TIME is one of the number one enemies of our faith. Recent generations, especially in the western world, have deceived themselves into thinking that time will never catch up to them. Because of medical breakthroughs disease will never get us. Science will answer our questions and find some way to prolong life for many more years. Television and movies will keep us distracted from thinking about thinks that would worry us.
Hebrews 9:27 is as true for this generation as it was for any other: ‘It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment’.
This is the worst possible news for a person without Jesus but the most wonderful news for someone who knows Him as their savior.
Two different choices we make make all the difference.
In Galatians chapter 5 Paul tells us how big a difference the choices we make have upon our spiritual lives. We can choose to WALK IN THE SPIRIT or to LIVE IN THE FLESH. The difference is called the ACTS OF THE SINFUL NATURE or the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
These are life the ROADSIGNS of life showing us which direction we are headed.
When I was a kid our family owned one of those station wagons that had the seat at the back which faced out the back window. I seemed to always end up there. There were certain rules for sitting in that seat.
First was to not open the tailgate when moving. Second was to not make eye contact or gestures to the traffic behind you. Third was to not care that you had no idea where you were going. All you would see was the back of the signs that had to do with the direction you were going and the front of signs for where you were going away from.
We often live in denial of the directions we are headed in life but if the signs going the opposite way say love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control then we can be assured that the signs we are not seeing the refer to the direction we are headed come from the other list Paul gave us.
Jesus said to His disciples that ‘By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples’.(JN 15:8). I am so glad that He did not say we had to go and PRODUCE MUCH FRUIT but we only have to BEAR it. He will produce it through our lives if we are surrendered to Him. But if we do not surrender our lives to Him then we will NATURALLY begin to ACT out in our sinful natures with the things Paul listed.
CHOICE #1: ACTING OUT OF OUR SINFUL NATURE:
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
It is amazing how similar this list is to all the things you could choose to watch on American television most any day of the week or to find in any movie theater at any time. As a culture we have chosen to EMBRACE THIS LIST and as Christians in this culture we are very vulnerable to falling prey to no longer seeing these things as sinful practices.
Harry Poll wrote about time. "Within the memory of some of our older members (of American society) men worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, and still had time to be neighborly, go to church and actually live life….People were not too hurried, always had time to visit. The school and the church were the focal points of community interest. People had time to think, to pray, to read the Bible and go to church.
"Now we have a 40 hour work week, travel in cars, have our telephones, radios, TV sets, books, magazines, newspapers. We have gadgets and gimmicks for easy living and have less time than ever before. We go, go, go and having gone, find ourselves worn out and restless. The leisure time provided by a 40 hour work week is squandered in endless going and overindulgent living."
"It doesn’t make sense. The church is caught in the middle of this whirling, feverish, restlessness. A 60-minute service is too long, two services on the Sunday are too much.
The midweek service is almost an impossibility. We rush madly from one meeting to the next, and haven’t time to read the Bible or to talk to God."
The end result is that SIN will find it’s natural place in our lives because we have refused to pursue the holiness that God calls us to.
Weeds naturally grow but fruit must be born.
What is sin in a general sense?
John Wesley's mother once wrote to him. She said: "Take this rule: whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself." -- Susanna Wesley (Letter, June 8, 1725)
PAUL GIVES US A LIST WHICH INCLUDES EXAMPLES OF WHAT THE SIN NATURE WILL BRING OUT IN OUR LIVES.
…sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
Paul begins his list with SENSUAL sins. sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery
These three refer to:
a) Actions – sexual immorality. Specific activities people do in this area: adultery, fornication, homosexuality….
b) Character – impurity/uncleanness. The idea of being filthy(pigpen). Someone that you walk away from and feel dirty for being in their presence.
c) Mindset – debauchery/sensuality. The way of thinking so programed that every thought is filtered through this way of approaching life.
Lynne and I went on a cruise for our 25th anniversary. It was our first cruise so everything was new to us. We saw on the schedule that a comic was performing at a particular time so we stopped by. The room was full so we stood at the back for about 2 minutes. The reason we left within two minutes was because the guy was not funny, he had no talent or even a sense of humor. He was just a dirty minded, rude guy saying filthy and inappropriate things that for some reason made the audience actually laugh.
This reprobateness has now become the norm in our society and is almost impossible to escape. The outsiders are now the insiders and the oddballs are continually in our eyeballs and are now considered normal. MODERN FAMILY?
