What would you like to change about yourself? And what have you done to change? Some of you have read self-help books, while others have joined a gym. Some of you are pursuing a degree, and others become religious.
Today we begin a summer teaching series for those who want to change. This is a series for those who have a desire to make their lives count. Here are nine beautiful qualities that everyone wants in their lives. I want you to possess them all. If you live out these nine beautiful qualities, your home will have greater harmony. If you have a desire to make your life pleasing to God, then lean in and listen up. For I have good news for you: God makes His power available to change your life.
Let’s jump right in, and I invite you to turn to page 1239 in your pew Bibles.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:16-26).
Now, these are famous verses well beyond the walls of the church. At the center of this Scripture are two contrasting lists: “the works of the flesh” in this corner and “the fruit of the Spirit” in this corner. For the weeks to come, we’ll talk about what’s in the second list. We may not come back to Galatians 5 each week as we look at love, joy, peace, etc. The fruit of the Spirit tells us that God wants you to grow to spiritual maturity. In order to grow you essentially need three things to work in combination: 1) you need the power to change; 2) you need a picture of change; and 3) you need the process to change.
Again, you need the power to change, the picture of change, and the process to change. First, here’s the process of change: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation…” (1 Peter 2:2). So we begin to get a picture of the process of how God changes us: little by little and level by level.
Second, here’s the picture of change: “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4). In fact, the Bible teaches that you were chosen believer for the very purpose for God to change you. God wants you to be holy. And to see the picture of the changes God wants to make in your life, look no further than Jesus Christ. Like you, God has a desire that you change; God has a passion for your growth. You are made to grow just as a student in school is expected to move from grade to grade, so a believer is called on to grow. Christians grow. You cannot stop a Christian from growing because God is inside of them performing this. A non-growing Christian is a square circle or a glass hammer. Christians, by definition, grow. If you are stagnant, you are in sin. But, lastly, you need the power to change, and that’s what I want to focus on for the next few moments.
Here’s a brief sermon preview of where we’re going in the new few minutes: 1) You’re Caught; 2) You’re Empowered; 3) You’re a Partner
1) You’re Caught (Galatians 5:19-23)
You’re caught between two powers or two forces. Hasn’t this been your experience when you want to change? You’re caught, you’re trapped, and you’re torn.
1.1 The Goal
From the very beginning of your life, you were made to grow spiritually, intellectually, relationally, and morally like Jesus Himself. God’s ultimate goal for you is to have the character of Christ.
1.2 Two Fights and Two Natures
You need to know: there are two natures in every Christian: the flesh (sinful nature) and the Spirit. But you live in a warzone between your sinful nature (aka “the flesh”) and the Spirit: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17). Keep in mind that before your conversion you were fighting against God – this is what I’m calling your first fight. After your conversion, God is fighting against the evil in you – this is what I’m calling your second fight. All human beings were built to worship him and center their lives on Him, and you centered your life on lots of other things. Because you centered your life on lots of other things, you experienced w breakdown in your life. To live without God is like trying to pull a wagon without wheels. It kind of works, but it drags, and it scrapes. Eventually, it disintegrates. Your life before Christ kind of works for a while, but eventually, as time goes on, your life disintegrates.
1.3 Fifteen Vices
The philosopher Aristotle argued that virtues build up a society where vices tear apart a community. You can think of a vice really as self-seeking behavior, actions that (perhaps unwittingly) cause anarchy and chaos. Vice reduces humans to animal-like behavior. Here’s a catalog of vice: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). There are really four categories to this list: engaging in sexual sin, eating too much, drinking too much, and engaging in idolatry. Trace this list with me for a moment to see all four categories: three sexual sins – “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality”, two spiritual sins– “idolatry, sorcery”, eight social sins– “enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,”, and lastly, two examples of wild living – “drunkenness, orgies”. This list isn’t exhaustive, for Paul adds these words at the end: “and things like these.” I want to pause here to say the description of these vices shouldn’t make you think Paul went to hell to describe the behavior of demons. No, this description is taken from your average neighborhood homeowner’s association or the next civic meeting you’re a part of. Don’t overly demonize these vices, for they are a picture of what is all around us. This list describes normal people – people who are outside the influence and power of the Holy Spirit.
