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Restoration Ministers, USA
Dwight Jester
P.O. Box 249,
Lewisville, NC 27023-0249
E-mail dwightj@writeme.com
OLD MAN NEW MAN
Transcript taken from Church Of God's Love, Teaching by Dwight Jester
BEGINNING PRAYER
Lord Jesus, we come before you to magnify and glorify your name and receive revelation, truth, openness and understanding before you. I pray for every person reading this message that their ears be open, that their eyes be open, that they may hear and see and know the truth of God. Lord, I pray that I would only speak the truth and that we only speak the truth and nothing else. Lord, we give you the glory, the honor, and the praise that you are upon us and that you are guiding us, that you are anointing all of us. Lord, we receive it in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: I always thought that making a covenant with the Lord was just as simple as saying the words but after listening to you, I get the impression that it is not quite that simple. That it is possible to say the words and go through the prayers and still not make a covenant with the Lord. How is that possible?
A: It is possible because you've got to understand that in each person as the bible calls it there is the old man and there is the new man. There is a new man in us and there is an old man in us and very few Christians recognize the fact that they have an old man within their life. The truth of the matter is the only people spoken of in the bible as having the old man and the new man are Christians. The non-christians live their life totally out of the old man, they are the old man and there is no possibility for them to be in the new man except through Christ.Galatians 5:16 But I say walk, by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. That is written to Christians, that is not talking about non-christians. The real problem we have is with the old man. When the old man tries to make a covenant with the Lord it will never be accepted because the old man must die. The Lord will never accept the old man nor will He accept the actions or deeds done out of the old man.
Q: Where did the old man come from?
A: The old man came out of the garden of Eden. When God made Adam and Eve and put them in the garden of Eden they were in the new man. Before Adam and Eve sinned they were the new man and they were created in the image of God. Then when Satan came along and deceived Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-5) and got them to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil which is original sin (reserving the right to decide for yourselves what is right and wrong for your life). Then immediately Adam and Eve were no longer the new man but became the old man. They became the old man when they sinned and the old man has been with us ever since. We call it human nature. What we say all the time is "Well, he's just human." That's right it is human nature but it's the old Adamic sinful human nature that was put there by Satan. It is not the new nature put there by God.
Q: Where did the new man come from?
A: The new man came from the second Adam and the second Adam, Jesus Christ, was sent by God. When we accept Jesus Christ and come into covenant with him then we are beginning to experience the new man in our life. After the first Adam fell in the garden of Eden then Jesus Christ came and taught, healed, ministered and delivered. He was killed on the cross, died for our sins, went into the ground and three days later was resurrected from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus Christ is the new man and the whole battle is the battle between the old man which came out of Adam and Eve and the new man which came out of Jesus Christ.Q: Does the old man really cause us that much of a problem?
A: Yes! Out of all the people that I minister to and I minister to many people; the root problem is the old man and their inability to come into a covenant or personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ because of the old man in their lives.CHARACTERISTICS ABOUT THE OLD MAN
1. The old man is always right, he knows everything, he has the right answers, he has everything nailed down.Q: Well then isn't the new man always right?
A: The new man is righteous! Righteous means to be in right standing or relationship with God. Rightness means I am always right, I have all the right answers, I am a good person because I am doing everything right. The old man is always proclaiming that he is right. He is standing in the power of Satan and in the false righteousness of what he thinks is right or what he has been taught is right.
2. The old man is always fearful and afraid, most of the time he is lustful. He lusts after power, he lusts after recognition, he lusts after food, he lusts after control, he lusts after perfection, he lusts after love and affection.
3. The old man has rebellion which is disobedience to God. He has stubbornness and idolatry which is worshipping other things rather than God. So rebellion and idolatry are two prominent characteristics of the old man.
Q: Can't you subdue the old man and just keep him under control?
A: There is an old saying, "You can take Tarzan out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of Tarzan." If you try to put your old man over in a corner you may think you can handle him but the truth of the matter is you cannot. Until the old man is cut away, until he is dug up by the roots until he is destroyed out of your life then you are going to still be influenced by the old man. Let me say this again the old man is what keeps us from making a covenant with the Lord.
Q: If I want to make a covenant with the Lord, how can the old man stop me from doing that?
