Dying to Your Flesh – Session 2

By Reverend Glynn Adams

April 28, 2024

Many Christians today don’t believe that demons can bother the Christian.  Can someone explain to me Luke 13:16, “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As the Remnant of God, are we not the seed of Abraham and a follower of God?  Well, so is this woman a follower of God?  Is it better to live by what Christians think or what the Word of God says?

Why does James 4:7 say?  “Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you?”  If Satan can’t bother the Christian, can you explain I Peter 5:8-9, “Be of sober spirit (be serious), be on the alert, your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.  But resist him, firm in your faith knowing that the same experience of suffering is being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

Are we brethren?  Did God say in His Word to resist Satan or ignore him?  If God says be on the alert and be serious, should we be serious about resisting this spirit world of darkness?  It has been very convenient for Satan and his forces of darkness to remain in the shadows and darkness, ignored by Christians, and not talking about what Satan is doing.  In America, we have become a habitation of demons while pastors and church members remain silent and ignore the evil overtaking our nation!!

Concerning the things of darkness, such as demons and evil spirits, we have been told by our religious leaders we can’t talk about these things.   They don’t fit in our denominational or mega church box.  We have been led to be fearful and intimidated so we just ignore them.  Well, in these articles we are going to talk about the powers of darkness and that Christians who ignore these forces of darkness, it will not turn out well for you or your family.  We cannot continue to ignore the process in the Kingdom that God has given us to resist these forces of darkness because Satan’s ministry is hell and he is working every day to rob, kill and destroy you and your family.  If you are a Christian, it is an abomination to God to fear them!

In this series of articles, our focus is not on Satan and demons but on Jesus and His Word.  However, when you closely follow Jesus’ ministry while on this earth, you will see that one-third of His ministry in the Kingdom of God was dealing with the powers of darkness.  In these articles, we are headed for holiness, and righteousness, and discernment but we must not ignore the powers of darkness.  All of this has been left out by most religious leaders – righteousness – getting right in God’s eyes, not with some religious system, holiness – be ye holy as He is holy by dying to your flesh – discernment – not much to discern when you have explained everything away.

Folks, you are going to have to decide who your heart is going after?  Who has your heart?  Jesus and His Word or some religious system.   Jesus says He wants our heart totally!!!   Who do you place your trust in?  Jesus and His Word or some man protecting his religious system?  Christians, you will never walk with Jesus in righteousness and holiness until you are set free.  Satan controls this world, and you won’t be free until you repent – come into agreement with Jesus into His Kingdom – and get into God’s process of dying to your flesh.

When you came to Jesus, you agreed to make Him LORD.  If Jesus is your LORD, you are to obey His Word.  That means you are putting to death the deeds of the flesh and walking as Jesus walks.  “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24)   Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If any wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”  The way you deny yourself is not to let your flesh have its way in your life.  You put all your passions and desires of the flesh on the cross to die.  How important is this?  ”For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit, you are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live.  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:13-14) This is God’s process for Christians to do the will of Jesus and being obedience to Him.

Now if you are disobedient and not putting to death your flesh, you are in danger.  In the Kingdom, Jesus has given us the grace, authority, and power to resist Satan.  If you are refusing this grace by ignoring dealing with your flesh, then by default judgment comes because you have opened up the door for Satan and his demons to come into your life and your family’s life!!   Oh, Remnant of God – dying to the flesh is the most positive thing you can do to walk in the Spirit, to function in the Kingdom of God, and have God’s abundant life.

In the First Century, when one mentioned crucify that had the chilling meaning of the Roman Cross.  When you were put on the cross, you were sentenced to death.   Three times Jesus mentioned the cross and without the cross you cannot be His disciple.  “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:27), “And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38), “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24).

Let me remind you again that Jesus had fewer disciples in His Kingdom ministry because He required more obedience and commitment from them than denominations and mega churches require today.  Seldom are God’s People challenged and tested by their pastors today because that would be considered too negative!!!   They must remain positive and there is no spiritual accountability while their discipleship programs are absolutely negative and non-existent in most churches in America today.  Over the past 50 years, the demonic world has made more disciples than have Christians!!!!  By making more disciples, they have moved us from a Christian World View to a Progressive New World Order Marxists-Socialists World View.   SHAME ON US!!!!

