09/06/2026
Be encouraged in the Christian faith and life empowered by the Spirit with this message:
✝️ **FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY**
**September 6, 2026**
# # # **“WALK BY THE SPIRIT”**
📖 *Galatians 5:16–24*
📖 *Old Testament: Proverbs 4:10–23*
**Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.**
**Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:**
Have you ever been driving somewhere and turned on your GPS because you weren't quite sure where you were going?
You enter the destination, and the voice says:
**“Turn right in 500 feet.”**
And maybe you think, “I don't really want to turn right. I think I know a better way.”
But if you ignore the directions long enough, eventually the GPS says:
**“Recalculating.”**
That's probably a pretty good picture of the Christian life.
God has given us His Word. He has given us His Holy Spirit. He has shown us the way He desires us to live.
And yet, how often do we say:
**“I think I'll go my own way.”**
That's what the Bible calls **walking according to the flesh.**
And against that, God's Word says:
> **“Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”**
Today, God's Word teaches us what it means to **walk by the Spirit and be led by the Spirit.**
And perhaps the simplest way to say it is this:
**Walking by the Spirit means walking with Jesus, according to His Word, in the freedom of His forgiveness, while the Spirit produces the fruit of Christ in us.**
---
# # 🔥 THE BATTLE INSIDE US
Paul says:
> **“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.”**
There is a battle going on inside every Christian.
And notice that Paul doesn't say that once you become a Christian, you won't have sinful desires anymore.
**The Christian still has the flesh.**
We still get angry.
We still become jealous.
We still want our own way.
We still harbor resentment.
We still struggle with lust.
We still gossip.
We still become impatient.
We still envy what somebody else has.
We still put ourselves first.
And sometimes we know perfectly well what God's Word says—and we deliberately do something else.
**That's the flesh.**
Paul gives us a sobering list:
> “Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, or**es, and things like these.”
Notice how broad that list is.
The works of the flesh aren't limited to the sins we consider especially scandalous.
**Jealousy is a work of the flesh.**
**Anger is a work of the flesh.**
**Envy is a work of the flesh.**
**Divisiveness is a work of the flesh.**
And so is sexual immorality.
The flesh isn't simply the bad things that other people do.
**The flesh is the sinful nature in every one of us that says, “I want what I want, when I want it, and I don't want God telling me otherwise.”**
The flesh wants to be its own god.
And that's why this passage is **Law.**
It exposes us.
It doesn't allow us to point across the room and say:
“Pastor, you really ought to preach this sermon to him.”
God's Word says:
**“Look in the mirror.”**
Where is the flesh showing itself in your life?
What controls your temper?
What occupies your thoughts?
What are you unwilling to forgive?
What are you jealous of?
What secret sin have you learned to tolerate?
Where are you saying:
**“God, I know what Your Word says, but I'm going to do what I want”?**
That's the flesh.
And Paul gives us a warning:
> **“Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”**
That's serious.
God doesn't grade sin on a curve.
Sin separates us from God.
And if Galatians 5 ended there, we would have nothing but condemnation.
**But it doesn't end there.**
---
# # ✝️ THE GOSPEL CHANGES EVERYTHING
Paul doesn't simply tell us:
**“Try harder.”**
He tells us something far more wonderful:
> **“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”**
**Those who belong to Christ.**
That's where the Christian life begins.
Not with what you do for Jesus.
With what **Jesus has done for you.**
You were not saved because you finally learned to walk by the Spirit.
You were saved because **Jesus Christ died for your sins.**
He took your guilt upon Himself.
He carried your anger.
He carried your lust.
He carried your jealousy.
He carried your selfishness.
He carried your failures as a husband or wife, father or mother, son or daughter.
He carried every sinful thought, word, desire and deed to the cross.
And there, Jesus paid for them all.
**He died in your place.**
And then He rose again.
And through Holy Baptism and the Gospel, the Holy Spirit has brought you into Christ.
**You belong to Jesus.**
That is the foundation of everything Paul says in Galatians 5.
The Christian life isn't:
**“Do these things so that God will love you.”**
It is:
**“God has loved you in Christ; therefore, now live as His beloved child.”**
That's Gospel motivation.
That's Christian freedom.
That's the power for a new life.
---
# # 🕊️ WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WALK BY THE SPIRIT?
Paul says:
> **“Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”**
To walk by the Spirit means to live each day as someone who **belongs to Jesus.**
The Holy Spirit doesn't lead us by giving us mysterious messages that contradict God's Word.
**The Spirit leads us through the Word of God.**
The Spirit who inspired the Scriptures doesn't lead us away from Scripture.
**He leads us deeper into it.**
Jesus said of the Holy Spirit:
> **“He will glorify me.”**
The Spirit's work is always **Christ-centered.**
The Spirit takes us to Jesus.
He reminds us of Jesus' promises.
He brings us to repentance when we sin.
He assures us of forgiveness.
He strengthens our faith.
And then He teaches us to live differently.
So walking by the Spirit means:
**I hear God's Word.**
**I believe God's promises.**
**I repent when I sin.**
**I receive Christ's forgiveness.**
**And then I get up and walk again.**
Not because I am perfect.
