Romans 8:1-4 (eg. Gen. 1:11-12)

GOD'S.GIFTS.ALWAYS.FIND.PLACE 63-1222 154 …May the Holy Spirit come to you and bring you ministering gifts and things from God, a gift that you might live a better life. That's what I want. I would rather have the Life of Christ in me to live sweet and victorious than I would all the gifts of healing, the gifts of prophecies, all them other gifts; just give me Jesus. Let me live the Life. The Life is what I want to live. I want to live so others will know.

Review of the Wednesday night meetings and watching how things have come out, I took a service on this subject and thought I would deal with it more completely. We have talked about the Token and the work of the Holy Spirit in the individual life.

There is a work beyond water baptism, there is a walk beyond water baptism that the Holy Spirit desires to do in our lives. He paid the price for sin at Calvary. But after we are baptized in water, there is a work that begins. We need to understand how the laws of God operate in order to be successful. God hasn’t raised a weak Bride, lazy, spineless, weak and wishy washy with spaghetti for a back bone. We’ve been made more than conquerors through the Blood of Jesus Christ. We are ordained to be overcomers!

HOW.CAN.I.OVERCOME 63-0825M 75 ... In the days of Daniel's time there was four overcomers that could stand the test of fire and lions. Now, we're expected to be tested. …He that cometh to God must first be tested. Tested what? With the Word. That's God's test. He that cometh to God must be tested. That only shows a true child: be tested. And when the test comes on, you can't overcome 'less there's a test give to you. And when a test is given, it's to see whether you can overcome or not. And Jesus said, "To him that overcometh," the test. The test is the greatest thing that ever happened to you. And I believe it's written in the Scripture, Peter said that our trials are worth more to us than precious gold. It's a testing time; ... And one good evidence to us that God is with us, when we're tested, for all children of God are tested and tried.

Sometimes just knowing that God is involved in everything that happens to you, and He’s going to use it all for your perfection and His glory, makes the trials bearable!

TEXT

Romans 8:5-6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

EXAMPLE: EPHESIANS.PARALLELS.JOSHUA 60-0515E 52 ... The land was provided and divvied up by inspiration. …And now after you are in, that don't mean that you're out free from war. You still have to fight for every inch of ground you stand on. So see, Canaan did not represent the great heaven, because it's war and troubles and killings and fightings, and so forth. But it did represent this: that it must be a perfect walk.

54 And there's where the church is failing today: on that walk. Do you know that even your own behavior can knock somebody else out of getting healed? Your misbehavior of unconfessed sins of you believers, can cause this church to bitterly fail. And at the day of the judgment you'll be responsible for every bit of it. Oh, you say, "Now, wait a minute, Brother Branham." Well, that's the truth. Think of it.

Joshua, after he crossed over into the land, God gave him the promise that... Just think, to fight an entire campaign without losing a man, without even getting a scratch, a nurse, a first aid or a Band-Aid. God said, "The land's yours; go fight." Think of fighting a campaign, and there's no Red Cross around at all; there's nobody going to get hurt.

56 And they slayed the Amorites and the Hittites, but there wasn't one hurt among any of them until sin come in the camp. And when Achan took that Babylonian garment and that gold wedge, and hid it under his camp, then the next day they lost sixteen men. Joshua said, "Stop. Stop. Wait a minute; there's something wrong. Something's wrong here. We're going to call seven days of fast. God made us a promise. There will be nothing hurt us. Our enemies will fall at our feet. And there's something wrong here. Something went wrong somewhere, 'cause we got sixteen dead men laying here. They're Israelite brothers, and they're dead."

57 Why did they die, innocent men? Because one man stepped out of the line. You see the reason this needs to be taught? The church lining up, lining up with the Word of God, lining up with God and lining up with each other, walking perfectly upright, soberly, before all men, fearing God. Because one man stole a garment and done something that he should not done, took the life of sixteen men. Joshua called, said, "There's something wrong. God made the promise, and something's wrong."

Strong Holds of the Enemy

II Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Strong Holds: ochuroma a castle, stronghold, fortress, fastness; anything on which one relies: of the arguments and reasonings by which a disputant endeavours to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent.

“Pulling Down” (Gr.) kathairesis a pulling down, destruction, demolition

Here’s one of the quotes that taken verbatim will bring condemnation to many, because that is not exactly where we are all living, or what we all are enjoying.

TALK.ON.THE.WORD 53-0831 … He's here tonight. His Spirit's here. His Glory's here, and His power is here. His joy is here. His love is here. His power is here. His Spirit's here. His servants are here. His Word is here. He's here Himself. Everything that He died for is here for you. You have need of anything? Let's just reach up and get it then. It's mine. When you claim the promise, then that little old Hivite will be out there. Just push him out of the way and take the territory and go on. Somebody say, "Now, you're testifying of something, there's nothing to it." Just push him out of the way. Crucify the thing and move right on. "For you're dead and our life is hid in …God, through Christ, sealed by the Holy Ghost." That's right. You're just as safe as you can be, not a thing on earth to worry about.

In whatever way he can, the enemy, Satan, wants to overcome the Bride and deny her the power and victory of the Holy Spirit in their lives. He wants to encroach on God’s territory, just like he did in the beginning.

