Life with the Spirit
Psalm 23 (responsive)
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Bible Lesson
5 So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.
13 For you have been called to live in freedom-not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Living by the Spirit's Power
16 So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. 18 But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20 idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. (1)
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Through His death on the cross, Christ has set each of us free. Free from our sins and the long list of laws and regulations that had once been set for us to live by. This doesn't mean we are free to do whatever we want to, this could take us back to leading a sinful life, but we are free to live unselfishly for the love of others. When we live by the golden rule and think of others and their needs our lives are much better and happier.
A friend sent me the following story; it shows how we can pass on a good deed.
What Goes Around Comes Around
He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.
He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire, but he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred-dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard....
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."
There is an old saying "What goes around comes around." Today, I'm sharing this story with you and asking you to remember that Christ paid the ultimate price for us and that we in turn need to do whatever we can to help those around us.
Christ has called us to love one another as we would love our self. Or like the Golden Rule says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If only everyone would live their lives this way this world would be a much better place.
Christ death did free us from the long list of rules that the Jews followed, but bound us to a life of following Him, His teachings and His way of treating others. This doesn't mean that we are to lay our life down and let everyone walk all over us, but that we are to live our life trying to help those who are in need that come into our lives. The Holy Spirit was sent to us to help us to live in this way.
The Holy Spirit will help us to stay away from sinful desires. The devil will still try to get in his word and try to get us to stumble and fall back into our sinful ways. When that happens, we need to tell him to go back to hell where he belongs and leave us alone. Then pray for the Holy Spirit to help us get back on the right track.
We are given the fruit of the spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we follow each of these we will easily follow the law that Christ has put before us.
Earlier we said together the 23rd Psalm. Here is a different way to look at this very familiar Psalm. This is an eye opener. Some probably never thought nor looked at this Psalm in this way, even though they say it over and over again.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my Shepherd - That's Relationship!
I shall not want - That's Supply!
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures - That's Rest!
He leadeth me beside the still waters - That's Refreshment!
He restoreth my soul - That's Healing!
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness - That's Guidance!
For His name sake - That's Purpose!
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death - That's Testing!
I will fear no evil - That's Protection!
For Thou art with me - That's Faithfulness!
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me - That's Discipline!
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies - That's Hope!
Thou anointest my head with oil - That's Consecration!
My cup runneth over - That's Abundance!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life - That's Blessing!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord - That's Security!
Forever - That's Eternity!
Together with the gift of the Holy Spirit and His promises that we receive in this Psalm we can lead a full and blessed life. Amen.
Amen.
1. Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.
©Jann Martin 2007
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7/1/2007 mfc