“Therefore, if anyone is in Jesus, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
(2Corinthians5:17)
The members of Alcoholics Anonymous are requested to take a “Fearless and Personal Moral Inventory” along the path to recovery. Honest self-evaluation and a willingness to change are keys to mental and spiritual health and growth, but neither is easy. Becoming willing to change is one of the most powerful of all mental medicines. Actually changing as a result is profoundly life-altering.
Change brings newness of life, wellness, prosperity, growth, and a closer walk with our King.
To be sure, though the rewards are infinite, managing our flesh is very difficult. We have spent so much of our lives giving our self-oriented nature free rein that to park it is a serious challenge. Doing so is a reflection of how much value we put on the directions of Jesus and the rewards they produce in our infinite lives, and whether we believe and believe in Jesus.
IT TAKES WORK
Regardless of how adept we are at working hard to succeed in life, financially, socially, physically, and materially, the commitment necessary to succeed in the eternal life to come requires a change in focus and direction, and hard work. We have to let our Spirits become more dominant than our flesh. The two are juxtaposed. Our Spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak.
“Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour? He asked Peter.’ Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
(Matthew 26:40)
HERE IS THE PROBLEM AS DESCRIBED TO PAUL BY JESUS IN THE PERSON OF HOLY SPIRIT
“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if the Spirit leads you, you are not under the law.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Meaning that those who regularly practice these things clearly do not believe and believe in Jesus.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
I am telling you this in advance, just as I have in the past, that those who engage in such practices will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Don’t be confused. None of us is perfect. We all sin and come short of the glory of God, and yes, Jesus has forgiven our sins, past, present, and future. And we receive that forgiveness and eternal life, and all of His great and precious promises in this life and in the life to come, if we believe and believe in Jesus. However, those who live in perpetual sin, can not honestly claim to believe and believe in Jesus.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
(Galatians 5:17-25)
Those who operate in the fruit of the Spirit, prove by their actions that they believe and believe in Jesus. But we have to fight our flesh to do that. So, we must change. Believing in Jesus and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit fuels our resistance to our flesh.
This message is from our easier said than done department. We are all works in progress. God does not require perfection. However, once we believe and believe in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit, and He guides us. He will change us if we let Him, but we must hear Him and follow His guidance by becoming willing to change and being intentional about it. So if you feel like you really want to change but can’t, ask Holy Spirit to change you and follow His promptings.
