Message Date: June 18, 2023
Bible
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:16-18 NKJV
Galatians 5:16-18 NKJV
You ARE a spirit, You HAVE a soul, You LIVE in a body
- When the outward man is stronger than the inward man, you are carnal and immature
- When the inward is stronger than the outward, you are spiritual
- The health and well being of the outward man depend upon the condition of the inward man
Three-fold nature of man:
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV
I Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV
Each portion of our life can be developed
So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Luke 1:80 NKJV
Luke 1:80 NKJV
And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Luke 2:40 NKJV
Luke 2:40 NKJV
1. A strong body isn’t developed by accident
2. A body must be fed properly in order to grow strong
3. It takes exercise to build a strong body.
Principals of Growth – apply to spirit, soul, and body
In order to grow spiritually you must understand we all start on the same plane
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
I Peter 2:2 NKJV
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
I Corinthians 3:1 NKJV
that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
Ephesians 4:14 NKJV
The term carnal can speak of two different types of believers
1. New converts
2. People who have been saved and not matured spiritually.
Being controlled by your flesh is the default mode of your life
IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE CARNAL AND FLOW IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE MANIFESTATION OF THE GIFTS IS NOT A SIGN OF MATURITY
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 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.
Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV
The point is that freedom isn’t to indulge in the lowered side of human nature BUT freedom from that nature.