No More Resolutions

No More Resolutions – Part II (Loose The Carnal Mind)

Study Text – Romans 8:6-8

Memory Verse: Romans 8:6 – For to be carnally minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.

"A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste." Some of us may have heard
this slogan before and some may not. However, it is an accurate summation of
this week’s study text. This week we look at the second step to No More
Resolutions – Loose The Carnal Mind.

In the sixth verse Paul tells us that being carnally minded is death! If a
person is carnally minded those carnal things will have a hold on that person.
He would be obsessed and consumed with those things. I remember when a heard a
pastor talk about Baskin-Robbins. He stated that he was traveling down the
expressway and saw the Baskin-Robbins sign, so he cut across a lane in front of
another vehicle trying to make it to the off-ramp thereby putting his life in
danger. All of this because the carnal mind had taken over for a brief moment
which could have been THE LAST MOMENT!

This death that Paul speaks of in verse 6 also includes a spiritual as well
as a physical death. This spiritual death occurs because the person is SO BOUND
to THINGS that his Spirit-Man is not growing or thriving. From this we all know
that if something that should be alive is not growing or thriving it is dying,
and if it is dying it will eventually meet its death!

Later in the sixth verse Paul tells us, "but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace." Not only life but PEACE as well. Yes, this is freedom
from demonic bindings. Let me give you and example of a demonic binding.
Recently it got very very cold here in Florida. I had to leave my warm office
to go out and assist someone with a computer problem. As I left the building I
noticed a few people outside smoking cigarettes. Now these people weren’t
moving about freely and having a real good time. They were standing around
shivering, hands in their pockets, bundled up, enduring the cold and for
what?—–A Cigarette. And this is only the beginning. What about the beanie
baby collector that is willing to push anyone, even a child, out the way to get
the last one on the shelf?

I know that we all have something that we are bound to in one way or another
but imagine this…. Imagine a person walking up to you and asking you,
"How much do you owe?" Your first response would be, "huh?"
and then the second would be "who?" Then that person would respond,
"Everyone, every bill, every debt— How much do you owe?" Then they
would write you a check, let me rephrase that – A GOOD CHECK! Now you’re out of
debt, you’re not bound to Mastercard, Visa, Discover, Sears, JC Penney, the
bank that has your car and house mortgage. You are FREE!! This is the type of
revelation Paul is trying to give us. By being unbound to things and bound only
to the Holy Spirit we will definitely have Life and Peace .

The 7^th verse tells us that the carnal mind is enmity against
God.

Let’s look at the word enmity. It means DEEP ROOTED MUTUAL HATRED! The
easiest way for me to explain how this affects our relationship with God is to
put it on a scale:

[NOTICE: God Never Moves, YOU DO!]

Also notice that within the definition of enmity is the word MUTUAL which
means joint or common. Does this mean that God hates You? No!!!! It means that
God hates your Carnal Mind just as much as your Carnal Mind hates the laws and
the will of God and God Himself. This alone should be enough for us to loose our
carnal minds but there is more. The carnal mind, as we see from the scale, also
pushes us further away from God than what we should be. It is usually the
DIFFERENCE between HAVING A WALK and HAVING A CLOSER WALK and I’m sure God has
heard these excuses of the carnal minded:

·        
But God I go to church

·        
I Tithe

·        
I’m on Usher Board number 1-2-3 & 4

·        
I’m on the Pastor’s Aid Committee

·        
I teach Sunday School and plus I play tambourine in the
Choir.

It doesn’t matter what you’re doing! Whether you’re Deacon Doright or Frontpew
Fannie if you don’t loose your carnal mind it is for nothing. And if you don’t
believe me I’ll take you to the word and show you.

So then they that are in the flesh CAN NOT PLEASE GOD! (8^th
verse) Here no break down is needed; nothing else should have to be said. So
what is considered in the flesh?– ANYTHING outside the will of God!

·        
An Adulterous Relationship

·        
Shackin’ Up – Yes, This is Living Outside The Will Of
God

·        
Over Eating

·        
The Love of Money

·        
Covetousness (Just to name a few!!)

To close, we are going to go back to the second half of the 7^th
verse that states, "for it (The Carnal Mind) is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be." The law this is referring to is the Blessing
of God, through the salvation of Jesus Christ. In other words, if you hold on
to these carnal things you are hindering your own blessing. The world’s way is,
"If it feels good – do it." God’s way is, "If you keep hold of
my word and my commandments the pay off is much greater." Do you honestly
think that God is going to bless you over abundantly while you are in
disobedience? Believe me He will not. The enemy will allow you to receive
"GET-BYS." Just enough to keep you SATIS-FICED. (This term means you
decide to satisfy a need right then by sacrificing the best possible
alternative. – In short, "you get it now because it’s convenient.")

Think of it this way, "The Devil Is A Drug Dealer." He’ll give you
what you think will make you feel good when all the while it is killing you!
However God is telling you stay clean (spiritually minded & holy) and
you’ll have greater, exceedingly abundant rewards. Don’t be fooled brothers and
sisters. As long as you "Roll Wit Satan" you’ll GET HIGH &
GET-BY" so go ahead and tell Satan, "In 99 I’m gonna Get Mine!"
Roll with the Holy Spirit and Loose Your Carnal Mind!