Galatians 5 16 says this, I say, then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. This morning, I'd like to begin our message with this question. Have you walked in the spirit this week? Are you walking in the spirit today? Last week, we learned of what this means and how every Christian Every day needs to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in every decision through compliance and obedience to his word. So the question is this, is this how you are walking with God today? Sometimes we may even wonder, though, how can I tell? How could I know if and when I am actually walking in the Spirit as we looked at last week? How can I tell if and when I am following His leading? Well, as we get closer to the end of Galatians chapter 5, we actually find out how. So we're going to head back to Galatians chapter 5 together, if you're not there already. And the question is this, how can you tell? How can I tell if and when I am walking in the Spirit as a Christian? and is a child of God." Well, even as the Apostle Paul says in another place, let a man examine himself. It really could apply to all of us. Let a person, let a child of God, or someone who thinks that they are a believer following God, let a man or woman examine himself or herself. So the truth is, in order to ascertain whether or not we are and have been walking in the Spirit, we need to examine ourselves. We need to examine ourselves and our own walk with the Lord. Have you ever gone to the grocery store to get some fruit? I think we all have had that experience and you want to find the best fruit, the freshest fruit. So when you get there, what do you do? When you go to see the oranges or the apples, they're not in a bag. First thing you do is not take the plastic bag and take the first things off the top and throw them in the bag. Not usually, unless you're in a big hurry. Normally what you do is you pick each one of those pieces of fruit up and you look at it. You want to make sure there's no bruises on it. You may even smell it to make sure that it smells fresh. You may consider the color of it. If it's a melon, you may even thump it. A couple weeks ago, Brother Art was here and he was describing how he found, or could find, the perfect cantaloupe. And he knew exactly how to thump it and find out whether that is going to be a perfect, delicious, juicy melon. And you do that until you find just the right one. That is exactly what we find the Apostle Paul doing here in Galatians chapter 5, verses 19 through 25, which will be our text this morning. And we read these words. Again, this is the Word of God. Verse 19, The works of the flesh are manifest, they're clear. Which are these? Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft or sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, verse 21, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love. joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such, there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. So this morning as we come to this passage, we need to examine ourselves. We need to examine ourselves and then, as he said there in verse 25, continue to walk in the Spirit and let more of His fruit be cultivated in our hearts and lives. What we find in these verses are three things that we need to closely examine, each one of us in our lives. We need to examine our works, our fruit, and our walk. We need to examine our works, our fruit and our walk with God. So first, I want us to examine the works of the flesh, which we saw in verses 19 through 21. So how do you know if you're walking in the Spirit? It really doesn't have to be a mysterious thing or a hidden thing, because it's a clear thing. How do you know? Well, what is most noticeable in your life? What do you see coming out of your heart and in your life? Is it the work of the Holy Spirit, which we saw in the fruit of the Spirit, or is it the work of your own flesh? Beginning here in verse 19 of chapter 5, Paul writes this, Now the works of the flesh are manifest. With these words we see the prominence of the flesh. The prominence of the flesh. We need to remember that the flesh that Paul is talking about is not just your human body. It is actually your natural, sinful, fallen human nature. That's what we are without Christ. That's our flesh. And the works of our flesh, he says, are manifest. That means that they are clear. It's evident. It's something that you can see without any doubt at all. It's obvious. And so when it comes to your life and my life, it really shouldn't be too hard to tell if you're living your life under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Or if you're living your life under the influence of your old nature and your flesh, you need to examine its works. In the next couple of verses, we find a list that covers a lot of the works of the flesh that may be in your life and may be evident in your life. You may see it. Others may see it. And so here we find a picture of your flesh. in verses 19 through 21. He says the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these. And then he gives a list of 17 works of the flesh. There are some translations that have a reduced to 15, but I believe that these 17 best represent the original text. And so what we have here is adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envies, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. So the question is, Do you see these kinds of works of the flesh evident in your life? Because that will help you examine yourself and understand if you're really walking in the Spirit or not. In this list of 17 works of the flesh, we need to examine our lives based on these works because It actually will help you see what your flesh is really like. You see, sometimes we think that we're not so bad. We think, well, I'm