KEY SCRIPTURE: James 1:22 KJV” But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves”.

We continue with our discussion on training our spirit. The next act to consider in our study on training our spirit is to practice the word. When one practices the word, he is strengthened in his inner man or spirit such that no situation, no matter how terrible or challenging it may be, would be able to move him. Our Lord Jesus was moved by nothing. In the face of threats from Governor Pilate, He was still composed. He had been practicing the word and could always count on God to honour His word in His life. The Lord taught that the man who practices the word is like the man who builds his house on the rock. The rains came, the floods beat at it, and the house remained firm (Matt 7:24&25)

For an example the Bible says in Phillip 4:6 as follows,” Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God”. In this verse the Lord says we must be anxious for nothing. This means, no matter what happens, just tell yourself I will not be anxious. This is how to practice the word. If you tend to worry and get agitated, you would ultimately be defeated. That verse adds that in time of a challenge, commit the issue to God in Prayer and thank him for answering your request. Threatening problems, always have a way of announcing their presence even after you have prayed. Just speak out to the situation that ‘I have committed the situation to God and He is in control, I will not fret myself concerning this case.

IF you approach daunting or intimidating situations this way, you are practicing the word. Your spirit man would be trained and built up to face challenges that would be showing up in the future. The Bible teaches that because of such attitude and action you would be matured and would never be in a state of anxiety and fear. Our key scripture says if we fail to practice the word, we are deceiving ourselves. Why are we deceiving ourselves when we fail to do what the word says? Like the building on the sand, your strength will fail in the day of adversity (Prov 24:10.)

CONFESSION

I do the word. I am not moved by adversity, no matter how challenging it may be. I command

 my body not to be anxious but to be joyful and do what the word says. Thank God I’m always victorious.

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 7:24&25 KJV” Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

Matthew 7:26&27 KJV” And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Prov 24:10 KJV” If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small”.

KEY SCRIPTURE:”1Timothy 4:8 NET For “physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.”

According to our key scripture, physical exercise has benefits limited to the physical body, but godliness has benefits for now and the life to come. Godliness involves the practice of things of the spirit. This involves, prayer, Bible study, meditation on the scriptures, practicing the word, fasting and every other thing that trains your spirit. These practices basically instruct our minds. The mind is the door way to our spirit. When the mind is fully enlightened with the scriptures, the spirit of man has perfect control over the whole body. A mind that is not enlightened with the scriptures shuts up the spirit in. In such a case the body controls the whole being. The result is carnality,

 One major godly practice that brings the mind under the strong influence of the Spirit is meditation. Scriptural meditation is different from oriental meditation. Whiles oriental meditation seeks to achieve a state of a void in the mind, scriptural meditation, tries to let the scriptures fill the mind by either reflecting on it, or repeating it to yourself over and over again for some time. Apostle Paul instructed Timothy as follows: 1Ti 4:15 KJV “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all”. He asked him to give attention to the scriptures by reflecting on them. This form of meditation is quite silent.

In Joshua 1:8 the Lord asked Joshua to keep the laws of Moses in his mouth and meditate on them day and night. He was to practice the act of saying the scriptures to himself over and over again. The word meditates used in that scripture is the Hebrew word ‘hagah’. It means to growl, mutter, muse, speak, roar.  You could meditate by muttering the scriptures to yourself over sometime. Muttering the scriptures over and over again builds the image and a consciousness of the word in your mind and ultimately into your heart. Doing what has been established in your heart becomes very normal or simple.

CONFESSIION

 I feed my heart with the word of God. I meditate on the scripture’s day and night. My mind is fully enlightened by the word. My spirit then has total control over my whole body. I profit as a result and it appears to all.

FURTHER STUDIES

Psalms 77:6 ISV During the night I remembered my song.   I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.

Psalms 119:78 ISV “May the arrogant become ashamed, because they have subverted me with deceit; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.”

Prayer has been defined as, uniting the natural with the super natural to effect changes in the natural. Anytime the natural encounters the supernatural, the natural, receives an impartation from the supernatural. There comes a transformation of the natural. Jud 1:20 KJV” But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost”, The call to build ourselves up is not talking about our physical body, but our spirit man. 1Corinth 14:14 KJV” For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful”. Our spirit does the praying when we pray in an unknown tongue.

