April 10th, 2007: MANIFESTING CHRIST, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN THE FLESH.

PART #20

THE STAFF AND SWORD MINISTRY

April 10, 2007

M"IFESTING CHRIST WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN THE"FLESH77

by Nancy-TONI Youngbrandt The time was December and about two weeks before Christmas. Chuck-JOHNEL was working on the newsletter and we had several Holiday commitments coming up quickly.

Between ministry work, house work and getting ready for our Holiday engagements, I was stressed out (to say the least.) I felt frustrated, tired, angry and overwhelmed with all that lay before me. I remember walking the dog one day and trying to plan out all that I had to do.

With each step I told myself I "needed" to do this or I "have" to do that and with each plan or schedule made I was feeling more and more burdened down and ready to cry.

Then, finally, Jesus stepped in and His Spirit seemed to just draw me inwardly to Him and away from the things of this world that had so consumed me. Inwardly, by the Spirit of God, I was able to pray and give it all up to Him. I had a such a sense of peace and calm that I knew that this was where I wanted to stay. Up until now I had been directing my thoughts and energy outwardly into how I was going to get all the things done and now was directing my thoughts and energy to Jesus and resting there. I gave up thinking how I was going to do everything and just decided to let Jesus lead me by taking it one step at a time. And you know what? All that needed to get done was done and the rest that wasn't — well, it either wasn't that important or got done later in due time.

Upon reflection, the Spirit of God later showed me that when I directed by thoughts and energy outward into my own abilities and the things of this world, I was operating in my flesh. When I was worried and troubled about how `1' would do all that I needed to do and sought to make plans I was doing so through my self-life with its efforts, abilities and senses . which is what it means to be "in the flesh". The fruits of this were obvious stress, anger, frustration, accusation and feeling overwhelmed.

Instead, once I quieted my soul down and retreated from the world and the outward and turned inward to Jesus and directed my soul to Heaven, then the fruits of the Spirit of God became manifest with peace, clam and rest unto my soul. (Thank you, Jesus!)

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So, in this article, I would like to explore this topic of what it means to be in the `flesh' versus the Spirit of God a bit more in the hope and prayer that you too may be quickened by the Spirit of God to see this in your own life as well.

SCRIPTURALLY SPEAKING ...

Scripturally speaking, the `flesh' does not get a good report. From Jesus to the Apostle Paul, the `flesh' is equated with sin and death while the Spirit is equated with life. For example, Jesus said in John 6:63:

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the fresh profitheth nothing : the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

So for this we can see, at the least, that being in the flesh profits us nothing in a spiritual sense. There is no question that sometimes we have to do things in this world as part of daily living which concern our bodies and their needs which could be said to be of the "flesh" but what we are and will be discussing here is being in the flesh as it relates to our walk in Christ and therefore what will benefit us spiritually in that closer walk with Jesus. In the

case of this Scripture, Jesus is telling us that the things of flesh profit us nothing: they don't r bring growth in Christ for true g owth and depth in Christ can only be brought about by God and that which comes from Him. Instead we are to do as the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 13:14-"... put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for theflesh, to fulf ll the lusts thereof" Another good Scripture I like on this topic is Romans 7:5

"F'or when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work to bring forth fruit unto death. " As we as Romans 7:25 — "... with the mind I myself

serve the law of God; but with

the flesh the law of sin."

I chose these Scriptures to illustrate my point that to be "in the flesh" takes action, thought and energy on our part. We can choose to be "in the flesh" or we can choose to put on Christ

and operate from there. Here we see that we are not to "make provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" We do this when we want something so bad that we allow our flesh to be in control and let it do for us what we desire. We see this action or outward expression also spoken of when Paul spoke of "the motions of sins" or that he could "serve" the law of God with his minds but with his flesh the law of sin. The action toward God was an inward one — in his mind — while the action which serves the flesh is outward.

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A DEFINITION As I have read and prayed about these Scriptures and from the teachings of others such as Andrew Murray and Madam Guyon I would define being in the flesh this way:

To be in the `flesh' is to pursue God and Jesus Christ through outward means of expression; externals; the outward nature; and ultimately through self. This includes a pursuit of God and Jesus Christ through our feelings and our senses;

through our own strengths and abilities apart of God. Keep in mind, Jesus Himself told us "... BEHOLD, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU." (Luke 17:21) He also warned us against looking for Him here or there externally to find Him but rather, to turn within to find Him. We cannot find Jesus by using our own outward expressions of our faith or self-effort -- those things only end up leading us away from Him instead of closer to Him. Madam Guyon wrote a truth that I have lived myself and that is, " When you deal with the externals (things of the flesh), what you are really doing is driving your soul farther outward from your spirit. The more your soul is focused on these outward things, the farther it is removed from its center and from its resting place!"

