INTRO.- ILL.- The captain’s voice came over the PA system of the airplane. He said, "There’s no cause for alarm but we felt you passengers should know that for the last three hours we’ve been flying without the benefit of radio, compass, radar, or navigational beam due to the breakdown of some components. This means that we are, in the broad sense of the word, lost and are not sure the direction we are heading. But you’ll be glad to know, however, on the brighter side of the picture THAT WE’RE MAKING EXCELLENT TIME!"
Brethren, I happen to believe that this is exactly how many people are living their lives. They don’t know the direction they are heading in life, BUT THEY’RE MAKING EXCELLENT TIME!
Life has never been so busy for us all!
ILL.- One man in Southern Illinois told me that when he came home at night, after work, he didn’t ask his wife, "What’s going on tonight?" but rather "Where are we going?" They were so busy that they were going somewhere every night!
Most of us are extremely busy in life. In some ways, that’s good and in other ways, it may not be so good.
It’s good in one way: Idle hands are a devil’s workshop. And so are idle minds and idle lives. Idle people seem to always get into trouble. If we don’t use our time for doing good things, the devil will make sure our time is used for evil purposes!
Now on the other side of the coin, too much business or busyness is not good for a person.
I believe that we can be too busy for our own spiritual good!
ILL.- Harry Poll wrote these thought provoking words about time. "Within the memory of some of our older members men worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, and still had time to neighborly, go to church and actually live. Few people went beyond the borders of their own country, some not outside their own township. No radio, no TV, and usually only the county paper once a week. Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck catalogs furnished most of the reading material. People traveled in horse-drawn vehicles, on horseback, or on foot. They were not too hurried, always had time to visit. The small schoolhouse 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, etc. 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."
Harry Poll further said, "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 Lord’s Day 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 Book or to talk to God."
Brethren, I believe Harry Poll is right. We can become too busy for our own spiritual good!
Ps. 37:7 "Be still before the Lord...."
Ps. 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
If we never learn to "be still" or take time to "be still" before God, HOW CAN WE COME TO KNOW GOD AND KNOW HIM MORE INTIMATELY? And how can He be exalted in the earth...and in our lives? If we never take time to bow before Him in reverence through prayer and Bible study, HOW CAN HE BE GIVEN FIRST PLACE IN OUR LIVES?
Brethren, our lives are more than just flesh and blood activity, physical activity. Our lives are more than just eating, drinking, sleeping, going to school, going to work, watching TV, and having fun. We are spiritual beings.
I Thess. 5:23 says we are body, soul and spirit. But the Christian has a 4th part, if you please. What’s that? YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT. You are also Holy Spirit, in the sense, that He has come to live in you!
Acts 2:38, 5:32
When people respond to the Lord in faith and obedience or with an obedient faith then they receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS LIVING IN YOU! You have a divine guest living within you whether you realize He is there or not!
Is there a difference in the person who has the Holy Spirit and the person who does not? YES. AT LEAST, THERE SHOULD BE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR LIVES!
II Cor. 5:16-17 "From now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
If we are in Christ and Christ is in us through the Holy Spirit then we should be different people from the rest of the people in the world. There should be a difference!
Life takes on a new and different meaning! AND A BETTER ONE! We find ourselves becoming more and more unselfish, kinder, more loving, more forgiving, more tenderhearted, etc.
The person who possesses the Holy Spirit and is possessed by the Holy Spirit leads a different kind of life from the person who does not have the Holy Spirit.
PROP.- In our text, the apostle Paul describes what life in the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) is all about. There is:
1- A conflict (16-23)
2- A crucifixion (24)
3- A conformity (25-26)
I. A CONFLICT
Vs. 16-23 V. 17 "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. THEY ARE IN CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER..." There is a conflict, a war that is going on inside of you!
ILL.- One man prayed this prayer: "So far today, Lord, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped. I haven’t lost my temper. I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But in a few moments, Lord, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, I’m going to need a lot of help."
Brethren, before we get out of bed and start our day, generally speaking, we do OK as a Christian, but what happens after we get out of bed can sometimes only be described as disastrous!
Some days we are considerate of others, loving, serving, helpful, kind, patient, etc. AND SOME DAYS WE ARE NOT!
ILL.- Listen to this. A 21-year-old woman crawled through a drive-up window at a McDonald’s restaurant and went on a rampage. This happened several years ago, I believe.
Why did she go nuts? Because somebody put hamburgers instead of chicken in her not-so-happy-meal bag. So she crawled through that drive-up window and went berserk, throwing food everywhere.
