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The Eternal War: Spirit vs. Flesh

We are seeing all over America that people are starting to realize that that feeling they had that something was wrong is really wrong. And that the ones that seem to have the solution are those who have the joy of the Lord. Those who have something different, something better, something called new life in Christ.

This message is designed for the born again believer who is growing in their maturity. And if that is not you, just stay with me as best as you can. This could be very confusing to some, but when you hear what's prepared here - something that's been learned and been living for about 15 years - it may make more sense to you.

As platforms continued to rise, I started seeing all of these contrived strategies around serving God that left me uncomfortable. People say, "Chris, why did you never get a Wikipedia page? Why did you not get the blue check mark? Why didn't you go for all of these things?" Well, today you're going to find out why.

I have gone so far that I don't like anything contrived when it comes to the spirit of God. When you hear what's prepared today, this is something that may make more sense to you.

A Perpetual War Declared

What I'm about to read to you is a perpetual war. What I'm about to read to you is an eternal battle. And it all started back in Genesis chapter 25. And this perpetual war, this perpetual battle is even alive in our lives today.

God's Declaration in Malachi

Malachi 1:1-4:

"The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, says the Lord. But you say, how have you loved us? Is not Esau Jacob's brother? declares the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste to his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. If Edom says we are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins, the Lord of hosts says they may build, but I will tear down and they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever."

Two Nations in the Womb

Genesis 25:21-23:

"And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebecca his wife, conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, 'If it is thus, why is this happening to me?' So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided. The one shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.'"

Now, stay tuned. Listen close because I want to share with you something deep, something that you would be blessed if you understood this together with me.

The Deeper Meaning

These twins will become two nations. Yes. But there's something else going on here. God said to Rebecca, "In your womb are two sons, two nations." And that's what came out of them. The Edomite people and the Israeli people. We can look back in history and see this clearly.

These two nations represent something. These two nations represent a scripture typology. I'm here to tell you today that these two nations represent the flesh and the spirit. The carnal nature of the flesh and the spirit where God works in the hearts and minds of his children.

Now, I'm going to show you how there is a permanent conflict, a perpetual war in all of life between the flesh and the spirit, between Esau representing the flesh and Jacob representing the spirit. We're going to see from the word that I am not forcing this. So stay with me and you will see how Esau represents the flesh and Jacob represents the spirit. And you will see how we can walk and live in the spirit.

The War Within Every Believer

There is a war going on in you just like there was a war going on in Rebecca. The war that's going on in us is ongoing. And those of us who know the Lord know what I'm talking about, right?

The Spirit vs. Flesh Battle

Galatians 5:16:

"But I say, walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

The flesh, the Adam-like nature that we have been all born into, the law of sin and death, the carnal mind. Have you ever felt that? Have you ever experienced that flesh spirit struggle?

Seriously, if not, if never, if you can't relate to what I'm saying at all, you may want to ask yourself if you've ever really been saved.

There is in that old carnal nature, the flesh, that we got from Adam. And then there is that new nature we received from Jesus called the spirit. What you get when you are born again and you're given new life.

The Works of the Flesh vs. The Fruit of the Spirit

Let's look at what the Bible says a little deeper.

What the Flesh Produces

Galatians 5:17-21:

"For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now, the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Pretty straightforward. Yeah, I don't know what he's saying there really.

What the Spirit Produces

Let's do the contrast. Let's do the compare and the contrast.

Galatians 5:22-24:

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

Now, would you like to know the fruit of the spirit rather than the works of the flesh? That's what we're going to learn as we study the life of Jacob and Esau. And that's what we're going to learn as we study our own lives because we have to have this determination. But it cannot be the flesh trying to please God. It has to be the spirit working through us. And that is a slight dichotomy, but man is it important.

Esau: The Portrait of the Flesh

You study the life of Jacob and Esau. Esau represents the flesh and Jacob represents the spirit.

Born Red Like Adam

Genesis 25:24-25:

"When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak. So they called his name Esau."

