Man Must Wrestle with His Own Flesh

Good day, everyone! Reading Exodus Chapter 17, you will see that Jehovah God fights for us! What great hope this brings us! Let me first share the theme of this chapter: Jehovah is my banner of victory. This phrase must be deeply imprinted in your mind, because God makes us victorious. I am quite astonished at how many Christians today are not victorious; it's distressing to see. Why did Moses highlight this theme so prominently? Because how one lives their life is a great question! Whether you like it or not, someone will always try to take advantage of you. If you often feel upset because of this and searched online to find our website, then congratulations, after listening to my sermon, you will no longer be upset.

Living a lifetime is a profound lesson! There is a song called "Persistence of Life." Similarly, if a person does not have the wisdom to live, without a "license" to live, they will live aimlessly. We must know that God is our banner of victory. You must have a license to live, a banner of victory. Without it, you will be constantly defeated, and living becomes an illegitimate affair. Some might think I am talking nonsense; how am I illegitimate? I have a household registration, an ID card. But you are living unhappily!

Once, I was on a train, and sitting across from me was a very well-off woman, fair and plump, a bit older, clearly not lacking food or clothing. I chatted with her, and she said: "Isn't it strange? In the past, we were very poor, often not having enough to eat or drink, just cabbage, potatoes, and radishes every day, but we had a goal. Now, everything is better, with food and drink, but I just feel uncomfortable, without a goal."

This is a very typical example of someone feeling that life is meaningless. What does this example have to do with this chapter? I want to say that it is not easy to live well; to have a license, you must have a banner of victory. Now you understand. The theme of Exodus is that the army of Jehovah God came out of Egypt. Who does God's army fight against? It fights against the self within!

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord directed. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” (Exodus 17:1-2)

People of the flesh love to quarrel. We never see Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob constantly arguing with others. Whether in a company, an organization, or a church, it is impossible for people of the flesh to be together without fighting or arguing. To what extent did the Israelites quarrel with Moses? To the point where each person held a stone, ready to stone Moses to death.

That kind of posture, like people from Northeast China fighting, pulling out a kitchen knife or picking up a brick to smash the other person's head. Not to mention three million people, what would it be like if a million people were looking for Moses with bricks? It's terrifying:

But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” (Exodus 17:3-4)

Although God still gave them water this time, these people are just bullies at home, acting tough only in their comfort zone. Can't they understand that Jehovah is our banner, and this small matter of water can stop God? In fact, there is a very evil force in people's bodies, and that evil force is called the flesh. Once our flesh is threatened, our animalistic nature takes over, not believing that Jehovah is the banner that makes us victorious.

In my ministry, I often face people holding stones, many bullies at home! They have no ability to go out and find work, but they are very capable of bullying me; they can't compete with others outside, but they are very good at competing with those who love them at home. These people are also called bullies at home. Dealing with the flesh is the first battle that Christians must fight. If you want to become a warrior in Jehovah's army, you must first solve the problem of dealing with the flesh within you.

The flesh within you is the core part of our spiritual warfare. If brothers and sisters often feel like they can't control themselves, they should think about why they can't control themselves? Because you don't know that Jehovah God is your banner of victory. A person who trusts in God can certainly overcome their flesh. Don't think that Moses and Joshua are high above, and they have water to drink while others don't. In fact, when the people have no water to drink, they don't either.

But when there is no water to drink or no food to eat, people's feelings are not the same. What kind of people feel it very strongly? People of the flesh! When hunger and thirst come, they freak out and can't bear it. Why? Because the flesh is too strong. But some other people are fine. Isn't that strange? A spiritual person does not live by the flesh; their flesh is under their control, and that feeling of the flesh cannot arise.

No Longer Following the Feelings of the Flesh

Just like Jesus in the wilderness, living in the open air, fasting and praying for forty days and nights, he would be thirsty and hungry, but he didn't care, because Jehovah God is Jesus' banner of victory. If you trust in God well, God will definitely help you deal with that feeling. That thing of the flesh is what kills us. If we trust in God, we will deal with that evil force of the flesh, and then the feeling inside will be different. This is what I have personally experienced.

The things of the flesh are very evil, and that feeling is often an illusion. Let me give you an example: Once, I was ministering to a person, and in the process of ministering, he was so thirsty that he couldn't stand it. I told him not to drink water, to continue to persevere in prayer no matter how thirsty he was. As a result, when the prayer ended, he was no longer thirsty. Why was he so thirsty just now? Because the demon was in the person's flesh.

