Reckoning that Counts

You know, it almost went to, I think there was another question about that too, you know, about and how you said, I think how special it is with the truth that we have and how our feeling is, how special we are. I mean, not that they don't have it, but kind of the flip side is how much we should be thankful for what the revelation does. Right now, in our Bible study, we've been talking a lot about identification, and for a couple of them, it's totally new. For other ones, they already know it. But the really cool thing that I think, you know, is sort of the next step is we start seeing other believers' identification for them. We start seeing other believers in Christ alone also, instead of by the stuff that we identify people with. You know, wherever they go to church, or wherever they are, or whatever their understanding is, and we start identifying them by that. And I mean, truly, in Christ, their identity is the exact same as ours, and how awesome it is to be able to look at other believers and say, you know what, despite everything I'm saying, everything you just said to me, and whatever, I can see you in Christ alone too, because I know that that's true of every believer.

Yeah, you know, I guess I kind of go into this one about the many and offending the many. I kind of, you know, I read Myles' stuff. I'm kind of like vacillating in the wind on that one. I was thinking about that last week, and I didn't want to yap too much. I can see his point, and it really is true. Getting the identification truth, I want to jump out and tell everybody.

And when you do that a lot of times, it is... Miles makes the point many times about being the hungry heart. Hungry hearts are the ones that receive that, and when you try and jump down somebody's throat with it, and they're not ready, it's... A very wise friend of mine said once, she said, a brick of truth is still a brick.

Yeah, good. You know, it can be as true as can be, but if it's a brick, it's not going to be well received, and probably will take that much longer for them to get over the hurt of the brick, because they just really don't want to have anything to do with it. Well, I kind of go, and I had, before I was a believer, I got on a plane and I was in high school and I just visited a friend and I was kind of bummed out and this guy button-holed me for like three hours on a flight. And I tell you, I didn't want anything to have anything to do with Christ, Christianity or anything because this guy had me, I mean a captive audience, I couldn't leave the room, you know. three hours and this guy would not leave me alone I mean just for three hours he beat it into me and I was not a hungry heart at that point you know and I sit there and I and I go on and then I think of this this truth and it's true but on the flip side I also think there's a guy who who he's now that I think he's a chaplain of Jeff County or maybe several different sheriff's deals Bill Fay I think is his name and he Very colorful past.

He was a very prominent businessman. He had limos, had the whole thing, but he had this little side hobby. He was attached to the mob, and he also ran, I think, the largest prostitution ring west of the Mississippi. And so this guy, and he had everything, supposedly, in the world, money, sensual, everything. And everything was fine, and it was great. He had a successful business.

One guy met him and he said, you know Bill, you don't have the peace that I have. And that's the only thing he said to him. He knew he was a Christian. Well, years later, when the wheels fell off the wagon, I mean, he was, they popped him for this, supposedly the mob lawyers were going to get him off and everything, they didn't show up, he's in the jail, and years later, he suddenly, you realize, you know, that word that that guy said, the peace, and that started him on discovery and finding out about the Lord, and I think, you know, a word that, you know, the scripture that, you know, the word will not come back empty, you know, and I think of even though you may do this and you may, you know, so this question 16, I was like, you know, yeah, you may offend him, but five years from now, yeah, he may think about it and go, yeah.

Yeah, but are we sharing out of our compulsion or, you know, something out of us or is that, you know, is the Holy Spirit leading? You know, I mean, and, you know, he leads. And then who is it, who is it, one of the great theologians there? in England and he said if I knew all the Christians if they had a yellow stripe band in their back I'd be pulling up all their coattails. How do you identify a hungry heart in a crowd?

Anyway, it was kind of an interesting question. I was back and forth. I think that you begin to sense the Spirit's leading in you and then you also begin to know where there is a very closed door. Yeah. And to just let it be? Well, and you don't get somebody on a plane for three hours and try and ram it down their throat, you know? It's just cause. So, I mean, yeah.

