Living By The Spirit - Part 2

Introduction:

I. Their have been a couple of seasons of the TV show survivor.

A. This show has captivated America’s attention for various reasons.

1. One of those reason is surely the art of survival in a stacked situation.

2. When it comes between life and death, it is amazing what people will do, eat and drink.

B. Survival is a real concern period, when you are in a foreign environment or when you are lost.

1. A person is unable to survive more than a couple of days without water.

2. A couple of weeks without food in general.

3. So in times where we are in survival mode, we realize the most important things in life.

C. Christians can find themselves in a spiritual survival mode very quickly.

1. When they get caught in sin, and are overtaken by the desire of the flesh.

2. They often are trying to get out of it, but there is no seeming end to the chase

3. What will it take for survival?

II. Paul calls each of the faithful Galatians in 5:16 to live by the Spirit.

A. "So I say, Live by the Spirit…"

1. Not by the flesh

2. Not by indecision

3. Not by indiscretion, but by the Spirit

B. He brought to our attention that following the flesh is not living by the Spirit.

1. He continues these admonitions in Chapter 6

C. Paul gets practical with us.

1. He calls faithful Christians to care for the overtaken brother.

2. He charges us not to try and measure up

3. He gives us the liability of ourselves

Body

I. Have you given up on your brother?

A. Why is it?

1. Is it a lack of love and concern

a. Many years ago a preacher Henry Ward Beecher went to the pulpit to preach and found a letter containing one word, "Fool." He calmly, quietly announced the contents of the letter to the congregation saying, "I have known of people writing a letter and forgetting to sign their name to it. But this is the first time I have ever seen someone sign their name and forget to write the letter."

b. Christians should be in the business of helping one another, bearing one another’s burdens, not creating more burdens.

c. But some Christians are more Critical than they are caring. They are more of a hindrance than a help.

2. Is it Pride?

a. I wonder often why some will be the first to tell you when you have done something wrong, but will never compliment you on anything.

b. I often concern myself with why it is that they are the first to criticize and the last to lift a finger.

c. When it comes to a faltering brother, why is it that we let pride creep in and decide the fate of a brother in Christ.

d. Isn’t that what the brother of the prodigal son dealt with.

1.) Luke 15:25-31

2.) When you a brother in sin, do you not go because of pride

3. Is it Ignorance?

a. Maybe those who do not go to the brother in sin, just don’t see it.

b. Oh but that can’t be the case, because some how we all know because of the talk.

B. Talk is cheap and painful

1. Without action talk is useless.

a. God gives us language and desire to fix things not just talk about what is going on

b. What good does it do if we sit around a talk about something anyway.

c. If nothing changes, what good has been done.

2. Gossip only hurts

a. It is so easy to sit back and not do anything and talk about how bad some people are and tell the neat little secrets.

b. Or even create secrets.

3. Proverbs 11:13 – "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret."

a. Gossip is found in a list of sin in 1 Corinthians 12

b. The worst thing about Gossip is that it is the one thing that can destroy a church

c. Talk creates problems that are not really there, and talk will destroy relationships of trust.

C. Paul says live by the Spirit.

1. 6:1 "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."

a. It takes a great deal of love and courage for us to approach an erring brother and seek to help him.

b. On the other hand it is easy to condemn him and then use the brother to make yourself look good

1.) That is what the Pharisee did in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14)

2.) The legalist rejoices when a brother falls, and often gives the matter wide publicity, because then he can boast about his own goodness and how much better his group is than the group to which the fallen brother belongs.