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Walk in the Spirit · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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Let's turn back to our reading in Galatians chapter 5.
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We're going to look at this section, verse 16, down to the end of the chapter.
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Just read again these words at the beginning of the chapter.
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But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
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Walk by the Spirit.
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Have you sinned this week?
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Or should I ask maybe, how often have you sinned this week?
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Because that's the reality of the lives that we live.
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We all sin in so many different ways.
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And there's a phrase used nowadays about people who are continually in and out of prison.
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It's maybe been used for quite some time now.
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It's those who maybe commit a crime, they're sent to prison, maybe they're only in for a short time.
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But before you know it, they're back in prison.
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And the phrase they use is repeat offenders.
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They are repeat offenders.
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They're released, but soon after re-offend.
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And this kind of cycle just goes on and on.
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Unless there's something that will come in to break that cycle.
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But it's not just about those who are in prison in that sense of being put in jail that this can apply to.
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You can apply it to the church here in Galatia.
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You could apply it to ourselves.
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The church in Galatia falls into this bracket because what we have as we read through this letter
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is a sense of being set free.
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The people being set free in Christ.
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But then within a short space of time finding themselves falling back into what we would call the bondage of sin.
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Sin just coming in.
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That repeat offending just going on and on.
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And you think, well, if they've been set free in Christ, surely that's the way that they will go on.
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That's the way that they will continue.
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But just look at our own lives as well, even as we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
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How often do we find ourselves slipping back into the old ways?
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Slipping back into sinning against God?
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It doesn't leave us.
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It doesn't go.
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And so often part of it is mainly our own fault, our own responsibility,
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because we are neglecting the things of God.
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And that was true with the people in Galatia, as it is probably true of ourselves.
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But what can we do about this?
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Are you a real offender today?
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I am.
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I know I am.
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Because God's word tells me.
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Even as you go through the end of this chapter, chapter 5,
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all you have to do is read through verse 19 to verse 21.
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And there you're brought into the kind of the works of the flesh, as it's called there.
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Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of...
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You know, the list goes on.
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And can you not go through that list today and think to yourself,
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oh man, I've failed.
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I've sinned.
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I know I have because I can see myself in so many of these things.
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I am a real offender.
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I sinned before God.
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And that can give us a sense of feeling helpless.
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It can leave us feeling, well, what can we do?
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How can we change?
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And is it about ourselves changing?
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Is it about what we do?
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Well, no.
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It's a reminder to us that there's only one who can make a difference.
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And that is God.
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God through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And God through his Spirit, as we see in this passage.
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Walk by the Spirit, by the Spirit of God.
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Because we all struggle in different ways.
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But God is there to help us.
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And the Word of God just reminds us of that.
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It's remarkable how you see these same struggles right throughout the Bible.
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So many people who you would think, oh, but they must have been so much better than us.
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In chapter 4 of this letter, Galatians, Paul makes reference to Abraham and Sarah and Hagar.
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They're from the Old Testament, from the book of Genesis.
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And the struggles that they had.
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They struggled.
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And you think, Abraham, he was a man sent by God.
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He was a father of the faith.
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Surely, he didn't have these struggles.
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But yes, he did.
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He struggled to trust God with his wife, Sarah.
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That God could take care of every situation that they were in.
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And instead, they took things into their own hands.
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Just like us.
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Just like the way we live so often.
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That we will do things that God cannot take care of it.
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And you think of Paul himself, who wrote this letter.
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He was a man who had a real past of many regrets, many sins.
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But was he completely changed?
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In many ways, you say yes.
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But he still had struggles, as we read of in Romans chapter 7, which he wrote as well.
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And his words in verse 19.
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For what I do is not the good I want to do.
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No, the evil I do not want to do.
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This I keep on doing.
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How many times this week have you said something similar?
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How many times have you said, I wish I hadn't done that?
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How many times have you said this week, I wish I hadn't said that?
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How many times this week have you said, I wish I hadn't behaved like that?
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Again and again we can relate to these words.
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The good I want to do, I do not do.
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And so we are repeat offenders.
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It's a common struggle.
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It's a real struggle.
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And it's a struggle that reminds us that we cannot overcome sin alone.
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We cannot overcome it by ourselves.
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And that's where we are thankful we can turn to the word of God.
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Because as Paul says in Romans 7 verse 24, when he says,
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What a wretched man I am again.
