← Back to sermon library

welcome to everyone for our call to worship this evening you can turn in your Bibles to psalm 125 psalm 125 a song of a sense those who trust in the Lord are light mount zion which cannot be moved but abides forever as the mountains surround jerusalem so the lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forever for the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous less the right just reach out their hands to iniquity do good o Lord to those who are good and to those who are upright in their hearts as for such as turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity peace be upon israel amen we'll turn in your Trinity hymnal to number 501 him number 501 will stand as we sing together well let us pray our blessed God and Holy Father it is a joy and a privilege to gather in your house again on this lord's day we acknowledge your glory and your greatness we acknowledge your majesty and your excellence and our Father we pray that tonight as we worship you would be glorified and exalted we acknowledge your graciousness and choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world we acknowledge your mercy and sending your son and the fullness of the times the the one who was born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law we acknowledge your graciousness and sending the Holy Spirit to effectually call us out of darkness into marvelous light giving us grace and mercy the forgiveness of sins and righteousness that avails with you certainly as the Apostle says you have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ and in this we greatly rejoice Lord God gives us much cause for worship and praise and adoration to you the one who has authored this glorious work of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone we ask God that you would be pleased to look with favor upon us tonight help us as we sing and as we pray and as we turn our attention to the Holy Scripture and may your spirit guide us and direct us and may he take these things that we listen to and learn tonight and may he apply them in our hearts and may we pursue holiness and righteousness and these fruits of the spirit that are so clearly laid out by the Apostle Paul we know that you have saved us not because of our good works but you have certainly saved us unto good works and help us God by the power of your Holy Spirit according to the revealed law of God may we indeed live in a manner that is consistent with our calling as Saints in Christ Jesus we confess our transgressions to you now Lord as we consider your lawn as we consider your righteous requirements we see our own waywardness and we see our own trends aggression and iniquity and we confess our sins to you now trusting solely and alone in the merits and the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ how we praise you that you made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him we know our salvation is not tied to our performance but it is grounded upon the active in the passive obedience of our beloved Lord Jesus so cleanse us now in the blood of the Lamb wash us and purify us and help us God to seek to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray that you would look with favor upon those in our midst that are suffering it's a joy and a delight to see Shane here tonight we pray that he would receive good counsel tomorrow concerning his condition and we just pray that you would undertake on his behalf grant him physical strength and grant him spiritual health and cause him to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all those in our midst God that have these these daily issues and struggles and trials we know our Father that you are the great physician we know that you are able to do all things well so we commit our brethren into your hand into your gracious care we ask tonight that you would look with favor upon other churches in our community we thank you God that we're not alone in chilliwack we pray for those churches that are preaching the truth that you would prosper them that you would bless them that you would use that their pulpit ministries to save sinners by the power of the Christian message we pray that throughout Canada we would ask for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit that your churches would indeed be a prayerful people that your churches would indeed be a people of the word of God and that our times of worship would indeed be according to Scripture and that you would be honored and glorified among the people we pray for revival in the hearts of the Saints and we pray for awakening for those who are dead in their trespasses and sins that you had caused many to turn from their useless idols to the true and the Living God be merciful to government officials we know as Paul tells us we are to pray for kings and all who are in authority we would ask first and foremost that these men and women would fear God that these men and women would bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ that they would confess him as Lord and as Savior and as a result they would rule in righteousness and govern according to the standards of God's holy law if they do not repent if they do not believe the gospel we pray that in your sovereignty you would restrain them from further acts of evil God we do long for a day when the sins of abortion and sodomy and euthanasia would be criminalized that such things would not be conducted or practiced in a in a so-called civilized nation we can only pray with the Prophet that in your wrath you would remember mercy you would turn the hearts of sinners unto that blessed law of God Almighty we also pray for the persecuted Church and those who suffer for the cause of the gospel we would pray for Asia Bibby and we pray for others like her that you would watch over them that you would be their portion and lot that you would be their strength in times of great suffering and our God we pray for the nation of Haiti and the churches there we know that they have had many many devastating trials and we just pray for the people of God that you would stop hold them that you would give them grace to to serve in their communities at this time and that father you would bless the gospel as it goes forth in that land and cause people to come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we rejoice that we can be together tonight we pray that your Holy Spirit would be with us we pray that we would know the nearness of God as our good and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me again in your Trinity hymnals to number 510 number 510 will stand as we sing together we can turn in your Bibles to the prophet Ezekiel we're reading chapter 29 this evening Ezekiel chapter 29 beginning