Lesson 5 Fruit of the Spirit

     The Word speaks about the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in our new, born again lives in Galatians 5:22-26 (Amplified).  Jesus said in John 15:1-3 (Amplified) that, "I Am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vine dresser."  He continues in Verse 2 saying, "Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit (that stops bearing) He cuts away (trims off, takes away): And He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit."  Verse 4 says, "You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the Word which I have given you (the teachings I have discussed with you)."
     The Father is still the Vine dresser by His Holy Spirit.  He still prunes and cleanses the branches (which are us) so we bear more and better fruit.  He still uses the same means to prune and cleanse the branches as He did then.  He uses His Word and His teachings.  Jesus, Who is the Vine, supplies the life that flows through the branches.  Without Jesus and His life flowing through us, then we have no life in us at all.  The Vine produces the sap (life) to the branches and the branches produce the fruit.  The Father Himself cares for the Vine and the branches as the Vine dresser.
     Few of us have ever really thought much about the reason for bearing fruit.  The reason for bearing fruit is to protect and replenish the seed needed to produce a new plant.  Jesus said in John 12:24 (Amplified) that, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains (just one gram, it never becomes more) but lives alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest."
     He was the Seed that produced the Vine that now gives life to us, the branches.  As the branches, we're to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.  That fruit is what contains the seed to produce many more branches.  Few of us have ever given much thought to producing fruit.
     You can produce a watermelon vine with one tiny seed.  That one life giving vine will grow many branches.  Every branch will produce the fruit of the vine which is a watermelon.  The meat of the melon is rich and red, cool and sweet...all things that make the melon more desirable to partake of.  The real reason for the melon is to contain the seed which will produce more melons.  Within this pleasant tasting melon is the real reason for the fruit which is so the seed will reproduce more and more melons with more and more seeds.
     The entire reason we're to produce fruit is to reproduce new creatures in Christ.  How are we to make more born again men and women without having the fruit which makes us desirable to the lost?  How are we to pass on the seed that produces new life to the lost without having the desirable fruit?  This isn't some song we sing or simply something we display only at church.  This is the Word of Life that dwells in the words we speak into the lives of others.  The world's not interested in simply joining a church or religious order.  They are interested in the change they see in our lives which is the fruit of the Spirit.  For the most part, we've been barren as far as being attractive to the world.  The world sees very little in our fruit that makes us desirable to them.  We're as sick as they are, we have as many divorces as they do, we have as many issues as they have and we don't have more joy (or even as much joy) as they do in their lives.  In short, Church, we aren't bearing much fruit at all.
     One good watermelon can produce enough seeds to start a whole watermelon patch.  God's still trying to prune and cleanse us by His Word, but we don't spend much time reading His Word.  Sermons about the Word or books about God's Word aren't really enough to produce much fruit.  We need to spend time in His Word and in His presence.  After all, He is the Vine and that's where we get life enough to produce any fruit.
     There are many good churches around in nearly every area.  Most of these people are involved in a local church.  We spend most of our time in what I call "Recycled Christians."  They go form one church to another seeking something they feel is missing in their Christian lives.  We continue having people pray for us to keep from thinking bad thoughts or doing wrong and then it doesn't work.  The only thing that can keep us from sin is a renewed mind by God's Word.  That's what cleanses and prunes us to bear better fruit.  We can put on a happy face for awhile, but it doesn't last very long.  We can dance and sing while we are at church, but how long does it last after we leave?  This is the more excellent and the lasting and richer fruit that makes people want what we have.
     If we will bear the fruit that bears the seed of the new birth, then God will take care of the whole watermelon patch.  He is the vine dresser.  We try getting someone born again and then telling them what they can and cannot do and where they can and cannot go.  We lay down a long list of rules (ones we didn't walk in either) for them to do.  Jesus told His disciples to "Loose Lazarus and let him go."  Ephesians 5:26 (Amplified) says to, "Take the grave clothes off them by the Word of Life, let the Vine dresser clean them up by the washing of water by the Word."  Only the Word of truth can cleanse us from our old lives.
     We've never been taught the importance of the real fruit of the Spirit.  When we see someone walking in the joy of the Lord, we think he's nuts or just isn't serious about Jesus.  We've grown so accustom to seeing Christians who look like they were baptized in lemon juice and don't recognize the real thing anymore.  We still walk in the condemnation of our past even though the Word tells us the old man is dead.  We're still trying to be good so God will bless us.  We're still working hard to get to heave when the only thing we're to work at or labor in according to Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified) which says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently [The King James Version says "Labor to enter into His rest] to enter the rest of God (to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
     If we learn to rest in the finished work of Jesus and stop trying to do things on our own, then we'll rest in Him and bear the fruit.  No watermelon has to try to produce seeds and no branch has to struggle to produce the melon and no branch has had a hard time producing branches.  The vine dresser knows how to dress the vine.  Just abide in the vine and let the Word produce after itself.  You've never seen an apple tree struggle to produce an apple.  It just happens naturally.
     Rest in Him and allow the Vine dresser to prune you with His Word and walk in the fact that He will do it.  Only the Spirit can produce the fruit.  On your own, you cannot do it no matter how much willpower you have.  It's only through His power. 

Lesson 4 Fruit of the Spirit

     Read Galatians 5:22-26 and 1Corinthians 13:4-8 (Amplified).
     These two scriptures relating to love and the fruit of the Spirit show the power of the Holy Spirit within us.  Love, Who is God, wants to live inside us to the extent that He overshadows all of the flesh and the soul to live by His Spirit.
     Love isn't a gift of the Spirit.  Love is the Spirit.  We've been trying to produce love in our lives in the same way we did when we were unsaved.  We gave to charitable organizations and to the poor even when we were in the world.  We tried being nice to people and even felt compassionate towards them.  After we were born again, we continued doing the same things in the same way.
     This love, which is the fruit of the presence of the Spirit of God Who lives within us, isn't the same kind of love we felt before.  Before, we tried being what we knew to be right, but it didn't always work.  This fruit of the presence of the Love of God Who came when we received His Holy Spirit and isn't something we've conjured up in our lives.  He only comes when we surrender our lives.
     1Corinthians 5:26 (Amplified) basically says the same thing that 1Corinthians 13:4-5 (Amplified) says.  We read in Galatians 5:26 (Amplified) that, "Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another."  These are the traits of the old, natural men we used to be.
     We can never portray the real fruit of the Holy Spirit until we learn to yield to and be led by the Holy Spirit.  We keep doing the works of the flesh and actually believe it's God's will.  Don't misunderstand what I am saying here!  We are supposed to good things and to give to the poor just like the Scriptures tells us, but there's a difference.
     1Corinthians 13:3 (Amplified) says, "Even if I dole out all that I have (to the poor in providing) food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God's Love in me) I gain nothing."  So you see, it's not always a matter of what we do, but it's why we do it.  Did we do it to gain glory from men, or to bring glory to God?  Many times we do good things for all the wrong reasons.
     Jesus bore the full fruit of the Holy Spirit in His earthly walk.  It isn't recorded anywhere in the Word where Jesus did any miracles before He received the Holy Spirit.  Every work Jesus did was the fruit of the Spirit.  Surely, He was a good man and He did good things before receiving the Holy Spirit.  But, the Holy Spirit didn't record any of them because they were done in His flesh as natural works.  Only the works He did in the Holy Spirit are recorded in the Word.  All of our works, our own righteousness, weren't recorded.  We've died and now our life is in HIM. 
     There are so many things the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives, but we hinder Him from doing because we don't surrender to His Love in us.  All of the gifts of the Spirit are found in 1Corinthians 12:31 (Amplified) and Paul sums up the way to obtain and operate in them in one verse, saying, "But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). And yet I will show you a still more excellent way (one that is better by far and the highest of them all---love."
     Paul didn't say that Love was the greatest gift.  He said Love was the greatest and most excellent way to obtain and walk in these gifts and to cultivate or desire them.  He simply said that by walking in love, we become the perfect candidates for receiving these gifts.  I believe that the fruit of the Spirit, is the full manifestation of the gifts in the Spirit in our lives.  No matter what part of the body we may be called to portray, we are a vital importance to the whole of the body.
     We see men behind the pulpit and seem to think of them as being more important to God than we are.  NOT TRUE!  The man behind the pulpit is a gift to the people to teach them how to minister and build up the body (the Church, Christ's body).  Jesus said in John 13:35 (Amplified) that, "By this shall all (men) know that you are My disciples, if you love one another (if you keep on showing love among yourselves)."
      The gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit and the Love (Who is the Spirit) are all One and the same thing.  They are the very character and the nature of our Father, Who is Love Himself.  This is a supernatural force of the very presence of God in our born again Spirit.  This is the very  DNA that was passed into our spirits by His Own Blood at our new birth.  The same DNA that was in Jesus Who was born of the Spirit, is the same DNA that was birthed in us at our new birth.
     We have the nature and design of our Father and He Is Love.  1John 4:8 (Amplified) says, "He who does not love has not become acquainted with God (does not and never did know Him) for God Is Love. All of His power, is in His love, and all of His love is in you by the Holy Spirit.  Romans 5:5 (Amplified) says, "Such hope never disappoints or deludes us or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us."
     We must study about the depths of God's Love for us and begin walking in the security of that Love.  Put aside all the doubt, unbelief and the old guilt conscience form you and begin to walk in the power of God and display the power of His Love for you and me.  This love will heal the sick, set at liberty those who are bound and bring new life to those who are dead.
  

