#686: The Old Man

That's a difficult portion of scripture, and it's almost double talked, King James style, and but I can understand it once we think about it.

The Holy Spirit teaches us through the Word that's worked almost 500 years.

Amen.

But I still can't quote these verses after 40 years.

For that which I do, I allow not.

For what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that do I.

How many can quote that?

Anybody?

I've tried to memorize that, and I get mixed up every time.

Then drop down to verse 19.

For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Now, if I do that, I would not.

It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Just as clear as mud, isn't it?

Well, yeah, sin is the reason, but we are accountable for our actions.

So you can't you can't just blame the sin problem because it works through us.

And we are responsible and accountable to God for what we do and do not do.

Nevertheless, what causes people to do wrong is the sin that's in them.

And I know there are those that say they're sinless, but the Bible doesn't teach sinless perfection, this side of the rapture.

Then we'll be, we'll know as we're known, and that which in part will be done away with.

Until then, if you're a Christian, you're in grace.

But Paul was a Christian here.

He was a believer here.

I said Romans chapter 7, he's describing a person that's struggling with two natures: the old nature and the new nature.

Romans 7 · chapter mention

That which I do, I allow not, that which I not do, that do I.

See, I can't even quote it yet.

So look at it again for verse 15.

For that which I allow not, that what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that do I.

So he was doing something that he hated to do, but he didn't know how to stop it.

Not an environment, not the way he was raised.

Can't blame the devil, even though the sin nature came from Satan through the loins of Adam and it infected the entire human race.

That is the sin that Paul's talking about.

And we all have it.

And if you think you don't, that's a sin nature talking to you.

However, that old nature is deemed crucified if you're in the will of God and have surrendered his lordship.

So he really can't do anything through you unless it's done through ignorance.

Nevertheless, Paul was struggling as a Christian here.

He wasn't describing his life before he was converted.

And we struggle from time to time with things that we don't like about what we're doing or not doing.

See, sin, acts of sinning is doing something that's wrong or not doing something that's right.

Either way you go, we're all nailed to the wall.

Even the most sanctified believer is still not perfect quite yet.

Only Jesus alone is the perfect one.

And so we need him to make intercession for us.

Paul did not want to do what he was doing.

He didn't like the way he was, and the war was on.

How many knows what we're talking about here?

We've asked forgiveness a hundred times and do it again.

Well, keep on asking and believing, and the cross and the power of the Holy Ghost is the way to victory.

I used to tell people I have no other answer except the power of God.

You've got to get in the power of God and stay there until deliverance comes.

But that's not the whole truth.

Our faith must be focused on Calvary's cross, and that gives the Holy Spirit the latitude to work for us.

If we're focused on the Holy Spirit, we're off.

I said we're off.

The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ alone.

He will not receive worship.

We have these Holy Spirit seminars.

That's good.

But he points people to Jesus every single time.

Now, if our faith is in Christ and the cross, now the power of God will be activated, and that's the only way any of us can be delivered.

That's a good message.

It's time to go home now.

But it's true.

We try to work it, do it ourselves, fail every time.

So he was trying to overcome through law keeping anything else that he knew, and he couldn't do it.

So what Paul's describing here, as you go to Galatians chapter 5, is he's fighting the old adamic nature that every human being has.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

It's called the old man.

I preach on this a lot because it's true.

The old man is the one that gives us our trouble.

The new nature does not lead us into sinning.

It's the old nature that does.

And if we're saved and know the word and we've grown in grace a little bit, like I was telling young Daniel this morning, he was describing being led of the Spirit, a stop and go thing.

He was given revelation about stop and go, only been saved a week.

He said, Well, God tells me that's wrong.

I know he tells you, but then you still got to choose are you gonna do it or not?

And if you're weak in the faith, you might do it.

Well, repent and be forgiven and go on.

Pick yourself up and go on.

Don't stay there and let the devil molest you to death.

But we don't have to sin.

Now we probably will, but we don't have to sin.

However, as long as the old nature is inside of us, we're apt to do something wrong.

But we're accountable for what we do that's wrong.

Well, thank God for the grace of God.

Now, Galatians chapter 5 and verse 17 to 21.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

Let's take a look at this now.

Because Paul, again, is right into the church, not the world.

Amen.

Galatians 5, 17.

The flesh lusts against the spirit, that's capital, Holy Spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.

These are contrary one to another, and you cannot do the things that you would.

There is that struggle.

But thank God for the conjunction, but I'm gonna have to preach a message on that.

But see, goat's butt.

