The Importance of Water Baptism

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. You can follow us on line at roberthaymes.com . Today’s program is called The Importance Of Water Baptism. Let’s turn to Hos 6:1-3,  Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth. Verse 2, After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. We are crucified with Christ, and we are raised with Him.

Gal 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal 5:24  And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

How was Paul crucified with Christ? How do we crucify our flesh? Let’s turn to Rom 6:1-19, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. In the King James Version it says, that the body of sin might be destroyed.  For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. In John 8:34, Jesus said, Whosoever practices sin is the slave of sin. Rom 6:10-19, For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. In the King James it says, yield your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. In verse 19, Paul said, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Your flesh is weak, but your God is mighty. Jesus has destroyed the works of the Devil and the power of sin through His crucifixion and resurrection. Now, as you are in Christ, yield to Him and receive all that He has given you that you may stand; that you may overcome. It’s up to you: you must choose who you will yield to, whether of sin unto death, or of righteousness unto holiness, without which no man will see the Lord. 

On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, and Peter preached a message. And in Acts 2:32-39, he said, This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized, notice: every one of you, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. The word remission means freedom, pardon, deliverance, forgiveness, and liberty. By submitting to water baptism we are delivered from the power of sin.

1 Cor 12:13, For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. Acts 10:48, And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.  That was when Peter was at Cornelius' house, and while he was preaching the Holy Spirit fell upon all those that were gathered together, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit before they were baptized. So, you don’t have to be baptized in water to receive the Holy Spirit, but Peter commanded them, right after that, to be baptized in the name of the Lord.  Act 2:42  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. If you will not be baptized, then you are not continuing in the Apostles’ doctrine. Act 22:16  And now why are you waiting? Arise! Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Gal 3:27  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Rom 13:14  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

This is not a symbolic, religious, optional exercise. This is life or death. We are commanded to be baptized in water for the remission of our sins when we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are literally baptized into Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection through water baptism by immersion when we do so in faith and obedience. We are crucified with Him and we are buried with Him into His death and we are raised with Him into eternal life. We are made in the image of God. We have a spirit and a soul and a body. God’s salvation is for our complete person: our spirit, our soul, and our body. When we receive Christ and confess Him Lord and believe that He rose from the dead, His Spirit is sent into our hearts crying “Abba, Father”. When you are born of the Spirit your spirit is saved. If you were to die at that point, you would go to be with Him in Heaven. If you live, then you need to follow on to know the Lord, and He will go about saving your soul. The first step in following Jesus is water baptism. If you refuse to be baptized, you are in rebellion and sin and your soul will not be saved, and if you don’t repent and yield to the Lord in obedience to be baptized, you won’t make it. Mar 16:16  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  Many people say, “Are you saying that I have to be baptized in order to be saved? I thought we were saved when we received Jesus.” As I am saying, your spirit is saved when you receive Jesus: He comes to dwell in your heart by faith. Your spirit is made sound, but your soul needs to be saved. Alright, so  if your soul is not saved you won’t make it. Your soul has to be changed; it has to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and He does so over the duration of your life. If you are not baptized, your sin nature; your old man will continue to rule your life. You must be crucified and raised with Christ to become a new creature, and then you must receive the Holy Spirit to walk in obedience and be led by the Spirit. They that are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. The only reason that you would not get baptized, or you would refuse to be baptized is because you refuse to die. You want to continue living your life according to your own will; you refuse to obey your Lord. It’s rebellion, and rebellion is sin. Unless you repent and submit to water baptism you won’t make it. If you have repented of your sins and believed on Jesus; you are born again; born from above, and you have not been baptized for a legitimate reason, and you die, that is a rare and different situation. You will go to be with the Lord, of course.

Eph 4:4-6, There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. That’s how important water baptism is: One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Col 2:9-15, For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Verse 12, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Through this faith and obedience you are crucified with Him and raised with Him and seated with Him in the Heavenly places at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality, power, and dominion. If you refuse water baptism you are in unbelief and rebellion and sin and you cannot overcome and have the victory in your life which Christ has given you.

