Walking in the Spirit (Part 9)
Two Voices Calling
Throughout your Christian life, you will hear the competing voices of temptation and wisdom. The call of God is a still small voice that we must listen to in order to hear. The voice of temptation barrages us from every direction. It takes no effort on your part to heed the voice of temptation for it is demanding your attention each day. In order to follow temptation, just follow your urges and drift with the current of the world. Any dead fish can float down stream, but it takes life to strive against the current. Consider this passage from Matthew 7:13-14
13 " Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You don’t need a command to enter by the broad gate. Everyone has access to it and everyone will enter through it – unless they seek and go into the narrow gate. Jesus gave us another important bit of information concerning this gate in Luke 13:
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Not only are we to seek to enter it, but we must strive to enter. The word strive comes from the Greek word ‘agonizomai’ which means to contend against adversaries. The world is flowing through the broad way. You can choose any religion, any lifestyle, or any path to get through the broad gate; however, there is only one door into the narrow gate. Jesus Christ is that door (John 10:9) and only through Him can we find the path of life. The world and all that is of the world will strive against anyone who seeks to enter the way of life. You must strive against adversaries and seek that gate. Jesus calls any who will come, but most will not come because of the intimidation of the adversaries or the desire for the world and deceitfulness of sin.
Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life. Most fall into the error of thinking that all we must do is make a profession of faith and then live life as we wish. This is far from the way the scripture teaches. Jesus said that many would call Him Lord and still be rejected (Matthew 7:22-23). Look at the preceding verse in Matthew 7:21
" Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Jesus did not say, narrow is the gate and then the way becomes broad and easy; the gate is narrow and the way is difficult. It is not difficult because God’s rules are strenuous, it is difficult because we will constantly be lured away from the path of life. Fortunately we have the voice of the Spirit of God who leads us if we have ears to hear. Consider these two passages:
Proverbs 9:1-6 Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table. 3 She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city, 4 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 5 "Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding.
Proverbs 9:13-18 13 A foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing. 14 For she sits at the door of her house, On a seat by the highest places of the city, 15 To call to those who pass by, Who go straight on their way: 16 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here"; And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 17 "Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant." 18 But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of hell.
Notice that the call of temptation and the call of God begin the same and call out to the same people. One voice appeals to our flesh and one voice guides us to righteousness. If you are living life in the flesh, the first voice you will hear is the voice of temptation; however, if you are walking in the Spirit, the first voice you will hear is the wisdom of God. Each time Jesus preached, He proclaimed, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. Obviously this is not the physical act of hearing for all who heard His sermons could hear and listen. The difference is that some were willing to hear the call of God and others just wanted to be inspired. We all get excited at an inspirational message, but only those who apply their hearts to hear the call of God truly have ears to hear. Your ears will be flooded with the calls of temptation, but only those who listen for the voice of God and seek Him will have ears to hear the message of the gospel.
I like to illustrate this point from an experience I had in the military when I was in Panama. Shortly after arriving in Panama, I decided that it would be nice to pick fresh coconuts from the trees in the jungle. I slipped away alone and journeyed in the jungle a short distance to find a coconut tree. The first group of trees had already been picked clean by the locals. I saw approximately 7 or 8 paths going different directions in the jungle so I chose one and made a careful note so I could get back. The next set of trees were also picked so I journeyed a little farther. The next group of trees were also picked so I continued on. I felt safe venturing farther because I made sure I took the same right-most path each time. Finally I found a tree with coconuts so I climbed up and picked three coconuts. I turned to head back and saw that the path that I came in on was the right-most path going into the jungle, but the center path coming from the opposite direction.
I followed the path I thought was correct through several sets of trees until I realized that I was definitely going the wrong direction. I back tracked and then took another path. The same result. It wasn’t long before I realized that I was hopelessly lost in the jungle. To make matters worse, no one new I was gone, it was the heat of the day and I had no water with me. I thought, maybe this wasn’t a very well thought out plan. It also didn’t help that I had just observed two men from my unit collapse the day before with heat exhaustion and had to get IVs to rehydrate them. My first urge was to run in circles screaming “I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die”. Since this wouldn’t serve much of a purpose, I restrained my panic and thought about what to do. Since I was stationed right off the Panama Canal, I thought that if I could hear the water, I would know which direction to go.
If you have never been in the jungle, it is a very, very noisy place. Toucans filled the trees and never ceased to screech their songs. Insects, other birds and all types of creatures filled the air with noise. I could barely hear myself think; much less could I hear the water. Even so, I knew this was my only hope, so I sat still and listened. After a while, there was a small lull in the jungle noise but it was just enough so that I thought I heard the faint sound of distant water lapping the shore. I began to walk in the direction of that water and soon the sound became louder and I realized that I had found the way out of the jungle. There were vines and barriers between me and the water and I could not get through to the shore that I could hear just beyond the barriers. After searching for a while, the only way through was a very tall thicket of elephant grass. I pushed finally through caution to the wind and blindly entered into this bush and pushed through and landed on the shoreline.
I believe having an ear to hear the call of God is the same. The world is filled with distractions and noise, but if you listen, God will reveal Himself. God draws us all to come, but only those who respond to that call and listen for His still small voice will find the path of life. Each time life begins to crowd us and drown out the way we should go, stop and listen. Seek God through His word and then listen to His voice. Wisdom is calling, but so is the voice of temptation. It is only the one who inclines their ears to God’s word that can hear the voice of God. Finally, look at Proverbs 4:20-27
20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. 24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
If you do not give attention to the word of God, you cannot hear the voice of wisdom – for wisdom is founded upon the word of God. If you let the word of God depart from your eyes, you will cease hearing the voice of wisdom. How do you keep your heart with all diligence? By keeping the word of God always before your eyes as you incline your ear to the instructions of God. Out of your heart are the issues of life. If you allow lust, bitterness or any other fruit of the flesh to take root in your heart, you cannot walk in victory and will not recognize the voice of wisdom when it calls. You MUST put perverse things far from you, keep your eyes on the ways of life and keep the word before you in order to keep your path straight. Temptation calls from every corner, but the one who heeds wisdom will dwell safely and be secure.
