Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. (Mark 4:25—NIV)

If, and only if, we have been utterly faithful in following the Holy Spirit in gaining control over our sinful deeds, what remains of the source of sin in us will be removed by the power of Jesus Christ at His appearing.

Have you ever noticed that our body has a life of its own? We want to do one thing and the body wants to do another.

One of the tremendous blessings we will receive at the coming of the Lord is a body filled with righteous inclinations. We shall receive this blessing if we have been faithful in keeping our robe clean by confessing and turning from our sins when they are pointed out to us.

Can you imagine being clothed with a body that is bent on living righteously? Today we are struggling with a body of sin and death. In that Day, if we have been faithful in following the Spirit of God, our old sinful nature will be gone and we will have a new body that wants to serve God. If you can think of a greater blessing than that, I would like to know what it would be!

The third area of sin is that of our self-will, our determination to maintain control over our own life and destiny. Self-will is not quite the same characteristic as trust in the world for our life, or the lusts and passions of the flesh and soul.

When we start off in the Lord we are holding God's hand. If we diligently follow the Lord, God works things around until He is holding our hand. This is far, far preferable—that God hold our hand rather than our attempting to hold God's hand.

To let go and let God is a very simple way of expressing a profound thought. It sounds easy. It is extremely difficult because of our determination to maintain control of our own life and destiny.

What is the source of this mistrust of God? I guess it comes from the Garden of Eden where Satan advised Eve that God is not to be trusted. If we are to get what we want, the serpent suggested, we have to turn away from God and do what we feel is best.

I think the Charismatic church is at this crossroads today. Should we let go and believe God will guide us into His will for our life, or should we develop endless programs for doing "God's work"?

In any case, there is a root in the human being that is determined to have its own way. This is the source of our unwillingness to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding.

An unwillingness to follow the Lord is about as prevalent in the Christian churches as it is in the world. We bring our scheming and manipulating into our Christian walk and our ministry.

To be continued.