The Holy Spirit: THE Key to Living a Faithful Christian Life (Part 2)

Good job. Thank you very much.

I really do enjoy this service, the recognition of graduates every year.

I think it's important that we as your church family celebrate this with you, honor you in this way.

One of my goals for this service every year is to preach a message that has some type of special application to graduates.

Well, this year, this message, it's going to accomplish that goal because it speaks to every Christian.

If you are a Christian, then what I'm going to be talking about today, what we're going to be looking at in Galatians 5,

it applies to every single one of us equally.

It's talking about something, if you are a Christian, you're very familiar with,

an internal battle, an internal struggle between a force that entices us to sin

and between the Spirit of God that so works in us, calling us to live a life that pleases God.

Galatians 5, beginning in verse 16, Paul is contrasting two types of what we could call character qualities or even lifestyles.

One will describe what we could call character qualities or actions.

One will describe what's going on.

One or the other will describe what's going on in our lives right now in terms of our attitudes or actions,

at least to some degree.

Now, when you see which list best describes how you are living,

you will discover that at this moment,

what the most powerful influence in your life is.

What we're going to see this morning,

some of the characteristics of people who live according to the desires of their sinful nature,

some of the outworkings of the Spirit of God in a person's life.

If we look at these two ways of thinking and living,

whichever list most identifies you,

that's going to show you

what is actually the most powerful influence in your life right now,

right this minute.

Let's read Galatians chapter 5, beginning in verse 16,

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

but our focus this morning will be verses 19 through 25.

Let's read it.

Paul is writing to churches in a region called Galatia.

He says,

But I say,

Walk by the Spirit,

and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Walk by the Spirit,

and you will not gratify the desires of your sinful nature.

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 thing you want to do.

But if you're led by the Spirit,

you're 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, orgy, 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,

the opposite way to live.

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.

We're in a series from Galatians chapter 5,

Galatians 5:16

verses 16 through chapter 6,

about verse 5, maybe through verse 10.

We'll see how it works out next week.

The series is entitled,

The Holy Spirit The.

Notice that, all capitals, T-H-E, underlined.

The Holy Spirit The Key

to living a faithful Christian life.

Last week, we looked at verses 16 through 18

and saw how we must depend on the Holy Spirit's power.

Well, today,

we're looking at verses 19 through 25,

and we're going to see how we must make

the Holy Spirit the dominant influence

in our lives.

There is a dominant influence over your life right now.

It's either your old sinful nature

or it's the Spirit of God if you're a Christian.

Let's begin by, with a question.

What is the dominant influence in your life right now?

What is the strongest, most powerful influence,

force, power in your life right now?

If you're a Christian,

it's either your sinful nature,

what Paul calls the flesh,

or the Spirit of God.

As we go through these verses,

we're going to look at both, both.

I want you to be honest

about what is influencing you the most right now.

Let's look at number one.

If our sinful nature is the most powerful influence

in our life, then some of the things

found in verses 19 through 21

will be present in us.

Now, we're going to look at some things

that are outrageous sins, some of them.

What I want you to do is think,

this list,

you may not be doing this publicly,

but you could be doing it privately.

You may not be doing some of these things,

actually acting on them,

but you're thinking it.

The thought is there,

the desire is there,

maybe just the opportunity

just hasn't arisen yet.

So don't just think,

this doesn't describe what I'm doing.

Does this describe what you want to do?

Does this describe some of your desires?

Let's look.

First,

I'm going to categorize these.

A lot of commentators,

they put these under some,

I like four headings,

and I think that helps us to look at it better.

So let's do that.

Look at the first one,

sexual sins.

Verse 19.

Look at those words there.

Sexual immorality, impurity.

Sensuality.

You know,

sex is one of God's good gifts,

and I want to say at the outset,

Paul is not talking about

sex in any kind of negative way.

God made us to be sexual beings

with sexual needs,

and he designed that those needs

be met in a pure and honorable

and good way in marriage,

in the institution of marriage.

But we all know

the good gift of sex

is often abused,

and that's what Paul's talking about here.

Sexual immorality is a broad term

covering all kinds of sexual sins.

He's referring to things like

premarital sex,

adultery,

homosexuality.

