We Must Walk in the Spirit

Sermon Notes

Galatians 5:16–26 (NKJV)

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 17. Walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16–18)

The Galatians were not supposed to start with faith in Christ and end with their works. Rather, Paul points to the source of the Galatian fruit—their union with Christ.

To walk in the Spirit is more than just doing stuff for God. It involves living with God.

What is this walk like?

No doubt it has its ups and downs.

There are some moments when we are obedient to the Holy Spirit.

There are other days that the flesh just finds it hard to resist temptation.

This is the life that we face as Christians.

We want to live a good life where we are walking in the Spirit.

The truth is, as long as we have to contend with the flesh, we will be in a tug of war internally which will be revealed externally.

So what is the goal for us in this life in Christ?

The goal is for us to walk in the Spirit so that we can resist the desires of the flesh.

So how can we know how we are walking?

By taking a moment to assess where your life is at; whether it has been a life lived out of love for God or lived out of the love of self.

Lets take a look at both ways of living which stems out of how and who we love.

1. Evidence of a selfish life. (19-21)

a. adultery - intimacy with someone not your spouse.

b. Fornication - to engage in sexual morality of anykind.

c. Uncleanness - filthyness, impurity

d. lewdness - behavior lacking restrain

e. idolatry - the practice of serving and worshipping idols.

f. sorcery - the use of magic, casting spells, taking drugs for holusinative purposes.

g. Hatred - to feud with someone.

h. contentions - strife and discord.

i. jealousies - resentment against someone, envy.

j. outbursts of wrath - intense anger.

k. selfish ambitions - ambition to be better than everyone else.

l. dissensions - division into two groups.

m. heresies - “an opinion,” especially a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects

n. envy - ill willed malice, to hold a grudge.

o. murders - unlawful killing of a human being over another.

p. drunkeness - to become drunk on alcoholic beverages.

r. revelries - Parties involving alcohol leading to sexual immorality

2. Evidence of a Christ centered life. (22-23)

a. love - unconditional love

b. joy - rejoicing

c. peace - a state of freedom from inner anxiety and turmoil.

d. long suffering - emotional calm in the face of provocation or misfortune and without complaint or irritation.

e. Kindness - to act kindly

f. goodness - generosity

g. faithfulness - the quality of being faithful.

h. gentleness - gentleness of attitude and behaviour.

i - self-control - to exercise ones complete control over one’s desires and actions.

"Faith makes all things possible... love makes all things easy." - Dwight L. Moody.

"God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with." -Billy Graham.

We all have been given God’s love.

We all have been enpowered to love the way God intends for us to love.

We all have been given a wonderful opportunity to grow in our love for God.

We also must remember that we are in a tug of war.

The flesh is pulling us one way, with the devil decieving us on the way

The spirit however is pulling us the other way with the Holy Spirit leading you to a greater love for God.

The difference between the two ways comes down to who you love the most.

If you love God genuinely, you will be led by the Holy Spirit to grow in maturity of love for God and others. It will be evident.

If you, however, love you more, The enemy will lead you down a path which will also bare evidence, but it will not be good.

Who do you love more? Dont answer now. Take time to pray and ask God to reveal to you the right answer.

This will be the test for each of us. Will you spend time this week and ask God to show you who you are loving more?

Once He shows you, let Him help you lean back into the path that will best produce the fruit of the Spirit.