A good cook knows that too much of any ingredient can spoil the best of recipes. There may be an ingredient that you really like, but too much of it can still ruin things. It is the same in the Lord—too much of you and me can ruin God’s recipes for our lives and even completely destroy our souls. The Bible tells us that “me” is not up to the task of doing the will of the Father. Paul said, For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do (Romans 7:19).

Too much of me cannot discern spiritual things. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned(I Corinthians 2:14). The natural person does not receive the things of the Holy Ghost, so too much of me will hinder and grieve the workings of the Spirit.

All of that is why Jesus came to make sons and daughters of God. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons [and daughters] of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12,13). Many people think God’s power is out of reach and that Jesus set an impossible example for us to follow, but that is not so.

Jesus came to Earth and became our elder brother, and He brought divine blood so we could be sons and daughters of God just like Him. Because of His sacrifice on the Cross, divine blood can once again flow in the lives of human beings just as it did in the lives of Adam and Eve before they sinned. That blood makes it possible for us to live and walk in the Spirit.

Get Rid of the Old Me

After Adam and Eve had disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, men and women were filled with sin and too much of me. That is why Jesus had to come to Earth and bring salvation to mankind through the divine blood. When people come to Jesus and receive a born-again experience, they are given a new “me”; and they become a brand-new person. Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24). Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Corinthians 5:17).

God created Adam and Eve in His image; and when they lived in the Garden, God went down to walk and talk with them. There were no sacrifices or offerings that needed to be made because they had no sins that needed to be forgiven. After Jesus came, man could once again be born new into that same image. The Bible says, Put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him [God] that created him (Colossians 3:10).

When you are saved, the old me should be buried so deep that it will never be resurrected. The only resurrection you should have is from the deadness of trespasses and sins into the light of the Lord’s righteousness and holiness. Some people believe they have put on the new me that salvation brings; but if they were to examine themselves with the Word of God, they would find they haven’t received true salvation after all. The devil has deceived them.

God has shown me that the reason some people have so much trouble knowing the reality of Him and receiving from Him is because they have not completely gotten rid of the old me. Then there are others who at one time were actually saved, but then they let themselves become contaminated with sin again and are no longer walking with the Lord.

Paul said to those who had gone back to their old ways, Ye have not so learned Christ (Ephesians 4:20). Paul went on to say that those who had really heard Jesus and been taught by Him should put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:22,23). The new me doesn’t talk like the old me did. The new me has only a holy tongue and a holy mouth; so it doesn’t whisper, backbite or gossip. Paul also said that the new me does not contaminate the mind by keeping things in it that should not be there.

Pray God’s Way

There are many dangerous pitfalls waiting for you when you allow too much of me to get into any part of God’s will and plan for your life. That is why the Bible teaches us to deny self. And he [Jesus] said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away (Luke 9:23-25)?

Prayer, fasting and living in the Word are what it takes to make a true child of God; but when you mix in too much of me, the results aren’t so favorable. Too much of me in prayer causes self-ish prayers. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (James 4:3). Jesus said, And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the syna-gogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward (Matthew 6:5).

Jesus then went on to describe the right way to pray. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6:6).

Too much of me brings about prayers of wavering and doubt. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed [That is chaos.]. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord (James 1:6,7).

Again, the Bible tells us the right way to pray. I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting (I Timothy 2:8). That is the secret to answered prayer.

Fast God’s Way

Too much of me in fasting can bring about a “Pharisee fast,” one meant to impress men rather than God. It is a fast of tradition only and not one that will humble you and get “me” out of the way. In a true Bible fast, you must seek to let the Holy Ghost have His way; and that means everything.

Isaiah the prophet warned people about the wrong kind of fasting when he said, Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high (Isaiah 58:3,4).

When you fast God’s way, you don’t fast for people to know about it but for God to know about it. You afflict your soul in righteous humility as the Psalmist did. I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom (Psalm 35:13). The Psalmist received results.

