Galatians 5:19-21 “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.”
This is the list of individual works of the flesh that we have
focused on. But there are some broad categories we can put
these individual fleshly works into. Have you seen the pattern?
The category that Andy talked about last week is Sexual in
nature. These works include immorality, impurity, sensuality and
lasciviousness. There is no reason to cover all that again. If you
have questions, you can go listen to last week’s message on our
website, fuelthechurch.org
Another category is looking to something other than God for
advice, help or healing. These works are idolatry and sorcery.
Do you look to your horoscope for advice on how to get through
your day? How about astrology or tarot cards? Do you dabble in
seeking information by contacting spiritual beings other than
God?Do you burn sage to cleanse your mind of negative energy or try
to remove evil spirits? That practice is from native Americans,
who wanted protection from evil. I’m not talking about what we
see in the Old Testament as the Altar of Incense. The incense on
the altar was symbolic of the prayers going up to God. When you
burn sage, to remove evil spirits, who do you think you are
praying to?
Another category is substance abuse. Drunkenness and
orgies are included in this one. There are multiple scriptures
that warn against too much alcohol. The abuse of alcohol has the
ability to destroy families like no other. The concept of
drunkenness is all about not being in control of your body or mind.
So, of course drug use that is intended to allow you to escape the
reality of your situation is off limits for a believer. There are those
in the church who will argue that smoking weed allows them to
feel more spiritual. And since it’s legal in their state, they are
permitted to do it. You know what else is legal in states…
abortion. But does that mean God is ok with it? No.
I’m sure smoking weed does make you feel more “spiritual,” but
being spiritual is not the goal of a believer. Remember, demons
are spiritual too. What are you opening yourself up to, while you
are not in control?
Orgies fall into this category of substance abuse, because during
an orgy, alcohol, drugs and every other form of complete
debauchery is on the table. What is going on at an orgy that is
good for you as a believer?
And now for the last category of works of the flesh. The last is
category is relational sins.This category of works of the flesh will encompass over half of the
entire list. And that’s where we will spend a little more of our time
today. You see, even though you might not struggle with
drunkenness sorcery, or attending orgies, I’ll bet you have
struggled with some of these. Enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of
anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions and envy. Do any of
those sound familiar?
How we relate to other people is of great importance to God.
When was the last time you had a problem with someone? When
was the last time you had a fit of anger? When was the last time
you were envious of what someone else had or was
experiencing?
We like to just ignore those things because we believe they are
not as bad as sorcery. Are they not? Did God not put them all
in the exact same list and call them all works of the flesh? God
does not grade on a curve. There are no big sins and little sins.
There are just sins.
How many of these relational works of the flesh have you
personally witnessed in a church? I have seen strife, jealousy, fits
of anger, rivalries, dissensions and divisions…in a church board
meeting among deacons and elders. How is this possible? How
can a church leadership team get so far off course that they
actively participate in this kind of behavior?
It’s because they are human and humans want to put themselves
first. This always causes conflict. Why do you think Paul
instructed us to honor your brother of sister over yourself?
Romans 12:9-10 “9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold
fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly
affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”All too often people want to be in leadership at churches because
they want power. And once they get it, they begin to rule over
other people instead of being a loving, honoring servant. Wether
you are in leadership at a church or are visiting for the first
time, honoring everyone is the rule for a believer. That verse
actually said we need to try and out do one another in showing
honor.
Honor isn’t about bowing down to the leaders or pastors, it’s
about bowing down to each other in an effort to keep these
relational works of the flesh from taking over a church.
How are you doing with that? Do you honor those who you see
as being over you spiritually, but look down on those who you
think are less spiritual? At the root of this is just pride and
selfishness. Often, people will honor someone if they think that
person can help them climb the church ladder into leadership.
This is the kind of behavior that leads to a church split. People
will dig in and try to get what they want at a church, without
considering how that will affect others. Can you let go of your
personal preference in an area and allow someone else to
take the lead? Or is it “my way or the highway?” If that’s your
attitude, then you are clearly operating in the works of the flesh.
Romans 8:5-8 “5 For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live
according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the
Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set
the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is
set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's
law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot
please God.”Dis you hear what operating in the works of the flesh brings?
Death. You are being hostile to God and cannot please God. Is
that what you want? Where is your mind set? On the Spirit or on
the flesh?
