Eight New Things

The closing chapters of the Book of Revelation describe the glory of the New Heaven and New Earth. Also they describe in detail the beauty of New Jerusalem. To prepare us for the coming New heavenly kingdom the Holy Spirit is operating in us and bringing forth new things.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new". (2 Cor. 5:17). The first part of verse 18 is very important, “And all things are of God.” it does not say; “If any man be a Christian,” but, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.” Mark that verse. There are many professing Christians in the world but they are not all in Christ. For example. I can say my finger is a part of my body. Pull my finger, and you pull my body with it. But if I hold the Bible in my hand it is not a part of me. The verse says, “If any man be in Christ,” that is, if any person is spiritually jammed to Him he becomes a new creature. Old things are passed away. In india there are people who before becoming new persons had never heard the Gospel. They have been changed immediately and completely. I have seen this in other countries too. By God's grace and by the Word of God entering their lives, many are being transformed and becoming new persons. Their faces shine. One can see the light of God on their faces. They have new joy in their hearts and a new power in their lives. At the same time their whole outlook also is completely changed.

To understand the full meaning of these new things let us see what our condition is without the Lord Jesus Christ. Thea we will know how we need to be totally transformed by accepting Him as our living and personal Saviour. Isaiah chapter I gives us a clear picture of our inward condition.

When a photographer shows vou strong and fair in your photo you feel happy, even though you are dark and skinny. God's Word is not like that. God’s Word does not give a wrong picture. It gives a true picture of what we are. At the same time God also tells us what we shall be. What we are now as sinners and what we can become by coming to Him, and by becoming a part of Him. In Isaiah 1:6, is God's photo of man as a sinner! “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness an it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

This is God's picture of every man in every country: whether he is highly cultured, civilised or illiterate, inwardly his condition is the same. Some years ago a friend gave me a nice big red apple. I took a knife and cut it open, It was rotten inside! I said, “My friend gave it to me with great love, why throw it away?” I kept on cutting it but could not find a single good piece. Outside it looked so nice and red. That is our condition. Outside we look so nice and sweet, so cultured and having good manners. but inside all is rotten. God’s Word says so. We see clearly from the Scripture that God says that from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in us, but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores, which have not been closed. neither bound up, nor mollified with ointment. You may have seen lepers of this description whose whole body is full of sores from head to foot; the legs, the stomach, the back and even the faces and ears. The whole body is bandaged to keep the pus from coming out, as if God were saying, “Oh man, that is your true condition, but you don’t know it.” Read Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Now read again what God says about our heart, in Matt. 15:19-20. These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.” That is our condition, Our sins begin as a thought. How many kinds of evil thoughts we all have - thoughts of hatred come into all of us; thoughts of enmity, jealousy, greed, deception, lies and cruelty come in like a flood. They will not go away easily, We say, “I don't want them’, but they are there, and unless we are changed and given a new heart these thoughts will not go away, Try as we may. You may keep on saying, “I don’t want them” but they will not leave you. They cling to you like your shadow.

In Ezekiel 16;3-5, God says about mankind, “And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy futher was an Amorite. And thy mother an Hittite, And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee: but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that (thou wast born.” This happens in any big city. When a child is born of sin the mother may go out at night and throw the child in the field somewhere. I have seen it happen; an unwanted child lying in the field because it was born of sin. God says, “O man, that is your condition, you are not wanted by anyone.” Our thoughts are evil, and our mind is full of evil imaginations, which cannot be changed. Knowing all this, our Lord has invited us to come to Him. When God uncovers sin, it is to forgive us, not to shame us. When men uncover sin, they do so to shame us. When God uncovers our sin, it is not because He hates us, but because He wants to save us. For example, when you go to a doctor, he must first of all properly diagnose the disease. He may even spend a week using different tests to find out the nature of the disease, Only then can he be sure. Similarly, God's Word discovers clearly and plainly what our condition is as sinners, because He wants to forgive us, transform us and make of us new persons. It is better to confess our condition to God than to live in darkness, die in shame and suffer for all eternity. When God starts showing these things in you do not think that God is trying lo judge you. He loves you. The Lord says in John 3: 17, “For God sent not bis Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” He is not trying to show you your condition, as He sees it, for condemnation but that you may be saved, forgiven, washed, cleansed and transformed and be given a new life that you may live forever. That is God’s reason for loving man.