So, to review:  Your spirit is saved when you receive Jesus and confess Him as your Lord, and He comes to dwell in your heart. Your soul begins to be saved when you take that first step in following Jesus, putting to death your old sinful nature through water baptism. The Lord then will continue to lead you to overcome your flesh and sin and the powers of darkness that have had you bound. You need to be baptized then in the Holy Spirit that you may receive power to overcome. As you continue to deny yourself, deny your flesh, deny your own will and yield to the Spirit, He will teach you the Word of God and lead you in doing it; He will reveal Jesus to you more and more and His servant, His slave you will be. You will be His and He will save your soul. Your body, then, will be saved, if you remain faithful to Jesus unto death, at the first resurrection, when He returns in the clouds, and all the dead in Christ shall be raised with glorified, incorruptible bodies, and those who are alive also will be so changed, and we shall be carried by the angels to meet the Lord in the air. And thus shall we ever be with the Lord. Hallelujah!

 My Dad’s Testimony

Greetings! This is Rob Haymes; This is 15 Minutes with Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, Jesus said, there I am in the midst of them. I want to share with you a little bit about my Dad. I believe it would please God for me to honor my Dad before I go any farther with this program. My Dad’s name was Robert William Haymes. I’m Robert William Haymes Jr. I’m very thankful for my Dad. He was an extremely talented man. In his early days he was involved in singing with the big bands, back in the 1940’s; also involved in several movies. He was involved in show business and television. He also was in the Army. He was in the last mounted cavalry in the Army. He actually had an accident and injured his knee and was discharged honorably from the Army. My Dad, as I said, was very talented. He began writing songs in the 1950’s. He wrote some incredibly beautiful music. I had the privilege of growing up watching him and listening to him play piano and sing songs that he wrote, and other songs, and tell stories. My Dad was a wonderful storyteller. I have memories of him at our house, telling stories while smoking a cigar. When my Dad would tell a story you would forget all about that he was telling the story; it was as though you were in the story; he was such a good storyteller. My Dad was also a gourmet cook. He was a man of excellence. Everything he did, he did with all his heart; he did excellent work; as a songwriter; also he had an audio visual production company in the 80’s. Everything he did he did very well, and he taught me that. That’s one of the things I’m very thankful for with my Dad: he taught me to do things in an excellent way. He taught me about quality, in music and the arts; in many things. Unfortunately I did not inherit my Dad’s ability for cooking. My Dad could cook! My parents were divorced when I was around 1 year old, which would have been 1951. My Dad lived in New York City, and my Mom and I and my sisters, and brother lived in Greenwich, CT with my step father. We lived in a big old colonial house in Greenwich, CT, and Dad used to come and pick me up in his MG TD 1953; many of you know what that was like. He’d pick me up in his sports car and take me to New York; my Dad used to have a radio show on NBC Radio, and I would go with him to the studio in Rockefeller Center, and he would do a show at night. Then we would drive out to Long Island. He had a little house on Long Island in Sag Harbor, which is in the northern part of Long Island. And we would spend the weekend, and in the summer, a week or two. My Dad had a little boat, which he restored. The name of the boat was Boat; he had it written on the stern. My Dad, as I said, was very talented; he could be very funny, and he could tell wonderful stories. He took me out to wonderful restaurants in New York City, and out in Long Island. My Dad was a very famous and talented songwriter; he wrote a song called That’s All, which many of you may be familiar with. It’s in the American SongBook. The first person to record it was Nat King Cole, but also Frank Sinatra, and many other artists, including Michael Buble’, recorded that song. It’s a very famous song. My Dad wrote it with another man named Alan Brandt. So I grew up with my Dad; I’m very thankful for my Dad. I’ve always considered him to be a great man. He taught me many things; he taught me about manners. I can remember when I was young, he would say, “Now, say ‘thank you’; say ‘please’; say ‘you’re welcome’”. So I figured out if I said all three every time, I’d be covered. So I used to say, “please, thank you, you’re welcome.” each time.  Anyway, I thank God for my Dad. 

