Objectives Re-visited

Objectives! We all have them, but the key is to attain, to conquer, to win. To overcome is the ultimate goal, wouldn’t you agree? Take the simplest of examples in our everyday lives, pick an experience that belongs to you, a memory we call upon to find motivation, hope, joy and the will to push on. There could be numerous recollections to draw from…

 

On occasion I am taken to my military training and the lessons I learnt there, not about becoming a soldier per say but the heights I reach on a mental and physical level that I once believed to be impossible, I was wrong. Although we are fallen creatures and tainted by sin God has designed the human body with phenomenal ability. We are capable of so much more than we could ever imagine, it's only when we are put to the test that we really understand this valuable lesson. When the pressure is on we always look for the easy way out. Our default is to tap out far too soon. The Lord Jesus stayed the course, he drank a full cup of every permutation possible to man and even though the anguish at times was so severe that his sweat glands bled blood, he never tapped out. His objective to overcome sin in a human body, he was victorious. His aim, to please his heavenly Father, which he achieved in spades. As Christians surely this then needs to become our overarching objective in life, to please our heavenly Father and the only way to actually achieve this is too, as Paul puts it; “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son.” But why the emphasis on “my spirit”? This is the nitty-gritty of it all, we have to learn the difference between walking in the flesh (our natural ability) as opposed to the spirit. Faith is needed to accomplish this. This is my observation, if we serve in the spirit, if we truly have consciously “put on the mind of Christ” we are in a different zone and we begin to process information differently. The cares of this world are not so monstrous and we find a strength (grace) to endure, come what may. We believe that we are exactly where God wants us to be. We must fly this flag with confidence; our God is in control of all things. However when the flesh dominates, and when the pressure is on our mind-set is one of panic.

 

I do not professed to have mastered it, far from it, but I am able to call on memories when I was happiest and a peace surpassed all rational understanding. Why?  My conclusion, I was walking in the spirit. The man Jesus always walked in the spirit although he was a man, his body like every other, flesh and blood. Why? He saw way beyond the grave. His focus was on eternity and the will of God, that’s what drove him and others have followed, will we? It would be almost impossible to forgive a perpetrator in the throes of their actions, whilst their intent is to kill. Stephen did it! A man filled with the Spirit of God and dressed with the whole armour of God.

 

I am convinced this is the lesson. Our flesh will suffer when we are walking in the spirit, it has to give way for a better approach and it’s the only way we will ever truly please our heavenly Father. The difficultly we face is acceptance of our new found reality; Peter understood this well and this is his instruction; “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1Peter 4:1-2) – All three points tied up in the same verse, arming our mind with Christ’s mind, the flesh suffering to stop its wicked behaviour and finally to be about the will of God.

 

The clear water behind this instruction can become muddy if stirred incorrectly. There are two sets of rules, or at least that is what I wish to explore when it comes to application from the instinct of an individual prior to salvation and after the switch is flip. I do not wish to spend time debating the actualities of this truth, salvation, when does it happen? But the realisation of our own understanding when our lives are turned on their heads for the first time, when people look at you as if you are mad, etc. That beautiful day when tears of joy flooded your soul and you cried out “I can see, I can see.” And then we begin to grow, time ticks by and we become weary, there are many questions that need answering, not that salvation and the truth behind it is every question, NEVER! But in hindsight, muddling the flesh and the spirit into one pot becomes a world of pain. I know and yet I really knew very little, if I was wiser, folly would not have encapsulated so much of my life. However, He who is in us is greater that he who is in the world (Satan and every affiliated plot) and thankfully we are brought to our senses. God continue to have mercy on the struggling pilgrim’s souls, not because we deserve it but because you have it in your power to be merciful. And all because of what your amazing Son our beloved Saviour achieved on our behalf.

