Galatians. Week #8: October 26 & 27, Galatians 5:16-26

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1 Galatians Week #8: October 26 & 27, 2013 Galatians 5:16-26 In the Melanesian Islands of the South Pacific during WWII, the islanders watched closely as the American & British engineers came in and built airstrips. The Melanesian natives were amazed to see that when the airstrips were completed, large planes began to arrive filled with cargo: food, building materials, machinery, and vehicles. This, they decided was something they wanted in on. The Melanesians deduced that if they built airstrips, then planes would come to them too, likewise bringing cargo and supplies. They proceeded to hack makeshift runways out of the jungle and built mock-up control towers out of grass and mud. They put fires along the sides of the runways, and put a man in the grass hut control tower with two coconut halves on his head for headphones. They rigged antennas out of bamboo and then waited for the airplanes to land. As far as they could see, they were doing everything right. The form was perfect. It looked just like it was supposed to. But it didn t work. No airplanes came (Story from National Review Online, June 14, 2002). In the 1940s the Melanesians had built the forms of an airstrip, but they lacked the substance of the two leading military forces of the allied armies that stood behind it. In Paul s day, the Galatians were trying to live for God with the forms of the Old Testament, but they lacked the substance of what enabled the Christian life to be lived in its fullness. In the world that you and I live in, people want love, joy and peace so they build into their lives the stuff they think will produce these qualities of life, but have failed to see the substance of what is necessary to make these qualities a reality over the long haul. Surely, if my life looks spiritual, then God s blessings will follow. What they are missing, like the Melanesian Islanders, is the fact that cargo comes not because of runways and control towers, but because of a relationship with God born of faith in Jesus Christ and empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Love, joy and peace are not the result of adherence to a set of Christian Standards, rather they grow out of a relationship with God. Today we are going to look at a portion of Galatians that will help us to live our lives in a fashion where the fruit produced in our lives will include; love, joy and peace and a few other wonderful qualities too. Ephesians 5:16-18 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the 1

2 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. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. One of the big themes of Paul in this book is to remind the Galatians that while the Law produces a form of Godliness, in actuality, it lacks any real substance. The law does not help us to live our lives in a manner that pleases God nor does it give us the freedom to truly enjoy life! So what is the substance that makes our lives as Christians work? The answer is not a what but a who. He is the Holy Spirit. The Galatians had received the Holy Spirit, but they were now trying to live their lives by returning to the law. How do we know this? Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? You see, within us is a battle being waged. It is a battle between our sinful nature and the Holy Spirit. Paul says it like this: Galatians 5:17 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. PAUL TELLS US THAT THE FLESH (SINFUL NATURE) AND THE SPIRIT ARE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO EACH OTHER. AND THAT BOTH THE FLESH AND THE SPIRIT HAVE DESIRES. THEREFORE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO REMAIN NEUTRAL WE WILL EITHER SERVE THE FLESH OR FOLLOW THE SPIRIT. And Paul says there are byproducts when we serve our sinful nature: Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul lists 15 items he identifies as works of the flesh. This is not an exhaustive list, but it represents clearly what living out of the sinful nature produces. NOT ONLY ARE THE ACTS OF THE SINFUL NATURE OBVIOUS, THEY CAN ALSO BECOME A WAY OF LIFE! HEY THIS IS SERIOUS. PAUL SAYS, THOSE WHO DO SUCH THINGS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. MORE ACCURATELY, THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS DENOTING NOT A LAPSE IN JUDGMENT, 2

