SELF - GOD OF THE FLESH - Part 2

MT 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

In these immortal words of Christ lie a central truth about the Believer. He CANNOT follow Christ UNTIL he has denied his SELF. That is to say; he has rejected ALL that his SELF wants, desires and loves, and even then it is just the first step, for he must also  TAKE UP HIS CROSS and ONLY then will he be able and qualified to follow Christ.

A follower of Christ according to Christ's definition therefore, is one who has satisfied the three steps outlined by Christ himself in the above scripture. This is so because Christ's words start with the conditional word IF.

In other words, IF this is what you want, THEN you have to do THIS FIRST! It is important to note that Christ was talking to HIS DISCIPLES (His followers). 

Even though they were not born again then, even though they were simply following him 'in the flesh' then; Christ knew there was coming a time when the Spirit would be given and there would be a New Birth...it was to that time that Christ was referring.

It was not just for Sin alone that Christ came to die, he came to crucify the Old Man better known as Self; for without the crucifixion of the Old Man, Sin itself could not be dealt with and reduced to zero level.

RO 6:6  Knowing this, that our OLD MAN is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

This is the reason why Christ says no one can follow him EXCEPT follow those three steps...it is because DENIAL OF SELF will lead to the reality of the experience of the CRUCIFIXION OF SELF by taking up our cross.

 The question in step 3 now is: Where are we following him to? Why, to the place of Crucifixion of course! OUTSIDE THE CITY!

Heb 13:13-14

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

FOR HERE HAVE WE NO CONTINUING CITY, but we seek one to come.  

So by interpretation of scripture itself, we see that without (or outside) the camp has to do with being outside the city by virtue of the contrasting nature of the next part of the verse NO CONTINUING CITY...that was where Christ was crucified...outside the city.

The reason we should go out of the camp is simple...because HERE WE HAVE NO CONTINUING or enduring or lasting city.

In following Christ, we are not following him to a physical destination obviously...we are following him INTO a spiritual state...referred to elsewhere as IN CHRIST JESUS.

This process of the crucifixion of Self has already been accomplished for us by Christ himself on the cross, however it has to be worked out in our daily lives in various ways...

GA 5:24  And they that are Christ's have (ALREADY) crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

You see, being IN CHRIST JESUS refers to the group of people described in the scripture just quoted (Gal 5:24).

Again Paul describes it in another way elsewhere...

RO 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are IN CHRIST JESUS, who walk NOT after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

There are many who are IN CHRIST JESUS who obviously walk AFTER THE FLESH and not AFTER THE SPIRIT.

Just as there are many who are called and few who are chosen...both ARE AMONG THE CALLED...just as we have the foolish virgins and the wise virgins...ALL ARE VIRGINS...just as we have the tares growing among the wheat...THEY ALL LOOK ALIKE!

This process of denying Self, Paul describes in great detail...

RO 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 

The mortification of the deeds of the flesh is the practice in our daily lives of DENYING SELF AND TAKING UP OUR CROSS.

COL 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 

COL 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 

These scriptures outline God's Word on how to become part of the privileged FEW who  already belong to Christ...who are in truth IN CHRIST JESUS!

 

SELF... god of the Flesh

The Natural Man lives a natural life, obeying the desires of its mind and body. Since he has a will of his own, he simply does whatever he FEELS like, or whatever he WANTS to... within the context of the laws governing society.

In other words the Natural Man follows or obeys the natural inclinations of his heart.

The centre that controls all his inclinations is referred to as the heart.

Of this heart, Christ had a lot to say. He taught that the mouth is a channel through which the abundance or overflow of the heart is released.

Matt 15:18-19

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

I once used to think that for this scripture to make any sense, it must mean that the mouth has to speak out murders, adulteries, fornications...I could identify with speaking out evil thoughts, but the other things on the list seemed to be a little farfetched...why would I go around speaking adulteries, fornications and murders?

So I began to do some research on what it means for "those things that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart".

Pro 16:23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

This was a scripture written in an era when the Natural Man held full sway over the lives of men...as yet the only alternative to the natural or outward man (ie the Inward Man - born again spirit); had not yet been provided.