A: He cannot stop you from making the covenant but immediately after you have made the covenant or the very next day Satan through the old man is going to challenge you on that covenant. He will challenge you by saying, "You don't want to do that. "If you do that you won't be happy, you will lose what you already have in life." He will tell you that nothing really good is going to happen, that you can't trust God and you had better watch what you are doing because God is not trustworthy; don't over do it! This is the way the Devil gets on your case.
The old man cannot prevent you from making a covenant with God but he can tell you lies about God and he can make you fearful. If he can't make you break the covenant you have made with God at least he will try to make you forget it. We have to operate in the covenant that we have made with the Lord from day to day in order for that covenant to be effective. The Devil will stand against us everyday and will try to prevent us from operating in that covenant.
Q: So then, is it really my choice to make a covenant with God?
A: It is my choice but the Devil will deceive me and use fear to make me think that I have made the choice against the Lord when it was really the old man making the choice.
Q: How do I know if it is me or the old man that is making the choice?
A: I have to depend upon God to seal the covenant with me. It is not up to me but it is up to the Lord to seal the covenant. The scripture says the Holy Spirit will seal the covenant between us, He is the earnest. The Holy Spirit comes into my life and enables me to stay in that covenant. I have to receive the power of the Holy Spirit in order to continue day by day in that covenant. If I don't have the Holy Spirit in my life keeping me in the covenant then I am trying to stay in the covenant through my old man. I have to make the covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ in the new man and not in the old man.
Q: How do you tell the difference between the new and the old?
A: Sometimes that is difficult to know but if you choose to enter into covenant with Jesus Christ in the new man then the Lord will make you aware of the old man and how he is operating in your life and how he is trying to prevent you from entering into covenant with the Lord. Many people come to me and tell me they have made a covenant with the Lord but when I really dig into it, I find they have made a covenant out of the old man. They think they know what the Lord was demanding of them but this covenant usually puts them into a lot of bondage. They have to work hard, they have to go to church every time the doors are open, they have to be a worker in the church, they have to read their bibles slavishly every day and if they don't do that then they are a bad Christian. Do you see that it is a covenant that was made out of the old man?
Q: Now why would the old man make a covenant to read the bible all day? It seems to me that would destroy him.
A: Not really. When you consider the fact that the Devil was there when the bible was written and he knows about the bible and if he can get you to read the bible out of the old man then he can confuse you because he will take the scripture and misquote it. Remember when Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the Devil. The Devil quoted scripture verses. He quoted scripture verses in order to try to trip Jesus up. The Devil knew he could not trick Jesus just by talking to him so he tried to quote an authority greater than himself in order to try to get Jesus tripped up. If you try to read the bible in the old man covenant then the Devil is going to try to trip you up, confuse you and make the bible hard to read and understand.
Q: Suppose I have made a covenant with the Lord and I think everything is OK and here you are telling me that there's a possibility I really haven't made a covenant with the Lord. Why should I believe you?
A: You shouldn't have to believe me but you should go to the Lord and through the Holy Spirit listen to the Lord. Ask the Lord to reveal any place in your life that you are not really in covenant with him. I want you to reveal it to me. So you should listen to what I have to say but then you take it to the Lord and say: Lord, is what he is saying true? If there is any place in my life where this is true then I am willing to give it up. Lord, show it to me. The Lord will then begin to speak to you and reveal it to you. The most serious problem we have in our life is the old man because the old man can function as a Christian. He can act as a counterfeit Christian.
Q: How does the old man counterfeit a Christian?
A: He can do all kinds of things: He can go to church every time the doors are open, he can read his bible, he can teach a Sunday School class, he can be a Deacon, Elder or Steward. He can be all these things but there is no life to him. It is a way that seems right but it has no power in it. You can have a lot of activities but no power. One of the key factors in whether I am actually serving God out of my old man or out of my new man is the power in my life. The key is the power that I have in my own life and the power that I have to be able to minister to and help other people.
Q: Are you saying that the power of God in my life is a sign that I am serving the Lord with my new man rather than with my old?
A: That's right because the old man has a form of power but it is not really a form to help people but it is a form to get him his way or to get him a better advantage, or to get him recognition, or a better position. It is a form of godliness but it denies the power there of. It really benefits his way rather than genuinely laying down his life for another person.
Q: What do you mean by power? If I have the power of God in my life what does that mean?
