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Live in HD Part 3 from Open Arms Church on Vimeo.
Life in HD: Living At A Higher Level (Part 3)
The 3rd area of transformation is your BODY/FLESH – Flesh and all of its natural passions/desires/cravings and instincts (Operating System; how the body speaks to the soul).
As the fallen spirit and fallen soul are UNSAFE guides, so too is fallen flesh.
Romans 8:6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Philippians 3:18-19 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
Your body is not EVIL; in fact it is the temple of God!
1Corinthians 3:16 16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple
There is a future redemption/salvation of your FLESH.
1Corinthians 6:14; 15:40, 51 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed
The flesh is not evil, but just like the fallen spirit and soul/mind, it has an operating system that it runs on (passions, desires, instincts, etc) that is faulty, BROKEN, compromised, corrupted. It’s not that what it wants is always wrong, but HOW it wants to fulfill that desire can be wrong, so our born again spirit and renewed soul must govern it, not the other way around.
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other,
Romans 8:12-13 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
The body’s instincts and desires (the operating system) are not evil, but the body has NO conscience on how to fulfill it’s desires, therefore it can lead one astray to gratify itself in an ungodly/unholy way with food, drink, sex, material wealth, etc.; none of these are evil, but the misuse, abuse, and excess are WRONG.
Ephesians 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
1Corinthians 6:9-10 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, 6:10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When we base our rationale on the desires of the flesh then we can be taken in a direction that is FAR from God, confusing right from wrong, and becoming wholly self-absorbed/self-centered in our living.
Romans 8:7-8 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.
The body is your Earth SUIT (like a space suit). It is your TOOL to be effective, relevant, in touch with this natural world. It gives you earthly VALUE for the kingdom of God. Once your spirit leaves this tool behind your earthly value for the kingdom mission is gone. Take CARE of it, but don’t make it your what you live for.
1Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
We must live life with a NEW orientation; our flesh must not GOVERN our life. Our minds must not be SET on what the flesh wants, but rather on what the spirit wants.
Romans 8:5-8 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 13:14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. (2Corinthians 10:3-5)
Application: We must decide now that WE will use our body to please and honor God, not BE used by our body to please our selfish desires.
1Corinthians 6:15, 19-20 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.