EPHESIANS 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

I JOHN 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Then if we are meant to be overcomers and the ability to overcome comes through Christ, then why don’t we overcome more often? Why is it so hard to change? Did not the Holy Spirit promise to help? Does He not possess more power than the enemy?

OVERCOME: (Gr.) nikao to conquer, to carry off the victory, come off victorious: of Christ, victorious over all His foes; of Christians, that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions;

MARRIAGE.OF.THE.LAMB 62-0121E E-28 …So many says, "If the Lord will take this evil spirit from me, from drinking, or from gambling, or from lying, or stealing, I'll serve Him." But that's up to you. You got to do something too. "They that overcome shall inherit all things," they that overcome. You have power to do it, but you must be willing to lay it down. See? She has made herself ready. I like that Word. You see, God could not push us through a little pipe, pull us out on the other end, and then say, "Blessed is he that overcometh." You had nothing to overcome; He just pushed you through. But you've got to make decisions for yourself. I have to make decisions for myself. In doing that, we show our faith and respects to God.

So a lot depends on to whom you yield yourselves to:

ROMANS 6:13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

EXODUS 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name [is] in him. (Read vs. 31)

GREATEST.BATTLE.EVER.FOUGHT 62-0311 20-2 These battles has raged since the day of the garden of Eden, the battle in the human mind. Satan started it. What did he do when he met Eve? He didn't deny God's Word, but he whitewashed It. He stopped up some little channels here somewhere. He said, "But surely God... " He knowed the Word was right, but he knowed he couldn't just come right out and blast It out blarry like that, but he sugar coated It.

21-1 The battle raged when Eve opened up her mind to listen to her reasonings. That's the flue it come in; that's the channel it run down: her reasoning. She in her soul, she reasoned. Her eyes, with sight she saw the serpent. He was beautiful, handsome, far better than her own husband. He was the most subtle of all the beast of the field. …And the first thing she did, she opened up her mind. And when she did, human reasonings caught it.

1. An Unforgiving Spirit - MATTHEW 18:21-35 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

2. Anger, Lying, Malice (Desire to Injure) Ephesians 4:22-32

From here he spreads fears, doubts, depression, anxiety, illness, etc.

SPEAK.TO.THIS.ROCK 53-1115 E-29 The Devil hates me, and I know he hates you too. And he--he's my enemy. But as long as God's my friend I don't have no fear of him. I just drive him right on back, take the Word of God and move him right on back out of his... out of the place that he thinks he's a holding. He hasn't got no strongholds. He's absolutely legally defeated in every place.

The Devil hasn't got one legal right at all nowhere. He's just a devil, and a password that's all. He hasn't got no legal right to any man that'll accept the promise of Jesus Christ. He's whipped. Yes, sir. He's whipped in sickness; he's whipped in disappointments; he's whipped in everything. He's whipped in death. He can't scare me; he can't scare you. That's all he is a big old shadow.

GREATEST.BATTLE.EVER.FOUGHT _ 62-0311 13-4 …When this great battle started on earth, there had to be a mutual meeting place; there had to be a place selected for the battle to begin, and for the battle to rage; and that battlegrounds begin in the human mind. There's where the battle starts. The human mind was chosen for the place of the battle, where it was to begin; and that is, because that decisions are made from the mind, the head. …the battlegrounds, where you've got to meet your enemy, is in the mind. You've got to make your choice.

15-3 Now, there's where the battle begins--right in your mind... Now, you remember, it's not Christian Science now, mind over matter; ... The mind accepts the Life which is the Word of God, and there brings the Life. Just your thought doesn't do it, but the Word of God brought in the channel of your thought. …But your mind accepts it and grasp it. What is your mind controlled by? Your spirit; and your spirit catches the Word of God, and that's the thing that's got Life in it. It brings Life into you.

Oh, brother, when that takes place, when Life comes down that channel into you, the Word of God is manifested in you. "If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, then ask what you will and it'll be done for you."

17-2 It must be accepted in the mind; then it's believed with the heart; then the Word of God becomes a reality; …There's nothing can come up in the memory and say, "Well, I remember Miss Jones tried to trust God. Miss So-and-so, Miss Doe tried to trust God for healing one time, and she failed." See? But if that channel has been cleared out, and been purged, and been filled on the inside with the Holy Spirit, that don't even come in memory.

20-1 …It's your mind that opens up the door, or closes the door, and listens to your conscience, listens to your memory, listens to your affections. But when your mind closes itself to these things and let God, the Spirit of His Word, come in, It blows the rest of the stuff out. Every doubt is gone; every fear is gone; every sensation of doubt is gone; every feeling is gone. There's nothing standing there but the Word of God, and Satan cannot battle against That. …God's calling every seed of Abraham this morning to that same kind of a life. Great battle is on now worldwide. God wants his children separating themself from what? See, taste, feel, smell, hear, imaginations, conscience, memories, reason, affections, everything. Open up their mind and let the Word come in and march with the Word. That's a real soldier.

41-4 Listen, you soldiers of the cross. When you disbelieve one Word of God's written Bible, you're disarmed. Believe that, honey? You're disarmed; you surrender. You jellyfish, put on the full armor of God. Amen. We're in a battle. What God said is true, every man's word's a lie. See?

But as soon as (he) gets you to listen to one thing, that's his tactic, you're disarmed. How many things did Eve have to listen to? …What'd the devil do? Swept right in through her mind into her spirit, and there she was perverted.