Walk in the Spirit

Intro

Good morning! My name is Jeff Ream and it’s my honor and privilege to be the lead pastor here at Generations Church. If you are a visitor we are so glad that you have chosen to worship with us and hope you will make yourself right at home.

Over the past three weeks, we have been in a series entitled “Discipled” and I am so excited about all that the Lord is doing here at Generations Church in all of your lives. So many of you have gotten involved with our discipleship pathway.

By show of hands, How many of you are involved in our discipleship program? Whether you are discipling someone or are being discipled by someone would you raise your hands? That’s awesome!

And the goal of discipleship is that we become more and more like Jesus. We learned that Jesus didn’t call us to make Christians, although that's part of it, Jesus called us to make disciples.

Before we dive into the message this morning I want us to take a moment and we want to pray for the the country of Israel. Unless you live under a rock you have hard about the terrible atrocities that have occurred and the incredible evil that has been and is being unleashed. And we stand with the country of Israel. They are God’s chosen people and Scripture tells us to pray for them.

Psalm 122:6 (KJV)

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

We want to pray for protection for the innocent lives of everyone involved. We know that these are signs of the times and that the time of the Lord’s return is getting closer every day. And let me remind you that God is still in control, and GOD is still on the throne and He is the author of it all.

PRAYER FOR ISRAEL

This morning I was planning on preaching from John 13 and the story of Jesus washing the disciple's feet, but there has been something in my spirit all week that will not let me move on to that yet.

In week one of our series if you were here you will remember that we looked at Matthew 28:19-20 and I want to revisit that in order to remind us of what Jesus has called us to. Would you read this with me together out loud?

Matthew 28:19–20 (CSB)

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We are taking this command seriously here at Generations Church and we are making discipleship a priority in the life of a believer. You cannot get away from the fact that as a Christian you are to be discipled as a new believer and then as you mature you are in turn to disciple others.

If you consider yourself to be a “mature” believer and you are not discipling someone, you are missing out on being obedient to the Lord in this area of your life.

I promise that as some of you mature believers begin to disciple a new believer or younger believer it will grow you and challenge you and you will will grow in the Lord more than you think you will.

Last week we talked about the invitation to come to Jesus with your burdens and part of that invitation was to come under the authority of Jesus and to submit to His yoke. And I heard from several of you that the Lord really moved and challenged you in that area of your life. And there’s nothing more that I like to hear during the week than how God moved, or God spoke into your life.

Wednesday morning I drove out to Dike and I parked at the lake and just needed to spend time with the Lord. One of the challenging things about being a pastor is that we spend so much of our time doing church things, or doing the “work” of the ministry from sun up to sun down that it’s very easy for Pastors to slack off on their own relationship with the Lord.

We spend so much time pouring into others and feeding others that sometimes we forget to feed ourselves spiritually. I am trying to be very intentional about my time alone with the Lord practicing spiritual disciplines and being intentional with getting into the Word for myself.

This week I knew where we were headed this morning…but as I was spending time with the Lord Wednesday morning I was reading and praying and I landed in a couple areas as I meditated and prayed and spent time in the Word of God the Lord impressed it on my heart that this wasn’t just a message that He wanted me to hear for myself, it is a message that He wanted me to bring to you today.

And so this morning I am being obedient to what I sensed the Holy Spirit wants to impress upon you.

And first let me give you this preface: I love each one of you and I know that sometimes you will hear things said from this stage and it may step on your toes, it may ruffle your feathers. But what I am saying is from a heart that loves you and wants you to live your best life for the Lord. And if you hear something today and it offends you…it’s not me you are taking issue with. It’s the Word of God, but I am responsible as your pastor to speak the truth and to speak it to you with grace and in love and so that is the desire of my heart today.

The first verse that caught my attention this week is the catalyst for where we are headed today and it is found in John 12:46 and this is what it says. Follow along in your app or your Bible. It says

John 12:46 (CSB)

46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness.

Here Jesus begins to deal with one of the most common issues we see not just back then but also today in the church and in today’s society. Jesus came to rescue you, to save you, to pull you out of the darkness but for some reason, a lot of people get saved but they still want to remain in the dark.

And this is the same principle that we talked about for a few minutes last week when we talked about the fact that we are called to submit to Jesus’ authority and to be Yoked with Him, yet for some reason so many of us want to be yoked with Jesus and the world at the same time and it doesn’t work.

Why doesn’t that work? Because you can’t live in submission to Jesus but live for the world. And I said last week that you cannot be yoked to anything other than Jesus. If we are yoked with Jesus we are going in one direction and one way but if you are trying to yoke yourself to the things of the world it is moving and pulling in the direct opposite direction of Jesus.

Look at I John 2:15-15 where Jesus addresses this very issue. He said

1 John 2:15–16 (CSB)

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

You cannot love God and love the things of the world at the same time. You cannot live in sin and say you love God. When you commit to loving God remember you are dying to yourself and you are living for Jesus now. And here John warns the church not to pursue the world or worldly things that are in contradiction with God’s will. And John plainly says if you love the world you do not love the Father.

