Impelled by the Spirit

Good morning, all righty. If you have your Bible with you,

I sure. Hope you do.

Won't you open up to Galatians chapter 5 while you're turning

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

there if you don't know? Your Bible actually has a.

Table of contents up front if you need to find it.

Yeah, if if it's unfamiliar territory.

Now, being facetious, we're going to be in Galatians 5.

Actually, what I want to do today is I want to take a

little. Bit of a leaf out of Rory's

book. I don't know if you were here if

you've been in three CR that long, but the very first Sunday

nights. That Rory preached here at 3 CR

we're. Still in our in our tent, he

said this, he said, I want to invite you into my study as we

go through the scripture together.

And that's really what I want to do.

I want to invite you into my study.

As we look at. This portion of Galatians

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 because I want to. As Ross said, I want.

To have you look over my shoulder.

To see scripture the way I've. Found scripture to be during the

week to to see the nuances there, to see the words that

link together and the argument that Paul's unpacking not only

so that you can, you know, highlight this and take it home

tomorrow and Tuesday, Wednesday, but also maybe that you take

some tools. Away today.

That you can bring to bear on the book of Jonah when we change

series in a few weeks time and learn to unpack.

Scripture for yourself. Get to know.

This God who loves to speak to his children.

So if you're there, we're in Galatians chapter 5.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

I'm going to read from verse 13. Cover what Rory covered.

And then into this week's proportion says you, my brothers

and sisters were. Called to be.

Free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the.

Flesh rather serve. One another humbly in love for

the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command.

Love your neighbor as. Yourself if.

You bite and devour each other. Watch out or.

You'll be destroyed. By each other.

So I say. Walk by the Spirit and you will

not gratify the. Desires of the flesh, for the

flesh desires what is. Contrary to the Spirit and the

Spirit, What is contrary? To the flesh.

They are in conflict. With each other.

So that you are not to do what you want, but if you are led by

the Spirit, you're not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious sexual.

Immorality, impurity and debauchery.

Idolatry and witchcraft. Supporting western province

hatred. Discord.

Jealousy. Sorry.

Are you not in my study? Come on.

It's there. It's there.

You see? Yeah, but two or three agree.

Hatred, discord. Jealousy fits.

Of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy,

drunkenness, orgies and the like.

I warn you as I did. Before that, those who.

Live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace.

Forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and

self-control. Against such things there is no

law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus

have. Crucified the flesh.

With its passions and desires since we live.

By the Spirit let. Us keep in step.

With the Spirit. Let us not become conceited,

provoking and envying each other.

Now, if you're sitting there listening to that, it's like

drinking from a fire hose, right?

There's so much. Going on.

OK, so where I start and where I encourage?

You to start is just read. And reread and reread.

Maybe look at it in context. Read the.

Whole of chapter 5. Or in context within the book of

Galatians, starting from the beginning and just picking it up

and maybe you start noticing some.

Words that are repeated. I know one thing that Roy loves

to do when he approaches the book.

Of the Bible is he highlights. The names of God.

It's like, what is it of God that he's?

Wanting to put on display here. What?

One of my Bible college lecturers said, and I highly

recommended is don't just. Go to your favorite.

Version. Maybe take an ESV as well as an

NRV or NLT and read through it see see the different colors and

nuances there. It's interesting what you

discover. I read.

I read. Through the message version this

morning and it's just it. Brought a.

Whole new angle to what Paul is saying here and then what I.

Do is I like to? Try and pick up on sort of the.

Thread of the. Argument that's that's going

through there and I want to I want to show you what I picked

up on when it comes. To this because Paul.

Is he's a genius, right? I don't think what we what I'm

going to show you is a coincidence.

So if we put up the. 1011 verses.

That we've that I've just read. For you.

OK, those are the verses. You'll notice that, Paul.

Bookends his argument and we'll. Highlight that for you, so he

says. Right at the very beginning, if

you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be

destroyed by each other and on the other end they does not

become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Now this kind of jumped out at me.

Because Paul's been going after the Judaizers.

And those who want to bring them in for circumcision, everything.

And suddenly turns the sights on the people in three.

CR and as we're. Talking about those baddies with

the guns and the knives out there.

Now all of a sudden he turns his focus on the Galatians

themselves, and he makes quite a statement there.

If you bite and devour each other, watch.

Out or you'll be destroyed by each other.

He's basically saying this is what's going down at the moment.

