Amen. Amen.
Well, good morning, everyone.
If we have not met, my name is Mike Salvati, lead pastor here. Welcome.
And we as a church have been going through a sermon series called 21st Century Disciple,
what it means to be a follower of Jesus in April of 2018.
When Jesus says the words, follow me, those who respond to that, everything changes.
Everything changes.
When you respond to the call to follow me by the living Christ,
you go from being dead in your sin to being alive in Christ Jesus.
Everything changes.
I just recently began a book, This Changes Everything.
It's written by an 18-year-old, Jekyll Crowe, and this is how she talks about it.
The biggest, most crucial, most significant thing I want you to know is that my life's task is to follow Jesus.
To obey Jesus.
To look for joy and satisfaction and peace in Jesus.
Jesus is the one who changed my life.
And then she says, that's what this book is about.
That's what her life is about.
That's what our lives are about.
Our lives are about following Jesus.
A 21st Century Disciple of Jesus lives every area of their life intentionally for Christ.
And this morning, we're going to be talking about what it means to walk by the Holy Spirit in light of that.
So if you'd open up your Bibles to Galatians chapter 5.
Galatians is right after Corinthians.
If you want to start in the back of your Bible in Revelation, just start going left and you'll eventually bump into Galatians.
And we're going to jump into Galatians in chapter 5.
And I'm just going to read for you right now.
Verses 13 through 26.
But I'm going to start in verse 1.
And then I'm going to skip ahead.
Chapter 5, verse 1.
Verse 13.
for you were called to freedom brothers
only do not use your freedom
as an opportunity for the flesh
but through love serve one another
for the whole law is fulfilled
in one word
you shall love your neighbor as yourself
but if you bite and devour one another
watch out that you are not consumed
by one another but I say
walk by 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 the law
you are free
that's what he is saying right there
19
now the works of the flesh are evident
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 you 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, faithfulness
gentleness, self-control
against such things
there is no law
freedom
and those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the flesh
with its passions and desires
if we live by the spirit
let us keep in step with the spirit
let us not become conceited
provoking one another
envying one another
this morning I want to help you to see
that what we must keep in step
with the spirit
in order to live out the freedom
Christ has accomplished for us
we're going to look at two sections
Christ freed us
and the spirit leads us
but before we get there
let me ask you this
did you come into the building discouraged?
are you discouraged by the presence of sin
in your life
and the effect it has on others?
for example
maybe you struggle with sexual lust
whether you're single or you're married
you can often struggle with sexual lust
in a variety of different ways
but it can wreak havoc
internally on you
and it can wreak havoc
on your relationships
spouses can feel betrayed
and then what can happen
if you're trying to cover over
your sexual sin
what ends up happening
is in your hiding
when you get found out
you lose trust
how do you go from struggling
with sexual lust
to living in purity?
or maybe you
struggle with fits of anger
people walk on eggshells around you
because you have a pattern
of blowing up
exploding in anger
how do you go from being
controlled
to some degree by anger
to growing more and more
and exercising patience
with others
maybe you are just
very greedy
you just want to bring in
as much money
as stuff
as you can
maybe because you think
you're entitled to it
you work hard for it
maybe you think that there's
security and safety in it
but what ends up happening
is your greed
can blind you
to the physical
and spiritual needs
of people immediately
around you
and around the world
how do you go from being greedy
to being generous?
maybe you drink too much
you get drunk
more often than you think
than you want to admit
and when you get drunk
you get mean
or you get flirty
or you get arrested
how do you go from being
drunk
to being self-controlled?
you feeling powerless?
you feeling hopeless?
are you discouraged
at the influence
of sin in your life?
you feeling hollowed out
and you see the effect
on others?
I've got good news for you
Christ
has set
you free
and the Holy Spirit
is seeking to lead you
brother and sister
into that freedom
so let's talk about
what it means
that Christ
has freed us
in Galatians chapter 5
verse 1
we read
for freedom
Christ has set us free
and then Paul
in 5.13
comes back to it
and says
for you were called
to freedom
brothers
Christ
freed us
if you're
a believer
in the room
if you put your faith
in Jesus alone
Christ has freed you
and if you're not
a Christian
if you've yet
to put your faith
in Jesus
you've not
yet been freed
what has Christ
freed us from?
he's freed us
from slavery
to sin
from trying
to strive
to meet
all the
righteous
requirements
of the law
of Moses
that slavery
of trying
to live
up to
what is
impossible
you know
what that feels
like?