In the above scripture, this same natural heart may be a wise one as the scripture indicates...if so, it teaches the mouth and adds learning to the lips.

This probably refers to the heart teaching the mouth what to say and what not to say...in other words there is an exercise in self restraint that the heart teaches the mouth.

In addition to this, the scripture says that the heart adds learning to the lips...meaning that it is from the heart that the mouth gains knowledge.

Thus when we compare both scriptures, we may infer that the adulteries, fornications, murders, etc that proceed out of the mouth are taught by the heart...proving that the heart is indeed a spring from which flows all manner of iniquity...

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The heart can be described as a bottomless well that keeps spawning an inexhaustible supply of resources such as lusts, adulteries, murders and so forth.

That was when I discovered that the mouth does not merely speak words...it speaks UNSEEN THINGS!


Ps 8:2 Out of the MOUTH of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained STRENGTH because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

In the above scripture, we find STRENGTH coming out of the mouth of babes...in an earlier scripture we saw that the THINGS...(not words); that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart.

Some of those things were listed as adulteries and murders...they are not mere words or even fantasies uttered by the mouth...they are THINGS... unseen spiritual thing or forces that have been dredged out of the heart and released into the life of that person...

Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

How do the issues of life come out of the heart? Through the mouth...so we now know from Christ's teaching about the contents of the heart that in a Natural Man it consists of adulteries, fornications, murders, etc...these are the matters of the heart...they are released through the mouth through the instrumentality of words...words that carry UNSEEN THINGS...

Man doesn't know that words are not mere audible sounds, hence the scriptures say that we shall give account of every IDLE WORD we speak...that is because we have inadvertently released UNSEEN THINGS that must be accounted for...

TO BE CONTINUED...

ENEMY OF DARKNESS UPDATE 2

What exactly does the storyline of Enemy of Darkness teach?

For one thing it teaches  through the life of Mary and eventually Wunmi, the principles of Consecration and how the power of the Spirit cannot be accessed otherwise.

For another thing it shows how the closer one gets to God, the greater the hatred that Darkness and all its agents - physical and spiritual...hence the words of Paul - And they that live godly SHALL suffer persecution...the godly cannot escape persecution.

But then it also reveals angelic assistance in the background which though it might not be given to us to see as it was given to Mary and Wunmi; is nevertheless real.

In ENEMY OF DARKNESS, an understanding of truths about worship is made clear.

It is the goal of the proposed movie to make things even clearer still...

ENEMY OF DARKNESS is not just a story, it is a Truth to be unfolded on the big screen. Perhaps you have read the story... the screen play may yet hold further surprises for you.

So now I have an award winning producer to work with - DARASEN RICHARDS... i have two awesome music producers/songwriters to work with and both based in the UK - NIRAN OBASA & TUNDE AJITERU...I also have none other than the Sharp Band - NIYI & KOLA OJEDAPO,  equally based in the UK.

What a Team! I can only thank God for such speedy favour!

I'm equally hoping to hear from you either in cash or kind, should you want to be a part of this reshaping of the things we can and should watch!

If so, do inbox me on facebook...or call me on...

08024581138

It may look like MY OWN THING...but in reality it is simply another avenue to impart Truth to the BODY OF CHRIST on a huge scale and SPEEDILY...Truth is what we sorely need... yes?

Let's do this!

ENEMY OF DARKNESS - UPDATE

It gives me great pleasure to announce that I already have someone who will do the sound designs for the proposed movie.

I'm still trying to understand how quickly that happened, cos he isn't even charging me anything.

He has been a close friend for decades...based in the States, he is a musician/composer/music producer/promoter.

He is none other than Niran Obasa!

For those of you who don't know him... Follow this link.

https://www.cdbaby.com/m/cd/niranobasa4

Thank you Niran Obasa!

THE TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLES - PART 3

THE DOCTRINES OF MORTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION

It is the doctrine of mortification that teaches the believer how to live Eternal life on earth. 

