Guest Pastor Alex Feliciano

All right, good morning, family. Good morning.

I'm encouraged to be here today and I'm so happy to be here with

you guys. I'm.

I know this. The brother's not sitting here.

Oh, OK. I was like, I, I, I the last

time I gave him a hard time and he's like, so yeah.

I was like, oh, OK. I messed up.

I did it again so quickly. A couple things.

So as a former deputy sheriff, I've heard plenty of times

people say I didn't do anything wrong every time I sat in the

courtroom. So you might not want to go in

there just saying you didn't do anything wrong.

Also, I'm I'm so encouraged to see my brother here today.

He wasn't here last time and he shared a testimony with me about

his son. I'm so happy.

I was just telling my wife quickly about it that that he

got his job back and then he's actually in a better position.

So God is good. Amen.

So today, first, I just want to mention that with everything

going on, just remember, remember there is a king.

There is a king. And the truth is he is the king

of all nations, including this one.

And I just want us to be reminded of that, that our king

is greater than any king that's ever existed, and he reigns on

his throne forever. So while they scream out there,

they don't want any kings, I have a king and I'll be loyal to

him to the day I die. Praise God.

All right, so today I want to talk about one of the most

important battles you and I will ever face.

The battle for control of our hearts.

Every person in here, oh, that's a believer.

Every believer must choose who or what will be their master.

The Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter 5 puts this choice in

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

stark terms. You will either walk by the

flesh or walk by the spirit. You can't do both.

One leads to bondage and the other to freedom.

One leads to spiritual decay and the other to life and

fruitfulness. In Christ.

Paul says in Romans chapter 8 verse 5 through 6, those who

Romans 8:5–6

live according to the flesh have their mind set on what the flesh

desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have

their mind set on what the Spirit desires.

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed

by the Spirit is life and peace. So the title of the message is

flesh or spirit, choose your master.

So let's pray. Dear Lord, we come before your

presence, Lord, and we just thank you, Lord, for this

opportunity that you have allowed us for fellowship here

today. Lord, we ask that you open our

minds and our hearts to be receptive of the word that you

have given us. And I say us because the word is

for me as well. Lord, I ask you that you use me

as a tool and as a vessel to give the words that you want for

this congregation here today, for this fellowship of

believers, Lord. And I ask that you just give me

exactly what you want for them and as well for me, Lord.

And that it just Pierce our minds and, and just lay a

foundation and be rooted in our hearts, not just for today, but

going forward in our lives, in our spiritual walk and

forevermore. Lord, we ask you all these

things in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

So let's read together in Galatians chapter 5, verse 16.

Galatians 5:16

I'm sorry, Galatians chapter 5, verse 16 through 26.

Galatians 5:16–26

And we'll do the old school. When you all have it, please say

Amen. Amen. 5, five.

Yeah. Chapter 5, verse 16 through 26.

And what's the other one? If you don't have it, say

Hallelujah. That's how it went, right?

It's been a while. Amen, Amen.

But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the

desire of the flesh for the for the flesh.

That's a desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against

the flesh. For these are in opposition to

one another, so that you may not do the things that you please,

but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the

law. Now the deeds of the flesh are

evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,

sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger,

disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing

and things like these of which I forewarn you just I have

forewarned you, I have forewarned you that those who

practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

self-control. Against such things there is no

law. Now 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.

Yes, let us not become boastful, challenging one another and

being one another. Amen.

Amen. So once again, the title of the

messages, flesh or spirit, choose your masters, your

master. This is the word of God that we

correct. Correct.

So we got three points today, the first of which is the battle

continues. But before that, I just want to

give a little context because context matters, especially when

we're talking about Galatians. We have to understand what was

going on at the time. So the Galatian church was being

established in Galatia and there were people that were there that

were Gentiles that were converting to Christianity.

And they were agitators who were coming in from outside and

saying that they weren't really following God because they

weren't going with the old ways of the Jews and that they had to

be go back to the law in order to be made right with God.

And one of the main things they were talking about was

circumcision. And they were saying that the

Christians weren't truly following God because they

weren't circumcised. So that's why sometimes in the

Scripture you hear about the party of circumcision, right?

That's what they're talking about.

And so there was an emphasis amongst these agitators who were

coming in and teaching something contrary to what the apostles

were teaching. So they were teaching a

different gospel. So very early on we see that

within the the establishment of churches, there were people who

were coming in and saying, you're not doing it right and

adding on. And to this day, we still see

that, right? We still see people trying to

add on to what God has given us. So these agitators were coming

in and saying to the people, no, you're not actually right with

God because you're not following the law and you're not

circumcised. And the truth was there were

Gentiles there who were thinking to themselves, am I right with

God? Do I really need to get

circumcised? Do I need to do this thing?

And so it was calling, causing a dissension within the church.

So Paul writes this letter to reassure them that all they need

is Christ Jesus, right? That the law is just a picture

of our sin, right? It's there for us to look at and

to see that we are a fallen people, right?

And that we sin. And it paints a picture for us

and it tells us this is what we've done wrong and This is why

we are wrong. But it doesn't save us.

The law can't save us. And Jesus came to fulfill the

law and we are saved through Jesus Christ alone.

But what was happening was they were pointing people back to the

law and saying, if you're not in right standing with the law,

you're not right with God. But they could never be in right

standing with with with the law. They can't.