Hugh Hefner's rules: "Sex is a function of the body. A drive which man shares with animals. Like eating, drinking and sleeping. It's a physical demand that must be satisfied. If you don't satisfy it you will have all sorts of neurosis and repression psychosis. Sex is here to stay. Let's forget the prudery that makes us hide from it. Throw away those inhibitions, find a girl who's like minded and let yourself go." Hugh Hefner, Playboy Editor(The magazine men read for the articles)
Paul’s list continues with RELIGIOUS sins: idolatry and witchcraft
Bob Dylan said it well back in 1979 with his song, ‘Serve Somebody’
Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk, Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Man is religious by design. It is in our DNA. It is meant to be the vehicle out of which we seek out a relationship with the true God. But our sin nature will choose to worship idols and seek other spiritual directions than that which would demand our personal surrender.
Man will invest himself in his pleasures or power or position in life or he will seek to be spiritual in a way where he begins to work himself into God’s favor by his own deeds.
PAUL’S LIST Continues with RELATIONSHIP SINS: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; 8 specific evidences of our sin nature that plays out in the ways we relate to one another.
First this seems like the TV guide description of an average Soap Opera but also way too many of these are deceptively introduced into church life under the guise of being spiritual or taking a stand for what we think God wants.
•The Galatian church must have had a big problem in these areas which is what normally happens when people become ‘religious’ in their church practice and are not walking in a dynamic relationship with the Lord.
Paul ends the list with some PAGAN SINS: drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
We might think of it as Galatians Gone Wild. A society without a COMPUS to direct them will try to live in constant distraction from inner promptings of accountability to God. If you can’t remove pain then deaden it and if you can’t escape guilt then deaden it also.
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
These are not the things that God’s children will do if they truly belong to Him.
This is not saying that a slip in any of these areas will prevent you from getting into Heaven. The verb "do" in this verse indicates an ongoing lifestyle. If your life is given to these activities, then your salvation is truly suspect.
CHOICE #2: BEARING FRUIT BY GOD’S SPIRIT:
PAUL THEN GIVES A LIST OF WHAT WALKING IN THE SPIRIT LOOKS LIKE WHEN WE BEGIN TO BEAR GOD’S FRUIT IN OUR LIVES.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Someone has said that when you feel like you are going to lose it then you don’t need to count to ten but to NINE: Count this way: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Remind yourself of who you are in Christ before you go any further.
Paul’s list includes SATISFACTION FRUIT: love, joy, peace
Love - Agape – This does not mean to have affection for God but to love by a total surrender to His will. True love always takes a back seat to others.
English, French, Italian, Latin, and German conjugate verbs as follows: I am; You are; He is. We say, "I love, you love, he loves." Hebrew is the opposite. Their verbs are conjugated this way: He is; You are: I am. That is the way God teaches us to love: He is to be first, my neighbor is to be second and myself, I am, is to be last. Any other love is not agape love.
Joy - Constant delight in God – Joy of the Lord is your strength Neh. 8:10
A Hindu in India once asked a missionary years ago, "What do you put on your face to make it shine?" With surprise the man of God answered, "I don't put anything on it!" The Hindu said emphatically, "Yes, you do! All of you who believe in Jesus seem to have it.” Suddenly the missionary understood, and his face glowed even more and he said, "I will tell you the secret. It's not something we put on from the outside but something that comes from within. It's the reflection of the light of God in our hearts."
Part of the fruit God bears in our lives is a reflection of Himself through our joy in Him.
The world around us sends out a constant message of finding happiness in the things that it offers but none of those things can bring true Joy.
That is only found in a real dynamic relationship with God.
Peace – Peace with God, peace toward others, peace within ourselves.
Peace in spite of circumstances, trials or tribulations.
Paul’s list includes RELATIONAL FRUIT: , patience, kindness, goodness, Certain fruit will come out in our lives as we interact together.
WE NEED GOD’S FRUIT TO GET ALONG!
Patience - Willing to accept and bear injury. Willing to go forward and not slide backwards when someone is not like us, does not like us, does not agree with us or is not agreeable to us. Patient knowing God was and is patient with us.
Kindness - Sweetness of attitude - Easy to get along with and easy to please. Not always griping and complaining.
Goodness - A willingness to do good, to serve and help others.
Literally, this nothing but Christian love in action.
