WHERE THERE IS NO CONFIDENCE
“For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Philippians 3:3
There should be no confidence in the flesh, for the flesh is dangerous, and has no mercy. The flesh is harder to deal with, than the devil.
You cannot bind your own flesh. The flesh is the harder problem, it needs to be crucified. Self-centredness, lack of discipline, boasting and stubbornness are nothing more than the flesh refusing to submit to the Holy Spirit. Many churchgoers are very stubborn. A stubborn person will say, “I will do it in my own way.” But, the Bible says, “Woe unto those that are at ease in Zion.” It also says, “If you walk with footmen and you are weary, what will you do, when you are asked to walk with the horsemen?”
NO CONFIDENCE
It is the footmen that are around now, but eventually, they will go and the horse riders will come in, and things will get worse, because that is what the Bible says. Evil men shall wax stronger and stronger and peace will disappear, unless we welcome the Prince of Peace and the Lord of lords.
Everyday, we come across people, who are trying to train Mr. Flesh more and more. They want to train Mr. Flesh not to overeat. They want to train their minds to think right, but they cannot train the flesh, because the Bible says, “Those that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, they that are after the spirit do mind the things of the spirit.” The flesh cannot please God. It cannot, because it is in enmity with God. It is in contention with the Spirit of God, and cannot fight the spiritual battle, which we do everyday.
Our most difficult problem is facing ourselves. In 1979, one brother prayed, and said, that one sister was his wife. The pastor invited him and the sister, and said to the sister: “This brother has prayed, and he says you are his God’s chosen wife.” The lady looked at the pastor, looked at the brother from head to toe, and said, “Sorry, pastor, this one that is sitting down beside you, cannot carry my load.” The pastor said, “Which load are you carrying that this person cannot help you to offload.” She said, “Pastor, that is my decision. That is what I want to do, and that is it.” This is year 2011, and that sister is still looking for somebody, to help her carry that load.
- Bring the flesh under subjection. We are to make the flesh a slave to God.
“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 Bible says, that no man can serve two masters. You cannot walk down two roads at the same time. You cannot walk in the way of holiness and in the way of sin.
You have to put the flesh under subjection. What does it mean to bring it under subjection? Ignore its advice and suggestions. Tell it all the time, that you are the chairman, so it has to take your own instructions. When it says, “Go and do this,” you disobey and do the opposite. When it says, “Can’t you notice that, when this one is passing, she does not greet anybody, so any time she is coming just carry your face away,” you should now do the opposite. You greet the person very well.
2. Put off the old man, and put on the new man.
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” Ephesians 4: 22
3. Regard the flesh crucified, and remind it everyday that it is already dead.
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.” Galatians 5:2425
Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, yet I live, but I live now the life of Jesus, Son of God who died for me.” The old Paul had been dead many years ago, the new Paul was walking along the street, then. It was the old Paul that a serpent could bite and he would die, but the crucified one could not die like that.
4. Leave no place for the flesh.
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lust thereof” Romans 13:14
Do not make provision for the flesh. When you plan to buy extra clothes, that you do not need, when you plan to buy extra food you will not eat, when you plan to watch a video film, that you know will bring lust into your life, when you are meditating on what to say to hurt another person, then, you are making provisions for the flesh.
Make life hard for the flesh. When next it says, “Do not greet so and so,” go and buy a gift, look for the person, greet the person and give him the gift. When you do that, you are killing Mr. Flesh. You are not giving it provision to operate. When you, a single girl, follows a man you do not know, to somewhere; when you, a woman asks for lift from an unknown man, you are making provision to cause trouble for yourself.
You know that you used to be a palm wine drinker. Now you are born again, do not accompany anybody to the place again, so that the smell would not enter into your spirit. If you go there, it means you are making provision to commit sin again. That is what Romans 13:14 says: “Put off the coat of the old man and put on the coat of the new man”. You cannot put on two coats at the same time. So, the old man must go, and the new man must come in. If your Christianity has not got to the level, where somebody says, “Ah, he has changed,” you are still a joker.
- Deny the flesh. Jesus said, if any person would come after Him, let the person deny himself, and take his cross and follow Him.
“If any man or woman will be my disciple let him first deny himself and then follow me.” Matthew 16:14
This means, that you have to put Mr. Flesh on the shelf. Whatever you have, put it aside. Put your pride aside. If Mr. Flesh says, “They have insulted you, charge at them,” you should say, “No, I will not. I have been nailed to the cross.”
6. Modify your members.
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ, sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members, which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3: 1-5
If you do not mortify the members of your flesh, you are an idol worshipper. You have to focus on what God has already done for us on the cross.
- Live an exchanged life. You should put one life down and take another. According to Galatians 2: 20, the new life is to replace the old one. You can not be doing two things at a time.
- The people the devil fears most are those, who have crucified the flesh. He knows, he cannot find any entrance in them.
When you are moving close to solution, and you see your sad condition, you have started making progress. The day a mad man begins to ask questions, like: “Why am I wearing these clothes? What am I doing here? Why are you all starring at me?”, his solution has started. But, when the mad man has dirty clothes on, and says, “Give me iron, I want to iron them,” then, solution is not insight, yet.
PRAYER POINTS
- Oh God, break me, in the name of Jesus.
- Oh God, kill the iniquity in my life, in the name of Jesus.
- Every hindrance to open doors in my life, give way by fire, in the name of Jesus.
- Spiritual blindness, clear out of my life, in the name of Jesus.
- Where others are failing, I shall succeed by fire, in the name of Jesus.
You should now pray like John Knox. The same God who answered his prayer, and made it impossible for demons and host of hell to paralyse his destiny, is still alive.
OVERTHROWING THE ENEMY’S KINGDOM
to exercise power over
unclean spirits, must
be under God’s
authority… Devil does
not submit to you, or
to us as believers, or as
individuals, because of
our name, or, because
of our birth. He
submits to us, because
of the power that we
have as believers.