in verse 1 in the tenth year in the tenth month on the twelfth day of the month the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt speak and say thus says the Lord God behold i am against you o Pharaoh king of Egypt a great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers who has said my river is my own I have made it for myself but i will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers and all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales I will leave you in the wilderness you and all the fish of your rivers you shall fall on the open field you shall not be picked up or gathered i have given you as food to the beasts of the field and to the birds of the heavens then all the inhabitants of egypt shall know that i am the lord because they have been a staff of read to the house of israel when they took hold of you with the hand you broke and tore all their shoulders when they leaned on you you broke and made all their backs quiver therefore thus says the Lord God surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast in the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste then they will know that I am the Lord because he said the river is mine and I have made it indeed therefore I am against you and against your rivers and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate from Migdal to Syene as far as the border of Ethiopia neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beasts pass through it and it shall be uninhabited 40 years I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desk and among the cities that are laid waste her city shall be desolate 40 years and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the country's yet thus says the Lord God at the end of 40 years I will gather the Egyptians from the people's among whom they were scattered I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of paths Ross to the land of their origin and there they shall be a lowly kingdom it shall be the lowliest of kingdoms it shall never again exalt itself above the nation's for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nation's anymore no longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them then they shall know that I am the Lord God and it came to pass in the 27th year in the first month on the first day of the month that the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against higher every head was made bald and every shoulder rub draw yet neither he nor his army received wages from tyre for the labor which they expended on it therefore thus says the Lord God surely i will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon he shall take away her wealth carry off her spoil and remove her village that will be the wages for his army I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor because they worked for me says the Lord God in that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst then they shall know that I am the Lord amen just one particular observation here as God makes condemnation concerning or pronounces condemnation concerning Egypt notice the particular point involved verse 8 in chapter 29 therefore thus says the Lord God surely will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast and the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste now notice then they will know that I am the Lord because he said the river is mine and I made it was a vindication of God to bring the judgment to bear upon the Egyptians when the nation's raged against Israel when they held in content the God of Israel when God from on high brought judgment to bear upon them it vindicated his holy name it showed and demonstrated that he alone was God that he alone had sovereignty that he alone had the authority over the nation's and that he would raise up and bring down according to his own sovereign pleasure well let us pray our Father we thank you for your glory and your majesty we know that that is revealed in the salvation of sinners by grace through faith we also know it's revealed and you're terrifying judgments in the reality that you put down nations you put down kingdoms and ultimately you will cut off all those who have resisted and rejected your holy will we would ask God in heaven that we would see and appreciate this and it would cause us to stand in awe at your majesty and to stand in awe at your glory for God you are a great and a living in a true God and we praise you that you have brought us to yourself we praise you that you have called us your friends not because of our good but because of what Christ is accomplished on our behalf we bless you in Jesus Holy Name Amen well please turn with me for our final him the number 492 in your Trinity hymnals number 492 will stand as we sing together you well you can turn in your Bibles to Galatians chapter five so we look at the fruit of the Spirit this evening Galatians chapter five Galatians 5 i'll begin reading excuse me in verse 1 stand fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage indeed I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised Christ will profit you nothing and I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law you have become estranged from Christ you who attempt to be justified by law you have fallen from grace for we through the spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but faith working through love you ran well who hindered you from obeying the truth this persuasion does not come from him who calls you a little leaven leavens the whole lung I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will have no other mind but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment whoever he is and I brethren if I still preach circumcision why do I still suffer persecution then the offence of the cross is seized I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off for you brethren have been called the Liberty only do not use your Liberty as an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another for all the law is fulfilled in one word even in this you shall love your neighbor as yourself but if you bite and devour one another beware lest you be consumed by one another I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh for the flesh lusts against the spirit in the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish but if you are led by the spirit you are not under the law now the works of the flesh are evident which are adultery fornication uncleanness lewdness idolatry sorcery hatred contentions jealousies outbursts of Wrath selfish ambitions dissensions heresies Envy murders drunkenness revelries and the like of which I tell you beforehand just as I also told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God but