Lesson 3 Fruit of the Spirit

     We find the fruit of the Spirit and what the Holy Spirit is supposed to produced in our lives in Galatians 5:22-23 (Amplified).  We find in 1Corinthians 13:4-8 (Amplified) what Love is not.  When putting these two scriptures together, we find what the fruit of the Spirit is and what love is not.  The fruit of the Spirit is nothing short of God (Love) manifested in our lives by the Spirit of God.  We have the Spirit of Love, of God Himself living in us.
     What the fruit of the Spirit really is , is the life of the Father revealed in our lives.  The reason for the fruit in our lives is ultimately to make us Jesus living inside us, desired by those around us to want to partake of.  When we see an apple, we see the bright red of the skin and taste the crisp white fruit and its satisfying taste of the fruit.  The real reason for the sweet and attracting fruit is to contain the seed.
     John 15:1-3 (Amplified) says, "I Am the Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser."  Verses 2-3 go on,
Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit (that stops bearing) He cuts away (trims off, takes away) and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the Word which I have given you (the teachings I have discussed with you."
     The Law of Genesis 1:12 (Amplified) says that, "The earth brought forth vegetation; plants yielding seed according to their own kinds and trees Bearing fruit in which was their seed. Each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) and He approved it.  And, we're strive for and allow God's love to be brought into full manifestation in our lives so that this fruit of love, this fruit of the Spirit, can cast its seed.  Everything bears fruit after its kind.
     What we're to do with the fruit of the Spirit is to cast forth the seed within us and let it reproduce "after kind" the new birth.  1Peter 1:23 (Amplified) says, "You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm) but from one that is immortal by the everliving and lasting Word of God."  1John 4:17 (Amplified) says, "In this (union and communion with Him) Love is brought to completion and  attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgement (with assurance and boldness to face Him) because as He is, so are we in this world."
     Everything bears fruit after its kind.  Everything bears seed that reproduces the same kind of plant, animal, man or Spirit.  The Apostle Paul wrote about this seed and reproduction after kin in 1Corinthians 15:35 -49 (Amplified).  Verse 38 says, "But God gives to it (seed) the body that He plans and sees fit, and to each kind of seed a body of its own."  Verse 49 declares, "And just as we have borne the image (of the man) of dust (Adam) So shall we and so let us also bear the Image (of the Man of heaven)."
     God's plan for Genesis is still holding true to this day.  Everything bears fruit and reproduces after its kind.  Horse always produce horses, dogs always produce dogs, humans always bear humans and the Spirit always produces Spirit beings.  Every single thing that has seed, reproduces the same kind of thing.  Each one is a different tree, but each tree is the same.
     Jesus is the Seed in Galatians 3:16 (Amplified) which says that, "Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his seed (his offspring, his heir) He (God) does not say, and to his seeds (descendants, heirs) as if referring to many persons, but And to your seed (your descendant, your Heir) obviously referring to One Individual, Who is (none other than) Christ (the Messiah)."  Galatians 3:29 (Amplified) says, "If you belong to Christ (are in Him) Who is Abraham's seed then you are Abraham's offspring and (spiritual) heirs according to promise."
     This is why the fruit of the Spirit is so vital in the life of the believer.  If the fruit is unattractive, then no one wants to eat from it.  An apple with worms and bruises on it isn/t very attractive either. 
     According to John 15:3 (Amplified), Jesus said that the pruning and cleaning of the branches would be made by the Word and the teachings that He gave us.  As we grow in God's Word, the old, unproductive things in our lives will break off and be tossed aside.  As this comes, we can and will bear more and better fruit.  As branches of the True Vine, we will bear fruit from the Sees we are from and bear more seed to grow into good soil.  Hebrews 2:10 (Amplified) says, "For it was an act worthy (of God) and fitting (to the Divine nature) that He, for Whose sake and Whom all things have their existence, In bringing many sons into glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation (the first Seed Jesus) perfect, (should bring to maturity the human experience necessary to be perfectly equipped for His office as High Priest) through suffering."
     The Seed was sown to reproduce after kind and bring many sons into glory.  If we are God's sons, then we're like the Seed Who spawned us.

Lesson 2 Fruit of the Spirit

     We find that the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-26 (Amplified) is almost exactly like what 1Corinthians 13:4-8 (Amplified) says about the Love God has poured in us when the Holy Spirit entered our lives.  We describe the Holy Spirit as the power of God.  We have mistakenly not identified the Holy Spirit as the Love of God.  1John 4:8 (Amplified) says that, "He who does not love has not become acquainted with God (does not and never did know Him) for God is LOVE.
     John didn't say that God does not know you, but that you do not know Him.  We've viewed God in many different ways and doctrines.  Some still see God through the old covenant viewpoint.  Many have a viewpoint of God seen through uncertainty and confusion.  Some have even preached the viewpoint of God being outdated for our lives today and that we are our own gods
     God's true identity is the Father and we need to recognize His love for his children.  The Word declares in Romans 8:14 (Amplified) that, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."  The Holy Spirit is the Love of God Who has entered into our born again spirit and is directing us by Love.  He never drives us, but He gently leads us in His love for us.  Until we understand God's love, we will never walk in God's power.  the fruit of the Spirit is the manifestation of God's Love in action.
     This love is His power.  Don't mistake meekness for weakness.  When we yield to the Spirit of God, This is meekness, but it produces power and not weakness.  The Apostle Paul commented on this in his letter to the Church of Corinth in 2Corinthians 12:9 (Amplified) saying, "But He said to me; My Grace is (My favor and loving kindness and mercy) is enough for you (sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully) for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in (your) weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me."
     Paul discovered that it was his ability to determine where God's love was able to reach it's full potential.  Once he realized he was unable to do the work is when the works got done.  We've looked at love as a form of weakness because when we walked in love, then people took advantage of us.  That's the human love we're afraid to reveal.  God's love is anything but weakness.
     Jesus was the Love of God walking in the flesh.  He's our example of how to walk in God's Love.  No one could take advantage of Jesus because the Love would protect Him in everything He did.  John 17:23 (Amplified) says, "I in them, and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and (definitely) recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved (them) even as You have loved Me."
     The power of Jesus flowed from the love of God.  John 3:16 reveals how powerful this love actually is.  It was love that broke all the hold over the enemy in our lives.  We've always looked for heroes to pattern our lives after.  Mostly though, they showed up as Superman or Batman or some other powerful favorite.  We never thought of Jesus as Superman.  We can imagine all the super heroes doing any kinds of imaginable feats, but we only see Jesus as a man Who died.
       Maybe, because Jesus yielded Himself to die on the cross, we feel pity for Him.  But, His death on Calvary revealed the full power of Love because this Love raised Him from the dead.  It was the Holy Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead by Love.  Romans 8:11 (Amplified) says, "And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you."
     The amazing Holy Spirit Who is the Spirit of Love, never fails.  As natural men, we never considered that love is power.  God's power works best and only by love.  When Paul speaks about the fruit of the Spirit, he is talking about someone who yields to the Love in him by the Spirit of God.
     We've condensed the fruit of the Spirit to "being nice."  If we were nice to others, then we were walking in the fruit of the Spirit, right?  We should be nice to others, but the fruit of the Spirit is for loving others enough to set them free.  If I'm sick, then you're being nice to me doesn't help me.  When we walk in the fruit of the Spirit then we're walking in Love.  And, when we walk in love, then we're walking in the Spirit.  When we walk in love, then we find we're now in the place where the "gifts of the Spirit" can be manifested in us.
     1Corinthians 12:31 (Amplified) says, "But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and the choicest graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces) And yet I will show you a still more excellent way (one that is better by far and the highest of them all, LOVE."  Paul said the better way to receive these gifts of grace other than seeking and coveting them, is to learn the power power of the One Who is the giver of these gifts-Love, Himself."
     We've tried walking in love by our own efforts in our covenant walk.  Love is the supernatural presence of God Himself in us.  Acts 1:8 (Amplified) says, "But you shall receive power (ability efficiency and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth."
     Romans 5:5 says that, "God's Love is shed abroad in our hearts."  The Love Paul's speaking up is God's power shown through us to the world.  We cannot use the same kind of love we used before we were saved and expect it to produce power.  We must become so in touch with the Father like Jesus was and do the work He wants done.
     John 14:10 (Amplified) says, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? What I am telling you I do not say on My Own authority and of My Own accord; But the Father Who lives continually in Me does the (His) works (His Own miracles and deeds of power)."  The fruit of the Spirit is as supernatural as raising the dead or growing a new limb that was severed.  We can never muster enough goodness in our flesh to operate in His supernatural Love.  It must come by seeking Him to the point that it was with Jesus Himself.  It's not me, but the Father in me Who does the work.

