08 Sep 2024
The works of the flesh are evidently sinful and destructive. And those who habitually practice them show they do not belong to the Kingdom of God. The true believer instead lives differently. A true believer is one who has made a decisive break from the dominion of the flesh, in order that he will submit to the Lordship of Jesus. When he now walks by the Spirit, fruit is borne in his life. This fruit marks him as a child of God. So what is this fruit? How is this borne in one's life? How is this different from the works of the flesh? The answers can be found in this message here.
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Let's look at Galatians chapter 5. We are on this journey through this book. We're coming to an end and after Galatians we would go to an Old Testament book, the book of Numbers. So that will be in a few weeks' time.
Galatians chapter 5, we last stopped at how uh, Paul kind of hints of a severe division in a church whereby the people there are biting and devouring one another. The only way they can really overcome this strife and divisions, according to Paul, is if the people understand what it means to walk by the Spirit. To live in the realm of the Spirit and not in the old existence of the flesh. He says if you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
The golden question is how can you and I walk by the Spirit? Many of you may still wonder how do you actually do it? Is it a mantra I recite? Is it something I drink in? Is it some place I need to go to? Or is there some button on your keyboard that you need to press? My suggestion for you is really found in two words. It's like a two pin plug. To plug into the power of the Spirit, you need to trust and obey.
We sang that song, Trust and Obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Life in the Spirit must be lived in dependence and obedience. In other words, life in the Spirit is committing in yourself saying, I will not gratify the desires of the flesh but I want to pursue what the Spirit desires. And what the Spirit desires is loving service to one another.
But I can't do that in my own strength. I want to obey the Spirit but I can't obey the Spirit in my own strength because I will fail. So I need not only to obey, I need to trust. I need to trust that it is far better to obey the Spirit than to fulfil the desires of the flesh. And I like, I need to depend on the Spirit in me to live that kind of a life.
So we talked about the A, B, C, Ds, isn't it? To acknowledge I can't do it, to believe that the Spirit in me can, to call upon Him for help and to act in service to just do it. So that's all under the aspect of trust. So we need to trust and obey.
So I gave you some examples last week. If we live life in the flesh, all our balloons will fall to the ground. The only way your life can be held up in holiness is if the Spirit fills your life. We also talked about the illustration of the glove. The glove cannot be educated to ministry. The glove cannot be manipulated to ministry. The only way the glove can be useful is when the hand fills the glove. And the only way your life can be useful is when the Holy Spirit fills your life. So these are the examples we looked at last week.
Today we look, we will look at another illustration. This is a botanical metaphor from Paul because he says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, so on and so forth. So today we're going to look at the fruit of the Spirit in these eight verses or so.
Now you're going to recognize a pattern in these verses. He's going to talk about the, the flesh, then he's going to talk about the Spirit, he's going to talk about the flesh, and then he's going to come back to the Spirit. That's the pattern to just navigate you as you go through these verses.
1. The Caution
The first thing I'd like us to take note of is the caution that Paul gives. And this is a caution against the works of the flesh. In verse 19 he says, now the works of the flesh are evident. If you are allowing the flesh, the old, sinful, self-oriented nature of man inherited from Adam, if you let that manifest itself, it's very clear, it's very obvious. You don't have to be a theologian. You don't have to be having extraordinary discernment. It is very easy to see it's evident.
And there are 15 characteristics mentioned there. And I think the best way is to look at them in four groups. The first group is sexual sins. Sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality. Now sexual immorality refers to all kinds of sexual sins. Impurity has the nuance of emphasising the filthiness or the uncleanliness of it. The word sensuality speaks about how it is without restraint. But these three words refer to sexual sins. If you live in the flesh, you commit all kinds of sexual sins. It's obvious.
Not only sexual sins, but there will be superstitious sins. Second category, idolatry and sorcery. And idolatry does not only refer to statues or images. Anything that replaces God in your heart is a kind of idolatry, such as covetousness, Paul would say elsewhere.
The third category, maybe the largest category, because he talks a lot about it here, giving all kinds of social sins. So we are going by the letter S. Sexual sins, superstitious sins, social sins. Sins that cause divisions and strife and fractures amongst God's people.
