Two nights ago, as I was coming to church, I had a battle in my soul. I was running late. I needed a place to park.
The garage was full, and the spots out back that are reserved for the church were filled with delivery trucks.
I confess, I cherished sinful thoughts in my heart.
I thought about jumping into the Amazon truck that clearly was running and driving away and parking it somewhere else.
I thought about simply parking my van next to their truck and leaving it stuck.
I actually thought about letting air out of their tires.
I'm not proud of this. The battle for my soul was real,
and I sinned in my thoughts, if not in my actions.
I wanted to be a better Christian. I wanted to think godly thoughts, but in my own power, I was struggling greatly.
Today, I want to talk about how we can actually live the Christian life the way God wants us to.
Many of us here want to follow Christ, want to live lives that reflect Him,
and sometimes we feel like we can fake it well enough to start to feel good about ourselves for a while.
And yet, this is a struggle, is it not?
There's a booklet that I used when I worked for Crew describing this condition.
It says this,
people who trust in their own efforts and strength to live the Christian life will experience failure and frustration,
as will those who live to please themselves rather than God.
How do we escape this failure and frustration in our Christian lives?
This is what our passage this morning will bring us to, will help us to understand.
So, if you are reading along in the Pew Bibles, we are in Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 through 26.
It's on page 915, 916 in the Pew Bible, and we're going to go ahead and read that passage and then pray together.
So, please follow along with me as I read God's Word.
Galatians chapter 5, starting in verse 16.
But I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.
For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Now, the works of the flesh are evident in sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery,
enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies,
and things like these. I warn you as I warned before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
Against such things there is no law, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Let's pray together. Lord, help us this morning as we look into this Word.
Lord, as we consider what it is that You have called us to, and what it is that You have done to help us.
Lord, we pray, O Lord, we pray. We pray for Your work in our hearts.
Lord, that You would fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we might walk in the power of Your Spirit each day.
Lord, I pray for Your help, that You would help me to speak as I ought this morning.
Pray that under the preaching of Your Word, we would all sit, Lord, and that You would do Your work in us.
And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
So, if you were here two weeks ago, you will know that we've already preached on this passage.
So, if you were here today and you weren't here two weeks ago, let me strongly encourage you to go to our website,
go back and listen to the first sermon, which is an explanation of the whole passage.
And as I said two weeks ago, today is almost like a full-on application sermon.
So, we're going to talk about what does this look like?
What does it look like to live a faithful Christian life by depending on the power of the Holy Spirit?
Our key text that we're leaning into this morning is verse 25.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
What does that look like?
What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?
And this is our outline.
This is where we're going to go.
First, we're going to talk about principles of walking in the Spirit.
Secondly, we're going to talk about practices of walking in the Spirit.
And finally, we're going to return to the question of power of walking in the Spirit.
So, that's where we're going this morning.
So, we're going to start with principles of depending on the Spirit.
There are things that I feel like we need to say before we get into examples
about the broad understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.
Richard's going to put up a slide with a number of texts.
We're not going to read all of them because we would be here till 1 o'clock this afternoon.
But I almost never say this, but if you want to take out your phone, take a picture of that,
or write down those texts while I'm walking through them,
I'm going to give you six principles from these texts
that you can then go back and read these Scriptures later to consider more fully.
So, here we go.
First one is that the Holy Spirit's purpose is to glorify Christ as He comes into our life.
This is what Jesus tells us in John 16.
It says, He will glorify me when He comes.
So, the Holy Spirit is here to magnify Christ in our lives.
The second thing we need to say is that all believers in Christ have the Spirit of God in them.
So, Ephesians 1, 13 and 14 refers to all believers as sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.
That is, that the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within every believer.
So, it is not something we need to get after the fact,
but something we get at the moment of salvation.
The third principle is this.
Looking at Titus 3, 3 through 7,
that is, the Holy Spirit comes to transform us.
That though we had old practices when we were enslaved to sin,
through the washing and regeneration,
that is, the giving of new spiritual life,
the Holy Spirit allows us to forsake an old life
and to take on a new life
because we've been justified and saved by Christ,
redeemed to be new people,
God's people in the world.
