DON'T BE CARNALLY MINDED

By Evangelist Lady Grace

"For to be carnally minded 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, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:6-8 KJV). You probably have guessed where we are going with our teaching today. If you said "spiritual babies, the immature Christian, the fleshly man who walks by his emotions" then you are correct! This may come as a surprise to many, but being carnal can be displayed in many forms. One such ways is when the carnal mind speaks according to their senses against those whom God has chosen and anointed for His work. The carnal mind are most often those belonging to the household of faith. They speak what they presumes to be accurate without the ministration of the Holy Spirit. When the carnal mind gets up and thinks that they can choose whom God can or cannot use for His purpose, they are speaking according to the flesh. For as the Scripture says "who knows the mind of God" and "who can be His counsel?" King David once found himself in a similar situation whereby his friends advised him to kill King Saul. And the Bible makes us to understand that he got up and cut the hem of Saul's robe. ("David’s men said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will hand over your enemy to you, and you shall do to him as seems good to you." Then David arose [in the darkness] and stealthily cut off the hem (edge) of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the hem of Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, since he is the anointed of the Lord.” So David strongly rebuked his men with these words and did not let them rise up against Saul. Notice that it was at the council of David's companions made him stretch forth his hands against God's anointed. But when he realized that touched the Lord's anointed, the Scripture says that his conscience bothered him because of what he had done. The Scripture further explained that he "strongly rebuke" his men. This tells us that David was not a carnal babe, because he understood his mistake and immediately took action to mend his fleshly ways. In fact it was he who wrote "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm" (Psalm 105:15). But why does the Bible caution us against such carnal behaviors? Well in Acts 5:39 it says, "But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." Friends we are too small to grasp fully God’s powers, greatness and most of all His plans for they are higher than us. In Isaiah 45, God speaks to us through his prophet this way: “I am the LORD and there is no other. I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things. What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator! Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong?’ “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands, I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command. The LORD is God, and He created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, and not to be a place of empty chaos. I am the LORD, God says, and there is no other.” WOW! Now you see why you must be cautioned against fighting with those whom He has chosen. Since God is all wise, all-powerful, and loves us so dearly. Furthermore, we should never allow by reasons of association and us pleasing the flesh we stand against Him and His plans. But should always bow in heartfelt reverence and obedience and allow Him to do His work.