And the last category would be what I call the sensual sins. Sins for the pleasures of the flesh, drunkenness, orgies, parties, sexual immoralities. He categorises them as such. But in case you think this is all there is to the flesh, Paul says no. It's not a complete list. It's not exhaustive because he says in the next phrase, and things like these. So the flesh, the old sinful nature that we get from Adam and Eve is very obvious. This is what man will do on his own. It's automatic. That's how you and I live. Now, not all of you would live in all kinds of sins here, but if you're honest with yourself, surely this must have been your life, at least before you came to Christ.
Paul now gives that warning. This is obvious, but his warning is, I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Now this is like a bombshell moment. I warn you, as I've warned you before, that if you do such things, you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. That is absolutely scary when we read it in the first pass. Because even after you become a Christian, as we have often said, you are not perfect. You are still under construction. You are still having a struggle with the flesh. And therefore, Christians do commit sin.
But Paul says if you do these things, if you have watched pornography, if you have had envy against your neighbour, if you were angry against someone, you will not inherit. Now that's very scary. So Paul is saying, I warn you Jason, Jason if you do these things, it doesn't matter if you are a pastor, it doesn't matter if you're known as a preacher, you will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Now, is that really what Paul is saying, that one strike and you are out? Probably not. The word do, in the Greek is the word prasso, which means to practice or to perform repeatedly or habitually. It's a different word from another do word in the Greek that refers to one singular act. Moreover, this is in the present tense in the Greek. So I think Paul is simply saying if you are in the habit and the regular pattern of doing these things, practicing these things, if that is your way of life, then you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. You will not be part of the kingdom. You will not receive forgiveness and eternal life.
So his point, I think, is not saying that you will lose your salvation when you commit such sins, but he's saying that when you habitually practice such sins, you prove yourself that you never had salvation in the first place. So let me say that again. Paul is not saying in this verse that they lose their salvation if they do fall into such sins, but that they prove that they were never saved in the first place.
Example, if you today walk out of the building and you're crossing the road and you kind of get near a mud puddle and you stumble and you fall and you get all dirty, you're muddy. What do you do? Well, I'm sure you'll be deeply uncomfortable and you may come back to the building and have a shower and a change of clothes because you don't want to be dirty. You will bathe, you will change.
But suppose we get a pig and we let the pig out. The pig absolutely revels in the mud. Never mind. We bring the pig back and we bathe the pig. Put all kinds of perfume, cologne on the pig, smell nice, clean. And you release the pig. What will the pig do? It will go straight back to the mud. You see, that's the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. I'm not trying to insult any non-Christians here because I was a non-Christian and I lived life in the flesh, but you can tell the difference by their behaviours.
A man may occasionally fall into mud, but he wants to get out and that is not his habit or pattern. But a pig who does not have the nature of man just loves the mud. And no matter how you clean him on the outside, he goes back to the mud. That's his pattern of life. So Paul is saying here, if this is your habitual life, you like to roll in the mud all the time, that, that, that goes to show you never was born again. You don't have the work of the Spirit, you don't have Christ in your life, therefore you were never really justified, you were never forgiven of your sins because you never believed in the first place.
So, this is a caution against the works of the flesh because if you continuously, habitually, repeatedly indulge and gratify the flesh, it just goes to show you were never saved in the first place and this is a severe warning, a threat.
2. Commendation
I said flesh, Spirit, flesh, Spirit. So let's go to the Spirit. Paul now goes to the commendation of the fruit of the Spirit. If the previous list was a vice list, the next list is a virtue list. It's all about the good stuff. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and so on and so forth. There is a song that the children ministry sing. The fruit of the Spirit is not a coconut. The fruit of the Spirit is not a banana. I don't know how to sing. It's very complicated to sing. It's very difficult to sing. I don't know how they sing. So I'm not going to demonstrate it at all.
But the song, I think at the end of the day does help because you can remember all the nine characteristics after singing it many times. There are seven things I'd like us to take note of. Seven principles. Now, we're not going through every single quality. I'd like us to look at the principles instead. There are seven principles I think we need to understand with regards to the fruit of the Spirit. And they all end with O-O-O. So it's quite easy.