Well, let's get to this week's lesson. The Reckoning that Counts, Chapter 14. Question number one. The same process of the cross that holds the old man crucified causes the new man to be manifested. True or false? True. And what is the process? Life out of death reckoning is the process that he's talking about there. And I always like to try and go on the scriptural, you know, where these come out of. So where that really comes out of is partly out of Romans 6, 3 through 11.

And if you go through that passage, He had several things that we too might walk in the newness of life. And then in verse 5, that our old self was crucified with him. And then in verse 11, even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. So, again, that process of the old man crucified caused the new man to be manifested. Again, holding down the old man, if you do that, then kind of the cream comes to the top. That is the newness of life and the new man to be manifested. Number two, the express purpose of our study of the identification truths is that we will be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. True or false? True. Right. Yeah, Miles brings out the truth that we've been studying, are interrelated and interdependent. Together they form a single unit of truth centered in the cross and our risen Lord with the express purpose of conforming us to Christ's image.

You know, that comes also from Romans 8, 28 through 30 and verse 29, for whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son. And again, I kind of go back to a lot of what Mike says, and he beats me up routinely on this stuff. Especially going through Romans 6, 7, and 8, when he says about how he ministers to people, you know, read it.

What does it say? And when you do some of this, does that kind of, I mean, the miracle that we have, Do you really understand what that means? Be conformed to the image of Christ? Does that kind of like, whew, you know, as I was studying all this, I kept going back and the little voice, Mike's voice, Mike, the little voice in the back that says, you know, well what does it say?

And when you really start doing that, you know, I've been doing that more and more. And that just, that blows my socks off when I start thinking about this, you know. For whom if only he predestined to become conformed to the image of his son. I mean, that's the process, the growth process that we're going through. I mean, do you believe that? Do you really believe that?

You know, I look at some of the things as, you know, the old man and trying to keep the old man down, and sometimes it's hard to see the new man through the old, you know, fighting, and we'll get into a little bit about that a little bit later, but I just kind of think of, you know, being conformed, the image of Christ, you know, and it's not... I keep doing that. It's not just the outside. It's not that we kind of look like him and we do the little things.

I think we talked a little bit about the work and through a lot of my Christian life it is, I'm going to just get busy. That's going to make me look like Christ. If I go out and if I do 59 things that makes me look like Christ. You know, as I go through these, you know, truths now, I am finding a whole lot different and a whole lot more rest and peace. And that's really where I see a lot of, it's kind of the barometer.

I always think, you know, if it's a lot of work, is that Christ or me? If it's a lot of work, I tend to think it's me. If it's rest, I think that's of Christ. And so I think a lot more now when getting busy, if it's work and a lot of stuff, I have to look in the mirror and see, is it that guy doing it, or is it out of the newness of life?

As I read these things now, like I said, Mike's voice is echoing in my brain. Do what it says, and do you believe that? I started reading all this this week, and the conformity of Christ That's an amazing, amazing thing, the scripture. And do you believe that? That's... I don't know. I was asking myself, when is that we recognize that?

Like the branch, we have the example of the branches. The branches don't think about being nurtured and fed and all that and watered. I think the same is natural and easy for us also. We don't have to think about all the time, am I now pre-specified or not? It's just the life in us lives itself.

It becomes who you are. When you have that rest, it's easy because it's who you are. And that's why I say, my barometer is if it's a lot of work, it shouldn't be. You know, as we get into it later in here, the cross isn't a pleasant thing. And the labor and rest that we talked about last week, you know, but it is. I think the more you're at rest, that's more of being who you are. And it's easy to manifest the new life once you rest in that. And a lot of these terms, as we get into more of it, I get more in some of the terms and what we talk about and we'll get into a couple of those, reckoning and those. Even the terms, do you really believe those? Do you really think about those? And newness of life and all these things we're talking about. Do you believe that? And do you understand that?