Jesus gave these instructions regarding fasting: Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypo-crites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head [with goodness, mercy and all the good things Jesus brought], and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6:16-18).

In Bible fasting, you conquer self and feelings so that God’s faith can prevail. Living by feelings rather than by faith puts you on an emotional rollercoaster that will cause you to become easily hurt, resentful or even unstable. Bible fasting denies self and puts your feelings into perspective with God’s Word.

Read the Word God’s Way

Too much of me in reading the Word of God causes you to wrestle with the Scriptures. You will try to interpret them your own way instead of allowing the Holy Ghost to teach you. The Spirit teaches only the truth and not what people want to hear.

We must live in the Word; but when people leave it, they get into trouble and are deceived. When Satan came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus gave him the Word saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Jesus went on to give Satan the Word two more times. Jesus said unto him [the devil], It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him (Matthew 4:7,10,11).

There is great power in what the Father says, and His Words cannot be changed. What He says is recorded in Heaven, and the devil cannot destroy God’s Word; but he can blot the Word out of people’s hearts if they listen to him. Through the Word of God, you have power to cast down the devil and trample him underfoot; but all too often, the devil has been the one trampling God’s people underfoot.

When you live close to God, you will find that the Bible has every answer you will ever need; so you must study it. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).

When you are a babe in the Lord, you need the milk of the Word. Then to continue growing in the Lord, you need the meat of the Word. For everyone that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:13,14).

The Apostle Paul preached the meat of the Word, and that is why some people found him hard to understand. Peter wrote, Also in all his [Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction (II Peter 3:16).

Be a Doer of the Word

Too much of me hinders the Word of God from doing its perfect work in your life. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

The Word is powerful; but when self gets in the way with its self-talk and self-reasoning, it dilutes the Word’s power. When the Word cannot effectively work in you, it can’t set you free in soul, mind and body.

The Bible says, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22). Many people in this world have deceived themselves because they don’t act out the Word. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty [the Jesus love law], and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (James 1:23-25).

When God calls on you to do something for Him, you must immediately respond and allow Him to direct your steps; but when too much of me gets in, that will not happen. You will listen to flesh and blood; and many times, that flesh and blood is yourself, that great, big “me.”

Paul did not let himself or others get in between him and the Lord. He said, But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia [to spend over three years alone with the Lord], and returned again unto Damascus (Galatians 1:15-17).

Paul consulted only with Jesus because he wanted only divine ingredients to be the making of him. He wanted Heaven’s greatest treasure living within more than he wanted anything else. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us (II Corinthians 4:7).

Live by Faith

The Word gives you faith; and the Bible says, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). Righteousness comes by having faith in the Son of God, and it is lived out by using that faith. If too much of me gets involved, you will stumble.

Do you go from faith to faith or from faith to fear, doubt, weakness or anything else that is not good? If you are not going from faith to faith, you are using only human faith; and Jesus always called that little faith. When Jesus and the disciples were on the sea in the midst of a storm, the disciples were scared to death. And he [Jesus] saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith (Matthew 8:26)? At another time, He said to the disciples again, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves (Matthew 16:8)?

You must go from faith to what God has done, to what God will do and to what God is doing in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Ghost.

You also must go from grace to grace. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace (John 1:16). Grace is all of God’s favor, and everyone can have it. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ (Ephesians 4:7).

You must know the God in whom you believe and put all of your trust in Him. You must know that God’s promises are true and that He keeps all of them. You don’t have to ask people about the things of God; just open the Bible, and you will find all the answers shining just as brightly as Heaven.

Your future is as bright as the promises of God, so you have nothing to fear or worry about. There are no weaknesses in God’s promises; any weakness comes from man doubting that God will do what He says.

Take a Stand

Too much of me will hinder you from having a made-up mind, and you will go from one opinion to another. Elijah asked the Israelites, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word (I Kings 18:21). Self will cause you to halt between two opinions in many areas of your spiritual walk, and it will keep you out of Heaven. Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty (Hosea 10:2).

