Walking in the Spirit

Two nights ago, as I was coming to church, I had a battle in my soul. I was running late. I needed a place to park.

The garage was full, and the spots out back that are reserved for the church were filled with delivery trucks.

I confess, I cherished sinful thoughts in my heart.

I thought about jumping into the Amazon truck that clearly was running and driving away and parking it somewhere else.

I thought about simply parking my van next to their truck and leaving it stuck.

I actually thought about letting air out of their tires.

I'm not proud of this. The battle for my soul was real,

and I sinned in my thoughts, if not in my actions.

I wanted to be a better Christian. I wanted to think godly thoughts, but in my own power, I was struggling greatly.

Today, I want to talk about how we can actually live the Christian life the way God wants us to.

Many of us here want to follow Christ, want to live lives that reflect Him,

and sometimes we feel like we can fake it well enough to start to feel good about ourselves for a while.

And yet, this is a struggle, is it not?

There's a booklet that I used when I worked for Crew describing this condition.

It says this,

people who trust in their own efforts and strength to live the Christian life will experience failure and frustration,

as will those who live to please themselves rather than God.

How do we escape this failure and frustration in our Christian lives?

This is what our passage this morning will bring us to, will help us to understand.

So, if you are reading along in the Pew Bibles, we are in Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 through 26.

Galatians 5:16–26

It's on page 915, 916 in the Pew Bible, and we're going to go ahead and read that passage and then pray together.

So, please follow along with me as I read God's Word.

Galatians chapter 5, starting in verse 16.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

But I say, walk in 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 law.

Now, the works of the flesh are evident in 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 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, gentleness, faithfulness, 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 walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Let's pray together. Lord, help us this morning as we look into this Word.

Lord, as we consider what it is that You have called us to, and what it is that You have done to help us.

Lord, we pray, O Lord, we pray. We pray for Your work in our hearts.

Lord, that You would fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we might walk in the power of Your Spirit each day.

Lord, I pray for Your help, that You would help me to speak as I ought this morning.

Pray that under the preaching of Your Word, we would all sit, Lord, and that You would do Your work in us.

And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

So, if you were here two weeks ago, you will know that we've already preached on this passage.

So, if you were here today and you weren't here two weeks ago, let me strongly encourage you to go to our website,

go back and listen to the first sermon, which is an explanation of the whole passage.

And as I said two weeks ago, today is almost like a full-on application sermon.

So, we're going to talk about what does this look like?

What does it look like to live a faithful Christian life by depending on the power of the Holy Spirit?

Our key text that we're leaning into this morning is verse 25.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

What does that look like?

What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?

And this is our outline.

This is where we're going to go.

First, we're going to talk about principles of walking in the Spirit.

Secondly, we're going to talk about practices of walking in the Spirit.

And finally, we're going to return to the question of power of walking in the Spirit.

So, that's where we're going this morning.

So, we're going to start with principles of depending on the Spirit.

There are things that I feel like we need to say before we get into examples

about the broad understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

Richard's going to put up a slide with a number of texts.

We're not going to read all of them because we would be here till 1 o'clock this afternoon.

But I almost never say this, but if you want to take out your phone, take a picture of that,

or write down those texts while I'm walking through them,

I'm going to give you six principles from these texts

that you can then go back and read these Scriptures later to consider more fully.

So, here we go.

First one is that the Holy Spirit's purpose is to glorify Christ as He comes into our life.

This is what Jesus tells us in John 16.

It says, He will glorify me when He comes.

So, the Holy Spirit is here to magnify Christ in our lives.

The second thing we need to say is that all believers in Christ have the Spirit of God in them.

So, Ephesians 1, 13 and 14 refers to all believers as sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

That is, that the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within every believer.

So, it is not something we need to get after the fact,

but something we get at the moment of salvation.

The third principle is this.

Looking at Titus 3, 3 through 7,

that is, the Holy Spirit comes to transform us.

That though we had old practices when we were enslaved to sin,

through the washing and regeneration,

that is, the giving of new spiritual life,

the Holy Spirit allows us to forsake an old life

and to take on a new life

because we've been justified and saved by Christ,

redeemed to be new people,

God's people in the world.