She also pointed out that, "If you dwell on the desires of your outward nature (flesh) — paying attention to them — they, in turn, become more and more active. Instead of being subdued, they gain more power."

That seems to be a main feature of being in the "flesh" — it actually moves us further away from what we say we want ... to be closer to Jesus. So what is our hope for us to ever enjoy a close walk with Jesus? Madam Guyon wrote it this way: There is only one way to conquer your five senses, and that is my inward recollection. Or, to put it another way, the only way to conquer your five senses is by turning your soul completely inward to your spirit, there to possess a present God. Your soul must turn all of its attention and energies within, not without! Within to Christ, not without to the senses. When your soul is turned within, it actually becomes separated from your external senses; and once your five senses are separated from your soul, they receive no more attention. Their life supply is cut off!

They become powerless.

Now let us follow the course of the soul. Your soul has learned at this point to turn within and draw near to the presence of God. The soul becomes

Page 4 MANIFESTING CHRJST - WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN THE FLESH April 10, 2007 A DEFINITION Quoting Madam Gu y on continued farther and farther separated from the self. You may experience being powerfully drawn within — to seek God in your spirit — and discover that the outer man becomes very weak. (Some may even be prone to faintings.)

Your main concern, therefore, is with the presence of Jesus Christ. Your main concern lies in dwelling continually upon the God who is within you.

Then, without particularly thinking of self-denial or "putting away the deeds of

the flesh," God will cause you to experience a natural subduing of the flesh!

You can be sure of this: The Christian who has faithfully abandoned himself to the Lord will soon discover that he also has laid hold of a God who will not rest until He has subdued everything! Your Lord will put to death all that remains to be put to death in your life.

What, then, is required of you? All you need to do is remain steadfast in giving your utmost attention to God. He will do all things perfectly. The truth is, not everyone is capable of severe outward self-denial, but everyone is capable of turning within and abandoning himself to God. (This was taken from the book: 144 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE , Introduced and compiled by Gene Edwards. Published by Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., P q Box 310, Shippensburg, PA. 17257-0310. 1 think you can acquire it on www.seedsowers.com .)

THE CHOICE Prior to this recent understanding and clarification by the Spirit of God, I was never quite sure about just what the difference was between our soul and the flesh. I knew that when our soul was in sin and self was leading the way, the fruit of it was the same as being in the flesh and yet I also knew the soul had the capacity in and through Christ to not sin and be a vehicle for the Spirit of God as well. But now I see it more clearly: we have choice. We can

either yield our soul into our flesh or we can yield it to our spirit-man in Christ Jesus. Our soul itself is not the problem so much as what we do with it.

The next question is then, just what is our soul? The common definition that we have used

in the past is: mind, will and emotion. However, since feelings are so tied in with the flesh, perhaps that is not an accurate definition after all. You see, the true walk of Faith which God intends for us is one not based on emotions or feelings but by faith in Jesus Christ. It is a walk not based on sight, but on faith in Jesus Christ. It is a walk not based on hearing, but on faith in Jesus Christ. A true walk of Faith in Christ Jesus means believing and having

faith without any sensation whatsoever— no feelings, no visions, no words — just Faith, and Faith alone, in Christ Jesus.

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THE CHOICE continued So just what is our soul? For what purpose was it created? For this answer I would like share what Andrew Murray wrote in a book entitled, A LIFE OF POWER ( Whitaker House, 30 Hunt Valley Circle, New Kensington, PA 15068). He wrote: God created man's soul as the seat of his personalityand

consciousness . His soul was linked through his body with the outer visible world. It was also linked through the spirit with the unseen and the divine. The soul had to decide whether it would yield itself to the spirit and be linked with God and His will, or be linked to the body and the desires of the flesh.

At the fall of Adam, the soul refused the rule of the spirit and became the slave of the body with its appetites. Man became flesh. The spirit lost its destined place of rule and became little more than a dormant power.

It was now a struggling captive instead of the ruling principle. The spirit now stands in opposition to the flesh because of this.

When speaking of the unregenerate man in contrast with the spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:14), Paul called him physical, soulish, or animal, having only the natural life. The life of the soul understands all our moral and intellectual faculties. Because the soul is under the power of the flesh, man is to be flesh. The body consists of the flesh and bone, and the flesh is that part of it that is especially endowed with sensitivity. Through the

flesh we receive our sensations from the outer world. It denotes human nature, as it has become subject to the world of sense.

