Go Against the Flesh:
A Christian is the soldier on the battlefield
against Satan who as the enemy wants us to yield to temptation and go with our
fleshly desires. The Christian must be
on guard against the “works of the flesh” and faithfully engage in developing
& demonstrating the “fruit of the spirit.”
In Romans 7:18-20 Paul says, “For I know that in
me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me
(in other words, the desire to do that which is godly is there inside me); but
how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would [desire
to do] I do not: but the evil which I would not [desire to do], that I do. Now
if I do that [which] I would not [desire], it is no more I that do it, but sin
that dwells in me.”
This is how we all start out in life. When we are born we are automatically held
tight in bondage of Satan’s desires. He
controls every single aspect of our lives and we are immediately battling him
from the very start. It starts very
young as we learn the rules of what we should and should not do in life. The right and the wrong. As the mom to three children I can tell you
teaching them right from wrong is a simple task if you kept them bottled up at
home, but stepping out into the world every single day is a difficult task to
manage. Our 19 month old is going
through the stages of understanding that when you do something you are not
supposed to there are consequences and he doesn’t like it, not one bit. He retaliates with a stomp or a temper that
usually includes throwing his pacifier across the room. We have to stand firm and usually walk away
after stating the rule because giving attention to the tantrum only rewards his
negative behavior with our
attention which he loves. So you can see that at a very young age we
start battling with what we should do verses what we want to do.
Our bodies are made up of the following three
things:
Soul: mind, heart, will & emotions
Flesh: the body
Spirit: houses the life of God.
Adam & Eve were baited by Satan, the same way
he baits us today…
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We are held hostage to the
flesh & don’t even realize it
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We think we are in control
of our own life.
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When we do sinful things
our flesh doesn’t resist.
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We believe we are the ones
carrying out our own life.
-
Sin has us right where it
wants us.
-
It seems like we have
complete control over ourselves when we sin & when we do not.
Satan has set up a landmark in our lives from the
very start. He jumps on board to those
at a very young age, because they are precious and unaware of his evil
tactics. As you grow older you recognize
sin, but think it’s not that bad because you do not do it all the time. Or maybe you don’t recognize your actions as
a sin and therefore feel you are doing nothing wrong. Once you realize what a sin is have you ever
tried to stop it? Trying to stop a sin
will show you just how much the devil has you in bondage. No matter how serious our commitment to
change our ways, we for some reason, cannot seem to pull it off. This is because we are hostage to the flesh
and to its agenda.
This is where God steps in…
Jesus came to make right what our rebellion in the
Garden of Eden made wrong. He came to
provide a way for the spirit of man to once again be awakened, and to once
again become the dwelling place of the presence of God. He came to condemn sin in the flesh and move
the flesh back to its rightful position, behind the will & purpose of God
in our lives. He came to rule &
control the soul of our life, the way he originally intended it to be ruled
& controlled. He came to save us
from sin!
Jesus wants us to replace the “flesh of the spirit”
with the “fruit of the spirit.”
Galatians
5:22-23 “But the fruit of the spirit is Love, Joy, Peace,
Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance; against
such there is no law.”
Love: It is love that
surpasses human understanding and causes a person to be filled with the
fullness of God.
Joy: The emotion of great
delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. Joy
gives spiritual strength.
Peace: When our rebellion ends
and we are forgiven, then we are at peace.
The spiritual fruit of peace results from being justified by faith.
Longsuffering: Like when
someone keeps making you angry or picking on you but just let it go and you
maintain control. Longsuffering is love on trial. It enables you to be
emotionally strong and forgive others.
Gentleness: Being reasonable, sympathetic;
the absence of harshness or sternness.
Goodness: God is the ultimate example of goodness.
Goodness is holiness put into practice and results from knowing God. Goodness
enables you to do good to those who hate you as well as those of the house of
faith.
Faith: Doing what you say you
are going to do. Being known as someone people can trust because you are
reliable.
Meekness: Humble and patient, your
spirit is free from rebellion and pride.
Temperance: Self-control;
Moderation or self-restraint in action or statement; It is control over your
entire being (body, soul and spirit).
Knowing the fruits and living by them is an
amazing start after asking Jesus into your heart, but you must remain aware of Satan
and his careful plan to demolish the believers one by one. Be prepared for the devil in every
situation. Remember that impure minds
filled with filthy actions; lustful/out of control behavior is wrong. Hate, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, envy, murder, bickering & fighting are all examples of how the
devil will lure you off course.
Practice Agape love by seeing the highest good of
others. Joy & peace will radiate
outward into a dark and dismal world.
Your interactions with others must include: patience, kindness, goodness
& gentleness. Be faithful to God;
build your faith by listening carefully to what God has to say in His word, and
then actively engage in applying it to your life.
Simply being aware of the immediate bondage that Satan
places over our lives will help you understand we are not in control. We will be defeated until we take the
initiative to cry out to Jesus and let him take control of our life. We cannot handle this world alone and
therefore we NEED Jesus to defeat and conquer the devil who holds onto our
souls until Jesus breaks the grips of that bondage. When the flesh is in the wrong position
(twisted/turned) it is sinful, but when the flesh is in its rightful place it
becomes a tool of righteousness in the Christian existence. When the human life is ruled by human
existence it leads to ruin, but when the human life is ruled & mastered by
the Spirit of God instead of by the flesh, the flesh is silenced and we are led
by the most high God.
Have the flesh transformed from sin to acts of righteousness
and live by the “fruits of the spirit.”
It’s not easy; God never promised it would
be. But remember every time you bottle
of all of those seeds of doubt or cards of things you have already done in sin,
Jesus already checked all of those off when he paid the ultimate sacrifice for
all of us. He can clearly sign his name
to every sin that we honestly repent of because he died for that reason, that
you and I might be free of our sins and live a sin free life displaying all the
fruits of the spirit.
It’s a choice; you make it every single day. It doesn’t always feel right to go against
the flesh, but remember no pain no gain.
If it feels weird it must be God geared, stick with the plan, the
benefits will far outweigh the alternatives!!
Have a blessed day,
KDavis
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