Well, I have to tell you, men, I do believe that us reigning in our desires and guiding our motivation are very important. I just want you to think - just for a moment about 1 area in your life where you lack self-control. Just 1 area. Whether it's - you eat too much. Whether it's you drive like a maniac. Whether it's - you lose your temper too often. You're over consumed with work.
Whatever it might be, I want you to think about that area in your life where you lack self-control. And think to yourself why do you lack self-control in that area? Really this is a very insightful question that we can ask ourselves. Because inside of this question - and really understanding why we do the things that we do - we discover that often men, that we are completely led by our desires.
Unfortunately, we just hand ourselves over to the desires of our life. Maybe because we have ready access to them all the time. And I just want to say, men - it's time to not let our desires control us. It's time to start desiring God. But how do we go about that?
Today - I want to look at, and understand our desires and passions and how to handle our desires and direct them toward a Godly outcome. So that we can find fulfillment in desiring yourself in God himself. And live with more maybe self-control, as we find ourselves adoring God himself.
So I want to look today at Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 through 26. Which I think are some of the most insightful of verses on this topic. Let me read it for you. You can follow along in your Bible if you have it in front of you. You can open up your Bible app to Galatians chapter 5. It says this.
"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 that you want to do. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident - sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these."
"I warn you - as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. Self-control against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the spirit, let us also keep in step with the spirit. But let's not become conceited, provoking one another and envying one another."
Now, men, I think these are powerful words in this text. I just want to notice some incredible observations here. The first observation I see is this. Is that there's a war. There's a battle going on between flesh and the spirit. What's interesting about this battle, is it's not really just external to us. It's internal to us. It's something that happens inside of us. Inside the heart, the will, the mind, the soul of the believer. And what Paul's trying to do here, is to make clear that that is where the battle happens.
Next observation is this. Is that we have these long lists of outcomes. For those who live by the flesh, there's outcomes or outputs of immorality and purity, sensuality, adultery, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalry, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these. When it comes to the spirit, there's this other list that's very contrasting. That very negative, this one very positive. Says, "For the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." And these are very positive outputs.
Next, we see in - in these texts-- In this text. A number of really important action words, all attached to the spirit. There are words like walk - be led by. Live - keep in step with the spirit. Demonstrating that there's some activity that we need to do, right? To keep our life in line with the spirit. Next, we see that there are rewards on the other side, right? So the reward of living in the flesh is that we get to live under the law. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun. The reward of living by the spirit, or keeping in step with the spirit is freedom. We're not under the law, so freedom. It sounds pretty good to me, right?
Next, we see close to the end here, that there's an activity that keeps us close to that. And Paul here gives us a warning. Let us not become conceited, provoking or envying one another. In other words, he's saying that since this battle is in us, we have to be cautious. To not let our pride get the best of us. And that's how we get swayed toward the spirit, right? By a sense of loss of humility, and a step towards pride. We get sucked into the works of the flesh, and therefore the rewards of the flesh - which are very short-lived, right?
And then finally the word that I really want to focus on today. It is the word, "desire." Because when we start off this text, and we end this text - Paul gives us the clue to really understanding what it means to desire God, period. He says at the beginning of the text, "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 that you want to do."
Now that sounds a lot like Romans 7 there, doesn't it? That battle that Paul talks about the inside of him. "I do the things that I don't want to do - and the very things that I want to do, I don't do," right? We know that Paul - Paul understands what it means to have desires of the flesh. Then he struggles - even himself to desire God. And then Paul finishes the text here by saying, "Those who belong to Christ, Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Do you see that - crucified our very desires.
So I want to look at this one word here today - desire. Because I believe it is the key to really unlocking the meaning of this text. The word, "desire," in the original Greek language - the language of the New Testament - is the Greek word, "epithymia," as a noun, and "epithumeo," as a verb.
Epithumia means a passion built on strong feelings or like urges - internal urges. What's interesting about a passion or a strong feeling or this - this word "desire," is that it can be both positive or negative. Depending on whether or not the desire is inspired by faith, the Spirit. Or desired by the flesh, right? And we can see that in the text here. That Paul helps us to see that there is desires that are good, and desires that are bad. We crucify the bad desires, and we turn those desires toward the spirit.
As a verb, we understand that this word, "desire," epithumeo means to long for. And at the same time, to covet. It can mean to set the heart upon, and at the same time, it can mean to lust after. So not only do we see that the word, "desire," can be both positive and negative. We also see that it can be-- I would say, internally or externally motivated. Motivated by something pure internally, or something negative externally.
Really the word is a compound word here, "epithymia," or "epithumeo." Meaning epi - focused on. Thymos - passion. So what happens in us, is we have this focused on passion. And this can be guided and directed, gentlemen. Because we have to remember that desires are very, very powerful. In fact, I want to suggest today that the things that we desire have the power to completely direct our life. That where we focus our passion - or where we focus our lust, will direct our flesh towards sin - or direct our flesh toward God.
Just think about the impact of your desires. Desires and passions have led to wars waged, and to great physical, athletic feats. They have led to the downfall of empires and brought the defeat of nations. They have strong powers over our mind, our body, and our will. So our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. Passions - at the same time, have made possible art, literature, poetry, political and social achievements.
At the same time, desire has destroyed marriages and lifted them at the same time to the heights of the beauty - as in, "The Song of Solomon." But our desires have even led us to the original sin. And gentlemen, desires are powerful. Appropriately directed, desires can lead to very positive results. Inappropriately directed desires can lead to destructive results.
And what I learned from this verse here - and these words from Galatians - is a disciple cannot simply turn away from negative desires, since this is really only half the task. They have to redirect the desires towards something more beautiful.
I think that what Paul is trying to teach us in Galatians 5 - gentlemen, is this. Is that you can tame and control your desires. God has given you the power to do that. That the power of God dwells within you by his spirit. That he wants to fill you. And when you live, walk, keep in step with - and are directed by the spirit - there are certain outcomes for you that produce fruit or outcomes. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control.
You see, men - our aim is not the fruit itself. We don't just aim to be more patient. We don't just aim to be more self-controlled. We don't just aim to be more peaceful. We don't just aim to be more gentle. We aim to do one thing. To keep in step with the spirit. And when we do that, we produce fruit - is what we do - outcomes in our life. And the outcomes are incredible when we are keeping in step with living by the Spirit.
And then those desires are redirected towards something more beautiful. And when they are, then the desires of the flesh go away. Then we have crucified them. And we understand the meaning of a vibrant, living, freeing relationship with God. And we experience the freedom of the spirit. Because we are no longer under the law that governs our life. Because of the law of sin.
Gentlemen this week, I would challenge you to redirect your desires. To think deeply about the desires that you even have in your own life. Are they aligned with God's will or not? There are very short-term rewards for chasing after the desires of the flesh. And if you're tired of wrestling with the desires of the flesh, and tired of living under the law of sin. And you're tired of getting beat up by your own sin - maybe it's time to redirect the heart toward the spirit and experience the outcomes of the fruit.
Live in the Spirit consciously. Day by day, moment by moment, hour by hour - in every relationship. From the moments that you drive down the roads, to the moments that you get to work. To the moments that you're at home. Keep in step with the spirit, becoming conscious of God's working in your life every day.