And we're coming to the end of another book. You know, a lot of terms, a lot of thoughts. You know, I'd recommend going back through these again. I think when we talked with Mike long ago, I think he said in the green letters, he's read them like 30 times.

And I think it takes a long time to really understand these truths. You know, it's not like the milk of the word. It's now, it's the meat. I think which is really, some of these things are real tough to understand. and to really lay hold of. And so I think, you know, it's good to go back and look at these things. It was good for me getting ready this week to go back and read a lot of things. And I realized how much I'd forgotten, how much, you know, there's so much meat. It's good to go back and take a look at that.

In fact, you know, I think going back on the, do you remember the foundational truths? We talked about this identification, but do you remember the four foundational truths? I think it was one of those where I thought I needed it too to go back. There were four of them, and it's kind of, I think that's kind of the milk getting, you know, and as Mike said, and I agree with, and Miles actually says it, you know, those are the foundational truths. Those are the things that you've got to have before you grow. I'm an engineer. If you don't have a good foundation, you don't have a good building, you know. Good example in this building. As the foundation isn't that good, we've had lots of shifting here.

So I really believe that. I think you have to have these, and you have to have that before you can really get into the growth truths. Otherwise it just goes over people. For those of you who don't remember those, the four were born anew in Christ, and that was with 1 Peter 1, 3 and 23, and John 3, 3 and 7, then accepted in Christ. Again, as I laid the foundation, accepted in Christ. Do you believe that? Do you understand that? I mean, accepted in Christ.

Third, is eternally secure in Christ. And then the fourth is positioned in Christ. You know, when we get into identification through death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seeding. I mean, you know, after all these weeks and all the time, seeded in Him, in Christ?

Do you understand that, positionally, the truth of that? I mean, do you lay a hold of that? That's when the newness of life, I think, and all the growth can happen is when you start getting these foundational truths. You can't start the building without having this. And I just think these are important. And then again, just these concepts and terms that we've been using.

It was refreshing for me to go back and look at him and do I really believe that, Mike? Do you read it? Do you believe it? Any comments? Break in any time. Question number three. The foremost reason for reckoning ourselves to be in the glorified Lord is in order that His risen life may be manifested.

True or false? True? True. Now, the question, since I do this, what is the definition of reckoning? count as true, to regard as being or count upon as true. So when you change that, the foremost reason for counting ourselves as true or counting as true ourselves to be glorified in the glorified Lord is in order that His risen life may be manifested. So we count it upon true.

Now, you know, I thought about that term too. I've been, you know, all this time too, I keep thinking of reckoning. There's another Does this definition come to mind in common terminology today for reckoning? When you hear reckoning, I mean I keep struggling with what...

Something like that, right? Reckoning sheet, kind of? Yeah, yeah. See, that's what I struggle with when I read reckoning. I know in my brain I'm going back and forth. It's like the day of reckoning. It's the day of reckoning, the day of payment where the accounting sheet is out. You owe this, you know. And I keep thinking that when I keep doing this reckoning.

I'm having this mind problem that every time I read that I've got to shift, and I've been trying to do that in these questions now, is to change that, to count upon as true. And so, I don't know, maybe it's just my strange brain, but the reckoning, I've always do it as kind of an accounting, the line is drawn and here it is. Well, it kind of is that, but it's counted on as true. Like I said, every time I see the word reckoning in here, I just automatically change it so I don't get into this penalty phase. Isn't it more like resting? The reckoning is really the precursor of resting. Yeah, before resting.

Because if you don't count it as true, and that's why going back to do you really believe this? I mean, it's the same thing I'm getting at is counting is true. Do you believe it? I mean, do you count it as true? Is it just words on a piece of paper? You know, a lot of times I read through scripture and I go through it kind of quickly and yeah, great, great. Wait a minute, you know what that just said?