The fourth principle is that the battle
between the desires of our sinful nature,
what we are apart from Christ,
and God's Spirit in us as believers,
the ongoing battle is real.
Let me refer to my sermon two weeks ago.
Go back and listen to it.
Galatians 5, 16 and 17 says,
these desires exist within Christians
and are in opposition to one another.
And so this battle is normal.
The fifth principle is that the process,
the picture of growth for a Christian
is to put off sin
and to put on being more like Christ.
This is Ephesians 4, verses 20 through 24.
And it talks about having a former manner of life
that you forsake, that you'd get rid of.
This is the same idea we talked about last week.
In 1 John, the end of 1 John 1
and the beginning of 1 John 2,
that we can't say that we have no sin,
but when we confess our sin,
God is faithful and just,
and we turn from that sin and repentance
and turn towards a new life
that God is able to give us
because of the forgiveness that we have in Christ.
Finally, verse 6.
The sixth principle in all of this
as we think about is that the battle
between our sinful nature and God's Spirit
at its core is fought at the heart level,
not at a behavioral level.
In Mark 7, Jesus reminds the people,
it's not what happens on the outside of us
that defiles us,
but it's that our hearts are defiled
and what comes out of us
is what is truly the problem.
And so when God comes to redeem us,
part of what He says,
remember the new covenant promise,
He will give us a new heart,
then we will know God's law and do it.
He wants our hearts to be transformed,
not simply so that we look like better Christians,
but so that we are transformed people
who love God
and out of that love,
display the characteristics of God
more and more.
So it is about our heart transformation.
Right?
And so this is the big picture
of what the Holy Spirit is doing,
and that was my like five minutes
of the doctrine of sanctification,
sort of.
It's not even complete by any means,
but it's a beginning of thinking about this.
And part of what this passage
that Paul is giving us
in chapter 5
in the whole thing from 16 to 26
is to say,
God has given you as believers
the Holy Spirit.
Don't go back to living in your old way
because He's given you the power
to live in a different way.
We are able to engage in this battle
against our sin nature
and not only engage in it,
but we're able to see the fruit of the Spirit
in increasing measure in our lives.
So as commentator Tom Schreiner says,
he says,
Christians should know that we have
because of work of Christ
a new quality of life
that is the result of the Spirit's work.
The old age no longer reigns over believers.
The old Adam has been crucified
with its passions and desires
so that the flesh no longer enslaves believers.
In other words,
believers enjoy a substantial,
significant,
and observable victory
in their new life in Christ.
Since believers live in the interval
between the already and the not yet,
perfection is not their portion.
And yet we should be living with hope
that God is doing,
God has done for us
what is necessary for us
to have a growing ability
to show and display Christ-likeness in us.
And Paul's wanting to encourage us
to do that,
to say,
you believer,
don't give in to sin.
Don't think that sin
continues to control your life
and you are helpless.
God has given you His Spirit
so that you can
not only fight this battle,
but incrementally,
but certainly have a trajectory
towards Christ-likeness
and away from sin.
So that's the first point.
This is what God is doing.
These are the principles.
So the practice,
what does it actually look like?
I'm going to give you
a definition briefly
and then I'm going to give you,
we're going to spend
a bunch of time on examples.
I'm hoping you guys
will get a sense
from these examples
of what it might look like
to actually fight this battle
on a fairly granular level.
Here's the definition.
How do we fight
this battle against sin?
How do we walk in the Spirit?
We walk by faith.
And that means trusting in
and depending on
the empowering presence
of the Holy Spirit
in our lives
to apply the Word of God
and the work of Christ
to transform us
so that we might
increasingly reflect
the character
and love of Christ
in our lives.
Okay?
So it's a walk of faith,
trusting and depending
on God
to do work in us
through His Word
focused on the work of Christ
to bring transformation.
There's a lot there.
I wish I could preach
a whole sermon on that idea.
But let's keep going.
What does it look like?
And here's the thing
that I need you to hear
from right up front.
There's no three-step program.
I love Crew.
They created a great
little booklet,
but it's not a booklet
that you can get through
in eight pages
and then go,
oh, I know how to do this.
It's not.
At one level,
it's a much more dynamic
reality of our relationship
with God.
