Let me give you an up front example of this subject…..The flesh says, let’s have a day called Thanksgiving, and on that day, let’s eat and celebrate, connect with family and friends, be thankful and enjoy the benefits that life has given us…..The Spirit says….Let’s live out Thanksgiving every day of our lives for as long as we live!!!!The flesh says, come on….let’s not bite off more than we can chew…Relax and just go with the flow and don’t try to lift more than the flesh can handle.
If you will look over your shoulder every once in a while, you will notice that you are never alone, you have some constant companions with you. For want of a better name, I will call them by the name we are the most familiar with…. “fear”,“inconvenience”, and “risk”. You can be ruled by these visitorsor you can harness them for your personal gain. The choice is up to us.”
The power of failure and the power of success are with us in every step we take in life.
“Should we avoid doing all the worthwhile things we really want to do, because of these shadowy figures?” “Is being comfortable and keeping things safe and familiar worth never taking a chance”? “Is putting it off over and over, the way to really live?”
Indecision in these areas can mean that an individual feels trapped, but often it’s a prison of their own making.
Fear says exactly what it always says….because it’s all about “False Evidence Appearing Real”… You’re not good enough, You’re setting yourself up for failure….This is way over your head… there are too many who are way more qualified than you…etc.
Inconvenience says “don’t rock the boat, settle down.. Why leave your comfort zone.. The feeling will pass, but you know that to surrender to inconvenience, will lock you in a revolving door that will go around and around, going nowhere.
And of course Risk has to have a say…. Risk reminds you that the world is flat and you’ll just fall off the edge if you get out there far enough. Why take the chance, It could get rough and dangerous… You could lose everything you’ve worked for!
There is a part of us that desires to do the right thing, then, there is that part of us that is wanting to take the easy way out. While a part of us yells out for us to take charge of our own lives. It just might be time for a meeting!!!
We all have good intentions about things we’d like to do and things we’d like to see done in regard to our own lives and in our relationship with Christ, and even in helping others find Christ. We all have causes we’d like to support. And we fully intend to do that. But then when it comes time to either write that check or take the time off from work for a cause other than ourselves, or to buy the plane ticket or sign on the dotted line, we hesitate and we procrastinate. A son wrote his parents and told them he hadtaken a vow of poverty. Would they please send money to test if it was working…….
We don’t procrastinate because we don’t believe God is telling us something, but it’s because those 3 shadowy companions,“inconvenience”, “fear” and “risk”, keep showing up! The Bible keeps reminding us that we are always better off when we allow God to be in charge of our lives, and surrender to His leading.
Believe it or not, Jesus wrestled with all these things himself. “He was tempted in all manner as we are”….and as he faced the cross, the battle became incredibly intense, because all of these shadowy companions of “inconvenience”, “fear” and “risk” were all yelling and pushing and shoving against Him.
Matthew 26:36 “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, "Sit here while I go further on and pray. v38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. v39 Going a little further, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will." v40 Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with Me for one hour?" v41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Jesus’ spirit was willing to obey the Father’s will to the point of death, but his flesh sought to escape the ordeal….The call of the flesh was so strong and the struggle was so intense, that capillaries in His face hymoriged and Jesus’ sweat was as drops of blood falling to the ground. If even Jesus can feel this struggle, there is no shame left in it for us, our only hope that we, too, might keep learning how to say, “not what I will, but what you will, o Lord.” Not just at the hour of death; but every hour of our lives.
This was the first blood that Jesus shed in the work of the cross. This blood was the assurance to every one of us that because He overcame the struggle with “inconvenience”, “fear” and “risk” we shall be able to also!!! J. C. Ryle said “Let us live like men on enemy ground, and be always on our guard”
This is why Paul is inspired to write in Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. v3 For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, that you do not become weary and faint in your minds”.
We all start life with a what’s-in-it-for-me attitude? All children start out this way, they are selfish. It’s about what’s convenient, what contributes to my peace, what’s comfortable for me….. There was a little jingle that said…(Me, me, me, I’m in love with me, me, me. There will never, ever be, a one as wonderful as me..)
A customer walked into a service station to have his car worked on. As he watched, the mechanic on duty was changing the oil, testing the motor, checking the air pressure in all the tires, including the spare, and buffing over some spots on the rear bumper. The mechanic thoroughly scrubed his hands and begin cleaning the upholstery in a blue truck. The customer walked over to the service manager, and pointed to the meticulousmechanic, hoping to get him to work on his own car. "I’ve been watching that guy, and I’m impressed. He looks like a greatmechanic." "Oh, yes he is," laughed the service manager, "especially when he’s working on his own truck!"