Lesson 1 Fruit of the Spirit

     Galatians 5:22-26 (Amplified) says, "But the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit (the work which His presence, within accomplishes) is love; joy, (gladness), peace, patience, (an even temper), forbearance, kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness, (meekness, humility), self-control, (self-restraint, continence), Against such things there is no law (that can bring a charge)."  Verses 24-25 go on, "And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.  If we live by the (Holy) Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit (if by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit)."  Verse 26 says, "Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another."
     1Corinthians 13:4-7 (Amplified) says that, "Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily."  Verses 5-6 say, "It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride) it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it (it pays no attention to a suffered wrong) It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail." Verses 7-8 goes on, "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances and it endures everything (without weakening). Love never fails (never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to and end)."
     The above scriptures are the very pictures of a born again man who is submitted to God.  The power of this man is moved by his Love, both the love God has for him and the love he has for God.  Until we understand the love God has for us, we can never walk in a true love for Him.  Galatians 5:14 (Amplified) says, "For the whole Law (concerning human relationships) is completed within the one precept; you shall love your neighbor as (you do) yourself."
      Many of God's people struggle to learn to love themselves.  For some, it seems prideful to love yourself.  For God, it's a matter of how much He loves you.  It's hard for us to look beyond religion to see the full power of His love for us.  When we realize how valued we are in God's sight, it becomes seemingly sinful to say we're unworthy.  We were unworthy when God found us, but He didn't leave us that way. 
     If you ever had a child who felt that you didn't love him as much as you love his siblings, then you know how the Father feels about His children.  For some reason, maybe because of something he did, the child feels as though you no longer care for him the way you once did.  Many children, even from good families, have this complex and it's extremely hard to make them see the truth.  Some children will even do wrong things in order to get you to pay more attention to them.  They live with low self-esteem and don't hold their heads high.
     They come from the same family and the same bloodline, but never seem to walk in the same way as their siblings.  If you cannot learn to finally love yourself like God loves you, then how can you display this love to others?  You never want to extend a hand to others because you feel like you have nothing to offer.  These people seem to always drift off into the company of others just like them.  And, sadly, they mostly end up in trouble or simply reject other people and up up depressed and oppressed.
     The discipline we always receive from God is the discipline of the Word into our spirit.  God is a Spirit and He deals with your own born again spirit.  People who cannot learn to love themselves like God loves them, are always people who are easy targets for the enemy's torment.  They always feel like they deserve punishment.  They have very little of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives because the fruit of the Spirit is the Love spoken of in 1Corinthians 13.  This is the fruit of God Himself because God is Love according to 1John 4:8.
     When we reject God's love for us, then we're actually rejecting God Himself.  We feel boastful and arrogant when we say that "you can love yourself."  God says that you are His treasure and His glory.  We must learn to feel valued and loved.  When God spoke of Jesus, He declared that, "This is My Son, in Whom I am well pleased."  Do you ever see yourself as God's being "well pleased " with you?  Yes!  But, I still make mistakes and mess up.  God sees you through the Blood of Jesus and if He was well pleased with Jesus, then He is well pleased with you because you are in Christ Jesus.
     I believe the reason we don't see more of the gifts of the Spirit moving in our lives today, is that we do not accept the fullness of His love.  All of the gifts of the Spirit we read about in 1Corinthians 12 are controlled by and flow by the Holy Spirit Who Is Love.  This love was infused into our inner man (your born again spirit) when Love Himself (the Holy Spirit) was poured into our hearts like Romans 5:5 (Amplified) says.  God didn't just pour out some love when He came because He is Love.  When He was poured out into our hearts, it was Love Himself.
     By nature, we learned not to trust others.  We have such little sayings that show just how much we distrust as "if it looks too good to be true, then it probably isn't" and "there's no such things as a free lunch" and "they're only after your money."  We have built up walls to protect ourselves from people and even God and we're afraid to let our guard down.
     Man's love has been bankrupt for a very long time.  We tried trusting in it and then were hurt.  When you open yourself up to love, you think it makes you vulnerable and that people will walk all over you.  Because of this, we won't even allow the fullness of God Himself to love us like He wants to do.
     When the fruit of the Spirit becomes the Love of God, you're in a position for God to use you like never before.  We must learn to trust our outer man to the new inner man which is in His Image.  We say we trust God for eternal life, but we still protect our outer man ourselves.  Even in our churches, we still look down on certain person and judge them unjustly.  This isn't love that's bearing fruit.
     We are called to be like Him.  The only way to be like Him is to Love like Him.

Lesson 18 The Condition of the Heart

     We've been studying such conditions of the heart as a divided heart, a hardened heart, a fearful heart along with others.  The last two studies have nee on the most important condition of all...a hearing heart.
     A hearing heart is one that will move and abide in the voice and directing of the Holy Spirit.  As the Holy Spirit speaks and leads us, we flow and move in the total will of God.  We have tried many ways to learn how to walk with a hearing heart and haven't been successful for the most part.
     1John 4:16 (Amplified) tells us, "And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believed (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the Love God cherishes for us.  God is love and he who dwells in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in Him."
     When we begin understanding God's love for us, it becomes easier to dwell in Him.  We've used a broad brush to paint God's love for mankind, but we seldom narrow it to His love for us on an individual level.  The Apostle John received the Revelation of God's love for him.  He knew that Jesus loved all of the world.  It was John who wrote John 3:16.  But, John knew more than that.  He knew that God loved him as an individual and he referred to himself as the "Disciple that Jesus loved."  John 19:26 (Amplified) says, "So Jesus, seeing His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing near, said to His Mother (Dear) woman, see (there is) your Son."  Verse 27 says, "Then He said to the disciple, See, (here is) your Mother! And from that hour, the disciple took her into his own (keeping, own home)."
     John understood God's lover for him alone, on a personal level.  This same Apostle went on to write the Gospel of John and 1John, 2John, 3John and The Revelation of Jesus Christ.  Here was a man who had a hearing heart that was tuned to the flow of God's love.  It makes very little difference how much we may learn about the scriptures if we don't know how much God loves us.  I don't have a problem saying to someone that my wife loves me and me alone.  I know she loves our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.  And, I know she loves other people as well, but I know she has a special love for me as an individual. I'm the man she loves.
     This is the same attitude we need to have about our Father.  He loves us all with an unconditional love, but only some of us don't dare take it to a personal level.  When we know His love for us One on one, we are in a position to have a hearing heart.  This is a matter of knowing Him personally and not collectively as part of the congregation or the Church.
     This doesn't mean that God has favorites or loves one person more than another.  It just means that certain individuals have seen this love for them personally.  Romans 6:5 (Amplified) says that, "Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us."
     Your spirit will respond in faith and obedience to Love every time.  Those we read about or know who walk in power and signs and wonders, all know God's love on a very personal level.  They hear God even in the most wild and courageous things.  Such men as Smith Wigglesworth did things most of us would never have believed it was God Who told us to do them.  He heard God saying to remove an embalmed man from his coffin and command that body to walk.  And, he did it.  Most of us would have been afraid to do such a thing, but 1John 4:18 (Amplified) says, "There is no fear in love (dread does not exist) but full grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and (so) he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love (is not yet grown into love's complete perfection)."
     The hearing heart is moved by God's Own Love that's inside us by the Holy Spirit.  All of God's power to heal, save, deliver, bless, take onto Himself is based on His Love man.  All of the gifts of the Spirit are based on Love and without Love we are just "clanging cymbals."
     Jesus, Who was love, walking and talking by the shores of Galilee, only did what the Father (Love) told Him to do.  Jesus said that when "you have seen Me, you have seen the Father (or God's love in action)."  A hearing heart can hear the sounds of those weeping and the very depths of their heart and then respond in love to set them free.  We can do this only if when we hear God's love speak into our hearts saying to "loose the captives and set a liberty those who are abound."   
     If we learn to know His love for us (an individual love), then we can learn to love others.  1John 4:8 (Amplified) says, "He who does not love has not become acquainted with God (does not and never did know Him) for God is love."  Many people in the family of God don't really know Him.  God really knows and loves them, but they don't really know Him.  They don't spend a lot of time in His presence or speak to Him in fellowship.  They address Him as God, but not as Father.  They don't see Him in His love, but in His judgment and His anger.  Mostly, they feel as though they're never pleasing to God and therefore, can never be used by Him for anything outside of going to heaven when we die.
     This comes from a fearful and condemning heart.  This is a heart that doesn't truly know the heart of God ,the Love of God Who is God Himself shed abroad in our own heart.  A hearing heart hears the very heart of God Himself.  A hearing heart is one that is moved by love from God and love for God, to meet the needs of all who are oppressed of the devil.  Acts 10:38 (Amplified) says, "How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the (Holy) Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular,  curing all who were harassed and oppressed by (the power of) the devil, for God was with Him."
     Romans 8:27-28 (Amplified) says, "And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the (Holy) Spirit (what His intent is) because the Spirit intercedes and pleads (before God) on behalf of the Saints according to and in harmony with God's will."  Verse 28 goes on, "We are assured and know that (God being a partner in their labor) all things work together and are (fitting into a plan) for good to and for those who love God and are called according to (His) design and purpose."

