Freed to Be Alive, Part 2

With Judy Greer.

Some of you are pursuing the wrong strategy when it comes growing spiritually you're trying to limit sin in your life you'll be doing is trying to grow your sensible love in the presence of God in your life.

Growing up my daily believing that it is finished by believing there's nothing you could do that will make God love you more.

Nothing you have done to make some of you last the first time you believe it is finished release from the penalty of sin.

The Bible teacher, and theologian Judy Greer. I'm your host Molly to be jumping into God's word today with you. So the Bible tells us that before we place our faith in Christ, we are all dead in our sins. When the blood of Jesus washes our sin away. Thankfully the Holy Spirit comes into us and gives us new life is not like we can just check ourselves pulse and confirm that were spiritually alive right so how do we know if the spirit is what this spiritual life actually look like yesterday, Greer answered those questions today continues our study of Galatians called freedom in between. So let's jump right in. Jaden side of today's message freedom to be alive. Galatians chapter 5 is going to show us what role the Holy Spirit plays in our spiritual development. Chapter 5 for freedom Christ set us free. Stand firm, then adults submit to the yoke of slavery. Bosses were to take note of my Paul I'm telling you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. In other words, if you go back to trying to do something yourself to get closer to God, you're actually cutting yourself off of the power of grace your removing yourself from the power of the promise in other words you say you circumcise her to cut an awful lot more than you realize. Verse six for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or on circumcision. It was is anything what matters. All that matters is faith working through love. That's it. That's what God is producing in you want to produce in you a new heart that loves the right things that you asked what how is it.

Therefore, though, that faith actually does what she does produce love.

There's really two reasons.

Number one is because it restores God to us.

His father is he as long as you think of God, mainly as a judge, you're never really gonna love him. God wants you to learn to relate to him. His father and the only way you can do that is for him to move himself as judge in the way that he did that was by judging Jesus in your place of others. No more judgment left for you. By the way, let me really quickly here deal with the myth that a lot of people seem to believe about God.

They believe that God wants us to be scared of his judgment, because then if were scared of his judgment then will be coerced to behave. It's like heaven is the character God holds out in front of us and tell us the stick, but he has behind us and this is the way that he motivates us to obey. Martin Luther called this the damnable doctrine of doubt. He said there is no way that you will actually learn to love God when you're scared of his judgment.

Real love for God can only growing the security of the love of God for you. That's what Paul is saying is true about the gospel God that motivate us with the carrot of heaven with a stick of hell, if I do one of the gospel. The gospel is that God took the stick of Helen B.

Jesus wet it and they gave us the carrot of heaven that he deserved and gave it to us as a gift, but we can only receive that's the 1st Way, God is his mother second bank is God put the spirit of love inside of us that spirit so full of love and dysarthria exhumed out of you both point is you can experience the gospel. You just can experience the gospel and not become a person overflowing with generosity and love. So Paul says, number 16. I say that walk by the Spirit.

He will not carry out the desire of the flash flash right here is or is kind of a confusing word in English and Greek is the word Starks we translate flash but don't think of it as Paul saying the body is bad and the soul is good/or Starks. It simply means that part of you that is not yet brought underneath the control of the spirit. The part that the spirit has yet to fill with resurrection power and renew a says that part of you would always be at war with the spirit part for the flash desires what is against the spirit spirit desires what is against the flats. These are opposed to each other. They hate each other so that you can't actually do what you want to do. You always got a war going on among you. Now he says the works of the flash obvious he's going to give us a list of 16 different things here that characterize our flesh. The kind of in three or four major groupings. The first three have to do with sexuality. He says sexual immorality.

That's a record for Naya and it just means any sex outside of a man and woman in a marriage relationship moral impurity. That is where I got RCI and it refers to things are unnatural outside of God's original design for sex, promiscuity, Delsea, that just means things are out of control. You can't control your sexual desires on the next two words that he uses are about religious corruption idolatry. When you love something else more than you love God sorceries.