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Have we said that this week?
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Have we asked the question that he then asked,
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Who will rescue me from this body of death?
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Well, he's able to say,
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Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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He is able to rescue us.
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And that's what we have a reminder of here in chapter 5 of Galatians as well.
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Very similar to what Paul is saying in Romans.
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The struggle that is real.
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The struggle that is evident.
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I want us to think about it in two ways this morning.
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First of all, we see the Christians' conflict.
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The struggle that is ongoing.
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The Christians' conflict.
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And then secondly, we see the Christians' harmony.
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The way that we are able to find help.
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So the first thing we see is the Christians' conflict.
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Are you in control of your life today?
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Are you feeling that sense of,
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I've got my plans, I've got my purposes?
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Are you winning in life, as many people would put it?
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Do you feel things are going well?
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Well, the answer probably depends on how you view life.
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And especially when it comes to thinking,
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Am I winning in the sense of walking with God?
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Someone once said that the Christian life is not a playground.
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It is a battlefield.
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Not a playground, but a battlefield.
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But how are you treating your life?
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How are you living your life?
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We've all maybe been in the playground.
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Maybe some of us are still in our younger days.
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We're in the playground.
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And there you think that life is fun.
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There's this light-hearted nature to life.
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Not much as serious.
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But as you go on in years, and as you go on in life,
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you find it's not a playground at all.
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It's a battlefield.
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It's a struggle.
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But have we or are we maturing in that sense?
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Are we growing in that sense of seeing life in all of its differences,
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all of its varieties, and all of its struggles?
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And recognizing that, hold on a minute.
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There's something serious about life here.
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It's not just frivolous.
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It's not just doing what I like, what I enjoy.
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But there are consequences to things.
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Paul here is speaking to the Galatians about two different types of lives that they can live.
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The first, we all live.
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But the second, we can only live through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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The first life he's speaking of here is the sinful life.
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The life, as he calls it, under the flesh, with the desires of the flesh.
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The other is the life that we have through the Spirit.
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And they both have an outline of what this entails.
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There's lists for each of them.
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If you are living a life of the flesh, he gives you a list of things that you are caught up in.
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If you are to live a life in the Spirit, then he gives you a list that is very different.
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But what does he say about them?
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He's saying that they are contrary to one another.
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They are at conflict with one another.
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There is this battle going on, as he says there in the end of verse 17.
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The desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other,
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to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
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Similar to what Paul was saying in Romans.
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To keep you from doing the things you want to do.
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There's this battle going on.
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We are all born in sin.
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We are all born sinners.
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And therefore, you could almost say we just sin in our very nature, in our very being.
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But the grace of the Lord Jesus is able to set us free.
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That's what Paul says at the beginning of this chapter.
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Christ has set us free.
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But that's not just being free from the struggle of sin entirely.
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That struggle goes on while we are in this world.
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We struggle with sin because we are repeat offenders.
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You see it time and a time again.
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Paul warns that we struggle in this freedom.
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That we can easily fall back.
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And sin can so easily just take over our lives once more.
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He's warned of it at the end of that section.
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And in the beginning of this chapter, verse 1 to 15.
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The end in verse 15.
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But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
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There's this turning against one another.
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Don't be consumed by one another.
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And so now he's going on in verse 16 to the end of the chapter to give us warning.
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To be on our guard against this sinful struggle that life entails.
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And you could almost put it into four different categories.
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In verse 17.
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Now the work of the flesh are evident.
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And then he goes on to give a list of things there.
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You could put it into four categories.
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Four problem areas in Galatians.
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The days of Paul writing to the Galatians.
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And many other churches that he was writing to.
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But areas that we all struggle with.
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So many struggle with in our day as well.
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When you think of life of the flesh.
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As he is talking about here.
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And life of the spirit.
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Being contrary to each other.
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Against each other.
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We are reminded of how Jesus spoke about there being two paths in life.
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Two ways that we can go.
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There is the broad road.
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And there is the narrow road.
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And here initially we've got the broad way.
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The way that so many walk in today.
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And it's almost like we live in a world that says.
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If this isn't the way that you are walking.
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Then you are not normal.
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But this is the way that everyone should live their lives.
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This broad way.
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And think about the broad way that you see here.
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Paul outlining in verse 17.
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He's talking there about the broad way of relationships.
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In verse 17 he says.
