“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:5-7)
In the scriptures mentioned above God is not talking about carnal actions for you can do carnal actions and not be carnally minded. Let me give you an example: you can look after your children, but you are not obsessed with it in your mind, Jesus is still first. You must love your children, but if you put them before Jesus, then God is going to catch up with you. So, “to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Why? Because the carnal mind does not operate under the law of God. The law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. If we live and operate under the law of life, we will break the natural laws that pertain to our natural realm. Let us see if we can understand it.
There was a time in my life when I didn’t understand this principle. I began to fast and pray but I really didn’t want to live. I just didn’t want to live in this world anymore. I wanted to be with Jesus. I wanted to go home. As a young Christian, I didn’t see any work for me here. I felt that someone else could preach salvation. In other words, my soul was so longing after God that I hated the world. I stopped eating for 21 days and was crying to God, “God I want all of you now! I want to be perfect! I want to be like Enoch! I want to be like Elijah!” When I broke the fast on the 21st day, I felt as though I had committed a sin. And so I went back on fasting for three more days – this time no eating or drinking water. In these three days as my soul cried out for God, I was kneeling down praying and my head began to knock against something. It was like I was far gone. I gradually began to come to the realization that my forehead was knocking on something. “Why is my forehead knocking on something if I’m kneeling down on the floor at my bed?” I thought to myself. And then I became frightened. I opened my eyes and… Where do you think I was? In the ceiling! God had so permeated my mind that the natural law let loose of me and I was in the ceiling, knocking my head on it. I tell you there was never a man more frightened than I was. Immediately, I came out of the Spirit. I was so frightened that when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the floor. For years I wouldn’t tell anybody. Yet, I understood what happened to Enoch.
When you are in a certain condition in the Spirit, whatever you desire from God, it happens. If you desire to go and be with Him forever, that’s it. He would take you. But it is not God’s perfect will for you. God’s perfect will for you is that you overcome the devil. For God has never had a man overcome the devil. Only Jesus did it and now God is waiting for us to do it that we might be conformed to the image of His Son.
