“Fasting-Breaking the Carnal Man”

(Part 2 of 2)

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
Galatians 6:8

Fasting is far more than simply “not eating”. Apart from its many physical and spiritual blessings, fasting is a statement. It is a statement to our carnal man (the flesh) that we are not slaves to our appetites. Many will say, “I am not a slave to my appetite! I have it all under control. I can say “No” anytime I want to.” However, the flesh is not something that can be harnessed or controlled. It must be crucified:

“Those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”
Galatians 5:24

The more we cater to our flesh the more carnal we become. The more carnal we become the harder it is for us to fast. Fasting enables us to crucify our appetite for things such as food, sex, and entertainment. It demonstrates a desire to be led by the Holy Spirit and not by our stomach:

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:16-18

There is a spiritual tug-of-war that is taking place inside those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Spirit inside of them has been made alive and now is battling for the souls of men. However, the carnal man has been in control for so long, it does not want to release the reigns and fights against the Spirit of God working inside of us.

Before coming to Christ, many of us were not aware of such a struggle. That is because, our spirit man was dead! The only nature alive in us was our sin nature. Consequently, the only nature we fed was our carnal nature and it liked being the center of our attention. Once we came to Christ, and were made alive in Him, the Holy Spirit took up residence within us.

With the Spirit’s help we are to crucify that old nature. We are not to ignore it, excuse it, or cater to it! We are to crucify it! As we deprive our flesh of what it desires, it sends a clear message to our carnal man… “You are not in control!” So be led of the Holy Spirit! Start off this year with fasting and tell your flesh “NO!”

Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/