We are built up spiritually as we pray. The Bible uses. The word ‘edify’, which means to build up. 1Corinth 14:4 KJV “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church”. In the manifestation of the spirituals, we have those who function purely by the  gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as those who have developed their spirit man such that   they manifest the supernatural through their built up spirit man(please note, all these is done by the agency of the Holy Ghost) . There are a number of people who begin to receive the ability to see visions, and do other supernatural abilities, after praying for a number of hours. Some start healing the sick after fasting and praying for a number of days. These abilities function in these people as a result of the sensitivity of a built-up spirit through prayer.

Evangelist Sadhu Sundar Singh who lived between 1889 to 1929, and was used mightily by the Lord, once taught that, praying as a Christian can be compared to a mother hen, brooding over the eggs. As the mother sits on the egg, it develops to become chicken. He said the longer we stay in the presence of the Father His Spirit broods over us, making us more and more like Him. Don’t be lazy to spend time before the Lord in prayer. It is one of the avenues to build yourself up, to be used effectively in the Lord’s vineyard.

PRAYER

Thank you, father, for the privilege of prayer. As I prayer in the Spirit my spirit man is built up, making me more effective in the Spirit. As the physical man is built up through exercise, my spirit is also built up to do more as I pray.

FURTHER STUDIES

Luke 6:12 & 13 KJV “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles”;

1 Corinth 14:2 KJV” For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 8:2 KJV “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death”.

Life in the Spirit is not an abstract life of strange imaginations, but a real Christian experience that brings success and fulfillment to all who understand and live by the word. Anyone who is initiated into Christ by the new birth receives an exchange of natures. Before we were saved a principle or law worked in us. It is called the law of sin and death. This is what Apostle Paul wrote about in Rom 7:18 KJV “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” .This very scripture refers to the law of sin and death that works in all those who have not come to faith in Jesus.

The law of sin and death is the power that causes men to continually fail in the face of temptation and trials. This law is not just a weakness of the human body but an inheritance of Adamic nature (Rom 5:12). At our conversion, the law of sin and death is put away, and we receive another law that begins to operate in us. This is the law of the Spirit of life. Life begins to work in every aspect of our being where there was death. The first area of impact is the ability to lead a righteous life. We receive the power to do right. Become aware of your absolute victory over wrong ways. The same law defeats diseases.

One story that comes to mind is about evangelist John G Lake, when a very contagious disease called bubonic plague broke out in South Africa. One gets infected the moment he comes into contact with an infected person. John G Lake used to handle the sick and prayed for a number of them. He never got infected. A medical team took a sputum sample and observed it under a microscope and found a number of the pathogens alive within the sample. When part of the same sample was placed on his hand and observed under the same microscope all the bacteria were dead. They asked him, how come that, the bacteria die on contact with your hand. He answered, there is a law of the Spirit of life at work in me, that kills the bacteria. This can be your experience if you would believe.

CONFESSION

I am born of God. I have received the law of the spirit of life. I am a winner over death in any form. I live a life of uprightness. The law of life destroys the power of every disease in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDIES

2Timothy 1:10 Easy English “So now he has shown us how very kind he is. He has shown us because Christ Jesus has come. And it is Christ who saves us. He has destroyed death’s power over us. And he has shown that we can live with God always. We can have bodies that never die. He has shown that also. He has shown this by the good news that he brought”.

Ephesians 1:19, 20 WEB “and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might, which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:63 KJV” It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”.

The word of God is filled with the life of God. It is the expression of the Spirit of God in thoughts. The word of God is the physical means that men get to God and His realm. Our key scripture reveals that the word of God is spirit. To live according to the word is to live in the spirit realm. 2 Peter 1:4 KJV “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature’s, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”. Corruption is a product of living according to the flesh. The flesh indeed profits nothing.

The above verse buttresses the fact that God’s word gives us access to be partakers of the divine nature. The divine nature is a supernatural state, that relates to whatever the word says. The book of Romans 12:2, says something similar. That verse says we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. We become what the word says, as we accept what it says. To be scripturally minded is to be spiritual. Conversely to be unscripturally minded is death (Romans 8:6).

All scripture is given by inspiration of God. (2 Timothy 3:16&17) This simply means God’s breath runs through the scriptures. The scriptures would profit anyone who would dedicate his or her life to do what the word says. It is life to the man who lives by what the scriptures teach. Dear child of God your commitment to doing the word of God is the greatest investment you can give your life. The spirituality of the word of God may not sound reasonable to the natural mind, yet whoever sticks to the word comes out victorious. Remember, the spiritual, always have dominance over the natural. Stay spiritual by staying in the word.

CONFESSION

The word of God is spirit. I live in the realm of the word. I live in the realm of life. All things are possible to me because I live according to the word of God.

