The Savior vs Self [podcast]

The Flesh vs the Spirit

“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.” Romans 8:5

This life is a daily test of who we truly love (Matthew 6:24; 22:37-40; John 14:15; 15:14; Romans 6:16).

You are not relegated to the flesh, to live after it, or be defeated by it.

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:12-14

How does Christ’s victory work in our lives?

“I die daily (death) … But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (resurrection). 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. …  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:31, 57-58 …10

Those who are crucified with Christ are walking in His victory – the victory He alone grants. And they are laboring by His grace in His work.

There was no other way to redeem fallen mankind but the cross. And there’s no other way to  walk with the Savior who went to that cross for us – except by way of the cross He prescribed that we take up daily (Luke 9:23-24).

The War Within

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 
17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 
18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 
19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 
21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 
22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 
25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”  Galatians 5:16-25

The Flesh or the Spirit: Which shall ye allow to reign?

“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. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24

Agreeing with the divine declaration of condemnation on our fallen state is essential to victory, otherwise the temptation to compromise and have mercy on the old man will be present (Romans 1-3).

Adam is the father of the old man the fallen man. Jesus is the King of the new man the new creation. Romans 5

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. … 12  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Genesis 6:5, 12

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. … 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:18, 24

We are not good, not one of us (Romans 3:10). If we don’t understand and own what the Bible states concerning the universal fall of all men in Adam, that there’s “no good thing” in us, we will not recognize the need for the daily cross – to be truly crucified with Christ.

The “old man,” the flesh, can not and will not ever be reformed (Romans 6: Colossians 3). It must be daily crucified. There’s no hope of a chance or  possibility that the flesh can be reformed. It’s a lost cause and that’s why Jesus came.

“The truth is that while Christ dwells in the believer’s new nature, He has strong competition from the believer’s old nature. The warfare between the old and the new goes on continually in most believers.” AW Tozer

You can’t negotiate with a terrorist.

Kill or be killed. Kill the flesh or be killed by it.

There is no negotiating with the flesh and there can be no mercy afforded to it.

Allowing the flesh a foot in the door is the inroad to total destruction.

“Either you will crucify sin out of your life or sin will crucify Christ out of your life.” Burt Clendendon

“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Corinthians 9:27

The flesh must be sentenced to death.

2 Corinthians 1:9-11

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 
10  Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; 
11  Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.” 

• v. 9 – Sentence the self life to the death of the self life.
• v. 10 – Past, present, and future deliverance, victory over sin, can only come by way of the cross.
• v. 11 – we must pray for each other in this regard – that we would be conformed to the crucified image of Christ our LORD.

Perhaps the best prayer we can pray for each other is that we’d be crucified with Christ…. because this guarantees the resurrection, the raising up of that life!

God is waiting for you to lay it all down – to be truly crucified with the Savior, to own it, to wear it, to embrace that your life is over in this world and now it’s all about Him, about King Jesus.

“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:9-12

(v. 9) Being found in Christ and not outside of Him (and lost), not having our own filthy-rag righteousness “through the faith of Christ.” (v. 10) & (John 17:3) Knowing Him is the very reason we are created by Him – “That I may know him.” Experiencing “the power of his resurrection” is preceded by “being made conformable unto his death.” (vv. 10-11) Seems the apostle here is intimating that he is not perfect in taking up the cross, realizing the utter need for such.

The LORD is “Holy, holy, holy” and commands you to “be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8; 1 Peter 1:15-16)

Recently, had a conversation with a long time friend who is a dear brother in Christ. We mourned together over the sin he’d been walking in. And, we discussed the only solution – the cross. I was able to share with him that the only victory I have ever been able to walk in is via the cross life.

The life of the disciple is a crucified life and this is what our water baptism is supposed to depict and yet the follow up, the messages we hear in local churches, regrettably is anything but the cross (Romans 6; Colossians 2:12). Scarcely if ever can the message of the cross be heard or even mentioned, much less talked of continually by preachers today. This is the fulfillment of end times prophecy (Philippians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:2-4, etc.).

Read Romans 6 each morning this week. Pray and ask the LORD to teach you His way – the way of the cross. Ask Him sincerely to anoint your life to be dead and buried with Him and raised up by Christ – that you would be conformed to His holy image (Romans 8:29).

God’s way is the cross. No one will be in Heaven who didn’t walk His way – which is the way of the cross, the crucified life (Luke 9:23-24; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3, etc.).

Jesus taught diametrically opposite to Satan’s message of the world to love self.

The raising up cannot and will not come before the laying down of one’s life.

God is not going to raise up the rebel but He is going to raise up the humble, the truly poor in spirit saint.

“The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” Psalms 145:14

The soul, the spirit, the life of the true saint must be nourished in this essential cross message. A little dab will not do it – you must be saturated. You must be ever bowing downward in worship to the LORD. As your life is bowed down, the reciprocal divine raising will transpire!

If you are not learning the cross Jesus taught, you are fallen away.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I come to You now as a sinner. I am away from You and I do not want to remain alienated from You. Holy Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I here and now ask You to take me back, to wash me clean in the blood of the Lamb, and to have Your way in my life. This moment, I lay my life into Your holy hands and rest in You, in Your love, by faith. Thank You for finding and saving me dear LORD. From this moment forward, I will follow You LORD Jesus till the end of my life on this earth. I pray all these things in the name above all names, the name of Jesus Christ! Sobeit dear LORD!

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