The Spirit vs Humanity

TO BE IN CHRIST

It is time for us to have a clear understanding of what it means to be in Christ. If we do not, then we will work out our salvation based on what we see of ourselves. For example, when we get to a situation, we will determine then that we are dealing with pride, wantonness or iniquity. But when we understand what it means to be in Christ, we will know before we come to a situation whether or not we are walking in the Spirit. When we are in Christ, we take on His thought patterns and His ways, therefore, the struggle is taken out of being holy. If our holiness is something we do not discern until we come to a situation that reveals our weakness, then we have to fail in every circumstance, situation and relationship in order to know where we are spiritually. We know whether we are weak or strong based on whether or not we are in Christ. OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION, BUT THIS ONLY COMES BY BEING IN CHRIST.

St. Matthew 16:21

From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Christ began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer all these things as it related to His brutal passing.

St. Matthew 16:22-23

22. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

23. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Look at Jesus’ response. He turned around, rebuked Peter and rebuked the devil. To the natural ear, Peter’s statement to Jesus sounds very compassionate but Jesus knew the devil was speaking through Peter. Why was this the enemy? Because Jesus knew His purpose for being sent to the earth, therefore anything contrary to that purpose was not of God. Imagine in an everyday conversation that your friend tells you that he is about to go to McCobe Apartments and preach the gospel, but when he gets there, some people are going to kill him. Naturally, you would tell your friend not to go because you do not want him to be killed. What if this is God’s purpose for his life? Have we now become a peacebreaker and interfered with the work of the Holy Spirit or have we helped to fulfill scripture?

THE HUMANITY OF MAN

Jesus rebuked Peter so sharply that He also rebuked the devil. It was not by coincidence that He said, “Get thee behind me, Satan” as if He was calling Peter Satan, but He was actually rebuking Satan, because it was the devil talking through Peter. Why was the rebuke to Peter so sharp? It was because as Jesus said in verse 23,

St. Matthew 16:23

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

In other words, we cherish the things that pertain to the flesh and not of God. This is why when God shows a spiritual operation that is about to happen in the natural, we do not understand it. Our humanity will actually go against the purpose and will of God. Peter’s love for Jesus told Him not to go and suffer this. This is Peter’s humanity speaking. The enemy can speak through our humanity. He can do this because he knows that our humanity relates to him.

What do I mean when I say that the devil can relate through our humanity? We were children of the devil for many years and we came into this world being his children, and our humanity knows his ways better than we know God’s ways. We judge things through his mind. The devil is a great deceiver and knows how to disguise his intention, which is to always upset the purpose of God and to deny His purpose. For example, there is a lady whom God told me to minister to. Her heart is impure about many things and she is constantly in and out of the hospital, almost to the point of death, but then God brings her home. God told me to tell her that the reason He keeps bringing her home is because she is not ready to die due to the state of her heart, even though she is a believer. If she were to die, she would go to hell based on the bitterness and unforgiveness in her heart. I have to follow the Spirit, no matter how I humanly feel about her. Many times our humanity and the flesh will begin to speak. But we cannot follow this; WE MUST FOLLOW THE SPIRIT REGARDLESS OF HOW WE FEEL ABOUT A SITUATION. This is why I made the statement that the enemy knows how to relate to our humanity. He will use our emotions and our human way of thinking to upset the purpose of God. We are to always and in every situation, follow the leading of the Holy Ghost. Many times we follow how we feel and the way we feel follows the way of the flesh. We have to see that whenever we follow the way of the flesh, it will ALWAYS cause us to walk after the flesh. But we must see Jesus’ heart and mind when He was rebuking Peter. We cannot take this lightly.

How many times during the day do we follow our humanity in situations? So many times we make a decision based on how we feel and this goes in direct contradiction to the Holy Ghost.

