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Pastor David Mitchell
Thank you, brother Ron. I think the what the Lord brought in your life has reduced the stuttering actually. I'm serious I'm serious. It is done. That's interesting. But we all know how mean Pam is when you get in that car Ron, so thanks for confessing for her and Anyway, thank you.
Thank you for that leading the music today and and did a great job. It's great. So great to have you back with us and we boy we just Can never take each other for granted. Can we Rod and I were supposed to have lunch?
Lunch that day and he texted me and said I'm just not feeling. I don't think I can make him not feeling good. Next thing I knew he was in the hospital that morning later that morning. So. But the Lord is with us always and Well, let's go to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 in Galatians chapter 5 verse 1.
Good to have Dave and Katie back. They were gone for a month and. And Boy this morning our Church Christ style was great. I was really hearing Sam and Maddie in particular their voices and Abby to. I Think they need to do a trio pretty soon.
Don't they we can play guitar with them. That'd be fun. All right. Mm-hmm well, we are talking about in Romans chapter 8 verse 1 the second half the verse where it talks about walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh and exactly what that means so we've gone through quite a bit of information on the On what it means to be walking in the Spirit.
It was I got word that Dave senior was doing a meeting this past Saturday. Sorry, we had to miss last Sunday, I appreciate Brandon and brother bill for keeping the services going for us last Sunday and The day before that we had another rocket launch.
I heard Dave senior was out teaching a trade way meeting somewhere in the country and he looked at his watch during a break, you know during his Event and he said wow, it's time for the launch. I think I'll just put it live up on the big screen.
So he puts it up on the big screen in front of all these tradeway students and we crashed the thing first time. It's the first time we had that happen. And I don't know how I can't wait to for him to get back so I can say okay.
Tell me how you talked through that. I want to I want to hear how you Talked through that because I might need to know to say the same thing pretty soon. So anyway. So it was a probably the most perfect launch we've had so far.
It was beautiful and I was filming it with a well taking real fast not video, but just shots just like that and By the time I was looking literally straight up So it literally went the straightest of any we've ever had and it was the most perfect flight you've ever seen until the last 10 seconds and Something happened.
We don't know yet what happened, but it had to do with either deployed the parachute too early. They don't work. Well at Mach 2 I figured that out or Something like that happened and it just shredded the parachute so it didn't have a way to get back safely.
So it made the most magnificent Explosion about two miles from where we launched it that you've ever seen out in the desert of New Mexico. And it reminds us why they make us launch from the desert. There's no humans.
Hopefully no deer were killed but it was a mighty. It hit the ground first and probably I don't know a couple of tons of sand just went up in the air and then About a second later it exploded because still had some fuel on it.
And then all the tons of sand came back fell on top of it. We never found it. We had airplanes flying over it drones told no trace. It's just gone So Anyway, we'll be looking for weeks to come on what happened and fixing it.
But that's what you know, we're one of the only Companies ever that had three launches with no No mishaps every other like Blue Origin. They got more money than Then you'd ever believe behind their company and their first three launches that exploded on the launch pad pretty much.
So we were doing pretty well and that and this wasn't the rocket either. It was the return system, which is Actually easier technology, but something went a little bit wrong there. So anyway pray for for our guys.
They're all in good spirits. We have another twin when we had already built ready to go. So We continue business as is it shouldn't affect our Italy Agreement or any any of the agreements we have so I think everything's gonna be fine from a business viewpoint, but it was Sad some of the guys that have done it for years.
They've had they've lost many the guys working for us. It really didn't affect them as much as it seemed to me and Charlotte and John and Teresa Quinn because we'd never lost one and We were attached to it.
It was a beautiful thing and But anyway, we shall move forward and progress comes sometimes from from trials, so Thank you for your prayers. Nobody was hurt. That's the main thing and So we are glad to be back today.
Well, let's we're gonna be in Galatians chapter 5 verse 1 and I'm gonna read this one in Ephesians 5 18 first and then we'll go right into Galatians Ephesians 5 18 and be not drunk with wine where in his excess but be filled with the Spirit.
So we're talking about what it means to to be a person who walks in the Spirit. And of course you have to be a saved person to do that. You have to be born again and At the moment of our salvation God does many things to us.
Some people say we're not saved by works, but we actually are it's just that God did all the work. It took a lot of work to save us and he did over 33 things to us in a nanosecond at the moment He saved us including such things as giving us the faith of Jesus.
Such things as giving placing his Holy Spirit within our bodies and our body becomes the temple of the Living God if you can imagine what a change that would make and does make and Many things but that's called the indwelling of the Spirit at the moment of our salvation.
He comes to live within us until the day of redemption is the way the Bible puts it till Jesus comes back he lives within us and I I Would have to say he lives within us for all eternity. But it literally says until the day of redemption so we're sealed with that Holy Spirit now.
