May 17, 2009
Morning Worship
Text: Galatians 5:16-26
Subject: Living By The Spirit
Title: Spiritual Optical Illusions
How perceptive are you? Do you always see things the way they really are, or can you, like most people, be fooled by appearances? Some of you will relate to the story I will tell you. I remember years ago when I was deer hunting I was sitting on the side of a bluff overlooking Sugar Creek in Lincoln County. I was right on the north end of the Cuivre River State Park. On the other side of the creek was a filed of 10-15 acres that was grown up in grass and weeds. On the south end of the field was a fencerow with trees growing up through it. It was in the afternoon and the sun was setting behind the hills to my back. The shadows were growing longer by the minute and there was a steady breeze blowing. The grays and browns of the field and the fencerow were moving with the wind. In the last 30-45 minutes that I was hunting I must have seen 20 deer. There was only one problem. I had trained my eyes and my mind to look for one certain thing – deer – and everything that I saw that afternoon that I thought was a deer turned out to be weeds blowing in the wind or a tree branch moving against the fencerow. Things were not as they appeared to be. What I saw as deer was nothing different than the hillside that I was sitting on. My eyes and mind had deceived me.
I am afraid that this same illusionary syndrome has invaded the church. We sit on our lofty perches and look at the outside world and point fingers at the sinners and pray that they would come to our church and be saved. We see what our “church” eyes have trained us to see. We perceive what our religious minds have trained us to perceive. We look at the lost world and see people and thank God that we aren’t like that. Though we may not be alcoholics, drug addicts or into perversion if we stop and look at ourselves through God’s eyes we may have to re-evaluate ourselves. Are we living by the Spirit?
Let’s look today and see what the great apostle Paul has to say about that.
Lord, open my eyes to see, and my ears to hear what the spirit is saying to the church.
I. LIVING BY THE SPIRIT. (16-18) 16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature… Let’s start out by seeing what Paul meant by living by the Spirit as opposed to the sinful nature. The Spirit is the word “pneuma”. It means “a blast of air” or spiritual power. Here it is talking about the Holy Spirit. We are to live according to the directions of the Spirit of God. Romans 8:5, Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 8:9, You, however, are controlled not by the sinful 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. 8:14, …because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. The word that is translated “flesh, or “sinful nature” is the Greek word “sarx”. It refers to the body or that which is external in nature. If we walk in the sinful nature “sarx” it is merely and outward expression of our “psuche” or “soul man”. Sin never originates in the flesh but in the mind or emotions. Galatians 5:17, For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you (psuche) want. Are you with so far? If we are God’s adopted children by the Spirit, then we should see and understand things from a different perspective. We don’t do things that would offend God, and if we do we are quick to repent and get back on the right track. What Paul is saying here is that there is a tremendous difference between the grace of God, which is spiritual involving the spirit man, and the works of man or the Law, which is from the natural man and thus influenced by the sinful nature. You cannot have it both ways because they are in direct opposition to one another. I can’t tell you enough how excited I get when a new Christian, or any Christian for that matter, comes to me to tell me about a victory in their lives – how they have overcome the flesh. That victory comes from walking in the Spirit and not according to the flesh. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. Paul said all this to lead up to his discussion of the things that are from the sinful nature and the things that are from the Spirit.
