Pastor Mark Mikels – August 23, 2009
“THE FLESH IS DEAD!”
(Galatians 6:14)

Intro … This morning we continue our discussion of the “Blessings of Christ’s Death on Calvary” – four of them to be exact.

These are blessings that “go beyond” the mere forgiveness of our sins. These are blessings that enable us to live the free and abundant, “blessed” life that Jesus came to provide (John 10:10).

Keep in mind that these “blessings” can only be enjoyed by those who have been born-again through faith in Jesus Christ – Keep in mind also that not every born-again believer does in fact enjoy them. In fact, some Christians live as though these blessings don’t even exist.
Thus, the importance of this month’s “discussion”.

Two weeks ago we examined Blessing #1 …
“When Jesus died on the cross, the Law died with Him.”
(Colossians 2:13-14)

Oh, what a blessing that is – to be forever set free from the condemning judgment of the law! To never again have our eternal future determined by our past earthly actions. How important that we don’t ever allow that “lawyer mindset” to slip back into our lives. Through the death of Jesus the law has lost its power to condemn us and to control our relationships.

Last week we examined the second of these blessings …

Blessing #2 …
“When Jesus Died On The Cross, the WORLD Died With Him.”
(Galatians 6:14)

Now there is a blessing to rejoice in!

The world with its God-Opposing Values … The world that has shaped and molded us since the day we were born no longer has the power to dominate our thinking. We can live free of it … Though we still live in the world, we do not have to be of the world!

Today I would have you consider with me …

Blessing #3 …
“When Jesus Died On The Cross, the FLESH Died With Him.”
(Romans 6:6)

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin …”
(Romans 6:6)

Now that’s some incredibly good news because our “old self” – what the old King James version of the Bible calls “the flesh” is indeed a frightful enemy to those who would seek to follow Jesus Christ.

If the world would seek to control us from without, the flesh seeks to
control us from within. The flesh is that inborn set of fallen, sinful passions that would drive our behavior in ungodly ways. The “flesh” – the “old natural nature” is a fallen, sinful thing … The flesh was born in Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the Garden and it has been passed along to every one of their natural descendants.

Consider with me this morning …

TWO KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLESH

* A SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE – “I’ll Do It MY WAY”
(Romans 8:5-8)

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

Biblical Example: KING SAUL
(1 Samuel 15:1-23)

Samuel said to Saul, “This is what the LORD Almighty says: `I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”

Then Saul attacked the Amalekites … He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs–everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”

Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”

But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, `Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?”

“But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”

But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”

The flesh is driven by a spirit of independence – the flesh frequently has “a better idea” – the flesh does not willingly “knuckle under” – not even to God.

The flesh can appear to “obey God” and will at times lead us to do some apparently “good things” but that’s only because those are the times when doing things “God’s Way” just happens to match up with what the flesh planned to do anyway. This is not true “obedience.”

Independence is actually the most basic of all sin … is it any wonder that God calls it rebellion and equates it to witchcraft (KJV).

Know that the flesh is involved when we find ourselves explaining our actions with words like …

“Well, it seemed to me” or “I know what the Bible says but
in this situation I felt that I had to …” or (like Saul)
“I did obey, I merely obeyed in my own way.”

And know as well, that all those “fleshly alterations” to the Plans of God lead eventually to disappointment and discipline.

A Spirit of Independence has characterized the flesh since Adam first gave birth to it … Here’s the second key characteristic of the Flesh I would mention this morning …

* A SPIRIT OF INDULGENCE – “I’ll SATISFY Myself.”
(Galatians 5:19-21)

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Is there anything more fleshly than the slogan that made the rounds a few years ago … “If it feels good, do it.”?

To the young and inexperienced, it might take the form …
“If you think it might feel good, try it.”

The flesh delights in physical sensation … after all, it’s the flesh. Sensual experiences are right at the top of the list. “Satisfy yourself” is at the heart of most fleshly suggestions. Our world today worships at the shrine of the
flesh – our world today encourages expression of all kinds … Satisfy yourself!
Biblical Example: KING DAVID
(2 Samuel 11:1-4)

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
and David sent someone to find out about her.

