16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.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.18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,21 envy,t 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.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:16-25 (ESV)
"walking in the Spirit" is kind of a tough thing to do, let alone describe it. Recently though, I have been listening to The Vow series that Craig did a few years ago- definitely one of my favorite series that he has done. In the first message, he talked about the vow of priority- God is my one, and my spouse is my two. Craig interviewed Amy about this, and she went on to talk about this very passage - about walking in the Spirit. So... how do we do this? There may be many other answers that get us here, but the first and foremost is that we put God first- the vow of priority; God is my one. Before all things, God comes first.
When we seek God first with our best, we are practicing the vow of priority. When we make time for Bible study and prayer, we practice the vow of priority. When we clear our schedules for lifegroup or church, we - you get the idea...
So then, does the vow of priority, by doing all these things, automatically cause us to walk in the Spirit? Of course not. But I double-dog-dare you to do them and see if you don't notice a greater awareness of what God is doing in your life, experience a greater intimacy with the One who knit you in your mother's womb, and if you don't have a greater joy and sense of gratitude for all that Christ has done, and all that you have in Him. There's much more i want to say, but i think this is plenty long enough for today... agreed? Let me know your thoughts-
1. What things have you done that help you to walk in the Spirit?
2. Describe a time when you noticed the fruit of the Spirit in your life.
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