["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Let's close our eyes in a word of prayer.
Father God, thank you so much for this day, Lord.
Thank you for these wonderful people coming to church on a Wednesday evening.
I pray that our signal to glorify you, Lord.
I pray that you bless the preaching and the service to come.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
All right, please send your songbooks page number 335.
Page 335. We're going to sing If Jesus Goes With Me.
["If Jesus Goes With Me"]
Page 335, and let's sing it out on the first.
It may be in the valley Where countless dangers hide
It may be in the sunshine That I in peace abide
But this one thing I know If it be dark or fair
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
Tis heaven to me where I may be If he is there
I counted a privilege here His cross to bear
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
Page 335. Let's sing it out on the second, but let's sing it with a little bit of joy.
So sing it out.
It may be I must carry The blessed word of life
Across the burning deserts To those in sinful strife
And though it be my lot To bear my colors there
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
Sing it out.
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
Wherever I may be If he is there
I counted a privilege here His cross to bear
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
I got myself a little too excited on that one, but let's sing it out on the third.
But if it be my portion To bear my cross at home
While others bear their burdens Beyond the billows foam
I'll prove my faith in him Confess my judgment fair
And if he stays with me I'll go anywhere
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
Tis heaven to me where I may be If he is there
I counted a privilege here His cross to bear
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
Let's sing it out on the last.
It is not mine to question The judgments of my Lord
It is but mine to follow The leadings of his Word
But if to go or stay Or whether here or there
He'll be with my Savior content anywhere
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
Tis heaven to me where I may be If he is there
I counted a privilege here His cross to bear
If Jesus goes with me I'll go anywhere
Great singing. Pastor, come up.
I was wondering why he was staring at me and I figured, oh, I'm supposed to go up there now.
All right, let's take our bulletins. We'll look at some announcements.
If you do not have a bulletin, raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we'll get one for you.
The verse of this week, 2 Peter 3, 18, but growing grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And be glory both now and forever. Amen. And that's a good verse there like that.
You open up your bullets and you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m.
And of course we invite you to be with us on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for church.
Sunday evening service 6 p.m. And then of course our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m.
We're glad you're here for our midweek service.
It looks like we're getting back to normal, but we still have several families that are out sick.
So be in prayer, of course, for the church families as they get better.
Soul winning time Saturday morning churchwide soul winning at 10 a.m.
And then I want you to notice that for Thursday, Friday and Sunday the soul winning times are at 2 p.m.
And I want you to notice that it's not on Thursday. We're not having the 6 p.m. soul winning anymore.
It's at 2 p.m. So please make note of that and know that tomorrow if you'd like to go soul winning.
It's a 2 p.m. soul winning time Friday, 2 p.m. soul winning time Sunday, 2 p.m. soul winning time.
We of course are a family integrated church. Children and infants are always welcome in the service.
We do not separate children from their parents for any reason.
We do that by the baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience.
All of the rooms have comfortable seating in it.
They have monitors so you can watch the service and listen to us.
So please use those rooms as needed.
If you need to be baptized, please let us know.
We'd love to baptize you. The baptistry is filled. The water is warm.
And you can actually just let us know on your communication card and we'll follow up with you in regards to that.
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, we've got the cleaning crew appreciation dinner and training.
That is on Friday, August 18th at 6 p.m.
And if you're part of our current cleaning crew, we want to acknowledge you and we want to appreciate you and we appreciate the cleaning crew.
We could not do what we do without the cleaning crew.
So please make sure you sign up for that on your communication card to attend that.
And then of course if you're interested in being part of the cleaning crew, if you'd like to learn more about that ministry,
then you can come as well and be part of that training, part of that dinner,
and we'll get you signed up on a team to help us with that.
BBC choir, they started practicing on Sunday for family and friend day.
Ladies weight loss accountability group.
They meet every Wednesday at 615 in the mother baby room closest to the front entrance.
Discipleship class, that's at 5 p.m. on Sundays.
And there's other things there for you to look at.
Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anybody.
If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month.
This week we have Mike Augovitch's birthday on July 30th.
KZ Stelzer's birthday on July 31st.
Jordan Taylor had a birthday on August 1st.
Asher Taylor had a birthday tomorrow on August 3rd.
And my daughter Lydia Jimenez has a birthday later this week on August 4th.
Ms. Brandy Barrett also has a birthday on August 4th.
And Daisy O2 has a birthday on August 5th.
Praise report, money matters, all those things are there for you to look at.
And I think that's it for all of the announcements.
So we're going to go ahead and sing the, not the chorus of the week, we're going to sing page number 261.
Page number 261.
And we're going to sing Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus as we prepare to receive the offering this evening.
Page number 261, sing it out on the first.
O soul are you weary and troubled,
No light in the darkness you see.
There's light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Bloatful in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strange,
Lead them in the light of His glory and grace.
Go to 261, sing it out on the second.
Through death into life everlasting,
Past and we follow Him there.
Obra saved, no more hath dominion,
For more than conquer we are.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Bloatful in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strange,
Lead them in the light of His glory and grace.
Good, sing it out on the last.
His word shall not fail you,
Believe Him and all will be well.
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to you now.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Bloatful in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strange,
Lead them in the light of His glory and grace.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you.
We, of course, thank you for allowing us to gather together on a Wednesday night.
Lord, we pray that you'd bless the offering, the gift and the giver.
We ask that you'd meet with us as we take time to pray.
And, of course, as we open up your word, study the Bible together.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Thank you.
Amen.
All right, well, let's go ahead and take our prayer sheets tonight.
And we'll look, we'll go through our prayer list.
If you did not receive a prayer sheet on your way in, just raise your hand.
And one of our ushers can get one for you.
You need a prayer list, just put your hand up.
And we will get one for you.
And, of course, I want to remind you that the way you add a request to the prayer sheet
is through the prayer list.
So, if you have a prayer sheet, just raise your hand.
And one of our ushers can get one for you.
You need a prayer list, just put your hand up.
And one of our requests to the prayer sheet is through your communication card.
In the back of the card there's a place for you to write down a request.
Make sure you mark whether it's private or public.
If it's private, only I will see it.
If it's public, we will put it on the prayer sheet.
If you don't mark it, we'll do our best to figure it out.
But we usually don't add those if you don't mark them.
So, please make sure that you mark that.
And, of course, keep in mind that the prayer requests are added in the order that they are received
and they are removed after a couple of weeks.
So, if you'd like to keep them longer, you have to fill out another communication card.
Let's go ahead and take these requests to the Lord.
I'll pray out loud, and I ask that you'd follow along in your mind and your heart.
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do come to you tonight asking, Lord, that you would hear our prayers, Lord.
And we begin with this prayer from Brother Ron, praying for his mom and his family's salvation.
And, Lord, also Brother Vladi and Miss Antonina, praying for their family's salvation.