Red hair all over like a hairy garment they say on his arms and legs. Interesting that he was red. Do you know why? Do you know what red means in Hebrew? Ed or red means Adam. God made Adam from the red earth. So, Adam's nickname is Red. Hey, Red. How's it going? God formed Adam from the dust of the ground and called him Red.

So, here's Esau. He's very much like Adam. He's red.

Born to Lose

Secondly, he was born in a complete losing state. Look back to verse 23 of Genesis 25:

"The one shall be stronger than the other. The older shall serve the younger."

What God says is that Esau and the spirit of Esau will be totally vanquished. He was the elder. Verse 25, the firstborn red, the first baby born. And he was all red.

The flesh always comes before the spirit. We were first born of the flesh, right? Then we became born of the spirit. The spirit doesn't arrive on the scene until the second birth. The first birth is sin-filled and then the second birth you're born again.

• First Adam, then the spirit
• First Esau and then Jacob

Now, as you look closer and deeper, you will see Esau was opposed to the things of God. Esau is a type. He's like a picture of the flesh.

Jacob: The Heart for God

Genesis 25:27:

"When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man dwelling in tents."

You see the word quiet right there? That means plain. The Hebrew word is tam. In other places, the word is called upright, perfect, undefiled. That's an interesting contrast between Jacob and Esau, isn't it?

The Contrast

• Esau is the hunter → Jacob is just quiet and plain
• Esau is cunning with a killer instinct → Jacob dwells in tents and has kind of a protective instinct
• Esau is a man of the field → Jacob's a man of the fold
• Esau has a passion to kill → Jacob has a passion to protect
• Esau was a man who just minded earthly things → Jacob sought spiritual things

Genesis 25:28:

"Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebecca loved Jacob."

The Birthright: Permanent for Immediate

Genesis 25:29-34: "Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, 'Let me eat some of that red stew, for I'm exhausted.' Therefore, his name was called Edom. Jacob said, 'Sell me your birthright now.' Esau said, 'I'm about to die. What use is a birthright to me?' Jacob said, 'Swear to me now.' So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright."

The Scene

Do you get the picture? Stomach growls. Out working hard, famished.

Esau: Hey Jake, what is it, Red? Give me some of that food I smell. I just can't wait another minute to eat.

Jacob: I'm sorry, dude. I've been working on this all day. Tell you what, you give me your birthright and I'll let you have it.

Esau: Few hasty words... 'What do I care?'

Esau's Heart Revealed

He hastily showed the darkness of his heart. Do you see that? He was a man mastered by his own appetites and he fulfills the type of the flesh.

Quite simply, here is a man completely destitute of spiritual values. Do we see that around us today?

• Here is a man ready to trade the eternal things for the temporal
• Here is a man who sold his birthright for one meal
• Here's a man simply more interested in the physical than the spiritual

Listen now. He sacrificed the permanent on the altar of the immediate.

God's Warning About Esau

What do you think God thought about this? Well, there's a warning and it's recorded in Hebrews 12:16-17: "That no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears."

A man who puts material things in front of the spiritual. It will result like this. Material over the spiritual.

Jacob's Different Heart

Jacob was a man who sought spiritual things and he sought and got the birthright. You may say, well, Jacob tricked Esau. Maybe manipulated him. You may say, Jacob did wrong. But don't miss the point. How he went about it is not really the point. The point is he wanted it and Esau didn't.

• Jacob had a heart for the things of God
• Jacob had a mindset of the things above and Esau on the things he could see

If you study the life of Jacob, you will see a flawed, weak man at many times. But overall, God loved him and was with him because he had one thing. He had a heart for the things of God.

God didn't favor him for what he was. God knew he could use him because God saw in this man a heart for God and his ways.

Choosing Jacobs Over Esaus in Ministry

Been around churches. I've been around the Christian industry a long time. And I've seen a lot of Esau's and I've seen a lot of Jacobs. In fact, if you're looking to get stuff done and grow your ministry and grow your church, you would not choose Jacob in the modern culture. You would choose Esau.