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 12:2 KJV” And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.

Romans 8:6 KJV” For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”.

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Peter 3:4 KJV” But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price”.

Dear child of God, you are not the outward man. Many people have been so occupied with pleasing, entertaining or satisfying the outward man to the detriment of the hidden man of the heart. If you are living this way then sadly you are a cheap food for the devil. This hidden man is the real you. He is the spirit of the man. Job 32:8 KJV” But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding”. You as a man has a spirit and that spirit is the real you. Our key scripture says let the beautification of your body be directed rather to your spirit, which is not seen.

Many Christians don’t even know they have a hidden man in their heart. Your spirit is the aspect of your being that relates with God. Pro 20:27 KJV” The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly”. Your spirit is immortal and leaves to the presence of God when the Christian dies. This is why it is very important you allow your spirit to have absolute dominance over your body. Philip 1:23 KJV” For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better”: Where is he talking about departing from? He is talking about departing from this body, and eventually this earth. Which part of him would be departing? His spirit, that will live forever. Your spirit is immortal.

The spirit of every Christian has been born from above. It has been born by God. John 1:13 KJV “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”. Now note, when the person dies, it means the spirit has left the body. This means, it is the spirit that gives life to the body of every man. When a man is born again, his spirit is recreated to be one with the Spirit of Christ. From the moment he is born again, the same power that kept the body of Jesus, now keeps your body. His body now has a higher power supporting it. As much as his body must not be given to sin, his body must not be dominated by diseases (Romans 8:11). This will be. possible when the Christian accepts that as a fact.

CONFESSION

I am a spirit and I live in this body. My spirit dictates how I live. I live to please God. My flesh is my servant. My spirit is the candle of the Lord and the inspiration of the Lord gives me understanding.

FURTHER STUDIES

 Genesis 2:7 KJV “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”.

2 Peter 1:13 KJV Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 8:13 KJV “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live”.

The impact of the flesh in the life of a Christian can be very devastating if not stopped. (Note: the flesh in this context is not the body but the influence of the body on the mind) The Bible does not ask us to control, manage or tame it. The lord asks us to MORTIFY the flesh. This means to put it to death. It must be totally rendered incapacitated. Life is spiritual. To live life in the flesh is like a military man who walks around leisurely in the midst of a crossfire in a war time The Lord says you shall die, if you live after the flesh. Anybody (Christian) living in the flesh, is a casualty going somewhere to happen.  Colossians 3:6 says, “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience”:

The flesh cannot be mortified by self-effort. It is done by faith. Our key scripture says, we must MORTIFY the flesh by the Spirit. How is this done? Your mind must acknowledge the truth that you are a spirit and your spirit is one with the Spirit of Christ (1 Corinth 6:17). Focus and develop the consciousness that your spirit is the very spirit of Jesus. It simply implies your flesh cannot be given to mundane actions anymore, since it belongs to Jesus.  Remember, the spiritually minded, focuses on the spirit. In this instant accept that, you are a spirit living in your body. The body is only a house for you, and it should not dictate and control you (2nd Corinth 5:1). The result of this is that, it is the things of the spirit that should occupy you, the things of the spirit are those things that honors God and his Word.

Our Lord Jesus demonstrated the life in the Spirit and showed how one could MORTIFY the flesh. The Lord met with sinners, women poured oil on him, kissed his feet and was not moved. He rather saw the spiritual significance of what she did. The Lord knew he came from heaven and was living to please the father. He put the impact of the flesh out of coverage area. He killed the flesh. The mind is the main part that determines   what would dominate you. The mind is the main means of either killing the flesh or feeding it fat. Let the mind go spiritual and stifle the flesh from taking over your life.

CONFESSION

I am a spirit having a soul, and I live in a body. My body is my servant. My spirit is one with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I live after the things of the spirit, that is, I always do what the word says. My flesh is totally mortified or put to death.

FURTHER STUDIES

Colossians 3:5 KJV” Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry”:

Galatians 5:16-18 KJV. This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Philemon 1:6 KJV” That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus”.

Rom 8:29 KJV” For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren”. We as children of God have our Lord Jesus as our big brother. We are made of His nature. The scripture says we are His workmanship, created in Him unto good works. (Eph 2:10) Everything that the Christian is and has comes from Him. Every good thing in Jesus is also in us. His love nature, wisdom, patience, power to overcome challenges, or deal with the enemy are all in us.

