WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:15.419 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.660 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:29.519 Galatians 5 verse 13. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:36.240 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:43.399 But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one another humbly in love. 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:50.259 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, love your neighbor as yourself. 00:00:51.299 --> 00:00:55.519 If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other. 00:00:56.500 --> 00:01:01.000 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:07.259 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. 00:01:07.859 --> 00:01:12.200 They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:16.200 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:18.900 The acts of the flesh are obvious. 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:26.079 Sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery, idolatry, and witchcraft. 00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:35.000 Hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy. 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.819 Drunkenness, orgy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:43.739 I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:01:44.540 --> 00:02:01.260 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:04.260 And against such things there is no law. 00:02:04.980 --> 00:02:10.840 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 00:02:11.640 --> 00:02:16.020 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 00:02:16.200 --> 00:02:17.400 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:18.040 --> 00:02:19.060 Thank you, God. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:19.900 You may have a seat. 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:26.740 And would you join me in praying the Spirit might be with us. 00:02:26.740 --> 00:02:29.420 Oh, Spirit in heaven, we have invoked your name. 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:31.719 We have invited you to come and fill us, oh God. 00:02:32.320 --> 00:02:35.219 And so once again, we come to you like the persistent widow. 00:02:35.980 --> 00:02:37.320 Would you give us more of you? 00:02:38.320 --> 00:02:41.800 Oh, Father, thank you that you're a God who speaks to us. 00:02:42.540 --> 00:02:48.680 Would you open our ears, open our hearts, that we may hear you and hear your word. 00:02:49.160 --> 00:02:50.560 In Christ's name, amen. 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:50.680 Amen. 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:56.180 So as we consider freedom, if we consider freedom, I have three points for you. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:58.860 First, the call of freedom. 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:00.539 The call of freedom. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:02.620 The fight for freedom. 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:05.819 And the life, or sorry, the spirit of freedom. 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:10.460 So the call of freedom, the fight for freedom, and the spirit of freedom. 00:03:10.780 --> 00:03:11.340 Spirit of freedom. 00:03:11.460 --> 00:03:13.259 So first, the call of freedom. 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:14.460 Look at verse 13. 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:19.819 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:23.180 Called to be free. 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:25.539 We miss this, right? 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:32.039 Like our post-Christendom understanding of Christianity, our culture's understanding of Christianity, 00:03:32.620 --> 00:03:37.060 pigeonholes it as something different than freedom, right? 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:43.740 It pitches it as burdensome, legalistic, maybe litigious. 00:03:45.080 --> 00:03:46.120 What if that's off? 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:54.960 Christianity was actually an astounding declaration of liberty against the backdrop of Judaism, a Greco-Roman culture. 00:03:55.340 --> 00:03:57.920 And it's not insignificant to the ministry of Jesus. 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:00.539 How does Jesus start his ministry? 00:04:02.340 --> 00:04:06.960 What is the Bible verse that he begins his ministry with? 00:04:08.020 --> 00:04:08.759 Do you know what it was? 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:11.180 He had a lot to pick from the Old Testament. 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:14.120 He could have picked love the Lord your God, right? 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:17.579 He could have picked the Shema, the Lord your God is one. 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:21.579 He could have picked the Hobby Lobby favorite, right? 00:04:21.660 --> 00:04:22.879 Jeremiah 29, 11. 00:04:23.340 --> 00:04:25.579 I know the plans I have for you. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:27.759 But what does he pick? 00:04:28.280 --> 00:04:32.680 He actually picks Isaiah 61, 1. 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:35.759 The Spirit of the Lord is on me. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:45.000 He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, to set the oppressed free. 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:55.399 Jesus, when he sums up everything that he is about to do, his ministry, he says this is about freedom, liberty. 00:04:55.399 --> 00:05:01.719 The Spirit is on him, not only to declare freedom, but to secure it. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:06.599 And Paul says the same things in Galatians. 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:10.219 Paul gets explicit about this earlier in chapter 5. 00:05:10.579 --> 00:05:11.959 He starts chapter 5 saying, 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:16.000 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. 00:05:17.039 --> 00:05:19.399 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:26.959 When Paul talks about what did Jesus do on the cross and in the resurrection, he set us free. 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:29.839 He did this to give us freedom. 00:05:30.359 --> 00:05:31.219 You hear the freedom. 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:34.579 There's this call of freedom. 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:42.199 And then in verse 13, he wants to ensure that the Galatians don't lose the plot until he says it again. 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:45.839 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:48.939 Now you might be asking, freedom from what? 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:50.199 Right? 00:05:50.239 --> 00:05:51.539 What are we free from? 00:05:52.679 --> 00:05:57.279 The book of Galatians is actually about freedom from religion. 00:05:58.079 --> 00:05:59.620 Freedom from religion. 00:06:00.139 --> 00:06:01.359 Which is surprising. 00:06:01.939 --> 00:06:03.839 Because Paul is very religious. 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:06.719 Paul was the most religious, right? 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:11.439 Religion, if we think about it, is a systematic attempt at being good. 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:15.799 At proving your worth or justifying yourself to God. 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:23.420 And the problem with religion in Galatians that Paul lays out is not only that it's impossible, right? 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:27.220 God's law is not like the SAT. 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:30.780 Every once in a while, someone scores the perfect score on the SAT. 00:06:31.780 --> 00:06:33.699 Seven out of 10,000 students. 00:06:33.900 --> 00:06:36.840 Well, I'm sure we have at least 50 of you right here. 