When you do things try to manipulate God to be on your team. Whether that's good luck charms are more fake teaching or whatever it is these gives us eight words eight words that describe our relational conflicts, hatred, strive Delsea outburst of anger, selfish ambition of the surgeons factions and make millions off the list with three words refer to substance abuse where you thought you need a hint of something in order to stay alive ago to have that dopamine release rightist billboard and empty so that might be drugs might be. Alcohol might be pornography might be like some Facebook or impulsive shopping or even maybe I just got have something good about that. I don't actually feel alive, I'm warning you about these things as I warned you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God that were practice there means not occasional lapses, where you fall back into it, but it means a life that is defined where you pursue those things where you just got to build a life around pursuing these if you delight in these things. And if you are pursuing those 16 things you have no part in the kingdom of God to do little self-assessment here now is you give us another list and these are the living fruits of the spirit. By this is what the spirit part of you is going to be like the fruit of the spirit is love this one. First, his love toward God love toward others is the capstone of all them and the one from which every thing else flows and then we got joy joy means joy delight in God. For the sheer beauty of his presence. The opposite of Choi by the way, is happiness.

Happiness is happiness.

Exit comes from the root word happening so you are happy when the happenings of your life what you want them to be. Joy is not based on the circumstances. Joy is based on God that you don't say like this, I'm happiness is based on the blessings.

Joy is based on the bless her, so I got joy because God is more a treasure to me than anything else. I would however not have peace is the ability to rest in the loving sovereignty of God's control over your life patients. That's the ability to endure things that are painful and things that you don't want to go through and you do it without resentment or cynicism because you distrusted God has a good plan is working out for you.

Kindness is a disposition toward other people that just wants to meet their needs.

When you see somebody in need. You want to help them with their need, regardless of who they are, how they got there goodness means integrity is a Greek word that means integrity are the same all the time all the way through your lot at opportune esters, always weighing out things and be really shrewd, just good faithfulness means the willingness to do what's right even when it's hard. Whether that means having a difficult conversation with somebody when it's unpopular. That just means sticking by somebody when their pain and their high maintenance and Hardy along with the next inherent gentleness on that's a proud Taos is a Greek word for humility, not so much self forgetfulness of a bigger way of thinking about this one. In the immortal words of CS Lewis. A humble person, a proud toss person is not somebody who thinks less of themselves. Somebody thinks of themselves less. You're just not that into you your gentle your think about other people not you all the time and self-control is the ability to bring all of your urges and desires under the control of the will of God. There are nine things there. He said that describe the character of the Christian. Many concludes with sort of in a cheeky way the law is not against such things. In other words, in other words, people like that don't actually need laws, nobody goes to jail for being too good or too kinder to self-control.

It's when you're not those things. That's when you need a law, so what are you supposed to learn from those list three, important reflections on that number one healthy fruit only comes from deep roots. The most important one you don't grow further roots by focusing on the fruits, fruit happens naturally when the plant is alive and the roots are deep and healthy. If you had a dead rosebush. You don't fix it by going out and buying a dozen roses and stapling the roses on that dead rosebush on the same way you will grow spiritually by trying to add the fruits of the spirit onto your life the way that you grow spiritually is by driving your roots deeper into Christ because as you come alive in him. The fruits will naturally appear you don't get the fruits what they can about the fruits the fruits what they can about the roots. The more you embrace his love and promise in the gospel. The more that spiritual fruit will appear naturally in your life you don't about vertebrae, but think about love, joy, peace time as you develop things by getting caught up in loving intimacy with Jesus Christ and as you are lovingly intimate with Jesus Christ and as your soul is enraptured with him.

That is when all those things will grow as naturally on you is roses do on a rosebush issue. Some of you are producing are purposely exactly the wrong strategy when it comes to spiritual already this morning. You've done it. I'm going to this list to be like him so bad I couldn't love joy.

I got no patients.

I got no kindness I need to, you know what I want or I will work on patients is weak to be Mr. Gunderson think about nine different ways and I will be patient this afternoon when I did, and all around you all of us can hear.

We listen, we can strictly try to staple this thing onto your dead rosebush of our what you should be doing is looking at Jesus instead of yourself and what you ought to be saying is not. I got no patients. What you are to be saying is thank God in Christ. I am righteous because he is said there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Caesar. In Christ, I been chosen before the foundation of the world have been predestined bring forth fruit and give him glory in Christ, I been appointed to be and overcome or I can do all things. He says the Christ who strengthens me in Christ I'm precious to him back in surprise as he knows when a single hairball for my aunt in Christ, he tells them no longer a servant, son. I'm not a slave. I'm a friend of God I am not an orphan anymore.

I been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. My name has been written down. The Lamb's book of life, and I been filled with all the fullness of God. I been blessed to be a blessing predestined for good work/boardwalk and then when you drive your roots deeper truths then frugal, as naturally as roses do want a living rosebush. Amen, amen.

