Life In The Spirit
Sermon
A Hope That Does Not Disappoint
Second Lesson Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost (First Third) Cycle C
According to one legend, at the signing of the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, one of the signers, the one with the biggest signature, is supposed to have said: "Gentlemen, we must be unanimous; we must all hang together."
After hearing this, Benjamin Franklin supposedly replied, "We must indeed all hang together -- or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
Whether or not that particular story is true, it still gives us insight into the minds and hearts of the founders of our country. It shows the great personal loss they and their families faced in committing themselves to the Declaration of Independence.
Independence Day is the day we in America celebrate the signing of that great article that set into motion the founding of this great country of ours -- a country based on freedom.
Freedom
Freedom is one of those words that we use almost without thinking. Although it is a small word, only containing seven letters, it is huge in its concept and meaning. It is more than just a word. It is a whole philosophy and way of life and a thought process that is all summed up in seven letters. Freedom is not just a word; it is a noble word. It is one of those words and concepts that is worth dying for. Unfortunately though, we all seem to have our own concept of what freedom is and isn't. Or maybe it would be more fair to say that we have our own interpretation of the word and concept.
For some, especially for those who seem to have enough of anything and everything that money can buy and a desire to protect it, freedom means: "Leave us alone."
For those who don't have enough and desire the opportunity to better themselves; freedom takes on new meaning. It means: "Give us a chance."
Then there are those who don't have enough and don't want the opportunity to better themselves; they just want anything and everything that money can buy. For them freedom means, "Give me what you've got." Freedom can be interpreted to mean all kinds of things.
Faith
Here in Galatians, Paul begins by talking about freedom. But as you read this passage you see that Paul is saying that true freedom comes from faith in Christ. Paul asserts that apart from Christ, we cannot really know true freedom. Paradoxically, freedom comes through giving oneself to Christ. Once we give ourselves to Christ, then we are called upon and empowered to live the Christian life. Here, Paul reminds us of both the Christian life, a "life in the Spirit," and its alternative, "life in the flesh."
He cautions us and says, "For freedom Christ has set us free" (5:1). And then he reminds us not to let our freedom become "an opportunity for self-indulgence" (5:13) by giving us this long list of attitudes and actions to avoid.
During an elementary camp one summer, one of the volunteers was leading a discussion on the purpose God had for everything God created. They began to find good reasons for clouds and trees and rocks and rivers and animals and just about everything else in nature. Finally, one of the children asked, "If God had a good reason for everything, then why did God create poison ivy?" The discussion leader sort of gulped and, as she struggled with a way to answer the question, one of the other children came to her rescue and said: "The reason God made poison ivy is because God wanted us to know there are certain things we should keep our cotton-pickin' hands off."
I think that's pretty much the reason for this list of the works of the flesh. Paul wants us "to know there are certain things we should keep our cotton-pickin' hands off."
Fruit
While the passage includes the things we should avoid, it is more concerned about faith and about "life in the Spirit." If we accept that "freedom comes from faith in Christ" then we must also accept that our faith does more than just bring freedom. Part of freedom and part of faith is bearing fruit.
Paul gives a list of the spiritual fruit we should bear. He says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Paul reminds us that this is not a list of fruit that we have to try to produce all by ourselves. Through our faith in Christ and living for Christ, we can have the guidance and the power of God's Holy Spirit to help us bear the fruit of the Spirit.
A couple of years ago some friends were in Mesa Verde, Colorado, on vacation, looking at the Pueblo Cliff Dwellings. In several spots you can look down into the valley. At one stop there was a drop of a couple of thousand feet. While looking down at that panoramic view, they noticed something near the valley floor. The telephoto lens showed there were a number of hawks or eagles flying with gentle flapping motions. All of a sudden there was a change. Catching one of the warm air currents rising off the valley floor, they stopped flapping their wings, and within just a minute or two these friends watched the eagles rise to where they were at least a hundred feet over their heads.
Those hawks or eagles could have flapped and flapped their way to that height, but they didn't need to, for they had caught a thermal! For me that is a great visual image of Isaiah 40:31, "God will raise you up on eagle's wings." And it's a great image of life in the Spirit. In a sense, those eagles or hawks trusted in God, for they trusted in what God had created and they were lifted up.
Sometimes we struggle with our faith. Sometimes we put out so much effort into trying to do the work of God that we never trust what God has created. One of the characteristics of a life in the Spirit is trusting in God's Holy Spirit as your guide. When we trust in the Spirit we can begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit.
Paul names the fruit of the Spirit. And just like any fruit, the best way to describe it, is to let you taste it. And the best way to let you taste the fruit of the Spirit is through a couple of stories.