Because the soul has come under the power of the flesh, Scripture speaks of all the attributes of the soul as belonging to the flesh and being under its power. There is fleshly wisdom and a spiritual wisdom. (See 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 and Colossians 1:9.) There is service for God that

trusts in the flesh and glories in the flesh, and service of God by the spirit. (See Philippians 3:3 and Galatians 6:13.) There is a fleshy mind and a spiritual mind. (See John 1:13 and Philippians 2:13.) There is a worship that satisfies the flesh, because it is in the power of what flesh can do, There is also worship of God that is in the Spirit. (See Colossians 2:18, 23; John 4:24.) Jesus came to make this worship possible and to give a new spirit in our innermost part. Then, within our new spirit, He gives God's Holy Spirit.

So you see, we all have a choice to make: just what do I want to link my soul with? Do I want to direct my soul into my flesh with its desires and lusts that ultimately leads me away from God ... OR ... do I want to direct my soul to Christ by yielding my soul to my spirit which in turn is yielded to Jesus Christ as its Lord and Savior? And this not just a one-time decision but one made daily, in little ways and big ones as we all "work out our salvation."

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"AFTER THE FLESH" What Jesus offers freely is so beautiful — He offers us everything of true value: love, salvation, grace, life and peace. And yet how often our self-love wishes to take some credit for that gift or for something it could do to feel worthy of that gift — to feel as if it had in some way earned or contributed to it. This is how so many fall into the trap of salvation through works of the flesh rather than through Grace by the Spirit of God. It is self-love, the carnal mind, the natural man, that likes and entertains the ideas that empower the flesh.

From there come ideas that you can be righteous by doing or not doing certain things. For example, one is more righteous if you don't eat pork, don't drink alcohol, don't watch movies, don't dance, do wear dresses only or don't cut your beard. All of these are forms of seeking righteousness through outward means, they all have an element of being more righteous by observation rather than by Grace through Jesus Christ. When doing these things, many Christians today are trying to blend some of the Old Testament Law with their Christian faith and yet the Apostle Paul tells us the reason salvation through the Law has failed was because it was "weak through the flesh" — it could not be done since the flesh was weak and would always fail. Instead, God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and sin, and condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us through Jesus Christ as we walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:3-4) The Apostle Paul goes on to say in verse 5: "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit things of the Spirit. " In other words, if your approach to God is through your flesh, then what you care about and how you see things will be through the flesh. But for those who walk after the Spirit, then the things of the Spirit will be the most important thing to you.

Paul also wrote in I Corinthians 2:14: "But the natural man receiveth not the things o f the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,

because they are spiritually discerned" This in turn can account for much of the opposition that Jesus received during His walk here on earth from the religious leaders at the time. For many of them their whole religious walk had become solely about what they did through the flesh and outward works and here is Jesus directing God's people to look inward to their heart. Jesus came to reveal the heart of the Father and to show God's people how to find Him through their own heart and spirit.

Take for example the belief that certain foods would defile a person if eaten or if you eat with unwashed hands. Jesus came along and told us it is —

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"AFTER THE FLESH" continued

"Not that which goeth into the mouth defilethi a man; but that which cotneth (Matthew 15:11) out of the mouth, this defleth a man."

Jesus goes on to explain in verses 17-20: "... whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into

the draught(.) But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, tliefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

This is interesting to me because Jesus' list here of things that defile is nearly identical to the works ofthe flesh listed by Paul in Galatians 5:19-21, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (showing or exciting lust), idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (being disagreeable), emulations (trying to surpass one another), wrath, strife, seditions (stirring up rebellion), heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, and revellings. Any one of these is enough to defile any one of us so we need to be careful to take notice if any of these appeal-to repent and put it under the Blood of Jesus and abide in the Spirit of God and not in this fleshy sin any longer. We must turn from whatever is outwardly bringing us to sin and inwardly bring ourselves before Jesus to get right with Him once again.

Another Scriptural example of Jesus confronting the religious leaders of the day and directing their attention from the outward flesh to the inward can be seen in Matthew 23 :2528:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of their may be clean also. for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

And before Jesus said that, in Matthew 23:4-5 He also spoke of what these leaders were really doing

"For they bind heavy burdens and grievious to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men:..."

Page 8 MANIFESTING CHRIST - WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN THE FLESH April 15, 2007 "AFTER THE FLESH" continued I cite these Scriptures because there are those among the Body of Christ who are doing these same things today and are just as `after the flesh' as they were back then. There are those who seek to serve God through outward and fleshy ways which will draw people unto themselves rather than unto Jesus. These same people will in turn tend to encourage the same fleshy approach to God as they have which will bear no real fruit of the Spirit of God. I like Andrew Murray's way of putting it:

"(They are using) flesh as the power in which the natural man or the unyielded believer seeks to serve God or to understand spiritual truths.

Our Lord indicates the futile efforts of the flesh in the words, "profiteth nothing." These efforts are not sufficient. They cannot reach spiritual reality, the divine things themselves."