You always fall short of the law.

And so that what was was going on.

So our first point here is the battle continues.

So we'll begin with the question, why is this passage so

necessary for us today? Why did Paul write this to a

group of believers who already knew Jesus?

Because even though we are saved, the battle between the

flesh and the Spirit continues for us today.

Oftentimes we make a mistake and we read the scriptures and we

say, well, that was for them back then.

That doesn't really relate to us, but we can still take

something there and apply it to us today.

Paul says in verse 17, the flesh desires what is contrary to the

Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.

That means there's a war going on inside.

Every believer to this day, he's not writing that and saying

Galatia is just for you, you. No, this is for us as well.

There's a constant battle within us, our flesh warring against

our spirit. The flesh wants control.

It wants to call the shots, it wants to indulge, to please

itself, to be its own God. But here's the good news.

Romans chapter 8, verse 13 tells us.

Romans 8:13

And by the Spirit you put to death, the misdeeds of the body,

you will live. The same Spirit who raised Jesus

from the dead now lives in you, and he gives you power to

overcome sin. You know, that's just such a

profound thought to me. It just blows my mind to think

that the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead resides

within us. So praise God, right?

Praise God that he finds us, that he meets us there.

He gives us something, a comforter for us in our time of

need. And I often think about, you

know, I've heard this, this years ago, a sermon and somebody

was preaching on Psalms and they were saying, Can you imagine

Jesus standing up in the temple and reciting these same psalms

that we are reciting today? God's word spoken by God, and

now it's given to us so that we can speak.

Praise God. That's just a profound thought

that He left us something that we can hold onto.

The word of God itself, living and breathing, active in our own

lives every single day. And we just have that there for

us. And we just have to be reminded

that the Spirit resides within us, those of us that are

believers, because it's difficult.

We live and we sin and we fall short of the glory of God and

we're guilty of those sins. That is true, but we are

redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and that's what Paul

means when he says walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify

the desires of the flesh. That's not just advice, that's a

promise. It's interesting when you think

about it because it actually, it's actually contrary to our

nature. It's gratifying the desires of

the flesh. It's our flesh, it's us.

You know, a lot of times people like to point to outside things

and for the reason why they do things, you know, seeing gets

blamed for so much. But the truth is, a lot of times

we don't need Satan in order to fall into our sins.

That is the truth, right? And it's our own flesh that we

gratify, but it's us, it's us, it's our desire.

So it's actually a natural desire of us to want to sin,

right? The sinful nature that Adam had.

So it's only divine intervention for us to accomplish something

that is contrary to our nature. It has to be God because if it

was up to us, we would give in to our fleshly nature.

But the Holy Spirit resides in US and He is making a change in

US daily. He is sanctifying us and

changing us daily into the image of God that we should be walking

like Jesus walked. Amen.

Praise God. But the truth is naturally we

want to give in to our flesh because that's how we were

designed. That's how we are.

We were just a sinful people. Praise God for the war within.

Serenity isn't is sin and death. The Spirit has landed to do

battle with the flesh. So take heart if your soul feels

like a battlefield at times. The sign of whether you are

indwelt by the spirit is not that you have no bad desires,

but that you are at war with them.

That's by John Piper. In other words, that this the

the actual proof that you are a sanctified believer is that

you're actually warring with the flesh.

Often times we can feel guilty just because we think of

something, just because we've just desired something.

And the truth is that that is our flesh.

But the proof that we are saved is that we are actually warring

with that desire and praise. Have that constant war within

us. So take heart in knowing that

one, your battle with the flesh is a natural outcome of being

indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That's a victory.

The fact that you are warring with your flesh and your spirit

is a victory because the Spirit is residing with you. 2 You're

not alone in the battle. Each and every Christian who was

and is that ever existed has had these same struggles.

And we should lean in on that, right?

We should lean in on our brothers and sisters.

There's no example of the New Testament in Christianity where

it's individualism. There's no example of that.

When he's writing, he's writing to churches.

What we see is brothers. When Jesus is talking, he's

saying brothers, brothers and sisters.

And there's a reason why we should be confessing our sins,

leaning in on our brothers and sisters, because that is what

God has called us to do. Jesus didn't do his mission

alone. He took people with him.

He leaned in. Those people leaned in on each

other. And also they were different

kinds of people, right? You had a zealot, you had a

fisherman, you had a tax collector all there together.

Did they think the same? No.

Did they have the same issues? Obviously not.

The fisherman is not going to have the same interest as the

tax collector, right? They're not.

But what they did was they leaned in on each other, they

found common ground and they found brother brotherhood and

fellowship with one another. So take heart in knowing that

you are not alone and that this is a good thing.

You cannot win this battle by self effort.

You win it by surrender, by walking in the Spirit daily.

The Galatians were struggling with the same issues that we

have, not necessarily in the same way, but the sin issue was

the same thing that they were struggling with.

Some were turning back to legalism, believing they could

earn God's favor by following rules.

Others were turning to license, believing grace meant freedom to

sin. And we see that today, right?

It's nothing's changed. We still have people within the

church who are doing both right. You know, there, there, there's

an extreme on each end. There's an extreme tendency for

legalism and there's an extreme tendency for freedom.

And we see that constantly. Paul warns them.

