Spirit Spectrum (Part 2)

Galatians 5:17- "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other..." God made man- Spirit, Soul and Body. The real man is the Spirit man; man has a soul, which functions as the battlefield between the spirit and the flesh. The flesh refers to the sinful tendencies that the body is naturally inclined towards.

1Thessalonians 5:5 says "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness". There is such a broad spectrum in the spirit where the human spirit can occupy, based on choices and decisions made. The spectrum consists of three strata: -The Dark Stratum- Children of the Night -The Grey Stratum- Children of Dawn/ Twilight -The Light Stratum- Children of the Day The aim of this article is to help readers locate where they are in the Spirit Spectrum and help them get to, and stay at a vantage point in the spectrum. The dark stratum was discussed in the 1st Part of this series. In this 2nd part, we'll go on to talk about the grey stratum. THE GREY STRATUM The grey stratum actually consists of two distinct, mutually exclusive (but similar) strata: -Children of Twilight: In actual fact, they are children of darkness. They may however have 'strong' moral beliefs and high moral standards of living. -Children of Dawn: These are children of light, but whose lives have a tint of darkness. They allow the flesh to get the better part of them and/or lack proper understanding of how to appropriate their salvation. As a result, they have similar challenges, experiences and manifestations as unbelievers. The Children of dawn and the Children of twilight may have thesame travails and may be in similar circumstances, nonetheless, while the children of twilight have a hopeless end, children of dawn are offered an endless hope. There are three groups of people in the grey stratum: 1. The Carnal Romans 8:7-8 "...the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" The above verse describes the children of twilight in this category, they may be doing their best not to harm other human beings and may be full of many good works, yet their lives are not pleasing to God; they only endeavour to satisfy their [already compromised] conscience, not to please God. As for the children of dawn in this category, the Corinthian Church in the Bible had quite a number of them. This is evident from Apostle Paul's letter to them. 1 Corinthians 3:1, 3- "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men" You can see that though they were 'brethren', yet they refused to grow up and mature, they kept doing the works of the flesh, rather than yield fruits of the Spirit. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19- 21). The identification tag for carnal men are the works of the flesh. When a man consistently does ANY of the things stated in Galatians 5: 19-21 as quoted above, he's a carnal man, and even if he claims to be 'born again', his life is not pleasing to God, and Bible says he shall not inherit the kingdom of God. There is however a way out; Bible says "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans 8:1, 6) A change of mind (from being carnally minded to being spiritually minded), as simple as it sounds, is the way out. This change of mind is otherwise called repentance- genuine repentance! 2. The Oppressed These are men whose body, life and/or things (e.g health, finances, job, marriage e.t.c) is/are being attacked, assaulted or afflicted by demons 'contrary to their own will'. Children of twilight don't stand the ghost of a chance against demonic attacks, assaults and afflictions. They are left helpless and hopeless. See how the Bible describes their state: "...without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). On the contrary, children of dawn in this category are only being cheated by the devil due to their lack of growth and their inadequate understanding of their rights as children of light. Such is the case of the woman in Luke 13: 10-16. See what Jesus said about her: "And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be LOOSED from this bond...?" (Luke 13:16). 3. The Obsessed These men due to their carnal mindedness have gotten themselves to a place where their mind has been captivated by a demon spirit. Obsession is such a compelling force that can drive an individual to any evil act. It comes as a negative thought or suggestion that the individual finds impossible to resist. See how Paul, the Apostle described the state of an obsessed man: "For the good which I have a mind to do, I do not: but the evil which I have no mind to do, that I do. But if I do what I have no mind to do, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin living in me. In my heart I take pleasure in the law of God, But I see another law in my body, working against the law of my mind, and making me the servant of the law of sin which is in my flesh. How unhappy [wretched] am I! who will MAKE ME FREE from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:19-20, 22-24). It is evident from the Scriptures quoted above (Luke 13: 16 & Romans 7: 16) that the oppressed and the obsessed need to be loosed and made free. Here comes the question, as asked by Paul, "Who shall make me free?" To answer this question, I will quote another portion of the Scriptures; This is Jesus speaking in the passage below: "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. (Luke 11:20- 22). Yes, satan is a strongman that wouldn't readily release his captives, but Jesus is that man Stronger than he! These are the scriptural recommendations for men in the grey stratum who no longer want to remain there: -Genuine Repentance -Deliverance If you want to embrace God's endless hope offered to mankind, what you need is genuine repentance. To do so, say this short prayer. If you have noticed any form of oppression or obsession in your life, you need to be delivered! My Father, Rev. Olusola Areogun has taught that the yoke can be broken in three ways: -Through the Anointing (Isaiah 10:27). -Through the word of God renewing your mind (Romans 12: 1-2). -Through Holy Living. (James 4:7). Get these three factors into your life, renew your mind with the word of God, and live daily by His word. Having done these, you must with your own words resist the devil and his operations in your life and get the anointing to break the yoke off your life and experiences. God bless you as you do so.

#Exhortation #DeeperDepths #RevTemiloluwaAliu