You know, I think we did a study on Tuesdays in Ephesians It was a completely different look at any study that I've done in Ephesians and really Ephesians is, and he says that later and in fact I'm going to read one section, top down. That's our heavenly look down and what you have seated. Take a look at Ephesians, read it again and look from that perspective. This is what you have from a seated position. you know, blessed with all spiritual blessings, you know, all the things that were sealed were, you know, this is the heavenly look down, and that's kind of when you get that, I just got kind of that sense that, whoa, you know, this is our top-down look, not from down here on planet Earth. It is really what we have in Christ. positionally. And when you get that perspective and you read through Ephesians, it gives you a whole different kind of perspective of it, instead of, you know, yeah, this, this and this. No, this is seated in Christ. are positioned this is what we have it's kind of like you know looking over the biggest apartment store you've ever had and all the things that they're yours you know it and that's just even a infinitesimal look at what we have but it's just it's kind of like you look down in it and it's what you have And when you take that perspective of Ephesians and look at it that way, it's amazing. When you read it again and take it from our seated position, this is what we have.

And it's one of those ones where do you believe it? Do you really believe what's on the page there? You know, we're blessed with all spiritual blessings? Believe that? We are. Read it and believe it.

So the reckoning is that counting is true. So every time I see reckoning now, and you might do it if you have that same problem, maybe you don't, maybe it's just my brain, but switch it out as counted as true. And that puts it in that perspective of what's on the page. Believe it. Count it as true. And it kind of helps understand some of these.

Okay, yeah. It may help you to say it in a southern accent. I reckon. I reckon. That might actually, yeah. Because that's more applicable, I guess. It is. I reckon that to be true. That's a little easier than doing the words. They don't really need counting down there anyway. Nobody from the South here, right? You counted it to be true. Oh yeah, it ultimately gets there.

My connotation of reckoning typically is the day of reckoning. Kind of more of a negative and kind of a line drawn. This is much, and probably the Greek, probably is, the word translated probably is count upon as true or regard as being, you know, a fact. So, you know, it ultimately gets there even on the accounting side, but it's just a lot harder to get there, I think, so. Question number four, the old nature is a source that must be brought under subjection to the father.

True or false? Okay, shall I do a mic? How many think it's true? Raise your hand. How many think it's false? Oh, we have a high percentage of chickens. Yes, we do. So, I believe it's false. The old man is crucified, dead, separated, and not under subjection, but separated and dead with respect to the Father and our position. So it's not with the father's position. We still wrestle with it, which we'll get to. But this is under subjection to the father. What does he see? He sees the cross, the crucifixion. The old man is crucified from the father's perspective.

We still wrestle with it because we have two natures. But from, you know, this is, you know, the old nature is the source of much brotherhood subject to the father. Dead. Dead, gone, crucified with respect to the father. So, anybody vote true on that?

I mean Jesus, when we accept, when we accept the free gift that has already been given to us and has already been paid, I mean you could say that Jesus does bring into subjection into our lives I don't understand how that whole process, I mean it has already been crucified. We're not saved until we accept that gift. So does it become crucified in our life when we accept that gift? Well we have, and we get to the daily crucifixion, I mean we still wrestle with the old nature.

The old man is nailed on a cross, helpless, but still alive. We don't have to be under the subjection. We don't. But with respect, and that's why I say I think it's with respect to the father. The father sees it, yeah, I mean under subjection to the father. The father sees it at the cross, crucified, dead, gone. So that's why I think the end part of this, to the Father, to us, we still wrestle with the old nature. The old nature is still active in us. And we choose which one we're following. Any one point, you're either newness of life or following the old man.

Yeah, but neither of those are in the actual conjecture of the human mind. That's just God. I think we usually have to know that. I think, as you were talking about the positional truth, and personally as I understand the positional truth, that is not an active, today I'm going to walk in the Spirit. And I don't.