And so I want you to hear me
not giving three-step programs,
but principles
that you can apply.
In fact,
I'm going to give you portraits
and you can pick and choose
and see what's going to be
helpful for you
as you think about this battle.
So first,
sexual temptation.
I raise this because
it's in the passage,
right,
and because it's such
a powerful part
of our world today,
right?
And the sin here,
the desire of the flesh,
is that we engage
in sexual immorality
for selfish gain,
right?
It is sexual action
outside of God's
covenantal structure
of marriage
where we end up
actually using others
to serve ourselves.
And I just want to say this,
even when it's consensual,
it's still sinful
when we do this
to one another,
when we engage
in sexual activity
in such a way
that we dishonor
God and His plans.
We dishonor God's
good plan
for sex
because He made it
and it is good.
And it's an expression
of a human desire
for intimacy.
And in the right context,
it should be celebrated.
But in the wrong context,
it has great destructive power.
Now,
here's the thing.
We are rarely
simply overcome
with sexual temptation
out of the blue.
We live in a world
where we are saturated
with it.
There is a ton
of external stimuli,
whether it be
in our movies
or in our music,
whether it be
on the internet
and the images
that we see.
Our culture
has an increasingly
lack of modesty
in our styles,
in the way we live.
And in fact,
we exalt sexuality
in all sorts
of terrible ways.
And there's even
a appropriate,
there's a lack of,
growing lack of shame
about this.
In fact,
these things are celebrated
and it is unhealthily
focused on.
You can't be human
if you're not active sexually.
But we know
it's not right
because God's Word
tells us to.
So this is the battle
against sin.
So what do we do?
The Bible commands us
to flee it,
to avoid it,
to not indulge
our lustful desires.
Remember what I said
last week.
You can't keep
the birds from flying
over your head.
You're going to have
these moments of temptation.
You're going to see
these external stimuli
or you're going to have
these moments
where your desires
just well up in your heart.
That's going to happen.
But you can keep
the birds from nesting
in your hair.
Right?
When the external pull comes
or the thought comes up,
we need to fight the battle
not to embrace
or cherish
or let that control us
in the moment.
but instead
to walk in the Holy Spirit.
Well, how do we do that?
Some of this is
walking in the Holy Spirit
by preparing
for those moments.
Right?
By preparing
to know
that we will face
those times
and to seek
to fight the battle
ahead of time.
So that will be
things like
we want to avoid
circumstances
where we know
we're going to be tempted.
Right?
If you're on a business trip
and your colleagues
are going out
to a strip bar,
it's probably not wise
to go with them
thinking,
well, I'm a Christian.
I can be strong
and fight that temptation.
Right?
That's not smart.
It's also not smart
if you have struggled
with this
to have a computer
that doesn't have
an internet filter on it.
It's not smart
to hang out
with your girlfriend
late at night
alone
on a bed
and think
that you're going
to avoid temptation.
Right?
So you want to do
some wise thinking,
spirit-empowered wisdom
to avoid
the circumstances
where you may
find yourself
in temptation.
The second thing is
you're going to pray
that God is going
to give you the power
like Joseph
in the moment
to at great cost
to yourself
flee from temptation,
unplug your computer,
run out of the room
without only your robe on
like Joseph did
when Potiphar's wife
sought to seduce.
Do what it takes
to flee temptation.
Right?
Because we need
to do it
at that level
because when we
give in to these things,
when we live
in them all the time,
then we have
no sense of freedom
to begin to pursue
the fruit of the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit
is choked out
by our indulging
the desires
of the flesh.
And so we need
to do the right thing.
But then we need
to see
a change of heart.
We need to see
that underneath
our cultural desire
for sexuality
everywhere
is a desire
to be known
and loved.
It's a desire
for intimacy.
It's a desire
for connection.
And the Holy Spirit
can work new patterns
in our heart.
And if we can give
the space
for Christ
to invite us
into intimacy
with Him
as we experience
Him as the bride
of Christ,
the one who sings
over us
with His love
because He delights
in us,
as we experience
in healthy ways
in Christian community
intimacy with one another
of friendship,
of fellowship,
of supporting
one another,
then this
pull towards sex
as the answer
to those things
becomes less
as we are filled
with godly patterns
of intimacy
in our lives.
