The War Within

Gal 5: 13-17 NLT 13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. 16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

As we embark on our next series, we’re going to talk about the war within, which is the title of today’s message. The War Within.

It would seem that no matter what you do sometimes, there’s always someone there to tell you it was wrong, sometimes even a voice within you. We can at times be our own worst critic.

If you have been in church for any length of time, you have been told that Christ has set you free. You may or may not know free from what. You may know some things he set you free from, while others you’re not so sure and still others you’ve yet to learn about.

We are familiar with the person who penned this book because we just finished an entire series on another book of the New Testament he wrote. I’m of course talking about the Apostle Paul. And this letter is written to a group of Gentile believers, in the Galatian church, who are experiencing a crisis of faith because of false teachers. And church, let me tell you, there are still false teachers, who if you’re not studying and praying and meditating on the Word of God for yourself, will have you doubting that what God said, is what God said.

There will always be those who will come up with a “new” revelation of the Word of God and attempt to turn it into a new denomination or another word that comes to mind is a cult.

Solomon said there’s nothing new under the sun and that is still true today. So if any one comes before you declaring God has given them a new and fresh understanding, a different spin, or unique revelation, listen closely because God said I am the same yesterday, today and forevermore.

Man is constantly looking for the new, he seeks out the fresh but when it comes to the Bible, when it comes to God, when it comes to His expectations, we still haven’t mastered the old so why are we looking for new?

Or could it be that we still haven’t mastered the old so we are looking for

• something new,

• something different,

• something easier perhaps,

• or just; something—else.

Have you ever been trying to do something, but you just couldn’t seem to get it quite right. Or have you wanted something but you couldn’t afford it so instead of waiting until you could, you exercise one of two options.

One option is, rather than waiting until you could get what you want, you settle for something less and it never works quite right.

Or…you purchase what you couldn’t afford, now you’re stuck working a third job or more overtime to make the payments, to the point where you can’t enjoy what you’re spending all that extra time working for.

You set a goal to lose 75 pounds and you did. But then you go to your class reunion and that person who hasn’t seen you since high school makes a comment about how much weight you’ve gained. There’s a reason you’re not friends on Facebook.

Now you decide you have to lose more weight and this time the journey is harder, it takes longer and it’s not as satisfying because, when it comes down to it, it’s not a goal you set for yourself. It’s an exaggerated, if not unobtainable goal because let’s be real, who looks like they did in high school? Including the person who made the comment.

Maybe you wanted a certain car, but you just couldn’t afford the car you really wanted. Have you noticed car manufacturers have a regular line of cars and a luxury line? For Honda it’s Acura, for Toyota its Lexus, and for Ford it’s Lincoln.

Unless you do some research, you won’t know they’re built on the same frame, there are just differences as the cars go through the process of being built and in the amenities that are included vs what is an upgrade. The more luxurious the car, the more features marked as standard and the higher the price.

But if you’re not careful, your desire to have more or do more will cause you to put yourself in bondage. But in this 5th chapter of the book of Galatians, Paul is reminding them and us, that Christ died to set us free from the bondage of the law, he further states, now don’t allow yourself to get tied up in slavery once more. Slavery is any situation or practice that entraps.

There are those talking about circumcision yet again. The Jews just couldn’t seem to let go of this circumcision thing. They insisted that the Gentiles must go through what they went through, circumcision, or they couldn’t have what they had, salvation.

But Paul is saying ok, if you’re counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ is of no benefit to you. What Christ did on the cross meant nothing if you think it’s circumcision that makes you saved.

And oh yes, let’s see you keep all the laws of Moses too. You know, the ones that it was impossible for you to keep, the ones where you needed the priest to make annual sacrifices, that were never enough. If you want to follow the law then you need to follow the whole law.

If you try to tell someone today they have to do anything other than confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Christ came through a virgin birth, died, was buried, rose again and ascended back to the Father, then you’re out of order, you’re misleading someone and you’re just plain wrong. You have just added or tried to add a yoke of bondage to salvation.

For those adding a physical requirement to salvation, you’re asking or requiring someone to be at war within themselves. They are at war because their flesh and their spirit will never be able to agree. So you’ve just created conflict where conflict is not necessary.

When we place our faith in Christ, there is no benefit in those things of the flesh, what’s important is that we love one another.

So I tell you once again, whom the Son sets free, is free indeed. You have been called to live in freedom, but don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Don’t allow the fact that you’re now under grace cause you to sin, saying God will forgive me. Paul addresses that thought process in Romans 6when he says 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. 15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!

So don’t continue in sin, you must contend with the war within. We’ve talked about the 613 laws the ten commandments expanded into, but here is the heart of the matter, Love your neighbor as yourself.

On the other hand, Paul says in verse 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

• If you’re always looking at the 10 pounds you didn’t lose instead of the 75 pounds you did, you’ll never be able to celebrate.

