Galatians 516 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Lord, as we present ourselves to You in obedience, give us soft hearts to do as you would ask. As John the Baptist said – we are unworthy to untie your shoes – but You have called us to much more. You are a great king – and for that we are thankful. Jumping back a little bit to what Jeff shared last week – we see conflict – Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh – the hope – it is possible to overcome those things that hold us down. There is a battle going on. ‘to keep you from doing the things you want to do’ – this is true on both sides of this! When you are walking in the Spirit – it keeps you from doing the things you want to do in your natural state. I have been watching the Olympics – mainly because my wife likes it – but you think of these athletes and the pressure – they TRAIN – you and I can’t go out there and be Shaun White. You would break your neck or worse! He trains and trains. We can’t do that – we haven’t trained. If we walk in the Spirit – learning to do this consistently – at times we take a STEP in the Spirit – but we need to learn how to do that – that when the pressures of life come – you are doing well. It is easier to do well with God when – like Job, God puts all his fences around you to protect you. As we talk about walking in the Spirit – it is not something that is automatic – but learned after years of training and walking with God. You’ve probably seen the Visa commercial about Dan Jansen – getting the news of his sister’s death just hours before his big race. He was the best in his sport – but the pressures and distractions came in and he fell. We have to be careful. You hear of these pastors who fall - -who have lost this sense of caution and they cease relying on God and rely on themselves. Spirit – Freedom – Law – Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh – the whole Law is fulfilled in one word – you shall love your neighbor as yourself. These are the same – Paul is urging them – with a righteous anger – that their desire to live under the Law is no different than trying to live in the flesh. Galatians 5: 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This is not a comprehensive list – that is why he says ‘things like these’ – but what he does do, is puts them in 4 categories – 1)Sexual sin – immorality/impurity/sensuality – that is pretty clear – we understand that. That is probably the most evident. 2) Idolatry/Sorcery – these are religious sins. Idolatry is not something we deal with in the same way. In every city, there was a street with idol temples where people would submit their offerings. Think of the –isms of the world – Materialism…things that take the place of God – that we trust in – that is idolatry – trusting in something else. Be it a person, money, sports, - getting our satisfaction in life from something else. 3) Enmity/strife/jealousy/fits of anger/rivalries/dissensions/divisions/envy – Relational sins. Think of how many there are here. Give me some license here… - when the letter was read in the church – they probably got to the first part of this and said, yep – sexual sins – yep – idolatry – enmity – HEY! That is what Paul was addressing in the rest of the letter and people may try to minimize it – “I just don’t get along with that person – or like the way he did that…” – we don’t see that as a deed of the flesh – but it is just as much so. 4) Drunkenness/Orgies – sins of excess – addictions These are the 4 areas he wants to deal with. Then in Gal. 4:22 we see the opposite: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. These are opposed to one another. You can’t love if you are dividing. If you are envying - in strife. There is a battle going on. A real brief thing – the deed(s) of the flesh and FRUIT (singular) of the Spirit. Some say that LOVE is the only fruit of the Spirit – faith, hope, and love – yes, the greatest is love. – He is saying – these things come from the Spirit – not a matter of YOU