If We Live by the Spirit Let Us Follow the Spirit

Children, I'm very thankful that you take the habit of trying to speak God's word and memorize it if you can, but even just to speak it. I really believe that when you grow up older and move on to whatever the Lord calls you in your life, you will look back on these Sundays and the way you memorize scripture and you'll be thankful for it. You don't have to thank us.

You can if you'd like, but it's good to have an attitude of Thanksgiving, like our verse this week says. But thank God for his word. Thank God that he gave you a mind that can know his word.

And I hope you'll continue to do that. The reason we want you to develop the habit of memorizing scripture or even just speaking it, if you find it hard to memorize it, that's fine. Just speak it.

The reason we believe it's important is because it will benefit you in the long run. Down the road, you will need these verses. You'll be in a moment where you don't know what to do or you're facing some uncertainty.

And one of these verses will come alive to you and will become faith in you. And I had the privilege of we didn't do it exactly the same way, but I had the privilege of growing up in a home and in a church where we were taught God's word and we were taught to memorize it. And many of your parents, though, may not have.

Many of the adults here may not have had the privilege of growing up in such a home, but they probably wish they did. And so, children, don't take it for granted. I hope you never take it for granted.

It's a privilege that you have God's word in your language, that you have a Bible in your hand that you can read and on your phone. Any moment of the day, you can find access to a Bible. It wasn't always like that.

For 1500 years, there was no Bibles, printed Bibles. If you wanted to hear God's word, you came to certain places where people read it, a few copies of it here, hand transcribed. We live in a day and age where there's more Bibles than there has ever been.

And I want to say there probably is less knowledge of God than there has ever been. I think so. There's more Bibles, but less knowledge of God.

And I'm not saying I say that even looking at my own life for many years because we didn't value his word. So I hope we all value his word. And children, I want to say this also, especially for you.

Sometimes reading the Bible can be intimidating because it was for me when I was a child. And it's less so now as I've grown up, but I would always just get intimidated because one, two things. One, I would try to keep on a plan, usually starting on January 1st.

I don't even think I made it through one month to the end of January on that plan. When I was a child, I tried and then I would give up. I would get discouraged and it would just be like I would fall behind.

And then I'd have to catch up. And now in three, four days worth of reading and I don't have time and I'd get discouraged and I'd give up. And so if you can use a plan, that's great.

But less important than a plan is that you read something. Even one line or a verse, even the memory verse that you have for this week. Every now and then if you have a chance at home, open your Bible and turn to that.

For us it's Colossians 4 verse 2 or whatever your memory verse is for this week. Just open your Bible and turn to it and read it. Even if you just read that one verse, the same verse every day this week, I think you'll have a tremendous week.

Doesn't have to be a full chapter or a full book or anything like that. Even that one verse, if you read it every day this week, the same verse every day this week, I think it'll be a start. And you'll see a difference in your life.

Because God is not a God of quantity. He goes by the heart. And if your heart is hungry and sincere, you'll receive from God.

The verse that the primary class memorized. You know there is a connection between humility and praise. It's in that verse, Psalm 34 verse 2. My soul will make her boast in the Lord.

And who is it that will rejoice and want to sing? The humble, the proud will sit there and just watch the others sing. And that's what goes on in many churches. You sit there and you watch the band because they're such good musicians and such good singers.

And everything is tight and all that. And the proud people. But the humble, they make their boast in the Lord.

And the reason they want to sing is not because they sound so good. But because they want to boast in their Lord. They're so humble that they want to boast in their Lord.

The humble will hear it and rejoice. So one of the marks of humility is that you want to boast in God. And sing about His name and praise Him.

And you're not so self-conscious that you're worried about who will hear you singing so loudly. The proud will sing in proper fashion and everything will be nice and orderly. And don't sing too loud and all that.

The humble will rejoice in the Lord. We've been hearing a lot about the Holy Spirit. And I want to continue speaking about the Holy Spirit.

One of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit you read in Revelation chapter 4. If you'll turn there with me please. Revelation chapter 4. I keep a finger there. Actually let's go to the last page of the Bible.

Revelation chapter 22. Revelation 22 verse 17 says, The Spirit says come. One of the marks of the Holy Spirit is that He's an inviting Spirit.

He says come. And you read in that verse also that the Bride of Christ joins in that call. The Spirit and the Bride say come.

Because the Bride is those who have been filled with the Spirit of God. And so the Spirit calls out, come, come. And the Bride says, yes I'm hearing that call.

And I'm also joining the Spirit. And that's our call, come, come to Christ. Come closer to Him.

And the Spirit and the Bride say come. And so let anyone who hears also say, come. And let the one who is thirsty come.

Let the one who wishes take of the water of life without cost. And come where? That I was going to show you in Revelation chapter 4. You see that the Spirit of God invites John. Revelation chapter 4. After He sees the condition of churches on the earth.

All those seven churches in chapters 2 and 3. The Spirit says to John, John come. Come up higher. Come up here.