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:40.139 UC Berkeley, you know? 00:06:40.139 --> 00:06:46.579 But God's law is not like the SAT because no one ever gets it. 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:48.519 No one ever gets it. 00:06:48.579 --> 00:06:49.899 No one is ever perfect. 00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:53.699 So it's not only that we can't do it. 00:06:54.699 --> 00:06:56.779 But more to Paul's point, which is interesting. 00:06:57.379 --> 00:06:59.500 He says this is slavery. 00:07:00.539 --> 00:07:01.800 Religion is slavery. 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:04.180 That's his point. 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:08.160 Religion is like a hamster wheel. 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:11.500 You have this slavish obedience to a law. 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:13.620 You're never good enough. 00:07:14.980 --> 00:07:17.120 And by the way, this is not just religion. 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:21.879 This is also secular life philosophies. 00:07:22.540 --> 00:07:30.040 Secular people, irreligious people, can be just as enslaved to the rat race to justify themselves. 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:31.000 Right? 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:31.800 Berkeley. 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:36.420 I don't know if you know this, but you're known as a capital for secular progressives. 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:37.220 Right? 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:39.520 Who are just as driven to be right. 00:07:39.860 --> 00:07:41.420 To save the world. 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:45.120 It may not be necessarily about being right with God. 00:07:45.760 --> 00:07:48.800 But rather to prove your rightness to others. 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:50.100 Or to yourself. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:52.200 And so, people buy solar panels. 00:07:52.420 --> 00:07:53.220 And they drive electric. 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:55.180 And they speak inclusively. 00:07:56.020 --> 00:07:57.960 Now, all that can be good things. 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:02.799 But Paul's message is that that will not justify you. 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:10.759 And you can be just as enslaved to that rat race within religion as without. 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:15.939 He says, no. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:22.579 What Jesus brings is a declaration of freedom for religious and irreligious people alike. 00:08:23.179 --> 00:08:27.099 He says, you, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. 00:08:27.100 --> 00:08:27.260 Free. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:28.760 Free. 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:32.800 Jesus speaks the declaration of liberty. 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:42.340 The problem with religion, or however you define yourself, is that it's ultimately about what you can do for yourself. 00:08:43.560 --> 00:08:49.300 And if your justification, your goodness, your meaning is up to you, you will never be free. 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:55.399 But the gospel is, is that Christ comes and does it for you. 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:56.419 Right? 00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:59.519 Religion is, I perform and then I will be accepted. 00:09:00.419 --> 00:09:05.519 The gospel is that because Christ performed, I am accepted in him. 00:09:05.939 --> 00:09:06.879 For him. 00:09:07.139 --> 00:09:11.740 It's a call to freedom because the work has already been accomplished. 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:18.159 I think that Christ, I think we have an illustration here in Juneteenth. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:18.720 Right? 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:21.019 We're just around the corner from Juneteenth. 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:24.779 I'm a Texan, so I'm going to, this is what I know. 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:26.460 Thank you. 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:31.360 Juneteenth, another summer holiday about freedom. 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:39.220 The American Civil War technically concluded on April 9th, 1865, when the Confederates surrendered. 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:43.340 General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:49.620 But the end of fighting and slavery actually continued past that. 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:52.620 Remember, there were no phones or emails. 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:57.300 But also, some Confederate units just did not want to give up. 00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:03.659 Battles were still being fought a month after Appomattox in Texas. 00:10:04.459 --> 00:10:05.699 Of course, Texas wouldn't give up. 00:10:07.019 --> 00:10:10.659 Union forces had to sweep the entire state. 00:10:11.859 --> 00:10:15.919 Now, by June, Confederate forces in Galveston, the largest city in Texas, surrendered. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:24.620 And then on June 19th, Major General Gordon Granger issued Galveston General Orders No. 3. 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:27.519 And part of those orders is, quote, 00:10:28.019 --> 00:10:35.139 The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from the executives of the United States, 00:10:35.700 --> 00:10:38.620 all slaves are free. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:49.000 And that day, the loss of slavery in America was formerly, formally done away with. 00:10:50.659 --> 00:10:53.620 Logan Stroud had a very large plantation in East Texas. 00:10:54.620 --> 00:10:57.360 He had 150 enslaved people. 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:02.379 And on that day, on June 19th, he gathered them all around and read the order. 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:07.460 You who were once slaves are now free. 00:11:08.259 --> 00:11:09.179 Do you hear that declaration? 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:11.519 That's what the gospel is. 00:11:12.179 --> 00:11:16.879 The gospel that Jesus brings us is a declaration that we are free. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:20.799 And you can imagine being a slave, hearing that call to freedom. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:25.460 It was premised not on their own works or labor. 00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:29.139 In fact, if they would have had an uprising, right, what would have happened to them? 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:32.500 It had to be a work outside of themselves. 00:11:33.340 --> 00:11:35.379 A victory that was not their own. 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:39.460 That is like the call to freedom that Christ offers us. 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:44.259 Maybe you're new to Christianity, or maybe you're curious. 00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:50.120 Contrary to stereotypes, Christianity is not a species of the religion genus. 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:55.899 Christ did not come to give you a bigger hamster wheel or a different treadmill. 00:11:56.500 --> 00:11:59.879 Christ came to kick that hamster wheel down the hall. 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:01.960 He came to free you. 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:04.340 He came to free you. 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:07.080 He came to declare liberty. 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:09.759 So are you free this morning? 00:12:10.379 --> 00:12:11.280 Are you free? 00:12:11.940 --> 00:12:13.460 Here's another way of asking it. 00:12:14.280 --> 00:12:16.020 Are you at peace with God? 00:12:17.680 --> 00:12:18.660 With yourself? 