Both are dangerous, both are forms of bondage.

In Galatians chapter 5, verse 1, he says it is for freedom that

Galatians 5:1

Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let

yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Legalism is the is the flesh dressed in religion?

License is the flesh dressed in rebellion.

Neither produces life of the spirit.

In other words, it's not just a religion, it's a relationship.

It's not quite correct, and neither is the opposite view of

legalism. We shouldn't use our freedom in

Christ to violate God's law, but we shouldn't use our freedom in

Christ to overburden ourselves or better yet, our brothers and

sisters with man made rules. So let's take that in for a

second. When we're talking about freedom

and legalism, right? You don't want to have too much

of either. There are people who say I'm

saved and they do whatever they want and they use it as a

license to sin and they go out and do whatever they want and

they're like, I'm good. I'll just show up on Sunday and

I'm good. Like I'll just ask for

forgiveness and I'm good. At the same time, there's a

tendency for over legalism where we appeal to rules and

regulation. Oftentimes man made rules and we

say, no, that's not right. You're not really a Christian

because you didn't do this. You didn't say that, you didn't

do that, you didn't do this. They don't do this, they don't

teach that, they don't do that, they don't do that.

And we have to be careful that we're not doing both of those

things. And there's also a tendency for

us to be harsh on ourselves and say, well, I fell, I didn't

follow that rule. I'm done now we have to be

understanding that is Jesus the Holy Spirit within us that that

frees us from those things we we we face those those same

tendencies and those tensions today all as all Christians

before us either trying to earn God's approval through

performance or drifting into sin under the excuse of grace.

But the Spirit calls us to a better way to live in true

freedom under His guidance and power.

You see totally different outlooks.

One of trying my hardest by doing the things and checking

the boxes to make God happy or Jesus loves me so I can do

whatever I want to extremes. And the truth is we should

reside somewhere in the middle of that.

We are free. We're free in Christ.

But that doesn't give us the freedom to sin.

The Christian life is war. The flesh is warring against the

Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.

They are opposed to each other. The battle will last as long as

we live, and Our Calling is to fight, not to make peace with

our flesh. But we fight in the confidence

that Christ has already secured the victory, and that's John

Piper. The battle continues, continues

between the flesh and the Spirit every single day, from the

moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep.

So how do we battle that? In prayer, in fasting, in our

words, in the Word constantly daily learning, seeking,

studying, drawing right from gleaning from our brothers and

sisters, doing the things that God has called us to do to

strengthen ourselves. Point #2 sin or sanctification.

Everyone of us share something with the Galatians.

We all have a fleshly nature that still wants control and we

all have the Spirit. Those of us that are saved have

the Spirit of God inside us calling us to surrender to and

obedience. Early on in verses 16 and 17

Paul begins to make a comparison Flesh or spirit or really the

deeper issue, sin or sanctification.

In Galatians chapter 6 verse 13, Paul says the agitators wanted

Galatians 6:13

the Galatians circumcised so they could boast in their flesh

the sin of pride. Paul uses flesh in three ways.

To mean human nature in general. To mean the physical body, but

most often especially contrasted with the spirit.

To mean the sinful human nature that belongs to the fallen

world, mind, body and soul included.

So when he's talking about flesh, he's talking about you.

You, it's simple, you. And when he's talking about the

flesh and the and the spirit, he's talking about sin.

Are you going to give in to sin or are you going to give in to

your sanctification process? What are you going to give in

to? And So what we see is there was

a call for the agitators for people to go back to the law and

go back to what the things that they knew they couldn't

accomplish on their own perfectly.

Why? Because of pride.

Let's not be given over to our pride.

And it's, it's difficult for us, especially I can speak for the

men in the church, right, that we tend to give in to the pride

because we so often think that we know the answer.

We can pull ourselves up, right, and put on our pants.

We can go out, we can move tractors.

We can do all these things and push them.

So of course we can figure this stuff out on our own.

But when it comes to the spiritual side of things, we

cannot figure this stuff out on our own.

I, I give thanks and I praise God for the, for the wife that I

have and, and, and how in tune she is with the Lord And I, and

I often times I have to say she would, you know, when I'm

praying about certain things, I say, she was right.

You know, I was wrong because I'm thinking about it from I,

I'm a problem solver. Like, I'm like, OK, how can we

do this? Well, let's do this, let's do

that, let's do that. Let's say this, let's say this.

And you know, I find myself sometimes not listening to the

advice that she gives me right away.

And then later on I'm like. Man, so I, I recently I was

talking to the girls and I was like, trust me when I tell you

nobody's going to give you as good advice as your mother

because nobody on the earth has your best interest in her mind,

in her thought, in her heart, as constant as your mother.

Trust me. And I, I tell them all the time.

I said my mother, before she even met Miriam, she was like,

that's your wife. And I'm so thankful I listened

to her because I learned early on that my mother was not, was

not going to give me a piece of advice that was going to be bad

to me. Like, she's not.

That's what mothers do, right? They give you advice to try to

help you. And I tell yes for the younger

guys, please listen to your mother's.

Trust me, you won't go wrong. Your mom is over there making

signs, too. But yeah, and I'm so thankful

that I, I, you know, that she is who she is and that, you know,

and prayerfully I'm, I'm telling the girls like, please listen to

your mom. Like dad sometimes gets

overwhelmed by stuff and other things.