And the police arrested Miss Congeniality at the drive-in window of the taco place next door. SHE COULDN’T GET WHAT SHE WANTED AT MCDONALD’S, so away she went. And it appeared that she was also drunk. And that just might explain her wild behavior.
Brethren, while we might not crawl through a McDonald’s drive-up window and go berserk over not getting what we ordered, WE JUST MIGHT GET DISGRUNTLED OR UPSET AND SAY A FEW UNKIND WORDS UNDER OUR BREATH! Don’t tell me you haven’t done it! Most of us have!
Some days we are sweet and wonderful. And some days we are sourpusses, unloving, unforgiving, unkind, temperamental, hateful, spiteful, critical, gripey, grouchy, gossipy, negative, nasty, and perhaps even foul-mouthed!
Romans 7:15 Paul said, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do."
There it is again. Paul is saying that there were times when he did the very thing he hated. And the good he wanted to do, he couldn’t do. HE HAD A CONFLICT, A WAR GOING ON INSIDE OF HIM JUST LIKE US!
Why is this? Why does this happen? It’s because we still have a sin-nature even though we are in Christ and Christ is in us through the Holy Spirit. WE ALL STILL HAVE A "DARK SIDE" TO US! And this dark side continues to give us trouble on certain days or at certain times.
Paul describes this sin-nature in verses 19-21. It’s called the acts of the sinful nature. And this is not a very good list. And we all fight or struggle with at least some of these sins.
Paul contrasts this sin-nature with the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is supposed to be in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
In this war of the sin-nature and the Holy Spirit, there is going to be a winner! And that winner is supposed to be the Holy Spirit! That is, the Holy Spirit is supposed to win-out in us!
WHO IS GOING TO WIN THE WAR? The conflict?
ILL.- I have read that the Alaskan Bull Moose battles for dominance during the fall breeding season, literally going head-to-head with antlers crunching together as they collide. The heftiest bull moose, the biggest bull moose, with the largest and strongest antlers generally wins the battle.
The battle that is fought in the fall is really won during the summer, when the moose eats continually. The moose that eats the best diet or the most food and gains the most weight will generally win the battle.
I’m saying that our daily diet is going to determine who wins in this war, this conflict of the sinful nature against the Spirit! How’s that?
What we consume for our spiritual diet or what we feed our human spirits will determine the outcome of this conflict! We can feed our human spirit with the things of the Holy Spirit, meaning Scripture, devotional material, Christian books, church, etc. Or we can feed our spirit with the things of the world: all kinds of worldly TV programs, worldly movies, worldly magazines and music, etc.
Please don’t misunderstand me! I am not against TV-watching! Nor going to the movies, etc. BUT THESE THINGS CANNOT DOMINATE OUR LIVES IF WE WANT TO WIN IN THIS SPIRITUAL CONFLICT THAT IS GOING ON INSIDE OF US!
We must feed our spirit most of us with the things of God in order to be a winner! We must have the proper diet to grow strong and overcome the sin nature within us.
Please acknowledge the conflict that you have going on inside of you. And begin feeding yourself a proper spiritual diet so you can be a winner!
II. A CRUCIFIXION
V. 24 "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
Paul is saying that in the Christian life a crucifixion must take place. He is saying that we should have crucified our sinful nature. In other words, we should have died to our sinful nature.
ILL.- A traveling salesman from the north was passing through a town in Louisiana. He happened to pass by a hearse in front of a church. He stopped a man on the street and asked, "Who died?"
The man replied, "Can’t rightly say, but I reckon it’s the one in the hearse." That makes sense, doesn’t it?
Brothers and sisters, there needs to be a death in the family. How’s that?
ILL.- “Man blames cable company for his addiction.” January 9, 2004, Wisconsin. A man who had threatened to sue the cable company has since changed his mind, but he still blames the cable company for causing him to smoke and drink too much, and for causing his wife to gain weight. Four years ago he had requested that his cable service be cancelled. He was no longer billed, but the service was never actually shut off. When asked why he just didn’t disconnect the cable box himself, the man replied that he didn’t want to break the law by tampering with it. Moreover, he was powerless over the remote control.
We laugh at such stupidity and yet we all get into the blame game occasionally. We tend to blame someone, anyone except ourselves for our irrational behavior and sometimes irritating behavior. In reality, someone should be dead! That’s us!
ILL.- One time Professor Bob Stacy at OCC preached a message in chapel and the first words out of his mouth were: “YOU OUGHT TO BE DEAD!”
