And our journey through it.
The Flesh and Watching and Praying
Good morning, Church. As I was reading my scripture calendar this morning I read very familiar words; two words that make my heart warm with love and it was Jesus speaking them in His time of trial.
“ABBA, FATHER!”
Mark 14: 36
“And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. (Jesus stating a True fact.) Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” (Isaiah 50:5)
Jesus was just about to give His life on the Cross and He knew in His heart this was God’s Plan for the world. That didn’t stop the flesh from trying to rise up and want to take control of the situation. As our example, Jesus took control Himself over the wayward flesh and “spoke” the Words of Life to His Father:
“nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Thus, showing us, His Family, exactly how we are to take control over “the temptations by the flesh.”
Mark 14: 38 (Jesus speaking)
“watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”
Right here I would like to stop and take a great liberty and quote what Pastor Hagee wrote on that very verse as a teaching in his study Bible: (it really helped me with understand the flesh.)
Temptation by the Flesh
“Flesh in the Bible often means something other than the substance of the human body. It is used constantly to refer to the carnal, sinful principle within man that is opposed to God (Romans 8:7). The actions produced by the flesh are given in detail in Galatians 5: 19-21. Among these are all types of sexual immorality, impurity, hatred, anger, false religions, envy, and drunkenness. A person whose life is characterized by these sins cannot be a true Christian and is under the wrath of God (Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 2:3).
Though the flesh is not eradicated for the Christians; he does not have to obey it (Romans 7: 15-25). He possesses a new nature empowered by the Holy Spirit. Since the flesh and the Spirit are totally opposed to each other, the one whom the believer allows to dominate him will take charge in his life and produce its own fruit. The solution to the urges of the flesh lies in acknowledging that the power of sin was nullified by Jesus’ death (Romans 6:11) and in living under the control of the Spirit’s power (Galatians 5: 16). The latter is a moment-by-moment dependence in faith on the Spirit’s power. The believer must choose by an act of his will to benefit from the Spirit’s enablement.”
That Church, I believe, is the bottom line of our every day existence if we are a “Born Again” Child of God. It is a battle between the carnal vs. the Spirit, an ageless battle that started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve; a battle that will go on until Jesus returns to eradicate evil for forever. BUT that doesn’t mean we are destined to be on the losing end of that battle.
As Born Again Children of God—and we are just that—a Child of the Almighty Creator of the universe that has God’s Spirit living and abiding “IN” us; we have the Power, Right, Authority and Duty as God’s Child to “CHOOSE” by an act of our wills, in faith, to acknowledge that the power of sin was nullified by Jesus’ death and we can live under the control of the Spirit’s Power----NOW!!
God gave “man” a “FREE WILL” to choose right from wrong; no other creature has been given that ability and power. But unless we realize and understand the concept of being a Born Again Believer of God we may loose out on having the peace for living here on earth until we go to our Lord and Savor or until He comes to us, whichever comes first.
Now Church, we may be thinking that that is a daunting task when we have been living our lives under the fleshly nature for most of our lives, but guess what—when we focus on the One Who made us and has provided His Mercy and Compassion for us we “CAN” over come the fleshly and achieve our rightful place with our Father—our Abba, Daddy!
Asking forgiveness from our hearts comes first then truly accepting it comes next. It’s not going to be easy Church, (was it easy for Christ on the Cross?) but with our focus on our future with our Father and allowing (our wills again) His Spirit to lead, guide and direct us in all things we are headed on that narrow path with Jesus by our sides or even carrying us if necessary. We CAN do this, Saints---I know we can!
Going back to Mark 14:36 let’s go two verses down to see what Jesus tells His disciples:
Mark 14:38
“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”
Allowing our spirit-man to rule and reign is a necessary step we need to take now! How can we do this? By:
Trusting and Believing in God’s Love for us.
All scriptures are from: New King James Version of Prophecy Study Bible, General Editor-John C. Hagee unless otherwise stated.