That doesn't mean we're spirit filled that means we're in dwelt. To be spirit filled is a different matter and that requires a matter of will on our part. We have to make a decision to be spirit filled or not to be and when we are spirit filled according the book of 1st John we cannot sin because our new man won't sin and can't make can't sin.
But our old man our fleshly nature has a problem with it still doesn't so if we're not spirit filled. We are walking in the flesh and we're going to create problems for ourselves for our friends for for you know the world.
So it's our duty to be spirit filled. So we're talking about that now, then we go into the book of Galatians chapter 5. So let me review quickly what we've already talked about but It is walking in the Spirit that causes us to bear fruit.
So we've been talking a little bit about fruit bearing. It's actually when we walk in the Spirit that we bear fruit and we bear the fruits of the Spirit and The first part there in Galatians 5 1 and 2 and 3.
It shows us very clearly all the way down to verse 12 that little first passage what it talks about is that we bear fruit By the Spirit and it's without regard to the law. It has nothing to do with keeping rules.
It has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments. It's not by obedience. It's not by keeping rules that we bear fruit. It's by the Spirit by being spirit filled and that's made clear in verses 1 through 12 the second thing we saw is in verses 13 and 14 is it Paul says that all things are lawful for me and Yet not all things are expedient and he said but I won't be put under any of it.
So what he's saying is I don't live by the law. I don't have to live by the dietary laws of the Jews anymore. That's what he's saying things like that all things are lawful, but he said they're not all expedient.
Which means they're not all good for me. They're not all best. But there is a liberty that comes with being saved and that is we are no longer under the law. In fact, Jesus said that or Paul said that when Jesus died.
That the law was nailed to the cross with him. So we're dead unto the law. So it's not about that We have this certain Liberty. But the same thing we see there in verses 13 and 14 is that because we have this Liberty It can bring an occasion to the flesh and So we're supposed to avoid this Occasion to the flesh by serving one another in love.
Let me read that to you says for brethren You have been called unto Liberty once God saved you. He made you free. He made you free to serve him. He made you free to live your life to serve one another love one another free from the law free from the devil the sin of the flesh and free from the world system and.
As long as we're walking in the spirit, we're free from all that now when we revert to the flesh we become servants to the flesh again and Unfortunately, that's a moment-by-moment decision every day.
It's not a once-and-for-all decision. So we have to keep making the right decision every day to be in the spirit. Now here's what it says though since we have this Liberty verse 13 says for brethren you have been called unto Liberty.
Only use not this Liberty for an occasion to the flesh. So don't ever allow Satan to tempt you by saying well Paul says you're free and do anything you want so just go for it. Just go for you know, do anything your flesh wants to do.
It's free. You're free. You have Liberty. You're not bound by the law. If you want to do it, just do it. You see the scripture is telling us don't believe that lie either. It doesn't mean that we're free to sin.
That's not what it means. We don't have Liberty to sin. We have the Liberty to walk with the Lord and not sin. We have the Liberty to not be bound by the law and still please the Lord and not sin and.
So as long as we're spirit-filled, it'll work and when we're not it won't but it's interesting that he says, okay. We have this Liberty, but don't use it for an occasion to the flesh and here's the one of the key answers to living.
Right now look what it says, but by love serve one another, you know. One time brother Otis was talking to me breakfast and he said brother David and he said, you know. Most people spend their life looking at what they ought not to do and he said, you know.
That's about the worst thing you can do because the minute you think not to do it. You'll go do it. He said the Apostle Paul said I wouldn't have coveted if God had never said thou shalt not covet. So he said we ought to quit thinking about what not to do.
He said the best way to live a good life is to fill it with good things and you won't have time to do the Bad things just think about the good things you're gonna do today and go do them. Brilliant advice, isn't that what Paul is saying here under the inspiration of Holy Spirit?
He said look don't use this Liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. So the Holy Spirit puts within us that love that Ron was talking about this morning. Like we're gonna be together in heaven.
I could just feel it just oozing off of him this morning. Like I love all of you every individual in this room that's easy to do in a small church, and that's one of the blessings of a small church and and so.
That love is always there. And if we will use that love as the motivation to serve one another by serving we stay out of trouble. If I'm serving you I'm not gonna sin against you. I'm not gonna sin against anybody else if I'm busy serving you and we need to serve one another and that that's such a beautiful answer to the problem of the flesh is we come up out of the flesh by Focusing on the other person in the needs and helping verse 14 says for all the law is fulfilled in one word even this Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Isn't that beautiful? So like if you will have problem with the flesh or the world of the devil. Don't focus on a bunch of rules to keep or things not to do or things to do just focus on the love God put.
You know, I mentioned 33 things That the Lord did for us when he saved us, you know. One of them was he put agape love in you. Which is the only kind of love God has you can't have it in the flesh. You don't have it in the flesh.
