THE BODY MUST BE KEPT HOLY......Therefore learn to Crucify it!

THE BODY MUST BE KEPT HOLY

Introduction

I welcome you to Fireinthebone.com in Jesus name!

Holiness is living according to the word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  It means to be separated unto God.  Holiness is a deliberate lifestyle of people who see themselves as Ambassadors of Christ on earth, consequently, they are ready to abide by the word of God on every matter.  

They will always seek God's opinion and wait to have clarification that the voice they heard is from God. Living holy is possible when the Holy Spirit is the Commander-in-Chief, directing your affairs.  He directs your steps and when you are confused, you run to Him for help. May you receive the grace to walk with the Lord today, in Jesus name.

In the kingdom of God, holiness distinguishes a Believer from among Believers.  It will make you a light in this dark world.  Many people are born again, but they are still connected to their idols and old lives. That will not be your portion child of God.  The Lord will give you the courage and boldness to destroy your evil past and be completely separated from them.

Holiness is a serious business in the life of a believer, who spends quality time studying the word, what it says, to obey and live by it.  All the time spent praying and waiting on the Lord are considered necessary spiritual sacrifices that will help you develop the discipline and patience to follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no eye shall see the Lord.

Holiness is in the Narrow Path

Holiness is a lifestyle required for everyone desiring to enter heaven.  It is living according to the word of God and directed by the Spirit of God who dwells inside of you.  The Holy Spirit is ready to direct your entire life activities if you will allow Him.  

In moments when you miss the right way or track for anything, He will interrupt your thoughts to warn you of the consequences of what you are planning.  He will continue to prompt you until you repent.  If you refuse to repent, He will also rebuke you for the evil works you do.  

The Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the real you, as you are; the reason is that no deceiver will enter heaven, and if you are not going to be a deceiver, then you will have to discover who you are, the son of who you are.  That way your repentance and amendment will be holistic and faster, after which the new man, made in the image of God will emerge from within you.

If you accept the corrections and repent and amend your ways, the Holy Spirit will continually work on you till you are established into every good work.  But if you resist Him, and refuse to amend your ways, after a long time, He would leave you alone, which is a sign that you are not ready to change and become new. 

I hear a lot of people say what about enjoying their life, that is good, but that enjoyment should be according to the Word and instructions of God.  Whatever is not pleasing to God is excluded and everything necessary for your spiritual growth is included.

You cannot be holy without your body reflecting the purity in your heart, neither can a man be holy and the words coming out of his lips are corrupt.  Holiness is a holistic concept, that allows a man to reflect the image of God in his daily behaviour.  

Your body 

A man is made up of a Spirit, Soul and Body, with the spirit and soul living inside the body.  The body is as important as the spirit and the soul.  It is with the body the human person contracts with the world around him or her.  People may not see or read your mind, but they will see your face and read your countenance.  No man can do anything in the world without the body, so the body is very important to the living and the body MUST BE KEPT HOLY.

When God told His people to be holy, He was telling us all, to keep our body, spirit and soul holy unto Him.  Every attempt at holiness must start from the spirit.  When you are born again and receive the Holy Spirit, your soul and body should follow.  That is why Apostle Paul appealed to Christians everywhere to:

1. Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." (Rom 12:1).

2. Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Rom 6:13)

3. Consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience." (Col 3:5-6)

4. Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Rom 6:13).

In 1 Thes 5:23-24, the bible made it clear that the whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." So, It is important that we pursue godliness and holy living that is able to make our whole body, spirit and soul holy and blameless before the Lord.  

This is why we know that your spirit cannot be holy while your soul and body are corrupt.  Such a situation is very sad because such a person will not inherit the kingdom of God.  We must all be careful the way we use our body and the marks and other things we attach to the body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  As much as is in our power, we should keep our body pure and holy inside and outside, as no one can serve God acceptably with a polluted and corrupt body.  

Sin against the Body

Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." (1Co 6:13,18-20)

Paul explicitly said that immorality is a sin against your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to flee immorality (1Co 6:18). The Scriptural standard is to keep the body pure and free from sexual immorality.

The bible in 1 Cor 6:13, 18-20 reminds us that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in us, whom we have from God, and that we are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore we should glorify God in our body.

Crucifying your body to Live Holy

One of the best-known ways to keep your body holy is to make sure you crucify the flesh inside of you, and each time your flesh rises to make you fall into sin, you rebuke the devil and bind him in your life.  Crucification is a necessary step in your way to spiritual growth.  What does it mean and how can we crucify the flesh?

It means that you don’t let your flesh drive your behaviour and conduct.  You consciously determine not to allow your body to live the way it wants to live. It is to control your body and keep it under check so that it does not lead you to hellfire.

It is telling your body to shut up when it wants something that will not edify your spirit.  If your flesh wants you to go to a Night club, Bar and other wrong places or do wrong things, you tell the body to forget it, because you are not going there, or you are not doing that. Other ways to crucify your body include.

