Audio Messages:
Pastor Wade Burleson

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The Flesh vs. The Spirit

Genesis48.mp3 (11.0 MB)

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Genesis 16:1-6 (KJV)

1. Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5. And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
6. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

The Apostle Paul uses the story of Sarai and Hagar as an analogy of what it means to live by the Spirit. He says, "Brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman (or children of the Spirit of promise)" (Galatians 4:31). "So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Living according to the Spirit brings freedom, joy, fulfillment, and real satisfaction. The flesh leads us to eventual emptiness. It is possible for the Christian to live according to either the flesh or the Spirit.

1. God will produce what He promises, but I must be discerning of my desires.
   God promised Abram an heir. He said He would bring this heir from "Abram's loins." "My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory" (Philippians 4:19). "He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20. He is able, He is not always willing. Since God is good, not willing is always good. Where we get into trouble is exerting our will and our desires above God's own will.
2. God's way demands absolute trust, while my way requires all out effort.
   "There is a way that seems right to man, but the end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12). Hagar and her son picture the Old Covenant, or blessings from one's own effort. Sarai and her son picture the New Covenant and blessings from faith in Christ Jesus. The analogy goes beyond salvation and encompasses other areas of your life that would include one's ministry, one's marriage, even one's management of people.
3. God's timetable demands patience, but my wants lead to rash decisions.
   "Evildoers shall be cut off, but they that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the earth" (Psalm 37:9). "Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee in due time" (Psalm 37:34). One way you know that you are walking by the Spirit is that you take time to pray. Without thought of God, people will do anything to obtain that which they desire.
4. God brings me to see the sin in myself, but my flesh desires to focus on others.
   Sarai went after what she wanted her way, and when things didn't turn out the way she planned, she said to Abram, "My wrong be upon thee!" (V.5). In other words, Sarai said to Abram, I am in this predicament because of you, not me. "The hypocrite hath a squint eye; he looks more at the sin of others than his own." Watson.
5. When God leads me to live by the Spirit, it is certain that I will be persecuted.
   "He that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit . . . even so it is now" (Galatians 4:29). The most severe persecution in the church of Jesus Christ often comes from those in the same family. Ishmael persecuted his half-brother Isaac. Ishmael is a picture of the person who lives his life in bondage to the Old Covenant -- "Do this and live, do this and be cursed." Isaac is a picture of the person who lives his life completely free from guilt and the sentence of the law. The Ishmaels of this world do not comprehend how the children of promise live. "The fire of God can't be damped out by the waters of man's persecution" A. Tozer.

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