a Christian and I've really done a whole lot that's bad. I was saved at an early age and really I've not committed a lot of these sins and crimes against God. But the truth is, this is what your flesh is like. And the potential of your flesh is not very pretty. In fact, it's very, very dark. And all of these works of the flesh are based on our own lusts and our own desires. And that's what we find here in these lists. The first thing that we see is we find our own lusts for pleasure. The first four in this list of works of the flesh are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lasciviousness. All four of those things have to do with sexual lusts and sexual sins. You see, we understand that sexual immorality is a powerful draw in this world, isn't it? All you have to do is turn on the television and listen and hear the news about one of our presidential candidates. And you see what's going on, and this world has a fixation on this kind of sin and on these kinds of lusts. Because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. You see, the tree of our own sinful nature gravitates toward these kinds of sins. Even if you've not committed them in action, yet what does Jesus say? Even if you've had lust in your heart, it's as if you've already broken that one commandment of adultery or fornication. And so what we need to do is examine the works of our flesh. It's not just active works, but inner works. What goes on in our mind and in our thoughts? This is the kind of people that we are apart from Jesus Christ. Adultery. is simply unfaithfulness to your spouse in marriage. Fornication is any kind of immorality outside of God's plan and purpose in a biblical marriage. Uncleanness is an unnatural and immoral thought and behavior that dishonors your own bodies, as Paul says in Romans 1.24. Lasciviousness is a desire to work all uncleanness with greediness, as Paul says in Ephesians 4.19. Basically, it's living your life without any restraints, saying, I'm going to live for sex. Do we find these lusts at work in our own heart? adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. If there's no one watching or no one looking and we had every opportunity, would we try to fulfill these kind of lusts in our life? You know what that is? That is the work of your flesh. And that is the potential and possibility of all of our flesh, apart from the control and restraint of the Holy Spirit. We find a next category of these lusts, and that is our own lust for prominence. The next two have to do with worship of false gods. We have idolatry and witchcraft. Idolatry is simply honoring anyone or anything else as God or even above God. It doesn't mean that you have to bow down to an object made out of stone or wood. It's setting up anyone or anything above God in His place, and it could even be yourself. Witchcraft is the use of sorcery and other superstitious beliefs and acts ultimately in worship of the devil himself. You know, there's a lot of people that play with sorcery or witchcraft or horoscopes or astrology and the signs of the zodiac. And they play with these things and they don't realize that in truth, they're having a relationship with the prince of this world, the devil himself. It seems that in the province of Galatia, where Paul was writing to, these lusts were very prominent. They actually had temples to false gods and idols that they would go and worship. And they would often use immoral acts in their worship, unspeakable things. But does idolatry still persist in our own hearts? I think if you're honest with yourself, you're going to realize that, yes, I do have these lusts in my own heart. It may not be for an object of silver or an object of wood or an object of stone. But there are things that I put above God in my life. He says this is a work of your flesh. The next eight in this list probably hits even closer to home because these are lusts for power in our life. Lusts for power. Hatred. Hatred is the opposite of love and is the desire for someone's harm. Have you ever hated someone that way? Maybe there's someone you know that you hate that way, that you would wish nothing less than something harmful to come on them. Where does that come from? Not from the Spirit of God, but from your own sinful heart and flesh. Variance is an arguing and a quarreling spirit. You always try to get the last word in. You always argue your point, even if it is a point that's not worth arguing over. Again, this is a lust for power over someone else, even in the words that you say. Emulations! is a jealousy that someone is living better than me. And I also feel that they're living better than they deserve. You ever had that kind of jealousy about people? Even Christians can fall into this camp and say, why is it that people that don't follow God, all those people are wealthy and they're rich and they don't seem to have a care in the world or a problem. You realize that even Christians can have this kind of jealousy, these emulations. And what is that? What is that? It's a work of your flesh. It doesn't come from the Spirit of God. He goes on and talks about wrath. What is wrath? It's an outburst of anger in a fit of rage. This is not a work of the Spirit, but a work of your flesh. Sedition is a desire to take sides and cause division. We see this in churches all the time, where there is some minor issue or some minor point, and it is something that people start taking sides over. Isn't this what you see in the book of 1 Corinthians, where Paul had to address? There are divisions in you. And you are trying to side up with a certain teacher, whether it's a Paul or Apollos or Peter. Some of you think you're following after Christ, but you're not. He says this doesn't come from the Spirit, this comes from your own flesh. Heresy is a