the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control against such there is no law and those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit let us not become conceited provoking one another envying one another amen will let us pray God we thank you for this section of Galatians and I pray that you would help us to guard against the works of the flesh and to pursue the fruit of the Spirit and to this end we pray that you would just fill each and every one of us with your spirit first as we look to this passage as we receive its teaching and secondly as we seek to put it into practice in our own lives certainly God we want to glorify you we want to honor you we want to be faithful witnesses and to testify of you and more often than not people see the way that we live in the way that we conduct ourselves and this gives us opportunity to then set before them the doctrine of justification by faith alone we pray now that you would forgive us for our sins she would cleanse us from all unrighteousness and that your spirit would guide and direct us and we pray through Christ our Lord amen well as we saw last week the Apostle here puts forth a contrast between the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit he calls the Galatians to walk in the spirit in verse 17 he highlights the on-going remaining corruption the battle that exists in the people of God for the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish and then he mentions this in verse 18 if you are led by the spirit you're not under the law now I mentioned last week when he says you're not under the law that does not mean that the Christian has no responsibility under God's law most likely what he means here is you're not under the law as a Covenant of works in other words you're not trying to gain your favor or your salvation with God via works you're under grace but as a Christian conquered by the grace of God there is the moral law of God that does inform us concerning God's will concerning God's demands and how by the spirit we can please him and honor him and obey Him in our lives and then to illustrate he sets forth this list of the works of the flesh and then this list of the works or the fruit of the spirit to illustrate the state of opposition between the flesh and the spirit Paul provides representative lists of their respective activities that's Ronald fog in his commentary on Galatians so I want to look at first the fruit of the Spirit secondly the present status of the believer and then thirdly to specific applications in the passage before us but note in the first place the fruit of the Spirit differs from the gifts of the Spirit now we all should manifest these fruits of the spirit we should all seat by the grace of God to demonstrate that we have been saved by grace and that these things flow naturally from our having been justified by grace through faith the gifts of the Spirit differ from person to person some persons have gifts to teach or to preach some persons have gifts to serve some persons have gifts to do a whole host of things there are lists in several places in holy scripture concerning the gifts of the Spirit this is the fruit this is the virtue consistent with life in the spirit of god want to categorize these under three particulars first the mental states the social aspects and then the personal attitudes note in the first place the mental states it should not surprise us that Paul begins is less concerning the fruit of the Spirit and says that it's of love that is absolutely crucial for the people of God this is a fruit of the Spirit we are to manifest and we are to evidence most likely love to God and love to others we are to demonstrate that we have indeed been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus by being a loving people you'll notice the direct contrast here with the works of the flesh the works of the flesh indicate that hatred or enmity is something that is in the heart of the unconverted and here conversely it's the people of God who are to be marked by love you can turn to John 13 to see Jesus approbation of love in the lives of his people John 13 in the upper room our Lord Jesus Christ tells us very specifically in verse 35 by this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another this is a fruit of the Spirit that you have love for one another as well it is the identifying characteristic of the one who has justifying faith go back to Galatians chapter five and in verse 6 the Apostle says for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but faith working through love Roman Catholics get this text wrong they say that love is the foundation of the source and then faith flows from that that is directly opposite to the emphasis the emphasis is that we have faith in Christ for justification that then is the source of the origin from which love then flows in other words these people that Paul is writing to and we by extension as believers in Christ are justified by grace through faith we are justified not according to works we are justified according to or by God's grace through faith till faith is present in the heart and then love flows as a result of that faith working through love matron says love according to the New Testament is not the means of salvation we're not saved because love that's not what the emphasis is here machen says love according to the New Testament is not not the means of salvation but is the finest fruit of it it flows from this faith in Jesus Christ he goes on to say a man is saved by faith not by love but he is saved by faith in order that he may love you see if what characterizes us outside of Christ is hatred and enmity and outbursts of wrath and dissension and selfish ambition and all those things that are listed under the works of the flesh when we are conquered by God's Amazing Grace when we have that faith in Jesus Christ one of the primary outflows is love love to God love to one another notice in 1st John chapter 3 John condemns hatred among brethren as well he should it ought not to exist among the people of God that we hate one another notice in 1st John chapter 3 verse 10 in this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God nor is he who does not love his brother for this is the message that you heard from the beginning that we should love one another not as Cain was of the wicked one and murdered his brother and why did he murder him because his works were evil in his brother's righteous do not marvel my brethren if the world hates you we know that we have passed from death to life because we love the Brethren he who does not love his brother abides in death whoever hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him it's a clear condemnation of hatred among the professing