Now say I'm thinking something I shouldn't think, and I'm sorry about that.

It's the old nature.

Well, you might as well have said if you thought it.

No, no, no, don't do that because you can't take the words back.

So beloved the spirit is filtering your thought system.

Now Satan could put words in your mind and make you think you thought it, but you didn't really do it.

He inserted those thoughts and made you think that was you thinking.

He's very crafty.

So you've got to know the word.

Everything would be judged by the word.

But if you're led by the Spirit, you're not under the law.

So Paul was trying to overcome by law keeping or whatever, and he just couldn't do it.

And then he goes, verse 19.

People don't like to see this, but it's in the scripture.

The works of the flesh are manifest.

Now, as I've said for years, the church has majored on the works of the flesh, the sins of the flesh, and preached against that, and that wasn't the real problem.

The real problem was the old nature inside of us that was more or less forcing us to work the works of the flesh.

That was the problem.

And they didn't have an answer for it.

There's only one answer for the problem.

Only one.

The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these.

He starts off with adultery.

You know what that is?

Adultery.

Fornication.

We know what that is.

Uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft.

Now, I don't have time to go on the word study, but witchcraft is a form of trying to control you.

Manipulate you.

Narcissist thinking.

Control.

We are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, not a wrong spirit.

So just resist.

Submit yourself to God.

Resist the devil, he will flee from you.

Resist demons, they will flee from you.

They can't make you do it if you know the word.

But if you're walking in the flesh, you're going to commit sins.

You cannot walk in the spirit and sin.

It's when we get into the flesh, child of God, it's when we can commit sins.

And now we're going to go down if we don't repent and get help from Christ.

Hatred.

I told Dr.

Gunn, I said, you know, I don't hate anybody.

I don't have any real enemies.

I don't hate anybody.

I forgive everybody.

I hate the devil.

What he does to people, what demons do to people.

But as far as people, I don't hate anybody.

No.

Do you?

No.

Variance, emulation, wrath, strife, sedition, heresies, envies, murders, drunkenness, drunkenness, revelings, and such like.

Of which I tell you before, as I've also told you in times past.

Now he's warning them again.

That they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now, what are we going to do with that scripture?

Doesn't sound like one saved always saved to me.

Now, if you're a Christian and you're entrapped in these sins, the reason is the old nature that you can't control.

You cannot control sin.

Sin has a way of controlling us.

But whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Only the truth will set us free and keep us free.

So we've got to hear the truth, cling to the truth, and walk in the truth, and the Son will make you free every single one.

There's no other way.

But thank God there is a way.

So he pretty well ends it up here.

And this is talking to the church here now.

Then in Romans chapter 8 and verse 27.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

I don't know where all the amens are now.

I don't know.

He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit.

That's another deep one.

Because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Now, if I could paraphrase this, Christ is in heaven, making intercession for the saints according to the will of the Father.

But then we also know that the Holy Spirit's on the earth making intercession for the saints to the Father and the Lord Jesus.

So I don't see how we can lose.

I don't see how.

But if you work the works of the flesh as a lifestyle, you will lose.

So it's a good thing to be repented.

It's a good thing to have, you know, our sins brought to attention of ourselves.

We might be doing something wrong.

We're not even aware that it's it's sinful because we haven't grown in the word enough to really know what's right and wrong.

I think there's people here in McDonald County that don't really know what's right and wrong.

I mean, you would think they would, but then they haven't been taught anything.

They don't know anything.

And so let's cut them some slack.

But those of you who've been around 10, 20, 30, 40 years, God's will more strict on us.

A lot more strict.

Whom much is given, much is required, everybody.

And we need to be good examples to those that are weak in the faith and strengthen them.

It'd be wrong to go up to a weak Christian and offer them a beer.

Wrong.

I'm not saying a beer will send a person to hell.

No.

But I'm saying if you offend a little one, you're in danger of hellfire.

So let's be careful.

You shouldn't even mess with them anyway.

Like one guy said, Well, what's drunk?

And so this preacher said, Well, how many beer does it take you to get drunk?

Six?

A case?

How much is a case?

Twenty-four?

Twenty-four.

I'm glad you know that, Chrissy.

I really am glad.

It's all right, I understand.

I was there.

I know it.

You're looking at a bunch of ex-cons in here, you know.

Thank God for mercy.

Well, if it if it took a case to get us drunk and we drank two six-packs, we're half drunk.

Uh-oh.

Ow.

Where does God draw the line?

Are we gonna tempt the Lord?