Single
Number one, the fruit of the Spirit is single. It's one, it's singular. In English, when we use the word fruit, sometimes you can't tell whether it is singular or plural, right? It's like sheep. You don't have sheeps. Salah English, alright, PSLE, you will not score a mark. So it's fruit and it refers to singular or plural, we can't quite tell in English. But in the Greek, this is written in the singular form. So the fruit of the Spirit is one.
Now, you say, what then is the fruit of the Spirit if it's one thing? Because it seems to be nine things. What is one thing? Singular, emphatic. There are two ways people explain how it can be singular when it seems to be nine things. Number one, they say the fruit of the Spirit is a fruit of the Spirit. You can't quite give it another name. The fruit of the Spirit is a fruit of the Spirit and it involves all these nine traits. That's one explanation.
Another explanation is that the fruit of the Spirit is love. And the rest of the eight are the expressions or the outflow of love. I don't think you can be dogmatic on either position, but I think I would lean towards the second explanation whereby the fruit of the Spirit is love. And the rest of the characteristics speak about the evidence of love or the results that flow out of love.
The reason why I go there, the second explanation is context. Because Paul, in Galatians 5 has been speaking about love quite a bit. Chapter 5 verse 6, faith working through love. Chapter 5 verse 13, through love serve one another. And chapter 5 verse 14, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And therefore, I think it makes sense that the fruit of the Spirit is singular love and the subsequent words describe the effects of love. But like I said, I won't quibble over you if you explain it to be the fruit of the Spirit as nine characteristics. As long as you know it's one thing.
Gradual
Second thing I'd like us to note is that the fruit of the Spirit is gradual. The botanical metaphor tells of a gradual process. You see, fruit does not come all of a sudden. It takes time. This is in contrast with the works of the flesh. The works of the flesh doesn't need a long time. You can get angry at a moment's, at a moment's time. Just out of a fit of fury, you can blow up at someone. But the fruit of the Spirit does not develop overnight. It takes time. And therefore, as Christians, we are all under construction. It takes time to grow spiritually, to be like Jesus.
Symmetrical
The third thing I'd like us to note from this botanical metaphor is that this is symmetrical. What do you mean by symmetrical? Symmetrical means if it is really love, then all these attributes come together. You are not really living a life of love if you are joyful but you lack self-control. You're not really manifesting love if you are faithful but you're not gentle. It comes together, you see. It's symmetrical. You can't have an orange if it is growing but it is not orange. It turns purple. That's not orange. You say later then it turns purple, turns orange. No, it grows symmetrically.
So the fruit of the Spirit is symmetrical. Now this, again, is in contrast with the works of the flesh. The works of the flesh can manifest itself in different ways. Some of us, we struggle with sexual temptations. Some of us, we struggle with social temptations. Some of us, we struggle with sensual temptations. But it does not need to all come together at once. The fruit of the Spirit, symmetrical.
Total
The next thing is that the fruit of the Spirit is total. It is not just the outward actions but it governs the inward thoughts and motivations as well. Internal, external, that's why I call it total.
Inevitable
Number four, the fruit of the Spirit I think is inevitable. If you are a Christian, I think that's the implication in the earlier verse, verse 21. If you are a Christian, it cannot be that your whole life is filled with the works of the flesh only. It is inevitable that those who are in Christ will manifest the fruit of the Spirit. A durian tree will produce durians, it's inevitable.
Irreproachable
Number six is that the fruit of the Spirit, being love, is irreproachable. You will not guess this unless you see the next phrase, against such things there is no law. And this I think is best understood in the context of Galatians 5 so far where Paul says, if you are living life in the Spirit, you are no more under the law. If you are living life in the Spirit, love, it is the fulfilling of the law.
So the point here is, against such things there is no law means that if you are living a life of love, you fulfil the law and there is no condemnation from the law with regards to your loving life. That's what it means. So a life of love fulfills the law. You will not be condemned. You are not under its condemnation. It's irreproachable. You get that? Alright.
Supernatural
The last one you guess. Love God. Lovable. A good guess lah but yah, yah, you still fulfil the uh uh uh thing. Lovable. Can, can. It works but not quite the answer. This last characteristic is the most important and maybe the most obvious. I saved the best for you. Very good, Mary, Supernatural. Wah, your grandson, is it? I know ah, he looked back, is it? Hah, hah, hah, hah, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Yes, it is supernatural.