Revelation chapter 4 verse 1. He heard this voice saying, come up here. That's the call of the Holy Spirit. If you seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, it will always be a call to come up higher than your current condition.

And that's why we must constantly be seeking for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Because the call, if you were filled with the Holy Spirit yesterday, there is a call of the Holy Spirit today that's new, that's fresh, that's higher than what you had yesterday. And so if somebody was to ask you, when were you filled with the Holy Spirit? The correct, only correct answer is right now.

There's no, oh yeah, 1995 or 2011 or something like that. Sure, maybe that's when you were first filled with the Holy Spirit. Maybe that's when you first heard about the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit first came and baptized you afresh.

I'm sure Peter and John and James and all could remember the day, the day of Pentecost on that particular year or whatever it was. But the correct answer, if you asked any one of them was, when were you filled with the Holy Spirit? You would say right now, this morning or just now, God has filled me and he's filling me. And that constant call to come up higher, the call of the Holy Spirit is always to come up higher.

A memory verse for this week was Galatians 3, 13 and 14. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. A lot of people know the first part of that.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. You'll hear a lot of people talk about the law and the curse of the law and how Christ redeemed us from that. But not as many people know the consequence of that.

Let's turn there actually to Galatians 3 and look at that, just those two verses that we memorized. As you know, we shorten some of these verses not to take away from it or anything, but simply to give us the essence of the passage to know how to memorize and to know where the reference is so that we can look at it. And as we always say, once you memorize it, go and look at the whole thing.

And somebody once asked us, hey, why do you not have the children memorize the whole verse? Why do you only take a small portion of it? Well, it's just so that they can memorize it, so that they're not intimidated by it. And they were, I think, were a little upset that we were taken away from not memorizing the whole verse. And my response was, well, the verse is just put by man.

If you want to memorize the whole verse, well, why not the whole chapter? Why not the whole book? Why not the whole Bible? So we're all memorizing portions of the whole counsel of God. And the point of memorization is not so we can boast in it. There are some people who brag about how they can, you know, memorize entire chapters, memorize entire passages of scripture.

If God gives you the mental ability to do that, that's wonderful. For most of us, God hasn't given us that mental ability. So memorize as much as you can.

But more importantly, meditate on it. And if you memorize enough that you can meditate on, you'll get more out of it than somebody else that memorizes a whole chapter, but isn't getting the essence of it. So here's the whole thing.

Christ redeemed us, Galatians 3 verse 13, from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, in order that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles. And then he tells us what was the blessing of Abraham, that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. And if you only got the first part, which is Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, but didn't get the promise of the Spirit through faith, then you're really probably still under the law.

And a lot of people speak about being saved from the old covenant, and being redeemed from the old covenant. What they really mean is, I used to be in an old covenant church, where I had to do this, and I had to do that, or I had to wear these kinds of clothes, or I had to only do these things, and we weren't allowed to have TV, or we weren't allowed to go play sports, or all that. And they think that's old covenant.

Thank God that I'm not in that church anymore, they say. And now I have the freedom to do whatever. But they haven't been redeemed from the curse of the law, and received the promise of the Spirit through faith.

So if you came out of the old covenant, if you thought you were redeemed from the curse of the law, but you didn't come into the life of the promise of the Spirit through faith, guess what? You have to be back under the law then. There is no in-between. There is no in-between between the old covenant life, and the life full of the Holy Spirit.

Which means, if you're not living a life full of the Holy Spirit, you're still under the law, whether you realize it or not. Christ redeemed you from the curse of the law, so that you would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. And so brothers and sisters, let's, and children, let's press into this promise of the Spirit through faith.

Later on in Galatians, Galatians chapter 5, he says this, Galatians 5 verse 13, For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom. You were called to freedom, it's the same thing. Christ redeemed you from the curse of the law, so that you might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

That promise of the Spirit through faith is a life of freedom. You were called to freedom, brethren, but don't turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. That's this in-between that the flesh wants to sit.

So, having redeemed from the curse of the law by Christ, if you don't enter into this life of the promise of the Spirit through faith, which is through freedom, freedom from sin, the flesh wants to sit in some place where it's not under the law, but doesn't come to being freed from the law of sin and death, freedom in Christ. The flesh still wants to survive. The flesh still wants to reign.

The flesh still wants to be allowed to continue to reign, and that's why it tries to find this in-between, and then, really, you're back under the law. Then the law is still applicable to you, because you haven't come into this life of freedom. Don't use your freedom.

Don't use the fact that Christ redeemed you and set you free to now give opportunity for the flesh to do whatever it wants. That's what happens to a lot of people who come out of old covenant churches or old covenant mindsets. They think, oh, thank God, I'm set free from that old covenant freedom in Christ, but now it turns into a freedom for the flesh to do whatever they want.

And now they can dress immodestly, because, oh, I was part of that old dead denomination where they emphasized modesty, and it had to be this kind of clothes, and it had to be homemade, and all these things. So now I'm set free, so I can dress however I want. You see exactly what Paul warned the church in Galatia about? Don't turn the fact that Christ redeemed you from the law into a freedom to do whatever you want.

