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: As followers of Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within our hearts. In other words, God is dwelling within hearts to change and empower us to resist our sinful nature and become the loving people God created us to be. However, in order for the Holy Spirit to change and empower us, we must ‘walk with the Spirit’. This is another way of saying we must cooperate with the Spirit. It’s like a ball room dance where one leads and the other follows. In our dance with the Spirit, the Spirit leads and we follow. Let’s learn how to dance with the Holy Spirit.

Purpose: To teach and encourage the congregation to ‘walk with the Spirit’.

The Sermon

I. Introduction

A. Fallen Christians

· How many people here can name a famous Christian Evangelist who got caught in some sex or money scandal? (Just about everyone should raise their hands.)

· How many people here personally know a strong, respected Christian leader who fell from grace because of some ethical misconduct? (Many people should raise their hands.)

· How many people here have committed sin even after giving your life over to Christ? (Everyone should be raising their hands.)

B. This should not be

· People who repent and trust Jesus as Savior, Lord and Friend receive the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit…

- Empowers us to resist our sinful nature so we can live a Godly life characterized by love

- Begins the process of changing us by cleansing our hearts of our sinful nature.

· If the above is true, then why are there still Christian who sin?

II. Why there are Christians who still sin

A. In order for the Holy Spirit to change and empower us to resist our sinful nature, we must ‘walk with the Spirit’

· 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.

· 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.

B. When Christians sin, they are not ‘walking with the Spirit’ As long as they ‘walk with the Spirit’, they will not sin. The Holy Spirit will empower them to always do the loving thing.

C. So, how do we ‘Walk by the Spirit’?

III. What it means to ‘walk by the Spirit’

A. ‘walking by the spirit’ = ‘cooperating with the Spirit’

· We can not change ourselves or will ourselves to resist our sinful nature. We do not have that power. Only the Holy Spirit can do this.

· We must, however, cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

- A boxer can have the worlds greatest trainer, but unless he does what the trainer says, he’ll never become a great boxer

- When I was a senior in high school, I had the greatest Calculus teacher. I, however, didn’t cooperate with the teacher. I slept during class and did minimal homework. I barely squeaked by with a C- and didn’t learn a whole lot.

B. ‘Walking (Cooperating) with the Spirit’ is like ball room dancing

· One person leads and the other follows.

· When the person who is supposed to follow cooperates with the person who is supposed to lead, the dance becomes smooth and beautiful.

· However, when the person who is supposed to follow tries to do his own thing, the dance becomes choppy and disjointed.

· When we ‘walk by the Spirit’ we are ‘dancing with the Spirit’

- The Holy Spirit leads and we follow

- When we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, the dance becomes smooth and beautiful. We find ourselves becoming more loving like Christ.

- When we don’t cooperate with the Holy Spirit, the dance becomes disjointed and ugly. We are unable to resist our sinful nature.

C. So, what steps must we take to ‘dance with the Spirit’?

IV. Steps to take in order to ‘dance with the Spirit’

A. Don’t ‘dance with the Spirit’ alone.

· Ball room dancing is not as much fun with just one couple. The more couples you have, the more fun it is.

· The Holy Spirit is everywhere and can dance with all Christians at the same time.

· Share your temptations and failings with other Christians. The Holy Spirit will use the other Christians to strengthen your resolve. This is the main purpose of small groups.

B. The dance steps for ‘dancing with the Spirit’.

· Prayer

- Private prayer time with God and

- Group prayer

· Bible Study

- Private study time with God and

- Group Bible Study

· Worship

- Private prayer time with God and

- Group prayer

· Fasting

- Private fasting

- Group fasting

· Listening to the Holy Spirit

- The Holy Spirit talks to us through prayer, Bible study, worship and fasting

- The Holy Spirit talks to us through circumstances

- The Holy Spirit talks to us through ‘nudges’. All of a sudden, we get an idea to do something.

V. Conclusion

A. When you ‘walk with the Spirit’ you receive the ‘fruit of the Spirit’.

B. This fruit of the Spirit’ will change your life.

C. So, what is the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ and how will it change your life? To find out, come and listen to next week’s sermon.