Lesson 17 The Condition of the Heart

     1KIngs 3:9 (Amplified) says, "So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart."
     We've been studying the conditions of the heart or the spirit of a man.  This is a condition that's determined by each man on an individual basis.  Every man has a will of his own that God will not violate.  When God created man, He didn't make a pulpit.  He made someone just like Himself.  Don't be put off by thinking I'm saying that you are God.  You are not.  But, you are in charge of your own will and choices in your life.  God has a plan for every man's life, but it's up to the individual to receive or reject His plan.
     God would that "All men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the Lord," according to 1Timothy 2:3-4 (Amplified), "For such (praying) is good and right, and (it is) pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior."  Verse 4 goes on, "Who wishes all men to be saved and (increasingly) to perceive and discern and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the (divine) truth."
     If God wishes that all men should be saved and know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then why will some men perish?  Because each man has a part to play in his own salvation.  Every person has a will to either yield to God's will for their lives or to reject it.  The hearing heart Solomon speaks about in 1Kings 3:9 is determined by your mindset.  He prayed, or asked for, an understanding mind.  Your mind will determine whether or not you yield to the Spirit of God.  Romans 12:2 (Amplified) says, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), (fashioned after and adapted to its external superficial customs) be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude) so that you may prove (for yourselves) what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect (in His sight for you)."
     God has a will for your life that is good and acceptable  and perfect for you.  Having a mind that's not renewed by God's Word is what keeps you from having a hearing heart.  The soul of a man, his mind, his will and his emotions, stands between your heart (your spirit) and the flesh.  Your flesh will respond only to what your mind tells it to do.  The flesh (your natural body) has no mind of its own and only does what your soulish (unrenewed) mind instructs it to do.   Your body cannot get up and go wherever it wishes to go.  It can only go where your mind (the control center) allows it to go.
      This has been a struggle in the lives of Christians for 2,000 years.  When we become born again, our spirit is changed by the power of God, but our minds still think the same way it always did.  Until our mind is renewed by the Word of God, it will continue to dictating the same lusts and the same way of doing things it always did.  This is all it knows.  We spent a lifetime walking in this , and we taught our mind what was right and wrong according to the world.  We totally depended on what we knew from the world to get us through.
     Now that our spirit is born again, it's supposed to lead us by the Word and the voice of the Lord.  Now, when we incur a trial that we've never encountered before, our spirit (by the Holy Spirit) will tell us one thing and our unrenewed mind will tell us something else.  This is the same situation that causes Christians to walk under such guilt and condemnation.  In his heart, the Christian wants to do God's will, but his mind (or soulish realm) is being directed in another way.  He calls upon God for direction in his life, but he's still caught up in his mind as to what or how to do what God says to do.
     James 1:5-8 (Amplified) says that, "If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God (Who gives) to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given him."
     This verse tells us that if we ask Him for wisdom, then God will give it.  So, it's not a matter of God giving the wisdom, but of our receiving it.  Verse 6 says, "Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting) for the one who waivers (hesitates, or doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind."
     So, when we asked for wisdom, God gave it.  But, when wisdom came, we began wondering whether it was from God or not and whether it was really the Holy Spirit or not.  Now, we have put ourselves into a place of doubt.  Verse 8 says, "(For being as he is ) a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute) (he is) unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything (he thinks, feels, decides)."
     When God deals with us in our hearts, we know we need guidance.  Then, we ask God for wisdom to deliver us from whatever we've gotten into.  God is so faithful and gives the wisdom needed to deliver us from the place we are in.  When we don't have a renewed mind, we try reasoning things out in our own way and miss the wisdom God gave us.  And, we continue on in your own way which leads to sin and even death.  1James 14 (Amplified) says, "But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire, lust, and passions."
     These are the dictates of a mind that thinks like it did before we were saved.  This is a deadly trap set for the believer by the enemy.  Your body will only go where you instruct it or allow it to.  It can't commit adultery unless you allow it to.  It has no mind of its own, but we give it a carnal, unrenewed mind of the world or one that's renewed by the Word and the Holy Spirit.  When we ask God for wisdom, but don't know the Word (which is God's will), we make the same mistakes we made before.  This in turn, brings condemnation to your heart (you new spirit) and brings you to the place John speaks about in 1John 3:20 (Amplified) saying, "Whenever our hearts in (tormenting) self-accusations make us feel guilty and condemn us (for we are in God's hands) For He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts) and He (perceives and understands) everything (nothing is hidden from Him)."
     Renewing the Christian's mind isn't simply something we should do, bu it's something we must do if we are to ever walk in peace and liberty.  Your mind (your soulish man) stands between your new, born again spirit and the old, carnal man that you were.  God's work in your spirit was perfect and complete but your old, unrenewed man still only knows one way to walk without the Word.  Now, as Christian,  we've come to a place where we are doubled minded and unstable.
     We have the mind of Christ.  Romans 8:5-6 (Amplified) says, "For those who are according to the flesh, and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the things of the flesh (carnal man) . But those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the (Holy) Spirit."  Verse 6 says, "Now the mind of the flesh (which is sens and reason without the Holy Spirit) is death (death that comprises all the miseries that arise from sin, both here and hereafter. But the mind of the (Holy) Spirit is life and (soul) peace (both now and forever)."
     Did you notice how Verse 6 the "Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ, brings (soul) peace?"  This soul peace will quiet the heart from guilt and condemnation and allow peace to enter in (even to your flesh or soul).  1John 3:21 (Amplified) says, "And beloved, if our consciences (our hearts) do not accuse us (if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us) we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God."
     A hearing heart is one that has allowed the mind to be renewed by the Word of God (by the Holy Spirit) making is able to make decisions by the Word and not just emotions.  Emotions are great as long as you control them and don't let them control you.  A carnal (unrenewed mind) will ruled over your heart and lead you into a place of condemnation.  A renewed mind (by the Word) will lead you into a place of peace, healing and the perfect will of God.

