So I'd like to thank everybody who's coming.
If this is your first time, I am glad you are here.
I am Pastor Jesse, my husband, Pastor Tim, he's in the back.
There's a lot of you, so I better have a good message and not suck today.
So if you are new and you've never been here before, we have a free gift out in the lobby.
It's going to be a little kind of chaotic today with barbecue day,
but we want to make sure you guys leave with your free gift.
I think it's going to be a great time.
I'd also like to welcome everybody who's joining us online.
Thank you very much for watching, and I really believe that God's going to bless you right where you're at.
So we don't have any announcements because we just don't have, it's coming into summer, we don't have a lot going on.
But today we have a special event.
We're going to be hearing from our missionary, Sharon, later today.
And we're going to be celebrating the best way that Bridge Gospel celebrates, and that's with food.
We like to eat in this church.
We love to eat in this church.
So I'll give you guys instructions on barbecue after the sermon.
We're going to hear from Sharon.
While she's talking, we're going to go cook some food, fresh burgers, fresh hamburgers.
And then I'm looking at that table out there that's packed full of food, so nobody's going hungry on my watch.
So a couple weeks ago, we were talking, we were in this series called Living in a Supernatural World.
And we're talking about how things in the supernatural reflect in the natural, and how things in the natural reflect in the supernatural.
And we were talking about the fruits of the Spirit.
Now I had a massive message, and I totally only got like a third of it, so this is the continuation of it,
because I tend to have more words than I have time.
So we're talking about the Church of Galatia.
And Galatians had some problems.
The Church of Galatia had some issues.
And what we were realizing is that the outside pressure of these Judaizers on Galatia were just kind of pressuring them
to do, to kind of fall away from the Gospel message.
It was frustrating.
Paul was like, what the heck?
What's going on?
I set this church up, and now you guys are walking away from the Gospel.
But even more concerning was the fact, the internal pressure.
The Church of Galatia, they were just flat out mean to each other.
They were backstabbing.
They were arguing.
They were grumbling.
There was fighting.
They were kind of going nuts.
And Paul's like, okay, we got to address this.
So we're going to get right into our passage, because I really, really want some barbecue,
so we've got to speed this thing up.
All right.
All right, Galatians 5, starting in verse 19.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious.
Sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger,
selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things.
I am warning you, as I have warned you before.
Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ have been crucified in the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, we will also behave in accordance with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.
Okay, so that's quite a phrase if you're coming at this church.
Something bad was happening.
And so here's what Paul is doing.
He's comparing the works of the flesh with the fruits of the Spirit.
There is a massive, stark contrast.
Wouldn't you agree?
And so Paul was saying that the works of the flesh are obvious.
Not because some of these sins are outward, but because when you see it, you know it can't be from God because this stuff is just not right.
It's evil.
And so Paul had to address this.
He had to bring this out to the light.
So, and he also had to say, where is the source coming from?
If it's not from God, where is it coming from?
Well, it's coming from yourself.
It's coming from the flesh.
So, there was four categories of this fleshly desire.
The first category was sexual sin.
The first one, we're just going to kind of go through a breakdown of what these were.
First one is sexual immorality.
And what that means, what that's defined is any illicit sexual relationship or fornication.
See, and our society really likes to normalize it.
You see it on TV everywhere.
You see it between same-sex marriages.
You see it same-sex partners.
And they just act like it's normal.
You see it in TV.
You see it in politics.
You see it everywhere.
You have this hookup culture.
And that's really been, in fact, in my generation and younger.
You ever heard of platforms like Tinder?
Do you understand what that is?
It's hookup culture.
And it's accessible on your phones.
It's that easy.
See, and what that society is saying is people don't need to be in a meaningful relationship.
That's what they're saying.
It's that you don't have to be in a meaningful relationship.
To have sexual intimacy.
And this also includes indirect participation.
So, like, for example, like pornography.
In fact, the Greek word, the root of it is porneia.
And that's where we get our word for pornography.
And, folks, it's destructive.
It's destructive.
And it destroys relationships.
It creates unhealthy expectations.
And because it's become so extreme, it even manifests physically in the body.
Where the body doesn't, no longer responds normally.
Okay?
And that's why it's so dangerous and why it's so evil.
Okay?
Next one is impurity.
Moral and cleanliness.
That's what that means.
So, in the case where there was no sexual act, there's a person maybe exhibits, like, crudeness or insensitivity.
You kind of know what I'm talking about here without me kind of going into detail?
