Monday, September 10, 2012

spiritual spotlight

The message this week was about the Carnal Mind based off of Romans 13. Talk about the hammer being brought down! This is a hard topic for both the preacher and the audience, not to mention rare and probably considered outdated. I don't ever recall hearing a sermon so painfully true, really something I would rather not think about YET so incredibly important and necessary for every Christian. I wish I had heard this sermon when I was 20, it probably would have saved me a ton of life's headaches..maybe. Carnal nature. I'm still pondering and reflecting. I found these incredible quotes summing up pretty much a lot of my Christian life...sigh. Talk about a spiritual spotlight. Thank you God for providing a servant who is willing to say the unpopular truth.

Carnal believers are moved easily. On one occasion they may be extremely excited an happy, on another occasion, very despondent and sad. In the happy moment they judge the world too small to contain them, and so they soar on wings to the heavens; but in the moment of sadness they conclude that the world has had enough of them and will be glad to be rid of them... their lives are susceptible to constant changes for they are governed by their emotions.-Watchman Nee

Though all Christians possess a regenerated spirit, not all Christians are spiritual. Many are still fleshly. Their carnal mind is still full of wandering thoughts, reasons and plans; their emotion runs wild with many carnal interests, desires and tendencies; and their will formulates many worldly judgements, arguments and opinions. They are so occupied in following the flesh that they have neither time nor inclination to listen to the voice of intuition. Since the voice of the spirit is usually very soft, it cannot be heard unless it is listened to attentively with everything else quieted.-Watchman Nee

A real spiritual life is never dominated by, nor lived in, feeling. Rather does it regulate feeling. Nowadays Christians mistake a life of feeling for spiritual experience. This is because many have never entered into genuine spirituality and hence interpret happy sensation to be spiritual experience.-Watchman Nee

 A fleshly/carnal life will corrupt morals, weaken personal relationships, produce doubt about God and His Word, destroy prayer life and provide fertile ground for heresy.-John MacArthur 

God may allow His servant to succeed when He has disciplined him to a point where he does not need to succeed to be happy. The man who is elated by success and is cast down by failure is still a carnal man. At best his fruit will have a worm in it. A.W. Tozer

Romans 13: 11-14
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[c] 

NOW past THEN


The question is, does it really matter now whether I said yes or no to a plan months ago? Suppose I said YES, would that have solved our problems? We would still have basic/fundamental problems lingering wouldn’t we? Suppose I said NO months ago, then does it really matter now? At the end of the day, isn’t what I say TODAY the most important thing? Whether I said yes or no, if we are looking for a way forward, it’s about now. But if you are looking to be right about months ago then the past is most important. But does that make the now or the future brighter? You are too hurt and stuck on the past that my saying yes NOW means nothing to you, which only follows then that I mean nothing to you NOW.