people of God it's a clear encouragement of love among the professing people of God now just back a little bit more in 1st John chapter 3 no I'm sorry ahead just a little more in 1st John chapter 3 notice verse 16 by this we know love because he laid down his I for us you see what John is saying here it's good for us to say we love one another it's good for us to say I love you it's good for us as husbands to communicate that to our wives it's good for wives to communicate that to their husbands good frost his parents to communicate that to children and children back to their parents but love is demonstrable love is obvious love is seen love is concrete it's not just an expression it's not just an I love you but there is a valid confirmation by the actions of the person who says I love you that's the point verse 16 by this we know love because he laid down his life for us look at the atonement of Christ look at the suffering son of man on the cross at Calvary we know that he loves us because he laid down his life for us he says and we also ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren in other words it's not enough for us just to say I love you but there must be a concrete illustration of that love or rather a concrete demonstration of that love by sacrificial service to the people of God notice verse 17 but whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him how does the love of God abide in him in other words if you say you love and yet you know someone's in need and you have the resources and the wherewithal to be able to serve them then love dictates that you part with your goods for their well-being James says it this way it's not enough for somebody to come to your door and express the fact that they are cold and shivering and they're hungry and you on the other side of the door slam it essentially saying we'll be warm and be filled no James says invite them in and warm them and fill them don't say you know I hope it works out better for you in the future and I hope you find you know some ham and and a coat and whatever you need to satisfy your particular needs no you are to minister and that's essentially what John says you verse 18 my little children let us not love in Word or in tongue but in deed and in truth so you see when we come to Paul's list of virtues or fruit of the spirit and love talks that particular list we ought to realize that love in Scripture is not this nebulous mystical subjective feeling but it's contrary akan create obedience to God's holy law Paul does this in Romans chapter 13 as well so love heads the list and that ought never to cause us to be surprised notice secondly joy joy this is the inevitable response of those saved by grace through faith in Jesus isn't that the point in Romans 5 1 therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God and then he speaks of rejoicing that follows how can we not be a more happy people in light of justification by faith how can we not walk around with you know big smiles on our face considering the fact that this train is Bound for Glory how can we not with a spring in our step and a and a joy in our heart live our lives God has saved us God has redeemed us God has forgiven us God has cleansed us God has taken that righteous robe of Jesus and he has laid it upon us the way the father does with the prodigal who returns stinking like pigs we are the prodigal that have returned to the Father stinking like pigs and he clothes us he puts a ring on our finger he rejoices and calls for the slaying of the fat of gam how are we not a more happy people are more joyful people a fruit of the Spirit is joy Romans 51 Romans 5 11 fact you can turn to Romans because there are several instances where this is Express already mentioned 51 where it says therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and then in verse 11 he says and not only that but we also rejoice in God through our Lord G Christ through whom we now have received the reconciliation whoever just rejoice in our God for reconciliation whoever just rejoice and God at the thought that my sins oh the bliss of this glorious thought my sins not in part but the whole are nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the Lord praise the Lord no matter how difficult our lives are no matter how many tragedies we undergo they can't take from us the joy that we have in Jesus Christ our Savior and this is an emphasis by Paul notice in 14 17 14 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit notice in Philippians 1 at verse 25 Philippians 1 verse 25 and being confident of this I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and all of this and joy of faith Paul says I'm going to live I'm not going to die and one of the reasons I'm going to live and not die is because i am going to remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith in other words you're going to progress in the Grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the joy of faith is going to expects financially grow the idea being the more you understand about this eternal life that you possess the happy are you up to be the more joyful the more glad number pastor Earle Blackburn he just really embodies to me this gladness this joy of being found in Christ notice as well Philippians 3 1 finally my brethren rejoice in the Lord for me to write the same things to you is not tedious but for you it is saved and then of course Philippians 4 for rejoice in the Lord always again I will say rejoice do you understand that those are imperatives imperatives mean command God command you to be happy always amazes me that people think Christianity this dour sour vile religion of you know long faces and persons who look like they consistently you know take bites out of lemons Paul says in the name of God most high I command you to rejoice rejoice always he says what's the point the point is is that no matter our situation no matter our circumstances no matter how hard things are our sins have been forgiven if that doesn't put a smile on our faces we haven't come to grips with what it means to have our sins forgiven that's the whole point in 580 my sin oh the bliss of this glorious thought it is bliss it is happiness it is joy it is a cause for great rejoicing this ought to be the default setting for those who walk with Christ even through fate even through trial and tribulation turn over to 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 do you know what the will of God is for you I'm sure you heard last week when I preached on the works of the flesh first Thessalonians 4 verse 3 this is the will of God your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality well Paul doesn't stop there's more of the will of God revealed in the letter