Our key scripture reveals, that our ability to communicate these amazing qualities, through our faith is to acknowledge that, in fact these things are in us through our Lord Jesus. People do and act according to what they think they are. The thief steals because he fundamentally believes he is a thief. The day he stops believing he is a thief. and that he is a kind person who helps others, that power to steal would not function. You must have a Christ consciousness. You’ve got to believe there is so much good qualities and potentials in you. There is no failure or death at work in you.  Rom 8:2 KJV “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death”.

Take time to mediate and imbibe all these amazing truths about yourself. The Lord taught Joshua how to create that awareness in himself. He asked him to keep muttering these truths of scripture, day and night. This would build up that consciousness of those qualities in him. He will also be able to live out those things. (Joshua 1:8). Please do as the Lord instructed Joshua. You must daily affirm your oneness with Jesus. Declare that every good thing in Him is also in you. This is going to release that great supernatural ability in Christ to also produce results in you.

CONFESSION

I am one with Jesus. I have received power to become a child of God. Every good thing in Jesus dwells fully in me. His love, peace joy, power, authority and many more are all deposited in me.

FURTHER STUDIES

Galatians 3:27 KJV” For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ”.

Hebrews 2:11 KJV” For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,”

KEY SCRIPTURE:2 Corinth 5:17 KJV” Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”.

We are of the Spirit and are made of the Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9). Man is a Spirit who has a soul and lives within a body (1 Thess 5:23). Our Spirit is created after God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:23. The scriptures says further in 1Corinth 6:17 KJV “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit”. We are one with Christ. Our recreated Spirit is the very spirit of Christ. (Gal 2:20). The word says in Romans 8:10, that, “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness”. Christ lives in us.

 The Spirit of Christ is our true identity. When the Christian says I, he or she is not referring to the former self, that is, Mr. A or Madam K. 2Corinth 5:16 KJV says ” Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more”. We do not know any Christian after the flesh. We do not know ourselves after the flesh. We know ourselves after the Spirit which we are. The error most Christians make is, when they say ‘me’, in their mind they are referring to that old human being with all the human weakness.

 Any Christian who sees himself or herself as the human being that he or she has always been is bound for failure. He is failing to apply the scripture that says, we know no man after the flesh. The man who is not born again is not in Christ and does not come into the sphere of people the Bible is talking about in 2nd Corinth 5:16. Remember that, that which releases the power of the Spirit to function in you, is when you acknowledge that, you are one with the Spirit of Christ. From now when you say I, know that you are referring to the new man, who is one with Jesus and has all the potentials of the Lord Jesus. See yourself as very superior to the ordinary individual. Say to yourself, I am a superior breed. God has given birth to me, and I am a kind of the first fruit of His creatures (James 1:18)

CONFESSION

I died with Jesus, but have resurrected with His life. The very life force that powers my body is the Spirit of Christ. I have His abilities, I have His wisdom, He loves through me, touches men through me, Oh what a life.

FURTHER STUDIES

Galatians 2:20 KJV” I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”.

Colossians 1:27 KJV” To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 8:9 KJV “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”.

We now start a new series on life in the Spirit. The Christian is of the Spirit and he is supposed to live in the Spirit. The man without Christ is in the flesh and described as natural. 1 Corinth 2:14a KJV” But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God…… “Many Christians are struggling because they have not come to a clear understanding of how to live in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 KJV” This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh”. The scripture says if we walk in the Spirit, we would not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

What is the flesh? The flesh from the Biblical point of view in some moments refers to the body (Rom 7:18). At other instances it is the influence of the body on the mind. It is the power that the longings of the body exercises on the mind. (Rom 8:9). Our key scripture says we are not in the flesh. This is clearly not talking about the body. We live in this physical body. We as children of God, do not live in the influence of the body on our minds. The influence of the body on the mind is the flesh.

Just consider the following scripture. Rom 7:25 KJV” I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” It says I myself with my mind serve the law of God. It is saying through my mind I live in the Spirit and I do the things of the spirit. It also says with my flesh I serve the law of sin. In this very instant too, it says when I allow the body to dictate to my mind, the flesh now takes over and makes me serve the law of sin. The switch between either being in the flesh or the spirit is what the mind chooses to dwell on. Rom 8:5 KJV” For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit”.

You will live a very glorious life of the spirit as you come to terms with these things.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I pray that you grant me an understanding of the life in the Spirit. Flood my heart with light and enlighten me upon these amazing truths. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

FURTHER STUDIES

Rom 8:13 KJV” For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live”.

Galatians 5:18 KJV” But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law”.