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The desires of the flesh are against the spirit.
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The desires of the spirit are against the flesh.
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For they are opposed to each other.
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But then if you are led by the spirit.
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It's to be different.
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But in verse 19 he says.
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Now the works of the flesh are evident.
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Sexual immorality.
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Impurity.
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Sensuality.
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These are all things related to relationships.
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Relationships.
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Relationships that we see our world saying.
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Just do what you want.
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Live how you want.
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Be free to do what you want.
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Going against what God has given us.
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And ordained for us.
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But one man and one woman being together.
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All of these kinds of things.
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The world says the flesh is.
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That doesn't matter.
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That makes no difference.
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But it leads us away to destruction.
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And the same is true for all of these things.
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Think about the way of religion.
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He's talking there in verse 17.
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The works of the flesh are idolatry and sorcery.
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What has God said to us?
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He has said you will have no other gods before me.
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But yet here the works of the flesh are going down a way where we see.
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We can have many gods.
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And any god that we want.
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It doesn't matter.
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Think of the broad way of society.
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We are told we can just live as we want.
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You see it here when it speaks about enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy.
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All of these things.
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How often have you struggled with that this week?
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How often have you sinned in these ways this week?
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Rivalry, jealousy, ambition.
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Everything coming between us and the people around us and between us and God.
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There are so many struggles that we have there.
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The broad way of socializing we have here as well as Paul warns against drunkenness, orgies and things like these.
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We think our own day, our own nation has its struggles with drunkenness and immorality and all of these issues.
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It's not a new thing.
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It's been there for years.
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It was rife in the days of Paul.
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As he went round all these different places, this was a great problem.
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And he's saying these struggles are real.
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So when you go through all of these things, ask yourself, are you in control of your life?
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Are you handling all of these things well?
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Are you not sinning in any of these areas?
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We struggle.
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And if we struggle and go on struggling, he says you will not inherit the kingdom of God.
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There are consequences.
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Broad is a way that leads to destruction.
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But he's not saying you will not inherit the kingdom if you have committed these sins at any time.
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He is saying you will not inherit the kingdom if you are going on sinning.
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If you keep on going in these ways.
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But if you are struggling with these things today, don't despair.
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Yes, they can leave us feeling hopeless just like Paul.
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Wretched man that I am.
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Because there's a Christian struggle.
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But we see here there is also the Christian's harmony.
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So instead of being in conflict,
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instead of just being struggling without any hope,
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we realize that there is a way to find hope even in our struggles.
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And that is to walk by the Spirit.
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When we walk by the Spirit,
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there's this harmony then with the Lord and with others.
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As Jesus taught, there's another way,
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not just the broad way that leads to destruction,
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but there is a narrow path,
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and that road leads to life.
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And only a few will find it.
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As Paul said in Romans 7 verse 25,
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Who will help me?
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Who will rescue me?
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Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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And that is our great hope today.
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That in all the struggles with our sins,
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in all the struggles with our fears,
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and our worries, and our anxieties,
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thanks be to God that we can have victory.
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And it's through the Spirit we will find this harmony.
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As we see in verse 16,
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But I say, walk by the Spirit,
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and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
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Walk by the Spirit.
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This literally means,
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wherever you go,
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and as you go,
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walk with the Spirit.
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Don't leave the Spirit behind.
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Don't leave the Spirit of God
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at a place outside a door that you go through
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and think,
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I'll do my own thing now.
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I'll live my own way,
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and then I'll come back to the Spirit.
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This is saying, be led by the Spirit.
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Because He is your helper.
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Have Him with you at all times.
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And that word, being led,
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is linked to having a helper.
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And you think of those
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who have been released from prison.
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They're not just left to go off
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their own way with no one alongside them.
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Most of them are given a parole officer,
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someone they have to report to,
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someone to keep an eye on them.
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And this is for us as well,
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what we have here.
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We are repeat offenders.
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We keep on sinning.
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But it's not that we don't have anyone to help.
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We have the Holy Spirit,
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the one who is called alongside,
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the parole officer, if you like.
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He is there to help us.
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So if we walk by the Spirit,
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that we are helped to overcome
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the desires of the flesh.
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Through the Spirit and walking by the Spirit,
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we come closer to God
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and the one who is able to help us.
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Because there is this ongoing conflict.
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You see it here in verse 17.
