From The Book Of Galatians
Indications That God Live In Us
Acts 2.38 1 John 3.24 & 4.13 1 Corinthians 3.16 2 Corinthians 6.16 Romans 8.9 & 12-17 Galatians 5.l6-24
Well... We've come to the end of our Sunday Morning's with the Churches of Galicia.
Last week... Jeff made the point that there is only one way to live... And that's by Walking In Step With The Spirit.
This morning... I want to talk about what this life looks like... When God and His Son live in us through the Sprit He gave us.
Now… I hope you agree that the Spirit of God lives in us... Let's just let Scripture speak...
Peter on Pentecost... Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven... And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
1 John 3.24 & 4.13... All who obey God's commandments abide in Him... And He abides in them.
we know that he abides in us... By the Spirit that he has given us... God
has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us.
1 Corinthians 3.16... 2 Corinthians 6.16 read... Don't you know that you are God's
temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?... We are the temple of the living
God; as He said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Ephesians 1.14 tells us that The Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.
Three times… Two others in the two Corinthian Letters… Paul tells us that The Holy Spirit
is our… dawn-payment… Our guernatee… Of things to come… Of God's promise.
Listen… If we deny the indwelling… We deny our belief and hope in Heaven.
2 Timothy 1.14 reads… Guard the deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the
help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Now Paul in Romans 8.9 & 12-17... We are not in the flesh to obey its desires... We are in
the Spirit... Since the Spirit of God dwells in us. Anyone who does not have the
Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. For all who are led by the
Spirit of God are children of God. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" It is this Spirit
bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
Set these thoughts aside as we examine what it looks like...
To have God living in us?... Through the Spirit He gave us.
First... We will jettison... our vices... The works of the flesh...
We will discipline ourselves so to rise above our sinful flesh nature... Our human desires brought about by our living in this body... Things like... Sexual immorality... Impure thoughts, fantasies, and attitudes... Idolatry... Demonic sorcery... Hostilities toward one another... Strife... Jealousy... Anger... Quarrels... Selfish ambitions... Divisions... Envy... Drunkenness... Wild partying... And other sins like these. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God... Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed these passions and desires of their flesh sinful nature to the cross and crucified them there.
Then we must produce nine spiritual virtues... The Fruit of the Spirit...
The Harvest that is a result of God living in us...
Love... Joy... Peace... Patience... Kindness... Goodness... Faithfulness... Gentleness... And self-control...
Perhaps this is a good place to mention the Christian Graces from 2 Peter 1.3-11...
• Attitudes and behaviors that indicate that we have jettisoned the works of the flesh...
• Adding these graces allow others to see God living in us...
• Things Peter says indicate we're participating in His Divine Nature...
• Principles that... Make our calling and election sure...
• A life proving to the world... We are faithful & fruitful... Productive in Kingdom righteousness...
• Things that Peter says will keep us from falling away...
Here they are… Add to your... Faith... virtue (Moral excellence)... Knowledge... Self-control... Patient endurance... Godliness... Brotherly Kindness... Agape Love.
OK... Let's see what we can learn about The Fruit Of The Spirit...
a life Indicating That God Lives In Us...
As we examine these nine principles... I'm gonna do something a little different... I'm going to group them into three areas... Three triads.
First... Love... Joy... Peace... Principles that have to do with our upward attitude and
approach toward God… LOVE!... JOY!... PEACE!
Second... Patience... Kindness... Goodness... This triad has to do with our outward
attitude and behavior in our relationship with others.
Our third triad... Faithfulness... Gentleness... Self-control.... Daily
inward attitudes and approaches we should cultivate within self.
The first sign of God living in us is love.
We can't help from noticing that the Fruit of the Spirit is singular... Love.
• Love is the sum and substance of what it means to have God Living In Us.
God is love… If He lives in us… We will be loving.
• Paul wrote in First Corinthians 13.3... Without love our faith gains us nothing.
• It's been said that love is the soil in which all other spiritual virtues grow.
• When my son speaks of the Fruit of the Spirit... He says Love is the bouquet... These
other principles are individual flowers in the bouquet.
Love here is agape... A love of the will... The love of discipline... A sacrificial love.
