Mastering Your Own Spirit
PROVERBS 25:28
28 ¶ He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
This word “spirit” means - the seat or organ of mental acts, it is the seat of your emotions which directly affect the daily thoughts of your mind, and so according to this scripture, we must not allow our emotions to rule over us, especially if they are contrary to the word of God, and if we do, then we will become like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Mastering Your Own Spirit
The word “Mastering” has two meanings;
1. Is to acquire complete knowledge or skill in (a subject, technique, or art).
2. Is to gain control of; to overcome, to rule over, to be the master over, the boss, the final authority.
***So this scripture in Proverbs 25:28 is telling us that we must learn and become skilled at ruling over our own emotions (our spirits), and if we don’t, then there will be very dire consequences. We must become the master over our own thoughts, because our true headship is to be the word of God, and so any thoughts that are contrary to the word of God must be quickly brought subject to the word.
We must be constantly bringing our feelings subject to the word of God and of what is right. Don’t let your feelings and your moods rule over you and lead you and control your life, we must learn to rule over them – to be master over them, to be the boss.
PROVERBS 25:28
28 ¶ He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
In the old days of the bible, a city relied heavily on its walls for the defence and the protection of the lives of the people in the city. If a city was broken down and had no walls, then that city was in a very poor and defenceless condition, and so the scripture is making a comparison to what a person’s state is like and will become if they continue to let their emotions and feeling rule them instead of being the ruler over their spirit.
***We know that a human being is made up of 3 parts – the Soul is at the centre and is the real you, and that is supposed to be the control tower, the master, then secondly there comes the Spirit which is your memory, imagination, conscience, reason and affection, and then the Body is the outside shell that gives us movement and contact with the earth and one another – we can see, taste, feel, smell, and hear.
We are spirit beings living in bodies of flesh.
***We know that the soul that is truly born again by the word of God (the revelation of the message for your day), it has the word of God at the centre of it, but that does not take away all the negative memories and imagination and conscience and reasoning and the affections that are still a part of your spirit make up – it is just that you have changed the headship. So then we must begin to learn to rule over our spirits by the word that is within our souls.
We know that there are many positive emotions which include: joy, hope, courage, trust, peace and contentment, - when all these feelings are in harmony with the word of God, then that is the way God intended it to be.
GALATIANS 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
But since the fall of man, we have seen the development of the negative side of what was once only positive emotions and feelings, and so now we have to deal with a whole array of negative emotions such as: anger, and frustration, and envy, and strife, and stress, and insecurity, and worry, and fear, and embarrassment, and guilt, and boredom, and disappointment, and sadness, and feelings of helplessness, and depression, and restlessness, and on and on and on we could go.
All these negative emotions have come upon the human race as the perversion of what was only once positive feelings of happiness and unlimited joy, and all this came about because of unbelief of the word of God. And so these negative emotions have since plagued all the generations of people from Adam down to this time.
JAMES 3:5-6
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Nature = Greek word “genesis” = generation.
3) of that which follows origin, viz. existence, life: the wheel of life (James 3:6), the wheel of human origin which as soon as men are born begins to run, i.e. its course of life – (the way you talk can set the course of your family for generations that follow after you, this is why we have to be so carful, especially if we lean to the pessimistic side, because too much negative talk can have a far reaching and ongoing effect that flows on to our children)
Russian proverb - Words are not sparrows; once they have flown they cannot be recaptured
Many times we will say things based on our negative emotional moods, but then those words cannot be retrieved back again, and if we had thought about it, then we would take rule over that and not say it. “Think twice, speak once”. Sometimes people can say things under the heat of the moment that will even cause generational hostilities between families for generations.
ROMANS 12:2
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
God has created us to have dominion and to be in control of ourselves - to rule and be the master over our own spirits.
God’s desire for us is to see us come to a maturity where we can have absolute mastery over all of our negative emotions, because they are our biggest enemy - your biggest enemy is yourself.
I CORINTHIANS 15:22-26
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (What Christ was, we are to become)
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power (everything that is negative and contrary to the word he has put down).
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. (This is also speaking of us because he was the first fruit of what we are to become)
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Before we can conquer death, we must first learn to rule over and master our own spirits.
THE.WATERS.OF.SEPARATION_ MACON.GA MONDAY_ 55-0606
E-6 …You have to realize that every person has a spirit in them. And if the person could only see what kind of a spirit dominated your life, you that act indifferent towards Christ, you'd be ashamed of yourself. (If you could visible see that spirit that is on you that causes you to act against the word of God, then you would be ashamed of yourself)
No matter how you're dressed, and how well, how popular you are with put the peoples, yet in your heart if God could only turn the looking glass to your heart...
E-7 Many times in dealing with spiritual things, you see them when they move out. Someone was just asking me here not long ago. I was at Calgary, Canada, and a boy come in; they had him in a straight jacket. And they come in the back of the room, and he was cursing and carrying on, and--and I never heard such in my life. And the father was trying to hold him, and when he got on the inside, he looked over to me and said, "William Branham, you ain't got nothing to do with me."
Oh, that father looked up, said, "He don't even know his own name. How'd he know your name?"
I was standing off a great distance from him. Oh, how he was cursing me and carrying on. And he said, "You ain't got nothing to do with me." And I asked the audience if they'd just be reverent. The ushers come to take him out, just then I seen the Holy Spirit move out, the Angel of the Lord. I said, "Now, bring him here just a minute." When they went to bring him, he started kicking, and frothing, and biting. He was in a--a straight jacket, and they brought him up close to... And then when the vision come and told just what it was, a sin that had been committed by his father that caused the child to be in that condition, the father fell down and repented (notice that the father’s failure to rule over his own spirit caused him to commit some sin, and that was what brought about this mental sickness upon his son which was the next generation). And when that evil spirit went from that boy, thousands times thousands of people in the stampede grounds there that night, looked, and like a great big spider in a black shadow floating around... Oh, my. It was really quite. And it went around out of the place, out through the building and went away.
