Alright, well If you have your Bibles, would you turn with me once again to the book of Galatians the epistle written to the Church of Galatia Galatians and we're in chapter number 5 verses 16 through 18 this morning and This is an encouraging text this morning. It's a challenging one, but it's certainly an encouraging one because we need our theology to work. These things are not just simply pie in the sky. These are not just simply words on a page. But theology has to work. It has to show itself real. And we don't just learn these things in principle, but that we'd actually be able to live and grow by them. And I believe this is one of those practical sections that's going to help us and hopefully help you today or someone else as we think on these things. So as we look at Galatians 5, and I'm going to start reading for sake of context in verse 7. And so if you found Galatians 5 and you're able and willing, would you stand with me in honor of reading God's Word this morning? Galatians chapter number five our text is verses 16 through 18 for context We're going to begin in reading in verse 7 the Word of God says You were running well Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you a little leaven leavens the whole lump I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty whoever he is and But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves. For you are called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Here's our text for today. But I say, walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. This is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, all authoritative, all sufficient word of God. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever. Amen. You may be seated. Thank you for standing this morning. The title of the message is, By the Spirit. It's quite obvious where that's coming from in our text, by the spirit. And I want to just make a couple statements by way of introduction before we dive into this text. I've heard it said this way and I think it's very very accurate and helpful for us to think about The Christian is not in the flesh. The Christian is in the spirit By by default when when somebody is has come to faith in Christ it's because the Holy Spirit of God hasn't dwelt that person and and created faith in them and and and by the work of the spirit we are a In the spirit and we are in Christ and the two are somewhat synonymous Why you can't be in Christ and not be in the spirit and you can't be in the spirit and not be in Christ Amen, and so the Christian is not in the flesh. It's the Christian is in the spirit in Christ, but but from our texts and and from the canon of scripture itself We learned that the flesh is still in the Christian and The Christian is not in the flesh, but the Christian still deals with the flesh, because the flesh is still in the Christian. And so our text today is defining that war, that battle that exists inside of the Christian. And the reason that we experience this battle is because of where we are in redemptive history. In other words, if we had been glorified, and we were in the presence of the Lord, this battle would in fact be over. Because there would be no more sin. And you would no longer be in the flesh, but you would be glorified and in the eternal state, with God forever, where the sin nature itself is completely removed, praise God. And and we will experience a what it truly means to live and to live eternally in that state But we're not there yet. We're not there yet. We're in the already. It's already been accomplished But the not yet, we're not yet realizing it yet in its entirety One of the songs that was popular some time ago Maybe it still is I don't know is a song that there was a phrase in the song that says what doesn't kill you Makes you stronger. All right, I don't I couldn't even tell you who sang that song but but this it's a catchy tune I've heard it a number of times and and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger There's a lot of truth in that but but listen what we're gonna look at today here is There are a lot of things trying to kill you right and specifically things that are not good things that are evil things that are against you and and Here's the great news that as a Christian they can't kill you and Amen. They have no power. They have no authority over you because you belong to another. Amen. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. And so even though there's a battle going and even though the flesh and, and Satan are against you trying to kill you, they will essentially always and forever fail in the life of the Christian. So as we look here in verse 16, I want you to first of all, see the walk of the saint, and I'm immediately regretting doing that. Verse 16 again says, but I say, walk in the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Now this is, this is a strong encouragement from the apostle Paul. And at first glance, you might think that this is somewhat of a warning or maybe a command, but I would dare argue, I would say, that this is not a command. but rather this is a promise built upon a principle. But I say, walk in the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Now, it's also important to recognize and remember the context, right? The verse that immediately precedes 16 says, but if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. In other words, we're talking about what happens when When Christians lose sight of the main goal, the main purpose of their existence, that is to serve Christ and to serve one another, to spread His glory, and he's talking about literally either either the the relationship that's lost when we lose sight of