But I think as I understand the emergency crisis, what he's done, who we've got our fathers, what he has already said, this is true, and I know that. Then, you know, kind of a hindsight thing, I go, oh, yeah, you know, last year when this situation occurred, I blew my top this year. I'm okay, you know, or I think it's, or I see it more, actually I see it more of other believers. As you, like, you watch other believers go through things and you watch them, like, wow, they've grown so much. Yeah, well, again, again, that's our perspective. This one was with relation to the Father and paid, done, finalized. Case closed. Yeah, right.

Because I know someone who actually has prayers in Rome. You know, in the morning you get up and you say, okay, I've been, you know, which kind of twists it into a lot. You get up in the morning and say, okay, I'm now, I reckon myself dead and feet on the set, life and Christ, and now I'm going to start my day. Stuck in Romans 7. I mean, that's really what's happening, you know, until you get to the end of it where, who can save me? You know, you're going to be doing that. You're going to be stuck in seven until you get to that point where who can? Christ.

You know, if you're putting out the refrigerator list, you know, and that's a hard thing to learn and to do, I mean, because we, you know, I remember I brought a book to Mike one time. It was a great book, I thought. It really identified the sin nature and kind of going through it. But then it got to the point where one nature, you know, their deal was, you know, crucified, gone, old man's dead. The only reason why we sin is because we have memories, you know, and it was like, huh? You know, my whole life I have memories, you know, sinning all the way. But a lot of it goes back and really made an impression on me as far as why we do the law and why the law is so tough and to break, to get out of that mode.

And I've said this a few times in class here, when we see when Adam fell, the tree of good and evil. We can see evil real easy, you know, you're Ted Bundy or whatever, you kill you, whatever, you're nasty, you lie, you cheat, easy, you can identify that. What about this half of the tree? Good. And it really went into that about, you know, the good side is where I think is the insidious side of the fall, because that's where we want to do something. We want to be good, because if we do a little bit, God will look at us a little better. If we get busy, if I do something good, you know, that's where the other half of the tree is really insidious, I think.

In that, if I just get up today, and I do, and if I, and if I, I, I, yeah, yeah, you know, it's like, I, It's I. I think the Lord's dealt in my life in a lot of ways too, just to get rid of that busyness, the need to go slay the world today for the Lord because He needs my help today to do this.

The laundry list on the refrigerator, After a while it's like it never goes away and it never gets better and in fact there's five more and I failed on the first five but I'm going to add five more to make it feel better. I think that's the growth process, you know, where you're really growing to where it's not I. Old man is dead, can't be fixed up, can't be better. And then rest in that separation, crucifixion from the old. It's not what this old man wants to do.

It's what Christ in me. And that's really, you know, then the rest. And then I think it becomes very easy to do things. And again, I go back to the rest and the work. It should be easy. It says rest, rest. And you know, what do you get when you do this? Peace that surpasses all understanding. You know, that's again that rest, that peace. So I think the barometer is if you're working so hard, who's doing the work? If Christ is doing it, it should be easy. You know, so, anyway. Let's see, where are we? Five. Five. The result of reckoning upon the finished work of the cross is daily crucifixion. True or false? True. Now the question is, what is daily crucifixion? Anybody? Daily crucifixion.

Okay, I'll give you what Myles says. Myles states, having reckoned upon the finished work, we must be prepared to experience the results of the position taken, counting ourselves to have died unto sin. at Calvary is synonymous with taking up that cross. It is expected that the result of this is daily crucifixion.

So basically it's me, I, I, me, who, I, who, getting rid of that and resting in the finished work Knowing you where your position is and where I mean you're you You are in Christ and even though our fellowship are conditional part of our fellowship can vacillate, you know, based on sins and different things.