GOD DISCERNS THE HEART

Jesus rebuked Peter and Satan because Jesus is a keen discerner. He can separate us from the influence of the enemy and deal with both of us in His correcting and rebuke. He can hear what we say and still come back with absolute truth about a situation. Peter told Jesus that he was willing to go to prison and death for Him but because Jesus is God and God is a keen discerner, He looked in Peter’s heart and told him that he was going to deny Him three times before the cock crowed. We need to see that God discerns spiritually. He does not look at what comes out of our mouth and make a judgment based on our verbal testimony. God looks at the heart. God can look at our heart and tell our future. He can tell us what we are going to do a minute from now. God can look at us while we are on the altar repenting of sin and dead works and say in a few minutes we will do it again. God knows the content of the heart. We cannot camouflage our hearts from God, no matter what we do. Jesus had this mindset from birth: I have come into this world to visit and to get all those who will come. I am looking at humanity who is dying and going into the lower parts of the earth. They are being condemned to death and hell. This is their future whether they are good or bad. I came to be a sacrifice to this world. This is my existence. My existence will not be glamorous. As a matter of fact, my death will be very brutal. BUT, this is why I came because I, Jesus, am in Christ. Christ is the anointing, which is the Spirit of God.

Now I, the man, am in Christ and Christ is going to Calvary. And on the way there, I may meet a woman at the well, or Peter, James and John, but I am still on a pathway to Calvary because this is the purpose for the Son of God and the son of man. This is my destiny. This is why God will allow us to worship a man named Jesus. He was in total agreement with God and the Spirit living within Him. Many times we know what will happen in the spirit world but when it comes to the physical, that thing is going to cost us something in the flesh. It will hurt us, but the thing with Jesus was that He did not just see it and try to choose another way around it, but He saw, discerned it and walked freely into His purpose. Why? He did this because it was the will of His Father. He was and is Christ walking in the Spirit of Christ.

As Sons we must accept the mind that we are sheep fitted for the slaughter. We must accept the mindset, “Yes, we are going to suffer, but yes, we were given to suffer.” We are going to suffer if we hold our peace, but this is what we were created to do. We were created to be reviled, hated and picked upon by mankind. These things are supposed to happen. Jesus understood this therefore; He was able to see the devil. When the devil came and said not to suffer, He knew that He had to. And we, as sons, must do this too, because if we get one idea in our mind that we do not have to suffer, then that one speck of darkness will go with us into the judgment. We have to suffer because of who we are, Sons of the most High God. Jesus could not allow someone else’s humanity to cause Him to regret that God called Him and also who He was.

Many times we look at the television and see people who are prosperous in evil and if we were to be honest we regret who we are. We are called to be the scum of the earth. We are called to be last as it relates to the world’s standards. We can look at the world and desire to be like it. This is the problem with the youth ministry. There are a lot of young people who come to the Youth Advances, Conferences and Revivals but never lose that desire to be like the world. They know that they should not have the desires for the world, but they never totally give it up. I can relate to this because it took me a long time before I decided that I was not of the world and that I did not have to be as the world. Some people try to make themselves into something that is actually worldly and this is a devil that is in the youth of BTI. They hear so much truth, but the world is more appealing to them. They look at God and they see no glamour in it, but they look at the world and it becomes a drawing mechanism. The youth come to church and try to get in sync with God, but they can never do it because they never lose their desire to be as the world. We see it in dress codes. We may see a young lady who comes to all of the discipleship sessions but her dress code will testify that she still likes the connotation that is of the world. We will see it in guys, too. We will see guys with wave caps, earrings and muscle shirts. We even hear it in their conversations. They do not want to go to the depth of where Christ is. They relate more to their humanity because they walk in that the majority of their life even after salvation.

God is trying to bring us face to face with truth. We can learn all about His goodness, kindness and the rewards that await us but God says the bottom line is we still do not want Him! God is so cut and dry because a lot of times we will deceive ourselves based on our servitude to God. We will sing on the devotional team, dance in Portraits, rap in MSOG and do all of our duties on the MIA board, but in our hearts we do not want God.

DEDICATION TO THE WILL OF GOD

Jesus did not have this mindset. He wanted God. Jesus had a real relationship with His Father. A relationship where He could discern the purpose and will of God even if it meant His demise. He was in total agreement with it because He understood that this world was nothing but a distraction in a moment in time. Everything in this world is a distraction trying to cause us to lose our soul. When we walk in the Spirit, we have the same emotions as Jesus. Our minds are no longer caught up in the minds of humanity. Our humanity can cause us to make a decision that is adverse to the will of God. When we walk in the Spirit, we can foresee our suffering and walk right into it. We walk in Christ when we are in TOTAL AGREEMENT with Him. We do not serve God based on situations. If we do, somewhere in our heart we are grieved serving Him. Somewhere in us we have to make a decision to please God, but we do not actually want to please Him. But if we are in Christ, it is the disposition of the heart that comforts us because we know that every trial comes in Christ. We do not have to reestablish the decision because we know that we are appointed to suffer. It is more valuable to go and suffer than to try and alleviate suffering and then find ourselves outside of Christ. Christ was dedicated to the will of God. Jesus had a love and a passion to please God. Because of this love, when Christ came to situations, He did not want anything out of them or from anyone involved. His love was not set on self.

