Destroy Fleshly Thoughts (2)
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April 09, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
To experience the work of the living God, we should have spiritual faith. You will be controlled by Satan and think according to your mind set on the flesh to the extent of the measure of your knowledge of the untruth. It will hinder you from having spiritual faith.
With the mindset on the flesh, you cannot obey the command of God that doesn't seem to be agreeable with your knowledge. Of course you cannot experience the work of God, either. Let's delve into the reason why you have to destroy fleshly thoughts and how to do it.
1. You Should Destroy Fleshly Thoughts to Understand the Spiritual Message of God and Obey It
John 6 shows that many of Jesus' followers left Him. When He spoke in deep spiritual messages, many of His followers left although they saw the great power of Jesus. It was because one cannot understand the spiritual Word of God with fleshly thoughts.
People of goodness, however, followed, trusted, and obeyed Jesus to the last even when His message didn't agree with their own thoughts. Later they could receive the Holy Spirit and perform the work of His power and became His witnesses.
This principle is the same case for you today. Suppose you have experienced uncountable works of the power of God and you have received many promises of God. To gain the fruit in hand, you must throw away fleshly thoughts and achieve the heart of spirit. Only then can you understand the heart of God who is spirit, know the secrets of the spiritual realm and enlarge the kingdom of God in the end time.
God is looking for people who obey with spiritual faith not using fleshly thoughts. Only those who cast off fleshly thoughts can understand the heart of God deeply and guarantee God's command with perfect obedience.
If they is fleshly thoughts, however, they will have the reasons that they cannot obey in their minds. It leads to disobedience. But those who cast off fleshly thoughts will realize the reason why God commanded something in the works of the Holy Spirit and receive the way to obey it in wisdom and understanding (ref: 1 Corinthians 2:10) and bear the perfect fruit of obedience.
2. To Destroy Fleshly Thoughts and Experience the Works of God
1) You Must Try Your Best to Get Rid of Every Kind of Evil and Achieve the Heart of Spirit
If you have much knowledge of the Word of God but don't act by the knowledge, you may become arrogant or judge and condemn others by it. To the extent that you discover all evil and sins and throw them away, you will have less and less mind set on the flesh. To make the knowledge of the truth your own, you should engrave it into your heart and cultivate it by acting upon it.
Suppose you heard that you should love even your enemies, which is the knowledge of the truth. Just because you listened to it, it was not your own yet. You should realize that it has been wrong for you to hate those who have hated and troubled you. You should profess that you should and can love even those who trouble you. But these are not all you should do. If you still insist on your own ways of thinking and self-frameworks, you cannot completely change yourself. You must make up your mind to get rid of what you have been against truth in order to become a man of truth.
You must repent that you have not loved your brothers and that you have been wicked. You must repent of your sins with heart-rending tears and turn your way back to the truth. Apostle Paul said, 'I die every day.' In the same way, you must determine not to commit those sins again in such a firm resolution and try to cast them off. When you pray and fast for the goal in such attitude, you will surely receive the strength and grace from God and take off every kind of evil and sin. Only then can you be told that you have true knowledge of the truth.
Whenever you learn all kinds of knowledge of the truth, if you fill your heart with them, all kinds of untruthful knowledge such as hatred, anger, adulterous mind will be thrown away. Even beginners or newcomers will listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit clearly if they try their best to obey the word of God. If you cast untruths away completely, you will never think by the mind set on the flesh.
Fleshly thoughts come from untruthful knowledge. Accordingly, if you have only the knowledge of the truth, fleshly thoughts will have no way to coming to your mind. And to the extent that you destroy fleshly thoughts, you will be able to achieve the heart of spirit quickly, obey the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and experience the works of God in every matter.
2) You Must Take Every Thought Captive and Fill It with Spiritual Thought
2 Corinthians 10:4 reads, "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." In order to destroy fleshly thoughts that are hostile toward God, you should try to react according to the truth in every matter, not thinking in your own perspective. You should destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. You should reflect all the time about whether you serve others with goodness, love, and truth. Only then can you be changed.
Let's say you've been reprimanded in a certain matter. If you made a mistake, you should give thanks, repent, and turn from the way. But even if you are blamed for no reason, you should not feel discomfort or resentment against those who blame you. Because God knows everything, if there is misunderstanding, it will be resolved. Even if you are harmed because of the matter, it will be changed into a blessing. You will have only peace and joy.
If you have fleshly thoughts, however, you will be agitated and troubled just because you listened to a reproach. Or, you may feel disheartened because of your shortcomings. Or, you may feel a grudge against and complain about those who reprimand you. Only when you take all such thoughts of the flesh captive to the obedience of Christ, rejoice always, give thanks in everything, and think positively, can you destroy fleshly thoughts.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, since God is love, He desires all people to believe Jesus Christ and reach salvation. He gave the Holy Spirit to us believers in Christ and leads us to cast away sins and evil, and destroy fleshly thoughts.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will accomplish sanctification and receive power and when God says, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' you will be able to shout, 'Lord, Here I am. Send me!'
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