Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit,
and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
I- MY PETS:
1- my pet is one i always take care of-
Our pet is one where our hearts or where our minds drifts always. Consider where our thoughts go, everyday?
2- my pet is one i am unwilling to give up-
This sin is our Benjamin, the child we are unwilling to let go.
As Jacob refused to part with Benjamin, his favorite son,
we can cling tightly to our favorite sin.
We will allow other sins to fall, but protect that one, even with your life. What sin are you unwilling to live without?
3- My pet is one where I enjoy to spend my time
You cuddle your pet, embrace, kiss and play with.
Illustration From Our Daily Bread:
“For 8 years, Sally had been the Romero family pet.
She was only 1 foot long when they brought her home.
But Sally grew and grew until eventually she reached
a length of 11 feet and weighed 80 pounds.
Then one day Sally, a Burmese python, turned on
15-year-old Derek, strangling the unsuspecting teenager
until he died of suffocation.
Police said that the snake was “quite aggressive, hissing and reacting” when they arrived to investigate the young man’s death.
Sin is like that snake. When a sin first enters our lives, we think of it as harmless, almost cute. Yet it doesn’t stay small. Sin has a way of growing. We think we can handle it, but then it begins to handle us.
And it always leads to death—sometimes physical death, and often emotional death. At other times it leads to the death of a relationship.
And if sin is not confessed and forsaken, it will bring spiritual death. That’s why James warned us that “sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (1:15). His purpose in saying that was not to spoil our fun but to preserve our highest joys.
If you are playing with a pet sin in your life, God urges you to beware.
It’s a life-and-death matter.
“Just one little sin, what harm can it do?
But give it free rein and soon there are two,
And then sinful deeds and habits ensue;
So guard well your thoughts or they'll destroy you.” —DJD
II- MY PARACLETE
Paraclete is the presence of God in the world when Jesus ascends to the Father."
From Wikipedia about the Paraclete:
John 14:16 quotes Jesus as saying "another Paraclete" will come to help His disciples, implying, according to Lawrence Lutkemeyer, that Jesus is the first and primary Paraclete.
Raymond Brown (1970),supported by George Johnston (2005),
also says that the "another Paraclete" of John 14:16 is in many ways another Jesus, the presence of Jesus after Jesus ascends to his Father.
The Gospel of Matthew twice uses the passive form of the corresponding verb in 2:18 and 5:4.
In both instances, the context is of mourning, and the meaning of the verb is "to be comforted".
The Gospel is not something you get over, it is something you live in.
A cross-centered and resurrection powered life doesn't get saved
and then live on our own power.
We, instead, die daily. (1Cor.15:31)
And, it is repentance filled because that is how we should respond
to a sin sick world--but quickly and readily repenting.
Numbers 32:23But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
Think of King David, Uriah, Bathsheba, and Nathan...
If we won't come to repentance, God will bring us to repentance.
God is not mocked. What a man reaps, he sows.
And, God is interested in changing us.
God is more interested in our character than our comfort.
Even the king of an empire cannot hide his sin once God is ready to confront him with his deeds.
We are too comfortable with sin's presence in our lives.
Sin is not a pet to tame but a beast to slay.
And, you cannot slay it on your own.
That is why God sent Jesus.
Stop trying to convince yourself that secret sin in your life and in the church will not hinder the mission of God.
Instead, live a gospel-centered, repentance-filled life.
Therefore, we truly need our Paraclete! He is The One that can get us through this world devastated by sin....
He is the Jesus in our world we live in today.
Greater is He inside of us.
The Seal and the Identifying Mark of Jesus “on that day” when He said in Matthew 7:21’s “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. v.22Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name have cast out devils? and in Thy Name done many wonderful works?v.23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”
1- MY PARACLETE IS ONE WHO WILL ALWAYS TAKE CARE OF ME:
John 16:13 Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.
v14 He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Illustration:
1 Samuel 17:20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
1 Samuel 17:22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
2- MY PARACLETE IS ONE WHO WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON ME:
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever;
From: Robert Smith, Jr.’s “What’s Forever For?”
Eternity and forever exist so death may have a funeral.
Forever exists so we can enjoy God.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism of 1674 asks: “What is the chief duty of man?” The response: “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” John Piper says, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.” Forever is going to exist for believers to enjoy God.
Forever will exist in order for time to be erased.
Forever is for God to put Himself on display.
We don’t have enough time in this life to see God on exhibition;
we are only here 60, 70, 80 or 90 years.
Eternity will exist to showcase God in all His beauty.
After we have been there 100,000 years and we look at God for all those years, we will understand just a little more about His love.
After a million years, we will understand just a little more about His grace. After a billion years, we will understand a little more about His mercy. In other words, God will keep showcasing, de-layering and revealing Himself so you and I will be able to have a greater adoration for the God we worship and serve.
3- MY PARACLETE IS ONE WHERE I ENJOY TO SPEND MY TIME:
The joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
The Spirit of God and the Word of God are two primary means by which the joy of the Lord is conveyed to men.
III- MY PREFERENCE:
It is the power or opportunity of choosing
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit,(in PARACLETE)
and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh (PETS).
Illustration:
(From Dr.Jeff Amsbaugh, ministry127.com)
A MATTER OF CHAOS
“We also see a different way in which these lists are structured.
The first list is plural—works.
The second list is singular—fruit.
It is not the fruits of the Spirit or the work of the flesh.
It is the works (plural) of the flesh and the fruit (singular) of the Spirit. There are all kinds of wicked vices.
Fruit, however, is a cohesive whole.
Have you ever met people who look tired all the time?
Their lives look fractured and fragmented.
Fruit is not like that.
An apple has a stem, a core, and seeds, but we don’t usually think of an apple in terms of its individual components. In the same way, God doesn’t want our lives to be fragmented. If we fear Him and keep His commandments, our lives will be holistic. God wants to end fragmented living and give us a cohesiveness that does not presently exist.
He wants to replace our works with His fruit.
(Take note of Galatians 5:19 with that of v22)
Too many times people are living the Christian life by grit rather than by dependence upon the Spirit. You cannot save yourself from the power of sin any more than you can save yourself from the penalty of sin. You have to depend on God to do in you what you cannot do for yourself.
Living the Christian life is beyond you and me.
Only when we depend upon God and allow His life to flow through us will we have the wholeness that God desires us to have.
We need to quit trying to produce works and trust God to produce fruit. Are you going to be a person who is characterized by the works of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit? These are the only two choices you have for ministry, (and for our daily life as well) and your choice will make all the difference in the world. Choose wisely.”
CONCLUSION:
Which one now guys?
One that we consider as pets that would later enslaves us
Remember.... Sin is not a pet to tame but a beast to slay.
And, you cannot slay it on your own.
That is why God sent Jesus.
that JESUS might send The Paraclete to those who will believe and accept Him.
Or...
For me, my suggestion for you is choose and prefer,
ONE WHO WILL ALWAYS TAKE CARE OF ME
ONE WHO WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON ME
ONE WHERE I ENJOY TO SPEND MY TIME
My Paraclete!
It is time now for you to choose THE PARACLETE...
GOD BLESS US ALL!
30thSunday20180202pmwednesday25july2018@doJpowerHouse!
posted also at Facebook doJ preachings Sta.Barbara, dunamis of Jesus Worldwide,Inc.