It is a spiritual thing and God gave you that agape love and that that that love we'll talk about a little later this morning. But by definition is vastly different than anything a human can do in and of himself.
You have to be indwelt by God to have it and to do it and that love is what keeps us out of trouble. When you love a brother, you can't Offending you can't go against him. And that is what this is talking about.
So I Like verse 16 then look what verse 16 says this I say then Walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. So think about this serving is walking. I mean you can't serve without walking.
Then the walk means living your life living your life as a life of service to God's people First and your neighbor second your neighbor may not be a saved person but you give your love and your attention to your brothers and sisters first and as long as they have needs you fulfill them first if You run out of assets there, then that's it.
You don't help your neighbor but if you have some leftover after helping your brothers and sisters that have need then you can help the neighbor if the Holy Spirit leads You to and if he doesn't lead you to you don't right?
It's all a matter of what he leads you to do. So Walking is the great key walking and doing is so important. Why do you think it is we feel worse when we sit around the house, right brother Ron? You probably testified of that lately the longer you sit there Even though you have to recuperate which makes it really hard is the longer you sit there though the worse you feel.
The more down you get and then you get out and you get around your brother and sister you go home from church. What do you say? I didn't feel like going but boy, I'm glad I did right? I mean Most Sundays reason I come because I got to come because I have to preach, you know.
So I get here that gets me here, but on the way home. I'm thinking man. I needed that I needed that bad because a lot of times now I work at my home office. I may go into the office once once a week, maybe twice on a busy week.
I'll go work at the office. I'll work at home and you know what not around people much. I Am sort of by webinars and things like that. But so when I go home from church on Sunday Charlotte can tell you I am a much happier person.
And when I don't want to go she'll say honey, you have to you're the preacher. So so she'll get me here and she'll say you're gonna feel better when you get there. It's so true if that's true of me imagine how hard it is for you to come.
So that's the flesh though, isn't it? But you know what that love for each other is what lifts us and it keeps us out of trouble it keeps us from the Devil, you know the world system and the flesh and all of our enemies.
That power comes so much of it from the walking walking in the spirit. The key emphasis there is the word walk. I mean we were indwelt by the spirit right all the time. But if we walk in the spirit, that's what it means to be spirit-filled and that word walk.
We'll talk about that here because it's an interesting word in the Greek. It literally means to tread all around it kind of reminds me the Australian Concept of doing a walkabout you've heard of that probably and that like I don't know when they do it.
Is there like at a young age you go like a Mormon missionary or something you go you just go walk about the whole Continent and hope you make it home safely because there's some dangerous stuff there in Australia.
But anyway, it's like a walkabout. It's it's your whole it's how you deport yourself in your whole walk of life. And that's what this word means in the Greek so walking in the spirit means how you live the way you live it should be a walk of spiritual nature and When it says if we walk in the spirit, we will not fulfill the lust the flesh.
You see first John says you cannot it goes even beyond will not you not only we will you not sin? You can't sin when you're walking in the spirit. So the walk in the spirit is the whole key to live in the Christian life.
It has nothing to do and this is what we're gonna learn in a minute. Cuz you're gonna talk about the fruits of the spirit. It has nothing to do with natural human character and we think it does most churches are built on character building.
You do realize most sermons. I never forget going to Church with my dad one time we used to own a pipe organ company in Portland, Oregon. So we were up there working on the pipe organ thing. Just the two of us and we said let's go to church just to see what a Baptist Church is like out here.
So we go to church beautiful building. Not too many people in the beautiful building and the pastor gets up as soon as he started talking when you knew why that wasn't. Full of very many people because here was his sermon today.
We're going to talk about friends. Why it's important to have friends and he chose out out of the entire vastness of depth of this book. He spoke for 45 minutes on how important it is to have a friend.
I'm thinking hallelujah, brother I'm gonna go home and make more friends. It was awesome so Walking is the key now. Look what it says though. If you walk you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Fulfill is an interesting word in the Greek there because fulfill there means.
It has to do with the end of a thing. Like you start it and then there's a process and then here's the completion of the thing, right the completion. The completely executed event has fully taken place.
That's what it's talking about the conclusion of a whole thing. Maybe you know of a whole life or a whole event or something. That's what fulfill means. So this verse is not saying that when you sort of had have a general Spiritual walk.
I know we're not perfect. Like we don't totally walk spirit-filled every moment of every day. I wish we did and there's nothing that says we couldn't we just don't. All right. But I wish we did but we don't.
But it's not saying that we don't sin as an individual mistake or have a sin. What it is saying is you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh. That means you don't bring it to completion. See, there's one of the differences between a Christian and a pagan is the pagan loves his sin and he brings it to completion.