Listen to the words of Saint Augustine. He said

We can love the world, or love God. If we love the world, there will be no room in our heart for the love of God. We cannot love both God, who is eternal, and the world, which is transitory. --Saint Augustine.

One of the of the problems in today’s churches is that they are filled with people who are so in love with the world that they never get free from the yoke and bondage to the world.

And so many Christians are struggling with growing in their maturity because they get saved but don’t want to die to themselves. Friends we cannot love the the things of the world if we claim to love the Lord. Because when we have a love for the Lord our love for the world changes. We go from being participants with them in worldly things to now making it our mission to rescue them from the very things that we used to be in bondage and slavery to.

When we got saved we became Free!! The second passage that really hit me this week is

Galatians 5:1 (CSB)

1 For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

As I read that my mind went to friends I know and love who have tasted the freedom that Christ offers but have never walked in it. And there is a huge difference between tasting what freedom in Christ is like and walking in freedom.

My greatest fear for many of you is that you will taste the Freedom found in Christ but because it will cost you to daily submit to Christ you will choose to submit again to the Yoke of slavery to sin. And instead of walking in the Freedom of Christ, you will willfully choose to be enslaved to the destruction that a sinful life enslaves you to.

As I read these passages and prayed for you this week my eyes came upon Galatians 5:16-25 where Paul is contrasting two walks of life. In verses 16-21, Paul talks about what it looks like to be enslaved to sin and to live in submission to the yoke of slavery. And then He gives us an opposite and beautiful depiction of what the life lived in the Spirit looks like. Follow along in your Bibles if you have them. He says..

Galatians 5:16–25 (CSB)

16 I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. [That phrase “walk by the spirit” in the Greek carries with it the idea of a continuously walking and continually imitating Jesus in your behavior .... It is not a one time event. It is a way of a life now that you are a Christian. ]

In order to experience true freedom you must continually walk by the spirit.

Paul says the way we successfully live in a way where we no longer carry out the desires of our flesh is to continually walk in the spirit and continually imitate Christ. Why

17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Pastor Jeff, are you saying if I sin in any of these ways I cannot go to heaven? No that’s not what the text says. What it is saying is that Christian is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and while a Christian may intermittently get pulled into these sins, but those who live like this habitually and continually are not Christians and will therefore not inherit the kingdom of God.

It is saying that if you continue to sin without the desire to change and bring that under the control of the Holy Spirit there is a very good chance you are not saved. If you aren’t battling to submit in these areas you might need to re-evaluate where you stand in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Listen, and let me remind you. I love you and I am not here judging anyone at all. All I am saying is that the Word of God is clear that you cannot live in a continual state of sin and think that you are a disciple of Christ.

And the goal of this morning is to help you make sure that you are walking in the Spirit. And so what I want to do in the remaining time we have is give you 3 ways to make sure you are walking in the Spirit.

And verses 22-25 of our text will tell us what it looks like to walk in the spirit. verse 22 says

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. [Then paul adds this tag]The law is not against such things. [What he’s saying with this phrase is that the fruit of the spirit is in harmony with the law…it is not opposed to the law. He goes on and says]24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [Again he is reiterating that those who truly have have come to Christ through salvation no longer walk in darkness, walk in their sin, live in their sin] 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Paul is encouraging us to live by the spirit in every area of our lives. And it is as we walk with the Holy Spirit that the fruit of the spirit grows and becomes evident in each one of our lives.

One of the keys to walking in the Spirit is you must stay plugged in. We all have cellphones and they are incredibly powerful devices that can do lots of things. However, no matter how powerful or useful a cellphone may be it is worthless if it is not plugged in and charged up.

You and I are very much the same way. There are many things that you will not be able to do unless you are connected to and charged with the Holy Spirit. I want to be clear that as Christians you don’t have to worry about losing the Holy Spirit. However, what can increase or decrease in your life is the impact the Holy Spirit has on your day-to-day life. The more you yield to the Holy Spirit the more impact He has in your life. The less you yield to Him the less impact He has in your life.

The first thing you and I need to do in order to walk in the spirit is this: We

1. You must commit to prayer.

Colossians 4:2 (CSB)

2 Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (CSB) Simply Says

17 pray constantly,

Why? Because You cannot walk in the Spirit if you never pray. Prayer is more than just a spiritual exercise or discipline. Prayer is really your lifeline. The way we connect our spirit with the Holy Spirit is through prayer.

I hear people all the time say “But I don’t know how to pray?” I don’t know what to say. Listen Prayer is simply having a relationship and talking with the Lord.

What do I pray if I'm scared? How about ....Lord I'm scared!!!! Or how do I pray when I am being tempted to sin? How about Lord…Lord....Help me not to do this anymore. Don’t over-spiritualize praying. Just do it! Pray!!!!

What do I pray about? Everything!!! It’s you involving the Lord in every area of my life. Lord, should I go out with that guy? Lord, would it honor you if I went there with my friends? It’s all about relationship!

And You can’t grow in any relationship if you don’t talk. Can you imagine trying to get to know someone but not talking to them? It won’t happen and it will remain shallow.

