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Holy
Spirit: We Hardly Know You—But We Know We Should
The Key To Victory
Galatians 5:13-25
Introduction:
Here’s The Rub
We have
been working for several weeks on getting to know the Holy
Spirit better. Look again at the key verse stimulating our
investigation.
But
I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going
away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you;
but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7 NIV
I trust
you have a much deeper appreciation for how special the gift
of the Holy Spirit is to us as followers of Christ. It is
indeed good for us that Jesus left us and returned to heaven
because without that happening, we would never have received
the Spirit. That means we would only experience the presence
of God sporadically rather than having the Spirit constantly
living in us.
Because
we have been given the Spirit we have everything we need to
live victoriously. It is John who celebrates our victory.
We
show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they
are not hard to follow. Every child of God can defeat the
world, and our faith is what gives us this victory.
1 John 5:3-4 CEV
There is
nothing else that is needed for victory to be declared.
So, why
do we fail to live in victory? Here’s the rub. When
it comes to experiencing God’s victory in my life, my problem
isn’t with God; it’s with me and my interactions with other
people. That’s where faith is lived out. That’s where
the test comes. Does what I claim to believe work? It’s right
here where we really need the advantage provided by the Holy
Spirit. In our passage this morning Paul outlines three advantages
the Spirit provides us so we can live in victory.
Advantage # 1: The Spirit Provides All We Need To Fulfill
The Law Of Love (vv. 13-15)
Human beings
are susceptible to swinging to extremes. Some believers view
their freedom in Christ as God’s permission to do whatever
we want. When others see this extreme, they swing to the other
extreme and impose rigid rules on everyone. The balance is
somewhere in between. Paul writes,
You,
my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom
to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in
love.
Galatians 5:13 NIV
We were
called to be free. That should stir some praise in your soul.
As Christians…
We
are free from the guilt of sin because we have experienced
God’s forgiveness
We
are free from the penalty of sin because Christ died for us
We
are free from the power of sin because Christ broke its curse
by His resurrection
The freedom
God provides us affects the way we live—or at least it should.
Christian freedom is not a reason to sin but an opportunity
to serve others. Let
me repeat: that’s where the rub comes—serving others. We
would much rather be served. God calls that selfish and selfishness
is sin. Paul continues to build his case.
The
entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your
neighbor as yourself."
Galatians 5:14 NIV
The amazing
thing about experiencing and expressing the love of God is
that it takes the place of all the laws God ever gave. Loving
your neighbor as yourself solves every problem in human relations.
When you love someone you won’t lie to them or lie about them;
you won’t steal from them; you won’t envy them; you won’t
try to hurt them.
What’s
the alternative to loving one another? It isn’t pretty!
If
you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or
you will be destroyed by each other.
Galatians 5:15 NIV
The word
picture portrays wild animals attacking each other. It forcefully
reinforces what we already know—you can’t legislate love.
Laws can be passed but no law can make you love another person.
Parents try to legislate love between their children. When
the kids become involved in a fight parents will break up
the fight. Then, they try to accomplish the impossible. They
stand the kids in front of each other and say, “All right
now, tell you brother you’re sorry.” Sometimes the child will
insist, “But, I’m not sorry.” What’s the parent’s response?
“Tell them anyway!”
The only
way we can love one another is by being filled with the Holy
Spirit who provides all we need to follow through.
Advantage # 2: The Holy Spirit Provides All We Need To Overcome
The Flesh (vv. 16-21)
The first
thing to be done is to make sure we all understand what is
meant by the flesh. This doesn’t refer to the physical flesh
of the human body. The human body is neither good nor evil;
it is neutral. In Scripture, flesh refers to our old sin nature—that
part of us that moves us toward doing what is wrong or sinful.
When the body is under the control of the Holy Spirit, it
will be used for righteousness. When the body is controlled
by the flesh, it will be used to satisfy the desires of that
old nature. Paul presents an alternative to destroying each
other.
So
I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires
of the sinful nature.
Galatians 5:16 NIV
The Spirit
of God will never, never lead you to do something that is
sinful. Never!
There is,
however, a struggle.
For
the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit,
and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They
are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what
you want.
Galatians 5:17 NIV
Do you ever
experience this struggle? I do. The cruel, cutting edge of
reality is that there are far too many times the conflict
is lost and we end up doing what we don’t want to do. We are
not going to win this struggle using our strength alone. What’s
the answer? We need something outside of ourselves. Actually,
we need Someone.