Romans 8:13 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 

 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

We believers owe a debt, but it is not to live after the flesh, it is to live after the spirit. Paul explains it elsewhere this way:

2Cor 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

The purpose for which Christ came and died for all who will believe in him, was so that we who presently live in fleshly bodies, should no longer live unto ourselves; we should no longer live according to our will, our pleasures, our ambitions, but we should live unto him. 

It is this living unto him that Romans 8:14 explains as living by mortifying or killing the deeds or works of the body through the Spirit.

 Verse 15 therefore refers to this kind of living as being led by the Spirit of God and those who engage in such living as the sons of God.

This kind of living by dying is a doctrine to be found all over the Epistles. Paul again alludes to it in:

2Cor 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Both ‘Lives’ – the Outward Man and the Inward Man cannot co-exist together in peace…one must dominate the other…one must live while the other must die. This is peculiar only to the Believer who alone has these two kinds of ‘Lives’ within.

The two Lives are described as two Men…the Outward Man and the Inward Man. In  Ephesians, Paul again reveals the fact that they cannot co-exist together in peace; one must be put off and the other put on…

Eph 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;  

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness

So we see that the Believer has not begun to live the Christian life till he has begun to mortify the deeds of the body. He may have eternal life within, but he has not yet begun to give expression to that life until he begins to kill the works of the flesh through the Holy Spirit. He cannot begin to bear fruit unto God until he begins to die to Self, for this mortifying of the deeds of the body is nothing more than the dying to Self, or as Christ taught; it is the denying of Self and taking up of the cross. Until this is in practice, we cannot follow Christ; we are not yet his disciples.

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Being born again is only the doorway into the Christian life, but it is the mortifying of the deeds of the flesh that begins the actual living of the Christian life.

Romans 8:14 prefixes the two kinds of Living with the conditional word IF…

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

In the first kind of life, the believer has a choice of living after the flesh and the end result is death. In the second kind of life, the believer has a choice of truly living, but only if through the Spirit he mortifies the deeds of the body.

It is also very important to note that verse 15 reveals that those who are led by the Spirit are those who are living the second kind of life…the life of mortifying the deeds of the body. The verse starts with the word ‘For’…this carries the same weight as because as it is a continuation from the previous verse, which in turn starts with a ‘For’, which also is a continuation of the previous verse…

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Both Fors, carry the same weight as the word ‘Because’.

So now if we substitute the word ‘because’ in place of ‘for’; we will see instantly how the verses are linked…

Romans 8:13 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.  

 Because if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Because as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Therefore, to be led by the Spirit of God is to mortify the deeds of the body, those who live such lives of mortification through the Spirit are referred to as sons of God.

You will recall that Christ was LED INTO THE WILDERNESS BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, where he was tempted for 40 days and nights…

Luke 4: 1-2 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,  

Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

The leading of the Spirit will always be into a place of mortification so that the Inward Man may thrive. It is not a life of fleshly enjoyment or pleasure or excitement…it is a place of death to Self.

Col 3:1-3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  

 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  

First the Scripture above notes that those who are truly risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Many believers think that being a Christian means merely being born again, yet this scripture clearly indicates that the true believer is one who is risen with Christ…we may be born of the Spirit and yet remain alive to sin…we may not be risen with Christ.

Verse 3 says for a fact that we are DEAD…not biologically dead, but rather we have through the Spirit KILLED the deeds of the body. It is the Self that has been KILLED through the mortification of the deeds of the body by the help of the Holy Spirit.

We can clearly know if we are in this company of believers IF we truly are setting our affection on things above and not on things on the earth. This is so because those who are mortifying the deeds of the body clearly have no affections for the things on the earth any longer.

Wherever we turn to in the Epistles, we find this doctrine of being dead to sin, dead to Self, and mortifying or killing the deeds of the body. We cannot escape the fact that this is the path to living the life of the Spirit here on earth…

The proof that one belongs to Christ indeed is to be found in IF that believer is mortifying the deeds of the body…

GA 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Without the mortification of the deeds of the body, the believer is yet to begin his Christian walk…

THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSIC...COMING SOON!

