The Internal Struggle
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (Galatians 5:16-19)."
Friend, the moment you become a follower of the Lord Jesus, the battle begins. There is a struggle between our flesh and the Spirit living within us. Although you have been saved, you still have a sin nature. Every day, you make choices and you do things. These things either feed your spirit or feed your flesh. There is no grey area. If you don't stay grounded in the word of God, you will always default to the flesh. The Spirit desires the things of God and pleasing Him, doing His will whereas the flesh desires selfishness, bitterness, envy, jealousy, idolatry and all the things of the world. That is why Jesus said we must die to our flesh. In other words, we die to our will. "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up His cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it (Luke 9:23-24)." This is not a once in a lifetime choice, it is a daily choice that each of us must make to lay aside our will and follow Jesus.
Life in the Spirit is one filled with peace, gentleness, joy, love, patience, self-control, goodness, and faithfulness. These are characteristics of a Christ follower and were gifts given to you the moment you received the Holy Spirit. So we must ask ourselves, do those words describe me? Are these characteristics evident in my life? Can others see that there is something different about me? Although we are in the world, we are not of the world.
Our minds are where it all begins and it is so important that we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)." That is, to think about what you are meditating on, and if it does not line up with God's word, then you need to cast it out of your mind. Not only that, but replace those thoughts with the truth of His word. Your thought life will determine your behavior. If negative thoughts consistently stay in your mind, you will act on them. Whether it is bitterness, idolatry, greed, resentment, unforgiveness or hatred, these will influence how we treat others. Jesus said, "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45)."
So how do we walk by the Spirit and not the flesh? Because let's face it, regardless of who you are and whether you realize it or not, you will have this struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. First and foremost, you must stay in God's word and hold fast to it. "Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me-a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you (2 Timothy 1:13-14)."
This is a continual, habitual thing for if you don't, you will not be able to stand. Realize that you are not alone in your struggle. Paul, who I consider one of the greatest apostles that ever lived even faced this struggle as he wrote the following words under the Holy Spirit: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law that is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members (Romans 7:14-23)."
The battle of the mind is real my friend. What are we to do then? On our own, we will always give in to the flesh, but thanks be to God in Christ Jesus, He always gives us the victory! As a Christ follower, you have His Holy Spirit living within you. He is greater than anyone or anything in this world....in and through Him, you are an overcomer! The Holy Spirit will convict, help, comfort and guide you into all truth. However, you are the one that must make the choice to listen and be obedient to whatever He asks you to do. In order to hear Him, you must tune out everything around you-everything that has your attention-and be still before the Lord.
Remember also that satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He will take the word of God and twist it, so much so that if you are not grounded in the word, you will not be able to discern the difference. He will appeal to your flesh and will attack the areas you are most vulnerable. So then, keep on the armor of God at all times which will protect your mind and heart. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:10-11)."
Pay careful attention to what you are thinking about, what you watch and what you read. Whatever you feed is going to grow. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power and guard your heart. "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23)."
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10: 3-5)."
Our minds are where it all begins and it is so important that we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)." That is, to think about what you are meditating on, and if it does not line up with God's word, then you need to cast it out of your mind. Not only that, but replace those thoughts with the truth of His word. Your thought life will determine your behavior. If negative thoughts consistently stay in your mind, you will act on them. Whether it is bitterness, idolatry, greed, resentment, unforgiveness or hatred, these will influence how we treat others. Jesus said, "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45)."
So how do we walk by the Spirit and not the flesh? Because let's face it, regardless of who you are and whether you realize it or not, you will have this struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. First and foremost, you must stay in God's word and hold fast to it. "Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me-a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you (2 Timothy 1:13-14)."
This is a continual, habitual thing for if you don't, you will not be able to stand. Realize that you are not alone in your struggle. Paul, who I consider one of the greatest apostles that ever lived even faced this struggle as he wrote the following words under the Holy Spirit: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law that is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members (Romans 7:14-23)."
The battle of the mind is real my friend. What are we to do then? On our own, we will always give in to the flesh, but thanks be to God in Christ Jesus, He always gives us the victory! As a Christ follower, you have His Holy Spirit living within you. He is greater than anyone or anything in this world....in and through Him, you are an overcomer! The Holy Spirit will convict, help, comfort and guide you into all truth. However, you are the one that must make the choice to listen and be obedient to whatever He asks you to do. In order to hear Him, you must tune out everything around you-everything that has your attention-and be still before the Lord.
Remember also that satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He will take the word of God and twist it, so much so that if you are not grounded in the word, you will not be able to discern the difference. He will appeal to your flesh and will attack the areas you are most vulnerable. So then, keep on the armor of God at all times which will protect your mind and heart. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:10-11)."
Pay careful attention to what you are thinking about, what you watch and what you read. Whatever you feed is going to grow. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power and guard your heart. "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23)."
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10: 3-5)."
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