Grace in Galatians (Part 139): Dealing With Distorted Desires
- Rick Piña
- Feb 11
- 9 min read
Today, we continue our focus on “THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY,” as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”
Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”
1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Scripture we will study today:
Galatians 5:19 NKJV“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness…”
Galatians 5:19 TPT“The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography…”
Setting the Stage:
As we begin walking through the list of the “works of the flesh,” it is important to understand that the flesh always seeks to satisfy a legitimate desire through an illegitimate means. God is the author of desire, but the flesh is the author of distortion. Paul starts his list with sexual sins because they are the most “evident” or “obvious” expressions of the self-life trying to find fulfillment apart from God.
Under the Old Covenant, the Law could only punish these actions from the outside. But under the New Covenant, grace provides the internal power to change our cravings so we can live pure from the inside out.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Adultery: Breaking Covenant for Temporary Gratification.
How this applies to you:
— You must realize that covenant faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit, not just a rule to keep.
— Grace gives you the power to protect your marriage by keeping your eyes and heart stayed on your spouse and seeking sexual satisfaction from them only.
— If you are single, grace prepares you to enter a covenant with integrity and honor.
— Adultery starts in the mind; use the Word of God to renew your thoughts daily. What you meditate on in secret will eventually manifest in your actions. If you don’t control your thoughts, you open your heart to things that are not like God, and you become susceptible to Satan.
— Covenant integrity in your home will lead to covenant favor in your business, life, and ministry. But don’t lie to yourself. You cannot be a covenant breaker, where your spouse is concerned, and then expect to cash a covenant check, meaning that you expect to experience the type of favor that comes from being a man or woman of integrity.
— Let’s make it practical outside of marriage as well. When others know that you are willing to break your marriage covenant, then they also know that you are not a man or woman of your word, and you would be open to breaking any covenant or promise. Making it personal, if I know someone is willing to break the covenant they made with their spouse, then I won’t value their words because their words won’t carry weight with me.
— When the flesh suggests some sort of intimacy outside of your covenant relationship with your spouse, you must remind yourself that God has provided everything you need for fulfillment in and with your spouse. There really is no need to go outside of your marriage.
— Let’s discuss the flip side for a moment. If you are married, then the Bible says that your body belongs to your spouse. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:4-5 NLT, “The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” Why does the Bible say this? Because you should never withhold sexual intimacy from your spouse. Knowing that if you do, you can make them susceptible to Satan. Some people weaponize sexual intimacy to get what they want in marriage. By doing so, instead of honoring their marriage, they are practicing a wicked form of manipulation.
— In closing, if you have failed in this area, the throne of grace is open for your repentance and restoration.
2. Fornication and Sexual Immorality: Misusing Your Temple.
The NKJV uses “fornication,” and the TPT uses “sexual immorality.” This refers to any sexual activity outside of God’s prescribed boundaries. In other words, sex outside of marriage. The flesh treats the body like a playground, but grace treats the body like a temple. When you understand that the Holy Spirit lives IN you, you stop looking for “connections” in the world and start living from your internal connection with God.
How this applies to you:
— Your body is not your own; it was bought with a price and is the house of God. When you truly grasp this, you stop treating your temple like a rental property you start honoring the one body God gave you for the short life that you have on this planet.
— Grace empowers you to live a life of purity in a culture of compromise.
— The culture of this world has changed drastically. I remember growing up when if a young Dominican woman did not keep herself sexually pure until marriage, it would be an embarrassment to the family. However, today it seems like abstinence until marriage is a rarity. This is why we cannot allow ourselves to be conformed by this world.
— We live in a world where sexual promiscuity is flaunted. So, the chances of you being exposed to or having to deal with sexual cravings are very high. This is why you must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, and you must meditate and medicate on God’s Word. Another thing you could do is surround yourself with believers of like-precious-faith who are also keeping their bodies pure until marriage.
— To be clear, even if you are single, you don’t have to follow the cravings of the self-life; you can be led by the Holy Spirit to live a life of purity and integrity before God.
— Purity is a position of power that positions you to hear God with greater clarity. A compromised life produces a compromised signal. In other words, when you’re trying to hear from God, sin creates static.
