Outward Battles

————Movement: Recap | What comes out eventually reveals what is happening within us. ———

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul gives us this long list—not because he is trying to give us a list of random bad behaviors, but because he is showing us what the flesh produces when it is allowed to govern our lives.

Some of those battles are primarily inward. But…

The inward battle eventually becomes an outward battle.

What is happening in the heart eventually makes its way into our words, our relationships, our choices, our homes, our phones, our social media, and our everyday lives. And at that point…

People can see it. | They can hear it. | They can experience it.

And today, I want us to look at two of those outward works of the flesh: fits of anger and drunkenness.

They may seem like two completely different problems. But underneath them is something very similar. Both involve a surrender of control.

————-Define, righteous vs flesh, progression, application———

Fits of Anger: When the flesh explodes.

James 1:19–20 “19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Notice that James doesn't say anger doesn't exist. He doesn't say Christians will never experience anger. He distinguishes between the anger of man and another type of anger.

There is such a thing as righteous anger. Such as when God is angry toward sin. Notoriously, Jesus Himself displayed anger when He entered the temple and saw His Father's house being dishonored by the manipulation of sacrificial system for personal profit. But Jesus' anger wasn't about protecting His ego. He wasn't throwing a fit because somebody inconvenienced Him. His anger was directed toward sin and dishonor and injustice in a place that should have been filled with fairness, generosity, and love.

That is very different from the anger Paul warns us about in Galatians 5.

What kind of anger controls you? Is it righteous anger? If not, keep listening.

Paul is talking about fits of anger—those sudden explosions of rage that happen when circumstances don't line up with our desires.

Something doesn't go our way. Someone says something we don't like. Someone disrespects us. Traffic doesn't move. Our child doesn't listen. Our spouse doesn't respond the way we wanted. Someone posts something online. And suddenly something erupts inside of us. What may have started as irritation becomes resentment. Resentment becomes frustration. Frustration becomes anger. And anger becomes an explosion.

And sometimes that explosion lasts thirty seconds, but the damage lasts thirty years.

A parent can explode at a child in five seconds in a way the child remembers for twenty years.

A husband can vent to or at his wife in anger that changes the atmosphere of the home.

A wife can speak out of anger and wound her husband deeply.

A friend can lose their temper and destroy years of trust.

A pastor can respond in anger and damage an entire church.

A church can respond in anger and wound one of its own.

Fits of anger don't just affect the person who is angry. Fits of anger create casualties.

Proverbs 29:11 says “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.”

The fool says, "I feel it, so I have to release it."

The wise person says, "I feel it, but I don't have to be ruled by it."

That's important because our culture often tells us the opposite.

Culture is often telling us…

"Get it off your chest."

"Tell them exactly how you feel."

"Don't let anybody disrespect you."

"Give them a piece of your mind."

But Scripture says something different.

Not every emotion deserves expression.

Just because you feel something doesn't mean you have to say it.

Just because you're angry doesn't mean you have to act angry.

Just because you have the ability to respond doesn't mean you should.

Proverbs 15:18 says “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.”

The flesh says, "Make it bigger." | The Spirit says, "Make it quieter."

The flesh says, "Respond immediately." | Wisdom says, "Slow down."

Let that sink in for just a second. (PAUSE)

———Fits of Anger Reflection————

And this is where we need to be honest with ourselves. The trigger for the outburst of anger isn't actually the thing that we have let take control of us. The anger is simply revealing what we believe we are entitled to have, want, or have earned.

"I deserve to be respected." | “I deserve to get my way." | “They shouldn't treat me like that." | “My plans shouldn't be interrupted."

And when reality doesn't match our expectations, the flesh says, "Then I'm going to make everybody feel my frustration." “I’m going to correct them or this”

That's why James says: “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

You can win the argument and still lose the relationship

You can prove your point and still damage your witness.

You can get your way and still grieve the Spirit.

So ask yourself:

What happens in me when I don't get what I want? Or go how I expected.

Because that may reveal more about your spiritual condition than what happens when everything is going your way.When

[Pause, slowly move into next section, shift your mind from outburst to escapism]

———Drunkenness, Explode > Numb, To what do you surrender control? ———

But not everyone responds to pressure by exploding. Some people respond by escaping.

Some people don't explode. They numb.

Drunkeness: When the Flesh is Numbed

It is when someone reaches for something that will make them forget, relax, escape, or temporarily silence what they're feeling. The world, friends, school, media has trained us to think that alcohol is fun, light hearted, social, and beneficial to life. I, medical science, personal experience, and so many many many things would tell you why would you even tempt yourself with the dangers.

-My dad started drinking alcohol as an escape in HS. Led to harder and harder drugs. He was clean and sober when my parents met, and I was born, but something happened and the addiction crept back into his life. Divorce, regret, shame, and so on and so on were the result.

-I knew a couple walking on a hiking trail in HI. They were wanted the perfect picture. So they stepped closer and closer to the edge of the trail edge. His wife slipped, fell down the edge of the cliff. She lived briefly after the fall, but died shortly there after.

