Understanding and Living the Life of Faith: What is Faith? The Mind: Arena of Faith (Part 4)

Author: Creflo Dollar

Summary:

Walking in the Spirit and walking in the flesh are ways of thinking that determine whether we succeed or fail in life. The flesh can be defined as a way of thinking that opposes God’s Word. To walk in the Spirit means to think in line with the Word of God. It is up to us to decide which mindset we embrace.

Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

The blessings of God reside in the spirit realm (Ephesians 1:3).

To be blessed is to be empowered to have success.
To be cursed is to be empowered to fail.
Fulfilling the lust of the flesh is simply acting out on sinful thoughts and emotions.
Therefore the root of all sinful actions is fleshly thinking.
In some places in the Bible, the flesh refers to the physical body.
Walking in the flesh is a way of thinking that opposes the Word of God.

It is seeing yourself as the world sees you, or from man’s point of view.
It is a mindset that has not been renewed and transformed by the Word of God.

Walking in the Spirit is a way of thinking that lines us with the Word of God.

It is seeing everything from God’s perspective.

The Word is what makes us spiritual; there is no profit in the flesh (John 6:63).

Walking in the Spirit will produce power, blessings, and life.
Walking in the flesh will produce a lack of power, curses, and death.

We have a right to choose our own path: blessings or curses (Deuteronomy 30:19).

God gives us a hint; He tells us to choose life.
Cursed is the person who trusts in man (Jeremiah 17:5, AMP).
Our ability to walk in the Spirit or the flesh depends on the way we think (Proverbs 23:7).

Manifestations of a fleshly way of thinking include:

Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, and heresies.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

The devil has no power over us. His most powerful weapon is suggestion.
Find a more influential inspiration, stronger than yourself, to motivate you to change.

For example, seeing the fulfillment of God’s purpose for your life should motivate you to change.
Conquer the flesh by changing your thinking.
Renew your mind with the Word of God.
The enemy wants to hold us back by containing our thinking.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is greater than the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-13).

Those who walk after the flesh cannot please God.
The carnal mind is an enemy to God. We must change our ungodly mindsets or we will die spiritually.
Right actions do not bring us into right thinking, but right thinking will bring us into right actions.

Keep your mind set on things above, higher things that are in line with God’s Word (Colossians 3:1-2, AMP).
1. When we keep our minds on higher things, we will have higher results in our lives.