When Absalom, David’s son, was seeking to drive him from off the throne, David cried out “My own flesh is trying to take my life.” In the same way the weakness of our own bodies and it’s appetites and desires, tries to drive us from being in charge of our own lives, and squeeze the very life out of us. Instead of ruling our bodies, our bodies rule us….Absalom is always lurking in the shadows, looking for an advantage…..
Someone said, “If I had it to do all over again, I would just be too tired”.
Paul tells us of the Corinthians who were caught in this trap. They thought they were spiritually minded, but their ego was always taking control.
1 Corinthians 3:1 “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-minded infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for meat. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like selfish children”?
That flesh will can also be called our ‘Ego”…. The acronym for Ego is “Edging God Out”. Even those who know better, must fight against the subtle, selfish call of Ego…. Ego’s objective is to put a dark force around an individual, so that spiritual truth cannot penetrate, and do it’s transformative work.. You can know the bible cover to cover, and still fall prey to this subtle and shadowy companion which follows us all and dogs our steps..
In recognizing this, Paul says in Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature (or ego). For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, this is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin (or ego)living in me that does it.
Some folks may be weak when it comes to food, and whenever they find themselves hungry, they try to eat up everything in sight…..Some folks may be weak when it comes to alcohol or drugs, they don’t have the strength to say no…..Some folks may be weak when it comes to controlling their anger, when somebody says something or does something that they don’t like. Some of us are weak when it comes to handling our money, and our credit cards… We all have weaknesses of some sort, in some area… our problem seems to be that just when we thought we had a handle on life, the handle keeps breaking.. so, we don’t judge other people’s sin, just because they sin differently than we do.
God and Adam were walking through the Garden of Eden, discussing various things. At one point, Adam says, "Wow, God, you sure made Eve awfully beautiful, just amazingly beautiful!" And the Lord said: "Yes, my son, that is so you would love her completely." After a brief moment, Adam commented, "But Lord,why didn’t you make Eve a lot smarter?." "Ah, yes," said God, "that is so she would be able to love you." (we’ve all got faults)
We all need a good talk with our EGO! Ego puts ourselves first instead of God. Our ego constantly wants the center place in our lives. Ego is the root cause of every moral problem in our society.
Paul says…1 Corinthians 9:27 “I crucify my flesh man (or ego) and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I will not be disqualified for the prize”.
Abortion is preferred, over giving birth because of what is best for ego, and not the unborn. Homosexuality is embraced because our ego convinces us perversion is preferred over Bible truth. Drugs are used because the ego is looking for a feel good high so it can compensate for what it cannot control. Ego not only edges God out, it edges everybody else out of our lives.
A mortician at Forest Lawn Cemetery in California was asked, "What was the most expensive funeral he ever had there?" The mortician didn't have to search his memory. A man with a huge ego, had left his ex-wife and children almost nothing, but had provided wastefully for his own final farewell. He had designated about a 250,000 dollars for his funeral. First, a bronze casket was bought for around $80,000, and a beautiful rose window grave marker was created for $70,000. But after these and other expenditures, the mortuary still had about $100,000. What next? Their solution was orchids--one hundred thousand dollars worth! And how many attended this $250,000 extravaganza? Exactly four people, his wife and his three children.
We need to save ourselves from ourselves. Proverbs 14:12 says," There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. v15 The foolish believe every word: but the wise man is insightful in his dealings. v16 A wise man is cautious, and departs from evil: but the fool rages, in his confidence”. Many things have changed over the last 2000 years since Christ died, but some things are still the same old same old…..
Twenty first century people are still living out the old idium, "If it feels good, do it" in ever greater numbers today, but with even greater and more destructive consequences. (Isn’t that what got Adam and Eve and all the rest of us in trouble?)
Paul saw that the gentile churches were seeking the glory for themselves, that belonged to God alone. They were naïve enough to believe they were seeking God’s glory, when they were actually edging God out in their motives and their behavior. When we steal God’s glory we rob ourselves of His power and give Ego more and more power. Every problem the gentile churches had can be traced to their desire to have their own way, and their own glory. Today every problem in the home and in the church can be traced to the same cause.
Paul wrote, Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature [ego] with its passions and desires. v25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. v26 Let us not become prideful, provoking one another and envying each other”.
When God gets the glory, we experience His life giving power. God gets the glory when we allow His will to be done in our lives to accomplish His purposes.
A woman said to her guest at dinner, "We say grace at every meal, to remind us around here that there is something bigger than our own egos."
I usually avoid conversations that begin with “Did you hear about so and so..? But folks will say, “Did you hear of so-and-so falling into sin?” The truth is, no one ever sees any one “fall into sin.” You only see them when they finally landed. They have been falling and slipping back for a long time. The question comes back to each of us….
Are you totally yielding all of your stuff to God? Or are you feeling you can get by without prayer or studying the word. That’s always the deception of the flesh. It’s one step away fromletting ego get back in the driver’s seat!!!.