And we should be dead! We should be dead to sin and alive to Christ. We should be dead to self and our sinful nature and alive to Christ. We should attend the funeral of our own independence!
Brethren, every time you witness a person being baptized into Christ you are actually witnessing a death. The person in the baptistery is a dead person! DO YOU REALIZE THIS?
Rom. 6:4 "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
Did you hear those words? BURIED WITH CHRIST THROUGH BAPTISM INTO DEATH. In baptism, we die to sin and to self, i.e. to ourselves, to our will, to our desires. Before a person is buried in the watery grave of baptism they must first believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God and truly want Him as their Savior. And repentance must be a part of their lives. Meaning, they must have made a decision to turn away from sin in their lives. THEN WHEN THEY ARE BURIED WITH CHRIST IN BAPTISM, A DEATH TAKES PLACE!
Not only should a death take place at baptism, but there should also be a continual crucifixion in our lives. That is, we should strive daily to put self to death. And this won’t happen without the Lord’s help through much prayer.
YOU OUGHT TO BE DEAD! Dead to sin and alive to Christ! If you haven’t died with Christ, then you need to.
1- A conflict
2- A crucifixion
III. A CONFORMITY
V. 25 "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." We are to walk by the Spirit. That is, we are to conform to His ways in life.
ILL.- A man told about a lady who was a member of his little country church in Tennessee many years ago. Every time she came to church she brought her Bible with her. In fact, everywhere she went she took her Bible, all over town.
At the evening worship when people were asked to pray, she would always be the first to stand and her prayers were extremely well worded. It seemed like the subject of religion was always on her mind. She didn’t know how to carry on a normal conversation. She always had to bring up something about religion.
But whenever she talked about poor people, or the unemployed, or drunks, or divorced people, she had nothing to say but criticism. SHE WAS WITHOUT MERCY AND COMPASSION TOWARD THESE PEOPLE.
Brethren, either that woman didn’t die with Christ to sin and self, or else she simply was not conforming to the Spirit! SHE WAS NOT LIVING ACCORDING TO THE WAY THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTED HER TO LIVE!
We have this problem as well. We don’t do what the Spirit wants us to do, which I might add, is recorded in Scripture. HE BASICALLY SPEAKS TO US GENERALLY THROUGH SCRIPTURE!
ILL.- Perhaps we can think of it in this way. It was one of those traditional, yellow highway warning signs. All it said was, "BUMP." And it sure enough, a hundred or so feet later, there was a bump in the highway. That "bump" in the highway had been there for at least three years. But instead of eliminating the bump, the highway department just put up a sign, warning of the bump in the road.
Brethren, this is bad enough when it happens to highways, but it’s far worse when this happens to people!
Some people warn others, "I have a short temper, you know, so you’d better be careful around me." Or someone else almost proudly announces, "I’ve got a problem when it comes to getting along with certain kinds of people. You’ll just have to accept me like that."
Still others may broadcast, "Well, you know I use a few bad words every now and then and that’s just the way I am. People can take me like that or leave me."
Someone else may say, "I sometimes can’t keep my mouth shut, but there’s nothing I can do about it and I’m not going to. If people don’t like me, they can lump me."
Brethren, some people proudly announce that they have a "bump" in their lives, in their personalities but they don’t want to do anything about changing or getting rid of their "bump." SO THEY JUST PUT UP A SIGN, LETTING EVERYBODY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A "BUMP."
Announcing the "bump" in your life and not trying to remove it or change it, is not conforming to God’s Spirit! And it’s no way to grow in your relationship to Christ. IN FACT, THERE WILL BE LITTLE OR NO GROWTH AT ALL.
ILL.- Do you know the difference between paint and stain? Of course, you do. Paint is something that is applied to the surface, but stain is something that goes deep, soaks in, far below the surface.
WHAT DO YOU WANT? A paint job or a stain job? Do you just want a religion that is surface only? Or do you want a relationship to the living Lord that is deep and abiding?
Paint or stain? IT’S YOUR CHOICE?
CONCLUSION--------------------------------------
ILL.- One time a young artist was very unhappy and dissatisfied with his painting, so he somehow was able to borrow the brush of a great painter. BUT THE BRUSH DIDN’T SEEM TO MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE IN HIS PAINTING. A friend suggested to him, "It is not the Master’s brush you need, BUT THE MASTER’S SPIRIT."
And how true for us! The Master’s brush would be nice. His material blessings are nice, BUT WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS HIS SPIRIT! That Spirit who produces in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Why not yield to God’s Spirit? To His leading in your life?
