THE LIMITATIONS OF BROKEN FLESH

[DK Grooms]

 2 Cor 5:17

          Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Eph 4:24

          And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

 

Today’s blog is about you, the born-again, spirit filled child of God, coming into the marvelous revelation of how you can walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  Does that appeal to you?  I thought it might!

 

So, what exactly does walking in the spirit mean? 

 

Most cannot explain it, though it should be no more difficult to grasp or explain than knowing what salvation is.  

 

Walking in the Spirit simply means to understand precisely who you are in the Beloved [Christ], as clearly outlined and stated in scripture.  When you have this understanding and believe it without wavering, you’ll be victorious in all matters here upon this earth.  The Holy Spirit was sent as a gift, to equip us with the truths of this knowledge.  Speaking in tongues unlocks the hidden mysteries of God, making them real and alive to us. Why, without him we can’t even understand the simple things of our faith, much less the deep things of God. 

 

We’re like the totally ineffective disciples before Pentecost.  After Pentecost, they were endued with power from on high – the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Why?  So they would get some spiritual backbone, namely, understanding exactly what Christ had done for them, and who they really were because they believed on him.  You might call it pre-Holy Ghost and post-Holy Ghost experience.  Pre-Holy Ghost, the disciples were helpless and hopeless; hiding so the religious leaders wouldn’t find and torture them.  When Pentecost rained down on them in the upper room, they became bold and powerful, not caring who heard them.  In fact no one could resist their message and thousands came to Christ over the next several days.  What happened?  These people went from nobodies to somebody – they were emboldened with the truths of who they were in Christ.  They were walking in the spirit, and it lasted their entire life.

 

Because many don’t know these truths for themselves, they can only talk about the future events in heaven, when we’ll all receive everything God has to offer.  That’s true of course, but frankly, that doesn’t do us much good when we’re supposed to be fighting the good fight of faith here and now. 

 

God doesn’t like to see his children confused or in doubt concerning their relationship with the Godhead and who they now are as a result of this relationship.  We can’t proclaim ourselves to be something we don’t understand ourselves. 

 

Think of it this way…  

God doesn’t derive any benefit from uninformed and weak Christians.  God wants all of us, especially you, to be an overcomer; victorious in all matters of your human life.  That’s why he gave you his word and the Holy Spirit to empower you with the knowledge of truth.

 

Knowing who we are in Christ, as revealed by the Holy Spirit, strengthens, and enables us to walk in the spirit [our born-again spirit; made perfect in Christ].  It’s the knowledge of God proclaiming who and what you are in Christ.  Walking in the Spirit means to believe without doubting, having full confidence that if God said it, it is so.

 

Do not be deceived, there are only two ways you can walk on this earth, either in the spirit, or through your fleshly, carnal man.  If you don’t walk in the spirit, which is Christ, you’re confined to walking in the flesh, which consists of your five senses and your emotions.  

 

Walking in the revelation and truth of Gods word instead of the realm of your five senses gives you freedom that can never be achieved in the flesh.

 

This is such wonderful news.

 

 Gal 5:16

          This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

 

Here’s the promise…

Walk in the spirit and you shall not [will not] fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

 

Let’s be careful not to get things backward.  Most of God’s people misinterpret this scripture.  They’re taught that if they desire to walk in the spirit, they must first stop fulfilling the lusts of their flesh.  This is absolutely incorrect and impossible to do.  There is nothing you can personally do, through your own efforts, to walk in the spirit of God.

 

Galatians 5:16 does not tell you to quit fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, and then the spirit will come abounding in your life.  It says that if you will begin to walk in the revelation of the new man [your born-again spirit] then you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

 

Here’s just a sampling of what you’ll find being taught in most churches; that they claim will enable you to walk in the spirit.

 

You must first…

1)     Stop Smoking

2)     Stop Drinking

3)     Stop Swearing / Cussing

4)     Stop Gossiping

5)     Eliminate Unforgiveness

6)     Eliminate Jealousy

7)     Eliminate Envy

8)     Eliminate Strife

 

I’m sure that the majority of you would admit that this is a very tall order for most people to accomplish on their own. 

 

On the other hand, God tells us that if we’ll walk in the spirit; that is to put on this new spirit man and walk in the revelation of who we are and have become, we will most definitely stop fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.

 

The churches’ fundamental stand on this matter is plain to see.  It’s all about you and your effort(s) to reach God by simply quitting or getting rid of this or that in your life; believing they would then be holy and therefore pleasing to God.  This is the same mentality that man had thousands of years ago when they sought to build a tower to reach God [Babel].  It didn’t work then and it certainly won’t work now.  Human effort always results in failure and frustration.