Why? Because the fruit, this, this love is not your credit. It is the fruit of the Spirit. You see, we have no power in and of ourselves to love. We don't. You may love your son. You may love those who are lovely but to love your enemy, whoa, that does not come from me. That has to be the fruit of the Spirit. To unconditionally sacrifice yourself for his or her benefit, well that is supernatural.
Now that does not mean that as Christians we are passive, we chobo, there's nothing we need to do. No, you must remember how Paul has been speaking about walking by the Spirit and as you have read, keep in step with the Spirit. So that is what we need to do, to connect with the Spirit by trusting and obeying. But as we do so, then He produces the fruit of love in our lives. And that is amazing, isn't it? That in you, each and every one of us who is a Christian, we have all the potential and power to live a life that is beautiful as such.
Just a simple illustration, I was in US, in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia some eight years ago, was visiting Perimeter Church who kind of helped us, discipled us in what it means to disciple others in life on life missional discipleship. And we were there for two and a half weeks. There were times given to us to reflect, to pray, to seek God on our own. And so, yah, one of the times was I got out of the building just to take a look at the facade, just to look at surroundings and um, I, I, I can't help but enjoy the trees, the tall pine trees there. Not something we have here.
And as you walk around, you will see plenty of acorns. And in these little acorns is the potential, all the potential to grow majestic tall trees. It's all there. And in that one acorn is the potential to have all these beautiful majestic trees all around the world. It's all there.
And if you think about your life, you have all the potential to be beautiful, living a life of love, of joy, of peace, of patience, of kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, self-control. I'm not like this, you say. Hey, but there is every potential in you because the Holy Spirit lives in you and the fruit of the Spirit, that one fruit, gradually, symmetrically, in a total sense, inevitable sense, irreproachably would bring forth these beautiful traits supernaturally. That's what Paul is talking about. It's really great to walk in the Spirit. You will not live those vice lists, but you will live out that virtue list.
3. Crucifixion
We said, flesh, Spirit, flesh, Spirit. Paul now swings back to the flesh and he talks about the crucifixion of the flesh when he says, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Now, this is a little bit difficult because we ask ourselves, when did we crucify the flesh? I did not go to any cross. I did not go to Jerusalem. I did not go to any hospital. So when did Christians, when do Christians, when do people who belong, people who believe in Jesus Christ crucify the flesh with its passions and desires? I think the point Paul is making is you are no longer under the rule of the flesh. That's what I think he means when you said, when he says, crucify the flesh so that you may now walk by the Spirit.
So I think the crucifixion of the flesh is something you do. It's in an active form, something you do, not passive. And this is something that you do once for all. It's in the aorist tense, it's in the, if I may say, the past tense of our English. It's not something you do every day, but something you did. You have crucified the flesh. When did you do that? I think the best way to explain this is when we first came to Christ.
When we first believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Believing in Jesus is not just you raising your hand, walking down the aisle and just muttering some words. Believing in Jesus is actually having a total reorientation of life where you say to yourself, I'm done with sin. I'm done with disobedience against God. I'm, I'm done with rebellion, that's repentance. I'm done with this sinful life and I now want to have Jesus as my King.
So you are saying to yourself, no more under the rule and dominion of the flesh. Jesus is my King. You're saying no to the flesh, you're saying yes to Jesus. That I think is what Paul meant. If you belong to Christ, you made that decision to say no to the flesh, to say no to its dominion, to say no to its rule.
Now, there will still be that tug in your heart every single day since. Because the flesh nature still lives in us, but you don't have to and you won't want to be under its rule and dominion anymore. You want Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour. I think that's what Paul means. I think he refers to that crucifixion with Christ in Galatians 2:20 and I think that's linked therefore to the point of salvation.
This I think is best illustrated in a man's life called Augustine, not the Augustine in our church. There is an Augustine in our church. But this is the Augustine not of Gospel Light, but the Augustine of Hippo. He lived some 1,500 years ago. Very well known Christian by the way, early church Christian. And it was said that Augustine, you have different pictures of him nowadays, Augustine when he was young was a very sinful man. All kinds of sexual sins, perversions, adulteries, but there came a point of time in his life where he learned about Jesus and repented and believed in Christ. And he decided to live a life following Christ and not for sin.