to the Thessalonians and here in 1st Thessalonians 5 notice what he says in verse 16 rejoice always I know it sounds kind of asked rejoice always that's probably not a Paul meant it it's probably rejoice always too happy come in oh god you're commanding me to be happy oh god you're commanding me to be joyful you see why John says in his First Epistle the commandments of God are not burdensome you complain about Christianity and its commands you ever make it look like you know you're the lemon sucking person that always looks sad and gower and sour and upset God commands you to be happy rejoice always Paul says pray without ceasing in everything give thanks why for this is the will of god in christ jesus for you what's the will of God for me well Paul says rejoice pray and give thanks I think we ought to consider and ponder and meditate upon such passages that clearly express to us the will of God we want to know what God's will is for our lives well first Thessalonians 4 13 a 3 tells us to keep our cells controlled with reference to sexuality and 1st Thessalonians 5 16 tells us to rejoice to pray and to give thanks so joy fruit of the Spirit going back to Galatians 5 at verse 22 love joy peace peace isn't this a beautiful thing to have peace and we all hate chaos don't we all eat disorder and confusion do you guys thrive on everything out of place I mean sometimes it looks like that you know we we tend to live like that it but that's really not a good way to live we like peace we like calm we like steadiness we like stability we like the calm that it affords to us and that it provides for us we have that in the gospel we have that in our beloved Savior we are to exhibit that in our lives were to be a peaceful lot paul the paul tells the Thessalonians there to mind their own business and work hard with their hands you're to be a people that persons can look upon and see peaceful existence not confusion not chaos not disorder not all those things and it's based on and flows from justification by faith Romans 5 1 therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God peace is a blessed thing and it's conferred upon us by our Lord in the Upper Room discourse in the Gospel of John Jesus gives his disciples my peace John 1417 not like the world gives now the world provides a sort of counterfeit peace the world provides sort of a an idol of peace you come and you smoke me or you drink me or you taste or you do this with me and then you'll have this piece it's a counterfeit piece but it's offered a proffered by the world Christ says I give you peace not like the world the world offers a counterfeit the world offers a fake but Christ gives his disciples my peace he calls them to abide in his love John 59 and desires that they know his joy in John 15 11 so Paul in a sense is rehearsing reflecting with reference to the fruit of the Spirit those things commended by Christ to his disciples in the upper room discourse so those are you know I don't know if this is the best way to explain it the mental states I don't know if that gets at it but but you see that's a bit of a different category than the next three the social aspects what are the fruits of the spirit with reference to our interpersonal relationships one with another certainly love joy peace ought to be flowing out of and into our interpersonal relationships but the next three speaks specifically to this area of a social aspect or interpersonal relationship the first place he says long-suffering the fruit of the Spirit is long-suffering the spirit of the Spirit is to have a a long fuse it's not to engage in outbursts of wrath it's not to engage in the sorts of things condemned under the works of the flesh fact you'll trace through these things you'll see they're exactly contrary they're exactly opposite long-suffering patient endurance under injuries inflicted by others that's part of it patient endurance of in under injuries inflicted by others when we consider long-suffering or patience or forbearance these things are operative during times of hardship right when is the the soldiers mettle tested its when he's in the battlefield you know he's a good soldier because he's able to evade enemy shots or enemy shells you know he's a good soldier because he's under that crucible of difficulty so when we consider long-suffering anybody and everybody and all of us can be long-suffering sitting by ourselves on a beach somewhere sipping a drink it's not hard to be a patient man when you've got the the sand under your toes and you get to go into the water and whether you know I'm going to have bananas with my tacos at lunch or manga I mean that's an easy place to be a patient man but the whole point of long suffering is to suffer long you get it it's in the midst of trial in the midst of difficulty patient endurance under injuries inflicted by others Fung says God's long-suffering toward mankind constitutes the basis and reason for the believers patience toward others Perkins in his excellent commentary thus far what I've read on Galatians says long-suffering is to moderate our anger and desire for revenge when many and great wrongs are done to us you see the whole idea behind the word means that we're going through trials persons don't like us they're mean to us they're unkind to us they may insult us they may hurt us what is our response if we have this fruit of the Spirit the response is going to be to suffer lon not to engage in outbursts of wrath not to make voodoo dolls of them and poke them in our in our closets not to put pictures of them up on our dart board and you know sort of have this therapy that we we just poke them in the face with with darts nor to be long-suffering Perkins goes on to say long-suffering is to moderate our anger and desire for revenge when many and great wrongs are done to us he says it is an excellent fruit but it takes very hardly in these parts it takes very hardly in these parts in other words it's not prevalent among us when he wrote long-suffering brethren Ephesians chapter 4 verse 2 well beginning in verse 1 I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the colleague with which you were called with all lowliness and gentleness with long-suffering bearing with one another in love endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace that's the emphasis in the passage that's what Paul wants he wants the people of God according to verse 3 endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace how do the people of God in the Church of God endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace they do so with those ingredients that precede it with all lowliness with all gentleness with all long-suffering bearing with one another in love if we don't have those things