Lesson 16 The Condition of the Heart

     1Kings 3:9 (Amplified) says, "So give your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people"
     A hearing heart is essential to every believer.  Without a hearing heart, one that has been purposed to hear, we are without guidance.  The Holy Spirit speaks into your heart or spirit.  You are a spirit and God is a Spirit.  Jesus said that, The words I speak to you are Spirit and they are life, and the Holy Spirit speaks into your spirit."
     Romans 8:16 (Amplified) says that, "The Spirit Himself (thus) testifies together with our own spirit, (assuring us) that we are children of God."
     John 15:26 (Amplified) says, "But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Stand by) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father. He (Himself) will testify regarding Me."
     The only way to have the revelation of Jesus is by allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal Him to our spirit.  The Word is Spirit and is revealed by the Spirit to our spirit.  This spirit is fed and built up through spiritual food, which is the Word of God.  Our spirit must be nourished by the Word of God in order to become strong.  We struggle and strive to walk upright before God and that is commendable.  Jesus said to His disciples in John 15:3 (Amplified) that, "You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the Word which I have given you (the teachings I have discussed with you)."
     We have unknowingly dismissed the Holy Spirit to teach God's people.  We've depended on men and doctrines to purify our walk.  A great deal of what we learned came from man's idea of what he thought the Word said.  Once we've received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit becomes our teacher.  We've had the burden of guilt and condemnation heaped upon us because of our not having hearing hearts.  When the Word (truth) is preached and we hear God's Word through the Holy Spirit, it will make us free and not bind us.
     We've allowed ourselves to be in the position of bondage by trying to walk in the Spirit by continually disciplining our flesh.  Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders of His time in Matthew 23:26-27 (Amplified) saying, "You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean."  In Verse 27 He goes on, "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)!  For you are like tombs that have been white washed, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and everything impure."
     These are the same people Jesus talked to in Matthew 23:13 (Amplified) saying, "But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites) For you shut the Kingdom of heaven in men's faces; For you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are about to go in to do so."
     These men were trying to walk in the Spirit by containing the flesh.  They were binding and restricting the flesh with rules and regulations without giving the Spirit life in the Word.  Today, we still try doing the same in the Church.  We have rules dictating the way we dress, worship, what we believe or don't believe.  If we were taught that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost was passed , then we bind others with the same thing.  Hence, we haven't entered in and we won't allow them to enter in either.
     The men of the pulpit need to, above all people, to have a hearing heart.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from the inside out.  We must learn to truth the Holy Spirit and the Word to cleanse the people and not rely on doctrines thinking they will.  Ephesians 5:25-26 (Amplified) says, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her."  Verse 26 says, "So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word."
     In order to be clean from the inside out, we must clean the inside of the cup and then the outside will be clean.  Matthew 23:26 (Amplified) says that we've been trying to make our flesh do right through laws and customs.  If we will have a hearing heart and allow the Word to deal with our spirit, then the flesh will fall in line with the Word.  We can impose certain things on ourselves by willpower and laws, but we're still not free.  The heart is still unchanged.  You could sit on my chest and hold me down and make me say, "Uncle," but you can't make me mean it.  The same is true with the flesh.  You might hold it down with rules and laws, but you haven't tamed the flesh.  Galatians 5:16 (Amplified) says, "But I say, walk and live (habitually) in the (Holy) Spirit (responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit) then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of the human nature without God)."
     As we set our hearts to hear the Word by the Holy Spirit, then the things of the flesh will lose their power over us and the Holy Spirit will minister the strength of life that's in the Word into our hearts.  We've tried making the spirit obey the flesh by imposing rules and discipline the body.  We should be about making the flesh obey the Spirit by the power of the Word through the Holy Spirit.
     Jesus told His followers in John 15:3 (Amplified) that, "they were cleansed and pruned by His Word and His teachings and not by the laws and restrictions of religion."
     Jesus said that, "The Word is the bread that brings life and that we don't live by bread alone (the natural food), but by the Word."  The life that strengthens our spirit and makes it strong is the Word.  The power of the Word is dispersed through our spirits by the revelation of Jesus by the Holy Spirit.  Only your spirit understands the life that's in the Word.  Our carnal minds can read the words and not discern the power of the truth written in them.  Our carnal mind just sees rules to live by, but our spirit hears truth to help us live above the world of rules and regulations.
     Only your spirit can discern the spirit of the Word of God.  Our carnal mind can read the Word, but not understand it.  Having ears to hear and eyes to see, we don't do either.  He was speaking about reading and hearing the Spirit of the Word by carnal understanding.  A heart that is "dull of hearing," is one that's ruled by the senses, is trying to achieve right standing with God.  A hearing heart is ruled by the Spirit and is simply receiving right standing with God by His Word.  One is a religion by works and the other is a relation by grace.
     The Church still struggles today with not having a hearing heart.  We still prefer to be led by the senses and not by the Spirit.  We prefer to be disciplined by sickness and calamity rather than the teachings and the Word of the Holy Spirit.
     If we would listen with a hearing heart, then we could avoid a lot of the calamities that befall us.  Psalm 23 declares that, "The Lord is my Shepherd."  No shepherd in his right mind will lead his sheep into a place of danger.  If you lead them into fast flowing water with a strong current, then their wool gets wet and will drown them.  If you lead them into briars and thickets, then their wool will get tangled in the branches and they get stuck.  That's why the Good Shepherd lead them beside still water and green pastures.  These are paths are the correct and safe ones.  Psalm 91 says that, "I will dwell in safety with Him, and He will satisfy me with long life and show me His Salvation."
     Our carnal minds declare that God is teaching us to walk with Him by placing hard times on us.  You'll lose a lot of sheep if you put them into strong currents and briars.  Surely, the Lord will go after the sheep and bring them out, but I think it would be better for the sheep to simply follow the Shepherd and stay away from where they don't belong.  A hearing heart will hear and know the voice of the Shepherd and not heed the voice of a stranger.  A hearing heart will become so familiar with the Holy Spirit and won't wander off.  We need to have a hearing heart in order to have a strong heart.
     We feed on people's opinions, on rituals and doctrines that aren't of the Word.  We're always trying to find a different way to interpret the Word and make it line up with our way of doing things.  The Word is unchangeable and forever settled in heaven.  A hearing heat will accept the fact that God's Word is truth and then will walk in that truth. 
     I am in right standing with God (righteous before Him), not because of what I've done, but because of what Jesus has done.  That's a hearing heart.  My sins He remembers no more, not because I' perfect, but because He is perfect.  That's a hearing heart.  I'm not a worm or second class citizen, but a joint-heir with Christ and a son of God.  That's a hearing heart.  A heart that's dull of hearing, still won't accept the truth of the Word even when it's preached.
     When Solomon became dull of hearing and decided to go his own way, things didn't go well with him.  As long as he had a hearing heart, God exalted him.  Let the Spirit of God lead you into liberty and grace.  We don't have to struggle to be right with God because Jesus took care of that.  Today, our part is to let the Holy Spirit guide us "in paths of righteousness for His name's sake" like Psalm 23:3 (Amplified) says that, "He refreshes and restores my life (my self). He leads me in the paths of righteousness (uprightness and right standing with Him-not for my earning it,but) for His name's sake."  Verse 4 goes on, "Yes, though I walk through the (deep, sunless) valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, For You are with Me; Your rod (to protect) and Your staff (to guide) they comfort me."
     the sheep simply rely on the Shepherd to take care of them.  David said in 1Samuel 17:34-37 (Amplified), "And David said to Saul, your servant kept his father's sheep. And when there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it."  Verse 36 goes on, "Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the Living God."  Verse 37 says, "David said, the Lord Who delivered me out of the paws of the lion and out of the paws of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hands of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go and the Lord be with you."
     The sheep were secure in the hands of the Shepherd.  As long as the sheep could hear his voice, they knew they could be at peace.  A hearing heart will rest in the voice of the Shepherd of our soul.  Hebrews 3:19 (Amplified) says, "So we see that they were not able to enter (into His rest) because of their unwillingness to adhere to and trust in and rely on God (unbelief had shut them out)."
    

Lesson 15 The Condition of the Heart

     1Kings 3:9 (Amplified) says, "So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people."
     King Solomon was considered the wisest king in all of Israel.  He was the one who wrote most of Proverbs and was the richest man in all of history.  Having a hearing heart was responsible for his great success.  As long as his heart was a "hearing heart," everything that he did brought him great success.
     When Solomon's heart grew dull of hearing, he lost what he'd received from God.  He stopped hearing the instructions from the Lord and began leaning on his own understanding. He took himself wives of other countries and brought their gods into Israel with them.  As they began worshiping other things and other gods, things grew worse for Solomon.
     Many of us today started out with hearing hearts.  We had such a desire to walk with God that we began searching for God and wisdom like after gold and silver.  It was like searching for gold and silver for us.  It was a labor of love searching for the wisdom of God.  Proverbs 3:16 (Amplified) says that, "Length of days is in her right hand (wisdom) and in her left hand are riches and honor."  Over the years, many have turned to one hand or the other.  If we walked straight into Jesus, then we would have had both length of days and riches.
     Hebrews 3:14 (Amplified) says, "For we have become fellows with Christ (the Messiah) and share in all He has for us, if only we hold our first newborn confidence and original assured expectation (in virtue of which we are believers) firm and unshaken to he end."  We also read in Hebrews 5:11 (Amplified) a writing concerning Jesus' office of High Priest and His perfection of our Salvation, saying, "Concerning this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull in your (spiritual) hearing and sluggish (even slothful in achieving spiritual insight)."  It also says that "When they should be mature and teaching others, they actually had need that someone teach them over again the first principles of the Word over again."
     A hearing heart is one that will always listen to the Holy Spirit, a heart that stays in love with God's Word, a heart that's always seeking to know the Father better and more intimately.  I've known several brothers and sisters in the Lord who have fallen into this trap.
     Do you recall when you first received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues?  You could hardly wait to get alone with God and speak to and praise Him.  A man with a hearing heart will always move in his prayer language because this is his wisdom and hearing.  1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) tells us, "For one who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the (Holy) Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to understanding)."  Many people have asked me throughout the years, how do you know what you're saying and why would you need to speak in tongues, anyway?  Well, the first part of 1Corinthians 14:4 (Amplified) sums it up fairly nicely, saying, "He who speaks in a (strange, unknown) tongue edifies and improves himself."
     When you have a hearing heart and want to learn the hidden things of God, you pray in the Spirit.  Why would you pray in tongues?  Because your own vocabulary is limited to your intellect, but your spirit is eternal and connected to God.  You can only pray as high as your intellect will go, but the Holy Spirit (Who is the teacher of the church), knows all things.  Jude 1:20 (Amplified) says, "But you, beloved, build yourselves up (founded) on your most holy faith (make progress rise like an edifice higher and higher) praying in the Holy Spirit."
     Romans 8:26-7 (Amplified) says, "So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplications and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance."  Verse 27 goes on, "And He who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the (Holy) Spirit intercedes and please (before God) on behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will."
     A man with a hearing heart, is a man who will always press on to know Him more and more.  Sometimes, we get to a place where the fire dies out and religion takes over.  We're always hearing about those people who burn out.  This occurs when we try to do the things of God in our own strength.  When we let the Holy Spirit teach and guide us, then our walk is easy and His burden is light.  God can show you more things by praying in a single hour of praying in tongues than we can find on discover on our own in a year.
     Have you found yourself not praying in the Spirit like you used to?  Or, have you found yourself not walking where you used to walk?  These can be the signs of many things, none of which mean you're no longer saved.  These are signs of a person who has gotten weary over time.  Even Jesus needed time alone with the Father.  Even He had a hearing heart.  Jesus said, "I only do what the Father tells Me to do."  This takes a hearing heart.
     I use my car or tractor (when I'm out in the field) as my place of prayer.  When I'm driving to town or driving to visitations, I can pray in the spirit without interruptions.  While I'm out bailing hay, my tractor becomes my own prayer closet.  A hearing heart will keep you from accidents and all kinds of troubles.  Psalm 23 says, "The Lord is my Shepherd" and "He leads me..."  A hearing heart will hear the Shepherd's voice and avoid the pitfalls of the enemy. 
     Hebrews 3:10 (Amplified) speaks about theose Jesus brought out of bondage and those who had witnessed His miracles and wonders, saying, "And so I was provoked and (displeased and sorely grieved) with that generation, and said, They do always err and are led astray in their hearts, and they have not perceived or recognized My ways and become progressively better and more experimentally and intimately acquainted with them."
    The quit hearing and learning His heart.  God wanted them to become more progressively and intimately acquainted with His Word and ways.  It wasn't because He was keeping things from them, they just reached a place where they quit hearing the things God wanted them to know.  God isn't holding out on us.  He sent the Holy Spirit to show us all things and to reveal all things to us; that's His job.  Sometimes, we get dull of hearing and disinterested in seeking after awhile.
     This isn't to put you in bondage, but to set you free in His Joy like you were when you first were saved.  Remember how exciting it was when God showed you something back then?  Remember the presence of the Holy Spirit when you got off by yourself and worshiped Him?  Remember the gentle guidance of the Shepherd's voice and the way your heart would melt before Him in simple worship?  Romans 10:17  says, "Faith comes by hearing!" and not faith comes by heard.  It's a continual hearing and learning in Him.

