Quote from Forum Archives on May 17, 1998, 11:10 pm

Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>

Standing Shoulder To Shoulder in the Trenches,
Encouraging One Another as we "Fight the Good Fight"

Title: "LORD, BUTCHER THE FLESH!"

Dear Fellow Soldier:

It is good to share with you again today. I have thought of many of you
often over the past few days and wondered just how you were doing. I
pray that last week was all that you needed and this week will be all you
can imagine. This new one has gotten off to a great start for us.
Yesterday morning Jo Ann and I had the privilege of sharing musically,
along with my father, in the church where our son-in-law Jim pastors.

Then that afternoon Dad and I had the special honor of participating in
his ordination service. It was a very unique day. I had asked you to
pray for that event and all involved, and I know some of you did ---- it
was obvious. God presenced Himself in a special way. Dad had some very
special things to say as he gave the charge to Jim; God put some
specific things in my heart to share with the church as I gave the charge
to them.

It was a great day as we saw the launch of a third consecutive family
generation in vocational ministry.

So, thanks for praying.

TO THE MAIN THING:

Last week I also mentioned in my prayer requests that you pray for the
commissioning service being held for our mission team to Croatia and
other teams being sent out to various parts of the world ---- Wisconsin,
Canada, China, New Mexico, Haiti, Africa, Belarus, Bahamas. Teams went
earlier to Houston, Jamaica, and Padre Island during Spring break. A
team is scheduled for Egypt in January.

I had asked you to pray that the service would be one of high praise and
worship, and of real vision.

It was more than that. It was more than can be contained in words ----
when God shows up, human minds cannot conceive it, and the human
vocabulary cannot describe it.

It is one thing to have a service without the presence of God; it is
another to know He is there because of His promised "internal" presence,
and even His "corporate" presence because two or more are gathered
together.

It is altogether another world, however, when He decides to visit with
His "atmospheric" presence. In the more than 42 years of ministry, I
have seen that happen perhaps twenty or thirty times. When you consider
that means only thirty times in an estimated 7,350 to 7,500 services,
such experiences are unfortunately rare.

Three moments stood out in my mind in extraordinary "bold print" last
Monday, one of which was the prayer offered by a young lady named Leslie.
She had been asked by the commissioning service organizers to pray that
God would give every team member a servant's heart and a spirit of
humility.

She began by saying something like this. "It is ironic that I have been
asked to pray for humility since I have such a struggle with pride." At
that moment she began to weep.

As she expressed her heart to the Father through broken sentences, she
finally came out with the statement that genuinely revealed her deepest
desire.

"Lord Jesus, ---- take the flesh ---- in each one of us, ---- and
butcher it!"

"TAKE THE FLESH . . . AND BUTCHER IT!"

No matter what the so-called theological implications to Leslie's prayer
may be, no clearer need of the believer's heart has been more graphically
defined.

I want to examine three aspects of that concept:
1. Defining the flesh ---- what is it?
2. Describing the flesh ---- what is it like?
3. Destroying the flesh ---- how to master it.

1. DEFINING THE FLESH ---- what is it?

I think we recognize that it is more than the bones and muscle tissue of
the body. In fact, only two times in the entire New Testament is such a
word used ---- Kre'as, meaning "meat". All other times, at least 142,
the word Sarx is used. Sometimes it meant the meat of an animal; but in
every case where it referred to humans, it was a direct reference to the
part of man outside of his spirit ---- his body, his mind, his will ----
as a part of the make up of his humanity. In other words, it referred
most to basic depraved human nature with all its physical, emotional,
intellectual, volitional, and spiritual limitations, flaws, and
corruption.

One of the best definitions I've ever heard was from the late Miss Bertha
Smith, pioneering missionary to China in the early part of the Twentieth
Century before communism took the country.

She instructed us in a conference one time to take the letters of
"Flesh", remove the "h" and reverse the other letters ---- S-E-L-F ! The
flesh is S-E-L-F ! ---- from which we get words such as selfish, self
centered, self exalting, self serving, . . . .

That, my friend, is the Flesh in its true colors ---- S-E-L-F !

What is the flesh? It is the attitude and activity of a human being set
on being in control, and therefore, subsequently in direct rebellion to
the person, nature, and purposes of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the
carnal mind expressing its inate root characteristics that cannot be
denied. It was born at the base of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.

To the Christian, it is also described as being carnally minded. The
word carnal is an interesting word, as well. It basically means to be a
saved person thinking and acting like a lost person. What a despicable
picture ---- a born-again believer living the Christian life as if he
were NOT a Christian ---- living a spiritual relationship in the energy
of the flesh! What an offense to the Lord Jesus Christ!

When Leslie said, "Lord Jesus, take the flesh in each one of us, and
butcher it!", she was confessing first her awareness of the overwhelming
rebellious power of human nature, second her deep compelling desire to be
free from its influence, and third her honest admission that she did not
have the capacity to deal with it successfully in an appropriate manner.

