LUST OF OTHER THINGS
1 Peter 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
What causes people not to receive the promises of God that the Word clearly states belong to us? One of the main things is the contents of our heart. The Word clearly teaches that faith is of the heart. We are warned not to harden our heart like the children of Israel did. In the parable of the sower, Jesus told us that weeds in our soil will keep the promises from coming to pass. In three of the four Gospels, the parable of the sower is recorded. Putting these three accounts together, you can clearly see what keeps people’s soil full of weeds. Therefore, if we don’t take care of our spirit (heart or soil), we will not see the promises manifest in our lives. According to the parable, we will have the roots, the plant, and even the fruit, but we will not see the harvest. This soil is the most frustrating and prominent among mature Christians who are not seeing the promises. They believe in the promises; they know they should walk in them, yet no fruit.
Our verse has to deal with one of the four Jesus talked about: the lust of other things. The lust of our flesh is a big problem. Our flesh did not get born again. It still has cravings that must be dealt with. We are a three-part being. We are a spirit, we have a soul (mind, will, and emotions), and we live in a body (flesh). We must feed our spirit, renew our mind, get our soul healed, make sure our will is submitted to God’s will, and we must keep our body under. We are told in our verse that we should no longer live the rest of our lives to the lusts of men but to the will of God. Everyone’s flesh has different issues. Just because you don’t have an issue with something doesn’t mean someone else couldn’t have to deal with it. We should understand that different people have different things they have to keep under. What’s yours? I know you know. Don’t ignore it; don’t hope it will just go away. You and I have to deal with it. How do you deal with this lust for other things so you can receive all that God has promised you?
The answer is found in Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” How do you walk in the Spirit? You walk in the Word. Jesus said, “My words are spirit and life.” So, if we walk in the Word, do the Word, we are walking in the Spirit. Being aware of the Holy Spirit in your life is also walking in the Spirit. When you and I walk in the Spirit, we will produce the fruit of the Spirit (the nine fruits found in Galatians 5:22–23). It is, therefore, obvious whether you are walking in the Spirit or in the flesh. When the lust of our flesh does not control us, we will have good soil and no weeds, and we will receive those promises we believe. We will have good soil and reap a harvest!