Too much of me causes you to be weak in taking a stand for Christ. Do you really take a stand for Christ wherever you are, even if it means standing against members of your family? Jesus said, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household (Matthew 10:34-36).

Some people will give in to what their relatives want and go to family events instead of going to church. Then some of their family members will criticize God and blaspheme His name, and they listen to it. If they were true to God, they would leave and let their family know they will have nothing to do with people who talk against God.

Some of you walk too softly before the devil and his crowd, and you are too apologetic to those who oppose your stand for God and the Gospel. God does not apologize for His truth, His will or His ways; so why do you? The Bible says, These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee (Titus 2:15). God gives you the authority to rise up against all that is wrong, so you will have to withstand the powers of darkness in order to stand up and be counted on the Lord’s side.

Paul said, For I am not ashamed of the gos-pel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [and all Gentiles] (Romans 1:16). Paul told Timothy, For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day (II Timothy 1:12).

Don’t Be a Hypocrite

Too much of me makes a great recipe for hypo-crisy, which is people always trying to establish their own righteousness. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God (Romans 10:3).

Hypocrites see things through their own eyes, not God’s eyes; and God knows it. They see everyone else’s faults but their own. Thou hypo-crite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye (Matthew 7:5). Hypocrites will criticize others over some very small thing when they have a big beam in their own life.

Hypocrites are unaware that we are living in the last hour. When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not dis-cern the signs of the times (Matthew 16:2,3)? If you are a hypocrite today, you must get right with God.

Jesus hated hypocrites; and He said, But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in (Matthew 23:13). Many preachers, priests and teachers today are just hypocrites who keep people from receiving true salvation.

Let God Make You

When God is seeking to shape you into a vessel of honor fit for the Master’s use, too much of me will make the vessel turn out wrong every time. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it (Jeremiah 18:3,4). When God takes you to the potter’s house, don’t scream and cry; just let Him mold you into a vessel that He can use in perfection.

God’s hands cannot use just any kind of clay; you must be the right kind of clay so the Lord can make you into the kind of vessel He wants you to be, not what you want to be. Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus (Romans 9:20)? Who are you that you think you can question God? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto hon-our, and another unto dishonour (Romans 9:21)?

Too much of me wants to stay in control, but the only way to be made into a vessel of honor and come into the fullness of Christ is to let go of self and let God take over. You do that by yielding completely to God and submitting to His will. It is just that simple.

You Must Be Humble

The new me must be humble. Jesus said, Who-soever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:4). The Bible also says, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:10). Only God can lift you up.

God cannot perform what He wants to when people will not humble themselves and yield to Him, and not doing that has caused many to doubt God. The Lord has no problem doing all He has promised in His Holy Word when people will yield to the Holy Spirit 100 percent. The Bride of Christ will yield completely to God, and rejoice in doing so. She knows she is not her own. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own (I Corinthians 6:19)?

True members of the bridal company are to grow into the perfect nature of Jesus, to stand as tall in the Spirit as He did when He was on Earth. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a per-fect man [like the first Adam and Eve were until they sinned], unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). We have to act like Jesus did, be as loveable as He was and be as faithful to the truth as He was.

Jesus came saying, I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He also said, Learn of me (Matthew 11:29). You must always want to learn more and more about Jesus, but you will never completely master Him because we will still be learning about Him for all eternity.

Wait on God

Too much of me will not wait on God; but the Bible says, They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint [give up on what they are doing for God] (Isaiah 40:31). When a storm comes, an eagle spreads its large wings and rises above it; and if you wait upon the Lord, you will receive strength to rise above the storms of life, too.

Waiting with patience is a must in this Holy Ghost dispensation because when you do that, His Spirit will be renewed within you; and His courage and love will come upon you and give you strength. Never move until you know what God wants you to do. You must walk hand in hand with Jesus, step in His steps and never let go of His nail-riven hand.