You get it?
And it can be very, very offensive.
It can be very offensive.
And it's basically like sexual harassment.
And it can happen from both genders.
It's not just a woman receiving sexual harassment.
I've seen it the other direction.
And the last sinful behavior in this category is depravity, or other translations use debauchery.
That's this open indulgence in sexual sins.
It's like being lewd.
It's, like, provocative.
Having no restraint.
And this was really terrible.
I was, every once in a while, I really like to watch, I don't like watching news.
I'm not into news.
I could care less about the news.
However, I've been really interested in what's going on in the tech industry, kind of my thing.
But as I was kind of browsing through, I saw this article about a parade with the LGBTQ.
And they were just very lewd.
They were showing things that they probably shouldn't be showing in public.
That's lewdness.
That's what this is talking about.
That's debauchery.
Now, I want to pause here because this kind of can get people a little uncomfortable, you know.
We don't really like talking about this stuff.
And so, if you are someone here who is struggling in any of these areas, I want to let you guys know that there is redemption and there's no judgment.
Okay?
We are here to love you guys.
We are here to walk through.
And if you're having difficulties in these areas, we are here to love you and help you through them.
You guys got that?
Okay.
We're with you guys.
Okay?
I'm not here to judge.
I'm not making you feel shamed.
We want to help you get through that.
The next set of sins Paul talks about is about pagan culture.
The first one is idolatry.
Who here has heard that word idolatry?
Back then, it was worship of pagan idols.
And, but in modern days, we don't really see that as much, although you do see some people who do like to worship pagan idols.
It could be worship of any sort of idols.
It could be, as long as you are worshiping something, then you're God in heaven.
You are idol worshiping.
That could be your job.
It could be a car you just bought.
Your house.
It could be your family.
Where your family comes first before the Lord.
It could be a relationship.
It could be money.
That one's a big one.
Where it's just how much money can I get?
All of that is a form of idolatry.
Next one is sorcery.
Or another term for it is witchcraft.
And this has two meanings.
The first meaning is involvement with some power of evil.
It's like Satanism.
Or another common one is Wicca.
You'll see people say, I'm involved with Wicca.
I'm into crystals.
I'm into tarot cards.
That's a form of sorcery.
Or witchcraft.
And by the way, it is still alive and well.
It is still alive and well.
It is not something that happened a long time ago and it's forgotten about.
No, this stuff still happens.
The other meaning of witchcraft is manipulating somebody against their will.
Manipulating someone against their will.
So if, you know, someone is trying to, I don't know, trying to get them to do something, love somebody and they don't want to and they're trying to be manipulative, that is a form of sorcery.
And it can be done with potions, poisons, incantations, some sort of evil force, manipulation, words.
Let me give you a personal example.
I think it was last, I want to say August, somebody did a satanic ritual on my porch at my house.
And I'm not going to give the gory details, but it was an animal that was sacrificed on my patio.
And I was like, really?
Now, I was on the way out the door, I had to travel to California, and here I have this thing, it was obvious what was going on.
You could see the way it was going.
It was definitely a domestic animal, it was really sad.
And you're just like, well, get the anointing oil and, you know, pray the Holy Spirit over this, and we went on our way.
Because the power of Jesus is greater than any satanic ritual, right?
That's right.
But this stuff still happens.
Yeah.
So the next kind of grouping of sins is interpersonal relationships.
I think a lot of us are going to kind of probably relate a little more with this one.
First one is hostility.
That's when a person or persons have this fixed, like, hatred or an enemy towards another people group, okay?
And it really can stem from unforgiveness and bitterness, right?
And it could be years of conflict.
Do you ever heard of family feuds, where after so many generations you don't know why you're feuding against this other family, but you still are?
That stuff happens.
It also could be based on a trait like race or ethnicity or religion.
And I think one of the things that I'm seeing is hatred towards people in China because there's a stigma.
God loves them, too.
God loves Muslims.
God loves these people.
And when we have that stigma, that is hatred.
Next one is strife.
That's displaying competition.
Like, we're talking bitter competition, not like playing Monopoly, although that can kind of be kind of bad.
But, you know, having bitter conflict with someone.
And that is usually the seed that turns into hatred, right?
Next one is jealousy.
Having resentment for what someone else has or what they think that they deserve.
You know, well, that person, well, my sister, well, they got the better house.
They got the better husband who is a doctor.
They've got this that's better, and I just am stuck with this.
No, that's jealousy.
Our reward's not here on earth.
