Life In The Spirit-part 14
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!
There was song that was popular when I was growing up; when I was college age. And it was Give Me, Give Me, Give Me What I Cry For. You know you’ve got the kind of lips I’d die for. Does your flesh say give me, give me, give me what I cry for? And do you feel that constant tension between wanting to do what your flesh wants to do and wanting to do what God wants you to do?
Life in the Spirit is what it’s all about. And yet, life in the Spirit is not easy. It will not go uncontested. Do you know why? Because it’s the life of God in you, God has come inside of you. He has brought His Holy Spirit inside. It’s life in the Spirit, but you’re still in a body of flesh. So there’s going to be a conflict. And you need to know about that conflict. You need to understand it and you need to know how to live in the light of that conflict.
So let’s go to Galatians, chapter 5. And I purposely did not open my Bible to Galatians, chapter 5 because I wanted you to have an opportunity to get there. Galatians, chapter 5. Remember we’re studying God’s Word. We’re looking at it ourselves. We want to see for ourselves what it says and we want to know the scriptures. We want to learn God’s scriptures so that scripture can compare with scripture and scripture can interpret scripture, and so that we don’t take scripture out of context. Context is king. Context rules over all. And context is the setting in which you find something.
So when we go to the book of Galatians, a group of people have come along and followed on the heels of Paul’s missionary journeys. And when Paul leaves town they come along and they’re called Judaizers and they’re saying Oh, listen, yes, Paul’s right. You’re saved by faith, but the way that you continue to live and get this flesh under control is by the law. You got to keep the law. You got to have that set of do’s and don’ts and you got to keep it. And that’s not true. That’s not the way you overcome the flesh.
So when we get to Galatians, chapter 5, after he explains about the new covenant and the old covenant, and how you’re saved by grace, now you’re maintained by grace and don’t go back under the law. Now he comes to Galatians, chapter 5 verse 16. And this is what he says: “But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you please.”
What is he saying? He’s saying you can’t do the things that you please. You can’t take the car, so to speak, and put it in neutral and coast. You’ve got to put it into gear, the gear of the Spirit. Because if you don’t then you will drift right into the flesh. Because how long have you been living in the flesh? How long have you had this earthly body? Well you’ve been living in it for as long as you are old. And so you’re living in that earthly body.
Before you came to know Jesus Christ there were all sorts of appetites that you had. There were all sorts of things that you got involved in. There were all sorts of things that you let your flesh indulge in. For instance, if you’ve eaten chocolate candy, you know what it taste like. And if there’s chocolate setting on the table, you may not have even been thinking about it, but all of a sudden the hostess comes out, puts chocolates on the table. What do you want? You want, give me, give me, give me what I cry for and its chocolates. You’ve seen them and you desire them. And what he’s saying is look, until you die, until you have a bodily resurrection, and this corruptible puts on incorruptible, then you’re going to be in a battle. You’re going to be in a battle between the flesh and its desires and the Spirit and its desires.
Many times when I’m teaching I say okay, over here’s the flesh. And the flesh is saying give me, give me, give me. And over here’s the Holy Spirit and He’s saying holy, holy, holy. And it’s give me and holy and you’re right in the middle, and you feel like you’re being torn in two, and your inclination, unless you’re mature in Christ, is to go toward the flesh. And so that’s why he says unh, unh, unh, vroom, put it in the gear of the Spirit and get going. So watch what he says. I want you to understand this.
“But I say, verse 16 of Galatians 5, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” It is natural to retaliate. It is natural to defend ourselves. It is natural to lift ourselves up above others. It is natural to go for the biggest piece of meat on the platter. It is natural, that’s natural, that’s the flesh. The flesh is concerned about the flesh. The flesh is the flesh is the flesh and the flesh stinks. Okay, and it’s going to get you in trouble. So what do you do?
He’s saying walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. He is not saying and you want to get this, he is not saying the flesh will not have desires. The flesh is going to have desires. And it can get all sorts of desires as time goes along. And so you want to be very careful about what you see, about what you think, about where you allow your mind to go. You want to be very, very careful because you don’t want to encourage the flesh. But, he says if the flesh is crying give me, give me, give me, you walk by the Spirit.
