Transform into Freedom

Last week, I left off with the thought that some of us live too unburdened by other people. At the same time, some of us ARE the burden people carry. We need to stop and be aware what our true selves are wretched and undeserving, at best. It is because of Jesus that we have any chance at all. Therefore, we read Galatians 6:9-10, which says: 9?Let us not become weary in doing good,?for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.?10?Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good?to all people, especially to those who belong to the family?of believers. When we live by the principle of faith working through love as a means of living out our salvation in Christ, we change the trajectory of our lives. If we live fluidly in faith and through love to accept people and love people for who they are and their sins and their problems and their souls, we will not be headed to destruction—but justified by God’s spirit. It’s not an easy thing to do “good” in this way, but it’s better than rules and laws. Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. This is what following Christ was really meant to be. This week, I hope to conclude our series in Galatians working out what it means to walk by the Spirit as opposed to the desires of the flesh. The reason we’re going to hit on this is because when we work out our faith in love, the Spirit causes us to defy our flesh, and by flesh, I don’t mean only physical bodies, but also our natural humanistic tendencies. Let’s go back to Galatians 5, verses 16-18. 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 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. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. I know a lot of you aren’t going to remember what this passage is talking about, and if you don’t know, you have to go back 10 weeks to my first sermon on Galatians in this series. Here’s how I concluded that sermon: the manifestation of the gospel playing in our lives is present when we live like we believe that God is jealous for His glory and that He is even more zealous for the soul’s of the people around you. Simply put, that all means that we put the good news (grace, love, and redemption) to take gentle care of people, not alienating them into religion, but to chase them out of love. Most of us chase people out of flesh, that is, not out of love (the spirit) for their souls because God is a jealous God who zealously seeks people. Let me give you an example of this: It’s when you stick your two bit sense into other people’s business, not because you love them, necessarily, although many of you will say that you do when doing so, but doing so because you overhear and know better, so you stick your butt in that hot mess. I know none of you do this—except underhandedly when we make comments, right. They’re not necessarily harmful or even wrong, but they’re tactless and they’re not done in the spirit. I do this all the time and I don’t even know I’m doing it. I can say that I’m not thinking, but really, who is thinking about everything that comes out of our mouths? I’m not chastising our intentions, I’m commenting on our follow through from those intentions—it doesn’t always end the best. I started watching Modern Family recently and I noticed a general trend or theme about all their shows. I’ve watched all four seasons now. The show always starts with the family trying to do something good out of love of their family. If you don’t know the show or never watched it, I’m going to deconstruct the whole thing as to spoil it. If you like the show then you’ll know why you like the show. Anyways, every episode’s plot develops as well intentioned people run into conflict with their humanity – their shortcomings and failings. It’s a comedy of errors in that the brilliance is exactly how our life turns out. We either sabotage ourselves or everything in the world is working against our good intentions and we’re flabbergasted. This was exactly what Paul was saying! The Spirit is in conflict with your flesh and it is because we are imperfect people with imperfect results, he says, “you are not to do whatever you want.” Whatever we want is always going to end with us being where we didn’t want to go in the first place. This is why in chapter three of Galatians, Paul says, we are his children and we need to cry out to God in our despair. It’s because God rescues us from us! Now I want to get into how our flesh (our humanity) screws up with working our faith in love. Galatians 5:19-21. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and 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. There are four categorical ways we mess up our intentions and/or ourselves and keep us from truly loving other people with the zealousness of God, which we are all called to do. This in turn explains why sometimes we are so lukewarm about church and church people and lost people and sinning people and people who we just don’t agree with all the time. First categorical method is exemplified in verse 19: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery. I call these the “Greek perversions.” The Greeks were brilliant, not only hadn’t we had an original idea since the time of the “Greeks” but they also had their perversions—they all had philias or fetishes. You see, Paul was referring to the religious cults of the time that emphasized a culture of temple prostitution (as an offering), bestiality, pedophilia, etc, etc. You see, this may not play out in our society like it does here, but here’s what it equates to: making and taking something into an obsession by which we can’t see beyond that lens. You do these things when you don’t have any care or concern about how other people because you’re looking out for only your interests and your well being. There is no care there except that which will cover your own. Second method is highlighted in verse 20: idolatry and witchcraft. I don’t think I need to go over this, but let me do so. Paul is saying two things here in this: don’t worship other things, when we should be worshiping Jesus. The second more implicit thing Paul is saying is that we shouldn’t turn our faith in witchcraft! You may think you don’t worship things other than God, but I bet you that you worship your smartphone or you video game, or your music or your activities because you spend a whole lot more time on that on any given day than you do with God. We’re idolaters. No matter how much we don’t want to be, its just so much easier to deal with something in our hands that is tangible then it is to deal with a living, but equally invisible God. Likewise, witchcraft—some of us are more prone to it than others. I saw on the news the other day and I know you’ve probably seen the same account that two parents are being charged with 3rd degree murder because those idiots refused to take their sick child to the hospital because “Jesus will heal them” just because they prayed in Jesus name. Let me tell you something about that, and I’m not discounting the power of prayer and miraculuous healing because that happens all the time and Amen with a hashtag, but God isn’t a dumb God, He gave us a brain and creativity that caused humanity to invent this beautiful thing called medicine. You think when God sent Adam and Eve out of paradise, He said to them, “pray to me if you want your food?” No way, God said, “here are some clothes and a shovel, start digging and plant that food if you want to eat.” Likewise, I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray, but we shouldn’t make it an abracadabra type of deal. We pray and take medicine if available because God had us born in America and that’s grace and mercy right there. The third method is also in verse 20: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy. I call these the legalistic impulses. Have you noticed that these right here are a “saved” person’s biggest fleshy illness. We act and do certain things in certain ways so that we can “be godly” but it usually ends up being hypocritical and fleshly and demonic. Don’t believe me, when was the last time you got mad. Was it justified? Better then that, when was the last time you wanted what somebody else had? Or when you disliked somebody so much that you wanted bad things to happen to them? Yeah. I can go on and on. I’m not going to because we get the picture. The fourth method is what I call “morning after regrets.” Verse 21 says they are drunkenness and orgies and the like. Very simply, when we do things that we know we will regret the next morning. We all make decisions like this don’t we. It doesn’t matter the intentions we had, we regret the next morning. Here’s what I’m saying about these things and our humanity in our lives: this is exactly why in chapter 5, Paul says that we can’t do what we want. It’s because even though our intentions and hearts are in the right place, most of the time, what we want is expressed in our actions. Our actions in turn, usually turn out this way. I want to go to Galatians 6:12-15. 12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. This is the conclusion—let’s forget the fact that we are screwed up and messed up and will never be any good, no matter how hard we try. Let’s forget about how other people will turn around and try to get us to emulate their so called good behavior and/or achievements. Let’s forget about all of that. What we need to focus on is what it means to you and me, as individuals to be “new creations” of Christ. How did Christ create us new? This is what we need to understand for ourselves. Galatians 5:22, let’s go. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Here’s the formula to understanding how we are created new as per the passage we just read: unnaturally intentional patience will transcend legalistic tendencies towards transformation into a new creation. If you look at verses 22 and 23, you will see that these things that Paul describes are things that we need to practice—to allow ourselves not to be the center of our own worlds. To play second fiddle in our own musical. This is what Paul is telling us to do. Verse 24 says one thing very clearly: we have to want to be brand new, even if your actions don’t always look it. Eventually we will all get there, but not today, or tomorrow. When we work out our faith in love, we are constantly working and moving toward putting somebody else first. We are always working to patiently absorb others. We are begging God to help us when we hit rock bottom. We are asking for forgiveness constantly and always. This is what we strive to be as a church. Lets pray.