00:12:19.800 --> 00:12:23.900 Or do you have a psychological hamster wheel going on in your heart and mind? 00:12:24.680 --> 00:12:28.700 Friends, God invites you to an unimaginable freedom. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:33.420 It's not about what you have done, but about the victory that he has accomplished in Jesus Christ. 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:33.500 Christ. 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:38.259 This is our first point. 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:39.719 The call to freedom. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:41.979 Do you hear it for you? 00:12:42.899 --> 00:12:44.639 Do you hear God speaking your name? 00:12:45.459 --> 00:12:46.579 Saying, will you be free? 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:52.459 But how does this freedom really work out in real life, right? 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:56.099 We need to ask the basic practical question about Christianity. 00:12:56.419 --> 00:12:57.299 How is it lived out? 00:12:57.339 --> 00:12:59.179 And that leads to our second point. 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:00.500 The fight for freedom. 00:13:01.059 --> 00:13:01.819 The second point. 00:13:01.819 --> 00:13:03.039 The fight for freedom. 00:13:03.419 --> 00:13:05.000 So how is it lived out? 00:13:05.459 --> 00:13:07.959 What actually has to be fought out. 00:13:08.579 --> 00:13:09.360 Fought out. 00:13:09.579 --> 00:13:10.139 Fought for. 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:12.959 Freedom requires a fight. 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:15.639 So we need to fight the right enemy. 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:16.639 Right? 00:13:16.719 --> 00:13:23.839 We Westerners are programmed to think that the real enemies of freedom are outside of us. 00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:26.579 King George III. 00:13:27.199 --> 00:13:27.360 Right? 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:30.719 Anyone really angry at King George III? 00:13:30.719 --> 00:13:30.819 Right? 00:13:33.419 --> 00:13:37.819 Or the 20th century was the fascists or the communists. 00:13:38.319 --> 00:13:40.519 Now it's the Democrats, the Republicans. 00:13:40.579 --> 00:13:41.059 Right? 00:13:42.579 --> 00:13:46.740 But Paul turned our attention inward here. 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:51.959 Verses 13 through 21 fix on the flesh. 00:13:51.959 --> 00:13:54.199 The flesh as the chief enemy of freedom. 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:55.300 Look at verse 17. 00:13:55.300 --> 00:14:00.000 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit. 00:14:00.140 --> 00:14:02.080 And the spirit what is contrary to the flesh. 00:14:02.420 --> 00:14:07.640 They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:10.259 The flesh is in conflict with the spirit. 00:14:10.640 --> 00:14:12.660 Now Paul is not being a Platonist here. 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:16.060 He's not pitting the physical versus the spiritual. 00:14:16.059 --> 00:14:19.500 The flesh here means the sinful nature. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:21.839 Our nature apart from God. 00:14:22.339 --> 00:14:25.479 Or we might call it the self. 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:27.139 The self. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:29.079 This is what it's saying. 00:14:29.479 --> 00:14:35.559 Your natural self naturally wants things that are opposed to God and to his Holy Spirit. 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:37.679 So what does the flesh do? 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:42.239 We have a list from Paul from verses 19 through 21. 00:14:43.419 --> 00:14:46.279 Let's just very quickly go through some of these. 00:14:47.239 --> 00:14:47.399 Right? 00:14:47.479 --> 00:14:50.239 The first three refer to sexual disorder. 00:14:50.839 --> 00:14:53.339 Sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery. 00:14:53.899 --> 00:14:55.979 The next two, idolatry and witchcraft. 00:14:56.219 --> 00:14:57.599 A religious disorder. 00:14:57.719 --> 00:14:58.599 Religious disorder. 00:14:59.079 --> 00:15:01.959 Seeking to fake or manipulate God and his work. 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:09.139 The next eight, the longest list, hatred through envy, illustrates social sins. 00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:15.000 How the selfish ambitions of the flesh stoke social division and chaos. 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:21.300 And then he has the last two, drunkenness and orgies, which are just kind of boilerplate hedonism. 00:15:21.660 --> 00:15:21.780 Right? 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:24.379 This is what the flesh does. 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:31.840 Now, maybe, I worry that this language, this vice list, is a little bit too sanitized. 00:15:31.939 --> 00:15:32.639 Too abstract. 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:33.179 Right? 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:36.500 Like, I think debauchery. 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:38.759 Anyone feeling convicted about debauchery right now? 00:15:39.379 --> 00:15:42.559 I think we, I hope some of us are. 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:45.320 But, let's listen. 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:46.039 Let's listen. 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:48.759 I like Eugene Peterson's paraphrase. 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:49.379 Listen to this. 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:53.940 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time. 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:57.360 Repetitive, loveless, cheap sex. 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:01.900 A stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage. 00:16:02.940 --> 00:16:05.680 Frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness. 00:16:06.780 --> 00:16:07.800 Trinket gods. 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:09.220 Magic show religion. 00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:11.340 Paranoid loneliness. 00:16:12.640 --> 00:16:13.980 Cutthroat competition. 00:16:15.420 --> 00:16:19.140 An all-consuming yet never satisfied wants. 00:16:20.520 --> 00:16:22.280 A brutal temper. 00:16:22.279 --> 00:16:23.959 That's how he translates it. 00:16:24.079 --> 00:16:24.959 Fits of rage. 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:28.720 An impotence to love or be loved. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.199 Divided homes and divided lives. 00:16:31.699 --> 00:16:34.399 Small-minded and lopsided pursuits. 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:39.519 The vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival. 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:43.259 Uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions. 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:45.980 Unlimited and ugly parodies of community. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:47.319 Do you hear that? 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:48.480 Did that get a little bit more real? 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:50.679 A little bit more 3D? 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:53.000 So we can see what are the works of the flesh? 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:54.319 What does the flesh do? 00:16:55.019 --> 00:17:01.340 And in that list you can see how these acts, how the flesh actually enslaves. 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:03.480 Enslaves us. 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:05.819 Take sexual immorality. 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:11.919 Think of the enslavement that lust and sexual addiction create. 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:18.639 Men and women enslave their lust and pornography and Tinder, strip clubs. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:24.619 Women actually enslaved by prostitution and sex trafficking. 