He's referring to you being involved

in pornography.

One of the great

under the radar,

what we think,

hidden sins of today.

But I want you to think,

sexual immorality is not limited

to just physical acts.

Jesus talks about how

lusting for someone

is the same as committing adultery

with them in your heart.

So sexual immorality

can just take place in your mind,

just your thought life,

your desires.

It can take place both

in our public world

and our private world.

Here's something we all need to remember.

When it comes to God,

there is no private world.

I've got a private world from you

and you've got a private world from me.

But nobody,

no one,

has a private world

where God is not there.

And we need to always keep that in mind.

The word impurity literally means uncleanness.

It's describing either

some kind of perverse behavior

or it could be describing

how sexual impurity

defiles and corrupts a person

which separates us from God.

Sensuality,

the next one,

this is sexual sin

without limits or restraint.

William Barclay

describes it like this.

A love of sin

so reckless

and so audacious

that a man has ceased to care

what God

or man

thinks

of his actions.

I want us to understand something.

Sometimes we can all say,

I don't care

what other people think.

And sometimes we say that in a way

that's okay,

that's positive.

You know,

we're not going to go with the flow.

We don't care

if somebody criticizes us.

We're going to do

what we think is the right thing.

So in that way,

we don't care

what people think.

But we need to all be careful

that we never develop

the attitude,

I don't give a rip

what anybody thinks,

including God.

That's a dangerous place to be.

It's a place of

doing things that

deep down,

if we'll admit it,

we are ashamed

and we don't want to be held

accountable for.

What we're going to do this morning

is not do an in-depth study

of these sins

of the sinful nature.

We're looking at sort of

the whole thing

in a nutshell this morning

and going to compare it

with the fruit of the Spirit.

So let's move on in this.

The next group

is religious sins,

verse 20.

Everyone worships something.

God made us that way.

God made us in such a way

that we would want

to worship Him.

That was the original design.

But when sin entered the world,

everything got messed up.

Everything is flawed,

including

what we worship sometimes.

Idolatry

can be defined as

worship of the creature

rather than the creator.

Idolatry is when we worship

maybe even a good gift of God

in place of God,

the giver.

Anything that takes God's place

in our life can be an idol.

If you are worshiping a person,

if you're worshiping money,

if you're worshiping power,

if you're worshiping education,

you're an idolater

according to Scripture.

Anything that takes God's place

in our life has become an idol,

which makes us guilty of idolatry.

Sorcery.

That's sort of strange

turning up in this passage,

but

it refers to any kind of involvement

with the powers of evil,

and it's used in the New Testament

sometimes to refer to

someone's involvement

with the occult.

Now, the word actually comes

from a Greek word,

pharmakon,

which literally means drugs,

where our word pharmacy comes from.

And in New Testament times,

this word was sometimes used

to describe drugs

that induced abortion.

Sometimes it's a part

of an occult practice.

So that's what he's talking about there.

Various kinds of unacceptable worship.

The third category is social sins.

Verses 20 and 21.

The things on this list

revealed our flawed personal character

and our failure in relationships.

I want you to look at that.

Verses 20 and first part of verse 21.

These words don't need

a whole lot of explanation.

He's talking about

how our sinful nature

so works in us

that we're prideful,

we are divisive,

we don't get along with people.

Just look at this list.

Enmity, that means hatred,

strife, jealousy,

fits of anger,

rivalries.

Some translations say

selfish ambition,

dissensions,

divisions,

envy.

You see what he's talking about?

Paul is talking about how

our sinful nature

so works in us

to tempt us

to be sexually impure

in some way.

Sometimes.

Not all time,

but sometimes.

And some people

more than others.

Our sinful nature

provokes us

to place too much emphasis

on another person

or a thing

in place of God.

Our sinful,

selfish attitudes,

desires,

sometimes tempt us

just to not be,

not try to get along

with someone.

Just be content,

or just be obsessed

obsessed with our way

and get angry

and lash out at people

when we don't get our way.

The fourth category

is alcohol-related sins.

Drunkenness,

you know what that is.

But the word

that's next,

orgies.

You think,

where in the world

does that come from

in this list?

It can be translated

carousing.

