March 15, Third Sunday in Lent

Lesson: Galatians 5.16-26

Sermon Title: Works vs Fruit

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INTRODUCTION

Where's the Lift? (1)

As a concierge at a posh resort, I was often asked about the ski facilities. One day a couple who had just checked in after a long flight came by and asked me where the lift was.

"Go down the hill," I told them, "out the door, past the pool, 200 yards down the block, and you'll see it on your right."

Their tired faces suddenly looked even more exhausted, until the man behind them spoke up. "These folks are from England," he said. "I think they're looking for the elevator."

XXX

Letter to the Bank (2)

Dear Sirs,

One of my checks was returned marked "insufficient funds." In view of current developments in the banking industry, does that refer to me or to you?

Sincerely,

Your customer

  1. In view of current developments.

    1. It is enough to create some serious anxiety.

    2. I was reading The Christianity Today Weekly Newsletter that highlighted the cover package with this headline: The Depression Epidemic (3)

Why we're more down than ever--and the crucial role churches play in healing.

Dan G. Blazer | posted 3/06/2009 10:23AM

The church is God's hospital. It has always been full of people on the mend. Jesus himself made a point of inviting the lame, the blind, and the possessed to be healed and to accompany him in his ministry, an invitation often spurned by those who thought they were fine as is. We should not be surprised, then, that the depressed populate not only secular hospitals and clinics, but our churches as well. Yet depression remains both familiar and mysterious to pastors and lay church leaders, not to mention to those who share a pew with depressed persons.

Virtually everyone has experienced a "down" day, often for no clear reason. We might say we "woke up on the wrong side of the bed," are "out of sorts," or just "in a funk." Such polite references are commonplace in America. Yet as familiar as melancholic periods are to us, the depths of a severe depression remain a mystery. We may grasp in part the distress of King David: "Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak" (Ps. 31:9-10). But most of us have no idea what David meant when he further lamented, "I am forgotten by them as though I were dead" (v.12). Severe depression is often beyond description. And when such deep and painful feelings cannot be explained, they cut to the heart of one's spiritual being.

Humans are intricately complex creatures. When things go wrong in us, they do so in myriad and nuanced ways. If churches want to effectively minister to the whole of fallen humanity, they must reckon with this complexity. Depression indicates that something is amiss. But what? And what should churches be doing about it?

  1. What ought we do about it?

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MAIN BODY:

  1. Depression is real.

    1. It may take psychotherapy to help cope with depression.

    2. It may be necessary to take psychotropic drugs.

  2. It may be that you are not in clinical depression.

    1. It may be that you are experiencing deep anxiety.

    2. It may be that you are resentful.

      1. David Walls, Finding God in the Dark (4) suggests that you stop for a moment and think about this question:

"How can you tell if inner resentments are lingering beneath the surface of your life?"

      1. There some clues to warn you of the impending trouble you may be about to start? Dr.

      2. Norman Wright offers these hints related to your potential resentments. Make some mental notes.

        1. You feel like striking back at or telling off those in authority.

        2. You explode for no apparent or obvious reason.

        3. You engage in a power struggle with your spouse and view him or her as your enemy.

        4. You compare yourself with other family members. You either feel inferior to or compete with them.

        5. You make caustic or spiteful comments toward those you love.

        6. You feel unappreciated or left out at work or at home.

        7. You experience bodily complaints which could include stomachaches, headaches, backaches and so on.

        8. Your outlook on life itself is basically pessimistic or negative.

    1. In any case it may help to evaluate what you are doing and what you are thinking about.

  1. The lesson this morning confronts us with our internal and external warfare.

The 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.

    1. There are the works of the flesh.

      1. Flesh does not mean the physical body.

      2. Flesh represents the whole system of our corrupt nature as it is revealed in the different forms of transgression.

      3. The flesh is a consistently evil tendency in our nature.

    2. The works of the flesh may be divided into a number of different categories.

      1. Sins of sensual passion: fornication, impurity, licentiousness.

      2. Sins of superstition, idolatry and sorcery

M. Scott Peck, in one of his books wrote, "Everyone is religious. Everyone has a god.

It has been said that:

A world maxed out on materialism is like the two lost children in the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. We make our way happily to the gingerbread house, only to find a prison inside.