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For the desires of the flesh
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are against the Spirit,
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and the desires of the Spirit
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are against the flesh.
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For they are opposed to each other
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to keep me from doing the things
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you want to do.
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Martin Luther,
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the one who was used by God
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back in the 16th century
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to bring a reformation to the church.
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You think of him.
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He must have been a godly man.
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He must have been so close to God.
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And everything was going well with him.
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He struggled.
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He struggled in life.
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And it was this verse,
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verse 17 in Galatians chapter 5,
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that really helped him
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to see that struggle
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and where his help would come from.
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He had the same struggle as Paul,
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for what I do is not the good I want to do.
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No, the evil I do not want to do.
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This I keep on doing.
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But when Martin Luther was suffering
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under this weight of guilt
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in his sin,
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a Christian friend of his
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called Johannes Staupitz
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said, Martin,
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quit looking at your sin
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and start looking at Jesus.
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He was so focused
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on where he was going wrong.
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He was taking his eyes off Jesus.
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And isn't that great advice
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to you and to me?
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When we are seeing ourselves
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just caught up in this life of sin,
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feeling hopeless,
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stop looking at your sin
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and start looking at Jesus.
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Keep your eyes on him.
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That is what Paul is saying here
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as he goes on.
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As he goes on to speak
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about walking in the Spirit.
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And he speaks then
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of the fruit of the Spirit
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in verse 22.
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We are to be careful
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how we walk.
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But then he does give us ways
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to walk.
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If we are to walk in the Spirit,
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how are we walking?
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How are we to keep ourselves
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in step with the Spirit?
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You maybe think
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there's going to be something
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dramatic,
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something powerful,
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maybe something only that
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a few people can do.
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And yet as Paul is teaching here,
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there's a simplicity to it.
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There's a simplicity
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to these things,
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the fruits of the Spirit.
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And if we practice these things,
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we find ourselves then
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walking closely to the Lord.
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And that is what keeps us.
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That is what guards us.
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And just look at the list there,
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the fruits of the Spirit.
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Love, joy,
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peace,
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patience,
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kindness,
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goodness,
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faithfulness,
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gentleness,
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self-control.
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I'm sure if you look through
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the first list,
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the fruits of the flesh,
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if you like,
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you see yourself there
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and you're saying,
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I failed,
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I failed,
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I failed.
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What about when you read
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the second list,
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the fruit of the Spirit?
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Love,
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joy,
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peace,
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patience,
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patience.
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Do you say again,
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oh,
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I failed.
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I failed to show love.
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I failed to have joy.
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I failed to show patience.
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I failed to be kind.
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again,
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it can leave us feeling helpless
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and hopeless again.
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But it's not there to make us feel worse.
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It's there to remind us what we have as we come close to God once again.
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Love.
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Love.
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Love.
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The fruit of the Spirit is love.
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We are to love God with all our heart
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and to love our neighbor as ourself.
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We cannot do that by ourselves.
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We need God to help us.
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Joy.
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Joy.
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So often the fruits of the flesh
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are what the world will tell us.
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This is where you will find joy.
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But there's no joy.
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But the fruit of the Spirit is joy.
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Real joy.
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True joy.
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The joy of the Lord
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as our strength,
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as it says in Nehemiah.
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Patience.
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Peace.
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We so often feel
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that we're lacking peace.
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But walk with the Spirit.
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Walk close to God.
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And He can give you a peace
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that passes understanding.
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Patience.
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We fail so often
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to be patient.
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But again,
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come close to the Lord.
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Walk in the Spirit.
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Trust in the Lord Jesus.
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He gives you a patience.
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Kindness.
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This is what we are to do
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to those around us.
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Instead of jealousy,
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fits of anger,
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rivalries,
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dissensions,
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divisions,
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the fruit of the Spirit
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is the opposite.
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Kindness.
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Goodness.
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Christian love in action.
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Faithfulness.
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An ability to trust God
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and obey Him.
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Gentleness.
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A restraint.
25:53
It's not a weakness.
25:55
But it's more
25:56
what you would describe
25:57
as power
25:58
under control.
26:01
Self-control.
26:03
Refusing to do
26:04
the things
26:05
that you have
26:06
in your power
26:06
to do
26:07
that you know are wrong.
26:08
who can rescue me
26:10
from these things?
26:12
Thanks be to God
26:13
in Christ Jesus
26:15
our Lord.