It's in heaven.
Amen?
That's right.
And the next one is outbursts of angers, or like another translation says fits of rage, where you just get angry, and you just lose it.
You lose your mind.
There's no self-control, and you're just angry.
And it's usually continued.
It's uncontrolled.
Next one, selfish rivalries.
And what that means is trying to get ahead at the expense of other people.
And I saw this a lot when I worked in the music industry.
Before I became a pastor, I was in the music industry, and I saw a lot of people would just eat each other, basically, to get to where they wanted to go.
And this wasn't just secular music.
This happened in Christian music, too.
They would do everything they can to get ahead.
And it's a spirit.
Next is dissensions.
What that means is strong disagreements or quarrels.
Like you have a family member who you refuse to talk to, or a friend, or former friend.
And we saw, like, during the pandemic, there was a lot of dissensions between, you know, people who, like, the vaccinations, or how you should conduct yourself.
And people started hating each other, and some of that still happens today.
People just kind of act out of a manner of principle.
Yeah?
Next one is factions.
The division of people that came out of dissensions.
So you kind of look for allies in conflict.
You kind of form these power blocks, or these cliques.
And that's how church splits happen.
Has anybody here been involved in church splits?
Don't raise your hand.
I don't want to know.
But church splits are incredibly painful.
And that comes from factions.
It comes from divisions of ideas.
And it's terrible.
It just destroys things.
Next one, envy.
That's the desire to possess something that was given to somebody else.
You know?
It's the, it's not fair mentality.
My younger brother said that all the time.
I don't know what he was talking about, you know.
But, I love him.
Next one is murder.
Now, murder, we think of, you know, killing somebody.
You know, like, murdering the body.
But it also could be meaning murdering the spirit.
It could be murdering their character.
It could be murdering their reputation.
And it often stems out of rivalry or envy.
And it's like, it says, I deserve something so much that I'm willing to kill that person's character to get what I want.
And that happens.
And then the last couple of sins were kind of related to idol worship in Paul's time.
But still, again, applicable today.
First one is drunkenness.
It's the excessive use of alcohol.
But I would even include anything that is intoxicating.
That could be drugs.
It could be even prescription drugs that are abused, not by, under the direction of a doctor.
Okay?
All that stuff could be basically unsoberness.
There's a verse in 1 Peter.
Be sober, be vigilant.
Because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour.
Because when you are not sober, the devil, the lion, is going to come after you.
You're a target.
And lastly, carousing.
See, in Paul's times, there was these festivals where people would like to party.
And then they would do these activities to honor pagan gods.
And these activities involved many people doing illicit things.
Okay?
And you can kind of see it in our society.
There's a little bit of normalization in that.
You're starting to see that.
Okay?
And then Paul added the et cetera.
And that means this list isn't incomplete.
There is more stuff on this list.
And guys, I'm going to be honest with you.
When I was prepping this sermon, I couldn't really walk away without at least a little bit of conviction.
At least a little bit.
I'm thinking to myself, man, there's some stuff I need to work on in my heart.
But that's what's amazing about our God.
We have a God who's redeeming.
A God who has some grace.
And that we are not finished there.
Yes?
Amen.
And so, that's why we bring these things to the surface.
Scripture calls it bringing it in the dark, the sins, into the light or exposing them.
And the bright side of exposing these things is to make it more easy to walk a more holy life.
It keeps us out of trouble.
It helps us deal with others who are acting this way.
Because we know who the source is.
It's, we don't, we love the person, we just don't like the act.
And there's grace in that.
There's grace in that.
And it helps us become more Christ-like.
Now, of course, the downside is we've got to change.
Who likes to change?
But is it really a downside?
And I don't think so.
James 1 says,
But each is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires.
When the desire conceives, it gives birth to sin.
And when the sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.
Now, here's the key.
Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters.
All generous giving and every perfect gift is from who?
From above.
It's from God.
It's from our Lord.
And it comes down from the Father of lights,
from whom there is no variation or slightest hint of change.
Isn't it amazing we have a God that doesn't change?
We have a God that doesn't change.
He stays steady.
He stays firm.
We don't have to guess of what he wants or what he wants us to do.
And so by his sovereign plan, he gave us birth through the message of truth
that we could be a kind of first fruits of all he created.
See, James describes this pattern.
He describes the pattern.
He says,
Temptation, which we all experience temptation.
Even Jesus experienced temptation.
That is normal.
We live in a fallen world.
We're going to experience that.
And it comes from the lure of our own desires.
