MY ENEMY: MY WILL, MY WAY

My Enemy in this Life is Not Mr. A or B who disagrees with me on an issue or two. It is not even those who, knowingly or unknowingly, hurt me. My Enemy is '' MY WILL'' which RESIDES & THRIVES in ''MY FLESH.'' Jesus, when on earth, also had his WILL. But He chose to Do the Will of His Father.

It is our Will (i.e. Doing Things OUR Way) which prevents the presence of the Holy Spirit and thus renders the Holy Spirit passive/inactive, which consequently prevents us from bearing the Fruits of the Spirit with No Victory Over Sin. Read these scriptures, carefully.

''And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.'' Matthew 26:39

''He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.'' Matthew 26:42

''And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.'' Matthew 26:44

THREE TIMES JESUS PRAYED SAME PRAYER, PLEADING THAT GOD SHOULD TAKE AWAY THE CUP FROM HIM, IF POSSIBLE. IF JESUS WAS TO HAVE HIS WAY, THE FATHER WAS TO TAKE FROM HIM THE IMPENDING CRUCIFIXION. HE WAS BATTLING BETWEEN DOIN HIS WILL (Which was obviously about Letting the Wrath of God in the Cup which was to be poured on Him on the Cross Pass Away from Him) AND THE WILL OF GOD (Which was obviously about Jesus Goin' on the Cross to Receive the Wrath of God and die on behalf of Us). But just as He always added, NOT HIS WILL; BUT THE WILL OF THE FATHER BE DONE. Was those who said Jesus was working by the powers of Beelzebub His enemy at this time? Was Satan His enemy at this point? OBVIOUSLY NOT.

His WILL/WAY was His enemy because His Will/Way was trying to override THE WILL/WAY of His Father. Don't forget, Jesus had said earlier that ''For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.'' John 6:38. So you could imagine what He would go through when His crucifixion was few hours away and was faced with the Temptation to Choose Between Acting on HIS WILL/WAY or HIS FATHER'S WILL/WAY.  NEVER THINK THAT IT WAS EASY FOR CHRIST TO GO TO THE CROSS; NEVER THINK THAT WAY ELSE YOU WILL BELITTLE THE ATONEMENT SACRIFICE HE DID FOR US.

And having accepted the WILL/WAY of His father, He endured the Cross and died for us. Now, you and I can appreciated His Death well. And if we are to be His Disciples, here is THE QUALIFICATION: SELF DENIAL, CRUCIFIXION OF OUR WILL/WAY AND FOLLOWING CHRIST TILL THE END. “Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” Mark 8:34. He did it;

To the Glory of God, I stopped seeing a mortal as my Enemy some years ago and rather Saw MY WILL/WAY as my Enemy. I must confess I haven't arrived yet; but to the Glory of God I have seen a great change; a great difference. WE HAVE TO CRUCIFY OUR FLESH/DESIRE/WILL/WAY DAILY AND ACCEPT THE WILL/WAY OF GOD. IN FACT, IT WON'T BE EASY IN THE BEGINNING; BUT TO THE GLORY OF GOD, AS YOU FALL AND RISE, WITH TIME, YOU'LL GAIN VICTORY IN SO MANY AREAS -- ONE BY ONE. When you look back some years later, you'll be so grateful to God for granting you victory over sins that your own effort couldn't do.

We won't be there instantly, but with Daily Self-Denial, Patience and Rising Anytime we fail, God will see us through. WE CAN NEVER BE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST WITHOUT PUTTING TO DEATH OUR WILL/WAY AND REPLACING IT WITH THE WILL/WAY OF GOD.....MAY GOD BE OUR HELP(ER), IN JESUS NAME....AMEN!