The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and
the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers
to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.

The flesh gives permission to every “craving” that we feel. The flesh does not recognize any limitations – any boundaries. The flesh seeks only to satisfy itself and when it is in control, it moves us in most destructive ways.

King David could be the poster boy for our modern world … Fleshly Sexual Expression is so commonplace that it hardly shocks us anymore. Standards of Biblical Morality are considered laughable and hardly defendable … and I suspect in many cases even unknown.

The flesh has always expressed itself in what we could call “Non-Sanctioned Sex” … so many varieties.

There’s of course “Casual Sex” – the one night stand – sex with no sense of commitment whatsoever … the Bible calls that Fornication.

There’s Adulterous Sex – sex where at least one of the partners is married and demonstrating unfaithfulness to their marriage vow. That’s what David was engaged in – Bible calls that Adultery.

There’s Same-Gender Sex – sex involving two men or two women … The Bible calls that a Perversion and an Abomination in God’s eyes.

There’s Purchased Sex – that’s prostitution and the Bible expressly forbids it.

Then there’s the category that probably catches more Christians than any
other …

It’s what’s called Pre-Marital Sex – that is sex between two people who are planning to get married – maybe even engaged.

This category of sexual involvement is often expanded to include those who think that they might someday be married – and those who think that they someday would like to be married – and those who are seeking to communicate to their partner that they feel seriously enough about the relationship that they could well someday agree to be married and includes those as well who for whatever reason feel that they can’t get married right now but feel as strongly about each other as they would if they in fact were married.

Like I said, this is the category in which most unmarried, sexually active Christians find themselves … And you know what? The Bible would also consider that category of sex to be sin … it’s really a just another form of fornication – it is as much “non-sanctioned” as any other form of extra-marital sex.

The truth is in reality there is no way of knowing that any sexual activity is
“pre-marital” for it’s not until you are married that you can say that your
“pre-marital sex” with your spouse was in fact “pre-marital”.

There are plenty of Christian young women who have let their guard down because “we are going to get married anyway” who never got married. Calling it “pre-marital” is simply a way of making it look less “sinful” … It’s simply a term that makes our “fleshly impulses” more acceptable.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The flesh would destroy us as Christians if it could – the flesh forever seeks to get us to declare our personal independence from God and to indulge ourselves in every passion or urge that we feel. We must recognize it for what it is!

Thank God the flesh was put to death on the Cross of Jesus Christ – it no longer is in control of our lives – it can be resisted and overcome. It can be faced down and defeated.

In Christ our mind has been renewed and that renewed mind can be used to squelch the suggestions of the flesh.

In fact, here are three potent FLESH-SQUELCHING THOUGHTS …

* My BODY Belongs To JESUS.
“I will only USE it for things that would have His APPROVAL.”
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought
at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Now that’s a potent thought … A teenager who borrows the car and who wants to borrow it again is not going to enter it in some back-alley street race. He (or she) is only going to use the car for things that would meet the parent’s approval.

My body no longer belongs to me if I have given my life to Christ, I’m borrowing it every time I use it – therefore, it is not my call to make.

* The PURPOSE Of My Life Is To GLORIFY God.
“I will only do things that make Him LOOK GOOD.”
(1 Corinthians 10:31)

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of God.”

There’s another potent thought … Christ’s reputation rides on my behavior … He died for me … Can I not live for Him and limit my actions to those that actually honor Him?

* I Can PUT The Flesh To DEATH.
“I will NAIL It To The CROSS Myself.”
(Galatians 5:24)

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires.”

Now that’s pretty potent as well – that thought contains a pretty powerful
image …
“Me heading to the cross with a hammer in my hand”.

These God-Inspired Thoughts will stop the flesh dead in its tracks –Use them regularly!

Final Thot … Life goes so much BETTER when the FLESH is DEAD!
So keep it on the CROSS!