**But because I belong to Christ.**
---
# # 🍇 THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Paul gives us that beautiful list:
> **“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”**
Notice that Paul doesn't say:
**“The achievements of the Christian are...”**
He says:
**“The fruit of the Spirit.”**
Fruit grows.
The branch doesn't strain and grunt and say:
**“I have to produce an apple!”**
It remains connected to the tree, and the life of the tree produces fruit.
Jesus says in John 15:
> **“Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.”**
The Spirit produces Christlike fruit in Christians who remain connected to Christ through His Word and Sacraments.
And what kind of fruit?
❤️ **Love**
😊 **Joy**
🕊️ **Peace**
⏳ **Patience**
🤲 **Kindness**
🌱 **Goodness**
✝️ **Faithfulness**
🌿 **Gentleness**
🛡️ **Self-control**
Notice how different that is from the works of the flesh.
The flesh says:
**“Me first.”**
The Spirit produces:
**“How can I love and serve my neighbor?”**
The flesh says:
**“I have a right to be angry.”**
The Spirit produces:
**patience and gentleness.**
The flesh says:
**“I want what he has.”**
The Spirit produces:
**contentment.**
The flesh says:
**“I'll never forgive that person.”**
The Spirit points us again to the cross where Christ says:
**“I have forgiven you.”**
And having received that forgiveness, we learn to forgive others.
---
# # 👨👩👧👦 PARENTS: LEAD YOUR CHILDREN TOWARD THE PATH OF LIFE
That brings us beautifully to our Old Testament reading from Proverbs 4.
The father says to his son:
> **“Hear, O son, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight.”**
And then:
> **“Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.”**
Parents, God's Word gives you an enormous privilege and responsibility.
You are not merely raising children who know how to get good grades, make money, play sports, get into college, or find a good career.
**You are raising children who have immortal souls.**
And Proverbs says:
> **“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”**
That means parents need to teach their children not simply **how to behave**, but **where life is found.**
And life is found in **Christ.**
Teach your children God's Word.
Bring them to worship.
Bring them to Sunday School and Bible study.
Teach them to pray.
Teach them the Ten Commandments—not as a ladder by which they climb into heaven, but as God's good will for their lives and as a mirror that shows them their need for Jesus.
Teach them the Gospel.
Teach them to say:
**“I am a sinner, but Jesus died for me.”**
Teach them that when they fail, they don't need to hide from God.
**They can run to Christ.**
And parents, your children will learn more from what you do than from what you say.
If they see that church is important to you, that matters.
If they see you pray, that matters.
If they see you apologize when you are wrong, that matters.
If they see you forgive, that matters.
If they hear you speak God's Word when life is difficult, that matters.
And if they see you return again and again to the forgiveness of Jesus, they will learn something enormously important:
**The Christian life isn't about pretending to be perfect. It's about belonging to a perfect Savior.**
---
# # 💪 WE CANNOT DO THIS IN OUR OWN STRENGTH
And perhaps that's the greatest encouragement of all.
God isn't standing over you saying:
**“Now become a better Christian. Try harder.”**
He is saying:
**“You are mine.”**
**“You have been washed.”**
**“You have been forgiven.”**
**“Christ has died for you.”**
**“Christ has risen for you.”**
**“My Spirit lives in you.”**
**“Now walk with Me.”**
That's why the Christian life is not powered by guilt.
It is powered by **grace.**
The Gospel doesn't merely tell us what we ought to do.
**The Gospel gives us Jesus.**
And Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit gives us the power to live a new life.
Will you still fail?
**Yes.**
Will you still fall into the flesh?
**Yes.**
Will there still be days when your patience disappears, your temper gets the better of you, or selfishness wins?
**Yes.**
But when you fall, don't stay there.
**Repent.**
Run back to Jesus.
Hear again His promise:
# **YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.**
And then walk again.
**Walk by the Spirit.**
---
# ✝️ CONCLUSION
Brothers and sisters, the Christian life is a walk.
**One step at a time.**
**One day at a time.**
Sometimes we walk strongly.
Sometimes we stumble.
Sometimes we wander.
But **Christ does not abandon His people.**
His Spirit continues to call us through His Word.
He continues to forgive us.
He continues to strengthen us.
He continues to produce His fruit in us.
So don't look inside yourself and ask:
**“Am I good enough?”**
Look to Christ.
Don't ask:
**“Have I done enough?”**
Look to Christ.
Don't trust your feelings to tell you whether God is with you.
**Trust His Word.**
**Trust His promise.**
**Trust the cross.**
**Trust the empty tomb.**
And then, in the strength of that Gospel:
# **WALK.**
Walk with Jesus.
Walk according to His Word.
Walk in the freedom of His forgiveness.
Walk away from the works of the flesh.
Walk toward love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
And when you fail, **return to Christ again.**
Because:
> **“Walking by the Spirit means walking with Jesus, according to His Word, in the freedom of His forgiveness, while the Spirit produces the fruit of Christ in us.”**
And one final truth to carry with you this week:
> **The Spirit leads us not away from Jesus, but to Jesus; and as we live in His Word and His forgiveness, the Spirit gives us power to put the flesh to death and live the new life Christ has already won for us.**
**In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.** ✝️
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