Walk By The Spirit

I have sort of a David Letterman top 10 list to start out.

It's not quite 10 and it's not quite David Letterman because I'm not nearly as funny as him.

But seven things that you won't hear in church.

Number one, now that keeping all of God's commandments has become second nature,

I'm planning to solve some real problems.

Number two, I've stopped praying because I realized I don't need any help.

Number three, I don't read the Bible anymore because I already know everything there is to know about God.

Number four, since I've earned God's love for myself, I'm now working on helping others earn it too.

Number five, my strength is sufficient for my salvation.

Number six, grace is only for losers.

Number seven, wisdom?

That's why I've got this handy magic eight ball.

It's a toy from my childhood for those who don't know.

I say magic eight ball, should I go do this?

And it says it is decidedly so and so on and so forth.

So that's a list of things you won't hear in church.

It's right to kind of chuckle and laugh because they sound so ridiculous.

And yet, our sin problem goes so deep, our fleshly nature so pervades and oozes into every nook and cranny of our lives,

that things that sound ridiculous on one hand actually show up in our lives.

Not certainly in these brazen kind of arrogant statements that I listed, but more subtly.

We operate in our own strength all the time.

In fact, that was part of Billy's prayer of confession that we heard.

We fail to carve out time for the Lord to seek His face and to have Him help us.

Sometimes we act in haste in a situation that requires a lot of wisdom and waiting.

On God.

Sometimes we forget just how much help we need to combat our sin-sick condition.

Sometimes life is so busy we don't open our Bibles because we don't have time,

failing to remember that life is in knowing God.

The bottom line is we need help.

This is where the book of Galatians comes in handy.

To kind of get us back into this book, we've taken three or four weeks off now to enjoy Advent together,

but so to get us back into the book of Galatians,

this is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a mostly non-Jewish Christian church in Galatia.

That's being written to folks who wouldn't necessarily have been following the commandments of God

because they were Gentile, they were pagans,

and they would have been living very different lives than the typical Jewish religious man or woman.

And Paul writes because these Galatian Christians are in danger of abandoning their faith in Jesus

for a cursed captivity under the Jewish law.

See, a group of false teachers, we call them Judaizers,

they've come in to this church and they've started giving the Galatians this message that says,

your faith is incomplete until you begin keeping the Jewish commandments.

All this faith in Jesus, it will be next to nothing until you obey the Old Testament law.

And tragically, this church who's been set free by Jesus,

the moment that they believe that His perfect life,

His death for sinners and His glorious resurrection

and now current ascension and rule and reign over all things,

this church has believed this.

They believe the good news.

They're in danger of turning from it.

Surrendering the freedom that Jesus alone provides

in exchange for slavery.

They're surrendering their salvation for condemnation.

And Paul is urgently warning them.

He's calling them back to faith alone in Jesus.

Saying the law cannot save you.

Only Jesus can through faith in Him alone.

But if the law is not the guide into righteousness,

if the law is not ushering the people of God into salvation,

then who or what is?

Well, Paul's answer in our text is,

the Holy Spirit is the guide into righteousness

and the one who is ushering us into salvation.

It's the Holy Spirit alone who does this.

So, in Galatians 5, 16-24, our text for this morning,

God, through the Apostle Paul,

issues a command to Christians,

both the Galatian church and us today,

and then gives us the reason why.

So, a command and a reason,

and essentially, if I could summarize it

and boil it down to one sentence, it's this.

Walk by the Spirit

because you need Him.

Walk by the Spirit because you need Him.

We all need help, right?

We're in agreement there.

And Jesus has sent,

not just sort of some book,

of course the Bible is amazing,

not just a list of do's and don'ts,

but a helper, a person,

to help us, the Holy Spirit.

So, walk by the Spirit

because you need His help.

We're going to walk through this passage this morning

by looking at three reasons

why we must walk by the Spirit.

Three reasons why

we must walk by the Spirit.

