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The sport of weightlifting demands 2 things for success:

A. A supportive team.

B. Individual responsibility.

If we are free in Christ we extend freedom to others in 2 primary ways:

1. By Carrying Each Other’s Burdens. (Gal. 5:26-6:2)

- Difference between legalism and Spirit-produced life:

Nothing reveals the wickedness of legalism better than the way legalists treat those who have sinned. (Wiersbe)

2. By Carrying Our Own Load. (Gal. 6:3-5)

- Danger of pride in this process…

- We shift the attention from Christ to self, from divine grace to human goodness. (Blackwood)

- A man should ‘prove his own work’ in the light of God’s will and not in the shadows of someone else’s achievements.

- A person in step with the Spirit is more than willing to “shoulder his own pack” without complaining and pity-parties.

Conclusion:

- Christian freedom makes us weightlifters.

- To bear the burdens of others and to carry our own load is an expression and manifestation of the Spirit-filled life.

The “heart” of Galatians (5:16-26) concludes by returning to the absolute importance of the Spirit-filled/controlled/empowered life.

What does Gal. 5:24-26 (and Rom. 6) tell us about “keeping in step” with the Holy Spirit?

1. The “Obvious Life” Has Been “Unplugged”. (Gal 5:24 Rom 6:3-7)

- The “obvious life” has not been eliminated completely… but it has been “unplugged”.

- “Keeping in step with the Spirit” begins with a personal acceptance of this truth.

2. The “Extraordinary Life” Is Real. (Gal. 5:25; Rom. 6:8-22)

- We are free to act upon the truth that though we had once been “dead in sin”…we are now alive in Jesus.

- We are free to offer ourselves to God.

- The Spirit-filled life flows out of the following biblical principles:

A. We need to know who we are in Jesus Christ.

B. We need to believe that this truth is true for us.

C. We need to offer “the parts of our body” to the Holy Spirit.

D. We need to ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit…this is ultimately God’s work… an act of trust in a loving God.

Galatians paints a picture of what a life “in step with the Spirit” looks like.

Continued from Last Sunday:

4. With Spirit-Produced Kindness (Gal. 5:22; 2 Peter 1:7)

- “Kindness”/“gentleness” are closely related…word from common slave name (Chrestos), which is similar to Christos = Christ)

- Kindness is important quality for a servant. Kindness means taking into consideration and dealing gently with others.

5. With Spirit-Produced Goodness (Gal. 5:22; 2 Peter 1:5)

- Purely a biblical word (not in secular Greek)

- “Goodness” = generosity and benevolence of words and deeds.

6. With Spirit-Produced Faithfulness (Gal. 5:22)

- “Faithfulness” - the ideas of reliability, fidelity, trustworthiness.

- This makes us people of sincerity, consistency, honesty, and integrity.

7. With Spirit-Produced Gentleness (Gal. 5:23)

- “Gentleness” refers to a consideration of others…a willingness to learn (teachable).

- Gentle people are genuinely humble, eagerly teachable, open.

8. With Spirit-Produced Self-Control (Gal. 5:23; 2 Peter 1:6)

- Control of all desires instead of the perversion of all desires.

- Instead of being people who are driven along by every whim and passion, love makes us people who pursue godly passions.

What does a life “in step with the Spirit” look like?

In what ways does the Spirit manifest His love in and through our lives and relationships with others?

1. With Spirit-Produced Joy. (Gal. 5:22; Phil. 4:4)

- Joy is not the absence of problems or difficulties.

- The word for “joy”- root word for “grace” in the original language.

2. With Spirit-Produced Peace. (Gal. 5:22; Col. 3:12-15)

- Peace is not the absence of conflict/war.

- Peace is the opposite of worry, it’s having confidence in a loving God and in His ability.

3. With Spirit-Produced Patience. (Gal. 5:22; Col. 3:12-13)

- A prayer God always answers immediately = “Lord, make me more patient.”

- Patience = “long suffering…tolerance”

- Love is patient.

We need to have God’s love story invade our lives…

1. Genuine Love is Divinely Produced. (1 John 4:7-8)

- “…love comes from God.” (1 John 4:7a, NIV)

- “Fruit of the Spirit” (love) is produced in lives submitted to God.

2. Genuine Love is Visible. (1 John 4:9-10)

- Jesus is the assurance to us of God’s great love…The cross is the primary source of love.

- …God’s “free, uncaused, and spontaneous” love… (Stott)

3. Genuine Love Compels Us to Love. (1 John 4:11)

- The “fruit of the Spirit” moves us to touch others.

4. Genuine Love is the “Authenticity Test.” (1 John 4:12-21)

- It’s the “fruit of the Spirit” (love) that makes our faith authentic.