And the Holy Spirit
will teach us
that the love of God
is better than sex.
it will teach us
that we can be
delighted in
and satisfied
with
God alone.
And friends,
you know in heaven
there won't be
any more sex.
There's no more marriage
because we're going
to have a greater
intimacy
with Christ,
with God
than ever before.
and knowing that
and leaning into that
independence
on the Holy Spirit
will help us fight
those temptations
in the moment.
Here's a really practical.
I knew a grad student
once struggled
with this.
He had to work
on computers all day.
He struggled
with internet pornography.
He found that
when he was working
really hard
for a couple hours
then he needed
to take a break.
That was his moment
of temptation.
So do you know
what he did?
He took the Lord
of the Rings
with him to work
and he put it
next to his computer
and when he stopped
working he turned
off his screen
and he picked up
this book
because that book
allowed him
to remember
the beauty
and the glory
of the gospel
as it's expressed
through this great
fantasy story.
Now you know
I love Lord of the Rings.
That's a great thing
for me.
It's probably not
going to work
for everybody
but you see
how he chose
some practical
example.
He chose
a very practical
example
of replacing
something
where temptation
would be so easy
to come in
and control him
he replaced it
with something better.
Right?
The great Puritan
Thomas Chalmers
wrote this great essay
you should all read it
The Expulsive Power
of a New Affection
because here's the thing
all the internet filters
and all the accountability
and all the
fleeing the right places
will not save you
from sexual sin.
it is the transformation
of your heart
that will wean
your fleshly desires
away from sin
and towards
something better.
The way that you
defeat your desire
for intimacy
through sex
is by finding
a greater intimacy
in the love of Christ.
This is walking
in the power
of the Spirit.
The second example
I want to talk about
is anxiety
because we live
in an anxious world
we live in an anxious
generation
right?
And
we live in this
in all sorts of things
and God says
we are not to be anxious
right?
Philippians 4 says
6 through 7
says
do not be anxious
about anything
but in everything
by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving
let your request
be made known
to God
and the peace
of God
that surpasses
all understanding
will guard your hearts
and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
Now I want to be careful
about this
but anxiety here
is not to be confused
by care.
We are meant
to care about things
we are meant
to be responsible
there are things
that we love
and we will think
about them
and we will care
for them
right?
But anxiety
is a response
to circumstances
that excludes
God
in the moment.
We worry
about
our child
who hasn't
checked in
and it's after curfew.
We worry
about
our job
and whether we are
going to be able
to keep it or not.
We worry
about
how we are going
to pay
the next month's
rent.
We worry
about these
things because
we feel
out of control
and we are
fearful
in the face
of that uncertainty.
And this is
normal,
right?
We all say
this is normal
and it is
normal
but we need
to recognize
that our normal
sometimes
is actually
sin.
It's not good
for us
to be anxious
and this anxiety
when it controls
us,
when it shapes
our action,
it distracts us,
it consumes us
and it grips
our heart.
But God
says
by the power
of the Holy Spirit
you can walk
not in worry,
not in anxiety,
but in faith
in these circumstances.
promises.
Because the Holy Spirit
can remind you
in that moment
that you are not
alone in it
and that God
has not suddenly
stepped off
of His throne
of sovereignty
over the whole
world,
nor has He
abandoned His
goodness
and His desire
to bless you
in His life.
Right?
Our sin
is that we've
forgotten God
and we're cherishing
and cherishing
not in the sense
of,
oh,
I love you.
We pray to Him
and say,
God,
we are out of control
and we're fearful
and we're afraid
and we can't do anything.
Please,
Lord,
be sovereign
in this.
And He steps in
and He says,
You are my child.
I love you.
I am with you.
I am your heavenly Father.
And sometimes
that's a one-time prayer
and we walk away
and say,
Okay,
now I'm relaxed.
Now I can do this.
And sometimes
it is an ongoing,
constant prayer.
God,
don't let me be anxious.
God,
don't let me be controlled.
God,
You are sovereign
and we almost have to do it
moment by moment.
We have to remind ourselves
of the promises
of God's Word
that the peace of Christ
will guard our hearts
and minds.