Reason number one,

you need Him to defeat the flesh.

You need the Spirit to defeat the flesh.

This is what Paul gets at in verses 16 and 17.

Right on the heels of making this command,

walk by the Spirit

and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Paul says in these verses

that each and every Christian

is engaged in a conflict.

Now, he's not talking about

that kind of cosmic conflict

of God versus Satan

and all the corresponding angels and demons.

Not that conflict Paul has in mind here,

but an inner conflict,

a conflict inside each and every Christian.

It begins the moment we trust in Jesus for salvation

and it continues for our entire life

until either we die

or Jesus graciously returns.

And it's because that at our salvation,

the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us.

The moment that happens,

this conflict begins waging inside of us.

But that also means

that this conflict is not one

that is just universally true

of all human beings.

This isn't like the cartoon

where there's a devil on one shoulder

and an angel on the other shoulder

and every person is just kind of struggling

through this.

There is a sense that that's true,

but that's not what Paul's getting at.

This is a conflict between

the sinful nature of the Christian

and the Holy Spirit

who now indwells the Christian.

Just so we're clear,

the Holy Spirit is a person.

He's the third person of God.

The third person of what we call the Trinity.

God is three persons in one.

There's not three gods,

there's one God,

and yet there are three distinct persons

and the Holy Spirit is one of those persons.

He is God and He lives in every single Christian

the moment we are born again,

the moment we trust in Jesus Christ

for forgiveness and eternal life.

In fact, the Holy Spirit is the only reason

anyone in this room

is a Christian in the first place.

The Spirit gives life.

The flesh is no help at all,

Jesus says in John 6.

So Paul explains this conflict

in verse 17.

Listen to what he says.

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.

Do you notice the word against

that Paul uses twice?

When you see that word against,

you should think hostile, enemy.

The flesh and the Holy Spirit

are enemies.

If you think back to a science class

that you had in school,

probably in grade school or middle school,

and your science teacher says,

today class,

we're going to look at magnets.

Right?

And a real magnet has kind of this

north pole on it

and a south pole on it,

and it attracts the opposite pole

of another magnet.

Right?

So if you take the north side

of a magnet

and the south side,

they actually pull together.

Paul is saying the opposite

is true of the flesh and Spirit.

You put the north end of a magnet

against the north end of a magnet

and they repel each other.

They're headed in opposite directions.

The flesh and the Spirit

possess contrary affections

and they're motivated

and driven by opposing desires.

That's the conflict

Paul's talking about,

but the good news is

that it's not a fair fight.

These are not equal opposites.

So of course,

we know as a Christian

that the flesh

and the temptations

and the desires

of things that are not of God

can feel very strong.

There can be a very strong pull

toward these things.

It can seem irresistible at points.

But look at verse 16.

Paul's not rejecting

that experience,

but he's saying something

so full of hope

in this verse.

But I say,

walk by the Spirit

and you will not

gratify the desires

of the flesh.

Paul's saying here

that the possibility

of gratifying the flesh

in the moment,

in the situation

that you're walking

by the Spirit

is zero percent.

Our English translation

sounds a bit tame

compared to what Paul's

really trying to get at.

He says,

there is zero possibility,

no potential

whatsoever

in gratifying the flesh

and its desires

if you are in that moment

walking by the Spirit.

Now just a caveat,

Paul here is not saying

that somehow

we can ascend

beyond the point

where the flesh

causes trouble

in our lives.

He's not saying

that you should be perfect

all day,

every day,

end of story.

He's not saying that.

We will have this

lifelong conflict.

But,

he's saying

there is hope.

There is reason

to have full confidence

that when we are walking

by the Spirit

we will not be gratifying

the desires

of the flesh.

It should make our ears

perk up,

friends.

It should be filling

our hope tanks

of our hearts

to hear that

because we know

all too well

this inner conflict.

facing this relentless

day by day

temptation

and influence

of the flesh.

