Overcoming the Natural Man | 1 Nephi 20:17-22

“And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have sent him, the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go, hath done it.”

Jesus Christ “has done it.” He has overcome the natural man. If I follow where He leads then I can too, but it is a process. It will not come all at once. Just like making a profit, it is a lifelong process that takes lots of hard work and patience.

Prerequisites

The Lord has a set of prerequisites that apply to all of His principles and laws. These actions will help prepare me to take on the additional responsibilities that are required to live His higher laws and principles:

• “Come ye near unto me.” (v16) I must come unto the Savior and turn my heart towards Him, even if it is but a desire, then the Lord can bless me with the strength and power to fulfill His requirements.
• “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments.” (v18) This requirement means that I need to have an open mind and be willing to listen and obey. Obedience to His commandments will show Him that I am ready to receive more of His law and His promised blessings.

	HEARKEN, verb
	1.	To listen; to lend the ear; to attend to what is uttered, with eagerness or curiosity.
	2.	To attend; to regard; to give heed to what is uttered; to observe or obey.

Isaiah has taught me to recognize the natural man and to understand its importance and its role in the plan of salvation. Now, Isaiah gets into the specifics of the principle with a promise as he teaches me how to overcome the natural man. He then ends with a warning which comes with many of the Lord's principles.

Requirements

Isaiah lays out the specific requirements for this principle. Depending on my spiritual maturity and on the effort that I put into adhering to these requirements the promised blessings will increase in intensity. One thing I had to keep in mind while reading these requirements was that Isaiah was originally talking to the Jewish religious leadership and their responsibility to the people, so I had to tailor these through deduction to my own personal life. However, I am still under the same obligation to teach others because of the responsibilities that I have as a father, a priesthood holder, or simply from being a member of Christ's kingdom.

• Go forth from the world and flee from the natural man (v20). Two of my favorite stories that illustrates this are the Exodus and Lehi taking his family into the wilderness. It is only symbolic for me, but the concept is the same. One of the lessons that I learned from these stories is that the important point is a willingness to flee and the initial actions of going forth and fleeing. In both stories once they left, the Lord took over and led the way before them. “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light.” (Exodus 13:21) “And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.” (1 Nephi 16:16) The other thing that stood out to me was the use of the word “flee” which suggests an urgency and a need for haste.
• Have a personal witness that Jesus Christ has redeemed me (v20). This is not a one time witness but a continuous process of conversion and should be a joyful experience like a “voice of singing.” Once, I have felt this joyous redeeming light, I must declare this great gospel to all those around and teach them about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and redemption of all mankind.
• Trust God and that He will care for me (v21). I must have faith that God will provide for me when I turn away from the world and the natural man just as He did for the children of Israel. Not only did God provide the necessities for the children of Israel, but it said that the water gushed out of the rock and so will the blessings. Once I have built sufficient inner faith, I must teach others that God will care for His people and that He will provide water in the desert for His people.

Promises

The Lord pronounces four beautiful blessings upon those who seek to throw off the natural man. What a wonderful message of joy and hope Isaiah has given me.

1.	Peace as a river (v18), continually flowing through the rough waters of life. The Lord's peace comes during times of whirlpools, waterfalls, and undertows as well as during times of calmness. This river of peace flows from the fountain of living waters as it follows a course to eternal life.
2.	Righteousness as the waves of the sea (v18), continuously moving and progressing towards eternal life. I love this analogy of righteousness to the waves of the sea. Righteousness is a progression or a process of hitting highs and lows with a constant forward motion never stagnating always moving and changing for the better. Another thing that became very clear to me after spending time in the water down in San Diego last summer is the strength and firmness of the waves. The Lord is promising me that I will be given strength and power in the gospel with a resolve to do the work He has given me to do.
3.	Seed as the sand and offspring as the gravel (v19), numerous descendants and children here and numberless posterity into the eternities. This blessing goes well beyond just my own children and descendants, the promise is that I will be part of the greatest family known to man, the seed of Abraham or the posterity of God.
4.	Thy seed shall not be cut off but shall continue in righteousness (v19). I can be a great influence for good in leading my posterity and others towards God by example, teaching, family history work, and temple work. Although, it is hard to see sometimes with my mind dimmed by the veil, this is the greatest work to be engaged in—it is the work of heaven and the work of the Father (Moses 1:39). It brings the greatest and most lasting joy and happiness that one will ever know.

Warning

Isaiah ends with a final warning:

“And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also, there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.”

This warning could have been inferred from the promises particularly the first one. However, the Lord is making special emphasis to the fact that following after the world will never bring peace. One will always be left wanting, full of pain, sorrow, fear, and loneliness. True peace can only come through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.