Why the World Chooses Esau

Esau was a manly guy. He was a get things done dude. A man moving and shaking. He could make his own way. He was a hunter. He was a man's man. He was a self-sufficient guy. Jacob wasn't.

Without a discerning mind, most of us would choose Esau over Jacob. But not God. God said, "Jacob I have loved. Esau I have hated."

Why God Chooses Jacob

Why? Oh, those words really struggle in the modern culture, don't they? Why? I'll tell you what God saw in Jacob. He didn't see Jacob's deeds. He saw Jacob's desires. Jacob in his heart of hearts, failing as he was, weak as he was, Jacob had a heart for God.

We need to look for the Jacobs and grow this church and our outreach on that basis. See, there's a lot of trouble in the church today as we fill committees and boards and dare I say pulpits with Esau's.

A Personal Ministry Example

When Emily and I knew it was time to possibly go back into pastoral ministry and the adventure was over. By the way, those of you who don't know, the whole time after I left seminary in the early 90s, all the way through our adventure through Christian films and Christian broadcasting and all the conferences, everything that we did, we always would say that this ends with me pastoring a church in rural America. God put that on our heart from the beginning. And literally 5 days before COVID hit, we were praying and said, "Now's the time. God's timing is perfect."

So, I submitted to approximately a dozen or so churches. And with my background, I became a finalist in almost every one of those churches. And I'm telling you right now, there was only two churches that were looking for a Jacob. Almost all the search committees are looking for Esau to lead them. And then they wonder why there's no power from God in their midst.

The Heart for God Standard

We need to set aside everything that may look good in people and align ourselves with hearts for God. And that's what I found here. I hate using names because if I use names and I leave somebody out, that'd be bad. But there were three specific men in this setting that made me believe that the heart for God was going to be the number one thing. And three and a half years in, that's still the deal.

Do we stumble? Yeah. Do we kind of grow up around sometimes? Yeah. But the heart for God is at the core of the leadership of this church, which is why many of you are here because you can feel it.

We need to set everything aside that may look good in people and align ourselves with hearts for God.

The Battle Pattern: Moses vs. Amalek

These two represent one the flesh and the other the spirit. Back in Malachi that he loved Jacob and that he hated Esau. In verse four, God has angry indignation over the flesh forever. God is always going to be against the flesh. Why? Because the flesh is always against God. Keep that in mind.

The Battle at Rephidim

Exodus 17:8-13: "Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, 'Choose for us men and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I'll stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.' So Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. And whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses's hands grew weary. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. While Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword."

Do you see how the battle of the flesh was won? You see right here how the battle was actually won. You're like, "You better explain it."

Who is Amalek?

First of all, who is Amalek? Do you know Amalek is Esau's grandson? How do we know? Genesis 36:12 tells us Amalek is Esau's grandson.

Now remember, God has said that I have a battle with not just Esau but his kinfolk and his descendants and it's permanent. Remember it's a perpetual never-ending war.

The Flesh Blocks Our Victory

Now here is Amalek representing the flesh that tries to keep us from entering into victory. How many times has your flesh prevented you from entering into victory? It is the flesh that will try and keep us from entering into our own Canaan, the promised land for you and for me and for this church and for whatever outreach we're supposed to have.

Amalek said, "No, you're not entering into Canaan." And the children of Israel did enter in because God gave the victory. The way God gave the victory then is the same way God is going to give us victory for the rest of our lives.

The Staff of God: From Flesh to Spirit

Where Victory Was Won

How was the battle won? We just read about it. It's Moses and the staff of God in Exodus 17.

• When Moses lifted the staff, Joshua was winning
• When Moses lowered the staff, Amalek would start to win and the flesh would prevail

So, the battle goes this way and that way, but finally the battle is won because Moses is able to hold out the staff of God.

That's where the victory was. Not down here, but up there on the hill with the man of God holding the staff of God in his hand.

So, what does that staff represent? What's the message of the staff of Moses? We need to learn it because that's the way victory over the flesh is going to happen. That's going to lead us to our land of promise, whatever that may be.

