New Covenant - the Shadow and Reality - Part 6

I want you to see this Galatians chapter 5, Galatians 5 this verse 16. See Galatians is the great chapter on Old Covenant versus New Covenant, something like 2nd Corinthians also. These are two great books.

Galatians is a great book with a number of chapters on the Old Covenant versus New Covenant and read it these two books particularly 2nd Corinthians and Galatians. Two great books. In Romans also, if you can understand it, but the contrast between the two covenants is not brought out so much in Romans.

The contrast between the two covenants is brought out in three books of the Bible, three books of the New Testament. One is 2nd Corinthians, one is Galatians and the other is Hebrews. If you want to see the contrast between the two covenants these are the three books and the life itself is described in Romans.

Galatians 5 16 it says, I say walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Now do you see the difference between you should not carry out the desires of the flesh and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. I hope you see the difference.

It's very simple English. You should not is a command, you will not is a promise. It's like a doctor telling you, you should not do this.

Okay that becomes my responsibility. But if a doctor says I'll do this surgery on you and you'll never have a problem again. You know nowadays there's a there's an eye surgery called LASIK, L-A-S-I-K.

They do it with a computer and laser beams and all that. But people who have worn glasses, thick glasses all their life, they do this surgery on their eye, they don't need glasses again. It's not contact lens or anything.

It's permanent. It's amazing. Now in the old days when people had eye problems, the doctor would say okay do eye exercises and you know you got to get up every morning and look at the Sun for some time and various things you got to exercise.

You should do these exercises. Now the doctor says just come to me and I'll do this surgery on you and not you should see better, you will see better. You understand the difference? You should do some exercises so that you can see better and doctor saying I'll do something on your eye and you will see better.

That's a wonderful picture of old covenant versus new covenant. Many times what you hear is you should do this and you should do that and you should do the other thing and you tried. Some of us have tried for many many years.

What's the result? We still can't see properly. But when the Lord does something, you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Do you know there's a life that you can come to where you will not be able to do it? I've heard only one or two people in my whole life say words like this and it was true in their life.

There was a time in my life when I could only tell lies. Then I became a Christian and with a great struggle I began to speak the truth. Then I came to stage three where I cannot tell lies.

I can only speak the truth and he said there was a time in my life when I could only hate people. Criticize, backbite, gossip, do all types of things that other children of hatred. Then I was born again into the great struggle.

I could love people. Then I came to stage three where it is impossible to hate anybody. What a life.

You say that cannot be true. Well if you told somebody 150 years ago that man will fly in the air, they say that can't be true. Now they say that.

If you had told somebody 50 years ago that man would land on the moon, aha, that's impossible. They don't say that today. Because we don't experience something, we say it's impossible.

Jesus said all things are possible to the one who believes. If it's in Scripture. If it's not in Scripture, you can't believe.

But Scripture says you will not carry out the desire of the flesh if you walk by the Spirit. That means you know the whole purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit controls every part of my life and he prompts you. Don't turn there.

You'll hear a voice behind you saying this way, not that way. He won't force you. He won't catch you by the neck like demon possessed people.

You know that's why there's a difference between demon possession and spirit filling. Possession and filling are two different things. You never hear of anybody possessed by the Holy Spirit and you never hear of anybody filled with demons.

It's always possessed by demons filled with the Holy Spirit. What's the difference? The difference is when you're possessed by demons, you have no control over yourself. I've seen demon possessed people.

They're not responsible for what they're saying. They're not responsible for what they're doing. When the demon is cast out, they immediately become normal and you shouldn't stop there.

You shouldn't clean the house and leave it empty because eight other demons come in. But then if they're filled with the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Spirit does not control your life.

See right now, I believe with all my heart whether you realize it or not, that the Holy Spirit is inspiring me when I speak. Because He gives me the thoughts to say. But He doesn't control my tongue.

He doesn't even control my tongue when I speak in tongues. He gives me the syllables to utter, but I speak in tongues. Just like I'm speaking right now.

Because I'm not possessed by the Holy Spirit. I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. So if you listen to the promptings of the Spirit, you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

And it says here the flesh is a hundred percent against the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit's hundred percent against the flesh. Boy, I'm thankful the Holy Spirit's hundred percent against my flesh. And I say, Lord, I agree with you.

I want to be a hundred percent with you against my flesh. And then these are in opposition to one another, Galatians 5 17, so that you may not do the things that you want to please. I mean, I want to do a lot of things, but I can't do it.

Because the Holy Spirit helps me not to do it. It's a wonderful life. Then he speaks about the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

He says this is one type of life you can live. Immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry. Verse 19, sorcery, witchcraft, by the way.

Reading Harry Potter and stuff like that. Enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions. You can spend your life with that.

Or you can spend your life, verse 22, with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And when you live this life, there is no law. So, if you are led by the Spirit, verse 18, in conclusion, let me say verse 18, only if you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, are you free from the Old Covenant.

You'll never be free from the Old Covenant unless you say, Lord, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to learn every single thing in my life. Oh, okay, I'll fall like children.

Children take one year, two years to learn how to walk stably. You may take time to learn how to walk in the Spirit. Don't get discouraged if you fall.

Get up, get up, get up. Learn from little babies. They fall a thousand times, they get up a thousand times.

And they walk. And one day they run. And so can you.

Have faith for that. Let's pray. Lord, it's a wonderful life, our Father, that you have promised us.

A wonderful life, so wonderful that it's unbelievable. So wonderful that the devil whispers in our eyes, impossible. But the devil's a liar.

We know your word is true. We know there's a life that many here have not tasted and might miss if they don't believe your word. I pray they'll believe your word today and press on and enter in.

In Jesus' name, Amen.