Walking in the Spirit of God

By Pastor Gregory Dickow

If you’re having trouble with lust, temptation, pride, or maybe you just want to learn how to hear God’s voice, you need to learn how to walk in the Spirit.

We all face temptation and trials, and your life depends on whether you follow your Spirit or your flesh. So let’s learn How to Walk in the Spirit.

1. First of all, you have to be aware of the conflict. It’s one thing to be in a battle, but when the battle is in you, life will be very difficult. You’re made up of three parts. You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body. Now, your body is not your flesh. You always should take care of your body, but you should never take care of your flesh. Your spirit and your flesh are vying for the control of your soul and your body. Whichever gets control of your soul and body will declare victory. Follow these simple steps to give your Spirit the advantage. If you can learn to walk in the Spirit, it will protect you, provide for you and empower you.

2. You must put first things first. Gal 5:16 says, “I say walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” He doesn’t say overcome your flesh so you can qualify to walk in the Spirit. He says the exact opposite. Religion says as we stop sinning, then the Holy Spirit will come and live in us but that isn’t what the Bible says. It’s our union with the Holy Spirit that overpowers sin. It’s as you walk in the Spirit. The Spirit is the Word. The Word is light. Darkness left when the light came. When you walk in the Spirit, sin is overpowered. All of your striving won’t get sin to leave. The entrance of His Word brings light.

Walking in the Spirit means: yielding yourself to God’s Word and walking in love. When you walk in love, the Spirit drives out and overpowers the dictates of the flesh. As soon as the lights are on, darkness leaves. Walk in the Spirit and you won’t fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Walk in the Spirit and the flesh dies.

The flesh resides in your thinking. Overtake it with thoughts that yield to the Spirit – God’s Word. The flesh loves drugs which in the Greek is the word, pharmakea – which means witchcraft. Galatians 5 lists the works of the flesh including idolatry and witchcraft. You can destroy those cigarettes, speak over those cigarettes, but it doesn’t mean you’ve overcome it. Walk in the Spirit and you won’t want to smoke anymore. You can’t just say, “I’m never going to smoke anymore.” James 4:6-7 says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil.”

The key to the devil fleeing is first submitting to God. As you submit to God, His Spirit, and His Word – then the devil will flee. The devil comes to someone yielded to their flesh. The flesh is a way of thinking that’s contrary to God’s way of thinking. Walk in the Spirit – and then you won’t fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Think God’s thoughts. Submit to God. Then the devil will flee. Draw near to God. Then you’ll purify your hands and hearts. How do you draw near? You worship and praise and love God. You believe His Word, and act on His Word. God accepts you right now. God says just draw near to me.

3. You’ve got to realize – You are not alone. You’re not the only one battling the flesh. Romans 7:21-22 in the Amplified Bible says “So I find it to be a law (rule of action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands.”

Paul, the greatest apostle, dealt with this. You feel these thoughts and feelings, and you think, “I’m not saved” or “I’m not spiritual.” It’s not how much knowledge you have. It’s speaking, meditating on the Word to the point where it causes us to overtake the flesh. Identify what is flesh and what is Spirit.

There are 3 characteristics of a jelly flesh that are like the flesh. 1. It has no backbone. The flesh doesn’t stand for anything. It just cares about now. That’s a Christian with no convictions. 2. The prevailing currents carry it. That’s like Christians who just follow the crowd or just follow the most popular minister. Your flesh wants to try and do spiritual works so you can feel spiritual. Get planted. Get established in a church. Have backbone. Be someone who is established, connected and come hell or high water, follow the Word. 3. The jelly fish’s only defense is its sting. The flesh is the same way - we hurt others to protect ourselves. God protects us, so we don’t have to. Our flesh’s retaliation is to say something worse to them. Retaliate with God’s retaliation. Pray for them.

4. Recognize Your Flesh is not the real you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." I’m not connected to my past. Honor the new in you. You have a new Spirit. You have love, the Father, a new covenant, a new name, a new family, and you have a new way of doing things. As we feed and honor the new man in us, we starve the old man. When you realize there is a battle inside you, and you realize you’re not the only one who has dealt with this, you can win the battle by walking in the Spirit, which is yielding to God’s Word, walking in love, and by drawing near to your father. You are a new creature, and you have a new Spirit inside you. Meditate on the Word, and as you do, you’ll no longer fulfill the lust of the flesh.