Sermon Tone Analysis

Holy Spirit: Free to Love                  Galatians 5:13-26                 March 8, 2009

 

Everyone think we need more love.

“What the world needs now, is love sweet love.

That’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.”

I’ll bet Osama Bin Laden gets dewy eyed when he talks about love.

Beatles sang, “All you need is love, love, all you need is love.”

That sounds like verse 14!

Everyone would get along perfectly if we just loved!

Yeah…but *how* can we?

As we continue our focus on the Holy Spirit we find the answer in His ministry in our hearts.

!!!! I.    How to love?

Obey the Law?

Some say love is a commitment, just doing the right thing, i.e., following the rules.

/Yes, but is that all?/ Doesn’t that lead to the Pharisees hating Jesus for showing love to a man by healing him on the Sabbath?

“That’s against the rules!”

!!!!      A.

“Ah then, love is responding to my desires and feelings.”

But our nature is not inclined to “serve others in love.”

(13)

          1.

*Exhibit one is a toddler: *They don’t exactly serve their parents; they’re experts at making life difficult.

They test every boundary.

To protect our kids from traffic we took our 3 or 4 year old to a crack at the end of the driveway, “Now don’t cross this, OK?”  When we looked out the window, the child was walking right for the cracking, looking back to see if we were watching…and then stuck that cute, little leg over the line.

2.

*But it doesn’t get better.*

A movie star was being interviewed.

He had recycled several wives and girlfriends and was asked about it, “I think it’s wrong to stay with a woman you don’t have feelings for.

If you find someone else, then breaking up is just the honest thing to do.”

      B.

*This is the “flesh” at work – and it’s not lovely.*

1.

*The “desires of the flesh” refers to* satisfying our needs with no regard for God; to replacing God by acting like little gods who do whatever we please.

2.

*Isn’t this freedom?**

But look at what the “flesh” manufactures in our lives: 19-21*

a.   *(19) Faking Love:* Three terms describe selfish sexuality which gives no love to others and no honor to God; the opposite of “serving others.”

b.   *(20) Faking Spirituality: *Two terms describe our attempt to reach beyond this world, but still deny God – idols who tell us what we want; sorcery (*φαρμακεία*: the use of magic, often involving drugs… to cast spells upon.[1])

c.*(20) Faking Relationships:* Here is a list of termites that eat at the foundation of friendships, marriages, families and churches; things we *hate *them when we see them in others, but too often excuse in ourselves.

d.   *(21) Faking Fun~/Joy: *Drunkenness, carousing [*κ**ῶ**μος*: orgy, revelling[2]] –Let’s get drunk or stoned and see what happens.

3.

*/Here’s the problem – 21b.

/*Not only do these things leave us lonely, empty and without real love, but we miss out on the richest blessings of all: the kingdom of God.

C.

*How to really love? “We need the law!”*

          1.

*Verse 14 – *the Law helps by controlling us.

a.

We could ask that actor: “Do you really want your wife to abandon you if she noticed a bald spot on your skull or found someone more exciting?

b.

The Mosaic Law is the focus of Galatians – but we’re also restrained by the moral law, the civil law and all kinds of rules, “Just as long it doesn’t hurt anyone.”

c.We like rules.

Husbands learn the rule, “give flowers on Valentines” and put it in their Blackberry, and after flowers are ordered they check it off, ‘Task finished” and add a note [with thumbs on tiny keyboard], “/Wife seemed overwhelmed by 12 flowers; next year experiment with 6 to save money.”/

2.

But *that kind of love is stilted, cold – something is missing.*

On the other hand, following the flesh *leads to love that wavers, is undependable and too often ugly in its selfishness.

*

* *

!!!! I.

But here’s a third way: not rules binding from the outside; not our desires screaming from the inside, “Get what you can!”, but a new resident in the temple of our hearts.

A.

*The Holy Spirit of God.

22, 23.

He nurtures love in us.

*

          1.

It seems that the chief word here is “Love” – that is the theme of this section (13b, 14).

And the list seems to be characteristics of true love.

(Hendriksen –cf.

I Cor.

13).

2.

The list, may explain “serving others in love.”

a.   Joy and peace – which rule godly relationships.

b.   Patience, kindness, goodness – the requirements for dealing with people who don’t always treat us as they should.

c.Faithfulness, Gentleness, self-control – the power to say no to ourselves in order to serve others in love.

3.

If all people despise the works of the flesh – at least when they are on the receiving end – so all people value the fruit of the Spirit.

“No law” may hint at this: Not just Moses, but Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists; employers love employees like this; women look for husbands like this, and men look for women like this! What’s special is /not the list – that is not especially Christian (IVP commentary – ancient sources had such lists)./

B.

*/What’s special is the one who gives us power to exhibit this fruit!/*

1.

*16-17.

*Now the *Holy Spirit is in you is battling against the flesh and producing His holy fruit.

*We don’t have to play ‘whack-a-mole’ with the “flesh” anymore: an evil desire pops up and we hit it down, only to have another pop up.

I want to smack my boss in the face… but I’ll lose my job – whack it down!

I hate how smug she is, but people will think I’m a snob – whack it down and paste on a smile!

2.

*And we do hate the works of the flesh –* verse 24: crucified à past tense, when we believed; now consider these things abhorrent, dead to us.

3.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t just* whack these desires down; /He actually changes our desires.

/*This is one of the most remarkable signs of belonging to Jesus: once you wanted to please yourself – */Ephesians 2:3, “Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind…”/* – but now you want to please Christ Jesus.

And (I Peter 4:1-4) people are surprised that you don’t join them anymore.

*That’s the Spirit!

*

 

!!!! III.

How do we experience this work of the Holy Spirit?

A.

*22 – Bears fruit – grows us in love.

*

          1.

In context, this list is less about our private relationship with God, or our individual character development , and *more about our relationships*, serving others in love (13, 14).

2.

The Holy Spirit plants the seed of true love (Rom 5:5) – and *He’s at work now, but He’s not finished:* The Spirit nurtures love and holiness so it buds, blossoms, and then matures into fruit in our lives.

B.

*16 – He walks with us.*

          1.

This is the promise of a continued presence, a divine friend who will not abandon us when we need Him most.

Thus the benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

2.

Slightly different language is used in *18, 25 –* *Directs our steps.

*

a.

He leads us (18).

The word is active.

As Paul was led by soldiers (Acts 21:34) etc., we do feel weak or confused sometimes fearful of *walking with the Spirit* – but */He takes our hand and tugs us along.

/* 

b.   25 – It is “keep in step with the Spirit” (NIV), (stoicw~/men, in vs. 16 is peripatei~/te) – a military term[3] meaning that He gives us marching orders.

For example, the Spirit makes the Word of God come alive when we read it, and applies it to the details of our lives.

3.

There is now *third way.*

Not just “what I want” – follow the flesh, or “what I ought to do” – follow the law, but now I can follow the Spirit.

!!!!       C.

17 – Wars against the Flesh.

You’re not alone in your battle (16, 17).

!!!!           1.

We have cried to the Lord, “I tried but I just can’t!” (Romans 7).

The very things I hate, I find myself doing!

“I know how I’m supposed to love my husband~/wife~/children~/friends; but I still use anger to get people to serve me;  I use men and women to get pleasure; I use people at work to get ahead or make money.”

!!!!           2.

You and I haven’t arrived, so our lives are battlegrounds – that’s the reality of the Christian life!

The Spirit and the flesh are at war – don’t be surprised if there is smoke and thunder and you feel the ground shake under you.