And the Lord has given us, you know, confession and to agree with Him, that's wrong, and restore the fellowship. But in our position, you're absolutely right. I mean, we have, we're, the old man, all the things, the cross is taking our payment. Now it's in agreement with Christ, or within the Father. Confession is the agreement with what He has said. I think a lot of people go through self-condemnation because they have confessed their things to the Lord, which is totally wrong. That instant anemia is the best of their God, I mean the blood. Yeah, so you're agreeing with him. Yes, I did it, and now the fellowship should be restored. It's not, you know, the only one, Satan is the one who keeps bringing the baggage back. Oh, you dropped this. Here, bring it up to you, and we'll give it back to you. You know, no, I left that baggage back there, and you don't keep going back to it. And, you know, is the old man dead? Yes? But is he dead? Is he dead? Dead, yeah. Well, is he dead, finished, gone?

That's the question. He's not. He's not. Otherwise, I forget who was in our Tuesday study, when the music starts, why do I start dancing? You know, why is it? And the old man, the old nature is still there, nailed on the cross, helpless, but not slain. And that's the key. Remember that, remember one of those allegories about the captain of the ship. Remember that? I thought that was a great one.

I hadn't seen that one until I'm here, where the captain, they have a mutiny. They take him, they tie him to the mast, bind him up, and they're still sailing down, and he's sitting there shouting out commands to the crew. He's been restrained. He held, you know, against the mass, tied up, but he's still shouting commands. Sailors go by, he shouts a command, okay, I'll do it. Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, he's not in command anymore.

So, I mean, the old man is still alive, nailed on the cross, helpless, but not slain. You know, he's not, you don't have to be in subjection to him. If you listen, you know, then You you follow the the same confession and that Yeah, actually in Romans 6 6 knowing this that our old self was crucified with him that our body of sin The law of sin and our members might be done away with that. We should no longer be slaves to the sin the Greek word for done away with Carter gate gate thee Carter gate thee which means held inoperative annulled made without effect and power broken or put down, it is not killed or removed completely. So again, the old man is still active in our lives. Unfortunately, we do have two natures. You know, I keep waiting until the Lord takes me back so I can shirk this shell and have our new body, new life with him without the old nature.

Alright, fill-ins, number six. Instead, I'll change a little for Mike because we always kind of have sporadic words here and there. Does somebody have the whole sentence and just read the whole sentence with the words? Does anybody have number six? Go ahead. You're itching.

The Holy Spirit buries us here in this situation and there in that location so there may be a rich harvest of golden grain for Jesus' sake. buries us in this situation and there in that location. And what wasn't actually in this question, but it was in Miles, so that we might not abide alone. I thought that was kind of an interesting part that was omitted in the question actually, but with the grain and the fruit, so we might not abide alone also, which I thought was kind of an interesting adder to that. that as we are fruitful and others in Christ, we're not alone, too. So I thought that was kind of an interesting thing that wasn't in the question, but it was in Miles' book.

Number seven. Anybody? Although our life is hid with Christ in God, His life is not meant to be hid in us. All right. Actually, that was kind of a good one, too. Christ hid in us. Do we want that? I go back to some of the things. The bushel. Don't, don't. What is it? Light on a hill and don't put your... Yeah, the bushel. It's in Matthew, you know, to shine.

And I remember there was one song. I forget who sang it. It was, I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day. And I thought that was, when you think about that, I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day. I.e., in your life, rather than just tell me all about it and do completely, you know, do as I say, not as I do. I thought that was good. You know, I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day. It's not hidden in us, I guess, is the thing. Christ in us. Alright, number eight. Anybody? Bertha, you got it? You got it, Bertha? Right.

The daily dying to sin both holds the old nature or self-life crucified and manifests the Christ life in us. Again, the crucified is putting the old man on the cross, helpless but not slain, so we can manifest Christ in our life. In Myles' book, the continuity of Christ in our life produces continual freedom from the reign of sin that allows us to manifest the new man in Christ. Again, as we restrain and hold on the cross the old man, the new man is able to be the dominant manifestation in our life. Do you believe that? You know, that's kind of one of those things where, you know, with the last question, you know, hid in us, our life is hid with Christ in God. It's not to be hid in us. We're to manifest that. We're to be conformed to His image. Do you believe that? You know, I started the whole thing. Do you really believe that?