Look, look, just stay away from it.

I remember when I was working, it was hot, man.

I was sweaty, and my wife's brother-in-law worked at the sawmill.

Man, he had sawdust all over him, and it was hot.

He comes over there, remember this, and he says, Randy, you want a cold one?

And he goes back in the back of his pickup and opens up that ice chest.

Man, I mean, I was thirsty and I I wanted that beer bad.

But I didn't take it.

If I would have drank that beer with him, I'm not saying that it'd send me to hell, no, but I would have destroyed my witness.

See, we're witnesses.

So what I do, well, I went home and got me a case of beer and drank it.

No, not really.

No.

You all are so holy.

Bless your hearts, you know.

You never even smelled booze.

No, never, never, never.

And you're so holy.

Yeah, sure you are.

I know your background, some of you.

Like one young man said, Well, I didn't have a problem with drinking, but I got a problem with the flesh.

Uh-huh.

I said it's still sin.

See, sins, all sins are bad.

But he knew he had a problem with the works of the flesh.

He confessed that to me this morning.

That's good.

That's the first step to victory.

But if you're in denial, you're going nowhere.

Well, uh, look at verse 34 then.

Who is he that condemns?

So we don't condemn people.

It's by the grace of God that we're not like the drunk in the ditch.

Yeah.

Or the one hooked on prescription drugs.

It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God who makes intercession for us.

That's what it says a while ago.

The Lord Jesus loves us, we're in a covenant, and he's making intercession for us to the Father God.

Can't lose.

I don't see how.

Amen.

Now let's look at 1 John 1, 7 to 9.

Some more scripture that's difficult tonight.

I don't I don't mean to be confusing anyone, but I have to go over this sometimes because people still don't understand these verses of scripture.

And especially those that that watch on the internet, there's a lot of Africans that do, believe it or not.

If we walk in the spirit, everybody say walk in the spirit.

Ding ding, that's key right there.

So we're not going to be doing the works of the flesh if we're walking in the spirit.

But before we understand how to walk in the spirit, we've got to understand what it means to be in the spirit.

Now, if the Holy Spirit's in you, you're in the spirit.

Your understanding's unfruitful.

If we walk in the Spirit, that's the way we're living.

If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we're in fellowship one with another.

So we're at fellowship with God and fellowship with each other.

If we're all walking in the light.

Now I can't have fellowship if somebody's walking in darkness.

They're lost.

But you can get around people and you can tell them in five minutes what spirit they have, can't you?

Because we're spirit.

And if your spirit doesn't match up with somebody, that is the Holy Spirit talking to you.

Not with words, but perceptions.

So we need to listen to that.

Be considerate and stay in love if we can, but we need to listen to those impulses in our inner man, which is the new man, which is the divine nature.

That's intertwined with our human spirit to walk in newness of life, resurrected right now, and always will be.

So when we're walking in the light and we have blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses us from all sin.

Everybody say all sin.

Now the condition, listen now, is walking in the light of the gospel, walk in the light of the word that you have right now.

Now there's no excuse to be ignorant about it because we've got a Bible.

And so once you hear the truth, now we're all accountable to walk in that truth, which is the light of God's Word.

And if we will simply obey that and do that, and it's a good thing.

It leads us out of darkness into this marvelous light.

And on that basis alone, we are automatically forgiven.

I'm going to say it again.

Because the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us, cleanses us from all sin.

The condition is to walk in the light.

You don't have to go around and say, oh God, please forgive me for this.

Please forgive me for that.

I did this wrong, please forgive me.

No, if you walk in the light of God's word, the blood of Christ is cleansing us, and it's an automatic deal.

We're cleansing sin 24-7.

That's a child of God.

There's no condemnation.

Why?

Because we're innocent free.

Did you understand what I've done?

We'll be right back to the message.

But first, we want to take a moment to think of fine words of international heart.

A fine word for heart is the world.

Powerful message with Dr.

Randy Davis.

Now, in verse 8, people get confused.

If we say we had no sin, we deceive ourselves, the truth's not in us.

Well, we're all just sinners.

No, I beg your pardon.

That's a good Baptist boy.

This guy gets up to sing, hadn't been saved in a few months.

He's getting ready to sing a good old gospel ship song.

And he said, Well, I'm just an unworthy sinner, saved by grace.

Can I have a scripture?

One.

Not in there.

We were sinners, but now the Bible calls us saints.

Christians.

They were called Christians first in Antioch.

There's a big difference.

The blood of Jesus is the difference.