That in Matthew 6,
that your heavenly Father
knows what you need
before you ask.
Therefore,
seek first His kingdom
and His righteousness
and all these things
will be added unto you.
God's Word
applied by the Spirit
to our hearts
in that moment
allows us
to not give in
to anxiety.
His precious promises
can help us.
And friends,
here's the thing.
This isn't just
the vagueness
of God's sovereignty
for us,
but this is where
the power of the gospel
intersects with our fight
against sin.
Because where do we know
that God really
is in control
and that He really loves us
and that He really cares
for us?
He who did not
spare His Son
but gave Him up
for us all.
Will He not also
give us
with Him
all good things?
That's Romans 8.
We look at the cross
and as we sit
at the foot of the cross
in the midst
of our anxiety
we think,
God,
if You have dealt
with my sin,
You can deal
with my lost child
or my joblessness
or whatever the crisis is
that You are facing.
the Holy Spirit
is able
to change
your perspective.
And so you may need
to learn,
again,
the practices
of walking in the Spirit
may be
recognizing your sin,
confessing it,
turning to God's Word,
having these things available.
Put this Word
on your dashboard,
on your mirror,
on your Bible,
on your kitchen,
fridge,
wherever you are.
Put it on your screensaver,
whatever it is.
Let God's Word
be the fuel
that the Spirit of God
can apply to our hearts
as we fight this battle.
It's not an easy battle
to fight.
And for many of us,
it's an ongoing thing.
And that's why the Bible
tells us not to worry
over and over again,
because we like to worry
over and over again.
But God wants
the fruit of the Spirit
to include peace
and faith.
Finally,
last example,
having a judgmental
or a critical spirit.
This was something
that was true of me
when I was a college freshman.
I had been a believer
for a year.
That summer,
before I went to college,
I finally woke up to,
oh,
that means I should
live my life for Christ.
And so,
I got involved
in a great Christian ministry
called Princeton Christian Fellowship.
I was young,
I was zealous,
and I thought
I had lots of ideas.
And I came in
and I saw within days,
weeks,
maybe months,
all the weaknesses
of this ministry.
Right?
I was critical of it.
I didn't think anyone
was really committed
to following Christ.
So I created
my own small groups
because there weren't
enough small groups
for me to have fellowship.
I did my own outreaches
because no one
was doing these outreaches.
And I just thought
they were a bunch
of kind of lukewarm,
half-committed Christians.
I committed,
I accused the staff
in my heart
of being controlling
rather than serving.
I thought the upperclassmen
were worldly,
caring too much
about their studies.
I thought I knew better
and I was pretty proud.
I was not patient.
And though I thought
I was doing this
to glorify God,
I was in fact
not depending on God
at all.
I didn't believe
God was at work.
I believed that God
needed me to do things
that He wasn't doing.
and I did not trust
that God cared
as much as I did
about His glory
on this campus.
My critical spirit
excluded God
and elevated myself.
And the thing is
that I justified it.
I thought I was doing
the right thing.
I was going to fix it.
I was going to revive
this group.
I was going to save
the campus.
And they were
exceedingly gracious
with me.
They were patient.
They were loving.
They confronted me
at times.
They bore with me
a lot.
And the Holy Spirit
convicted me.
I wasn't seeking this,
but God started
to show me my sin.
He started to show
how proud I was.
He started to show me
how critical I was.
He started to show me
how I justified,
how my conviction
that I saw things
more clearly
than everyone else
was actually
in defiance
of Him.
And as I saw
this sin,
I realized
I needed help.
And I turned
to the Lord.
And I asked
Him
to teach me
humility.
It's a very
dangerous prayer.
by His grace,
He broke my pride.
With His kindness,
He humbled me.
He showed me
and reminded me
of the gospel
that I had believed,
that it wasn't
because of good things
that I had done
or because I brought
so much to the table
that He had saved me.
but despite my rebellion,
He saved me
by His grace.
He showed me
that I had a plank
in my eye
and it was like
a 10 by 10.
and He reminded me
that His love
for me
was in the midst
of that sin
and I was able
to see myself
in God's grace.
And the fruit
of humility
grew in me
a little bit.
Friends,
I'll tell you,
it still lurks
in my heart.