But
if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. Galatians 5:18 NIV
The language
suggests another word should have been included in this verse,
reading,
But
if you are (willingly) led by the Spirit, you are not under
law.
The solution
isn’t found in pitting my will against my desires. The solution
is found in willingly following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
When we are led by the Spirit we are moving in the opposite
direction of the desires of the flesh.
Our refusal
to follow the Spirit leads to some very bad places. We are
going to simply read through the list because they are self-explanatory.
Follow in your Bible as I read from The Message.
It
is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get
your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex;
a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied
and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show
religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied
wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved;
divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided
pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into
a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly
parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first
time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom
this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.
Galatians 5:19-21 The Message
The good
news—the really, really good news—is that you don’t have to
settle for this mess. God has done all that is needed to give
you victory over this so you can experience all the benefits
of your inheritance in the kingdom of God. You can live a
truly satisfying and meaningful life.
Advantage # 3: The Spirit Provides All You Need To Produce
Fruit (vv. 22-25)
It is one
thing to overcome our sinful desires and not do evil things.
It is something else to do good things. The Spirit of God
not only provides all you need to overcome sinful actions
but He also provides all you need to produce righteous fruit.
Fruit is the produce of life. In this case, life is God’s
Spirit. So, by way of contrast to the sinful deeds of the
flesh, the fruit of the life of God’s Spirit residing in us
is displayed.
But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against
such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
There are
no laws that can be passed against these characteristics.
Imagine a law that says…
It
is forbidden to be patient with your children
It
is illegal to be faithful to your spouse
It
is not allowed to show kindness to one another
The list
of characteristics naturally begins with love because the
entire law is summed up in loving your neighbor. The other
eight characteristics are all an outgrowth of love. The first
three in the cluster of fruit encompass our relationship with
God. When we experience God’s love we also experience the
joy of knowing Him and His peace. The middle trio of characteristics
expresses our relationship with others. Patience, kindness
and goodness are to be displayed. We will never be able to
do this on our own. We don’t need to. The Holy Spirit produces
the fruit. The final trio displays qualities that are part
of our personal expression. I act faithfully with gentleness
and self-control.
The fruit
of the Spirit is produced by the Spirit. People can certainly
show flashes of these characteristics, but those flashes are
like wax fruit tied on the branches of our lives. The fruit
produced by the Spirit is the real deal. It honors God rather
than self and it benefits others beyond us.
We don’t
produce this fruit. Even more to the point, we can’t produce
this fruit. Fruit is the super-natural result of the Spirit
of God in our lives. There is one place where we are part
of the process. We help in providing a good climate for fruit
to be produced. How do we do this?
1st Action: We Turn Away From The Sinful Nature
Those
who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:24 NIV
When Jesus
was crucified He took the passions and desires of our sinful
natures to the Cross with Him. What He accomplished for us
we must claim for ourselves. In other words we need to perform
our own executions. There may be some passions and desires
you need to crucify this morning. In doing that you will be
freed to turn away from them, turn around and walk toward
Jesus. That’s what it means to repent. You agree with God
that you are headed toward an inevitable and destructive dead-end.
Then, you turn around and walk toward God and His righteousness.
2nd Action: We Keep In Step With God’s Spirit
Since
we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:25 NIV
At the top of the list of most watched television shows this
fall is Dancing With
The Stars. The show is pretty simple. Professional dancers
take people who are fairly well-known in other areas of life
and teach them to dance. Judges evaluate the performances
and then viewers are invited to vote. The celebrity star with
the fewest combined votes of the judges and viewers is eliminated
until a winner is crowned. To win it is imperative for the
couple to keep in step with one another as one person leads
and the other follows. Footwork is crucial.
In the dance
of life the Spirit of God takes the lead. All we need to do
is keep in step with Him. We follow His leading in every part
of our lives. When you follow His lead you can be sure He
will lead you in paths of righteousness that honors everything
for which Christ gave His life.
Conclusion: You Can Live
A Victorious Christian Life
There is
nothing else you and I need to do to live in victory. The
Father planned our victory. Jesus provided our victory. The
Holy Spirit produces our victory. All you need to do is keep
in step with Him.
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