The Transformation of the Staff

Now with that in mind, let me tell you about that staff. Good story in Exodus 4:2-5: "The Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A staff.' And he said, 'Throw it on the ground.' So he threw it on the ground and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, 'Put out your hand and catch it by the tail.' So he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand, that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

So you say, "Okay, well, what's the lesson there? What is it about this staff that gives victory over the flesh?"

What the Staff Represented

Do you know what that staff represented for a shepherd? It represented all of Moses's success and skills and talents. It represented all of Moses's abilities and his giftedness. Every shepherd had a staff and he could do great things with it.

God is saying to Moses, "Moses, I don't want your giftedness or your abilities. Throw it down. Lay it before me. Just cease your dependence upon the flesh."

Moses threw it down and God got the serpent out of it and now he takes it up and it no longer has anything to do with the flesh. Now it is the staff of God.

God Doesn't Want Us to Do Anything FOR Him

Does that make sense? Do you really know what this means? It means God doesn't want you or I to do anything for him. What? Many of us never learn that. Most of us think we can do something for God. God doesn't want us to do anything for him. He wants to do something through us. And when he goes to do something through us, the determination you get will be a spiritual determination.

The Flesh Wants to Build Platforms

When people want to use the flesh to build a platform. I was offered all these Twitter followers and everything back in the day if I just give somebody $3,000. Why? That's not from God. If God wants to do something through us and we are surrendered, then what's happening is of his will. Romans 8:28.

See, we need to take any kind of ability we have and throw it on the ground. And any ability I have, I won't bury in the ground. I will let God try to use it as best he can. And I know there's spiritual desires where God's wanting me to do things, and I don't want to anymore. But I got to be willing.

It's How You Do It, Not What You Do

See, it's not what exactly you do. It's how you do it. What's the intent of your heart and your head? You know, because many of us want to do stuff. We want to take our abilities and offer them to God. But God doesn't want them.

Now, some of you may be arguing with me in your mind, but I want to show you what I'm talking about. God really does not want anything from you for him in your flesh, in your "Lord, I'm pretty good. Let me do this for you. Wink wink." That's not how it's going to roll with him.

Moses's Staff Becomes God's Staff

See, it was no longer Moses's staff. Now it is the staff of God. But Moses still had a staff. Does that make sense? And Moses held the staff. And then it was God's power and God's victory. God was showing victory over the flesh. And he's showing that victory is in fact God-given.

Why We Lose the Battle

You know why some of us are losing our battle over the flesh? Some of us are losing our battle over the flesh. I'll tell you because we are fighting a battle already lost instead of accepting the victory that's already won.

There is nothing worse than the flesh trying to be holy.

Walk in the Spirit

Galatians 5:16 says, "Walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

Did you catch that? Walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. What it doesn't say is don't fulfill the lust of the flesh so you can walk in the spirit. Do you get it? It's a different deal. It's a different game that the battle over the flesh has been won. And that's your new life in Christ. It was won at the cross.

Saul: A Battle Lost

So, let's show you a biblical example as we bring it home today of a battle over the flesh that's lost. And it's right in your Bible.

God's Command: Destroy Amalek Completely

1 Samuel 15:1-3: "And Samuel said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you king over the people Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."

See, that might seem harsh to you until you understand the world that these Israelites found themselves in. Amalekites were still in the land. I want to remind you who they were.

The Amalekites were:

• A bandit nation who rode roughshod over others
• Slaughtering and raping wherever they went
• Had a trail of blood and tears for 500 years
• Would torture for just mad joy
• Would curse the God of Israel
• Direct descendants of Esau

They stood for the flesh and in the flesh dwells no good thing.

We see the same battle in our country. We see the spirit of the nation of America trying to survive in a nation that has chosen the flesh over the spirit. And now we are in a major conflict.

Saul's Partial Obedience

Now, I want you to see how Saul represents the consumer carnal Christian in the flesh. Saul, one of the most gifted people leaders ever.

1 Samuel 15:13-23: "And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, 'Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.' And Samuel said, 'What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?' Saul said, 'They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.' Then Samuel said to Saul, 'Stop. I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.' And he said to him, 'Speak.' And Samuel said, 'Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel, and the Lord sent you on a mission and said, Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?' And Saul said to Samuel, 'I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of the Amalekites and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.' And Samuel said, 'Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.'"

The Fatal Error

That might seem harsh, but did you see what happened? If you don't get anything else from today's message, get this. Saul was a carnal man who tried to give the best of what he had to God. He tried to serve God to the best with what God hates.

• God hates the flesh
• God hates the fallen nature
• There is nothing the flesh has that can be an offering to God

The Devil's Subtle Strategy

Think about it now. If the devil can't get you to do obvious sins in the flesh, maybe he can get you to do good in the flesh. Maybe preach, maybe teach, maybe give in the flesh. Is that what you want? Doesn't matter what you do in the flesh. That which is flesh is flesh.

I just could not learn this and then try to do conniving strategies in the name of advancing a platform for the kingdom of God.

God Doesn't Want the Best of What He Hates

See, here is Saul saying, "I'm going to sacrifice these sheep. I'm dedicating the best of the spoils for God." God is saying he doesn't want them. God is saying he doesn't want anything the flesh has to offer ever.

Do you know what happens in many churches and many ministries these days? Do you know why there's so much deadness? Why the flesh prevails so much? Because people are trying to do good in the flesh and offer to God what God hates.

What's happening all over nowadays and many don't even realize it in classrooms and in Christian boardrooms and in pulpits. It's the flesh on a pedestal. It's the flesh.

The flesh gets you stupid things. Like looking into the eternity of being made perfect and holy and being presented to God as if you've never sinned and say, "No, set that aside. Live your best life now." How stupid. He saved us because the flesh wants to take us over. The flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. That's the perpetual war that's going on.

The Fatal End: Amalek Takes the Crown

I want to tell you what happened at the end for Saul and then we're done. I want to show you how he became a wicked, bitter old man. Let's see how he died.

2 Samuel 1:2-10: "And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. David said to him, 'Where do you come from?' And he said to him, 'I have escaped from the camp of Israel.' And David said to him, 'How did it go? Tell me.' And he answered, 'The people fled from the battle, and many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.' Then David said to the young man who told him, 'How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?' And the young man who told him said, 'By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, Here I am. And he said to me, Who are you? I answered him, I am an Amalekite. And he said to me, Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers. So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.'"

Saul - never a man had a better start. Never a man died a more dishonorable and disgraceful death than Saul. Do you see it? Saul spared Amalek, but Amalek didn't spare Saul.

• Who was it that murdered Saul? It was an Amalekite.
• Who was it that took Saul's crown? It was an Amalekite.

You spare the flesh in your life and one day it'll destroy you and take your crown.

The Final Word: Don't Give God the Best of What He Hates

Don't offer to God the best of what God hates.

Now, I wonder if you see that old Esau nature in you, that old nature, that which is firstborn, that which is self-sufficient. I see him a lot. And I start to complain and murmur. Why does it got to be this way, God? Lord, why can't we just change this circumstance? Fill in the blank for yourself.

A Wise Pastor's Words

A wise pastor once said, "Your efficiency without his sufficiency is but a deficiency."

The Path to Victory

Let's together say:

"God, I am sick and tired of depending on the flesh. I'm going to take whatever gift you give me, whatever staff I have, and I'm going to throw it on the ground and let you take the serpent out of it. And I'm going to give you the best of what you want in me. And that is a surrendered life that can be dependable and can be counted on because it's you working through me.

Help me, Lord, not give you the best of what you hate. Help me kill it, Lord. Lord, let me have victory over the flesh today. Let me come today daily in keeping with repentance and renew that life that you have in me, that new awesome life."

The Bottom Line

And for those of you who know Jesus, it's going on in you and you know exactly what I'm saying.

Victory over the flesh comes through surrender, not struggle.

It comes through letting God work through us rather than trying to work for God in our own strength.

The battle has been won at the cross - our job is to walk in that victory daily.