division based on your own opinion and goals. Envying is a discontentment for what you have and a desire for what another person has. It's covetousness. Do we see these kinds of lusts in our own heart, in our own life? This is what our human nature is really like. It's not good. It's not all glorious. It's not beautiful. It's dirty and it's sinful and it's dark. Do you see those kinds of lusts at work in your own heart and life? You see the works of the flesh are manifest. They're clear. Do you want to know whether or not you've been walking in the spirit? Do you see these lusts coming out in your life and heart? We find in the final three, our own lusts of passion. murders, drunkenness, revelings. Murder is not just the deed, as Jesus describes, it's even the desire to kill out of anger and rage. You may hate someone and be angry with someone. I remember Cain was as well, and when you looked around, there was no one else to see him. He went out and lashed out and killed his brother Abel. Jesus said, if you hate your brother, you've killed him in your heart. Do you have that kind of lusts? That's a work of the flesh, not a work of the Spirit. He goes on and talks about drunkenness. Drunkenness, of course, is to be intoxicated, to be under the influence of anything other than the Holy Spirit. It doesn't just have to be alcohol. It can also be drugs. It can be anything. Anything that puts you under the influence of someone or something under the Holy Spirit and then reveling is living in an unbridled and unrestrained way, just living a life of party. That's all your goal. Your goal is to party and have pleasure. That is all you're after. And then, in case Paul missed any, he says, and such like. This list of the lusts of the flesh is a picture of what your flesh is really like, and what my flesh is really like, and also what our flesh is capable of. Do you realize that apart from the restraining power of God, we would all go this direction? in one of those ways or another, and such like. The truth is we all have a desperate need for our flesh to be restrained, because this is who we are. But it's also because, in verse 21, we see the problem of our flesh. What is wrong with all these things? What is wrong with all of these lusts? Well, verse 21, of the which, he refers to that list of 17 things, of the which I tell you before, as I also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul wants all of us to know that if your life is dominated by these works of the flesh and there's no restraint in them, guess what? It is clear that you shall not inherit the kingdom of God. What does that mean? It means that you're not saved. It means that you're not a Christian. It means that you're not a child of God. If you persist in these things and there is no restraint and there's no care in your life, it is clear that you are not going to inherit the Kingdom of God. Why? Because the Spirit of God is not at home in your heart. This is not talking about someone losing their salvation. It's talking about someone who's never been saved to begin with. Now, they can put on a show, but guess what happens? The lusts of the flesh are manifest. They're clear. They're evident. It's obvious. You know, you know whether or not you are living according to the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. As Albert Barnes once wrote, you and I cannot enter the kingdom of God as we are with these lusts in our lives. You see, what would heaven be like if these kinds of lusts and sins were allowed to enter without change? Think of a heaven where any of these things would be present. It wouldn't be heaven at all, would it? No place to go. Heaven would not be heaven at all if God were to permit these kinds of lusts and sins there. So what do we need to do today? We need to examine our own works of the flesh. Did any of those strike a chord in your heart? Did any of those show something in your life and say, you know, I'm facing that in my life? We need to, 2 Corinthians 13, 5, examine ourselves whether we be in the faith. Are we in the faith? It's because the works of the flesh are manifest. But I want you to know that there is real hope and change. You know, a few years ago, there was the presidential campaign by President Obama, and that was his motto, hope and change, right? Did we get much hope? Was there much change? Is there ever, it seems like. At least maybe not in the positive sense that we would have liked to have seen. But when it comes to our works of the flesh, there really is hope. There really can be change. And it's through the good news of Jesus Christ. You see, the solution to the problem of the works of your flesh and the works of my flesh is not the works of the law. That's where some people get it wrong. They feel guilty about some of the works of the flesh. And so they go to the other extreme and they say, well, if I just keep these works and I do these good things, then everything will be hunky dory. Everything will be fine. But the truth is the works of your flesh cannot be erased by the works of the law. You cannot erase them and equal out your bad works with your good works. It doesn't work that way. Instead, what do you do? You have to turn from the works of your flesh completely, realizing that they are dark, that they are deadly. You will not inherit the kingdom of God if you persist in them and you turn from them and then do what? You turn to and trust in Jesus Christ who did keep every single law that was necessary to keep. You trust in the complete work of Jesus Christ. So it's not my works, but his that I'm turning to and trusting in his his perfect life, his redeeming life, his powerful resurrection to save you and to free you from that flesh. You need to run to Christ when you see the works of your flesh coming out stronger