Running To Win

Dave McAllister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and proctor of our faith. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These are the fruit of the Spirit. They stand in stark contrast with the behavior of those who do not know God. Today, the contrast between the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Irwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, we're nearing the end of your series on When the Spirit has his way.

I just want to say how helpful and insightful this series has been.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, thank you so much, Dave. And my intention was to help people to understand that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is available for all believers, not just a certain category. And so I trust that these messages indeed have been helpful, and we're so thankful that messages like this are spread throughout the world because of the ministry of Running to Win. And I want to emphasize we could not do this without our partners who come along, who pray for us, who support this ministry. And this is the second to last day of our matching gift challenge.

My friend, anything that you give now will be doubled. And at the end of this month, it's actually the end of our fiscal year, we would like to be able to end strong so that we can not only continue the ministry, but even expand it under the blessing and the favor of the Lord. Would you consider helping us? Here's what you can do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. I want to give you that contact info again. rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Thank you in advance because of people just like you were able to share the gospel around the world.

Incredibly, this is the last in a series of 10 messages on the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit has his way, recapturing the wonder of God within us. I do hope and pray that as a result of this series of messages that you have a new relationship with the friend who lives within you if you are a believer. The blessed Holy Spirit. Jesus on the cross dying for me. Jesus sending his spirit to live in me so that it can be said Christ in you, the hope of glory. I hope that you've come to a new sensitivity to the Holy Spirit as we talked about sin that grieves him.

And we talked about the relationship that we should have with him. And for those of you who have never trusted Christ as your Savior, you're not in with Jesus. I hope that as a result of this message and others that you'll be drawn to him and you'll understand what you are missing because you do not belong to Jesus. Listen to his voice and respond to it. What a delight it has been to think through the ministry of the Spirit in our lives. Well, today it's the book of Galatians. Galatians is the book and I want you to turn to that now if you would, please, and it will be chapter five.

If you just happened to have forgotten your Bible, it is page 975 975 in the seat that is in front of you. Galatians chapter five. When Paul wrote the book of Galatians, he was speaking to people who, for the most part, understood that salvation was to come through Christ alone. But the problem was they thought that the law also was important because in their mind they thought this, very logically. They thought to themselves that if we teach that a person is forgiven when he receives Christ as Savior and that he belongs to God forever. If you teach that, people are going to go out and they're going to live like the devil as is frequently said.

And so that is going to give them license to sin. So the only alternative they thought is either you have the law and you impose the law with all of its restrictions on people or you'll have license to sin. Those are the two options. The apostle Paul, when he wrote this wonderful book, said that there's a third possibility. And that is the power of the Holy Spirit of God given to believers to do something more than the law could do because the law cannot give us any strength. The law has a function. It is primarily to keep people from evil, especially when it has some penalties connected to it.

But it can't change our motivation. It cannot change the human heart. That is something that has to be done by God within us, the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that's your other option. And that's what we're going to talk about. And at the end of this message, I'll give you some practical suggestions from the word about how to begin walking in the Spirit. I realize that many of you are already walking in the Spirit, but all of us need encouragement along life's way. Now you'll notice that he begins in um and I will pick it up at verse uh 16.

In verse 13, he says you are called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Don't go there. But the answer isn't the imposition of law and legalism. He says it is in the power of the Spirit. So let's consider verse 16. But I say walk in the Spirit and you'll not fulfill or gratify the desires of the flesh. The first thing Paul does is to say that there is inner conflict that he is going to describe. He says for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, the desires of the Spirit against the flesh.

For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Wow, we've all experienced that. For a moment, I want you to visualize that this is a boxing ring. In one corner, you have the flesh. And when Paul uses that word here, it is not a reference to the body. The word flesh is used in different contexts. For our purposes, we'll simply say that the flesh refers to human desires without the restraint of the Holy Spirit. This is what it looks like. When I was in Geneva, I saw the statue to Rousseau, the philosopher.

If I remember correctly, his view was that society causes all the ills. Everybody should just go back to nature and their own desires. Well, this is what it would look like as we'll see in a moment. And then on the other side of the ring, you have the Holy Spirit, a glorious intruder who has come to live within us through faith in Jesus Christ. And so the contest begins. The Holy Spirit not only wants to subdue the flesh. As we shall see, he wants to do something more spectacular, wonderful, and miraculous. He wants to actually change our desires and go to that level of transformation so that we uh no longer desire the things of the flesh.