A love that has nothing to do with how the recipient feels or treats us... We love anyway.
This love is demonstrated in God's love for us... God showed His great love for us in this... While we were yet... Aliens... Ungodly sinners... Utterly helpless... Christ came and died for us.
Less we misunderstand what love is... It's defined for us in First Corinthians thirteen... Agape is... Patient... Kind.... Does not Envy... Nor Boast... Is not Proud... or Rude... Is not Selfish & Self-Seeking... Is not Easily Angered... Love keeps no Record of Wrongs.... Agape doesn't delight in Evil but finds joy in the Truth.
God living in us produces Joy
Paul tells us that the Kingdom of God is not meat & drink... But righteousness... Peace... And Joy in the Holy Spirit.
Interesting that we all know the shortest English verse in the Bible... Jesus wept...
But do we know the shortest Greek verse?... 1 Thessalonians 5.16... Rejoice always!
Indeed... Of all the people in the world... We should be joyous... We have no sins... No
guilt... No dread… No fear of the future... No condemnation.
We are safe and saved in the arms of Jesus... In Him… IN HIm… We have redemption through His blood ever the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of His grace.
Now we must know this... That Joy is not happiness...
• This world seeks happiness...
• Our Constitution offers the pursuit of happiness...
But God Gives Joy!
You see… Happiness is circumstantial... Joy is not... James says... This joy can even exist in suffering.
Joy is knowing that... I am His... And His is mine...
Knowing that He is our sovereign... Creator... Father... Savior... Sustainer... And He promises eternal life to those who diligently seek Him.
This is Joy regardless of the circumstances... Amen?
Peace...
Peace I leave with you... My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
This jesus peace speaks of...
• An inner quietness...
• An inner rest...
• Confidence...
• An inner stability...
That comes from knowing... that God is sovereign... That He is in control… That He is working all things out to our betterment… Regardless of the situation or circumstance.
Next… The Fruit of the Spirit is an outward expression of God's inward dwelling.
It teaches us how we should treat others...
For instance… We'll be... Patience... Longsuffering.
Want to find out if we are really patient?...
• How do we deal with interruptions?...
• How do we handle irritations?...
If your spouse doesn't handle interruptions and irritation well… Look at them
now!!! OK… Thanks… Point made!!
• How do we respond when things are really inconvenient?...
• How do we feel about people when they... Use... Abuse... Mistreat... Us?...
• When someone steps in front of us at the checkout counter?... Cuts us off in traffic?...
• When the appointment we made ends up being an hour later?...
• When the kids spill their milk?...
• When dinner sets on the stove because he's staying too long at work?
When Jesus lives in us... We will be Long-Tempered... As opposed to Short-Tempered.
Are we patient?... Really?
Patience... Longsuffering... Reminds us of a little boy standing by the turnstile... A salesman ask... Son are you lost... No... I'm just waiting for my bubblegum to come back around!... Patient!
Jesus in us promotes kindness.
This Greek word could be translated usefulness to others.
It means that we act... Charitably... Benevolently... Toward others...
• Lifting up and restoring the fallen...
• Bearing one another's burdens.
Here it is church... Kindness always takes the initiative in responding to the needs of others rather than looking for reason not to help them... Been there?... Seen that Done?
Jesus living in us means we will be... Kind... Useful... Benevolent... Generous… Amen??
Goodness...
Goodness is said to be a synonym to kindness.... They are of the same family of virtues...
However...
• Goodness seems to be more sterner!... Stronger!… More engaging!
• Goodness includes reaching out to others... Even if they don't ask for it... Don't deserve it...
Or don't appreciate it.
• Goodness includes not reacting to hurt done to us... But absorbing the offense… While
responding with Good to the Offender.
It was Paul who said… Vengeance… Repayment of this kind… Is in God's court… Not ours…
Let's be like Jesus here.
• Goodness includes Moral & Spiritual Excellence.
• Sometimes Goodness includes Tough love... As in Jesus chiding the Pharisees... Or
Cleansing the Temple.
