Separating The Religious Flesh From The SPIRIT OF LIFE

Separating The Religious Flesh From The Spirit Life


“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 1:3-11.

Separating the religious flesh from the spirit life is the work the Holy Spirit performs within the heart of all who will surrender to HIM. All things, right up to the resurrection life, are at our disposal. We can be partakers… if we are willing to surrender everything in our life to God. At every step along the way, we can be confident that the religious flesh will loudly declare, “I am righteous!” “I have obeyed!” In an effort to keep the seeker blind in the area that the SPIRIT of LIFE requires us to lay down at the Master’s feet.

To grow up in Christ, is to partake of the divine nature; to be set free from all of our own desires and longings according to this life, and allow them to be replaced with the desires of God’s heart. The religious flesh is proud and confident in its own knowledge; quick to pass judgment. Brother Kevin in New Zealand recently shared a paper entitled ‘Divine Counsel and Warning,’ in which he stated:

“Mankind fell through gaining knowledge.

We all have to surrender knowledge back to Christ to walk in His Spirit of revelation and personal revival.

When knowledge remains dominant in us, and uses the written word to justify its existence, knowledge dominates the spirits rightful position in our hearts.

This is the cause of a stalemate within us, and largely prevents personal revival.

The fruit of this stalemate is defensiveness, being offended and using knowledge to justify ones self and the lack of the fire of the Holy Spirit.”

Our religious flesh glories in our knowledge about God, while our Spirit Life is completely satisfied and fulfilled in simply knowing HIM intimately. There is no more devious adversary than the religious flesh. Would that each one of us would examine our own hearts. “Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” 1 Corinthians 13:5-7. How quickly it becomes apparent that we are incapable of walking in this kind of love, in our own strength and understanding.

Contrary to what the religious spirit would have us believe, we cannot do one ‘acceptable’ thing for God… except... by His Spirit. Right now, we are all being tried and tested… so as by fire. It is very painful, even excruciating, which is why the religious flesh will avoid it as long as possible. We are all making choices every day, consciously and unconsciously. God is “Cleaning House.” And we are that house.

“This great clean up work will not only be the Lord coming forth with His angels to do that which He has promised to do but will also have a clean up work that we will be called on and expected to do as we have the veil removed and see much more clearly how we can work in being a better over comer. It will begin as the Lord has declared in Matt 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.

There will be some real decisions we will have to make as the Lord calls on us, showing us what to do. Also the word of the day will be…..TO REPENT, CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING. YOU HAVE NOT GONE THIS WAY BEFORE AND THAT WHICH IS BEFORE YOU IS THE AGE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

Everyone from the greatest to the least among us will be called on to throw down at the feet of Jesus every word that we have idolized as truth, that is not. Many of these untruths are stumbling blocks thrown in our path to hinder our walk to Jesus and Jesus’ walk to us. We will be called on to make our path straight and level between us and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Guy Morris).

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.

“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” 1 John 1:6-10.

Not one of us is exempt from the influence of the religious spirit. It is part and parcel of the working of the god of this age. Yet we have the assurance that if we ask God to reveal it to us, HE WILL DO exactly that.

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” Matthew 21:22. Keep pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Know who your real adversary is, and that the battle is the Lord’s. May we walk in the Spirit of Life, and shun the Religious Flesh in all of its many disguises.

Amen & Amen

Cathy Morris
11/28/2010