— Fasting Doesn't Kill The Flesh (Sin Nature) © Caleb Eleojo It might sound a bit crazy… but if you’ve been following for a while, you know I wouldn’t share this without reason. So stay with me. Galatians 3:3 (ERV) || “You began your life in Christ with the Spirit. Now do you try to complete it by your own power? That is foolish”. Put simply anything the Spirit starts in us cannot be finished by our own efforts. Trying to do so would be pure folly, right? So let's consider the scripture below; Colossians 2:11 (ERV) “In Christ you had a different kind of circumcision, one that was not done by human hands. That is, you were made free from the power of your sinful self. That is the kind of circumcision Christ does”. Jesus Christ freed us from the power of our sinful selves (the flesh) and here's a picture of this — imagine a massive tree, its roots sunk deep into the earth, unshakable. Then someone comes along and severs it at the roots. The tree is now free to move, but it will take time to move it. Now this is exactly what Jesus did when He freed us from the power of the flesh (sin nature). But in context to Galatians 3:3, Jesus started the work of dealing with the flesh (sin nature) and this leads to a logical question, “can we finish this work on our own?!” Let's consider the scripture below, Galatians 5:17 (ERV) || “The sinful self wants what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against the sinful self. They are always fighting against each other, so that you don’t do what you really want to do”. The Holy Spirit wars against the flesh (sin nature) — and here's what Jesus said, “The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me by telling you what he receives from me” — John 16: 14 (ERV) In other words, the Spirit warring against the flesh (sin nature) is a continuation of where Jesus stopped. Because the scripture above tells us that the Holy Spirit will bring glory to Jesus Christ — by continuing what Jesus started. And here's how the Spirit wars against the flesh (sin nature) — “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think...” — Romans 12:2 (NLT) Now the word “transform” above, is from a Greek word meaning “metamorphosis” — the process that leads to an outward, permanent change. Something it says God will do, only if we let Him — implying that metamorphosis (transformation) is not something achieved by the human strength. So you see the connections — Jesus began this work of crucifying the flesh (sin nature) by freeing us from its power. Like transforming an ant into a caterpillar. Now God continues this work in us through His Holy Spirit by changing the way we think — a complete metamorphosis — the caterpillar becoming a butterfly, where an ant couldn't. So Jesus starts it and the Holy Spirit finishes it — but where do we come in?! Colossians 2:23 (TLB) || “These rules may seem good, for rules of this kind require strong devotion and are humiliating and hard on the body, but they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires...” In other words, fasting as a rule that's humiliating and hard on the body (form of asceticism) and requiring strong devotion — contributes nothing to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires (the flesh - sin nature). Fasting contributes nothing to the metamorphosis of a believer — from baby believer to adult believer — from not looking like Christ to looking like Christ. God started it and God will finish it — so there is no place for man-made rules like fasting! Now this led me to the conclusion that “fasting has no effect on the flesh (sin nature! And the only way to crucify the flesh (sin nature) — is to present yourself before God though prayers, reading and studying the word of God, interaction with the brethren — so God takes it up from here and makes metamorphosis possible. Because we cannot grow anything ourselves — we can only plant like Paul did, water like Apollo did but only God gives the increase (growth - metamorphosis - transformation). Now if this challenged what you thought you knew, then the conversation doesn’t end here. • Read the full argument. • Unlearn the myths. • Relearn the truth. Get a copy of “The Things Fasting Won't Do” by Caleb Eleojo via this link — https://selar.com/m/Caleb_Eleojo Picture credits, Dele Osunmakinde , Femi Lazarus #thethingsfastingwontdo #SpiritualDiscipline #HungerForGod #BiblicalFasting #SpiritualAwakening #ChristianityUnfiltered #SpiritualDiscipline

Excerpts from the book — The Things Fasting Won't Do Deuteronomy 8:2–3 (NLT) || “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna… He did it to teach you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” Now pause. Why would God allow the Israelites to go hungry if satisfaction was always just one step away? Think about it — if I can walk into a restaurant and eat whenever I want, what exactly is the point of God letting me feel hunger? There has to be a reason, right?! In verse 2, it says that God was carrying out character refinement — humbling them, because unbelievers are not humble and if you're not humble, you can't walk with God because you'll be resisted at every turn. Now let’s define humility properly. Humility is dependence on God — the recognition that God is the One who sustains all things. By default, unbelievers are proud. After all, how do you depend on — or acknowledge — a God you do not believe in? This is what the “hustle culture” is born out of — pride. Me, myself, and I, will carry me, myself, and I through life. So when an unbeliever becomes a child of God, one of the first lessons God introduces him to, is dependence. So what Moses said, and what Jesus made reference to during his temptation, “man shall not live by bread alone...” — is figurative for — man shall not create the reality (of abundance, good health, relationships, etc) by effort alone but by every Word that comes from God. This lesson is for believers only. Because the natural man sees the things of the Spirit as foolishness — he cannot comprehend them. So when Satan tempted Jesus, saying, “turn these stones into bread,” Jesus knew exactly what was being tested. It wasn’t hunger. It was His response to the enemy probing his breaking point — because how you respond at your breaking point tells the enemy everything he needs to know to bring you down. Now let’s establish something undeniable. A human being cannot survive beyond forty days on water alone. Biology agrees. Medicine agrees. History agrees. And this was the breaking point of Jesus, as a human. So when Satan showed up in the wilderness, he didn’t come early. He came at the breaking point. To see one thing: What does this Man do when effort has reached its limit? Does He continue to throw effort at the problem — or does He throw His knees to the earth in prayer? Because man’s effort has a ceiling. There is a limit to the problems it can solve. And a man who knows only himself is doomed from the start — because he faces an enemy who already knows his breaking point. That’s why Scripture says: “You are gods, children of the Most High — but you will die like mere men.” Why? Because you see life like mortals — like unbelievers — despite the God who dwells within you. So the temptation Satan threw at Jesus is the same one he throws at every believer. The same question: Will you reason like an unbeliever — or like a child of God, backed by God? That’s why some Christians, when the doctor speaks, they begin to put their house in order. They gather their family and prepare to spend their final days with them. Because they believe effort alone creates reality. So when effort fails, all fails. But the one who depends on God's word, knows that the final say rests with God. The one who understands this does not deny reality — he submits reality to God. He has already submitted the final outcome to God. So the first temptation of Jesus is not a defiance of fasting — but a inquiry into how a man responds at his breaking point. And the fast of Jesus is something I fully dissected in my book — The Things Fasting Won't Do — I have full exegetical proof that His fast was not born out of intent. But a consequence of the location chosen for that temptation to take place and Satan choosing for himself, like he did in the book of Job to Job — what strategy to be employed. I believe you'll love to read this piece — get your copy through this link — https://selar.com/m/Caleb_Eleojo Picture credits, Dr Jordan B Peterson #calebeleojo #thethingsfastingwontdo #fasting #fastingandprayer #fast #spiritualgrowth #JesusFast