So I say, live by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature

BIBLE STUDY #603 (Before #289) WEEK: AUGUST 4 – 10, 2009

Topic: “So I say, live by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” Galatians 5:16 As believers, we know that we must take care of and conserve in fire the work that the Spirit began in our lives. Ephesians 4: 22-24 But we can see that as time goes by, the yearnings in some die down, and the word “lukewarm” that we detest so much because it cannot be a part of the church, becomes very natural to them. It is very easy to leave the life of the Spirit, since before we belonged to the flesh, and we know how much the world wants to dominate us again. Therefore, we do not have to work much to grow cold and be lukewarm, but with only “accepting things as they are”, it already happened, and we move away from the spiritual. Many conform themselves with less, with living a tepid and easy Christian life, without much compromise with God and the church. We can see Christians that, as time goes by, take everything very smoothly; then when the wind blows it carries them any way it wants. (Ephesians 4:14) If they do not walk through life in the Spirit, the moment will come when they will become lukewarm and then passive, and afterwards everything, and anything they hear from the world or from the false teachers will convince them more than serving the Lord. The lukewarm person, not only harms himself living in that wretched way towards God, but also brings harm to others living dominated by the flesh. But the Scriptures tells you to “walk”. Keep walking in the Spirit, do not stop. As believers who don’t want lukewarmness to overtake us, our walk has to be from glory to glory, walking according to God’s Spirit. Ephesians 6:18 The man and the woman that live in the Spirit live a solid life, and even if they were alone with nobody to help them, they would only do God’s will, and they would turn up the entire world for their Lord. 2 Timothy 4: 16-17 Because when someone lives in the Spirit and you hear them speak, their words pierce our heart and changes our thoughts and our will. Live in the Spirit and you will experiment what it is to move God! Those who live in the Spirit transcend this Earth and exceed Heaven. It is regrettable to see that many times we begin our life in the Spirit, but then, because we become careless, the flesh is the one that begins to lead us towards evil. When one lives in the flesh, nothing is good, one lives in frustrations, in complaints, with despair; one lives in the middle of a war. Then, one hurts the Holy Spirit, and He leaves and gets offended because one has thought little of Him (Ephesians 4:30). Because even though everything seems right and acceptable in the flesh, it ends in destruction. The people who flirt with the flesh think that it offers “more tranquility”, but what it truly gives them is libertinism and an escape for not obeying the Spirit. That is why one sees that nothing can disturb the carnal person that has grown accustomed to live each day in that condition of life. On the other hand, those who live in the Spirit live struggling and are not afraid of the battle. What we should be afraid of is the flesh, because it causes many to lose, leaving the life in the Spirit. The Spirit sustains the earth, takes care of it, puts it in order, is the One who causes a revival in us, the One who works in our lives, the One who makes us feel guilty, the One who leads us, the One that make us cry out and groan in our prayer. We know that for those who want to live and walk in the Spirit, it is not easy to live in this earth where everything is a joke; everything has a double meaning and is said with malice. We live in a world where no one approaches anyone unless they have a double intention, always in search for something that benefits him or her. For this reason, the Holy Spirit expects us to surrender ourselves totally to Him and that we live in a different way than the world does, not doing what displeases Him. James 4:4-5 When the Holy Spirit is in us, He begins to sanctify us, and that is why we yearn to separate ourselves for God. With the Holy Spirit we can distinguish each day right from wrong, so that our feet will not take us everywhere. The Holy Spirit will prohibit you from entering in the wrong place where you can become filthy. He takes care of us and is jealous of us because He does the work of sanctification in us; He separates us from the world. The world is treacherous since it brings you many applauses, but it mocks you in your fall. Be careful! 1 John 2: 15-17 When the flesh takes over one’s life, one lives half-way and is in danger of worse things. The flesh has a lot of tendencies; it is rebellious and vain. But if you decide to live in the Spirit, it will die. The flesh only leads to bad inclinations like adultery, fornication, filthiness, wrath, anger, etc. (Galatians 5: 19-21). Mortals are inclined to go in that direction; that list of things belongs to him usually. But the Spirit that is in you fights against that flesh that has dominated mankind for centuries since he sinned in the Garden of Eden. What would we do if the Spirit abandoned us? How could we fight without His strength and without His power? That is why the Spirit, who loves us, fights so that our flesh cannot dominate us, yearning and desiring that list of evilness that leads us to damnation. There are a lot of people that live in the flesh, and not only they die, but, like I said at the beginning, they cause others to die spiritually. 2 Peter 2:14 Those who live in the flesh, lives doubting, in wrath, in disputes, they live in the list of Galatians 5: 19-21. If you leave the Spirit, I warn you that the flesh is going to destroy you. Because the thing is that we do not leave the life in the Spirit all of a sudden, but we begin to leave it slowly; today a little bit, tomorrow another bit, and so forth until we become insensitive. Miserable are those who God call to live an abundant life and to give them a good fate, and then turn their lives in stillness and carnality, where nothing good is accomplished, where the spiritual challenge does not exist or looks to do God’s will. For that reason, do not allow the flesh to destroy you, to kill you. Walk beloved! Walk in the Spirit! Renovate your life in the Holy Spirit. Church, do not stop, and you will see the good you will do to others, and you will see your blessing, and above all, you will see God. Walk, the Spirit does not make us tired, the flesh does. When the flesh is pleased, it brings with it pain to the one who pleases it, it brings him failure, but the Spirit brings him life. Walk in the Spirit beloved, and you will see that this path is not tiresome, but that it is delightful; you will not have losses but gain, and everything will be for your well-being. Make an effort! Walk in the Spirit! Amen.