Most of us have tried governing our flesh and carnal man/woman, by our flesh and carnal man/woman, even after being born-again. When we try developing the new creation person by the flesh and blood body, instead of God's Word, we will always fail. The flesh doesn't want to change. It's content to rule and control what it came to know and rebel against the Spirit. Rom.8:7 (Amp) says, "That is because the mind of the flesh with it's carnal thoughts and purposes, is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Laws; indeed it cannot."
Paul writes about the submission of the carnal mind in Rom.12:2 (Amp), saying, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to it's external, superficial customs, but be transformed, changed by the entire renewal of your mind, by it's new ideals and it's new attitude; so that you may prove for yourselves what is that Good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even that things which is Good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you."
We must renew our minds, by spending time in God's Word, in order to build up the new creation person and allow him/her to dominate the flesh. In John 6:63 (Amp), Jesus speaks about the Word and Spirit, saying, "It is the Spirit Who gives Life (He is the Life-Giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatsoever (there is no profit in it). The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
We've mostly adapted to and fashioned ourselves after the external and superficial customs of the world, even in the Christian experience. We've followed after what the world has accepted as "Christianity," rather than what God's Word and Spirit say. Many prefer to remain in this religious state, instead of spending time in God's Word and growing into the new creation person we've been created to be. Peter writes about the Word and the new creation child of God, in 1Pet.2:2 (Amp), saying, "Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire), the pure unadulterated Spiritual milk of the Word, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto completed salvation."
It's good that we hear sermons and attend Sunday service, but we must learn to "eat" the Spiritual milk of God's Word for ourselves. Although our pastor is preaching good sermons, we must still study and learn what is that "Good and acceptable and perfect will of God," for ourselves. We must feed on God's Word, allowing God's Spirit and that Word to bring growth and maturity to our new spirit. The new spirit within us, can and will, dominate the flesh, if we continue to feed it God's Word.
Many believe that the days of miracles and the Super-natural things of God have "passed away." We've been trying to do what no one except Jesus could do and go back under the Law. We're not offering sacrifices and following Temple traditions, but we're fashioning our own traditions, which make God's Word of no effect. We must return to God's Word for instruction, especially during this day and age, in order to bring forth the fruit of the harvest. We've led many people to salvation as newborn babies in God's Kingdom, but we've failed in our responsibility to bring them into maturity.
We expect our natural children to grow into a place, where they feed themselves. Our Heavenly Father too, expect us to grow into a place where we feed ourselves on His Word. We must come to the Truth, that God's Word is Life and health, even to our physical bodies, by the Life we produce in our spiritual body. God commends us in Prov.4:2-22 (Amp), saying, "My Son, attend to My Words; consent and submit to My sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are Life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh."
Remember Jesus' Words, saying, "It is the Spirit Who gives Life, the flesh profits nothing." When we feed our spirit on God's Word, the Life in our spirit will dominate the flesh, not only in health, but keeping out of sin. We've failed to realize the full importance of feeding on the Spiritual food of God's Word. We think reading the Word, is just some "religious thing to do," instead of knowing it's critical we do so. Jesus said that His Words "are Life and health to all our flesh." If our physician told you to take a certain medication every morning, in order to maintain your life and health, then we would faithfully do so. Jesus' Word should be as important as our doctor's words.
Our true Life, is in our spirit and God's Spirit Who lives within us, according to what Jesus told the crowd in John10:10 (Amp), where He said, "The thief comes not but for to steal and kill and to destroy, I am come that you may have and enjoy life to the full (till it overflows)." The people surrounding Jesus were alive in the flesh. They could all breathe, walk and talk, but Jesus considered them to be dead, because the spirit within them was not "alive to God."
When you link Jesus' Words in John10:10 to John 6:63, then you can see the importance of feeding on God's Word. Our true Life is in and comes from the spirit, not the flesh. Even after our natural lives have ended and leave this planet, we will live in the spirit and eternity with God. This is the Life that Jesus came to bring and give those who would believe His Word and receive eternal Life through Him. After receiving Jesus and eternal Life, we must still feed our new creation spirit, in order to mature and grow into into what we were born-again to be. Every baby must receive nourishment from what they eat and feed on. This is true for our newborn spirit too.
If we don't feed our newborn spirit on God's Word, then it will be weak and controlled by our natural bodies. Paul instructed us to renew our minds with God's Word, in order to nourish our born-again spirit and bring our flesh into subjection to it. Our natural bodies are still from the fallen seed of Adam, while our new creation spirit is from the Seed of the Last Adam Jesus. Both will and have produced after kind, according to the Law of Genesis.
This is why we struggle with the old habits we had before being born-again. The natural seed of Adam is still trying to produce after kind, like it did before. John1:14 (Amp) tells us that, "The Word (the Seed, Jesus) took upon itself and became flesh." It will still do the same thing in our born-again spirit, we we'll allow it to be sown into the fertile ground of our new creation man/woman. Your spirit has been prepared for the Seed of God's Word, so it will produce one-hundred fold, but we must sow it into fertile ground. We must spend more time feeding our spirit on God's Word, so we can produce the harvest God intended. If we never sow a seed, then we'll never produce a harvest. This is why so many in the Body of Christ, never see the Blessing manifest in our lives here on earth. There won't be a harvest, if we don't plant the Seed.
The Seed is in our Bibles, but unless we open them and plant the Seed of God's Word into our born-again spirit, it won't produce a harvest. A package of sweet corn will never bring forth a crop, unless we take the seed out of that package and plant it. The Seed of God's Promises are in the Seed form of God's Word, which must be sown into our spirit man/woman, in order to bring a harvest into our lives here on earth. It must be sown into the fertile ground or soil of our hearts, according to "The Parable of the Sower," Jesus gives in Mark 4. We must allow the Seed to penetrate our spirit and then watch over it, so it will bring forth the Promise in the Seed.
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