2. DESCRIBING THE FLESH ---- what is it like?

+ In turning to Scripture and letting it speak for itself, we find the
following facts about the flesh:

+ While the spirit is ready and willing, but the flesh is weak regarding
giving in to temptation (Mark 14:38).

+ The Holy Spirit gives life, but the flesh profits absolutely nothing
(Jn 6:63).

+ Discerning and judging by the flesh is totally unreliable and worthless
(John 8:15).

+ No flesh of any kind or any value will be capable of being justified in
Christ's sight (Rom 3:20).

+ When operating in the flesh, all sinful passions aroused by the law are
at work with the intent of producing death (Rom 7:5).

+ In the flesh there is absolutely no good thing to be found (Rom 7:18).

+ The flesh is "programmed" to automatically serve the law of sin (Rom
7:25).

+ The sin of the flesh has been condemned by the death of Christ (Rom
8:3).

+ Those operating in the flesh will automatically set their minds on
things of the flesh (Rom 8:5).

+ It is impossible for anyone operating in the flesh to please God, or
even hope to (Rom 8:8).

+ If you are living according to the flesh, the result is spiritual death
and deadness (Rom 8:12).

+ Making provision for the flesh concerning its lusts is not allowed for
the believer (Rom 13:14).

+ The flesh defiles the believer, and that fact requires that we cleanse
ourselves from it (II Cor 7:1).

+ It is impossible for something begun by the Holy Spirit to be
maintained by the flesh (Gal 3:3).

+ Unless we are highly discerning, our freedom in Christ will be
interpreted as an opportunity for fleshly carnality (Gal 5:13).

+ It is impossible to fulfill the lusts of the flesh if you're walking in
the Spirit (Gal 5:16).

+ The flesh lusts in complete opposition to the Spirit, and they compete
as mortal enemies, which they are (Gal 5:17).

+ The deeds of the flesh are evident ---- immorality, impurity,
sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of
anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing,
etc. (Gal 5:18-21).

+ The fruit of investing in fleshly lusts is corruption (Gal 6:8).

+ Living under the lusts of the flesh results in our becoming children of
wrath and anger (Eph 2:3).

+ There is a sinister force behind the flesh which is the actual object
of our battle (Eph 6:12).

My dear brother, one of the most heartbreaking facts of this world is
that the Church, the Body of Jesus Christ, is permeated with evidences of
the flesh. So much of what we do in the name of Christ is either born
of, carried out by, or done for the motives of the flesh. How can we
ever expect God to honor such things? I am deeply fearful that most of
what we do in the name of Christ will end up as enormous piles of wood,
hay, and stubble, while the gold, silver and precious stones will be far
less than expected or desired.

There is something, however, that we can do about that.

3. DESTROYING THE FLESH ---- what to do with it?

Butcher it!

Now I remember butchering season as a young boy back on the farm in
southern Illinois. My sixty-year-old mind still sees the vivid process
---- and it's not a pretty scene. So you can imagine what went through
my mind when Leslie prayed that Jesus "Butcher" the flesh. It was a
total threat to the entire "Self" of me. Not a single portion or
compartment of my life can escape.

My uncle and grandfather would select the right hog and drive it into a
fenced corner of the hog lot. During that process the hog would try,
sometimes successfully, to escape. But the persistence of the pursuers
always prevailed ---- an interesting thought; the "Pursuer" will not give
up on you and me when it comes to crucifixion.

To the unknowing hog, up to now the process has been more inconvenience
tinged with a little fear than anything else. He had no idea what lay
ahead.

But, then, ---- they would lay their hands on him, grab him, take him
captive, and hold him down. The struggles and squeals would mount, but
it was useless. On occasion the hog might temporarily escape, all the
more terrified and more determined to remain free, but it was only a
matter of time. To you, I say as well, no matter how you struggle or
argue, you're going to eventually be dragged to the butchering shed. The
"hounds of heaven" maintain a steady gait on the trail of a pursued soul.

Then, while my uncle and grandfather held the hog down, our farmer
neighbor George Crouse would quietly raise the single-shot 22 Winchester,
take extremely careful aim, and wait for the hog to stop his struggles.
At the precise moment of his silence, George would refine his aim,
release the safety, pull the trigger, and the gun would fire! And all
"Hog" would break loose! Though the fatal wound had been inflicted,
there would yet be such a final desperate reaction as to make the earlier
resistance seem like play time in Kindergarten.

God, in His patience and loving kindness, waits until we come to the end
of ourselves and our struggles, and then brings to bear against our flesh
the mighty cross of Christ. Then what a battle we wage! But, dear
friend, the death is impending. Our struggles are nothing more than
death throes as the flesh makes a last gasp effort to hang onto itself.

But that is just the beginning.