The fourth principle is that the battle

between the desires of our sinful nature,

what we are apart from Christ,

and God's Spirit in us as believers,

the ongoing battle is real.

Let me refer to my sermon two weeks ago.

Go back and listen to it.

Galatians 5, 16 and 17 says,

these desires exist within Christians

and are in opposition to one another.

And so this battle is normal.

The fifth principle is that the process,

the picture of growth for a Christian

is to put off sin

and to put on being more like Christ.

This is Ephesians 4, verses 20 through 24.

Ephesians 4:20–24

And it talks about having a former manner of life

that you forsake, that you'd get rid of.

This is the same idea we talked about last week.

In 1 John, the end of 1 John 1

and the beginning of 1 John 2,

that we can't say that we have no sin,

but when we confess our sin,

God is faithful and just,

and we turn from that sin and repentance

and turn towards a new life

that God is able to give us

because of the forgiveness that we have in Christ.

Finally, verse 6.

The sixth principle in all of this

as we think about is that the battle

between our sinful nature and God's Spirit

at its core is fought at the heart level,

not at a behavioral level.

In Mark 7, Jesus reminds the people,

it's not what happens on the outside of us

that defiles us,

but it's that our hearts are defiled

and what comes out of us

is what is truly the problem.

And so when God comes to redeem us,

part of what He says,

remember the new covenant promise,

He will give us a new heart,

then we will know God's law and do it.

He wants our hearts to be transformed,

not simply so that we look like better Christians,

but so that we are transformed people

who love God

and out of that love,

display the characteristics of God

more and more.

So it is about our heart transformation.

Right?

And so this is the big picture

of what the Holy Spirit is doing,

and that was my like five minutes

of the doctrine of sanctification,

sort of.

It's not even complete by any means,

but it's a beginning of thinking about this.

And part of what this passage

that Paul is giving us

in chapter 5

in the whole thing from 16 to 26

is to say,

God has given you as believers

the Holy Spirit.

Don't go back to living in your old way

because He's given you the power

to live in a different way.

We are able to engage in this battle

against our sin nature

and not only engage in it,

but we're able to see the fruit of the Spirit

in increasing measure in our lives.

So as commentator Tom Schreiner says,

he says,

Christians should know that we have

because of work of Christ

a new quality of life

that is the result of the Spirit's work.

The old age no longer reigns over believers.

The old Adam has been crucified

with its passions and desires

so that the flesh no longer enslaves believers.

In other words,

believers enjoy a substantial,

significant,

and observable victory

in their new life in Christ.

Since believers live in the interval

between the already and the not yet,

perfection is not their portion.

And yet we should be living with hope

that God is doing,

God has done for us

what is necessary for us

to have a growing ability

to show and display Christ-likeness in us.

And Paul's wanting to encourage us

to do that,

to say,

you believer,

don't give in to sin.

Don't think that sin

continues to control your life

and you are helpless.

God has given you His Spirit

so that you can

not only fight this battle,

but incrementally,

but certainly have a trajectory

towards Christ-likeness

and away from sin.

So that's the first point.

This is what God is doing.

These are the principles.

So the practice,

what does it actually look like?

I'm going to give you

a definition briefly

and then I'm going to give you,

we're going to spend

a bunch of time on examples.

I'm hoping you guys

will get a sense

from these examples

of what it might look like

to actually fight this battle

on a fairly granular level.

Here's the definition.

How do we fight

this battle against sin?

How do we walk in the Spirit?

We walk by faith.

And that means trusting in

and depending on

the empowering presence

of the Holy Spirit

in our lives

to apply the Word of God

and the work of Christ

to transform us

so that we might

increasingly reflect

the character

and love of Christ

in our lives.

Okay?

So it's a walk of faith,

trusting and depending

on God

to do work in us

through His Word

focused on the work of Christ

to bring transformation.

There's a lot there.

I wish I could preach

a whole sermon on that idea.

But let's keep going.

What does it look like?

What does it look like?

And here's the thing

that I need you to hear

from right up front.

There's no three-step program.

I love Crew.

They created a great

little booklet,

but it's not a booklet

that you can get through

in eight pages

and then go,

oh, I know how to do this.

It's not.

At one level,

it's a much more dynamic

reality of our relationship

with God.

