This week, Pastor Luke continued with our Take Me To Church series with Part 2 of Beneath the Surface Discipleship.

He spoke out of Galatians 5: 13-25, and the tension between walking in the Spirit and the flesh. He spoke on three levels of beneath the surface discipleship.

1.Level One

We live on a string of constant tension - on the one end there is walking in the Spirit and bearing fruit, and on the other end is dealing with the flesh and its desires. We are made up of two parts; physical and immaterial – our bodies, and our spirit/soul, and these two elements do not always agree with one another.

When we put our faith in Jesus, we die (Romans 6). Our immaterial self is born again, we receive the inheritance of the Holy Spirit, and we are redeemed (justified). However, we still live our lives in the flesh – caught in the in between period between justification and glorification. This time of living in the middle is one of sanctification whereby our choices and lives are making us more and more in line with the character of Jesus.

2.Level Two

Everyone has five God given appetites – food, knowledge, sex, status, and pleasure (comfort). We sin when we satisfy these God given appetites in a non-God ordained way.

We need to rule our flesh in order to walk by the Spirit, because if these appetites remain unchecked within our lives they become addictions, which Paul calls slavery. But we are called to freedom, a freedom in Christ that allows us to choose what is right.

3.Level Three

We face an uphill battle, because our cultural current pushes us toward sin and not sanctification. This is not helped by the message of “self love.”

At Waypoint we absolutely believe in self-care. We believe in counseling, freedom ministry, boundaries, etc. We want people to be whole and healthy, walking in the identity God has given them and truly becoming all that they can be in Him. However, self-love can become dangerous. In our current world we are told to speak our truth, follow our hearts, be true to ourselves, validate our greatness etc. The problem is.. what if speaking our truth is unkind? What if being true to ourselves leads us to sin? What if following our hearts leads to the destruction of others and ourselves?

As Christians, we need to operate as part of a different narrative – one that cares for others, shows restraint, and live in humble submission to the Lord, His truth and His purposes. The fruits of the Spirit in us are primarily for those around us as we live in community.

Four ways to walk in the Spirit and away from the flesh:

·We have to belong to Jesus. ·We need to go to war with our choices. Every choice is a chance to become more or less like Jesus. Our decisions will eventually make us. Life is the sum of many small decisions over many small days, and in all things we need to do as Jesus would do. ·We need to crucify the flesh. This involves a continued lifestyle of confession and repentance, and fasting what is addictive to us. ·We need to walk in the Spirit. We need to slow down to be with Jesus, and allow the Lord to have full access to your life.