Sermon Tone Analysis

Galatians 5:16-26

Good morning church!

We are resuming our study of the Book of Galatians this morning.

For those of you that haven’t heard, Brett and Monica Bradford welcomed another beautiful little girl into their family and into our church family.

Aubrey Cheryl was born Friday morning, 21 inches long, and 9 lbs 12 oz.

And our dear sister Barbara had her 75th birthday on Thursday, she did not give me her height and weight, but please wish her a happy birthday if you see her.

It’s interesting that it is right around birth that we stop being impressed with weight, unless you’re a fan of sumo wrestling.

Galatians chapter 5 this morning…before we get to our text I want to know who I’m talking with this morning, agh, I can’t do this without it being awkward though.

What I’m wondering is if in a room full of church people, are there any sinners among us?

Don’t raise your hands, our gossiping sinners won’t stop talking about you.

I see some wives giving a sideways look at their husbands.

OK, scratch that and just do this with me…perhaps one or two of you may be able to relate to this with me.

You are a Christian…but you still struggle with sin.

You know how you’re supposed to act, you’ve learned a whole bunch about the things you’re no longer supposed to do, but you have trouble not doing them.

Maybe there are some things you’ve learned about that you’re supposed to do.

Like, Read your Bible, spend time in prayer, serve others, forgive those who have sinned against you, love those who hate you.

So maybe your struggle is doing the things you want to do, but don’t seem able to do them.

Maybe you’ve been a Christian for a few months now and think you should have it all down by now.

Or,... you’re someone who has been a Christian for years so it should be second nature to you by now, or first nature…Maybe that is part of the problem.

You who can relate to this I’m talking to you today.

I’ve been there…I lived, and have lived in that exhausting, discouraging, defeating place for many, many, too many years of my life... Imagine for a minute not being discouraged, Not feeling defeated!

Imagine looking forward to gathering together with other Christians to worship and to sing with joy, because your heart is so full of gratitude... not guilt, gratitude, not failure.

Imagine victory!

You who are in the struggle daily…imagine the victory when Jesus has won in your life.

Imagine the fight being over, imagine walking in victory.

Because you are no longer fighting, He’s fighting for you…that’s not a pep talk, and Old Town Christians Fellowship hasn’t turned into a place where you’re going to get your ears tickled by hearing what you want to hear rather than preaching the truth.

But Paul in our text today, says this is truth!

Again, the first couple of chapters in this book, he talks about how the gospel came to Him and the freedom that is in Jesus.

Chapter’s 3 and 4 he lays out the doctrine, that Salvation is by grace through faith not the law, and that that theme runs from cover to cover in this book.

Then there were Those that would come along and say Jesus yes, salvation yes, but you also need to come under the law, you need to get circumcised, you need to follow the customs and rituals of Judaism, you need to... become religious, and Paul says, no! Jesus fulfilled all that.

And this passage, I think is the crescendo or the mountain top that Paul has been building to.

Let’s read through it.

Let’s pray!

Lord thank you for the gift of your Word.

Thank you Lord that you’ve given us not just salvation, but freedom and victory over the grip of sin in our lives, because of Jesus.

Speak Lord and let us hear what you have for us.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

What I want you to see in our text today is that what we have in Jesus through the Spirit is more than just forgiveness.

Forgiveness is awesome, and if we really understood both what we have escaped from with forgiveness and what we have received with forgiveness, our praise would never end, OUR rejoicing would never cease.

But there is more to this life than just forgiveness.

Jesus came to give us life, and life more abundantly.

Sin brings death, the wages of sin is death, but through Jesus in the Spirit we have life.

Paul writes in Romans 8:1-6

Jesus came to give us life.

I made the comment last week that liberty is not being able to do whatever I want, when ever I want, however I want because then I become a slave to my flesh that I can’t say no to, that’s not liberty, it’s bondage.

Paul is sharing with us this morning the victory that is available if we walk by the Spirit in the freedom we have already been given.

The theme to this passage is probably a verse that is in the next chapter and we won’t make it there this morning, but in Gal 6:15

Galatians 6:15 (NKJV)

15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.