Remember, flies do not bite seamless eggs. A person of the flesh cannot but be controlled by demons. If we do not deal with our flesh, our flesh will continue to expand, and the feelings of the flesh will become more and more real and intense. But after truly dealing with it, this person has a license to live, he is a victorious person, and his flesh cannot control him in his days on earth.

Moses was very powerful; he was a man who trusted in God. When Moses saw that the people were going to stone him to death, he didn't care at all, because he had already seen through life and death. But those who care more about living like to say some evil things: But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (Exodus 17:3)

Brothers and sisters, when your flesh acts up, always remember: Jehovah is your banner of victory. Then there will be no such thing as being out of control. Jehovah will definitely let you control it, He can definitely manage it, because Jehovah is our banner of victory, our license to live. Being out of control is because people identify with the devil's lies, they really feel like they are going to die of thirst. They forget how they crossed the Red Sea, how they came out of Egypt, and forget what Jehovah God has done in them. A small matter makes them get stuck in a dead end, with their minds full of only this one thing. That is being brain-dead! What I am doing is to bring you out of ignorance, to become a knowledgeable person, and to stop making so many excuses for yourself.

There are two of you inside, one is the fleshly you, and the other is the spiritual you. You have to knock down that fleshly you, your feelings must obey your will, and do not identify with the devil's lies. Identifying with the devil's lies is equal to willingly being tormented by the devil. Can the devil let you go? If the devil could let you go, you would not need the church.

I often hear people give a lot of excuses for their freak-outs. A few days ago, a sister said to me: "I often have a lie inside me." I said: "Since you know it's a lie, then you have already won. Thank God, God is your banner of victory!" She said: "I often have a voice inside me saying, 'I have already worked hard, I have already made progress, I have already done everything, what else do you want me to do?'" In fact, this reflects a completely wrong logical system and foundation of faith. She feels that she has used a lot of effort, but she is using fleshly methods to deal with her flesh, which is ineffective. That is to say, the righteous shall live by faith. You must know that the logical system inside you is God's logical system, which is based on trusting in God. Not being able to do it, not being able to control it, is all about identifying with the devil's lies and not identifying with God's word.

If you are a person of the flesh, trying to solve the problems of the flesh with fleshly methods, you are walking into a dead end. Even if you work hard, I will not appreciate it, and I don't need it. I just want to bring everyone into the blessed path. As for others, whoever wants to die in the wilderness can die in the wilderness. As for me, I must tell you God's word. Believe it if you want, don't believe it if you don't. Jehovah is our banner of victory, which is related to our internal battles.

Our battle with our fleshly selves is a fierce battle. My flesh is often put to death and then comes back to life, and I have to hold it down from time to time. According to the flesh, I have a set of preferences; according to my spirit, I have another set of preferences. I understand in my heart that when my flesh acts up, I can definitely control it, because as long as I don't identify with it, any problem can be solved. But as long as I identify with it by ten percent, I'm done, understand?

I don't want anything from people, I just want to build them up, but they go against me. Although they don't have a stone in their hand to stone me to death, they have already taken a stone in their heart and want to stone me to death! I thought to myself: "God, he is not my child, nor is he raised by me, why should I bother with him so much?" I have a lot of these voices inside me, but in the end, I will not follow my feelings, I choose to follow God's word, and serve everyone as if serving God. I am not doing it for people to see, nor am I pleasing people, but I do what God tells me to do! Do you ask if I feel wronged in my heart? I really feel wronged in my heart, serving him, building him up, and then he found a job and his life got better, but he kicked me away like an old shoe.

But even so, nothing can ever change my not implementing God's word, because I have a license to live, and I am implementing it according to the requirements of this license. I know that God is the God who makes me victorious! If I follow this feeling of being wronged, I will definitely cry. I thought about it, why let that feeling of being wronged ferment in me? I know that I have to deal with the flesh inside me.

Once, I was fighting with a demon, and it was very bad. It told me: "In fact, you also want to give up!" I told it: "According to my flesh, that's really the case. I also hate serving these people, I feel so annoyed! But I will not do it according to my flesh, I am serving according to God's word. I will use all my strength to put my flesh to death with God's help." The demon was speechless.

