ROMANS 8:13 “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.”
KEYWORD: Carnality is often expressed through jealousy, strife, unforgiveness, bitterness, pride, and division. Things that war against the life of the Spirit.
If you are to be fruitful in your life and not miss the catching away of the saints in this day and time, you must learn to shun carnality. This means bringing your flesh under subjection and remaining alive unto God through the Spirit.
The Bible makes us understand that to be carnally minded is death. This means that when a believer is ruled by the flesh, he becomes spiritually dull, insensitive to God’s leading and direction, and disconnected from the flow of divine life. A man in such a state cannot function effectively in his walk with God or produce lasting spiritual results.
It is baffling to see some believers justify their spiritual laxity by saying, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This statement was actually a rebuke from Jesus to His disciples when they could not tarry with Him in prayer for one hour during a critical moment. It was never meant to be used as an excuse for carnality, but rather a call to spiritual alertness and discipline.
To shun carnality means to intentionally reject lifestyles, mindsets, and behaviors that are governed by sinful nature, selfish desires, and worldly appetites, and instead yield yourself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Carnality is often expressed through jealousy, strife, unforgiveness, bitterness, pride, and division. Things that war against the life of the Spirit.
Avoid everything that can quench the Spirit of God in you. Abstain from every form of evil. Make deliberate and conscious efforts to give yourself to the fellowship of the Word and to prayer. It is in this place that your spirit is strengthened, your sensitivity is sharpened, and grace is supplied to mortify the deeds of the flesh.
In other words, you may not always feel like doing the right thing, but you do not submit to your feelings. You bring them under the authority of the Spirit. You are a spirit being, with a soul, living in a body, and by the Spirit of God, you must take responsibility for your life.
Yield to God’s standards, principles, and guidance rather than the patterns of this world. When this becomes your lifestyle, you begin to manifest truly as a son of God. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Hallelujah!
PRAYER:
Thank You, Father, for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, my Counselor and Strengthener. I yield myself wholeheartedly to His leadership and bring my body and its lustful desires under subjection at every point in time, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
GALATIANS 5:24–26 “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. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”
ROMANS 13:14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