that or it is also I think quite clear that this is the pattern of Of somebody who by nature is completely lost This is how they live bite and devour one another consuming one another and and so there's there's this reality that sometimes Christians can act like they're not saved right there saved but they can act like they're not and so Paul is he is making a a contrast between the two. Living in a way that doesn't demonstrate the power of the Spirit of God at work in you, by biting and devouring one another, consuming one another, and he says in response to that, But I say walk in the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. So there's a conditional promise that Paul makes in verse 16. And that is that if you do this, if you walk by the spirit, then this is the result. This will be prevented. You will not gratify the desires of the flesh. So here's the, here's the million dollar question. What does it mean to walk by the Spirit? Because we hear that, and I'm sure it conjures up different thoughts in our minds. We have a presupposition, maybe you could say, about what it means to walk in the Spirit, or walk by the Spirit. But what does it actually mean? First of all, this guarantees that you will not gratify the desires of the flesh if you walk by the Spirit. So I want to look at it from the negative perspective first. It guarantees that if you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. And here we also have a challenge in that word gratify. The word gratify in the Greek is the word teleo, and it means doesn't actually, I think, gratify is not the best word. Taleo means to complete, to finish, to accomplish. The King James Version, I believe, gets it better here. It uses the word fulfill. Walk by the spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh So here's here's the idea that the nature of the flesh With respect to sin is what we all experience naturally without any without any provoking from an outside source. Naturally, this is what we expect by the flesh with respect to sin. We are driven by impulse. Uh, and that impulse reveals to us what is, what comes naturally, right? What, what actually happens naturally. So the desires of the flesh are, are what naturally flows forth out of sinful humanity. And so he's saying if the desires of the flesh are to be accomplished, if you're going to avoid accomplishing, that is bringing to fulfillment the desires of the flesh, you have to walk by the Spirit. Now, it's also really important that we see the connection that Paul is going to make for us as we get into verse 19 through 21. So suffice it to say this, If if the flesh is fulfilled the desires of the flesh are fulfilled What's the result of that? Where what do we see because the desires of the flesh are not the fruit They're just the reason that it comes to the fruit Well notice the the list that Paul's going to go on to express for us in the latter part of this chapter verse 19 the works of the flesh are evident and sexual immorality impurity sensuality idolatry Sorcery enmity strife jealousy fits of anger rivalries dissensions divisions envy drunkenness orgies and things like these okay, so that is the works of the flesh and the reason that the works of the flesh have have come to fruition is because the desires of the flesh are were not suppressed, but rather they were fed, okay? And so in order to get to verses 19 through 21, that the actions of a person's life happen, the flesh has to be fed, it has to be fulfilled, and it comes from the work of the flesh. It's the work of natural man. But I want us to also see here, though, that within the context, Paul is also using another phrase. In verse 18, he uses the phrase, if you are led by the Spirit. Now, I believe that essentially when Paul says, walk by the Spirit or be led by the Spirit, he's basically saying the same thing. And so we have we have on one hand this this battle against this flesh Which which wants to be fed which wants to be? given its desires and Paul is saying but but walk by the Spirit so that that doesn't happen and and we we automatically I think a lot of times we we think that that it's us personally that has to fight the fight by ourselves, so to speak. But Paul's actually pointing to the reality that that's not how it happens. But at the same time, be sure that you're involved. OK, secondly, it says within the context, Paul uses this phrase led by the spirit, which is pointing to, again, the same thing. The spirit, the spirit is not passive. but active in our walk and or our being led. You and I are also active, not passive in this relationship to walk or to be led requires the engagement of the will. You have to, nobody just walks around without intentionally doing so. Right. And also nobody is, is led without intention to follow. And so, just as sure as the fulfillment of the flesh is seen in the sins of verses 19 through 21, so is the fulfillment of walking by the Spirit seen in verses 22 through 23. We all know these, the fruit of the Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. So, but how do we get there? Right? So the, the, the reality is we need to walk by the spirit so that we don't commit these sins so that we don't gratify or fulfill the desires of the flesh. How does this happen? How, how are we led by the spirit? How is the spirit of God working in us? And how are we accomplishing this, this act of walking by the spirit? Well, I want to just first say. in answering that question, that it doesn't say sprint, right? And it also, it's not using any kind of exaggerated or, you know, fanatical kind of language, right? I'm struggling for words trying to describe this, but it's ordinary. To just walk