- The unseen God, who was once revealed in His Son, is now revealed in His people if and when they love one another. (Stott)

- Love is as much a sign of the new birth as is righteousness. (Stott)

What does the Spirit-filled life look like?

The greatest and most compelling evidence of any person living a Spirit-filled life is the “fruit of the Spirit”.

1. What is the Fruit of the Spirit? (Gal. 5:22a)

- The “fruit of the Spirit Is love” (not “fruits are”).

2. Love is Absolutely Necessary. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

- It’s the fruit of the Spirit that makes spiritual gifts valuable and effective.

- Ministry without love cheapens both the minister and those who are touched by it; but ministry with love enriches the whole church. (Wiersbe)

3. Love is a Verb. (1 Cor. 13:4-8a)

- Biblical love = “Choosing for the highest good of another.”

- Biblical love is a combination of attitudes and choices that produce character.

“Love is patient…” (with people more than circumstances)

“…is kind…” (actively interested in the welfare of others)

“…does not envy…” (celebrates the successes of others)

“…does not boast…” (“windbag”)

“…is not proud…” (not negatively asserting ourselves)

“…is not rude…” (not just “Men Behaving Badly”)

“…is not self-seeking…” (“selfish ambition”, Gal. 5:20)

“…is not easily angered…” (“hothead”, “fits of rage”, Gal. 5:20)

“…keeps no record of wrongs” (is not “touchy”, keeps no lists”)

- The fruit of the Spirit/Spirit-filled life creates positive people who endure…and hold on to God despite circumstances and problems.

Conclusion:

- The fruit of the Spirit (love) is not an emotion…but attitudes and choices that develop our character and is seen most importantly and significantly in our relationships with others.

- The Spirit-filled life is seen primarily in our relationships.

Being “out of step” in our spiritual lives is a serious matter.

1. The Obvious Acts of the Sinful Nature. Gal. 5:19a)

The deeper…extraordinary…Spirit-filled life isn’t natural.

It’s radically different!

Being out of step will be seen in 3 categories:

2. Physical Realm. (Gal. 5:19b)

The perversion of God’s good gift of sex has been one of humanity’s greatest problems since Genesis 3.

3. Spiritual Realm. (Gal. 5:20a)

“We are to worship God, love people, and use things, but too often we use people, love self, and worship things, leaving God out of the picture completely.” (Wiersbe)

The more significant realm of the “acts of the sinful nature” is:

4. Social Realm. (Gal. 5:20b-21a)

Paul uses 8 words that describe how the deeds of the sinful nature destroy relationships.

The acts of the sinful nature stand in sharp contrast to the fruit of the Spirit.

The emphasis is to warn believers not to live as unbelievers.

What does Gal. 5:16-18 tell us about the source of genuine spirituality?

1. Genuine Spirituality is Not Self-Produced. (Gal. 5:16)

- Dominant theme in N.T. = “live…walk…keep in step with…be controlled…be filled with the Spirit”.

- To “live” or “walk” by the Spirit is to live under the guidance and influence of the Spirit.

- “Live by…” = “go on living” (lifestyle; “habitual conduct”)

- “Living by the promptings and power of the Spirit is the key to conquering sinful desires.” (Mounce)

- To “walk” is basic to living physically and spiritually.

- Only the Holy Spirit living, controlling, and working in us and through us can produce genuine spiritual life.

2. Genuine Spirituality Operates in an Atmosphere of Conflict. (Gal. 5:17-18)

- The sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

- Genuine spirituality is something we become conscious of due to the inner conflicts we experience.

- The Spirit controlled/empowered life is the only way to experience genuine spirituality.

Paul begins to describe what freedom in Christ leads to and results in:

1. Freedom in Christ Leads to the Pursuit of Holiness. (Gal. 5:13)

- Christian freedom is not the licence to practice evil.

- Important spiritual truth: All people are servants to something.

- Freedom is living as God created us to live.

- The “true grace of God” (1 Peter 5:12)…but there’s also a false grace of God (note Jude 4).

- Freedom in Christ isn’t a licence to sin but an opportunity to serve.

- Freedom in Christ leads us in pursuit of holiness (not spiritual and moral chaos), and that holiness is demonstrated in relationships with people.

2. Freedom in Christ Results in Harmony. (Gal. 5:14-15)

- Was “faith expressing itself through love” “fighting tooth and nail…cat fight”?

- Where legalism dominates, factions and cliques form and poor relationships become the norm.

- Real freedom in Jesus Christ results in harmony, unity, and people consumed with wanting to serve others.

Conclusion:

- Does our life show that we’re letting “freedom rise” (pursuing holiness, moral transformation, serving others in love, seeking to know God more)?

- Or does our life demonstrate we’re pursuing a “false grace” (excuse for sinful behaviours and attitudes), or any form of legalism is expressing itself in poor relationships, a critical spirit, etc.)?