MY FLESH IS NOT MY MASTER

"For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me". (Rom. 7:19)

One form of the flesh is SELF. If you leave off the “h” and spell the word “flesh” backwards, what do you have? You have S-E-L-F.

In every good Christian there is a fleshly voice and a spiritual voice. There is the voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice that is still attached to the realm of death through the flesh.

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:41

The flesh always wants what it wants. It makes one deny every form of reasoning, all the flesh lures for is satisfaction and comfort. Anger, sarcasm, bitterness, rancor, fear, doubt, envy, jealousy, unforgiveness and the rest will visit every person. No one is exempt from these visitations. But what’s important is the ability to make your flesh your slave and not your master.

The lure of the flesh is the Devil whose aim is to lead you to destruction which brings regrets.

The flesh is fond of procrastinations and enjoys satisfying its urge. Examples include; a student instead of reading for the promotional exams prefers to take a nap for some hours rather than cover all required topics. A wife who needs to cook for her husband gets tired after an all days work and instructs her maid to take care of her husband's culinary and domestic cores. A staff who delegates his office responsibility to an office intern because he wants to hang out with the guys. A married man goes after a beautiful lady who is not his wife.

The enemy is not only external but also internal too. We have to learn how to conqueror this internal enemy with these words “MY FLESH IS NOT MY MASTER”

Let’s learn from persons who overcame the flesh below;

When the time of the tribulation came Jesus Christ was quite apprehensive. His flesh was weak and went into prayers, the Bible Matthew 26:39 records..."Going a little farther, 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. "Nevertheless God gave Him the grace to overcome the flesh on the cross and He gave us our redemption.

The woman with the issue of blood refuse to fall into the temptation of the flesh to stay back at home since its quiet embarrassing to move around in her present state, but rather overcame the temptation of the flesh, left the comfort of her house, took charge and despite the crowd, reached out to touch THE MASTER and she was healed.

An inspiring example is the famous Pastor and inspirational speaker Nick Vujicic México - Without limbs, he did not let his flesh deter him rather he is spreading the message of the gospel globally and has over thousands of followers.

Another example is a non biblical one, of the award winning actress Julie Andrews who acted the movie "Sound of Music", she lost her voice, in an interview, she said it was the most challenging time of her live. Her voice was her most treasured asset. But instead of giving up and feeling sorry for herself she rose up, conquered her flesh and went into animation acting, movies for children and she came back into limelight. The beautiful thing is, she afterwards began to regain her voice and courage.

Another example of one who subjected his flesh is the famous Yoruba gospel artist, Yinka Ayefele, he was a former journalist who later lot his legs after a fatal motor accident. It seemed like his life was crumbling before his eyes but he did not give up. However, he conquered his flesh and took charge, he went into music and became one of the most successful Yoruba musicians of this time.

The Flesh is not your Master but rather your slave. It is only those who have the courage to subdue their flesh that actually conquer all obstacles and hit the top. God has given us dominion over everything including our flesh, sexual fantasies, anger, laziness, self pity, greed etc.

By His grace we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us. The Lion of the tribe of Judea lives you in, if you want to be an achiever, tap into yourself and take charge, declare today "MY FLESH IS NOT MY MASTER". I advice you to write it down in your room so that anytime you wake up in the morning or feel weak, it’s the first thing you see.

"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" ( Romans 8:37).To be more than conquerors means we face the trials of life with the certainty that we are not alone. So nothing is too great to pull you down because a stronger force is by your side (JESUS).

May the good LORD who has made us conquerors give us the grace to overcome our flesh.

Thank you.