The discouragement

and the heartache

when we fail.

Yet there's hope.

The Holy Spirit,

Paul says,

is so much more powerful,

so much more influential

that it's not a fair fight.

Whenever he leads,

whenever we walk

in his strength,

we will never ever

gratify the desires

of the flesh.

It is impossible

because these desires

are opposed

to each other.

They're not moving

in the same direction,

they're not on parallel tracks,

they're opposed.

If you're going this way,

you can't be going that way.

We all need this reminder

today and every day,

don't we?

Maybe you're here

and you're discouraged

by a sin

that just keeps cropping up

in your life

and it just seems like

you can't get a handle on it,

you can't gain victory.

Paul would say,

walk by the Spirit.

Not in some kind of

just dismissal sort of way,

but look to Him.

He's your hope.

You will conquer the flesh

by the Spirit.

You need His help.

You won't do it

any other way.

So don't look to yourself.

Don't be gloomy.

But walk by the Spirit.

Maybe you're in a hard

and stressful season.

Just temptation

feels more intense

and more real

just because you're strung out.

You're tired

and you're not thinking

as clearly

as you normally are.

You need the Spirit.

You need His help.

But even if we're

in a good spot

in the room, right?

Everything spiritually

is going pretty well.

We're not struggling

with anything in particular.

Still striving

and yearning for holiness.

Holy Spirit

is who you need.

We don't look

an ounce more like Jesus

by our own effort.

It's by the Holy Spirit

working in us.

So that's reason number one.

We're in a conflict

and we need the Spirit

to defeat the flesh.

So walk by Him.

The second reason

Paul points to

is in verses 18 to 23.

He says,

you need the Spirit

because He produces

and provides

what the flesh cannot.

You need the Spirit

because He alone

can produce things

that the flesh

has no hope

of producing.

And bear with me

because this is

the bulkiest part

of the text.

It's the bulkiest part

of the sermon as well.

The first thing

we see in verse 18

is the Spirit

produces

and provides

freedom.

Listen to 18.

But if you are led

by the Spirit,

you are not under the law.

Okay, I don't hear

freedom.

I don't hear

anything about the flesh

or what's going on here.

When Paul says

under the law,

which he has

three, four, five times

previously in Galatians,

he's speaking of

being in captivity

under the law,

being in slavery

under the law.

If you want to turn

to chapter 3,

verse 23,

I think it's most clear there

what Paul's meaning

by this phrase.

Now, before faith came,

we were held captive

under the law,

imprisoned

until the coming faith

would be revealed.

Okay, so under the law

means captivity,

but what does this have to do

with the flesh?

Paul's been saying

through chapters 3 and 4

of Galatians

is that those who are

captive under the law

are attempting

in their own strength,

aka according to the flesh,

to achieve righteousness

and salvation.

They're trying to keep

the law

to earn righteousness,

to earn salvation.

And Paul's been warning

the Galatians,

you can't do so.

By works of the law,

no one

will be justified.

No one will be saved.

Because the law

reveals sin

and the law

imprisons us.

So for the Jew

who was trying to gain

his salvation

through law keeping,

Paul says,

you're a slave.

You're not free

and you're not righteous.

You're a slave.

In fact,

Paul says,

the law was never

intended to save anyone.

But our own flesh,

our own pride,

tries to save

ourself anyway.

The flesh

enslaves religious people

underneath the law

that God gave

for that very purpose.

The Spirit

alone

frees

them

to live

for Jesus.

Verse 19

continues this argument

about freedom.

Paul writes

that

he's talking about

the flesh

enslaving

but the Spirit

providing freedom.

And Paul's been

given kind of

two ways

that you can be

enslaved.

The first is the one

I've just been talking about

being under the law,

being captive

under the law.

And now in 19

he pivots and says,

here's the second way

you can be a slave.

By living fully

into the desires

and passions

of the flesh.