Sec yourself as you are first of all and do not live under false pretence. The devil does everything to deceive us. We may say; “I am not so bad. I am a sinner, but not too bad.” Whether we commit one sin or a thousand the result is the same. You may take a drop of poison or even a tumblerful, you will dic all the same. One touch of a dirty hand to a wound can bring death. I have met such cases in hospitals. Some nurse through negligence or by a dirty touch had brought death to a patient. In the same way, even a sinful thought is sufficient to bring defilement. You do not have to commit sin by deed to bring defilement and become a sinner. From God's Word we know that even a sinful thought or imagination can corrupt and defile the whole being and thus disqualify us trom entering God's Kingdom. But thanks be to God, there is a way for our sins to be forgiven and our lives to be fully transformed. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.”

Nobody is qualified to enter God's Kingdom because he is a Christian by name. For example, many people keep a dog and they give that dog a very nice name. Some call their dogs Henry or Napoleon, but the name will not make him a Henry or a Napoleon. Others give their dog the same food as they themselves eat, but that will not make him a man. A dog is only a dog. Some ladies give their dog a bed like the one they sleep in, yet the dog remains a dog. A dog must become human if a man wants to make him his partner. Similarly, it is not a Christian name that qualifies us for God’s Kingdom.

“Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord. Lord have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matt. 7:21-22). And note this carefully, the Lord Jesus answers: “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me. ye that work iniquity” (v.23). What a sad condition! What a solemn warning! In that day there will be people who will say, “In Thy Name we gave wonderful sermons. In Thy Name we have given a lot of money and built many church buildings. Lord we gave money for India, China and Japan to build so many church buildings”. But the Lord will say, “I never knew you, never knew you, depart from Me ye that work iniquity”. A solemn warning indeed! and they are not my words. Unless we are joined to Christ and become a part of Htm, and unless His life begins to flow in us, we have no share, nor part in-God’s Kingdom.

That is why we must take heed. We must not be deceived, We can deceive our fellow - men, but not God.

“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9). This is a simple and plain definition of a Christian as the Bible gives it. He is a Christian who is indwelt by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not indwelt for a few days or minutes or seconds, or even for a few hours or months, but forever. Whatever the Lord gives He gives for eternity, if He gives joy it is an everlasting joy; if He gives a Kingdom, it is an everlasting Kingdom, if He gives love, it is eternal love. Our inheritance is everlasting, and we must have everlasting life to live with Him forever.

Let us now see how we can be changed by Him. We have scen from God's Word that unless we are transformed we shall remain outside God's Kingdom, What kind of change takes place when we are in Christ? “If any man be in Christ old things are passed away, all things are become new”.

What are these new things? “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Ezek 36:26,28).

That is the first thing that happens, “a new heart will I put within you”. The heart is the seat of affection; and unless we have a new heart we cannot love God. We love the world, because our old heart loves worldly things; by receiving a new heart we love heavenly things. “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). That is the first great change which takes place in a person who has received a new heart: he has a love for heavenly things. I know, for this has been my experience.

The Lord Jesus Christ became my Saviour in December, 1929, I remember clearly that before my conversion I was fond of worldly pleasures, clothes and fashion. Just to find one tie, I would search through all my things for the whole day like a woman. “This one is no good, and that one is no good,” I would say, searching like a fool through the whole almirah for just one tie! I used to waste my time reading newspapers for two or three hours every morning. looking at silly pictures, novels, magazines and stories: thinking, planning how to earn and gather more money: my mind was on worldly things all the time. There were also other hidden pleasures of sin in my life, but the Lord Jesus Christ took away all these desires as soon as I came to Him. Nobody told me to give them up; not a single person, not even a preacher. The life of the Lord Jesus Christ coming into me gave me new desires. The Scripture says, “I will give you a new heart.” This is quite true. He gave me a new heart, and I thank God for it, because He took away my filthy heart and gave me a pure heart: as the Scripture says in Matt. 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Only God can give a pure heart.