The Battle for the Mind
God has given you the right to set your mind on the things of God but you must choose to do so. Look now at Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
The mind is the doorway to the heart. Only by guarding your mind can you protect your heart. Look at Mark 12:30
'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
This portion of study will use a lot of scripture because the Bible has a lot to say about your mind. The foundation of everything begins in the above passage. The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Out of this commandment everything else flows. If you surrender your mind to sin, you cannot fulfill the commandment to love God and therefore cannot overcome or fulfill your calling in this life. If your mind is in bondage, so is your heart, soul and strength. Sin in your flesh wars against your mind and if allowed to succeed it will bring your mind into captivity. Look again at Romans 7:23-25
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
The law of sin dwells in the flesh and will always seek to rule your life, but you should rule over it. Sin’s desire is to rule over you and bring you into captivity. If you allow sin to reign, it will bring you into bondage. Take time to read Romans chapters 6 thru 8. The Bible describes our response to sin. In Christ, we are no longer under the law of sin but we have been set free; however, if we submit ourselves to sin, we will be under bondage. It is vital that you overcome sin, not by resisting the flesh, but by serving the law of God. I will go into this in detail shortly. There is a war and you are a soldier in this war. While the battle does get easier as we grow spiritually the battle never ends. If you become idle and quit pursuing righteousness, sin will take advantage of any opportunity and you will again fall into temptation.
I cannot stress this enough; you cannot allow your mind to be overcome by sin. According to Women Today Magazine, the average man thinks about sex 39 times a day. For those who struggle with sexual addictions, that number likely falls short. I can remember the time in my life where I constantly was filled with impure thoughts and even could not drift to sleep at night unless I was entertaining those thoughts. This was the problem in the world when God destroyed mankind in the flood. Look at Genesis 6:5-6
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Jesus foretold that the same would apply in the end times. Jesus said that as in the days of Noah were, so will it be when He returns (Matthew 24:37). In Proverbs, God declares that 7 things are an abomination to Him. One of the seven abominations that God hates is a heart that devises wicked imaginations. When a heart turns to sin, that person becomes an enemy of God. This is explained in Romans 8:6-9
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
As I stated earlier, if you are not in Christ, you do not have the Spirit within you and you cannot overcome sin in your life. Before you can apply the principles of scripture to your life, you must surrender your life to Jesus Christ and allow Him to be Lord over your life. When you are born again by the Spirit, you will have the Spirit of God within you and then begin to learn to walk in the Spirit. The fleshly mind cannot please God and is at war against God. You cannot subject your mind to lust and be subject to God. While you are in the flesh, you are at enmity with God. If you are living for the flesh you are disqualifying yourself from the inheritance of God. If you are practicing the works of the flesh, you are in need of repentance. The works of the flesh are explained in Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Any of these works of the flesh take us outside of the will of God and we therefore must apply the principles of God so that we bring the flesh under subjection. The Bible explains this to us. Look at these two passages:
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Ephesians 4:22-24 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Each day you must renew your mind. Each day you must put off your former conduct and be renewed as you put on the new man – or set your mind on the things of God. If you are born into God’s kingdom, you have the Holy Spirit within you who teaches you the things of God, convicts you of sin, and empowers you to live according to the ways of God. Jesus taught that if anyone wanted to be a disciple of His, they must deny themselves, take up the cross DAILY and follow Him. Each day you must set your mind on the things of God while putting out of your mind the things of corruption.
The flesh is at war with the Spirit; therefore, you cannot do the things you want to do in the flesh. You cannot practice gratifying the flesh or else you will be rebelling against the law of God and conforming yourself to the flesh. Each person who allows their minds to drift into sin subjects themselves to the works of the flesh and sin will rule over them. If you begin to act according to the works of the flesh you will also find yourself obeying the commands of the flesh as sin rules over you. You will either be a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. This is described in the Bible in John 8:34-36
34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 "And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
This is also affirmed in detail through this passage from Romans 6:15-18
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
The temptation of the flesh will lie to you and promise you liberty. You will be told that sin is freedom and pleasure in the flesh produces happiness. This, of course, is a lie. Proverbs describes this as a bird that rushes to a snare and does not know that it will cost him his life. Before modern hunting equipment was invented, birds were caught by placing bait in a snare and when the bird takes the bait, the snare trips and the bird is trapped and killed. This is exactly how temptation works in our lives. Temptation promises us fulfillment but in reality it is a trap that lures us in to destroy us. God uses no bait but redeems us from the snare and then calls us by faith to obey out of a love for His mercy as we trust in His promises. Temptation lures by offering instant gratification followed by entrapment; God calls us by faith knowing that in the end He will fulfill all promises and His satisfaction is not temporary or destructive. God fulfills our lives now by His Spirit within us as we press on for the promises that lay ahead.
Each one of us fights the battle of temptation daily as Satan lures us by many snares that are set before us. I have been ruled by the flesh, but the scriptural principles I will be discussing shortly reveal how that I found freedom and indeed each Christian also has freedom in Christ. The Bible teaches that sin shall not have dominion over you; however, you can submit yourselves under its slavery. We submit to sin by doing the things of the flesh and then subject ourselves under sin’s bondage again. Jesus set us free but if we live according to the flesh, we are not free in the Spirit. You are no longer under the law if you walk in the Spirit. If you are walking under the flesh, you are again under the law of sin and death.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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