For to will is present with me
Romans 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”
There is within me a principle of rebellion, left over from my old nature, that must be overcome if I am to find “how to perform that which is good.”
Romans 7:22 “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:”
Here is where I need to be strengthened….in the inward man.
I need to learn how to yield to that inner unction; that is the impressions of the Holy Spirit in my spirit. (1 John 2:20,27)
Paul stresses “yield” to the Romans. (And they are all found in the sixth chapter. Romans 6:13, 16, 19)
Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
Yield means to stand beside, to assist, to be at hand, ready. And this is what we are to do for the Holy Spirit.
We are to stand beside Him in what He tells us to do….giving Him our full, diligent obedience.
There is ample strength in Him, if we learn to stifle not the Holy Spirit. Our new nature, is the Holy Spirit in our spirits…and we need to learn to be ready to assist Him….to yield to Him.
Jude 20-21 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
We cannot save ourselves….but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can build up our spiritual life by faith, on the Rock of Jesus Christ…..and keep placing ourselves under His arm of love….all the while watching for Him to supply mercy for us, and for others.
And this is the call: to mortify….to put to death the old nature….by yielding to the new nature (the Holy Spirit)….this is how we build a spiritual life on Christ.
(My husband used to say that,…”To build our lives on Christ will take a lot of spiritual consecration”…..but the Lord showed him once that it is really “spiritual concentration”…..concentrating all our faculties on the Will of God…on honoring the Holy Ghost.)
2 John 1:8 “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”
Watch for any cooling in our love for the Lord or for HIs work in others….watch for a loss of peace…..watch for a neglect of the services or of reading HIs Word.
The Holy Spirit has given us love, joy, peace…..have we appreciated them enough to seek the Lord when they seem to vanish?
All the things you are aware of, you deal with them first. This is how you get honest…and get fruit in your life.
Luke 8:15 “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
Our hearts are good only because they are honest. Honesty brings forth the
fruit of the Holy Spirit….within a Christian.
Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Let God do this, and you will begin to know the honesty that leads to a fruitful life.
We, as the creature must bow to the Creator…..rather than ascert ourselves, or demand anything…we must bow to God, Who is ruling all things for our good.
We are new creatures in Christ, and that new nature should have supremacy over our old nature…”all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17)
We are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) What will we do with that fact?
We started this with….”For to will is present with me….but how to perform that which is good, I find not.”
But Paul did find out how…..
Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
So we need to yield ourselves as unto a Faithful Creator, that we may find how to perform that which is good….for ourselves For He doeth all things well.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 