and stronger and stronger. Even as a Christian, if you see your flesh trying to gain the upper hand, you run to Christ in faith. Because it's not about the works of the law, but about the work of Christ for you and in you. I run to Christ when stalked by sin and find a sure escape. Deliver me, I cry to Him. Temptation yields to grace. Examine the works of your flesh. Is that something that is controlling you? Think back this last week. Were you walking in the spirit or were you walking according to the dictates of your own flesh? Examine the works of your flesh. and then run to Christ. And when you do, He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. You know what He'll do? He'll give you His grace. And you can receive that grace by trusting in Him, and that'll lead you to the second thing that you need to examine, and that is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit. So again, how do you know if you're walking in the Spirit? You can only walk in the Spirit when the Holy Spirit enters your life. And this only happens when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved. And then you know what happens? The Holy Spirit Himself, God Himself, begins to cultivate His fruit in your life. He begins to cultivate His fruit in your life. Now, it may start out small. It may be a hint of this fruit in your life, but the Bible teaches that it will grow. It's much like what Jesus said in Mark 4.28 about what would grow out in the field. He says, For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the earth. It doesn't all come out at once and it doesn't be so fruitful all at once, but it starts out small and it grows slowly but surely. I want you to know that if you have Jesus Christ in your life, you know what's going to happen? This fruit of the Spirit will grow and ripen into a character like Jesus Christ himself. We need to remember that this fruit of the Spirit is not your fruit, primarily. It's His fruit. It belongs to him. He's the source of it. And so any of this, if it comes in your life, you don't say, well, look at what I've done. Look at this fruit in my life. No, you remember that is the fruit of the spirit. And you give him all the credit, give credit where credit's due and give him the praise and glory. And so what do we find in this fruit? Well, we see in verse 22 the nature of this fruit. The fruit of the spirit is and there's a ninefold grace of this fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith or faithfulness, meekness and temperance. This is a single fruit. It's a single fruit that will grow itself with nine special endowments and graces from the Spirit of God. Now, we could spend a lot of time looking at each one of those aspects, and we have before. But for today, We're to examine ourselves and see if there is any of this fruit in our life as a whole. Remember, it's all one fruit, but with different elements. It's kind of like an orange or really any kind of citrus fruit. I love oranges, especially the ones that are sweet and juicy. And what do you do? Sometimes you peel the outer shell out and you find in that orange segments. Sometimes you'll peel those segments apart, stick them on your plate before lunch. That's the picture of the fruit of the spirit. It's one fruit. But as you open it up and as you unfold it, you see all the different beautiful, juicy segments that it's made up of. And that's what these are. The first three refer to your personal condition in Christ, your personal condition in Christ, love, joy and peace. This love is a heartfelt affection and desire to bless others. Do you have that kind of love in your life? It's an evidence of the Spirit of God in you. But it's not just a love for others. It primarily is a love for God and a love for Christ and a love for the things of God. It's expressed upwardly and then outwardly. That's love. What about joy? This joy is a deep-seated gladness. A gladness that dwells on the Lord and on His grace and His goodness no matter what. Do you find yourself getting frustrated with things in your life? Or is there a real settled joy and gladness in your life? Psalm 70 verse 4 says, let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. And let such as love thy salvation say continually, let the Lord be magnified. Is there a joy in your heart? That's the fruit of the Spirit. Or what about peace? Peace is a lasting tranquility, the calm in the storm. a tranquility in your spirit with God and even in your own conscience. Part of the fruit of the Spirit is a peace that passes all understanding. Do you have that? You will if you're walking in the Spirit. Do you see and sense God's grace to you in those ways? This is all part of the fruit of the Spirit in your life. The next three refers to your personal conduct like Christ. Long-suffering, gentleness, and goodness. Long-suffering is patience. Patience. Is there patience in your life? This includes forbearing others when people are doing things against you, and even forgiving others. That's part of this long suffering. Gentleness is a kindness and a tenderheartedness toward others and a simple courtesy, a courtesy in action and in speech. Does that characterize your life? Or this goodness is a display of your love toward others for their benefit and their profit. One writer says that the Spirit's work is to make us good and then to have us do good. It's not just about doing random acts of kindness. It's about being truly good in your heart. And what does this all reflect? The character of Jesus himself. Do you see and sense God's grace to you in those ways? Again, it's all part of the fruit of the Spirit in your life. The last three refer to your personal character like Christ. Your personal character like Christ. Faith, meekness, and temperance. Faith is this faithful spirit toward