I still want
to be judgmental.
I still want
to think I'm right
all the time.
But by God's grace,
He saved me
from that trajectory
and from thinking
that was right.
So friends,
here are three pictures
of the Holy Spirit
at work.
Three portraits
of how walking
in the Spirit
looks in different ways.
The battle is real,
but it doesn't look
the same.
And each one of you,
as well as me,
will have our own
particular shapes
of these battles.
Right?
But each of us
is called
to walk
in dependence
on the Holy Spirit,
knowing that
we don't have
any more
than our salvation
for our sanctification,
the power
to do
what we most need done,
which is for our hearts
to be changed
and transformed
by His Spirit.
So this is then
leading me to my last point.
Again,
Tom Schreiner
says this,
the Galatians
are not called
upon
to work at
being more virtuous.
They are summoned
to walk in the Spirit
and be led
by the Spirit.
Living in a way
that pleases God
is the fruit
of His miraculous work,
not the result
of self-effort,
though human beings
are called upon
to walk in the Spirit
and yield
to the Spirit.
Right?
So where does
the power come from
to do this?
Here's the hard part
about this battle,
you all.
It's just like
in our salvation
in some ways.
We have to choose.
We have to make decisions.
We have to move forward.
We have to act.
And yet,
we recognize
that none of that
will actually bear
any good fruit
apart from
God's work
in us.
The power
is not
in ourselves.
It is in God
and what God
does for us.
This is why
we have
2 Corinthians 12,
9 and 10.
Paul had a thorn
in the flesh.
He asked that it
be taken away.
God didn't take it away.
Paul said,
why haven't you
taken this away?
So that I can be free
from this battle
so I can go on
and do great things
for you,
following through
the great vision.
And this is what
the Lord said
to the Apostle Paul.
But He said to me,
my grace
is sufficient for you
for my powers
made perfect
in weakness.
Therefore,
I will boast
all the more gladly
in my weaknesses
so that the power
of Christ
may rest on me.
For the sake
of Christ,
then,
I am content
with weakness,
insults,
hardships,
persecutions,
and calamity.
For when I am weak,
then I am strong.
Friends,
the reason why
God designed
our sanctification
to be like this
is so that
we would continue
to learn the lesson
we should have learned
at our salvation,
which is that
we have nothing
and He has everything
and it is only
by His grace
that He saves us.
It is only by His grace
that He sanctifies us.
It is only by His grace
that He transforms us.
And He does this.
Why?
So that we wouldn't
boast in ourselves.
This is the most ugly thing
about Christians,
isn't it,
at times?
When we say,
look at what a great
Christian I am.
Look at me.
God designed
our sanctification
differently
so that when people
look at us,
they would say,
what an amazing Savior.
What an incredible God
that took that person
and changed them
to be who they are now.
That's why God did this.
And that's why we walk
not by self-effort
but by faith.
Minute to minute
believing in
the promises of God's Word.
Trusting in
the finished work of Christ.
Believing in
God's empowering presence
now
and depending on it
and turning regularly,
daily,
moment by moment
to Him.
Saying,
God, I can't do this
but please help me.
Help me to do
the right thing
in the moment
and change my heart
so that I will love
the right thing
more and more.
And friends,
we cry out
to a Savior
who knows us
because He has been
tempted in every way
just as we are
and yet was without sin.
And when by faith
we believed in Him,
we have been crucified
with Him
and so we've crucified
the sinful nature
and so it no longer
has controlling power
over us.
The Holy Spirit
reminds us
by bringing us back
to the foot of the cross
so that we can walk
in the power
that God gives us
so that God can help me
this Friday night
when I'm looking
for a parking space.
to trust Him,
to know that He's in control,
to know that I live
in a fallen world
and the van will probably
be parked there
again on Friday night,
but that God
will provide for me
and He will care for me
in the middle of it.
That I might display
the fruit of the Spirit
in the midst
of that circumstance
and many others
and may it be true
for you as well.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus,
we confess our need
to You this morning.
Lord,
I pray,
I pray that You would teach us
how to live dependently,
trustingly,
faithfully,
increasing
in godliness
because of Your work
in changing our hearts.
O Lord,
be our help,
we pray.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.