26:18
So we have this list
26:20
not to make us feel worse,
26:22
but to bring us closer.
26:25
To recognize our sin
26:28
in the list of the flesh,
26:31
but to recognize
26:33
the grace of God
26:35
as we walk
26:36
by the Spirit
26:37
and the fruit
26:37
of the Spirit.
26:42
When you link
26:42
to the list
26:43
of the fruit
26:43
of the Spirit,
26:44
they're so opposite
26:45
to the majority
26:46
of life
26:47
that we see
26:48
around us.
26:50
It's about
26:50
pleasing ourselves,
26:52
living for ourselves.
26:53
But as we looked
26:55
at recently
26:56
in our communion
26:56
weekend,
26:58
Romans 12
26:59
verse 1 and 2,
27:01
we are to offer
27:02
our lives
27:02
as a living sacrifice.
27:05
And that is part
27:06
of what our walking
27:07
in the Spirit is.
27:09
Giving ourselves
27:10
over to God.
27:12
It's not my desires
27:13
that are first
27:14
and foremost,
27:16
but yours.
27:20
Take my life,
27:22
we see.
27:22
let it be
27:24
consecrated
27:26
to them,
27:27
given to God.
27:30
So there's a reminder
27:31
for us here
27:32
to be faithfully
27:34
living
27:35
a life
27:36
in the Spirit.
27:37
There's a sense
27:38
of this almost
27:38
being a quiet
27:39
behind-the-scenes
27:41
way of living.
27:43
It's a call
27:44
to be faithful,
27:47
a call
27:47
to be close
27:48
to God.
27:51
And it's there
27:51
for us,
27:52
for every one
27:53
of us.
27:54
Not just for some,
27:56
but for all.
27:59
It doesn't look
28:00
impressive,
28:01
maybe,
28:01
to the world.
28:03
Maybe it looks
28:04
too simple
28:05
for ourselves
28:06
today.
28:07
But it's there
28:08
for our reason.
28:09
It's there
28:10
for our good.
28:12
It's there
28:12
because it's
28:13
the narrow way
28:14
that leads
28:15
to life
28:15
in the Lord
28:17
Jesus Christ.
28:19
And so we are
28:19
to walk
28:20
by the Spirit.
28:23
How would you
28:23
judge
28:24
the success
28:26
of an inmate
28:27
who's been
28:27
released from
28:28
prison?
28:29
How would you
28:30
judge if it's
28:31
been a success?
28:33
Well,
28:34
very often
28:34
it's those
28:36
you don't hear
28:37
anything of
28:37
again.
28:38
they go back
28:41
out of prison.
28:43
They've turned
28:44
from that way
28:45
of life.
28:46
And they live
28:46
a quieter,
28:48
better way
28:49
of life.
28:49
they don't
28:51
re-offend.
28:54
We are
28:55
repeat offenders
28:56
ourselves.
28:58
But what would
28:59
be a success
29:00
story in your
29:01
life,
29:02
in my life
29:02
today?
29:04
Would it not
29:05
be just to
29:06
go on quietly
29:07
living,
29:08
knowing that
29:09
we sin,
29:10
but not to
29:11
go on seeing
29:12
as that is
29:12
the only way,
29:14
but to see
29:15
a better way
29:16
and to seek
29:17
to walk
29:18
close to
29:20
the Spirit,
29:22
a life
29:22
close to
29:24
Him.
29:26
Because as
29:26
we do,
29:28
the fruit of
29:28
the Spirit
29:29
is then ours.
29:31
And we can
29:31
live in light
29:32
of all of
29:33
these things,
29:34
love,
29:34
joy,
29:35
peace,
29:36
patience,
29:36
kindness,
29:37
goodness,
29:38
faithfulness,
29:38
gentleness,
29:40
self-control.
29:42
Come and
29:43
walk with
29:45
Him.
29:46
That is the
29:46
invitation
29:47
of the
29:48
gospel,
29:49
to find
29:50
your freedom
29:51
in Christ,
29:53
not to go
29:53
on sinning,
29:55
but to come
29:56
and walk
29:57
closely with
29:58
Him,
29:59
knowing that
29:59
even then
30:00
in our
30:00
sin,
30:01
we have
30:02
one who
30:02
is able
30:03
to forgive
30:04
us.