This is what's happening in your ranks.

And that caught my attention and I sort of stewed on it.

I like to say marinated in the word.

I'm like, Lord, what is? What?

What's this issue? Here and I was reminded and and

this can only be God because. This.

Book I think I've got in 2011. I was reminded it's Michael

Eaton. The book is called No

condemnation. Don't read it.

It's. A textbook, it says.

Thesis on the law and. It's like proper high grade

stuff. But in it.

He says the following. He tells the story right at the

very. Beginning because it seems.

Like. Michael Eaton, as a preacher,

had noticed the same was happening in his congregation.

He says the following. He says I began to feel very

dissatisfied with my preaching. He said my preaching seemed to

be producing converts who are narrow minded, introspective

and. Pharisaical, in Paul's words.

They were biting and devouring at each other, on the brink of

destroying each other, conceited, provoking and envying

each other, he says. Us all the same thing, he says.

I was beginning to see that they were being that my preaching.

Of God's grace was. Producing a resemblance not to

the New Testament Christians, but to the New Testament

Pharisees. And it bothered him, bothered

him to no end. So he says the following, he

says, I began to think along these lines when my father was

very ill. He was worried his father was

going to pass away. So he went back home to London

to be with his dad during this trying time and while he was

there. He said I.

Thought to himself, You know what?

This is the perfect. Opportunity to sit under the.

Best of the best preachers. And see where I've gone wrong.

Maybe I can learn something about why it is that I'm

preaching. Grace, but people are.

Living Law. So he said the following, he

says. I went to a famous church to

hear a man who was well known for his preaching.

Although his. Exposition of Hosea 14 was

accurate, well prepared and delivered in a way that held my

attention. This is what he noticed.

No one in the fellowship seemed to have the.

Slightest. Interest in me, homesick for my

family and their friendliness. I was amazed that no one said a

word to me and decided I would simply stand at the back of the

church and wait. Surely someone would say

something to me. Slowly, the worshippers drifted

off. It was a cold, rainy night and I

had nowhere to go except the 20 kilometers to my dying father.

Finally, there was just two of us left on the.

Steps of the Church. Myself and the preacher who had

apparently been left to lock up the building.

He put on his raincoat, stepped out into the rain and as he

walked away from me. Shouted over his shoulder.

Good night. I stood in front of the church

building for some minutes with the wind blowing the rain in my

face. Was this?

I asked myself. Really the fruits of.

Preaching. The Gospel of Grace or had I

lost the plot? And he says while he's driving

home, he's stirred in his heart. He's.

Like grieving, he's like. Father.

The fruit of my. Preaching is the same fruit of

his preaching. What is missing here?

And he was reminded about the book of Galatians.

He said the following. Sorry, he said the following.

He said. I went and I studied the book of

Galatians, and I found I could only.

Regret that it. Took me so long to accept

Galatians in its totality. I believed in the.

First half that. Christians are saved by.

Grace, but I had failed to live. The second-half that you're not

under the law I. Believed the first half the.

Christians are. Saved by grace.

But I wasn't living the fact that I was no longer under the

law. What he is saying here?

He realized the. Problem in his preaching.

To those he was. Preaching to and to himself.

As a preacher. Was that it's one thing to know

the gospel and know. About Grace, It's a.

Complete different thing to. Live it that.

Was the dissonance. There was a dissonance with

Michael Eaton, There was the dissonance with Paul and the

church in Galatia. And that is the dissonance.

With us. Here in three CR.

See, we love to say, oh, I go to three CI got the best coffee.

Greatest music? It's air.

Conditioned and climate controlled and we.

Preach grace, but people. Avoid you and you're prickly and

arrogant and opinionated because you haven't applied the.

Gospel. You're living under the law.

Or you can say, oh, the grace of God by.

Christ alone, faith alone. But you are so stingy that the

waiters. On Sunday, try to avoid your

table because they know they're just going to get complaints and

there's going to be like a couple of cents left because

you're not applying the gospel. Or you can save.

You're a blood. Bored Jesus believing St.

But you walk into that office and the atmosphere turns toxic

because you're grumpy and self-centered and all you want

to do is crush the competition because you're not applying the

grace, You're not applying the gospel.

You know it, but you're not living it.

And so that's where. Paul starts, he starts with the

problem, says this is our. Problem 3 CR So Blanche and my

life group leader said to me on Tuesday said we come to the

conclusion that you and RAW are just getting up there week after

week and saying. Do you get it yet?

