Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How to Overcome Your Inner Enemy—audio video. Our wrong thinking counterbalances the extraordinary. Of course, the enemy of exceptional is ordinary. Certainly, this is an attempt by the enemy to neutralize. Furthermore, the enemy is the carnal mind. As a matter of fact, the carnal mind will neutralize us, making us no longer extraordinary.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
by Delbert Young
Audio
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Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
Scriptures: Romans 8:6, Romans 8:7
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WATCH SERMON VIDEO
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(The following is a portion of this message.)
Are we neutralized?
Now, the enemy of the exceptional is ordinary.
Let me talk about the enemy. When I’m talking about the enemy, I’m not talking about a big red dragon that’s coming out of the sea out there. I’m not talking about this big-horned, fork-tailed guy with a pitchfork. That’s not what I’m talking about. That is not your enemy. There is no devil in the kingdom.
Now, do I believe in a devil? Yes, I believe in one. But he doesn’t fool with me unless I give him a place. Because in the kingdom of God, there is no devil. And when you’re walking in the kingdom, your only enemy is you because the kingdom of God is not out there. Where is the kingdom? It’s within you. And so we allow the enemy into our lives.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
Now, what is the enemy?
If the enemy is not the devil, then what is my enemy? What does the Bible say is my enemy? What is it that I really have to fight with and struggle with? And what is it that I wrestle with? Talk to me, somebody.
I wrestle with my carnal mind. Because the Bible says, my carnal mind wants to kill me. The Bible says my carnal mind wants to bring me to death. The Bible says that there’s an enmity between my carnal mind and the Spirit. The Spirit wants to bring me life and that more abundantly. But my carnal mind wants to destroy me. And if I allow my carnal mind to neutralize me, I am no longer exceptional. I’m neutered.
The enemy of exceptional is just becoming ordinary. If you simply are ordinary, you cannot be exceptional. Your carnal mind will want you and me to just be accepted, to just fit in, just want people to like us. And when we do that, when we fit in, when we want people to like us, what we have done is neutralize ourselves. And what Jesus says about this is that you’re no good for the kingdom. I’m
going to show you that the enemy of exceptional is ordinary.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
My carnal mind wants me to be ordinary.
If he can just make me an ordinary pastor, if he can just have us be an ordinary church, then we’re not exceptional. What has our struggle been the whole time, all 15 years? We’ve been different. The struggle is to make us just like everybody else, to do it like they do it. And I refuse to be ordinary. Because if you’re ordinary, you’re neutralized, and you’ve lost your saltiness, and you allow your carnal mind to bring you to death.
Romans 8:6-7 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 chapter 8, verse 6 says, for to be carnally minded is what? Is death. But to be spiritually minded is what? 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.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
My carnal mind will never like God, will never like the things of the Spirit. I have to circumcise my mind. I have to renew my mind, and I have to bring my mind into subjection to the Spirit. Because there is a fight going on within this temple, an enmity, and I can’t blame it on the devil, though I wished I could. I used to. Who was it that had the television program that said, “The devil made me do it”? That was Flip Wilson. The devil made me do it. And that is the byline of Christians today. The devil made me do it. No, the devil can’t make you do anything.
The only thing that can stop me from being successful is who? Me. T
he only thing that can stop you, the only person that can stop you from being successful, is who? You. Do you know why? You want to fit in. And
you’ll be neutralized. See, you can be a Daniel in Babylon and still affect your society.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
The Kingdom of God isn’t out there. The Kingdom of God is in here. Jesus was approached by the Pharisees
demanding of him, tell us when your kingdom will come. This is how I know it’s not the devil. Listen, don’t worry about Y2K. That’s all wrong. You’ll see. Don’t worry about a great tribulation. It’s not going to happen. You’ll see. Don’t worry. Don’t worry about a rapture or missing the rapture. It’s not
going to happen the way most teach it, which is very shortly.
Either I’m really off base here, or I’m correct because the kingdom of God that they keep talking about and expecting to come won’t come from out there.