You can be

imprisoned by

attempting to save

yourself through

rule keeping

and you can be

imprisoned by

pursuing

the immoral

unrighteous

works of

the flesh.

The Galatian

church would be

very familiar

with this list

in 19 to 21.

This essentially

was their

former life.

But they were

in danger of

reverting back

to slavery

though God

had set them

free not by

becoming immoral

unrighteous people

again but by

thinking that they

could start

keeping a law

to save

themselves.

Both are

slavery.

That's why Paul

can pivot so

quickly from

in verse 18

talking about

the law

to verse 19

talking about

the works

of the flesh.

In his mind

they're both

under this

category of

slavery and

captivity.

Because he spent

two chapters

already talking

about the

law and

its ability

to enslave.

He only needs

to raise it

in one sentence

to draw all

of that

information

back in.

Essentially he

says both

the rule

follower

and the

immoral

are slaves.

The spirit

alone

provides

freedom.

fruit.

But additionally

the spirit

also provides

Christ-like

fruit.

It's the

point of the

comparison in

verses 19

to 21

with the

fruit of the

spirit in

22 and

23.

Paul saying

look what the

flesh produces

and provides.

Only unrighteous

things.

Whether you're

trying to keep

the rule of

God or

whether you're

just letting

it loose and

living for the

flesh.

The flesh

produces unrighteous

things.

It's only the

spirit who

produces

righteous fruit.

Flesh cannot

provide righteousness.

It can't help

you and me

become more

like Jesus

Christ.

It only works

immorality.

Now look a

little bit more

closely at this

works of the

flesh in

19 to 21.

Paul's

intentionally

organized this

for us.

The first

three works

that he

lists in

verse 19

they cover the

full range of

sexual sin.

Whether it's

immorality,

adultery,

homosexuality,

lust,

all of it.

He covers

them all in

these three

words.

He says those

are of the

flesh.

The next

two on the

list,

idolatry and

sorcery,

deal with

false religion.

Worshipping

a god other

than the one

true god.

Or trying to

manipulate this

deity to do

what you want

him to.

And the final

two in the

list,

drunkenness

and orgies,

deal with this

blatant lack of

self-control.

This kind of

just letting

loose.

And rather

than seeing

that last

word as

some kind

of sexual

connotation,

it's more

of like the

movie Animal

House,

just like some

big frat

party and

carousing.

It's kind

of what you

want to

think of

there.

These are

all works

of the

flesh.

We skipped

over the

middle eight

because Paul

wants to

draw attention

here.

He wants

to focus

in on the

middle eight.

And it

starts the

third word

of verse

20.

Just listen

to these

and notice

the relational

kind of

components of

these.

These are

sins that

have to do

with treatment

of other

people.

Enmity,

strife,

jealousy,

fits of

anger,

rivalries,

dissensions,

divisions,

envy.

It seems

like Paul

probably has

the Judaizers

in his mind

as he's

writing several

of these.

Strife,

rivalries,

division,

envy.

These people

are coming

into the

church and

wreaking havoc,

dividing people

over by

speaking heresy

and falsehood.

People who are

envious of

Paul's position

and authority

and trying to

get him in

trouble and

trying to

oust him

from having

sway over

this church.

church.

But not

just that,

this list

kind of

hits even

closer to

home for

the Galatians.

If you

look at

5 verse

15,

Paul's

talking to

the Galatians

in this

passage we

heard three

or four

weeks ago

and saying

if you

bite and

devour

one another,

watch out

that you're

not consumed

by one

another.

So the

Galatians

are kind

of at

each other's

necks a

little bit.

And then

in verse

26,

the last

verse of

chapter 5,

we see a

similar idea

again.

Let us not

become conceited,

provoking one

another,

envying one

another.

These are

real warnings

because the

Galatian church

seems to be

kind of taking

on and

developing some

of these

very divisive

and hurtful

and sinful

fleshly

practices that

they're seeing

exhibited in

these false

teachers.

chapters.