Many people run ahead of God without waiting upon Him in prayer and fasting. Then they don’t have the strength, love, faith, joy, peace, patience, understanding, wisdom or knowledge they need to soar. They are like the little sparrow that is beaten down by every storm and trying to hide wherever it can.

Some people think they are waiting on the Lord; but because they have too much of me, they have actually closed the door on God. Ask yourself, “Do I really want the will of God in my life?” Waiting on the Lord is not a passive thing but a time of yielding to Him and accepting His will, a time of preparation and living by faith until you know what God wants you to do.

You constantly have to examine yourself to see whether or not you are living in truth and faith. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates (II Corinthians 13:5)?

Watch Your Words

Too much of me will not always tell the truth. Even many Christians today tell what they call little white lies, but no deliberate lie is inno-cent. The Bible says, Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds (Colossians 3:9). The Bible clearly spells out what will happen to liars. All liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Revelation 21:8). The Lord does not classify lies as big or small; He said ALL liars will pay.

Paul said, Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour…Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Ephesians 4:25,26). You must keep your temper under control through divine self-control and patience. In your patience possess ye your souls (Luke 21:19).

Give the devil no room in your life. Neither give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). Never let him use your eyes, your ears, your tongue or your mind. Shut him out completely.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers (Ephesians 4:29). Speak only things that bless people. If people are not edified by your words through the love and the Spirit of God, you are not ministering grace to your hearers.

Even more importantly, the Bible says, And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). Just one word said the wrong way can grieve the Holy Spirit. When you say things you have no business saying, the Holy Spirit may have to work for days, weeks or even months to heal the hurt caused by your thoughtless words.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice (Ephesians 4:31). All these things will leave when you get rid of the old me.

Obey God’s Call

God called Jonah on a divine mission, and God’s instructions to him were very clear; but too much of Jonah got in the way, and it caused trouble. Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD (Jonah 1:1-3).

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire, and the Assyrians were enemies of God and His people. They treated Israel terribly, and Jonah wanted to see them destroyed. However, Jonah knew all about God’s great mercy; and he knew that if Nineveh repented, God would spare them, and he didn’t want that to happen. So Jonah disobeyed God and went another way, and God made him pay for it.

Jonah was on a ship at sea during a terrible storm, and he knew he was to blame for the trou-ble; so he told the crew to throw him overboard. Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swal-low up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17).

Jonah was stubborn. He had heard the Word of God, yet he was not a doer of the Word; but being in the belly of the whale humbled him. With seaweed wrapped around his head, he said to the Lord, I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land (Jonah 2:9,10).

Are you a Jonah who would rather see your enemies perish than repent? Would you like to see them get justice rather than justification, or will you endure the cost of taking the Gospel to all nations like Jesus did? Jesus said, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14). When we have finished our work, the end will come.

This is the last hour, and the greatness of God is being poured out all over the world to those who have never heard it. The Jews had their hour of greatness; but it passed them by because of their blindness, disobedience and spirit of rebellion. They suffered for it then, and they are still suffering for it today.

Jesus Did God’s Will

God gave the same call to His Only Begotten Son saying, “Go to Earth and preach the Gospel to my enemies and yours. Give them a chance to repent lest they perish for all eternity.” Unlike Jonah, Jesus was willing to answer the call. He left the splendor of Heaven and came to Earth—enemy territory—where He not only preached the Gospel of repentance but also gave His life as a ransom for lost humanity. The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, most people have treated God horribly. When Jesus was here, they treated Him horribly, too; but God still did not want anyone to die lost. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9).

Unlike Jonah, Jesus did not get angry when God showed mercy to those who repented. Instead, He found great joy in seeing people repent; and because of that, He endured the Cross. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). We have to look at the joy that is set before us, too—the joy of winning souls.

Dying on a cross was the worst kind of death in that day, but Jesus gave Himself willingly. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8).

The Psalmist received the revelation of Jesus dying on the Cross long before Jesus even came to Earth. The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me [Jesus]: they pierced my hands and my feet. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture (Psalm 22:16,18).