A: That is the Holy Spirit. The word for the Holy Spirit in the new testament is dunimas; that is where we get the word dynamite. The Holy Spirit is the power of God in our life. Without the power of the Holy Spirit in our life there is no way we can function in the new man.
Q: If we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our life does that mean we can now do the things we want done?
A: No! We do not do anything to get what we want done but we listen to the Lord, hear his voice, and do what the Lord is saying.
Q: How do you hear the voice of the Lord?
A: If you choose to enter into covenant with the Lord in the new man you will begin to hear the voice of the Lord. The new man is like the parable about the kingdom of God. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed. Which when it begins is the smallest seed in the garden but when it has matured and grown up it becomes the biggest plant in the garden even unto a tree. The new man starts out very small in our lives but that little bit of new man begins to grow and mature and it begins to take over our lives and drive out the old man.
Q: Is hearing the voice of the Lord part of the power?
A: That is part of the power simply because if you can't hear the voice of the Lord you can't obey Him. Obedience is the key factor in destroying the old man. If you hear the voice of the Lord and you obey it then you will systematically destroy the old man in your life over a period of time. You have to understand that the old man is in your life: He is in every thought of your life, he is in your emotions, he is in the will of your life, he is in your body, he is in your imagination, he is in your memory, he is in your conscience and he is even in part of your spirit. So the old man has to systematically be driven out of all these areas of our life.
Q: Why doesn't he just leave when you get saved?
A: Because he has no intention of doing that. It would be nice if God just sovernely touched us and we were totally delivered from the old man and we never have the old man in our lives anymore. However, what probably would take place is we wouldn't know how to function; we would not know what to do. In the new man we really don't know how to function because the new man is so new to us. God has to systematically drive the old man out in each area of ourlives and as he does we win the victory and mature in that area. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but with principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. So if we don't fight the battle, if we don't engage ourselves in the battle then we will never mature. If you never exercise a muscle it is never going to mature and grow. So if you don't exercise your new man he is not going to mature and grow.
Q: There is a scripture that says in Christ old things have passed away and all things have become new. Now if old things have passed away and all things have become new, how can my old man still be around?
A: In Jesus Christ, in the new man all the old things have passed out and all things have become new but it is only in the new man. Like I said earlier the new man is like a grain of mustard seed that you can hardly see when he first entered into your life. The new man doesn't have very much control in your life in the beginning only the part of you that is in the new man. All the old has passed away. So to the extend that the new man rules your life is to the extend that old things have passed away.
Q: OK, now lets get back to hearing the voice of the Lord. Suppose I hear things and I don't know if it is the Lord talking to me or if it is the Devil talking to me or if it is just my own thoughts. I am hearing the voice but I just don't know who is talking. What is my problem there?
A: If there is more than one voice then that is the old man. The old man has several voices, God only has one voice. That one voice is God and the rest of those voices are not God. So if you hear other voices that is a guarantee that you still have the old man in your life.
Q: How can I recognize God's voice when He is talking to me?
A: When God talks to you He speaks very specifically and very clearly and to the point. He does not mince any words and he does not make you do anything out of fear. He gives you the instructions and you have a choice to do it or not. He doesn't bribe you or make you do it nor will he say "hey, you had better do this." The example that comes to mind is the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked him what must I do to be saved. Jesus said, "have you followed all the law?" He said, "from my birth I have followed all the Jewish law." Then Jesus looked him right in the eyes and said, "you lack one thing: go sell everything that you have and come follow me." The man walked off sad. Here is the point, Jesus didn't run down the street and grab that man by the collar and say, "don't you know what you are doing? Don't you know that you will go to hell by the decision you just made?" Jesus recognized that the man had the authority to make the decision so he let him go. God is not on your back! He tells you what to do and gives you specific instructions and of course he wants you to do it but he's not on your back.
Q: If we are having a real struggle in having a relationship with God is it because we are trying to do it in our old man?
A: That is exactly what is wrong with Christians. Christians are trying to satisfy and please God with their old man and the old man is not acceptable to God because you cannot please or satisfy God with the old man.
Q: What are some of the things that the old man tries to do to please God?
A: Here are four different manifestations of the old man.