Try as you may, your inward impurity will never go away of itself. You can say: “I will never look at a woman, I will never see a man; I will never see this. or that;” but you will not succeed. Thoughts go on wandering all the time, but from the Scripture we know that we can be given a pure heart. Acts 15:9 says: “ And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” God gives a pure heart. As we confess our sins before Him, however shameful they may be, however black they may be, however terrible they may be, they are forgiven. At the same time, guilty stains are washed away because every sin we commit leaves a mark in the conscience. God has put this ‘tape-recorder’ in every person. Bach thought. whether good or bad, is recorded on this tape. What I think is recorded in my conscience, what I speak and do is also recorded in my conscience. I may suppress it, but the time comes when we become troubled by a guilty conscience, I have seen many persons on their death-bed troubled by a guilty conscience. They remembered what they had said, and done years before. Then they cried. “Do something, do something, please do something, either charity or fasting, or prayer,” but too late! None of these things could take away their guilty stains. They were still there. Hebrews 9:14 tells us: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” God gives us a new conscience, a good conscience which we can never have by our own efforts. Can you say truthfully that God has given you a new conscience or 4 good conscience?

The Lord Jesus Christ, by His precious blood, gives us a good conscience. The proof is our boldness in the presence of God. Suppose you have said something wrong against somebody. This is a common practice, for we keep on gossiping and talking. Now imagine that the person being discussed and slandered walks in as you are talking about him. You cannot look him in the face; you look this way and that because you are afraid. You have a guilty conscience. Can you then talk with God with a guilty conscience? Impossible. But when we have a good conscience we can talk with Him freely.

Vie can go to Him any time, anywhere and talk to Him like a friend because He has made our conscience good. “The like figure whereunto even baptism cloth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God") (I Pet. 3:21).

So the second thing God gives us is a good conscience. All the guilty stains caused by sinful thoughts and deeds have been washed away by my Lord by His Blood. The proof is boldness and liberty in His presence. Hebrews 4:16 says: “Let us therefore came boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” A pure heart and a good conscience: will give us boldness and liberty to talk with God very freely at any time, anywhere, in any need and for any reason, Now to me God is more real than my hand can be. I can talk to Him any time of the day or night, ask Him all my questions, tell Him my problems, my needs, my difficulties, and I know He will answer me. Now suppose I have a guilty conscience; then I cannot pray. Sometimes I will say something in anger, and fam troubled so that I cannot talk to God. Then I go upon my knees, “Lord, forgive me, I am sorry I got angry. I said something wrong, please forgive me.” When I am forgiven straightway I can talk to God very freely. A good conscience gives liberty and boldness to talk to God, and I can stay in God’s presence for a long time.

Thirdly, we receive a new nature. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust® (2 Pet: 1:4). As sinners we have a sinful, defiled, rotten nature, but now God gives us a divine, holy and pure nature, for our sinful nature can never be refined by human effort.

There was a professor in London who thought he could change a pig’s nature. So he took a baby pig and kept it in a clean place with marble floor, and electric light, and fan, and he had a servant appointed to give the pig a bath every day. The pig was being given a hot water bath every day for ten years, and was powdered and combed also, Then the professor said, “Now my pig is reformed.” So one day the pig and the professor went for a walk and the pig saw dirty water and began rolling in it, and the professor knew his years of labour had been in vain. You cannot change a pig’s nature by soap and hot water and powder. Similarly, none can change a man’s nature by education or culture or civilization. A man may be a B.D.. Ph... or any other D, but that will not change his nature. A sinner will remain corrupt, as God’s Word says. The heart of man is deceitful, our nature is corrupt; the proof you can see around you, men and women walking about in a shameful way. Why? They have 4 corrupt, sinful and defiled nature. They are more happy in looking at filthy things than at heavenly things. What is in the heart comes out. In some places people who are half-naked are called uncivilized, while in the West those who are half-naked are called civilized. What a mockery! What blindness! A corrupt, defiled, sinful nature will not be changed by education, reformation, science or knowledge, or by any other effort of man. But there is a remedy. We become partakers of the divine nature and arc given the very nature of the Lord Jesus Christ,

When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we enter into a sevenfold partnership. What is this sevenfold partnership? Firstly, by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour we are made partakers of the Holy Spirit. “...those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gill, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost” (Heb. 6:4).

Secondly, we are made partakers of God’s holiness, not my holiness but His holiness. “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (ich. 12:10), We become holy not by Bible knowledge. or by prayer, or by fasting but by the Lord Jesus Himself.

