Walking In The Spirit 2

"Your flesh is at battle with your spirit - and to win the battle with your flesh you must make choices that reflect what God, the Holy Spirit is leading you to do.

Again, God designed you to have free will.  Free will to draw closer to God and free will to draw away or drift away from God.  It is within the boundaries of this free will where the decisions are made that prove whether you have listened and performed the will of God or listened and not performed the will of God. 

Stay with me, because this truth understood is a must if you are to live holy. 

I’m not wanting to take issue with anyone who does not desire to live holy.  If you want to be taught week after week, year after year, but you have not made up your mind to be holy - this message is not for you.

People who walk in the spirit are those who are drawing closer to God.  Did you notice I didn’t say, ‘Those who are perfect are walking in the spirit’ or those who hold a title in the church can walk in the spirit,’ or those who have made no mistakes can walk in the spirit.’  No, people who walk in the spirit are those who are drawing closer to God.

People who let their flesh think for them are those who are drawing or drifting away from God. 

Listen carefully before I move on.  There are those who have

convinced themselves that they are walking in the spirit while fulfilling the desires of the flesh*.  They are deceived.  They are convinced that they can continue to do things with their flesh that God has said no to in their spirit.  This is dangerous ground."

* Desires of the flesh. Please do not confuse the everyday pleasures that God has provided for you with the context of "desires of the flesh." "Desires of the flesh" as used here is referring to the premeditated thoughts and actions unencumbered by good sense and personal morays; those things that when you plan them or do them, you are certain they do not meet with your own personal understanding of being godly, but you do them anyway. "Desires of the flesh" refers to a blatant irresponsible attitude that does not include discussion with God prior to making a decision to go forward with things that you internally already understand is not godly, nor is it good for yourself or others due to the irreparable damage that it causes, directly or indirectly due to the action. 

One of the reasons that they think they can live this way is because the church has been soft on sin, tolerating all kinds of ungodly behavior, afraid to stand for the purity of God’s Word because the church has fear of losing parishioners.

There are those who might get their back up and move on if their sin is not first (kept hidden) and then tolerated.  Many people today want the church to approve and/or ignore their sin.  Rather than choosing to be loosed from it they want to be left alone to continue in it. 

That leaves us with the question, Is it your intent to Walk in the Spirit?

 Excerpt from Walking In The Spirit by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2016