CRUCIFY THE FLESH
TEXT: Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face_ ( 2Chro 25:17 )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 (Roman 8:13)
Boasting in one’s achievements without recognizing the divine favor bestowed upon them is a common human flaw. They often neglect to acknowledge the role of God’s blessings in their accomplishments, instead using them as tools of pride and disrespect towards God. In an instant, however, the treasures we so proudly flaunt is swept away.Our text review begins with King Amaziah of Judah, who, after a successful battle against Edom, became overconfident and decided to challenge King Jehoash of Israel to a face-to-face battle. Overwhelmed by pride and a false sense of self-assurance, he sent messengers to Israel demanding a confrontation. Unsurprisingly, Amaziah was defeated in the ensuing conflict and lost much of his possessions as a result of pride and self-confident.The carnal nature, the very essence of our humanness, is a stronghold of unholy passions, inordinate affections, sinful desires, and unbridled lusts. It resists the absolute authority of God and spurns His Mercy, stubbornly insisting on fulfilling its own will and relying on its own strength. Christians struggle with this inborn nature that tugs at their souls, tempting them to disobedience, lust, impatience, and the succumbing to worldly desires.So, how can we, as a community of believers, take control over the flesh? *We need to mortify our flesh.* And how do we mortify our flesh? *We crucify it* . The best way to crucify our flesh *is to ultimately starve it out.* This is the power of fasting, *where we intentionally deny our fleshly desires while feeding our spiritual selves with prayer, the Word of God, humility, obedience, and submission.* In every area of our lives where we struggle with fleshly desires, *we must adopt a fasting mentality* . If our flesh is strong and our spirit is weak, we must declare a fast of that thing which our flesh craves. *To force the flesh into submission, we must deprive it of power* . This means we must deny it the things it desires, thus starving it out. We must consciously make an effort to train the flesh to yield its will and wants to the Spirit, telling it “no” when it resists. *When we deny our flesh what it craves while giving our spirit what it needs, we feed and strengthen our spirit while starving and weakening the flesh. Eventually, the flesh and its desires will die, and we will be able to walk fully in the Spirit.* Christ has secured for us, through His death on the cross, the power to overcome sin. We can possess this power if we have a deep desire for it and pray earnestly to live an overcoming life. *For it is only those who hunger and thirst after righteousness that shall be filled (matt 5:6)
SEARCHLIGHT: Crucify the flesh to stay alive spiritually. PRAYER : Abba Father, I earnestly request that You weaken the influence of my carnal nature, so that my spirit may be strengthened and my soul may be attuned to Your will.
BIBLE READING: Isaiah 35-37 & Rev 9.
PASTOR. MICHAEL OMOLE
