Today we continue our series “God is faithful!” The Lord led me to 2 Corinthians 4. In this passage, we are looking at what it looks like to believe God is faithful. Because of God’s faithfulness towards us, we can withstand and overcome anything!
(2 Corinthians 4:1, 7-13, 16-18 TPT)
1 Now, it’s because of God’s mercy that we have been entrusted with the privilege of this new covenant ministry. And we will not quit or faint with weariness.
7 We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that this immeasurable power will be seen as God’s, not ours.
8 Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option.
9 We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out.
10 We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity.
11 We consider living to mean that we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity.
12 So, then, death is at work in us but it releases life in you.
13 We have the same Spirit of faith that is described in the Scriptures when it says, “First I believed, then I spoke in faith.” So we also first believe then speak in faith.
16 So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day.
17 We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison,
18 because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.
For the last few days, we have been looking at verse 16. We will continue to flow in this same vein today.n
16 So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Your body was not designed to handle the pressure of your calling.
One of the key things you must understand is the fact that you have two concurrent realities. In one sense, in one reality, you are human like everyone else. You live in a physical body, and this body is wearing out. It may be wearing on gradually, and you may attempt to slow down the process through diet and exercise, but no matter what you do, your body is still wearing out.
The Apostle Paul talks about a body that is gradually wearing out and a spirit (your spirit, which is connected to the Holy Spirit), that is being renewed every single day. This means you are getting input from your physical body, that is getting input from this world, and you are getting input from your spirit, that is getting input from the Holy Spirit. Your soul then has to decide which input you are going to live on.
If your soul accepts and embraces the input from your body, and you choose to live off of that, then you are living as a mere human. Here are three problems with this:
a) Your body is finite and flawed. Your humanity, at best, is limited. So the input you receive from this world, through your human body, is input that is based solely on what this world can validate. The problem with this is that God will call you to do things that far exceed the limits of this present world.
b) Your body is frail. Your human body is gradually wearing out. So if you rely solely on your humanity, you will gradually decrease in effectiveness over time. While this is obviously a human reality, it does not have to be your reality because you are Born-Again. You can live off of different input.
c) Your body cannot handle the pressures of this present world. God calls you to do things that are amazing. He calls you to operate on levels that far exceed your education and experience. Simply put, He calls you to exceed the limits of your humanity. So if you rely on your humanity alone, God’s calling can become an unmanageable burden. There are people who love God and who simply want to do what God has called them to do, but since they have not embraced the grace of God, they stress-out under the pressure of their calling. Further, these people also stress-out under the pressure of this present world. For these people, the last 18 months have been almost unbearable. But when you embrace the grace of God, Paul says, “Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed.”
2. You have two concurrent realities.
— Your body represents the side of you that is limited and flawed. If you rely solely on this part of you, you will live like a mere human, and your humanity will limit you to only that which is accepted (or can be proven) in this present world.
— During the last 18 months, some people have buckled into the pressures of this world. Not only has Covid changed the world, but for those who are living as mere humans, the impacts of Covid have had devastating results. Some have lost their mental health. Many have lost their peace.
— While the world is dealing with COVID, the economy, and other pressures, at the same time, the Holy Spirit is speaking to your spirit about the amazing things God wants to do in, with, and through your life. This leaves you with a decision to make. You make this decision in your soul.
— Your soul is the control center of your life. Your soul is receiving input from both sides. You have a body that is gradually wearing out, a body that may be physically hurting, a body that may be battling viruses and diseases. Your body is the side of you that frail and flawed. But at the same time you have a spirit. Your spirit is Born-Again. The Holy Spirit is bearing witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. The Holy Spirit is ministering to you through your spirit. You have two realities going on at the same time and your soul has to decide which one you are going to live in.
— You are receiving input and wisdom from above through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives you dreams while you are sleeping and open visions while you are awake. He speaks to you while you read your Bible. He sends people your way to release prophetic words over you. So you are getting amazing input from the Holy Spirit, and the input is all about God. God is revealing to you the plans that we made for you from the foundations of the world. These are plans to give you a future and a hope. But at the same time, your body is getting input from this world. Your body is watching the news. Your body feels pain. Your body gets phone calls and text messages that report bad news. Your soul then has to decide the reports you are going to believe!
— You can either accept the reality of your flesh, which is limited, flawed, and frail. Or you can accept the reality of your spirit, which is infinite, limitless, and immeasurable.
— Believers who are used of God to do the seemingly impossible are simply humans who chose to receive, believe and act upon the input of the Holy Spirit.
— The apostle Paul was able to do what he did… go on four missionary journies, evangelize all of Asia minor, write half the New Testament, and become a pastor of pastors, despite going in and out of jail and facing tremendous opposition, because he understood the power of the inner man. Paul was a human, just like us. He experienced more challenges in most. But he kept going because his inner man was being renewed every single day.
As I close, allow me to minister to you.
You may be facing tremendous challenges right now. There’s a human side of you that doesn’t know how to deal with the challenges. There is a human side of you that may want to buckle under the pressure. There’s a human side of you that may even open up his mouth and say, you can’t do take it anymore. But there is a spiritual side of you that is receiving input from the Holy Spirit. The spiritual side of you is seeing yourself the way God sees you. The spiritual side of you is believing what God believes about you. The spiritual side of you is seeing yourself operating on the level that God has called you to operate on. The spiritual side of you is seeing images of success, victory, advancement, promotion, increase, and supernatural impact.
In the middle of all of this, you have a soul. Your soul is the control center of your life. In your soul, you get to decide which input you are going to receive. My message to you this morning is simple. Please do not live your life based on the frailty of your humanity. The human side of you is too limited. For you to leave the mark in this world and to make the impact that you were destined to make, you are going to have to believe the input of the Holy Spirit. You may feel pressure from this world, your body may feel stress because of that pressure, but at the same time, you have to remind yourself that there is a concurrent reality. That reality is the reality of the spirit. If you choose spirit over body, you will live #TheGraceLife.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me. I LEVEL UP by embracing the power of Your Spirit. I get input from my body. This body is gradually wearing out. This body is limited to the limits of this present world. At the same time, I get input from my spirit. My spirit is Born-Again. My spirit is connected to Your Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, I am able to see myself the way You see me. I believe what You believe about me. I become the person You called me to be because I live by every Word the Holy Spirit ministers to me. This is how I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