Then he enjoys he's happy did and he goes and does it again. A Christian on the other hand may sin. But he hates it is the minute it's done. He hates it. He goes the Lord he gets right. He can't even believe he did it.
He doesn't want to do it again. And he sure doesn't want to bring to completion whatever Satan had in mind with the beginning of that thing, right? You don't bring it to completion now think about that in a lot of different applications.
You see that's a huge difference. And so if we're walking in the spirit a predominant doesn't mean every moment of every second. Wish it did mean that but what it means is the predominant Direction of the life is a spiritual walk wanting to walk with the Lord.
Then you won't bring these sin thoughts and habits to completion. Isn't that a cool promise? Walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill. See that's the key the emphasis on there. You won't fulfill the lust of the flesh doesn't mean you won't have it.
It means you won't bring it to completion. Think about that. That's important. All right. Now the third thing. The whole spiritual battle is between your ears. Doesn't seem that way but that's where it is.
Look at verses 17 and 18. We're in Galatians 5, right? For the flesh lusts. Against the spirit now, this is talking about two parts of you. You have three parts body soul and spirit. We're a triune being just like God is we're creating his image body soul and spirit the body part of us.
The flesh is what it means here when it's talking about the flesh just our body our organs including our brain. Which is an organ all of that Lusts against the spiritual part of us. Now. What is the spiritual part of us?
It is the highest part of man. It is when God says I make man in my image. It is that part because your favorite puppy at home does not have that. He has a little body and he has a soul and a little personality and all of that.
But he does not have a spirit. He can't know God personally. I know they know about God though. I Think that's David Mitchell's theory. I can't find that in the Bible, but I. Actually, actually, I think you can find that in the Bible.
There is there there is a hint of that in the Bible. But they don't have the ability to communicate and walk with God and therefore they're not in God's image. But we are so that's the highest part of us and as long as that part of us rules us.
We will not sin. That's what it means to be spirit-filled. That's that's the kind of walk where in first John it says that he that is born of God sinneth not. It doesn't mean you as a person don't sin.
It means the part of you that was born of God the born-again part of you won't sin. Is that cool? So if you let that part of you run you you won't sin while it's running you you can't sin. But look what it says though the body lusts against that part of you.
Wow, that's frightening. Do you think that's frightening? I kind of do. I've been studying a little bit on the on the flesh part not like the fruitful parts what we're talking about. But the end of this chapter talks about the the fruits of the flesh and it lists them.
So I know that we're gonna talk about that before we finish this whole thing. So I've been looking ahead sermons, hopefully Lord willing in the future and. And it's frightening looking at that stuff. I was Tempted to look at some of it while brother Bill was teaching this morning I had to stop and pay attention because my mind was going off on one thing he said that dealt with that stuff that I've been studying and.
So I made some notes to add some more stuff to what I've been studying because of what you talked this morning bill. But anyway, I tell you The flesh lusteth against the spirit the body itself Lusts against what your spirit wants to do what God wants to do what you want to do for God and with God and your Body says no, I want to sleep.
No, I want to eat. No, I want to whatever. Smoke whatever. I mean, it's almost like our body wants to do anything. It will kill itself. Why is that? I don't get that. Of course, I don't think I'm glad golf is not one of the sins of the flesh.
That's a spiritual attribute because it never gets you to want to kill yourself. Although Joe and I were just playing and You know what happens when you don't hit it straight like me and Joe you have to drive your cart into the woods to look.
For your ball, right? Well, sometimes there'll be a limb often. There's a limb in the front of that cart bends it back and cocks it. And you can both know to duck when it comes back through right? So I ducked and I said we're past it and I looked up at whoa.
And I'm thinking where's Joe? Are you here? I said Joe. Is that I still there? Is there anything stuck through it because that that limb hit me so hard on my nose. And it hit my open eye my right eye, but my nose is bigger.
So it blocked the blunt force. And Joe said well, it's lovely that you have a large appendage there to stop the blow. David your eye looks your eye looks perfect. So you like the flesh there's nothing about golf that tries to kill you really I don't know.
But you think about this the things that our body wants to go do lust against what the spirit wants to do often. Now we don't have so much time though. So right in life. So think about this the flesh lust against the spirit, but look at this the spirit against the flesh.
So your spiritual part of you Will tell you you need to back off on that other stuff and you need to pay attention To what God has you here to do for your mission? You need to pay attention to your mission and it will nag you will it not that's good.
You know what that does number one shows you you're saved. Number two, it shows you that this treasure is an earthen vessel on purpose God said so that I might get the glory so you're not supposed to be perfect God.
Listen you're in a body of flesh and God knows it and put you there on purpose think about that when like when you get down on yourself because I'm so fleshly and just mess up so much and Like you were preaching on that this morning.