E-8 Many times you see them in different forms. Here recently I seen one coming from a woman, that looked like a bat with great big hairs hanging under its legs, and so forth, its wings come right out, right straight up. They're evil spirits. And many times it's someone looking ever so beautiful on the outside, could only look on the inside and see what that is. We're dominated by spirit…
(Bad spirits can come into people if they don’t rule over their own spirit by the word, a person that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls, you become defenceless. Positive thoughts based on the word of God attract the right spirit, while bad thoughts based on negative emotions attract wrong spirits)
E-13 Listen, if... Listen to this; mark it down. If God doesn't do something and send judgment to these nations right away, He will have to resurrect Sodom and Gomorrah and apologize to them. That's right. We're at the end of the road. And He's just, and He can't let us get by with the things they're getting by with now, and be just. He'd have to apologize to those who He did destroy in the days gone by. So we're at the end of the road.
It behoves you to check your spiritual conditions every hour of the day and be ready, for you don't know what time it's coming. God has made a way. He's sending everything, the preaching of the Word, signs, wonders. He gives one the message of preaching, another the sign message, another, everything, not willing that any should perish, setting His gifts in order in the Church, and so forth; and still people continually wade right on through and just like they didn't even pay any attention to it.
If they only realized, that in their soul was a spirit of the devil that was dominating their life, then it can't be nothing else.
E-14 One night before I leave, I want to speak on demonology, and my personal acquaintance with it, that you'd understand what it-- what it is.
It is almost always our negative emotions that lead us into disbelieve the word of God.
***Your spirit and emotions are like little children that need the control of a parent, if you just leave the child to do whatever it wants, it will soon find itself in trouble. Sometimes the parents allow themselves to be ruled over by the children, they do not exercise any disciple on them – this always makes for a very stressful and unhappy home for both parents and children and this is also the condition that many people live like within themselves.
You must not let the spirit of your emotions lead you and rule you or you will have a very unhappy internal home.
Eve let her feelings control her instead of ruling over them by the word. Her emotions told her that the serpent was right (he was such a nice guy), and she just knew that he was telling the truth, she just had that feeling within herself that he was right, and that “feeling” was what she followed instead of being the master over her feelings and bringing them subject to the word of God, and because of that, it caused her to disbelieve the word and she was separated from God.
GOD.HAS.A.PROVIDED.WAY_ VICTORIA.BC SATURDAY_ 62-0728
E-47 …And when man doesn't believe God's Word, it always separates him from God. When Eve failed to believe God's Word it separated her and Adam from God, 'cause the two were one.
Notice, when any person disbelieves God's Word... God's Word is God's provided Way. Nobody should add anything to It or take anything from It. It's got to be just the way It's written. Now, when anybody takes away from It or adds to It, why, he separates himself from God. He's separated then.
II CORINTHIANS 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 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; (and Christ is the anointed word)
EXPECTATIONS_ RICHMOND.VA WEDNESDAY_ 61-0308
E-14 No man is worth any more than his word is. If I... If my handshake and my promise to my brother isn't enough, that I have to sign a lot of papers, a lot of this that... That--that's mistrusting. I--I just... You have to take me for what I tell you, and I have to take you for what you tell me. And if--and if we cannot trust one another... Then if my word's no good, then I'm no good.
And if God's Word's no good, then He's no good. He's no better than His Word. And I'll say this, that God keeps every Word that He said and every promise that He said. And if you'll take the right mental attitude towards any Divine promise God ever made, He will bring it to pass. If you can just take the right attitude, and--and believe it with all your heart. See?
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PROVERBS 14:29
29 ¶ He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding (in other words, he has got his spirit and emotions under control by the word): but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly (Folly is foolishness - someone who just lets their spirit fly lose as quick as a wink).
NUMBERS 20:7-12
7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. (Moses was the meekest man on the earth, but he failed to bring his anger under control, he let his emotion rule it over him and the word of what God had told him to do - to speak to the rock)
12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not (Notice that God called it unbelief), to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
We know that he was kept out from going over into the promise land because of that very thing.
I KINGS 11:37-38 This is the prophecy that was spoken over Jeroboam who was to become king of Israel instead of Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.
Then after Jeroboam became the king of the 10 tribes, his imagination told him that he would lose the people of his kingdom back to Rehoboam because Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem and the people would want to go up and do their worship and sacrifices there, so because of his fear of that, he caused the people to sin because of the two calves of gold he made for the people to worship that instead of the true God.
I KINGS 12:26
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: (Rehoboam was king of the tribe of Judah which dwelt in Jerusalem)
27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. (this was all his own reasoning and imagination that was against what God had promised to bless him if he did that which was right)
28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold (look who he is taking his counsel from – not from a worthy source of a man or prophet of God, but from some backslidden heathen. It reminds me of people today, they won’t come to their pastor for Godly counsel, but they’ll go to some website and quickly take advice that is contrary to the word), and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
Jeroboam allowed the imagination of his spirit to rule over him and lead him and the people into a terrible sin that brought a curst upon their sons and their daughters.
God had promised him the kingdom, but he let his own spirit of reasoning to rule him into disobeying the word. Jeroboam became like a broken down city with no walls.
**Be the boss of your emotions by the word that is in your soul. Be the master over your spirit and bring it subject to every word.
II CORINTHIANS 10:5
5 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;