Now he goes on to say, “The flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another so that you cannot do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit,” remember we talked about being led by the Spirit. We saw in Romans, chapter 8 (verse 14) all who are led by the Spirit, they are the children of God. And he says, “But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18) Now why did he bring up the law? Well, remember we’re looking at Galatians in the scripture and its context. And what they’re thinking was, okay, if I tell you that you no longer are under the restrictions of the law to obey the law, then it’s going to make you lawless. Then you’re going to go out and commit adultery. Then you’re going to go out and lie. Then you’re going to go out and covet. Then you’re going to go out and dishonor your father and your mother and all these things. And, he says no, now wait a minute. It’s not the law that makes you right. It’s the Spirit that makes you right. The law gives you the standard. The Spirit enables you to keep the standard. So don’t ever think that life is just a matter of you gritting your teeth and going for it and saying I’m going to, I’m going to, I’m going to. Oh no, no; it is wait a minute, Spirit take over. Fill me with Your Spirit, God. Lead me in paths of righteousness. Give me Your mind. I have Your mind. Let me see this as it really is. This is life in the Spirit.
So he says now, if you are led by the Spirit you’re not under the law, you’re not under the law because the Spirit is going to keep the law. (Galatians 5:18) The Spirit is going to keep you from committing adultery. The Spirit is going to keep you honoring your parents. The Spirit is going to keep you from stealing. The Spirit’s not going to say, hey, let’s go out and steal today. Oh, let’s go out and covet that man’s house, that man’s car, that man’s wife, that man’s servant. Let’s go covet, covet, covet. No, no, that’s the flesh that says that. The Spirit is saying remember, holy, holy, holy.
Now, he wants you to understand what the deeds of the flesh are, so he says in verse 19: “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident.” They are “immorality.” They are “impurity” and they are “sensuality.” And then it says, “idolatry.” Idolatry is when you put something between you and God. When you bow down to that, when you give it a place in your life that belongs to God, that’s idolatry. Greed is idolatry. Colossians, chapter 3 says that greed is idolatry. Going after things, having to make it, having to achieve a certain status in life, that’s idolatry. It says, “Sorcery.” The word for sorceries is pharmakia. It means the use of drugs for magical purposes. “Enmities,” enmities means hey, you’re always at war with someone. You’re not reconciled. You’ve always got a case against someone. “Strife,” strife; I mean just yelling, screaming, going after each other, constantly biting one another, causing quarrels, that’s strife. And he says, “jealousy,” jealousy; as you look and you think I deserve that, I should have that. They didn’t mention my name. They only mentioned her name or they mentioned his name. And you want what they’ve got. “Outbursts of anger;” all of a sudden you’re sitting there and you’re saying didn’t you hear me. I am tired of this. Get off my case. That’s an outburst of anger. All right “disputes:” constantly fighting. “Dissensions;” I mean you’re going around in the place of business or you’re going around the church, or you’re going around the family and you’re pitting one person against another. “Factions;” you’re causing them to choose sides. “Envying.” Envying means I wish it were me. I wish I had that. It’s different than coveting, but it’s envying. “Drunkenness,” and you know what that is. And “carousing,” and carousing is going to wild parties. “And things like these,” he says, “of which I forewarn you.” And then he tells them something very important when he forewarns them. And it’s something that you need to hear. So take a quick break and we’ll be back in just a minute.
Welcome back my friend. I know that if you listened to that list you’re wondering, now wait a minute, because I’ve done some of these things. Does that mean I’m not a Christian? Let’s look at Galatians, chapter 5 and look at it yourself, because I want you to see it.
As he brings that list to a close in verse 21 he says, “Things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you.” This is not the first time I’ve talked to you about this. He says, “That those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Now your answer to whether a Christian can even do something like that or if a Christian does something like that, does that mean that they’re not a Christian or they’ve lost their salvation? No, because remember once you believe in Jesus Christ you’re sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of your redemption. (Ephesians 4:30) So that is a guarantee. The Holy Spirit’s moved in and He’s not going to move out. Now you can grieve Him. And the Bible says do not grieve the Spirit who’s in you. You can quench Him. You can suppress Him. But if He’s in there, listen to me carefully; you will not practice as a habit of life these things. The word practice is the word do, but it’s translated practice because it means keep on doing. It’s, prasso, p-r-a-s-s-o and it means present tense to keep on doing as a habit of life. But if the habit of your life is these things, which are the deeds of the flesh, he says, be forewarned, wake up. You are not truly born again.