And Miss Natalie, praying for the salvation of her husband and her family as well.
And Miss Christine Ortiz, praying for her sister Judy's salvation as well.
Lord, we ask for all these individuals.
We pray that you would help them to all come to the place where they would be willing and able to hear the Gospel.
We pray that your Holy Spirit would work on their hearts, on the inside,
and that you would work in their circumstances on the outside, that they might be receptive to the Gospel.
And, of course, that a soul winner would communicate the Gospel clearly to them.
Lord, we ask for these individuals that if it's possible that they might be saved.
We also pray for these that have health requests.
Brother Ron praying, and, of course, we're all praying for Baby John and for Brother Sean, Miss Ava.
And, Lord, we're asking that you would continue to put your healing hand over John.
Lord, help him as he recovers from this first round of chemotherapy.
And, Lord, we pray that you would strengthen him and heal him.
And, Lord, we ask that you would completely heal him from cancer if it's your will.
And we also pray for Matul Hia who's praying for her mother Martha for her healing and also possible breast cancer
and asking that it would not be so, Lord, that she would not have cancer.
And if she does, we ask that you would help her through the different procedures that need to happen there, Lord.
And we pray that you would help her to beat that and be cancer free.
We pray for Miss Cricket who's praying for her neighbor Caroline who fell.
And also for Miss Marie Hack who's having had surgery yesterday and we're asking for her recovery and her help.
We pray for Miss Christine Ortiz for her health and also for her sister Judy praying for her cancer to go into remission.
We pray for Brother Salvador for his health.
We pray for Edgar and Selena praying for Uretzi that she would continue to be healthy and strong.
And, Lord, we ask for all these individuals.
We pray that you'd put your healing hand over them.
We pray that you would be with them.
We pray that you'd strengthen them.
We ask that you'd give the doctors and nurses wisdom and discernment to know how to deal with them.
We also pray for our missionary Dave Cabuntala for his wife Angel who's also undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer
and asking that you would heal her and help her to be able to be cancer free as well.
We pray for the ladies in our church that are expecting for Miss Rebecca, Miss Selena, Miss Melody, and also for Miss Victoria,
asking that you would give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues and no complications.
And, Lord, we pray for these that have physical financial requests.
Heather Carranza praying for her family's finances and for her husband's job prospects.
Brother Salvador praying for his finances and his work as well.
And, Lord, asking that you would meet the needs there.
Then we pray for these that are praying for their families.
Miss Christine Ortiz praying for her family and her children.
Brother Salvador also praying for his family and also for his faith and for his walk with you.
And, Lord, we ask that you would please help them regarding that and be with them regarding that.
And then, of course, Lord, we pray for our church, for the members of our prison ministry and their families,
for the purchase of the building.
Lord, we thank you for how smoothly things are going there and how everything is going well.
We pray that you'd continue to help those things to go well.
We pray for our church plants in the Philippines, Manila, Pampangan, Bicol, our evangelist, Matthew Stuckey and his family.
We ask that you'd continue to bless them and help them.
And, of course, we pray for our church here in Sacramento.
You continue to strengthen us and bless us, Lord.
We pray for those that are out.
We pray that you'd help them to get better soon and come back to church soon.
Lord, we pray for the service tonight, that you would meet with us, that you'd guide us, that you'd help us to hear from your word.
Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit would guide me, help me to say those things that you'd have me to say and to not say those things that you would not want me to say.
And, Lord, I pray that we would be edified from your word tonight.
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
I do want you to notice, I forgot to mention it there, but Miss Victoria Nello Tesco has been added to the safe and healthy pregnancy.
So, congratulations to Brother David and Miss Victoria expecting another baby.
So, praise the Lord for that.
Please open up to Galatians 5.
Galatians, chapter number 5.
Galatians 5.
If you do not have a Bible, please put your hand up and I'm not sure if I bring you a Bible.
Galatians 5.
Just keep your hand up or she will come by.
Galatians, chapter number 5.
We will read the entire chapter as our custom.
Galatians 5 and verse 1.
Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law.
You are fallen from grace.
For wait through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love.
Ye did run well, who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded.
But he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment whosoever he be.
And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution?
Then is the offense of the cross ceased.
I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty.
Only you is not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye not be consumed one of another.
This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
And these are the contrary, the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like.
Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past,
that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.
And neither Christ hath crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for this evening. God, I thank you for your word
and for our church, for everyone that's here, for the book of Galatians.
God, I ask that you meet with us tonight.
I ask that you please read our passage to strengthen him and fill him with your Spirit.
We love you, and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
Alright, well we're there in Galatians chapter number 5.
And of course on Wednesday nights we've been going through the book of Galatians.
Galatians chapter number 5.
And I don't know why I'm all mixed up today.
And that either means it's going to be a very bad sermon or a very good sermon.
Or it's going to be very good for me and very bad for you.
Either way, it'll be good. The word of God is always good.
Galatians chapter 5.
And we're here in verse number 16 and we've been going through the book of Galatians on Wednesday nights.
And we haven't been in it, of course, for a little bit because of the Red Hawk Preaching Conference and different things.
But before we get, we're going to go through verses 16-26 tonight.
But before we get into it, let me just remind you of some of the themes of the book of Galatians.
Because it'll help you understand what it is that the Apostle Paul is saying and why it is that he's bringing these things up.
If you remember, as we've been going through the book of Galatians, I've reminded you of these themes as we've gone through it.
Because it's something that comes up.
Multiple of these themes or multiple of these themes will come up in every single chapter.
And tonight is no different. Here at the end of chapter 5, we see the last two themes.
So if you remember the themes of the book of Galatians, the first theme was Paul's authority as an apostle and his authority and his apostleship.
Because of the fact that there are those who are attacking the Apostle Paul.
They're attacking his leadership and his credibility.
So he's defending himself and his authority as an apostle.
The second theme is the theme of salvation by grace through faith and not of works.
And again, this all has to do with the third theme.
The third theme is the Apostle Paul warning and fighting against the Judaizers.
And if you remember, the Judaizers are coming from Jerusalem down to the region of Galatia.
And they are teaching that you have to keep the Old Testament law.
And these are the people that are attacking the authority of the Apostle Paul.
And they're teaching that you have to keep the law in order to be saved.
So that's why we have these three themes.
Paul's authority as an apostle, salvation by grace through faith and not of works.
And then he's warning and fighting against these Judaizers who are teaching that you must keep the Old Testament law to be saved.
And then there's a fourth theme.
And the fourth theme is that salvation can bring sanctification through the Spirit.
That's actually what we're going to get into tonight.
Because again, these Judaizers are teaching that you have to keep the Old Testament law.
That if you want to be saved and even after you're saved, if you want to be right with God, you have to keep the Old Testament law.
And of course there's nothing wrong with keeping the Old Testament law.