30:05
But day
30:06
by day,
30:07
coming closer,
30:09
walking
30:09
with Him,
30:11
learning
30:11
and living
30:12
in light
30:14
of His
30:14
Word.
30:15
Let us
30:16
pray.
30:17
Lord,
30:19
our
30:19
gracious
30:20
God,
30:20
we do
30:20
thank
30:21
You
30:21
for Your
30:22
Word that
30:23
so often
30:23
challenges us,
30:24
it convicts
30:25
us,
30:26
for we know
30:27
our sins
30:27
that are
30:28
many.
30:29
But we
30:29
thank You
30:30
too,
30:30
Lord,
30:30
that reminds
30:31
us of
30:32
Your mercy,
30:33
Your mercy
30:33
that's always
30:34
more,
30:35
Your mercy
30:36
that helps
30:36
us to
30:37
overcome,
30:38
and Your
30:39
mercy that
30:39
helps us
30:40
to live
30:41
more closely
30:42
to You.
30:43
and we
30:44
pray,
30:44
Lord,
30:44
that You
30:44
would help
30:45
us to
30:45
know the
30:47
fruit of
30:47
the Spirit
30:47
in our
30:48
own lives,
30:49
that that
30:50
is how we
30:50
would long
30:51
to live
30:51
and how we
30:52
would long
30:53
to walk,
30:54
with that
30:54
helper beside
30:55
us,
30:56
with that
30:57
helper with
30:58
us.
30:59
So teach us
30:59
by Your Word
31:00
and guide us
31:01
through Your
31:02
Spirit,
31:03
as we ask
31:03
all in the
31:04
name of
31:04
Jesus.
31:05
Amen.
31:05
We're going
31:10
to conclude
31:11
by singing
31:11
to God's
31:12
praise in
31:12
Psalm 56,
31:14
the Sing
31:15
Psalms version,
31:16
Psalm 56.
31:20
We'll sing
31:21
from verse
31:22
10 down
31:23
to the end
31:24
of the
31:24
Psalm,
31:24
Psalm 56,
31:27
page 74,
31:30
the tune
31:30
of Stuttgart.
31:31
In the
31:32
Lord,
31:32
whose word
31:33
I honour,
31:33
in my
31:34
God,
31:34
I praise
31:35
His Word,
31:35
I will
31:36
trust and
31:37
not be
31:37
fearful,
31:38
what can
31:39
man do
31:40
to me,
31:40
Lord?
31:41
We'll sing
31:41
from verse
31:41
10 to the
31:42
end of
31:42
the Psalm
31:43
to God's
31:44
praise.
31:48
In the
31:51
Lord's
31:53
word I
31:54
honour,
31:56
in my
31:57
God I
31:59
praise
32:00
His
32:01
word.
32:03
I will
32:04
trust and
32:06
not be
32:08
fearful,
32:09
what can
32:11
man do
32:13
to me,
32:14
Lord?
32:16
I have
32:19
taken
32:21
hours
32:22
before
32:23
you,
32:25
to my
32:27
God
32:28
I will
32:29
be
32:30
true,
32:31
sacrifice
32:32
of
32:37
thanksgiving
32:39
!
32:39
I will
32:41
gladly
32:42
give
32:44
to
32:44
you,
32:46
for
32:48
you
32:49
kept
32:50
my
32:51
feet
32:52
from
32:52
stumbling,
32:54
and
32:55
from
32:56
death
32:57
you
32:58
set
32:59
me
32:59
free,
33:01
so
33:02
that
33:03
I
33:04
may
33:05
walk
33:06
before
33:07
you,
33:09
and
33:10
the
33:11
light
33:12
of
33:12
life
33:13
may
33:14
see.
33:15
after
33:18
the
33:18
benediction
33:18
I'll
33:19
go to
33:19
the
33:19
door to
33:19
my
33:20
right,
33:20
we'll
33:20
close
33:20
with
33:21
the
33:21
benediction.
33:22
Now may
33:22
grace,
33:23
mercy,
33:23
and
33:24
peace
33:24
from
33:24
God,
33:25
Father,
33:25
Son,
33:26
and
33:26
Holy
33:26
Spirit
33:27
rest
33:27
upon
33:28
and
33:28
abide
33:28
with
33:28
you
33:29
all
33:29
now
33:30
and
33:30
forever
33:30
more.
33:31
Amen.
33:45
Thank you.