I used to live
there
man my high school
years were just
miserable
here's why
I was
basically
living to
stay
saved
that's what I was
doing
I was just
trying to stay
saved
keep Jesus
in my heart
and I just
thought that
the whole thing
depended upon
my obedience
if I disobeyed
Jesus couldn't
be in me
he left
I gotta ask
him back in
and around
we went
for years
I thought
my salvation
depended upon
my obedience
and I knew
deep down
inside
there was
no way
on any
given day
I could
bat a
thousand
in all
that God
is requiring
of me
have you ever
felt that
before?
but there's
more
when we
come up
short
of what
God
requires
it's not
like there's
no consequences
when we
fall short
of God's
glory
there's
hell to
pay
for the
wages
of sin
is death
what
has
Christ
freed
us
from
he's
freed
us
from
slavery
to the
law
and all
of the
fallout
of not
being able
to live
up to
it
John
Bunyan
wrote a
poem
and he
goes like
this
the first
half
run
John
run
the law
demands
but
gives us
neither
feet
nor
hands
I
try
and try
to live
up to
what God
has called
me to
but I
fall
short
again
and again
I can't
do it
so some
people just
keep on
trying
other people
say I'm
done
done with
that
moving
on
God
gave
the law
not that
we would
obey it
in order
to be
saved
but God
gave the
law
to expose
the utter
sinfulness
of our
sin
to show
how great
of a
sinner
we are
so that
we would
cry out
for the
great
grace
and mercy
that God
freely
gives
so what
did Jesus
free us
from
slavery
to sin
and the
just
consequences
of failing
to measure
up
so how
did he
do it
how
does
Christ
free
us
from
that
he did
what none
of us
could do
Christ
perfectly
fulfilled
all the
requirements
of the
law
of
Moses
every
minute
of
every
hour
of
every
day
he
walked
this
planet
Christ
perfectly
lived
the
law
he
fulfilled
it
in
his
life
he
alone
did
that
there's
no
other
human
being
that
has
walked
the
face
of
the
earth
or
will
walk
the
face
of
the
earth
that
is
able
to
say
yeah
I
bat
a
thousand
I
lived
up
to
God's
law
perfectly
today
and
yesterday
and
tomorrow
no
one
just
Jesus
he
fulfilled
all
the
requirements
of
the
law
he
lived
the
life
none
of
us
could
live
but
that's
just
part
of
it
is
perfect
righteousness
he
did
something
he
didn't
have
to
die
on
the
cross
for
himself
he
was
perfectly
righteous
in
God's
sight
but
he
died
on
a
cross
willingly
he
willingly
sacrificed
his
life
he
died
the
death
our
sin
required
on
the
cross
the
one
of
perfect
righteousness
died
on the
cross
for
those
who
were
woefully
unrighteous
love
oh
God
here's
how
Paul
talks
about
that
in
Galatians
chapter
13
Christ
redeemed
us
freed
us
from
the
curse
of
the
law
by
becoming
a
curse
for
us
if
If you want to flip in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 5.21, we read it this way.
This is the Apostle Paul again.
We read this.
For our sake, God made Jesus, who was not a sinner, to be sin,
so that in Christ we might become the righteousness of God.
So here's how it works out.
Here's how Christ redeems, how he frees us who are under the law and under sin.
Jesus lived a perfect life, and they died in the place of sinners,
and those who believe in that, they are set free.
Think about it this way.
The moment Mike Salvati put his faith in Jesus, the moment he did that,
God made a legal pronouncement.
He made it from his throne, and it's a forever and final declaration that will stand for eternity.
Here's what happened.
I saw what Jesus did for me.
I believed in that.
And then God the Father, he reckoned something.
He decided something.
He reckoned my unrighteousness to be placed on Jesus,
and all of his wrath for my unrighteousness was poured out on the head of Christ,
so that there was no more wrath.
And at that moment, I was forgiven of all my sin, past, present, and future.
It's amazing.
But that's just half of it.
The moment I believed, not only did God consider my unrighteousness on Christ,
and paid for in full through Christ's death,
but he reckoned Christ's righteousness,
his 33 years of perfect living,
and he considered it to my account.
And now I am clothed with the very righteousness of Christ before a holy God,
so when he looks at me, not only am I forgiven of all my sin,
I am completely accepted and welcomed into his presence
because of the very righteousness of Christ.
It's not my doing.