But there is something wrong when you're trying to manipulate people into keeping the laws of God.
Or you're trying to coerce them into keeping the laws of God.
And the Apostle Paul is trying to teach the Galatians that sanctification can happen through the Holy Spirit of God.
And that's actually the theme tonight when the Apostle Paul begins here.
Notice there in verse 16, Galatians chapter 5, in verse number 16 the Bible says this,
This I say then, walk in the Spirit.
And this is the title of the sermon tonight.
Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And what the Apostle Paul is going to deal with is this idea of how to get victory over sin.
Obviously we all struggle with sin. We all have a sin nature.
And he's going to be teaching this idea of how it is that we can get victory over sin.
And I want you to understand, just in connection to the themes, that the way to have victory, Paul is going to teach us.
The way to have victory over sin, over the lust of the flesh, is not by trying to keep the law.
Trying to keep the law and just telling yourself, I have to keep the laws of God and this is going to bring righteousness into my life.
That is not the way that Christians should have victory over sin.
And if you think that's what Christianity is, if you think Christianity is you got saved and now you started coming to church like Verity Baptist Church
and now you have to keep this whole checklist of laws and you've got to keep your hair a certain length
and the ladies have to keep their skirt a certain length and you have to do certain things or else you're not going to be right with God.
You are not going to make it in the Christian life and you're going to be miserable in the Christian life
because the Apostle Paul is teaching us that the way to have, and by the way, I'm not against any of those things.
I think ladies should have the length of the skirt should be long and I think the length of men's hair should be short
and I'm all for all of that but I want you to understand that the way that we get victory in the Christian life
is not by trying to keep the law but by walking in the Spirit.
This is what the Apostle Paul is teaching. He says,
This I say then, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Now tonight as we go through this passage I'd like to give you three headings and maybe you can jot these down
as we prepare to go through the passage and of course on the back of your course of the week
there's a place for you to jot things down and take some notes.
The first thing we see is a declaration by the Apostle Paul.
We see a declaration, we're going to get into that here in a minute.
The second thing we see is an observation and we'll notice that as well
and then we'll end tonight with a motivation, a declaration, an observation and a motivation.
So notice it again there in verse 16 we see the declaration,
This I say then. The Apostle Paul clearly declares this truth.
He says, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
In this declaration we see the insight into the power of the Holy Spirit
and the power of the Holy Spirit is this, that if you and I learn to walk in the Spirit
we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
By the way, let me say this, the reverse is also true.
When you walk in the flesh you will fulfill the lust of the flesh.
If you walk in the Spirit you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh
and if you're walking in the flesh you're not walking in the Spirit.
You're walking in the flesh.
So this idea is that we must learn to walk in the Spirit
if we're going to have victory in the Christian life, if we're going to last in this thing,
if we're going to actually be happy through the Christian life
we're going to have to learn to walk in the Spirit.
I'd like you to keep your place there in Galatians chapter 5.
That's obviously our text for tonight.
But go with me if you would to the book of Romans.
If you go backwards past 2 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians you'll find the book of Romans.
If you're going backwards you have Galatians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians and then Romans.
Romans chapter number 8.
And do me a favor when you get there put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there
because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it.
Romans chapter number 8.
I could preach a whole sermon series on this idea of walking in the Spirit.
Let me just quickly tonight help you understand and give you two thoughts regarding walking in the Spirit.
Because here's the key.
If you want to live the Christian life successfully, walk in the Spirit,
the declaration that Paul tells us is walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
So then we have to answer this question, how can we walk in the Spirit?
How is it that we can walk in the Spirit?
And there's two things that I want you to understand.
The first is this.
Walking in the Spirit requires doing new things.
Or maybe I should say it this way.
Walking in the Spirit requires doing spiritual things.
Notice there in Romans chapter 8 and verse 1.
Notice what Paul says in Romans chapter 8 and verse 1.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
Notice what he says.
Who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
When the Bible says to walk in the Spirit or when it uses this terminology to walk,
this has to do, the idea here is that it has to do with the manner of your life,
the way that you are living your life, the way that you are walking through life.
And here we are told that we should not walk if you are saved.
We're told you should not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit.
What does that mean?
That means that there was a way you used to walk before you were saved.
There was a way you used to walk and you can still walk that way even after you are saved.
But you should not walk that way.
We should not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit.
Look at verse 4, same chapter, Romans chapter 8 verse 4.
But the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, notice what he says,
who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
So you've got to begin here and ask yourself this question.
Do you walk after the flesh?
I'm talking about your day to day life.
You get up tomorrow and you begin to walk.
You get up, you get dressed, you begin to walk through life.
You go to work or you begin to homeschool your children or whatever it is that you do through your life.
Do you walk in the Spirit?
You say what does that mean?
Are you walking in such a way that you are allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you
where you are saying I will do what the Holy Spirit wants me to do?
Or are you walking in such a way where you are saying I guide myself.
I do what I want to do.
I allow my flesh to guide me and I make decisions based on what I want to do in the flesh.
See, walking in the Spirit is going to require that you begin to do spiritual things.
And this is why I feel like this is very important and it's frustrating for me as a pastor at times
because it's so hard to help people.
It's hard. Please listen to me.
And the thing is, here's the thing.
Those of you that need this, you're not going to understand it, which is the frustrating part.
But I'm going to try it anyway.
People will come to a church like Verity Baptist Church and then they'll have problems.
They'll have marriage problems. They'll have problems raising their children.
They'll have financial problems. They'll have whatever problems that the Bible can solve for them.
And they'll come to someone like me or they'll come to my wife and they'll ask for counsel
and ask for counseling and ask for advice.
But the problem is this, that it's hard to help people spiritually who walk like an unsaved person every day.
You say, what do you mean?
I mean the stuff you're listening to, the stuff you're watching, the things you're consuming all day long.
See, it's not possible for you to come to a church like this.
You say, well, we're on a Wednesday night.
Even if you come on a Sunday morning for an hour and a half, Sunday night for an hour and a half,
Wednesday night for an hour and a half, if we're lucky, if we're lucky, you show up for Sunday night.
If we're lucky, you show up for Wednesday night. If we're lucky, you show up for Sunday church.
It's not possible for us to help that when you've been spending literally 12 hours all day on YouTube,
on TikTok, on Facebook, on all the trash of the world just consuming.
And the sad thing is that Christians today, they watch the exact same things on YouTube and TikTok and Facebook
and whatever other social media. They watch the same things, listen to the same people, consume the same things as the world.
There's nothing spiritual about their life at all.
They might say they're Christians and they probably are.
You know, if they're here tonight, you're saved and praise God for that.
But just because you're saved doesn't mean you're walking in the Spirit.
See, the trick is you say, I don't want to fulfill the lust of the flesh. Great.
How do we do that? You have to walk in the Spirit. Great. How do we do that?
You've got to stop walking in the flesh.
