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Whenever God calls you to do something, as soon as you sense God's hand upon you, as soon as you have the briefest understanding of His anointing, the flesh takes immediate notice. The flesh, that old nature within you, will immediately try to wrap itself around your mission. The flesh will attempt to control, possess, manage, and manipulate your calling for its own benefit.

 God is always working, attempting to free you of the power of the flesh and move you more and more into the power of the Spirit. In accomplishing this, God will arrange crisis moments in your life where you're brought face-to-face with your flesh and the claim it makes on God's calling. I would like to give you an example of how the flesh attempted to assume control over the mission God had given.

 The story of Moses began with a vision in the minds of his parents. I think that deep down, they sensed that he was no ordinary child. I am sure they were not the first Hebrew parents who attempted to save their child; however, in this case, our Lord laid upon their hearts a seemingly bold and reckless plan to save his life. As his mother made her way to the banks of the Nile, her son was entombed in a little basket. The river was likely already running red with the blood of infant Hebrew boys.

 She had to die of a mother's instinct to guard and protect her child. Yet, to save his life, she had to let him go. She had to place him in the very river the enemy had ordained to be his grave. However, this same river would be the place of his resurrection. The river, which should have been his end, became his new beginning. As you know, his mother received him back again into her loving arms. But now, things would be quite different. The child she lovingly placed into the Nile as a slave was now a prince. Do you see it, his death and resurrection? Initiated by God, but realized only when his parents were willing to let him go.

 Moses became one of the most powerful men in Egypt. He was strong, intelligent, and highly educated. Moses had it all. A bright future lay before him in Egypt. Yet, with each passing year, more and more, the bondage of his kinsman would weigh upon his mind. As the dream began to intensify, he slowly received a glimpse of God’s calling upon his life. Moses soon realized that he wanted to be the one to deliver his people from their bondage.

 However, as it usually does, the flesh started to exercise control over his calling. Later, seeing a Hebrew slave being abused, he murdered the Egyptian task master. At best, even if he had gotten away with it, he would have temporarily rescued one slave. Do you see how short that falls from the plan God had in mind? This was but a cheap imitation of God's plan of deliverance. However, it is about the best the flesh had the power to generate. The flesh told Moses that this was his big chance. He was sure the Hebrews would rally behind him.

 Acts 7:25-26: “For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.”

 Moses seemed to have no doubts regarding his ability to rescue Israel. He was also confident that the people would recognize his leadership. He felt that he was God’s man, and this was God’s time. However, Moses was not trusting in God; he was trusting in himself. The flesh had taken over and was building itself up in godless pride and arrogance. Then Moses experienced something he had not anticipated. He faced failure, rejection, and fear. How can this be? God had placed this mission in his heart. The mission was just. How could he fail? The truth is that Moses needed the flesh to fail. The weakness of the flesh had to be demonstrated. Now, God could identify Moses' strength as weakness, and, given his recent experience, Moses could not argue the point.

 Forty years passed, and God finally spoke to Moses, telling him it was now time to go and rescue Israel. By now, the Moses who was so confident that he could easily rescue his people no longer existed. Out there in the desert, a new Moses had been born. This was not a strong Moses; this was a weak Moses. However, as our Lord instructed Paul: “…my strength is made perfect in weakness.”              II Corinthians 12:9.

 In Exodus 3:11, Moses, no longer exercising faith in the flesh, said to the Lord: “… who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” God had a plan for Moses even from the foundation of the world, but before it could come to pass, the flesh had to be exposed and circumcised. It had to be cut away from the calling. And, once it was, from that point on, the emphasis was not on what Moses did, but on what God did through Moses. God used Moses’ failure and the desert years to crucify the flesh, so that God’s resurrection power could be manifested.