There's no such thing. You're back under the law then, whether you realize it or not. You might live like you're not under the law, but you're still under the law, because your flesh is still alive.

And so we'll continue reading there. Verse 14, For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Let's go down to verse 16.

I say, so here's this life of freedom that Christ has given us. I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

For these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. So if you do want to come into this life of freedom, the promise through Christ, the promise of the Spirit through faith, then you will find that there's a battle. Olu just reminded us about this.

There's a battle going on. Under the law, you were under condemnation. Maybe before you knew about Christ, you just did whatever you want.

You lived, and you sinned, and you didn't think anything of it. You sinned freely, because your conscience wasn't awakened. But now your conscience was awakened, and you started to find a prick in your conscience, saying, no, I can't do that.

I can't look with lust that way. I can't use my tongue that way. I can't be jealous.

I can't be unforgiving. And God, Christ set you free from the curse of the law, and gave you the promise of the Spirit through faith. But once you enter into this new kingdom, this new covenant as it were, you'll find there's a battle.

And the battle is against you. The Spirit wars against the flesh. The reason this is on my mind, brothers and sisters, I'll give it as a bit of testimony, is because I've been meditating on how even as I seek for the power of the Holy Spirit, a continual filling of the Holy Spirit, I've come to see that what I was expecting perhaps, was some experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, where now all of a sudden, I'm freed from the battle as it were.

That God somehow lifts me into a plane of being filled with the Holy Spirit, where now, sorry, I don't wrestle with things anymore. It's just like, ah, I'm just floating on air. Full of joy, full of love, full of peace.

Like a nirvana they talk about in some religions. You know, you reach this plane, this mountain top. And there was a part of me that was looking for an experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, where I wouldn't battle anymore against the lust of my flesh.

But that's a lie of the devil. And what you'll find, the reality is, that once you're actually filled with the Holy Spirit, the battle begins. But now you have a power to overcome the battle.

So once you're brought out of this curse of the law, you're brought into this life of receiving the promise of the Spirit through faith, now the battle actually begins, right? We read that. The Spirit wars against the flesh. Your flesh isn't done away with.

When Christ redeemed you from the curse of the law, and set you free from the old covenant, He didn't destroy the flesh. That's why Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh. Full of the Holy Spirit.

So there was Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, in the likeness of sinful flesh, showing us how to live in this kingdom where the Spirit battles against the flesh. So if you're looking for a life without battle, without fighting against the flesh, where your flesh is not crucified, then you better go back to the old covenant. That's your only option.

You better go back to that old condemned life. But if you want a life, where your flesh is crucified, where the Spirit says, I've got one enemy, Santosh, and that's your own flesh. That's my enemy.

I'm going to battle against it. Will you let me? And then you will experience freedom. And before we go into that a little further, I want to talk briefly about why is it that God wants to fill us with the Holy Spirit.

Let's turn to the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 36. Why does God want to fill you with the Holy Spirit? I think I know why you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

I know why I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why does God want to fill you with the Holy Spirit? Have you thought about that? And believe me, don't believe me, believe His word. He wants to fill you with the Holy Spirit even more than you want to be filled.

You've heard that often from this pulpit. God wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit much, much more. His desire to fill you with the Holy Spirit is as greater than your desire to be filled with His Holy Spirit as heaven is above earth.

My ways are not your ways. As high as the heaven is above the earth, so are my ways and my desire to fill you with the Holy Spirit greater than your desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Will you take that one word alone, brother, sister, child, today? That God's desire for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit is as great as heaven is above earth than yours.

Because I know so many of us are praying, Lord, I don't seem to be filled. I want to be filled. What am I missing, Lord? Is there something? Am I not praying enough? Is my desire not great enough? Find comfort today in the promise of God that His desire to fill you is as high as heaven is above the earth.

That's how much greater His desire is to fill you than your desire is to be filled. But here in Ezekiel 36, we must understand why God wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It's not so that we can speak in tongues or even that we might prophesy or anything else.

Here it is. Ezekiel 36. Read first of all in verse 26 the promise of the Spirit.

Ezekiel 36 verse 26 is the promise of the new covenant. I will give you a new heart and put the Holy Spirit, a new Spirit within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you.

I will do it, the Father says. And I will cause you to walk in my statutes and you will be careful to observe my ordinances. I will put my Spirit within you.

God says, first of all, I will put my Spirit within you. But why? For that we need to go back a few verses to verse 20. Go back to verse 20.

God says, Here's God looking at you and I and saying, this is what I saw about you, young man, young woman, young child. Verse 20. When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name, because it was said of them, these are the people of the Lord, yet they have come out of His land.

But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. Therefore, verse 22, Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God, It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, that is, I am about to pour out my Holy Spirit. I'm not pouring out my Holy Spirit within you for your sake.