• If you’re always complaining about the one thing they didn’t do, instead of appreciating the five things they did do, you’ll never be content.

• If you’re waiting to hear one specific person tell you, you done good, you won’t hear the compliments from the other eight people.

Love doesn’t just see or only look for the negative. If you’re always biting and devouring one another, watch out!

If you can’t lift your brother or sister up when they’re down, what more should you expect from them when you’re down. This is not to say you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. But it is to say it would certainly be a lot easier for me to scratch your back if mine is not itching.

It would be easier for me to encourage you if I’m not depressed. It may be me today and you tomorrow, but it’s not about keeping score, it’s about love, plain and simple.

How do we just love each other when people can be mean and vengeful? Paul has the answer in verse 16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Anybody ever had a craving? Sometimes women who are pregnant will crave things in combinations that would make them sick under ordinary circumstances. For some, it may be a cigarette habit, for others an alcohol habit and still others a drug habit. But when your body craves something it takes great willpower to not fulfill that craving.

In this case it’s the flesh with a craving, a craving to sin, a craving to do evil. When you fail to let the Holy Spirit guide your life, there’s a war that rages within.

The war rages because Paul says, 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil. There are things the flesh desires, but the spirit says no.

When someone follows the desires of their sinful nature there are some behaviors you will see such as

• sexual immorality

• adultery

• impurity

• fornication

• lustful pleasures

• idolatry

• sorcery

• hostility

• quarreling

• jealousy

• outbursts of anger

• selfish ambition

• dissension

• division

• envy

• drunkenness

• wild parties

and just in case he missed any Paul adds an all-encompassing… and other sins like these.

When one exhibits these behaviors they’re showing that they’re not being led by the Holy Spirit, in fact it’s the flesh that’s not only leading, but it’s winning the war.

This is the opposite of what the Spirit wants. So, since this is the case, the Spirit has not left us on our own, He gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.

These two forces, the flesh and the Spirit, are constantly fighting each other, and

• when there is a war within, you’re not free to carry out your good intentions. You’re so distracted by what’s going on in your own life that you can’t be bothered to help, code word love, your brother or sister.

• When you’re so consumed by the war within, you can’t tell others about the goodness of the Lord.

• When you’re so distressed by the war within, you can’t pray yourself through, let alone someone else.

• When you’re so panicked by the war within, you can’t see that God is still in control.

• When you’re so overpowered by the war within, you can’t proclaim that you are victorious.

• When you’re so confused by the war within, you lose sight of the fact that you are renewed in the spirit of your mind.

• When you’re so overwhelmed by the war within, you can’t declare that you are an overcomer.

• When you’re so distraught about the war within, you can’t comfort others who may be grieving.

• When you’re so overtaken by the war within, you can’t get to the victory on the other side.

• When you’re so deflated by the war within, you forget you can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives you strength.

• When you’re so defeated by the war within, it slips your mind that you are more than a conqueror.

• When you are left void by the war within, it gets passed you that you are filled with the Spirit

Come on somebody, you gotta know who you are and who dwells in you so you know what you can do. When the Holy Spirit lives inside of you there’s

• no mountain so high you can’t get over it with praise.

• no valley so low, you can’t navigate it with prayer.

• no wall so thick you can’t knock it down with a shout.

• no problem so vexing, you can’t solve it with worship.

• no trial so upsetting you can’t get sing your way through.

When you know that you know, that you know, when you have accepted and made room for the Holy Spirit to live within you there are also behaviors you’ll exhibit and that is what our next series is going to cover.

When you allow the Holy Spirit to lead in your life you will display the fruit of the spirit. Over the next few weeks, we will talk about the fruit of the spirit so you’ll not just know what they are. But, you’ll be able to identify them in yourself and others.

Who’s winning the war within you? Is it the spirit or is it your flesh?

What kind of fruit are you producing? Is it the work of evil the flesh produces or the fruit of the spirit. Stay with us as we talk about the fruit we should be producing.

In order to produce a good crop, you must first prepare the soil, that starts by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior with praying a prayer of salvation.

It could be as simple as declaring, Father I confess I’m a sinner, I believe that Jesus is your Son, that he was born of a virgin, that he died for my sins, and now sits at your right hand praying for me. Jesus thank you for saving me, please be Lord of my life, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer for the first time welcome to the family, send us a message on whatever platform you’re viewing this message so we may pray with and for you.

If you live in the Douglasville, GA area, we’d love to see you here at 3500 Hwy 5, Ste 101 at 8:45 for Sunday school and 10:00 for Worship service. We’re on the move for Christ and we’d love for you to come with us.

Check out our website at www.lovechristianctr.org for service times, zoom codes to join us live for the entire service, announcements, how to support us financially, and to learn more about us. If this message has blessed you please share it.

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