There is a battle taking place within every one of us. It’s a battle between the flesh and the spirit. The flesh is our natural or carnal desires. That’s what we were born with… The flesh always wants to be in control. However, the scripture says “For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” Galatians 6:8
Notice, when you sow to the spirit, you are going to reap blessings; spiritual blessing, favour, and increase. Not only eternal life but abundant life here on this earth. Your spiritual life will become very vibrant. The blessing may not happen overnight, but if you keep making those choices, you will come into a great harvest. But when you give into the flesh, carnal desires, God’s word says, you will reap destruction!
The scripture talks about the flesh always wanting to be a dictator (Romans 8:13) What does a dictator do? He tells you what to do, when to do it, how to do it. They make all of the decisions; you just sit back and follow the orders. That is okay if you are a child. You are growing, you are learning. People understand why you are childish. The problem is not when we are children, no, it’s when we are no more children but allowing the flesh to dictate for us, exhibiting carnality and living on a shallow level of life.
If you live on that shallow level of always having to please your flesh, you will never discover what is really in you and the best of God in you. Your gifts, your talents, and your potential won’t come out. You have to go beyond the surface. If you get past the temporary pain of not allowing the flesh to have its way and choose to follow the spirit instead of the flesh, God will release more of His favour. You will continue to rise higher and higher in your life purpose and walk with God.
Our feelings only tell us about right now, but a mature person doesn’t get caught up in the emotion of the moment. They always take a step back and think about the later effects. It’s much better if you pay the price for discipline today and do not get on board with those feelings. Make decisions based on wisdom, then later on you will not find yourself in a mess or open a door for the enemy to take advantage of the situation.
When you see people who are blessed, successful and have good relationships, they didn’t get there because they were lucky. They were disciplined. They did the right thing when it was hard. The people that reach their highest potential are the people that are good at saying “No” to their flesh. Those friends that want you to party all the time, your feelings will tell you, “Just do it! It’s fun, you will have a great time”. But later on, there can be addictions. Later on, there may be trouble in your relationships.
The flesh and the spirit are constantly opposing each other! You get to choose who is in control. Nobody can make this decision for you. We can encourage you, cheer you on; tell you that you have what it takes. But only you can make the decision, “I am not going to live at this surface level. I’m not going to let the flesh control my life or take the easy way out. I’m going to stand up for what is right.
Well, you see, “pastor, I can’t help what I feel”. I’m not asking you not to feel anything. That’s not reality. God made us as emotional beings. All through the day, you will feel things, but just because you feel it doesn’t mean you should act on it. The scripture says, “Be angry, and sin not”. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, not give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:26)
You may feel an emotion of anger, that’s okay, just don’t act on it. Don’t get on board with those feelings”. Or you may feel tempted to compromise, it’s so strong and you don’t see how you can control it. Get some worship songs and enjoy a wonderful time in God’s presence. God wouldn’t have created us to feel this way if He had not given us the ability to control it.
Who is in control, you or your feelings? Are you going to let the flesh stay on the throne, and be the dictator? “Your flesh says, ‘hook up with this other person’, which may end up messing up your relationship or marriage” and you try to lie to yourself that it’s just a harmless feeling… Living by what you feel is a very shallow way to live.
Your flesh wants to rule your life. It wants to stay in control, and lead you down the wrong path and destroy everything you cherish and have built for years. You have to stand on your ground, be determined and say, “Enough is enough. Flesh, you are not in control of me anymore. Feelings, you are not going to rule my life. I’m now completely ruled by the spirit”.
DYING DAILY!
The apostle Paul said, “I die daily”.(1 Corinthians 15:31) He was saying, “Every day, I have to say ‘no’ to my flesh. This is not something that we do one time and then we are done. It’s an ongoing process. You never get to the point where you are so mature, you are so spiritual that you don’t have any of these fleshly, carnal desires. Like Paul, every day we have to learn to say ‘no’ to certain feelings. The scripture says “Everything is permissible for me, but everything is not profitable”. (1 Corinthians 10:23) Also, “I will not become a slave to anything”. (1 Corinthians 6:12)
See, there are a lot of things we can do and get away with. We can go through life with a bad attitude, a hot temper, compromising, and impatient. That’s permissible, but it’s not very profitable. If you live at that shallow level, letting your feelings rule you, you can only go so high. Yes, you will survive, but it will be much less than you were created for.
Well you say, pastor, I have always had a problem with my temper, impatient or a certain feeling that always brings me down. I will never change”! The scripture never said that the feelings will go away. The feelings will always be there. The problem is when we give in we come under their control. You have to quit feeding those feelings. Anything you feed is going to grow. You are giving it more power. It’s just like a person who is addicted to a drug. The more he takes it, the more he has to have it. He craves for it. The desire becomes stronger.
You can’t pray them away. They are a part of life. The way you break free is you quit feeding them. Even though those fleshly desires still come, they won’t control you anymore. This is how you know that you are mature. Not that you don’t have any temptations. A sign of maturity is you still feel the negative emotions, but you don’t act on them. You are in control and not your feelings!
The scripture says “A person that doesn’t rule his spirit is like a city with broken-down walls”. (Proverbs 25:28) When we keep giving in to those wrong feelings, our walls are down. We have no protection, we are defenseless; the enemy can come in and have a free day with our lives. Here is the solution: God has given each one of us self-control. Self-control is like a muscle. If you never use it, if you never discipline yourself, your self-control muscle is going to be very weak.
You have to start exercising it. Start saying “No” to your flesh. You have a destiny to fulfil. God has amazing things in your future. The scripture says, “As long as the heir is a child, he will never receive the inheritance”. (Galatians 4:1) God is saying, “It’s time to grow up and step out from a shallow lifestyle. You have to be spiritually mature. Interestingly, spiritual maturity has nothing to do with how long you have been in church or how long you have known the Lord. It has everything to do with what kind of fruit you are displaying in your life. Are you living by your feelings? Are you saying “No” to these fleshly desires?
I read something interesting about mountain climbers. When they are out climbing, one of the main things they have to watch out for is poisonous snakes. The snakes can be hidden behind a rock, they move it and they get bitten. Or the snakes can be on the ground, disguised. They look just like the terrain. They accidentally step on them, and a snake bite way up a mountain can easily be fatal. It can take hours, even days to be rescued. So constantly watching out for poisonous snakes is always on the forefront of their mind.
But there’s something called “The snake line”. When the climbers get to a certain altitude, where the air is so thin, they know that snakes cannot live at that level. They don’t have to worry about getting bitten by these poisonous snakes at that height. In the same way, if you keep ruling over your emotions, not letting the flesh have control, as you continue growing, maturing, and coming up higher, you will get to the place where the snakes, where the enemy tricks cannot survive around you anymore.
It doesn’t mean that feelings wouldn’t come! They will still be there, but they won’t affect you. The power of your flesh is no more effective. Those feelings may try to get back up there from time to time, but you have developed so much self-discipline. You have grown up! You have sowed to the spirit for so long, it’s like you have crossed that “snake line.” The enemy is not comfortable around you at your new level! You are now in charge and it’s showing in your response to any fleshly desires!
Beloved, do your part and keep saying “No” to the flesh. Like the apostle Paul, keep dying daily, as you continue to grow! If you do this, I decree and declare that God is going to release the inheritance, the amazing things He has in store for you and you will enjoy a wonderful walk with Him… May you step into the fullness of your destiny and become everything God has created you to be, in Jesus’ name.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’