Hi folks, in this new E Book soon to be released online, I write about the origins of music...the purpose of music...how music is being used by Lucifer and his fallen angels as weapons of warfare...how music began on the earth...by whom...what it was originally intended for...and much more...below you will find a short excerpt from a chapter on the Origins of Music...

The Origin of Music

Music first originated in the heavens with the creation of Lucifer. In the book of Ezekiel we are given some insight into the creation of Lucifer:

Ezek 28:12-13

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

            The character referred to here is named the king of Tyrus and it says of him that he had at one time or the other been in the Garden of Eden. Describing his appearance, Scripture says his covering consisted of every precious stone. So we know that it is not talking about Adam because he had no such covering. As a matter of fact when he fell the bible records that his eyes were opened and he saw that he was naked.

           

No, this character is not human, for no other human stepped into the Garden of Eden but Adam and Eve. It was a spiritual personage that predated Adam, for even in the days of Adam, the only other creature that entered Eden was the Serpent who is not described in such glowing terms of beauty as the character described in Ezekiel. So this spiritual personage predated Adam in the Garden of Eden.

           

This spiritual entity had musical instruments built into his inward parts, for the bible declares that musical instruments crafted with skill (workmanship) were prepared in him in the day he was created. This gives us an insight into this spiritual entity’s anatomy and how he was created. We could therefore say that his internal organs were actually living musical instruments!

           

 

We get a further revelation of his identity in the following verse:

Ezek 28:14-15

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

WATCH OUT FOR MY NEW EBOOK - THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSIC COMING OUT SOON!

 EXCERPTS FROM THE INTRO TO THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSIC

The word ‘Music’ comes from the verb ‘to muse’, in other words to cause to think or meditate. There is a strong connection between the mind, emotions and music. Music triggers the feeling of grief at a funeral so that even persons not directly connected to the bereaved get a feeling of sadness; it triggers a feeling of happiness at a party so that persons who come in despondent have their feelings altered to one of happiness.

 Certain kinds of music cause us to enter a reflective mood such that we begin to think and ruminate on various issues, for instance; music re-awakens memories of events related to that period in which the piece of music in question played an active role, and we muse over these events with feelings of regret or joy or happiness. Sometimes the same feelings we experienced at the time the events actually happened are re-awakened in us by the power of music working on our memories and feelings. This proves that there is also a connection between our memories and our feelings.

Again it may not even be a song or piece of music associated with a past event; it could just be a song that parallels our mood that sets us thinking, because music is a vehicle for the mind and emotions. It is a transporter of thoughts and feelings into the realm of memory and imagination.

Yet again music facilitates thought or the thinking process in that it aids meditation by consolidating the powers of concentration in Man. Often when a piece of soft, unobtrusive and quiet music is being played, it helps to focus the mind and stimulate the thought processes. This is the reason why most students prefer to have soft music playing in the background while they study.

 On the other hand, certain kinds of music transport us out of this plane of existence into the world of imagination where we begin to daydream or see with the eye of the imagination what we have been envisioning for our lives. So we see that music plays an active role in stimulating our feelings, memories and mind.

Thus it is true that Music affects and influences the mind and the feelings-the mind being the seat of memory and the thought processes, while the feelings or emotions are linked with the direction of the thought processes. In short music affects the entire soul of Man, one way or another.

 But in more recent times, music has begun to be re-defined in the context of body language. More than ever, it is becoming associated with dancing rather than with its primary functions towards the inner man in ‘musing’.

           

It is beginning to play a major role in determining fashion, as well as loosening and disintegrating the moral fabric of society. There is an amazing world wide stark ignorance of the uses and powers of music so much so that its abuse and misuse have become greater than its beneficial effects.

            Even the very nature of the components of Music – Melody, Harmony and Rhythm, suggest to us a subtle dimension to it that cannot be seen or perceived by the human eye.

           

For instance, the word ‘harmony’ is suggestive of a smooth running of things…of a blending together of things…If the voice of an operatic singer in his/her higher range can shatter wine glasses, then it is a testimony to the power of raw sound and its ability to affect the physical realm. How much more sound, when it is arranged as an art form played continually in harmony or in cacophony will affect the soul and indirectly, its circumstances and situations?