Jesus broke the power of ego in His prayer….and we must learn to pray as He prayed…. ”Never the less, Not my will but thy will be done”. As we mature as Christians, we begin to realize that prayer is not always to get our will done in our lives.
For us to pray the prayer of Jesus, God must bring us to the end of ourselves. It is then that we begin to understand that God’s way is the best and only way.
Esther understood this as she was brought to the end of herself as she was called upon to save the Jewish people. To do so she would have to risk her own life. There is no other way out. She simply says, “If I perish, I perish.” In doing so she defeated her ego, and allowed God to step into her life in a powerful way.
Daniel was brought to the end of himself when he was thrown into the Lion’s den. I like to be reminded that Daniel was probably around 80 years old when he was thrown into the Lion’s den. This lets me know that it’s never too late to come to the end of yourself and step into the beginning of God’s better plan.
When we come to the end of ourselves, the end of our resources, and the end of our ability, we may think God is out to destroy us, but he isn’t. He merely desires to transform us into the image of himself. At the end of yourself you will come to the beginning of God’s best for you.
Romans 6:1 “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on walking in our own way, so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to our ego, how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live in His new life”.
The disciples fully intended to stand watch while Jesus prayed….but the shadowy force field of ego, began to surround them and keep out the spiritual impact of the moment. They went from standing to sitting, from sitting to lying down and soon they were asleep! The signature statement of all procrastinators comes to mind…OK, as soon as I get around to it…
Or how about this one….“The best thing about procrastination is that you are never bored, because you have all kinds of things that you should be doing."
Joan Konner said "The great thing about procrastination is that it always gives you something to look forward to tomorrow."
Mark Twain said "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
Christopher Parker said “Procrastination is like a credit card; it’s a lot fun until you get the bill.” "And last…. “Someday is not an actual day of the week”…..
Procrastination can take on historic proportions.
It is reported that Colonel Rahl, commander of the British troops in Trenton, New Jersey, was playing cards when a courier brought an urgent message stating that General George Washington was crossing the Delaware River to attack. The Commander put the letter in his pocket and didn't bother to read it until the card game was finished. Only then did he realize the seriousness of the situation. He hurriedly tried to rally his men to meet the coming attack, but his procrastination was his undoing. He and many of his men were killed and the rest of the regiment were capture and Washington succeeded in part because of help from the shadowy figure of procrastination.
In the story of Jonah, it was not until he faced a life and death crises, that Jonah began to repent and cry out to God for his procrastination, in the belly of the fish. He ran from God till he couldn’t run anymore….God has a way of bringing folks to that same place!
Jonah 2:2 “He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.” This tells me that Jonah actually died, and God brought him back to life in order to fulfill the call on his life.
Here is good news for everyone. When you call out to the Lord, He will listen. Even if you have been running from the Lord, He will help you. Even if your life is ebbing away, He will help you. . . It does not matter how you got there. You can rationalize about it all day long. You can try to find someone to blame and look for some other solution. It does not matter how deep and how hopeless looking your trouble and your trial is, even though you may think it is too late for you…
Jonah’s life hung in the balances, if he had continued to rebel against God and yielded to the three shadowy companions…. Of “inconvenience”, “fear” and “risk”.. We would have a totally different outcome to his story. When Jonah stopped running andcried out to the Lord, he was delivered.
You can wash and perfume a pig and he will walk right back into the hog pen to wallow in the mud. You can throw a sheep into the mud and he will quickly get out. Their natures are different. The spiritual nature and the fleshly nature are opposites. A lost man can enjoy the call of the flesh and not want to stop, while a saved man is miserable when the flesh begins to take over and he will quickly find the way out.
God will begin to bring you out as soon as you turn to Him, receive and accept that, in spite of everything, He still has a better plan for you!. The redemptive work of Christ at the cross will give you a new start in life and another chance at faithfulness. If you repent and pray for forgiveness, you can start over again, no matter where you’ve found yourself.
He’s not limited to your condition, your handicap, your circumstances or your limitations and barriers…. He says… Because I have overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, you shall overcome also in my name!
Jesus in us is greater than the soul-suckers that want to suck the life right out of you and leave you on the trash heap of life.The Need to stay on top of all our demands, the need to feel like we’re accomplishing things, running from pillar to post, needing to feel needed, needing to justify our existence through activity. There’s always something else…..But where is God in all of our activity? Do we take time for the most important thing….our relationship with the Lord, and time spent replenishing our spirit….
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, might also be stated as “the spirit is willing but the flesh is too busy.” We can so easily be distracted from prayer, worship, or a kind act by hunger, exhaustion, feeling too cold or too hot, thirst, pain, our biased opinions, and even a persistent itch. The flesh shouts loudly when it wants something, and the ruckus it makes can easily drown out the desires of the spirit. Even when the spirit is willing to do whatever God asks, the flesh remains weak when it comes to submitting to Christ.