Five-year-old Kyle showed his church what Christian action is all about during their annual Easter egg hunt. Andrew is only two but he wanted to be out there with all the other preschool children hunting for eggs. Andrew found one right off, but his little legs were so short that he couldn't keep up with the other preschoolers. Kyle noticed that Andrew wasn't finding any eggs and he began an act of selfless, Christ-like love. Kyle started running just a little ahead of Andrew and putting the eggs he had found down for Andrew to find. Children don't always get it right, but sometimes they are God's messengers sent so that we can hear the Word of God and see the risen Christ in fresh ways.
Andrew's eyes glowed with joy. And Kyle was an example of "love, joy, generosity and gentleness." Kyle lived a life in the spirit. A life that in one simple act bore much fruit.
Let me share one more. There was a young couple in a particular congregation who had three children, the youngest of whom was a three-year-old girl. At a family gathering this little girl wanted to say the blessing before the meal. Everyone bowed their heads and the little girl prayed. When she finished her prayer she turned to her mother and asked, "Do you think God liked that prayer, Mama?"
Mom, of course, said, "Yes!"
That prayer was probably received with hugs and kisses and a ton of delight from God. How could God not receive such an innocent and heartfelt prayer from anyone?
Paul tells us "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Despite her young age, that little girl lives a life in the spirit and bears much fruit.
And that's what we are called to do. We're called to live a life in the Spirit. You don't have to be a rocket scientist. You don't have to be perfect. You don't even have to be the best. You just have to have faith in Christ. You have to trust the guidance of God's Holy Spirit. And you have to spread your wings. But the Good News is that God will lift you up. And like those mentioned, you will bear much fruit.
In an old Dennis the Menace comic strip by Hank Ketchum that appeared on December 8, 1992, good old Mr. Wilson and his wife are standing at the front door. In the distance Dennis the Menace is waving good-bye. Mrs. Wilson says, "Alice says he was such a good baby." Mr. Wilson comments, "Obviously he got over it."
While that's very true of Dennis the Menace, it is also very true of each of us. We are born in the image of God, but somewhere along the line we experience our own fall. And we're never quite as good as God intended. But our faith in Christ changes all that. Christ gives us new life and freedom from the old life. Christ empowers us to be all that God created us to be. The Holy Spirit empowers us to bear much fruit as we live the freedom Christ has given us. "For freedom Christ has set us free," freedom to live a life in the Spirit. Accept that freedom and spread your wings.
After hearing this, Benjamin Franklin supposedly replied, "We must indeed all hang together -- or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
Whether or not that particular story is true, it still gives us insight into the minds and hearts of the founders of our country. It shows the great personal loss they and their families faced in committing themselves to the Declaration of Independence.
Independence Day is the day we in America celebrate the signing of that great article that set into motion the founding of this great country of ours -- a country based on freedom.
Freedom
Freedom is one of those words that we use almost without thinking. Although it is a small word, only containing seven letters, it is huge in its concept and meaning. It is more than just a word. It is a whole philosophy and way of life and a thought process that is all summed up in seven letters. Freedom is not just a word; it is a noble word. It is one of those words and concepts that is worth dying for. Unfortunately though, we all seem to have our own concept of what freedom is and isn't. Or maybe it would be more fair to say that we have our own interpretation of the word and concept.
For some, especially for those who seem to have enough of anything and everything that money can buy and a desire to protect it, freedom means: "Leave us alone."
For those who don't have enough and desire the opportunity to better themselves; freedom takes on new meaning. It means: "Give us a chance."
Then there are those who don't have enough and don't want the opportunity to better themselves; they just want anything and everything that money can buy. For them freedom means, "Give me what you've got." Freedom can be interpreted to mean all kinds of things.
Faith
Here in Galatians, Paul begins by talking about freedom. But as you read this passage you see that Paul is saying that true freedom comes from faith in Christ. Paul asserts that apart from Christ, we cannot really know true freedom. Paradoxically, freedom comes through giving oneself to Christ. Once we give ourselves to Christ, then we are called upon and empowered to live the Christian life. Here, Paul reminds us of both the Christian life, a "life in the Spirit," and its alternative, "life in the flesh."
He cautions us and says, "For freedom Christ has set us free" (5:1). And then he reminds us not to let our freedom become "an opportunity for self-indulgence" (5:13) by giving us this long list of attitudes and actions to avoid.
