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
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