To Walk By The Spirit

What Gets You Out Of Bed In The Morning?

Introducing the Subject

What gets you out of bed in the morning? What compels you to wake up and go to work or school? Why do you vacuum or go grocery shopping? For that matter, why are you here this morning? In other words, what motivates you? What drives you? What compels you to act in the ways that you do?

Have you ever thought about these questions?

In my experience, we don’t spend much time thinking about the ‘why’ behind the things we think, say, and do. We just think, say, and do them.

But the ‘why’ behind our actions determine what our actions will be and where they’ll eventually lead. This is not only true of our secular life - it’s also true of our religious life.

Jonathan Edwards, the famous, American theologian and preacher who wrote ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ argued that everything we do is motivated by what he termed, ‘affections.’ Listen to how described these affections:

“That which men love, they desire to have and to be united to, and possessed of. That beauty which men delight in, they desire to be adorned with. Those acts which men delight in, they necessarily incline to do.” - Jonathan Edwards

These are a person’s affections - not only their emotions but their deepest desires and passions. These are the things that drive us on a daily basis.

Why do we get out of bed? Because we’re passionate about our work - or we need money that we can use to fulfill our desires.

But imagine if you lost all of your affections - your passions and desires - you’d likely find it difficult to even get out of bed. In fact, this is similar to what happens when a person experiences depression - their affections are dampened and it leads them to despair and depression.

If you’ve ever experienced depression, you know that it feels as though the fire of motivation within you has had ice cold water poured all over it.

So, what does all this talk of motivation and affection and passion have to do with the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit’s Place in Motivation

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at the ways in which the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

Two weeks ago, we examined and saw how a person is saved - they hear the Gospel, they genuinely believe or trust in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit comes and lives within them. He seals them as belonging to God.

Then, last week we looked at and saw how the Spirit doesn’t just put a stamp on us - he actively teaches us and leads us into the truth about who God is, who we are, and what we’ve been called to.

And this is where our ‘affections’ come in. Because the things that we believe in or know about are deeply connected to the things that we’re passionate about and delight in.

I am passionate about books and reading because I believe in their power to make me a better person. I know that I’ve been changed by different books - and because of that knowledge and those beliefs, I find incredible delight in reading. It compels me to go into the bookstore or log on to Amazon.

Take a moment to think about some of the things that you’re passionate about - why are you passionate about those things? It’s probably because you know them. You believe in them. And that knowledge creates a passion within your heart.

We’re often the most passionate (for better or worse) about the people we know the best or believe in the most.

And the same is true of God. The more we know him, the more we trust him, the more passionate we will become about him. And that passion will drive our actions - and not only the ‘spiritual’ actions like praying or reading the Bible. It will drive the way we interact with our families. The way we work at our job or in school. It will change how we live our lives.

This is the Holy Spirit’s role - he not only marks us as God’s possession, he leads us into truth and, in turn, transforms our whole selves from the inside-out.

So, with this in mind, let’s read what Paul had to say about this topic in his letter to the Galatian Christians.

Galatians 5:16–26 NASB95

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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Galatians 5:

In this letter, Paul is writing to a church that has become confused. Paul had preached the Gospel to them - the Gospel that we can be saved and have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus. But others had come and told them that if they really wanted to have a relationship with God, they needed to become Jewish first. They needed to be circumcised. They needed to keep the Sabbath and the Jewish festivals.

But that wasn’t the Gospel. The Good News was that God would accept us and begin to transform us based on faith alone.

So Paul spends the first half of this letter combating the idea that we can be saved by keeping the Old Testament law.

But, some may have objected, does this mean that our actions don’t matter? That salvation is merely a matter of saying, “I believe in Jesus”? Absolutely not. And Paul refutes that idea strongly in these words that we’ve just read.

