Conflict within Yourself

Walking in the newness of the Spirit keeps us grounded at all times.

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The moment we are conceived in the womb, there will be a conflict. That is, I am meaning to say the body will try to dislodge the new invader, but when it receives information that it’s a baby, the attack is dismissed. Another example is the fact that people will have different opinions on everything. It doesn't mean that you are wrong; it just means two people have different views than each other. However, when one of the parties wants to fight, it is because they do not want to allow the other person the right to believe what they want. So, then a conflict will ensue. Unless we have been converted through the salvation plan of the Lord, there will be no way that we can deal with conflict in the proper way. The Bible tells us that they that are in the flesh can never make divine decisions. Meaning to say, unsaved people will always have unending conflicts in this sinful world, and relief will be as elusive as a butterfly. With God all conflicts can be dealt with in a sensible manner. In other words, I can do all things through Christ Jesus, and I should add that God did not give His children a pugnacious spirit. Therefore, we know that we can do all things through Christ Jesus. So, let me give you a closer look into this matter of conflict and you.

So, what is the meaning of conflict?

Conflict: To fight, contradictory, Struggle or Sharp disagreement

The Bible meaning of conflict: The flesh is fighting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. In other words, Good versus evil. The Bible teaches that the children of God must learn about the ways and habits of the devil: and how to prepare for his many lures and snares. Only through the Holy Spirit can the child of the kingdom be secured. This means that we must study the word of God so that we can be able to be approved by God as workmen who have no need to be ashamed as we rightly divide the word of truth. By following this divine direction, the believer is not in conflict with the will and word of the Lord. But for all those who are in defiance, let’s hear what the Bible says:

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh, For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would. {Galatians 5:16-17}

Listen, as we can now see, conflict is something that the individual must learn how to address. Life is a struggle, in itself, that’s why as the believer we must learn how to deal with it vigorously. We all must comprehend the fact that in this world that we live in, there will be many times of disagreement, and disagreements with others is imminent. Nevertheless, this does not give anyone the right to force their will or beliefs on others. What we should ascertain is how to get along with all whom we encounter. If we do this, it will be clear to all that salvation is evident in us. This in no way means, however, that we are in agreement with them and their actions. God’s power equips us to help those who are without skills to deal with conflict. You see words can build up and they can tear down as well. The tongue is an unruly thing, and no man can tame it. The word of the Father also tells us that we should be swift to hear and slow to speak. You see my brothers and sisters, cutting people down with our words and deeds will never get us anywhere. Sharp disagreements will always cause others to shy away, and in most cases, no one can reason with a person who has a hardened heart and a mouth full of bitterness. It's only when we learn to incorporate the teaching of Christ into our own personal lives that we can become effective and spiritual guides to others. Letting the Holy Spirit be our lifelong guide is only possible if one has a humbled heart. Without the help of God’s spirit, none of us can survive the constant onslaught of contentions that keep coming without end. Please understand this; as long as we live on this planet, we will always encounter unexpected tribulations brought on by Satan the deceiver. Unless our hope is built on the solid rock, which is Jesus Christ, we are all lost. Only those who know Him in the pardon of their sins can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens them. We know and believe that greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world, because without Jesus we can’t do anything. Please always remember this. Love and kindness draw people to the light that is in you.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. {John 15:4}

Listen, let me share something with you, and I believe that you should never forget this fact. God’s word is true whether you want to believe it or not. His will shall be done whether you are dead, alive, or you get caught up to meet Him. Even if you are left behind, His word will still be doing what He said it would do. So, if you have a conflict with God, you my friend are in big trouble. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It also says fear not him that can kill the body and afterwards can do no more but fear him that can kill the body and then burn the soul in eternal fire. So, it is my suggestion those who do not know how to handle conflict find the straight path to where it can be found, and then do whatever it takes to obtain it.

Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. {Matthew 7:13,14}

Please allow me to share this with you. The fall of man.

The first conflict...

In the beginning God created heaven and earth {Genesis 1:1} then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. {Genesis 1:26}

God gave the man specific instructions not to eat from the tree of good and evil. But the woman who saw that the tree was good looking was tricked by the devil and she ate and gave some to her husband. And God was so infuriated. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou? {Genesis 3:8-9}

The end results were that Adam, and his family were kicked out of the Blessed garden forever, but not before he told them what would happen was a result of their sinning. Listen, you can change your appearance all you want, but you will never be able to hide from God. A sinner’s rejection of the Lord's direction is a deadly plan - one that will be dealt with in a way you will not like. This is no doubt a major conflict with the Father which has dire consequences.

1. The devil was cursed to slither his way through out life on his belly and all his offspring. {Genesis 3:14}

2. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband and, and he shall rule over thee. {Genesis 3:16}

3. The man: And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shall eat the herb of the field; in the sweat off thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. {Genesis 3:17-19}

Whenever we do not follow the word of the Lord, we shall be kicked out of the divine shelter of God until we find our way back to Him through repentance through Christ Jesus, that is if God permits us back. Here we can see that when we decide to take matters into our own hands, a conflict with the word is magnified. When we are given responsibility, we must do whatever it takes without the validation of anyone else, which includes our spouse.