00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:28.299 Or the enslavement of jealousy and envy, right? 00:17:28.719 --> 00:17:31.219 You saw her Facebook or Instagram. 00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:34.500 And all of a sudden you want what she has. 00:17:34.959 --> 00:17:36.259 And your life is terrible. 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:39.879 Your joy, your gratitude for your life evaporated. 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:44.399 Or what about the enslavement of hatred and anger? 00:17:45.399 --> 00:17:48.039 Like you can't let it go. 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:50.539 Do you hear that can't? 00:17:51.419 --> 00:17:53.299 That's the absence of freedom. 00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:55.059 That's slavery. 00:17:56.899 --> 00:18:00.359 Or the enslavement of factions. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.859 Doesn't that describe our political moment right now? 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:05.960 Dissensions, factions. 00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:10.960 People enslaved by their tribalism and their scapegoating. 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:18.720 In other words, the problem that we have is actually ourself. 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:22.659 Or in the words of the great secular prophet Taylor Swift, 00:18:23.299 --> 00:18:24.879 It's me. 00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:26.200 Hi. 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:27.079 I'm the problem. 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:27.659 It's me. 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:30.639 I should not be left to my own devices. 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:33.579 They come with prices and vices. 00:18:34.919 --> 00:18:37.379 Is it okay to quote Taylor Swift in Christchurch? 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:38.740 Is that okay? 00:18:38.859 --> 00:18:39.859 Don't tell Jonathan. 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:44.419 The price is freedom. 00:18:45.139 --> 00:18:45.459 Right? 00:18:46.139 --> 00:18:49.719 We become enslaved to our own selves. 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:54.100 And that's why Paul says fight for your freedom. 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:55.900 He says in verse 17, 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.420 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:00.500 And the spirit is contrary to the flesh. 00:19:00.860 --> 00:19:02.500 They are in conflict with each other, 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.420 So that you are not to do whatever you want. 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:07.860 Don't do whatever you want. 00:19:08.100 --> 00:19:08.880 Fight it. 00:19:09.360 --> 00:19:10.700 Fight for your freedom. 00:19:11.779 --> 00:19:14.120 And listen, this is so countercultural. 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:16.200 This is so countercultural, right? 00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:19.039 That's the true irony of our moment. 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:22.059 In Galatians, in Galatians, 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:26.100 Paul is concerned that a different gospel is being preached. 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:31.340 And do you know what the most prominent gospel of our culture is? 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:34.500 An alternative gospel, a false gospel? 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:36.160 It's the gospel of the self. 00:19:37.340 --> 00:19:38.500 It's the gospel of the self. 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:42.140 Well, Alistair Roberts and Andrew Wilson, two theologians, they write, 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:47.599 Our generation is confused as to the nature of true freedom. 00:19:48.579 --> 00:19:51.460 We think freedom is being true to ourselves. 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:54.559 We're living the best version of ourselves. 00:19:55.640 --> 00:19:58.799 No matter how often we experience liberation from constraints, 00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:00.460 limitations, and oppression, 00:20:00.460 --> 00:20:05.539 we will still find ourselves falling into new forms of bondage. 00:20:05.539 --> 00:20:08.839 You see, we think that salvation and fulfillment and joy 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:13.119 comes from the freedom to be our most authentic self. 00:20:15.099 --> 00:20:16.980 Everything in our culture says that freedom 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:19.960 is the exact opposite of what Christianity says. 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:22.460 Freedom is be your true self, 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.480 who you are at your core, let loose. 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.819 But Christ says, die to yourself. 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:32.039 Paul says these are the works of the flesh. 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:35.299 When you let it go, you're actually enslaved. 00:20:35.539 --> 00:20:36.759 You're enslaved. 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:39.839 So are you enslaved this morning? 00:20:40.879 --> 00:20:41.859 Or here's a better question. 00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:44.440 What are you being enslaved by? 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.519 What are you being enslaved by? 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:49.139 Are you fighting? 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:50.359 Fighting. 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:51.619 Don't do whatever you want. 00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:53.319 Are you fighting? 00:20:55.220 --> 00:20:56.759 How does the fight for freedom? 00:20:56.940 --> 00:21:00.680 Finally, our last point, the spirit of freedom. 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:04.480 I want you to contrast those acts of the flesh 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:05.640 with the fruit of the spirit. 00:21:06.120 --> 00:21:08.420 Now, I know that some of you who were raised in church, 00:21:08.840 --> 00:21:10.380 you're like, the fruit of the spirit, I got that. 00:21:10.940 --> 00:21:11.220 Right? 00:21:11.560 --> 00:21:12.620 You know the song. 00:21:12.860 --> 00:21:13.759 You memorized it. 00:21:14.100 --> 00:21:16.080 It feels a little bit childish, a little bit cheesy. 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:18.779 But I want you to think about them 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:20.560 from the vantage point of freedom. 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:22.100 Right? 00:21:22.099 --> 00:21:23.059 Look at the first three. 00:21:24.159 --> 00:21:26.299 Love, joy, peace. 00:21:28.179 --> 00:21:29.399 Isn't that true freedom? 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:34.500 Like the freedom to be able to love selflessly? 00:21:35.159 --> 00:21:38.619 The freedom to have joy regardless of circumstances? 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:40.619 Isn't that what we crave? 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:42.859 Isn't that what our culture wants? 00:21:42.939 --> 00:21:43.879 It's peace. 00:21:45.459 --> 00:21:47.419 Do you hear how they're liberating? 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:48.279 These are virtues. 00:21:48.800 --> 00:21:49.539 And not only this, 00:21:49.620 --> 00:21:51.759 but do you see how these are also emotions? 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:55.180 These are emotions that you are meant to feel. 00:21:56.900 --> 00:21:58.240 The irony is, 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:00.539 is that when you make the emphasis the emotion, 00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:01.759 when you make them focus on, 00:22:02.120 --> 00:22:03.019 I want to feel happy, 00:22:03.080 --> 00:22:04.300 you will never feel happy. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.560 But if you make the emphasis on God, 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:09.000 on the spirit, 00:22:09.420 --> 00:22:12.240 this is how you begin to feel. 00:22:12.860 --> 00:22:16.360 You begin to feel joy and peace. 00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:19.519 You hear how different it is 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:20.940 from those works of the flesh, 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:22.360 the acts of the flesh. 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:24.940 Here is something altogether more beautiful 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:26.740 and more freeing. 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:28.500 We don't have to, 00:22:28.800 --> 00:22:30.200 we can't go through all of them. 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:32.420 Let me just pick one 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:34.160 that I think very many people need to hear about. 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:35.880 Forbearance. 00:22:37.320 --> 00:22:37.759 Patience. 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:39.460 Patience. 00:22:40.800 --> 00:22:42.580 You have time. 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:44.799 We, 00:22:45.159 --> 00:22:46.159 my wife and I, 00:22:46.199 --> 00:22:47.519 I moved her away from California 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:48.759 to the south. 00:22:49.139 --> 00:22:50.859 And she came to me 00:22:50.859 --> 00:22:52.159 after an episode 00:22:52.159 --> 00:22:53.339 in a department store. 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:54.879 And she had a whole bunch of things 00:22:54.879 --> 00:22:55.519 she was buying. 00:22:56.659 --> 00:22:58.119 And the person in front of her 00:22:58.119 --> 00:22:59.839 looked at her 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:00.740 in the checkout line 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:01.339 and said, 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:02.960 do you want to go in front of me? 00:23:03.919 --> 00:23:04.619 And Jessica was like, 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:05.000 what? 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:06.159 Like, 00:23:06.159 --> 00:23:07.099 do you want to go in front of me? 00:23:07.179 --> 00:23:08.519 I have time. 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:10.480 And she was like, 00:23:10.679 --> 00:23:12.119 what is this place 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:13.119 that you brought me to? 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:16.539 What's wrong with you? 00:23:17.099 --> 00:23:18.159 You have time? 00:23:20.599 --> 00:23:21.079 Patience. 00:23:22.679 --> 00:23:23.159 Patience. 00:23:23.819 --> 00:23:25.480 What if you were off 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:27.079 the treadmill 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:28.939 and you had time 00:23:28.939 --> 00:23:31.139 to love your kid 00:23:31.139 --> 00:23:32.079 to say, 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:32.299 hey, 00:23:32.419 --> 00:23:32.779 how's your, 00:23:32.939 --> 00:23:33.679 how's your day 00:23:33.679 --> 00:23:35.980 to connect with a friend 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:37.380 who's hurting? 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:39.420 Patience. 00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:42.220 This is how we're meant to live. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:44.839 This is freedom. 00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:46.460 Freedom. 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:50.319 He names all sorts 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:51.180 of other things, right? 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:51.759 The kindness, 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:52.720 faithfulness, 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:54.400 steadfastness, 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:56.039 self-control 00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:57.099 is most clearly 00:23:57.099 --> 00:23:58.380 the virtue of freedom, right? 00:23:58.779 --> 00:24:00.039 You will not be ruled 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:00.759 by your whims, 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:01.700 by your appetites. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:03.620 The man who controls himself 00:24:03.620 --> 00:24:04.700 is truly free. 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:06.440 Do you see the freedom 00:24:06.440 --> 00:24:07.660 in this way of life? 00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:09.500 The acts of the flesh, 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:10.600 enslaving. 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:12.539 The fruit of the Spirit, 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:14.440 freedom. 00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:17.080 So how do we get this fruit? 00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:19.059 How do we get this, 00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:20.240 this way of life, 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:20.880 this freedom? 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:22.940 Well, we get the key 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:24.319 and look at verse 24. 00:24:25.019 --> 00:24:25.279 He says, 00:24:25.620 --> 00:24:26.400 those who belong 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:27.440 to Christ Jesus 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:29.500 have crucified the flesh 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:30.440 with its passions 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:31.440 and desires. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:34.019 You have to belong 00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:35.400 to Jesus. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:36.740 You have to belong 00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:37.340 to Jesus. 00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:40.660 The Velveteen Rabbit 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:41.620 is a short story, 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:42.380 I'm sure some of you 00:24:42.380 --> 00:24:42.840 have read it, 00:24:43.380 --> 00:24:44.480 by British author 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:45.299 Marjorie Williams, 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:46.440 and it tells the story 00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:48.400 of a stuffed animal's 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:50.140 desire to become real. 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:52.360 A boy for Christmas 00:24:52.360 --> 00:24:53.340 is given a new 00:24:53.340 --> 00:24:54.180 stuffed rabbit 00:24:54.180 --> 00:24:55.539 a Velveteen. 00:24:55.539 --> 00:24:57.700 And the Velveteen Rabbit 00:24:57.700 --> 00:24:58.299 is overlooked 00:24:58.299 --> 00:24:59.180 for a while 00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:00.359 because of the newer, 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:01.700 cooler toys. 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:03.720 But he meets Skin Horse, 00:25:03.879 --> 00:25:04.500 and Skin Horse 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:05.059 is a veteran, 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:06.559 the wisest toy 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:07.180 in the nursery. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:08.779 And Skin Horse 00:25:08.779 --> 00:25:09.740 tells the rabbit 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:12.039 that toys can actually 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:13.559 become real. 00:25:15.139 --> 00:25:15.639 He says, 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:16.940 real isn't how 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:17.940 you are made, 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:19.319 it's a thing 00:25:19.319 --> 00:25:20.839 that happens to you. 