It's not because I want you to be holy. It's for my name's sake. But for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.

I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned by you, Santosh. Profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord.

So do you see it? When I prove myself holy among you in their sight. See, God is after His own holiness. He's after His name.

And His name is profaned not by the people of the other religions. The atheist who curses God, you know, he's not profaning God's name. He's cursing God.

It means nothing. It's the Christian. It's me who says, I am a Christian.

I'm saved. And I live in a way that dishonors God's name by the way I speak to my wife, by the way I look with my eyes, what I look on my phone or on the computer, the jealousy that's hidden in my heart that nobody else knows, the love of money that creeps up every now and then, pops up every now and then, the unforgiveness that I show towards somebody that has hurt me, all these other things, bitterness, anger, the bouts of anger that suddenly crop up when I don't get my way or somebody crosses my way. All of these things, that's what profanes the name of God.

The atheist doing it, he's not even associating himself with Jesus. But the Christian sitting in church, especially at RLCF, where we speak about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and act a particular way, those are the ones who are being profaned. And I'll tell you brothers and sisters, it's more likely that God's name is profaned in our midst than other churches that don't speak about the Holy Spirit.

Does that bring a pause into your life? And say, Lord, I haven't really realized why I ought to seek for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I thought it is about me. I want gifts.

I want to know my calling in life. I want to know what my function is in the church. Yes, I want to be like you Lord Jesus too.

But I haven't seen that it's because I've been profaning the name of God by my life, by my thoughts, by my words, by my looks, by my attitudes, by my motives. That pride is a profaning of God's name. And God says, I've seen how you've been profaning my name, Santosh.

All these years you've been sitting in RLCF profaning my name, profaning my name by the way you act. And people look at your life, now maybe the people don't see it because you hide it well, but the devil does. He sees how you act at home.

He sees how you act in the workplace. He sees how deep down in your heart there isn't really that much a difference between you and the rest of the unsaved world. Exactly like it was for Israel.

He says you went into these nations and they couldn't tell you apart. You dress just like them. You talk just like them.

Your interests were in the things of this world just like it is for the rest of the world. He says I'm interested in changing that. Are you preoccupied with the things of this world in the same way that your neighbor is preoccupied with the things of this world? You're profaning the name of God.

Now you know I'm not pointing a finger at you, right? I'm convicted brothers and sisters when I sit here and speak at myself. I say Lord when you search my heart, when you search my motive, do you see a difference that Santos just set apart and holy? Or at least he has a desire to be. He doesn't want to just wait for the meeting to end so that he can go watch the football game or see what the score is or go back to work and make a little bit more money and do this and expand his business.

He's after my holy name. And so he says I'll put a new heart within you. If that's the desire of your heart that the name of God will no longer be profaned by your motives and your attitudes and your words and your thoughts and your actions.

Then he will say I will pour out my Holy Spirit within you. Let's go back to Galatians chapter 5. I wanted to start there because I think we read that passage actually recently in our Bible reading. And that's what brought it home when we read that verse in the context of that verse about the promise of the Holy Spirit in the context of seeing that God said, I'm tired of you who call yourselves by my name profaning my name.

And so I'm going to change and give you a new heart. Isn't that a wonderful promise? God doesn't say I'm tired of you people profaning my name. Get away from me.

Fine. I'm done with you. No, he should have done that.

He could have done that. But when we were in our worst state, when we were most profaning his name, listen, he says, I'm tired of you profaning my name. And I know that you're not even capable of doing any better.

So I'm going to put my spirit within you. I'm going to put a soft heart within you where you won't profane my name anymore. And I will cause you to walk in my ways and you will honor my name.

You'll glorify my name. This is why he wants to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Brother, sister, are you tired of dishonoring the name of Jesus? Really? Are you really tired of dishonoring the name of Jesus in secret where everybody else thinks you're honoring the name of Jesus because you sing so well, but deep down you know you're dishonoring his name.

His kingdom is not the foremost thing in your life. It's not him and his glory and his kingdom that's foremost in your life. If so, then God says, now you're ready to be filled with the Holy Spirit because you realize why I want to.

Galatians 5, we'll continue reading. We read verse, let's read 16 and 17 again. I say walk by the spirit and you will not.

You will not. Not you will try not to, but it just won't happen because you're walking by the spirit. And if you find yourself fulfilling, carrying out the desire of the flesh, it means you're not walking by the spirit.

It's a promise again. Galatians 5, 16 is a promise. Yes, there's the command to walk by the spirit, but the promise is that if you actually do walk by the spirit, you will find that the desires of the flesh are not carried out because the flesh and the spirit are enmity.

The flesh wars. The flesh sets its desire against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh for these are in opposition to one another. Who's going to win? It's right there in that same verse.

Continue reading. You will not do the things that please. That means who won? The spirit won.

If you're not doing the things that you want to do, the things that you please, it means that in that battle between the spirit and the flesh, the spirit won. Let it be so. See, I like that God doesn't say, well, now he does say you may not, but I like to think of it as a promise that I will not.