1. BOM is the bad old man.
2. GOM is the good old man.
3. DOM is the denominational old man.
4. COM is the charismatic old man.
BOM- The Bad Old Man. Even the non-Christians know the bad old man when they see him. The bad old man is usually physically violent, he is abusive, verbally fighting all the time, he is openly rebellious, he is lawless and lustful. He is into sex, alcohol, drugs, thrills, food, power if it feels good do it. He is an evil thinker, he is unfaithful, undependable and uncommitted to anyone or anything except himself. Uncommitted is a very strong description of the bad old man. He is deceitful, a boaster, he is rude, crude, he disregards others, he is a thief, a breaker of promises, a murderer, unthankful, unholy, no good, a despiser of good people, has no natural affections, a lover of sensual pleasure, greedy and he has plenty of family problems. Everybody knows the bad old man when they see him even the non-christians can recognize the bad old man.
GOM- The Good Old Man: He is not a Christian, he has never committed his life over to Jesus. He has self-righteousness, he is achieving and usually successful, he is accepted, respected, obeys the law of the land. He is conscientious, sometimes he is deceitful but not much. He is conscience of what people think of him. He is a counterfeit of a true Christian and sometimes he is better than a Christian in his life style. He is a good person, he looks after his own family, he does good work in the community; by in large he stays out of trouble. He has natural love that comes from the flesh, he looks down on others beneath him, he is somewhat prejudice but not extremely so. He hides his real self from other people, he emphasizes education and knowledge because if he doesn't have God in his life he has to find another god to worship so he either worships education, knowledge, or money.
The main thing you need to realize is that you cannot live in the old man and please God; it is not possible to please God out of the old man. Galatians 5:16 I say walk and live habitually in the Holy Spirit, responsive to, controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the old man. For the desires of the old man are opposed to the Holy Spirit and the desires of the Holy Spirit are opposed by the old man. For these are continually withstanding and in conflict with each other so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do. If you are guided and led by the Holy Spirit then you are not subjected to the law that the old man is under. Now the doings and practices of the old man are these: Immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry.
Almost everybody practices idolatry in some form or another whether they are Christians or not. Sorcery: a lot of people practice sorcery which is the use of charms and drugs. Valium and other prescription drugs change the electrical paths of the brain and that is what any kind of tranquilizer or drugs like that will do. Enmity which is bitterness, anger, confrontation and strife, jealousy and ill temper. Did I miss anyone when I said anger and ill temper? Selfishness, now selfishness just about covers 99% of everybody on the face of the earth. Divisions and dissensions among yourselves and in the Churches and in your families. Factions and sects with peculiar opinions and heresies, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like. I warned you beforehand just as I did previously that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.This is not talking about if you are going to heaven when you die but it is talking about inheriting the kingdom of God on this earth.
Paul is saying you won't inherit the victory, the peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit while you are upon the earth if you do these things. But the work of the Holy Spirit which his presence in us accomplishes is love and joy, peace, patience, an even temper, forbearing or forgiving one another, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and humility, gentleness, self-control, self-restraint; against such things there is no law. No one can take the law and bring a charge against you if you practice the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And those who belong to Christ Jesus the Messiah have crucified the old man, the godless human nature with its passions, appetites, and desires. Let us not become vain glorious, self conceited, competitive, challenging, irritating, and provoking one another because these are the fruits of the old man.
DOM- The denominational old man is very similar to the good old man in fact you can hardly tell the difference. They know what is good but they don't do it, they are citizens in the Kingdom of God but they live largely in the world. They are legalistic and are bound to their own belief and rules rather than the revelation and truth of God. They have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. They are ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. They are rather indifferent toward sinners and their love for God has grown cold. They tend to be empty on the inside, they are murmurers and complainers about what God is doing, they speak eloquently about God but they don't really mean what they are saying. They depend upon their five senses: their mind, their will and their emotions to try to solve all their problems rather than depending upon God. They are not yielding to the Holy Spirit.
One of the scriptures mentioned earlier was to walk by the Holy Spirit; if you are led by the Spirit then you are sons of God. The denominational old man is hypocritical, he does not walk in the Spirit, he does not hear and obey God. They copy the world in their religion, they are jealous of others who get along better than they do. They tend to seek self recognition, they are confused about their relationship with God, they do not hear the voice of the Lord. They have divided loyalty between the world and God. Jesus said you cannot serve God and mammon, you will either love the one or hate the other. They get entangled with the cares of this world and the good things of God gets choked out. They get so involved with their problems: job, money, circumstances etc., that they cannot live in the victory and power of God.