It's a

pretty sobering

list,

isn't it?

We should

see ourselves

in various

ways and

shapes and

forms in

various works

on this

list.

Sobering

list when we

stop and

think a

little bit

about it.

And Paul

doesn't even

give a full

list.

He says,

these are

the all

inclusive

works of

the flesh.

Things like

these.

So we

could go

on and

list more

and more

and more

things.

It's a

sobering

list because

of the

number of

fleshly

works that

involve our

treatment of

one another.

Rivalry and

division and

jealousy and

envy and

things like

this.

That doesn't

mean that we

must kind of

stay quiet

and just

kind of keep

the peace

sort of as

some fake

facade of

being united

but it

does mean

that if we

engage in

heavy things

and things

we're passionate

about that

the words we

choose,

our tone of

voice and

the heartbeat

underneath of

those things

matters a lot.

I find it

so sobering

to recognize

that if I

am living

a life that

has fits of

anger as

just kind of

the normal

course of

my existence

that Paul

says people

that do this

stuff don't

inherit the

kingdom.

But Paul

has not

sort of

listed this

thing to

sort of

condemn

anybody but

to call

the Galatians

and to call

us out of

these things.

We need

help.

Paul says

the Spirit

will provide

the Christ-like

fruit that

you need.

Only He can

make us

righteous like

Jesus.

We need

Him and

when we

walk by

Him,

when we

walk by

the Spirit

of Jesus

Christ,

this fruit

that we

see in

verses 22

and 23

is evident

moment by

moment,

circumstance

by circumstance,

but also

increasingly so

as we

mature and

grow in

our faith.

This fruit

should be

blossoming and

expanding in

our lives

as we walk

by the Spirit

and seek

His help.

Notice

again that the

fruit of the

Spirit involves

so much of

this relational

kind of

dynamic.

Love,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

gentleness,

things that

show up in

our interactions

with one

another.

And Paul

here is not

talking about

things that

are natural

temperament.

Some of us

are just very

by nature

kind people.

Some of us

are fairly

patient individuals,

it's our

natural disposition.

That's not

what Paul is

talking about.

He's not

saying,

well,

you get a

pass if

you're an

impatient guy.

You get a

pass on this

fruit.

Saying this

is fruit that

is of the

Spirit.

Only God

produces it

and He will

produce it

as we seek

His help

and walk

by the

Spirit.

God will

love and

serve others

even if

they may

annoy us

or disappoint

us or hurt

us.

It means

that

God will

produce the

fruit of

gentleness

inside of

us who

may be

struggling

to love

someone

who's

rude

or harsh

toward us.

And it

means that

we will be

kind

toward those

who are

impatient

and aren't

bearing the

fruit of

the Spirit.

And we

know all

too well

that we

can end

up on

both sides

of this

exchange,

right?

Sometimes

we bear

the fruit

of the

Spirit

for the

sake of

those who

are struggling

with something.

And other

times those

of us in

the church

around us,

our friends,

our brothers

and sisters

bear the

fruit for

us because

we need

it, because

we're struggling,

because we've

wronged

somebody.

All of

this is

provided by

the Spirit

and only

by the

Spirit.

And of

course it's

love that

headlines the

list.

This first

priority on

the list is

love, because

Paul has just

said in the

previous verses

that the

whole law is

fulfilled in

one word.

You shall

love your

neighbor as

yourself.

That's verse

14.

Paul says

love is only

possible, true

love, the

love he's

talking about is

only possible and

yet readily

available as we

walk by the

Spirit.

We need the

Spirit to love

one another.

We need the

Spirit to

produce Christ

like fruit in

our lives.

Flesh doesn't

create these

things.

Only conflict and

division and

harm.

The Spirit

empowers us to

love, to

joy, to

peace,

patience and

kindness,

gentleness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

self-control.

And

ultimately, the

thing that the

Spirit provides

is eternal

life.