 Just one more quick note. In the desert years as a shepherd, Moses acquired a staff. A staff is important to a shepherd. He counted on it for his work, his protection, and strength. It is what he would often lean upon when weary and hold on to when walking a dangerous pathway. God’s first command at the burning bush in Exodus 4 was for Moses to take the staff he leaned upon and throw it down before the Lord. As you know, it turned into a snake. Then God commanded Moses to pick it up again, and it turned back into a staff. From that moment forward, the staff was no longer owned and controlled by Moses. It became the staff of God.

 Exodus 4:20: “…and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.”

It was the rod of God that displayed the Lord’s power through Moses. It was this staff that God used to display His power before Pharaoh, and at the Red Sea, and to secure victory in battle. Just as Moses had changed, the staff, which likely looked the same as before, was also different. The old staff of the flesh had passed away, and the rod of God had taken its place. Now, do you see it? Do you see the foolishness of doing the work of God in the power of the flesh?

 May I confess, I am a bit like Moses. I feel that God has ordained me to accomplish certain things in life. I have no doubt but that my calling is to be a pastor, to help administer the Academy and the college, to publish a magazine, and to build Christian radio stations. I often battle a temptation to accomplish this work in the power of the flesh.

 Right now, we have the opportunity to purchase a radio station that would reach thousands of new listeners. This would be a nearly a million-dollar investment. Oh, how I want that station. We have been praying for years to get into that area. Yet, we are agonizing over the question right now: Is this a yearning of the flesh or a call of the Spirit?

 My dear wife battles this all the time when it comes to admitting new students to the Academy. Is this applicant someone we can help? Will this student be a positive role model for the other students, or would he harm others with his life and testimony? We don’t want to turn anyone away; however, our decisions cannot be based on emotions or desires of the flesh.

 Now, here is the message. The vision God has for your life is what you were born for. Deep down, you long for it because you are supposed to long for it. The danger comes when you try to bring it to pass by the power of the flesh. The flesh will often give you just enough success that you will begin to trust in it. But eventually, it will let you down. When the flesh promises to obtain for you what only God can give, it always delivers an inferior product. A cheap imitation that quickly wears thin, and then wears out. The flesh makes big promises. It entices you with a promise that if you place your trust in it, you will succeed. However, once it receives your trust, it will forsake you. The flesh will resist death, that’s only natural. However, death, a crucifixion of the flesh, a dying of self, is the only way that God can release His power within you.

 Peter demonstrated how easy it is to lose our way. Do you remember when he tried to persuade Jesus to avoid the cross? Our Lord said to him, “Get thee behind me, Satan” Matthew 16:23. How did Peter get it so wrong? Jesus explained: “...for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Peter was not a man who desired to follow Satan; however, all he had to do was determine to serve the desires of the flesh, and he was at Satan’s mercy. In this example, the flesh quite naturally always resists the idea of death.

 Peter did not perceive the difference between the desires of the Father and the desires of the flesh. Peter did not consciously decide to try to lead Jesus astray. All he had to do was proceed with the natural thoughts of man, the fallen inclinations of the flesh. The flesh was telling him that the best way to serve God was to convince Jesus to avoid the cross. Without the leading of the Spirit, such a thing would make perfect sense.

 God has called you for a purpose. There is a divine purpose in your ministry, in your marriage, in your finances, in your career, and in your life. However, to attempt that purpose in the flesh will never please God; nor will it lead to lasting success. To do the Lord’s work in the Spirit and for the glory of Jesus will not come cheaply. There is a cross we must bear. But it is glorious to serve the Lord in the power of the Spirit. When the flesh is not surrendered to the Spirit, it will constantly labor to produce results of no lasting benefit. This is the occupation of the flesh. It can never be housebroken. Sooner or later, it will make a mess.

 You see, a life dominated by the flesh is a hard life. It is filled with frustration, strife, and failure. The flesh can never produce lasting results for the Kingdom. Yet, it will constantly cry out to be in charge. Like a child, it will kick and scream if it does not get its way. It is our job to ignore its tantrums and mortify its power over the calling God has given us.

Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry for fifty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries and Christian Bible College.