He got a lot going on and he might give you a piece of

advice. And I obviously I care for their

well-being, but I might be wrong.

So listen to your mom. She's always going to have your

best interests at heart. So if the Galatians turn from

Christ to rely on the law, they return to the flesh, falling

again under the law's curse and showing that they are not part

of the new creation or freed from this present evil age.

But there is hope. Though the flesh and the Spirit

are in conflict, the Spirit's presence and conviction within

believers shows that they are no longer slaves to the flesh.

We are no longer slaves to our flesh.

So even though your flesh will lie to you and tell you that

you're a bad person, you're this, you're that, you're always

going to be this way. You're always going to have

these these desires. You're always going to fall

short. You're always going to give in

to this. You're always don't listen to

that because the Holy Spirit can change you.

And guess what? Sometimes it doesn't always

happen overnight. That's reality.

Some people it does. You know, my, my uncle was a, a

drug addict. He heavy into back in the in the

70s and, and into heroin and, and all kinds of different

drugs. The Lord met him and he never

picked up a single drug, alcohol a day after that became a

pastor, LED a church to the day that he died.

That's not the case for everyone.

And I wouldn't have that expectation on everyone.

I wouldn't put that on everyone because that may not be the

reality for everyone. So everybody's sanctification

process is different, they go through things differently, and

life is different for everyone. So I wouldn't want to put that

on just everyone. This inner struggle is actually

proof that we belong to Christ and the Holy Spirit is living

and working in US. Paul lays out two lists in this

passage, the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

Once again, sin or sanctification.

Listen again to verse 19 through 21.

The acts of the flesh are obvious, sexual morality,

impurity, idolatry, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish

ambition, dissensions, factions and envy.

Then verse 20 through to 23. But the fruit of the spirit is

Lovejoy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And what I found to be interesting to me, I, I got this

Bible from someone, whenever somebody says, Hey, we got extra

Bibles, I just take them because I give Bibles out to people when

I meet them or new, new, newer Christians, I give them Bibles.

So I, I got this Bible when I, I, when I was reading through

the, because it's NASPI like that translation.

And so I, while I was studying from it, I noticed that they

highlighted the fruit of the spirit and people can recite the

fruit of the spirit to you, right?

They know it off the top of their heads, but it's almost as

if they're skipping over the part of the bad stuff, the

sexual morality, the strife, the hatred, jealousy, as if we don't

fall into those things. So we skip over that because

that's not for us. You know, we're good Christians.

We don't do those things. And so we put that on other

people. That's for grace.

That's not for me, right? That's for Dylan.

That's not for me. That's for Miriam, not for me.

I don't do those things. But how often are we actually

analyzing whether we fall into that?

Paul, and it's interesting because he, he, he lists the

gross sins that the legalist would condemn.

Actually, almost anyone who believes in most any God would

condemn these things, right? Sexual morality, sorcery,

etcetera, right? He would condemn you.

Almost anyone, even the most nominal Christian, would condemn

that stuff. But he follows them with the

very sins of which the agitators were guilty of, right?

So he starts off with the bad stuff.

And so of course they would be like, that's not me, you know.

But then he follows up with the with the stuff that they were

guilty of, enmity, strife, jealousy, forcing the legalists

to look at themselves and their own spirituality, right?

Frequently persecution comes from other professing Christians

by slandering a brother. Nobody's guilty of that here,

right? Maybe calling them old fashioned

or saying they are foolish, weak minded or conceited.

Perhaps we have like the detractors in Galatia, falling

into preaching A bloodless gospel and instead giving into

preaching works. Nobody does that here.

Nobody says no, that person's not really a Christian because

they don't wear. I know here they don't, but they

don't wear a tie when they preach.

And but I've heard that before, right?

And look at him, he's wearing shorts and he's preaching.

You know, nobody's guilty of that here, right?

Everybody's quiet good. Praise God.

On the other hand, the more we give it to the Holy Spirit, the

more we begin to show fruit in our lives.

So we see these these constant things.

So we but once again, we have to look at ourselves in the mirror,

in the mirror spiritually and say, am I guilty of those

things? So am I guilty of jealousy?

Be honest, be honest. Are you guilty of jealousy?

Am I guilty of idolatry? And idolatry can look at in

different forms. It just doesn't have to be a

statue. But maybe you do have a statue

that you worship. I don't know.

Jealousy, Fits of rage. Do I have fits of rage?

Well, everybody started laughing for that one.

I heard a lot of women giggling. I'm just saying.

But you know, that's, she just looked at me.

I feel a fit of rage coming on just to rage.

Don't give it to it. But we all, we all have to

analyze our spiritual walk, right?

And we all have to look at ourselves in a spiritual mirror.

And it's easy to, to, to look at ourselves and say, well, I'm

giving the fruit, right? You know, I give.

So I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm nice, you know, I have the fruit.

But are are we giving it to the sinful nature as well?

So whatever it may be, these lists are like a mirror, not

just for the Galatians. They show us who's really in

charge of our lives as well. When the flesh rules, sin

multiplies. Romans Chapter 7, verse 18 and

Romans 7:18

19 says, for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot

carry it out. That's this frustration of a

believer trying to please God in their own strength.

And Paul goes on to say thank God for the Holy Spirit and

thank God for his grace, right? Because he can't do it.