Look say this ways it is for everyone looking to get yourself bemoaning your fruitless mess. Take 10 look to Christ boasting in his faithfulness. Everyone look you take your pitiful life that is not having fruits of the spirit. It ought to take 10 lots in Jesus Christ and both of his faithfulness, because that list that is when the right there that have anything to do with you all those things that God did he did in his you believe the promise that God will bring life out of something barren.

Then at that point you are becoming the child of promise, and you're not turning back to Hagar. There's a second.

You are only as mature as Rome's most immature fruit. This can be painful right if you're reading this list in your paying attention when the first question you have is Paul uses what looks like a singular word fruit.

Fruit is a list of nine things in my pocket you forget that's not good subject verb agreement for each menu should be fruits are and then list the nine things you bought them same. Why did Paul use a singular word to describe the nine different things. Well, it's because these are not separate virtues that you staple on your life. These are the collective evidence of Christ and you there one singular fruit if he is in you than they all start to appear which means listen you are only as mature as your most immature fruit because that shows you where and how much you actually believe the gospel. You see, sometimes we confuse personality traits for spiritual fruits.

For example we see some Christian is just more stoic by nature so we look at them and we say now that person that she has got patients if they're not joy for kinder. Maybe there there is some Christian usually gentle and kind to others, but never really tell people about Jesus.

Or maybe get somebody likes to argue about Jesus. Notice the debaters are always out there trying to tell people about Jesus and win them over our point of view, but are not, what kind people.

That means that these things are all likely just personality traits not gospel fruit where Jesus is all the fruits grow was one when Jesus is there. You will be bold and kind, gentle and compassionate patient and joyful.

Therefore, I can confidently say that you are only as mature as your most immature fruit, and so when you observe an area where you are week.

That is an area where you have yet to really let the gospel shape that part of your life.

We talk here. The summa church all the time but going out on mission trips taken the gospel to unreached places and that's awesome you keep doing that, but I want you to also be aware there are a bunch of unreached people groups in your heart parts of you that have not been brought under the control of the gospel and those are the places where you have no spiritual fruit is what you gotta do is send a little gospel emissaries all into those unreached parts of your heart and say here's what the gospel says and this is how I should change as a result of you two really quick action steps on this one. That's what I tell you gotta pray the gospel of your life every single day. I just try to get my mind saturated in the gospel because I want that route deep so that the fruits will just come alive in the second application I give you is that's what you need to be in a small group. I'm not saying that because we want to beef up her small group numbers. I'm saying that because that's the only way that you ever learn to apply the gospel to these places I can't do it from appears that I can't talk everybody about your particular situation.

I united the analogy that I use to describe you know like it's it's basically like you coming in thinking that just listening to me will produce fertile fruit in you is like trying to clean out your room with a leaf blower you might blow some of the big dust off them out or maybe will blossom your laundry out of the way but you're never really got to get it clean. You need a decoy got Mustafa white behind it. If you really want to clean it was you I do is accompany blow a lot of air at you and I you don't yell a lot make a lot of noise but if you really want to see the gospel saturates the people in your life that can help you Mustafa look behind it was a yes. The gospel has really conquered you. That's what we say to be in a small group I'm here's 1/3 third application here and this is also a boardwalk in the spirit is the way to avoid a loss of flesh, not vice versa. See the verse I say them all by the spirit and then you will not surely not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Notice the order of the two as we always will flip and only if you avoid the lust of the flesh gold in the spirit of God will live inside you the balls is no you got the order wrong. The only way you can ever avoid the lust of the flesh is by walking in the spirit.

The word for desire, here is the Greek word epithelia and the word is is a great word. It means an inordinate craving that drives your life means something that units are so desperate for you thought you can't live without that you remember a few weeks ago. I told him about how in the garden of even the first result of her sin was that we felt naked. That and the reason we don't make it was prior to that moment.

We felt closer than the love and the acceptance of God and have you been stripped of that now also felt naked and I asked what you naked people do. They couldn't people normally could people try to find clothing they want to be coverage you want to be exposed and this is a picture of how we go through our lives is that we feel spiritually naked and vulnerable's are looking for something to replace what God used to be to us.

