The Newness of Life

By Stanley B. Mathurin

Dear Readers, you have authority over the powers of darkness that you have not yet unfolded and apprehended for yourself and therefore are not using. Well, not too long ago I discovered this truth for myself, so don't feel bad. As I searched the scriptures, I became cognizant of the power that I possess in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. I had been defeated countless times, using the wrong means to try to overcome my defeats. I was being tossed to and fro by the enemy of my soul. It took me a long time to learn and acknowledge who I am and my purpose for being here on earth, but thanks be to God, He has given me the victory through Christ Jesus.

In this book you will discover that no matter what you used to be, God can bring you back to where you should be in Christ Jesus, the Messiah, and use you for HIs glory in a mighty way. Like the Apostle Paul, no matter what your past life story has to tell or what sins you committed, your slate becomes completely clean when you come to know Jesus. Yes! You are made entirely brand new. God sees you just as if you had never sinned at all. Before he was named Paul, Saul was a persecutor of those who believed in Jesus as Messiah. One day, he experienced a miraculous conversion while on a road trip to Damascus to persecute some believers, as recorded in Acts 9:3, which transformed him into a man and his life into a ministry on fire for the Lord, because of God's grace and mercy towards him.
You, too, can be transformed and begin walking in The Newness of Life and serving Him in the newness of the Holy Spirit. 1 Samuel 14:6 assures us that "... nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few."

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477236871

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© 2012 by Stanley B. Mathurin. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/02/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-3688-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-3687-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012911829

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

All scriptures taken from the New King James Version® of the Holy Bible, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PREFACE TO THE READER

FOREWORD

SIN AND ITS ORIGIN

GOD’S ANSWER TO SIN

THE NEW BIRTH

THE ACT OF REGENERATION

RENEWAL OF THE MIND

GUARDING THE RENEWED MIND

RENEWED,

THEREFORE FREE!

RENEWED AND WALKING IN LOVE: ANOTHER EVIDENCE OF THE REGENERATED SPIRIT

FORGIVENESS:

THE EVIDENCE OF A RENEWED MIND

OVERCOMING EVIL WITH GOOD: THE EVIDENCE OF A RENEWED MIND

ENEMIES OF A

RENEWED MIND

PEACE: THE EVIDENCE OF A RENEWED MIND

A RENEWED MIND:

SEEKS PEACE AND PERSUES IT

JOY: A MARK OF TRUE DISCIPLESHIP

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT

AND IN TRUTH

HOLINESS: THE LIFE OF THE REGENERATED

SALVATION IS AVAILABLE TO YOU

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Most important of all, all praise and glory and honor is due to the King of kings and LORD of lords, my Savior and my God, Eli, HaElyon. Words cannot adequately acknowledge all that You have done for me. I love You, Adonai, more than I am able to express!

My deepest appreciation goes to my wife, Halima, for her support and encouragement in the things of God. Once again, thanks, my most faithful supporter.

With sincere gratitude, I take great pleasure to give thanks to Jan Shampaner, my beloved sister, prayer partner and friend. Your patience and the hours you spent editing this book and sharing your expertise, Jan, are greatly appreciated.

PREFACE TO THE READER

Born again, transformed and renewed describes what happens when one accepts Jesus Christ, the soon-returning Messiah, as his or her personal Lord and Savior. The book now in your hands reveals the divine acts of God through Yeshua, the Lamb Who was slain for our redemption. These divine acts are:

1.   Regeneration by The Holy Spirit (John 3:3-5)

2.   Indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9 and 2 Timothy 1:14)

3.   Anointing (1 John 2:20 & 27)

4.   Empowerment by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:12-13)

5.   Sealing of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30)

This book also gives details of what is required of one who is born again, transformed, renewed and walking in the newness of life. It provides instructions on how to apply the promises of God to a heart which is born again. Application of God’s promises is vital to those who are born-again because of the weakness of human flesh, so that one is not drawn back into his or her old lifestyle, the lifestyle which was devoid of the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is my fervent prayer that the reader will definitely get a true and vivid understanding of 2 Corinthians 5:17:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Your physical appearance will not change much, although you may glow just a little bit or merely appear to be well-rested to your friends, coworkers or family members. They will not know what the change in you is from your outer appearance. The transforming change is on the inside of you, and because the change has transformed you on the inside, the works of the forces of darkness will be deprived of the privileges they once had to mess up your life, as was the case when you were without God in this perverse world. Keep the above scripture in mind as you study this book. God Bless!

Stanley

May, 2012

Romans 6:22:

"But now having been set free from sin,

and having become slaves of God,

you have your fruit to holiness,

and the end, everlasting life."

FOREWORD

Born again, transformed and renewed is what I refer to as The Newness of Life. Spiritual death is the state we were in before we were born again, when the devil was our spiritual father. But now that we have become born again in Christ Jesus, God, the Creator of heaven and earth and all mankind, becomes our spiritual Father. He is the Father of glory in Ephesians 1:17. Our new birth, which is the beginning of our new life, has its origin in Christ’s resurrected life. It is because of Christ’s resurrection that we obtain our salvation. He is not dead! He is alive and always making intercession for us as Hebrews 7:25 tells us: . . . He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

When an individual becomes born again, Scripture states in Romans 6:6 that our old man was crucified with Him (Jesus Christ), that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. This is simply saying that we are no longer in bondage to the habits and lifestyles which we once pursued when we were living in darkness. Christ has put to death, by nailing to the cross, the evil desire lurking in our unrenewed, degenerate spirit that is earthly in us and that is employed in sinning, namely: Impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, sexual promiscuity, covetousness, greed, etc.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God the Father, has set us free. Freed from sin, we are now walking in The Newness of Life (Romans 6:4), serving in the newness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 7:6). Our relationship with our heavenly Father has been restored through Christ Jesus. We have now been made righteous, justified and loved by His mercy and grace. Our old man, which grew corrupt according to the deceit of lust, has been done away with. We are now renewed in the spirit of our mind, and have put on the new man, which was created according to God—in true righteousness and holiness. Our born-again, transformed and renewed spirit is driven toward the things of God.

The things of God become the central theme of a born-again spirit. The world’s lifestyle is no longer chased and embraced by one who is born again. Its dreams, its fashions, its music are all history. Been there! Done that! Not going back! It is finished! What now exists is the impartation of a new and divine life, the Holy Spirit being the divine agent of impartation. It is not a reforming process done by the will of man, nor is it done by self-effort or any human generative principle. It is without a shadow of a doubt the work of God, a re-creative act on the part of God.

SIN AND ITS ORIGIN

Romans 3:23:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

As a child growing up I remember asking this question: Where did sin originate? I know many of you at some time in your life have also asked this question. Sin originated in the heart of the archangel named Lucifer. He wanted to step outside of God’s ways and His principles. At some point, Lucifer thought that he was better than God. He became prideful, which subsequently led him to rebel against God. You see, pride breeds rebellion, which as a result led to him being kicked out of heaven along with the third of heaven’s angels which were under his leadership.

The scriptures in Revelation 12:7-9 date to the time, quite long ago, when Lucifer was cast out of heaven by Michael and his warring angels:

⁷ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

In Luke 10:18 Jesus told seventy-two of His disciples, . . . I saw satan fall like lightening from heaven. Satan is the one who brought iniquity, the root, and sin into this world, which in Isaiah 59:2 he says separates us from God: . . . your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you . . .

In our natural birth we partake of the life and nature of our parents, born into sin with satan who is allowed to control and manipulate God’s people as his means of retaliation against God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 tells us satan blinds the world, the unsaved, by his deceptions, lies, and accusations against God: "³ . . . those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds