Who’s Flesh Are You Walking After? So Has Distress Over Taken You Yet?
As we look around we find ourselves trying to fend off physical things in life. For example, emotional conflicts, attacks from from diseases, stresses from work and, last but not least, for some spiritual conflicts with one’s self or other.
According to the Washington Post, 22 percent of people in conflict-affected areas have mental disorders. Now that coronavirus has reshape
these areas, people are asking, “where do I go from here?” I’m sorry to say that many individuals resort or revert to a negative mind set with instincts based upon an emotional and primitive form of survival behavior that can pit man against man and woman against woman. Some might call it survival of the fittest. Some will even resort to violence over little things like chicken sandwiches. As in the case of this pandemic, they fight over toilet tissue, paper towels, and sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and cleaning supplies. Some people will do just about anything to save their life in this world, only to loose it in the world to come. What I’m saying is, why try to set your heart and mind on this life here and now, when this world is going to pass away? For all of you who claim to be a Child of the One and only true God, are you awake now or are you still asleep?
Matthew 16:24-28 says “24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
All of you have heard me ask this question over and over again: why are you looking at what others have, desiring to have what they supposedly have? Why spend the best years of your life trying to obtain the so-called American dream, or what ever dream your county aspires to or to whatever your hope might be in this life? Why are you so concerned about trying to obtain things in this life or acquiring a particular lifestyle in this world and it’s negative subjugation reinforcements that are in it which are leading you down the road of pain and emotional instability? This will even lead to a life of death with there is no return.
Romans 8:5-18 says:
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 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. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
In my Conclusion read Luke 17:1-37.
In Jesus name. Amen.
Broken in Pieces
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Psalm 147:1-11
Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
In the Bible it says that He will mend broken hearts, heal broken hearts (Psalm 147:3). The broken pieces in our minds, in our thoughts, they tend to keep tearing at our very being. Memories, broken memories of our past, seem to rip and pull at our hearts, saying what could have, maybe what should have. Those very things are a constant hurt and pain to our very souls. Broken pieces. As I said before broken dreams. I know we’ve all had hopes and aspirations of a future for us, or lives, families, jobs, our very relationships, only to have had them dashed, destroyed; we have fallen victim to broken pieces. These broken pieces. We have been wounded to the point where we feel sometimes like we can’t go on. These broken pieces of memories, of dreams, keep reoccurring in our lives. Some people can not proceed forward in their lives due to the fact that they keep reliving those broken memories, broken dreams, those broken pieces. We have not proceeded further in our relationships with others, in our pursuit of life. Even in liberty, we have not even pursued liberty, to be set free from the things that bind us. Lay aside ever weight (that means broken pieces) every sin that does so easily beset us. The broken dreams.
Some of us had a dream of being someone important, someone who has achieved goals in their lives, to assist or help someone else achieve their goals, only to have had it dashed away and become broken pieces in our lives. Some of us had the hopes and dreams of finding the right woman or man who will fulfill our hopes and desires of life, someone we can confide in, talk to in peace. Someone that can console us when we’re going through troubles in our walk. We thought that we would find the ultimate mate, have a family, kids, one or two maybe even three kids. Have a family; extension of ourselves. Something that we can look up to and feel proud about. Someone that we can feel happy about. Some people say their life would be complete if they could find that perfect individual. But the individual they did pursue and found a relationship with at the time, they even knew that they should not have been with that individual. They knew that they were not compatible with that individual. But out of the hopes of having a relationship, they pursued it further and further to the point that they were all in and locked in. They confided, consoled, they let their heart flow toward that individual, hoping that it would be reciprocated, only to find out that that individual had ulterior motives; Had a hidden agenda for their live, and it led you down the road of despair. Then you began to feel unloved, undesired, that no one even cared about who you were, not your outward appearance but who you were inside. That comes from you placing all your hopes and desires in that situation. Already knowing that it would come to not. You shunned friends and family, set aside wisdom from leaders, pushed away any form of help. Now you are at the end of your rope.