And at that point, it should stop right there.
If it stops there, you're good.
You're good.
And then with Jesus, what he did, he always said,
he always gave the word.
He always gave an example.
And it stopped right there.
But if we continue to indulge in it,
we continue to indulge, it turns into sin.
Now we're acting out the desires.
And if we kind of continue to do so, it becomes full-blown sin,
which leads to death.
Okay?
Romans 1 very clearly says,
Therefore, God gave them over in the desires of their heart to impurity,
to dishonor their bodies among themselves.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie
and worshiped and served the creation rather than the creator,
who is blessed forever.
Folks, this is the opposite of perseverance.
Perseverance says,
Okay, man, I screwed up, but I'm going to continue.
I'm going to repent.
I'm going to continue to go forward.
Oh, I screwed up.
That's okay.
I'm going to continue.
I'm going to repent.
I'm going to go forward towards Christ.
Romans 1 says,
I'm done.
I'm going to keep living in my own life, and I'm done.
And it doesn't have to be that way.
There's grace.
And Paul is writing that there is grace.
And if you have problems,
or if you know someone who has problems,
and they don't want to change,
it's called denial.
It's called denial because it's not because
they're not unknowing that they have these issues.
It's that they're unwilling to deal with it.
And that's how Satan wants you, is in bondage.
He wants you in bondage, but God wants to set you free.
He wants to set you free.
And he doesn't want you to suffer the consequences
of sinful behavior.
He doesn't.
But the consequences of sin is death.
That is what this word says.
And God is going to hand that person over to their desires
if that's what they choose.
We all have a choice.
So, now, what about those who professed in Christ,
but are still having sinful behaviors,
which is all of us.
How does that reflect our relationship with God?
Well, back in Galatians 5, verse 21, it says,
And I am warning you, as I had warned you before,
those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Now, this is quite a powerful little phrase here.
I wish I had an entire sermon to unpack this, but I don't.
So, I'm just going to say this.
Faith is not spiritually inert.
What we do in the natural is reflected in the supernatural.
And what Paul is saying is,
is if you indulge in the flesh,
you're not going to lose your salvation.
Okay?
This is a conditional thing.
This is conditional here.
Salvation is a gift from God.
Paul wrote in Ephesians, verse 2,
chapter 2, verse 8,
For by grace you are saved through faith.
It is not from yourself.
It is a gift from God.
So then, what are we inheriting then?
If our salvation is set,
what are we inheriting?
And that, what we are inheriting is the kingdom of God.
We are inheriting the kingdom of God.
And it's not just when we get into heaven, but even now.
So, then how do we act?
What do we do?
If that's the fruits of the flesh,
what is the fruits of the spirit?
And because if we're going to be true Christians,
and we can't act that way,
then we need to set ourselves apart.
So, Galatians 5, verse 22, it says,
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ
have been crucified with the flesh
and its passions and desires.
If we live by the spirit,
let us also behave in accordance with the spirit.
Let us not come conceited,
provoking one another,
being jealous of one another.
So, Paul gives us an entire list
of fruits,
of qualities of the spirit.
The very first one,
and the most important one,
is love.
If you don't have love,
the love of Jesus,
the agape love,
well, guess what?
You don't have the fruits of the spirit.
That is number one.
Jesus gave us a new command
right before he went on the cross.
It says,
John 13, it says,
I give you a new command
to love one another,
just as I loved you.
He started it.
And he says,
and you are to also love one another.
Everyone will know that it is,
you are my disciples,
if you love one another.
Okay, we like to do,
we call it the stuff.
You ever heard of that?
The stuff?
You know, going out
and having the gifts,
going out and prophesying,
going out and praying over people,
and seeing miracles and healings,
but it means nothing.
It means nothing
if you don't have love.
Next one is joy.
And joy is inner rejoicing
despite what is going on around you.
It's rejoicing despite
what's going on around you.
Joy is not the same as happiness.
Happiness is a feeling.
Joy is a state of being.
You can be joyful and unhappy.
And that took me a long time
to understand.
It took me a very long time
to understand.
And it comes deep within.
It comes from the Holy Spirit.
It's because our relationship
with Christ remains
even in the toughest moments.
Next one is peace.
Peace is this inner quietness
and trust in God
even when we're facing tough times.
Let me give you an example
that happened this week.
Some of you guys don't know.
Most of you guys know
I just got a kitten.
And her name is Juno
and I love her very, very much.
And I just had a crazy week this week.
