Galatians 5:16-21 Not a License, Not a Law. It s the Spirit. Intro: The liberty of life in the Spirit! The Walk that is available in the Holy Spirit.

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1 Galatians 5:16-21 Not a License, Not a Law. It s the Spirit. Intro: The liberty of life in the Spirit! The Walk that is available in the Holy Spirit. Necessity of walking in the Spirit. Not an option. There is a spiritual war within us. Flesh vs. Spirit. and you cannot win this battle in your own efforts or resources. But there is a way to walk in victory We are not lawless (a License to sin). We are not under the law (Legalism). There is a 3rd option.... Grace. [Gal 5:16-18 NKJV] 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The only way to not fulfill the LUSTS of the flesh is to Walk in the Spirit. A step by step process until you reach heaven. Face every issue of life, one by one, by humble dependence on Jesus Christ and His resources. This is the heart of Christian Living. The Hope we have is that we WILL walk in victory if we walk in the Spirit.

2 The LUST OF THE FLESH. The ungodly or uncontrolled desires of humanity. Food is a desire but can be sinful if uncontrolled. [Mat 26:41 NKJV] 41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak." There is a lot more involved than just willingness When you re born again, you are willing. But the Flesh is weak. The Human resources to follow through is weak. So what do we do!!!!???? WATCH AND PRAY Walk in the Spirit. It s all LORD I NEED YOU! Sign seen in a textile mill, "When your thread becomes tangled, call the foreman." A young woman was new on the job. Her thread became tangled and she thought, "I'll just straighten this out myself." She tried, but the situation only worsened. Finally she called the foreman. "I did the best I could," she said. "No you didn't. To do the best, you should have called me." [Jhn 3:6 NKJV] 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. What comes from the Spirit is life. Flesh brings death and disappointment. What did you really expect? That we would eventually just figure all this righteousness and sin stuff out? with our human ingenuity? [Eph 2:3 NKJV] 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,

3 fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. This is what the life of the flesh is described by. The very nature of our fleshly efforts is failure and rebellion which leads to wrath. The Mind The natural way of thinking. How can I figure this out? [1Jo 2:16 NKJV] 16 For all that [is] in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- -is not of the Father but is of the world. If it feels good, looks good, pumps you up, go for it. But, it s only purpose is to steal kill and destroy. As opposed to Jesus. Which says, deny yourself and take up your cross daily. only 1 option. Follow Jesus Christ. [Rom 7:18 NKJV] 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but [how] to perform what is good I do not find. The life I could produce out of my own self resources We cannot find these resources to perform what is good. But they can be given to us. Because He is Good! And He gives us himself. That s living by the Spirit. The Lord coming to dwell in your life. We have a willingness but DOING is a different thing. So, many people think it s just about wanting to do what s right.

4 But, it s not just about the will. It s the Spiritual resources, to do what is right. [Rom 8:13 NKJV] 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Your spiritual vitality after you are born again, is related to what resources your draw from. We do have a place to go everyday to find what we need. And that place is a person. You will get worn out, condemned, discouraged, disappointed, broken when you don t call on his name and His provision. By the Spirit, renounce, or take those things to the cross. That dependance on our own ability. Say no to self and bring death to self. But I can t figure it out! Thats exactly right! We don t try to figure it out. Just come to Him and ask for his help. His Spirit. The Helper. This is LIFE OR DEATH. For each Christian. [Gal 5:17 NKJV] 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Why do we do not do what we want to do? Because we have a flesh and a Spirit battling. What happens is we attempt to engage in this battle in our efforts. Instead of humble dependence on the Holy Spirit. We are the source of the problem and not the source of the solution. Romans 7

5 [Rom 7:19-25 NKJV] 19 For the good that I will [to do], I do not do; but the evil I will not [to do], that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not [to do], it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. We still have the same humanity, body, sin that we had before we were saved. The greatest mistake in the christian life is to underestimate our need for the Lord in our daily lives! 24 O wretched man that I am! (Humility) Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. As we try to do what s right in our own resources, we are brought into captivity to sin! The remedy is Trust in Jesus Christ and you will find new life in Him. The answer is still the same and the day your first believed. A humble cry for a deliverer. Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver. JESUS WILL! I thank God through Jesus Christ He is a comprehensive deliverer. [Gal 5:18 NKJV] 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

6 We do not relate to God by our fleshly performance yet when we are trying to gain his acceptance by our performance standard, we are putting ourselves under the law. Then the Law starts it tutoring all over again. We end up walking in failure or condemnation or striving. But when we are led by the Spirit, the result is FRUIT!!!! Bear some Fruit. [Rom 7:4-6 NKJV] 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another--to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not [in] the oldness of the letter. Not the striving best intentions. But the new power and life of the Holy Spirit. Jesus. [2Cr 10:3 NKJV] 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. Thats the battle. Flesh or Spirit. Us or God. Try or Trust. Faking a relationship with God or Having a true relationship with God. Ending

7 [Jhn 6:63 NKJV] 63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and [they] are life. These works are the enemy. And they are the results of us being us. But Interaction with Jesus and a humble devotion to believe His words bring Spirit and life into our lives. Next week we will look carefully at these verses. [Gal 5:19-21 NKJV] 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told [you] in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. It NEVER brings us peace about living in licentiousness (a License to sin). Or Legalism. One is to the Right. The other is to the Left. Grace and the Spirit are in the middle. Just Follow Jesus down the narrow path. Pray to and trust Him. Call on His name and wait on Him. Be a Spiritual person. A person filled with the Spirit. Humbly depend on His resources and gifts.