And so I want you to hear me

not giving three-step programs,

but principles

that you can apply.

In fact,

I'm going to give you portraits

and you can pick and choose

and see what's going to be

helpful for you

as you think about this battle.

So first,

sexual temptation.

I raise this because

it's in the passage,

right,

and because it's such

a powerful part

of our world today,

right?

And the sin here,

the desire of the flesh,

is that we engage

in sexual immorality

for selfish gain,

right?

It is sexual action

outside of God's

covenantal structure

of marriage

where we end up

actually using others

to serve ourselves.

And I just want to say this,

even when it's consensual,

it's still sinful

when we do this

to one another,

when we engage

in sexual activity

in such a way

that we dishonor

God and His plans.

We dishonor God's

good plan

for sex

because He made it

and it is good.

And it's an expression

of a human desire

for intimacy.

And in the right context,

it should be celebrated.

But in the wrong context,

it has great destructive power.

Now,

here's the thing.

We are rarely

simply overcome

with sexual temptation

out of the blue.

We live in a world

where we are saturated

with it.

There is a ton

of external stimuli,

whether it be

in our movies

or in our music,

whether it be

on the internet

and the images

that we see.

Our culture

has an increasingly

lack of modesty

in our styles,

in the way we live.

And in fact,

we exalt sexuality

in all sorts

of terrible ways.

And there's even

a appropriate,

there's a lack of,

growing lack of shame

about this.

In fact,

these things are celebrated

and it is unhealthily

focused on.

You can't be human

if you're not active sexually.

But we know

it's not right

because God's Word

tells us to.

So this is the battle

against sin.

So what do we do?

The Bible commands us

to flee it,

to avoid it,

to not indulge

our lustful desires.

Remember what I said

last week.

You can't keep

the birds from flying

over your head.

You're going to have

these moments of temptation.

You're going to see

these external stimuli

or you're going to have

these moments

where your desires

just well up in your heart.

That's going to happen.

But you can keep

the birds from nesting

in your hair.

Right?

When the external pull comes

or the thought comes up,

we need to fight the battle

not to embrace

or cherish

or let that control us

in the moment.

but instead

to walk in the Holy Spirit.

Well, how do we do that?

Some of this is

walking in the Holy Spirit

by preparing

for those moments.

Right?

By preparing

to know

that we will face

those times

and to seek

to fight the battle

ahead of time.

So that will be

things like

we want to avoid

circumstances

where we know

we're going to be tempted.

Right?

If you're on a business trip

and your colleagues

are going out

to a strip bar,

it's probably not wise

to go with them

thinking,

well, I'm a Christian.

I can be strong

and fight that temptation.

Right?

That's not smart.

It's also not smart

if you have struggled

with this

to have a computer

that doesn't have

an internet filter on it.

It's not smart

to hang out

with your girlfriend

late at night

alone

on a bed

and think

that you're going

to avoid temptation.

Right?

So you want to do

some wise thinking,

spirit-empowered wisdom

to avoid

the circumstances

where you may

find yourself

in temptation.

The second thing is

you're going to pray

that God is going

to give you the power

like Joseph

in the moment

to at great cost

to yourself

flee from temptation,

unplug your computer,

run out of the room

without only your robe on

like Joseph did

when Potiphar's wife

sought to seduce.

Do what it takes

to flee temptation.

Right?

Because we need

to do it

at that level

because when we

give in to these things,

when we live

in them all the time,

then we have

no sense of freedom

to begin to pursue

the fruit of the Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit

is choked out

by our indulging

the desires

of the flesh.

And so we need

to do the right thing.

But then we need

to see

a change of heart.

We need to see

that underneath

our cultural desire

for sexuality

everywhere

is a desire

to be known

and loved.

It's a desire

for intimacy.

It's a desire

for connection.

And the Holy Spirit

can work new patterns

in our heart.

And if we can give

the space

for Christ

to invite us

into intimacy

with Him

as we experience

Him as the bride

of Christ,

the one who sings

over us

with His love

because He delights

in us,

as we experience

in healthy ways

in Christian community

intimacy with one another

of friendship,

of fellowship,

of supporting

one another,

then this

pull towards sex

as the answer

to those things

becomes less

as we are filled

with godly patterns

of intimacy

in our lives.

