Central Christian Church
St Petersburg, Fl
Dec. 12 2001
Joe Bedy
We looked last time at John 4:23 & 24 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
We examined the true worshipper from the scriptures and we determined that the worshipper "bowed down" before God, which acknowledges that the worshipper knows who God is and is determined to live an obedient life that glorifies God. We saw worship also as more than just bowing down, but we saw the element of service associated with it, we know that we have been saved by grace to do the works that He has prepared in advance for us to do.
Tonight we come to the words spirit and truth.
We are going to direct our attention tonight to the word Spirit. Next time we meet we will look at truth.
What does the Spirit- the Holy Spirit and our spirit- or in the Greek (pneuma) have to do with leading the Spirit led life.
A life that does not cave into temptation, or gives way to sin and, when sin is full blown leads to death.
How do we lead this life that worships in the Spirit?
1. We need to understand that for us to lead the Spiritual life is not all God’s responsibility, we have responsibility too.
I get a kick out of evangelicals who will quote Phil 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. As if to say to their audience that you do not have to make any effort to mature or be perfected, God will do all that, as a matter of fact Jesus has done it for you already!
Now do not be "put off" by this statement, when we come to Christ- God does make us Holy and when He looks at us He sees one of His own adopted children, but that does not leave us without responsibility.
If we believe our holiness, our Spirit led life is totally God’s responsibility, we are saved and do not have to do anything else, we are on our way to falling into satan’s trap of easy believism, which is not what Jesus said at all.
We cannot quote 1:6 without verse 5. Phil 1:5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.
We must understand that once we become Christians we enter the battle, we are now in the race. Paul is very explicit in His description regarding this Christian life, he uses the examples of Marathon athletes, soldiers and farmers.
Paul puts it this way, He says in Romans you are either a slave to sin or you are a slave to obedience.
Rom 6:16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
Rom 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
We begin to understand as we pursue this Spirit led life that like Paul we become keenly aware that in our lives is the law of sin and the law of obedience through grace- or if you will Holy Spirit power.
We begin to recognize this struggle like Paul that torments us, we start to compare ourselves to Christ and see the good we want to do, we do not do and the evil we do not want to do we find ourselves struggling over.
We begin to see that although this law of sin lives in the world- we are able through our participation in the Gospel, and by the leading of the Holy Spirit, to call upon God. When we follow the Spirit’s leading and not our fleshly desires we allow the power of His Grace to get in between us and the law of sin, and stop the law of sin from controlling our lives.
We must understand that our participation in the gospel includes being in the body of Christ, sharing each others lives and holding each other lovingly accountable to live lives according to the word of God.
It includes examining ourselves as to how we are in relationship with one another and if there is a dispute we do not take communion or place our offering in the plate until we are reconciled to one another.
We practice the fact that man cannot live by bread alone and we feed on the word of God everyday.
Additionally we have a keen understanding that by participating in the good news in these ways we spread the good news to others not by just what we say or by scripture knowledge, but most of all by the way we live.
Let us look at the Spirit led life. I believe the Spirit led life can be summed up with one word, Jesus said the word, so did Paul and John.
What is it?
Gal 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Gal 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another.
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
If you are leading a life led by the Spirit of God, you will have these attributes. Not you might or you may, but you will.
Does this passage describe us?
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness, self-control;
And it is through fellowship with one another that we develop this fruit.
When we live in fellowship this way through our participation in the Gospel, then we can count on God through the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to mature us - Then and only then is it true that he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul goes on to say:
Phil 1:7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Gal 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Gal 5:26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
Gal 6:1 Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.
Gal 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
Gal 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
The picture here is considering others greater than ourselves, really, really loving one another.
Paul even in prison his mind was not on himself, but on the others. There should be zero tolerance in the Family of God for self-righteousness.
No boasting, no challenges- if we are living a Spirit led life or not- according to Paul will depend entirely on how our relationships with one another are manifested.
This is not a new command for God’s people, God said this to Moses in Leviticus 19.
"Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ’You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
Lev 19:3 ’Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.
Lev 19:11 ’You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
Lev 19:13 "’Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. "’Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
Lev 19:14 "’Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.
Lev 19:15 "’Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
Lev 19:16 "’Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "’Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
Lev 19:17 "’Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
Lev 19:18 "’Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Lev 19:30 "’Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.
Lev 19:31 "’Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
Lev 19:32 "’Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.
Lev 19:33 "’When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.
Lev 19:34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Lev 19:35 "’Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.
Lev 19:36 Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.
Lev 19:37 "’Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD.’"
When you think about what it means to worship in the Spirit, meditate on this: Jesus came to earth and put on flesh to show us God, now it is our responsibility to put on Jesus to show the world God!
As Stan would say? Make sense?
The next time we meet we will be examining truth and what it has to do with leading a spiritual life.
Let’s pray