He was born on March 29th 1923. He lived in White Plains, NY. As I said, He also lived in New York City for a long time. He died on January 28 1989 of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. One thing I want to say, before I go to my Dad’s testimony; this message is, number one, to honor my Dad, and number two, I want to give his testimony of how he came to know Jesus. Before I go to that, I want to say something more about my Dad; he had many talents; he was a very talented songwriter, but he was also a talented writer; he was an artist. He used to put together these inter-corporate commercials, where he would produce the whole thing; he would write the score; he would put together music, photographs, and a monologue, and produce the whole program. He was very good at that. So, like I said, he had many talents. One of his talents was saving lives. I can remember one evening we came back from boating; he used to keep his boat in a little marina there in Sag Harbor, and he would always have me wash down the boat while he would visit with his friends, drink bloody marys, and eat shellfish, which is something I never acquired a taste for. So opposite from where his boat slip was, there was a boat house with the gas pumps, across the inlet for the marina. My Dad was talking with some friends, and I was standing there, and all of a sudden I heard a noise, and I looked, and I saw my Dad throwing off his watch, and running over and jumping in the water. What had happened was there was a couple talking to the marina owner at the gas pumps, who had two little children, and they weren’t paying attention to them, and their children had fallen into the water and they were drowning. My Dad rescued them and saved their lives. Another time we were driving in his MG on the highway, going about 60 mph, and on those old MG’s the doors opened the opposite way that car doors open now-a-days. They opened the other way. So, when you opened the door, it would catch the wind if you were driving. And there was a little chain hanging from the door handle, and I was just sitting there, with no seat belt; I was about 11 years old; we were going 60 mph, and I was playing with that chain; I was holding on to that chain, and the door opened and suddenly I was looking down at the highway. This all happened in a matter of seconds; and my Dad immediately responded and grabbed me and jerked me back into the car. It may not seem like much, but this was all like in 3 seconds; you know, 1,2,3. He saved my life. I was sitting there and my heart was pumping out of my chest; it was amazing. So my Dad saved my life. I’ve heard other stories where he saved people’s lives. He was very aware of his surroundings. He was very astute, very alert about his surroundings. So, again, I’m very thankful for my Dad; he was very talented; he taught me a lot. He was a perfectionist, and he taught me to be a perfectionist. I’ve been doing remodeling now since 1980. I’m retired now, but that’s one thing I’ve always strove to do in my work, is to do excellent work. And, I found out that’s something that God requires of His servants, is excellence; it’s called virtue in the Bible. 

Another thing I want to say about my Dad is that he was a sinner; like all of us, my Dad was a sinner. And, because of his sins, he experienced a lot of trouble in his life. But Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to save sinners. Jesus said, I didn’t come to save the righteous, but sinners. He said, I didn’t come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. Now I want to talk about how my Dad came to know Jesus. I got saved in 1976 in Estes Park, Colorado. I won’t go into my testimony, but I was saved. My wife and I had a baby boy, and we went on a tour around the Nation to show him off to our family members. We went to see my Dad in Florida and we were in his house; I had just gotten saved; I was a brand new Christian, and I talked to my Dad. I said, “Hey Dad! I’d like to tell you about Jesus”. And he looked at me with kind of a stern look, and he said, “Oh, everybody has to have their crutch”. That was it. I couldn’t talk to my Dad any more about Jesus at that time. He just shut me down. That was probably in around 1977. So, many years later, around 1988, my Dad went to China with his wife, and My Dad told me he was standing on the Great Wall of China, and something hit him in his chest. It wasn’t like a person hit him with a stick or something, he just felt like something hit him in his chest, and when he came home from that trip, he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. There is no cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease, even to this day; I don’t think they have a cure for it; so if you get it, you die. So my Dad was sick and I began to cry out to God. I knew that there was no cure for this disease, and I just began to cry out to God and pray for my Dad’s salvation. I remember being on my knees, weeping,  in my garage alone; just pouring out my heart to God; crying out to God for my Dad to be saved; for God to save my Dad. My Dad at that time was living with his wife, in Greenville, SC, and there were some Christian ladies in the area that came to visit my Dad; I don’t know if they already knew him, but they came to my Dad’s house, and they led him to Jesus, and my Dad received Jesus at that time. And he began to follow Jesus. He began to seek to be healed of his disease. He had some very famous Christians come and pray for him, including Pastor Yonggi Cho from South Korea, and others prayed for him, but he was not healed. He worked with The Happy Hunters doing audio visual work for them; he traveled with them. And he was still able to play piano when my wife and I and children went to see him. We spent Christmas with him in Greenville, and we had some good times with my Dad and his wife. Then later on; that disease is very brutal, he began to get to where he could no longer play piano. Eventually he was hospitalized, and I went to see him in the hospital, and the last time I saw my Dad in the hospital, he was lying in a bed, and he was on a ventilator, so he had tubes going down his throat and he couldn’t talk. Now, remember, as I explained earlier, my Dad was a very talented communicator; so he was lying there in the hospital bed; he couldn’t talk, but he was awake, and he looked at me; I was alone with him in the room; this was the last time I saw my Dad; he looked at me and he made sign language; he pointed to his heart, and then he put both his hands over his heart, and then he pointed to his left palm, and then he pointed to his right palm and extended his arms out, which is the deaf sign for Jesus Christ. So what he was saying was, “I love Jesus”. And then he pointed to himself, and put his hands over his heart, and he pointed to me, and he was saying, “I love you”. I’m telling you it was so powerful! That was the last time my Dad talked to me. And I’m also telling you that my Dad is with Jesus! And some day, in the not-too-distant-future, I’ll have a reunion with my Dad, because of the great love of Jesus; that He loves us so much, that He gave Himself for us, a living sacrifice on the Cross for our sins. He was tempted in every way as we are; every way; He was a man; He was tempted in every way as we are, yet He never sinned. That’s why He’s called the Spotless Lamb of God, and that’s why my Dad is in Heaven.