That is what we are in Jesus,…listen... whether it feels like it or not.

Paul says so in another place and this is a verse that should be familiar with you guys due to our great friend repetition, 2 Cor 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Do you know what validates this verse?

That is was inspired by the Holy Spirit who is (GOD), that the qualifier is that you are in Christ who is the Word, and it is recorded and preserved for us by God.

What if it doesn’t feel like it, or if it hasn’t been our personal experience, or our reality?

It’s true because God said it’s true.

He says through His Apostle, His messenger, Paul in this case, that if you are in Christ, YOU (put your name here) are a new creation, old things…read that as all of your old junk has passed away, is gone, and, and, check it out....all things HAVE, already have become new…we just need to walk in that promise…you might say well it’s easier said than done…

But I want you to see, or what Paul is asking you to hear, is that if there are areas of you life that have not yet changed, they can become brand new.

If there are areas in your life that just seems dead, they can come to life.

Jesus tells us to ask and to keep on asking!

If your marriage is a mess, if you’re a mess, God can make it all new.

See guys that is part of the gospel!

That is good news.

Saved from our sins yes! Jesus came and lived a sinless life, the only one to ever fulfill the law.

Then He who was without sin, took on sin, my sin and yours if He is your Savior, and He paid for it with His life, and then defeated death, the penalty of sin, when He rose from the grave.

Hallelujah!

It’s the greatest news ever, except there's more.

There is newness of life in the Gospel, we are made new, we are born again!

Jesus is the one who used that language.

I hope you guys know that.

Sometimes you hear people that sound embarrassed about that expression or that language.

Well I’m a Christian, or I believe and all, but I ain’t one of them “born again’s”.

Well ya better be!

It’s in John chapter 3, the story of Jesus and Nicodemus.

The Bible tells us that Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a teacher of the Jews, and He came to Jesus at night because he recognized something was very different about Jesus.

Nicodemus knew That Jesus couldn’t do the things that He did, or say the things He was saying, unless He came from God. Jesus answers Him directly John 3:3-5

Nicodemus asks him a question from the position of the flesh.

Something I found interesting here in verse 8, when you look at the verse in the Greek, the word for wind in the beginning of the verse is pneuma, its actually a word we’ve pulled over into the English language, some of you guys have pneumatic tools, what does that mean?

Air, right, so that makes sense, the word that is translated Spirit at the end of the verse is also pneuma.

Some places translated wind, some places Spirit.

It’s actually the same with the Hebrew word of Spirit Ruah can mean Spirit or wind.

pneuma - wind, and Spirit

Wednesday night one of the guys that showed up early to church asked me if I noticed the wind.

I had been inside, and I really hadn’t but then I remembered and said to him well I did see a tree branch next to my truck and I thought that was odd and he said, yeah it really ripping out there, look at the trees.

Look at the trees why?

Because you can’t see the wind, just the effects of the wind.

Nicole and I went Kayaking with some friends one day this week, another couple.

When we got to the stream that we were going to kayak, I asked which direction they wanted to go in.

The guy said well, lets head in this direction, up current, then on the way back when we are tired we can just coast it back.

Great idea right?

Brilliant!

Only on the way back guess what happened?

The wind that was heading in this direction, changed direction, so we were paddling into it now and we weren’t coasting back.

We couldn’t see the wind, we could see the effects of the wind, we could feel it, we could see the ripples on the surface of the water.

Jesus says we must be born again, we must be born of the spirit, so we can be led by the spirit.

I’m so glad we have the Spirit leading us in this church and things aren’t done by Shame, guilt, manipulation.

Some of you have gone to that church in the past…Being led by the Spirit is frustrating for some of you that want to see our

5 year plan, 10 year plan in writing, I’ll tell you we don’t have one, we’re just trying to follow Jesus, we don’t know what’s ahead five years from now, but we can feel the wind blowing.

When we’re planning and plotting It’s really easy to deceive ourselves when we are in the flesh into thinking that we are in the Spirit…think of the guy who is writing this....Saul of Tarsus....do you remember when he met Jesus?