The Apostle Paul takes it a step further and says in Romans 8:6-8 — "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:.... So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." However, the good news is that for most of you reading this article, we fall into the category of verse 9 — But ye are not in the flesh, hut in the Spirit, if so he that the Spirit of God dwell in you. " And, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14)

"AFTER THE SPIRIT" Now that we have looked at the works of the flesh and its fruit, let's compare that to the fruits of the Spirit. So often that is the easiest way to tell if one is in their flesh or moving by the Spirit is by the fruit. With the flesh there is darkness, sin and a burden that becomes apparent. There is spiritual death associated with it in the long run. On the other hand, the things of the Spirit are life and peace. The fruits of the Spirit listed in GaIatians 5:22-24 are: "... Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."

Page 9 MANIFESTING CHRIST - WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN THE FLESH April 1.5, 2007 "AFTER THE SPIRIT" continued To this Iist I would like to also add —REST UNTO YOUR SOUL . After all, Jesus Himself call us in Matthew 11:28-30 to ...

"Come unto me, all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" What struck me when I read this recently was that Jesus wasn't saying we wouldn't have burdens and labors to do but that when we do have them, we are to come to Him with them and give them to Him. He in return will take our burden and give us His yoke and His burden. And in this exchange, we will also find rest unto our soul. Our soul will no longer struggle and fuss in trying to figure out how it will do a thing in the power of its flesh.

Instead, our flesh is relieved of that burden as Jesus takes it on when we surrender it to Him. When we do that, our soul takes on His yoke which is easy, and His burden which is light.

For those you who might be unsure what a "yoke 7 ' is, I looked it up and found three interesting definitions. The first one I knew, was: 1. A frame for harnessing together a pair of oxen.

The other two are related but add to the definition: 2. Thing that binds or unites.

3. Servitude.

So when you see yourself take on Jesus' yoke, remember that He is not giving y ou a labor or burden to carry alone, but rather He is binding Himself to you to go forth together. He is also binding or uniting us in a Spirit of servitude — we serve God through Christ Jesus and with Christ Jesus.

FULL OF THE SPIRIT — FULL OF THE WORD Andrew Murray in his book, A LIFE OF POWER , (which I have been quoting from) says that if you want to be full of the Spirit, then you need to be full of the Word. Why does he say this? Well, it was Jesus Himself who said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. " Mr. Murray then went to qualify just how to do this in a most excellent way that I will just quote what he wrote. Here is what he wrote...

Christ said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." He wanted to teach the disciples two things. First, that the words are indeed a living seed with a power to germinate, to assert their own vitality, to reveal their meaning, and to prove their divine power in those who receive

Page 10 MANI FESTIN G CHRIST - WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN THE FLESH April 15, 2007 FULL OF THE SPIRIT — FULL OF THE WORD - Quoting Andrew Murray continued them and keep them alive in the heart.

Jesus did not want His disciples to be discouraged if they could not understand His words at once. His words are Spirit and life. They are not meant for the understanding, but for the life. Coming in the power of the Spirit, higher and deeper than all thought, His words enter into the very roots of the life. They themselves have a divine life, working out with divine energy the truth they reveal into the experience of those who receive them.

Christ also wanted the disciples to learn another lesson. As a result of their spiritual character, Christ's words need a spiritual nature to receive them.

Seed needs a suitable soil. There must be life in the soil as well as in the seed. The Word must be taken into the life....

It is the Spirit that comes from God that will make the words of Christ become truth and power in us. This is done by receiving the Word and making it part of our lives. This truth will keep us from expecting to enjoy the teaching of the Spirit without the Word or to master the teaching of the Word without the Spirit. ... If you want to have the divine life of the Spirit grow strong within you and acquire power in every part of your nature, let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you. if you want the Spirit to call to your mind and apply at the right moment what Jesus has spoken to your need, have the words of Christ abiding in you.

If you want the Spirit to reveal to you the will of God in each circumstance of life, have the Word living in you, ready for His use. ... one of the very solemn lessons that the history of the Jews in the time of Christ teaches us. They thought they were extremely zealous for God's Word and honor, and yet it turned out that all their zeal was for their human interpretation of God' s Word. Jesus said unto them, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." (John 5:39-40) They did indeed trust the Scriptures to lead them to eternal life, yet they never saw that the Scriptures testified of Christ, and so they would not come to Him. The Jews studied and accepted Scripture in the light and in the power of their human understanding, and not in the light and power of God's Spirit as their life.

This is also the reason the weakness in the life of many believers who read and know a great deal of Scripture. They do not know that it is the Spirit that quickens. The human understanding, however intelligent, however earnest, profits nothing. They think that in the Scriptures they have eternal life, but they know little of the living Christ as their life in the Spirit..... The solution is very simple: we must refuse to deal with the written Word without the quickening (un Spirit. )