-Alcohol, like so many other things…why would you even get close. We don’t pray deliver us from temptation before we march right into temptation on purpose. We pray deliver us from temptation when it comes as the devil brings it our way.

He says elsewhere in...

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,”

Notice the contrast…

Don't be drunk. Be filled. Don't surrender yourself to something that takes control away from you. Instead, surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit.

Drunkenness isn't simply about having a drink. Paul is addressing drunkenness—the state in which alcohol has impaired judgment, weakened self-control, and begun to govern the person.

Drunkenness doesn’t just affect the person who is drunk. Drunkenness creates casualties.

It affects marriages.

It affects children.

It affects workplaces.

It affects finances.

It affects judgment.

It affects relationships.

It leads people into decisions they would never make sober.

Drunkenness is often an attempt to escape what we don't know how to handle.

Maybe you're stressed.

Maybe you're lonely.

Maybe you're angry.

Maybe you're hurting.

Maybe you're exhausted.

Maybe you’re bored.

Maybe you don't know what to do with the pressure you're carrying.

And instead of bringing that pain to God, you reach for something that temporarily makes you feel different. The problem is …. when we use alcohol to numb our pain it doesn't actually heal the pain. It only postpones it. And when the effect wears off, the problem is still there. Sometimes it's worse.

That's what sin does. That is what works of the flesh do.

It promises life, but it doesn't brings death.

It promises escape, but brings bondage.

It promises control, but takes control from you.

And that's why Paul gives us this beautiful contrast:

"Do not get drunk with wine...but be filled with the Spirit."

———?Movement?———

Now look at these two works of the flesh side by side.

Anger explodes. Drunkenness numbs.

One is loud | The makes you careless and unaware.

One lashes out at the world | The other tries to escape from the world.

Underneath both is a surrender of self-control.

Fits of anger say: “I will let my emotions control me."

Drunkenness says:m”I will let this substance control me."

———

The Christian life is about becoming a person whose life is increasingly governed by the Holy Spirit…

The flesh says, "Give in."

The Spirit says, "Wait."

The flesh says, "Explode."

The Spirit says, "Be gentle."

The flesh says, "Numb it."

The Spirit says, "Bring it to Me."

The flesh says, "You need to be in control."

The Spirit says, "Trust Me."

The Spirit calls us to self-control.

But here's where we have to be careful.

Sometimes Christians hear the phrase "be led by the Spirit" and think that means,

"There's nothing I need to do." ("I'll just wait for the Holy Spirit to change me." But walking by the Spirit isn't passive.)

“It is all up to me” (I’ll pull everything up by my bootstraps.)

The Spirit leads us, but we have to walk.

If I tell you, "Follow me," you can't follow me while sitting still.

Walking implies movement.

It means there are decisions we make.

There are habits we cultivate.

There are temptations we flee.

There are conversations we choose not to have.

There are words we choose not to say.

There are environments we choose not to put ourselves in.

There are things we remove from our lives.

And there are things we intentionally replace them with.

So when anger rises, I don't simply say, "Well, that's just how I am."

I stop.

I listen.

I pray.

I choose not to respond immediately.

I ask the Spirit to produce patience and self-control.

When I'm overwhelmed, I don't automatically reach for whatever will numb me.

I bring my burden to Christ.

I call somebody.

I pray.

I seek help.

I put myself in the community of God's people.

I choose a different response.

Because walking by the Spirit means cooperating with the Spirit.

The Scripture as a whole, but especially the NT letters are filled with commands, encouragements, that are not passive. The Holy Spirit leads, you follow.

-Church planter in the continent in Africa, Pastors preach 52 sermons a year, and people don’t follow any of them.

Conclusion: Open Altars/Prayer Team

So today, I want you to ask yourself two questions.

What happens when I don't get what I want?

And:

What do I reach for when I don't want to feel what I'm feeling?

Those two questions may reveal where the flesh is trying to control you.

Maybe your flesh comes out through anger.

Maybe it comes out through escape.

Maybe you explode.

Maybe you numb.

Maybe you lash out.

Maybe you hide.

But the gospel is that you don't have to remain controlled by the flesh.

Christ has given you His Spirit. And the Spirit produces something different.

Where the flesh produces fits of anger, the Spirit produces patience.

Where the flesh seeks intoxication, the Spirit produces self-control.

Where the flesh says, "Give in," the Spirit says, "Walk with Me."

So don't merely ask:

"How can I stop being angry?"

Ask:

"How can I become more like Christ?"

Don't merely ask:

"How can I stop reaching for this thing?"

Ask:

"What does it look like for me to be filled with the Spirit?"

Because the goal isn't merely to have fewer bad behaviors.

(Advertise 21 days of prayer here as an opportunity to seek the leadership of the Spirit)

The goal is to have a life increasingly governed by the Holy Spirit.

The flesh wants to control you.

But the Spirit has come to lead you.

So walk by the Spirit.