A Patterned Image Part 3
A Patterned Image • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The Pattern of the Spirit
The Pattern of the Spirit
To this point we have looked at patterns of the flesh and the soul. The Apostle Paul speaks of the works of the flesh of which those living by these patterns in their life cannot inherit any part of the Kingdom of God.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 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.
But there is another pattern revealed in the Apostle’s discourse that brings life, hope, and a future. That pattern is that of the Spirit of the Living God. It is to allow the Holy Spirit to develop and establish His patterns in your life.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Now there is much debate about the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life. Some argue that you receive all of the Holy Spirit there is when accept the Salvation of Jesus Christ. Some believe that immersion in the Holy Spirit is a separate experience than Salvation. Some argue that in the New Testament when the Holy Spirit fell that they spoke in other known languages by inspiration. Others argue that they spoke in a divine language and others heard in known languages. However, none of these are the intent of this discourse. Regardless, of any of these perspectives, the truth remains, if the patterned fruit, or nature, of the Holy Spirit of the Living God which dwelled in Christ Jesus is not evident in your life, there is a problem with either your conversion or your convictions.
There are so many professing followers of Christ who can rattle off these attributes listed in Galatians 5:22-23 but they cannot seem to apply them in their life as a consistent pattern that reflects Christ over their flesh. If I give you two thousands dollars to put in your account to get you out of debt but you never write a check to your debtors, you have the ability to be out of debt but you refuse to experience it by applying it. And if you are not learning to live by the Spirit then you are still trying to live life by the flesh.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
I am not trying to condemn you but show the the pattern of freedom in Christ not freedom from Christ. We see more of the pattern of the Holy Spirit revealed in Christ Jesus through the prophet Isaiah:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
So, here is the visibility of the authorized pattern we see lived out and demonstrated through the life of Jesus Christ and which we are called to follow by denying ourselves, crucifying our flesh and following HIs lead:
Live by His example of sincere love one for another.
Respond with the joy of the Lord through the good and bad times of life.
Have the peace that passes all understanding regardless of your situation or circumstances.
Trust patiently in the goodness and will of God even while praying continually.
Be able to express the loving kindness of the Lord to all peoples, all places at all times.
Holdfast to the goodness of God in your own character.
Stand firm in the fidelity of your faith and obedience to the will and way of the Lord.
Live in the meekness, humility, compassion and grace of the Lord sharing the truth with all gentleness and living in peace.
Maintain self-control walking in the maturity of Christ Jesus not succumbing to the reactions of the flesh that provokes unrighteousness.
Continually growing in the wisdom and understanding of the knowledge and Word of God.
Seek the Lord and His counsel by the Holy Spirit and Word of God acknowledging Him first in all your ways and choices.
Live with a sincere, holy, and reverent fear of the Lord.
Become intimate with the righteousness of God and apply it to your life daily.
Treat others fairly and equally in the love and justice of the Lord.
Be faithful to truth, conviction and your vows made before the Lord and others.
Jesus Christ indeed sealed His redemptive and atoning work at the cross and resurrection. And the Holy Spirit evident in the believers life is the mark or seal of the conversion to the image of Christ in the life in which He dwells.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
According to Rabbi Paul of Tarsus, there was an ancient custom of sealing documents that is alluded to in this passage. The Ruach Ha Kodesh of Adonai seals the conversion with the promise of Scripture when a believer surrenders to the Lordship of Christ allowing the transformation of the neshamah (inner most being) to be made complete. In this transformation there is a process of surrender through which the believers convictions are strengthened, their conscience is changed, their priorities and passions are redirected and the patterns of their entire way of life is aligned with that of “The Book”, the Holy Scriptures and the life of Christ is lived out. (Kasdan, Barney. A Messianic Commentary: Rabbi Paul Enlightens the Ephesians on Walking with Messiah Yeshua. Edited by Barry Rubin. Clarksville, MD: Lederer Books: A division of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 2015.)
Where your treasures are there also will be your heart. And if your passions are of the flesh and not of the Spirit then worldly passions give birth to sin and sin to death. Where your passions are there you will find your priorities. And passions develop patterns. Redirect the passions and establish new priorities and patterns will change. Set all your passion toward Christ, make Him preeminent and the patterns of your future are set on a new course.
A compromising theology the Scripture is not. There can be no alignment between modern day theological liberalism and and the righteousness of Christ. Rebellious flesh does not like spiritual accountability. The Apostle Paul said that the flesh wars against the spirit.
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.
There is a battle for the future of your soul by two opposing patterns: the life that follows the patterns of darkness and sin in direct opposition to the patterns of the life lived in the righteousness of Christ Jesus. The pattern of Christ must be more than something you say you believe.
Most Christians believe that their one time salvation experience is their ticket to heaven. But if you don’t get your ticket punched, you don’t ride the train. Lordship is the accounting. Lordship only comes by living by the Spirit and not the flesh.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 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.
Some of you will not like this statement. But hear me out. Saying you believe is not enough.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Look at Mark 5:1-13
They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
So, if the demons believed that Jesus was the “Son of the Most High God” then they must have been saved according to the average Christian’s thinking. I believe many folks come to church, they may even come down to the altar and profess who Jesus Christ is, along with their demons. But if there is no change in your life, no conversion, not crucifixion of the old flesh man where deliverance takes place, then you just have domesticated demons.
Hear the rest of James:
Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
Let the evidence of your conversion in Christ be seen. Resolve that you will no longer profess who He is but continue to live as if He isn’t. Be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and let His power and presence flow uninhibited through you for others to encounter the goodness of our God.
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
If you have never experienced and received the work of Christ on the cross to redeem you unto salvation then come and boldly profess today that Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord. If you have never experienced the immersion into the power of the Holy Spirit in your life that delivers and empowers you to walk out your salvation in Christ Jesus, I invite you to come.
If you are good to go and fully persuaded that your life reflects fully the pattern of the Holy Spirit every day, then this message was not for you. But if there are moments in life that you struggle with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control then this message is for you and me! Before my life is through, I want to solidify the pattern of the Holy Spirit in my life.
