Get Behind Me Satan!

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 

hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 

 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, 

which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, 

triumphing over them in it.  

Colossians 2:13-15

God calls us to be holy even as He is Holy.  

And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.  Leviticus 20:26

Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.  1 Peter 1:16

He requires that we love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength.  

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  Deuteronomy 6:5

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  Mark 12:30

You may wonder how we can do this when there are so many ungodly influences around us, Satan is constantly attacking us and our self-nature just does not want to do that which is right.  Well, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we gain not only the power but the desire to resist all that is ungodly,

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 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.  Galatians 5:16-17

The world, the flesh, and the Devil with his demons combine their evil forces to war against believers. Each force can operate independently against the believer, but these forces of evil are most often combined in their attack upon believers.

Satan uses the world, with all of its influences; its illusions, charms, philosophies, and ungodly standards and systems, to gain access to the flesh. He uses the flesh to gain access to the heart, mind, and spirit. Then he tries to conform you to himself rather than to God.

The world, the flesh, and the Devil certainly create a threatening combat zone! The good news is that God equips us with counter strategies to overcome the wiles of the devil.  

     →     PRESENT YOUR BODY AS A SACRIFICE: 

In the military forces of the natural world, a person who enlists for service comes under the complete control of their superiors. They are given training and instructions on how to conduct themselves, how to dress, and how to combat the enemy. To be effective in spiritual warfare the same type of control must be put into action:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.    Romans 12:1-2

You must present yourself to God as an act of your own will.  In the Old Testament when a sacrifice was given to God, the person who offered it had no further control over it. It was given totally to the Lord. Instead of conforming to the world and the flesh, you must be transformed (changed) by the renewing of your mind.

      →     ARM YOURSELF WITH THE MIND OF CHRIST:  

The renewing of your mind is done by "arming" yourself with the same mind as Jesus.

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh, to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.  1 Peter 4:1-2

      →     DEVELOP THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARDS YOUR FLESH:  

We are told that we should

". . . hate even the garment spotted by the flesh"  Jude 23

You should understand that the lust of the flesh is not of the Father but of the world:

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.   1 John 2:16

You should have no confidence in the flesh:

. . . and have no confidence in the flesh . . .   Philippians 3:3

You must also understand that life in the flesh brings corruption, while life in the spirit brings life:

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.  Galatians 6:8

     →     REALIZE YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE IN BONDAGE TO THE FLESH:  

In times past, we were in bondage to the flesh when we were a sinner:

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath even as others.   Ephesians 2:3

For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.   Romans 7:5-6

Study Ephesians 2 and Romans 8. You will discover you no longer have to be in bondage to the flesh. Your freedom comes through Jesus Christ:

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;   Ephesians 2:19 

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.   Romans 8:2

     →     TRAIN YOUR FLESH TO OBEY:  

In the military world, the soldier must obey all orders. He goes through basic training to learn the rules of warfare. He is given trial situations where he must put these strategies into action and he learns through failure and success. He is in training for war.

This is also true in the spiritual world. You must train your flesh to obey. You must learn God's rules. Through trials God permits in your life, you will have opportunity to put these rules into action:

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.   1 Peter 4:12

And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold all that he hath is in thy power. . .  Job 1:12

In the natural world, a soldier learns the right and wrong responses in military strategy through repeated troop exercises. You can train through study of your warfare manual, the Bible. As you exercise or train your spiritual senses, you will learn to discern between good and evil:

For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. For strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.   Hebrews 5:13-14

You must train your flesh to obey God's Word. You do not conquer your flesh by giving in to it. As God reveals fleshly areas of your life, you must take godly action:

. . . abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.  1 Peter 2:11

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  2 Corinthians 7:1

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.    Romans 13:14

Satan tried his wiles on Jesus who told him:

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan:. . .   Luke 4:8a

He used His warfare manual against the enemy:

. . . for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.  Luke 4:8b

Note that: 

YOU must take action. 

YOU must abstain from fleshly lusts. 

YOU must cleanse yourself of filthiness of the flesh. 

YOU must not make provisions for the flesh.

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