A person's degree of being fleshly represents whether he can live well in the world. If a person is purely fleshly, he will definitely not understand what living is all about. It's like going to work without a license, living without any rules. If you are a person of the flesh, you will have a series of logical systems. But I can work very hard, and I can also enjoy the fun of working. I am not going to please people, not asking for other people's approval after I finish. Whether others approve or not, I will just get things done. If you care too much about other people's approval, it is unlikely that you will do things well, and you will not enjoy the fun of doing things. Why do I enjoy doing things so much? Because my enjoyment lies in solving a problem, improving a method, and doing a good job.

Overcoming the Flesh Requires Implementing God's Word

There are many chaotic things in the fleshly person. Brothers and sisters, in any case, you must know for sure that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Now, make up your mind and let God's word reign in us, becoming our banner of victory! Rely on God to subdue our flesh. If your heart and bones agree with God's word, putting the flesh to death is just a snap of the fingers.

The most important thing is what do we agree with inside? If we rely on work, you will be overwhelmed as soon as the boss speaks. But God says: "The birds of the air do not sow or reap, yet the Heavenly Father feeds them." I agree with this! Because I am a treasure in God's eyes, God will never not feed me! He is our banner of victory! He is our banner of victory in subduing the flesh! Christians will definitely face internal struggles, just like the Israelites struggled with Moses.

Every fleshly person is a bully at home, acting tough only in their comfort zone. They are very capable of making themselves uncomfortable, but they have no ability to make themselves happy. Now, engrave in your heart: Jehovah is my banner of victory! From now on, no longer live by your own flesh, but live by God. Some people say: "I don't know how to trust in God?" Doing what God says is trusting in God, doing what God says! Isn't that very simple?

We not only face internal battles but also face external battles. Although the Israelites had water to drink, they still did not solve the problem of the flesh. Those who live by the flesh and do not deal with the flesh will eventually die in the wilderness. Because those who are fleshly and indulge the flesh cannot please God, and indulging the flesh is being hostile to God. Many people have made a lot of rules in their faith, but they are ineffective in putting the flesh to death. That is why we want to promote Chinese Mingding Destiny.

Because Chinese Mingding Destiny directly inherits the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul, restoring the truth to the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul: indulging the flesh is death! Today, many churches are like this: not only do pastors indulge their own flesh, but they also indulge the flesh of the congregation, and the congregation also indulges the flesh, indulging each other! They call that love. Of course, we cannot generalize. Are there any churches that do not indulge the flesh? Certainly there are.

Believing that Jehovah is the Banner of Victory

When we are pushing to deal with the flesh, the external battles are also very fierce. We will face the same situation as the Israelites of that time: Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. (See Exodus 17:8) The Amalekites were descendants of Esau, who was Jacob's twin brother. There is an Esau inside us, which is the fleshly you; there is also a Jacob, which is the spiritual you. The spiritual person will not only be persecuted internally by their own fleshly self, but will also be persecuted externally by other fleshly people, just as the Amalekites came to attack Moses.

The army of Jehovah must not only deal with its own flesh internally, but also deal with the fleshly people, the Amalekites, externally. The Israelites did not provoke them, but they came from afar to fight Israel in the wilderness, which is very strange! But all who attack God's people, God will fight against them from generation to generation, and God will curse them! All who curse Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God will curse them!

Why do we have to fight by relying on God? Because we cannot fight or win by ourselves; Jehovah God is the banner of our victory. Because we are the army of Jehovah God, trusting in Him is our best weapon! Does God not control the universe? Does God not control everything on earth? Does God not control the kingdoms of the world? I can tell you that God controls everything, truly!

God reigns in the kingdom of men. Whether you are the King of Persia, the King of Babylon, the King of Assyria, or the Emperor of the Roman Empire, you are all under God's control. Human history is directed by God! Can we not be victorious if we trust in this God who controls everything? Therefore, we must fight this battle in a spiritual way!

And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. (Exodus 17:9-13)

We fight by raising our hands in prayer! On the battlefield, it is about real swords and guns, but we rely on Jehovah God. Joshua led that group of people whose flesh had not yet been put to death to fight against the fleshly Amalekites, and they won a great victory. Were the Israelites powerful? No! It was because the Israelites had Moses! When Moses raised his hands on the mountain, they were victorious. Therefore, brothers and sisters, never say such nonsense again, such as: God, when will you heal me? God, we are all going to die of thirst! And so on. There are many Christians who say such things! Do not tempt God! Do not say: God, are you really among us? Am I really the one you have chosen? Am I the one you have called? These are all corrupting oneself; fleshly people often release lies.

