Scriptures: Proverbs 25 v 28: "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls."
Romans 12 v 1-2: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
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."
Let us imagine our spirit as a city without any structure or guidelines, without Bible knowledge, sound preachers, or hearing from God. We would be a vulnerable, unwalled city, open to be preyed upon. A city that would be ruled by the corrupt, amoral, selfish elite and fall into ruin.
Conversely he that does have rule over his own spirit is like a city that is built up, and with walls. So which is better? Broken down and no boundaries? Or built up and protected on all sides? Not walls that block out the presence of God, but walls we construct under His guidance to live holy, righteous lives.
Our first wall is Salvation. Salvation is a free gift given to us by the grace, or unmerited favour of God. That is to say, we have done nothing to deserve this reward.
SO -
Are you born again?
Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
Is your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life?
Has your lifestyle changed since you believed?
Have you stopped doing things that pollute your body and mind like drugs, porn, sex sin, prostitution, alcohol, cigarettes, lies, fraud, rebellion and self will?
If you have answered yes to those questions you have built a secure wall on one side of your city. If you are still indulging your flesh in sinful pleasures then your wall of salvation has many holes in it through which the enemy can shoot at will. You can choose to suffer the follies of sin which brings shame to your Saviour, or you can make decisions for yourself and your family that will bring eternal salvation and peace.
The second wall is Water Baptism. Jesus was baptised in water by John the Baptist at age 30. Jesus was dedicated to God when He was eight days old. What Jesus does, we do too. It is the outward expression of our inner commitment to Jesus. We identify with the death and burial of Jesus when we go under the water.
We identify with His resurrection when we surface out of the water. It is our public acknowledgment of His sacrifice and our personal acceptance of what He did for us. Our sinful nature dies under the water and is exchanged for the righteous nature of Jesus. Peter said - be born again and then be baptised. Acts 2 v 38 - 39: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
People who say that their infant baptism is sufficient are misled and need to rethink that deception. In Acts 19 Paul rebaptised some believers who had been baptised by John the Baptist which was only for repentance and not for the exchange of sin nature to righteous nature. If you neglect this wall your city is very vulnerable to attack. (Sin, illness, debt, fear, torment, theft, death.)
Those who were rebaptised in Acts 19, were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues and prophesied. This is the 3rd wall of your city. The flowing Baptism in the Holy Spirit. All the gifts working in you and through you, on behalf of God in harmony with His Will.
The gifts are found in 1 Corinthians 12: v 7 - 10: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:"
The fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is our new Christlike nature, are found in Galatians 5 v 22-24: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
If you have never been taught about the power of the Holy Spirit with His gifts and fruit, find a Christian who has. Ask them to lay hands upon you to pray for you to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. Without this wall your city is incomplete and your spirit is vulnerable to problems like doubt, fear, worry, pride, rebellion, unbelief, rejection, backsliding and self-justification.
I was in a Presbytarian church in 1978 where this blessing was not taught but I read a book by the Bennetts called "Nine O'Clock in the Morning" and asked Jesus to baptise me in the Holy Spirit. By lunchtime I was praying in tongues and have never looked back. The power to witness, pray and worship is incomparable. The Joy of the Lord is my strength.
Once you have received the first gift of the Holy Spirit, usually tongues, do not neglect it. Use it as often as you like every day. It will expand your knowledge of spiritual things. It will edify your mind to start receiving other gifts like the word of knowledge, or prophecy.
Wall number 4 is broken into 3 sections. The first involves the dedication of your body to the service of God Almighty as in Romans 12 v 1, above. You become a living sacrifice with no more worldliness in you than a corpse. You forsake the attraction of the world for the desire to win the lost into the kingdom of God. You overcome sin to maintain your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit and where He wants to be, you go.
We learn to bring our fleshly, worldly ambitions and pleasures under control of the Holy Spirit. We seek deliverance of things of the soul that manifest in the flesh like lusts, bitterness, pride, domination, anger, racism, religiosity, division and error. It is a process not achieved in the short term, but the more we surrender the faster we change. If we ignore this section of the wall we will find ourselves blocked in prayer needs and our spiritual growth at a standstill.
The Mind is the second segment of this part of wall. This is truly the devil's playground. The surrender of the mind to the pure will of God is a true battle as all we have learned both good and bad is stored in there. It is a lifelong process to conquer it all completely. But as we read and heed the Word of God so our minds become renewed and we unlearn strange philosophies, false religious ideas, bad memories, nightmare experiences, and wrong thinking. We now learn from the Manufacturer's Handbook (The Holy Bible) how we ought to think and believe.
The last segment of the 4th wall is the WILL. When you totally surrender your free will to doing the uncompromised will of a holy God forever you will experience complete unity with your Heavenly Father.
Jesus had His final surrender in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest and crucifixion. He sweated drops of blood and cried out to God the Father "Not My will but Thine be done!" We will have a "Garden" experience at some stage of our walk and once that decision is made you will never be under your own will again.
It is at this point that Jesus Christ becomes the true Lord of your life. Your city is complete and secure and you are a vessel meet for the Master's use. You are in complete harmony with the invisible Body of Christ, seated in Him in heavenly places.
Prayer: Heavenly Father Your boundless love wants only the best for us and You have made provision for us to receive the fullness if we apply all You have given to our lives. We must believe and receive all of it to have complete protection and the abundant life. Open our eyes and our hearts to the beauty of full surrender to You. In Jesus' name. Amen.