That's really a tough one, you know. We hold the old man at bay so the new man may be manifested. What is the new man? Christ's life. Do you believe that? Do you understand that? We believe that the Lord has dealt with that source, and that is the freedom that the new life then comes out of. It's not us doing something, it's understanding that as the old is held on the cross, and the Lord does that, and we believe that he's done that, and he's taken it offline, and no matter how much it yells, We don't have to respond. That's when he was free to manifest his life. You had the operative word in there. Believe. You have to believe that. You know, that's the key to it. Reckon. Count out. True. Believe that that is true. Has he restrained the old man? Yes.

So, number nine. to present our bodies is to yield our faculties, our new life in Christ. Right. Some of the verses that go along with that would be Romans 12, 1, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And also Romans 6, 13, and do not go, flip side, do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." Again, it's that belief. Do you believe that? Alive from the dead and present your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Number 10. The crucifying power freezes us from the law of sin and death. Why is nothing easy or pleasant about the cross or our daily crucifixion?

I think, yeah, I mean, that's the easy, why it's not, I guess, easy. And the pleasant part, I mean, easy or pleasant, I kind of got, we touched a little bit about this last week when we discussed the Hebrews 4, 9 through 11, which brought out the labor and rest paradox. Remember that, how labor and rest, wait a minute, how do those fit together? You know, we labor, but we have rest. Similar, I think, is to the cross. We sometimes, you know, believe or don't believe or we wrestle and we struggle and we do that, so it's not as easy on the labor part.

And the pleasant part is that, you know, we're giving up self. And that's not pleasant. You know, does the old man just go away quietly? Kicking and screaming and yelling You know, I'm constantly amazed at how much the old man fights in my own life, you know, stupid things, you know, and it's like, do you ever, you know, it's like one of those old V8 commercials, you know, duh, you know, I keep thinking, you know, the old man does it and I sit here and I do something stupid and it's like the old man just will not go away sometimes and I go, Mike and I have talked about this sometimes too.

I call it the Nebuchadnezzar syndrome, you know, where in business, you know, I have my own company and I do this and really good project and really good and I get a new contract in. Oh, yes, Lord. Not Lord usually. It's at the beginning. It's like, man, that was great. Man, I couldn't believe I got that. I did. You know, it was like wonderful. It was like great.

Oh, gee, you know. all my experience and I sold them on how to do it and I can do this project great and you know about three miles down the road it hits me it's like oh thank you Lord for allowing us you know and and Nebuchadnezzar if you do it you know is when he went out onto his kingdom and to the roof and he says look at all that I've done.

Vomp! He's now with the beast of the field you know and I keep thinking of that you know I'm so great in my business look at how good it is you know vomp I'm gonna be you know grazing with the cattle here soon you know But I mean, it's the old man. The old man wants to do everything. The old man is still alive and kicking. Again, crucified on the cross. He's nailed. And if I believe, and going back to what I started, if you believe what's on the pages in his word, he's crucified. He's held, you know, annulled.

The power is, you're not subject to that power anymore. And, you know, why do I do these stupid things? Well, you know, to me it's in the growth process. It's all part of the growth process, you know, until you start realizing, you know, a year later, I don't have to do that. I don't. I don't have to do that.

And I think that's what the Lord takes us through. And a lot of times it's not pleasant. I mean, I do stupid things and I pay for it, you know, and it's not pleasant. So I think that's where he's getting at, you know, it's not easy or pleasant. I'm using Hal's story now. When we were barely admitted to the church, Greg and I went up to Hal. You know, gracious guys like Hal. So as you grow as a believer, He looked at us and he said, no, he said, what I find is that it's more subtle and it's more gross.

He uses the onion analogy, you know, one layer gets peeled off. There's another layer that just keeps going, but one of the things that has encouraged me, because what he said was true, he said that he is encouraged by it because that means that the life of the Lord is manifest before the Lord. It's like he is the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, because he sees the son of God of that same nature.

