The Ax Is Laid Unto the Root of the Trees (conclusion) By Brother Duke Hansen

         Now please turn to Romans chapter 8. There are a number of messages you could take from this chapter alone. I want you to know that when you sow into the spirit and reap in the spirit, obstacles in your life are removed. Mountains that seemed unconquerable are crumbled. You should write every victory God has given you and your walk to re-read and reflect. Those moments added up should build and strengthen your faith. We are going to start in verse 5 and read to verse 14. Something key for you to remember and that's to trust in God and not in the vices and various advices of the world.

        5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

        6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

        7 Because the carnal mind is enmity(enemy) against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

        8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

        9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

        10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

        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 the Spirit that dwelleth in you.

        12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

        13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

        14 For as many are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

        In some cultures of the past, they would tie down the branches of a tree either to the left or the right. The tree would continue to grow upward but also grow out more tied down. If we are as a tree toward God, it does us no good to bend in one way or another because we aren't growing upward like we should.

        Wrapping the message up this morning, I have a few questions for you to ask yourself and answer. What type of tree are you and what direction are you growing? Are you pointing to the north or to the south? The ax is laid at the root of the tree in our times. If you want to try and stay in neutral areas, riding the fence so to speak between the world and heaven, you are heading to hell. The truth has always been here for us to share with others and to live by, but we cancel its power if we just merely present the look of a good Christian walk. We invest more time and energy in being a fraud and a phony. You have enough for God to work with today. Whenever you are at a temptation, any type of temptation know that if you had already partaken in it and enjoyed the sensation it gave, that feeling is going to come back. To overcome it, you need to shut off your mind. Go and look back at scripture, at stories in the Bible where men and women of faith were tempted and how they overcame it. Pray without ceasing to God and submit to his will. The temptation will leave you, but unlike the lie we tell ourselves that it's gone for good, that temptation will be back. This exercise done again and again in your walk, this is how you build that protective hedge. God has given us the tools to build that hedge and wants his people protected.