Blaise Pascal famously called it a vacuum of God -shaped vacuum in our heart we spend our whole lives trying to figure out what goes in a vacuum right was a relationships as it seems that money is it pleasure or is it what is it and none of it works because that vacuum is in the shape of God. What Paul is saying is it's only when you get God back in the right place. It's only then that you cannot be able to say no to the lust of the flesh because of you that is just too strong it's too much of a craving against some of you are pursuing the wrong strategy when it comes to growing spiritually you're trying to limit sin in your life what you ought to be doing is trying to grow your sensible love in the presence of God in your life will likely learn throughout this book of Galatians you you growing it by daily, believing that it is finished by believing there's nothing you could do that will make. I love you more. Nothing you have done the victim of you last the first time you believe it is finished, you were released in the penalty of sin. Every time you believe it from here on out you are released from the power of sin, the more you soak yourself in the love of Jesus, the more the spirit of God begins to radiate from your life and the more fruit naturally appears why because you can experience Jesus and not develop these things that go back through that list and just think about it. Aren't these things the best description of Jesus you'll ever read. Jesus is love these loving thoughts he so loved you, that he came in he died on the cross to purchase you when you were his enemy when he turned his back on you, Jesus is joy. The reason we know that is because he came from heaven to earth we had joy and he gave it all up and went to a cross we can purchase us because he made us his joy for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, and despise the safe and set down the right hand of God. Jesus is peace. Jesus is the Prince of peace.

And Jesus left his father's plea so that he could come in and die for us to give us peace.

Jesus is patient how many times could Jesus have turned back. Sometimes you walk away from me, never gave up. Never this was patient unkindness. He never turned anybody when the Gospels came to him with a need never turned me away from goodness he is full of integrity is the same all the time God is good all the time and all the time is good. Faithfulness means that he did the hard thing even when it was difficult to save us when it was difficult to speak the truth spoke to Debbie. Didn't you never give up gentleness. Was there any other better example of somebody who thought less about their needs and their wants and more about our own Paul would say let this mind be in you which was in him to consider, not his home. These bars come gentleness, self-control, self-control. He brought all of these things under control of what God wanted in the moment.

At any point. He could've called a legion of angels to deliver him, but he controlled himself because he was doing this to save us see this is a list of what Jesus is for you, which means that you memorize that list. Don't memorize it as a list of nine things that you need to go do memorize it as a list of nine things that Jesus was for you and now this Jesus is in you and when you focus on Jesus as the fulfillment of that and you'll see these things begin to grow naturally like fruit. Death is on a fruit tree or roses do on a rosebush justly. Let's return to that statement of Luther's that I started with. This is what the whole Reformation was about with some of this faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace is so certain of God's favor in Christ is what Christ has done so certain of that risk that the thousand times trusting in God's grace. Such confidence or knowledge of God's grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and with all of the creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith.

This means fruits of the spirit Holy Spirit makes love and joy, peace, and patience and kindness and faithfulness because the faith you freely, willingly and joyfully, do good to everyone serve everyone suffer all kinds of things loving. Praise the God who is shown you such grace. Thus, it's just as impossible to separate faith and works as it would be a separate heat and light from fire. That is the truth that revolutionized the world in 1517. Until you can revolutionize your life today.

It is the gospel again. He explained Christian freedom is an excuse to do whatever we want when we understand God's forgiveness changes our desires and our hearts from the inside out.

We begin to choose to do the right thing because our love for God important distinction today on Senate life with Judy Greer. If you happen to join us late today you can get a phone message online Judy Greer.com today is the last day that were offering our custom Senate life Bible to those who support Summit life financially. We know the Bible is the word of God, so should we respond when we reject think the first thing we usually think about, especially as young believers is how the Bible should change our actions that the Bible is so much more than a manual for right behavior. Think of your time in the word is Internet personal conversation with God and his God speaks to you.

I want to encourage you to speak back to him. We worked with the publisher Crossway to create a custom Senate life version that includes a more detailed study tips and a full year reading plan if the ESV English standard version of the Bible. The main goal of providing a Bible with the reading plan is to grow in your daily interaction with God in his word and will send you this custom blue letter Bible as an expression of thanks when you donate today to support this ministry give a one-time gift today or join a team of monthly supporters called gospel partners and remember to request the custom Summit life Bible and your gift for supporting us this might is the final day that will be available. Summit life is funded by listeners like you think your gift truly makes a difference for the custom Senate life Bible gave my calling 866-335-5025 20 or give online Judy Greer.com JD GREER.com if you'd rather mail your gift.

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