1.4 Virtues
Yet, living inside you at the moment of your conversion is the Holy Spirit. To illustrate the power of God inside a believer, we are given a catalog of virtue: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). The Fruit of the Spirit list is not exhaustive in Galatians 5:22-23. When compared with other “virtue lists,” certain characteristics are missing in Galatians 5:22-23, such as truth, honor, right, purity (Philippians 4:8), compassion, and humility (Colossians 3:12). No list in the New Testament gives a complete accounting of every attitude and action that should be identified with the Christian.
Yet, here are nine beautiful graces of the Spirit-controlled life - a picture of beautiful harmony, of a selfless and purposeful life. And this can be you! When the Holy Spirit controls your life, He will produce inside you these nine beautiful characteristics: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
I’ll have more to say about these virtues later, but for now, let’s return to your inner war for another moment.
1.5 Two Fights and Two Natures Continued
Before Christ, your inside thermostat was set for selfishness and against God. But when you experienced conversion and the love of God, now an alien force invades you. Your new self is fighting against your old self. You find yourself in a civil war. Now, you have inside you two natures pulling in opposite directions. You are in the midst of a deadly feud. The first fight (before your conversion) you had to lose. You were fighting God. The second fight you must win for God is fighting on your behalf. So you’re caught in an inner war.
1.6 A Promise?
Do you want to know just how difficult the war can be? Promise me tonight that every day for the next 30 days, you will spend 30 minutes praying and reading your Bible. Go ahead and make the promise. For if you do, there will be a lot of fight. You’re going to find yourself going for two or three days, and then you won’t do it for three or four days, and then you’ll say, “How come I let that happen?”
You’re Caught
2) You’re Empowered (Galatians 5:16-18)
You’ll need more power than just willpower in your life. You’ll need God’s power. Change is possible; your life is not hopeless! If you are a believer in Christ, you have an assignment that you cannot fulfill. You have a privilege you cannot forsake. You have a family you cannot forget, and most importantly of all… … you have a God you cannot fathom!
Every aspect of the Christian life is supernatural. No matter if you are talking about worship, prayer, evangelism, giving, or obedience to God, there is not one aspect of your Christian life where you grow by your own effort only. Instead, you grow by virtue of your relationship to the Holy Spirit. In today’s passage, the Holy Spirit is mentioned seven times – He is all over the place!
Listen, you are more than your sinful nature. Friend, the Spirit Himself first regenerates you by giving you a new nature. Then the Spirit renews you and empowers you to obey God’s commands. The Spirit rises up within you to create within you a hunger for God. You have a passion for God and for good. You have new instinctual nature for living a holy life. Again, you are more than your sinful nature.
2.1 A Quick Survey of the Spirit’s Work
I could spend the better part of the day telling you what the Spirit does for you. The Spirit makes the Word personal to us. The Spirit gives us confidence in the inspiration of Scripture. As you read Scripture, the Spirit speaks through the pages, telling you how real the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).
But the Spirit does more, for He is powerfully active in your salvation experience. He helps us take God’s timeless truths and makes them come alive in us. When you hear the gospel, it is the Holy Spirit who comes and convinces you of your need for the gospel (John 3:6-7). The Spirit was also the one Who miraculously caused the Virgin Birth with Mary, the mother of Jesus (Matthew 1:18). And lastly, the Spirit is the One who provides wisdom and direction in life (john 14:26; Acts 8:29).
2.2 The Holy Spirit Isn’t Just a Force
Note: We should never refer to the Holy Spirit as “it.” Instead, we should follow the Bible’s lead by speaking of the Holy Spirit using personal pronouns such as “He” just as Jesus does: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20).
2.3 Your Spiritual Growth Isn’t Natural
Again, you’ll need more power than just willpower in your life. You’ll need God’s power. You cannot simply say, “I’m going to be more kind.” It doesn’t work that way. You cannot wake up one day only to say, “I want to be loving.” And grit your teeth to love. Just as you don’t fly mid-air on your own, so you will not be good on your own. You need an outside power to be good. A blender, a coffee-maker, and a TV all have to be plugged into the electrical socket in order to work. If you are going to live a life pleasing to God, you cannot do so without being plugged in.
You must be empowered: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever [continues] in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Notice the fruit of the Spirit are not commands. These are Not Commands. These are not laws, but they are really more attitudes, or how a person’s heart is bent. Our state lawmakers in Austin or the federal lawmakers in Washington cannot write laws to make a person gentle or good. You can put signs up that outlaw vices and promote virtues. You can reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. But none of this really works in the end for love, joy and peace cannot be enforced in the end. In fact, the power you need to grow is right now inside you.