I Don't know how that happens bill, but everybody sort of has the same. It's like the Holy Spirit gives you the same theme and we didn't talk to each other. But he was talking about you're good. Remember how many times Ron said you're good.
Don't forget this. You're good. Don't let Satan Convince you that you're bad because you're good if you're born again, you're good in brother Otis when he was alive. It used to be a pet peeve of his when you hear people say, oh dear Jesus forgive me my sins.
I'm just an old sinner saved by grace. He said no, you're not biblically when you're saved. You're not a biblical sinner because the sinner is a lost person who has a habitual lifestyle of always Being involved with the same sin habits all the time.
That's probably the pizza. Yes. Let's hope that's the pizza some teenager with an Uzi or something, but Bill can handle him of all people. He deals with them every day of the week. He's a public school teacher.
So anyway, where was I I don't know. Oh, yeah, don't don't you're not you're not bad. You're not a sinner. You're because you don't habitually sin anymore. You have some sins, but you don't have sin in the biblical sense of that.
When it's plural it means you messed up and you get over it and you confess it and go on. When it's in the singular like I am a sinner or I have sinned that's not good. But see save people have moved beyond that save people know who they really are.
So look at this not only does the flesh lust against the spirit. But the spirit lusts against the flesh your spirit has stuff it wants to do higher level with God and with your brothers and sisters in a Spiritual type of love and ministry and help to strengthen them when they're weak and and so forth it has all of that and deep down, you know.
That's why you're here and that that's the real you now because you're born again. And they're born again one is the real you now not the old man. And you know that in your spirit. Continually is telling you that because guess what?
Your spirit is connected to the Spirit of Christ and becomes one spirit when your spirit filled now think about that. The two become one your spirit and Christ's spirit become one spirit when your spirit fills so now his desire is your desire his Direction is your direction and so forth and that's what it means by your spirit lusts against the flesh.
It has stuff it wants to do and it will say hey we need to be about this stuff. Now the next phrase is troubling. It says these two are contrary the one to the other. So that you cannot do the things that you want to do.
But if you be led by the Spirit, you're not under the law now, does that even seem to make sense at first read? We're not talking about the law. Are we? Aren't we talking about the flesh here? Where is he?
You know now this would make sense if it says okay the flesh lusts against the Spirit spirit lusts against the flesh. These are contrary to one another so that you cannot do the things you want to do.
That means on the higher level you can't do the things your spiritual man wants to do for God and for each other but If you're led by the Spirit, then you can defeat the flesh is what I would think that should say.
In contact when you think that's what you say. Are you with me or did I get too complex? Okay, then you can have victory over the flesh is what I would think it would say but it doesn't say that it says.
You're not under the law. What does that teach us? It teaches us that the law is related to the world. Physical world and the flesh of man. It is not related to the spiritual side of man whatsoever only indirectly only indirectly.
Because no man in the flesh can keep the law. No, man can keep the law because the flesh won't let you keep the law. Because the law is actually spiritual too when it comes when it comes from God's hand.
But as man deals with it, it relates to the world system and to the flesh. And most churches are gone after creating rules and trying to keep a bunch of rules and it's sad because it never works. Don't let your kids listen to this music.
Christians don't listen to this music. The first thing they're gonna listen to when they get in the car is that music if you teach them that way. You can't teach it that way. You gotta say look. Ask the Holy Spirit.
Do you want to listen to this? And if he says no turn it off teach them that works every time except when they want to be in the flesh. But it's what then their spirit will lust against their flesh and say no that's wrong.
Their little spirit will say that to them way better than your rules. So if we're led by the spirit, we're not under the law. Now what does that actually mean now? That seems to be the solution to this problem.
The spirit and the flesh are contrary to one another so that you cannot do what you want to do. What is it? We want to do we want to get to heaven and how a whole bunch of stuff right. Rewards. We do not want to get to heaven and say boy.
Look at him. He barely made it. Look at her like she barely made it. She's here, but she don't really just barely made it. She has nothing. She is the street sweeper of heaven. Now it wouldn't be so bad when you consider that the streets are made out of gold.
You can gather some of that dust and stick it in your purse. But you that's not what you want. Is it you want to be. Right up there with fellowship with Paul and Rocky Freeman and brother Otis and Jesus, right?
Right. That's what you want but the problem is that the flesh is contrary to the spirit and They're contrary to one another so you can't do the stuff you want to do for God and then time passes by and you haven't Done it.
Right, you don't get rewards for stuff. You don't do you don't get rewards for stuff. You think about doing and you never do it. You don't get rewards for good intentions. It is listen. It's one of the few things God put in the Bible for us who live by grace, right?
Not by the law but by grace. But he put that there as a motivator to go do something because when you're just living by grace and you got this great Liberty. He's he just got there telling us we can use that as an avenue to be fleshly.