is ordinary activity. It's a day-to-day thing that most people do. There's even people that are physically Not able to walk far can usually walk a little bit, right? there's the ability to move to to walk and so I think that's important for us to recognize that that this is not we're not talking about something that's Super spiritual and only certain people can walk by the spirit. Okay. I think that it's the ordinary experience of the Christian to walk by the spirit And Jesus helps us to understand this relationship in John chapter 15. John chapter 15, if you turn there, you see Jesus is teaching us about the relationship between himself and the body of Christ, the church. He says in verse one of chapter 15, I am the vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples as the father has loved me So have I loved you abide in my love if you keep my commandments You will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy is may be full." To walk by the Spirit, and not gratify, not fulfill the desires of the flesh, Is to abide in christ and to abide in christ Means to abide in his word. It's not just in his person, but it's in his word It's in his works and it's in the entirety of who christ is and what he has done and what he has Said and so the the walk of the christian the walk of the one who has been born again by the spirit of god Is to be by the spirit We are confronting and we are correcting the desires of the flesh with the abiding truth of the Word of God. This is so simple, but it's so powerful. Every single time we are faced with, I'm going to say it this way, the flaring up of the flesh inside of us, we have to consciously and intentionally push back against it. The battle is not going to be fought in some sort of a passive way. This is why This is why I despise a theology that is taught so prevalently. I think it's on the regress, maybe not. Maybe that's just optimism on my part. But there is a theology that teaches that all you have to do to live a victorious Christian life is just surrender. Surrender, right? And the surrender is that you're surrendering to God. You're surrendering to the will of God. Now, I agree wholeheartedly that we have to surrender our wills to the will of God. But if you think for one second, you can just surrender to God, so to speak, and then get up and walk a holy life without any effort whatsoever, you're incredibly fooled. Incredibly fooled. Because all that surrendering you do one day will be faced with fiery attacks the next, right? So there is a surrender that's involved, but the surrender has to be coupled with taking up a sword and fighting back. But listen, the sword is not something you create on your own. The sword has been given to you, and I would put it this way. The sword has been given to you by the Spirit, and therefore we call it the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. How important is it that we know the Word of God? How important is it that we understand the truth of what God's Word teaches so that we can battle aback, that we can battle aback within ourselves, but also against the attacks that come against us? And so the Christian walk, ordinarily speaking, We have to confront and correct the desires of the flesh with the abiding truth of the Word of God and the truth that has been demonstrated to us in Christ. Walking by the Spirit is walking according to the truth. Walking by the Spirit is walking according to what Christ has said He literally puts it this way. Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say? Well, why do you take so lightly what I say if you if you profess to be in Subjection to me right and so walking by the Spirit ordinarily ordinarily for every Christian is simply abiding in the truth, living by that truth, and fighting back against the lies and the flesh that are coming at us each and every day. So this, again, it points to the reality that these things, walking by the Spirit, doesn't happen accidentally, but the Spirit, for sure, is working in you and helping you to accomplish this very thing. So the next verse, verse 17, Paul points out, and I've called this the war of the soul, the war of the soul. He says, I'm in John chapter 15, sorry. Verse 17, for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. So notice first there in verse 17 that there is a mutual opposition, a mutual opposition, the flesh and the Spirit both have desires, and they are opposed to one another. Now, the desires of the flesh, they're evident, right? We understand that they are the things that happen by nature. They are altogether sinful by nature. But the desires of the Spirit, we could categorize them or we could define them in this way. The desires of the Spirit are always and forever consistent with and according to the nature and character of God Himself. Because, don't miss this, the Spirit is not an innate being. The Spirit is a person. The spirit is God. We're talking about God, the Holy Spirit, God, the third person of the Trinity. This is being led by and walking by the spirit, which is God. And so every single thought that we would have about the desires of the spirit have to begin with God. They have to begin with who he is and how he has revealed himself. And so all all the desires of the spirit are consistent with and according to the revealing of who God is You know, I see in this what we I would call a spiritual harassment Spiritual harassment. I don't know how many of you would remember probably a lot of you remember and maybe they still do this I don't know couldn't tell you the last time I watched a cartoon but growing up I in the cartoon world, you would often see where the character was faced with making a