It is impossible for fleshly people to fight and win by spiritual methods; spiritual people will certainly not live according to fleshly logic. We must know for sure that God is the banner of our victory, and we must declare loudly: In this generation, we will see the glory of God, and God will do great things in this generation. We must restore the truth revealed in the Bible and restore the glorious church of God. The church of God must rely on God and the banner of God to fight as never before.

Whether it is in Europe or Asia, we do not care about the evil spirits of any continent, because Jehovah God is the banner of my victory. These last days will be filled with the glory of God. God once sent the Apostle Paul to Europe and did not allow him to go to Asia because the evil spirits in Asia were too rampant and difficult to enter. But today it is our turn, and we are going to do things that surpass the Apostle Paul and surpass Jesus Christ! Some people will say: You are bold enough! But this was originally said by Jesus Christ:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. (John 14:12)

This is the will of God! Jesus preached the gospel in Jerusalem, Palestine, and the area around Israel, but never left Palestine, nor did he go to the Roman Empire. Later, the Apostle Paul went to Rome. Today, God has chosen us and sent us to fight a victorious battle in these last days! The glory of the latter days will be greater than the glory of the former days! It is exciting to think about!

Fighting by Relying on the Banner of Victory

We have spent so much effort to put our flesh to death and become the army of Jehovah God, and we have spent so much effort to fight and win, defeating so many evil spirits, including old Marx. There may be even greater demons next, but it does not matter; we enjoy this kind of battle. Always remember: The fleshly is cursed by God. A fleshly person values what their own hands have done. Brothers and sisters must clearly know that showing off what you have done with your own hands is living by the sword in your hand, which is an Amalekite and is cursed. If you have seen through life and death, would you still care about showing off what you have done? No! That little thing is meaningless. Do not rely on the sword in your hand or on fleshly things anymore; that is not the license of life. Without the license of life, the flesh is a mortal flesh. The nature of the flesh is mortality.

If you think you are great after doing something, you are walking into the flesh. Therefore, a spiritual person lives by the blessing of God! I am nothing, but God has shown me grace; this is living by the grace of God. Everything we do is the grace of God. I am but an unprofitable servant; I have only done what I should have done. What is there to show off or be proud of? What is the need to be affirmed by others?

You may be a little confused: Do I not need God's affirmation? What God affirms is not what we do, but our heart that trusts in Him. Therefore, no matter what we do, we do not rely on our own intelligence; in all things, we rely solely on my God. Jehovah God is the banner of my victory. Brothers and sisters, the current state of our church that you can see is because we have walked out of it by trusting in God in the darkness for many days in the past. If you are in darkness, the Spirit of God will move there, and this period of darkness will become an extremely beautiful creation!

We say in our hearts: God! Whether it is the external Amalekites or the internal fleshly self, by relying on you, I can certainly be victorious! So your gospel, your salvation, is the gospel of victory, the salvation of victory! By relying on you, there is no failure! What does it mean to be unable to control it? You can definitely control it! I just trust in you, I do not care about death, I put down my face, nothing is important except God!

A few days ago, I ministered to a sister who cared very much about whether she did something herself. If she did not do it herself, she would feel very embarrassed. As a result, she was terribly messed up by the demon. I clearly saw that the demon wanted to kill her. How could that be allowed? I will not abandon any of those whom God has entrusted to me. Whether my flesh likes it or not, I live on this earth by relying on the word of God and holding the license of life, and this license is the license of victory.

Thank God, if not for the power of this gospel, who could be saved? Who could come out of the flesh? It is because the power of this gospel lets us know for sure that the power of God is beyond our imagination, but it can be released through our faith! Trust in Him, trust in Him well, no longer trust in ourselves, and it is difficult not to live out the good and not to live out the victory! Victory is very easy, as long as you trust in God. Clean out the garbage in our minds and thoughts, so that the devil has nothing in us. What face, what relying on ourselves, what doing it ourselves is glorious, etc., these are not important! What is important is that I want to rely on God!

May God raise up a mighty army in this generation, far exceeding the people of Israel in Exodus, all of whom are the army of God who have put their flesh to death, and put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit! From now on, we no longer live by ourselves, but by the Lord Jesus who has won victory for us. How the Lord Jesus won victory, so shall we win victory! I say it again: By relying on the Lord Jesus and the banner of Jehovah God, it is difficult not to be victorious! This is the simple rule of victory.

Let us declare again: Jehovah is the banner of my victory! Amen! May God bless everyone!