Aug. 16, 2020

Sermon Notes - First Love Church NJ

Fruit of the Spirit Series – Walking in the Spirit

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Galatians 5:16-18 NKJV

“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Galatians 5:24-26 NKJV

1. The super-desire of Human Nature

Human Nature produces in us a “super wish”

Usually for something that at first is not bad thing, it can even be a good thing.

But, when a good thing becomes our "god", it creates "super wishes"

“among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

Ephesians 2:3 NKJV

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,”

I Peter 2:11 NKJV

“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”

I John 2:16 NKJV

Sin creates in us the feeling that we MUST have this, or that, or that other.

1. The Desire of the Spirit

The Spirit glorifies, adores and longs for Jesus. He speaks of the beauty and greatness of Christ. He longs to show us Christ and to conform to Christ.

Living in the Spirit's way is what we most desire, but our sinful nature continues to generate alternative and competing desires, which we can experience and yield, but which are now contrary to our love and more eternal goals.

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

Romans 7:18-19 NKJV

1. How Human Nature Works?

Human nature is that desire within us that wants us to be our own masters and saviors.

The sin beneath all sins - the reason for our disobedience - is always a lack of trust in God's grace and goodness and a desire to protect and guard our own lives through self-salvation.

1. Be guided by the Spirit.

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Galatians 5:16 NKJV

“that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 NKJV

1. The Fruit of the Spirit

• Growth is gradual
• Growth is inevitable
• The fruit of the Spirit has internal roots

1. Developing the fruit of the Spirit

How can the fruit of the Spirit take root in our hearts and be produced in our lives?

A. Remember that we are “of Christ Jesus”

B. Because we belong to Christ, we crucify "the passions and desires of his human nature" - literally "super desires"

What is “crucifying Human Nature”?

• Identify and dismantle idols

• I must ask myself not only what we do wrong, but why we do it wrong.

• We disobey God to achieve something that, so our emotions say, WE NEED to have - this is a “super wish”.

• It is something we learn to believe that will AUTHENTICATE us.

• And say:

1. Lord, my heart thinks that I need to have that particular item or I will be of no value. It is a fake-savior. But to think and feel and live this way is to forget what I mean to the Lord, as the Lord sees me in Christ. By your Spirit, I will meditate on your love for me in it, until it loses its attractiveness over my life.

What is NOT the crucifixion of Human Nature

• It is not being hard on yourself, especially on your body.

• It is not enough to say “no” to sin

• It is not a passive process

C. Walking under the direction of the Spirit

• It is a positive process (not just giving up things)

• It is an active process (what we do)

• It is more than just obedience

• The Spirit is a living person, who glorifies and adores the work of Jesus. As soon as identify the false beliefs of our Human Nature, which they generate “super desires” and lead us to sin, we must replace them with Christ.

• We must worship Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit, worshiping him until our hearts consider him more beautiful than the goal we felt we had to achieve.

• With that, we will decree the death of our old Human Nature, opening room for the fruit of the Spirit to develop.

• We will discover this fruit development, transforming ourselves more and more in the person that we yearn to be and that God wants us to be.

Application

1. What are the super desires that make you think or behave under the influence these impulses?

2. Can you see the fruit of the Spirit developing in your life?

3. What are the idols that need to be identified and dismantled in your life?

4. How can you replace them with Christ?