we will not endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace this is destructive for churches when persons don't have long suffering it is destructive for churches and families when persons don't have this lowliness this gentleness this long-suffering this ability to bear with one another in love and and and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace longsuffering is a precious fruit of the Spirit as Perkins says notice secondly under the social aspects kindness kindness a kindly disposition toward one's neighbor showing goodness and concern toward others sympathetic kindness again Fung says it is an essential ingredient of law of first Corinthians 13 love is what love is kind men women in your marriages love is kind love isn't demanding its own you know rights and privileges and serve me and do this for me no love gives love is kind it seeks to put the other first he goes on and says in like love expresses itself in action those who are kind treat others in the same way as God has treated them Luther describes kindness this way this means a gentleness and sweetness and manner and in one's entire life for Christians should not be harsh and morose they should be gentle humane affable courteous people with whom others enjoy associating do people enjoy associating with you that's a good sign if they don't like associating with you repent he says people who overlook the mistakes of others or put the best construction on them people who willingly yield to others who bear with the recalcitrant etc it's a good definition or explanation or rather gloss or amplify asian of what it means to engage in kindness and then the third in terms of the social aspects is goodness goodness the generosity which springs from the heart that is kind and will always take care to obtain for others that which is useful and beneficial this is the opposite of Envy in the works of the flesh remember what I said if I'm jealous I want your car if I'm envious I don't want you to have your car I mean envy is a pretty nasty sin if you're an envious person please repent it's a terrible thing this is the opposite isn't it it's goodness not only do I not want your car I'm so happy you have your car as goodness its kindness it's what we find in this particular section Perkins again says it is a virtue whereby we communicate to others the good things that are in us for their good and benefit this whole idea of goodness is not only again just a an abstract thought but it is a concrete expression it is giving to others it is serving others it is helping others it is showing love to them and then the third category again we're just putting them in a category just for ease here there are three left the personal attitudes notice faithfulness faithfulness now justification by faith has been in view a lot in Paul's letter to the Galatians the faithfulness here certainly involves faith in Jesus Christ it certainly involves our having looked unto him in justification but the faithfulness here probably pertains more to that faithfulness and sanctification that faithfulness and both doctrine and practice that faithfulness in doing what you're supposed to do every single day for the rest of your life faithfulness that's what's desperately lacking among persons in the church at time its faithfulness people hear sermons people go to conferences people get a little bit fired up they get all faithful for about three or four days that's not faithfulness faithfulness is for the rest of your life faithfulness is till you draw your last breath faithfulness is being consistent faithfulness is being diligent they fulness is crucifying the desires of the flesh faithfulness is putting first the kingdom of God are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness faithfulness this is what the proverbs say any man boasts are many men boast of themselves but a faithful man who can find faithfulness is what the people of God demonstrate and emulate and typify and show forth while dissensions and heresies are marks of those who walk in the flesh faithfulness in terms of doctrine and practice mark those who walk in the spirit you see the contrast so faithfulness notice circuit lee gentleness the word is translated meet in Matthew 5 blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the work of the earth the word typically described someone in whom strength and gentleness go together meekness in the Bible is not a doormat meekness in the Bible is power under control he gets in his study bible pastor john macarthur says the idea is is the the horse the strong powerful horse that has the bit and the bridle to subdue him he's got that power but he's subdued that's the language or that's the idea meek isn't just roll over and you know play dead for everybody around you it is translated gentleness here it's the same word meet nurse and again it describes someone in whom strength and gentleness go together Thomas Watson and his commentary on the Beatitudes says how amiable is a saint in God's eye when adorned with this jewel you love the way Watson puts it how amiable is a saint in God's eye when adorned with this jewel a meet spirit brings credit to religion and silences malice it is the varnish that puts luster upon holiness and sets off the gospel with the better gloss thickness is what we ought to demonstrate and then notice thirdly in terms of the personal attitudes self-control self-control now I want you to see this connection self-control is a fruit of the Spirit he sometimes everywhere you know i'm just going to yield to the spirit well if you're yielding to the spirit you're going to control yourself because self-control is a fruit of the Spirit I am NOT making this up you see the list how it proceeds seems almost kind of contradictory or perhaps paradoxical a fruit of the Spirit is self-control yes an absence of self-control indicates the absence of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit a fruit of the Spirit is self-control this means the holding of the passions and the appetites it means self-restraint very specifically it is contrary to the things that are indicated in the works of the flesh self-control is the opposite of adultery fornication uncleanness lewdness idolatry sorcery hatred contentions jealousies outbursts of wrath selfish ambitions dissensions heresies Envy murders drunkenness revelries if you see people engaged in those particular works of the flesh what can you most likely conclude they lack self-control when you see a kid at Walmart freaking out or flipping out because mother won't buy him a candy bar what do you conclude well you probably conclude he needs a good spanking but you also conclude that he lacks self-control and if she goes on to buy him that candy