One day as he was walking in a market, a lady called out to him, Augustine, Augustine, stop! As he was walking away, stop, it's me! This lady was one of the many women he had slept with earlier on. Augustine recognized that voice, but he continued to walk. And so the lady shouted even louder, Augustine, Augustine, stop, stop, it's me! To which Augustine then said, I must not stop, for it is not me. I am a new creature in Christ and crucified with Christ, I will obey Christ and not my sinful desires. I think that's what it means, that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. I'm not going to be ruled by the flesh anymore.
Flesh, Spirit, flesh, Spirit. So Paul now swings back to the Spirit and I think he talks about the commitment to keep in step with the Spirit. For he says, if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Now the first phrase, if we live by the Spirit, is in the indicative mood. In the Greek, it simply means it's a mood that conveys certainty or reality. It is a fact. So that's what he's saying. It's not the same as an imperative where it is Paul saying to you, do this as a command.
So the indicative is a fact. Since or if you live by the Spirit, now he gives you the command. Now he gives you the imperative. Let, O sorry, let me just say that living by the Spirit is consistent with what he's been speaking of earlier on. Hearing by faith, receiving the Spirit, begun by the Spirit. This is all in the indicative, but now the imperative is keep in step with the Spirit.
4. Commitment
So since you have life in the Spirit, make sure you keep in step with the Spirit. This is in the imperative mood. This is a command. This is what you need to do. The word keep in step in the Greek is just one word, it's the word stoicheo, uh quite similar to the word stoichea which we learned earlier, but it's totally different. The word stoicheo means to march in rank or to keep in file. Like in NDP parade, the soldiers marching, they make, they have to make sure they keep a straight line.
So I think to keep in step with the Spirit means to walk in alignment with the Spirit, to obey the Spirit, to trust the Spirit, to live life in the Spirit. And the obvious implication is if you live life in the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Now, this morning, someone asked me, do you have more demonstrations? Since the past two Sundays, we have quite a few demonstrations. So I say, okay, I cannot disappoint you, I'll, I'll whip out something. Now, I was prepared earlier, but let me try to illustrate this. Please don't expect every week got a demonstration, but perhaps this might be helpful and so here we go.
So today, I don't need volunteer. I'll do it myself. Alright, so we have two glasses here, and let's fill the glasses with water. I think this water should be clean, so let me try. This represents Adam and Eve's nature when God created them. It is pure, it is clean, it is serviceable, it is good. But after Adam and Eve fell into sin, their nature immediately got corrupted. It got destroyed. It got depraved. It got twisted. It got ugly and smelly and filthy.
So let me demonstrate that by pouring some stuff. Don't ask me what these things are. I was just given it. Now, you can't quite smell it, but I can. This is gross, right? This is gross, this is smelly, this is yucky. Can I have a volunteer? I guess this morning no one's going to come here. But this is what happens to us when we sin against God. When Adam and Eve sinned, it all turned bad and is rotten. It is not serviceable. It is smelly.
The question now is how do you clean this stuff so that you can drink once again? Well, I think the best way, let me try, is to fill it with what is clean. And maybe this is not enough. This is heavy, but okay. Is this clean? Come, one volunteer. It is clean. I think the point I'm trying to make is what Paul is saying here. If we live life in the Spirit, if we keep in step with the Spirit, if the Spirit fills your life, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
There's one last cool thing I'd like us to see in this text, and I think it's really cool. I'm not sure if you find, find it cool at the end of the day, but I, I, I, I thought it's really cool and let me show it to you. Paul begins this section in verse 13 saying, don't use your liberty as a license for sin. Instead, through love, serve one another.
He goes on to tell us, that the early church in Galatia actually was not doing this. Instead, they were biting and devouring one another. So he commands them to walk by the Spirit. Then you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. And as you walk by the Spirit and not gratify the desires of the flesh, but love and serve one another, you are fulfilling the law. Because love is the fulfilling of the law and you are not under the condemnation of the law.