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:22.639 When a child 00:25:22.639 --> 00:25:23.500 loves you 00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:25.160 for a long, 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:26.440 long time, 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:28.539 not just to play with, 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:30.559 but really loves you, 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:32.640 then you become 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:33.559 real. 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:36.200 And the story 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:36.920 of the Velveteen Rabbit 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:37.839 is this rabbit 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:39.200 actually becoming real, 00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:40.480 being loved 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:41.700 by this little boy 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:43.000 so that it actually 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:45.039 becomes a real rabbit. 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:47.039 And I think 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:47.599 to be real 00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:48.160 is actually, 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:49.019 we could say the same 00:25:49.019 --> 00:25:49.619 about freedom, 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:50.720 couldn't we? 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:53.500 I think that many 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:54.160 of us think 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:55.259 that freedom 00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:56.759 is a possession, 00:25:57.940 --> 00:25:59.180 something that we hold, 00:25:59.940 --> 00:26:01.059 something that's ours. 00:26:01.980 --> 00:26:02.819 But what if freedom 00:26:02.819 --> 00:26:04.799 is actually about 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:06.079 being possessed, 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:08.620 about belonging 00:26:08.620 --> 00:26:10.660 to someone, 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:12.539 and not just someone, 00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:14.980 belonging to God? 00:26:14.980 --> 00:26:17.099 You see, 00:26:17.220 --> 00:26:17.900 our notions, 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:18.960 our Western notions 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.480 of freedom 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:21.640 have almost nothing 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:22.860 often to do with God. 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:25.279 Freedom is my ability 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:26.640 to do what I want. 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:28.480 That's how most of us 00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:30.220 define liberty 00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:30.759 or freedom. 00:26:31.220 --> 00:26:31.660 We define it 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:32.319 in libertarian 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:33.259 kinds of ways. 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:34.920 But biblically, 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:36.980 that is not freedom. 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:38.799 What does Paul say 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:40.440 in 2 Corinthians 4? 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:40.759 He says, 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:42.039 where the Spirit 00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:43.460 of the Lord 00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:43.899 is, 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:46.339 there is freedom. 00:26:47.339 --> 00:26:47.460 Right? 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:47.940 That freedom 00:26:47.940 --> 00:26:48.740 is not 00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:50.279 when you have 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:52.980 an absence 00:26:52.980 --> 00:26:53.740 of constraints. 00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:54.799 Freedom is actually 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:56.000 when you have God. 00:26:57.159 --> 00:26:58.299 You have God. 00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:00.539 To be, 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:02.500 to be free 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:02.940 is actually 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:03.859 to be possessed, 00:27:04.159 --> 00:27:05.059 to belong 00:27:05.059 --> 00:27:07.099 to Jesus Christ. 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:09.200 We skid over it, 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:11.039 but we skid over 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:11.799 verse 13. 00:27:12.039 --> 00:27:12.720 The last part of it 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:13.440 where Paul says, 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:14.940 do not use your freedom 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:16.180 to indulge the flesh. 00:27:16.279 --> 00:27:16.480 Rather, 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:17.879 serve one another 00:27:17.879 --> 00:27:18.899 humbly in love. 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:19.980 For the entire law 00:27:19.980 --> 00:27:20.819 is fulfilled 00:27:20.819 --> 00:27:22.279 in keeping this one command. 00:27:22.740 --> 00:27:23.500 Love your neighbor 00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:24.460 as yourself. 00:27:24.980 --> 00:27:25.359 Friends, 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:26.920 freedom is actually love. 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:30.440 Freedom is about 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:32.519 giving yourself away. 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:36.019 And this is exactly 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:37.379 what Jesus did 00:27:37.379 --> 00:27:38.319 for us 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:39.440 on the cross. 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:40.159 Right? 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:41.620 He says, 00:27:41.620 --> 00:27:42.480 those who belong 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:43.100 to Christ Jesus 00:27:43.100 --> 00:27:43.900 have crucified 00:27:43.900 --> 00:27:44.680 the flesh 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:45.680 with his passions 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:46.360 and desires. 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:48.060 Christ was the most 00:27:48.060 --> 00:27:48.480 free 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:49.500 in his loving 00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:50.100 sacrifice 00:27:50.100 --> 00:27:50.860 to free us 00:27:50.860 --> 00:27:52.000 from our flesh. 00:27:52.060 --> 00:27:52.480 And by the way, 00:27:52.540 --> 00:27:53.800 that's why our religion 00:27:53.800 --> 00:27:55.360 doesn't work. 00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:57.080 All the law, 00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:57.740 all the religion 00:27:57.740 --> 00:27:58.300 doesn't work 00:27:58.300 --> 00:27:58.860 on the flesh 00:27:58.860 --> 00:28:00.019 because it can't 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:00.480 free you. 00:28:00.519 --> 00:28:00.880 It can just 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:01.940 further enslave you. 00:28:02.360 --> 00:28:02.840 But death 00:28:02.840 --> 00:28:03.560 and resurrection, 00:28:04.920 --> 00:28:05.900 death and resurrection, 00:28:05.900 --> 00:28:07.259 that's the ultimate 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:07.940 freedom, right? 