So, if we are Christians, lukewarm, or simply none of those, let’s see where God sees us. In Psalms 34:13-14 it says keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile verse 14 says depart from evil. How many of us are obeying that scripture? What we need to know and understand that is in order for us to walk in the spirit and not of the flesh we have to have spiritual discipline. If you become overweight to the point that it is a fatal health risk do you start discipline yourself to a regular routine of diet and exercise to prevent health or death or do you keep on in gluttony basically ruin your health further or die? Same thing applies to sin, we can stay in sin which leads to ruin or death or discipline ourselves to live.
This is why spiritual discipline is important and it consist of 1. daily prayer. Don’t always say wham bam in vain mundane prayers. Develop deep fellowship prayers unto the Lord. For beginners start out with 5 minutes of prayer, then 15 minutes, then 30 minutes. But don’t focus or get caught up in making time, the goal is to learn how to spend more time in prayer unto the Lord. We spend much time in conversation for hours even with other people, same thing should be applied to the Lord. Lay it all out there on him, (it’s not like he doesn’t already know what’s up with you) but it’s good for you to practice being vocal, open, and honest to even call out to him about it in your prayer closet. Oh, by the way speaking of prayer closet, get one! It can be any place of isolation and cut off distraction. It might be hard for some than other to pray, I get that, but remember the more time in true genuine prayer so good for us and is pleasing to God and this is our direct contact to him and don’t think the conversation could be just on your part. The Lord can speak and reveal things to you in that moment of deep intimacy of prayer to him. We need that one on one with him disclosing everything on our minds and in our hearts to him.
Another discipline is reading the word daily, getting into your bible. I have always said in multiple comments to people telling them to pray before they open their bible because some people don’t know how to just start reading the bible. Look on my home page for “Pray before you read the bible” I’m telling you, the Lord truly will reveal things and people to you through his word. Another discipline is fasting. Very crucial and important and a must in your Christian I fast every week, not to brag, but to convey this is how regular and easily it should become for us. It’s very powerful and builds you spiritual muscles more in Christ. Plus, there are other greatly supernatural divine revelations that also occur during and even after the fast is over that puts you that closer to the holy spirit and the Lord. I encourage you guys to fast. If you need any questions about that please reach out to me in the contact section.
Now in 1 Peter 2:11 it says abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul. Well Jesus said if you follow me, deny your flesh, pick up your cross and follow me. Walking in the flesh is easy so how do we know when we are walking in the flesh instead of denying our flesh? Well, when you commit adultery, lie, cheat, steal, have a jealous, hateful, anger, bitter, lustful heart, fornicate commit idolatry worshipping other Gods such as witchcraft, sorcery, or even sports and celebrities, getting drunk, smoking, murdering, watching porn, masturbating, cursing, gossiping, you walk in the flesh. When we do these things we are not walking in the spirit obviously we are of the flesh when Jesus tells us to deny our flesh pick up our cross which is the hard part because now we must daily kill our flesh which is not easy because obeying the flesh is easier and what we have been doing more since birth.
How am I walking in the spirit? We walk in the spirit when we turn the other cheek and pray for those who wrong us. We don’t flip off the car that cut out in front of us. We don’t give in to temptation like lust, greed, or anger but instead we go in prayer about it or get into the word. We do things that are pleasing to God not pleasing to ourselves and to our flesh. It is hard to not be angry to not verbally attack someone or even not have an ungodly feeling even justifiably for people, but we have to resist the flesh that would satisfy in all that and act according to how Jesus wants us to act instead. We must renew our way of thinking when we become born again and with the holy spirit. The flesh doesn’t get born again it still wants to sin but now that we are new creatures in Christ with the holy spirit, we have to put our brain and flesh in check daily and discipline ourselves in spirit by prayer, obedience to Jesus Christ, reading the word, fasting, and killing the flesh daily.
The devil tempts us in our flesh because we have in the past gave the devil and our flesh what it wanted, but we have to now practice the authority in the name of Jesus Christ to make the devil flee and resist things would satisfy our flesh. The devil will not flee from us if we don’t resist him. You not denying your flesh is you not resisting the devil who is always going to throw temptation, sin, for people at you trying to break you, or get you to sin, or react ungodly, that’s why we have to rebuke him and resist sin and our flesh by practicing that daily through the power of the holy spirit that now dwells in us.
If you are Christian, you are warriors in training and only a warrior will resist the devil and show love when someone is being hateful to them. Only a warrior will instead stop and pray about a situation and person and not react like the flesh wants them to react about it that would not be pleasing to God. Giving in to your flesh is not a warrior it’s the easy devilish way that everyone is doing, and it’s takes a fighter in Christ filled with the spirit to follow God’s way and will that he wants us to do instead of what our flesh wants us to do. I get this might be difficult to do especially when dealing with people who are not in Christ, some might even profess to be a Christian but most times they are being influenced by the devil to try you. But when you still have love in your heart for them to not give them what they are trying to provoke out of you and just love and pray for them instead, this is what the Lord wants. It’s in his word.
Please guys make sure you ware walking in the spirit and not of the flesh. If you are guilty which we all have been in our lives of, please repent of those sins and moments and ask God to take any unrighteousness out of your heart and replace it with a heart like his that loves what he loves and hates what he hates, which is sin. The moment we follow Jesus and his commands we are walking and living in righteousness, and holiness because that is the result of living in obedience to our father, you gradually set yourself apart from things, people and sin of this world or that had bondage over you, and spiritual blessings reign on you.
It’s not easy at first because the Lord will test you to see how serious you are in truly following him and surrendering and trusting on him but through committed spiritual discipline, praying, fasting reading your bible and killing your flesh daily, the sins becomes less of a stronghold that you are not having to fight off so until they are no longer a struggle at all for you and your desire through faith and obedience only heightens you more to grow closer to the Lord with a deeper relationship with him to fully live with joy peace and zealousness for Jesus Christ. Will you tumble at times yes even I do, but we repent and get right back at it guys because you are a practicing overcomer not a quitter to go practice more sin. Jesus died so you can overcome not remain in sin.
So, I encourage you guys to walk in the spirit and get out of the flesh. God wants to bless you and I’m not talking about Lamborghini blessings, I’m talking about spiritual blessing. I can’t tell you how discernment is worth more than a trillion dollars right now. Why would I say that? Because there is no amount of money that will save you in the end if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You want his spiritual tools and weapons in the end or you want your worldly things and money? And it’s coming to that guys. But remember walk in the spirit because when you are of the flesh there is a void, a distance you are creating more and more between you and Jesus the more you remain and obey flesh/sin. Fulfill that gap with Jesus Christ you guys, repent and start to walk in the spirit. I know it’s hard and difficult but don’t let the devil trick you, we have power in that name and the holy spirit in us. And if you want discernment, if you want to be able to hear God speak to you, you got to be holy, practicing holiness, so walk in the spirit, pray, read your bible fast, kill your flesh daily. In Christ it’s the only way, and it works if you remember it’s all a test to see if you will fail or pass that will propel or hinder your walk and growth in the Lord. Be blessed and stay bold in spirit!