It is hard to help people spiritually. And this is why.
People come, they're like, oh, I want marriage counseling. I want this counseling. I want that counseling.
And we try to talk to them. But it's like you're talking to a wall, right?
Why? Because they're so consumed with the world.
They're consumed with everything the world teaches them, everything the world tells them, all the agendas of the world.
Here's what I'm telling you.
If you're going to walk in the Spirit, it's going to require you to do different things.
You're going to have to stop walking in the flesh.
So here's what I'm saying is if you're listening to everyone the world is listening to,
if you're watching everything the world is watching,
if you're watching every movie that the world is watching,
if you're consuming all the entertainment that the world is providing,
if you're listening to all the things that the world is providing for you to listen to,
you're not going to walk in the Spirit because you cannot walk in the Spirit.
You cannot live in the Spirit. And look, let's not spiritualize.
No, walking in the Spirit, it's literally I'm walking through my day
and I'm allowing the Holy Spirit of God to tell me what to do,
what to watch, what to not watch, what to listen to, what to not listen to,
where to go, where to not go. That's literally, don't spiritualize it.
All these men of God, they walk in the Spirit.
No, no, walking in the Spirit is simply saying,
Hey, Holy Spirit, where do you want me to go?
What do you want me to do?
How do you want me to think?
How do you want me to feel?
What do you want me to do?
But see, Christians today spend all day long walking in the flesh.
And then they wonder and then we wonder why we fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Well, I'll tell you why you fulfill the lust of the flesh
because you walk in the flesh all day long.
This I say then. Here's the declaration, walk in the Spirit
and you should not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
But in order to walk in the Spirit, you're going to have to stop walking in the flesh.
You're going to have to stop consuming all the world.
Because look, we can't undo in the four and a half hours you give us a week if we're lucky.
Do you understand that?
You consume more worldliness on YouTube in one day
than you get preaching at Verity Baptist Church if you come to all three services.
Do you understand that?
And then people come here and they're like,
It didn't work. Church didn't work.
Hey, church works. The Bible works. You didn't work.
Don't blame me that we weren't able to help your marriage
when you're just a stinking worldly person.
And by the way, stop consuming the world stuff.
Start consuming the Bible stuff.
You won't need so much counseling.
You won't even need so much help.
Because here's the declaration.
Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And the sad thing is, and the sad realization that my wife and I often have in ministry,
I don't know why we're always so surprised because we always are so surprised
and then we look at ourselves and think, Why are we surprised?
It's when you find, when you look at someone and you realize,
Oh, I thought you were more spiritual than this.
My bad.
My mistake.
I thought you actually loved God.
Turns out you love yourself.
Go to Ephesians chapter 4. You're learning Galatians.
Next book is Ephesians.
Walking in the Spirit will solve all your problems.
Because if you walk in the Spirit, you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
It will solve all your problems.
Because all your problems, all the problems that you and I have in this world
have to do with us fulfilling the lust of the flesh.
The pride of the eyes, the pride of life, the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, the world, the devil, and our flesh.
Those are our three enemies.
And walking in the Spirit will solve all of it.
Because if you walk, here's the promise, here's the declaration.
If you walk in the Spirit, you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
But you can't walk in the Spirit while walking in the flesh.
So at some point you're going to have to make a choice.
Ephesians 4, look at verse 17.
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord,
that ye henceforth walk not as the Gentiles walk.
And look again, this is not just Bible talk and the King James Bible and henceforth.
And look at this. No, no, no. This is practical stuff.
Paul is telling you. Paul is telling me. I am telling you tonight.
Hey, why don't you henceforth, why don't you from now on,
why don't you from tonight on not walk as the Gentiles walk?
Gentiles is referring to just the normal world.
Look at verse 22. Ephesians 4, 22.
That ye put off, that ye take off, like taking off a garment of clothing,
that ye put off concerning the former conversation.
In our King James Bible, the word conversation means lifestyle.
Same idea as your walk, that ye put off the former conversation.
Notice the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts.
So walking in the Spirit is the key to the successful Christian life.
Walk in the Spirit, here's the declaration.
Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Well then why do I keep fulfilling the lusts of the flesh?
Well here's why, because you're not walking in the Spirit.
Well how can I walk in the Spirit?
Well first you've got to stop walking in the flesh.
You've got to stop consuming so much world and worldliness
and all your worldly friends and all the worldly attitudes
and realize I can't walk like the Gentiles walk and walk in the Spirit.
There's a second step.
Not only does walking in the Spirit require doing new things,
walking in the Spirit requires thinking new ways.
Requires doing spiritual things and it requires thinking spiritually.
Walk in the Spirit means thinking in a spiritual way.
Are there any Ephesians 4?
Look at verse 23.
And be renewed, remember this is a context, we just read verse 22,
that ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man,
which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts, verse 23,
and be renewed in the Spirit of your mind.
And that ye put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holy.
And again I think people just read this stuff and they just kind of,
their eyes glaze over because it's not TikTok.
Their eyes glaze over and they're just like, I don't know, what is this?
Look, he's literally telling you, if you want, you need to put off the old man.
Stop doing what the old man, what you used to do before you were saved
or when you were backslidden and you've got to start thinking differently
and be renewed in the Spirit of your mind,
that ye put on the new man so that you can become a new person,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Obviously if you're saved, that new man is already there,
but you've got to start walking in that spiritual man.
Walking in the Spirit.
Go back to Romans chapter 8.
So you've got to be concerned with how you think.
And again, let me ask you, how do you think?
Well, let me tell you how you think.
It's very easy to know how you think.
You know what the Bible says?
The Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.
You know what some of you should do is just pick up a little recorder
and record yourself all day long and then go back and listen to yourself talk
and it will reveal what's in your heart.
Or ask your spouse or ask people around you.
Take inventory of what you talk about
because what you talk about reveals what's in your heart.
Your heart and your mind, these terms are used synonymously.
You've got to be renewed in the Spirit of your mind.
Romans 8, look at verse 5.
For they that are after the flesh.
Notice, for they that are after the flesh.
Again, after the flesh means that they're walking in the flesh.
They're after the things of the flesh.
They're going towards, they're consuming.
Their goals are to get all the things that the world tells you to get.
For they that are after the flesh.
Notice, do mind the things of the flesh.
Do mind means they think about, they concentrate on,
they meditate upon the things of the flesh.
Doesn't that make sense?
People who are going after the flesh
and doing the things that the flesh tells them to do,
they think about the things of the flesh.
But they that are after the Spirit.
Look, it's not that complicated.
But they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
You say, how do you find someone
who is walking in the Spirit and doing spiritual things?
Here's how you find, how do you get there?
You start thinking about spiritual things.
You start consuming spiritual things.
Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.
Because your mind, Paul said,
Peter said, we can but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
You know why?
You talk about what you talk about because it's what you consume.