It can just be

referring to something

like what you would call

wild parties.

This word is used

three times

in the New Testament,

and each time

it's linked

to the sin

of drunkenness.

That's why it's here.

It's not really

out of place.

He's talking about

not just somebody

who gets drunk,

but somebody

who just goes wild

in their drinking

and drunkenness.

You know,

our nation's

number one

drug problem

today is

alcohol abuse.

it's the most

problem drug

among all ages,

but it's certainly

the most problem drug

among young people,

and you know,

you got,

you know friends

in high school

and college

who've already got

a problem with alcohol.

They've abused it

to the point

that they're drunk

more times

than not

on a weekend.

Problem

that I want to sort of

focus on for a moment

here is

it's the number one

drug problem

alcohol abuse is

in our country,

yet it is glorified

by the entertainment

and advertising industries

as if it is the key

to having a good time.

You see it in,

you know,

commercials,

advertisements,

you see it in all kinds

of TV shows and movies,

that if you really want

to have a good time,

you got to drink.

And a lot of times,

the more you drink,

the better your time is,

the more relaxed you are,

the more loose you are,

the more open

and free you are.

I want to be clear.

I have never seen anyone

where alcohol

made them a better person.

Now, if you have,

I want you to tell me.

I want to know that.

I have never in my life

seen anyone

who really liked to drink,

who made it a priority

in their life

and it made them

a better husband

or father

or mother

or daughter

or anything.

But I have seen

how alcohol

has ruined

people's lives.

I mean,

I've seen it

close,

very much

in my face,

in my family,

among people

that I know

and love

where alcohol

has ruined

their life,

destroyed

their life,

their home,

their family,

lost their career.

And I want us

to be aware of that.

I want you to be aware

of that today

as a young person

at any age.

Let it sink in.

Alcohol is the number one

abused drug

in this country.

Alcohol will not help you

to be better

in any way.

but it can,

it very well

could hurt you

and the people

in your life

that you don't want

to hurt

if you're not

very, very careful.

Now,

look at verse 21.

This list of acts

of the sinful nature

ends with a very

strong,

serious warning.

Look at it.

I warn you.

As I warned you

before,

that those

who do such things

will not

inherit

the kingdom of God.

People whose lives

are characterized

by sexual immorality,

by just,

they're just angry,

mean-spirited,

cause trouble people,

selfish and self-centered,

they worship things

instead of God,

they worship people

instead of God.

Paul is saying

very clearly here

that a person

who lives this way,

we're talking about somebody,

this is their way of life.

This is what they know.

This is how they are.

This is how they're known.

They're not going to heaven

when they die.

Now,

let's be clear.

The most faithful Christian

struggles

with some of these

on a regular basis.

All of us in this room,

the most respected,

the most godly individual

in this room,

you are tempted.

Maybe with something

related to sexual immorality.

Maybe with alcohol.

Maybe you've got

put too much value

on some things

or people,

and God's not first

in your life

truly

on a regular basis.

Maybe you're just

a selfish person.

You're very arrogant.

You're jealous

of everything

that someone has

to have something

more than you

or better than you.

You're tempted this way.

Sometimes you give in

to this.

Sometimes you give in

to it more at home

around your family

and close friends

than you do out in public.

Maybe nobody at church

has ever seen you,

but your family

certainly has seen you.

Show your rear end

because you're giving in

the desires

of your sinful nature

about getting your way,

about making sure

you get your way

and you force it

on everybody else

in your life.

You say,

we're going to be real

this morning.

We're not going to look

at this passage

and talk about

all those evil people.

We're talking about

how we as Christians

have a sinful nature

and we are tempted.

We have desires

and feelings.

There's things,

emotions

that come out sometimes.

If that's our normal

way of living

and we would say,

I just can't help

but be this way,

that means the Spirit

of God does not live

in you

and that means

you're not a Christian.

You may be a church member,

you may be a baptized

church member,

but you cannot be

a child of God.

You are not going to heaven,

the Word of God says,

if this is you

on a regular basis,

the way you think,

the way you speak,

the way you act,

let's hold that thought down.

Let's go on.

Let's look at the other

source of influence

in this passage,

the Holy Spirit.

