Staying on the Straight and Narrow - Galatians 5:13

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Galatians Chapter five, verse thirteen says this, For you are
called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom
into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve
one another. Let's pray together, Heavenly Father, thank you for
the freedom that you provide to us in Jesus Christ.
Thank you that living the Christian life is the most

(00:22):
wonderful life of all. Thank You for the fruit of
the spirit that you want to characterize all our lives,
the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self control. May we walk in your ways as we
seek to please you. For we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Speaker 1 (02:00):
Welcome to another episode of the Weekly Wisdom Podcast. I'm
pastor Jeff Shree from Texarkana, Texas, and today I want
to talk to you about staying on the straight and narrow. Now,
have you ever found yourself stuck in a ditch? My
first accident when I began to drive came when I
was a foolish and brash sixteen year old roadway pro

(02:24):
quote unquote. I was driving on a narrow two lane
road behind a slow moving vehicle, and since I was
way too cool to have to languish behind a slow poke,
I whipped my car into the passing lane and hit
the gas. Unbeknownst to me, the roads were slick from
a recent rain, and as I tried to pass, my

(02:45):
tires in the back began to fishtail. I lost control
of my automobile. Now, fortunately I didn't hit the car
that I was passing, but I did end up in
the ditch facing the wrong direction, with damage to the
front end of my newly refurbished Camaro. By my own
stupid actions, I failed to keep my vehicle on the

(03:08):
straight and narrow. Now, the Christian life is a lot
like a narrow road. In fact, that's what Jesus called it.
He called it the narrow way that leads to life.
As you and I stay on the narrow way, walking
in the light with the Lord, all is well and
life is filled with the fruit of the Spirit, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness,

(03:30):
self control. But remember this, there are dangers to either
side of the narrow road. If you veer off on
the right or on the left, you'll find yourself stuck
in a ditch. Now, on the right side of the
narrow road is the ditch of legalism. Legalism is gritting

(03:53):
your teeth and trying with all your might to live
the Christian life and please God in the power of
the flesh. Living a legalistic Christian life is an exercise
in futility that will always leave you guilty and frustrated
because you will continually fail. No one can meet the

(04:15):
requirements of the law in the power of the flesh.
Jesus died and rose again for us so that we
could walk in freedom. He wants us to trust him
and let him live the Christian life through us. The
little poem says it best. I can't, he never said
I could. He will He always said he would. Now,

(04:36):
the way you know that you have fallen into the
ditch of legalism is that you lose your joy. The
Christian life becomes a drudgery, a list of rules that
you must keep or else. It's a horrible, miserable way
for a Christian to live. So beware of falling into
the ditch of legalism. Now on the left side of

(04:57):
the narrow road is the ditch of license. Now license
is a full one hundred and eighty degrees from legalism.
A licentious person is a person who sees God's grace
as a license to sin, sexual immorality, partying, hedonism, pleasure seeking,

(05:17):
and compromise all encompass the licentious lifestyle. Like the prodigal son,
those who fall into this kind of behavior always dead
end into the pig style. They're consumed with guilt and
shame over their selfish, sinful actions. Now, the devil doesn't
care which ditch you fall into. He just wants you

(05:39):
off the straight and narrow. The devil knows that if
you stay on track with the Lord, you will experience
the wonderful blessings of the victorious Christian life. And since
the devil is a thief who comes only to steal,
and kill and destroy, he will try with all his
might to get you to veer off the road into
the ditch. Now, for some he will tempt with rules

(06:00):
and regulations, appealing to a person's sense of self righteousness,
and for others he will tempt with the passing pleasures
of sin that appeal to the flesh. But the good
news is this one John four to four. Greater is
he who is in you than he who is in
the world. The devil is a defeated foe, and you

(06:22):
and I can walk in victory over his schemes. Now,
I don't know where you are today, but God does.
He knows and he cares. And if you are derailed
and have fallen into the ditch of legalism or the
ditch of licentiousness, you can get back on track with Jesus.
And you can do it today. Cry out to him,

(06:46):
confess your sins to him, regardless of what you have done.
His hand is stretched out to you today and he says,
take my hand, and let's walk together once again. So
what is your answer to him? Let's pray, Father in Heaven.
We don't want to fall in the ditch of legalism

(07:06):
trying to please you in the power of the flesh.
That is truly the formula for frustration and disaster. And Father,
we don't want to fall into the ditch of license,
wrongly thinking that it doesn't matter how we live, Because
it does. Lord. We want to live surrendered to you
and be led by your spirit. So help us to

(07:27):
be sensitive when we veer off the strait and narrow.
Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the
author and perfector of faith, and to experience the freedom
that comes from a walk in the light with Jesus.
We pray all this in His name. Amen. Well, thank
you for listening to this episode of the Weekly Wisdom Podcast.

(07:48):
I'm Pastor Jeff Shree from Texarkana, Texas, and I would
love to connect with you. Visit my ministry website at
Fromhisheart dot org for resources of materials to help help
you grow in your faith. Now, for more wisdom to
last a lifetime, and to make prayer priority in your life,
download theprey dot com app. Hey, if you enjoyed this podcast,

(08:11):
please share it with someone else in your life who
might also be encouraged by it. Thanks again for listening.
Make it a great week, and make God richly bless
you