Let me take you, let me take you to two scriptures that it’s important for you to see and understand. The first one is 1 Corinthians, chapter 6. Now 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 9: “Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,” and those are cross-dressers or male prostitutes, “nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of God.” You say we’re all lost; we’re all damned. No, no, no. He says, “And such were some of you, but you were washed; you were sanctified, set apart, made holy. You were justified, declared righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God.” Now, I was those things. I was an adulteress. I was sick to the core. But you know what? I’m not anymore because the Holy Spirit is inside of me. And he just wants to make sure and this is why Paul says in Galatians, chapter 5, I’m forewarning you, why. Because there was a teaching and that teaching was that once you’re saved by grace you could live anyway you want to. And that’s why the Judaizers were coming along in the regions of Galatia and saying to them, hey you’ve got to be under the law. But that’s because they didn’t understand life in the Spirit. Life in the Spirit breaks the bondage of sin. Life in the Spirit sets you free so you’re no longer a slave to sin. Can you still sin? Of course you can still sin.
I remember, you know one of the deeds of the flesh is outbursts of anger, but I remember one day I was so mad at my husband that I could not see straight. I thought you don’t understand me. You’re not the kind of man that I need. I’m sure that God did not tell me to marry you. I was in that state, I was so angry. And before I got saved, honey, I had a temper and I had a tongue and watch out. After I got saved the Holy Spirit came in and He really did change me. But I was mad at him and I just let him have it. And what I did was I grabbed my keys and I ran through the entrance to our house. I slammed something on the bench there and I, I swore. I was really, really angry. And I went out the door. I got in the car and you talk about shifting it into gear honey, I shifted into reverse and I was in reverse of walking in the Spirit. And do you know though, the whole time I was doing that, the Holy Spirit was bugging me. The Holy Spirit was saying you shouldn’t be doing this. You know that you’re wrong. You can walk by the Spirit. And I said I don’t want to walk by the Spirit. I want to let him know.
I got down the hill. We live on a hill at Precept Ministries. I got down the hill, around the curve and there’s a circle, and I circled it and went back up the hill, closed the door, walked in the house and walked by the Spirit. And I confessed. I confessed to God and I confessed to my husband and I asked him to forgive me and I said I am sorry. I am sorry. I just walked by the flesh. Now, what is the fruit of the Spirit? Well, in telling you my story I forgot to take you to one more very important passage.
So I want you to go one book to the right, Ephesians, chapter 5, cause I want you to see that it is so critical that you understand that if you’re going to practice these things as a habit of life, you’re not safe. If I constantly was blowing off, if I constantly was just one ball of temper and tongue and these things then, and I had no ability to stop it, you would know that I was not saved. Listen to what he says in Ephesians chapter 5. He says in verse 6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience.” Now what are these empty words? Well this is what he says, “Do not let immorality, any impurity or greed even be named among you as is proper among saints. There must be no filthiness and silly talking or course jesting, which are not fitting, fitting, but rather a giving of thanks, for this you know with certainty,” do not be deceived. I have forewarned you, “that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:3-6)
Now let’s go back to Galatians, chapter 5, all right? He turns and he shows you a contrast. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” Look at the contrasts. “Patience,” okay, your outbursts of anger, “kindness,” your tongue, “goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, against such there is no law.” (5:22-23) You don’t need a law to bring these about. All you need to do is let the Spirit lead you, let the Spirit fill you. And when you do that precious one, then you’re going to have the love and the joy and the peace and the patience and the kindness and the goodness and the faithfulness, and the gentleness and the self-control. It’s a nine-fold fruit. He says, “Now those who belong to Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (5:24)
In other words, what has it said to the flesh? It has said death to you. Crucified, I’m putting you to death; I’m not going to allow you to control my life. And he says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (5:25) Oh Beloved, there’s more to learn and we’re going to learn it in our next program. But I would just urge you to get on your knees and say to God, God teach me what it is to walk by the Spirit, to experience the fruit of the Spirit, that I might show people life in the Spirit.
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