Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

Galatians 5:16-26

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ 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 prevent you from doing what you would. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.

Summation and Purpose

Summation: We all have a dual nature. We have a sinful nature and a conscience. These two natures are always in conflict. Our sinful natures consist of our selfish desires that cause us to become self-centered rather than God centered. Hatred, anger, bitterness, prejudice, lust and jealousy are various manifestations of our sinful nature. Our conscience tells us what is right and lets us know when we do wrong. It enables us to make the right choices. It is only by God’s grace that we have a conscience. Due to this dual nature, we can never live up to God’s standard. We can try as hard as we can to always love God and neighbor but, at some point, our sinful nature gets in the way. For Christians, however, it does not have to be this way.

Along with a conscience, Christians have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. When people repent and trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, they receive the Holy Spirit into their hearts. The Holy Spirit works to change their hearts and enables them to overcome their sinful nature. As long as we walk with the Spirit, we can be free from our sinful nature and live holy lives that are characterized by love.

So, how do we ‘walk with the Spirit’? Well, that’s the topic of next week’s sermon.

Purpose: To engender a sincere desire to ‘walk with the Spirit’?

The Sermon

I. Introduction: The classical argument

A. Pastor walks out with an angel on his left shoulder and a devil on his right shoulder. He has the following argument with himself

· “Ughhh, what should I do? I promised my wife that I would attend her aunt’s birthday party this Saturday. It’s going to be a boring dinner party where I’ll have to wear a suit and tie. Yuk!!! Just yesterday, a friend of mine gave me tickets to watch the Gators play this Saturday. Wow, I would love to watch that game. Maybe, I could skip the birthday party and sneak out to the game. I could tell my wife something came up at work. Hmm..”

· The pastor tilts his head towards the angel and says, “Yes, I know I gave my wife my word. I know I shouldn’t lie to her.”

· The pastor tilts his head towards the devil and says, “What’s that? Yes, you’re right! I haven’t been to a Gator football game in two years. I’ve been working hard and deserve to go to a game. Besides, I’ll get to drink beer at the game. I’ll say a white lie to excuse myself from the party and go to the game!!! Go Gators!!!!!”

B. This scenario describes the average person.

· We all have a conscience (represented by the angel on the left shoulder.)

- This conscience lets us know when we are doing wrong and enables us to make the right choices

- It is only by God’s grace that we have a conscience

· We all have a sinful nature

- This is our inclination to be self-centered rather than God centered. We think, “Me, Me, Me” rather than “What does God want?”

- This nature manifests itself in attitudes such as anger, bitterness, hate, racism, prejudice, lust, jealousy and pride.

- It makes it impossible for us to…

1) Live up to God’s standard. We can try as hard as we can to always love God and neighbor but, at some point, our sinful nature gets in the way.

2) Have a right relationship with God. When we do something that is not loving towards God or neighbor, we separate ourselves from God and neighbor.

· This duality is described in Romans 7: 14-20: “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me.”

C. This, however, is not how it has to be for the Christian

II. Christians are empowered to overcome the sinful nature (At this point, the pastor will place a flame or dove on his right shoulder in front of the devil. This represents the Holy Spirit overpowering the sinful nature.)

A. Galatians 5:16 says: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Flesh, as used here, refers to the sinful nature) By implication, this verse tells us that we can resist the sinful nature by walking with the Spirit.

B. Galatians 5:24-25: ”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 walk by the Spirit.” We live by the Spirit because the Spirit lives within our hearts. So, if we walk by the Spirit that is living in our hearts, our sinful natures will be crucified. We’ll be free from our sinful natures and free to be the loving people God created us to be.

C. How it works

· Jesus, who is God in the flesh, lived a perfect life and then died on the cross. He became the ultimate sacrifice and paid the penalty for our sins.

· On the third day, he rose from the dead, conquering sin, death and evil on our behalf. This proved he was God in the flesh and was able to pay the penalty for our sins.

· Because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, we can receive God’s forgiveness. We don’t have to earn it, just receive it through faith in Jesus. This restores our relationship with God. We become children of God.

· As children of God, we receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts. The Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome our sinful nature and begins the process of cleansing our hearts of that nature.

D. The tremendous implications of the Holy Spirit empowering us to defeat our sinful nature

· We can expect to be delivered from addiction. Alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, money, power, wealth, prestige etc… It doesn’t matter what the addiction is, the Holy Spirit can free us from the addiction. Once the sinful nature is under control, the addiction will also be under control.

· We can expect our quality of life to improve. As we sin less and less, our relationships will become better. We’ll become better spouses, parents, siblings and friends. People tend to experience more joy and peace the better they become at loving others.

· We can expect God to use us to make this world a better place. As we seek to love God and others, we will be spreading the Kingdom of Heaven throughout the world. As your sinful nature weakens, you’ll have more room in your heart for God’s love. You’ll feel compelled to do whatever you can to help the poor, stand up for the weak and tell people the good news of God’s love.

E. So, if all this is true, why do people who go to church still sin?

III. Why people who go to church still sin?

A. Not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. There are people who attend church who have not yet repented and placed their trust in Jesus as Savior, Lord and Friend and received the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

B. In order for the Holy Spirit to do its work on a Christian, the Christian must ‘walk with the Spirit’. We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit can change and empower us. So, how do we ‘walk with the Spirit’? Come next week and you will hear the answer.

IV. Conclusion

A. If you want control over your sinful nature but have not yet accepted Jesus as your Savior, Lord and Friend, you can do so right now.

B. If you are already a Christian but have not been ‘walking with the Spirit’, go to God in prayer and ask God to help you ‘walk with the Spirit’.