II. ACTS OF THE SINFUL NATURE (19-21) 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious… There are a lot of people who would disagree with that. Even in the so-called “church” world today we see those who would tell us that you cannot judge others. We see that by ever increasing support for same-sex marriage from the church world, the ordination of homosexuals, and the increase of blatant sin in the church. But Paul says, 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious… What makes sin obvious? It is because sin is clearly opposed to God’s will for your life. Sin is in conflict with the word of God. Sin is self-indulgence and self-gratification in this life without concern for eternity. 1 Peter 1:15-16, 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy. Deuteronomy 23:14, 14For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. Now, Paul goes on to list some acts of the sinful nature, sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I want you to notice something here. What Paul lists as sin or the acts of the flesh could be divided into three categories. 1) sins of the physical body - sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, drunkenness, orgies… 2) sins of the soul or the psuche which is the mind, emotions or personality - hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy. 3) And finally the sins that are spiritual in nature - 20idolatry and witchcraft. Sin always originates in the soul or psuche of a person but can be manifested in any of the three parts on your being – spirit, soul of body. Paul did not mean this to be a comprehensive list of all sin, but he says and the like. The list is representative of all sin. Now here is the point that he is making; I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Look at that verse closely. First of all this is a warning and it is a warning for the church. You can say you are saved, have gone through all the procedures like saying a sinner’s prayer and may have even meant it, but if your life has not changed significantly from whom you were before there is a problem. Second, those who live like this… The word that is translated “live” or the KJV says “do such things” is the word “prasso” and it means “to perform repeatedly or habitually”. In other words this sin is not the exception but has become the rule, a lifestyle. Third, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let’s get something straight here. It is impossible for you to ever be good enough to earn your way to heaven. You have to rely on God’s grace. However, even if you are saved you can shut the door to keep you from getting in by living a lifestyle of sin. Now I know that there are many who say that can never happen – that once you are saved you cannot lose your salvation. There are so many scriptures that indicate that the opposite is true and I am not going to go into them today. I just want you to know that Paul says that even Christians who live in a sinful lifestyle cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Even though according to Romans 8:16-17 we are heirs, if we live according to the sinful nature we will not receive our inheritance.
III. THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT (22-26) 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. If you are born again all these things should be yours. They are yours. Notice that it does not call them the fruits of the Spirit – here’s a list; now go through and pick out which ones you might like to have. These are things that every believer should be exhibiting in their lives. Against such there is no law. (in contrast to the previous list). 24And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Amen! I think Paul should have stopped right there. That would make me feel a whole lot better about myself. I’m not doing the things I used to do before I was saved. I can see the fruit of the Spirit in my life. I have to look a little harder to see some of them, but they are there. But he doesn’t stop there. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. If you are Christ’s then walk like it. Romans 8:9, 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful 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. Do you see the proof of your faith in Christ? It is your life. Go to the last verse. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. I wonder if the church at times becomes spiritually conceited. I mean we look at a list of sin like we see back in 19-21 and say, “Thank God that I am not like those people!” Sound familiar? Luke 18:10-12, 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 1 John 1:8-10, 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. Listen to me now, I am not accusing anyone of the things that are listed as sins here. But I must ask you something. Is there anything else in your life that you need work on? Maybe not what you do but the things you have failed to do! Romans 2:1, You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Have you lived your life in judgment of others who are stuck in a life of dependency and not reached out to help them, even though the Word says that you are to take care of one another? Do you come to church at your convenience – maybe on Sunday mornings when you feel like it – but heaven forbid you should come on Sunday night or Wednesday nights, even though the Word says we need one another and are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as some are in the habit of doing? Do you avoid sharing the gospel with the lost by making excuses about your abilities or your knowledge when three times after the resurrection Jesus told the disciples that is exactly what the church is commanded to do?
One month ago I called you to a time of prayer and fasting. I challenged you to use that time to get as close to God as you could. The purpose was that by entering into the presence of the Lord and seeing firsthand what He is really like, we could come to a greater understanding of His power at work in us. Entering into God’s presence has another effect as well. When we see ourselves against the backdrop of God’s holiness, we get a real sense of the sin in our lives and it brings us to the place of repentance. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up his first response was, “woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips…” Now is the time for repentance. We can never expect God to perform miracles among us if we are not right with Him.
God has given us spiritual eyes to see deep within and perceive sin in our lives. He has given His Holy Spirit to convict us of sin. And He has given a promise that if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Don’t be fooled by a spiritual optical illusion, but see your life as it really is – a life in need of a mighty move of God. Step into His presence and listen to what He would say to you.
Are you willing to take that step today?
I continue to call you to a time of prayer and fasting. Go boldly into God’s presence and receive what He has in store for you. Begin trusting His word. We are moving towards the greatest outpouring of the Spirit that this church has ever seen.
Are you ready?
