"17 For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, 21 envy,
drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you,
just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well. 26 Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another."
Good Morning Beloved,
Welcome to worship this Lord's Day
We're so glad you're here
As believers, we are marked by our thoughts, our heart, our attitude, and our actions.
We are instantly and permanently marked as His, sealed by the Holy
Spirit the moment we accept Him as our Lord and Savoir. How do we know whether we are operating in the flesh or in the Spirit? It's pretty easy really. It is evident in our thoughts, attitudes and actions. The issue is, because we are simultaneously righteous and sinful, we are in conflict. There is a formidable conflict between our remaining sinful flesh and the indwelling Holy Spirit. The flesh is set against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. The works of flesh are obvious, they're evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, jealousy, anger, hatred, drunkenness, drugs etc. Just as are the works of the Spirit are also obvious, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and love, this list is not exhaustive. So, that's why we are commanded to "walk in the Spirit", in the fulfilling of that command, the Holy Spirit restrains our fleshly desires. We are all marked people. We have either the mark of the lamb, or we are marked by the beast, that is the only other choice. It's one or the other.
Let us bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You, as we always do, for revealing Yourself to us through Your Word. Thank You for those You have gathered together with us, both near and far, we are grateful for each one. Lord, we pray that You would touch the hearts of each one of us, that the truth we receive today, would be manifest, that we would live our lives in the Spirit and not in the flesh. That we might be useful to You, producing fruitful lives, for Christ's sake, and for Your glory.
Lord, we pray for those who do not yet know Christ as their Lord and Savior, who have not yet felt the weight, the burden of their sin, that You would do a mighty work, open their hearts, their eyes and ears, that today would be that day, they would receive the gift of salvation. May it all be for Your glory.
In Jesus' name
Amen
Today's Message: Fruit Of The Spirit
We have, inside each of us the ultimate conflict, the flesh and spirit, which are at war with each other. The flesh is our sin nature.
Our sin nature is an unholy demonic monster, and the more we feed him the bigger
he gets and the more control he gains. In someone without the
Holy Spirit living within them, the only positive force to oppose the
sin nature is our God given conscience. For without the Holy Spirit, we are in trouble, big trouble. Why? Because we are fallen,
depraved, natural enemies of God and His law written on our hearts. The unbeliever is controlled by the desires of the flesh. He has no hope of escaping this, he is a slave to it. This internal battle is hardly fair.
Open with me your Bibles, to Galatians chapter 5, where in our ongoing study of this marvelous epistle, we come to the last nine verses. I invite you to follow along with me as I read, to get it set in our minds.
"For
the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep
you from doing whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy,
drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you,
just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well. Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another."
In our text, Paul tells us that the flesh and the spirit are in opposition to one
another. The flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the
Spirit desires what is against the flesh. This is a constant struggle that
occurs in every person. However, the unbeliever has no hope in this struggle, because he is a slave to it sin.
The apostle Paul, begins verse 17, with a powerful message. "For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want."
That is why in verse 16, Paul tells us "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."
For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. The Holy Spirit works within the believers, to subdue the desires of the flesh, preventing us from doing whatever we please in the flesh.
We should be able to tell Christians apart from unbelievers by what they think and what they do. If you are going to claim the name of Christ, call yourself a Christian, act like it! When Christians begin to act like those in the world, they are acting in the flesh. We are seeing a great deal of that in the modern church today, a superficial form of Christianity.
That is why Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:22-23, "Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness."
And Paul tells us in Romans 8:7-8, "because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
The deeds of the flesh are obvious because everyone has been given a God given sense of right and wrong, the human conscience. Sexual immorality, impurity, pornography, fornication, and debauchery.
Sexual sins are most often placed first in these types of negative lists
because of their large impact and immense consequences. As humans live in two worlds at the same time, a fleshly physical domain and a spiritual moral domain. God is the absolute standard of goodness: "good" is nothing more and
nothing less than the ethical qualities of God’s own character. On the other hand, evil is anything that falls short of the glory of His moral features, whether by an inch or a mile!