If you are being convicted right now by the Holy Spirit then your problem has been the denominational old man because the denominational old man tries to constantly clean up and perfect himself. In other words he is trying to make himself acceptable to God when in fact he can never be accepted by God. (Romans 8:8)
MORE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: How can we present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God?
A: The only person in the whole universe that is Holy and acceptable in the sight of God is Jesus Christ. So I have to present myself as a living sacrifice through covenant with Jesus Christ because it's through His sacrifice that all of us are made acceptable unto God. The denominational old man is enticed by the pleasures of this world. He mistrusts other Christians and he tends to look down on non-Christians. This is a prevalent characteristic of the denominational old man: he looks down on other people. HE ASSUMES THAT THERE IS NO MORE TO CHRISTIANITY THAN WHAT HE HAS ALREADY EXPERIENCED! By in large the denominational old man is a spiritual baby, he is drinking milk and not eating meat.
COM- The charismatic old man. He makes up a new set of rules to go by. In other words the BOM has a set of rules, the GOM has a set of rules, the DOM has a set of rules and the COM has a set of rules that he follows. He is rebellious against the true will of God for his life. He tends to look down on denominational Christians the same way that denominational Christians look down on non-Christians. He believes every teacher that comes along if he demonstrates any spiritual power. In other words he doesn't discern whether a person really truly is of God. He sees the spiritual power being manifested and he just assumes it is from God which is a fatal mistake.
He uses no discernment, he goes from meeting to meeting looks for spiritual highs (what we call spiritual goose bumps) to get emotionally pumped up. Sometimes he assumes more authority than God has given him. In other words he tries to pray and minister to other people when God has not given him authority to do that. He tends not to submit to any spiritual pastor who can be his shepherd because largely a charismatic Christian says, "It is me and Jesus." He tends to be a loner and does not submit to authority. He tends to worship the gifts of the Spirit and the demonstration of power rather than Jesus who gives the gifts and the power. So he tends to worship what he sees with his eyes or feels with his body rather than the person who gave it.
COM- Charismatic Old Man assumes that there is no more to christianity than what he has already experienced. So any place in your life that you assume there is no more of God than what you have already experienced is operating out of your old man. The charismatic old man is hypocritical in saying that he is further along in the Lord than he actually is. So if the denominational old man is a spiritual baby then the charismatic old man is a spiritual teenager who is running around like a wild man.
He tries to avoid the conviction of God in his life: Lord, don't tell me what is wrong with me, I know that I'm OK, you love me, I know you love me, don't convict me of anything. He resists being cleansed and delivered by God. He tends to button hole other people and tell them of his experience and then he tries to make a denomination out of his experience. He tends to focus on his own personal problems and he does not really manifest the life of Christ in his own life. He thinks he does but he really doesn't. He does not hear God, he despises reproof and correction, he thinks he has arrived at spiritual maturity. He deludes himself about reality, he tries to get off into a dream world that is not real.
Q: If I have been convicted by the Holy Spirit and know that I've been living my life out of the old man then how do I let him die?
A: Romans 6:3 Are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with Jesus by the baptism into death so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father so we to might habitually live and behave in newness of life. We must die to the old man but we can't die to the old man without first receiving the new man which is Jesus Christ. For if we have become one with Jesus by sharing a death like his we shall also be one with Jesus in sharing his resurrection by a new life lived for God. We know that our old unrenewed self was nailed to the cross with him in order that our body which is the instrument of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil. That we might be no longer the slaves of sin. For when a man dies he is freed, loosed and delivered from the power of sin among men. Now if we have died with Christ we believe that we shall also live with Christ because we know that Christ the anointed one being once raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has any power over him . For by the death he died he died to sin ending his relation to sin once and for all and the life he lives he is living to God in unbroken fellowship.
If you enter into covenant with Jesus, hear his voice and obey everything he tells you to do, you will systematically kill the old man in your life.
Q: Can we really be free from the old man totally?>
A: When you said totally you qualified it. I would say it is possible for us as Christians to be if not 100% free of the old man, at least very close to it. Now the one thing we cannot be free of and never could be free of is our old physical bodies because we do not live in a resurrected body as Christ. We will never be free of that until we see Jesus Christ face to face. But I believe we can experience healing in our spirit, and healing in our soul completely while we are here upon this earth.