In order to be sure death is certain, my uncle would take a huge butcher
knife (that's where the name came from) and thrust it deep behind the ear
of the hog, severing the jugular vein. Blood would spurt everywhere with
each remaining involuntary heartbeat as the hog's life ebbed away. The
struggles would cease, quietness would prevail, and the body lay
lifeless.

My grandfather would say something like, "Whew! That was rough!"

Still yet, the actual butchering has not yet begun. This has all been
preparation ---- necessary preparation.

Next, they would drag the hog (with horses or a tractor if he was really
big) over to the fire where my aunt Katie had filled the big black iron
kettle with water heated on the wood fire over the hours to a steaming
boil. It was time to "scald" the hog.

Struggling to place the hog into a big wooden barrel, they would
continue the process by pouring buckets of scalding hot water over the
hog, and then begin scraping the hide with wire brushes and the blades of
heavy knives, removing all the hair from its body.

Finally, ---- after being chased, captured, held down, shot, stabbed,
scalded, and scraped ---- the actual butchering began.

The next step was to slit the belly of the hog from top to bottom and
remove all the organs that helped produce, maintain, and regenerate life.
At that point the remotest hope of future life was definitively
eliminated once and for all.

All that was left was a carcass.

That's all that was needed. In fact, that's all that was wanted. As
long as the hog was living, he was a costly liability. A live hog drains
your resources. Dead ones provide resources.

You see, as the carcass was butchered into cuts of meat, ground into
sausage, put into the lard press out of which came lard and "cracklins",
the skin tanned, and even the "squeal" preserved, something extraordinary
took place ---- LIFE!

That's absolutely right. LIFE! Meat for food, skin for clothing or
harness, came out of the butchering process. So, when Paul says, "I have
been crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live . . ." he is declaring
absolute truth.

You see, my friend, that's the whole purpose of crucifixion! Because we
are all created to have and enjoy life, and yet the flesh can do neither,
something has to be done. That which is standing in the way of life must
be removed. The only way for that to happen to by execution crucifixion
style ---- "butcher the flesh!"

THE KEY:

Now here is where we come to the real issue.

The butchering process has already been done by the "Master Butcher"!
Paul declared that "our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of
sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;"
(Rom 6:6). Again he declared, "I have been crucified with Christ . . ."
(Gal 2:20).

The rub comes when we, because of the trickery of Satan, conclude that
this crucifixion was either ineffective, incomplete, or reversed in our
case. As a result, we assume we will again operate in the flesh, we give
up hope, and settle for bondage and misery in our walk with Christ. This
produces inconsistency, instability, and a lack lustre settlement for
less than God ever intended for His children.

It is important for us to recognize that all the scripture which tells us
our old self was crucified, approaches it as a judicially enacted past
event that was settled once and for all time. Just as it is with the
availability of our salvation, so it is with the flesh. It was on the
same cross where our sins were dealt with that the flesh was as well.

How, then, do we make that past crucifixion of the flesh current today?
In the very same way we do our salvation. Our salvation was secured some
2,000 years ago. So was the crucifixion of our self life.

How did you receive your salvation? By simple faith in the
trustworthiness of God and His Word. You do the same thing concerning
the flesh.

Admit it. You're a dead man! And like Paul, by faith you "die daily".

Now Satan lies to you about that fact. But you must resist his lies.
You must stand on the truth and declare it to the spirit world in the
heavenlies.

There are some things my friend Jim Hylton said years ago about dead men.
1) They never react to circumstances and conditions around them.
2) They never strike back when attacked or offended.
3) They have no further plans of their own.

What Leslie was really saying was, "Lord, I know I'm 'dead meat' already.
I know I've been crucified with Christ already. I choose to accept that
truth because You said so. I yield, therefore, to the Holy Spirit's
control, Who will enable me to live dead. All I ask is that you update
and upgrade that long-ago crucifixion day by day. Thank you for your
faithfulness to remind me I'm already butchered, and keep me aware of it
every moment of every day."

FINALLY:

In the past I have referred to a great revival that broke out in 1966 in
the town of West Plains, MO ---- one that lasted nearly three years.
During that time I was introduced to many wonderful books, articles, and
tracts. From one of those, which one I cannot remember, came the
following:

"Lord, bend and break this stiff-necked "I";
Help me bow my head and die.
Bend me to the shape of "C",
Beholding Him on Calvary."

May you and I ever remember the corruption of the flesh, the reality of
its death, and the necessity of our updating it day by day. Let our
prayer be "Lord Jesus, remind me I've been butchered and I'm dead to sin,
the flesh, legalistic performance, and the world. And, my life is in You
and You alone. It is in You that I live, move and have my being."

My friend, may you and I both, on this day, fully live totally dead.

In Christ's Bond,

Bob Tolliver
Copyright May, 1998. All rights reserved. Permission granted to share
this article with appropriate credits with anyone whom you feel may
benefit from its content.

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