And the Holy Spirit

will teach us

that the love of God

is better than sex.

it will teach us

that we can be

delighted in

and satisfied

with

God alone.

And friends,

you know in heaven

there won't be

any more sex.

There's no more marriage

because we're going

to have a greater

intimacy

with Christ,

with God

than ever before.

and knowing that

and leaning into that

independence

on the Holy Spirit

will help us fight

those temptations

in the moment.

Here's a really practical.

I knew a grad student

once struggled

with this.

He had to work

on computers all day.

He struggled

with internet pornography.

He found that

when he was working

really hard

for a couple hours

then he needed

to take a break.

That was his moment

of temptation.

So do you know

what he did?

He took the Lord

of the Rings

with him to work

and he put it

next to his computer

and when he stopped

working he turned

off his screen

and he picked up

this book

because that book

allowed him

to remember

the beauty

and the glory

of the gospel

as it's expressed

through this great

fantasy story.

Now you know

I love Lord of the Rings.

That's a great thing

for me.

It's probably not

going to work

for everybody

but you see

how he chose

some practical

example.

He chose

a very practical

example

of replacing

something

where temptation

would be so easy

to come in

and control him

he replaced it

with something better.

Right?

The great Puritan

Thomas Chalmers

wrote this great essay

you should all read it

The Expulsive Power

of a New Affection

because here's the thing

all the internet filters

and all the accountability

and all the

fleeing the right places

will not save you

from sexual sin.

it is the transformation

of your heart

that will wean

your fleshly desires

away from sin

and towards

something better.

The way that you

defeat your desire

for intimacy

through sex

is by finding

a greater intimacy

in the love of Christ.

This is walking

in the power

of the Spirit.

The second example

I want to talk about

is anxiety

because we live

in an anxious world

we live in an anxious

generation

right?

And

we live in this

in all sorts of things

and God says

we are not to be anxious

right?

Philippians 4 says

6 through 7

says

do not be anxious

about anything

but in everything

by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your request

be made known

to God

and the peace

of God

that surpasses

all understanding

will guard your hearts

and your minds

in Christ Jesus.

Now I want to be careful

about this

but anxiety here

is not to be confused

by care.

We are meant

to care about things

we are meant

to be responsible

there are things

that we love

and we will think

about them

and we will care

for them

right?

But anxiety

is a response

to circumstances

that excludes

God

in the moment.

We worry

about

our child

who hasn't

checked in

and it's after curfew.

We worry

about

our job

and whether we are

going to be able

to keep it or not.

We worry

about

how we are going

to pay

the next month's

rent.

We worry

about these

things because

we feel

out of control

and we are

fearful

in the face

of that uncertainty.

And this is

normal,

right?

We all say

this is normal

and it is

normal

but we need

to recognize

that our normal

sometimes

is actually

sin.

It's not good

for us

to be anxious

and this anxiety

when it controls

us,

when it shapes

our action,

it distracts us,

it consumes us

and it grips

our heart.

But God

says

by the power

of the Holy Spirit

you can walk

not in worry,

not in anxiety,

but in faith

in these circumstances.

promises.

Because the Holy Spirit

can remind you

in that moment

that you are not

alone in it

and that God

has not suddenly

stepped off

of His throne

of sovereignty

over the whole

world,

nor has He

abandoned His

goodness

and His desire

to bless you

in His life.

Right?

Our sin

is that we've

forgotten God

and we're cherishing

and cherishing

not in the sense

of,

oh,

I love you.

We pray to Him

and say,

God,

we are out of control

and we're fearful

and we're afraid

and we can't do anything.

Please,

Lord,

be sovereign

in this.

And He steps in

and He says,

You are my child.

I love you.

I am with you.

I am your heavenly Father.

And sometimes

that's a one-time prayer

and we walk away

and say,

Okay,

now I'm relaxed.

Now I can do this.

And sometimes

it is an ongoing,

constant prayer.

God,

don't let me be anxious.

God,

don't let me be controlled.

God,

You are sovereign

and we almost have to do it

moment by moment.

We have to remind ourselves

of the promises

of God's Word

that the peace of Christ

will guard our hearts

and minds.