If I walk by the spirit, I'm in this kingdom, I'm in this battle where the spirit is fighting against the flesh. It's not even me necessarily. I'm just allowing the Holy Spirit to fight against the flesh through me.

I'm denying myself and saying, Spirit, I want your way in my life. The spirit wars against the flesh and who wins? The spirit wins. I love that promise.

You will not do the things that you please. The spirit won. Verse 18, But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.

Which means if you are not led by the spirit, you're under the law. I said that already. It's right there.

Now, the deeds of the flesh are evident. Here's how you know that you're not walking by the spirit. If there's immorality in your life, if there's impurity, immorality is living in sexual sin, physical sexual sin, committing sexual sin physically.

Impurity, if there's impurity in your thoughts, impurity in your eyes, that means you're looking at impure things. You're looking at women, especially men, you're looking at women in an impure way. You're looking at impure images, pictures, videos, impurity in movies.

It's there. If you have that, if you're enjoying that impurity, then you're not walking by the spirit. The deeds of the flesh are evident.

Sensuality. Sensuality. Sensuality can be there in the way you dress.

That dress might, maybe it covers up your body, but it hugs your figure in a way that brings the sensuality of the world into your body, women, so that men will be tempted to look at you. The way you dress, the way you do your hair even, is there a sensuality about it? This is the deeds of the flesh. Idolatry.

Idolatry is anytime, anything else except God is there on the throne. Is there anything else that's more important to you? Is there anything else that has a place that controls you? Money perhaps. Pleasure.

Food. Idolatry. Sorcery.

I hope that's not true on any of us. But you know sorcery is there in a subtle way in movies, in books. Be watchful, be wary of the spirit of sorcery in books.

Enmities. Where you have enemies on this earth. Make it your goal that you will have no enemy here on this earth, not even one.

You cannot have an enemy here on this earth if you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Absolutely not. Enmities.

Strife. Fighting. In homes especially.

Husbands and wives, if there's fighting in your home, now maybe those situations will come up and you'll feel that temptation or a little bit of rubbing, but decide there's never gonna be any strife at all in the home. No strife at all. And if it's there in your mind, see strife manifests itself outwardly between husbands and wives long after it's been there in your mind.

Husband, if there's strife in your mind towards your wife, if you're becoming embittered towards her, we read in Ephesians, don't become embittered towards her when she does something that annoys you or there's something else about her that just rubs you the wrong way. Don't let it become a strife in your mind because that will soon manifest into an outward strife in the way you speak. Deal with it.

Have the Holy Spirit crucify the flesh. Let the Spirit war against the flesh and win in that strife in your mind and in your heart. Wives likewise, don't let there be strife in your heart towards your husband.

Strife. Jealousy. What about jealousy? We heard last week from multiple brothers about coveting or wanting what somebody has, not being content with what I have, wanting what somebody else has.

Looking at what they have and how God has blessed them and wishing I could have had that blessing as well. Usually material things, like money or job or house or car or things like that. Jealousy.

It's the deeds of the flesh. It's what the Spirit wants to crucify. The Spirit wars against jealousy.

The Spirit wants to deal with every form of jealousy in your life. Or perhaps, you look at your children, you think, well, they don't have the opportunities or the gifts that some other children have. That's jealousy.

Let the Spirit deal with it. Outburst of anger. See, there are some people who are angry all the time and then there are others who every now and then they have an outburst of anger.

Ah! Outburst of anger. And you might sweep it under the carpet and say, okay, I kind of got irritated and you might apologize even. And that's good.

I hope you apologize. But you know that the fact that you burst out in anger like that is an indication that the flesh is winning against the Spirit in your life. If the Spirit is winning, you can never have an outburst of anger.

Don't tolerate it. Ask the Holy Spirit to deal with that. Disputes.

Always picking at this and picking at that. There have been people in this church always, no matter what decision the elders make, they're always upset about it. They come and write to us and text us.

Dispute. Always want to fight. Always want to fight.

Don't be such a person. Dissensions. Similar.

Factions. Little groups. Little groups within churches.

Cliques. Oh, these are my friends. And I like my little circle of friends.

We like to hang out with each other. Don't want anybody to come into that circle. And I like them and I don't like other people because they're a different culture or different, they're not as cool or whatever it might be.

Factions. It's an indication that the flesh is winning against the Spirit in that battle. Envying.

Envying of others. Drunkenness. Carousing.

And things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you. Who is He writing to you? To brothers and sisters? To believers. He says, I forewarned you, again, as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Even if they sit at RLCF. It's a stern warning. But, thank God, He says, you can let the Spirit win.

Allow the Holy Spirit to win. And then He goes on to talk about the fruit of the Spirit. Love.

Even for your enemies. Love even for people who mistreat you. Now, it doesn't mean that you have to go spend time with them if there are people that take advantage of you or if they're not willing to set things right.

But still love them. Make sure that your heart is full of love. In love, serve one another.