Paul had to remind the Colossians about this also. And this time
he added a few more items to the list.
Colossians 3:5-10 “5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in
you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and
covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath
of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you
were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all
away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from
your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have
put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new
self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image
of its creator.”
Now that we put off the old self, we are supposed to put on the
new self, which is the image of the Creator of our new self. And
who is that? Jesus. We have to put away the works of the flesh
in order to be conformed to His image. Do you think Jesus had
any obscene talk coming from His mouth? Do you think you
are conforming to His image, when it comes out of yours?
1 Peter 4:2-4 “2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the
flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of
God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the
Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness,
orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this
they are surprised when you do not join them in the same
flood of debauchery, and they malign you”Once we are saved, our life should not look like it used to. And
that will confuse and anger those you used to run with.
Galatians 5:13 “13 For you were called to freedom,
brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for
the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Do you believe that your freedom in Christ is a freedom to
indulge your flesh? No, of course not, but I know believers who
live as though this were true. They have eternal security, so they
relax when it comes to keeping their flesh in check. It would be
great to pray a prayer in a church service that guarantees you
go to heaven, and then just go back to sinning all you want,
wouldn’t it? The Spirit is always fighting against your flesh to
keep you from doing that very thing. But how does this work?
Romans 12:2 “2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you
may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect.”
Your mind is the decision maker in this battle of flesh vs spirit.
What we call the soul is just the combination of your mind,
your will and your emotions.
Your mind/soul gets input from your body or your flesh. Your
body gives your soul the info, and the soul sends it to the
spirit to judge. If you send the wrong stuff often enough, that is
what gets written and it’s very difficult to erase.
In order to have your mind renewed, you have to replace the old
information of your old life, by living by the kingdom principles
that Jesus taught during His ministry here on earth.As we begin to break down this idea of having a renewed mind,
there are three characters involved, they are the Flesh, the mind
and the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:1-5 “And you were dead in the trespasses and
sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this
world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is
now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all
once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires
of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because
of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were
dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—
by grace you have been saved—“
Think about it like this. Imagine your flesh is here, your spirit is
over here and in the middle between them is your soul (mind).
Before you asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be the Lord of
your life, your spirit was dead. The first verse of the scripture we
just read says you were dead in your sins. The real you, a spirit,
the you that lives in this body.…was dead. We think of our body/
flesh as who we are, but that’s not even close to being correct.
For years, your flesh and mind were running around together
doing whatever made your flesh happy. If your flesh wanted it,
your mind would justify why you should have it. Doing what your
flesh wanted is what got you into trouble, because there was no
one to stop the two of them or even give them a reason to pause.
But then one day you heard the message of Jesus and you
chose to live for Him. At that point your spirit man came to life.
Suddenly there is a third guy involved. A third wheel that has
shown up to ruin the fun, or so your flesh would have you
believe.How many times have you seen a character in a show that has a
devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other? As crazy as it
sounds, that is basically what is happening when our spirit
comes to life in Christ.
You see, up until that point, your flesh has never had any
competition for who influences your mind. But now there’s
this new guy who is alive with the spirit of God and has a totally
different perspective on what choices your mind should be
making. Your flesh and mind have been together doing whatever
your flesh wanted for a long time, so your habits have been set
through your choices over that period of time.
Remember earlier when I mentioned being able to sin all you
want and God would just forgive you? That it sounded too good
to be true? As Christians we have to ask ourselves: “Why would
being able to sin all we want, sound good?”
Here’s why. Your flesh jumped into the conversation and started
talking to your mind…again. It will say, “Remember the good
old days, when it was just the two of us? Wasn’t that fun?
Don’t you miss that?”
Again, the battle over our choices, when it comes to the works of
the flesh, is waged in the mind. You will have this battle ongoing
until your flesh dies.
Romans 7:24-25
“24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver
me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through
Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God
with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”Your flesh can’t be saved. It won’t stop trying to convince you to
make bad choices. So we defeat it by starving it of its influence
over our mind. As we seek God through His word, our spirit is
strengthened and our flesh is weakened. Your flesh can be
defeated, by being crucified daily. But the only way that happens
is by the Word of God and allowing the Holy Spirit to rule over
your decisions.
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