The Law of the Five Senses. Carnality vs. Spirituality
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh (controlled by our five senses), but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded (controlled by our five senses) is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Rom. 8:5-7 (KJV).

But if the Spirit is leading you (born again recreated spirit), you are not under the law. (The flesh- controlled by our five senses). You are not trying to live your life without the control of the Holy Spirit on your born-again spirit (your inner man). Paul gives a long list of works of the flesh which are your five senses.
“The ·wrong things the sinful self does [works of the flesh/sinful nature] are ·clear [evident; obvious]: ·being sexually unfaithful [sexual immorality], ·not being pure [impurity], ·taking part in sexual sins [depravity; promiscuity]. (Gal. 5:19, Expanded Bible).

The battle we fight every hour of every day on our daily walk is either to be guided by our five senses or by letting the Holy Spirit guide our born-again spirit. My inner man my born-again spirit should govern our five senses. This happens by submitting every thought and every experience to the Word of God. Here are two scriptures to help us in this battle.
So [Therefore], brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I ·beg [urge; appeal to] you to offer your ·lives [selves; bodies] as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be ·only for God [holy] and pleasing to him, which is the ·spiritual [or authentic; true; or appropriate; fitting; or rational; reasonable] way for you to worship. Do not be ·shaped by [conformed to; pressed into a mold by] this ·world [age]; instead, be ·changed within [transformed] by ·a new way of thinking [or changing the way you think; the renewing of your mind]. Then you will be able to ·decide [discern; test and approve] what ·God wants for you [is God’s will]; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect. (Rom. 12:1-2. Expanded Bible).

We fight with weapons that are ·different from those the world uses [not merely human weapons; not of the flesh-five senses]. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy ·the enemy’s strong places [ strongholds; fortresses]. We destroy ·people’s arguments [human reasoning; sophistries] and every ·proud thing [pretension; exalted opinion; high thing] that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it obey Christ. We are ready to ·punish [avenge] ·anyone there who does not obey [every disobedience], ·but first we want you to obey fully [ once/after your obedience is fulfilled; once the church as a whole repents, Paul will discipline those who refuse]. You ·must look at the facts before you [or are looking only at outward appearances]. If you ·feel sure [are confident] that you belong to Christ, you must remember [consider again] that we belong to Christ just as you do.
(2 Cor. 10:4-7, Expanded Bible).

God is saying judge everything that your five senses present to you by His word. His word is like a lamp for our feet and a light for our path [ it shows how life should be lived. (Psalms 119:105, Expanded Bible).

The way we Believe is the way we will Speak. And the way we speak is the way we will Live.

The New Kind of Knowledge
• Faith Contradicts Circumstances
….for He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So, we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Heb. 13:5-6.
• We walk by Faith not by our feelings.
• People speak defeat, disease, and poverty.
• Wrong thinking, wrong believing, and wrong talking will result in wrong living.
• Faith Sees the Answer and Says Thank You Father!
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“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were (past tense) healed.”
1 Peter 2:24.

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19.

The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall, I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1.

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Mark 11:23

• Real Faith in God simply says what God says about themselves and circumstances.
• Believe in your Heart!
What is the heart? It is not your physical heart and it is your inner man which is your spirit. Your heart here is used in most inner depths of your psych being your mind and your personality.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

How you Believe, (think) is how you will Speak. And how you speak will is how you will Live.

The Sense-Ruled Mind!
Introduction
The unrenewed mind is at war against the Word of God. It does not believe the Word of God. It is always praying for faith but never arriving. The unrenewed mind is always struggling to get faith, always confessing failure, always talking unbelief, saying they believe in the Word of God but their confession and actions negated by their lifestyle. You never see them acting on the Word of God. The key to remember is to Believe the Word of God. Confess the Word of God. And act or Live according to the Word of God.
How many Christians are still acting like babies because the Word of God is not number one in their lives. Their priorities are mixed up so their lives are mixed up. Their minds are mixed up because they’re not concentrating on the word of God is important to know who we are in Him so we can think on his word speak His word and act on His word.
Many Christians don’t know who they are in Christ Jesus, they are still babies in their faith, and because of that they are continually speaking doubt. God says that we are complete and him and we like nothing but yet this is not the confession of the church. The church is always confessing about insufficiency the lack of something, but the two scriptures I’m going to share with you state that we lack nothing if we are lacking it’s because we are baby Christians and we don’t know the rules of the game. God expects us to go to him in faith, not doubting, but in faith, and if we don’t go to him in faith, we will receive nothing from him.

And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power: Col. 2:10

May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires. 2 Peter 1:2-4
• Grace: the ability that God gives you through the understanding His word and provisions needed to do His will.
• Peace: the world offers chaos but through standing on the word of God we know that he has our back and we are not afraid of bad news. Psalms 112: 7, “He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the LORD.”
• Fear thou not; for I am with thee be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isa. 41:10
• No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. Isa. 54:17

• What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:31-39

The way we Believe is the way we will Speak. And the way we speak is the way we will Live.
The Two Different Confessions Who Is Double-Minded.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:5-8. The scripture in this Epistle of James is a perfect example of many in the body of Christ. They want the blessings of Abraham with the faith of Thomas.

Lord God, when he presented himself to Thomas, He scolded him for his lack of faith but he said, mature, blessed, happy strong are those who can believe without seeing. (John 20:24-29).
We are surrounded by our five senses. Our five senses govern us, and that’s what gives us a double-minded confession. This was the problem with Thomas and those like him he wanted to see the Lord physically so he would believe. The Lord did not say to Thomas or even the church today I understand that you’re weak and full of doubt but I will help you anyways. God says without faith it is impossible to receive anything from Him.
The way we Believe is the way we will Speak. And the way we speak is the way we will Live.

God Hears and Answers!
Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you atoned for our transgressions. Psalm 65:1–3.

We must realize that everything that manifests itself physically, emotionally, or psychologically has its roots in the spiritual. Everyone must consider what they are chasing in life and if it will last. The world offers dry wells from which people seek fulfillment. But Father God who is the fountain of living water offers an oasis in a very dry and desolate world. When we are in a counseling people with some troubled person who has a marital problem or financial problem or some other kind of problem; I must tell that person very honestly: God is extremely interested in you. However, we must understand that we live in a culture where we want instant answers and instant success. We want everything we see on TV and more.

We want everything at the speed of a microwave oven. We want instant healing, success, instant discipleship, instant holiness, and instant answers to our prayers. How many people do you know that have many material things but are miserable? When one chooses to follow Christ, this is not an easy road to embark on. We are constantly being pulled way to follow our desires and our will. God wants us to depend upon Him and follow His example. He does not want us to rely on our own strength, wisdom, or how the world wants us to think and act. He wants to lead. He wants us to ask Him for every area in our life. His answer may not what we want to hear but God will answer. Usually, the answer to our questions is in God’s Word. We must also understand that we have an enemy that will resist us drawing near to God at every situation and circumstance in our lives. We need to check our hearts and see if really, we are embracing God and His promises.

That’s what the psalmist says, “O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come.” Ultimately everybody needs God. Everybody needs to know that God hears and answers prayer. That’s what’s going to bring, is the fact that God hears and answers prayer. It may not be the answer we expect or like but it is His answer. And there’s one special prayer that He delights to answer above all others and that is the prayer for forgiveness of our sins. When we’ve sinned and failed God and man we don’t need to turn away in despair, we can turn back to God, cry to Him for forgiveness and then we’ll be able to say, as the psalmist says there, “When we were overwhelmed by sins, you atoned for our transgressions.”

Don’t let fear or guilt or despair keep you from praying. When you are in trouble don’t blame God. Don’t run from the cross, run to the Cross of Calvary. Following Father God and His word is a long road of obedience in the same direction towards the Cross of Calvary. Remember, in the depths of your agony God hears and He answers prayer.

A Servant in Name or Deed?
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:20-21.

I must ask myself, often am I a disciple in Name or Deed. I am reminded of Jacob, who addressed himself before his brother, Esau, as “your servant”. (Genesis 32:18). Jacob said that out of fear; therefore, it was in name only. I must be careful not to call myself servant, but to be a servant. It was only after the Jabbok experience, when Jacob wrestled with God, that he became a true servant (Genesis 33:5). Lord let me never fail to have a Jabbok experience; otherwise, my servantship becomes hollow.

I remember a man when I first began my journey in Christ who called himself a humble servant, but he was anything but that. I must be careful not to give out titles about myself, but rather give out the content of the titles. I have come across many who become preachers so they can tell people what to do. They wanted the office for all the wrong reasons without understanding the function of such a call. Many Christians, including myself, are just as childish. We love the thought humble, servant like, but not wanting to undergo the discipline of becoming like that.

There is only one way to become a servant, or slave, as the Bibles describes it; by relinquishing. A slave has no rights, owns no property, is completely controlled by his master. The moment I pretend to be someone or lay claim to something, I cease to be a servant. Even my claim to salvation is through another, Jesus Christ. I cannot become an acceptable servant until I have experienced self-denial (Philippians 2:5-8), and I cannot experience that until I am willing to follow the One who denied Himself everything in order to give us everything. The aftermath of servantship is honor and glory (Philippians 2:9-11, 2 Timothy 2:12), and God longs to see me through to the finish.

El Shaddai-the God Who is More than Enough!
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2.

The greatest problem I have as a disciple of Jesus Christ is thinking naturally. I have been made this way since my birth as a result of my sinful nature. All my secular education and sometimes the sacred education was to deny the supernatural of the miracle working power of Father God. This is why the Apostle Paul stated that we need to constantly renew our mind so we think and see how God sees His creation (Romans 12:1-2).

El Shaddai-God who is more than enough is not limited as we are limited. Father God is more than able to meet every need I have if I trust in Him. We see time and again in scripture how God fed hundreds out of a few loaves of bread and fish (John 6:9).

I look at my income and I can’t see how needs will be met. By the age of 23 I already had a large family of three sons but I knew God would meet our needs. I remember one time when all I had was $20. My children did not have anything to eat for the whole day and with that money we were going to buy some food. At the same time, we were ministering to a family and the lady had a very sick child and needed medication. I was prompted by God to give her my $20 for the medicine. I must admit I did not want to but I was obedient. When we got home my son stated daddy, I don’t like fasting. I told him to have another glass of water and God would supply. To our surprise the next morning someone left three $25 gift coupons for food at a local market on our door. We had a feast! But I know if I did not be obedient and give that lady my last $20, we would have missed that miracle. There have been many more miracles, too many to mention now.

I look at my scarcity and God looks at His overabundance to provide if I believe. I look at the mundane, the usual set of circumstances and possible outcomes while Father God looks at these events through the miraculous. If I sit down and count the cost, I will never reach the correct figure because I am looking at the problem with my natural understanding. Father God wants us to be free from the restraints of the natural to enable Him to deal with me from the supernatural. I have walked with the Lord for 53 years now and He has never failed. God wants to challenge us with this question. “Is there anything too hard for the Lord”. (Genesis 18:14).

Going Back to Lystra!
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

God will never allow His disciples to “get around” scrapes; they must go “through” them. Nor will he allow us to get beyond defeat unless we have sucked every drop of victory out of it.
Paul and Barnabas “returned to Lystra” (Acts 14:21), the very place earlier they were stoned. After such treatment, the natural man would have avoided Lystra like he would avoid the plague! But not the spiritual man. God will not allow him to bypass the Lystra’s in their lives without learning its lesson and winning a victory.

Maybe, the reason I am not making progress in my discipleship is because there is a Lystra in my life and I will not go back and turn it into a victory. Jesus did this with Jerusalem; they very place where He was crucified was the place where He harvested three thousand believers in a single day! I must conquer my Lystra’s or I will never grow an inch toward maturity.

God will allow and even plans many “Lystra’s” in my life, and I will bear the scars of such encounters for the rest of my life. But God will not allow Lystra to be a blot on my record. The heated quarrel, that unchecked appetite, that strained relationship must be refaced, and the damage must be undone by contrition, repentance, and forgiveness. I may have to return to it many times until God is satisfied that the defeat has eventually become a victory. It takes immense courage to face the pain and shame again, but out of the prevailing conditions of that pain is born a mature disciple. God encourages me to face the pain again, despite the threat of a second stoning! I cannot do it alone, my great “returner” will go with me! Did He not say, “My presence shall go with you” And did He not promise, “I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).

Drastic Choices!
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15.

As a human being I crave acceptance, but as a disciple of Christ I must expect to be misunderstood and at times rejected. I have experienced this many times on my journey with the Lord. I used to get discouraged regarding the pettiness of the body of Christ but I realized that is man’s fallen nature. When Jesus was growing up, He found favor with both God and man. But once baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost He was no longer in favor with his neighbors, kinfolks, or the religious community. When they heard Him preach, they became angry and plotted against Him. (Luke 4:28-29).

The world does not like to be disturbed and unfortunately neither do many in the body of Christ. As a psychologist I have seem time and again that when I begin to touch on the very area of concern people resist. I went from being called a “helper” to someone to be careful of. Like Jesus His Father called Him to preach, teach, and heal the sick spiritually, physically and emotionally. But His very actions of faith were rejected by those He wanted to help.

Like our Master, we as disciples cannot worry about being rejected or even misunderstood. The life of the self-sacrificing disciple is at variance at times and in steep contrast with both the world and the carnal body of Christ. The Lord stated beware when all men speak well of you. (Luke 6:26). If a am too popular I better check my message. Many say to have success you must give them what they want. But we must hang onto the Lord and reach out to the faithful ones who want to hear and obey the truth. As for me, the words Joshua exclaimed to those who were rebellious still ring true today. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Jesus said that He is “the door”, not one of many doors. The “truth” not many truths. And the “way”, the only way. (John 14:4). To be “hears of the word” is very different then being “doers of the word”. (James 1:22).

Are You Fake or the Real Deal?
We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:12.

I must understand that what it means to be a counterfeit Christian. The bible reveals many-Judas, Demas, Diotrephes- and so does the human experience. I have known a number of people who said they were Christian but their lives did not reflect this and no longer walk with God. I know we all sin, but there is a difference of sinning, repenting, and changing our lifestyle than those who habitually live a sinful lifestyle. I know many who talk the talk, but do not walk the walk! My question to myself is am I doing the same? This is enough to drive me to my knees and examine my life.

What is counterfeit? I see one outstanding characteristic: accepting unconcern. No where do I find Judas examining his relationship to Jesus. I only see him living out his life with a numbing indifference to everything spiritual. Like a chameleon, the counterfeit takes on the color of his surroundings without asking, “Am I still a chameleon?

A counterfeit Christian really does not ask any probing questions regarding their relationship to God because there is no relationship. It is a mixture of shadows that only produce darkness. Paul stated, “Take heed least you fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). If I “take heed” and “examine myself” then I am doing what the counterfeit does not do nor are they willing to do because there is no remorse over their lack of relationship to God.

My continual concern about my relationship to Christ is positive proof that I belong to Him; to be unconcerned is to be fatally wrong. When Christ offered us, forgiveness does not mean we are to take Him for granted. A soldier on inspection does not need to ask themselves if they are in the army, only, am I pleasing my Command and Chief? A counterfeit never asks that! Are you fake or the real deal?

Praise in the Midst of Emptiness!
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. Isa. 54:17

God wants to develop in me a continual expression of praise thinking, praise speaking and praise believing. Our confession should be “there are better things yet to come”. At times we may feel alone and bewildered. Not knowing where or how God is going to rescue us from our self-created chaos. We always expect the worst. We can see it, feel it, and even dream about it. This is the spirit of foreboding.

However, when a person has made up their mind that no matter what happens they will praise the Lord, it is the key to victory. It’s important to understand that praise should not arise merely from our feelings or our circumstances. It should arise out of our will; it should arise out of a deep will-seated decision. My heart is fixed: no matter what happens I’m going to praise God.
There are many examples of people who faced a dismal future yet believed God. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, my joy is in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18). Israel was on the verge of collapse with the invasion of Babylon empire yet the prophet could see victory because he was a person who would trust God over dire circumstances.

It is easy to praise God during plenty, but praise amid poverty is a true believer in Jesus! The psalmist says, “I will give praise even with my glory.” What does he mean when he says, “my glory”? Fortunately, the Bible does not leave us to wonder, because on the Day of Pentecost in his sermon in Jerusalem, the apostle Peter quoted that particular verse but he changed one word. He changed glory to tongue. He quoted it this way:” I will give praise with my tongue.” So that tells us a wonderful secret, our tongue is our glory. Why is that? Or why did God give us a tongue? Do you know the real reason why God gave us a tongue – the primary reason why you and I have a tongue? It’s to praise God with, and only when we use our tongue for God’s glory are we using it aright. And our tongue is our glory because with it, above all other members of our body, we can glorify God and use it for the purpose for which we were created.

There is real power in the words we speak. Whatever circumstances you may be encountering today, know that your Heavenly Father cares about you. Your circumstances may look bleak, but those circumstances can be changed when you speak the Word of God. Choose to have a good day; say you will have a good day; and your good day will become a reality!
REMEMBER, HOW YOU THINK will be HOW YOU WILL SPEAK. AND HOW YOU SPEAK IS HOW YOU WILL LIVE!