That's how Christ does it.
He forgives us of all of our sins based upon his cross work,
and he makes us acceptable to God because of his perfectly righteous life.
That is good news to you.
It's the only way by which you can be freed from the slavery of sin.
Christ did what none of us could do,
and Christ paid the price all of us deserved.
Let me try to illustrate this one more way.
Let's say you have a billionaire uncle,
and you're $20 million in debt.
This billionaire uncle of yours who loves you,
doesn't wait for you to ask anything,
but he comes to you and he says,
hey, I'm sending my lawyers over to you,
and they're going to make up these contracts,
and I've already signed it.
You just need to sign it.
I am going to take on all your debt and pay it.
But that's not it.
There's more.
I'm having my lawyers include you on all of my bank accounts
so that now you have access to my billions as well.
So not only is your sin forgiven,
your debt paid for,
man, you have now inherited all of my billions.
Christ paid our sin debt,
and we inherited all of his righteousness.
He freed us.
Run, John, run, the law demands,
but gives us neither feet nor hands.
Far better news the gospel brings.
It bids us fly and gives us wings.
What did Jesus free us from?
Slavery to sin.
How did he do it?
He died in our place.
Perfect life.
Substitutionary death.
And what did Jesus free us for?
He didn't free us so that we would go back to living under the law.
Galatians 5.1 says,
For freedom Christ has set us free.
Stand firm therefore,
and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Once you've become a Christian,
you don't go back to trying to obey God
so that you can stay in good right standing with him.
It's done in Christ.
Jesus didn't free us to go back to a life of slavery to the law.
Nor did Jesus save us so that we can go lawless.
Look at verse 13.
For you were called to freedom, brothers,
only to not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.
It's called licentiousness.
It's this thinking that,
okay, Jesus has freed me from everything.
He's forgiven me.
It's a blank check.
I can go sin all I want now.
We're not freed for that either.
What are we freed for?
In verse 13, he goes on to tell us,
Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love serve one another.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
So when it comes to the law,
Jesus has freed us from its slavery,
and he's freed us from lawlessness,
and he's freed us to fulfill the law in love by serving one another.
You might be thinking,
Well, I thought you were going to talk about the Holy Spirit today, Mike.
We're going to get there.
What you need to be convinced of now is you were called to freedom.
Freedom to fulfill the law and to love one another.
We're not to use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.
In verse 15, he links it.
The flesh bites and devours one another.
Watch out that you're not consumed by one another.
That's not what we've been freed for.
We've been freed to love one another
and fulfill the law of Christ.
And so now the question becomes,
How are we to do that?
How can you do that?
How are we as a church going to love one another,
not bite and devour one another?
And Paul answers that question by saying,
What I say in verse 16,
Walk by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
So up to this point,
I've tried to show you from Galatians
that Christ has set us free,
free from the slavery of sin
by giving his perfect life as a ransom for us.
And he did that in order for us
to live in the freedom of fulfilling God's law,
something we could never do beforehand.
And now we turn to the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit leads us
into the freedom Christ accomplished for us.
In verses 16 through 26,
Paul shows us
how we are to depend upon the Holy Spirit
moment by moment
in order to fulfill the whole law.
Now I realize that not everybody in the room
comes here this morning
on the same page
when it comes to the Holy Spirit.
So let me just give you a crash course.
Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit
a lot in John 16,
and he talks about the Holy Spirit
as not a what or an it,
but a who and a him.
The Holy Spirit is a person.
The third person of the Trinity.
He has eternally existed in the Godhead
with the Father and Son.
He was never created.
He's always existed.
And you can grieve him.
You can lie against him.
You can hurt him.
In the sense of grieving.
He's a person.
He's God.
So I want,
the first thing you need to know
is the Holy Spirit's not an it.
He's a who.
And the second thing that you need to know
is that when Jesus,
before he left,
told his disciples,
hey, it's to your advantage
that I'm leaving
so I can send to you
the Holy Spirit.
Because he's going to guide you
into all truth.
He's going to indwell you.
He's going to take up residence
in each of you.
1 Corinthians 6, 9.
It's to your advantage
that I leave
so that the Holy Spirit
can come and reside
in each of you
and lead you into truth.
And the last thing
I just want to note is
Jesus says in John 16, 14,
the Holy Spirit,
when he comes,
he will glorify me.
He's going to spotlight Jesus.
He's going to make much of Jesus.
It's not the only thing he does,
but it's the primary thing he does.