moral decision, right? And on one shoulder, there would be this little character, usually dressed in red with horns and a pointy tail, holding a pitchfork or whatever. And on the other side, there was this angelic being robed in white with a golden crown, right? And on one side, whispering in this ear, do this, right? And on the other side, no, no, do this instead. And it portrayed a battle taking place, right, in the character's mind. And it was going to directly affect what they were going to do. So listen. There's theology in that cartoon depiction And and I want you to know that even though it's it's sensationalized a bit. It's kind of the truth now Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that there is a literal devil sitting on this shoulder and a literal Angel sitting on this one. Don't don't misunderstand what I'm saying but what I am saying is that battle that was portrayed between the devil and an angel is is the battle that I believe every single one of us experience to one degree or another, and at one time or another, or many times, maybe we can even say daily, that this battle is happening And it's a, uh, there's a spiritual harassment in that, in that if you are, if you are seeking to walk by the spirit, that there is a, uh, there's an oppression that comes from this nature. And sometimes, sometimes people want to always point to, well, it's gotta be an evil spirit. No, absolutely not. You don't need an evil spirit to make you think dumb stuff. You can do that all by yourself Stop blaming every every temptation and every sin that you experience on the devil or a demon, right? Again, you can do that all by yourself Is there is there at times and is there at places evil spirits involved with those things? Certainly certainly there is but every day run-of-the-mill ordinary life It's not the devil, and it's not a demon, it's the flesh. And it's nobody's fault, but your mothers, and their mothers, and their fathers, and mothers and fathers, and on and on and on it goes, until we get back to Adam and Eve. We've inherited it, and you can't get rid of it. It's with you till you die. Now, this is a sad reality, but it's also a liberating one because there are so many times when Christians are living this reality and they're saying, I thought I was saved. Why am I still struggling like this? Right? And listen, anybody Who tells you that they don't have this struggle anymore that they've reached this place of the phrase that has been commonly used I have reached the place of entire sanctification and I no longer have the desire to sin anymore. I say baloney hogwash You're only fooling yourselves Because if we were to talk to your husband or your wife, they would tell us how entirely unsanctified you are at times Amen. And I don't believe that any of us here are guilty of believing those sort of things. I think it's clear that you're probably not. But suffice to say, if you do believe that, do yourself a favor and stop it. Stop it. Because you're not fooling anybody. As a matter of fact, it is the definition of self-righteousness. And it's sin. There is this war and it's going on inside of the mind. Let me also say this. If you're not experiencing this tension, there's a good chance you're not a Christian. If you're not experiencing the tension between the desires of the flesh and the desire to walk by the spirit, you're probably not a Christian. In other words, If you can sin, and it doesn't bother you at all, you need to repent, and you need to put your faith in Christ, because that is the description of somebody who is lost, and maybe even to the point of reprobation, as described in Romans 1. Because God will hand you over to a reprobate mind if you desire to just go and sin and have no conviction, no consequence whatsoever. Think here what Paul is describing for us is a very good thing. It's a very good thing Notice again verse 17 for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh For these are opposed to each other. There's a mutual opposition They're like oil and water, right? But then notice Paul says this to keep you from doing the things you want to do now What on earth? Does he mean by that? To keep you from doing the things you want to do. Well, which is it? Do I, do I want to do the things of the spirit or do I want to do the things of the flesh? And, and there's, you see that, that you could, you could read this one of two ways, right? And, and perhaps Perhaps Paul is actually, by the inspiration of the Spirit, leaving some level of uncertainty there so that we feel the tension from both directions. That it would cause us to ask ourselves, what do I actually want to do? I heard it said like this one time, If you were to tell a person that they could go and they could do whatever they wanted to, without consequence or without anybody ever knowing, and what they would do in that moment reveals to you by nature what ... what they desire, what they want to do, right? And I would dare say that there are very, very, very few people that if you were given, if they were given that kind of a scenario, wouldn't at least, at least flirt with the idea of the flesh, right? I believe that wholeheartedly, that 99 point, maybe 100%, right, would consider, they would just maybe just say, that and for a moment a moment allow themselves to go to that place of a sinful desire, but but Again in the heart of a Christian if that were the case It would also be met with what the Spirit of God at work in you which would say no Why would you why would you desire that? Why would you desire something that is not good for you, right? It's like being given... If you sat down in front of your children, a nice, juicy, buttery