That in Matthew 6,

that your heavenly Father

knows what you need

before you ask.

Therefore,

seek first His kingdom

and His righteousness

and all these things

will be added unto you.

God's Word

applied by the Spirit

to our hearts

in that moment

allows us

to not give in

to anxiety.

His precious promises

can help us.

And friends,

here's the thing.

This isn't just

the vagueness

of God's sovereignty

for us,

but this is where

the power of the gospel

intersects with our fight

against sin.

Because where do we know

that God really

is in control

and that He really loves us

and that He really cares

for us?

He who did not

spare His Son

but gave Him up

for us all.

Will He not also

give us

with Him

all good things?

That's Romans 8.

We look at the cross

and as we sit

at the foot of the cross

in the midst

of our anxiety

we think,

God,

if You have dealt

with my sin,

You can deal

with my lost child

or my joblessness

or whatever the crisis is

that You are facing.

the Holy Spirit

is able

to change

your perspective.

And so you may need

to learn,

again,

the practices

of walking in the Spirit

may be

recognizing your sin,

confessing it,

turning to God's Word,

having these things available.

Put this Word

on your dashboard,

on your mirror,

on your Bible,

on your kitchen,

fridge,

wherever you are.

Put it on your screensaver,

whatever it is.

Let God's Word

be the fuel

that the Spirit of God

can apply to our hearts

as we fight this battle.

It's not an easy battle

to fight.

And for many of us,

it's an ongoing thing.

And that's why the Bible

tells us not to worry

over and over again,

because we like to worry

over and over again.

But God wants

the fruit of the Spirit

to include peace

and faith.

Finally,

last example,

having a judgmental

or a critical spirit.

This was something

that was true of me

when I was a college freshman.

I had been a believer

for a year.

That summer,

before I went to college,

I finally woke up to,

oh,

that means I should

live my life for Christ.

And so,

I got involved

in a great Christian ministry

called Princeton Christian Fellowship.

I was young,

I was zealous,

and I thought

I had lots of ideas.

And I came in

and I saw within days,

weeks,

maybe months,

all the weaknesses

of this ministry.

Right?

I was critical of it.

I didn't think anyone

was really committed

to following Christ.

So I created

my own small groups

because there weren't

enough small groups

for me to have fellowship.

I did my own outreaches

because no one

was doing these outreaches.

And I just thought

they were a bunch

of kind of lukewarm,

half-committed Christians.

I committed,

I accused the staff

in my heart

of being controlling

rather than serving.

I thought the upperclassmen

were worldly,

caring too much

about their studies.

I thought I knew better

and I was pretty proud.

I was not patient.

And though I thought

I was doing this

to glorify God,

I was in fact

not depending on God

at all.

I didn't believe

God was at work.

I believed that God

needed me to do things

that He wasn't doing.

and I did not trust

that God cared

as much as I did

about His glory

on this campus.

My critical spirit

excluded God

and elevated myself.

And the thing is

that I justified it.

I thought I was doing

the right thing.

I was going to fix it.

I was going to revive

this group.

I was going to save

the campus.

And they were

exceedingly gracious

with me.

They were patient.

They were loving.

They confronted me

at times.

They bore with me

a lot.

And the Holy Spirit

convicted me.

I wasn't seeking this,

but God started

to show me my sin.

He started to show

how proud I was.

He started to show me

how critical I was.

He started to show me

how I justified,

how my conviction

that I saw things

more clearly

than everyone else

was actually

in defiance

of Him.

And as I saw

this sin,

I realized

I needed help.

And I turned

to the Lord.

And I asked

Him

to teach me

humility.

It's a very

dangerous prayer.

by His grace,

He broke my pride.

With His kindness,

He humbled me.

He showed me

and reminded me

of the gospel

that I had believed,

that it wasn't

because of good things

that I had done

or because I brought

so much to the table

that He had saved me.

but despite my rebellion,

He saved me

by His grace.

He showed me

that I had a plank

in my eye

and it was like

a 10 by 10.

and He reminded me

that His love

for me

was in the midst

of that sin

and I was able

to see myself

in God's grace.

And the fruit

of humility

grew in me

a little bit.

Friends,

I'll tell you,

it still lurks

in my heart.