The flesh isn't

going to get you

there.

Paul says this

much at the end

of verse 21.

Those who

practice such

things, works of

the flesh, will

not inherit the

kingdom of God.

though we

don't see the

opposite idea at

the end of the

fruit of the

Spirit, it's

implied.

Those who are

bearing the fruit

of the Spirit,

those who are

walking by the

Spirit, are

sons of God and

they will inherit

eternal life.

life.

It's been said

that Jesus

accomplishes our

salvation and

the Holy Spirit

applies our

salvation.

He gives us

life in Jesus,

he sustains our

lives in Jesus,

he ultimately

will bring us

to glory.

So we need the

Spirit.

He provides what

the flesh cannot

provide.

Freedom,

Christ-like fruit,

eternal life.

It's the second

reason Paul gives

walk by the

Spirit.

The third and

final reason of

our text is in

verse 24.

We need the

Spirit because he

reminds us of who

we are in

Christ.

Paul writes in

verse 24,

and those who

belong to Christ,

Jesus, have

crucified the

flesh with its

passions and

desires.

This is a huge,

bodacious claim.

For those who

belong to Christ,

they have crucified

the flesh with its

passions and

desires.

sinners.

It means that the

Christian already

has the assurance

of victory over

the flesh because

it's already on the

cross being crucified

and done away with.

Friends, let me let

you in on a little

secret.

Crucifixion always

works.

It always kills the

one it intends to

kill.

Paul says, those who

belong to Jesus have

crucified the flesh.

It's perishing, it's

dying, it's being done

away with.

So in this verse, we

have another message of

hope.

It really is true.

The flesh is perishing

because of who we are.

We need the Spirit

because He reminds us

of who we are in

Christ.

Let me help realize

that seems like I

just went off on a

tangent.

But if we think

about it for a

second, we all know

the difference, right,

between a head

knowledge and a heart

knowledge.

This is the longest

two feet.

to travel ever

from our head

to our heart.

How do we get what's

true about Jesus and

what's true about us in

Him from our head

into our heart?

The flesh is not going

to do it for us,

friends.

We can't think hard

enough to get it from

our head into our

heart.

It's the Spirit alone

who will remind us and

impress these things upon

our heart in such a

way that they begin to

operate out of us.

We need the Spirit to

remind us of who we

are in Christ.

Paul says this much,

that's the Spirit's role

back in chapter 4,

verse 6.

He says this,

And because you are

sons, God has sent the

Spirit of His Son into

our hearts, crying,

Abba, Father.

This is how what's true

about us gets from our

head to our heart.

The Spirit reminds us.

He lives and dwells in

our hearts and He reminds

us of what is true about

us.

Words, either spoken or

on a page, can get into

our heads.

They can't get into our

hearts.

We need help for that.

We need the Spirit for

that.

He alone affects the

heart.

We need Him to remember

who we are, not in some

mental or intellectual

way, but in a way that

transforms us and changes

who we are.

Because we know we can

all be forgetful that we

even belong to Jesus in

the first place.

There's other times we

can be hardened and

callous and just don't

want anything to do with

the truth.

We need the Spirit to

soften us enough for it

to get lodged in our

heart and start producing

fruit.

Sometimes we can get

tunnel vision thinking

that the flesh is winning

and we get so discouraged

that we just check out.

The Spirit of Jesus is

our helper.

He's who we need.

The beautiful thing Jesus

says in John 16, 13, that

when the Spirit comes, He

will guide us into all

truth.

He will reveal everything

we need to know about God,

about our salvation, about

our very lives.

The Spirit will bring us

into that truth.

Jesus doesn't say, this book

that I'm leaving you or the

self-help book or your own

intuition, but the Holy

Spirit, God Himself, will

remind us of what we need to

remember in order to live

into this salvation accomplished

by Jesus for us.

So we tried to argue this

morning from Galatians 5 that

we need the Holy Spirit's

help.