So he recognizes when he wants to do good, he falls short.

And we all have that same problem.

And I know that there are people who are out there in the world

to say that they fast 40 hours a week and that they read this

many scriptures and they have these many, you know, diplomas

on the wall. And they've slain so many

spirits and cast out so many demons and blah, blah, blah,

blah. That's all great and fantastic.

Praise God for all of that. But the truth is they still

struggle. And the truth is they still are

at war with their flesh. And if they're saying otherwise,

they're lying. So I don't care which

televangelist says it or which whoever is saying whatever, if

they're saying that they're not struggling with sin, they are

lying. 1st to John 216 acts for everything in the world.

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of

life comes not from the Father, but from the world.

That's the heart of the problem. When we live for ourselves, we

lose sight of the Father, right? That's right.

Don't give in to your desires, because the more you give in to

that sinful nature, the more you're drawn to it.

The more you're drawn to it and you keep going to it.

But when the Spirit rules, something beautiful happens.

His presence produces fruit. Notice it's fruit.

Singular, not fruits. It's one unified fruit made-up

of many qualities that reflect the character of Jesus.

Why is that important? Because it's not.

Well, I have this one and not that one.

I have this one and not that one, because anybody can do

that. Because the truth is all

creation is made in the image of God.

So even non believers can do things that we would consider as

good. But when we are Christians, we

should exemplify the entire fruit of the spirit, all of it.

So when you're but if you're struggling with that and there

are parts of that you're struggling with, you need to

pray to God and say, I need help with this.

I need the spirit. I need to lean in on the spirit

and say Holy Spirit, I am struggling because I find myself

in this and I have a hard time with this fruit.

Help me to exemplify that. And then you'll see growth in

that. But you can't say that ain't me.

You know, I'm not that kind of guy that that's for that's for

them. You know, I'm I'm not, that's

not me. That's for somebody else in the

church. Jesus said in John chapter 15

John 15 · chapter mention

verse five, I am the vine, You are the branches.

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

Apart from Me you can do nothing.

Apart from me you can do nothing.

So just adding on to what I just said, people in the world can do

great stuff, but in the spiritual realm it's nothing

because it means nothing. That's what walking by the

Spirit looks like, staying connected to Christ so His life

flows through you. Believers are not dependent on

circumstances. Their joy comes not from what

they have, but from what they are.

Not from where they are, but from whose they are, and not

from what they enjoy, but from what was suffered for them by

their Lord. It is a singular joy then,

because it often buds and blossoms and ripens in winter

time when the fig tree does not blossom and there is no herd in

the stall. Charles Spurgeon In other words,

when you really see the fruit from a person, it's when they're

going through adversity, when they're going through a

struggle. And you see that I often think

about Miriam had a boss some years ago.

And this lady, to me at least, she was always very bubbly, very

nice, very she worked in a, a Christian daycare.

And the lady was always very bubbly, very nice, very warm.

And Miriam came home one day and she said, she has cancer.

And I thought, oh, wow. So I was like, man, that's

terrible. And I start, you know, obviously

I'm going to pray for her. And, you know, we start praying

and interceding for her. And the next time I see her, I'm

like, oh, man, I'm so sorry that you know, that you're going

through this. And she looks at me and she

goes, oh, it's fine, no worries. God is good and I was just in my

mind, I was like, either she is delusional or she has some

strong faith, right? And I remember she cut her hair.

She did all the things that, you know, cancer people go through

and never once did I see her like really miss work or miss

her smile or treat anyone differently or have any type of

I never saw any type of things. I'm sure when she was home,

maybe, but when she was out, the fruit of the Spirit continued to

pour through her. And that was just something that

to me just lasted with me because she never wavered in her

faith. She never wavered in her in

anything that she was going through.

And yes, she came through it and she beat the cancer and God

healed her. Praise God, praise God because

He did a work in her life. But the reverse is true too.

Like, I don't think that if she had been on in her deathbed that

anything would have wavered for her because I saw that level of

faith in her. And I forget what preacher it

is, but he says, you know, it's a great testimony when we live

good for the Lord. It's an even better testimony

when we die good for the Lord. And so that's something to

always keep in mind 'cause IA few years ago had a cancer

scare. Praise God, it wasn't nothing

happened. But I don't know that I had that

same level of assuredness. Maybe outwardly I did, I don't

know. But I definitely struggled with

anxiety and all the tests I had to go through and you know,

praise God, nothing came of it. But there's, there's something

profound. If you've never experienced it,

if a doctor ever comes into a room with you with another

doctor or another somebody else, just know that something's

probably not right. Because if it's if it's, it's

OK, they'll just be like, Hey, you're good, go home, right?

But if they bring somebody else in the room, that's probably

means something's wrong. And so when the lady came in the

room with another lady and sat down, I was like, ah, this is

probably not good. And I'll never forget she gave

me a card and it said cancer on it.

And I took a picture and I sent it to Miriam.

And I was just like, they were like, ah, you might have a rare

form of cancer. And there's something very life

changing about when that happens to you.

And that's not the first, you know, situation where I've

experienced where somebody they're like, Hey, you might

die. That's happened to me before.

But each time it's like it brings you closer to God and it

tests your faith. And that's not the truth for

everyone. Not everybody's going to

experience that, although most of us in this room at some

point, probably all of us will experience death.

