Week 4: Introduction

Topic: Fighting Spiritual Battles

Read: Galatians 5:16-25

Memory Verse: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16 NKJV).

Examine:  Did you know there is a battle going on continually in our spirits? Paul instructs us to feed our spirits so that our flesh with its ungodly desires is defeated. He tics off a long list: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;” and concludes that “…those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (verses 19-21).

How do we fight against such ungodly desires to stop their attacks? We will all be tempted at times, but we must know that God has provided us with spiritual weapons to overcome those temptations. What are our weapons? Let’s read Ephesians 6:10-18.

But here’s the good news. After we put on our spiritual armor, we can easily defeat the enemy with its wicked temptations. The flesh with its passions and desires are crucified with Christ. Then we can feast on the fruit of the Spirit, walking victoriously in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Discuss: Do you remember the hymn called, “Onward Christian Soldiers?” I remember singing it in Sunday School as well as in church. God provided us with spiritual armor to put on daily as we go out to fight our enemy, Satan, who comes to us in many forms. Ephesians 6:11-12 defines this war: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.^“

Let’s define the fruit of the Spirit, so we always choose it. Here’s the list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Can you choose one from the list and give an example of what it looks like in today’s culture? Which ones do you want to see grow and mature in your life?

Prayer:  Dear Lord, may we deny the temptations of the flesh by putting on our spiritual armor and always choose the fruit of the Spirit in our daily lives. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much ~ James 5:16.