OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL by Pastor E.A Adeboye (DATE: THURSDAY 11 AUGUST 2016) THEME: THE CARNAL MAN

Memorise:
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24

READ: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Know ye not that they which
run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that
ye may obtain.

25 And every man that striveth
for the mastery is temperate in all
things. Now they do it to obtain a
corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

26 I therefore so run, not as
uncertainly; so fight I, not as one
that beateth the air:

27 But I keep under my body,
and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Message
If you want to do great exploits
for God you have to rise above your carnal mind because no serious exploit can be done in the flesh. One of the things responsible for the miraculous events in the early church is that everything was done in atmosphere of God's Spirit. This
is why we need to thirst for more of His presence in our midst if we want an outpouring of His spiritual blessings.

It takes the Spirit of God for one to have access to deeper revelations of
God.
"For through him we both have
access by one spirit unto the father." Ephesians 2:18

Anyone who wants to experience and encounter the glorious presence of God must be ready to let go of the flesh and allow the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Truth to take over.

The carnal man is manipulated by his emotions and thinking. The carnal man is vulnerable to lust. The carnal man cannot understand the things of the Spirit. The carnal man is always a victim of strife and questionable actions. The carnal
man will always be found in
questionable environments and
circumstances, but the man who
allows the Spirit of God to dwell
in him will always be sensitive to the leading of the spirit.

To effectively deal with the problem of carnality, wisdom demands you take it from the root. A tree that is cut down but not uprooted will grow again; it is only a matter of time. The only time you can be assured of permanent victory over the flesh is when you uproot the carnal man from its root. The moment you turn on the light, darkness automatically ceases.

There is a need for you to turn on the Spirit man, who is nourished through a life of holiness and
consecration to the Almighty
God. As long as the Spirit is in charge, you cannot be defeated.

You remain a champion and
everything that is not of God will
keep its distance from you, but
the moment you give the carnal
man a little attention, it begins to take over again. The best way to
deal with the carnal man is to
flee from every appearance of
evil.

One of my spiritual sons once told me that anytime it is Friday, he was always looking forward to the weekend being over because he wanted to be in the office on Monday. He was always looking forward to Monday mornings because of his secretary in the office whom he had grown fond of. I told him he was playing with a cobra in his bed and at anytime, the cobra
could bite him. I asked him to kill
the cobra once and for all by
sacking the secretary that was unknown to him, feeding his
flesh to destruction. Out of
wisdom, he heeded my counsel
and sacked his secretary, who in
turn verbally insulted him and all
those who had advised him. After she left, my son found peace in his spirit.

Anything done with carnal mind will always bring problem and fear, but
where the Spirit of God is, there
is liberty and rest of mind.

Are you toying with sin? Repent and
come to Jesus for restoration.

Are you in the company of those
who will feed your flesh? Return
to Jesus, His grace will overcome
the works of the devil. Obey His Word, walk closely with Him and
you will see yourself exercising
victory over your weaknesses.

Prayer Point:
Father, fortify every deed of the flesh in my life in Jesus' name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Isaiah 8-10 and Psalms 32

AUTHOR: Pst E. A. ADEBOYE