And so these two are in opposition, Paul says. The desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to one another. You know, when we back off and look at this passage, isn't it encouraging to know that the apostle Paul knew that there would be conflict? If you're here today and you know of the conflict, the conflict that I had this week, the conflict that you had last week, the very conflict that you and I are engaged in. We want to do what is right, but the passions of the flesh are so strong that we sometimes give in to them.

Paul understood that. In fact, in chapter seven, we won't take time to read it. You remember he says the things that I want to do, I don't do. The things that I don't want to do, those are the ones that I do, Paul says. And we've all been there and we've all done that. And as long as we live, the conflict will continue. It's like one woman said to me, I'm making progress in the Christian life, she said, but every inch is contested. And it is, isn't it? There was a pastor who was baptizing a new convert and you know how new converts sometimes are so full of joy.

They have the same kind of joy that we who are older converts ought to have. And um this convert after being baptized shouted, I am so full of joy. I will never be tempted again. And the pastor wisely said to him, in order for you to have that blessing, I would have had to keep you under the water a little longer. Yeah, that's right. Someday we'll never be tempted again, but not right now. So that's the conflict. If you're in conflict today, you're normal, you're where all of us are at. Join the club. But now the apostle Paul goes on to show that there are trophies if the flesh wins or if the Spirit wins.

These now are the consequences of uh the conflict. And let's look through the text. Now the works of the flesh I'm in verse 19 where I hope that you are. Now the works of the flesh are evident. And when I read these, ask yourself if they describe the struggle that you have. This is God's word now. Let us be honest in God's presence. Now the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envying, drunkenness, orgies. And Paul knows that the list is incomplete, so he says and things like these.

That's it, folks. That's going back to nature unrestrained by God. You look at the list and the first thing you notice is it is very self-centered. You see, when Satan rebelled a little bit of his rebellion, his poison fell on every human heart. And you and I are born self-centered. And if we follow that way, this is what it looks like, very self-centered. Maybe that's why sexual sin is first in the list because perhaps nowhere else as in other sins does sexual sin represent the exploitation of other people for myself gratification. Even if it happens to be mutually agreed self gratification outside of the bounds of God's word.

So there it is. Paul says um the flesh left to itself sexual immorality. Uh those are the sensual sins. Then as someone pointed out, there are also some what we could call superstitious sins, superstitious sins. You'll notice the apostle Paul refers to idolatry. And uh then he says sorcery. Very interestingly, you know, the Greek word sorcery is actually pharmakeia. Pharmakeia. What does that sound like? Sounds like pharmacy. And that is where we get the word pharmacy. And originally, according to my trusty English Greek Testament and uh dictionary, it really referred to drugs. Uh people when they went into sorcery, when they went into the occult, even back then drugs were used to induce trances and what have you to get in touch with the spirit world.

So even back there this was a part of their culture. And the apostle Paul calls it He says sorcery, which includes all kinds of witchcraft and the occult as such. That also is a work of the flesh. And then you have social sins after that. And um here we have them enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, things like these, drunkenness. What a description of some homes, of some lives, of some workplaces. All of that is the flesh unrestrained. You'll notice that it is selfish. It is all condemned by God, by the way. You know, I can imagine somebody saying, well, okay, I get fits of temper, but I would never be drunk or I uh cause dissension, but I would never commit immorality.

Doesn't matter. Whole tree is cursed. The apostle Paul says in me, that is in my flesh dwells no good thing. There's nothing in this that is redeemable by God. He can't use it as it is because it is cursed. Wow. Now you'll notice what the apostle Paul says. And please take this to heart. I'm in verse 21, the middle of the verse. I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will not inherit the kingdom of God for the simple reason that they don't belong to Jesus Christ.

They belong to themselves. They're doing it their way, following the passions of the flesh without the restraint, the control, or the transformation of the Holy Spirit. And it is an ugly scene. Well, that's one consequence, but thankfully it doesn't stop there. You have an entirely different consequence when the Spirit has his way. And we all desire that don't we, letting the spirit of God have his way. Notice the stark contrast. Verse 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And there's no law that prohibits those kinds of things.

Needless to say, they are generated by God. Do you realize that when you get saved, God does a great miracle? He creates something within us that was not there before. And that is the new nature. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. And he makes a place in our lives where the Holy Spirit of God, whom we love and whose companionship we crave, the Holy Spirit of God can dwell there within us. And he births within us things that are supernatural, things that are totally contrary to the flesh, things that we do not have in ourselves.