Lesson 14 The Condition of the Heart

     In the natural realm, the condition of your heart determines the life you live.  If you have a weak heart, then there are certain activities that are out of bounds for you.  The health of your body is determined by a healthy heart.  Doctors will tell us about heart healthy foods to eat, medicines to take, and exercises that are heart healthy.  The leading cause of death in the human race is heart failure.  The same is true in the spirit realm.  You cannot live on Big Macs and fries for very long.  They may fill up your belly, but they don't nourish your body.
     Jesus answered satan from the spirit realm when He was tempted in the wilderness saying in Matthew 4:4 (Amplified), "But He (Jesus) replied, It has been written. Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every Word from the mouth of God"  We're to take of our natural bodies and we're to take care of our spiritual bodies as well.  For the most part, we don't put things that nourish and feed our spirits.
     We have little promise boxes that we take a card from and read every day.  Sometimes we don't even get around to even that.  Or we might read a chapter from the Bible when we find time.  And. sometimes, even when we read the Word, we don't feed on it.
     I would like to dedicate this teaching to the hearing heart.  A hearing heart is one that's guarded from anything not healthy for growth and life.  It's a heart that feeds on healthy food and exercise.  Like in the natural realm, we eat things that fill us up, but have no nutritional value at all.  They satisfy the hunger and your stomach feels full, but there's very little value of strength in them.  We can eat smaller amounts of good food and still get more strength from them than a larger junk food meal.  We've been aware of certain foods that cause heart problems in our body.  There are also things in the spirit realm that will block life to your heart (spirit).
     Are we being fed a heart healthy diet on Sundays or are we simply getting something that will satisfy us for a little while?  As Christians, are we living life on a feel good sugar high or on good food that sustains us?  Some sermons satisfy the flesh, ego or even the soulish realm when we hear them.  But, do they feed the spirit and produce life and strength?
     It's not enough for your doctor to write out a diet plan for you, but your have to follow it.  We've all heard the joke about being on a seafood diet and eating the foods one can "see."  As Christians, we're responsible for our own diet in the Word.  You may attend church on Sunday and get fed, but that won't sustain your spirit all week.  If we only fed our body once a week, then we wouldn't have the obesity problem we have.
     Jesus gave a discourse on this very topic when He taught the parable of the sower in Mark 4:23-24 (Amplified) when He said, "If any man has ears to hear; let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend."  Everyone in the crowd had ears, but some didn't pay attention to what Jesus was saying.  He was laying out the terms of a heart healthy diet, but some of them didn't care or believe they needed to diet.  In Verse 24  Jesus said something that seems to have gotten lost by a lot of people.  He said to them, "Be careful what you are hearing. The measure (of thought and study) you give (to the truth you hear) will be the measure (of virtue and knowledge) that comes back to you and more (besides) will be given to you who hear."
     The dietician will tell you to, "Be careful what you eat."  The more attention you pay to your diet will determine the amount of healthy results you get and the strength and energy you will have.  Don't just eat everything that is put in front of you.  Some of it might fill you up, but it's not healthy or good for you.  Some things might have chemicals and side effects that are really bad for you.  And, some some things have no nutritional value at all.
     "Be careful what you hear."  This is something we've mostly overlooked.  Mostly, because we don't know the Word or study the Word, we assume that things we hear on the radio, internet, television or some preacher are true because it was a Christian who said it.  The same can be said for the diet we feed our natural bodies.  Just because our food is cooked, it doesn't mean it's all healthy and has the same value.  There are meals and then there are meals.  They all end up in the stomach, but they're not all nourishing the body.  "Be careful what you hear."
     There are so many various doctrines and opinions in today's Church.  And, they're mostly coming from Christian people who are sincere in their walk with God.  Some believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and some do not.  Some believe in speaking in tongues and others don't.  Some believe in healing and some do not.  Some believe that all religions are the same and others don't.  There are many things being taught and they're not all the same.  Some even have side effects that are deadly.  "Be careful what you hear."
     I believe the majority of ministers are sincere in their ministry and have the best of intentions.  I can't believe that anyone whno knows Jesus would purposely feed the people junk food.  I don't think that people working for McDonalds are trying to kill those eating there.  They're simply fulfilling the will of their customers (and their stomachs) who visit there.  It's my choice what I eat and where I eat it.  When was the last time you went to a fast food restaurant and they told you not to eat the hamburgers? 
     You'll never find a radio or television station, internet site or church that will tell you not to listen to them.  All of us believe that what we minister and teach is truth.  Jesus said in John 17:17 (Amplified), "Sanctify them (purify, consecrate, separate them for yourself, make them holy) by the truth; Your Word is truth."
     Not everything we hear is truth, just like everything we eat is not all really food.  It's all out there and we aren't to burn the fast food place because we're on diets.  I just don't eat there.  Do I grab a hamburger if I'm in a hurry?  Yes, but it doesn't comprise my entire diet.  Years ago, before I knew Jesus, I used to drink a lot.  God didn't deliver me from drinking; just from drinking certain things.  Now I have a choice of what to drink and whether or not it's good for me.
     We can exist on fast foods and still function in certain things, but it may end our lives way before our time.  It might cause things in our bodies to stop operating correctly.  Many diseases are caused by our diets.  The same is true for our spirits.  Jesus is the only One Who gave His life for us.  All of the ministers preaching the true Word of God, will always point you to Jesus.  It's His life in us that's real.  Our spirits have been born again and God is the Father of all who are born again.
     As Christians, we're now responsible for what we feed this new man.  Will I feed him ear tickling messages that soothe my emotions (the equivalent of fast food to my body) and give him a sugar high?  Or, will I feed him the Bread of Life, the real Word of God?  Will my spirit be alive and without strength from what I feed him?  Or, will my spirit be alive and strong in the power of His Name?    
     The Word tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Did you ever stop and think about His Word being the power of His might?  Jesus continued preaching about the seed in Mark 4:25 (Amplified) and speaking about those who had ears to hear (or a hearing heart) and those who did not.  Verse 25 says, "For unto him who has (ears to hear, or a hearing heart) will more be given; and form him who has nothing (no ears to hear, and no discipline over his heart), even what he has will be taken away (by force)."  John 10:10 (Amplified) says that, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
     Fast food may sustain life, but not to the full because it can cause some to die early.  Healthy food will give life to the full that can be enjoyed and last until old age.  Some things we hear will actually cut our lives short and starve our spirits.  The Word (the truth) will feed and bring life to not only your spirit (heart), but it will transfer into your natural body causing you to live long and enjoy life to the fullest. 
     We read about a hearing heart from the Holy Spirit in Proverbs 4:20-24 (Amplified) which says, "My son, attend to My words; consent and submit to My sayings, let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart."  Verse 22 says, "For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh."  Verse 23 says, "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flows the springs of life."  Mark 4:24 (Amplified) tells us, "Be careful what you are hearing, the measure (of thought and study) comes back to you and more (besides) will be given to you who hear."  Proverbs 4:24 (Amplified) tells us, "Put away from you false and dishonest speech. (Do you have any idea the amount of false and dishonest speech, that which is contrary to the truth of the Word) that we are saying? And willful and contrary talk put far from you."                                                     
     The scribes and pharisees were always speaking things that were willful and contrary to the truth Jesus was saying.  They were more interested in their own doctrine than in the truth.  Their hearts were deaf to the truth and they didn't have hearing hearts.  Others, however, did give heed to what Jesus was saying and brought forth fruit that has lasted until today. 
     Solomon was to take the throne when his father, King David, died.  He was a young, inexperienced man and about to reign as King.  God appeared to him in a dream in 1Kings 3:9 (Amplified) saying, "What shall I give you?"  This is something we should ask ourselves.  If I could ask God for anything and receive it, then what would I ask for?  Wealth? Health? Fame? Fortune?  What Solomon asked of God gave him all of these things in one request.  Verse 9 says, "Solomon said, So give your servant and understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge YOUR people, that I may discern between good and bad. Heed what you hear, for who is able to judge and rule this your great people."
     A hearing heart is what made the women and men of God great, down through the ages.  Such men as Smith Wigglesworth heard from God.  Because of a hearing heart, he staggered three continents with the power of God.  We didn't simply hear the truth, but he guarded his heart so truth wouldn't be choked out of it.  How many people do you suppose told Him that he was nuts and that he wasn't hearing from God because it didn't match their doctrines.  Smith had to "guard his heart" at all times from the things that weren't God's truth.
     "Be careful what you are hearing."