I had a bunch of stuff going on.
I had problems I was dealing with.
And I was trying to get ready
for this barbecue today.
And then stuff happened.
And I'm sitting here
trying to write out this sermon.
And Juno jumps in my lap.
Jumps in my arms.
She purrs for a couple seconds
and falls asleep.
And then she starts to snore.
And I'm thinking,
I got so much to do today.
I really need to get her off of here.
But you can't disturb a sleeping kitten.
That's illegal.
And so for the next 20 minutes,
I just sat there with her,
petting her.
She's snoring away.
And while I was sitting there,
the Lord just really
just impressed on me.
And you ever been in those moments
when you're in devotionals
and it feels like
you're just pulling teeth?
You read the Word
and just nothing's sinking in.
That's kind of where I was.
But in that 20 minutes,
it was enough to slow me down.
Kind of find some peace with God.
Watching this little kitten
just sleeping away.
And it was just like, wow.
And I was able just to finish my day well.
Now, of course,
when the cat treats,
the churru came out,
things kind of got not peaceful again.
But, you know,
it was a good 20 minutes
with my little kitten.
Next one.
Patience.
Basically,
putting up with people
that irritate us.
Do I need to say more?
You know,
I got to say,
I thought, you know,
there was a time in my
not so recent,
they're not so far away past
that I lacked a lot of patience.
I'm thinking,
I'm going to ministry.
How is that going to work out?
I got to say,
God has given me so much patience
that I ever thought I could have.
That comes from the Holy Spirit.
Next one is kindness.
That's acting charitably
towards one another
in the same way
that God acted towards us.
That could help one another.
That could,
inviting people over for meals,
being present
when there's a disaster.
You know,
sharing resources.
Giving out
the abundance of our hearts.
And this is one thing
I love about this church
is this church
is very compassionate
and helping each other
and it's something I love.
Goodness.
That's reaching out to others
to do good
even when they don't deserve it.
There's a lot of times
where you don't really
want to help that person
because they may irritate you.
You've lost your patience with them
but you do good anyway.
Next one,
faithfulness.
That's being reliable
and trustworthy.
You know,
it's the best friend
that you can rely on.
It's the,
and it's something that you,
you know that you can call
at any time at night
and be like,
hey,
I have this emergency,
can you be there for me?
And then being that friend
to that other person.
Being trustworthy,
be faithful to them.
You know,
I like to go off road
and,
you know,
a good friend will kind of,
you know,
pray for me
while I go off road
to make sure
I don't get stuck.
A true friend
will be out there
covered in mud
getting stuck with me,
right?
That's right.
And then gentleness.
Gentleness is being
considerate of others.
You know,
what are the needs
of the people
around you?
How can you accommodate?
How can you be submissive?
And being submissive
is not being a pushover,
guys.
You have to have boundaries.
Being submissive
is just taking your needs
and just setting them aside
while you serve
that other person.
It's not being taken
advantage of.
See,
Jesus did this all the time.
For example,
when he washed
the disciples' feet,
I'm glad we don't
do that anymore
because I think feet
are kind of weird.
I'm not into feet.
But back then
it was a big deal.
And then finally,
self-control.
That's the mastery
over all these
sinful desires.
That's showing restraint
and having control
when things are surfacing.
Especially when you
become angry,
you can say,
pause,
let's put on the brakes
and you can
calm down quickly.
See,
we only have
so much self-restraint
ourselves,
but the Holy Spirit
has abundant
self-control,
yeah?
And then finally,
Paul kind of wraps
up this list with,
against such things
there is no law.
See,
if we all acted
in the fruit of the Spirit,
people would know
who we were.
I don't like being
around Christians
who don't act
in the fruit of the Spirit.
It drives me nuts.
It's like,
well,
what's the point?
It's like,
what's the point?
And remember,
Paul is talking
to this group
of people
who are trying
to observe
the Mosaic Law,
but the truth is,
is you can do
all the outward things,
but if you don't
have it in your heart,
if you don't have it
internally,
it doesn't matter.
It is better
that it's coming
from within
than doing something
that you're being
told to do.
And if you think
about it,
if we were all acting
in the fruits
of the Spirit,
we wouldn't need
many laws,
if any,
because we wouldn't
be jerks
to each other.
Galatians 5.24 says,
Now those who
belong to Christ
have crucified
the flesh
with its passions
and desires.
If we live
by the Spirit,
let us also behave
in accordance
with the Spirit.