He argues that when the Holy Spirit adopts us and begins living within us, he also does some major renovating. And the more he works in our lives, the more we know and trust him, and the more we trust him, the more our affections are changed

Driven By The ‘Flesh’

Paul begins here drawing a stark contrast between two competing forces: the flesh and the Spirit. He seems to be saying that our actions are motivated by one of these two forces and gives little room for any other. So, it would be worthwhile to take a minute and find out, what exactly he’s talking about here.

What is the ‘flesh’?

So what is the flesh?

First, it’s important to recognize that Paul does not use this word to mean our physical bodies or selves. There’s nothing innately sinful about our physical bodies. So Paul is not making a statement about the physical world. He’s talking about something deeper.

In Paul’s letters to the Roman and Galatian Christians, he often uses the word ‘flesh’ to refer to a human nature that isn’t controlled by the Spirit of God. It’s our natural inclinations. It’s the animal nature of man. It’s that way of being that we’re all born into, characterized by selfishness and a seeking after personal pleasure.

When we’re controlled by our flesh, we simply do whatever feels good…whatever benefits me…whatever I want.

Paul says that the flesh has certain desires and that its desires go against the desires of God’s Spirit.

The flesh motivates us to act in these ways… And Paul gives us a list of deeds that are motivated by the flesh.

What does the ‘flesh’ produce?

Now, we could honestly spend hours looking at this list of sins and examining each one and what they mean. Paul lists fifteen different sins which largely fall into four big categories.

(Sexual) immorality, impurity, and sensuality are all sins that are sexual in nature.

Idolatry and sorcery are both religious in nature.

Enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, and envying are all relational in nature.

Drunkenness and carousing are both about indulging the self beyond reason.

There’s a couple of interesting things about this. First, Paul ends this list by saying, “and things like these...” In other words, this is not an exhaustive list of everything that the flesh produces. But it produces things like this. Second, though there are fifteen items listed and they fall into four categories, really they all have one thing in common: they place self above God and others.

One commentator puts it this way:

“However they might be classified, all the deeds of the flesh are manifestations of a life dictated by ‘self’ instead of being led by the Spirit, in pursuit of one’s own ends rather than in fulfillment of God’s will.” - Ronald Fung

The flesh is, at its root, only worried about pleasing itself. And if that’s what is motivating you, you will inevitably hurt others, damage relationships, push God away, and…well, Paul tells us exactly where you’ll end up.

Where does the ‘flesh’ lead?

Paul writes, “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This is a cause-and-effect relationship. If we live according to the flesh…if we let the flesh…our selfish desires…dictate our lives, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. Why? Because living according to the flesh is living in open rebellion against our creator and true king.

This is why the kind of ‘belief’ that we talked about two weeks ago is more than simply saying, “Sure, I believe Jesus lived and died for my sins.” It’s actively trusting him by listening to his Spirit and following him.

Genuine belief in Jesus results in our motivations being changed. We’re no longer motivated by the ‘flesh’, we’re motivated by something - or rather someone - else entirely.

This is why it’s important for us to realize that the Spirit actively lives within us when we put our faith in Jesus. He is with us, guiding our lives.

This is why Paul contrasts walking according to the flesh with being “led by the Spirit.”

Driven By The ‘Spirit’

Who is the ‘Spirit’?

The Spirit that Paul talks about throughout this passage is the same Spirit that we’ve been discussing these past few weeks. He is God himself who comes and lives within us. He guides us into truth by convicting us and leading us. He teaches us what Jesus meant and reminds us of Jesus’ words.

God, our father and creator, is the one who wants to lead us by the hand. He has a vision for each one of us. He has a purpose for us that only he can guide us into - and it’s a purpose that will give us greater fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness, and peace than anything else on earth.

But the only way we can enter into that life is by trusting him, listening to him, and walking with him. And if we’ll do that, then the Spirit will begin to guide us away from the flesh.

You see, the flesh is like an impatient teenager who wants what he wants RIGHT NOW and isn’t willing to late. The flesh doesn’t know how to put off gratification so that a far greater pleasure can be enjoyed.

The flesh is like my ten year old self who got $50 bill for Christmas and immediately wanted to go to Walmart so he could spend it. The Spirit on the other hand recognizes that some things are worth waiting for…self-denial can lead us to an even greater pleasure.