God and toward others. It's faithfulness, trustworthiness. Meekness is a spirit of humility and submission even when you're going through things you don't like to go through, when you're suffering. It's being thoughtful toward others and teachable. Are you teachable? Temperance. Temperance is a spirit-enabled self-control where you can then master and control those lusts of the flesh. Again, do you see and sense God's grace to you in those ways? You see, the truth is, when you look more closely at those elements, all nine of them, don't you see the person and work and character of Jesus Himself? You know what the Holy Spirit's doing in the fruit of the Spirit? He is actually molding you into the image of Jesus Christ, your Savior. And that's a miraculous thing that is going on in your life as you are walking in the Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit will manifest itself more and more in your life as you walk in the Spirit. You're going to be more and more like Jesus in your condition, your conduct, and your character. He's going to increase in your life and you will decrease in your flesh. And that really ought to be the heart's desire of every Christian, that God would increase, that Jesus would increase, that He would play more and more of my life. And that is what the fruit of the Spirit involves. And then we also see in verse 23, after this list, we see the need for His Spirit. Paul says, against such, what? Against this kind of fruit, there is no law. You see, we need this kind of fruit in our life because if you remember 2 Corinthians 3.17, Paul says, where the Spirit of the Lord is there is what? Liberty. We need the fruit of the Spirit so we can be truly free. It is the fruit of the Spirit that leads us to be free in Christ because no one has ever enacted, they may have tried, I guess, But they really cannot restrict or regulate the fruit of the Spirit. Why? Because the fruit of the Spirit is good. The fruit of the Spirit is as holy as the Spirit Himself. And so, as a Christian, you are free to be as full of this fruit as possible. Look at the fruit of the Spirit for a moment. You are free to be as loving as possible. You are free to be as joyful and glad as possible. You are free to be as patient and long-suffering as is possible. You are free to be as gentle and mild and kind as is possible. You are free to be as good as possible. You are free to be faithful as possible. You are free to be as meek and temperate as possible. Why? Because where the Spirit of the Lord is, that's where you find your freedom and your liberty. So examine the fruit of your own life. Is there this kind of fruit evident? Remember, it's not your fruit, it's the Spirit's fruit. Give Him the glory and credit, if there's any of it there, and then rest in Him. Rest in what He is doing in your life. It's not all going to be some juicy fruit like it would be when it's ripe. It will continue to grow and get riper and juicier and more pleasant and more visible as you walk with God in His Spirit. But then third, there is also a need to examine your walk in the faith. Paul concludes this section with these words in verses 24 and 25. He says, And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Are you still struggling in your flesh? I think if we're all believers, we understand that. Remember earlier last week we saw how the flesh lusts against the spirit, verse 17, and the spirit against the flesh, they're contrary one to the other. There's this battle raging going on in our hearts. If you're still struggling with your flesh, and we all are, then you need to remember some things about your walk with God. You need to remember the reason for your walk. He says in verse 24, and they that are Christ's, You need to remember the reason why you even have this walk with God in the first place. It's because you are Christ's. That's a description of a child of God. If you have turned from your sinful flesh and have turned to and trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin, you are Christ's. You belong to Him. You don't belong to your flesh anymore. You belong to Christ. Never forget that. Always remember that. He chose you by His own will. He bought you by His own blood. And He loves you without measure. So walk in Him. Walk in His Spirit as the dear child of God that you have become. You are Christ's. There's another thing that you need to remember in this walk. Remember the reality of your walk. He goes on, and they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh. with the affections and lusts. If you truly belong to Christ, you have, in the words of this verse, you have crucified your flesh already. Now, that's an interesting phrase because often we think of Christ taking our sin upon himself and it being crucified. But here in this verse, it gives a very vivid picture of you personally, actively, crucifying your own flesh. Have you ever seen salvation in those terms? Where when you came to Christ by faith, in a sense, you were bringing your flesh and putting it there on the cross. It's as if when Jesus died on the cross, you put your trust in Him, and you put your own flesh on that cross, and you nailed it up there to die along with Jesus. That's the reality of your salvation. He said, I'm no longer going to live for my flesh. I'm going to live under the power of the Spirit of God and for Jesus Christ. And it's as if you personally, actively drove a stake into the heart of your own flesh. And of course, it's all done by the grace and power of God. But now your flesh does not rule over you as it once did. It doesn't. If you have Christ in your life, your flesh does not have the power or rule over you as it once did. And so when you remember that you did this, when you remember that you have crucified the flesh with the