TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 2ND MARCH 2023)
“Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,
Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),
Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 AMPC
WELCOME TO THE 61ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS!
Welcome to the 2nd day of the 3rd month of the year. This is one of the most important months of my life. I know, you also have your important months. Months are important to us for different reasons. Mine is prophetic.
It is prophetic because this was the month that my Spiritual father commissioned me into ministry, I cherish it so much. May the LORD fulfill His will for our lives this month in Jesus precious name.
We started on a beautiful note yesterday, looking at “The faith position for word carriers,” an echo of God’s mercy that came to us, at the apostolic center of the Cry of the Spirit Ministries, Global.
Yesterday, we had our minds refresh on the reality of we being prisoners of beautiful prophecies the LORD made for our generation. We reminded ourselves that we are precious word carriers, and because of that, we need to take faith positions that will allow the word of the LORD we carry to speak in our lives.
I want us to understand that, the value of a Child of God is not defined by the certificate he acquires, as good as it is to go to school. The value of a child of God is not defined by the family he or she is born into. The value of a child of God is not defined by who his or her earthly father is, or is not.
The value of a Child of God on earth, is defined by the precious word he or she carries as a prisoner of prophecy, and how much of that word is being fulfilled in His life.
That is why in Christ, you do not need to go to school, earn a degree, or come from a great or rich family, to make it in life. You only need to understand the precious word you carry as a prisoner of prophecy, and how to allow it to come to pass in your life, or how to allow it to speak in your life.
THAT IS WHY THE DISCOURSE WE ARE CONSIDERING THIS MONTH IS IMPORTANT.
Yesterday, we said you will need to take FAITH positions to allow the word you carry to come to pass in your life, not FLESH positions. We said, Flesh positions are dangerous. They are what the Bible calls “the works of the flesh.” They will ruin us by hindering the precious word we carry from working in our lives. We saw how the nation of Israel took flesh positions, bringing the word of the LORD for their life to nothing.
All three million people and above that left Egypt, had a glorious destiny and a very bright future, but only two got to the promised land of their future; only them fulfilled their destiny. The rest were those who were born to replace them.
Why did that happen despite divine backing? Why did the word they carried not come to pass in their lives? The reason is because, they took flesh positions.
The nation of Israel took flesh positions while carrying great prophecies in their lives. That was why only two of the millions who left Egypt, got to the promise land.
No matter how glorious your destiny is in Christ, no matter how beautiful the prophetic promises of the LORD are upon your life, if you take FLESH positions instead of FAITH positions in life, you will ruin everything.
You could be enjoying the greatest miracles, backings of God, or moves of the Spirit in your life, if you move from FAITH positions to FLESH positions in your relationship with God, you will lose everything.
Talking about the flesh positions we should never take when walking with the LORD as prisoners of precious prophecies, our devotional text says;
“Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,
Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),
Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 AMPC
The flesh positions mentioned in this scripture, and their meanings, should be studied by everyone of us carefully, especially in our days of Eagle hood Trips with the LORD; because it is very easy to grow weary and begin to take them, without realizing their negative impact on our destiny, as precious word carriers.
Yes, it is very easy to become lustful, and begin to desire sex with someone you are not married to, leading to fornication or adultery or even masturbation.
THE WORLD MAY SAY THAT IT IS OKAY, BUT GOD SAYS IT WILL RUIN OUR LIVES.
It is very easy to become an idol worshiper, by worshiping men of God, or allowing money, material acquisition, or any of our needs to take the place of God in our lives. It is very easy to allow earthly desires to steal our worship of the One and Only True God, thereby becoming Idolatrous.
The scripture made it clear that flesh positions like, Envy, drunkenness, carousing, immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger or ill temper, will ruin the potency of GOD’s word that we carry. Yes, it is very easy for selfishness, divisions or dissensions, party spirit or factions of sects with peculiar opinions, or the heresies we hear today being taught in many local churches, to ruin the potency of the word of God we carry.
It is very possible for any of this flesh positions, to neutralize the precious words we carry in our lives, and stall the fulfilment of GOD’s glorious future for us.
Like I said, it will be important that we all take each of the FLESH positions mentioned in our devotional text seriously, and study them deeply so that we can have the revelation knowledge to survive, when the flesh begin to drive us to take them.
Do not forget, sin is living in every one of us, even when we are not living in sin. Caution is therefore required. The Bible says;
“If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts].” 1 John 1:8 AMPC
You are in delusion if you live carelessly, and begin to act as if you are beyond falling into sin. Every one of us can easily fall into sin and even live in it. Its just a matter of becoming forgetful of the fact that sin lives in you, and that you need to be careful.
WHAT MAKES IT EASY TO SLIP INTO FLESH POSITION, LIES ON OUR INSIDE. IT IS NOT IN HELL OR ANYWHERE ELSE.
That is why we must not become deluded when it comes to the sin question. We must know that our fall is right inside us, and that if we are exposed to the wrong people, pressure, sight, sound, or any sinful thing that twinkles our fancy, it will trigger it.
And before we know it, we will begin to take flesh positions and make God’s word in our lives of no effect. It is because of these things that the Bible says;
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”
Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 NKJV
The last line in this beautiful passage of the scripture calls for concern.
It says, “let he that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” I have learned by experience, that the moment you start thinking that you stand, you will begin to become careless and lose all your spiritual guards, and compromise all the faith positions you have taken.
ONCE YOU BECOME COMPROMISED, YOU WILL BEGIN TO TAKE FLESH POSITIONS, AND RENDER THE PRECIOUS WORD OF THE LORD YOU CARRY INEFFECTIVE IN YOUR LIFE.
That is when you will be repeating some or all of what the Jews did, that are stated in the scripture above. The Bible says God was not well pleased with them, because of the flesh positions they took, and consequently, their bodies were scattered in the wilderness, instead of the word of the LORD coming to pass in their lives.
Now, you may not just do what they did when it comes to taking flesh positions, but what others did in the Bible. For instance, if you are a Samson, you will find yourself in the laps of a Delilah, and eventually in the grinding machine of your enemies with all your God given purity visions gone.
If you are a David, that will be when you will be practicing pornography on the roof top of your phones, or casting your eyes lustfully on the opposite sex. If you are a Levi or a Simeon, you will be moving in anger out of control, using instrument of cruelty to do things that will become a ruin to you or others.
If you are a Sarai, you will be foolishly exposing your husband to your house help, thinking sin no longer live in him. You could also become careless, and begin to do things that expose him to other women outside; foolish things that will make it impossible for him to be coming home early from work, or staying at home with you.
We have heard and seen so much happening in the lives of believers that would not have happened, if there were no flesh positions taken.
There is so much about this subject of FLESH POSITIONS. But enough have been shared for the day. It is my prayer that the LORD will use these truths to help us do the right thing, as carriers of His precious word, in Jesus precious name. Amen!!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,
Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].
And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.
If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]
Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another. Galatians 5:22-26 AMPC