The War is for Your Soul
Romans 6:16 says “know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of
obedience to righteousness”?
Jesus tells us “no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and
love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).
The world is not going to last forever (I John 2:15-17) “love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world, if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and
the lust thereof, but he that does the will of God abides for ever”. We are told to
come out from among them (II Corinthians 6:17).
The sin in the garden was to obey the devil over what God had said; and by this the
devil became the god of this world. The devil is still roaming around trying to devour
any one that he can get to do his will over what God has said. The devil is still using
the same temptations, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life; he
even tried this on Jesus in the wilderness, but Jesus defeated him by saying “it is
written”, each time he used these temptations and we can too.
We know that God has a plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) “for I know the thoughts
that I think toward you, says the Lord Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to
give you an expected end”.
Also in III John 2 which says “beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper
and be in health, even as your soul prospers”. The key is that our soul has to
prosper.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says “let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; fear
(reverence) God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil”.
Your flesh is your biggest enemy; the flesh is a way of thinking that goes against God
(Romans 8:5-8) “for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but
they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is
death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God”.
The natural man (one who is not born again) receives not the things of the Spirit of
God; for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned. This describes our old man (Ephesians 2:2-3) “wherein in time
past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. Among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others”. We were dead and lost, but thanks be to God who have translated
us out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His dear
Son (Colossians 1:13).
Paul speaking to the Corinthians church which had a background of ungodly acts, in
chapter 3:1-3 “and I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal,
even as to babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for before
you were not able to bear it; neither yet now are you able. For you are yet carnal; for
whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal,
and walk as men”?
The devil couldn’t stop us from being saved, but he will do all that he can to get you
back. We have to be careful to mind the things of God (Hebrews 10:26-27) says “for
if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains
no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery
indignation, which shall devour the adversaries”.
We have to crucify our fleshly thinking. Paul says “I am crucified with Christ;
nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me”
(Galatians 2:20); and in Galatians 5:24 it says “and they that are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts”.
Jesus did tell us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:
24); and just as He in the garden of Gethsemane says to the Father, not My will, but
let Yours be done.
Peter tells us how to do this in I Peter 4:1-2 “forasmuch then as Christ has suffered
for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he that has
suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. That he no longer should live the rest of
his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God”.
The good news is that Jesus defeated the devil and then gave us power over the
enemy (Luke 10:19) “behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents, and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt
you”. And that includes the flesh.
James 4:7-8a,10 says “submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up”.
I Peter 5:6-9 says “humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that
He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion; walks
about; seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing
that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world”.
The solution is found in Galatians 5:16-17 which says “this I say then; walk in the
Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the
Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other; so
that you cannot do the things that you would”. We walk in the Spirit when we walk in
the word of God.
Romans 6:6-14 says “knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the
body of sin might be destroyed, that hereafter we should not serve sin. For he that is
dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also
live with Him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more, death
has no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He dies to sin once; but in He
lives, He lives to God. Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed to sin,
but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield you your
members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; but yield yourselves to God, as
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God. for sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not
under the law, but under grace”.
We have to remember that “as we think in our heart, so are we”. And that
whatsoever we sow, that we shall reap (Galatians 6:7-9,14) “be not deceived; God is
not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to
his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season
we shall reap, if we faint not. But God forbid that I should glory save, in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world”.
Remember that the devil is the god of this world.
The cure to the flesh, is being filled with the word of God.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: March 12, 2010
Romans 6:16 says “know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of
obedience to righteousness”?
Jesus tells us “no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and
love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).
The world is not going to last forever (I John 2:15-17) “love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world, if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and
the lust thereof, but he that does the will of God abides for ever”. We are told to
come out from among them (II Corinthians 6:17).
The sin in the garden was to obey the devil over what God had said; and by this the
devil became the god of this world. The devil is still roaming around trying to devour
any one that he can get to do his will over what God has said. The devil is still using
the same temptations, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life; he
even tried this on Jesus in the wilderness, but Jesus defeated him by saying “it is
written”, each time he used these temptations and we can too.
We know that God has a plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) “for I know the thoughts
that I think toward you, says the Lord Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to
give you an expected end”.
Also in III John 2 which says “beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper
and be in health, even as your soul prospers”. The key is that our soul has to
prosper.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says “let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; fear
(reverence) God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil”.
Your flesh is your biggest enemy; the flesh is a way of thinking that goes against God
(Romans 8:5-8) “for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but
they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is
death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God”.
The natural man (one who is not born again) receives not the things of the Spirit of
God; for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned. This describes our old man (Ephesians 2:2-3) “wherein in time
past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. Among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others”. We were dead and lost, but thanks be to God who have translated
us out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His dear
Son (Colossians 1:13).
Paul speaking to the Corinthians church which had a background of ungodly acts, in
chapter 3:1-3 “and I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal,
even as to babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for before
you were not able to bear it; neither yet now are you able. For you are yet carnal; for
whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal,
and walk as men”?
The devil couldn’t stop us from being saved, but he will do all that he can to get you
back. We have to be careful to mind the things of God (Hebrews 10:26-27) says “for
if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains
no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery
indignation, which shall devour the adversaries”.
We have to crucify our fleshly thinking. Paul says “I am crucified with Christ;
nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me”
(Galatians 2:20); and in Galatians 5:24 it says “and they that are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts”.
Jesus did tell us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:
24); and just as He in the garden of Gethsemane says to the Father, not My will, but
let Yours be done.
Peter tells us how to do this in I Peter 4:1-2 “forasmuch then as Christ has suffered
for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he that has
suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. That he no longer should live the rest of
his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God”.
The good news is that Jesus defeated the devil and then gave us power over the
enemy (Luke 10:19) “behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents, and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt
you”. And that includes the flesh.
James 4:7-8a,10 says “submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up”.
I Peter 5:6-9 says “humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that
He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion; walks
about; seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing
that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world”.
The solution is found in Galatians 5:16-17 which says “this I say then; walk in the
Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the
Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other; so
that you cannot do the things that you would”. We walk in the Spirit when we walk in
the word of God.
Romans 6:6-14 says “knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the
body of sin might be destroyed, that hereafter we should not serve sin. For he that is
dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also
live with Him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more, death
has no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He dies to sin once; but in He
lives, He lives to God. Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed to sin,
but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield you your
members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; but yield yourselves to God, as
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God. for sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not
under the law, but under grace”.
We have to remember that “as we think in our heart, so are we”. And that
whatsoever we sow, that we shall reap (Galatians 6:7-9,14) “be not deceived; God is
not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to
his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season
we shall reap, if we faint not. But God forbid that I should glory save, in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world”.
Remember that the devil is the god of this world.
The cure to the flesh, is being filled with the word of God.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: March 12, 2010