Do you get it yet? Do you get it yet?

Because that's what Paul is doing.

Do you get it yet? Do you get it yet?

No, you don't get. It yet because you're not

applying the gospel, you're not living it.

You can say I get it. I understand it.

Yeah, I've heard. This all before but are you?

Living it. So that's the bookend.

That's the problem. Now if we bring up those 1011.

Verses he also has a bull's eye. This is what Paul.

'S going after. If that's the problem, this is

what he's aiming for. You can highlight it for us.

I've expanded it just. A little bit.

It's like. Right in the middle there he

says the following. Says the acts of the.

Flesh are obvious. Maybe this was?

Your bulls are before you got saved, you know.

Sexual immorality and purity and debauchery, Idolatry and

witchcraft, Hatred, discord, jealousy and fits of rage.

Selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy.

Drunkenness, orgies and the like.

But the new Bulls are. The fruit of the Spirit Lovejoy.

Peace. Forbearance, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

That's beautiful. So no, no, no, we're not.

We're not walking this way. We're walking this way.

But here's something that I noticed, and I looked in every

translation I could find, even the original Greek.

One thing I noticed about that bullseye Paul never says.

Stop it. Not once.

Hey, he doesn't say drunkenness. Stop it.

He doesn't even say. Witchcraft.

Stop it. Why?

Because that would be to apply the law.

And while your legal parameters are twitching, here's another

problem. He doesn't say.

Do it. He doesn't say.

Be joyful, be kind, be more faithful, because that would be

to apply the law. Take a look at verse 22.

It says, but the fruit of the what?

He doesn't even say the fruit of the Christian like your

mother-in-law. Says I thought Christians he.

Doesn't even do that. Did I hit a nerve bro?

So he says the problem is, the problem is.

You think you know Grace here, but actually you're living under

the law. The bull's eyes.

I want. You to bear the fruit of the

spirit, but it. Doesn't give us like how you

know that's what I want. Give me the 10 steps and I'll

smash. It actually I'll bear the best.

Fruit you've ever seen. But he doesn't do that, and

therein lies the problem. Because what we like.

To do in our pragmatic achiever. Crush it.

Name it climate, frame it Christianity.

Is we like? To say, OK, it's not the law,

but I'm going to. Absolutely smash this.

I'm going to put law on this this.

Walk with the Spirit. But if you really.

See it? There's no stop it.

There's no do it. He just puts the.

Picture in front of us. Which?

Begs the question, how then? How then should we live?

Which is wonderful. Because that is the answer that

Paul gives us. Actually, he starts with the

word. So I say before we go back to

the screens, he says. So I say.

So he's just said if you button devour each other, watch.

Out or you'll be destroyed. By each other verse 15 and he's

going to verse eight sorry verse 22 the.

Fruit of the Spirit. Says OK, so how we get from here

to here? The first thing he says.

So I say, and that is. The Greek word Lego don't.

Know if you know. Lego, they got their.

Name from this word. Lego.

What happens when you get the Millennial Falcon 7 1/2 thousand

pieces? They give you a.

Little booklet says this. Is how you go from that mess.

To the bullseye. Take this block and you put it

there. You take this block and you put

it there. Even if you know Pete, you're

building Bobby's bedroom. Same thing.

Just less pages. And that's exactly.

What Paul does here, so I say. So let's put those verses back

up. And if you have a pen underline

in verse 16, he says. So I say.

Lego building block walk. By the.

Spirit Lego Building block, verse 18.

Led by the Spirit. Lego verse 22.

Fruit of the Spirit. Lego Next building block verse

25 Keep in step. With the Spirit, I'll keep it

up. There for you, Dennis, because.

You look like you're struggling all right.

So it says we're going from here to here.

Walk by the Spirit, led by the Spirit.

Bear fruit by the Spirit. And keep in step with the

spirit. Now this I'll need you to know

to frame before we take the next step when it says walk.

By the Spirit who's. Doing The Walking?

No, it's not Jesus. I know at Sunday school the

answer is always. Jesus, who's?

Doing The Walking me. OK, You can write there,

Stephen. No, write.

Write me mine, says Stephen. OK, if you're led.

By the Spirit. Who's doing the leading?

The Spirit, yes, so. You can write spirit there.

Now that word there. I just want to drill down a

little. Bit here if you're led by the

spirit, if you take a direct 2. Dimensional translation.

