Walking in the Spirit: Overcoming the Flesh's Pull

Paul was concerned about this crab mentality in the church at Galatia. He was concerned about Christians devouring one another. He says in Galatians 5:3, "For you are called to Freedom, Brethren, only do not use your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." [00:01:53]

The Holy Spirit is a fruit-bearing tree and is set against the backdrop of this devouring one another. In fact, he ends this session and section in verse 26, "Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another." You see the words "one another." He's concerned that the household of faith, Believers, are in such Discord that it is being destructive. [00:03:50]

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, for these are in opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you please. [00:06:00]

He says you have within you, I have within me, a civil war going on. It's a civil war between the Flesh and the Spirit. So let's get our terms straight. The flesh is that desire to please oneself independently of God. Let me define that again. The flesh is your desire, my desire, our desire to please ourselves independently of God. [00:06:30]

He does not say stop the desire of the flesh so you can walk in the Spirit. That's backwards. He says walk in the Spirit, and you won't carry out the desire of the flesh. So you don't beat the flesh by fixing the flesh. Guess why? The flesh is unfixable. You cannot keep your flesh from being fleshy. [00:09:01]

So what people settle for is flesh management. Let me tell you something else that's a mistake because we all trying to get to this tree called the fruit. Another thing that's a mistake is trying to turn the flesh into the Spirit. The Flesh and the Spirit are distinct. There are two distinct realities in The Believer. [00:10:03]

So you see, Paul is saying the same thing. If you want to overcome the flesh, you do it by learning what it means to walk in the Spirit, which doesn't stop the desire of the flesh. So stop feeling bad that your flesh wants to be fleshy. That's not the problem. The problem is yielding to it, not having it. [00:13:34]

When you and I walk in the Spirit, God now elevates us to override what the flesh is craving us to do, which leads not only to self-centeredness within us but which also leads to conflict with others. So you know the solution to our issues is learning to walk in the Spirit because then the flesh, no matter how much it desires, won't have the last say. [00:15:31]

Walking in the Spirit is not passive. You're not sitting down and waiting for a jolt from Heaven. You are doing the walking, but the realm in which you are doing it is the Spirit's realm. A lot of Christians do a lot of activity, but they do it in the wrong environment. They think that simply by doing actions, they are moving spiritually. [00:17:41]

Once you decide this is what God says about this, this is what God wants, and this is the direction I am going to go, then you call on the Holy Spirit to enable and empower the movement. You don't lean on your flesh to move because your flesh doesn't want to go. Your flesh wants to stay back and do the self-centered desire. [00:19:52]

That's why the Bible calls it walking by faith, not leaping by faith, jumping by faith, walking by faith. Why? Because you are now moving in the area of your decision. So you've decided on your destination, you've asked the Holy Spirit to empower that decision, and now you begin to take movements that demonstrate you're believing the Holy Spirit to do it. [00:21:09]

The fruit of the Spirit is singular, even though it is going to list a whole list of fruit. Why? Because these are all unified, meaning they come from the one tree, the Spirit, called fruit. That is, he bursts these characteristics, but you don't have to go looking for all these different things, looking for love, looking for peace, looking for patience, looking for kindness, and so on and so forth. [00:24:38]