 

What is my conclusion? Our objective; we must learn to walk in the spirit, put on the mind of Christ, dress for battle, putting on the whole armour of God (see Ephesians 6). When these application are in place, we will be walking in the spirit and therefore never be tripped up by the lusts of our flesh. So it’s easy to gauge; lustful behaviour of any sort and acting upon it proves but one thing that we have the flesh dominating, we are walking in the natural, our behaviour is that of the individual prior to salvation. The old man/woman dictating. When we walk in the spirit, with God’s Spirit directing our paths we radiate HIS glory and through the trial of life the light of Christ shines in us, which will obviously affect the onlookers for the sake of the gospel. Either way people will be affected. I suppose the actual proof for me would be a tranquility, the peace of God. It’s when baffled onlookers see the apparent hardships that accompany that peace. This is where God is glorified, the peace of God in a believer’s life is impossible to fabricate, because it comes from the Spirit and not the natural.

 

Understanding the theory is one thing, but application to it is the actual test. God give us the strength to put off childish things and to dress for battle. How can we be of any use to others if we cannot find grace to master our own lives?

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Pleasure Receptors

Pleasure receptors once activated needs quenching. Satisfaction of these receptors is immediate and can never totally be quenched, we have been created with an appetite that needs quelling. The longer we are kept from water the sweeter it becomes. Most of us will know what it is like to be thirsty, at least to some degree. God given pleasure receptors are there to be enjoyed. Quench a thirst and there is an explosion of satisfaction. Some signal sent to the brain that brings with it immense pleasure. We need to go back to the beginning to deepen our understanding on the subject. Way back when God created the universe the time came when he purposed to create man; Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26)

There has been much debate on what that actually means but let me conclude with this, we were created with the capacity to engage with God and to understand certain attributes that He holds dear unto himself, such as, “pleasure receptors.” We have our senses that feed those receptors. The problem we had at conception or rather Adam had, was he was not ready to awaken his understanding of differentiating between “good and evil” under the banner of righteousness. That domain belongs to God and him alone. Hence the reason Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from a certain tree; “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  (Genesis 2:17)

We know they ate, sin entered in and death became our reality.  With sin now thrown into the mix we have new receptors that are in play, which opposes the will of God and His character. As Christians we have our spiritual body housed in our earthly bodies. With a constant conflict raging in our minds determining good from evil. However, the problem we have, once a sin receptor has been awakened it is impossible to naturally suppress. And the world is filled with avenues where these cravings can be met. As Christians I am realising how easily we are trapped by so many of them. Our gaze must be fixed upon the Lord Jesus and not the "free", we must align ourselves with His will and not our selfish wants, if not, there is no chance of escape and there is no exception to the rule. Forget what the liars want you to believe, the liberals and the like, it’s the blind leading the blind and they will all fall into the ditch.

How much time in the day do you allocated to our Saviour? Let me leave you with this thought; “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”  (Hebrews 12:1-2)

 

It amazes me that God has allowed such a detailed life, full of indulgence, riddled with sinful behaviour in the book of Ecclesiastes to teach us so many valuable lessons about ourselves. It’s the preacher who exposes every intent under the sun and then he comes to an awesome conclusion, are you ready for it? “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 12:8) – So much time and effort spent on this life, which is temporal and so little of our day is burnt storing up treasures in heaven, which is eternal. So then what is the soul duty of mankind according to the preacher? “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) 

 

Here is my conclusion, God in His BRILLIANCE has made a way for us to live in a body tainted with patterns of sinful behaviour to then wilfully choose His will for our lives at any given time, and sure we fail at times. But that was never the intent, we must learn to “let go and let God”. The Christian has a storeroom full of grace to draw from. But acknowledging  our own sin is imperative, we must own it and look for grace to eradicate it from our lives. Let’s not be fooled into believing that we can live like we once did and then expect a warm welcome into the portals of heaven when our time eventually arrives. Paul gives many warnings to those who habitually continue in sin so that grace may abound as if it’s not that serious, because it is!

 

“To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen” 

 

Signing out

Tyrone