Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye
Memorise: For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Matthew
15:19
Read: Matthew 15:16-20
In life, the greatest victory a man can ever have is victory
over the flesh because your number one enemy is not the devil but your flesh.
However, thanks be to God for Christ has given us this victory.
And they that are
Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Galatians 5:24
The question then is: are you exerting your victory over the
flesh in your day to day living or are you still being defeated by this
defeated foe? If you defeat all your external enemies but fail to conquer
yourself, you are less than a conqueror. David killed Goliath the external
enemy but because he could not conquer himself, he was defeated by his flesh.
Until you conquer yourself by exerting your victory in Christ, victory over
external enemies would be meaningless. Even those external enemies would not
mind allowing you to defeat them when they know that your flesh is Satan’s
stronghold over you. In other words, what is the point of fighting with one who
already a victim or captive of their ally? They know they can always use your
flesh and internal weaknesses to get you on your knees any day. So for you to
triumph, you must first win your internal battles.
In what areas do we need to exert our victory over the
flesh? First is in impure thoughts. Many men and women who are being used of
God to plunder the kingdom of darkness and rescue the captives are still
defeated in the realm of thoughts because they have abdicated their responsibility
in fighting the good fight of faith. Many believers are captives of immoral
thoughts. This persists even in places of worship because they believe nobody
can see through them to know what they are thinking. If you dwell on how to
take revenge on your offender, you are a victim of this. If you focus on
exposed body part of ladies, including indecently dressed sisters, you are a
victim of this. If you look lustfully at the opposite sex and begin to conjure
lewd images of such during your private moment you are being defeated by flesh.
Even if you were to kill the Goliath troubling Nigeria, you cannot emerge
triumphant because you are being defeated internally where it matters most.
What type of thoughts do you dwell on? Fighting the good fight of faith over
impure thoughts today!
KEY POINT:
Satan does not fight with anyone who is a victim of lust
because he or she is already defeated.
Bible in one year: Mark 5-8
Father Lord,give d grace to rule over my thought.may God bless this source of ano open heaven continually,in Jesus Christ name.
ReplyDeleteGod give us grace to overcome flesh in Jesus name
ReplyDeleteGod give me the power nd strength to overcome d flesh cos i'm a victim of lust
ReplyDeleteI crucify the flesh... I die daily. God thank you for the grace!
ReplyDeleteGod help us!
ReplyDeleteYes, prayer is the key, but what you see and hear matters a lot. If you seek God τ̅☺ overcome ungodly thoughts and in the next minute U̶̲̥̅̊ opt for an X-rated movie, definitely you are deceiving yourself.
ReplyDelete