Joy. Always joyful. No matter what the circumstance.

No matter how much God has blessed somebody else and how you could be tempted to be jealous about that. Your heart is filled with joy. Thank you, Lord, for what You've given me.

Peace. Patience. In all circumstances.

No outburst of anger. Why? Because the spirit of patience is winning over the flesh that wants to burst out in anger. The spirit of patience is winning.

Kindness. When you're being kind to others. Instead of strife and dissensions and disputes.

Kindness. If somebody is unkind to you, be kind to them. Let kindness win.

I think one of my kids has a shirt that says kindness is cool. Kindness is cool. Make it cool at least.

Kindness. Goodness. That means in your heart there's a good attitude towards everybody.

You just want to do good. It says that Jesus, Acts 10 verse 38, full of the Holy Spirit went about doing good. Is there some good you can do for somebody? You don't have to be a preacher.

You don't have to lead the music. You don't have to have a prominent place in the church. Just do good to somebody.

This is the spirit winning in your flesh. This is the spirit winning. This is the life full of the Holy Spirit.

It's not, you know, speaking in tongues and prophetic things and all these things. Let the other churches do that. You do good, brother.

You do good, sister. And prove that you are full of the Holy Spirit by the little act of goodness you do. And nobody even notices it.

God sees it and He sees this is my son. This is my daughter full of the Holy Spirit. Faithfulness.

Keep doing it. Faithfulness means you keep doing that good thing until Christ comes. And you don't stop.

You keep loving that enemy no matter how much they hurt you until Christ comes. You're not expecting them to change even necessarily. You hope they will but even if they don't you love them.

Faithfulness. Gentleness. Gentleness means, you know, meekness is a similar word.

It comes from a Greek word that means that you've been tamed. You've been tamed. God has been able to tame your spirit that no matter what's going on you're tamed.

You know where God's working on me? I'm coaching soccer these days and I'm seeing it on the team. You know, when the ref makes the wrong call I've realized how I'm not as tamed as I need to be. Now when I play these days I realize my ability is not what it used to be so it's easier to be tamed.

But when I'm coaching a team and the referee makes the wrong call I need to be tamed. Gentleness. We're out in public brothers and sisters.

We ought to be a testimony to the world that we're a tamed people we're gentle. Let them fight about the calls that the ref make but let's not be that. Now, I recognize sometimes we might talk to the ref but I'm talking about a gentle spirit.

I think you know what I mean. And if that's not your temptation there is something else in which you need to be tamed. Let's be gentle.

Self-control. That I don't just let loose with my tongue. And I don't just take that third, fourth, fifth helping of food.

I don't take the biggest piece of the cake or ice cream. I'm controlled. I'm self-controlled.

Even though my flesh says oh that third piece of pie would be really good. The spirit says no. Half was good enough.

And third is definitely more than you need. Now these are just examples I'm using. Let the Holy Spirit convict you about what it is in your life that you need to exercise self-control over.

Now he goes on to say against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus see like I was saying I thought okay Lord you're gonna bring me to this life where I'm floating full of love and joy and peace and kindness goodness, gentleness faithfulness, gentleness self-control I expect that life. Why haven't I got it? And then the Lord took me to verse 24 where he says after I fill you with these gifts you will find that those who are belong to Christ Jesus crucify the flesh with its passions and desires so there's no such thing as a life of floating.

When you're filled with the Holy Spirit now you're ready to fight and you're ready to win. Take up the battle brother, sister by the power of the Holy Spirit crucify the flesh with its lusts and its desires. Then he goes on to say if we live by the Spirit if we are filled with the Spirit if we live by the Spirit let us also follow the Spirit.

Some translations say walk after the Spirit walk by the Spirit. The literal there is if we are filled with the Spirit if we are filled with the Holy Spirit let us follow the Spirit. A lot of people are expecting the life of being filled with the Holy Spirit as the pinnacle.

That's it. I was filled with the Holy Spirit now what's left Lord? Just come and take me home I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. No! If you have been filled with the Holy Spirit now follow the Spirit.

And I think that's why a lot of people who perhaps experience a genuine outpouring of the Holy Spirit and are genuinely baptized with the Holy Spirit soon lose the anointing. The surest way listen to me brothers sisters, children the surest way to lose the anointing of the Holy Spirit is having been filled to not follow Him where He leads you. Here's an example of that.

Luke chapter 4 Jesus lived a life full of the Holy Spirit from the day He was born. He was the only one who was born full of the Holy Spirit because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit conceived Him in Mary's womb and that's why He was full of the Holy Spirit fully God fully Spirit of God and fully man.

And that anointing over Christ's life remained throughout His life. And I think He experienced periods of refreshing of that anointing and especially when He was baptized it says the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove and rested on Him. And after that you read in Luke 4 verse 1 after His baptism full of the Holy Spirit what did Jesus do? He didn't say hey listen I've reached the pinnacle full of the Holy Spirit now you ask for the same.

Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days. He was led around tempted. You read about the temptations later on.

But there were many more temptations that the devil brought Him. But having been filled with the Holy Spirit what did Jesus do? He followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. Here He was fully God fully man relying on the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I imagine Jesus praying Father what should I do? And the Father through the Holy Spirit says now go over here. And there are some rocks over there. Now you're going to be tempted.

And you're hungry. Jesus is waiting. He wants to eat.

It's been 40 days. He wants to eat. His flesh is saying you can eat now.

It's okay. Nothing sinful in it. Yeah, you know how we come up with those justifications.

Nothing wrong with it. You're not going to go to hell over it. That's the standard for most Christians.

Will I go to hell if I do it? For Jesus the standard was has the Holy Spirit led me to do it? And the Holy Spirit said no, not yet time to eat. Okay. I'm looking over those rocks and all I can see in my... I imagine that it could have become almost delusional.

Like your mind starts to play tricks with you. And those rocks look like pieces of bread. And you're like that's so... you know you're tempted by it.

I've come close to that. I haven't fasted for very long. But sometimes when I've done long hikes you know long multi-day hikes we just eat freeze-dried food and we're hiking with these heavy backpacks.

And all of a sudden I look down on the ground because that's kind of all you can look at. You get tired of looking. And all these rocks start to look like pieces of food.

It's actually happened to me on a couple of occasions. I think it might have happened to Jesus perhaps. And those rocks start to look like pieces of bread.

And then the devil comes at the right moment and says turn it to bread. Would Jesus have gone to hell if he had turned to bread? That's not a question we have to answer. The only question that needs answering is did the Holy Spirit tell Jesus to turn it to bread? And the Holy Spirit had not.

And that was it. That settled it for Jesus. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit seek a life brothers and sisters where you're being led by the Holy Spirit and children you too.

At a young age when God fills you with the Holy Spirit the result of that is that He wants to lead you step by step by step. Where you have a witness and your Holy Spirit says no I can't do that. Lord unless you direct me I'm not going to move forward.

And Jesus said devil you can tempt me all you want but I'm not. The Holy Spirit doesn't. A man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God through the Holy Spirit and all those other temptations.

So Jesus came to this life of being led by the Spirit. He was always led by the Holy Spirit. But this is the consequence that verse.

I want you to see it again. Let's turn back there so you don't miss it. Galatians chapter 5. Please remember this.

Because brothers and sisters and children I've fallen into the trap. I fell into it for many years. Where I was seeking for an experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit where I could just sort of then relax spiritually.

I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. Check the box and maybe He gave me some gifts and He has given me gifts. And to think that somehow I have arrived at a plateau.

When God fills you with the Holy Spirit He sends you into the battlefield. Remember that. When God fills you with the Holy Spirit He sends you into the battlefield.

Because that's why He filled you with the Holy Spirit. It's not so that you could brag about it. It's not so that you could feel good about the fact that you were filled with the Holy Spirit.

He wants the power of the Holy Spirit to be manifest in you. Against your flesh. Galatians chapter 5. Let's read it again.

Verse 25. If we live by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

You can say let us also be led by the Spirit. Let's not become boastful. Challenging one another.

Envying one another. You see how important. You know He mentioned immorality, impurity, sensuality, all those other things.

But there's three He calls out again. After having told us about the lust of the flesh. The deeds of the flesh.

And then the fruit of the Spirit. And telling us that once you're filled with the Holy Spirit He wants to lead you by the Holy Spirit. He says I want to emphasize three sins especially.

Boasting. Challenging one another. That is fighting with one another.

Whether it's in the home or in the church or anywhere else. And envying one another. Take it seriously brothers and sisters.

These are the ones that the Holy Spirit chose to emphasize. Boasting. Challenging one another.

And envying one another. So. What is the summary? Two things that we should constantly seek for.

One. Seek to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. Everyday.

Ephesians 5. Let me show you that verse. I'll show you a couple more verses and then I'll finish. Ephesians 5 verse 18.

Ephesians 5 verse 18. Do not get drunk with wine for this is dissipation. But be being filled with the Spirit.

Be filled with the Spirit everyday. Every moment of everyday be filled with the Holy Spirit. Make that your cry.

I said it a couple weeks ago. I'll say it again. Let it be your constant cry.

If you've been here for 3 months even. I think I said this when I preached a couple weeks ago. If you've been here for even 3 months and there isn't a constant cry within your heart to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

I have failed my job as a teacher. I feel like I failed my job as a teacher. If having been here for even 3 months there isn't a constant yearning to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Take that to heart brothers, sisters, children. Every moment of everyday cry out Lord I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You said verse 18 Ephesians 5. Be being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Make it a reality in my life and don't stop praying. So be continually filled with the Holy Spirit and the other thing we must continually do is deny ourselves. These are the two things that we must do in parallel.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit and having been filled with the Holy Spirit deny yourself constantly. See that's what Jesus said in Luke chapter 9. Luke 9. Daily be filled with the Holy Spirit. Daily deny yourself.

