Going With God or Your Gut (Philippians 3:17-21)

God - the spiritual life

Gut - the carnal life

Desires

Appetites - a preference or inherent craving. (the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger)

(hunger) - the distress associated with lack of food.

When you got born again, God changed your appetite.

There’s some things that you wanted and some things you no longer wanted.

Are you desiring to be fed spiritually or carnally?

If you are hungry spiritually, you’re going with God!

If you are hungry spiritually, it’s because there is a lack of spiritual things!

If you are hungry carnally, you are going with your gut.

If you are hungry for carnal things, your desire is for carnal things.

The prodigal son went and lived in the world. The world didn’t supply his need. He served his belly, but his belly got empty.

Luke 15:16 “And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.”

Diet

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Revelation 10:10 “And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.”

The child of God needs a steady diet of the word of God.

While it’s good to have sweet things (exhortation, God blows through, shouting and rejoicing), we also need to things that don’t taste so good (reprove, rebuke, correction, instruction).

We can’t live on sugar, sodas, and sweets as a Christian (going with our gut)(All Aiden wants is sugar). WE NEED OR SPIRITUAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLES! (Gut vs. God)

ODDLY ENOUGH, WHEN TRYING TO FORM A NEW HABIT, IT TAKES AN AVERAGE OF 66 DAYS TO BECOME NORMAL.

You have 66 books that will help you to become more like Christ if you will just let it and follow it!

Hebrews 5:12–14 “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

If you try to “go with your gut” on a feeling when you don’t know what to do, you are going to fail.

DISCERNMENT comes ONLY from knowing the word of God! You can make yourself feel any way your want to. DON’T GO WITH YOUR GUT, GO WITH GOD!

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner (only mention) of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Devotion

When we’re hungry (physically), how often do we go and immediately find food to satisfy that need?

When the Holy Spirit leads us to do something, how often do we immediately follow that leading?

“I’ll put it off to another time.”

“I’ll try to get better at it.”

“I’ don’t want to mess it up.”

INSTANT obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience.

Lettie B. Cowman

Jonah could’ve saved himself from being in the BELLY of a whale if he had just followed God’s command instantly.