Because a Christian has his sins forgiven, all of them.

And we will make heaven our home if we walk in the light.

Christ's blood continually cleanses us from all sins, known and unknown.

But we still have to repent.

Is that so much to ask?

No.

How many are going to walk in the light of God's Word?

So what's this verse mean?

If we have no sin nature, that's what it means.

If we say we have no old nature to deal with, we're deceiving ourselves, and the truth about that subject is not in us.

Doesn't mean we're not Christians.

Just we don't understand what's going on here.

And if we get a hold of this, folks, it will set you free.

You won't be like you used to be.

You won't have to fight against sin.

Jesus did.

Praise God.

I said Jesus did.

He took it all on the cross.

All of it, past, present, and future.

All put on his shoulders for us.

But now verse 9 is different.

Now we're back to the works of the flesh.

Which what that's what the sin nature causes us to do.

The works of the flesh.

Do you understand that?

It's not taught in America, very little that I know about.

Because people walk out the door.

Well, where are they going?

Now, verse 9, if we confess our sins, now we understand this.

But you don't confess your sins to a man, you confess your sins to God.

Besides that, when I got saved, I couldn't name off all the sinning I'd done.

It just piles up and it gets worse and worse.

And so you just have to admit I've sinned.

That's it.

And God knows all about them.

But when you admit you've sinned, there's no one here that hadn't sinned.

But when a person admits he or she has sinned, and they turn from that lifestyle of sinning, understanding the old nature is what's causing the problem.

We come to the cross and the blood of Christ is put on our life, and we become born of the Spirit of God, changed to be a son and a daughter of God Almighty.

That's the way that it works.

The only way that it works.

But you got to turn loose of all wrongdoing.

I didn't mean it.

The thing of it is, if we break one commandment, we're guilty of all.

So we just have to fess up.

If we confess, this is the apostle talking.

You know, I could preach that, but I don't want to be abrasive.

If we confess our sins, we John said we.

If we confess our sins, not if you haven't sinned, what's to confess?

But to be on the safe side, Lord, if I have sinned somewhere, see, we go there.

If I have sinned somewhere, please forgive me.

Better to be safe than sorry.

You don't have to do that.

But you know, if we do wrong, we know what sin is, and then now we've got to confess it to God.

You go to prayer, you go to your dad, say, I'm sorry.

He's faithful and just to forgive us.

Kind of have an amen for somebody in the church.

He's faithful and just to forgive us.

He said he would.

How much?

Seven times seven, we're supposed to forgive people.

God will do more than that.

I can't even sin 490 times in a day.

Somebody said, Well, I just can't live one day without sinning.

This guy goes, Well, couldn't you go five minutes without sinning?

Well, yeah.

Well, just live your life five minutes at a time.

Other people, I'm not getting out of bed today.

I might sin.

That's crazy.

Folks, but there are people that think that way.

Get out of that bed.

Like somebody said, Don't you get in that bed?

That Arkansas slang.

Don't you go to bed.

I think Stacy was told that because she turned 50.

Don't you get on that bed and get depressed.

See, that's the old nature.

We want to feel sorry for ourselves, right?

Just confess your sins.

He's faithful to us to forgive us our sins.

Everybody say, our.

Folks, every one of us here, man, we got it made.

Praise God.

And cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Cleanse.

We're not just washed by the blood.

We're not just covered, we're washed by the blood.

Old Testament saints were covered, their sins were covered until Christ came.

But now, because he shed his precious blood on the cross, now we're cleaned by his blood.

Like I said two weeks ago, when Satan sees you, he sees the blood of Christ, not you.

He sees the new nature, the holy one, the overcoming one, the greater ones in you.

That's who he sees.

But if you don't know that, Satan can beat up on you.

You know what?

Satan can only beat up on us when we're sinning.

Uh-oh.

Mm-hmm.

Now let's look at 1 John chapter.

Wait a minute.

Let's let's go down to Revelation 9.

So I want to close tonight by some symptoms of the Antichrist spirit in our society.

What I've been talking about is how Satan works to believers and non-believers.

And the war that's going on in the believers' hearts, trying to overcome on our own, and they can't do it.

It cannot be done.

Christ is the overcomer.

And so we depend upon Him to help us, and He gives the Holy Spirit to help us overcome.

Amen.

When the Holy Spirit draws on you, which is his pure love, then you need to respond because he's calling you.

See?

But we have a problem in our society today with the Antichrist spirit.

He's been around a long time, even in John's day.

The first thing I see about an Antichrist spirit in the church.

