Shalom, brethren, we are glad to bring to you our latest sermon review, where we had an interesting time dissecting the topic, “Tradition side by side with the word of God”. We had an introduction to this sermon which emphasised on why we ought to be careful of our last spiritual or physical victory (win, achievement, or success),“your last victory is your greatest enemy” ; it can either be a blessing to you or a curse. Most times, the devil tries to make us celebrate around our last victory and then we fail to move forward. A believer is meant to break off this bait and seek for progress, because celebrating our last win is a tool in the hand of the devil which we need to be aware of, so we won’t be trapped in stagnation.
TEXT: Deuteronomy 8: 2, Matthew 15: 1, Mark 7: 1, Genesis 2: 7, Hebrews 12: 4, I Samuel 17: 1,
BODY SPIRIT SOUL
Definition of a Man:
A man is both a male and a female, the term, “man” is not emphatically talking about a male child. A man in his original state is a spirit being that lives in the body and has a soul. But we need to understand that the law of territory will not allow a spirit to operate in this present realm, and that is why we don’t see spirits around with our natural eyes because we are in a natural body (Genesis 2:7). So, basically, a man comprises three things namely: Spirit, Soul and Body. Our emphasis on today’s review was more on the soul of man. The soul of man serves as a connection between his body and his spirit and it comprises three things, namely: Emotions, will, and mind. To have a full understanding of these components, please continue below.
The Mind (Romans 8: 6)
One of the greatest things that can make or destroy a man is the mind. It’s a component of the soul that transmits virtually every behavioural attitude that the outward man (body) portrays. So, over time, the reactions of every man is dependent on the state of the mind. Note: “The mind has two states as described in romans 8, it’s either in a spiritual state or a carnal state.” Brethren, these two states are attained by what is being fed to the mind and they are resultbound. A carnal state of mind produces death while a spiritual state of mind produces life and peace. It simply means that what the mind is fed with determines its actual state and the impulses it sends to the body to react on.
Relating from our text (Deuteronomy 8: 2), the bible emphasises on bread, which explains what we feed our natural body with, which in the real sense is necessary. But there is more to life than bread for survival. The word of God is paramount to every believer for survival. The question to ask is: Have we not prioritized the bread for the body over the bread for the soul? If we understand the reason we have the soul, we’ll know that every of our success as believers depends on it, so anything you feed your soul (mind) with determines your physical output, be it to the positive or negative. The mind appears to be a powerful component of the soul that God has given us, and you cannot grow beyond your mind. If you do not engage in activities that will spore your mind to greatness, you cannot achieve it.
Taking it from the physical angle, if the natural body is starved, the body will retard, the same principle holds in the spiritual. The spirit man only lives on the word of God. If you starve the spirit man the food it needs, overtime it will get used to spiritual hunger and what follows is stunted growth in all aspect of your spiritual life, and that’s why you need to have this understanding that the soul can never be idle, it is wired to always find something to feed on, you either prioritize getting your physical body fat and spirit man lean or vice versa. The scriptures says, “If you faint in time of adversity, it is because your strength is small” and a man who has small strength in days of adversities has not fed his spirit man properly.
Our mind is so lame that if we don’t drive it, it will remain the same way with whatever information we have stored in it, and that’s why a man that has decided to feed himself with the word of God will react differently from the way a carnal man will react, because a carnally minded man is dead compared to a spiritually minded man who is full of life and peace. This goes to tell us that if we want our spirit man to grow, we have to be deliberate about it, there is no magic to spiritual growth, a man whose goal is to be eternal in nature must be filled by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Mind Renewal (Romans 12: 1 -3)
What should be the pursuit of a serious minded believer should be the renewal of the mind, because by nature we are bound, sharpen in sin. This is why the mind renewal process is a necessity for spiritual growth according to the kingdom principles. The mind is receptive to loads of information that need to be processed in order to pick the right ones to dwell on. And if this is not done, the spirit man is obliged to suffer. Brethren, the mind renewal process is essential!
DAVID A SPIRITUALLY MINDED MAN
David, in 1 Samuel 17: 23 is an example of spiritually minded man who has fed himself well to withstand adversity. He was a man who was under cover (Word of God) and had the right thought when problem came, he wasn’t viewing things from the carnal perspective like most of us do when we are faced with little challenges, we get so carried away that our natural reflex is carnality. This happens because we are out of cover (Word of God). Brethren, to be a man who decides situations by authority, you need to be under cover – The Word of God. With it, you can command situations to what you want it to be, this, we saw in the life of David.
David was a man who had experiences according to the scriptures; more reason you need to ask yourself if you have experiences you can relate with by the scriptures. The spiritual mind thinks what the bible says about situations, but a carnal mind thinks death, we can see this in the reactions of his brothers, they were thinking death and David was seeing victory (A spiritual Man Mindset).
We also need to learn how David stood by what he had proved (Word of God) to tackle the devil in time of trouble, even when Saul proposed a fighting tool, he stuck to what he had confirmed from his experiences. Brethren, if you don’t have the word of God in you, you cannot prove it, because the devil in your entire walk with God will always challenge the essence of your belief. You need to have the word of God in you to be able to respond to the darts of the devil and you can do this by taking actions – it is not enough to know the word of God, a complete task is to know the word of God and take actions, just like David did against goliath.
In conclusion, brethren, whatever you have planned to become in the vineyard of God, if your mind is not built to receive it you cannot become it. Involve yourself in activities that will give you life and peace, because to be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life and peace. So, seek to have the word of God daily to renew your mind and lighten your path.
Shalom, Saints.