The power of the flesh       James 4:1-11

Spiritually speaking, there is a great gulf between the kingdom of God and the world. Thegod of this world (2 Cor 4:4) can only do damage when you abide in his territory, which is spiritually called ‘Egypt’  (Rev 11:8). His purpose is to harvest souls to ‘Babylon’ (Rev 18:13) He wants men to join him (misery loves company) and give out his image or mark (Rev 13:16). Our purpose in life is to call men out of Egypt, and to consider ourselves, lest we also be tempted (Gal 6:1).

When one is away from God, the devil tempts with messages or sermons full of excuses for you to use (do you have any? If so where did they come from?) so you wont get God’s best. They always ‘sound’ good, convenient or relaxing (slothful spirit). You only want what’s in you. (what you have allowed in the garden of your mind) satan plants seeds (Matt 13:39) in your flesh (way of thinking), he can now cultivate them to eventually become manifestations of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21). You way of thinking will give or deny access to him (James 4:4). Since he has no power over you unless you give it to him, he tries to make you comfortable with the seeds that he’s planted.

The most popular way is with the love of money or power, to give a spirit of pride (superiority complex) or a spirit of lack (inferiority complex). If the devil tempted us will all the kingdoms of the world would we bow down for a moment? Would we do it for $20? Have you seen $20 on the ground and thought first, who could this belong to, or did the spirit of greed minister to you? When we decide to choose a spouse or friend, we want someone who has chooses us also. In the same manner, it is not valuable for satan (or God) to be with him against your own will. satan wants to keep one in sin & make prayer cowards, accepting his ways of unjust gain, to believe deliverance from God is not possible. The enemy will take a ‘sin offering’ from your flesh, because the planted seeds need live activation from your mind to stay alive. It’s funny how we can pay tithes either to
God in heaven or to the gods (idols) on earth. (excess drinking, lotteries, cigarettes, unnecessary food, self-building reading materials etc).

When you can resist your flesh (way of thinking), it is so much easier to resist the devil, since your flesh is always present (with the seeds) and the devil isn’t. It is actually opportunity for you to practice casting down thoughts, imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2Cor 10:5). It is harder to change a person’s way of thinking than it is to cast out a devil, but to renew a mind takes time (Rom 12:2), submission (James 4:7), and staying away
from the worldly things and people.

When we were in the flesh, we didn’t hate sin, we hated the consequences and attempted to shut out the voice in our conscience. Jesus died to make us hate sin (too many people love what God hates). When we line up with the best plans that benefit the consequences for all(unselfishness) we line up with the 2nd greatest commandment; love your neighbor. Thinking of worldy situations are a snare from the devil (2 Tim 2:26). The enemy’s next step is to take you captive. When you don’t have the word, you are subject to the devil & his imaginations. God gives us power to become sons of God (John 1:12).

satan ‘owned’ you when you were a sinner & tried to plant land mines (seeds) for your destruction or someone else’s’ to be ‘blow up’ at a later time. The devil opened his anti-christian/anti God gates wide knowing what would become of him (Mt 8:29/Rev 12:12). We see this daily in music, media & subcultures. This leaves a narrow way (Mat 7:14) allowing only few to find the way to the ‘gate’
of heaven. The angels must have rejoiced greatly when Jesus came casting out demons and gave his disciples (and us) the same power. They could go back and protect what God loves (Ps 91:11/Mt 18:10). The enemy  would only be able to move in bodies that allowed them access by their thought life, sometimes passed on by a generational curse. From the prophecy in Adam (Gen 3:15/Is 46:10) to bruise his head, he knew there was a short time. We need to have confidence in
prayer so our angels can quickly back our words up and carry away the plans of the enemy by the root (Mat 16:19).

If you want God’s presence; come out of ‘Egypt’. If you want to keep His presence, stay out of Egypt! God forbids grace to abound if we continue to sin (Rom 6:1,2) There is a payday for the wages of sin (Rom 6:23), whether you work part-time, full time or ‘on call’  Remember; the devil isn’t supposed to be oppressing you, you are to be oppressing him! Cease from the ‘works’ of the flesh and enter into rest and peace!