However... We must be careful here... Remembering that... We are created TO DO GOOD WORKS... So... Let us take every opportunity to do good to all men... Especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Our final tried includes... Faithfulness... Gentleness... Self-Control.... Internal attitudes and behaviors that help form us into the image of Jesus.
Faithfulness...
When God lives in us... We will have a sense of faithfulness... Not just believing in Jesus... but doing as He commands.
Faithfulness is our becoming doers of the Word... Allowing the Word of God to work it purpose in our life... By chipping away our flesh nature with it's sinful desires… All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for... Teaching... Rebuking... Correcting... Training in righteousness... So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Faithfulness includes Spiritual... Integrity... Honesty... TRUSTWORTHINESS... Where motive is everything.
Listen… We love God... Worship God... Obey God... Because we Love Him...
• Not to be seen of others...
• Not to appear righteous...
• Not to gain a righteous reputation...
• Nor any other frivol reason.
Faithfulness speaks of...
• Our absolute loyalty to God in every arena of life...
• Our trustworthiness in standing… By Him... With Him... For Him.
Faithfulness is taking every opportunity to use our God given gifts in ministry to Him and others… Faithfulness is giving serious thought to the Eldership's request for help.
Ours is to live up to the Marines Slogan... SIMPER Fi... Always faithful... Always Loyal... Always reliable.
Listen… Can God count on us?... Are we... Loyal?... dependable?... faithful... With our... Time... Talent... Treasure... Energy... And Truth?
It was Paul who wrote... Whatever you do... Whether in word or deed... Do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus... So whatever you do... Do it all for the glory of God.
Church… We must answer… Is our life lived for the Glory of God?
Sometimes we argue over what is worship and what is not… I don't want to address that issue here… But… There is a way… A connotation… In which all we do is either to God's Glory or Not… Right?
Gentleness...
The Greek speaks of strength through...
• Meekness...
• Humility...
• Submissiveness to God...
• While being considerate of others.
Jesus is our example!
So... Meekness is not weakness... But strength that has been... trained... harnessed... For Doing Good... Ministry.
Gentleness... Meekness... Tell us that there is strength in becoming a servant... No wonder we hear Jesus say... The greatest in the Kingdom must become the servant to all… GENTLENESS!
Self-control... Temperance… In our King James.
Self-control... Temperance... Moderation... Self-restraint... Are all terms used to define this last indication of God living in us.
The idea here is for us to... subdue and control... To become the master... Of our... Passions... desires... And ambitions.
It means we are…
• Striving to take control of our lives...
• Conquer our own fleshly desires...
• Our human nature...
• Our own worldly wants...
• And sinful tendencies.
Listen to these verses from our study in Galatians...
Galatians 5.24... Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful... Flesh... Worldly...
Nature with its passions and desires.
Galatians 2.20... I have been crucified with Christ... And I no longer live... But Christ lives in
me. The life I live in the body... Live by faith in the Son of God... Who loved me... And gave
Himself for me.
Indeed... In each of us... There are two natures...
• A flesh... Human... Selfish... Nature with its sinful desires...
• And a spiritual nature of God living in us... Through the Spirit He gave us...
Ours is to decide who and what nature rules our life... The Flesh or the Spirit?
Listen to Paul's admonition... You are not controlled the sinful flesh nature... But by the Spirit... If the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ... He does not belong to Christ. Therefore... We have an obligation--Not to the sinful nature... But to live according to the Spirit.
Here is God's challenge to most of us in this audience...
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me…
All His wonderful passion and purity…
May His Spirit divine… All my being refine.
When your burden is heavy and hard to bear…
When your neighbors refuse all your load to share…
When you're feeling so blue, don't know just what to do.
When somebody has been so unkind to you…
Some words spoken that pierces you thru and thru…
Think how He was beguiled… Spat upon and reviled.
From the dawn of the morning to the close of day…
In example… In deeds… And in all you say…
Lay your gifts at His feet… Ever strive to keep sweet…
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.
Will we accept the challenge to become like Jesus by allowing God to live in us?
If you are not His child... Will you answer His invitation to become one by Faith and the New Birth of Water Baptism... Making it possible for God to live in you.
God awaits our answer as we stand and sing this song together.