 

Living a holy life and striving to walk in righteousness is a theme that is repeated in virtually every human religion on the earth.  We know these religions worship false gods, but we jump right on the wagon with them.

 

If we can just get rid of all our carnal sin, then the spirit will flow towards us in abundance, after which all the promises of God will begin to work

 

That is exactly the opposite of what the scripture teaches.

 

What if we think about it this way…

Let’s say, for instance, you were able get rid of all things fleshly or carnal in your life; the undesirable actions, and were able to cleanse and bring into dominion every sin and rebellion through your own strength, then why would you ever need the spirit?

 

We were given a new nature because the old nature wasn’t up to the task, nor could it commune with God, except in repentance.

 

What needed to happen began at Calvary and was completed in the upper room.  Like the early disciples, you need the power of the Holy Ghost to come flooding into your life to break the power and dominion of sin and human carnality, enabling you to walk in the spirit, in complete victory.

 

Illustration…

Have you ever gone into a room and pushed or shoveled out all of the darkness so the light would come in?  What utter nonsense.  You simply turn on the light and instantly the darkness disappears.

 

Now, that’s precisely how the Spirit of God works.  Remember, he is the light.  When you allow him in, he comes in all of his glory and the darkness in you is driven out.  Your old man is replaced with a newly created man; created in righteousness and pure holiness.  No more should the frailties of your humanity [your five senses], dominate every waking moment.

 

 

Truth destroys the following…

1)      Sickness’

2)      Addictions

3)      Depression

4)      Condemnation

5)      Failures

6)      Defeat

7)      Obsessions

8)      Vile Compulsions

9)      Persuasions of the flesh.

 

It will stop the flesh from dominating you.

 

I hope you can grasp how wonderful this word is to you. To

walk in the revelation of who you are in Christ; in the revelation of the brand new you, which never existed before Christ came, is the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to man.  With this knowledge, you can defeat every foe. 

 

Just think, if preachers understood the this message of putting on the new man, they would never suffer burn-out.

 

Let me describe what burn out is…

It’s man’s attempt to do something spiritual through human effort.

 

There’s little question that the result of human effort brings total frustration and exasperation with the very people they moved to minister to in the first place.  Let me tell you, Paul never suffered burn-out, or countless others who knew who they were in Christ.

 

Inside of you is a brand new spirit; one created by God, so that you can be accepted into the beloved [Christ].  This new man has a new mind, with the attributes and character of Christ, in completeness.

It has the full measure of faith as Christ had; the capability to love as Christ loved [unconditionally] and the long suffering patience of Christ to meet any challenge.  It lacks nothing; complete [in fullness] in everything that our Lord is.

 

Here’s what’s possible to do in the spirit…

1 Cor 13:4-8

          Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

          Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

          Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

          Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

          Charity never faileth:

 

Walking in the spirit breaks the dominion of the carnal man.

 

Illustration…

Have you ever known someone who just rubbed you the wrong way – all of the time?  You don’t like them and can’t ever see yourself liking them. 

 

Listen, this is a natural human thing.  We’ve all experienced similar situations.  It’s called being in the flesh.

 

How do you overcome that?  You overcome it by drawing from the well which abides in you through your spirit.

 

Here’s how it works…  

You truthfully admit your immense dislike for this person to God.  You tell him your feelings and admit that you know it isn’t right to hate others.

     The Spirit reminds you of the love that Christ had for those who had crucified him; who had scourged him almost to death and then nailed him to the cross.  It was the agape love that he had, which enabled him to bear and endure all things.  He cried out to his Father to forgive them for they knew not what they had done. 

     It is that love which now resides in my new man [spirit] in fullness as it was with Christ.

     In this revelation you speak, saying, “In the name of Jesus, allow that love, which is in my spirit, to manifest itself, and that the dominion of my flesh will be broken, in his precious and holy name.

 

The conscience revelation of what God has done for you in the spirit [new man], will cause you to walk in that new spirit.  The dominion of sin will then be broken.  You’ll switch identities from the old nature, to the new nature, which is Christ.  Agape love will flow as it did for him.  In light of this you understand who you really are in Christ and desire to walk in that spirit, over everything else.

 

Don’t forget…

It’s about understanding the new you as God sees the new you; created in righteousness and true holiness, not having the flaws and failures of the mortal flesh.

 

When Christ came in, everything changed.  Be a part of the change.