Lesson 13 The Condition of the Heart

     1John 4:18 (Amplified) says that, "There is no fear in love (dread does not exist), but full grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! for fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and (so) he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love (is not yet grown into love's complete perfection)."
     2Timothy 1:7 (Amplified) says, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing fawning fear) but (He has given us a Spirit) of power and of love and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self control."
     A fearful heart is a heart that will bring paralysis to the Christian person.  This fear comes in many ways to stop the believer from ever reaching out to the fullness of the things of God.  The Father has so many things laid up for His family to enjoy, but fear in our hearts holds us back from entering into them.  We've been in fear of God (I don't mean the reverent and worshipful fear), but the cringing and cowardly kind of fear 2Timothy 1:7 (Amplified) speaks of.  We were afraid to trust Him, we have been afraid we'd offend Him and we're afraid of displeasing Him.  All these fears stem from not knowing Him.
     God has seemed like an absent father to many Christians.  We knew He was our Father, but we never really knew Him.  And, because we never knew Him, we had no father to pattern our lives from and to build from.  Children are supposed to have a father to look up to and want to emulate.  As Christians, we've mostly kept our relationship with Him in the realm of being our God (which He is) more than as being our Father.  We pray, "Our Father," but we still approach Him in an uncertain way.  1John 4:18 (Amplified) says that, "The thought of fear has torment and a thought of punishment."  The thought of punishment brings a fear and uncertainty (fear) into the heart.  In a few short words, it shows we don't know God as Father and we don't really trust His Word when He said that "old things have passed away" and we are declared righteous in Jesus.
     Fear in our hearts holds us back from really becoming what our Father desires for us.  The fear of having nothing happen keeps us from laying hands on the sick.  That means we're afraid God won't hold up His end of the covenant.  Even the fear of not being good enough enters our hearts.  If you are in Christ Jesus and He is in you, then you were made righteous through Him.  Fear keeps us looking at ourselves instead of Him.  It's not you who has to do the healing.  Jesus said that, "It's not Me, but the Father in Me Who does the works."
     Fear causes us to look as though we have to do the works and we know our own failures.  Fellowship with the Father is the greatest part of our new birth.  Through Jesus, we now have access to God in prayer and our Father in intimate fellowship.  Fellowship isn't prayer or petition or intercession; it's simply fellowship.  Fellowship is an opportunity to be with Him and learn as we walk and talk together.  It's seeking out things from the scriptures and receiving wisdom from on high.  It's being in His presence, not needing or asking for anything.  Fear keeps us from the intimacy the Father wanted when He created man.  When was the last time you just came to Him and said, "Lord, I don't need anything nor want anything. I just came today to ask if there's anything I can do for you."
     Psalm 25:14 (Amplified) says that, "The secret (of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner-meaning)."  We read in Numbers 13:27-33 (Amplified) where God gave the Hebrew people a land flowing with milk and honey; a promised Land.  As scouts went to look over the land, they came back with this report from Verse 27, "They told Moses, we came to the land to which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey, this is its fruit. (this was a reference to Verse 23). They came to the valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two (of them) they brought also some pomegranates and figs."
     God had given them the land and the scouts brought back the fruit and the very truth of His promise for everyone to see.  But, then in Verse 28, comes the fear, "But, the people who dwell there are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, there we saw the sons of Anak (of great stature and courage)."  Verse 33 goes on, "There we saw the Nephilim (or giants), the sons os Anak, who come from he giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
     The spirit of fear entered their hearts and kept them from entering the blessing of God's promise for another forty years.  This is the fear that brings torment and keeps us in bondage to the things we are already free from.  The Holy Spirit speaks of this account in Hebrews 4:1-16 (Amplified) concerning the promise of rest and provision being now offered to the new covenant people.  Verse 6 says, "Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered (today) let us be afraid (to distrust it) lest any of you should think he has come too late and has come short of (reaching) it."  Verse 6 says, "Seeing then that the promise remains over (from past times) for some to enter that rest, and that those who formerly were given the good news about it and the opportunity, failed to appropriate it and did not enter because of disobedience."
     God goes on to say in Verse 9,"So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath rest reserved for the (true) people of God."  This same spirit of fear in the hearts of God's covenant people from Numbers 13, is the same spirit of fear that holds back the new covenant people and keeps them from walking in rest (grace) today.  Fear in the believer's heart has a crippling effect on the believer.  Just like fear kept the people from seeing God's provision instead of seeing the giants.  It was fear that caused Peter to see the waves and begin to sink instead of keeping his heart strong and seeing Jesus.
     2Timothy 1:7 (Amplified) tells us that this spirit of fear never came from God and that the Spirit that comes from Him is One of power and love and a calm, well-balanced mind and discipline and self control.
     Now, when we see the promises of God and when we see the giants the world and the enemy place around us, we're faced with the same things they were.  God said that His promise of rest and Good News is being offered to us.  Will a fear-full heart keep us outside the blessings being offered or will we stand on God's Word in Hebrews 4;16 (Amplified) which says, "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners) that we may receive mercy (for our failures) and find grace to help in good time for every need (appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it)."
     When we were sinners, we came into covenant through faith in Jesus just like the Israelites came out of Egypt.  It's not that we haven't come out of our sin into His sacrifice.  But, now we have come out of our sin through faith in the Blood of our Passover Lamb, Jesus.  It's not a matter of coming out, but of coming in.
     They came out of Egypt, but fear kept them from entering into the Promised Land.  Many have come out of the world and have been born again and part of the new covenant.  Now, we have God's promise of rest and provision (GRACE) to help in our time of need.  The land of milk and honey is offered to us today.  All we can ever need is found in Psalm 23;1 (Amplified) which says, "The Lord is my Shepherd (to feed, guide, and shield me) I shall not lack."
     God asked Joshua in Joshua 1:9 (Amplified), "Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous and very courageous; Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."   Do not be deceived! There are still giants trying to frighten you and keeping you from walking in the fullness of God's promise.  Like Joshua, we were commanded to "Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might."  Our faith in God must be stronger than our fear of the giants.  A heart full of fear of going too far, of things not working, the powers of darkness of perhaps the greatest fear of all...the opinions of people saying you can't do these things.  It took only ten men in Numbers 14:1-4 (Amplified) to keep all of the Hebrew people in the wilderness for forty additional years.  Fear spread among the hearts of the people in Verse 1, "And all the congregation cried out with a loud voice, and (they) wept that night."  Verse 2 goes on, "All the Israelites grumbled and deplored their situation, accusing Moses and Aaron, to whom the whole congregation said, Would that we died in Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness."  Verse 3-4 says, "Why does the Lord bring us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones will be a prey. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us choose a captain and return to Egypt."
     They saw the fruit, they heard the promise, they saw the return of the scouts who didn't perish, but they heard about the giants.  They didn't see the giants, they only heard about the giants and just hearing about the giants kept them from entering the Promised Land.  Romans 10:17 (Amplified) tells us that, "Faith comes by hearing."  In this scripture, faith in God comes by hearing the Word of God.  The same is true of the enemy.  Fear comes by hearing and hearing comes from the lies of the enemy.  This is a spiritual Law and principle that works either way.
     How many of us have been frightened out receiving tongues, healing, prosperity, gifts of the Spirit, peace, love, acceptance by the Father, freedom from condemnation, joy, grace and the power of God in our lives because of a message of fear?  Some have even said that all the things aforementioned are of the devil and that kept people from entering into God's promises.  Some are still walking in fear of punishment for their past sins and old life.  Some people started the journey (like those who left Egypt with Moses),saw God's power and still longed to return (like the Israelites) because they were afraid to go into the promise.
     Did you ever notice how even though God had given them the land, they still had to possess it?  It's like all of the things satan had before Jesus stripped him of his armour. He isn't going to give them up if you don't go in and possess the land.  He will do as he always has in the past and cause fear to turn you back.  He'll lie and tell you that you should just stay in the wilderness, build yourself a little place to stay out of the line of fire and wait for Joshua and Caleb to take the land for you and give you your share without battling.
     I don't just want to go to heaven when I died.  I want to walk with God here in this life.  I want to enter into the promise and the rest (grace) and everything Jesus provided me through faith in Him.  I won't need tongues, healing, deliverance, peace, prosperity, joy or even my Bible in heaven.  I'll be in the presence of the Author Himself.  These are the things I need to,by faith, not fear and possess while I'm here.  Fear in your heart will keep you in the wilderness if you don't dare step into the water.