You had a desire to be in a company, to be needed at your job. To desire someone to see your abilities at what you do. Only winding up to be passed over by your bosses for someone who was less qualified. You begin to get angry on your job, because you had put trust, hopes, dreams and expectations on that job. A lot of times what we do as human beings is we place ourselves in a dream state looking with a dream mind, saving up a situation that is not in existence, but is something we desire to be or have. Along with those dreams, we have attached a lifestyle a situation, ambition, and all these types of emotional connections. So when it does not turn out the way we dreamed it to be; they become a broken dream, that you were not healed of; They become broken pieces.
We push that to the back of our minds, and out of the way of our hearts. We had family members, relatives, kin, who when we grew up we thought that they cared a whole lot about us. Who we thought would make provision for us in their lives. We thought that they would be for us, no matter what situation we got in. As we progressed in our maturity in life, they slowly but surely began to dissipate in our live. But we built a foundation around them saying that “I am who I am because of who I’m connected to.” So our identity was through them and how they perceived us. Then we find out the some of them wanted to use us for their own glory for their own pursuit. Now our hopes and expectations have been broken. We have broken pieces.
You started going to Church as a young child. You saw the way individuals loved and helped around the House of God. You saw how you could count on those individuals in the House of God. So you build an expectation when you get older that that same type of love, consideration and concern will still be there when you mature. But I tell you again you are living in a dream world. Satan has pull the wool over your eyes so you can only see the good things about people. But the reality is there is none good. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is only one good man and that is Jesus Christ. But we have built our expectation on the individuals around us. We have seen how their love for others begins to supersede our understanding of what love is because we see them performing the acts of love to us as we understand. We have to perceive that everybody in the church is not right. Everybody in the house of God is going through a test that always winds up being a mess that will cause you to have stress. Know this, we have to realize one thing, if there is no test in your life, then there is no growth in your soul towards Christ. Now these individuals in the house of God, they’re not trying to set you up, but their going through their own stress, tests, ambitions and their own coping with life, whatever life throws at them. So all the time it may not appear to be that they’re saved. But know this they’re going through their own test that has broken pieces. I tell you without broken pieces in your life, God cannot get you out of the strife that you are going through.
We need to be able to call on the Lord in our time of need. You need to be able to call on the Lord in your time of stress. “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” (Psalm 50:15).
2 Peter 2:7-9
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
This is when it was concerning Lot being delivered from Gomorrah. How many have ever been in a situation, whether on your job or some location where the conversation went left, because those people were of the world, and the conversation that they spoke about remained in your mind as part of the broken pieces of your memory? The conversation got wickeder, being fed by others around you. As it would be, they all became part of the broken pieces and the broken thoughts of your mind. This explains what a Child of God goes through today whether with his family, job or community. These are all part of the broken pieces, thoughts or dreams that are aligned with that individual. You’re being vexed day in and day out with these conversations. But the Lord God knows how to deliver the Godly out of the temptation and to reserve the unjust unto the day to be punished. So its up to us to keep ourselves in the midst of the broken dreams and pieces of our heart to maintain, never give up or give in to the situations that we’re in. Whether its in a relationship with a man or woman, family members who seem to be talking against us, or whether they are church folks which seem to be attacking us. Whether it with people on our jobs, our bosses or co-workers. Whether its with our community, we have to never give in and never give up, holding on to that faith, to that confidence in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that He will deliver you from that situation.
Psalms 47:3
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
The Lord will heal those scars, those broken pieces. But He can only heal those broken pieces, scars and broken dreams if you release them to Him and leave it there. He can’t deliver you from anything if you constantly give it to Him, then take it back; He can never deliver it. But if you constantly dwell on it, you take it back. How can Christ heal you when you keep refusing the medicine? He said He will fix the broken heart and bind up your wounds. I’ve never seen anyone go to the hospital to get healed, and leave the same day they got in there. Back and forth, they go into the hospital then they change their mind, they go in and change their mind. How can you get healing for our Lord Jesus Christ if you don’t take your burden and leave it there?
Psalm 55:22
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
To be healed of the broken pieces, dreams, and heart, you need to carry all those things to the Lord, and genuinely leave them with Him. Think no more of them, and move on in your life for growth in your Christian walk. Don’t leave them at the altar of God and come back and pick them up. You will never be delivered no matter how much you pray if you continually take them from the Lord.