I don't have to go to church. I don't get saved by going to church. I can stay home today, right? I have the liberty to stay home and still be saved right? Absolutely. So what does God put out there to get you to church rewards that you're gonna lose when you don't.
Exactly, so don't think it doesn't matter. It's gonna matter big-time when the Lord comes back. We all meet in that little quadrant of the sky together as Park Meadows Church. And I'm sure we'll take little day trips away from each other, but we'll come back at night and we'll always be together.
Listen, we're gonna want to all be kind of up there and have a whole bunch of stuff. We want to be rich people in heaven. Well, you don't get it by thinking about stuff. You get it by doing stuff for the Lord with the Lord while holding his hand.
And so if you're led by the Spirit now, can't you picture that don't that look like you're holding his hand? If you're led by the Spirit today and tomorrow, especially when we get out of church. It's where it's really rubber meets the road.
You're holding his hand. You're no longer under the law. It's interesting how it words it. But what does it mean? It means you don't need the law because you're holding his hand. He's not gonna take you to the wrong place.
He's not gonna tell you to say the wrong words out your mouth to hurt somebody. He's not going to lead you to do something other than what he himself would do. So why do you need the law? So there is the solution to the battle between the flesh and the spirit right there.
Just reach up take his hand. You can walk on water now. Picture it picture it you go up. Am I getting a little charismatic? Amen. Hallelujah ox time shalosh. That just means one two three in Hebrew. Don't worry about it.
It's no big speaking revelation or anything like that all right, so. That is certainly a reminder that the rules in other words. The law is not the answer. Not the answer it's holding the hand its Relationship, it's working on your relationship with Jesus.
That is the answer. So that then brings us to the fruits of the Spirit and the study of it right here in the same passage. Here is the answer walk in the Spirit and then you are attached to the root who is Jesus.
Which creates the fruit which we are to bear it means it hangs off of us. We don't create it. It just shows it's just there because of Jesus in our life verse 22. It talks about it. It says but the fruit of the Spirit.
Not the fruit of David not the fruit of Joe Iran it's not. Not the fruit of us. It's the fruit of God who lives in us is and it starts to list them. So let's just read them love joy, peace. Long suffering now, I'm glad I pointed out It was not the fruit of David because you would thought this was a description of me if I hadn't said that right love joy, peace, there's David Long suffering gentleness goodness.
There's Joe. Faith meekness temperance. There's Ron, right? You would have been confused. So I'm saying that's not what this is. This sounds like it but it's talking about something different. This is come straight from being connected to Jesus.
So if you see any of that in the three of us, it's because we walk with Jesus, right and that's it. Because we know how we used to walk and I'm picked I picked us three because we got saved Later in life except for Ron who was born saved in the Pentecostal Church.
And then had to get saved later for real. So anyway Love joy, peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness and temperance against such there is no law. You notice how it brings the law in again.
See, this is not about the law because this has nothing to do with law. In fact, if you are those things, there's no law that you'll break. Isn't that something without trying to keep it? You just won't break it.
So that's beautiful. So let's break this down a little bit. I Like to divide them into three groups if you notice there are nine of them. Listed doesn't mean there might not be others fruits of the Spirit but these are the ones listed the ones God wants us for sure to know about and be aware of and We can group them into three groups of three and the first one I'm going to call inward fruit.
And I think it's all of this is inward by the way. But some of it show is a little bit more out there where it shows. So let's try this inward fruit and let's take the first three love joy and peace. These are predominantly things on the inside of us, right?
You can't necessarily see them. Although joy can sneak out with a smile sometime but doesn't have to joy doesn't mean happiness doesn't necessarily it doesn't mean you're giddy or just told a joke or just Spent a little time with Sharon because you're all you're gonna get a joke.
I didn't get one before I preach this morning. No, I usually get one right before I preach but it's not necessarily talking about that. It's it's an inward joy and Love is obviously inward but all these things are things that can show aren't they but but they got to be here first.
So let's call these inward fruit and then there's peace. All right, so let's look at love now. This is what's interesting because there's three Greek words for love in the Bible. I think we all know that.
Two of them are human fleshly forms of love that the whole world has whether they're saved or lost or what Hindu or you know Islamic or whatever you still have those and those two forms of love. Work like this like if that person that I say I love is treating me good I love them and when they're not I don't that's human love right there.
That's human love. But this love is agape. Agape comes from God and only comes from God and it's a God thing. In fact, the Bible doesn't say that God loves it says God is love. That's who he is and when we get saved this is part of what we get when he indwells us is he comes to live in us and we now Have agape because he's in us in this agape love.
It is a godlike love that does not spring from the actions of the object of the love. It springs from the heart of the initiator of the love. It's totally unworldly. It's totally different than anything in the world.
