First we must confess our sins as sin as the Holy Spirit points out to us the thoughts, words, and actions that are unrighteous and unholy. We must condemn them verbally, openly, declaring before Heaven and earth that such behavior is worthy only of the Lake of Fire and has no place in the Kingdom of God.

Thorough denunciation is an important step toward deliverance from spiritual bondage.

Second, we must resolve to turn away from our sins, by the Lord's help.

Third, we must receive by faith the forgiveness of our sins and the removal of them from our personality.

Fourth, we must draw near to God in faith, love, and adoration so our fellowship with Him may remain unbroken.

Fifth, we must resist the devil when he tempts us to return to our sinful behavior.

Each of us must choose to worship Christ and to resist the devil. Sin has no place in the Kingdom of God and is to have no place in the Christian personality. We, through the Spirit, are to put to death the deeds of our body, crucifying our flesh with its perverted, lawless cravings.

No human being has the power or wisdom to rid himself or herself of sin. As we confess our sins, renouncing them in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit breaks the hold Satan has on us. There is victory—total victory—over Satan in the name of the Lord Jesus.

We have come to the Day of Vengeance of our God. God through Christ is enabling the members of the Body of Christ to cast aside the works of darkness and to enter the promised-land rest of God.

Removing From Us Self-will, Self-love, Self-centeredness, and Rebellion Against God's Will

Victory over self-will, over disobedience to God, is the crowning triumph. No believer will be permitted to rule with God until Christ has become his undisputed Lord. Self-will is a powerful enemy that must be destroyed.

God gave man the power of choice. Man has the ability to choose to serve God or to serve himself. Until the individual or the nation chooses to serve God rather than himself, or itself, there cannot be a complete reconciliation to God.

For two thousand years the Christian churches have labored to perform what they believe to be God's will. The final products invariably are monuments they have created to their own glory. Except for those who have found the secret of rest in God, the record of Christianity is that of man working according to his own strength and wisdom, building spiritual sepulchers in the name of Christ.

God's solution to the problem of our self-will is the cross—the prison of the cross. God keeps us in situations we do not enjoy. He does so in order that our self-assertiveness may be destroyed, every trace of it removed from our personality. What a terrible bondage our self-seeking is! A few years in God's prison leads us into the rest of abiding peaceably and contentedly in the heart of God.

No person can walk in lasting, happy fellowship with God until trust in the world, the bondage of lust, and insistence on self-rule have been removed from him. These are the three sources of personality disfigurement that prevent compatibility and union with God through Christ.

To be continued.