Luke 17:20-21 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Jesus, when he was demanded, when will this kingdom come what did he say? They wanted to know when’s it going to happen? When he was demanded by the Pharisees and demanded by the religious system, what did he say? He said, guys, you got it all wrong. It doesn’t come with observation. It’s not something you’re going to see. Neither shall they say, lo here, or lo there. For behold, say it with me. – “The kingdom of God is within you.” That’s what Jesus said.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
And you can get allupset about Y2K, and get all worried about a tribulation, and then worry about the rapture. But folks, you’re wasting your time. You’re wasting your energy when you should be focusing on the things of the kingdom. Focusing on overcoming those things that are trying to hold you back, which is basically your carnal mind. Putting those things under your feet, becoming successful, and
prosperous in the kingdom.
Are you with me so far? What is the enemy? Your mind is your number one enemy. What is the enemy of being exceptional? Being ordinary. Simply, being ordinary. Now, I want to talk about this. The carnal mind demands that we become ordinary. Your carnal mind demands that you become ordinary. You want to be liked. You want your boss to like you. Of course, you want your spouse to like you. You want your family to like you. You want the people at the church to like you. So, you want this one to like you.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
I’m telling you, you want to fit in. You can’t fit in and be exceptional. If you fit in, that means you’ve become just like them. Come on, and you’ve become ordinary. But by becoming ordinary, I neutralize my ability to be exceptional. Do you agree with that?
And here’s what Jesus says. Jesus said it this way about becoming neutralized or neutered, and you have to remember who he’s talking to here. Is he talking to everybody? In the Sermon on the Mount, is Jesus talking to the crowd, or is he talking to the exceptional ones?
Matthew chapter five, verses one and two, says this.
(KJV) Matthew 5:1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him,
(ESV) Matthew 5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
He took them upon the mount, sat down, and began teaching them, saying. What Jesus did here on the Sermon on the Mount is he took his disciples up onto a hillside, and he began to spend time with them and began teaching them, saying this wasn’t a word for everybody. He was not teaching the multitude here. He had his exceptional people there. How many exceptional people do we have here? Would you raise your hand if you think you’re, yeah, you’re exceptional? I’m telling you, you’re fearfully and wonderfully made. You are something important in the kingdom of God.
And Jesus took these guys upon the mount. He sat down, began teaching them, saying, and he began to expound the things of the kingdom of God to them. He came to this point. I try to envision and allow the Spirit of the Lord to help me get a better idea of what’s happening.
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
So, I see Jesus sitting down with his disciples, eating a meal with them, and perhaps reaching in and pulling out a little salt bag and begin salting his food and using this as an illustration. And he says to them, you are the salt. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost his savor, again, he’s taking salt and he’s making it a person, the salt has lost his savor. Wherewith shall it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing.
If the salt is neutralized, if the salt has no savor anymore, if the salt has no usefulness anymore, what good is it? Why waste your time sprinkling it? If it’s not going to flavor that meat, if we’re not going to flavor our city, if we’re not going to flavor this region, if we’re not going to make a difference at work, if we’re not going to make a difference with our family, what good are we to him?
You’re the salt. You’re the exceptional, and you’re the difference. And as you are salt wherever we go, we’re going to leave here in a few minutes and go all over this area. Our purpose is to go forth and flavor it and salt it for the kingdom. If we’re not doing it, woe unto us. Because it’s not good for anything except to be what? Trodden under the feet of men.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
Why are there so many beaten-down, sad believers and Christians today? Why are so many believers so bound up in all sorts of different stuff? Tell me why are they so downtrodden, so sad, looking for a rapture to escape rather than having to overcome? Why are they so beaten up? Why is this? Because they’ve lost their flavor, and all they can do is be trodden on, walked on by men.
Now, Daniel was neutralized, or they thought they had neutralized him. But he did some things that demanded that he maintain his stability and his saltiness. Daniel was exceptional. The Bible speaks of Daniel and says he had an excellent spirit. It talks about Daniel and says he had excellent wisdom. Do you know why? There’s a reason. He prayed. That was one thing. I’ll talk about that when we get to the book of Daniel. Jesus says that if we lose our saltiness, we’re not good for the kingdom.
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
Carnal Mind: Are We Neutralized? How To Overcome Your Inner Enemy
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