3 BUT HABITUAL BEHAVIOR. PAUL ISN T SAYING WOW YOU MESSED UP SALVATION IS LOST. HE IS SAYING WATCH OUT THAT YOU DO NOT ALLOW THE WORKS OF THE SINFUL NATURE TO BECOME A LIFESTYLE. WHEN WE FALL, WE NEED TO REPENT, WE NEED TO SEEK GOD S FORGIVENESS. WE HATE IT WHEN WE SIN BUT WE GET BACK UP AND FOLLOW THE SPIRIT. AND PAUL SAYS WHEN WE DO THE FRUIT THAT GROWS IN OUR LIVES LOOKS LIKE THIS: Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Again, Paul lists 9 fruit of the Spirit not an exhaustive list, but a representative list of what is an outgrowth of walking in the Spirit. OK Dan I think I ve heard what you are saying about this passage: Living the Christian life is not about a form of religion, but it is about the substance of the Holy Spirit. After putting our faith in Christ, we have the Spirit in us, but we also have the old sinful nature too and we are in a battle. The flesh has desires and so too the Spirit and those desires are opposed to each other. Paul warns us that the acts of the sinful nature can become a way of life and those who are engaged in their habitual practice will not inherit the kingdom of God. If we follow the way of the Spirit, beautiful and productive fruit is grown that blesses God, others and ourselves. Cool but what am I suppose to do with this information? How do I walk by the Spirit? In this passage, Paul uses two interesting metaphors to teach us about life in the Spirit. They are a battle/conflict between opposing forces and he talks about agriculture and the growing of fruit. Interesting! Both of these very different metaphors give us uniquely similar advice about this new life in the Spirit. 1. You need to stop trying and start preparing. 3

4 During the time of the Apostle Paul, one of the premiere weapons on the battlefield was the sword. Can you imagine the results if a young and passionate young man desires to become a soldier and runs to the campsite and informs the leaders that he is ready to fight. He says, give me a sword and I am ready to fight. The results would be disastrous. You don t win fights on the battlefield by trying. You win by training and preparation. A person who wishes to grow a crop doesn t just go out in his back yard and scatter a little seed on the ground. No, he goes out and cultivates the soil. He removes rocks and other obstacles that could hinder growth. He plants the seed. He waters, he weeds, and does whatever he can to create the right environment for that seed to do its thing. You aren t going to win a fight by just grabbing a sword and flailing away at the air and you won t see fruit produced by randomly throwing seeds. It takes preparation. You can t stop the sinful nature by trying and you can t produce good fruit by trying. You must prepare. How? By preparing your heart to receive the good work of the Spirit. We gather together in the faith community to sing, to pray, to hear God s word. We get together in connect groups to fellowship and to share and minister to others. We read God s word, we pray, we fast, we get alone with God in silence and solitude, we give our finances to God. All of this IS PREPARATION! WE PREPARE OURSELVES SO THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS THE FREEDOM TO GROW US INTO THE IMAGE OF JESUS. We feed the Spirit and starve the sinful nature. 2. You need to stop improvising and start strategizing. This battle between the flesh and the Spirit is hugely important. Some of us try to just wing it. When a temptation comes our way, we improvise and we fail because we haven t got a plan that really works. a. Our strategy must include being self aware of our weaknesses and dealing with the core issues instead of just the surface behaviors. You won t last long on the battle field without an awareness of your weaknesses. Why do you think ancient warriors had battle armor? And why do farmers not just pull weeds up from the surface? Because they know weeds must be dealt with below the surface. When I hear someone is struggling with some sin some damaging addictive behavior I don t get too concerned with just the behavior. If your struggle is with misusing alcohol, that only identifies the behavior, but it doesn t identify 4

5 the core issue. What is it inside of you that causes you to overindulge? That takes some work. It takes work to dig down and fight the root issue. b. Our strategy must include an early detection plan. To walk by the Spirit, we must detect the pull of our sinful nature at its earliest point. If abusing alcohol is your weakness, you don t wait until you are in a bar or at a liquor store to attack the issue. You start by making plans to be with people on those nights you are most vulnerable. You make a call to a friend when the inner urge begins not after it is full blown. You deal with the real issues and begin to know where you are damaged on the inside and address what wound you are trying to medicate with alcohol. c. Our strategy must be built for the long-haul. I think one of the most important elements to any winning strategy for walking in the Spirit is developing a mindset that addresses the reality that it will take a focused and determined effort over a long period of time. Walking in the Spirit means to submit to the constant, moment by moment direction, control, and guidance of the Spirit. This is no one and done experience. Fruit are grown over seasons. Our strategy must include an understanding that our growth isn t linear. It isn t like we meet a challenge one time and then it is forever over. Seasons surface varying levels of attention and requires different things at different times. We must be patient and diligent. I think back on those Melanesian Islanders and the I bet they must have felt rather foolish. I bet they grew from their experience. We need to learn from our past too. Your history is just that history. You cannot go back and change it, but you can learn from it and move forward starting today. Let s pray! 5