By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. – Hebrews 11:24-26 NIV
Refuse the flesh
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
The first step is to refuse the flesh. You will need to make a decision to not think, act or gratify the fleshly desire in any capacity. Refuse to accept the thought in your mind. An image that I use to help understand this is if you tasted a bit of food that was terrible. You wouldn’t put another spoon or fork to your mouth to get more. In fact, you would probably spit it out. This is what it’s like to refuse something and we need to choose to refuse the flesh when the thought comes to our minds.
A verse to help you remember this is James 4:7-8.
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. – James 4:7-8
So step one is to make a conscience choice to refuse the flesh.
Choose Gods Word over the flesh
He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God…
God will always give us a choice and he wants us to choose his way so that we can receive the benefits of walking with him daily. Obeying Gods word is difficult at times. Especially today when there are so many fleshly desires that are always in our face. So it will be hard. But God gives us a promise that when we choose his way we will have life and receive his blessings.
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; – Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV
Step two is to make a definitive decision to obey the word of God.
Recognize that the pleasures of Sin are only for a moment
He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
We’ve all been there. While commuting a sin, it may feel good but after you commit that sin, then guilt or conviction will come on you and you will feel bad or worthless. This is the death that is described in James 1:15. Separation from God. The next step in the Moses principle for overcoming the flesh is recognizing that the pleasures of sin only last for a moment. Then comes the negative feelings that you messed up.
Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. – James 1:15 NKJV
Consider Gods ways better than the flesh
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt,
As we recognize that the pleasures of sin are only for a moment, we also need to acknowledge that Gods blessing are permanent and last for a lifetime. As we keep this in mind it will help us to decide not to choose sin and the flesh but to choose the spirit and follow Gods word. You can look at this part of the Moses principle as the way of escape that God makes for us. He reminds us of a promise on his word and hopes that we decide to stand on it rather than to sin.
His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him. For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence. – Psalms 21:5-6 NKJV
Look forward for your reward
because he was looking ahead to his reward.
God will reward us for overcoming the temptation and obeying his word. He’s a good father and takes good care of us. This reward could be peace. It could be a physical reward or a spiritual reward. But God will always bless us with good rewards when we are obedient to follow him. And his rewards are always a blessing that has no sorrow attached to it. So in the middle of your fleshly temptation remember that God has some rewards for you once you overcome.
“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.”
Proverbs 10:22 NKJV
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. – Revelation 3:21 NKJV
And this is the Moses principle for overcoming the flesh.