In your eyes, in your ears.
We can but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
Some people, you get around them and it's all positive
and it's all the Bible and it's all spirituality
and it's walking with God and it's loving God.
Why?
Because they spend their days reading the Bible,
listening to preaching, being around godly people.
Other people, you get around them and it's all about money
and it's all about sports and it's all about this,
all these worldly things.
Why?
Because that's what they're consuming.
We can but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
Notice Romans 8 verse 6.
For to be carnally minded is death.
You cannot live the Christian life.
I didn't say you'd lose your salvation.
I'm saying you cannot be an effective follower of the Lord Jesus Christ
while being carnally minded but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
You know why it says peace?
Because the best way to have peace in your life is to just walk in the spirit.
What will bring chaos into your life is fulfilling the lust of the flesh.
You know what will bring chaos into your life is becoming a drug addict.
You know what will bring chaos into your life is committing adultery.
You know what will bring chaos into your life is being a fornicator.
So the best way to live at peace is to walk in the spirit
and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Go back to Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 2.
If you kept your place in Galatians right after you have the book of Ephesians,
I just want to highlight some of these verses for you.
Let me just say this. Let me give you what I call the transformation equation.
How do you transform? How can someone be transformed?
Here's how it happens.
Thought patterns, new spiritual thought pattern, a new way of thinking,
saying I'm going to stop thinking the world tells me to think.
I'm going to stop chasing money. I'm going to stop chasing fame.
I'm going to stop chasing being cool.
I'm going to stop chasing all the things in the world, just a new thought pattern
plus a new action plan.
Not only am I going to stop thinking the way the world tells me to think,
I'm going to stop doing what the world tells me to do.
I'm going to start thinking the way God tells me to think.
Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
I'm going to start doing what God tells me to do,
and when your thought patterns plus a new thought pattern
plus a new action plan, parentheses, this is an equation for you,
multiplied over a long period of time, you know what will happen?
Transformation.
You'll become a different person.
You'll become a different person than the one you used to be
if you decide every day I'm going to start thinking differently,
I'm going to start acting differently, I'm going to start doing,
I'm going to start stop thinking the way the world tells me to think,
and start thinking the way God tells me to think.
I'm going to stop doing what the world tells me to do,
and I'm going to start doing what God wants me to do,
and I'm going to do that every day, every day, every day.
A new spiritual thought pattern and new spiritual action plans
added together and multiplied for a long period of time
will bring transformation in your marriage,
with your child rearing, your spiritual life, all of it.
Because here's the declaration, walk in the Spirit,
and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Look at Ephesians 2, look at verse 2.
Ephesians 2, 2, wherein in time past, Paul speaking to the Ephesians,
he says, in time past ye walked according to the course of this world.
That word course there, when I say that word course,
I think of like a track or a path.
You know the whole world is on just a course.
They're just on a path.
They even call it the rat race.
The whole world is just in a maze of the world.
Get vaccines, love LGBT.
Nobody thinks.
They just do whatever they're told to do.
They spend time on the entertainment of the world,
on the media of the world, on the brainwashing of the world.
They think like the world, so then they act like the world.
Notice it, for they that are, excuse me, Ephesians 2,
wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world.
You say, well, who's in charge of the course of the world?
According to the prince of the power of the air, that's Satan.
The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
This is how the world lives their life.
None of them are thinking.
They're just doing what they're being told.
They're watching TV programs and they're being programmed to think a certain way.
And the sad thing is that many Christians are too.
Look at verse 3, among whom also we all had our conversation in time past.
Hey, Paul says, look, we used to be like that before we got saved.
He's what he's saying to the Ephesians.
We all had our conversation in time past, in the lust of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh, notice, and of the mind.
Because you have to start doing what the world tells you to do
and you have to stop thinking the way the world tells you to think.
And we're by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Look at Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17, Ephesians 4, 17.
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth, that ye henceforth,
walk not as other Gentiles walk, notice it, in the vanity of their mind.
Let me tell you something.
Unless you're like watching, you know, new IFB preaching on YouTube,
or you're, you know, if you're doing something educational where it's actually educational,
well, everybody wants to call everything educational now,
where it's actually educational.
Most of the stuff on YouTube, I've never been on TikTok,
but I can promise you everything on TikTok,
if it's not new IFB preaching, it is the vanity of this world.
It is people telling you how to live the way,
and it's supposed to make you want to envy them and emulate them
and want to be like them, and it's going to ruin your life.
So we see a declaration.
We see the insight into the power of the Spirit.
Here's a declaration, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
It's a promise.
You say, I'd like to not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Well, it's easy, walk in the Spirit.
Well, why can't I walk in the Spirit?
Because you can't walk in the Spirit while walking in the flesh.
You're going to have to make a decision.
Here's our second word.
The first word was a declaration, or term, a declaration.
Here's the second term, an observation.
An observation.
In the declaration, we saw the insight into the Spirit.
In the observation, we see the Apostle Paul observing this internal struggle.
Notice, if you go back to Galatians 5 and verse 17,
that Paul is observing an internal struggle within a Christian.
And this is true of every Christian.
If you are saved, you have had this internal struggle.
If you have never had this struggle, you're probably not saved.
Notice Galatians 5, 17.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
And these are contrary, the one to the other.
Paul is explaining why it is that every Christian experiences an internal struggle.
I mean, how is it that I, or you, if you're saved...
Why did 400 people show up at the Red Hop Reaching Conference?
Literally, 400 and some people showed up,
came from all over the country and different parts of the world,
all sorts of different countries.
Why? To just have their faces ripped off.
Their vacation was just the hardest preaching.
You say, why would somebody want that?
Well, let me tell you something.
Their flesh doesn't want it, but you know what wants it?
It's their Spirit.
The Spirit says, yeah, I like hard preaching.
The Spirit says, I like hard preaching.
But you say, but my flesh also doesn't like it.
The Spirit says, I like the King James Bible,
but the flesh says, I don't want to read the Bible.
Do you understand that?
The Spirit says, I want to pray, but the flesh says, I don't want to pray.
And this is an internal struggle that Christians have. Why?
Because in you there is the old man and the new man.
There is the flesh and the Spirit.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh,
and these are contrary, the one to the other.
Keep your place in Galatians. Go back to Romans. Romans chapter 8.
There's this internal struggle.
There's this internal fight between the flesh and the Spirit.
Romans chapter 8. Notice verse 7.
Because the carnal mind is enmity.
The word enmity means you are at odds with or you are fighting against God.
You know the carnal mind is an enmity against God.
For it is not subject, it is not yielding to the law of God.
Neither indeed can be. Look at verse 8.
So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
When you're in the flesh, you cannot please God.
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.
See, you and I have the ability to...
We are in the Spirit, we have the Spirit, and we can walk in the Spirit.
If so, be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of his.
So we see this internal struggle that Paul is observing.