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:09.180 Christianity is not 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:10.640 a religion of rules. 00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:11.980 It's a funeral service 00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:13.740 of ultimate joy. 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:15.580 Those addictions, 00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:16.280 those passions, 00:28:16.380 --> 00:28:17.980 they die on the cross 00:28:17.980 --> 00:28:19.060 with Jesus. 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:20.500 Friends, 00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:21.860 are you possessed 00:28:21.860 --> 00:28:23.200 by God? 00:28:24.420 --> 00:28:25.340 Are you possessed? 00:28:26.660 --> 00:28:28.060 And this is not just 00:28:28.060 --> 00:28:29.160 God giving you, 00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:30.940 not just God giving you 00:28:30.940 --> 00:28:31.759 Jesus. 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:33.000 God gives 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:34.240 two-thirds 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:35.160 of the Trinity 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:35.819 for you. 00:28:36.359 --> 00:28:36.980 Do you see 00:28:36.980 --> 00:28:38.519 how much this passage 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:39.220 is saturated 00:28:39.220 --> 00:28:40.140 with the Holy Spirit? 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:41.519 Look at verse 16. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:42.519 He says, 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:43.980 walk by the Spirit. 00:28:44.700 --> 00:28:45.420 Verse 18, 00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:46.319 we are to be led 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:47.000 by the Spirit. 00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:48.660 It's the fruit 00:28:48.660 --> 00:28:49.319 of the Spirit. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:50.960 And then in verse 25, 00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:51.379 he says, 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:52.779 since we live 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:53.480 by the Spirit, 00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:54.160 let us keep 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:54.900 in step 00:28:54.900 --> 00:28:55.619 with the Spirit. 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:56.819 I worry that we 00:28:56.819 --> 00:28:57.599 don't understand 00:28:57.599 --> 00:28:58.299 the Holy Spirit. 00:28:58.680 --> 00:28:59.500 The Spirit becomes 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:00.599 an abstraction. 00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:01.699 But here's 00:29:01.699 --> 00:29:02.839 what the Holy Spirit is. 00:29:03.459 --> 00:29:04.399 It's God 00:29:04.399 --> 00:29:06.319 who gives 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:06.719 Himself 00:29:06.719 --> 00:29:07.819 to you. 00:29:08.879 --> 00:29:10.099 His presence 00:29:10.099 --> 00:29:11.619 given to you 00:29:11.619 --> 00:29:12.500 as a gift 00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:14.459 that you might 00:29:14.459 --> 00:29:15.299 be 00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:16.339 free. 00:29:20.179 --> 00:29:21.699 And as God 00:29:21.699 --> 00:29:23.559 possesses you, 00:29:23.639 --> 00:29:24.759 that's what the 00:29:24.759 --> 00:29:25.480 Spirit does. 00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:26.459 He possesses you. 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:28.000 You actually 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:28.899 become more like 00:29:28.899 --> 00:29:29.219 Him. 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:30.700 in fact, 00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:31.559 when we read 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:31.860 the fruit 00:29:31.860 --> 00:29:32.420 of the Spirit 00:29:32.420 --> 00:29:34.140 in verses 22, 00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:35.700 this is actually 00:29:35.700 --> 00:29:36.480 the emotional 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:37.319 core of God's 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:37.680 life. 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:39.100 Who is God? 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:41.220 His whole, 00:29:41.620 --> 00:29:42.920 He is love. 00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:44.120 We see this 00:29:44.120 --> 00:29:44.500 in Jesus, 00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:45.059 right? 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:47.720 God is joy. 00:29:48.360 --> 00:29:49.259 There is no one, 00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:50.480 no one more joyful 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:51.200 than our God. 00:29:51.620 --> 00:29:52.200 There is no one 00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:53.500 who has more peace. 00:29:54.420 --> 00:29:54.980 There is no one 00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:56.039 who is more patient 00:29:56.039 --> 00:29:57.600 and forbearing. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:29:58.579 There is no one 00:29:58.579 --> 00:30:00.059 who is more kind 00:30:00.059 --> 00:30:01.279 and good. 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:03.799 Do you see that? 00:30:04.819 --> 00:30:05.839 No one more gentle. 00:30:06.839 --> 00:30:07.740 This is who 00:30:07.740 --> 00:30:09.039 your God is. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:10.779 And through the 00:30:10.779 --> 00:30:11.399 Spirit of God, 00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:12.519 He is making you 00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:13.559 like Him. 00:30:14.579 --> 00:30:15.339 And that 00:30:15.339 --> 00:30:16.000 is 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:16.719 freedom. 00:30:18.659 --> 00:30:19.679 This is how much 00:30:19.679 --> 00:30:20.659 God has committed 00:30:20.659 --> 00:30:21.339 to your freedom. 00:30:21.819 --> 00:30:22.819 He gives not only 00:30:22.819 --> 00:30:23.719 His Son's life, 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:24.559 but He gives you 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.960 His Spirit. 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:27.839 I want to end 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:28.879 on two very quick 00:30:28.879 --> 00:30:29.379 reflections. 00:30:30.059 --> 00:30:30.399 First, 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:31.119 on freedom, 00:30:31.559 --> 00:30:32.139 and second, 00:30:32.339 --> 00:30:32.940 on fruit. 00:30:33.679 --> 00:30:34.139 First, 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:36.500 slavery is tricky. 00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:38.599 Slavery is tricky. 00:30:39.659 --> 00:30:40.359 Antoinette Harrell 00:30:40.359 --> 00:30:41.119 is a historian 00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:42.399 of southern sharecropping. 