THE CRUCIFIED HUSBANDMAN

Bible Texts: Jn.12:24-25, Jn.15:5, Gal.5:22-23, 1Cor.15:31, Jn.3:30, Jn.3:16, Philp.3:14, Gal.5:22-23, Exk.2:2, Rom.12:2, Gen.18:19,

As the husbandman, the way to grow and bear much fruits of the Spirit as highlighted in Galatians chapter 5 and verses 22 to 23 is to crucify self. And Jesus Christ, who is the perfect example of the good and godly husbandman, made this profound statement in that regards.

Verily, verily, I say unto you. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit (Jn.12:24-25)

Until you die to self and to the dictates of the flesh, you will continue to struggle to hold onto your headship as the good and godly husbandman and leader of your wife and children. Your greatest enemy is indeed self-always thinking of yourself and what you will benefit. And this selfishness comes in the way of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.

As the husbandman, there are two major forces that will always want to get your attention. These are the force of the Spirit of God and the force of darkness. While the force of the Spirit of God wants you to do the perfect will of God for your wife and children, the force of darkness wants you to disobey God and His commandments with the plan to drag you down the path of failure, disgrace and sin (Jn.10:10). But if you and I must bear much fruits, we must allow our lives to be ruled by the force of the Spirit of God which makes us die to self.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal.5:22-23)

As the husbandman, you must understand that the flesh comes with its passions and desires-adultery, anger, bitterness, careless living, envy, unforgiveness, comparison, unhealthy eating and lifestyles, and much more. You cannot do the will of God as the man, husband and father if your life is ruled by the influences of the flesh. God wants you to succeed and become the good and godly man, husband and father. God wants you to have total control over your flesh so that your spirit man can come alive to honour Him, your wife and children.

But what does it mean to be crucified or die to self as the husbandman?

It means to bring your thoughts, emotions and will under the control of the word of God by allowing the Person of the Holy Spirit to dictate and influence how you think, act and react. It also means allowing the word of God to be your final authority, regardless of whether you like it or not, popular or unpopular, convenient or not convenient.

You cannot run away from all kinds of thoughts flooding your mind, but you can determine which one stays and which one is expelled from your heart (Rom.12:2,21). One way to determine what stays and what shouldn’t is to place the thoughts, actions and emotions side by side the word of God (Pro.4:20-23). So you must continue to take in the word of God much more than you take in food in order to allow the power of the word of God to influence your life. And as you study the word of God, think deeply about the word, believe what the word says, pray the word into your life and act the word of God with delight and unwavering commitment, the Spirit behind the word enters you and chokes away fleshly thoughts (Ezk.2:2).

SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

• Father, in the Name of Jesus, empower Your word to gain root in my heart and bear fruit in my life.
• Father, in the Name of Jesus, destroy every hold of fleshly tendencies at work in my life.
• Father, in the Name of Jesus, empower me to die daily to self and fill my heart to obey all of Your commandments through and through.

FAITH CONFESSION

I believe the word of God to be the way, the truth and the life and by the power of the word of God, I die daily to self and submit my thoughts, will and emotions to the influences of the word of God because that is what makes me the good and godly husbandman in Jesus name. Amen.

The devotional IN TUNE WITH GOD© is published by The Husbandman Mission International, Headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria.

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Jesus Christ is Lord over all.

Bro. Ebenezer O. Igure

Head of Mission

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