Depend on God’s Revelations

Too much of me causes you to lose sight of God’s revelations for you. The Holy Ghost may give you great insight about something; but when you have to wait for the fulfillment of it or fight for it, does self get in the way and cause you to forget it or neglect it? Receiving a revelation is not the greatest part of it; it is the fulfillment of that revelation that makes it so great and powerful.

Many people claim to have revelations, but some of those revelations are right and some are wrong. The ones that are right will come to pass. God said that if something doesn’t come to pass, He didn’t say it. When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken (Deuteronomy 18:22).

Self can make the realities of God of no effect for you. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law [your own works]; ye are fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4). When you fall from grace, God will no longer work with you.

Peter received a great revelation about Jesus. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 16:16,17). Later, Peter allowed too much of me to get in; and he denied Christ, the Son of the living God.

After Jesus was apprehended by soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter watched from afar as Jesus was tried; and when someone said that he had been with Jesus, he denied it. Then began he [Peter] to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:74,75).

The revelations of God are revealed by the Holy Spirit and can only be lived out through the Holy Spirit. You cannot live out any of God’s revelations in your own spirit. You have to yield to divinity and use divine faith, divine wisdom and divine grace; but many times, people are satisfied to glory in the revelation rather than yield to the Holy Ghost so the revelation can be carried out. But God hath revealed them unto us by his [Holy] Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God (I Corinthians 2:10). God’s thoughts are very deep. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep (Psalm 92:5).

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God [which is in him]. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual (I Corinthians 2:11-13).

Faith and Works

The Israelites had way too much of me working in them, and it made them so weak that they could not obey the Old Testament Law. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the like-ness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3). God had to send His own Son to finally give man a way to get rid of his sin. Many preachers say that no one can live free from sin; but since Jesus came, that is not so.

The Old Testament Law was great bondage, but Jesus brought liberty. You must stand fast in that liberty by faith. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1). Allowing self to be in control profits you nothing; it just takes you back into bondage.

Israel followed after the Law, but they never attained it. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone (Romans 9:31,32).

You must understand that works do have their place in the Kingdom of God, but works do not make you righteous. You first must be saved and become righteous, and then your works will follow through faith. They will be works of faith, and the Bible says that faith without works is dead. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26).

Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness (Romans 4:22). Then his works of faith followed. Abraham didn’t offer his son Isaac as a way to make himself righteous; he offered Isaac as a result of his faith which told him that God would raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham’s faith was not dead, and he proved it by his actions and the things he did for God.

Paul knew about that kind of faith; and he said, For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love (Galatians 5:5,6). Faith works by love, but too much of me turns faith into doubt.

Contend for the Faith of the Saints

Too much of me will not use divine faith. Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). The faith of those saints in both the Old and New Testaments kept them free from all sin, seeing with Heaven’s eyesight and walking on a divine, heavenly path. You must have that same faith, but it will not be handed to you on a platter. You have to strive for that faith and fight for it just as if you were in combat.

Hebrews 11 lists just some of the saints who had the kind of divine faith that went far beyond human faith. If those people had such divine faith back then, then God’s saints of today can have it, too.

The Lord wants you to be able to stand against the devil and the armies of the enemies of God and defeat them all. The Bible says, Stand fast in the faith (I Corinthians 16:13). Don’t look at those who will or will not stand with you; look to the power of God and stand for Him.

The faith of the saints is the kind of faith we all must have to win this war for Jesus, and we will be victorious if we will yield completely to God and take orders from Him. All kinds of miraculous things will take place because of the faith of God in His people.

Put Self Down

As a child of God living in a body of clay, you will suffer for the sake of Christ by keeping too much of me out of the way; but don’t let that kind of suffering trouble you. It is a good sign that you have ceased from sin and are living holy.

You must take on the mind of Christ and move on. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin (I Peter 4:1). Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). You will never be able to take on the mind of Christ and do His will by holding on to too much of me.

You cannot do God’s will without Him and His love. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us (Ephesians 5:1,2). When you walk in the same love that Jesus had when He died for you, He will look out for you; and the Holy Spirit will produce the nine fruits of the Spirit in your life. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22,23).

Don’t be a debtor to yourself and try to squeeze “me” into any of God’s plans for your life. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the [Holy] Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live (Romans 8:12,13). If you glorify the Holy Ghost and His works, you will have life.

You have to surrender completely to the Lord because the Holy Spirit can only lead you and do His perfect work in you when you put self down where he belongs. Only then can we be children of God and joint-heirs with Christ. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God [the Holy Ghost], they are the sons [and daughters] of God. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together (Romans 8:14,16,17).

We can have a part of everything Christ owns because He paid the price for us to have it. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (I Corinthians 6:20). You must glorify God with every fiber of your being and always keep self humbled at Jesus’ feet.

Let the Spirit Have Control

Too much of me does not want the discipline of the Holy Ghost. That is why you have to put self down to walk in the Spirit. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16,25).

When you walk in the Spirit, you will have divinity to help you accept and follow all the teachings of the Lord. Then you can go forth just as Jesus did. He tells us in the Bible what the Spirit of the Lord did for Him when He was on Earth as a man. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord(Luke 4:18,19).

Jesus went forth in the power of the Holy Ghost; and it was a victorious period as the Spirit of God worked through Him to bring miracles, power and strength to all who would accept Him. Through the Holy Ghost, the Bride will have His same characteristics of love, devotion and dedication. Her veil of consecration will be just as great, holy and faithful as the veil of dedication was that Jesus wore.

The devil hates the Spirit of God; and when that Spirit lives in you, the devil hates you. He seeks to drain God’s Spirit from you in any way he can, and he knows just how to work on you if you give him any place in your life. If you don’t yield any of self to him, he won’t have a chance to get to you.

When you are baptized in the Spirit, the Holy Ghost lives and dwells inside of you all the time; and what a holy presence is yours! Spend as much time as you can away from people and in the presence of God. His presence will make you God-conscious and help you to know what the Lord can do, and it will give you all the extra strength you need

The Pitfalls of Self

Too much of me walks the broad way rather than the narrow way, and it leads people down the path to the works of the flesh. Jesus said, Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13,14). “Me” always wants to please self.

Too much of me does not say, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:13). Self depends on his own abilities and is busy trying to work out everything on his own.

Too much of me causes too much talk about what self has done and robs God of His glory. Self never accepts responsibility for his actions because he never thinks he has done anything wrong—it is always someone else’s fault.

Too much of me causes a double mind; and the Bible says, A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded (James 4:8).

Too much of me will struggle to accept the reality of God’s truth because “me” still holds on to human thinking and understanding. The result is a doubtful mind; and Jesus said, Neither be ye of doubtful mind (Luke 12:29). Self can make the realities of God of no effect for you. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law [your own works]; ye are fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4). When you fall from grace, God will no longer work with you.

Too much of me causes spiritual blindness; and you cannot discern between the Spirit of God, the spirit of man and the spirit of the devil. The Bride must learn the spirits so she can stand for the right spirits and hate the wrong ones.

Too much of me does not forgive as the Bible says we should. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32). Christ had a tender heart, and He forgave with divine forgiveness. You must have that same forgiveness, but you cannot depend on the flesh to forgive others. You must depend on divinity.

Too much of me turns praise into complaints, meditation into worry and liberty into bondage. In fact, too much of me adds absolutely nothing to the things of God. Isaiah wrote, But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64:6). You must get still and listen to all that Heaven and the Holy Spirit are saying to you and know that divinity is speaking to you.

Accept God’s Grace

Before Paul was saved, he thought he was right with God; but he was not. If he had died, he would have gone to hell. He admitted after he was saved that he had been the chief of sinners. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief (I Timothy 1:15). Paul had too much of me and was living a degraded life. He depended on education, money and the position he held in the high court of his people; but after God knocked Paul down in the dust on his way to Damascus, he humbled himself and found grace in Jesus Christ.

If you have too much of me today, God will forgive you, too, if you will humble yourself before Him. Sinner, Backslider or Lukewarm Christian, the Lord is only coming for a spotless Bride. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

You are going to be left without accepting God’s grace. Read the book of Revelation, and you will see how terrible it is going to be on Earth after the Rapture takes place. Surely, you don’t want to be here at that time; so if you are unsaved, pray right now: Oh, God, I am lost. I have heard the Word, but I have too much of me; and I am not a doer of the Word. I have godly sorrow for my sins; and you said that if I would confess my sins with godly sorrow, you would forgive me. I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Make me just like Jesus. Come into my heart, Jesus! Come on in!

If you meant that prayer, “me” has finally been crucified, and you have been delivered. Now, you can say, Hallelujah! Jesus is mine! I am going to put self down and do the will of God for the rest of my days here on Earth. You can count on me, Lord. I am going to follow in the steps of your Son, Jesus.

Now, you must go on to receive the baptism in the Holy Ghost. No one will ever make it to Rapture ground and be caught away with Jesus without being full of the Holy Ghost. The baptism of the Spirit is an individual gift and an individual greatness that God wants each person to receive and be convinced of, and God promised that gift to all who will obey Him. The Bible says, The Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him (Acts 5:32).

Claim Your Miracle

Now that you have Jesus in your heart, you can have whatever you need for your body. I am not a healer; I am just God’s witness. I don’t operate God’s gifts in my life; the Holy Spirit does. As I live in the presence of God, the Holy Spirit uses the power of God through me; and He gets all the honor and glory for everything He does.

God promised to give you a miracle for anything you need through the power that Jesus brought. It is the same power that brought Lazarus out of the sepulcher after being dead for four days and nights.

You may have AIDS, diabetes, heart trouble, cancer, leprosy or some other incurable disease. You may have had a stroke, or you may have a deformed baby. No matter what it is, agree with me for you and your child to be healed. God will make you whole.

Lord, I bring the sick and afflicted to you. You have sent me to tell people about your power to heal, and now I bring them before you. In the name of Jesus, I ask that the foul spirits of sickness come out of their bodies. Heal! in the name of Jesus. Heal!

The anointing of God is flowing, and many of you will be healed after reading this sermon. Get rid of too much of me and obey the Word. That will bring you all the blessings and the favor of God so you can be made whole.

If you really accepted that miracle prayer through the blood of Jesus, God’s promise of healing for soul, mind and body has now covered you. Hug that promise to your heart and watch God move for you and your loved ones.

Thus Saith the Lord

I am here giving you all my heart today, saith the Lord. I am giving you my heart so you will desire to come into my heart and live in my heart as my Only Begotten lived in my heart when He was here and walked among men. I am calling unto you; and I will anoint you to come into my heart, to come into a place you have never been and never thought possible. Yield to my love. Yield to my Spirit, saith the Lord. Yield to my power.

I the Lord thy God am with thee in a great and mighty way, and I am drawing you closer to me so I can manifest my greatness more and more to a lost and dying world. Feel my love for you. Feel my power for you. Feel my arms around you now, saith the Lord. Feel my presence now. Feel my faith for you. Do not count yourself out.

Come into my heart! Yield to my presence now like you have never yielded before. This is your hour of visitation; this is your hour of revelation. I have much for you to do, so yield to my presence; and you will do it. Yield to my presence, and the lost will be brought into the Kingdom in an unbelievable way in this final hour. I am reaching to bring you into the innermost chambers of my heart, saith the Lord. Yield to my Spirit, saith the Lord.

Yield to the Spirit of the Lord. Get rid of too much of me and put on the new me which is created in the righteousness and holiness of God. Walk daily in the presence of the Lord through the blood of Jesus, rejoicing as divinity gives you the strength and the knowledge to take the fullness of the Gospel of Christ to the ends of the Earth in this last and final hour.