Brothers and sisters, it is a fact that we have a spirit within us. Our spirit is different from our mind, our emotion, and our heart. The Bible does not tell us to walk according to the heart; instead, it tells us to walk according to the spirit. We need to follow the spirit, to walk according to the spirit.
I often tell people that today you may love a person but in the future you may hate him. Those whom you hate are usually those whom you have loved. Without marriage there cannot be divorce. Why is it that love can turn into hate? It is because this love was from the emotion, or at most it was only from the heart. The heart is so unreliable; it changes faster than the weather in Taipei. Therefore, all the wives need to know that none of the husbands is trustworthy, and all the husbands need to know that none of the wives is truly gentle. She might be gentle in this hour, but in the next hour she will strongly lose her temper. This proves that the human heart is not trustworthy; it is capricious. But, praise the Lord, there is one thing that is constant, and that is our spirit. If you love someone with your spirit, your love will not change. Whether or not he loves in return or if he is good or bad, you will still love him.
Our spirit was created uniquely and especially for us by God. I would like to tell you something that we know from our experience, though it is not explicitly mentioned in the Scripture. The fact is that because man fell, his spirit is now influenced by his soul. However, it seems that God has drawn a line and said to Satan, “Don’t go beyond this point.” It is as though God said, “You can enter into man’s body and usurp man’s soul, but you cannot enter into man’s spirit. His spirit is off limits to you.” Therefore, whenever you return to your spirit, you get out of Satan’s realm. If you remain in your mind instead of returning to your spirit, you will enter the kingdom of Satan and be under his control. Therefore, we must learn to turn to our spirit. Regardless of what people say to you, your mind should not dwell on what they say; regardless of how much people are angry with you and try to provoke you, you still must return to your spirit. Hallelujah, as long as you remain in your spirit, Satan cannot do anything to you!
Moreover, when you remain in your spirit, you are in fellowship with God. When you contact the Lord in this way, He will flow more abundantly into you to be your supply. In this way you can eat and enjoy the Lord.
Now we will consider the matter of reading the Bible. We know that there are two ways to read the Bible. The first way is to read with our mind; this is the common way. The more we read with the mind, the more deadened we become. The more we read like this, the drier and emptier we are and the more depressed we become. Then what is the right way to read the Scriptures? It is by the second way, which is to read with our spirit. After reading a sentence, you call, “O Lord Jesus!” By calling on the Lord while reading, you receive all the words of the Scriptures into you as life.
The Lord said, “It is the Spirit who gives life...the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). Therefore, we cannot receive the word with our mind; we must contact the word with our spirit. The word is spirit, and we touch the word by our spirit. When we pray with our spirit and read the word with our spirit, we absorb and receive the Lord abundantly into our spirit.
At the time of our believing, the Lord regenerated our spirit, changing our old spirit into a new spirit. From that time onward the Spirit of the Lord has been remaining in our spirit; that is, the two spirits have now become one spirit and witness together. Today this spirit in us is a mingled spirit, a wonderful spirit, and a rich spirit. You simply need to learn to turn to your spirit and to exercise your spirit moment by moment; then spontaneously you will touch the Lord Himself. As a result, you will enjoy the riches of the Lord. Hallelujah! You have a spirit! Exercise your spirit!