During an elementary camp one summer, one of the volunteers was leading a discussion on the purpose God had for everything God created. They began to find good reasons for clouds and trees and rocks and rivers and animals and just about everything else in nature. Finally, one of the children asked, "If God had a good reason for everything, then why did God create poison ivy?" The discussion leader sort of gulped and, as she struggled with a way to answer the question, one of the other children came to her rescue and said: "The reason God made poison ivy is because God wanted us to know there are certain things we should keep our cotton-pickin' hands off."
I think that's pretty much the reason for this list of the works of the flesh. Paul wants us "to know there are certain things we should keep our cotton-pickin' hands off."
Fruit
While the passage includes the things we should avoid, it is more concerned about faith and about "life in the Spirit." If we accept that "freedom comes from faith in Christ" then we must also accept that our faith does more than just bring freedom. Part of freedom and part of faith is bearing fruit.
Paul gives a list of the spiritual fruit we should bear. He says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Paul reminds us that this is not a list of fruit that we have to try to produce all by ourselves. Through our faith in Christ and living for Christ, we can have the guidance and the power of God's Holy Spirit to help us bear the fruit of the Spirit.
A couple of years ago some friends were in Mesa Verde, Colorado, on vacation, looking at the Pueblo Cliff Dwellings. In several spots you can look down into the valley. At one stop there was a drop of a couple of thousand feet. While looking down at that panoramic view, they noticed something near the valley floor. The telephoto lens showed there were a number of hawks or eagles flying with gentle flapping motions. All of a sudden there was a change. Catching one of the warm air currents rising off the valley floor, they stopped flapping their wings, and within just a minute or two these friends watched the eagles rise to where they were at least a hundred feet over their heads.
Those hawks or eagles could have flapped and flapped their way to that height, but they didn't need to, for they had caught a thermal! For me that is a great visual image of Isaiah 40:31, "God will raise you up on eagle's wings." And it's a great image of life in the Spirit. In a sense, those eagles or hawks trusted in God, for they trusted in what God had created and they were lifted up.
Sometimes we struggle with our faith. Sometimes we put out so much effort into trying to do the work of God that we never trust what God has created. One of the characteristics of a life in the Spirit is trusting in God's Holy Spirit as your guide. When we trust in the Spirit we can begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit.
Paul names the fruit of the Spirit. And just like any fruit, the best way to describe it, is to let you taste it. And the best way to let you taste the fruit of the Spirit is through a couple of stories.
Five-year-old Kyle showed his church what Christian action is all about during their annual Easter egg hunt. Andrew is only two but he wanted to be out there with all the other preschool children hunting for eggs. Andrew found one right off, but his little legs were so short that he couldn't keep up with the other preschoolers. Kyle noticed that Andrew wasn't finding any eggs and he began an act of selfless, Christ-like love. Kyle started running just a little ahead of Andrew and putting the eggs he had found down for Andrew to find. Children don't always get it right, but sometimes they are God's messengers sent so that we can hear the Word of God and see the risen Christ in fresh ways.
Andrew's eyes glowed with joy. And Kyle was an example of "love, joy, generosity and gentleness." Kyle lived a life in the spirit. A life that in one simple act bore much fruit.
Let me share one more. There was a young couple in a particular congregation who had three children, the youngest of whom was a three-year-old girl. At a family gathering this little girl wanted to say the blessing before the meal. Everyone bowed their heads and the little girl prayed. When she finished her prayer she turned to her mother and asked, "Do you think God liked that prayer, Mama?"
Mom, of course, said, "Yes!"
That prayer was probably received with hugs and kisses and a ton of delight from God. How could God not receive such an innocent and heartfelt prayer from anyone?
Paul tells us "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Despite her young age, that little girl lives a life in the spirit and bears much fruit.
And that's what we are called to do. We're called to live a life in the Spirit. You don't have to be a rocket scientist. You don't have to be perfect. You don't even have to be the best. You just have to have faith in Christ. You have to trust the guidance of God's Holy Spirit. And you have to spread your wings. But the Good News is that God will lift you up. And like those mentioned, you will bear much fruit.
In an old Dennis the Menace comic strip by Hank Ketchum that appeared on December 8, 1992, good old Mr. Wilson and his wife are standing at the front door. In the distance Dennis the Menace is waving good-bye. Mrs. Wilson says, "Alice says he was such a good baby." Mr. Wilson comments, "Obviously he got over it."
While that's very true of Dennis the Menace, it is also very true of each of us. We are born in the image of God, but somewhere along the line we experience our own fall. And we're never quite as good as God intended. But our faith in Christ changes all that. Christ gives us new life and freedom from the old life. Christ empowers us to be all that God created us to be. The Holy Spirit empowers us to bear much fruit as we live the freedom Christ has given us. "For freedom Christ has set us free," freedom to live a life in the Spirit. Accept that freedom and spread your wings.