A person who produces the works of the flesh is living according to
their sinful nature, and in that condition, you have no possible way to
reconcile yourself with God, no way to have a real relationship with
Him, no inheritance of the promise, the Kingdom of God. Your future, if
you are that person, is filled with disappointment, sadness, emptiness,
and finally, eternity apart from God.
When a person accepts Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savoir, the tables are turned on the internal
battle between our odd couple sin nature and spirit. As a believer, you have the Holy Spirit making His home in your heart. The believer is now controlled by the Holy Spirit. This person now has
available to them the power to conquer the flesh, to not sin. This does
not by any means, imply that we automatically stop sinning, but we now have the power of the Holy Spirit in
us, the power to not sin. However, we have to avail ourselves of that power.
Verse 18 says, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law." Love is characteristic of God. That is why Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "You’re never more like God than when you love your enemies."
I John 3:14-17 teaches us, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him?"
In verse 19-21, Paul tells us what the deeds of the flesh are. "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy,
drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you,
just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God."
Then, in verse 22 and 23 he says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." These are the fruits, or "karpos," in the Greek, of the Spirit.
The word karpos is singular in form, which means we cannot
say "Well hey, I have seven out of nine, so that’s not bad." All of these nine
characteristics should be evident in the life of a believer. The source
of the fruit, however, is not ourselves. On our own, we do not have the
ability to conjure up even one of these. It is by the Holy Spirit, who works in us and
through us, that that produces the fruit.
How do you know when someone is a follower of Christ? They bear much
fruit, they bear much fruit. That fruit may be a hundredfold, it may be thirtyfold,
it may be tenfold. But, it will be much fruit, because Christ was raised
from the dead so that we might receive life, and that that life would
produce fruit for God. And the fruit is all goodness, all righteousness,
all truth, all good works. We are to walk in such a manner, that we would bear fruit and
put that fruit on display, and that’s the proof that we are disciples
of Christ.
Matthew 3:8 says, "Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance;"
Specifically, there are some behaviors that are indicated in Scripture to be fruit. Hebrews 13:15
is one that I find to be very helpful: "Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name." So, worship is fruit. Not every believer will bear the same amount of fruit, but all believers will bear fruit of the Spirit.
II Timothy 2:22-23 teaches us, "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels."
Just as crowd detested Jesus and chanted "Crucify Him," we too should detest our sin nature and be willing to chant "Crucify Him." Crucifying sin our nature is taking off old self and putting on our new self, that which is Christ. Like all battles, victory is won before the battle even begins, determined by our day to day life. However, you
the believer are responsible for your own Spiritual growth, you need
more than you can get at church, by attending a few hours a week.
II Corinthians 5:17 teaches us, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
And in verse 24, he says, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Verses 25 and 26 tell us, "If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well. Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another."
Walking in the Spirit, it’s a command in verse 16; it’s a command that is repeated in verse 25. We know there is a constant conflict involved in trying to obey this command. Our unredeemed human flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh. That’s why living the Christian life is an ongoing
battle, a war within. In order for us to be faithful to walk by the Spirit we must apply the
means of grace which the Lord has given to us: His Word, prayer,
Christian fellowship. All of these kinds of things are what strengthen us
against the desires of the flesh.
In Closing....
If you are an unbeliever, you must admit there is a battle within. Then, admit that what you are doing to fix yourself is not working. You must repent, believe on Jesus as Resurrected Son of God. Trust Him as your Lord and Savoir.
If you are a believer, you must be aware of this internal battle. And crucify the sin nature, and conform to the Spirit. You must allow God lead you to whatever area needs to be addressed, purity, anger, relationships, self control and discipline, secret sin, whatever it is. We can live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave His life
for us and puts His life-giving power right in us. And so, it is
possible to say, with the apostle Paul, it is no longer I who live but Christ who
lives in me. For me to live is Christ and to die, well, that would be
more Christ. Mistakes were made; yes, of course there were, and I made them. But it
is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!
May is be so...
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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