So there is something to be said for dying as a good Christian.

So just knowing that the fruit is there and especially when

we're going through something tough, when we're going through

a hard time, that is when the fruit should really show from us

because it says to the world, I have something that you want, I

have something that you need because they don't have that

type of joy in their lives. And we should exemplify that

every day. So do we truly believe the

Spirit can change us from the inside out?

Philippians chapter 2 verse 13 says, it is God who works in you

Philippians 2:13

to will and act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

That means transformation is God's work in you, not your work

for Him. The agitators in Galatia clearly

did not believe Jesus could change them.

That's why they turned back to the Law and began to form their

own version of the gospel. We cannot be justified by

anything other than the gospel. The Law condemns us.

If we purposely put ourselves in that court, we undoubtedly are

going to be found guilty for our crimes against God.

So our tendency is to want to do things on our own accord and

figure stuff out and make God good by following a rule and

checking the check box. But what happens is by doing

that and running to that, we make ourselves guilty under

those same laws because we have to fulfill them perfectly and we

can never do that. And so we are guilty in God's

eyes of that crime. So what do you believe about

yourself as a Christian? Verse 24 reminds us those who

belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with his

passions and desires. Romans chapter 6 verse 6 says

Romans 6:6

our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by

sin might be done away with. You are not who you used to be.

The flesh may still shout, but it no longer reigns.

Who reigns in our life? Christ the King, praise God.

What do you believe about God's promises?

Life is hard, temptations are real, and battles come daily.

But God's Word promises in First Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13

1 Corinthians 10:13

that He will always provide a way.

The Spirit gives power to endure and strength to overcome.

God made both a covenant and a testament with Abraham.

Abraham believed in God's promises.

Abraham is dead. The prophets are dead, but the

covenant that was made with Abraham and his seed, who is

that seed? That seed is Christ.

So that promise that God made to Abraham is still in force

because Christ reigns and lives forever.

He blesses all the nations to this day.

That was part of the covenant. That was part of the promise

that the seed would bless the nations.

And guess what? It's still happening.

If God's promises were true for Abraham, we can rest assured in

His promise for us as his children today, even if it's not

in the time frame that we expected.

God is not a man that He should repent.

He's not a liar. He cannot lie.

So those promises that He gave to us, in which if we struggle

with our sins and we run to Him, He will forgive us and make us a

new creation, we can believe in those promises.

A gardener doesn't make fruit grow by effort.

He doesn't look at the fruit and say, hey, grow, right?

He cultivates an environment for growth.

He waters, he prunes, and he waits.

The fruit comes naturally when the tree stays healthy.

It's the same with us when we stay connected to the Spirit,

his fruit grows naturally, it pours out of us.

I don't know if you guys have experienced this, this in your

life. Oftentimes I find myself being

able to preach the gospel to people and interact with people

not because of anything I necessarily did, just because of

who I am. I had this experience when I was

working one time and and we were going around the room and this

girls, they were talking about things that they don't like

about other people in the group. So I wasn't really a part of it,

but one of the girls said, I don't like that I can't curse

around Alex. And I said, I never said you

can't curse. And she says I know, but I know

that you're a God fearing man. And I said, I never told you

that either. And she said, yeah, I know, but

I know how you are. And she said I could just I just

know by by talking to you and how you speak about, you know,

your wife and going to church and stuff like that.

I just know. And I was like, I again, I'm not

telling you can't do anything. It's not my job to tell you

we're equals here. You do whatever you want.

I said, no, I feel bad. And I was like, why do you feel

bad? Well, because I'm not really

going to church right now. Well, have you thought about

going to church? And she was like, well, yeah,

I've been thinking about it. Well, what's stopping you?

Nothing. OK.

A few weeks later, she says, oh, I started going to church, Alex.

And I'm like, praise God. I didn't even have to really say

anything. And that's been my experience.

Often times in my life. I worked with a guy and he just

came up to me one day and he was like, you're a Christian, right?

And, and this is when I lived in New York and I was working in

Times Square. And this man was a he was a

transsexual. And I worked with him.

I didn't really have a whole bunch of conversations with him.

And but he said to me that you're a Christian, right?

And I was like, yeah, how'd you know?

And he was like, I could just tell.

And so we started having conversations and eventually

that led me to know that he grew up in the church.

And he left the church as an adult and I was able to invite

him to church and he started attending a church and, and he

at the time he changed his life. I haven't spoken to him in many,

many years. But by the grace of God, it

wasn't anything that I necessarily did.

I was just walking and talking and being my normal self.

But they could see the spirit pouring out of out of you,

right? But that's the fruit of the

spirit that's pouring out of you.

It's nothing you're doing. It's with a change that God has

made in you, and it's reflecting the light is showing to the

world. And if it's not, if you're not

having those experiences, if you're not really engaging in

those type of conversations, you have to ask yourself why.

And this is a moment of self reflection.

This is a moment for you to go back and say, why am I not

having those experiences? Why are my interactions with

people so different than others around me?

Why am I hearing people in church saying they're able to

interact with these people and have these conversations, but

I'm not having those. It's not me.

I'm not doing anything special. I'm just existing.

And these people are seeing that the spirit within me, it's

calling to them. And the same should be true for

each and every one of us here today.