When it gets pretty rough, because I don't know if anybody else is like me where you can get stuck there and you just feel like there's a little driving thing going to do. I go back to, okay, I must understand, my relationship with the work must be deeper and sweeter and more intimate because I look at that and think, wow, it might work.

That goes also back to our identification on the cross and the identification with his suffering, Christ's suffering. We're going to suffer too and to go through this process I think is suffering. When each one of those layers of the onion comes off, it's not real pleasant sometimes. I realize sometimes how long have I been a Christian and I do something really stupid and it hurts, it almost hurts more. I should know better. I should know better.

And that's where I think the old man is just, any crevice, crack that he can get into and go for, he's going to do that. And it doesn't matter how long. One of the elders at the church I used to go to, I talked to him and I said, you know, we're dealing with some things and some sins and there are some sexual problems with one. And I asked him, and he was 65 or something, I said, you know, Does it ever get easier, you know, with the sin and all that?" And this looked at me and said, nope. And I kind of went, you know, but you're 65, you know, you're up here, you know, it gets easy when you get to this point. He just looked at me and I, nope.

And that's because the old man, until the Lord takes us home, the old man wants to rule and reign in our lives. And that's why I go back again to the beginning of this, do you believe this? As you believe this and reckon or count upon these truths, the old man gets further away. You can't hear his voice. You can't hear those screams, you know, come here, look at this, do this.

You know, and it's really just, as I studied more and more, it just became more and more evident that you've got to believe this. You've got to understand what's written on the pages, what God has said, and count it as true. And as you do that, it's just so much easier to deal with the old man and to have peace that surpasses all understanding, that rest. The labor becomes less and the rest becomes more. as we truly understand these things. It's just hard and I think it just takes time. I don't think you can just pick this thing up and go, okay, I know it.

That's why I go back and I think of what Mike says, 30 times, and it really just until it becomes, More and more, you know, understanding the pieces of the foundation are there and then the parts of the building come together, you know, little pieces. You get more and more and it goes, ah, yeah, I truly believe that. I count that as true. So, anyway, we are going to be really... Two more minutes. Where are we now? We are at number ten? No, we're eleven. Eleven. Anybody? Quickly?

The continuity of the cross in our lives produces continual freedom from the reign of sin. Right. Again, just what we've been talking about. Freedom from the reign of sin. The more we count as true the old man crucified, nailed on the cross, helpless, we don't have to listen to him, then the manifestation of Christ or the freedom from sin will occur. Yep. Number 12 quickly. It is as we reckon upon our heavenly position that we are able to rest in any grave. He has prepared for us rejoicing in his victory that emerges from our daily deliverance into death. Now the question is, Miles brings up life out of death principle graves. What do you think he means by graves?

I thought that was an interesting term. I think sometimes we think of our situation, whatever it is that we're in, as being buried. That's basically what it came down to, places where we die to self and exhibit the new fruitful life. You know, what are some of the examples of graves? He put ministry, mission field, the home, school, hospital, work. I basically put pretty much anywhere we function, you know, that can be a grave. You know, where we have to die to self to manifest a new life. Anyplace can be a grave. And it's really just, again, this whole lesson is, you know, dying to self, manifesting a new life in us.

Any other quick questions or things before praying? All right, new lessons if you came in late. There's new lessons over there and then the reading that goes along with it, the abide above. All right, why don't we close with prayer. Heavenly Father, again we just thank you for who you are. You're an awesome God and we just thank you that we have this intimate relationship with you and we just thank you just for your word that gives us direction and guidance and we just We reckon, or count it upon true, your word. We sometimes don't understand it, and it takes us a while to believe it, but Father, we know it is true. And we give you thanks that you provided your son that opened the door that we could even come before you like we do. So, Father, we just thank you and may the rest of this day just honor and glorify you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.