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. {Ezekiel 18:4}

Please note, too often millions of people never find their way back to salvation because of their own pride. So, they will then perish at the hands of their own sin. When the devil fills your heart with hatred, there is not room for deliverance. Again, we must hear from the Bible.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. {Isaiah 59:1-2}

Listen, anyone who willingly disregards God’s guidance is in a direct conflict with Him and is in danger of judgment. Since Adam sinned, God couldn’t find anyone worthy to bring man back in a right standing; so, he sent Himself in the flesh form through the womb that no man had touched and called himself Jesus, the only begotten son of himself, God the father. And whom so ever believeth on him shall have everlasting life. God has made it so, that everyone on this earth will have an opportunity to hear His word and then and make a choice for Him or the devil, and the world shall not pass away until everyone has been given that chance. He also said thou art inexcusable old man whosoever thou art. Remember this: a conflict can easily arise when we are not paying attention. Reading the Bible once in a while cannot prevent a hurricane from hitting your house but knowing the word and letting it have its free will in your life along with a prayer life then the storm will pass you by.

Unity of Faith

Unity of Faith

Now let’s deal with positive conflict and how it works and what we can glean from it.

Positive conflict: Conflict in a controlled environment can be good, because it helps us to grow into healthier people. It will cause our mind to learn how to handle all kinds of problems, which is what our minds were made to do. The word put it this way:

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. {2 Timothy 2:15}

By knowing the truth, we can avoid the lies of the devil, which are replete with negativity and conflict. Change is something that many people do not like. Even in the church it is not widely welcomed, yet they pretend it's ok. Let me share something I have learned. In order to tune a piano, a certain amount of pressure must be applied. Meaning, the strings feel like they are about to pop, so they try to resist the adjustments being made. This ordeal has become a conflict between the string and the tuner’s key; but the mediator is the tuner, the one who knows how to handle conflict between the strings, and the tuning key. The end result will be a wonderful sounding piano, all because of the mediator - the tuner - who had the wisdom and the knowledge to deal with the conflict. So, in the natural, so in the spiritual. In order for God’s will to be done in our lives, He permits many kinds of pressures to come into our lives so as to properly tune us so he can use us. If we are not at the point that He needs us to be, we cannot fulfill his purpose. Simply put, we are not ready to deal with the enemy until we have been tried by the fire. If we choose to reject God, we create a conflict between Him and us which means we are rejecting the tuner’s key, and we willingly want to pop. Let me share something that I went through as I was making sure of my calling. One day when I was working in a hospital, one of the patients jumped out of her bed with an IV pole, and she looked at me and said, " Don't you say a word to me" as she briskly walked out of the room. What happened? She had demons in her, and I was a preacher, one who was not there to do anything but my work. But the demons recognized the Jesus in me and immediately became angry. So, as I was filling out a report in another patient's chart, I simply looked over at her and said, “Satan, don't make me cast you out.” She ran down the hall. The point. I did not respond in a pugnacious way. I was cool and calm because I knew who I was and where I was. If I had responded, “Satan come out of this woman,” surely I would have been fired, under a litany of reasons. I chose not to have a conflict, but if the Lord had led me to deal with her then it would have been done in a way that would have not gotten me fired. Now that is called wisdom. However, I have seen other people who say they are Christians yell at people and say things like, “Satan come out of this person. I have the power of the Lord, now come out.” But what they failed to recognize is the fact that they are out of order and they do not have the authority to carry out that duty. Meaning to say, they are working according to the flesh. Here is just one situation that God dealt with us to show us how we are to act in a crisis.

Conflict with Satan: {Isaiah 15:12-15}

The devil was kicked out of heaven because he decided that he wanted to take over and be higher than God. If the devil had no chance, how do we, who are made by the divine one, dare I say what we will and will not do. One thing I have learned about having a conflict with God, I shall not win. Please learn the ways of the Lord and walk in it so God can use you to be a blessing to His people. Some negative things are brought on by our own flesh and we had the power to handle it but chose not to do so, and we blamed it on the devil. Listen, the Bible says that a house divided against itself shall not stand. If God is not in you, your negativity will always remain negative no matter who you call on.

Negative aspects of conflict: Negativity is everywhere, and it comes in many forms. Negativity never has anything good to offer anyone. We must learn how to harness its power and use it positively. Negative and positive can work as a team. That is how the TV, stove, radio, and all other appliances work. One side of the plus is positive, and the other is negative, me and neutral, also called common. So, this means God can cause evil to bless us even when evil doesn’t know it.

When a man's ways pleases the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. {Proverbs 16:7}

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You see, it can be like a deadly virus; and if not contained, it will kill everything in its path. You can recognize it in some of its neutral forms: curse words coming out of someone’s mouth, or maybe in the form of someone getting robbed, shot, or killed. Negativity will follow you wherever you decide to go. Let's just say your spouse did something to you at home, and for whatever reason you kept your emotions to yourself. After your arrival at work someone may say something that you did not like. Normally a remark of its kind would not phase you, but on this occasion, you go off on them, saying all kinds of things. After voicing your remarks, and in the process of offending an individual, it is now too late to take back the negative words that may have just cost you to lose your job, as a result of not being able to control your anger. It can clearly be seen that your single act of negativity has now turned into a conflict, not only for you but your spouse as well. The word calls this foolish. Ok, at this point I must tell you, that you didn't have a consistent connection to the Lord by way of a prayer life. Ok, it’s like this. The word is talking to you. Listen:

Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. {Proverbs 16:3}

This is also a sign that such a person who has lost control is not presently connected to the word. Which means, your actions declare who you really are. Listen, I can't stress this enough. Making a mistake is not the same as someone filled with pride and anger. Again, this shows that such a person had not been transformed and renewed by the word of God. But it is an indicator that conformity has taken place. Let's read:

A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. {Proverbs 29:11}

It also says that a fool is known by the multitude of words. Please learn to let your words be few.

I pray that these words have blessed you to the point you now want to seek God and all He has to give.

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