To put some walk in their talk and to make a difference in others lives.
Paul ends the list with VICTORY FRUIT: faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
Faithfulness - Ability to trust and to be trusted by God and man
Gentleness - Restraint - Power under control. Is not weakness! Jesus was gentle and Moses was "very gentle" yet neither would be considered weak.
My daughter Katie when to Thailand a few years ago to teach English in a monkastary or whatever they call those places. To little monks.
During her time off she went to visit the tribes in the jungle where the women were the rings around their necks. To get there she had to ride an elephant. That elephant had all the power you could imagine to run away, do whatever it wanted or to even harm her but instead it chose to be controlled by one outside of itself.
That is what the Christian life is meant to be. Power and resources under His control. All that God has gifted or given to us is to be returned to Him for His use in our daily lives.
Self Control. Discipline. Refusing to do things you have in your power to do.
An attitude where a life is searched and made to submit to the will of God.
Many people feel that they are allowed to live as they please and even have the right and obligation to do so.(deserve a break today, grab all the gusto you can) The opposite is true as the child of God is to render his life as a living sacrifice
How do these become a part of our lives? How do we bear them for the world to see? Notice these are not ‘fruits’ but the ‘FRUIT of the Holy Spirit’(singular) We don’t pick and choose them but like a fruit salad they are all a part of the mix of being truly filled with God’s Spirit. The Spirit will not fill us and peacefully co-exist with our sin nature.
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step(walk) with the Spirit.
The literally meaning of ‘walk’ is the idea of soldiers marching in step with one another. Nothing worse than to see a group of soldiers all doing their own thing as they march.
We are to be in constant step and formation with God’s Spirit in our lives. As He moves we move and where He goes we go.
That kind of life is lethal to the sinful nature within us. It crucifies it. It puts us in a position of dying but keeps it at a safe distance.
Crucifixion was typically for criminals who would harm society if not punished. When crucified they still were alive for a time but safely kept from what they would choose to do. Jesus could have come down from the cross but He didn’t(10,000 angels) Every day I know my sin nature is there but I make sure I keep it up where it belongs, away from me by the power of God’s Spirit working in my life and keeping it from causing havoc.
THREE KEYS TO WORKING THIS OUT IN OUR LIVES
1. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is meant to be a constant activity in our lives as daily with every choice and decision we allow the Spirit to fill us through our surrender to His will.
2. Stop feeding the fire. You can stop a fire by throwing cold water on it or you can stop it by suffocating it. Eliminate the fuel, or the oxygen, and a fire will go out pretty quick.
Men watch out for things like: Commericals during sports. Sexually visual television or movies.
Television network executives long ago figured out how to manipulate both men and women in America and they have had a plan and agenda in place for many years now. They know what it takes to keep you coming back, and sex is at the top of the list.
Women watch out for women on TV without men (The VIEW-ELLEN-OPRAH) (They know that emotional attachment or likeminded victimness will be attractive to women)
Very taken with the life of Adolph Hitler because I think in ways he is a warning to our society.
When he was being promoted by his political handlers they took a number of photos of him in sensitive settings to make him more presentable to the women in Germany. Hitler was quoted as saying his audiences were mainly feminine and therefore emotion and sentiment were the tactics he used to get his message across. Tactics he said he had learned in manipulating his own mother to get his way. Maybe he had additional insight because his middle name was Elizabeth.
3. Feed the Spirit. Reprogram your mind to follow the things of the Spirit:
Invest in God’s Word. Be constant in His presence.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, or of good report; if there be any virtue, and if any praise, think on these things.
Constantly choose to go these directions and your mind and heart will begin to transform.
Some have described their spiritual lives as either painted or stained: Do you know the difference? Paint is something that is applied to the surface, but stain is something that goes deep, soaking deep into the wood.
Paint will eventually peel and fall away as does the attempt of many to serve God in their own strength. Stain becomes a part of the wood and is not just a surface thing
Do you just want a religion that is surface only or do you want a relationship with the living Lord that is deep and abiding, soaking into the very depths of your life and producing fruit in many ways?
You have to make that choice. No choice is still a choice.
To not make it is to make it for the default position which is your sin nature.
When you surrender your life to Him and let the Holy Spirit fill your life then you will begin to see the fronts of the signs in your life of things like love and joy and peace and patience and goodness and gentleness and faithfulness and self-control as your life will now be lived by His power bearing fruit in you.
