I appreciate the time you’ve taken out to read this.
Yes, the Devil is the enemy of believers and even unbelievers and he daily tries to take us far from God, making us vulnerable to his attacks. He does this by enticing us with the things our flesh/self likes, and when we give in to the lusts of our flesh, it robs us of a relationship with the spirit.
The thing about self is you can go to church, serve, even pray and still be very fleshly. I lived like this for a very long while, I sang on the altar, attended to new believers yet as soon as I left service, self took over. Flesh as I understand it; is a nature that is contrary to the spirit and will of God. This nature is persistent. Even as a born again child of God, it still seeks room to operate.
Flesh can make one look for provisions made available in Christ outside him, such as money, power, fulfillment and so on. That is, these things are available in God but for some reason or the other, the word of God isn’t enough and one starts seeking these things outside God to satisfy self. Also, the flesh can be petty things like sleeping instead of praying, eating when it’s time to fast, pressing phone when it’s time to study the word. Basically, it’s anything you do that satisfies you and makes you feel good but grieves the spirit.
The only solution to self is the spirit. I remember when I needed to stop living according to the dictates of my flesh. Yes, I was born again, one with Christ but this nature seemed to be getting a better part of me and I knew the only solution was the Holyspirit as said in the scriptures. I didn’t know how to engage him even though I spoke in tongues. I decided to find out how. I googled, I searched for messages, I read the scriptures found on google, I prayed in the Holyghost(without understanding). What did I not do to overcome this flesh?
In my search for answers, I stumbled upon Kathryn Khulman’s message on how to be filled with the Holyghost. That message simplified everything, the answer was so simple, SURRENDER.
The Holyghost doesn’t need us to struggle or beg him in tears and blackmail God for his help. He just wants us to be SURRENDERED(all caps for emphasis). To surrender isn’t just singing “I surrender, Lord”. It is much more than that. It is acknowledging how vain efforts to stop self can be and determination to go God’s way. It is sincerely needing the help of God to overcome and just saying “Lord, I cannot do this on my own”, and letting him takeover. When that’s done, everything flows without struggle, the hunger to know God more and be Christ like follows. There are times after this when self can be overwhelming (persistent), surrender still, it’s not a one time thing, the solution is always surrendering to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus centeredness will be the testimony of our generation in Jesus name.
Thank you for reading up to this point, please leave a comment so I know what you think. Also, please share the link, let us spread this gospel!💋