This is not an easy process of God to take up your cross and let your flesh-ways be crucified by the cross.  In America, because we have had it so easy in Christianity with little to no suffering, we have corrupted our thinking concerning the cross.  To many it is just a religious symbol and nothing more.  No reality of “bearing your cross” – no pain or humiliation.  Just a pretty little gold piece of jewelry you wear on your lapel or around your neck.

In America we have no understanding of the constant struggles and frustration, uncomfortableness, and pain associated with the cross in dying to the flesh.  Today, as we go through the process of putting our old nature/flesh on the cross, our reality in this process is never ending, painful, and disturbing.  As followers of Christ, do we live in reality or symbolism?   We don’t need a piece of jewelry to identify us with Christ.  Putting our sins to death on the cross and our changed lives identifies us with Christ!!!

The Bible is clear that Jesus wants cross-bearers and says nothing about cross-wearers.  Symbolism does not change your life but the reality of “cross bearing” does.   I can’t imagine Christians in the First Century wearing a cross around their neck just like I can’t imagine the family of the last person executed here in Texas by lethal injection wearing a gold syringe around their neck.  There is only one meaning and purpose of the cross to the believer apart from the forgiveness of our sin and that is dying to your flesh so the life and love of Jesus Christ can live through us His Kingdom life to adorn our Lord Jesus and to bring glory to His Name by our changed lives!!!

For the remainder of this article, I want to show you how to die to your flesh nature by putting it on the cross.  If you are a Christian, you will sin.  “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)   God made a provision for dealing with sin in I John 1:9 by confessing it as sin and repenting.  Therefore, sin is no problem for the Christian if we confess it, deal with it, and not hide or ignore it.  Always remember this – your flesh and spirit are at war with one another.  Satan is always saying to your flesh, “come alive.”  The Bible says “flesh must die.”

Let us not forget what we have in Christ, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus lived in the flesh on this earth and knows what it is like for us to live in the flesh.  “Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

Let’s say you lose your temper and have an outburst of anger.  To all young girls: “Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man.   Lest you learn his ways and find a snare for yourself.” (Proverbs 22:24-25)  HATH GOD REALLY SAID?  Outburst of anger is the fruit of the flesh mentioned in Galatians 5, so you must confess it as sin (1 John 1:9) and repent, then deal with your anger.

The way you deal with your anger is you put your anger on the cross to be crucified and to die.  You do this by repenting and coming into agreement with God that anger is bad fruit “for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:20), and it must die and you are absolutely committed to do this and rid your life of this unfruitful works of darkness.  Only there on the cross can it die in your life.  It is a process that can last a long time as our flesh dies hard.  Every time you get angry, repent and repeat the process.  This process is simply choosing your spirit man over your flesh.  The Word says that in the flesh we cannot please God.  This process may take a lifetime because man’s problem is flesh – that old nature of Satan in us and it must die.

Paul tells us in Romans 13:11-14, “And this do, knowing the time that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep, for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.  The night is almost gone and the day is at hand.  Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness (the deeds of the flesh) and put on the armor of light.  Let us behave properly as in the day not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. (That just described our culture in America today).  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

If you are not ready to give up everything in this world system and everything of the flesh, you are not ready to make Jesus Christ Lord of your life.  We must get serious about applying the Word of God to our lives.  That is how you have the abundant life rather than the torment of Satan and judgment.  Jesus cannot perfect a good work of love in us if we walk in the disobedience of our flesh.

God bless, I remain His servant and watchman, Glynn Adams (Thanks to the late Milt Green and his many conferences on dying to the flesh and I’m just repeating what I learned from him back in the 1980s.  We miss you, Milt!!!  Next week:  Dying to the Flesh – Session 3 – How your flesh nature suffers when it has to die!!!

[Session 1], [Session 2],