— Living pure is not about “missing out”; it is about positioning yourself for God’s best.
3. Lustful Thoughts and Pornography: The Battle for the Eye-Gate.
The Passion Translation explicitly mentions “lustful thoughts” and “pornography.” These are the seeds that produce the “works” of the flesh. The enemy wants to capture your imagination because your life will follow your dominant thoughts. Grace gives you the ability to “medicate” on the Word so that your mind is flooded with light instead of darkness.
How this applies to you:
— What you give your attention to will eventually grow in your heart. What’s in you abundantly will come out of you eventually.
— Grace trains you to turn your back on sinful pleasures and live with self-control.
— You have the authority to cast down every thought that disagrees with God’s Word.
— Pornography is a distortion of vision; ask the Spirit to restore your “sight” to see people as God does.
— The enemy wants to distract you and also to distort your divine vision. He wants you focused on other things. You can’t fulfill your divine assignment while looking through a corrupted lens.
— Your eyes are a gate to your soul. Whatever gets through your “eye-gate” gets down in your soul. Use your “eye-gate” to behold the promises of God instead of the traps of the enemy.
— A decluttered mind is essential for hearing the voice of God clearly. It’s hard to hear to download heaven’s strategy on a device full of the enemy’s content.
— Your mind is the bridge to your future; keep it paved with the truth of the Word. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:5 TPT, “We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We have the power to capture every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.” Remember, if you give the devil your attention for 5 seconds, he’s gonna have your mind for 5 minutes. Before you know it, sin will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to spend.
4. Uncleanness and Lewdness: The Loss of Spiritual Sensitivity.
NKJV mentions “uncleanness” and “lewdness,” which refer to a heart that has become callous or shameless regarding sin. When a person lives by the flesh, they lose their “spiritual filter.” Grace, however, sensitizes your spirit to the divine impulses of the Holy Ghost so that you can discern even the “appearance of evil.”
How this applies to you:
— Grace is not a license to be “messy“; it is the power to be holy. The same grace that saved you is the same grace that sanctifies you.
— When the Spirit convicts you, be quick to repent so your heart stays soft.
— Lewdness is an “outward” display of an “inward” problem; let grace transform the inside first. A grace-filled heart is a heart that is sensitive to the Holy Spirit and open to whatever God wants to do in, with, and through your life.
— You are called to be an Ambassador of Heaven, representing the King’s character. In order to do so, you must be committed to literally walking with God. And you cannot walk with God every day while actively living in intentional sin.
— Spiritual sensitivity is your 24/7 advantage in making business and life decisions. When your spirit is sharp, you discern what your eyes can’t see.
— Don’t allow the “standards” of the world to lower the bar for your conduct. You are a son, not a slave; live with the dignity that matches your position. Because if you get to the point where sin is acceptable to you, you run the risk of no longer being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and then you will lose your ability to hear God’s voice altogether. In 1 Samuel 4:21, when the Ark of the Covenant was captured, Eli’s daughter-in-law named her son Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel.” The word Ichabod literally means “no glory.” When you lose your spiritual sensitivity through persistent uncleanness, you can reach a place where the glory lifts, and the worst part is you may not even realize it’s gone. Don’t let your life become an Ichabod moment. Guard your sensitivity to the Spirit like your life depends on it, because it does.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that I am a new creation, and the cravings of my old self-life no longer rule me!
I declare that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and I honor You with my physical life!
I am dead to adultery and fornication, for I am satisfied with Your love and faithful to my covenants!
I take authority over my eye-gate and my ear-gate, refusing to allow lustful thoughts or pornography into my heart!
My mind is being daily renewed by Your Word, and I think on things that are pure, lovely, and of a good report!
I am spiritually sensitive to Your leading, and I am quick to repent whenever the Spirit convicts me!
I refuse to live a “lewd” or “unclean” life; I walk in the beauty of holiness and the power of grace!
I am not a slave to my history or my hormones; I am a son of God led by the internal Spirit!
I execute Kingdom authority over my fleshly desires because Your grace empowers my will!
I am living in the Year of Discovery, my audio matches my video, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
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