I still want

to be judgmental.

I still want

to think I'm right

all the time.

But by God's grace,

He saved me

from that trajectory

and from thinking

that was right.

So friends,

here are three pictures

of the Holy Spirit

at work.

Three portraits

of how walking

in the Spirit

looks in different ways.

The battle is real,

but it doesn't look

the same.

And each one of you,

as well as me,

will have our own

particular shapes

of these battles.

Right?

But each of us

is called

to walk

in dependence

on the Holy Spirit,

knowing that

we don't have

any more

than our salvation

for our sanctification,

the power

to do

what we most need done,

which is for our hearts

to be changed

and transformed

by His Spirit.

So this is then

leading me to my last point.

Again,

Tom Schreiner

says this,

the Galatians

are not called

upon

to work at

being more virtuous.

They are summoned

to walk in the Spirit

and be led

by the Spirit.

Living in a way

that pleases God

is the fruit

of His miraculous work,

not the result

of self-effort,

though human beings

are called upon

to walk in the Spirit

and yield

to the Spirit.

Right?

So where does

the power come from

to do this?

Here's the hard part

about this battle,

you all.

It's just like

in our salvation

in some ways.

We have to choose.

We have to make decisions.

We have to move forward.

We have to act.

And yet,

we recognize

that none of that

will actually bear

any good fruit

apart from

God's work

in us.

The power

is not

in ourselves.

It is in God

and what God

does for us.

This is why

we have

2 Corinthians 12,

9 and 10.

Paul had a thorn

in the flesh.

He asked that it

be taken away.

God didn't take it away.

Paul said,

why haven't you

taken this away?

So that I can be free

from this battle

so I can go on

and do great things

for you,

following through

the great vision.

And this is what

the Lord said

to the Apostle Paul.

But He said to me,

my grace

is sufficient for you

for my powers

made perfect

in weakness.

Therefore,

I will boast

all the more gladly

in my weaknesses

so that the power

of Christ

may rest on me.

For the sake

of Christ,

then,

I am content

with weakness,

insults,

hardships,

persecutions,

and calamity.

For when I am weak,

then I am strong.

Friends,

the reason why

God designed

our sanctification

to be like this

is so that

we would continue

to learn the lesson

we should have learned

at our salvation,

which is that

we have nothing

and He has everything

and it is only

by His grace

that He saves us.

It is only by His grace

that He sanctifies us.

It is only by His grace

that He transforms us.

And He does this.

Why?

So that we wouldn't

boast in ourselves.

This is the most ugly thing

about Christians,

isn't it,

at times?

When we say,

look at what a great

Christian I am.

Look at me.

God designed

our sanctification

differently

so that when people

look at us,

they would say,

what an amazing Savior.

What an incredible God

that took that person

and changed them

to be who they are now.

That's why God did this.

And that's why we walk

not by self-effort

but by faith.

Minute to minute

believing in

the promises of God's Word.

Trusting in

the finished work of Christ.

Believing in

God's empowering presence

now

and depending on it

and turning regularly,

daily,

moment by moment

to Him.

Saying,

God, I can't do this

but please help me.

Help me to do

the right thing

in the moment

and change my heart

so that I will love

the right thing

more and more.

And friends,

we cry out

to a Savior

who knows us

because He has been

tempted in every way

just as we are

and yet was without sin.

And when by faith

we believed in Him,

we have been crucified

with Him

and so we've crucified

the sinful nature

and so it no longer

has controlling power

over us.

The Holy Spirit

reminds us

by bringing us back

to the foot of the cross

so that we can walk

in the power

that God gives us

so that God can help me

this Friday night

when I'm looking

for a parking space.

to trust Him,

to know that He's in control,

to know that I live

in a fallen world

and the van will probably

be parked there

again on Friday night,

but that God

will provide for me

and He will care for me

in the middle of it.

That I might display

the fruit of the Spirit

in the midst

of that circumstance

and many others

and may it be true

for you as well.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus,

we confess our need

to You this morning.

Lord,

I pray,

I pray that You would teach us

how to live dependently,

trustingly,

faithfully,

increasing

in godliness

because of Your work

in changing our hearts.

O Lord,

be our help,

we pray.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.