Sermon Central
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Three Guys Series
Contributed by Jerry Shirley on May 6, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: There is the natural man, the supernatural [Spirit filled] man, and the unnatural [carnal] man. Which guy are you? "6 Things the Bible says to do to the Flesh." Link inc. to formatted text, audio, PowerPoint.
3 Guys
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/3Guys.html
There is the natural man, the supernatural [Spirit filled] man, and the unnatural [carnal] man. The natural man is incomplete with a dead spirit. But when he gets saved he gets the Spirit of God, but does the Spirit have all of him? He still has a flesh [carne] and it battles w/ the spirit. Which guy are you?
If you’ve been born once, you have to die twice. But if you’ve been born twice, then you only have to die once...at most!
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Water=natural birth
Spirit=supernatural birth
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Ill.—our fraternal twins aren’t identical [egg splits in 2], but are 2 separate pregnancies which occurred at the same time. And they warred against each other in utero...and still now! Baby A hogged more nutrition from Baby B, and was bigger and stronger.
So our 2 natures are very different from one another, and are in a war.
2 natures beat within my breast. One is cursed, one is blessed. One I love and one I hate. And the one I feed will dominate!
After this world the question is what happens to our soul. It goes somewhere forever. Our body goes nowhere. And it’s all determined by the state of our spirit. Has it been resurrected or not? When our flesh dies, if saved, we go to heaven. All that separates us from that life of bliss and eternity of joy is the death of our flesh...so why not let it die here on earth!?
Salvation has a present tense.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Eternity begins for the believer at the moment of salvation [the everlasting life clock starts ticking and will never stop!] But here on earth we can live our everlasting life in the flesh or in the Spirit, or both!
We have 2 natures to contend with...fraternal twins residing inside us. And one of them is trouble and picks fights w/ the other. My wife said sometimes it was like a WWF match in her woms, w/ 8 limbs and 40 digits...like an octopus on speed!
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
What to do with the flesh:
1. Put if off
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth... 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
2. Crucify it.
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
3. Pronounce it dead.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
