LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Rom 8:5-9 NKJV
There are two ‘you’s’: the outward you and the inward you.
The outward you is the one you see in the mirror, who lives in an outward environment, with all of its limits and boundaries. The outward you is either male or female, of a certain ethnic background, is educated according to certain outward standards, and operates within a fleshly, natural world. The outward you identifies itself according to its general skin color, or family, or place of birth. It is the natural man, the natural you.
The inward ‘you’ is the spirit of man, which is made in the image of God. In unredeemed ones, the spirit of man is void of eternal life, being dead spiritually. But in the redeemed, you and I, the spirit of man has been made alive by the indwelling of the Spirit of God, Christ in you, having made the spirit of man to be born again. Hallelujah!
Now, you can choose to live according to the outward ‘you’, or according to the inward.
To set your mind is to focus your thinking, your individual thoughts. You can focus your thinking on the outward ‘you’, or the inward ‘you’. You become what you think about. ‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ To focus on the outward is to become a fleshly, carnal man. To focus on the inward, where Christ dwells, is to become like Christ. This is the key to life and peace.
To focus on the flesh, the outward you is death, which is simply the absence of life (in other words, no answers to prayer, no miracles, no blessings¼no LIFE of God in manifestation). You may say, Kevin, I live in the outward world, I have to focus on it. I say to you, Jesus lived in the flesh as well. But He never lost His focus on the reality of where His life really dwelt. Even through His passion, He dwelt in His spirit, where He had life and peace. You and I can do the same thing.
When I train people to be men and women of God, I train them to live out of their spirits, because that is where life and peace is, where Christ dwells in them. I hear people talk about having Spirit-controlled lives. The reality is that only one part of you is controlled by the Holy Spirit. That part is the spirit of man in the redeemed one. The spirit of man within you has become a new creation, bless God forever! You and I must submit ourselves and be trained by the Holy Spirit to think, live, pray, and walk out of our spirits, which are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Don’t worry about your outward countenance. Focus on Him who is within you¼and He will manifest outward in your countenance. Live according to the Spirit, dear ones, and you will have life and peace. He promises it!
Remember, dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business