We need Him to defeat the

flesh.

We need Him to produce and

provide what only He can

provide that the flesh

cannot.

And we need the Spirit to

remind us of who we are in

Christ.

Christ.

So walk by the Spirit,

friends.

Hopefully this text has

convinced you of your need

to do so this morning, but

I'm guessing maybe you're

still wondering, well, how

do I do that?

What does it mean to walk by

the Spirit?

It seems great.

Yeah, sign me up, but how's

this look?

What does it mean?

Well, with the time we have

left, I want to try and help

us answer that a little bit.

First, I think there's

confusion about who the

Holy Spirit is, what He

intends to do, and why He

intends to do it.

So let me give us a few

things.

A couple of, it's not this,

it's not this.

Sometimes it might be that.

It's always this.

It's not this.

Your alarm goes off in the

morning, kind of wipe the

sleep dust out of your eyes,

and you wait for the Spirit

to tell you whether you

should drink coffee or tea.

It's not that.

The Spirit is interested in

truth and righteousness, not

beverage selections.

It's not this either.

The Spirit told me to punch

that guy in the face.

Because I was mad at him.

Or the Spirit told me to

divorce my wife and marry

this other lady.

The Spirit never contradicts

the Bible.

He always upholds it.

Sometimes, there's a

particular prompting.

It's kind of hard to explain

it.

It doesn't sort of show up as

an objective thing in the

Bible, but there's a

prompting to, hey, get on the

other side of the sidewalk.

Or, man, I think I need to

change lanes here or something.

Sometimes, this happens,

right?

We've probably experienced

some of this.

We shouldn't go looking for

these things as if the Holy

Spirit is just wanting to

make us robots and just kind of

dictate every single decision

and move of our lives like that.

It's not primarily what he

cares to do in us and through

us.

We shouldn't rely on this type of

thing.

Some people might debate that,

but that's kind of my take

anyway.

But always, we can be sure that

the Holy Spirit is seeking to

produce and work this way in all

of us.

He's looking to glorify Jesus.

John 16, 14.

He's looking to meet every single

spiritual need we have.

He's looking to produce

righteousness in our attitudes,

our affections, and our actions.

He's looking to assist our prayers.

Abba, Father.

And groanings with too deep for

words when we don't know what to

pray for as we ought.

Romans 8.

He's always interested in enabling

us to worship the risen Jesus.

Always.

Every time we gather, the Holy

Spirit is interested in our

worship and empowering us to

worship God in the way that he's

due.

He's always guiding us into all

truth.

He always wants us to come to a

greater and greater understanding

of the word of God and what it

means for our lives and who God

is revealed to be in it.

He's always giving us understanding

of God and of his word.

These are things the Holy Spirit

always delights to do.

Always delights to convict us

us of sin and to transform us into

the righteousness and image of

Jesus.

He's passionate about these

things and he works these things

constantly in our lives on behalf of

Christ.

So now, just a couple little

descriptions of what it can look

like.

How do I walk by the Spirit?

What are you getting at, Paul, when you

say walk by the Spirit?

I'll try to just sort of break that

down and deconstruct it a little bit.

And this isn't perfect, but I hope it

helps.

We need to be aware of the Holy Spirit's

presence in our lives.

He's always with us.

He lives in our hearts.

He doesn't kind of go on vacation.

He's always present in the heart of the

Christian.

We need to just cultivate this awareness

that he is with us.

So many times, right, we can just walk

around unaware of his presence.

That does us no good if the command is to

walk by him.

We've got to be aware of him.

And the more we're able to remember him,

the more we can walk by him.

Walk in his power.

Walk by his strength.

Walk on the path that he is revealing to

us from the Word of God for our ultimate

good.

It's kind of like this.

We have a two-story house.

And even if my wife is upstairs and I'm

downstairs, I know she's there.

I know she's home.

I know she's present simply because I know

where she is.