Q: Since you cannot be 100% free is it really worth the struggle to be partially free?
A: If you are a Christian and you are 90% bound by the old man and only 10% in the new man compared to a non-Christian who is 100% in the old man the difference would be tremendous. If you are 100% in the old man and you just receive 10% of the new man there would be such a dramatic change in your life that you would say, "why did I ever miss it." If you could then move from being 90% bound by the old man to only 50% old man and 50% new man the change is so great and so dramatic that even 50% new man is worth it. Most Christians can come from 10% new man to 70% or 80% new man. Anybody operating at that level would be a different person and most people would think they were a spiritual person.
Q: Speak to the person who is relatively free of the old man who may be 50% bound and 50% free.
A: Anybody who is 50% free will definitely go on and get more freedom. That person will knock the door down to get free if he can.
Q: Speak to the person who has been listening and praying and the Lord has convicted them about having a problem with the old man and they want to get rid of him.
A: In Romans chapter 6 it says we must be baptized into the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Which means we must die to the old man and in order to do that we must obey the new man. Make a covenant with God to die to the old man and come into the new man. We haven't talked a whole lot about the new man because Jesus Christ is the new man. It is everything Jesus Christ is: It is his righteousness, his wisdom, his knowledge, his understanding, his faith, his power, his will and his love. So we are taking in all of these things when we take in the new man.
Every time I listen and obey the voice of the new man I have driven a nail into the coffin of the old man. Not only do I have to choose to hear the voice of the new man but I have to refuse to hear the voice of the old man. The old man has a thousand different ways to torment you and it is based on what you fear. Hear what I am saying! If you are tormented by the old man you are going to be tormented by what you are afraid of. So do not listen to the voice of the old man because every time you give him air time or free time to talk to you that takes away from the time for the new man to talk to you. In the garden of Eden there were two trees: one of the trees was the tree of knowledge of good and evil which Adam and Eve ate of when they sinned and disobeyed God. Ever since then we have been under the curse of original sin which is deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong for our life.
Now the other tree in the garden was the tree of Life and that tree of Life represented Jesus Christ. The tree of knowledge of good and evil represented Satan and the tree of Life represented Jesus Christ. Adam and Eve had a choice of which tree to eat from but they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I can continue to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil which is the old man tree and I will be in the old man as long as I choose to do that or I can eat from the tree of Life which is Jesus Christ and have life in Him.
The point of the matter is one tree is the tree of Life which I let grow up and mature in my life and the other tree is the tree of knowledge of good and evil which I allow God to cut all the branches off, cut the trunk down and dig the roots up, and pull them out of my life. So getting rid of the old man is a form of deliverance. The overall principal of getting delivered from the old man is to submit yourself to the new man or enter into covenant with the new man, listen to the new man and obey him. Choose not to have the old man in your life, refuse to hear his voice, refuse to obey him. That is the general principal you go by to get free and as you choose to do that the Holy Spirit will give you power to be free of the old man.
The scripture verse that fits that is James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the Devil and he will flee from you because the father of the old man is the Devil. The Father of the new man is God the Father. Verse 8 says to draw nigh to God, draw nigh to the new man and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners which means to get free of all your evil actions and all the evil things you do. I'm not talking about what you think but I'm talking about what you actually do out in the world: The overt acts of sin that you do. You say "I don't do any overt acts." Well my question is do you fear? If you fear you are doing an overt act. Do you hate? Do you resent? Do you have un-forgiveness? Do you have bitterness? Do you have loneliness? Do you have depression? Do you have jealousy? If you react and carry those out then you are overtly sinning because that is part of the old man.
It says in Scripture to cleans your hands which is your actions and then it says, purify your hearts you double minded which is talking about what is internally in my being which is the false thinking that I do. I have all these neat little things that all my life I have decided what I think is right for me so I go by those things and I direct my life by them. When I do that I am letting my thinking control my actions and the thinking I have is false and not pure before the Lord. The Lord is asking me to purify my thinking and my heart and get free of my double-mindedness. So deliverance is a very important part of me purifying my heart. The 10th verse says to humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. Humility and humbleness before God is the key of coming into the life of the new man.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal or man made but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds in casting down every imagination and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Some thoughts can be brought into obedience to Jesus if they are of God. If they are of me and are not evil, God can bring all my thoughts into allegiance with him. But everything that is of the old man: the evil old man thoughts will not come into obedience with God and you have to cast those out.