He says there is this experience that Christians have.
This internal struggle, this fight between the old man and the new man.
Look at verse 17.
Keep your place on Romans. Go back to Galatians 5.17.
Look at the last part of verse 17.
Well, look at verse 17 again.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
And he is a contrary, the one to the other.
Notice the last part of verse 17.
So that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
You see that?
Paul says, look, this is why you experience an internal fight.
Because the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
Because you have a spiritual man and a carnal man.
You have a spiritual man and a flesh man.
You have an old man and a new man, and they are at odds with each other.
And then he says, this is why you can't do the things you want to do.
He says, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
And if you are a Christian and you are actually saved, you probably have experienced this.
Go back, go to Romans chapter 7.
Because your Spirit says, I love preaching.
But yet you still can't make it to Sunday night church.
You say, how can that be? Here's why it is.
Your Spirit wants to go to Sunday night church, but your flesh doesn't.
Your Spirit says, I love the Word of God.
But yet you still don't read it.
How can that be? How can I love the Bible?
Look, we're genuine. When we say that, we're genuine.
In our spiritual man we say we love the Word of God.
But yet the average Christian tomorrow morning will not crack open their Bible and read it.
Why? Why can we not do the things that we want to do? Here's why.
Because it's not just the Spirit that's in you, it's the Spirit and the flesh.
And there's this internal battle, Romans 7 verse 17.
For that which I do, here's how Paul said it. Romans 7, 15, excuse me. Romans chapter 7 verse 15.
For that which I do, I allow not.
Paul's going to use a lot of wording. You've got to follow what he's saying here.
What does that mean? For that which I do, I allow not.
Here's what he's saying. I end up doing the things that I tell people not to do.
The things that I tell people don't do, that I allow not. He says, I end up doing those.
For that which I do, I allow not.
For what I would, he said, what I want to do, that do I not.
I don't do what I want to do.
But what I hate, that do I.
He says, I don't do what I want to do and I end up doing the things I don't want to do.
In fact, I end up doing the things I tell other people not to do.
Verse 16, if then I do that which I would not.
He said, if I'm doing something that I know I don't want to do and I know it's wrong,
I consent unto the law that it is good. I know that it's wrong and I know that God's word is good.
But why can't I do what I want to do?
Look at verse 17, now then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
And please understand, there's not a cop-out on the apostle Paul.
He's not saying, well, it's not me, it's sin.
When he says sin that dwelleth in me, he's referring to the sin nature.
He's differentiating between his spiritual man and his carnal man.
He says, my spiritual man doesn't want to, but my sin nature ends up doing it.
You say, why? Here's how Jesus put it.
The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Your spirit might want to go soul winning, but your weak flesh won't let you.
Your spirit might want to read the Bible, but your weak flesh won't let you.
Your spirit might want to live for God, but your weak flesh won't let you.
Notice verse 18, for I know that in me, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.
For to will, he says, the desire, the will is present with me.
He says, I want to, but how to perform that which is good, I find not.
He says, for the good that I would, I do not.
The good things I want to do, I end up not doing, but the evil which I would not that I do.
Now, if I do that, I would not. It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
The sin nature, the old man, and here's what he's saying.
He's saying, Paul is saying, when you, because look, there's an observation.
We see this internal struggle. There's this fight, every day there's a fight in the flesh,
between the flesh and the spirit. You say, well, which one's going to win?
Well, my whole life I've heard people illustrate it this way.
It's like you have two dogs that are fighting, a good dog and a bad dog.
Every day they get up, they're going to fight. You say, which one's going to win?
The one you feed. See, you don't understand why your spiritual man loses every day.
Why you fail at walking in the spirit is because you spent all day feeding the flesh.
You spent all day, remember? You spent all day consuming the flesh, consuming the world,
feeding the flesh, Hollywood movies, Hollywood entertainment, all the social media garbage,
so your flesh gets very strong while your spirit gets very weak.
And then you wonder why, when they got to go to battle, the flesh always wins.
I want to, but I can't get myself to do what I want to.
The flesh that dwelleth the sin that dwelleth in me wins every time. Why?
Because you're walking in the flesh.
But if you begin to walk in the spirit, you stop feeding the flesh and you start feeding the spirit,
you'll find that spiritual man beginning to win those battles.
So number one, we saw a declaration. We see the insight into the spirit, the power of the spirit.
Then we saw an observation. We see the internal struggle in the Christian life.
And the spirit will win when you feed the spirit. The flesh will win when you feed the flesh.
And it's very simple. You just got to ask yourself and actually be honest with yourself,
what are you feeding more, the flesh or the spirit?
Then I want you to notice, thirdly, there's a motivation, a motivation.
Galatians chapter 5, look at verse 18.
But if you be led of the spirit, you're not under the law.
Remember the themes of the book, of the book?
The Judaizers were saying, you got to follow the law, you got to follow the law.
And what Paul is teaching is that, look, there can be sanctification through the spirit.
And what he's telling us is that the way to have victory over sin, over the lust of the flesh,
is not by keeping the law. It's not by keeping a checklist.
But it is by walking in the spirit. When you walk in the spirit, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And then here in verse 18 we're told, but if you be led of the spirit, what does that mean?
The Holy Spirit, it's like he grabs your hand and he starts leading you. He's guiding you.
Now the only way to be led of the spirit is you have to be sensitive to the spirit.
You understand that?
The reason that many Christians cannot be led of the spirit is because they quench this Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit tells them, do that, don't do that, go there, don't go there, watch that, don't watch that,
listen to that, don't listen to that, drink that, don't drink that.
And they just quench the spirit, they grieve the spirit, they quiet the spirit,
they're not sensitive to the spirit, so they cannot be led.
Because the Bible says, but if you be led of the spirit, you're not under law. You say, what does that mean?
Here's what it means, if you're led of the spirit, no one has to give you a checklist.
Do you understand what I just said?
If you're led of the spirit, nobody has to give you, oh here are the rules,
here are the regulations, you got to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Now look, at Verity Baptist Church, you know, I don't know if you know this about Verity Baptist Church,
but we're like a highly organized church.
And you know that at Verity Baptist Church, we have standards, leadership standards for everyone that serves here.
Anyone that serves in a public capacity, you say, what does that mean?
That means people see you serving. I'm talking about you're an usher, you're on the safety team,
you're a song leader, you're in the orchestra, you're a soul winning captain,
you're a BBC family captain, you lead in any sort of capacity that people can see you.
Every single person, and if I'm lying, stand up right now and accuse me.
Every single person that serves in this capacity, before you start serving,
we give you a list that says, here's what we expect.
And you know what those lists say? You say, how do you know? I wrote them.
They say you're expected to go to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night.
They say you're expected to go soul winning once a week if you're going to be an usher,
if you're going to be a safety team member, if you're going to be in the orchestra,
if you're going to stand up here and lead the music, if you're going to stand up here and read the Bible,
if you're going to do anything that's in a public capacity.