Let us not
become conceited,
provoking one another,
being jealous
of one another.
See,
the Apostle Paul
made it very clear
that human desires
and the Holy Spirit
oppose each other.
You see,
society says
one thing,
but the Bible
says another.
And there's always
that tension.
There's always
that tension.
Like,
there's always
that tension
of wanting
to worship
your job
or to worship
money,
but the Bible
says it's time
to worship
our Lord Jesus.
Society says
it's okay
to divide over issues,
it's okay
to divide over politics,
but Jesus said
it's time
to come together
and set those
things aside
because this
earthly politics
has nothing
to do
with our kingdom
and we have
a king
that rules
over this land.
Society says
it's okay
to climb
to the top
at others'
expenses.
That's not
showing goodness
or kindness.
See,
society says
that we can
accept immoral
behavior,
we can watch
things or do
things or,
you know,
even if you think
it's in secret,
no.
God is calling
us to a higher
holiness.
See,
Christians are
known by how
we act.
And we don't
do things
that our society
is pushing us
to do
because we are
set aside
to do something
different.
We are the
kingdom of heaven
on earth.
You know,
there's many
examples that
are talking
about crucifying
our fleshly
desire,
and I think
the one that
most of us
come to mind,
most of us
have as memorized
is Galatians 2.20.
I have been
crucified with
Christ and it
is no longer
I who live,
but Christ
lives in me.
And the
life which
I now
live in
the flesh
by faith
in the
Son of
God who
loved me
and gave
himself up
for me.
That's what
it means to
crucify our
flesh.
We crucify our
flesh because
Jesus actually
had his flesh
crucified.
And so I'm
going to conclude
with this.
I'm going to
wrap up with
this.
If you're
struggling in
the flesh,
it's time to
start crucifying
our human
desires.
It's time to
stop cutting
this off.
And we're
here to walk
with you.
We're here to
pray with you.
We are not
here to judge
you.
We're not
here to shame
you.
We're here to
help you heal
in Christ.
And that's
what we do
here.
So number
one is
belong to
Christ.
Number one
is to belong
to Christ.
That's the
process that
begins when
we start to
recognize our
old self as
being crucified
with Christ.
You know,
Christ died on
Calvary for
us.
And when you
realize what
he did for
you, the
pain that
he went
through, man,
how can you
not love
him?
How can you
not love
him?
It's saying
he is my
Lord and I
belong to
him.
Step two is
crucify our
sinful desires.
We treat our
self-centered ego
as dead and
unresponsive to
sin.
We're done.
We're done.
We're not doing
that anymore.
While at the
same time we
just foster this
new relationship,
this new
fellowship with
Christ.
We've exchanged
our self-centered
life with a
Christ-centered
life.
Number three,
we live by
the Spirit.
We live by
the Spirit.
We have been
joined with
Christ in
death.
We are one
with him.
We don't
recognize our
old self.
And we now
have a new
life.
And we live
as the Holy
Spirit produces
fruit in us.
And finally,
number four,
keep in step
with the Spirit.
Continue to
walk with the
Spirit.
We don't
have to keep
re-crucifying our
old self.
Once it's done,
it's done.
Let's walk in the
Spirit.
Let's keep walking
in the ways that
God wants us to
walk.
Let's keep moving
forward.
Let's restrain our
sinful desires and
walk in the Holy
Spirit.
And continue to
harmonize with the
Spirit.
It's a process,
guys.
It takes time.
It doesn't happen
overnight.
I'm not expecting
everybody to get
their act tomorrow
because I'm
certainly not going
to be able to do
it, and that's
okay.
But what it says
is, this is my
old way, and I'm
turning the other
way, and I'm going
to walk away from
it, step by step.
And it's a process.
And that's
sanctification.
We don't need to
remain in a prison,
but we can experience
freedom in Christ.
So let's pray right
now.
Dear Heavenly
Father, God, we
just thank you for
your redemption, for
your grace, for
your freedom, that
we don't have to
live in sin.
We don't have to
live in shackles,
we don't have to
live in a prison,
Lord.
You have come to
set us free.
You have come to
set us apart, to
bring the kingdom
of heaven down, to
bring the kingdom
of heaven down on
earth.
And Lord, I just
ask that anybody
here who is
struggling, Lord,
that they are
encouraged, that
they are willing to
start making some
changes in their
life.
And Lord, we just
ask that our
brothers and
sisters who are
struggling, that we
come around them,
that we help build
them up and
strengthen in you,
Lord.
And we pray this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