piece of broccoli, or a warm, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie, unless your children are extremely strange, What are they gonna choose Why Listen, I love broccoli, but I would I would dare say that a chocolate chip cookie That's fresh out of the oven is better than the best broccoli I've ever eaten it just tastes good and Hey, it was designed to chase to taste good But you do realize that the broccoli is good for you and the chocolate chip cookie, not so much, right? Listen, I just wanna make this as plain and simple as we possibly can because you all live this reality every single day. We are faced constantly between something that appears to be good and something that we know is actually good, right? and we're making these conscious efforts to live, to walk, be led by the Spirit of God. Now, I believe what Paul is describing here is actually a good thing, in that it's describing the work of the Spirit, I'm gonna point verse 17 the conclusion made at the end of verse 17 back to what 16 is saying But I say so Paul's encouragement and the promise that he's describing is walk by the Spirit and you'll not gratify the desires of the flesh and then in verse 17 when he says this is to keep you from doing the things you want to do and I believe that he is pointing to the reality that, by nature, what we want to do is what we shouldn't do. And Paul actually describes the battle that takes place in this fashion in Romans 7 as well. But here's the reality. When we don't do what we should do, you can't blame anybody but yourself. Amen. You can't blame the Holy Spirit for causing you to sin. God does not tempt to sin. Okay. He doesn't, but he does help you to obey. So when we find ourselves in a place of obedience, don't puff your chest and beat on it. You can't take credit for that. You're involved. Yes, indeed. At the end of the day, it's the one who's working in you, both the will and to do of His good pleasure. I like how Tom Schreiner puts this. He says, Paul is fundamentally optimistic here, claiming that as one walks by the Spirit and is led by the Spirit, there is substantial, significant, and observable victory over the flesh. So we we should desire a victory over the flesh and we only can reach that by walking by the spirit and Paul he further Explains this in Romans chapter 8 verses 12 through 14. He says so then brothers We are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh for if you live according to the flesh you will die but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Listen, the battle against the flesh, there needs to be no holds barred, right? Pull out every stop and fight against it with all you have. Matter of fact Jesus Jesus put it like this if your hand offends you What Cut it off if your eye offends you Pluck it out. I Don't know about you, but that doesn't sound passive to me. Does it? Sounds pretty aggressive. Amen How hard should we fight against the flesh I that hard, that hard. Why, why, why would we do such? Why would we go to such great now? Now here, here's the other thing you got to consider. Paul has just exhausted his self in writing to the Galatians about the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Right? And so if you come away from the, from the doctrine of justification by faith alone, thinking that, that I can just go and live however I want to, you completely Completely missed it right because now Paul is saying no because you're justified by grace You've been called to freedoms now now you've been called to freedom now now live but as you're living war against the flesh fight against the flesh Push back against it when you find again when you find yourself when you're when you're obedient to God, but by his grace We are we know we know that we're being led by the Spirit of God And then verse 18, the work of the spirit Paul says, but if you are led by the spirit, you're not under the law. Liberty is found in the leading of the spirit. Ultimately, those who are led by the spirit will indeed experience the liberty of the spirit, although not perfectly. Not entirely in this life. The Christian will find victory in increasing measure over temptation and also experience a greater love for the law of God and an increased capacity to Obey it Jesus teaches us how this occurs based on the truth concerning the Holy Spirit and John chapter 14 and chapter 16, John chapter 14 verses 15 through 17. Jesus says this. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the father and he will give you another helper. Yeah. To be with you forever even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him You know him for he dwells with you and will be in you the the the helper the comforter the word is the paracletus And then in chapter 16 verses 13 through 14, he says, when the spirit of truth, this is the same person, the Holy Spirit, when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak of his own authority, but whatever he hears He will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He, the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth will glorify me. The spirit of God glorifies the son of God, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Paul emphasizes this same truth in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 11-13, he says, For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit interpreting spiritual truths to those who are Spiritual if you are led by the Spirit the conclusion that Paul makes here is you are not Under the law if the Holy Spirit of God is guiding you helping you overcome helping you in this battle against the flesh against temptation and You have this victorious reminder. You're not under