Message outtakes
What a different church we would be (both locally and universally) if we would daily walk in the Spirit. If you missed last weekend's message "Gal 5: Dying to Live" about how to live in the Spirit, I encourage you big time to give it a listen.
Here's are some thoughts that didn't make the final cut in my message preparation:
When making a case for the necessity of the Holy Spirit's role in living the Christian life:
The God-head is a tight team. God sent the Son to be our savior; to rescue us from bondage and set us free. And he fulfilled the Father’s plan for Him. Now the Holy Spirit’s role is to keep us free… to keep us from being led into slavery again whether to the law or to the flesh. So it is imperative that we know how to follow the Spirit’s lead… how to walk in the Spirit.
Paul was not the first one to take about the fruit of a person's life:
Jesus spoke of this idea in the gospel of Luke 6:43-45 (ESV) where he says,
43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Clarifying the definition of flesh:
The flesh is our fallen condition… what we are by natural birth… what Ishmael is analogous to (4). Whereas the Spirit is what we become by the new birth, by the promise… of which Isaac is analogous to. And just like Ishmael and Isaac, the flesh and the Spirit are in sharp opposition to each other, and one or the other will have a prevailing influence on what you do and say… the fruit of your life.
When explaining Gal. 5:24 that Christians are doing the crucifying in this verse:
Now the verb “crucified” in the Greek is in the aorist tense which indicates that this is something we did decisively at the moment of conversion. We repented. We crucified everything we knew to be wrong. Crucifixion was reserved for the worst of criminals of which your flesh qualifies… "he's too dangerous to be kept alive".[A Star Wars III reference... did anyone notice the Star Trek line I snuck in there?]
When talking about being led by the Spirit:
Jesus spoke of this attitude in John 10:3-4 (NIV) when he said:
3 … the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
I hope and pray that this Thanksgiving is filled with thanks for the Holy Spirit's power manifested in your life.
Comments
In one of your messages you referred to vulcan logic as something from star wars :( Its the effort that counts I guess :)
Posted by: Steve O at November 19, 2007 09:41 AMSteve,
I'm sure Tim meant to say Star Trek. Unfortunately words don't always come out the way we mean them too. And that probably wasn't the most important thing he said anyway.
Posted by: Kristen Borseth at November 19, 2007 03:16 PM