A Way Out: Part 3 - "Living By The Spirit" with Craig Groeschel - LifeChurch.tv

A Way Out: Depend on the Spirit, Starve the Flesh

Scripture References

Primary text

• 1 Corinthians 10:3
• Galatians 5
• Romans 8:12-13

Other references

• Romans 7
• Galatians 5:24-25

Overview

Temptation is constant, but God is faithful and always provides a way out. Paul teaches that the battle plays out between our sinful nature (“the flesh”) and God’s Spirit living in us. Whatever we feed becomes stronger; whatever we starve withers. By depending on the power of the Holy Spirit and keeping in step with His promptings, we can refuse the flesh, nurture the Spirit, and walk in lasting freedom.

Main Points

The war between Spirit and flesh

• Galatians 5 describes two opposite desires fighting inside every believer.
• Romans 7 echoes the tension: wanting to do right yet doing wrong.
• Temptations mentioned: complaining, comparing, overspending, worry, social-media addiction, gambling, gaming, substance abuse, sexual sin.
• Key reminder: > “Our God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear…He will also give us a way out.”

Feed the Spirit, Starve the Flesh

• Core principle: > “What you feed grows and what you starve dies.”
• Everyday pictures: over-eating vs. dieting, watering a houseplant, nurturing sinful desires vs. nurturing intimacy with God.

• Illustration: An abandoned home ruined by drug use—photos and a handwritten plea to God showed how sin “thrills then kills,” destroying work, relationships, finances, and testimony.

1. Depend on the power of the Holy Spirit

• The Spirit is God dwelling in believers—convicting, comforting, counseling, guiding, empowering.
• Romans 8: “You have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” Living by the flesh brings death; living by the Spirit brings life.
• Freedom begins with honest admission of weakness:
  • AA-style prayer: “We admit we are powerless over ____. We believe a power greater than ourselves can restore us.”
  • Personal blank might be food, materialism, worry, lust, alcohol, pills, etc. “You are only as strong as you are honest.”

• Story: In college, the speaker quit dating for two years after the Spirit exposed sexual sin. The season of abstaining renewed his mind and prepared him for a healthy marriage.

2. Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit

• Galatians 5:24-25 calls believers to “keep in step with the Spirit.”

• Illustration: Learning ballroom dance with his wife—she could follow only when close enough to feel his subtle hand signals. Likewise, closeness to the Spirit helps us sense His nudges.

• Practical exercise: record every perceived prompting during the day—song that speaks, verse that lights up, urge to pray, warning to avoid a place, nudge to listen to a coworker. Reviewing the list builds confidence that God is speaking.
• As we stay full of what matters (the Spirit), the emptiness of sin loses appeal.

Key Truths

• God always provides a way out of temptation; we are never forced to sin.
• Feeding the flesh strengthens sinful desires; feeding the Spirit weakens them.
• Believers carry no obligation to obey the urges of their sinful nature.
• Admitting powerlessness is the doorway to Spirit-empowered freedom.
• Daily sensitivity to the Spirit’s promptings keeps us from gratifying the flesh.

Response

• Confess the specific temptation you keep excusing or hiding.
• Declare your dependence on the Holy Spirit for power and wholeness.
• Identify one flesh-feeding habit to starve this week.
• Schedule intentional Spirit-feeding practices (Scripture, prayer, worship, community).
• Note every prompt you sense from the Spirit and act on it immediately.

Closing

Freedom begins the moment we recognize we are powerless alone but never powerless with God. The Spirit who raised Jesus now lives in us, guiding and strengthening us to starve the flesh and walk in life. > “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Prayer

The congregation thanked God for the indwelling Holy Spirit, admitted specific areas of weakness, and asked for fresh power to walk in daily obedience and freedom.