the law. You have been redeemed. You have been set free. You have been granted a victorious blessing of salvation through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Spurgeon said this, he said, the law is ever to you. That is the Christian, the blessed rule by which you judge your conduct, but it is no longer condemnation and neither is it your means of salvation. So there's you've got to keep in mind here that that Obedience that is produced by walking by the Spirit being led by the Spirit is not your justification It's the evidence of your justification. It's the very evidence of the fact that the Spirit of God has has Regenerated your sin sick dead soul and has made you alive in the Lord Jesus Christ. I You've been freed from the condemnation of the law through faith in the sinless perfections of Christ and him crucified. No longer are you cursed, but now you're blessed. No more are you, uh, appointed to wrath. You're appointed to glory. You've not been abandoned. You've been adopted. The spirit of God is living in you, leading you to walk by faith and not by sight living by the spirit. Living intentionally according to this the truth that God has revealed to us in his son and by his word If you should ever experience the true joy and peace that comes from God, you must walk by the Spirit That is the only way to experience true peace true contentment in Christ And so what do we do? We kill the desires of the flesh and We do so by the sword of the Spirit by the Word of God be led by the Spirit and rest in the sufficiency of Christ Jesus his sufficiency in you and What he has done for you and now his sufficiency is what he is doing in you listen, I Just again I want to make this so clear to us this morning Because I believe there's there's a lot of people maybe even right now or at some point in the future, you're going to find yourself in a place where you said you'd never be again. You've fallen, you've stumbled, you've sinned, right? Don't be satisfied with your sin ever. Don't ever live in a state of Sinning and feeling okay about it. It's a dangerous dangerous way to live But also don't be your own worst enemy Cling to the cross of Christ Flee to him run to him And remember remember that he loved you and gave himself for you You know, I think it's so easy, so easy to beat people down with law. It is really easy to do that. We can preach messages over and over and over again that just make us feel horrible about ourselves. You know, I think some people like that. I think they do. I think they like that because they feel as though the more sorry they feel, the more genuine they are. You should feel sorry for your sin. but you should feel more grateful for the grace of God in Christ Jesus. And it's the love of God that compels us to follow him, to trust him, to live for him. You won't go far if you put the wrong fuel in your automobile. But when it's fueled by the right thing, It'll go where you need to go, right? If you're going to live the Christian life, the fuel that's necessary to do so is the grace of God. The law will never save you. It was never designed to. But Jesus is more than enough. Amen. He's more than enough. Let's let's bow our heads and hearts this morning. We close in prayer. I don't know how much longer the Lord's gonna tarry. I hope not long. But if he does, he tarries maybe another generation, two, 10. Hope and pray that where we are here now, will serve as an encouragement and fuel for the future that others would know the love of God in Christ Jesus. And so my prayer this morning is, as we close, that God would truly help us to walk by His Spirit and to be led by His Spirit. I encourage you to pray that very thing. as we close in prayer this morning, for yourself and for those around you, that God would truly use us as instruments of his love and grace for those within our homes and in the lives that we come in contact with each and every week. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for your word. We thank you for the truth of your word. Lord, this morning we confess to you that we fail far more than we'd like to admit. And God, we certainly know that those moments are hard and God, they sometimes distract us from the love that you have shown to us. Lord, I just pray this morning, maybe there's somebody here that's been struggling for a very long time. in an area of their life and they cannot seem to get a an upper hand in this battle. Lord, I pray that you would not allow them to give up. That father, they would keep on fighting and that they would understand and know that the reason that they still are fighting against this is because you have not let go. And furthermore, you will not let go. Lord, I pray that today that that we would have a growing desire to know your word, but not just know it, but God, that we would abide in it. That the truth of your word would be that lamp unto our feet and that light to our path. God, that you would help us to live according to your truth. Father, that we would not be found guilty of gratifying, fulfilling the lusts the desires of the flesh. But instead, we would experience the peace and the joy. In the overwhelming gratitude that comes. My walking. By the spirit. Father, we thank you that. You have that sweet presence in our hearts and in our lives. And I pray God that you would create a desire in us for more and more and more that God, that we would hunger and thirst for righteousness. Your word says that those who do so shall be filled. So Lord, I pray that our cups would be overflowing today as we seek for righteousness that's found in Jesus alone. We love you. We praise you and we thank you. And we ask these things in Jesus name.