Stuart Briscoe (who’s spoken in this church years ago) tells the story of a teenager who used to climb down an old fruit tree that grew near his bedroom window. He used it to escape at night and hang out with his friends. One day his dad announced that he was going to cut down the tree because it hadn’t produced fruit in several seasons. The kid didn’t want to lose his escape route, so when his dad was gone, he and his friends bought a bushel of apples, and carefully tied the apples to the branches. When the dad returned, his son said, “Look, dad, it’s a miracle! This tree is now growing apples!” His dad said, “Son, that really IS a miracle because that’s a pear tree!”
Let me reassure you: the Spirit is alive in you to create and sustain a hunger for holiness: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). The moment you come to experience the love of Christ, you have spiritual life inside you. Remember, the Holy Spirit is how Jesus rose from the dead: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). You have resurrection power available to you. Jesus Christ offers you the power you need to become what He wants you to be.
You’re Caught
You’re Empowered
3) You’re a Partner (Galatians 5:24-26)
If you’re going to starve your sinful nature and feed your spiritual side, then you must do three items. Here are three actions you must take to experience change
3.1 Be Led by the Spirit
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). To be “led by the Spirit” means for you to allow the Spirit to lead you. Like a herd of cattle follows the rancher and a sheep follows the shepherd, you are to be led by your leader, the Spirit of God. As the wind drives the ship, so the Spirit leads your life. The Spirit is not a leader like a pace car in the “Daytona 500.” Instead, He is a leader like a locomotive on a train. We do not follow in our strength. Instead, we are led by His power. So “walk by the Spirit” means staying hooked up to the divine source of power and going wherever he leads.
I ask you, “Do you want Him to lead you?” You have to want it. First, you must be led by the Spirit.
3.2 Keep in Step with the Spirit
“…walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16b).
Hidden inside verse 16 is a double negative in the original language of the New Testament. The double negative is a no-no for English, but it highlights the hope for Christians. Whenever you see in the Bible words such as “walk this way,” the Bible is telling you how to live. “Walk” is another way of saying, “Live like this.” He’s speaking about your lifestyle. Even the Old Testament uses the word “walk” in this way: “and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do” (Exodus 18:20).
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
If you want to grow, then you need the right tools to grow. The tools God has given us to grow as believers are: worship, biblical truth, prayer, evangelism, fellowship, and the Lord’s Supper. These holy habits are the habits you need to grow. Think of the spiritual disciples are the pathway the Spirit travels to empower and change you. Like a weightlifter goes to the gym, Christians are to go to the holy habits in order to grow.
3.3 Crucify Your Sinful Nature
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:25). Many of you have one habit you cannot break. How badly do you wish to be free from your sinful habit?
3.2.1 Be Ruthless
3.2.2 Endure the Pain
Crucifixion hurts, and your process of change will also be painful.
3.2.3 Be Decisive
Again, how badly do you wish to be free from your sinful ways? Some of you have crucified your sinful nature, but you return back to the scene where it was executed.
3.4 Even You Can Change
How would you complete this sentence: “It’s just like me to — ”? It’s just like me to be late all the time? It’s just like me to be unable to stay on a diet? It’s just like me to put my foot in my mouth? It’s just like me to blow up, to be depressed, to get angry? When you walk in step with the Spirit, He has even the ability to change your personality.
Consider an acorn for a moment. One acorn has the potential to populate the entire earth with trees. For when you see one acorn, you not only have one tree but you also have all the acorns on this future fully grown tree and all the acorns on those fully grown trees. There is the possibility of infinite progression of life production in just one acorn. The Spirit of God offers you so many possibilities. You can change; there is hope for you.
Closing
I stated at the beginning of this message that you needed the power to change, the picture of change, and the process where you change.
Process
The process is two parts. First, God changes you at conversion: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Give your life to Christ today by 1) turning from your sins and 2) place your faith in Christ. The second part of your change is after your conversion. The process is level by level and little by little. The picture of a changed life is the nine virtues, really they are a beautiful portrait of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The power to change is the power of God living inside you. Only one thing will keep you from changing and becoming the person you and God want you to be. It’s not the devil. It’s not your spouse. It’s not circumstances. It’s procrastination. So allow me ask you a searching question, “What are you going to do to grow up?” And, “When are you going to grow up?” Begin today by following Christ.