How do you crucify your Body:

1. By doing things that your flesh hates like studying the word of God daily.

2. Stop drinking alcohol and all strong drinks completely.

3. You should deny your body of sleep sometimes to pray for hours

4. Deny your body food and meat when it is necessary for you to fast

5. Deny your eyes worldly films and videos that entertain the heart

6. Deny your ears gossip, worldly entertainment and music.

7. You have to discipline your heart and thoughts away from worldliness
8. Guide your hands away from touching the opposite sex, except your spouse
9. Forbid your hands from touching anything unclean or defiled
10. Forbid your hands from sexual perversion
11. Turn not, to look at a woman no matter how beautiful she may look
12. Forbid being locked up with opposite sex that is not your spouse
13. Forbid your  legs from entering the wrong places like Night Clubs and Brothels
14. Do not put marks and Tattoos on your body
15. Do not inflate any part of your body, you are wonderfully made
16. Do not expose sensitive parts of your body to the public
17. Do not use your body to seduce anyone
18. Wash your body and keep it clean always
19. Do not sell your body for money

20. Be disciplined and ready to resist temptations when they come.

3. Temptation

Temptations will surely come to a man and it is not a sin to be tempted. It is yielding to a temptation that is sin.  Most temptations come through thoughts, others come through what we see people doing, and others come through being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When temptation comes, it’s often thought that it's from the devil, because the devil specializes in tempting people in the areas they are weak.  If you are weak with the opposite sex, that's where most of your temptations will come from.

There are temptations that come from self.  A greedy person is always tempted by his lust and evil desires.  That's why some people steal, greed is responsible, and even when the devil seems to be far from them, they are greedy for what they cannot afford. 

Flee from Temptation, to Live a Holy Life

We’re temples of the Holy Ghost—indwelt by the Spirit of God. So, when our flesh rises up, the Bible says to crucify it (Galatians 5:24).  You can resist any temptation that comes your way. Did you know that? We’ve got power. First Corinthians 10:13 says, “When you are tempted, you should resist the temptation, and continue to risk it until God shows you the way of escape.

For some temptations, your response is to flee and nothing more.  When a woman or a man is tempting you, you should flee, because it is not the person you are seeing that is the problem.  The problem is the consequence of the sin and the power behind him or her.  That power wants to pull you down and steal your glory, so you must flee from temptation,  and live holy.

It is easy to rebuke the devil when it is the devil that is tempting you.  But when the temptation is from within, it may be difficult to handle and that's why many fall into sin repeatedly.  Their 'Flesh' is in love with the evil action and he cannot call himself to order.

There are other ways of dealing with temptation.  When it is a sexual temptation, remember you must flee.  If the temptation is one trying to arrest you through images and pictures you look at, or through appearance, you must flee from the person, images or pictures that want to lure you into evil.

That’s what happened with Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. After weeks and months of enticing words that failed to win Joseph over, the woman decided to apply force and Joseph fled from her.  That should be our attitude toward sin, temptation, and evil appearances.  

Holiness

Holy living comes with a heavy price in terms of suffering, persecution, and losses.  You will have to count everything you have as nothing for the kingdom.  It's a lifestyle that places your whole trust in the Lord.  Even though you may have money and other possession, you walk as though you don't have those things, your trust is not in them.

The issue of taking a shortcut, compromising or taking advantage of people cannot be associated with you again.  You cannot lie or deceive anybody, but you are prepared to present matters as they are before men. It may appear as though success is hard in coming, but you know that spiritually, you are making serious progress.  You are operating in divine wisdom, working harder and diligently, and trusting in the Lord.

Living Holy

If we want to live a holy life, we must be disconnected from the world and its ways and connected to God and His ways.   “Is it really possible for us to be holy?”  Holiness isn’t a scary thing that only a few people achieve. Everyone in the Body of Christ should walk in holiness. We have been given the robe of righteousness, but we have to maintain it. We have the Holy Spirit living inside us for that purpose—He directs us in holiness. We can do our part if we choose to disconnect from the world.

The holy life is only possible when a person has separated himself/herself from the ways and thoughts of this world.  It is not physical separation, but spiritual and attitudinal separation from the world.  It is avoiding those things the people of the world do that are not pleasing to God, neither do they help your spiritual walk in Christ.

It is saying NO to depending on your ability and the help of man instead of depending on God  There are things on earth that glorify the devil, a holy believer should avoid things like inappropriate dressing and behaviours that contradict the Word of God.  You should Come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.' says the Lord - In 2 Cor 6: 16-18

Do not be conformed to this world, Romans 12:2 says.  If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).  In 1 John 2:15, the bible says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”

Conclusion

Holiness is a decision of your heart.  What it will cost you is worldly entertainment and pleasure.  But if you will crucify your body and the 'old man of sin (The Flesh), living holy will be easy for you.

Above all considerations, it is not by your strength, but by the Spirit of God working in you.  Without the Holy Ghost working in you, no new man can emerge.  The Lord give you the grace to serve Him holily from today in Jesus name.

The first step is to give your heart to Jesus if you have not done so before.  Go to God in prayer, confess your sins and ask for forgiveness.  Declare with your mouth that Jesus died for your sins and rose for your justification.

Ask Jesus to come into your heart as your Lord and Saviour, receive Him by faith and celebrate your new birth in Christ.


FIRE...