If the Spirit of God

is the most powerful

influence in our lives,

we will to some degree

be developing

character qualities

described here

as the fruit of the Spirit.

Look at them.

The fruit of the Spirit

is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control.

Now, I want you to notice

a difference

in the way Paul describes

these works of the flesh

and the fruit of the Spirit.

Verse 19,

the works of the flesh.

He's talking about

attitudes and actions

that arise

and come from us.

just a part of who we are

as fallen, sinful people.

But verse 22,

he describes

the fruit of the Spirit.

These are attitudes

and actions

that the Spirit of God

produces in

and through us.

We're going to be doing

a study on Wednesday nights

on each

of these qualities

in this list

called the fruit of the Spirit.

Wednesday night,

6.30,

over in the fellowship hall.

This coming Wednesday night,

we're going to start looking

at the first one

individually,

love.

Now, I want to encourage you

to come and be a part

of this study

of how the Holy Spirit

will work in us

to enable us

to experience

and demonstrate

love and joy and peace

in the midst of difficulty.

When life is hard

and things of that nature.

But right now,

look at the works

of the sinful nature

that we've looked at,

this list,

19 and 21,

through 21,

and the fruit of the Spirit.

Which list describes

the consistent desire

of your heart

and which is the consistent

pattern of your life?

Think about it.

all Christians,

all of us struggle

with sinful desires

that come from

our sinful nature.

It's an internal war.

It's a battle

that's going on within us.

Paul talked about it

in verse 17

that we looked at last week.

Sometimes we give in

to those desires.

Sometimes,

the most godly

in this room,

give in to those temptations,

those desires,

and you say or do

a sinful thing

that people see

and hear.

It's obvious.

Sometimes we do that

more than we want to admit.

But a true Christian

will not let that be

their normal way of life.

That will not be

their lifestyle,

giving in to the desires

of our sinful nature.

Because Paul said,

if we do,

we will not inherit

the kingdom of God.

So it means a Christian

won't do that.

True children of God

are not at the mercy

of our sinful nature.

If you're a child of God,

the Spirit of God

lives within you

and you do not have

to give in

to the temptations.

You do not have

to act on

those desires

and thoughts

and feelings

that you have

that come from within you

that you know

are wrong.

You do not have

to live a life

that is defined

by sin.

If you're living,

if you're a Christian

and dwell by the Spirit

of God,

you want to obey Him.

You want to do

what's right,

not what's wrong.

You want to please God,

not displease Him.

That's your desire

that comes from

the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Let's look now

at how we can successfully

follow the leadership

of the Holy Spirit

and live that kind of way.

Number two,

how can the Holy Spirit

become the dominant influence

in your life every day?

Well, that's what

verses 24 and 25

tells us.

It's a two-step process.

Number one,

we must say no

to the desires

of our sinful nature.

Look at what he says

in verse 24.

And those who belong

to Christ Jesus

have crucified

the flesh

with its passions

and desires.

Paul uses the imagery

of crucifixion

for an obvious reason.

Jesus was crucified.

He died for our sins.

He uses this imagery

of crucifixion

to describe

the radical break

that we are supposed

to make

when we turn

from our sin,

when we are saved,

when we do put our faith

and trust in Jesus.

He's referring to

what we did at conversion.

We repented of our sin.

We turned from our sin.

We turned away

from everything

that we thought

was selfish

and sinful

and ungodly.

Well, since that time,

since whenever it was

you were saved,

the Lord has continued

to reveal things to you

that are selfish

and sinful

and ungodly.

If you're a Christian

and dwell by the Spirit of God,

as you learn

about those things,

as you learn

what does not please God,

you'll do it.

You'll not give in to it.

When you learn

what does please God,

you'll want to do

what pleases God.

That is the desire

of everyone

who's been born again

by the Spirit of God.

That's the way to test

if you really are a Christian.

Do you love sin

and enjoy it

and have no

real serious

guilt about it?

The Spirit of God

can't be living within you.

But do you really

and truly

hate sin

and you want

to overcome it?

You want to live

a life that pleases God.

You want to honor Him.

You want to be right

with people.

That's a sign

that the Spirit of God

is working within you.