There is a direct correlation between your time spent with God and the struggles that you are able to overcome and when you make room for the Holy Spirit, he empowers you to overcome the struggles of the flesh.

The power to not live in the flesh anymore comes from being plugged into the Holy Spirit. Some of us don’t see victory or freedom in our lives yet we have no prayer life and wonder why we continually fail. Get plugged into the Holy Spirit through prayer.

2. You must commit to reading God’s Word.

I heard a story this past week from a friend of mine who is in a life group here at Church and the leader of the group challenged everyone to read one of the gospels. He came up to me with incredible excitement last week and told me that He listened to the book of Mark last week not just once but twice. That was incredibly exciting to hear!

Liste, you and I cannot obey God’s Word if we are not in God’s Word. And listen, walking in the Spirit will not happen if you are not in the Word of God.

Every issue, problem, and solution you will ever face in this life can be found in the Word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (CSB)

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

“The Word of God gives you instruction on how to live and the Spirit of God gives you the power to do it"

The Spirit of God and the Word of God work in cooperation with each other. And they help move you toward becoming the person God wants you to be. Not only must you commit to prayer and to reading God’s Word

3. You must commit to obedience.

The Psalmist knew the importance of the Word of God and its effect on our lives. That’s why he said

Psalm 119:11 (NIV)

11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

We hide God’s Word in our hearts and it’s his Word that teaches us how to live. Then God gives us his Holy Spirit and when we walk in cooperation he gives us the strength and ability to live out the word. When you commit to obeying the Word of God the Holy Spirit will help you do what God wants.

And quite honestly without obedience, it does not matter how much you pray or how much you read the Bible or how many church services you attend. James says Without obedience, those things are just nice things to do and you are actually deceived.

James 1:22 (NIV)

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

It is of absolutely no benefit whatsoever for us to listen to preaching, read the Word, and then go on our way thinking that is enough to free us and to make us look like Jesus. James says you are deceived if you do not obey and apply the Word of God to your own life.

Do you want to be a man of God or a woman of God? Do you want to have victory in your life over sin? Young person, do you want to live for the Lord? Be a person who is in the Word of God who listens and obeys.

My desire for you is that if you do not know the Lord or have a personal relationship with him, you will come to know Him today. And I want to give you the opportunity to pray in just a minute and ask Him to be the Lord of your life.

Others of you, your life is a mirror image of what Paul warns us about in

Gal. 5:1 You came to Christ and thought you would be free. But you have refused to submit to Him and instead submitted to a yoke of slavery again and you are in bondage.

Galatians 5:1 CSB

1 For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

My prayer is that regardless of where you are you will Find Freedom, that you will learn to walk in the spirit through prayer, through a love for God’s Word and by Obedience to both the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.

Once you have experienced true Freedom you will want to serve Him for all your days.

STORY

I want to close with this story told about the days before the Civil War in a city in the South. At the center of town, there was a commotion as a crowd gathered for a public auction to watch the proceedings.

In the crowd is an uncouth, foul-mouthed, loud, boisterous man who is the meanest, cruelest, most hateful man around. In the crowd is another man who stands out for his dignity, genteel mannerisms and soft-spoken tone, and is one the most kind, gentle, and gracious man. Both men, along with the crowd wait for the auction to begin. The auctioneer steps to the podium and begins rattling his words as the first item to be sold is brought to the auction block. On the block is a beautiful young black girl, about 20 years of age. Her dress is old and torn, but remarkably clean. She is obviously filled with anxiety and fear as the bidding begins.

From the outset, the loud obnoxious man seemed to have his evil, lecherous eyes set on this lovely, innocent, young lady. She cringed in fear as he opened the bidding. When the kind gentleman saw her fear, he too placed a bid. Soon only these two men were involved in the bidding as the price of the girl rose higher and higher. Finally, the evil man bowed out of the bidding when he realized that the price of the girl was more than he was willing to pay.

When the auctioneer closed the bidding, the kind gentleman paid the price for his purchase, was handed the Bill-of-Sale and turned to leave. The young girl started to follow her new master. He then turned to her and asked, “Where are you going?” “Why, I’m going with you,” she responded; “You bought me and I belong to you.” “O! You misunderstood,” the man said, “I didn’t buy you to make you my slave, I bought you to set you free.” Then he took the Bill-of-Sale and wrote across in big block letters – FREE! – signed his name and gave it to the girl. “I don’t understand,” the girl said. “You mean I am FREE!” “Yes, you are FREE!” ‘I can go wherever I want and do as I please.” “Exactly, You are FREE!” “Sir, I don’t know who you are, but no one has ever shown such love and kindness to me. If I am free to do as I please, nothing would please me more than to go with you and serve you till the day I die.” And that day she went home with him, not as his slave but as his willing servant.

Listen, Each of us has been a slave to sin. God sent Jesus His one and only son to earth to die for you and for me, and He paid an incredible price to free me....and to Free you. Take the Freedom He is offering and be Free! Don’t be yoked again to slavery.

Let’s Pray!