To conclude: After my Dad had passed away, we went to his funeral in Greenville, SC. We went to the grave site and buried my Dad. On the way to the grave site, the Mayor of Greenville had arranged to have a policeman on every corner, and as we passed by, they would salute. I’m telling you that was a moving experience! I really believe, to this day, that God had him do that to honor my Dad. We buried my Dad, and in the South they have a custom called a wake, where you go back to the house, and you have black-eyed peas; why they have black-eyed peas, I don’t know; there must be a reason. Many people were gathered at the house. Some women were coming up to me and saying how sorry they were for me that I had lost my Dad; at the time I appreciated their concern and their kindness, but that’s not what was in my heart. I was not sad; I was not sad, because I knew my Dad was with Jesus. And guess what! One of the women that had led my Dad to Jesus came up to me, and she shook my hand, very vigorously, with a big smile on her face, and she said, Isn’t it great that Bob’s with Jesus !!!  I was so happy !! I was saying, Yes!! Amen!! Thank you Sister !! It was such a wonderful, closing moment! But it’s not over. I will see my Dad again. He’s with Jesus, and I will ever be thankful that he is saved, and he’s with the Lord. God bless you all.

 Radio Announcement:

I am happy to announce that our weekly program, 15 Minutes With Jesus, is now airing live on radio station WKMM-FM in Kingwood, WV on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am Eastern and 8:00 am central time; also live streaming at that time at www.kcountryradio.com, click Tune In Live. Glory be to God!

 What Does It Mean To Be Holy?

Greetings in the Name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. You can follow us on line at roberthaymes.com. Today’s program is called, What Does It Mean To Be Holy? Let’s turn to First Peter. You know, the scripture says, Holiness, without which no man will see the Lord. And also, God said, Be you holy, for I am Holy. So we should consider very seriously what it means, since God requires holiness from us, we need to know what it means to be holy. 1 Pet 1:15-25, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am Holy. 

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit (This is how we purify ourselves) in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever, because, all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and it’s flower falls away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the Word which by the gospel was preached to you. Let’s turn to 1 John 1:1-10, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. Chapter 2, verses 1&2, My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. The Apostle Paul said, I exercise myself daily to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man. So if there is an offense; if we commit an offense against God, or against a brother, or a sister, if we are walking in the light, the light exposes that, and we deal with it right away; we go to God; we ask His forgiveness; we confess our sins; we don’t keep it quiet; we confess our sin to God; we confess our sin to our brother or sister, and they forgive us, and God forgives us, and He promised that He would cleanse us by the precious Blood; the Blood of His Son Jesus Christ washes us; through faith in His shed Blood, we are washed; we are cleansed of that sin. That is walking in holiness. Do you see that?

