9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Romans 8:9-11
What does bug spray do?
It kills bugs when people see them but can also be sprayed as a preventative measure so bugs don't even come in! We need to handle our flesh the way we handle pests! We do so much to keep them out & if they get in, we do so much more to get them out. AND...some of these pests are even harmless, they're just ugly and nasty and we don't like them. The flesh however, is way more detrimental than any bug. Many of us are terrified of these tiny little creatures, but we take pleasure in the desires of the flesh.
Tip:
We need some flesh control spray & to be more scared of the flesh invading our temple than a bug invading our home.
We need to take preventative measures as well as defense measures.
Let's start with...
Preventative care
Galatians 5:16 says...
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Amos 3:3 says...
Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?
Psalms 199:133 says...
Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.
Psalm 119:105 says...
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
Let's break this down.
- Agree w/ God on the direction you will walk in
- Why?...Bc you can't walk in the right direction if you don't.
The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:7-8
- How?... Ask Him for help! Agreement is about the heart, not the mind. If you disagree but still do what an authority tells you to do, you are not agreeing you are just complying. God doesn't want our compliance, He wants our heart and only He can give you a new one.
I encourage you to read through the entire book of Romans so you can understand that in Christ you are not condemned. You are made righteous through Christ, now all you need to do is let Him help you to walk uprightly.
You don't get mad at a baby for stumbling and falling, you just help them up and encourage them to keep going. You become God's child when you believe on Him for salvation and He does the same with you like you're His little baby.
HE WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO WALK WITH HIM LIKE HE TAUGHT THE FIRST DISCIPLES
They all stumbled and fell one way or another, but the righteous man falls 7 times and gets back up! They kept walking with Him and He always corrected them in love.
For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.Proverbs 24:16
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.
Hebrews 12:6
Imagine this...
You're on a path walking with Jesus towards His kingdom. There is a stumbling block and you trip and fall, or better yet He says watch out for that stone and rather than take His advice and take heed you keep doing your thing and THEN you fall.
Do you think Jesus will leave you there? Do you think He will condemn you for falling and then walk away? Do you think He will force you to help yourself up?
If you answered yes, then you believe in a different Jesus than the one the Bible describes. There are countless times in the scriptures where Jesus helped those who fell and stumbled. He is the same one able to keep you from stumbling now.Peter’s life is a great example of how Christ restores us when we take our eyes off Him. He takes His eyes off Jesus in the storm when He is walking on water in Matthew 14:22-33, and he starts to drown. He cried out for help and Jesus helped him.
This same Peter rejects Jesus after boastfully telling Jesus he would never leave him to which Jesus replies (in the Hood Living Translation) Boy you the main one finna reject me 3 times before the rooster crows twice.
Jesus even says
“You will all fall away,”
Mark 14:27
He doesn't leave Peter even still. Instead He prays for Peter. Luke's account of this scene in Luke 22 from verse 31 is even wilder to me.
Jesus tells Peter Satan desires to sift him but He prayed for his faith to not fail and that when He returns, to strengthen his brothers.
Jesus knew Peter was already drifting away, and perhaps thats why he got so defensive when Jesus said they would leave him. He insisted that he would even die with Jesus and will never disown him. This is when Jesus tells him he will actually deny that he even knows Jesus in less than 24 hours lol.
The point is...
He is all knowing. He knows where your heart is and He will not leave you there to be sifted and die. He intercedes and He helps. That same Peter was given a new name and the keys to the kingdom.
Even if you stumble and fall on the path you don't go backwards unless you choose to. Backsliding is not an accident. Guilt, shame and condemnation cause us to run backwards on that path away from God instead of towards Him and it fills our lives with even more sin.
You can't do this on your own. Run TO the Father for the freedom you need from the bondage of sin & the flesh.