So what I want you to know
before we start talking about
walking by the Spirit
is that the Holy Spirit
is a person,
God himself,
who's come to take up residence
in each of us
and he's seeking
to glorify the risen Christ.
The Holy Spirit
resides in us
and is seeking to lead us
into the freedom
Christ accomplished for us.
In light of that,
let me just walk you
through three things.
The leading of the Spirit
is marked by conflict.
The leading of the Spirit
results in contrast.
In the leading of the Spirit,
keeping in step,
it's a command.
If you look at
Galatians chapter 5,
verse 16, 17, and 18,
you're going to pick up
on some conflict language.
But I say walk by the Spirit
and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh.
There's some conflict there.
17, for the desires of the Spirit,
flesh are against the Spirit.
Against is a conflict word.
And the desires of the Spirit
are against the flesh.
Conflict.
For those are opposed
to each other.
Conflict.
To keep you from doing
the things you want to do.
Conflict.
It's a conflict
between the Spirit
and our flesh.
We've already talked
about the Spirit.
Let me make sure you know
what the flesh is.
J.R. Stott said,
the flesh is
what we are by nature
in inheritance
from Adam and Eve.
Who we are
apart from God's grace.
Self-centered rebels
against God.
That's the flesh.
And it's still
alive in you.
There is this aspect
of you
that is still
moved towards
self-centeredness.
Sin.
I want it my way.
I don't care about God.
That is your flesh.
And what we see here
is that this conflict
is between
the desires of the Spirit
and the desires
of the flesh.
It's a conflict
over what you want.
What you live for.
Ultimately,
this is a conflict
of control.
What controls you?
What governs your life?
You know,
we've got an election
coming up in November
and there's a bunch
of battleground states.
Who are they going
to vote for?
Are they going to
vote for Democrats?
Are they going to
vote for Republicans?
What are these
swing states?
Who are they going
to get behind?
When they make
their choice,
they are saying,
we want this person
to rule us.
When it comes to
walking by the Spirit
or walking by the flesh,
we have a choice
of who we're going
to get behind,
who we're going
to follow after,
who we're going
to live for
and obey.
Today,
Ronald Fong
says,
to walk by the Spirit
means to
be under the constant,
moment by moment,
direct control
and guidance
of the Holy Spirit.
To walk by the Spirit
means to be
controlled by the Spirit.
To be led
by the Spirit.
In verse 16,
Paul talks about
this choice.
He commands it.
But I say,
walk.
It's a command
by the Spirit
and you'll not gratify
the desires of the flesh.
It's a conditional promise.
If we walk
by the power
under the direction,
surrender to
the Holy Spirit,
we will not
gratify the desires
of the flesh.
We're not going
to give in to them.
We're not going
to let them
complete themselves.
The Holy Spirit
will lead us
into the freedom
that Christ
has accomplished
for us.
In verse 18,
we read this,
but if you are led
by the Spirit,
you are not
under the law.
If you're walking
by the Spirit,
you are walking
in the freedom
that Christ
accomplished for you.
You're not under law.
You're not living
under legalism.
It's not lawlessness.
You will be fulfilling
God's will
for your life.
When you choose
to be led
by the Holy Spirit,
He will lead you
into the freedom
that Christ
has already
accomplished.
you will be
loving people.
The leading
of the Holy Spirit
is marked
by conflict.
So I'm not sure
if you realize this.
The moment
you became
a Christian,
it was like
a declaration
of civil war
within you.
God
indwelt you
by His Spirit
and all of a sudden
there was
opposition
to the desires
of your flesh.
the Holy Spirit
wants to lead you
into Christ's
freedom and fullness
and away from
the captivity
of the flesh.
The leading
of the Holy Spirit
is marked
by contrast.
We see this
in verses 19
through 24.
Now the works
of the flesh
are evident
and He talks
about 15 works
of the flesh.
You can break
them into
four categories.
The flesh
unleashed
sexually,
sexual immorality
and purity
sensuality.
The flesh
unleashed
religiously,
idolatry
and sorcery.
That word
sorcery
by the way
is,
we get the word
pharmacology
from it.
It's the use
of drugs
in the worship
of false gods.
At the end
we read
about the flesh
unleashed
in the drinking
sphere,
drunkenness,
orgies,
that orgy
is probably
more like
a drinking party
where it just
goes out of
control,
animal house.
But right
in the middle
in verses
20 and 21
we see
these works
of the flesh,
these manifestations
of the flesh
of that
self-centered
rebellion
manifested
relationally.
We read
enmity,
strife,
jealousy,
fits of anger,
rivalries,
dissensions,
divisions,
envy.
When you are
walking by the flesh
this is what
gets produced.
it's helpful
because it
helps you
to see
when you
are living
by the flesh.
And Paul
is setting up
a contrast
here
of the works
of the flesh
contrasted to
the fruit
of the spirit
but before we
get to the fruit
of the spirit
there is a warning
that you need
to see in
verse 21.
I warn you
as I warned
you before
that those
who do
such things
will not
inherit
the kingdom
of God.
Now if
you're in the
room and you
profess Christ
and you're like
okay man
I just
I lost it
with my kids
this morning
on the way
over here
I raged
against them.
Does that
mean I am
not going
to inherit
the kingdom
of God?
The key
to this
verse
is understanding
I warn
you as I
warned you
that those
who do
such things
will not
inherit
the kingdom
of God.
That word
do in the
original language
means to
practice.
It's a
habitual way
of life.
If this
is your
habitual way
of life
Paul is
saying be
warned
you don't
belong to
Jesus.
What you
need right
now is to
be set
free from
sin.
So if
this is
normal course
that's one
thing.
That's a
character
marked by
the flesh
but if
you're a
believer
and there's
these occasional
lapses where
you're like
oh yeah
I was once
controlled by
this but now
it's just less
and less.
I was hanging
out with a
brother this
week and he
was talking
about how
there was a
time of his
life where
he was just
governed by a
particularly
self-centered
approach to
life.
He wanted
to gain
things.
He became
a Christian
and what
God by the
Spirit did
is he slowly
changed him.
He made
him less
and less
governed by
this particularly
fleshly desire.
It became
more and more
laps than
way of life.
That's what the
Spirit does in
us but the
warning stands.
If this is
what characterizes
your life
life, be
warned, you
need to be
set free by
Jesus.
So on the
one side we
have the
works of the
flesh and on
the other the
fruit of the
Spirit.
This is what
the Spirit does
in us.
If you would
look at verse
22, but the
fruit of the
Spirit is love,
joy, peace,
patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control,
works of the
flesh, 15 things
with a, and
there's more at
the end.
Through the
Spirit he lays
out nine
different
manifestations of
the Spirit's
working in the
life of a
Christian, all
having to do
with our
character.
I'm not going
to go into
detail, I just
want to show you
three things.
They're highly,
first is they're
highly relational.
Love for one
another, joy
together, peace
between us,
patience, long
suffering with
one another,
showing kindness
in goodness,
faithfulness,
bearing up with
each other,
gentleness, a
tenderness towards
one another.
We're told to be
gentle in Galatians
6 too, when we
find a brother or
sister caught in
sin, we're to be
gentle with them.
And then he says
self-control,
reigning in your
passions and desires,
so they don't
adversely affect
those around you.
All of this is
the fulfillment of
the law.
All of this is
what the Spirit
does in us so
that we can love
our neighbor as
ourself.
The aim of it
is to exalt
Christ and to
bless others.
God delivers us
from living for
ourselves and he
delivers us to
being a blessing
to others.
Against such
things there is
no law, Paul
says in verse
23, because it's
the fulfillment of
the law.
This is the
freedom that
Christ purchased
for us to live
in.
And the Holy
Spirit leads us
into it.
one more thing I
want to point out
is if you were
to say that
love, joy,
peace, patience,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control was
a profile of
someone,
if that described
someone that you
know,
who would be a
description of?
Jesus.
So the Holy
Spirit leads us
forming Christ's
character in us
to bless one
another and the
Holy Spirit is
spotlighting Jesus
through our very
characters.
This stands in
stark contrast to
the works of the
flesh.
And then in
verse 24, there's
another contrast.
And those who
belong to Christ
Jesus have
crucified the
flesh with its
passions and
desires.
If you're
bearing this
fruit, do you
know what it
evidences?
It evidences that
you've been
converted, that
you've become a
Christian.
J.I.
Packer says that
our past
conversion is
evidenced by
present
convertedness.
And if you
are bearing the
fruit of the
Spirit and
growing measure,
it demonstrates
that you've
been converted.
That you went
from life to
death.
That you
crucified the
flesh with its
passions and
desires.
When we are
led by the
Spirit, the
result is a
contrast with
the works of
this flesh.
