come on. This thing is clear. I'll get you.

But look at this. So, if you're in the flesh, you cannot please God. Look what he says to you though. Oh, this is a... But you are not in the flesh. YOU'RE NOT IN THE FLESH. HE'S... HE'S SO, IF ANYONE IS EVEN THINKING of it, HE'S SAYING, "YOU'RE NOT." But you're in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. That means it's appointed once for every man to die, and we're going to get a brand new, never touched by sin, no memory of sin, no even fight. That thing is just crushed. It's a brand new, incorruptible, immortal. Yay. You see what I mean? Yeah.

But if the same spirit, the spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead, dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your what? Mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. So, therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, but to live according or to to live according to the the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you die. So, he's amplifying this again. Therefore, we are debtors not to the flesh. You are not damned in called. It's not your lot in life to be bound to the flesh, is what he's saying. But to live according or to to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if you live by the spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body and you live.

For as men... So, do you see this? To live by the spirit, a righteous consciousness, a sonship identity, presenting my members unto God for holiness. In obedience leading to righteousness, all of a sudden the deeds of the flesh die. Sin and its actions die. Sin and its voice and temptation die. I put to death the members of my flesh by standing as a son. I'm camping all this time on this because it's that important. Look how much time God took to write all this language about it. How many chapters have we covered? How many scriptures have we covered for two weeks? How many? Oh, it's just... it's all over.

For and then look how we all still say, "Yeah, but brother, we're always going to miss the mark." Man, don't let that stuff come out of your mouth. I... I hear people say that after you're preaching like this, and people still say, "Yeah, but we're still always going to miss. We got to face reality. We ain't perfect, brother." And then they're missing the whole thing. That is a language that comes, I'm telling you, it comes from hell. To rob you from walking in the fruit of what this is declaring.

'Cause here's what it does then. By no faith, you limit the grace, the ability of God to transform your life. See, when you talk and think like that, you're stopping grace that's here. What's it mean to receive the abundance of grace? To open yourself up to what's possible through the finished work of Christ and don't limit God based on your own former experience, but let God be God by you yielding to him and letting him have his way.

So, you're the clay, he's the potter. The only thing clay can do is yield to the master potter's hand. Potter's masterful hand. The potter's the one that has the image. He's the one that has the skill. The potter's the one that has the vision. The potter's the one that has the talent and the gift. The clay just yields to the pressure and the masterpiece, if that's a word, of the potter's hand. Right? Expertise, masterfulness, whatever. It's just... it's so... if the clay... So, if the clay's yieldable, it's in the right place. Man, there's clay it's too brittle. There's clay it doesn't have... it's not wet. Here's the water down, sitting on the shelf. It's not ready to yield. Yeah, but... yeah, but I don't know how God could love me. Yeah, but it's dry, it's brittle. You got to wet it down. Get it to the place where he can mold it till it finally just... You get it? Yeah, we're getting it.

For as many as are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God. You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear. That means you can live free from fear. Yeah. The Bible says that, not me. But you received the spirit of adoption by which we cry out, "You're my Daddy." OH, COME ON. So good.

And the spirit himself bears witness. So, as you by faith start crying out, "You're my Daddy." Guess what Holy Spirit does? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, YEAH, YEAH. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS. AND THE SPIRIT HIMSELF bears witness TO OUR SPIRIT WE ARE THE YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

And if children, heirs. Listen to this. You find a limit for me. If children, heirs, if heirs of God, then join heirs with Christ. And indeed, we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together. So, what are we lacking from his end? Absolutely nothing. Fear not, little flock, it's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Why'd you have to stick suffering in there? 'Cause you're in the world and not of it, and adversity comes, and you're in a crooked and perverse generation, and there's things going against the grain of truth every day of your life, and you're called to shine in the midst of all that twist.