Jesus spoke to this condition Matthew 6:25–26 “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
We must commit to enter His rest. It takes “Nevertheless” to say “no” to compulsive activity and constant mulling over our lists of things to do. It takes “Nevertheless” to give priority toSabbaticals. Jesus said that many had not entered into his Rest or His finished works because of their unbelief (or the force of “inconvenience”, “fear” and “risk””.. .
Hebrews 4:9 There remains a rest to the people of God. v10 For he that is entered into My rest, has also ceased from his own works. (that’s works in order to earn righteousness or spiritual points).
Rest begins when we realize that God’s purposes are accomplished through God’s power and not our own, and that the only person who is not expendable in the Kingdom of God is God Himself. Rest is letting go: Letting go of our own sense of self-importance, our sense that no one can take our place, and our fear that things will fall apart without us. Rest is about spending time with God, time that’s about God alone and letting nothing else crowd it’s way in, because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Paul's answer applies to all of us. Galatians 3:3 "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?"
There is a truth that needs to come crashing over all of us like a forceful wave. This is it:
Time is very democratic. Each of us gets exactly the same amount, every day of our lives. We don’t get to choose what family we’re born into, or what DNA will shape our bodies and brains. We don’t get to choose the nation of our birth, or our skin color. But each of us gets 24 hours a day to inhabit and take possession of, for as many days as we have. And whatever we’ve done yesterday, whatever mistakes we’ve made, whatever time we’ve dissipated or squandered or lost, we’ll get 24 brand new hours tomorrow, and a chance to use them differently than we may have used them before.
What if we all made a promise to ourselves to never again say “I don’t have time,” because that surrenders the wealth and power that God gives me every day of my life… the power to choose what I will do with the time given to me each day, whether I will work, and be busy, without sacrificing worship or prayer, or rest and service to others.
Progress requires practice. God wants us to begin training for reigning…..Don’t wait for someone to invite you, or till a position opens up….begin wherever there is opportunity….
If you have a gift for teaching children – If you find it easy to relate to youth – If you have a caregiver’s heart – If you have a gift for music – If you have a gift for leading – If you have a gift for sharing the Good News – If you have a gift of hospitality – If you have a gift of serving the homeless, the hungry, and the poor…. Begin now, find opportunities, get involved, make yourself available…..no more excuses!
Through Christ, we can find strength to love our enemies, and to love one another… Through Christ, we can find strength to forgive those who hurt us…
Through Christ, we can have peace in the midst of a storm…
Through Christ, we can have joy in the midst of sorrow….
Through Christ, we can overcome addictions, faults, bad habits, or any personal issues…. Through Christ, we can reach our goals, and achieve our dreams….
No matter what we may be going through, just know that we can find strength in the Lord to move on with our life and make better choices to receive the blessings that He has for us, and to claim the victory over every weakness…in the time He has given us…..
Her name was Joy and she was a gym teacher. She taught countless children in her rural Minnesota school to be physically fit. Ironically, she didn’t practice what she preached. She was a stranger to personal exercise. But all that changed in 1986 when she took a three mile walk.
Then she started jogging and running in 10 K races. Joy Johnson ran her first marathon at the age of 61. A few years ago she told a reporter about her exercise regimen. She would wake up at 4 A.M., drink her coffee while reading her Bible, and then set out on an eight mile pre-dawn run. When she got up, she always said, “It's going to be a good day today”.
Joy was inspired by the words of Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
At the age of 86 Joy Johnson ran her 25th New York City marathon becoming the oldest person to finish the race. She went to her hotel room, laid down on the bed and went to be with the Lord just the way she hoped she would, with her running shoes on. Her daughter said, “Joy ran for God, Now she runs with God”.
The well known prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi is a great guide to victory over the flesh. “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace: Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is discord, harmony; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek: To be consoled as to console; to be loved, as to love. For, it is in giving, that we receive; It is in forgetting self, that we find ourselves; It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned; And it is in dying, that we are born into eternal life.”
So as we go, let’s receive the pastoral blessing….
“Be blessed of the Lord, to wake each day and marvel at the gift of time you have been given, new and fresh and unspoiled each morning. Whatever you do, or don’t do with that time, may you find a fulfilling, holy order in your own life— With God’s help, may you know what is possible in your own life, as you become more intimate with the God who made you. Go out into your work time and your leisure time and get to know God better this week. For in knowing Him you will find yourself. Allow Him to help you with how you spend your gift of time, talents, and resources. And remember that where you serve, you will be served, where you give you will be given, and if you show yourself a friend you will never lack a friend. It is God’s unending cycle of the amazing program of His grace”!
In Jesus’ name….Amen