Now the works of the flesh, as we learn today, are evident, are clear, are obvious. And if you are someone who is regularly practising these works of the flesh, you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. You follow the logic so far? But this is not the cool part. The cool part is how genius Paul was when he wrote these things. He wrote it with a perfect symmetry in mind. Because as we go back down, on the flip side of the works of the flesh, we were saying flesh, Spirit, flesh, Spirit.
There is a reason. Because on the flip side of it, he is going to talk about the fruit of the Spirit. You are going to see a parallel or comparison of the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. If you go further down, you are going to see under the law and against such things, there is no law.
And if you go back further, you'll see not gratify the desires of the flesh will be a parallel with crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. Again a parallel. And if you see walk by the Spirit, it has keep in step with the Spirit. They are parallels. And you bite and devour one another, so now you should not be conceited, provoking and envying one another. They are again parallels. Through love serve one another and chapter 6 verse 1 onward talks about how you are to restore and provide and so on and so forth. So what do we call this? Chiasm. A mirror image.
And I think it's a brilliant, hidden literary device if you do not read it over and over and over again. There is a pattern there and it is all coming to this focal point. Those who are part of the Kingdom will be people who will walk in the Spirit and demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. And those who are not part of the Kingdom will be filled with works of the flesh. And so you can tell who are genuinely God's and who are not. Be warned as I warned you before. That is the emphasis of Paul.
So with this, I'd like us to then end with these seven statements. I know you are not going to remember them at all, but perhaps in your care groups you can discuss them. I'm, I'm, I'm thankful many of our care groups right now discuss the sermons and I think it's useful because it allows you to listen a bit more attentively and allows you to think about how to apply that in your life. There's a place, there's a people for you to process the Word of God so that it's not just coming here and leaving there the next moment. But you dwell upon them. You think upon them and you choose to act upon them.
So we learn, number one, that the Christian life is not to be lived in legalism, which is obeying the law in our own strength to earn justification. Neither is our life to be lived in licentiousness, indulging in the desires of the flesh. But we are, to have this freedom to serve and love one another in the power of the Spirit.
Number two, love builds up but the flesh destroys. So in your CG, in our church, what is happening in the dynamics? Is there a tearing down dynamic or is there a building up dynamic?
Number three, in order to live life in the Spirit, we need to walk and keep in step with the Spirit.
Only then will you not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Love is the fulfilling of the law and the works of the flesh.
And the fruit of the Spirit are both very obvious, evident, clear, and they are indicators of Kingdom citizenship.
Now, there are many things to talk about. I, I, I don't have the time to unpack all of that. But in your care group, I think it would be great if we ask one another, how would you categorize your life today? Legalistic, licentious, or love? The reality is none of us is going to live purely in any one realm and we need one another to provoke one another to love and the good works, to encourage, to warn, to exalt.
Perhaps in your care group, you can talk about how we can build up one another and not be biting and devouring one another. Perhaps in your care group, you can talk about what it takes, what it means, and how can you and I be more consistently keeping in step with the Spirit. Or maybe in your care group, there are people who need to be warned. Because there are some here who may assume that because you're coming to church, you're already a Christian. But your life is a continuous, habitual pattern of sin.
I'm not trying to fault you. I'm saying that if you live your entire life having this wrong assumption, you will not be ready to meet the Lord. But today you can. If you were to admit that perhaps you were never a believer, you were never repentant but you want to be today, this might be a great day of salvation for you. And that's what we hope for. Not to condemn anyone, but to ensure as best as we can, none will be slipping into the passage of hell because of a careless presumption. God is merciful and you can turn from sin and self-reliance to Jesus Christ today.
Let's bow for a word of prayer together. Father, we thank You for Your Word and we thank You that the Christian life is not just a profession on our lips, but that there is a life-changing relationship with Jesus. So for those who have yet to enter into that life, I pray that You will humble them and draw them to Jesus Christ by faith.
Dear Lord, we pray also for our church because the flesh is always raring to rear its ugly head. Help us to be vigilant, to be careful, to keep in step with Your Spirit. Thank You for Paul and what he gave us in the Scriptures. Once again, help us not just to be hearers, but be doers as well. We thank You and ask all this in Jesus' Name, Amen.
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