Point #3 Christ centered. We hear this phrase a lot,

especially in Christian circles. It's one of those phrases that

we call Christianese, right? Christ centered.

But what does this really mean? We we got a glimpse of what it

what is meant here in today's passage.

First, what it isn't is a call to do it on your own accord.

This isn't a pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get out there

call. It also is in a self help

passage. It's a Christ centered one.

The Spirit works in us to point to who to Jesus.

The fruit of the Spirit is the characteristics of Christ being

formed in his people, right? The fruit is because we are, we

are planted in what we are rooted in who we are rooted in

Jesus, right? And obviously if you're rooted

in Jesus, the fruit that comes from that tree will be like

Jesus, right? It's the same kind of thing if

we are rooted in Christ. Second of Corinthians chapter 3

verse 18 says we all who with unveiled faces contemplate the

Lord's glory are being transformed into his image with

ever increasing glory. Not my image, not the image I

want for myself, not what I think I should have my image,

but his image. The Spirit doesn't just save

you, He shapes you to look like Jesus.

He shapes you to look like Jesus.

Maybe you've been discouraged because you've stumbled or

you've failed. Remember this Romans chapter 18

verse 26 says the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

The Spirit doesn't condemn you when you fail.

He lifts you up and teaches you to walk again.

So those of you who are struggling because you've been

given into your flesh lately or recently, just know that's not

an excuse for you to continue to give into your flesh.

You can give yourself into the Spirit, turn yourself over to

Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness and pick up your

cross and and walk. Philippians chapter one verse 6

says he who began a good work in you will carry it on to

completion until the day of Jesus Christ.

He who began a good work in you, not me.

It's nothing I did but Jesus, God finish, God will finish what

he started. Remember, especially the men in

the church. Remember you're not the hero.

Christ is. That's right, especially in a

day and age like today, especially for us, for the

younger men, I implore you, I implore you, you're going to

hear a lot about we need Christian this and and this and

you need to fight and you need to do this and you need to do

that. And a lot of that stuff is

actually good, but it's not of your own accord.

You're not doing it for yourself.

You're not doing it to to to justify yourself and say, look,

I'm the best kind of Christian. There is.

No, you should be fighting for Jesus and always remembering

that everything that you do is for Christ.

And if you start to take your eyes off of Christ and start to

put your eyes on yourself, you're falling into idolatry and

you're falling into what? The flesh?

Because wasn't that one of them idolatry?

You'd be, you're making yourself God.

And we have to be cognizant that we have the ability to do that,

especially in the in Western society, in American culture,

that teaches you that you are the hero, that you are the hero

of your story. Especially like me growing up,

you know, when I was watching cartoons back in the the golden

age, you know, back in the back in the day, you know, it would

teach you, you know, you can do everything you can be this, you

can be that anything you want to be, you can be.

That's not true. I want to be 6 foot 4.

That's not going to happen. I want to have hair.

I mean, I guess I could have if I wanted to.

Somebody was telling me the other day about taking the bag

and putting it. I was like, man, that's too

much. I'm not too old for that.

But that's not true. I can't be anything I want to

be. That's not a true statement.

So we have to be aware of that and, and know that the world is

calling the man. If you, if you're not

recognizing the spiritual battle that's going on in the world,

especially in this country right now, you need to pray and ask

for God for guidance. Because especially, especially

the younger men, and by younger men, I mean anywhere from 18 to

35, you guys are being pulled in a direction that's saying you

are the hero. We need you and no, we need more

Christ. We don't need people in office

that are going to command people be Christians because that

doesn't work. We don't need people in in

different realms of society who are going to force Christianity

on people. That has never worked.

It's never worked. And that's what they're calling

for on one side. And on the other side we're

hearing do whatever you want. You don't even have to be a man.

You can be whatever you want. So I implore you, those of this

younger generation, stay connected, stay plugged in, get

yourself an older guy that you that's firm in the faith and tie

yourself like Timothy tied himself to Paul and and just

fall under somebody who's going to give you some guidance.

And luckily for you guys, you guys have a great pastor who's

who's who's a prayer warrior. And I know what kind of man he

is and I know that he's not led by any any just wind of

doctrine. I know how he is and praise God

for that stick. Get to that because the world

right now is trying to steal our young men and we have to be

aware of that. They understand.

They understand that, that if they can get the young, the

younger generation, especially the younger men, they can either

side, they know they can lead whichever way they want.

So we have to be aware of that. You can't produce the fruit of

the Spirit by willpower. Only Christ through His Spirit

can do that in you. Jesus said in Romans chapter,

I'm sorry John chapter 15 verse 4, remain in me and I also

John 15:4

remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by

itself. It must remain in the vine.

Outside of the vine there's no fruit.

It's pretty simple. You remain in Christ, you will

produce the fruit of the Spirit. Your job is not to perform.

Your job is not to perform, it's to remain.

The Spirit will do the growing. A branch doesn't strain or grunt

to produce fruit. It simply abides, right?

The branch doesn't have to do anything except stay on the tree

and it will produce fruit. It's the same with us.

When we abide in Christ, His life flows through us.

That's how redemption looks like in our daily lives.

So let me close with the question, who is your master,

the flesh or the spirit? For the people of Christ, the

cross broke the grip of the law and also the grip of the flesh.

