The Flesh vs The Spirit

Parable of the Farmers: There were two young farmers who were planting their fields for the first time. One had a great field with large equipment while the other had small fields and only a few mules with a manual plow. As the spring progressed, the two men worked their fields, one obviously with more difficulty than the other. As their produce began to sprout, the weather farmer looked with amazement at what the small farmer was able to produce with what seemed to be so little. His amazement eventually turned to envy and jealousy. How could this small farmer produce the same yield as him without all the machinery? This began to eat away at him and he would lie away at night getting drunk and cursing the small farmer next door. When the harvest finally came, the small farmer who faithfully worked away yielded a great return while the bitter big farmer yielded nothing. In his drunken anger, he often overslept and forgot to work his field. His flesh destroyed him

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 5

16 I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy,, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Big Idea: Your Outside is a Reflection of Your Inside.

What does your reflection look like?

Imagine you are holding a cup of coffee when someone bumps into you causing you to spill what is in your cup. - you didn’t spill grape juice, you didn’t spill tea, you spilt coffee because that is what was in your cup!

If you had tea in your cup you would have spilt tea, if you had juice in your cup you would have spit juice.

We are each a vessel, not unlike a cup. Looking from the outside, no one can know what we “contain.” But when events of life bump up against us or shake us up, whatever is inside will likely come spilling out.

So we must ask ourselves, “What’s in my cup?” Is it love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Or is it anger, bitterness, anxiety, impatience, mean-spiritedness, ill will, faithlessness, harshness, and lack of discipline?

We might present to the world that we are full of one thing when really we are full of another. It’s easy to fake it when nothing is bumping into us or shaking us up. But bring on a little trial, a little temptation, irritation, conflict, inconvenience, etc., and what's inside our heart of hearts will come spilling out.

I. Fruit is a byproduct of proper cultivation.

If you want to see fruit grow, you don’t just plant a seed and then walk away!

You spend time cultivating that fruit. Watering it daily, putting fertilizer in the ground. You care for it.

The same must be true for your spiritual life.

If you are going to see fruit from your spiritual life, you are going to have to care for it daily through prayer, and reading the Word of God. But also by going out and purposefully serving God!

What is your favorite kind of vehicle?

Regardless of what kind you chose, all vehicles are reliant on gas in order to run. Your favorite car might be a wildly expensive sports car that goes 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It might have the best paint job in the world with a decked out interior. It might be #1 on every car report. But without gas, it’s going nowhere. What goes inside the car impacts how it runs. Further, filling up with gas is not a one time thing. Verse 25 says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” It’s ongoing. Now imagine if you went to the gas station and filled up with water instead of gas. Would your car run how it’s meant to run? Of course not. The same is true for us. If we walk in the flesh, we will see the works of the flesh evident in our lives. But if we talk in the Spirit, we will see the fruit of the Spirit evident in our lives.

Are you cultivating and working out the faith that you placed in Jesus?

James tells us that faith without works is dead.

Jesus said that a vine that does not produce fruit is worthless and should be cut down and cast into fire.

Look back to verse 21 and notice that Paul uses the word practice.

II. Fruit will be impacted by where it is planted.

Story of my Cucalope.

When my family and I first moved to TN, I decided that I was going to become a farmer. I planted my first garden. My first garden included 2 of my absolute favorite things; cucumbers and cantaloupe. Here is the problem, no one up there told me that these two needed to be planted far from each other.

As time progressed, I had a beautiful little cantaloupe start growing and man was I proud. But one day I went outside and my precious little cantaloupe had started to change its shape and its color.

You see, what happened is was planted by something that didn’t have the same make up as it.

I quickly found out that the make-up of a cucumber was stronger than that of a cantaloupe.

Friend, your flesh is the same way. You like to think that when you do things in the flesh while you are away from church it is okay because you are a good person.

Jesus said that there is none good except the Father!

He also said that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 13)

13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying, “Consider the sower who went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it. 8 Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown. 9 Let anyone who has ears listen.”

Too many of you are planted around people who only live to fulfill the desire of their flesh

Just like my sweet little fruit was, your heart is slowly being tainted and it is going to destroy you!

You need to pick up your roots and plant then by the spring of living water!

You need to wake up and become the spiritual leader God called you to be!

Teach your children to pray!

Teach your children to read the Word of God!

Teach your children to Serve God.

Teach your children to have Joy, love peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control!

Now let me ask you, HOW WILL YOU DO THIS IF YOU ARE LIVING YOUR LIFE, FULFILLING THE LUST OF THE FLESH?

Application

It is impossible to walk in the spirit and give into the desires of the flesh at the same time. Wen we walk with God, good fruit is inevitable. When we walk in the flesh, bad “works” is inevitable. We cannot manufacture fruit. It is a byproduct of walking with God.

Ultimate thing here is that all this stems from the union. There is no fruit without the union. With the union on the inside, the fruit is produced and seen on the outside

Friend, our lives are evidence of who we really are.

YOUR OUTSIDE IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR INSIDE.

What does your life say?