The ninth in a series of 16 blogs answering anticipated (or actual) objections to material set forth in A Way of Escape, i.e., the ninth in a series of 16 blogs answering anticipated FAQs.
OBJECTION #9 (of 16)
There are times that I would surely fail if I did not have my accountability group. I cannot imagine how anyone could stand against those raging, out-of-control attacks of the flesh. How can you possibly escape one of those raging attacks of the flesh without accountability?
RESPONSE
Flesh Awoken, Guns A-Smokin’! LOL! This was the best nod to the slang phrase “Sun’s Out, Guns Out” that I could come up with! 😊
Great question. Glad you asked. My Under Duress Escape Plan? I always have some of my strongest Spirit-anointed apps out and ready to engage the flesh at the first sign of trouble (the lead graphic displays six of my more frequently used “DVD gun magazines”). Is the flesh beginning to stir? Simply pop one of these “magazines” into my “gun” (my DVD player) and start blasting away. Without fail, the Holy Spirit will use the enclosed emotion-charged, Spirit-filled images of fellow believers already caught up in the Spirit to draw me into His presence. In a matter of minutes, the Spirit is summoned, and the flesh diffused.
Minutes not fast enough? The escape may also be accomplished in a matter of seconds by simply fast-forwarding to the most powerful portions of the app. In the lead graphic above, the camera has captured the brunette in the aqua blue dress caught up in the Spirit at the 2:17 mark. Simply fast-forward to the 2:05 mark, tap the “A-B Repeat” button on my remote, tap it again at the 2:25 mark, and start swimming 20-second laps in this pool of Holy Spirit water. Flesh diffused. In a matter of seconds! Flesh-starving accountability partner/group not required.
[The preceding describes my Under Duress Escape Plan for attacks of the flesh occurring inside the home. Chapter 4 of A Way of Escape outlines additional strategies for shutting down the flesh: (i) in the office, and (ii) in the hotel room.]
A GAME-CHANGING BOOK HAS ARRIVED
In A Way of Escape, readers learn how to diffuse the flesh at the first sign of trouble. Readers learn how to diffuse the flesh in a matter of minutes (or even seconds)—not by starving the flesh—but by stepping up the degree to which they “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). They learn how to build a library of Spirit-anointed, flesh-diffusing apps. Apps that are uniquely fitted to them, and their unique Spirit-filling triggers (Ephesians 5:18b-19).
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
The still-struggling now have another option. The still-struggling now have fresh hope for discovering that long-sought-after way of escape from temptation and resulting sin (I Corinthians 10:13). A way that—because it is wholly Spirit-powered—does not require enlisting the aid of an accountability partner or group. Truly, a game-changer!
[NOTE: The flesh-diffusing event described here corresponds to a time when the recovering addict has achieved some level of sexual sobriety. He may have even achieved complete mind renewal. It does not correspond to a time in the early stages of recovery.
In the early stages of recovery, the flesh is still too strong. In the early stages of recovery, the addict will not yet have the strength to consistently turn back the raging flesh. In the early stages of recovery, the addict may still choose the raging flesh over the safe shelter provided by his Spirit-anointed apps. Over time though, neural pathways rewire, attack intensity reduces, and the flesh can be repelled, oftentimes in seconds, and oftentimes without ever even having to run to the safe shelter of a Spirit-anointed app.]
THANK YOU, HOLY SPIRIT!
