What Did You Receive When You Were Converted to Christ

Now, I praise the Lord that two years ago I made about the same statement. Now I can say to some new brothers; I can say to you now, some brothers around here don’t know much. They haven’t experienced much, but for two years they have been seeking to experience the Lord in their spirit. These are brothers who two years ago got a revelation from God. You are gonna forgive me, brothers, for what I’m about to do? These are the brothers who got a revelation that God wanted them to marry a certain girl. Sometimes three, four, and five brothers got the same revelation.

I want you to know that today, today, those same young brothers have had some real experience. You go to those brothers, and they’ll tell you their stories now, and then they will give you a word that will help you to understand the difference between your mind and your spirit, and you’ll be really helped. Isn’t that neat? I’ve never been able to make this statement before. Now then, we’ve got a little help floating around. Not much, but a little bit.

Well, you need now to begin to locate, and it is from that spirit that the life comes. Now, brother, where’s the life located? In the spirit. Where is Christ located? In the spirit. So, if you want Christ, where do you go? And if you want life, where do you go? You just got the biggest secret of the Christian experience you’ll ever have. It won’t take you over ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years to get it worked out.

We’re gonna make it with our spirit and with our brothers and sisters. The next thing you get it with the Lord’s spirit, you get as part of that spirit. I wonder if I should even ask the brothers because I’m not sure they know what I’m getting at. There is something that always goes along with the spirit. It is part of the nature of God to use this instrument. It’s one thing in the Old Testament. Then, in the New Testament, He gives up the old and gives a new one, but He keeps the basic concept. Now I’m hinting; let me just talk a little bit more.

In the Old Testament, it was not possible to fulfill. Just say one word. He gave law. Do you not think you are under the law? You are under law. Don’t put me under law. You’re already under law. God has never allowed people to be outside of law. Now, don’t ever allow me to put you under law. Do you know which man on this earth is more apt to put you under law than anybody else on earth? Yourself. Alright. Who’s the second one? Me? I think probably I’m second. Now then, who is the third? Alright, if you’re married.

Number one, you are most apt to put yourself in the wrong. Number one, you are most apt to put yourself in the law—number two, probably Gene Edwards. Mostly I’m talking now in a negative way: bad law puts you under condemnation, puts you under, under performance, I believe, is the old term. I am probably most apt to put you under law secondly. Who is the third? Your spouse. Now then, what if you’re not married? If you’re not married, who’s most apt to put you under law? Your parents? Yeah, probably. I don’t know from there, but I’ll tell you, you’re going to have to agree to it, for sure. Now then, let me tell you: don’t get on the wall; don’t get under the pile. Your employer can; that is the law of the world. We’re not speaking of a spiritual performance.

Oh, I’ll tell you who’s the worst of all. I keep wanting to stay on the subject, and I can’t. Lord, this brother loves the Lord, and he gets out of bed in the morning, and he goes along; he gets up, he gets dressed, and the other brother is sleeping. He goes over, wakes him up, and says, “Brother, brother, brother, praise the Lord.” Then he says, “Brother, brother.” It’s time to pray. The other brother looks up, and he says, “I’ll get up, but I won’t go to school.” In other words, he’s not even awake yet. He, he looks at you, real, real blurry-eyed, and he turns over, and then about an hour or two later…

Brother, you know, we’re in business for the Lord, you know? Brother, we really are glad you’re here; brother, we really are. Did you notice, brother, this morning that you didn’t make up your bed? Have you looked over the kitchen sink this morning? Brother, I want to show you something.  According to my records here, you didn’t wash dishes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Then, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I helped you a little. The only reason you did it is because your mother was coming. Now, my brother? I love you and all that, but Jesus said, “Jesus said that one of the things we must have is character and discipline.” And the other brother says Gene also said that our sins are forgiven. Well, he said our sins are forgiven, but he said if we didn’t keep a soft heart, it would get hard. And lo and behold, I am one of the most misquoted people.

Well, brother, what do you think about that? What’s the cure for that? I’ll tell you, there’s only one cure. There’s only one cure, and I’ll tell you what it is. It’s a trip, it’s a trip to Florida, go to Cape Kennedy, get in a rocket, press the switch and leave. Brother, we are surrounded by humans. They just come. My college roommate did this to me all the time. I had a Christian roommate. This is twenty years old. This is a thousand years old. I can’t do anything about it. I tell you, it’s wrong. What do you want me to do? Excommunicate everybody who does that? There’s just one thing that’ll solve that problem. Time. About ten years from now, you’re gonna get up, and you’re gonna be so embarrassed, and you’re gonna go back to your roommate and say, “Roommate, I’m sorry, gee, you were, you were glorious.” You are an out-and-out liberal compared to the woman that the Lord has given me. Roommate, roommate, I am sorry.

Now, brother, be careful. Are you gonna try to liberate all the young people coming along ten years from now? You can’t do it. You know the only thing you can do? Just put them under some other pile. These, these young people are like that. They don’t care what truth they get hold of; they go to extremes. You go to some evangelistic organizations and ask the young people, “How many souls have you saved today?” That’s just part of being young. That’s just part of loving the Lord. Stop putting people under the law. Everybody, stop putting people under the law!

I don’t know how the Lord makes it in our lives. I really don’t. How do you raise up the church, Gene? Well, you take it one day at a time. You present the Lord, and it gets out of adjustment, so you present the Lord somewhere else. And that gets out of adjustment, so you present the Lord in another way, and we just stagger through, brothers. And we know a little bit, we learn a little bit, we help one another, we get mad at one another, we threaten to kill one another, and we get discouraged and we get up and we get down, and I’m just telling you, I told you the first night I was ever with you, I tell you again, it takes a little time. It takes time. It takes time to know and experience the Lord. Pursue your Lord, get to know Him, but realize, brothers, it takes a little time.

The kingdom of heaven…blessed are the poor in spirit. What do you mean, poor spirit? Have a poor spirit. Realize that you are among the biggest bunch of failures in the universe. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who can’t make it. Blessed are those who aren’t proud. Blessed are those who have been nothing but failures all their lives. Blessed are those who are poor in their spirit. Those who are rich in their spirit have no need. Those rich in spirit expect other folks to actually act like Christians. Poor in spirit, blessed are those poor in their own strength. The rich do not need the kingdom of God. The rich in spirit are those who can make it by on their own strength. They are the kind who can read their Bible. They are the kind who can pray. Blessed is the guy who can’t get up and pray, and he knows it. He wants to, but he can’t. Blessed is the man who doesn’t have the will. Blessed is the man who just can’t be a Christian. Blessed is the guy whose heart pants after the Lord like a deer does after a stream of water.