Holiness does not make you a self-righteous, holier than thou person. God wants you to be yourself. He just wants to take out of your life those things that are evil; those things that destroy you, and give you things that will bless you and make you a blessing to others, like love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and faithfulness. That does not mean you can’t do anything you enjoy anymore. That’s what some of you think. You think, Oh, if I’m going to be a holy person, I’m just going to be religious, and I can’t do anything I enjoy. No, that’s not right. You can do anything God wants or allows in your life. But the day will come, when you want to have some beer, I’m just making an example here, the day will come when you want to have some beer and He might say, Skip the beer this time. Or you want to watch a football game, and He says, Not this time. I want you to read My Word today, and, instead of rebelling, because of the wonderful work He’s done in your heart, you obey Him with joy and you are blessed, and others are too. Another time, He may have you watch a football game with a friend, and one of the players may give his testimony after the game, and your friend will be blessed. Do you see what I’m saying? That doesn’t mean that some people won’t think you are crazy. Jesus’ own family thought He had lost His mind. But you won’t be crazy; you will be the son or daughter that God created you to be, and they will see God's blessing and power in your life, and He will be glorified. Jesus came to deliver us from evil; from the Devil; from sin; from the things that destroy us, to give us life, because He loves us: righteousness, peace, and joy, and a good reward in that day. You’ll still have fun; you’ll still laugh, and cry, and mourn, and rejoice, but you will be God’s, and no longer your own! You will be His servant, and He will direct your life. He will bless you and make you a blessing!

Some people, however, deceive themselves to continue to walk in the flesh and to justify it, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind, and saying, “God told me”, or “The Lord is leading me to do this”, when it is really rebellion and deceit in their hearts.

When you start out with the Lord, you’re walking in the flesh, but as you continue with Him in repentance and faith in the Cross: faith in His sacrifice; what Jesus did for you on the Cross, you will learn to deny yourself every day, take up your cross and follow Him. You will learn to walk in the Spirit; to walk as Jesus walked. If you love Him, you will want to please Him and keep His Words, and He will teach you His Word by His Spirit, and lead you to walk in it, and be led by His Spirit in all things. You will not be content with false grace, but He will teach you true grace and the fear of the Lord, and all the promises He has made to those who fear Him will be yours, if you continue with Him. It will not be easy, as He will be leading you in righteous pathways to try you and purge you and cleanse you and break you so that you may be changed; so that you may become holy! Jesus feared and loved His Father in Heaven, and He obeyed Him, even unto death. You will have the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is far more than happiness and fun. The joy of the Lord is your strength. In your presence, it says in Psalm 16, is fullness of joy. Let’s go there. Ps 16:7-11, I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption (referring to Jesus). You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

Heb 11:23-26, This is the chapter on faith: the roll-call of faith, as we call it. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. If you want to hang on to the pleasures of sin, you won’t make it. 

If you would rather have the cheap, shallow pleasure of sin over the joy of the Lord in His presence and glory, you won’t be with Him, but you will perish forever. Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We may have the fellowship of His sufferings now, but we will have pleasures forevermore in His glorious Kingdom, in His presence, serving Him who died for us and loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood. Even now, through the Holy Spirit, we have joy and pleasures in His presence. Hallelujah! 

So, what can we do? Let’s turn to Rom 8:1-14, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but 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’s referring to water baptism: once we have received Christ and we are born of the Spirit, we are baptized in water; baptized into His death, burial, and resurrection. We are crucified with Him and raised with Him. We are the servants of sin no more but we serve Him in newness of life. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Referring to the First Resurrection of the dead in Christ when He shall return in the clouds of Heaven.) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Verse 4, The righteous requirement of the Law is fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. There you have holiness: learning to be led by the Holy Spirit to do the will of God every day, denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Jesus. How can you follow Jesus? by being led by the Holy Spirit. We must receive the Holy Spirit; be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and then He is going to lead us. He is going to lead us in the Word of God; He’s going to teach us the Word of God; He’s going to lead us in doing it, and as we are led by the Spirit; as we are yielding to the Spirit, we are walking in holiness. Do you see that? He’s not going to lead us to sin. Amen! Thank you Lord. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Walking in self-righteous religion of man does not work; it does not accomplish the righteousness of God. Jesus drank wine, but He never got drunk. Jesus ate with sinners and conversed with them, but He never sinned. Jesus always did the will of His Father. Jesus walked in love. Love does no ill to his neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law. This is the key. If you love God, you’re going to want to keep His Words; you’re going to want to follow Jesus. The righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The wages of sin: transgression of the Law, is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. 

John 8:31-36, Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you continue in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered Him, We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, You will be made free? Jesus answered them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.