God's Will
To live a victorious Christian life, we must trust in the Holy Spirit for power to resist temptations and take control of our emotions and circumstances.
Watchman Nee emphasizes that as believers, we are called to 'more than conquer' through Christ, which signifies the highest form of victory over our struggles. He explains that temptations and emotional struggles stem from our old nature, which has already been defeated on the cross, and encourages reliance on the Holy Spirit for strength to resist these challenges. Nee reminds us that spiritual depressions are not from God but from the enemy, and we must actively resist them by obeying the Spirit. Each step in our Christian journey involves a struggle, but through dying to our old selves, we can gain greater victory and distance ourselves from the devil's influence.
Text
Romans 8:37 says that we can "more than conquer." This means a victory among victories, the highest form of victory. To conquer means to be on top. We have to ask if the experiences of temptations, circumstances, emotions, frustrations, and depressions belong to our old man or our new man. If they belong to the old man, we have overcome them on the cross already, and they are under our feet. This does not mean that we can avoid the things mentioned above; however, it does mean that we can take control of them. The way to victory is not to develop the old man but to trust in the Holy Spirit for power to resist temptations.
God's children are often unaware of the fact that spiritual depressions come from the enemy and not from God!
At the needed moment, we must resist through the power of the cross. Every step of the Christian life is a wrestling. Every time that we die to the things that oppress us and hold the devil at bay by obeying the Spirit, we allow the Spirit to take a firmer hold of us, and we shake ourselves further away from the devil's grip.
Sermon Outline
- I. Understanding God's Will
- A. Recognizing the difference between the old man and the new man
- B. Understanding the source of temptations and circumstances
- II. The Power of the Cross
- A. Overcoming temptations through faith in the Holy Spirit
- B. Taking control of emotions and frustrations
- III. The Christian Life as a Wrestling
- A. Resisting the devil through obedience to the Spirit
- B. Growing in spiritual strength through death to the old man
Key Quotes
“We have to ask if the experiences of temptations, circumstances, emotions, frustrations, and depressions belong to our old man or our new man.” — Watchman Nee
“We can take control of them, not by avoiding the things mentioned above, but by trusting in the Holy Spirit for power to resist temptations.” — Watchman Nee
“Every step of the Christian life is a wrestling.” — Watchman Nee
Application Points
- We must recognize the difference between the old man and the new man to understand God's will for our lives.
- We can take control of our emotions and circumstances by trusting in the Holy Spirit for power to resist temptations.
- Every step of the Christian life is a wrestling, and we must resist the devil through obedience to the Spirit.