Q: You mentioned the importance of hearing the voice of the Lord. Does God deliver me by speaking to me?
A: Yes, as God speaks to me and I obey Him, I am actually manifesting a form of deliverance which is crucifying the old man. I am nailing him to the cross and every time I hear the Word of God I am being cleansed because it says we are cleansed by the washing of the water of the Word. As God speaks to me He washes me and cleanses me and in my own personal experience sometimes when I get anointed by the Lord and I speak words, people are delivered and cleansed by the words that I am speaking rather than me casting out anything in them. That happens because God is giving me the words to speak and the scripture says the Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword...
Q: When this happens is that separating the old man from the new?
A: Yes, that is going down and discerning every area in your life that the old man exist and at that point it is discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart and cleansing the heart by what is being said.
Q: What if someone has not heard this message or the Lord has not made them aware of the old man? Is it because they are not hearing the voice of the Lord at all?
A: The minute you make a covenant with the Lord to enter into the new man and get out of the old man then you are going to realize that you have got a lot of old man in you. The Holy Spirit is going to begin to reveal all the areas that you have the old man in your life and you are going say, "hey, I didn't even know I had all this old man in me." That is what the Lord does: He is opening you up in line with this scripture: For the Word of God is sharper and quicker than a two edged sword to the dividing asunder the spirit and the soul and the joints and the marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. God is going to reveal where the old man is still in our life and He is going to ask us to get rid of it. That is why hearing the voice of the Lord and obeying Him is such a cleansing from the old man. The Word itself reveals the old man and systematically kills the old man.
Q: What about the person who has a revelation from the Lord that they have the old man and they know they have a problem with it but they are sitting on the fence about it or they just don't want to give it up?
A: The only thing that person can pray at that point is Lord, make me willing to give up the old man, right now I am honest with you and I don't want you to deal with me. The most important thing I can say to that person is to be honest before the Lord and don't try to deceive him and say you want to get rid of the old man when the truth of the matter is you don't want to. If you are totally honest before the Lord he can deal with that but if you try to be dishonest with him it is difficult for him to deal with you. So if you come to the Lord and say, Lord, I don't want to give up the old man there is no desire in my heart to give him up but please touch my heart and fill me with the light and illumination of the Holy Spirit and convict me of the need to give up the old man.
If you pray that prayer before the Lord He will do it! The scripture that comes to my mind is the parable of the vineyard keeper who asked two workers to go work in the vineyard. One said he would go but he did not and the other said he would not go but later he thought about it, changed his mind and went. The question at the end of the parable was which one did the will of the vineyard keeper. If the Lord reveals something to you that you need to repent of or give up then that is evidence that you belong to the Lord or else He would not bother to reveal it to you.
Q: What would you say to the person who says "I know I don't want to change; I am happy with the old man and I don't want to give it up."
A: Well as long as that person decides to do that God can do nothing because man has a free will. The only thing I can say to that person is to count the cost of following that kind of decision. Look at the end result of what is going to take place in your life if you continue to make that kind of decision. Where are you going to end up when you die? There is really nothing I can do for that person nor is there anything God can do because as long as that person exercises his free will and decides against God then there is nothing that anyone can do except that person. I would say again please count the cost! Look at where you are headed, look at where you are going, look at where you will end up. If you have never really turned your life over to God then say this:
PRAYER
Jesus, I want to commit my whole life over to you, I want to surrender everything that I am to you and I want you to be the Lord and Master of my life. I am tired of Satan being the lord and master of my life, I am tired of people being the lord and master of my life and I am tired of being the lord and master of my life. I give it up and repent of doing it and I ask you to be the Lord and master of my life. I want to be married and joined to you, I don't want to be married and joined to Satan, myself or other people anymore. I don't want them running my life, I want you to run my life, I want to hear you and I want to walk in the power and glory of your presence.
I believe that you will do that for me right now as I commit myself to you, that you are causing me to be set free in you and I choose to be set free in you right now, I choose to be delivered from the power of the enemy, I choose to be delivered from the power of people. I choose to be delivered from my own self. I praise you Lord, I glorify and magnify your Holy Name that you are setting me free that you are making me whole in you right now and I choose to be made whole in you, I choose to be delivered and set free in you in the name and power of Jesus Christ.
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Same article in two other forms: