At War.

The Spirit is Willing but the Flesh is Weak. (Matthew 26:41)

Young people are at war. 

They are at war with the world.

They are at war with the enemy. 

But worst of all- they are at war with themselves. 

The greatest battle we will face is the battle between spirit and flesh. 

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David is one of the greatest men of God to ever live

And when we think of David, there are two events that we remember him by in particular.

The first of these events is:

1.       We remember the time that David killed Goliath.  
       This is the time that David slew the giant. 

This battle occurred in the physical.

But it was a spiritual thing that determined the fate of Goliath. 

David won because he trusted in a God who was bigger, stronger, and greater than himself.

David was not fighting for his own name.  He was fighting for God’s name. 

The battle was won by his faith.  His trust in God helped him to defeat the giant. 

When David killed Goliath, it revealed his humility. 

When David killed Goliath, it proved he was a man of faith. 

   

Goliath was his greatest victory. 

The other event we remember David for is:

2.       We remember the time that he committed adultery with Bathsheba.
      This is the time that the giant slew David.

This battle occurred in the physical.

But it was a lack of spiritual strength that determined the fate of David. 

David lost this battle because he trusted in himself. 
He looked to himself for strength; and in his weakness, he failed to reach out to a God who was bigger, stronger, and greater than himself. 

David was not fighting for God’s name.  He was fighting for his own name. 

The battle was lost because of the weakness in his flesh. 
The weakness in the flesh was the giant that slew David. 

When David slipped morally with Bathsheba, it revealed his humanity. 

When David slipped morally with Bathsheba, it proved he was a man of flesh. 

Bathsheba was David’s greatest defeat.
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Young people today are desensitized. 

They are not growing up in a culture that teaches them morals.

Instead, many are morally ignorant; at least by the standards of the Bible. 

Because of this, when it comes to temptations that they face- they give in.

This happens because the flesh is weak. 

We as Christians need to always remember to keep feeding ourselves spiritually. 

When the spirit is strong, the flesh is strong.
When the spirit is weak, the flesh is weak. 

I remember when Jesus is praying in the garden.

In Matthew 26:41, He tells the disciples, “"Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

The secret to avoiding temptation and staying strong morally is this:

1. Keeping watch-
This means that we need to be aware of our surroundings.

This means that if we are in a situation where temptation can potentially overcome us, we must exercise strength and choose to walk away.

This means that if we discern something that is not right, we need to take action and do something about it.

This means that we need to make sure that we are not setting ourselves up for failure.  When David was standing on the roof looking around at his kingdom, he noticed Bathsheba.  The thing that he should have done was walked away and moved on. 

Instead, he allowed himself to keep feeding his flesh- and eventually, his flesh caved in.  By doing this he set himself up for failure. 

When we keep watch, it means that we do not allow ourselves to be in situations where we continuously feed the flesh and neglect the spirit.

Instead, we need to continuously strengthen the spirit. 

This means that we must:

2.       Pray-

The greatest way to strengthen the Spirit is by praying. 

Prayer moves mountains.

Prayer covers us with the armor of God. 

Prayer strengthens the flesh. 

The more we pray, the more we find God.
The more we find God, the less we want to act out immorally.

If we can learn to keep watch and pray, the sky is the limit. 

Resource: http://www.sermonnotebook.org/old%20testament/2%20Samuel%2011_1-27.htm