By faith, they recognize the reality of their union with

Christ in his death. And let us, let us never forget

that we are united with Christ through his death.

So too, they have been raised to new life in the spirit of

Christ, and therefore we should be walking in the Spirit.

And if you're not, I implore you, I implore you, those of you

who are saved, go home today at some point this week and analyze

your walk in the with Christ and really use this as a time of

reflection and genuinely question yourself where you're

at in your walk and those things that you're failing on.

Pray and ask Christ and ask the Holy Spirit to change those

things. And those of you that maybe

perhaps aren't saved and within the church, I implore you to run

to Christ now. Cling to him, fall before his

presence because you can do no nothing of your own accord.

Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary so that we may be

made righteous, so that we may be washed pure of our sins in

the presence of God. Because if not, you still fall

under the law, because the Bible tells us the law was written on

our hearts, right? And so you will be found guilty

on the day of redemption unless you turn to Christ, because no

one will see the Father apart from Christ.

Paul says in Romans chapter 6, verse 16, you are slaves of the

Romans 6:16

one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to

death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.

So whether you believe it or not, you're a slave to

something. You can be a slave to Christ or

you could be a slave to your flesh.

Well, which which will ultimately lead to what death.

And I don't mean just a death where you're going to be buried

on the ground. It means a death where you're

separated from God eternally. And I don't want that for a

single person here. And I would be doing a

disservice to not only yourselves, but I would be doing

a disservice to Christ if I didn't remind everybody here of

that. And it's my obligation as a, as

a, a, a person preaching right, as someone who delivers the word

to remind each and every person here that nothing comes apart

from Christ. You can't serve both.

One leads to destruction, the other leads to life.

If your life today looks more like the works of the flesh,

it's not a reason for guilt. It's not a reason to give up.

It's not a reason to throw in the towel.

It's not a reason to say you can't or you won't.

It's a call to surrender. Surrender your life to God.

Jesus is King. Amen.

Right. You don't overcome the flesh by

fighting harder. You overcome by yielding deeper

to the Spirit. You can fight all you want, you

can remove all the things from your house that you want.

You can put whatever, take everything out, but if your

heart is still drawn to those things, the only person, the

only thing that can change that is God Himself.

Amen. Let the Spirit lead.

Let Christ be your strength. Let the fruit grow as you abide

in him. And once again, reminder to

everybody here and anyone who's ever listening ever, anytime in

the future, Christ is King, Amen.

That's all. Bow our heads.

Father God, we give you thanks, Lord, for this opportunity that

you have brought us here today, Lord.

And just reminding us, Lord, that we are in need of you,

Lord. We are in need of the Spirit,

Lord, and we are in need of Christ Jesus and you, Father.

We thank you, Lord, for the sacrifice that Jesus made on the

cross of Calvary for our sins, Lord.

And I pray right now, Lord, that if there is any amongst us,

Lord, that is still struggling with their desire to give into

the flesh, Lord, I ask and I pray, Lord, that you just make

away in their lives, Lord, if there is any among us who hasn't

found you yet, Lord, I pray, Lord, that you just draw them.

Draw them right now to you, Lord, and that you just open

their eyes, Lord, their spiritual eyes to you, Lord, so

that they can see that they need you in their lives and that they

may recognize that no peace comes apart from you, Lord, and

that you can bring them peace and joy and that Jesus needs to

surrender themselves to you, Lord.

And those of us that are saved, Lord, that have just continued

to struggle in our daily past, let us be reminded that it's not

of our own accord. We are not the hero, Lord.

We do not have the ability to make ourselves righteous in your

eyes, Lord, but that you through your Spirit will lead us and

guide us and sanctify us and strengthen us and draw us closer

to you, Lord, and make us more in the image of Christ every

single. Hey, Lord, all we want to do is

exemplify you and shine your light to the world, Lord.

We ask that you just continue to strengthen us, Lord, and bless

us, Lord, as we go forward, Lord.

Lord, we take that task that we have put it before us today,

Lord, Seriously, Lord. And we recognize that we will go

home and we will go today wherever we're going and this

week. And we will analyze and in

prayer and analyze our spiritual walk, Lord, and recognize the

things that we need help with and run to you and cling to you

and pour those things out to you so that you can change us and

sanctify us in your name and into your image that you want us

to be. Lord, I pray over this

congregation, Lord, that you just continue to bless them,

strengthen them, and just lead them and guide them every day,

Lord, as they go forward into this surrounding area, Lord,

that they may be a beacon of light to those around them.

I pray for Pastor John Michael and his family, Lord, that you

guide him and protect him and continue to put your healing

hands over him. Keep him healthy and strong as

well as his wife and his family, Lord, and that you just guide

them the way you want them to be guided.

Lord, look at all the good work that he's doing, just not for

himself, but in your name, Lord, all those men that he's helping.

Lord, I ask that you continue to bless his, his business Lord,

and, and this church as well Lord as he goes forward in

leadership. Lord, I just thank you for this

congregation. That's just been such a blessing

in my life and in my family's life, Lord, and I pray for each

and every brother and sister here Lord, that they continue to

grow and just cling on to you. Lord, we ask that you just

protect us on our way home, Lord, and just guide us and help

us throughout this week Lord, and just give us an opportunity

to preach the gospel wherever we may go.

Lord, we ask you all this in Jesus name we pray, Amen and

Amen.