It's the English word impel. I think they don't use it there

because no one really talks about impelling one another.

Impale, yes, but impel is not such a common word.

But to impel, if you have a pool pump, you have an impeller.

Not a propeller, an impeller. And it draws.

The water out of the pool too to the filter, right?

Or if you. Have a little child maybe?

This is your first winter. We are the maze and you've got a

little Kitty who gets the flu and a snot nose and you take her

to. The Doctor.

And the doctor says, OK, what you need is you're going to take

this little. It looks like a syringe.

With this thing cut off and it's got a little tube, you're going

to stick that syringe in your little baby's nose and you're

going to stick the straw. Part into your mouth.

And you're going to Impel. True story, it still exists in

this. Day we haven't found anything

better and we you just. 2 rules make sure.

You include that little sponge in the middle there the.

Stopper, Yeah. You only forget it once and then

from experience and rule number two, stop when the back of the

head starts caving in that you've gone too far.

OK. Who's?

Doing the impelling. Not your little baby.

I'm impelling, OK. If you're.

Impelled by the Spirit. OK, so spirit, fruit of the

spirit, who's bearing? The fruit.

Who's producing the fruit? Spirit.

Keep in. Step with the Spirit who's

keeping in step me. OK, so if you have the pen and

you've written, it will be walk by the Spirit me led by the

Spirit Spirit. Fruit of the Spirit.

Spirit, keep in step. With the spirit me basically

what? Paul's saying is.

It's it's a partnership, it's a relationship, OK?

It's not a let go and let God. It's adjoining.

With God. OK, now I'm going to show you

how. Right, says so.

I say Lego. Now this is the clangor walk by

the. Spirit and you.

Will not gratify the. Desires of the flesh I bought

what? How's that possible?

Or because the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit

and the? Spirit, what is contrary to the

flesh? They are in conflict with one

another. Now I have these imported

magnets. Thank you Hannah for arranging

this. These dinky little things can

carry 200 KGS of weight. But they.

Are in conflict with one another.

OK, now you can't see, but I'm going to ask you to welcome my

beautiful assistant, Damien. Damien.

Damien. Yeah.

We needed to use up budget. Before the new.

Financial year so I've. Brought one of.

The best SO. This is Damian Born.

And raised in Zimbabwe. They.

Don't get any tougher than this. If there's one man.

In this building, he can put those two.

Together even. Though they're in conflict with

one another. It's this man over here and he

knows my name, OK? Give us, give us.

Let's get that camera on him.

Sorry folks. OK, but now if.

I take these. Little now these.

I call them the the finger protectors take them off.

OK, so they are in conflict with one another.

But should I? Turn said magnets.

Yeah. And I can tell you, even

Damien's brother won't be able to pull this.

Apart because it's two. 100 KGS times 2.

OK, what happened when I? Turned that magnet.

It was. Impelled.

That is what Paul is saying. Saying to you and I.

To walk by the Spirit to keep. In step with the Spirit to bear.

Fruit of the Spirit, What is required of us is that we

respond. To the impelling of the Spirit.

It says there if you are LED. If you are impelled by the

Spirit, you're not under the law, you are.

Pulled into the. Purposes and the plans and the

presence and power and resources of God.

I don't know if you. Know the aspirin.

Thank you, Damien. Well done.

Yes, yes. I.

Don't know if you know about the the Asbury revival.

That happened in. February last year.

That for. Me was Ground Zero for the

impelling presence of God. I went digging around.

I'm a maven, I think is the name Malcolm Gladwell.

You know, randomly gathering information and stories and, and

statistics and they might be used one day.

And so I went through my filing system and I came across 2.

Crazy. Testimonies.

About the Asbury revival and the one was of AI think he's a

priest or? A pastor, he's part of the

Church of England. His name's El Gordon, and he got

wind of the Asbury Revival. And so he found a friend who had

been there, who was at the venue, and he said, oh, you've

got to come. This is the real.

Deal and so Al. And a couple of friends flew

across. And he tells how he tries to

drive. Into Astbury.

I don't know if. You saw the signs, but it was

like. You know, city closed.

Revival. He had to park.

Out in the sticks. And he said he.

Climbed out of that car and something hit him.

He. Said it was just like.

And he said it wasn't comfortable.

It wasn't like climbing at the car at Disneyland, you know.

Yay. Revival.

It was God is here, he said. It was like staring.