What does the ‘Spirit’ produce?

And so, Paul contrasts the deeds of the flesh with what he calls “the fruit of the Spirit.” Why are they fruit? Because they grow naturally out of listening to and following the Spirit.

And so, we get a very different list of qualities.

Before we look too deeply at them, we ought to recognize that Paul does not say “the fruits of the Spirit” as if each of these is independent of one another. As if the Spirit can produce patience while forgetting to grow joy. There is only one fruit and it’s a fruit that has all of these characteristics.

It would be like saying, “This apple is red, large, sweet, and delicious.” There’s only one apple but it’s characterized by all of these features.

And this is the fruit of the spirit. It’s something that is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

What a contrast these qualities have when set next to the previous list. Whereas that list was focused on gratifying the self and its desires, this list is focused on becoming the kind of person God created us to be.

A person who puts others before ourselves. A person who loves sacrificially, who finds joy in life instead of reasons to complain, who seeks peace rather than division, who is patient with others rather than demanding that everyone move at our pace, who is kind even when others are unkind, who is good in spite of much evil, who is faithful even when others refuse to be, who is gentle in an abrasive and aggressive culture, and who is self-controlled (or perhaps Spirit-controlled) rather than indulging oneself.

What do all of these characteristics have in common? They are not only characteristics of the Spirit-controlled person, they are characteristics of God himself. And so, the Spirit leads us into a way of life that mirrors God’s way of life.

Where does the ‘Spirit’ lead?

And so, the Spirit leads us into God’s presence. And we become like little children who watch our father and imitate him, becoming ever more like him. This is why Paul concludes this passage by saying, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

If we are truly Christ’s…if our faith is fully in him…if we listen to his voice…if we follow his leading…then it will result in a very real and at times very painful result - the crucifixion of our flesh with its passions and desires.

Remember, the flesh is not our physical bodies. It’s our natural inclination. It’s our selfishness. It’s our desire to be satisfied before others. It’s the way we demand our own way. It’s the bad attitudes we have when people don’t do things like WE want. It’s the faith and trust we put in ourselves and in our good works.

We put those things to death. We deny ourselves and submit, again and again - in choice after choice - to the leading of the Spirit. And he leads us directly into God’s presence since we belong to God.

Putting The Spirit In The Driver’s Seat

Paul says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

He’s issuing a challenge to each of us who claim to be Christ’s. He’s saying, if you say that God is your Father…if you say that he’s your source of life…if you truly live in him, then walk like it.

He’s reminding us that you can’t plant dandelions and expect to get wheat. Whatever you’re sowing to - whether to the Spirit or to the flesh - that is what you’ll find growing in the garden of your life.

And so, trust the Spirit and follow the Spirit so that he can produce the kind of fruit that only he can produce.

What does this look like in practice?

It means putting our desires down…it means denying yourself. And what I’ve found is that the more we deny ourselves in small things, the easier it becomes to deny ourselves in larger things. This is where a practice like fasting can become very beneficial - it helps teach us to deny our flesh and say “Yes” to the Spirit.

It shifts our affections to God and gives him control.

Wherever you find yourself this morning, God wants control of your life. He has a plan for each one of you and he desires to lead you into his presence by the power of his Spirit. He wants to take your sinful desires and selfishness and put it to death - and raise up a new, spiritually led you in its place.

If your flesh is in the driver’s seat… if you are motivated by self and pleasure, I want to warn you that you cannot inherit the Kingdom of God and all that comes with it. But if you will trust the Spirit and walk with the Spirit, he will transform your life today and will give you an inheritance that cannot be taken away from you - even by death itself.

I want to encourage everyone this morning to reflect on where you stand today… are you being led by the Spirit or by the flesh? Is your life characterized by practices that focus on the self or on God and others? And if the Spirit is not bearing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, then ask God what you might need to crucify. And give him control.

Let God’s Spirit be the primary motivation in your life.