Galatians 5:16-18, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
A man walking in the Spirit sticks with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This gospel is outlined in basic format in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again the third day. All of this is according to scriptures prophesied in the Bible.
This gospel is simple but the application of the gospel is profound and deep. You can read how Paul applies the gospel to the Christian life in Romans chapters 6-8. He outlines how the Christian is not only forgiven but we are also made one with the Lord Jesus in his death, his burial, and his resurrection.
As a result of this unity ("personal relationship", "abiding") with the Lord Jesus we experience power to live a holy life.
A holy life does not mean you never make a mistake or fail but if you do fail you deal with it through the Lord Jesus Christ. Read 1 John 1:8-9.
And you never accept disobedience as normal in your life! You do not accept a lifestyle of giving into the flesh. No! You stand up against the world, the flesh, and the devil. You know it is not right, and you will not allow sin to continue in your life.
We can experience consistent victory over sin, self, the world, and the enemy. It is sad to think of all the Christians who have been deceived by the devil into living a passive life where they continue to sin at the mere suggestion of a demon.
We are encouraged to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily trips us up. Hebrews 12:1, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us..."
This compromise in your life is a "weight" that you may be able to justify and excuse away. But it will make you weak spiritually and when a real sin comes along you will easily fall. Because your soul is weak! You are not strong in the Lord or in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10).
Why? You are not standing against the evil day. You are not putting on the armor of God. You are putting on the rags of your own opinions, your own self righteousness, or worldly philosophy.
You excuse away your behavior by telling yourself you were abused (I'm not minimizing the impact abuse can have on a person's life; I've gone through this as well). You talk about what other people have done to you to justify the sin in your life right now. This will not help you. You have to take personal responsibility. You have to own up to your disobedience. You may live in a worldly psychological framework of thinking which excuses the compromise and justifies you allowing yourself to carry weights! Like I said, a weight may not be sin. But it leaves your soul in a weak condition, and you are an easy target for evil spirits.
The "flesh" is a word which points to a life of independence from the Holy Spirit. To live according to the flesh means we do not walk and live in the gospel and as a result we produce what is against God's kingdom. Our words, actions, thoughts, and attitudes are against the kingdom of God.
Walking in the Spirit begins, grows, and flourishes in the simple gospel message of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot remember or hold onto the gospel if your mind is filled with ideas of the world (false religion, psychology, self-help books, etc). The Holy Spirit will only honor the finished work of Christ. You are not experiencing victory in your life because you are trusting your own will power or self discipline. You will not experience victory when you try to add to the gospel all of the religious philosophy and worldly philosophy.
The Holy Spirit does not honor human strength, human will power, or any vows we make. God will not deal with us according to deals we make on our own terms. He only relates with us on the terms which he makes. Those terms are simple. We can only know him and experience eternal life when we put our complete faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing else. Nothing else added to it. You may need to do some serious house cleaning in your soul to get out all of the junk you have accepted in religious environments. There are many evil spirits that are promoted in religious environments!
When a man walks in the Holy Spirit he is no longer obligated to follow religious traditions. You see this clearly in the life of Jesus. He did not feel it necessary to pay attention to religious traditions of the religious leaders in his culture. As a matter of fact, he called them blind leaders of the blind. He warned his disciples to beware of the hypocrisy of religious leaders who burden people down with man-made religion, rituals, and traditions.
Let us keep to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our doctrine is Christ Jesus himself. Our doctrine is the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To walk in the Holy Spirit is not complicated. People try to make this into abstract religious teaching. It is very practical. Read the word of God, relate it to you life, and then put it into practice. When you are OBEYING the word of God then you ARE walking in the Spirit. Disobedience is walking in the flesh. Obedience to God's word is walking in the Spirit.
IF you want to experience victory and freedom from sin in your life then tell God this: "LORD JESUS, I want to obey you. I am failing, Lord, I keep falling into this sin over and over. I am so tired of compromise and backsliding. I am so tired of being asleep. I want to WAKE UP, Lord. Please wake me up. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit. Lord, you said if I ask for the Holy Spirit then you would give me the Holy Spirit. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I yield to the HOLY SPIRIT right now. I want to obey you. Fill me now with the Holy Spirit. Baptize me with the Holy Spirit and give me the spiritual power to obey your word right now, in Jesus name."
Also, do not forget to deal with the evil spirits. Cast out the evil spirits in your life through the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Yes, Christians CAN be demonized. Make sure this is not a problem in your life by submitting yourself to God, and resisting ("casting out", "expelling") the devil (James 4:7). Do this OUT LOUD somewhere private. Cast out the devil, in the name of Jesus Christ. These devils have no choice but to leave you if you will learn to say NO! Amen.
Heavenly Father, please help my brothers and sisters in Christ today to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, you said "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit". We need the power of the Holy Spirit. You commanded us to be filled with the Spirit. I want to be filled with the Spirit, I want to WALK in the Spirit, and NOT the flesh, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Zechariah 4:6, "Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."
Luke 11:13-14, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? 14, And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered."
Brother and sister, when you get a taste of living in victory you will never want to go back to the darkness again. Reach out right now by faith and experience the victory God wants for you! Amen.
Mike Kines
July 22, 2025