This is it. If you're trying to deny yourself without being filled with the Holy Spirit you're going to end up under condemnation. You're under the law.

You'll end up with a self righteousness that will one day fall flat. That is denying yourself without the power of the Holy Spirit. You say I'm going to take up my cross.

I'm going to try harder. I'm going to do it better. Honey this time is going to be different.

I'm going to change. Okay try it. If you're only being filled with the Holy Spirit but not denying yourself then you have a counterfeit.

You lose the anointing because the Spirit is not able to war against the flesh. The flesh is still winning. You've experienced a filling of the Holy Spirit.

You're asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit but you're not using the power of the Holy Spirit to crucify the flesh with it's lust and desires. So it's both together. Every day being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit. Every day denying yourself. Constantly denying yourself.

Self is your enemy brothers, sisters. Self is your enemy. Deny yourself.

Luke 9 verse 23. Jesus said, If anyone wishes to come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross every day. Did you deny yourself some way yesterday with your wife with your husband and take up your cross? You need to do it today.

You need to do it tomorrow. Constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. Constantly denying yourself.

Okay, I'll close with one more verse. This verse came alive to me in a fresh way this past week and I thought I would share it in this context. Romans chapter 1. Romans 1 verse 16.

Romans 1 verse 16. A verse you all probably know well. But here's a fresh gift that the Lord gave me in this verse that I'm taking to heart and I want to share with you all as well.

Paul says I am not ashamed of the gospel. The gospel is good news. The gospel good news of Jesus Christ and as I meditated on this verse I started to see that Paul in a sense I think he was saying that the previous spiritual journey he was on is one that he was ashamed of.

Right? He was an old covenant man of old covenant men. He was the epitome. You know I know Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest man born of women until Jesus came but Paul I think may have been even superior than John the Baptist.

I don't know. Paul says in Philippians 3 that according to the law he was blameless. Blameless according to the law.

Pharisee of Pharisees of the tribe of Benjamin. He circumcised on the eighth day all these things that he checkmarked to be the perfect old covenant person. But I see Paul saying here in Romans 1 verse 16 that that message that old covenant message I'm ashamed of.

Why? Because he says later on in Romans chapter 7 wretched man that I am I found all kinds of lusting within me. Romans 7 24 and 25. Wretched man that I am who will save me from the body of this death I'm ashamed of that other gospel.

It's not really a gospel. It's not really good news. I'm ashamed of that other covenant.

The old covenant but this covenant the new covenant of life of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus I'm not ashamed of that because it is power. It's not just teaching. This is the question brothers and sisters and children I want to leave you with is the messages you've been hearing here at RLCF is it power? Then you won't be ashamed of it.

Then you can say come look into my life. Look at how I am with my wife. Look at how I am with my children.

Look at how I am in my workplace. Look at how I am on the soccer field. I'm not ashamed of this gospel because it is power working in me.

It's no longer just a law or writing or doctrine or I'm a part of RLCF and I check the box or I have the right doctrine and we have these standards we check all the New Testament standards It's more than that. It's a power. I'm not ashamed of the gospel.

I hope all of us ought to be able to say that. I'm not ashamed of this gospel which is a power in me. It's not just here's a prayer you can pray.

Here's a decision card you can sign. Here you can go to this church now and you can say I'm a Christian and you have certain things you do you ask for the baptism of the Holy Spirit you come to the meetings, you cry out and you spend the same cycle of defeat after defeat after defeat. Brothers and sisters and children God is calling us to a higher standard.

He's saying come up higher. Let the gospel of the new covenant be power in you. You won't be ashamed of it.

Let's pray for the Holy Spirit for this reason because Lord I proclaim your name until now what I thought was the gospel was just words and the kingdom of God is not in words but in power yes words are there we preach but that preaching must lead us to power and if the gospel has not become power in your life brother sister let's fall on our face privately secretly we're not going to do an altar call but you in your seat sit down count the cost and say are you willing for the spirit to war against the flesh so that you will never again do the things that you please you never get to do the things that you please anymore then you'll experience the promise that the primary school reminded us Christ died to set us free from the curse of the law so that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith this is a promise it's good news it's power amen let's pray briefly father I come to you in Jesus name because that's the only way in which I can come to you and I thank you that I can come boldly in the name of Jesus Jesus whose name means he will save Santos from all his sins he will save us from all our sins in the name of that Jesus I come to you father and I ask you to pour out your spirit because I need it I need your Holy Spirit I need him I need him so that I will no longer profane your name by unbelief and fear and anxiety and worry and envying and jealousy and lust and anger and factions and whatever it might be outbursts of anger oh lord I pray that your name will never again be profaned by my life or my thoughts or my words my deeds my actions my motives my attitudes preserve me lord in your Holy Spirit send out your Holy Spirit and fire and anointing for this life that we will be a people that are set apart and holy for you thank you father I believe you will do it in Jesus name amen