Natural, Carnal or Spiritual: Locate Yourself and Grow Up

Sermon outline

Know who God is speaking to in Scripture and who you are in Christ, then locate yourself honestly and grow out of carnality into a spiritual man or woman who rests in God.

1. Citizens of Zion speak the language of Zion

   The citizens of Zion take hold of God's promises with their words, so a born-again believer should not say 'I'm sick'. Saying no to sickness is not denying that it exists but denying its power to have dominion over you. It takes revelation from the Spirit, not just the letter, to believe this.

   Illustration: He thanks God for doctors, who do a marvellous job, but says that when a doctor gives up on you, your faith is not in the doctor's hands but in the Word of God.

   “The presence of a symptom in your body is not proof that that disease exists.”

   • Isaiah 33:20-24
   • 2 Corinthians 3:6
   • Ephesians 1:18
   • Mark 11:23-24

2. God sees three categories of people: the Jew, the Gentile and the church of God

   From Genesis to Revelation God deals with only three groups, and much that was written to Israel or to the Gentile nations does not apply to the church. Believers mix it all up and neglect what is written to them, mostly in Paul's epistles. So there is no need to tarry for the Holy Spirit, who was poured out at Pentecost and has never left the earth.

   Illustration: The disciples tarried in the upper room until the Spirit came like tongues of fire, and Peter explained it as what Joel had prophesied. That has been done, so waiting for it again is not Scripture.

   “Tarrying for something that has already been given is wrong.”

   • 1 Corinthians 10:32
   • Acts 2:3-4
   • Acts 2:13-17
   • Joel 2:28
   • 2 Timothy 2:15

3. I hail from God: think like a new creation

   Meditate on what the Bible says about the church, because that is what pertains to you. You are born of the incorruptible seed of the Word, a new creature whose old origin is gone, a living stone seated with Christ in heavenly places. You must reprogram your mind to think of who you really are.

   Illustration: An ambassador lives in one country but represents another government and another kingdom. People can see and touch him, but a power from God is working inside him.

   “I'm born of God. I hail from God. I'm a new species of being.”

   • Romans 8:37
   • Philippians 4:13
   • 1 John 4:4
   • John 1:13
   • 1 Peter 1:23
   • John 1:1
   • 2 Corinthians 5:17
   • 1 Peter 2:5
   • Ephesians 2:6
   • John 17:16
   • 2 Corinthians 5:20

4. Paul divides man into three: the natural man, the carnal man and the spiritual man

   The natural man is not born again and cannot understand spiritual things. The carnal man is born again but is still a baby Christian, sometimes for ten or twenty years, ruled by his senses and circumstances so that his joy is always being stolen. The spiritual man is developed in the things of God, and his spirit rules over his mind, body and senses.

   Illustration: At work, colleagues talk about parties and ladies' night while the spiritually minded believer talks about prayer meeting and how good God has been, and the two cannot understand each other.

   “A carnal Christian is governed by his body.”

   • 1 Corinthians 2:14
   • Nehemiah 8:10
   • 1 Peter 2:24

5. Baby Christians are crabby and talkative: study to be quiet

   Like small children, baby Christians are irritable and talk on and on about everything they are doing. The Bible says to study to be quiet, because the Lord is speaking. When the Word is preached, soberly locate yourself in it so you can make the adjustments and move on from where you are.

   Illustration: In company where everyone is chattering, he often goes quiet because God is speaking to him, and by the end of the conversation he already has his message for the next day.

   “I've trained myself how to be quiet and still.”

   • 1 Thessalonians 4:11

6. They that are in the flesh cannot please God

   Earthly wisdom brings envy and strife, but the wisdom from above is pure and peaceable. Just as faith is the only thing that gets God's attention, operating in the flesh by natural human effort cannot please Him. Many sincere believers must first unlearn years of religious false doctrine, and even habits like reading the stars, before they can receive the undiluted Word.

   Illustration: When he first picked up a Bible he could not understand any of it, but the day he was born again it started to jump off the page and make sense.

   “All of us need to grow out of carnality.”

   • James 3:14-18
   • Romans 8:7-9
   • Hebrews 11:6
   • Romans 10:17
   • James 1:22
   • Romans 8:28

7. Walk not in the vanity of your mind: rest in God

   God called you out of darkness by mercy when you were at your worst, so He will not dump you now that you serve Him. Stop demanding that He undo in five minutes what took years to tangle, and stop testing Him with fleeces or 'He loves me, He loves me not'. Go back to His Word, which says He will never leave you nor forsake you, and learn to relax in His love.

   Illustration: A preacher on TV told of Red Cross workers stranded in a war zone by a puncture on their armoured vehicle. An army vehicle passed them and went ahead, and the next day they heard it had hit a landmine. What looks like a setback may be God saving you from something.

   “Do you think that he saved you to dump you?”

   • Ephesians 2:1-3
   • Colossians 1:13
   • 1 Corinthians 1:28
   • Ephesians 4:17
   • 1 Corinthians 6:20
   • Judges 6:36-40
   • Hebrews 13:5

8. Keep your joy: answer bad news with praise

   Some are under tremendous pressure and losing their joy and peace, but the joy of the Lord is your strength. He gives the church something to practise: every time bad news comes, say 'Praise the Lord' and expect something good. Drive yourself to rejoice, because Christ is in you and you are strong in the Lord.

   “If you lose your joy, you've lost your strength.”

   • Nehemiah 8:10
   • Philippians 4:4
   • Ephesians 6:10