The Spirit creates within us. The first thing I notice about this list is You'll notice it talked about the works of the flesh which can be manufactured. But then it talks about the fruit singular of the Spirit, one fruit. Uh but it comes in clusters. Comes in clusters. You can't say, well, you know, I have a lot of patience, but I don't have any love or I um I'm a faithful person and gentle, but uh I I have no joy. I have no peace. All of these are reproducing That's what the Spirit wants to do, the qualities of Jesus in us.

You know, a man once asked a sculptor, how do you make an elephant? The sculptor says, actually, it's very easy. You just take a block of marble and you chip away everything that isn't elephant. And pretty soon you have an elephant. The Holy Spirit lives within us to chip away everything that isn't Jesus. And it hurts. It really does. Now you'll notice that it is the fruit of the Spirit generated by the Spirit. And not only that, but um fruit grows. Works manufactured. Fruit grows. And it expresses the inner nature. I'll never forget the first time I was in Florida.

First time I was in Florida and I actually saw oranges grow on trees. Now even though I was brought up in the cold snows of Canada, I knew that oranges grew on trees. Uh but uh I'd never seen it. And I was so impressed even though that was about 45 years ago, it it's it's in my mind as if it was today, driving along and seeing orange trees with oranges. And I I made the conclusion that if there are oranges, these were probably orange trees. I'm into it. I can connect the dots, folks. You know, Jesus spoke about this in John 15, didn't he?

He said, I'm the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him brings forth fruit. And then he says, somebody who doesn't bring forth fruit my father takes away, but those who do he prunes the vines to bear more fruit. When I studied in Israel in 1968, I actually saw some uh some pruning going on in the vineyards there. And it looked awful. Uh what you had was a sharp knife that was cutting these vines and just cutting them back and it almost seemed as if the vines were bleeding as they were calling out for help.

But it was done purposefully. There is not a single stroke that was unnecessary. Why? So that they might bear more fruit. And that's what God has to do with us, folks. You know, uh just this past week, actually it was yesterday, I read the story of a young woman sexually abused, terrible story, but it was the story of how she came through that, experienced peace and forgiveness. But is it easy? No. It is very very hard. But the Holy Spirit of God is there to help us. And I have to tell you, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, his primary knife is suffering.

Can be physical suffering. This morning we as elders prayed for a woman who's a very great saintly woman in this church, but going through a tremendous amount of physical pain. Sometimes it's that. And then sometimes it's other people that God brings into our life. The fruit of the Spirit God prunes us back. Why? To finally humble us, to finally wean us from sin and all those secret agreements we have made with the flesh and to get rid of those so that we might be broken and humble. And then there's love, joy, peace. Wow. Now if the works of the flesh represent uh selfishness, self Think of how the works of the Spirit or the fruit of the Spirit, I should say, represents selflessness.

Let me ask you something. I do it with a smile on your face on my face. Maybe there'll be a smile on yours as well. How would you like to be married to somebody who exhibits love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, patience? I think that would be pretty easy, wouldn't it? That's what God is after. That's what God is after. Have you ever seen a waiter carry uh you know uh I think it's called a tureen. That is to say he may have a tray and on the tray there are several dishes and they carry it even above their heads in some places.

Uh you have no idea what's in those bowls as they walk by until somebody trips the waiter. And then it's very evident what's in the bowls. It all comes out. When somebody trips us, when somebody does us a bad turn, what should come out at that moment is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. That is the fruit of the Spirit.

Dave McAllister: Oh my friend, my heart is full of joy. Isn't it wonderful to know that the Holy Spirit of God gives us the ability that we naturally do not have so that we can respond to circumstances differently? How grateful we are for the blessed Holy Spirit. I want you to know that in my hand right now I'm holding comments and letters from people who listen to Running to Win in the Russian language. A listener has written to us from West Africa, a Spanish speaking listener. We've heard from Egypt. How can that be? It's because Running to Win is in 50 different countries in seven different languages.

And we can only do this because of people just like you. And this is the second to last day of our matching gift challenge. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy. I want you to ask the Lord whether or not he would have you help us. Here's what you can do. Go to rtwoffer.com. Let me say that more slowly. rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Also at the end of this month, it's the end of our fiscal year. Thanks in advance for helping us. Right now you can go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

Guest (Male): You can write to us at Running to Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614.

Dave McAllister: It's easy to display the Spirit's fruit when all's right with the world. It's much tougher when life takes a hard turn. Often the most radiant believers are the ones who suffer the most. Next time on Running to Win, we take a final look at the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Irwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.