TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 2022)
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Romans 7:15-20 NIV
WELCOME TO THE 326TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
This is the day the LORD has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it.
We have been on a 30-day journey of faith with the Cry of the Holy Spirit on Practical wisdom. We have seen significant things that will never happen in our lives if we are not walking in practical wisdom (especially, practical wisdom on those things), no matter how we pray. The things include, honor, manifestation in our lives of spiritual blessings in Heavenly places, successful interpersonal relationships, saving lost souls, especially the souls of our loved ones, and few others.
Yesterday we saw practical wisdom on living a holy life. The importance of that cannot be over emphasized. The Bible says Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Meaning, if there is no purity in our lives, or holiness in our walk with God, we will never see God, either in time or eternity. It also means living a Holy Life is not possible without practical wisdom.
Since must of the defilements that make us unholy and impure comes through our practical life, it will require practical wisdom, among other things, to live a holy life and see God in time and eternity.
The Practical wisdom for living a holy life that we saw yesterday is simply feeding the Christ or Jacob nature in us and starving the sin-in-us or Esau nature in us to death. Sometimes it is difficult to starve the Esau nature. We are all born with it, and the foundation of our lives are laid on it. Most times, starving it is a declaration of war. That is why the Bible says;
“For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.” Galatians 5:17 NASB
You have to fight the war or opposition until you capture and bring it under subjection, that is when you can starve it to death.
NO ONE CAN SUCCEED IN STARVING A SINFUL NATURE HE OR SHE HAVE NOT CAPTURED AND BROUGHT UNDER SUBJECTION.
If you attempt to starve it without doing so, it will destroy every decision you make, weaken every action you take, and bring you back to a life of sin despite your strong attempt to deny it what it wants. That is why some of us try to live holy lives through fasting, praying and doing all that and still end up sinning against GOD, with some tragically deciding not to try again.
You will always be brought down by the Esau nature if you do not first of all bring it under subjection before attempting to starve it to death. Starving it is not giving it what it wants. It will be difficult to deny the Esau nature what it wants if you have not first of all brought it under subjection, or made it your slave.
Apostle Paul found himself in the same dilemma when he was a young Christian. He knew his life was in eternal danger living a sinful life after salvation and tried fighting the flesh to a standstill, but it never worked. He would later write to the Church at Rome sharing his experiences on the same. That is what we find in our devotional text.
The text says;
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Romans 7:15-20 NIV
We can see how Paul attempted to starve the Esau or sin nature in him from having its carnal cravings meet, but failed. He failed because we cannot deny the Esau nature what it wants until we have captured and made it your slave.
FOR INSTANCE, MOST OF US IN CHURCH TODAY ARE HELD DOWN BY SEXUAL SINS. HAVE YOU SAT DOWN TO CONSIDER WHY?
The reason is simple; attempting to deny the Esau nature what it wants, or starve it to death without first conquering and making it our slave. If the nature wants sex with anyone and we say “no, we can’t do it and sin against our God, since we are not married to them.” It will fight us until we submit to it by giving it even much more than what it had wanted.
There are many in church also who are held down by the sin of masturbation; some have even been made to believe that it is no longer a sin. They fall for the same reason. If the nature wants them to masturbate and they say no, it will fight them until they submit.
They submit because they are trying to starve it to death by denying the Esau nature what it wants without first conquering and bringing it under subjection.
As earlier stated, it is a declaration of war to attempt to starve the Esau nature to death. In fact, sometimes even human systems will move against you. Friends will persecute you. You could even loose your job. The reason for all that is because everything on earth is programmed to feed the Esau nature in man and make sure the Christlike or holy nature does not exist in anyone.
So, most decisions to starve the nature are decisions against established cultures and traditions. They will fight back. But the Bible says Jesus should be our example, and that we should not give in but rather maintain resistance. The word says;
“Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds.
“You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your [own] blood.” Hebrews 12:3-4 AMPC
This scripture contains the faith position to take in this battle against the sin nature that seek to have us satisfying it every now and then. It tells us what to do when human systems, friends, family, colleagues and etc. move against us because of our desire to deny the Esau nature what it wants.
IT SAYS WE SHOULD CONSIDER CHRIST WHO PASSED THROUGH THE SAME WITHOUT SUBMITTING AND BE LIKE HIM.
At the end of the day grace will be released to us and we will come out victorious, becoming useful instruments in God’s hands like Paul the apostle was.
The Bible made it clear that Paul would later resist until the Esau nature in him became his slave. Then he would go onto spend the rest of his life starving it to death on daily bases. He wrote about some of the strategies he engaged in to the Church at Corinth. He said;
“Therefore, I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary.
But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].” 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 AMPC
Today the man of God, Paul, has become our example.
In this scripture, we can find the process of making the Esau nature in us our slave, or conquering it to the point of being able to starve it to death. The process is called discipline. Paul disciplined or buffeted the carnal passions of his body, and handled them roughly through hardships, until they were subdued. That was when the Esau nature in him was made his slave.
He resisted his carnal passions on daily bases and buffeted them through hardship until the Esau nature bowed. After that he could dies daily. He said “I die daily.” Dying is refusing to grant the flesh what it wants no matter the cost, and that is only possible after the Esau in us have been made our slave.
FRIEND, IF WE TAKE THE FAITH POSITION PAUL TOOK, WE WILL FIND THE GRACE OF GOD MANIFESTING IN OUR LIVES TO HELP US.
1 Corinthians 9:27 for me holds the key to bringing the Esau nature in us to the place where it can be starved to death successfully on daily bases. Another translation rendered the same scripture this way;
“Rather, I toughen my body with punches and make it my slave so that I will not be disqualified after I have spread the Good News to others.” 1 Corinthians 9:27 GWT
Another one says;
“I treat my body hard [discipline/subdue/pummel my body] and make it my slave [subdue it] so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.” 1 Corinthians 9:27 EBT
The message translation of the Bible put the same scripture this way;
“I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No lazy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.” 1 Corinthians 9:27 The Message.
I encourage you to study these translations and draw virtues from the Spirit of God through them so that you can do what Paul did successfully. The same grace is available to us as well.
In conclusion, there are four power instruments God placed in His kingdom to help us bring the Esau nature in us under subjection and be able to starve it to death on daily bases, thereafter. The first is the Holy Spirit, the second is the Bible, the third is the Church, and the fourth our will. I have shared these things before.
If the Holy Spirit is given His place in our lives, and the Bible is taught to us in a good Church, our human spirits will become strong enough for our will to be able to resist sin successfully, and conquer the Esau nature in us.
With the Spirit, the revealed word, and a good church, our human spirits will be able to build a spiritual resistance that can make the Esau nature in us our slave. The only thing that will be left for us to do will be engaging our will in saying no whenever the flesh craves for something sinful.
As we do that over time, we will be able to make the Esau nature our slave, then successfully starve it to death on daily bases thereafter. That is the word of the LORD!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY!
“Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master’s wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, “Sleep with me.”
He wouldn’t do it. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master doesn’t give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he’s put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn’t turned over to me is you. You’re his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?”
She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her.” Genesis 39:6-10 The Message Bible.