At the sun an Unbeknownst to him, he and the rest of the

people in the car made a beeline for the first patch of grass and

got on their knees. He.

Said he was on. His knees for about 3.

Hours crying. Out to God.

For the areas in his life. Where his?

Heart had turned. From God.

And he said his words. He said.

Listen, I'm not an axe murderer. Said but there was selfish.

Ambition in there there. Was arrogance, There was

insecurity. And it just felt like as much as

I wanted to draw near to God, I was in conflict.

I had to turn, John Tyson, who had the privilege of actually

sharing it, one of the meetings, said before he went up on stage

himself. And pretty much anyone who took

center stage went through a consecration room and they would

spend hours there until they felt that.

A release. And he said the band, the

musicians, people who had a prophetic.

Word, those who are. Leading the tongue, we're going

to this consecration room that pray over them that wait on God

and here were some of the questions that they were asked.

Is there? Anything in your heart right now

that is going to. Stop you from hosting.

The glory. Of God see they.

Understood. That the.

Spirit and the flesh are in conflict with one another.

You're not going to move in there.

Someone's going to be pushed out and he needed to have his heart

turned that says, is there any sin you need to confess that's

going to stop the. Power of God flowing through

your life. Is there any?

Any sin, anything that's got you turned from the presence of God

that you need to repent of and turn back so that you can be

impelled by the presence and the ministry can continue.

And that shouldn't surprise us because.

If you know anything. About the aspirator revival.

I've got a photo here of actually where it started.

It's it's an amazing. Picture you can pop it up for me

and Nick. All that happened, it was a

dinky. Little, almost a school assembly

kind of the moment. So 3040.

People there. And a few.

Of them. Went forward to turn their

hearts to God. And there's.

Something about a heart turned to God that he can't resist that

impelling nature of the. Spirit just and.

Friends gathered around. I love the picture of the girl.

Lying on the. Stage the musician and of course

10s of thousands of people traveled from around the world.

But if you couldn't? Get in.

It's no. Surprise you?

Want to see what it looked like outside?

Before going. Anywhere near the presence of

God there was this. Urge.

And it wasn't an announcement, OK.

Everybody, we're all going to go down on our knees now.

It was just the reality that God comes where.

He's wanted and the closer you get.

To God just feels like this heart that has turned away.

Needs to be turned back. And the impelling?

Nature of God would. Draw them in.

And that's what Paul is saying here.

He's not saying. Here's A to do list, here's a.

Checklist here's. Things that need to be repented

of. All he's saying is if you turn

because there's a part. That we play.

Walk by. The Spirit keep in step with the

spirit. It's a relationship and.

Where we've turned in our relationship, he says.

If you turn back, you will be. Impelled by the Spirit, God

comes. Where he's wanted and so that's

I'll close. With this, that is the theology.

Those are the bones of what Paul is going after in Luke 15.

Jesus puts a body to those bones.

And he tells Pharisees. Teachers of the law.

Tax. Collectors and sinners, and.

Advocates and. Advocates and province

supporters. About the prodigal son who takes

his. Inheritance turns from the

father squanders that inheritance in wild living.

Prostitutes, you name it. Pretty much all of Galatians 5.

But what happens, he says, when he came to his senses?

He turned. And you know what?

He found he found a father in the maintenance.

He found the father. He didn't just.

Find a father. He found a waiting father.

Who had been there? Had been there all along, just

waiting for him to turn. Not just a waiting.

Father, but a running father because he's a God who?

Impels his children to him. Smothered him in kisses.

Covered him. With his robe.

Ring on the. Finger sandals.

Slaughter the fattened. Cough, it's time to feast

because the sun has come home and that's all that.

Paul is saying. He's taking the picture that

Jesus painted and he's given us the bones and he says to you, if

you're. Battered and bruised and.

Bullied by the one that you really trusted?

Just 10. If you're dripping with.

Depression and Anxiety, 10. If you're in the pig star of

porn. Close that.

Laptop 10 if you're. Lonely.

Isolated. Insecure.

If you're a failure, turn if you're in.

The middle of hammering out some desperate attempt to gain the

approval. Of the Father, just because.

There in this place. Where you cannot be pulled

apart, this place, the Bible says, if you abide in me.

You will. Bear much fruit.

Lovejoy. Peace.

Forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and

self-control. Because that.

Is the bullseye. May we be a people.

Who are perpetually turning. To the impelling presence of our

farm.