Podcast Summary: Choosing To Walk In The Spirit

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Host/Speaker: Grant Dufresne
Date: July 28, 2020
Location: World Harvest Church, Murrieta, CA
Main Theme: How and why Christians should actively choose to live guided by the Holy Spirit rather than by the flesh, drawing on scripture and personal experience.

Episode Overview

In this message, Grant Dufresne teaches from multiple New Testament scriptures (notably 1 Corinthians, Romans, and Galatians) on the essential spiritual practice of “walking in the Spirit.” He contrasts the outcomes of living by the Spirit versus succumbing to the flesh, shares personal anecdotes, and urges believers to cultivate daily habits that feed their spiritual life. The message is full of encouragement, practical insights, and memorable analogies to help listeners understand and apply these principles.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Spirit vs. The Flesh: The Foundational Divide

[00:08] - [04:20]

• Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 2:12 - The Spirit of God gives believers access to the “things freely given to us of God.”
• We are to live a life set apart from the world; walking in the Spirit is what grants access to God’s answers and blessings.
• Quote:
  “It's in the spirit that we have this life available to us, where answers are available to us. Hallelujah. It's so important that our life looks significantly different than the world's.” [02:14]

2. Why Walking in the Flesh Doesn't Work

[04:20] - [08:55]

• Acting in the flesh leads to chaos, disorder, and trouble (“things hit the fan”).
• Grant shares honestly about his own failures and the negative outcomes that ensued from carnal reactions.
• People tied to the world are “hurt and bound,” but turning to Jesus changes everything.

3. Living to Please God Requires Dying to the Flesh

[08:55] - [13:10]

• Scripture Focus: Romans 8:8 – Those living to satisfy their carnal nature “cannot please or satisfy God.”
• Carnal choices can seem small at first but form habits that steer our lives.
• To stay aligned with God’s will, believers must be vigilant not to slip into flesh patterns.

4. How to Stay in the Spirit: Feeding the Right Nature

[13:10] - [18:45]

• Scripture Focus: Galatians 5:16 – “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
• Feed your spirit man more than your flesh (through the Word, prayer, fellowship with God).
• Your reactions and life outcomes are a direct result of what you have “fed” yourself most.
• Quote:
  “You will react out of what you fed the most on that day. What you woke up to and what you submitted to yesterday, the day before or today. That's going to be the outcome of your day.” [15:42]

5. Fellowshipping with the Father: More Than a Duty

[18:45] - [23:00]

• Spending time in the Word is about knowing God, not merely checking off a religious task.
• The more you spend time with the Father, the more you become like Him.
• Spiritual reactions sometimes only reveal their worth in hindsight; often, the absence of desire for something is God’s protective leading.

6. Identifying and Choosing Spiritual Habits

[23:00] - [28:00]

• Scripture Focus: Romans 8:5 – Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on spiritual things.

• Everyone has different “tripping points;” self-awareness and vigilance are necessary.

• Creating habits of seeking God each morning and throughout the day.

• Quote:
  “People that live in the flesh have a habit of living in the flesh. People who live in the spirit have made a habit of living in the spirit.” [26:43]

• Grant shares a story about a sense of “lack of desire” to go on a trip with his dad, later recognizing it as leading from the Spirit that served as protection.

7. Identifying Fleshly vs. Spiritual Traits

[28:00] - [32:15]

• Scripture Focus: Galatians 5:20-23 – Lists the works of the flesh (strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, etc.) versus the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.).
• Use this list as a diagnostic: if you’re consistently experiencing strife and lack of self-control, you’re living from the flesh.
• Self-examination (“What do I need to adjust?”) is vital.
• Avoid identifying with or excusing the carnal man:
  “It needs to be dead to us. Our future depends on it. And I'm gonna tell you this right now. You can decide right now to live in the spirit. You don't have to become that person anytime in your life anymore.” [30:42]

8. Transformation is God’s Work, Maintained through Habit

[32:15] - [36:30]

• The Word of God can “catch you up” quickly even if the flesh took years to corrupt your character.
• Personal responsibility is needed to “maintain that walk in the spirit.”
• Grant reflects on Jonah as a biblical example of the misery that comes from disobeying God and following the flesh.

9. The Ripple Effects of Living for the Spirit

[36:30] - [41:18]

• A relationship with God isn’t just for personal transformation; it impacts others.
• Cites notable Christian leaders who put aside their own agendas and shaped lives around them.
• Living for yourself limits God’s ability to use you as a vessel for blessing others.
• Memorable moment: Grant honors his family’s faithfulness in hardship as a living example.

10. Spiritual Living: The Pantry Analogy

[41:18] - [43:20]

• Grant humorously compares the emptiness of reacting in the flesh to “checking the fridge” expecting something good to appear, only to find ketchup and the “butt ends of bread.”
• Quote:
  “That's what the flesh is like. We look to the flesh, we react out of the flesh, hoping something different will come out of it… has nothing to offer you, has nothing.” [42:48]
• The Spirit, by contrast, offers a “full supply”—a life of joy, potential, and provision.

11. Final Encouragements and Application

[43:20] - [48:16]

• Sometimes you need to “cut some things off” to focus on God’s plan—payday will come!
• The life of the spirit is protection, not sacrifice.
• Don’t keep reverting; let the old person “die and go.”
• Grant humorously acknowledges his own sweat and emotional energy: “Are you helped this morning? I'm getting sweaty. Is it showing?” [45:25]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “When you act out in the flesh… things don't work out, things hit the fan… because there's no order in the flesh. There's no structure in the flesh.” [04:00]
• “Walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” [13:37]
• “Don't see it as, ‘Oh, the Word, the Word, the Word.’ It is getting to know your Father. When you're in the Word, you're getting to know your Father.” [19:32]
• “What are you going to act out of today? What are you going to decide to walk in today? Walk in the spirit. Meditate Day, night, day and night.” [22:42]
• “People who are so full and controlled, like it said here, by the flesh, cannot be used by God. They're too full of themselves.” [39:24]
• “If you look to the flesh, if you react out of the flesh, you're going to get the same answer every time. Has nothing to offer you, has nothing.” [42:52]
• “A life lived in the spirit is to protect us. It's protection for us. It's not a sacrifice in the wrong way.” [47:18]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Difference Between Spirit and Flesh – [00:08]
• Order/Chaos from Choices – [04:00]
• Romans 8:8 on Pleasing God – [08:55]
• How to Stay in the Spirit: Galatians 5 – [13:10]
• Making Fellowship Not a Chore – [19:30]
• Daily Habits for Spiritual Living – [23:00]
• Recognizing Works of the Flesh – [28:00]
• Bible Transformation “Catches You Up” – [32:50]
• Jonah as an Example of Carnal Consequences – [36:30]
• The Pantry/Fridge Analogy – [41:18]
• Final Exhortation and Closing – [47:18]

Conclusion

Through scripture, testimony, and analogy, Grant Dufresne compellingly challenges listeners to “walk in the spirit,” emphasizing that such living is practical, transformative, and essential—not only for their own lives but for the impact they have on others. The message is both sobering and hopeful, filled with reminders that God's way is available now, that maintaining a spiritual life is an everyday choice, and that the Spirit-filled life is always worth it.