Our dilemma is that whenever a trial comes up, we still want to satisfy our flesh. But when Christ came to situations, there was no struggle. Obedience was fulfilled from the beginning. The question now is, “How do we get the youth to desire God in this way?” From the beginning, we must establish the right mindset in the youth.

THE TREND OF BTI YOUTH

There is a trend in BTI’s youth. While this trend may appear to be a benefit in the natural, we need to examine the spiritual. The youth are more drawn to the youth in the church rather than their peers outside of the ministry, which can be a benefit. Most of them hang with each other but unfortunately they feel like this establishes them in God. There are only a few of them who actually go the distance of actually having a relationship with God. They need to come to a serious mindset of pleasing God personally. We must have a personal relationship with God. Our trend, fashion or style will not keep us out of sin. When we worship God just because it is the fad or latest craze, there is no real worship. Worship is personal. Worship is done through an individual life. The young people come together but they stop there. This is where they fail. They need to have a personal relationship with God. Our relationship with our Father should be so strong until there is no one who will cause us to sin against Him. When God requires something of the young people, especially as it relates to living holy, He cannot put His hands on us, because we are not always walking in the Spirit. It is enough for them if I think that they are spiritual or their pastor thinks that they are spiritual, or if they faithfully attend Youth Advances and do their duties in church. But this is not enough according to God. You can do all of this and not even have God’s attention.

SUFFERING IN CHRIST

Philippians 2:1

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

Console: to strengthen, comfort, encourage, wherever the weakness is found, Christ will lead us to suffering and we will need some consoling.

I have been in some situations where I could have taken another route that would have seemingly alleviated suffering, but I knew that Christ had led me there. I knew that Christ was saying that if I got out I would be out of the pain, but also out of His will. We have to stay on the narrow path even though we can see an alternative route. CHRIST’S LIFE IS SEEN AND DISCERNED WHEN WE SUFFER. It is not always seen when we preach. We have to arm ourselves with the mind that we must suffer with Him.

Philippians 2:2

Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

In order to remain in Christ our mind must be just like Christ. We must have the same love. Christ loved those who hated Him. He loved the Father with His whole heart and for me to live in this world in Christ, we have to have the same love for the Father and for those to whom we minister. If our love falters anywhere, every once in a while, we will see flesh operating. We are going to see how flesh feels about a situation and not what God would do.

THE CONSOLATION OF CHRIST

We should feel the life in the scriptures as we read or listen to the Word. As Sons of God we should gravitate to that light when we hear it. Something in us should come alive. We must let the Bible do the talking because we know that the Word is spiritual and is life. I can hear Paul saying that this is where the consolation comes from. It comes from having the same mind and the same love that Jesus had. There is not going to be a bolt of lightning. It will only come when we come into total agreement with God. Then and only then will we begin to walk in Christ with a consistency and not failing every now and then. Then we will not go back into living in our imagination. When we love righteousness, our minds will be consoled in Christ. Then we can finally relax in Christ. We have been saved for so many years, but how many years have we actually relaxed in Christ? Has our testimony ever been, “Lord, whatever you bring, I am in agreement? Whatever you take away from me, I am in agreement. There is no struggle, war or conflict in me with what you bring. Why? Because I have the same love that you have for the world. I have the same heart and mind that you have. So I know that whatever comes in my life, it needs be.” This is consolation. It is consolation when we can look at our suffering and say that it is for purpose. It is consolation when we know that we are not haphazardly going through. Imagine the disarray that our minds go through when suffering and persecution come and we cannot find out the reason. We ask, “Why me, Lord?”

When we see the purpose of God simply because we have the same love, this is the consolation that Jesus walked in. Jesus walked in the consolation of knowing that He had to suffer even though the world did not understand His suffering. He had the same heart that His Father had about people; therefore, He did not walk around trying to avoid Calvary and Jerusalem. The Father desired for the world to be saved. He sent Jesus to save us through His death. We have to come to the place that when God requires something from us we are in agreement with Him. We should not always be at a place of trying to get our heart right or always trying to get in a posture to obey God. We have to look at our situations, see God and move right along with Him.