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:43.639 And as she was 00:30:43.639 --> 00:30:45.059 researching Louisiana, 00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:46.419 the history of Louisiana, 00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:47.759 Harrell discovered 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:48.899 that a plantation 00:30:48.899 --> 00:30:50.679 that operated slaves 00:30:50.679 --> 00:30:51.940 operated well 00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:53.720 into the 1960s. 00:30:53.720 --> 00:30:55.960 1960s. 00:30:56.440 --> 00:30:57.279 Even though slavery 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:58.740 was technically abolished, 00:30:59.140 --> 00:31:00.319 the plantation owner 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:01.240 was manipulative 00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:02.559 and ensured 00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:03.400 that his workers 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:04.400 became indebted 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:04.940 to him, 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:06.039 not allowed 00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:06.880 to ever leave 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:07.799 the property. 00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:10.360 And every time 00:31:10.360 --> 00:31:11.100 they would settle up, 00:31:11.140 --> 00:31:11.680 he would make sure 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:12.740 they never made it 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:13.519 into the block. 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:15.400 They always owed. 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:16.839 And they lived 00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:17.519 their lives. 00:31:17.600 --> 00:31:18.480 She found 20, 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:20.640 just in one plantation, 00:31:21.339 --> 00:31:21.940 slaves 00:31:21.940 --> 00:31:23.620 into the 1950s 00:31:23.620 --> 00:31:24.880 and 60s. 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:27.220 My point is, 00:31:27.860 --> 00:31:28.940 slavery is tricky. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:30.840 And some of us, 00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:31.240 friends, 00:31:32.019 --> 00:31:33.960 have been enslaved again. 00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:35.420 Even though 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:36.400 we are in Jesus, 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:37.820 technically we are free, 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:38.920 we have gone back, 00:31:39.019 --> 00:31:39.680 we've been tricked 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:40.500 by the flesh 00:31:40.500 --> 00:31:42.580 back into slavery. 00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:43.880 Think about 00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:45.539 how much you scroll 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:46.180 on your phones. 00:31:47.460 --> 00:31:49.180 There's an attention economy 00:31:49.180 --> 00:31:50.200 that's seeking 00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:51.420 to enslave you. 00:31:51.539 --> 00:31:52.440 Are you aware? 00:31:52.940 --> 00:31:53.759 Are you awake? 00:31:54.160 --> 00:31:54.940 Are you living 00:31:54.940 --> 00:31:55.880 by the Spirit? 00:31:57.400 --> 00:31:57.799 Friends, 00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:58.880 we have to fight 00:31:58.880 --> 00:31:59.519 for our freedom. 00:31:59.640 --> 00:32:00.340 Are you fighting 00:32:00.340 --> 00:32:00.980 for your freedom 00:32:00.980 --> 00:32:01.920 or have you given 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:02.779 back into slavery? 00:32:03.600 --> 00:32:04.560 My last point 00:32:04.560 --> 00:32:05.860 on fruitfulness. 00:32:06.019 --> 00:32:06.920 How do you do this? 00:32:07.640 --> 00:32:08.960 Do you want more fruit 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:09.519 of the Spirit 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:10.180 in your life? 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:14.080 What does that look like? 00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:16.240 Paul essentially says, 00:32:16.279 --> 00:32:16.519 he says, 00:32:16.660 --> 00:32:17.640 walk by the Spirit. 00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:18.380 In other words, 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:20.520 follow the Spirit. 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:21.640 Wherever the Spirit 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:22.180 is going, 00:32:22.560 --> 00:32:23.860 you go there as well. 00:32:24.180 --> 00:32:25.620 What does that look like? 00:32:27.259 --> 00:32:28.460 Here's what it looks like. 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:30.160 It's listening 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:31.160 to the Holy Spirit 00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:32.440 and the way we find 00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:32.960 the Holy Spirit 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:34.580 is in God's Word. 00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:37.040 The more that we dedicate 00:32:37.040 --> 00:32:37.840 daily, 00:32:38.040 --> 00:32:39.020 walking in, 00:32:39.520 --> 00:32:40.640 meditating God's Word, 00:32:40.780 --> 00:32:41.860 getting it into our heart 00:32:41.860 --> 00:32:42.520 and our minds, 00:32:42.800 --> 00:32:44.400 the more we will actually 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:46.160 walk by the Spirit. 00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:49.020 And what's so beautiful 00:32:49.020 --> 00:32:51.720 is that daily watering 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:53.700 of the Word and prayer 00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:54.860 actually forms 00:32:54.860 --> 00:32:57.000 a beautiful fruit tree. 00:32:57.960 --> 00:32:59.180 Beautiful fruit tree. 00:32:59.940 --> 00:33:00.300 Friends, 00:33:00.840 --> 00:33:02.360 God wants you to be free 00:33:02.360 --> 00:33:04.180 and He gives you 00:33:04.180 --> 00:33:05.460 His Spirit to do so. 00:33:05.780 --> 00:33:06.580 Would you pray with me? 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:09.179 Oh, Father in Heaven, 00:33:09.299 --> 00:33:11.359 we are prone 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:12.039 to running 00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:15.199 into slavery, 00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:16.599 our own flesh. 00:33:17.419 --> 00:33:17.679 Oh, Lord, 00:33:17.699 --> 00:33:18.579 would you free us? 00:33:19.399 --> 00:33:19.799 Oh, God, 00:33:19.899 --> 00:33:20.359 free us. 00:33:20.439 --> 00:33:21.439 May we not run 00:33:21.439 --> 00:33:22.740 into slavery, 00:33:22.839 --> 00:33:23.819 but may we instead 00:33:23.819 --> 00:33:24.839 be saturated 00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:26.019 by your Holy Spirit. 00:33:26.139 --> 00:33:26.460 Oh, God, 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:27.359 you're so generous 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:29.000 to give us your Spirit, 00:33:29.099 --> 00:33:29.779 your very Spirit, 00:33:29.859 --> 00:33:30.720 that we may live 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:32.199 and walk with you. 00:33:32.259 --> 00:33:32.819 Oh, God, 00:33:32.879 --> 00:33:34.220 make us like you. 00:33:34.220 --> 00:33:36.200 make Christ's church 00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:37.059 like you, 00:33:37.140 --> 00:33:38.079 that it may be full 00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:38.819 of love 00:33:38.819 --> 00:33:39.799 and joy 00:33:39.799 --> 00:33:41.360 and peace, 00:33:42.360 --> 00:33:43.059 patience, 00:33:44.140 --> 00:33:44.799 forbearance, 00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:45.799 goodness, 00:33:46.700 --> 00:33:47.140 kindness, 00:33:48.100 --> 00:33:48.680 faithfulness, 00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:49.259 gentleness, 00:33:49.420 --> 00:33:50.079 and self-control. 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:50.680 Oh, Lord, 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:52.539 we pray this in Christ's name. 00:33:52.920 --> 00:33:53.100 Amen. 00:33:53.100 --> 00:33:53.240 Amen. 00:33:54.100 --> 00:33:54.600 Amen. 00:33:54.600 --> 00:33:54.660 Amen. 00:33:54.660 --> 00:33:54.660 00:33:54.660 --> 00:33:54.660 00:33:54.660 --> 00:33:54.660 00:33:54.660 --> 00:33:54.660 00:33:54.660 --> 00:33:54.660