10-15-23-ENG.

` I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. "

Romans 7:21 
THIS MEANS WAR 

Read It: Galatians 5:16-17 
We're going to talk about the fruit of the Spirit this week, but before we can get to that, we have to do some weed-killing and cultivating. ing. The flesh needs a job done on it, so let's begin there. Don't misread Paul's statement about "carry[ing] out the desire of the flesh." He does not say that if you are in tune with the Spirit, you will not have fleshly desires. That is a false view of Christianity. One man told me, "I am so miserable because my flesh keeps wanting to sin." Well, he's clear on that. What is even clearer is that the flesh is unfixable. It will never change. It cannot be reformed. You can't change its nature. God has put a condemned sign on the flesh called death. But Paul says you will not necessarily lose the desires of your flesh when you become a Christian. You aren't held guilty for having desires. The problem comes when you carry them out in illegitimate ways. The Spirit does not eradicate your fleshly desires. But He does give you the ability not to give in to those cravings. When the Bible uses the word flesh in this context, it means the body contaminated by sin. Your body is not evil in and of itself, but it is like a house that is infested with roaches. We have been infested with spiritual itual roaches that, given the right amount of darkness, will come out of hiding. No wonder Paul says that if you are a Christian, you live in a war zone. In fact, you are the war zone, pitting your unredeemed humanity against the Spirit of God. 

When the Spirit of God comes in, He goes to war. So if you can commit the same sins the same way you used to do when you were a sinner, it is probably because you are the same sinner you were when you were committing those sins. One of the things the Holy Spirit does is let you know when He is ticked off. If there's a war going on inside of you, you ought to smell some smoke once in a while! Think About It If you never get a sin message from the Spirit, you may not be plugged into the Spirit.