Thirdly, we have partnership in a heavenly calling. “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling” (Heb.3:4). Upon the earth you earn your living by doing some job, as a doctor, or in engineer or a professor, or a clerk, or a labourer, or us a king. But spiritually we all have the same heavenly calling. What is that calling? To show forth God’s glory and power to the heavenly authorities. There was once a wealthy man who built a big and grand house. The middle room had high ceiling which was beautifully decorated. It was a fine work of gold and silver and precious stones. Clever artists from many parts of Europe came to decorate that high ceiling. One day his friends came to see it, but they could not see it clearly because it was so high. They bent their necks, but still could not see it. So the wealthy man brought a large mirror, and placed it on a table. Then the whole beauty of the ceiling could be seen in that mirror. This is our heavenly calling, that the glory and beauty of God which cannot be revealed through mountains, birds, animals, trees, flowers and stars can be revealed through you and me. We can break stones to earn our living, or we can be a lecturer or a professor or a doctor, but spiritually our calling is to show the Lord’s glory and beauty. There is a peculiar and heavenly beauty on the faces of those who are born again and that beauty docs not come by earthly things. It is a heavenly beauty.

Fourthly, we are partakers of the heavenly inheritance. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12), This takes away all love for passing things. Before you were born again you were fond of earning and saving money, and your whole time was spent upon that. But that is only passing wealth. You cannot take it with you when you die. The story is told of King Alexander, a famous King of Greece. He came to India in 325 BC, and died young, before he was 30, Before he died his mother came to him and said, “My son, what is your last wish?” He said, “When I die, will you kindly leave both my arms outside the coffin box?” Generally when we put the body in the box the whole body goes inside. But he said, “I want both my hands open kept outside the coffin, and when you order my funeral procession a man should go before shouting; “Here goes the great king Alexander! See his empty hands. He came into the world empty, and he is going away empty.” He had much wealth but all was left behind. Ail these earthly things are left behind when a man dies. But we have a spiritual inheritance, we are “partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). This is my hope. One day, in heaven, I shall receive from my Lord an everlasting inheritance. But first of all I must have everlasting life,

Fifthly, we are made partakers of the heavenly glory. “THE elders which are among you I exhort, who am also ...a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1), What a privilege! When the Lord Jesus Christ comes we are going to be made partakers of the glory, provided we have been found faithful.

Sixthly, we are partakers of the Lord Himself. “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence Steadfast unto the end” (Heb: 3: 14). Partakers of all that He has. 1 Cor: 3:22-23 tells us this. “Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world. or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's and Christ is God’s.”

And seventhly, as we have already seen we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). This sevenfold spiritual partnership we enter into by accepting Christ. To sum up once again, we are partakers of the Holy Spirit, of God’s holiness, of the heavenly calling, of the heavenly inheritance, of the heavenly glory, of the Lord Himself, and of the divine nature.

Now once again we continue with the seven new things. We have already seen the first three, a new heart, a new conscience, and a new nature. Fourthly, we are given new wisdom. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). We are given heavenly wisdom to understand heavenly mysteries. Supposing you want to learn farming. Then you must become a farmer, and if you want to know how to heal the body you must become a doctor. Similarly, if you want to know something about God, you must receive divine wisdom. Heavenly things can only be known by heavenly wisdom. “But 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” (1 Cor. 2:14). By this means (wisdom) we can know what happens after we die. Do you know what will happen to you after death? We understand that the world will come to an end, but before this takes place the Lord will come and judge aid nations. We also know that God wilt bring into existence a new creation. All these mysteries are revealed by heavenly wisdom. We also find God’s will by divine wisdom, and enjoy the Bible by the same means. In Matt: 11:25, we read, “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”

Fifthly, we are given a new song in our mouth. “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:2,3). A new song in our mouth- to praise and thank God. The same mouth was once full of cursing, hatred and evil things, but now is always thanking, praising, adoring, worshipping and honouring God, free from cursing, bitterness, hatred, enmity and jealousy. Hus God given you a new song in your mouth which enables you to praise Him under all circumstances?