Philippians 2:3-5

3. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

If we allow the mind that was in Christ to be in us, then as Christ leads us through hardships and decisions, we are consoled. We know that if He takes something away from us we do not have to feel regret. If He denies us of something we do not have to feel a longing for it. We know now that this is the route. We do not have to bring our heart to a place where we are trying to accept the route but have already accepted it. We have counted up the cost of being a Son of God. We understand that whatever situation comes in our life, it comes with the route. We receive it with gladness. We are not going to live our life in grief at being a Son of God. This is the most despicable state of being that we could ever be in. But the sad part is, that this is the majority of the people in the Body of Christ. They are grieving being a Son of God. This is because they never come to the place where they love the Father more than they love the world. But let us look at Jesus’ mindset.

Philippians 2:6-8

6. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

THE FORM OF A SERVANT

We can be powerful in God, if our servitude to Christ becomes real. For example, two men walk in the church and know that a discipleship session is about to start and know that chairs are to be set up. The first man comes in and starts putting up the chairs. No one has to ask him, he just begins to do it. The second man comes in and someone asks him to help and he begins to help. But, it is the first man who has taken on the form of a servant. In our heart we must see ourselves as a servant, then we will see those areas that need our attention. Our heart will tell us that we need to fulfill a need. For example, if I come to church and there is no keyboard player, no one has to tell me to go and play. I look at it as my servitude. I am not doing this for a show but this is my servitude unto God. I take upon myself the form of a servant. My heart has now become a law unto me. It tells me what to do and what not to do. If someone has to force us into servitude, it is because we have not taken on the heart of a servant. We are called to be faithful in servitude whether we are ministering to five or 5,000. If we do not have that mind then we are not going to be consoled in Christ. We will be in Christ always grieving because our mind is off course. Our mind tells us that we are higher than we really are. Our mind will tell us that we do not have to go through suffering. We must come to the realization that we are only servants and God is using us to introduce Him to the world.

It is truly an honor to be used as a mouthpiece for the Lord, therefore, we realize that we cannot pick and choose what we will and will not do in God. Humility and servitude was a disposition of Jesus’ heart. He was not humble because someone was in His life telling Him what He had to do, but that was who He was at heart. God wants us to come to a place where we respect the Spirit of the Word, righteousness and do not have to be policed into it, but still want to be all that God would have us to be because it is in our heart to do so. When God places someone in our lives as a righteous wall, and we continue to try to go around this individual, we realize that every time we do, we dishonor God.

Over and over again we have to start, seemingly from the beginning, because we want to do things our way. But when we settle in our hearts to listen to God, our hearts are humbled and that is where we find true consolation. Now we feel the peace in knowing that we have obeyed God in spite of the insults or trials that have come our way. That is when the Holy Ghost can console us with the fact that we are still in God. There is nothing that can compare with the feeling of knowing that we are in right standings with God, and if we were to die right then, we would wear a crown for the righteous stance we took.

On the other hand, if we do not fulfill righteousness we will continue to remain in condemnation. In order to come out we must repent not only with our mouths and bodily exercises, but also in our hearts. In order for it to be true repentance there must be a heart change. If the heart does not change, we can take our bodies out of sin for a season but eventually, we will fall back into it. The sin was just the evidence of the true disposition of our heart. We may not sin outwardly, but even to consider or entertain what the enemy has offered is sin.

REVERENCING THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING IN GOD

When we revere just being in God, we will not take what God has done for us so lightly. God has done a marvelous and complete work in us and we must never forget that. He has made us this way so that we can be a light to a dying generation. We were not created to always struggle with our salvation or debate as to whether or not we are going to please the Father. We are indeed what and who God says we are . . .Sons of God.

Colossians 2:4-10

4. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

5. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

6. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

7. Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

8. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

9. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

10. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

This world will pass away and the things of this world are temporal, but what the Father has for us is eternal. We must live our life as though we have something in store for us. If we walk in who we are, we will not need anything in this world to satisfy us.

St. Matthew 10:39-40

39. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

40. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Why do we settle for being something that is not like Christ? If we have indeed made the decision to deny ourselves then we should cherish our decision. This is the first thing that God has told us to do. When we are in Christ the Spirit will have conquered our humanity.

God bless you,

Apostle Michael Thomas