affection and lusts, You need to ask yourself in the words of Romans 6, 2, how shall I, that am dead to sin, live any longer therein? Every day. How shall I, whom dead to sin, I actually took my flesh and crucified it up there on the cross with Christ, how can I sin? How can I live according to the flesh anymore? Remember the reality of your walk. And then finally in verse 25, remember the responsibility of your walk. He says, if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. You see, the truth is, if you are a child of God, you are living by the Spirit of God. After all, He is the one who gave you life. He is the one who has regenerated you. He is the one who lives inside of you. He is the one who is bearing fruit through you. And so since you have been given life by the Holy Spirit, and since you are being led by the Holy Spirit, what are you to do? He brings it full circle in verse 25. Walk in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit. Just like he wrote in verse 16, remember? Walk in the Spirit. This is the personal responsibility and really the possibility for every true child of God. And so every day, you need to make a conscious choice to walk in the Spirit. After all, you're living in the Spirit if you're a child of God. His life is in you. You are being led by the Spirit, because that is what God says. If you're a child of God, He's leading you right now. So what should you do? You follow Him. You follow His Word. You comply with it. You obey it. And every day you return to Christ. Every day you dedicate yourself to living for Him because you belong to the One who took every sin upon Himself. I appreciate sometimes when you go to the Harvest Teen Rally, the preachers there often talk about rededicating your life to Christ. But you know, rededication of your life is not a one-time act. Rededication of your life is an everyday act. It could also be defined as simply walking in the Spirit. When you get up in the morning, say, I'm going to walk in the Spirit today. I'm going to listen to His Word and see how He leads. And every decision, every deed, every duty, I'm going to surrender to the influence of the Holy Spirit leading in my life today. That's walking in the Spirit. So are you walking in the Spirit today? You can tell. You can tell by examining yourself. You need to examine the works of your flesh. And when you see them and you see that struggle going on, what do you do? You run back to Christ every day. You need to examine the fruit of your life. And when you see that fruit, you simply rest in him and trust in his grace. And then you need to examine the walk of your faith. And every day, every day return to the one that you belong to. Remember chapter two, verse 20, Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. You put your flesh on the cross there, haven't you? You're a child of God. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So what should we do today? We need to live our lives walking step by step every day, every decision in submission to. the leading of the Holy Spirit. Examine yourself today. Examine the works of your flesh. Examine the fruit of the Spirit. And examine your walk of faith. Let's close in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, I am so thankful that you have shown to us what it looks like when we are walking in the Spirit or when we're walking in the flesh. The works of the flesh are manifest. It's evident. It's obvious. And so, Lord, I pray that you will put your finger on the heart of each one of us where we see the works of the flesh coming out, because those are things, Lord, that should not be there. Those are things that we need to fully surrender to you. But yet perhaps the works of the flesh are dominant in someone's life because they have yet to turn from their flesh and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation from their sin. Help us to remember, Lord, that if we continue to persist in these works of the flesh, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. It's a very serious thing to persist in the works of the flesh and to let the flesh rule our life. Oh, Father, I pray that every one of us will know that the works of our flesh have been crucified along with our Savior, Jesus Christ. But then, oh Lord, I pray that we will assess and see if there is the fruit of the Spirit in our heart and life as well. And Lord, if there's not, it's because we have not been walking in the Spirit. We've not been following after your will according to your word. We've not been feeding on it. We've not been fellowshipping with you. We've not been learning from you. We've not been growing in your grace and knowledge. And so, Lord, the fruit is still very, very small. The elements of your fruit are there, the love, joy, peace, and all the rest. There's a bit of it there, but it hasn't reached full maturity in our hearts and lives. And Lord, I pray that you'll give us a longing for it and a greater desire for that fruit. And then, Father, simply walk in the faith that you've given us to walk in the spirit, because we are living by the spirit. Oh, Father, help us to see that you have given us new life. You have given us a new road, a new path. And now, Lord, you give us a new fruit. a fruit that the world looks at and wonders, how can that be? How can it be so clear in their life? We can let that light so shine before men. Oh, Father, I pray that even this morning, every one of us will examine ourselves, that we will examine our works of the flesh, that we will examine the fruit of the Spirit in our life, and that we will examine our walk of faith. And then, Lord, today and every day, rededicate ourselves to walk in your Spirit. under your control and under your influence. For it's in Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.