It's kind of like that.

If we can kind of develop that sort of

awareness of the Holy Spirit, he's always

home.

He's always in us.

He's always acting in our lives.

To develop an awareness of his presence.

But two, cultivate a dependence upon him.

Particularly for everything spiritual.

You can't understand a Bible verse?

Pray to the Holy Spirit to illuminate, to teach

you what it means.

And you might want to go ask help from a friend

who studied it longer or whatever.

But the Holy Spirit wants us to know God's Word.

Wants us to know the truth.

Depend upon him.

He should be your first call.

You need wisdom for a major decision in your

life. James 1.5

If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God.

Spirit, you're with me.

I need wisdom.

I need help.

I don't know what I'm doing.

Desiring to love your spouse,

your neighbor,

your brother, sister better.

It's the Spirit's fruit.

Ask him.

Depend on him to bear that fruit

in your life.

He will.

I was thinking this week,

I was convicted by this,

that

though I would say

I don't want to rely on the Spirit

to kind of decide which grocery store

I frequent,

how easily

I can turn to

sad sources

for information

when the Spirit should be

the one I turn to.

I don't do this particular one

but it's like

turning to Google

to seek some spiritual answer

instead of going to the Spirit

of the living God

dwelling inside of us.

It's silly

and yet

I do this stuff all the time.

I don't rely

and depend on the one

who lives in me

and wants my good.

Wants me to know God.

Wants me to be wise

in my actions.

Wants me to put

the flesh to death.

Must depend on the Spirit.

That's walking by Him.

Walking by the Spirit

means growing in godliness.

1 Thessalonians chapter 4

1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

says the will of God

is your sanctification.

The will of God

is that you would come

to resemble more and more

the person of Jesus Christ.

Your character,

your attitudes,

your actions

would be like Jesus.

I want Paul's question

in Galatians 3 verse 3

Galatians 3:3

ringing in my mind

a lot for this reason.

He writes to the Galatians,

are you so foolish

that having begun

by the Spirit,

are you now being

perfected by the flesh?

Are you trying to work

this out on your own?

If we want to grow in godliness,

we need the Holy Spirit.

And growing in godliness

is walking by the Spirit.

I cannot grow,

I will not grow

apart from the Spirit's help.

He gives the growth.

So the last thing.

All of these,

I've been trying to

both help us see

that the Spirit

has this active,

ongoing presence

in our life,

but that we're also

cooperating along with Him.

This isn't some

just kind of sit down

on the couch

and let Him drag us around.

But we cooperate,

we press in

in the ways

that God has called us to,

right?

And it's,

these aren't super complex things,

but we draw near to God

through His Word.

We pray to Him

and seek His help.

So we're cooperating,

we're cultivating

this dependence,

this awareness.

Essentially,

walking by the Spirit

is cultivating

a relationship with Him.

It's forming the habit

of seeking His wisdom

as we make decisions

that pertain

to our spiritual well-being.

It's forming the habit

of opening our Bible,

knowing that He is there

ready to help us.

So we pray,

Psalm 119.18,

Open my eyes

that I might behold

wondrous things

from Your Word.

It's forming the habit

of making every effort

to rely upon Him

for our faith.

It's a lifelong endeavor.

We don't ever arrive,

but we strive

to make it normal,

to make it a habit

to depend on Him.

It's like breathing,

second nature.

We want to be so aware

and so dependent

on the Spirit

that it just becomes

naturally who we are

because we've cultivated it

so much.

we're conditioned

and poised

to walk by the Spirit

because we need Him

so much

in our lives.

Church,

let's seek the Spirit.

Let's walk by Him

because we need Him.

We need Him

for our salvation.

Let's pray.

Father,

thank You for Your Word.

I recognize

I've said a lot of things

and none of it

will bear fruit

apart from Your Spirit.

Spirit,

would You have Your way

in our hearts,

in our lives.

Would You help us?

We need You.

Pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.