It does not have anything to do with the object of the love. It has to do with the heart of the lover and we can only have it when we're when we're Saved and dwelt by the Spirit of God and spirit filled and by the way, ladies and gentlemen, this will help you in your marriage.
When you're walking in the flesh at home, you can't love this way. So you still always think you love your spouse, but you can't you know. You're not you not right here at this highest level and you got to be careful because if they do the least little thing or Say the least little thing that you just don't like and maybe you didn't like it and I never use our marriages.
And she's I'm thinking of Dave and Katie right now. They say this stuff that they don't like it irritates each other and you're in the flesh. You might just come right back Adam, right? Hope this benefits you guys.
So but if you're in the spirit It's like you just you like you don't even notice it. Because your love for that person has nothing to do with the actions or words they're saying. Think about practicing that in a marriage it really helps and Agape love is is this huge fruit of the Spirit by the way?
It is the one that God just got through telling us earlier. It's the end of the whole law if you love you won't break the law if you love your brother or sister. You love your neighbor. It's the end of the law.
You don't have to worry about it. You don't need the law. You won't break a single law of God. Isn't that something? This is the most powerful of all is love it is the most distinguishing. Characteristic and symptom of a born-again person is is love.
He will not bite and devour one another at church if he's real and so when you see problems in churches, it's tears. Okay, it's not wheat. It's tears every time. I'm glad when a small church We don't seem to have it.
So that's awesome. But boy have I ever been in church situations where we had it big time. And I have friends that I talked to just about every week out there in trade way world Where they're going through some terrible thing at church, and it's just heartbreaking because that's the last place You should have to deal with terrible things and it's because of tears.
All right number two joy. Now this comes from the Greek word kara and it means cheerfulness or Calm delight. I like that calm Delight, so it's like self-controlled delight. Isn't that something? Calm delight gladness.
Sometimes in the Greek you'll find it where in English you'd put the word greatly in front of it or exceeding Exceedingly joyful greatly joyful. It has that connotation of great deep calm Cheerfulness and delight with Within the person now, I wouldn't say that's particularly fleshly.
That's probably pretty pretty high on the spiritual table because when we go through this life, there's so many trials and tribulations, aren't there? You guys just been through one run in Pam. I heard him say he's gotten his little grumpiness back.
So we'd be praying for Pam too. That's part of not feeling good though. And when my knee was bad, you could ask Charlotte about that, but please don't. But I didn't know I was doing it. I honestly didn't know I was doing it but Probably Joe knew trying to make me exercise with that grumpy knee, but that's part of the flesh.
But this this calm delight and joy Can even be there when we're going through hardships like that because it comes from the spiritual side. And it is a fruit of the Spirit and remember these are not Characteristics that we can strive to do or have or be.
They are fruits that are put in there by our relationship with the Holy Spirit and they are directly proportional to that walk. How much we're holding the hand is the proportionality of how much of this stuff we have so joy.
Along those lines again, it doesn't mean happiness. It's not giddiness. It's it's a deep-seated peaceful. Gentle joy, that's just there even when you're going through tribulation. Paul had it when he's hanging on the dungeon wall.
He was singing hymns. Can you think about that? Peace is the next one. Irenae is the Greek word. It comes from a little Greek word Iro. Which means to join or tie together? Imagine two pieces of twine wrapped together to make a stronger piece.
Actually three is normally how we look at it in biblical terms three. Three together wound together is very strong in biblical terms. But it comes from the idea of joining or tying together and it creates this little bit deeper Greek word that simply means To have peace with one another you're tied together.
How can you not have peace if you're one, you know, you're one and you're tied together and you're one thing and that's kind of The idea it's translated into the word peace. I find it interesting that it's translated into the word prosperity because When you think about that The world does not want Christians to be prosperous.
They tell us you need to be poor if you're gonna be spiritual. That's a lie. You know, we're supposed to be prosperous. In fact this fruit of the Spirit that one of the meanings for this part of it is to be prosperous.
So When we have peace if you think about it a person who's prosperous can build a really big moat around his house. And keep a lot of bad stuff out and it creates a peace inside that house. And so it's related.
But the the root meaning of it is this this type of being oneness. Or being joined together that creates peace and prosperity so a Person that's born again has that jointness with God himself. We're filled with the Holy Spirit when dwelt with the Holy Spirit.
We're one with Christ. We're one with the Holy Spirit which draws us into the very presence of the Father that no man has been in his presence. But in Christ we can be in his presence and it's a oneness of three.
He's three we're three ties us all together and that's where your peace comes from. It can't be something you work on through character. You can't just say okay. Lord wants me to be a peaceful person.
Boy I feel better. It's not like that. It's directly from holding his hand and the peace flows from him into your life and you feel it and sense it even in the midst of a battle. So there's your inward fruit.
Let's talk just briefly because we're out of time here about outward fruit. So we have the next three and these are more outward these and by outward I mean towards other people and then the last one is gonna be upward.
