Message - Tug Of War

        

When I was in Junior High, my school had a game day competition at the end of the school year.I remember that there were many different kinds of events. One of the events was the Tug Of War competition. I remember the event very well because at the end of it, I had mud all over me.

My team lost and ended up in the pit.You might be wondering why I'm telling you this story, or maybe you are thinking so whats the point? I want to talk to you about Tug of War because there is a very important lesson that we can learn from it. The Bible says this, For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Galatians 5:17   The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to one another, they are contrary,  they are at war with each other. What  the Bible is saying  is that your human nature your Flesh (with all of its sinful passions and desires), and your Spirit, (the indwelling Holy Spirit within the believer), are at war with each other. This  a war that is ongoing, it never ends.It is a war that will continue all the days of your life, until you breathe your last breath. You must realize that your Human nature will always seek to dominate the Spirit, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the will of God within your life. The Flesh will always try to tempt you to submit to its will and plan, instead of yielding to Gods perfect will and plan for you.Its is like a spiritual wrestling match, a spiritual Tug of war. We have two people represented in a tug of war. First we have the Old man which is the Flesh, and then we have the New man, which is the Believer, filled with the Holy Spirit. These two men are at war with each other. The old man will tell you do this, do that, lets do what we used to do. The Old man will say "If it feels Good you must do it, obey me." But you are not the Old man you are the New man. The Bible says this, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.2 Corinthians 5:17 . There is an important point so remember this, whoever you feed the most will be the strongest. When I say Whoever, I mean which man you are feeding.If you feed the Old man of the Flesh, the things and desires of the flesh, then he will win the Tug Of War, but if you feed the New Man in Christ, the things of God, reading the Word Praying and praising God, then the New man will Win. Lets take another look at Galatians and find out how we can do this.  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. Galatians 5:16  We must walk in the Spirit we must be feeding our spirits with the Word of God so that we can win the Battle you see, we are like the Rope, caught in the middle, with both natures pulling on us in different directions. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to be the Dominant guiding force in our lives so that when the enemy pulls against the will of God we allow the Holy Spirit to war against the Old Man of the Flesh. This is a battle that we can only win with the enabling Power of God not of our own strength but of the one who lives within our Hearts, God Himself, the Holy Spirit.We don't want to lose this battle and end up in the Mud pit, in other words Destruction, Hell, Death. One Final Note, One of the ways that a Team in a Tug of War Contest will defeat the opposing team is by having a strong anchor. An anchor is the Guy at the end of the rope usually bigger and stronger than the rest of the team. The Job of the anchor is to dig in and prevent the team from slipping or losing ground. The anchor is the strongest point in the chain. I want you to ask yourselves a question, who is your anchor, or what is your anchor. The Bible say that we have an anchor for the Soul,  that anchor is Jesus Christ My Friends.God Bless You.