Born for such a time as this part 5

Esther 4:14 NIV

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Daniel 1:8 NIV

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

Galatians 5:16–26 NIV

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

5:1 – Freedom in Christ

5:4 – Justified by grace not through the law

The law is powerless to free

5:5 – The righteous of Christ is received by grace and faith

5:6 – Faith is expressed via love

5:7 – They were running well but who cut in on them

5:13 - Called to be free

5:14 - The law is summed up in the commandment “love your neighbour as yourself”

5:15 - Disunity will destroy

The Acts of the Sinful nature.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious to people who are led by the Holy Spirit because everyone has a God given sense of right and wrong.For the person who does not have God in their life how do they know right and wrong?

1. Three Sexual sins:

sexual immorality, impurity (porneia / fornication), and debauchery. Sexual sins are often placed first in these types of negative lists because of their large impact and immense consequences.

2. Two religious / vertical sins:

idolatry and witchcraft – pharmakeia (often includes idea of drug induced/enhanced trance)

3. Eight social sins (horizontal – fellow man):

Hatred, discord, Jealousy, fits of rage (often progressive, many of the items in the list found their context in the church among those with a said faith but displaying deeds of the flesh instead of the fruit of the spirit. Selfish ambition (getting ahead at the expense of others) Dissentions, Factions (causing divisions, destroying unity of church body) Envy (an evil thought, wanting what someone else has) selfish ambition, dissensions, fractions and envy

4. 2 sins that show lack of self control:

Drunkenness Orgies (Carousing: related to drunkenness) “And the like”: this list was not to be seen as exhaustive, merely representative. A person who produces these works of the flesh is living according to their sinful nature. Your future, if you are that person, is filled with disappointment, sadness, emptiness, and finally, eternity apart from God. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savoir, the tables are turned on the internal battle between sin nature and spirit. The believer is controlled by the Holy Spirit. This person now has available to them the power to conquer the flesh, to not sin. This does not mean we stop sinning, but we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us, the power to not sin. We have to avail ourselves of that power.

How to deal with the Sinful nature

Flee

2 Timothy 2:22 NIV

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

NIV22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Come on let’s be real here with this – Don’t play with evil desires.

1 Run from Evil Desires

Some days we are just plain dumb.

Judges 16:4–22 NIV

Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.” He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.” He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and tightened it with the pin. Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric. Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

If we dont run then:-

We lose our vision

Samson eyes gouged out.

Strong holds are formed

Gaza means strong city. Samson was bound to the grinding wheel like an animal. There is no mercy in the plan of the Devil!

Kill it!

Romans 8:13 NIV

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

ro NIV13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

NIV13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 6:6 NIV

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

Colossians 3:5–10 NIV

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Col 3:5- NIV5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

NIV5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Crucifying sin nature is taking off old self

Conform to the Spirit

This is putting on the new self

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

NIV17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

NIV17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

You the believer are responsible for your own Spiritual growth, you need more than you can get here at church a few hours a week.

Fruit of the Spirit

(basic divisions from Walvoord/Zuck)

Karpos

The word fruit here (Karpos) is singular in form, which means we cannot say “Hey, I have three out of nine, that’s not bad.” All of these nine characteristics should be evident in the life of a believer. The source of the fruit, however, is not ourselves. On our own, we do not have the ability to conjure up even one of these. The Holy Spirit works in us and through us and it is He that produces the fruit.

1. Three virtues of the mind with God as their source:

Love (agape): Listed first as it is the foundation for all that follows

Joy (chara): inner rejoicing regardless of circumstances

Peace (eirene) – inner calmness, repose, quietness, even in chaotic or difficult circumstances

2. Second three build on first three and reach out to others

Patience (makrothymia) No thought or retribution when wronged

Kindness (chrestotes) a reflection of God’s actions toward us, benevolence

Goodness (agathosyne) treating others well even when they do not deserve it. Again this is a reflection of how God treats us.

3. Final three guide the general conduct of a believer who is led by the Spirit

Faithfulness (pistis): trustworthy/reliable, like servant in

​ NIV10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

Gentleness (prautes): submissive to God, considerate of others when discipline is needed.

Self-control (enkrateia) ability to curb fleshly impulses described in vs 19-21, the antithesis to drunkenness and carousing.

(Greek definitions above, paraphrased from Thayers, Zodhiates)

1 cor 13

1 Corinthians 13:1–13 NIV

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.