So, the suffering is actually what gives you the great privilege, those situations, to manifest this great truth and shine as a son so the world can see enough. Or it just becomes about you and what you're going through and how you feel and don't feel, and then you reveal that you're not walking in this place, and it's still just about you, and you succumb to what you call suffering. You get it? That is... that's the big one right there. That's the one the devil plays with all the time 'cause he doesn't believe you love God. The devil believes you need God. The devil doesn't believe you love God. 'Cause to love God means you don't take account of suffered wrongs. You'll never judge God. You're not mad at God. He is righteous and right in all his ways. You love God. It's to give yourself completely to him and surrender. You love God. Love it seek doesn't seek its own. Takes no account of a suffered wrong. All that stuff.

No, the devil believes you don't love God. He... he doesn't believe there's one man that loves his... that loves God more than he loves his own life. He believes every man loves his own life more than he loves God, that he just needs God and incorporates God into his situations for help. That's what he believes. You can find out in the book of Job, too. If you stretch forth your hand and you take away the things you blessed him with, you'll see he'll curse you to your face, just like every other man. What he's saying is, people don't love you, they need you. And the only reason he's blessing you is 'cause you blessed him. If it's going good for him, then he'll give it back your way. But you let that change, and you'll see how quick he changes 'cause people don't love you, God. They're all like me. You watched him eat the tree. You watched him take on my nature. You watched him die inside and fall from your image. They all look like me. Take a close look. Nobody loves. That's what the devil's saying to God. Don't you make him right on your account.

See, the trouble is, in a lot of cases, what he's saying is exactly right. But the just shall live by faith, and you repent, and you give your life to Jesus, and you deny yourself, and you pick up your cross. 'Cause everything that we got through the fall was inherited by default and sin and deception. So, all Jesus is asking you to give back to him is what you never were in the first place. You follow me? Oh, yeah.

I had... I had Linda, do you still have your hand up or... Well, if you don't know, that's fine. You don't have to. It's... if... if... We can talk right after the class. Come up to me. Rick. Um, on Rom... and I hate to go back to Romans 6, but uh, I would hate to go back to... I might read it yet today. I was meditating one... one day I was meditating on uh being alive unto God. And the spirit of God took me back to Enoch, who did not have a covenant. It doesn't even say whether he even heard the voice of God, and the law wasn't there yet, and he walked with God. How much more the spirit of God said should we be able to walk like Enoch? We have a covenant. He didn't even have a understanding of righteousness. He just walked with God, and he was no more. Awesome. And the whole world was corrupted and going another way, and here's a guy walking with God, and he was no more. It... it's like, you know, we get caught up on that like translation and all that stuff, but there's a great analogy and a... a shadowing and a pointing to the new covenant being in the world and not of the world. See, you can walk with God when everybody else is thinking something else. You have that privilege. Enoch did it under the conditions Rick just described. Surely now that we have the knowledge of the finished work of Christ, the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit in us, of course we can follow after God. Amen? This is true.

So, good, good day, good week in class, I hope. I just think I feel happy. I feel bad. Almost saved. I'm getting there. So, why don't we stand to our feet and thank God he's good? Can we do that? Take time to begin to just love him. Take these truths, meditate on them day and night, the Bible says. We're going to get on meditating the word a little bit in class, communing, walking in love.

Father, we just lift... Man, can you lift your hands to to him right now and just yield? Just yield to him. That's all that means. You just honor him. You're yielding to him. Some people say it's like a little child saying, "Daddy, pick me up." But... but in the... in this sense, just right now, just yield to him. "I yield to you. I surrender. I'm going to just..." It's a... it's a posture of humility. I'm just saying, "Your way is right and righteous, and you are illuminating my eyes. You have changed my life, and you are making me just like you. I want to be found in your image, and I thank you. I'm not lacking any good thing. I'm not faultfinding. I'm not nitpicking with my life. I'm rejoicing in the truth that's come. I am a child of God, and you're working in me for your good pleasure, and you're making all things brand new. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your faithful love in Jesus' name. Amen."