Repentance message is rejected.

We don't want to hear about getting repenting.

We just want to be forgiven and go on and keep living where we are.

It won't work.

God won't accept it.

Repentance is required.

Except we repent, we'll all likewise perish.

Jesus' first message was repent, yeah, the kingdom of God is at hand.

John Baptist, same thing.

Repent.

That was the message.

Nothing's changed.

The only way a person can be saved is to repent of their sins.

That's it.

Of course, that requires some action.

But we have this message.

If anybody preaches repentance, it's usually rejected because people think, well, I don't need to repent.

I'm not so bad.

Yeah, you are.

Pride's terrible.

And so the crowd gets small when the preacher begins to hold the garden.

Number two.

Terrible trouble can hit, and yet people do not change.

Maybe for a few days or a few weeks, then they fall right back into it.

So severe problems and trouble can serve to get our attention, but it doesn't change a person.

For example, in Revelation 9 21.

Okay.

Neither repented they of their murderers, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

So these people in the future absolutely refuse to repent.

They'd rather die than repent.

That's antichrist.

Folks, we need to be quick to repent now.

Because if you think you can fool God, we're deceived.

And then let's go to chapter 16 and verse 9.

Same book.

Let's see if I can find it here.

And men were scorched with great heat and blaspheme the name of God, which had power over these plagues, and they repented not to give him glory.

Now, how bad has it got to get before people will get their head out of the dark place and repent?

I mean, how bad does it gotta get?

I mean, people, eh, one of these days, I just don't have time to live for God.

But when you're in the hospital bed for six months flat on your back, you'll have time to think about it.

And don't say it won't happen.

Yet these people were so filled with demons and uh loving their works of the flesh and wanting to be their own God and everything else, they refused to repent.

That time is fast coming upon this world.

Do you hear what the preacher's saying now?

People refuse to repent.

We want to go to a church where we don't have to change.

That isn't a church.

If there's no change, there's no gospel being preached.

And yet we get the big crowd and a lot of money, but they're all going to hell.

You know why?

Sin cannot get into heaven.

And so what happens?

People blame God.

Well, look what all God let happen to me.

I've heard that so much.

The devil is the one that blames God for things that happen to us as bad.

Look at Job.

Something happens bad to us, God forbid, but you know, we're on this earth and we're going to have some trouble from time to time.

Don't blame God.

None of us can point a finger in God's face and blame him for any one thing.

God is good, his mercy endures forever.

If anything bad happens to us, the devil did it, or we did it to ourselves, or it's just an accident.

I don't know.

You can't blame God for everything that's bad.

But people do, they blame God.

Noah preached the same message for over a hundred years, and not one repented.

Not one conversion, not one believed him.

That's like listening to preacher like that.

Same message for a hundred years.

Repent, God's gonna destroy the world, get in the boat.

That was it.

No way you're crazy.

Well, when it began to rain and God shut the door, it was too late.

Don't send away your day of grace.

The last verse tonight is Matthew 24 and verse 37.

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

Even some of you, you don't believe what I'm saying.

You remember?

The rich man died and went to hell.

Lazarus went to paradise.

The rich man in hell lifted up his eyes being torment and then flames, and he said, He just wanted a drop of water and torment in the flames.

He said, Father Abraham, send somebody somebody back to my family.

Father Abraham, he was a Jew.

Hello.

Send somebody back to my family.

I don't want them to come here.

Abraham said, If they won't believe the prophets, they won't believe somebody back from the dead.

So it is today.

Let's stand it.

Thank you for listening today.

We don't want to work the works of the flesh.

We don't want to do wrong.

And sometimes we might as Christians.

But we're in covenant with God, and we can ask for forgiveness.

He'll cleanse us automatically.

But we've got to walk in the light.

You understand that?

But there may be some here tonight, you've never started this walk.

And I'm not saying it's easy.

If it was easy, everybody would be safe.

But God will be with you.

You can live your life on your own.

Or you can live your life with the Lord walking with you.

And helping you.

And empowering you and teaching you and being with you 24-7.

And being a friend that sits closer than a brother to you.

In fact, he promises he'll never leave you nor forsake you.

But you got to come to him by faith.

Father, I've delivered this message tonight.

We all have the ill nature to overcome, but it can be killed out and crucified by surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus.

I pray for those tonight that might need to do that, one, two, or whatever, that they'll give their life to you.

And the process will begin, but they will overcome it as they walk in faith in Jesus' name.

Thank you for listening to it.

I would must be a half of the podcast.