And here's the thing, we didn't make you commit to that.
Everyone who does these things, they of their own will commit to that and say, yes, I'll do that.
But you know, the truth is this, we wouldn't even have to have the list if you were just led of the Spirit,
because when you're led of the Spirit, you're not under the law.
When you're led of the Spirit, nobody has to tell you to go soul winning,
you just go soul winning because you love God, because you love lost people.
When you're led of the Spirit, nobody has to tell you to show up to Sunday night church,
you just show up to Sunday night church because you love the Word of God being preached and you love God's people.
But you know what, let me go ahead and harp on this a little bit,
because it's so frustrating and I realize that my mind and my wife's mind,
obviously think differently than the average person because it's so frustrating to me.
You committed to be a soul winner, why do I have to walk up to you and say,
hey, it's been six weeks since you went soul winning.
No, you got to be embarrassed, you're a grown man, you're a grown woman.
Why don't you just say, hey pastor, my word means nothing,
I'm a piece of trash, I'm a piece of garbage. I say things and I don't do them.
I make commitments and I don't keep them.
That would be more respectable than having to make me walk up to you and say,
hey, remember when you said you were going to spend three months?
You're a Christian. We shouldn't even have to tell you to be a soul winner.
But how about this, if you're so backslid and you're so worldly,
how about just having enough character and integrity to do what you said you were going to do?
We wouldn't even need a list if you were led of the Spirit,
but if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law.
See, the problem is that most people are not led by the Spirit because they are not sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
This is the other frustrating thing for me, is that I have to answer questions to worldly people
and they look at me like, I can't believe that.
And I'm thinking to myself, no, it's just you're worldly. Do you understand?
Here's how Paul said it,
And I brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes.
And people will ask me questions or they'll ask my wife and then we have to explain things
and then people are like, I can't believe that.
And they act like we're in a cult or something.
And it's like, no, the problem here is not us. The problem is you.
If you were sensitive to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit would tell you, hey, that's wrong.
I mean, do you understand? One of these days I'm going to preach a sermon.
In fact, I'm putting it on my calendar. I'm going to preach a sermon.
Things that are obviously wrong.
But look, do I really need to tell you
that walking into a casino is not something that God would want you to do?
But yet Christians go to casinos.
Walking into a casino is not something the Holy Spirit would need you to do.
Do I have to really explain that to you?
Do I really have to explain to you that anywhere that there's gambling
is not a good atmosphere for a Christian to be in?
Do I really have to explain to you that a married man getting in a pool or a hot tub
with a married woman and they're not married to each other is inappropriate?
Do I really have to explain that to you?
And people are like, oh, pastor, you're too strict. No, maybe you're too worldly.
Maybe you should spend time in the Word of God and renew your mind and renew your heart
and renew your spirit and you might begin to actually fuel the Holy Spirit
to tell us to you that putting a bunch of teenage girls in a hot tub with a married man is not appropriate.
And then I say it and people are like, oh, yeah.
But I'm thinking, so why do I even have to say it?
Why do I have to say it?
Don't you have a Holy Spirit that tells you?
Let me explain something to you.
Going to a Hollywood movie to watch the latest blockbuster whatever,
the Holy Spirit should be telling you I shouldn't be here.
When the naked girl is on the screen, the scantily clad girl,
the Holy Spirit should be telling you this isn't right.
But you're so callous to the moving of the Holy Spirit.
And then you look at us, the way some of you are looking at me right now,
like I can't really, no, I can't believe you.
You spend so much time on YouTube and TikTok and the world,
you're not sensitive to the Holy Spirit of God.
Do I really have to explain to our church people
that posting pictures of yourself, men, with your shirt off,
or ladies in immodest apparel,
when you've got married men and women that are following you,
it's inappropriate. Do I really have to explain that to you?
You're like, well, we were in our backyard and it was just my husband
and I was dressed that way versus my wife and I was dressed that way.
So what's wrong with it? Nothing wrong with it.
So you take a picture and post it on social media
and all our church people are watching your pictures.
Now it's inappropriate.
And the fact that I even have to explain that to you is saddening to me.
It causes me to feel like a failure.
Have we really gone this far?
That the Holy Spirit of God just has no leading in you.
There's no sensitivity to God.
There's no sensitivity.
You can just walk into a casino, you can just walk into a club,
you can just walk into a movie theater,
you can just walk into a bar and nothing in you is saying,
this isn't good, this isn't good, don't do this, don't do this.
It's ridiculous.
Some of you are wishing we bring the red hot preaching garments back
because you like the preaching against the homos.
You like the preaching against the Jews, but how about the preaching against you?
Because if you're led of the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And if you're not sensitive to the Holy Spirit,
my wife and I, people have given us cards,
and we appreciate the gift cards and all that,
but there's been times we walk into a restaurant
and the lights are just dark, the music's blaring,
there's TVs with cheerleaders and football games, whatever,
and we just walk in and we're just kind of like, yeah, this is for us.
I don't think the Holy Spirit wants us here.
Well, take it to go. We took it to go.
But see, if you don't even understand that,
you just walk in and you're like, oh, this is great.
This is my favorite song. Oh, I love that football team.
And the cheerleaders are just dancing on the screen.
You're worldly. You're colorless.
You're not led of the Spirit. You're not walking in the Spirit.
You're not even alarmed by it because you're walking in the flesh every day.
See, the motivation is this.
If we are simply spiritual people, if we are simply spiritual people,
no one would have to explain these things.
But if you're led of the Spirit, you're not under the law.
See, when you're a spiritual person, you're not asking this question,
what's the most worldly I can get and still be right with God.
Look, if you're asking the question, what's the most worldly I can get,
you're already not right with God.
You've already lost.
See, what happens when you are led of the flesh?
Look at Galatians 5, verse 19.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these?
And this highlights the life of the worldly Christian.
I don't care if you're saved or not, if you live according to the world,
this is what your life is going to look like.
Adultery, that's a physical relationship outside of marriage.
Fornication, that's a physical relationship before marriage.
Uncleanness, that's TikTok.
Impurity.
Lasciviousness, that's lustfulness and lewdness.
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation.
Variance is debate, strife, contention.
Emulations is envy and trying to be or emulate someone you're not
or someone you shouldn't be.
Wrath, strife, seditions.
Envyings, murder, drunkenness, revelings.
And such like of which I tell you before, as I've told you in time past,
that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
And look, that's not saying you lose your salvation.
That's saying when you do those things, it's because you're living in the flesh.
And you know what's not going to go to heaven is your flesh.
Before you go to heaven, you're going to put off this old man,
you're going to put on a new man.
Before you go to heaven, you're going to put off the corruptible
and put on incorruption.
You're going to put off the mortal and put on immortality.