bar she might as well dig the grave for him because she's going to ruin his life that may be a bit epic but parents need to see to inculcate self-control in their children you are not allowed to freak out you are not allowed to lose it you are not allowed to go bananas or go nuts you must control yourself in the absence of the fruit of the Spirit in terms of our children parents need to serve in that capacity and help them exercise self-control this is a contrast with so many of the works of the flesh the root of the Spirit is self-control a lack of self-control as I've said is an indicator of the lack of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit and this i would say again coupled with faithfulness all of them to be sure but it seems to me in my observation having done this for about 20 years now faithfulness and self-control are those things that men and women desperately need faithfulness and self-control control yourself when it comes to meets fact Perkins has this he has very specifically I mean in the old King James it's translated moderation he says we must use moderation in meats and drinks in other words every meal lot not to be a buffet and every time we engage in drink it doesn't need to and should never lead to drunkenness he says we must use moderation in our apparel in the way that we dress in the way that we close ourselves in the way that we present we must use moderation in our getting of goods proverbs is all about hard work proverbs enjoins upon us all the necessity of hard work God is pro hard work if you look at the fourth commandment what does God say he commands rest on one day of the seven so what do we learn by implication by good and necessary consequence deduced from the fourth word that we are to labor on six days and Solomon picks this up he says concerning men who work hard do you see a man who excels in his work he will stand before kings jewett Solomon also says do not overwork to be rich I'm not condemning riches Paul doesn't do that in first Timothy chapter six and I would never think to do that I think it's wrong for persons to guilt manipulate others and say you shouldn't have money you shouldn't have more that's communism and socialism that's not biblical Christian ethics but there is this sense where if you're putting family on hold your pudding sure on hold your putting life on hold and overworking to be rich I truly believe that young men typically will have to work harder and longer it's just the way it is I think you're built or we're built I don't know if I'm in that were your yet at 50 I don't know if I'm still considered the young man or Raj is still young and vital so he's with me so yeah us young men will have to work long and we have to work hard that's righteous and that's good but if you're overworking to the neglect of other things in order to be rich it's not wrong to work hard to try and provide a good life for your wife and your kids that's a noble and excellent thing but you men know there is that tendency or that temptation or that potential in our hearts to overwork not just to provide and not just to provide comfortably but to be rich and then he says there must be a moderation in the spending of our goods so those are the fruits of the spirit notice how Paul ends and verse 23 against such there is no law in other words you can be as loving and it's joyful and as peaceful and as long suffering as you want there's no law that condemns you in this the law is not going to rise up and say you know you're being too loving the law is not going to stand and commentate condemnation and say you're too happy you're just way too long suffering you're just way too gentle you're just way too self controlled go you don't mix it up a little bit it's never going to do that against such there is no law I showed you last week the implication is against the works of the flesh there is a law it's the Decalogue of the moral law of God revealed to us at Sinai in the Ten Commandments and it rises up and it says don't hate it says don't murder it says don't envy it says don't have selfish ambition it says don't engage in heresy don't engage in these things against the works of the flesh there is a law but against the fruit of the Spirit there is no law go out and Excel go out and a bound go out and delight yourself in all of these virtues and all of these fruits that the spirit authors in the hearts of his people i just want to quickly quickly look at verses 24 to 26 we're coming to a conclusion who really really quick notice the present status of the believer in verse 24 and those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires what what's that about works of the flesh fruit of the Spirit and then this statement concerning those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires this happens at regeneration this happens at conversion Johnny D says the flesh was crucified once for all when they believed and it remains dead it has lost its living mastery through a violent and painful death the passions and desires probably indicate both the outer and inner impulses to sin present in the heart of man so it is an intriguing placement of this particular verse works of the flesh fruit of the Spirit a statement concerning what happened to us in conversion what happened to us at regeneration what happened to us the moment by grace we believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus how does it function here verse 24 and those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires I think it functions here by way of encouragement but as well by way of exhortation see we go through a list like this of the fruit of the Spirit and we think I can't do that I'm not self controlled I'm not faithful I'm not meek I don't have a lot of love I'm not joyful by disposition on the you know II or and in a a is it a a Nolan's book winnie the pooh eeyore was that that that donkey that had the black cloud raining over him all the time he was a miserable wretch of a specimen I mean just a just a terrible thing he's always sad he's always unhappy and you might identify with the passage like that and with a or saying I'm just that guy I'm just not that girl look at verse 24 again it's an exhortation those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires this happened at your conversion you have been saved by grace through faith you have received the Holy Spirit you ought to pursue these things knowing that by God's grace you can cultivate them in other words this tax bespeaks responsibility if you say you've been justified freely by faith if you say you've come to the Lord Jesus Christ if you say you've looked and lived then you have the Spirit which is the essential party with reference to these particular fruits