We stand
out.
We bear, it
bears witness to
the freedom
Christ accomplished
for us.
the Spirit
really wants to
change us.
And he wants
to change us
in a way that
makes us more
loving to one
another and
unites a
church for the
glory of
Christ's name.
Conflict,
contrast, and
finally, a
command.
If we live by
the Spirit,
verse 25,
we must keep
in step with
the Spirit.
It's a
command.
In 518, we're
to be led by
the Spirit.
It's a different
Greek verb than
keep in step with
the Spirit.
In 516, we're
commanded to walk
by the Spirit.
It's a different
verb here.
The verb here,
to keep in step
with the Spirit,
literally means to
line up behind
your leader and
follow Him.
Every one of us
has been freed
by Christ,
who has been
freed by us.
We must keep in
step with the
Spirit to live
out that
freedom.
We must follow
Him as He
leads us
into becoming
more like Jesus
and loving of
one another,
fulfilling the
whole law.
If we keep in
step with the
Spirit,
verse 26,
we're not going
to become
conceited.
We're not going
to be thinking
too highly of
ourselves,
provoking one
another,
envying another,
biting and
devouring one
another.
The Spirit will
not let that
happen.
He will
unite us
together in
loving one
another,
bearing this
fruit that
glorifies Jesus.
If we get
behind the
Holy Spirit,
we don't need
to fear that
He's going to
lead us outside
of what the
Scriptures have
laid down.
The Spirit who
inspired the
Scriptures will
lead us into
the ways of
God, walk
along the path
of life.
life.
You know what
the bottom
line is?
We must keep
in step with
the Spirit to
live in the
freedom Christ
accomplished.
What Christ
accomplished in
33 AD, the
Spirit brings to
fruition in our
lives in 2018.
13.
So I'm
guessing you're
wondering how
do I walk by
the Spirit?
How do I do
that?
How do I keep in
step with the
Spirit?
Let me give you
three suggestions.
Three prayers to
the Spirit in
order to be led
by the Spirit.
Three ways to
depend.
first is this.
Ask God by
His Spirit to
preach Christ
to you.
To bring to
your mind that
Christ has set
me free.
Could you
imagine waking
up every morning
and you move to
this point where
you're like, oh
Spirit of God,
would you again
remind me that
Christ has set
me free?
would you
spotlight that
in my soul
today?
That's where it
starts.
Remind me of
what God has
done for me in
Christ.
Second,
Spirit,
slay my
flesh.
Kill my
sin.
If you
struggle with
sexual lust,
oh Spirit of
God, would you
kill that today?
Help me to
nail it to the
cross.
It was
crucified the
moment I
believed it
was done.
Help me to
live that way.
Kill it in
me.
Romans 8,
13, we are
to mortify
sin by the
power of the
Holy Spirit.
Finally,
Spirit,
lead me.
Empower me
to love
others.
You can start
praying prayers
like this.
Lord Jesus,
because you
called me to
be free,
I confess my
hatred towards
my brother,
and I nail it
to the cross.
It's done,
and Spirit,
would you empower
me now to love
him?
Jesus, because you
called me to be
free, I confess
my fits of
fleshly anger.
I nail it to the
cross.
I will not live
for that now.
Would you lead me
into long
suffering with
those around me?
Spirit of God,
would you, you've
set me free.
Jesus, you've set
me free.
I confess my
insecurities.
I confess my
envy of the way
my sister looks,
and of my
brother's family,
of my friend's
house, and of
this guy's car.
I confess it.
would you, Spirit,
now empower me to
stop wanting what
others have, and
help me to start
wanting your good
for others.
Jesus, because you
called me to free,
I confess my
harshness to my
children.
I nail that desire
of the flesh to the
cross, and Spirit,
would you now empower
me to be gentle
and tender,
selflessly loving
my children?
these are ways in
which we walk by
the Spirit.
I just thought to
show you two things
this morning.
Christ has freed us
from sin, and the
Spirit empowers us
moment by moment
to live out that
freedom that Christ
accomplished.
Christ has set you
free, and the
Spirit indwells us
to experience that
freedom.
And so, brothers
and sisters, keep
in step with the
Spirit.
Go forth today in
power.
Let's pray.
God in heaven,
would you use these
words, these words of
you from Galatians,
and would you set us
free, and would you
help us to live in
that freedom?
In the name of Jesus,
for the glory of God,
amen.
Amen.