We simply need to know how to exercise our spirit. We were taught to understand, to listen, and to discern. We were taught to exercise our mind. In this way, the Lord is not the Spirit but a set of doctrines. This is why today’s Christianity is so dead. We must be assured that the Lord has turned the age from dead doctrines to the sevenfold living Spirit. Praise the Lord!
We all must learn to praise. Let us sing and praise Him and forget about our mind. We must often say or sing, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” This is the exercise of the spirit. The more we say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” the more we breathe Him in. In the past we used the wrong organ. We used the mind instead of the spirit to contact the Lord. But John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit.” In the past we did not worship God in our spirit, but in our mind. Now the Lord wants to turn us from the mind to the spirit, from the doctrines to the Spirit. So we all must learn how to exercise our spirit to praise the Lord. This is the right organ for us to worship God.
The Lord is life, and life is in the Spirit, and life is the Spirit. The Spirit is called “the Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2). “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). When we touch the Spirit, we touch life. Life is in the Spirit, and the Spirit is just like the air. The Greek word for Spirit is pneuma, and this also means “air.” Today the Lord is the heavenly, divine pneuma to us. He is the air, the breath, and there is only one way to take in the breath—to breathe. If we try to learn, to listen, or to understand the breath, we get nothing. Christ is not Christianity; He is not a religion or a set of doctrines. He is the life-giving Spirit. He is the sevenfold Spirit, and as the Spirit He is the divine air, the heavenly breath for us to breathe.
Romans 5:10 says that we will be saved in the Lord’s life, and Romans 10:13 says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If we put these two verses together, we see that we are saved by calling. Formerly, I thought that Romans 10:13 was only for the unbelievers. Since I had been saved already, I did not feel that I needed this verse. In a sense, we have been saved already, but in another sense, we still need to be saved. For instance, we still need to be saved from our temper. It may be a continual trouble to us. How then can we be saved from our temper? We can be saved not by the Lord’s death but by His life. How can we be saved in the Lord’s life? It is by “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” This is the best secret to overcome our temper. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Call!
We must not think that our temper is a small thing. It is so small, but it is so troublesome. Let me ask you a question. Can you say that you have not lost your temper within the past seven days? I am afraid that you cannot say this. So we must not think that our temper is insignificant. It is so practically troublesome. But I have the secret of overcoming the temper. It is just by saying, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” Whenever the little temper comes to bother you, do not try to overcome it. You cannot overcome it, but you can say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” and the temper is gone. Your temper is not lost but gone.
Husbands and wives, parents, and children are the best helpers of the devil to stir up our temper. But whenever these dear ones are doing their best in this way, we must say from deep within, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” Just try it. This is not being superstitious. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 20:22 that when the people began to praise the Lord, the Lord set ambushes for the enemy. When we praise the Lord by saying, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” the ambushes will be set.
In Psalm 8:2 the word strength can also be rendered “praise.” So it could be read in this way: “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings / You have established praise / Because of Your adversaries, / To stop the enemy and the avenger.” The Lord established strength with praise out of the mouths of the babes and sucklings. It is this that silences the enemy. It will not only defeat the enemy, but it will also shut the enemy’s mouth.
So we must learn to praise. The secret to overcome all situations is to praise. You may say that you do not know the Lord’s way for you. There is no need to know. Just praise the Lord. “Lord, I do not know Your way; I do not know, Lord. Hallelujah! I do not know, Lord. Amen! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! I simply do not know, Lord. But You know, Lord. Hallelujah!” If you will praise the Lord in this way for fifteen minutes, you will be clear. If you feel lonely, do not try to pray by begging for the Lord’s presence. Just say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” In less than five minutes you will have the sense that the Lord is with you. You can get everything just by these four words: O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! Sometimes it is even better to sing these words. Whatever you need, this praising will bring it to you. Poor Christianity! They have complicated matters with so many teachings and “spiritual” philosophies to exercise the mind. But praise the Lord! His way is so simple, so practical, so rich, so living, so refreshing, and so nourishing. We could use hundreds of words to describe it! “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!”
We should never look at ourselves. We are not good for praising. Only Christ is worthy. Look at Him! He is worthy! The Lamb is worthy to receive all the praises, glory, honor, and blessing. To praise in this way is not only food but also medicine. It not only nourishes; it also heals.