Lesson 12 The Condition of the Heart

     Many things can happen to the heart of a man.  Some things are good and some, not so much.  The Word says that wickedness and evil are devised in the heart of man.  Reverence and respect for God also come from the heart of man.  Faith in the heart of man is a spiritual force or God-given ability to operate in the spiritual realm.  Since man is essentially a spirit being, this faith realm is used to contact and fellowship with the Father.  Fear is also a spiritual force or ability that operates in the heart of man to destroy or neutralize faith.
     The word "fear" in the Bible, doesn't always have the same meaning or the same outcome.  In Psalm 86:11 (Amplified) we read, "Teach me Your way O Lord, that I may walk and live in Your truth; direct and unite my heart (solely, reverently) to fear and honor Your name."
     The word "fear" here is used in the form of reverence and honor in the heart of a man.  The psalmist asks for a united heart; a heart, soul and will united as one, to praise and honor God.  This fear is built from love and respect and faith in and for God and not fear of terror or cowardly trembling.
     Isaiah spoke about those coming into the new covenant through Jesus' sacrifice in Isaiah 54:14 (Amplified) saying, "You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness in conformity with God's will and order) You shall be far from even the thought of oppression, or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you."
     The Lord says in this scripture that we shall not fear, be afraid, be frightened, or be in dread.  He also said that the dismissal of fear from our hearts would remove even the thought of oppression or destruction by not allowing fear to enter into our heart by establishing in righteousness.
     Because we are spirit beings and all of us are open to fear or faith, we must make choices of which we will allow in our hearts.  Isaiah 54:14 (Amplified) said that we are to establish ourselves in righteousness.  By so doing, we can remove the fear and can unite our hearts in faith in God and His Word.  We learned that a divided heart is one of the fatal heart conditions in the Body of Christ today.  The reason for a divided heart is lack of a revelation of righteousness in Christ through faith.
     Fear, dread and terror that comes into a heart is a spiritual force of the enemy.  It always tries to remove faith in God and His Word so it can work its devilish work in the heart.  The prime personality of fear is satan himself.  He is fear and the most fearing creature in all of creation.  His entire character is fear.  He tries to get us to move in fear and mostly the fear that God's Word isn't going to work.  This fear in the Christan's heart, holds us down into a merely human existence instead of the mighty power of God in our spirit.  "Greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world."
     2Timothy1:7 (Amplified) says, "For God did not give us a spirit of fear (timidity, of cowardice of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but (He has given us a spirit) of power and of love and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self control."
     Since fear is a spirit and it's not God given, we are to resist it by the Spirit of Love, power and a sound mind.  The Spirit that God gave us is the Holy Spirit as well as a born again spirit in His likeness and image.
     This spirit, or this new heart He has place in us, is to be guarded by faith in His Word.  A fearful heart is something that has no place in the Christian life.  When people talk about being a "God fearing Christian," it doesn't mean someone who's afraid of God, but someone who reverances and honors God.  Luke 21:26 (Amplified) says, "Men swooning away or expiring in fear and dread and apprehension and expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the (very) powers of the heavens will be shaken and caused to totter."  He isn't necessarily speaking about the heart as the blood pumping organ, although that heart can and will be seized up by fear as well as the spirit man.
     The apathy and futility that's already come upon the earth, is claiming lives by fear today.  People fear the loss of a job or the lack of funds needed to pay the mortgage and household bills.  Without the faith in your heart to trust God, these things will cause the stress and strain of everyday to make a person just give up.  This fear is probably the greatest fear allowed into a man's heart.  We have more fear of the world than we do in the Word today.  This brings a divided heart and fear that God's promises won't come to pass.  We confess to believe in God's Word, but only have faith in what we can see.  Fear has crowded out faith and we only walk in what we can see.
     The Lord said in  Isaiah 54:15 (Amplified), that terror, fear, oppression or destruction may gather against you, but not by Him.  He said that, "if we will establish ourselves in righteousness, whoever (or whatever) stirs up strife again us shall fall and surrender to us."  Proverbs 4:23 (Amplified) tells us, "Keep and guard your heart (your spirit) with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it (your spirit) flows the springs of life."
     God is our life and the length of our days.  The life that flows out of our spirit is the very life of God Himself.  The fear that we allow in our hearts by not guarding our hearts, will choke off the power of the Spirit.  Fear will negate faith and leave us in a place of total futility and apathy.  This leads to the oppression spoken about in Isaiah 54:14 (Amplified).  That's why God says we must be established in righteousness of God through Christ Jesus.  2Corinthians 5:21 (Amplified) says that if this is established in our heart, then fear has no place to enter in.  That's why we must guard our hearts.
     All the enemy has to do is to get our minds focused on the things around us instead of God's Word and fear can enter in.  Does this mean that you're not saved or to be lost?  No, of course not.  But, it will rob you of your peace, your strength and your faith.  2Timothy 1:7 (Amplified) says that, "[God] gave us a spirit (a new heart) of power, and of love (love for Him, the fear of the Lord) and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self control."
     This self control if the ability to take the Word of God and make the mind and flesh obey what the Word says instead of what the world is trying to tell us.  And, it's the ability that doesn't allow the things going on around us to determine our lives.  The Lord told Joshua in Joshua 1:9 (Amplified), "Have I not commanded you? Be strong, vigorous and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
     There were certainly more than enough things going on around Joshua to bring fear into his heart.  He was to lead all of God's people.  He'd seen their disobedience before.  He knew of the giants in the land.  He knew of the walled cities before him.  Only Caleb was in agreement with him about what God called them to do.  Notice how God didn't say that there was nothing out there to be afraid of.  There were many things that Joshua could have feared.  God told him to "be strong, vigorous and of good courage."  This was something that Joshua had to do for himself.
     God said that "He has given us a spirit of love, power and of a sound mind."  Now, it's up to us to be strong in Him and the power of His might.  The choice is ours.  God has give us provision for all that we need to stand.  We have to decide to not allow the things around us to numb our hearts with fear and make them inactive or to be strong and courageous in faith in the Blood, by faith in the Word and by faith in the Spirit of God.
     Fear will try entering your heart and choke off your faith if you will allow it.  Some find if easier not to teach the Word to God's people and let them think everything that occurs in their lives is God's plan for them.  Ephesians 2:10 (Amplified) tells me that God's plan for my life is different than what some would tell me.  It says, "For we are God's (Own) handiwork (His workmanship) recreated in Christ Jesus, (born anew) that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us (taking paths which He prepared ahead of time) that we should walk in them (living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live)."
     You must be strong and of good courage to do this and to walk by faith in your heart.  A fear filled heart, according to 1Timothy 1:7 (Amplified), is "A spirit of timidity, of cowardice of craven and cringing and fawning fear."  This spirit comes from the enemy to turn the Supermen of God back into Clark Kent and to keep us from walking boldly in faith and become cowards in the face of the world.
     We see those who once denied Jesus and fled from Him during His trial and execution, in the Upper Room in the entire chapter of Acts 2.  Fear had ruled in their hearts and even though they knew Who Jesus was, fear was stronger than faith in their hearts.  When God gave them the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love, power and a sound mind, these men (including Peter) who had been cowards, became like lions.  There was no timidity, cowardice or craven or cringing fear in them.  Acts 2:41 (Amplified) says that, "Because of faith instead of fear, Peter stood and delivered a message that brought 3,000 people unto the Lord, in one sermon."  He was no longer ruled by fear, but by faith.  A fearful heart caused Peter to even deny knowing Jesus.  But, faith cast out fear and delivered those who were lost.
     We are intimidated by the world, by those in our own congregations, by those in politics and even by those in our own household.  We let the fear of rejection stop us from preaching the power of God.  We've let fear of people leaving our church for another control how much of the actual Word we will preach.  Fear filled hearts have watered down the Word in our churches until there's very little left to say.  It's almost like saying to the people, "Just don't believe God for anything and that way you will never be disappointed."  Probably the worst of all fears to enter our hearts is the fear of not having the Word be true.