And the second part

of this process

is we must say yes

to the leadership

of the Holy Spirit.

He says,

if we live by the Spirit,

verse 25,

let us also keep step

with the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit leads us

by giving us

the desires

to live a life

that will please God

in mind and heart

and life.

The Holy Spirit works in us

to enable us

to produce

Christ-like character

qualities.

The fruit of the Spirit.

You can live

a faithful Christian life

but you cannot do it

on your own.

You need

that supernatural help

that the Holy Spirit

of God

will give you.

Chuck Swindoll

gives us some good advice

on how we can

do this way,

live this way.

Listen to what he says.

Look at what he says.

He says,

resolve each morning

to walk in the Spirit.

First thing every morning

before you get up,

commit yourself

to His control.

Swindoll is saying,

if you're really serious

about living

a faithful Christian life,

when you wake up

in the morning,

when the clock goes off,

think to yourself,

I really am a child of God.

The Spirit of God

lives within me.

Pray and just ask God,

Lord, help me

to be sensitive

to your Spirit's presence.

Help me to be obedient

to His power.

Help me to watch

what I say.

Not just say

everything I think.

Help me to watch

what I do.

Help me to watch

what my mind dwells on.

And then number two,

strive to maintain

your walk

throughout each day.

Don't turn away

from the Spirit's leading

so you can flirt

with the desires

of the sinful nature.

The Spirit will guide,

protect,

and empower you.

All you must do

is follow Him

by faith.

Begin in the mornings,

committing your life

and you in the fresh

to be sensitive

to the Spirit of God

and obedient

to His leadership.

And throughout the day,

think about that.

Recognize when your sinful nature

is tempting you

and leading,

trying to lead you

in the wrong way.

Learn to say no.

Learn not to say it.

Learn not to do it.

Learn not to look at it.

Learn to do instead

what the Spirit of God

is leading you to do.

That which will

please God.

That which will

make a positive difference

in other people's lives.

That which will

ultimately

please you.

God's Word is clear.

We can live

a faithful,

obedient,

victorious Christian life

if

we will say no

to our sinful nature

and yes

to the leading

of the Holy Spirit

every day.

All day.

The question is

do you want to do that?

Will you do that?

Let's pray together.

Dear God,

help us right now

to know exactly

how you see us,

how we really are.

Father,

show us

if we really

are Christians

but we're not

being faithful

to say no

to the desires

of our sinful nature.

We're not choosing

on a daily basis

to be obedient

to your Spirit's leading.

We're not choosing

to please you.

We're instead

pleasing ourselves

more times

than we like

to admit.

If that's the case,

Father,

help that person

to admit it to you,

to confess their sin,

to truly repent,

to seek your forgiveness

and a fresh start

today

to walk in the Spirit,

to keep in step

with the Spirit.

Father,

if there are people

in this room

who would say

while they know

they feel

the battle

every day,

they are making

progress

and following

the leadership

of the Holy Spirit.

Dear God,

affirm them,

encourage them

to keep on,

not let up,

but to keep on

relying upon

the power

that you provide

through your

indwelling Spirit.

But dear God,

if there are people

in this room

who are not

indwelled by the Spirit,

they don't have

this struggle.

They just live

any way they want

to live

with relatively

no guilt.

Help them to see,

dear God,

that if they continue

that way,

they will not

inherit your kingdom.

They'll not go to heaven

when they die.

They're not your children.

But God,

we pray right now

that you will create

within them

a desire to turn

from this way of life.

a desire to truly

trust Jesus

as their Lord

and Savior.

Father,

help them right now

to call upon Jesus

to save them.

I want everybody

to continue

in an attitude of prayer.

You listen to the Lord

and you obey Him.

Do what He's calling you

to do

in these next few minutes.

I'd be happy

to pray with you

during this time

if that's what

you'd like.

You'd like that kind of help.

If you want to talk

about these things,

I'd be happy to do that now.

I'd be happy to do it

anytime,

anywhere.

But let's make sure

as we leave here today

we are living

under the power

of the Spirit of God

who indwells us

as a Christian.

thank you.

I'm sending you

to God's Murray

through the power

of the Holy Spirit of God