Some years ago I fell and sprained my ankle. It was painful, and I could not even stand. I had to stay in bed for 19 days. I thanked God for the sprain. I knew it was for a purpose, and I was not going to blame God for it. While I was in bed those 19 days, there came two men to see me, one young Mohammedan and one young Hindu, in need of salvation, I was able to talk to them for the whole day because I was staying in bed, and they both found salvation. After that, God said. “You walk.” The purpose was finished. I was healed completely after 19 days in bed. Whatever God permits I know it is for a purpose. I can thank Him for trouble, I can thank Him for trials, I can thank Him tor hardship. Through all these things I learn something new. I don’t know of any occasion in the past many years when I had to blame God for anything. Whatever may happen I say: “God, I thank Thee for everything,” for I know that all things work together for my good. The Scripture says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Many years ago in London, I was looking for a lodging place, and I saw an advertisement in a paper - “Room to let.” I found the place and knocked at the door. A small girl opened the door. She told me to wait, and went inside to her mother. Her mother came half-way, and saw me standing in the doorway. “Shut the door,” she said. She had seen my dark face. I felt hurt. But that was her loss, not mine. She had lost a good lodger, for I would have given her a good rent. I said, “Twill find a better place.” So I turned round and in the next street I found a better room in a better house with less rent. I thanked God for it, I know that whatever happens to me is for my good.

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels” (Isa: 61:10), Now this is the sixth new thing, a new beauty, a beauty that does nol come by wearing worldly garments. Even if you spend a large amount of money in buying new clothes, that will not give you beauty. All garments get torn and spoiled in time. But the Scripture says, “He hath covered me, clothed and surrounded me with a garment of salvation” which becomes brighter and brighter. Try it and your face wall be shining with God's glory. Everything will be new. “Behold, I make all things new.” He gives new wisdom, a new song, new glory, new beauty, a new calling, and a new vocation, all things new.

Seventhly, He gives us new relations. “But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matt. 12:48-50). He gives new brothers, new sisters, new friends. We give up old friends who continue to live in sin and do shameful things. But we are given new brothers and sisters who do God's will and whose love and affection is far more real than that of worldly friends. Worldly people love for a short time only, but this love is for eternity because we know we shall meet again.

Some years ago, when leaving Canada, many came to see me off, and as we shook hands they said, “Brother, we shall meet again. If not here, then up above.” What a hope! I never even knew their names, but I know I will meet my Canadian friends in heaven, In 1946 my father passed away in India. At that time I was in Scotland, so my brother sent me a cable, “Father died.” I sent back a cable to my brother, “I will see my father again.” I knew he was born again and baptised before he passed away. If you want to meet your parents in heaven you must also repent of your sins and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, otherwise it is good-bye forever. Before my father passed away he called my sister and said to her, “My child, you will not see me after three days.” She began to weep. “Now, my daughter, don't cry for me. I am ready. My time on the earth is finished. Iam going to a better place. Please don’t cry for me.” She went on weeping. As he said, exactly on the third day very peacefully he passed away. I have never felt all these years that he died. We shall meet. We know it is only a temporary separation, we shall meet again, never to part again, in glorified, immortal, heavenly bodies. My friends, my brothers, my sisters, we shall all live together for eternity! If we part now itis only a temporary separation.

If any man be in Christ he is a new person, a new creature; all things are new. He gives you a new hunger and a new thirst. “And Jesus said unto them,...he that cometh to me shall never hunger: and he that believeth on me shall never thirst’ (John 6:35). He daily gives you heavenly food, and you need not feed yourself on foul story-books, TV programmes, and other shameful things for your entertainment.

In many homes these days, young men and women and even their parents waste time fooling at TV for hours together. To satisfy their hunger they want to see something but are never satisfied. They will sit a whole day, or whole night, but will never be satisfied. These things cannot satisfy. The Lord Jesus Christ says, “Come to Me, eat My bread, drink My water and you will be satisfied.” “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psa. 107:9). Only the Lord Jesus can satisfy your hunger and thirst. Otherwise you will waste your time, money and energy doing shameful things and still never be satisfied. It is ike pouring water upon sand. Has the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied you? If not, come to Him. If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.

Finally, we do not defeat the Devil by worldly weapons, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4, 5). God gives us new weapons. This is the eighth new thing. Now you can defeat the enemy. In Isa. 54:17, we read: “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me”. In Romans 12 we read of the weapons of our warfare. “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:20,21). The new weapons of our warfare are love, kindness, sympathy, prayer, tolerance and patience. By finding and doing God’s will, and by honouring God’s Word we defeat the enemy. Not by quarreling or fighting, not by strife, or hatred, not by jealousy or other worldly weapons can we defeat the enemy. “...If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new,” Have you really become a new person? Can you say joyfully and truthfully, yet with all humility, that on a certain day, ina certain place the Lord Jesus Christ met you and changed you and made you an entirely new person? Have your friends and habits and conduct and manners changed completely?

Read the Word of God, and call upon Him, if you want Him to forgive you and transform you and make you a new person.