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The Amish Voice 2
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2. The works or acts of the flesh are listed (vv.19-21).
3. The judgment of those who live by the flesh (v.21).
1. THE ANSWER TO CONQUERING THE LUSTS
OF THE FLESH: THE HOLY SPIRIT
The believer is to walk in the presence and power of the Holy
Spirit. This is the only conceivable way he can keep from
fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. No person has the power to
control the lusts of his flesh—not within himself. The reason
why is clearly seen in the four reasons given by Scripture.
1. The flesh fights for dominance. It lusts against the Spirit,
struggles and fights to control the man. The picture is that of a
tug of war. The flesh stands contrary to the Spirit—toe to toe,
face to face—and it seeks to control man.
The word “lusts” means a yearning passion for. Every person
has experienced the flesh…
Every person knows what it is to have his flesh lusting after
something, to have it yearning to lay hold of something. The
flesh is very strong and difficult to control. This is the first
reason why a believer’s only hope to control the flesh is the
Spirit of God.
“But I see another law in my members, warring
against the law of my mind, and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members” (Ro.7:23).
2. The flesh is contrary to the Spirit. The flesh has within itself
base and unregulated urges and passions. A man senses the
desire to do what he likes, to lift the restraints and follow his
own inclinations, desires, passions, and emotions. This is what
the Bible means when it speaks of the “lust of the flesh.”
However, the genuine believer has another force within his
life—the force of the Holy Spirit. When the believer feels the
constraint and the pressure between the flesh and the Holy
Spirit, the Holy Spirit is giving the power to overcome the flesh.
The constraint is the power. The believer who listens to the
constraint and walks away from the object of the pressure and
calls upon God for the courage to stay away is the believer who
walks in the Spirit. The believer is to know no such thing as
peaceful coexistence between the flesh and the Spirit.
3. The flesh keeps a person from doing what he should. Every
person has experienced the power of the flesh; everyone has
caved in to the flesh and done something that he did not want to
do. He fought against doing it—knew it was harmful or
hurtful—yet he did not resist the flesh. He gave in to the power
of the flesh and did it. He...
Note another fact as well. All of us have been tempted, and we
have known how to combat and overcome the temptation.
However, the flesh was so strong we did not overcome it. The
struggle we experienced involved that of…
The point is this: the flesh is so strong that it often keeps us
from doing what we should. The only hope of ever controlling
the flesh is to walk in the Spirit of God—in His presence and
power.
“For that which I do I allow not: for what I would,
that do I not; for what I hate, that do I. If then I do
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the secret to conquering the lusts of the flesh?
2. What things can you do to control the power of the flesh in
your life?
over-ate
became angry
began
smoking
got drunk
did evil
lusted
became
prideful
cursed
acted selfishly
committed
immorality
cheated, lied,
or stole
controlling
reaching out
loving
being patient
showing
kindness
giving
giving in
helping
sacrificing
yearning
pulling
desiring
wanting
craving
hungering
thirsting
longing
grasping
grabbing
taking