So it's gonna be fruit that relates directly to you and God. But this one is what relates to your fellow man your brothers and sisters a little bit more and the first one is long. Suffering which means basically patience, but it's not exactly a perfect.
It's kind of a a Small idea of the meaning of its long-suffering is bigger than just having patience. Okay to give you an idea it comes from a Greek word that actually means forbearance or fortitude and when you think about Now that here's a good English word that I saw a synonym Longanimity, do you use that one very often?
Well Charlotte has great longanimity. Because what it means is a disposition to bear injury injuries patiently. So she lives with me. So she is a very long longanimity a person of some type so. But I like that a disposition to bear injuries patiently now think about long suffering is where the old English word came from like someone is torturing you and You patiently bear up to it is kind of more the meaning of this so you kind of see patience is kind of a cheap Synonym it means much more than patient.
It means bearing up when things are bad and you stare you still hang with it. You still bear up under it, right? So long suffering and our English word forbearance carries some of that like patience at the same time I'm lenient with people because I'm patient with them.
I can like they're hitting me with stuff I don't like and I'm just patient with them. It carries that connotation so you can see how this comes in real handy in an outward sense with our fellow man because some of us require patience and if that's a gift of the spirit, it means we can deal with people better and get better results and Patience at fortitude is another one.
That's an interesting sort of a synonym To Encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage. Isn't that an interesting connotation of this word this Greek word to encounter danger or even bear pain or adversity?
With courage and To bear up under the injury of it. It's a really strong Concept of patience, don't you think? Okay, so We have long suffering or patience towards our fellow man. The second one is gentleness.
I can see how that would come in handy. And the third one is goodness. So those are outward ones. We don't have time to go into detail on the day. So I'll stop there. But what we begin to see when we study these fruits of the spirit is number one that they don't come from us doing a character Building exercises.
That's not how you get it. There are a lot of good books written on the Christian character and that's great, but they don't they don't work. Okay, it just doesn't work. What it does come from is learning that the very spirit that we're in dwelt by.
We need to be one with that spirit. That's called being spirit filled and we need to picture it as holding Jesus's hand as you walk through the day. And then you can begin to exhibit those first three attributes towards God.
Or actually on the inside which will create these second three towards your fellow man and next Sunday Lord willing we'll talk about the three that will push up towards God and Bill is teaching. I was thinking about some of these things and I was thinking about something that I had read and It dealt with something.
I'm gonna talk about later after we get done with the fruits of the spirit I'm gonna talk about the fruits of the flesh which are nasty to look at but the Bible names them and There's one called uncleanness and you wonder what is the what did the Hebrew mean by that?
What what does that mean to a Hebrew like it you're unclean and we as Gentiles have certain thoughts on what we think that means. And it's really not what the Jew thought by it when he said unclean. It literally had to do with things that were ceremonial in nature under the law that meant you were not holy To a holy God and it's different than just being like dirty mouth or dirty minded like we think of as Gentiles.
That's not what it's talking about it may include some of that but what it is simply talking about is we are not holy like God is holy and You had the ceremonial laws with the cleansing things. They would do to cleanse themselves after they had been Unholy and I'll just give you one example if you touched a dead body.
You had to be cleansed from that for seven days. Now think about that. See that's not like a sin you did right you sometimes you couldn't if you're in battle it included in battle and your friend dies at the hand of the enemy and you pick him up thinking you can help him and he's dead seven days when you get back you Cannot go and worship publicly.
Now I'm gonna teach you what this means. So you got to come back next Sunday and Sunday after to learn what that means because the the application of that for us is huge but what it Basically comes to is when we get to the third group of three of these fruits the last three are upward.
Which means those are fruit that come from the inside that make us able to deal with a holy God in a personal relationship. That's pretty that's pretty deep pretty powerful. So we'll talk about that as we get to it.
Let's stand and have prayer together. Lord we thank you for your word. We thank you that you've given us insight into the fact that we're a triune being we're spirit. We're soul and we're body and at these three parts Fight and war against one another from time to time and yet our spiritual man is the highest and thank you that only by being Connected to you.
Do we even have that alive and well as it should be so help us to willfully Determine that we will be spirit-filled more and more moments of every day as we go into this coming week. So that we might truly be in Unison with you and union with you and fellowship with you in The heavenlies because only by being spirit-filled and having these fruits of the spirit.
Can we be? Truly in fellowship with you and with one another. Or at peace with our own selves as the matter goes. Help us to learn more and more what this means and as we study it together Lord go with us into our time of fellowship now bless the meal We're about to have and we ask it in Jesus name.
Amen. You are dismissed. We will have lunch together here in just a few minutes. If you're visiting we hope you can stay and we have plenty we always do. Hey Katie I I I I I I I I I.