so if the fruits are absent or if the fruits are lacking or if the fruits are just not there then you need to repent and pursue them because by God's grace you have been saved in order to produce this type of fruit you get that if you've been justified sanctification inevitably follows if you have died with Christ then you have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires in other words you are now free to do what God has created you to do Christian Liberty brethren is not having a beer with pizza Christian Liberty is doing what God created you to do Christian Liberty is the privilege to serve the Lord Most High Christian Liberty is the blessing to obey God and to honor God and to conduct ourselves in the fear of God that's Paul's point in the first part of Galatians chapter 5 what he's talking about liberty not talking about the Liberty for you to go here go there do that or do this he's talking about the Liberty to honor and fear God and if you are in Christ brethren these fruits must be manifest and then he closes out with a specific application or two specific applications with in mind for the Galatians notice in verse 25 if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit that's the indicative and imperative we are in the spirit by the grace of God and therefore we must walk in the spirit that's Paul's point in this whole section if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit if positionally we live in the spirit then practically we need to walk in the spirit you see that if we are justified we need to live as people the people of God and then verse 26 let us not become conceited provoking one another envying one another you see these things probably existed in the churches of Galatia because Pharisee came at doctrinal confusion was introduced person said believe and do in order to be saved let us not become become conceited provoking one another and being one another that's not characteristic of those who have the Spirit of God let us not become conceited the idea being talking big desirous of vain glory or become boastful you can see it in the church where heresy is caught you can see in the church where the persons who say well yeah we need to believe but we also need to do the others are saying no we just need to believe it's all by grace it's through faith in Jesus Christ what happens we want to up one another in this case these guys are right and these guys should stop there's this vainglory there's this attempt to to be boastful to be conceded to provoke one another to envy one another I don't know of those who were here on Wednesday night appreciated what we saw with reference to David but I want to remind us concerning David that he was a man who thought in terms of God's kingdom he was a man who sought first the kingdom of God in His righteousness he didn't do this perfectly David certainly had his sins David certainly had his shortcomings David certainly had his falls along the way but at the end of his life we see something very intriguing concerning David that I think is the exact contrary of what Paul is warning against with reference to these Galatians in first Kings chapter one essentially what you had is Solomon was supposed to be the king at a naija asserted himself as the king the whole plan and plot was foiled old Solomon achieves the the throne and the servants of Solomon say this in first Kings chapter 1 verse 47 and moreover the King's servants have gone to bless our Lord King David saying may God make the name of Solomon better than your name and may he make his throne greater than your throne you see those who are conceited those who are desirous of vain glory those who are boastful would never tolerate such a thing let me think about it David successor they want his name to be better than David's they want his throne to be greater than David's I mean if he was a vain glorious man or a boastful man or a man that was full of pride he would have said I want Solomon to occupy the throne and I want him to do well but I don't want him to exceed me see I'm David after all and I want everybody to remember how great a king david was they can remember how great Solomon was but they always need to remember that David was greater that's not the attitude of David David as a man who seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness it is zeal for the kingdom that moves David to agree with to approve this by what we read in verse 47 then the King bowed himself on the bed that is in agreement to what these servants had a scribe with reference to Solomon that the name of Solomon be better than David and that the throne of the of Solomon be greater than David's and then notice in verse 48 also the king said thus blessed be the Lord God of Israel who has given one to sit on my throne this day while my eyes see it that's just the opposite disposition of what Paul warns the people in the Galatian church is about let us not become conceited provoking one another and ving one another we need the fruit of the Spirit so that we don't devolve and degenerate into this kind of mayhem within the professing people of God in other words cultivate love joy peace long-suffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control realize against such there is no law you can pursue you can exceed Excel in these particular things without the law of God crushing your spirit and you have the wherewithal to be able to do this because those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires and if that happened at conversion if that happened by God's grace then you have the ability and the power of the Holy Spirit to put these things on there's no excuse actually is what Paul saying there is no excuse whatsoever for a church to devolve into what he describes unit let us not become conceited provoking one another and being one another person's you have the Holy Spirit ought to be able to deal with any situation persons justified by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ who have the resources of the Spirit ought to be able to deal well I'll say with most of things we ought to be able by the grace of God to talk things through to deal with things and to find resolution well let us pray father we thank you for your word and we thank you for this list and how it informs us and hopefully will guide us and that we will pursue these things and do so by the power of your Holy Spirit we ask that you would go with us now that you would watch over us and the remainder as we begin this week rather help us to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation and to magnify the name of God most high through Jesus Christ our Lord and it's in his name that we pray amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed