I can do all things!
The last couple of MindArmor® Tune-Ups have explored the balance between God’s part and our part in the process of conforming to the image of Christ and winning the battle over the desires of the flesh.
We, as believers, are new creations in Christ and are set apart, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). How am I to walk in these good works?
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). So I have been created for good works and I can do all things through Christ. What? Really! Can I do all things? How can this be true? I know I can’t run a three-minute mile, or I cannot bench press ten thousand pounds. I can pray all I want, but I will not be able to do it. My experience does not align with this statement, so what does this mean? How does my will and God’s grace make Paul’s statement in Philippians 4:13 valid?
The all things Paul is referring to is his own personal and intimate experience of conforming to the image of Christ. Romans 7 is Paul’s confession of not doing that which he knew was good, but rather doing the very things he didn’t want to do. Paul found the solution. He states in Philippians 4:11-12, “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”
The all things Paul is so adamantly sharing with us in verse 13 is how to live the abundant life. The presupposition is that there was a time in Paul’s life when he did not know how to get along with little, and he did not know how to live in prosperity. The “all things” point to Paul’s development as a born-again Christian.
Imagine for a minute what it means when Paul states that he did not know how to get along with little and that he did not know how to get along with plenty. Did Paul hide his little, did he horde his plenty, did he steal, did he lie? Did Paul, my mentor, sin because he had little and because he had plenty? Yes, I believe so. I am convinced Paul’s war of the flesh is explained in Romans 7.
Romans 7:8 NASB – “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.”
Romans 7:19-21 NASB – “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”
There is no cure for the flesh for any of us. Paul needed to develop internal resources in order to live an abundant and passionate life in Christ in every circumstance he found himself in. Paul states that by joining with the strength that Christ supplied, it became possible to learn how to get along with little and how to get along with abundance.
The MindArmor course is about cooperating with God (Greek word sunergeo; English word “working together” in Romans 8:28) in order to do all things. The MindArmor course you are participating in is about how to grow spiritually to maturity in the strength that Christ supplies and how to overcome the desires of the flesh. This is the reason we are constantly asking you to practice seeing all women in purity and to smash or light on fire the internal visuals that would entice you to do lust or pornography.
But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 NASB
Training Your Brain Exercise – I can do all things through Christ’s Strength!
Today be mindful to rely on, to depend upon the strength Christ provides. Join with the power of the Holy Spirit and make every effort to add to your faith moral excellence!
Alert! In order to receive Day 16 email and Tune-Up, you will need to watch Segment 7: Attack, Defend and Destroy again. This segment contains the MindArmor training skills that teach you how to attack and defend against the pull of lust and pornography. The workbook has a corresponding segment for each segment of the video.
Next Tune-UpBack to GodMaps Index.
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