      1. Sins of social disorder, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissension, factions, envy.

        1. We must take care not to confuse this freely offered liberty for license.

        2. The long list of what Paul calls in Galatians "fleshly works" is what results when we let our freedom to ... become freedom from.

          1. Freedom to love becomes ... fornication.

          2. Freedom to worship becomes ... idolatry.

          3. Freedom to serve becomes ... factions.

          4. Freedom to inquire becomes ... enmity.

          5. Freedom to discuss becomes ... quarrels.

          6. Freedom to disagree becomes ... dissension.

          7. Freedom to thrive becomes ... envy.

      2. Sins of individual excesses, drunkenness, carousing.

    1. These all may contribute to a depressed mental state.

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  1. Warring against the works of the flesh is the fruit of the Spirit.

    1. It is not the fruits, but the fruit of the Spirit.

      1. Paul mentions nine graces of the Spirit.

      2. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

    2. We ought to be able to tell the difference between the "works of the flesh," and the "fruit of the Spirit."

      1. The works of the flesh are sinful, this is our work.

      2. The graces are the Spirit's growth in us.

    3. The graces of the Spirit may be divided into three groups.

      1. Our relationship with God, love, joy, peace.

      2. Our relationship with men and women, patience, kindness and generosity.

      3. The regulation and conduct of our own individual Christian life, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

    4. There is no law against such things.

      1. Because 24...those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

      2. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

        1. J. I. Packer in Knowing and Doing the Will of God (5)

          has written:

          1. "Love is the Christlike reaction to people's malice.

          2. Joy is the Christlike reaction to depressing circumstances.

          3. Peace is the Christlike reaction to troubles, threats and invitations to anxiety.

          4. Patience is the Christlike reaction to all that is maddening.

          5. Kindness is the Christlike reaction to all that are unkind.

          6. Goodness is the Christlike reaction to bad people and had behavior.

          7. Faithfulness and gentleness are the Christlike reactions to lies and fury.

          8. Self-control is the Christlike reaction to every situation that goads you to lose your cool and hit out."

    5. 26Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

  1. Bernie Siegel, the author of several books including Peace, Love and Healing, recommends that we ask ourselves "How would I behave if I were a loving person?" and then act that way. Identify a role model, and then imitate that person.

    1. "I follow Don Quixote," says Siegel. "I view the world with love. I tell people to experiment with this.

      1. Judge no one you meet for the next 24 hours.

      2. Love everyone you meet and see. It's incredible how that changes your relationship with people . When you judge everybody -- he's lazy, he's no good, he only wants money, he doesn't care about me -- you project that, and you affect those people.

      3. When I walk around being loving, it's incredible how people respond."

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CONCLUSION:

  1. For you, this talk of Christian freedom has a different but equally important message: You now have total license to go crazy with good works!

    1. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control," says Paul. "There is no law against such things" (vv. 22-23).

    2. There's absolutely no regulation against having too much joy, being far too patient, showing excessive generosity!

    3. Go ahead, says Paul -- knock yourself out! There's no law against it.

  2. When was the last time someone came up to you and said, "Would you please stop being so loving, joyful, peaceful and patient"?

    1. We don't have this problem because we're timid about using the freedom we have been given.

"Hey, Joe."

"Yeah, wassup?"

"Well, you've been really supportive of me. You encourage me all the time. You're so patient and always happy and cheerful, and when I need something, you're there for me, you've always been kind to me and my family, you've totally got my back, and I appreciate it."

"Okaaaaaay."

"So would you please cut it out. Enough already."

    1. Who's going to say that? No one's going to complain; no one's going to put a limit on the generosity, the love, the joy, the patience and kindness that we show to each other.

    2. Unlimited freedom to be followers of Christ -- that's the amazing gift we are given when Jesus sets us free. Sadly, it's a gift that too few people are willing to put to use.

  1. It's time to show our independence and unleash some good works on the world around us.

    1. Time to focus on "the fruit of the Spirit" instead of "the desires of the flesh."

    2. Time to uncork some love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and generosity.

Amen!

1. posts@cybersaltlists.org

2. Mikey's Funnies [funnies-owner@lists.MikeysFunnies.com]

3. Retrieved from: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/march/15.22.html

4. David Walls, Finding God in the Dark (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1993), 104-105.

5. J. I. Packer, Knowing and Doing the Will of God (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Servant, 1995), 293.

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