Flesh or Spirit?

Wednesday 15 November
READ: Gal. 4: 22 - 31   
MORE LESSON:  John 3: 6

Abraham had two sons. Ishmael was the first child who was born to the bond woman and Isaac was the younger one who was born according to the promise.  Ishmael was born after the flesh but Isaac was born after the Spirit. Abraham had to cast out the child of the flesh so that the child of the promise could occupy his rightful position. Until the flesh is cast out, the Spirit cannot find expression. The difference between the child of the flesh and the child of the Spirit is that God had given a word concerning Isaac but no word preceded Ishmael. Isaac was God's idea but Ishmael was man's idea that resulted from Sarah's advice to Abraham to sleep with her handmaid so that Sarah could have a child through her.  For everything that you do, you must check whether it is of the flesh or of the Spirit. Is it God's idea that you are carrying out or you are merely following man's agenda? It is only what God originates that He backs up.

Esau and Jacob were children of Isaac. A prophecy had gone ahead that the younger would carry the blessing of the covenant but the older one was preferred by the father. It is not what you prefer that matters, it is what God wants. You must check every step and every venture you undertake whether it is from God or from the flesh. Remember that whatever is born of the flesh is flesh and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3: 6). It is only what originates from the Spirit of God that is of the Spirit. This is why you must consult with the Holy Spirit and hear God before you take any step.

Was your marriage born of the flesh or the Spirit? The ministry you started, is it of the flesh or the Spirit?  Did God send you or you sent yourself? It is only the venture or idea which God initiates that He supports. Ishmael was the senior but he was not selected; Esau was also the senior but was not chosen. It is not about seniority but the Spirit. You might have been pursuing your own agenda for long but when you hear the voice of God, you have to set aside the 'senior' and pick up that which the Lord instructs. If you have been in a relationship that is not of God for years and God's Spirit is now warning you to stop it, do not count the number of years that has gone into it. It is not about how long, it is about whether what you are doing is of the flesh or Spirit.  Remember God's Word, For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting: Gal. 6:8.

Prayer/Action
* Repent of every step or decision born of the flesh, which you have taken, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God for grace to wait for His instruction for every step you take, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that you shall walk  by the leading of God's Spirit, in Jesus’ name

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
My cry shall be heard in the high heavens, I shall live to see my desires in the land of the living and I shall be a living testimony, in the name of Jesus.