And the sad thing is that this verse, and I had other verses to go to,
I'm not going to do it, but this verse and other verses like it
illustrate the life of many Christians.
A life of chaos, drug use, adultery, fornication, all of it.
Drunkenness, revelings.
So how can a Christian get there?
They're not walking in the spirit.
Why are they not walking in the spirit?
Because they're walking in their flesh.
Paul said it this way, you don't have to turn here in 1 Corinthians 3.
For ye are carnal, for whereas there is among you end beings
and shrifes and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men?
You say, but what happens when you walk in the spirit?
Well, look at verse 22.
Didn't verses 20 and 21 just feel yucky?
Maybe it didn't because you're so worldly.
When I read those, I just think like, oh.
And maybe it's because I see it so much as a pastor
and I see individuals going down this road,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife.
This is how many Christians live their lives.
But you know how the Christians that are led of the spirit live their lives?
Galatians 5, 22.
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
I want that to describe my home.
I want that to describe my marriage.
I want that to describe my relationships with my fellow church members.
Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
not murder, envy, drunkenness, ravelings, fornication.
No, I want this.
Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
Don't miss it.
Against such there is no law.
When somebody's walking in the spirit, you don't have to tell them.
You don't have to tell them, hey, you know, if you're going to serve in this capacity,
you've got to be a soul winner.
Against such there is no law when they're led of the spirit.
Because remember, the way to have victory over sin is not by keeping the law.
The way to have victory over sin is by walking in the spirit.
Go to Galatians 5. Let's finish this thing up.
And by the way, let me just say this.
I'm going to preach a whole sermon on the fruit of the spirit next week.
It should be nice. You showed up for the bad one.
Galatians 5, 24.
The only way to walk in the spirit is to deny the flesh and the affections and lusts.
Look at Galatians 5, 24.
And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
You want the key to the success in the Christian life?
You want the key to living a Christian life and not feeling?
Because for some of you, Saturday morning, soul winning just feels like such a burden.
It wouldn't if you were walking in the spirit.
But I can understand how it feels like a burden to you because you're so worldly.
The key to successful Christian life is to walk in the spirit and you should not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
But you say, well, why can't I walk in the spirit?
Because you're so busy walking in the flesh, you don't walk in the spirit.
And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
They crucified the flesh and the affections and lusts of the flesh, they crucified it.
And they're sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Let me say this, just because you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you, does not mean that you are walking in the spirit.
Look at verse 25, if we live in the spirit, what does that mean?
That means we all live in the spirit, if you're saved, the Holy Spirit indwells you.
You're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.
See, just because you live in the spirit or just because you possess the spirit, does not mean that you are actively walking in the spirit.
Just because you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you, live in the spirit, does not mean that you are walking in the spirit.
You've got to make a choice.
So what if I choose not to?
Well, then your life will be characterized by what characterizes the lives of every unworldly person.
Verse 26, let us not be desirous of vainglory.
Isn't that what all of social media is?
Desiring vainglory.
Look at my car, look at my house, look at my clothes.
Look, that's what the world is for. Why are you living for that?
Oh, let me answer the question for you because you don't walk in the spirit.
Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another.
Why do you just keep fighting with people?
Fight with your wife, fight with your kids, fight with your church members, fellow church members, fight at work, fight with your neighbors.
You're just fighting people. Why? I'll tell you why.
Because if you're walking in the spirit, your life will be characterized of love, joy, peace, on suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
Against such, there is no law.
But when you walk in the spirit, you're desirous of vainglory, you're provoking one another, and being one another.
So you choose.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to live desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, and being one another.
That feels yucky. It should feel.
And look, you should test that if you're like, I don't feel anything.
Maybe you should quit social media and open a King James Bible and read it.
Maybe you should get on your knees and pray and ask God to lead you, to guide you, to help you not be so callous to worldly things.
To be actually sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that when you walk into a situation that is inappropriate, you're like, oh, no.
Sorry, good. I'm good. Their hot wings are good. I'll take them to go.
But no.
When you're at the restaurant and the waitresses start dancing, that should make you feel uncomfortable.
Christians are like, oh, isn't this great? Isn't this great?
It's like, what in the world?
Are you serious?
And then they look at us like, oh, you're too distinct. No, you're too worldly.
You're too worldly.
Because if you're led to the Spirit, you'll not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And if you're led to the Spirit, you'll have no need of the law.
Because against such, there is no law.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, I pray you'd help us to walk in the Spirit.
I'm so burdened by the worldliness of Christians today.
And I'm especially burdened by the worldliness of our Christians, even in our church.
Help us, like we're saying today, to turn our eyes upon Jesus.
To look in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
I just think so many Christians, they've never experienced the things of the earth growing strangely dim.
Lord, I pray you'd help us to be a people that walk in the Spirit. We love you.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
We're going to have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song.
I just want to remind you that if you are going to go soul-winning tomorrow,
the soul-winning time is 2 p.m., not 6 p.m., 2 p.m.
And I apologize. We're moving it back.
And just to be very honest with you, you know, the 6 p.m. soul-winning time was something that
Brother Sha wanted to do. It was his idea.
And Brother Sha's not here right now.
When he gets back, then we'll maybe put it back.
But for now, it's going to go back to 2 p.m.
So please make a note of that, 2 p.m. soul-winning tomorrow if you'd like to go.
And we'd love for you to be a part of that.
If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know.
We'll have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song.
Please turn to your song books, page number 396.
We're going to sing So Little Time, page 396.
And let's sing it out on the first.
Today is given us lost souls to win
Know then to save some dear ones from the burning
Today we'll go to bring some sinner in
How many times I should have strongly pleaded
How often did I feel to strictly warn
The spirit moved, oh had I pled to Jesus
The grain is fallen, lost once not reborn
Today we reap, or miss our golden harvest
Today is given us lost souls to win
Know then to save some dear ones from the burning
Today we'll go to bring some sinner in
Now sing it on the third.
Despite the heat, the ceaseless toil
The hardship, the broken heart
Nor those we cannot win
Misunderstood because we're all peculiar
Till no regrets we'll have but for our sin
Today we reap, or miss our golden harvest
Today is given us lost souls to win
Know then to save some dear ones from the burning
Today we'll go to bring some sinner in
A day of pleasure or a piece of friendship
A house or car or garments fair in fame
We'll all be trashed when souls are brought to heaven
And then how sad to see the slackers plain
Today we reap, or miss our golden harvest
Today is given us lost souls to win
Know then to save some dear ones from the burning
Today we'll go to bring some sinner in
Let's finish it on the last.
The harvest wide with reapers few is wasting
And many souls will die and never know
The love of Christ, the joy of sins forgiven
Don't let us weep in love and pray and go
Today we reap, or miss our golden harvest
Today is given us lost souls to win
Know then to save some dear ones from the burning
Today we'll go to bring some sinner in
A day of pleasure or a piece of friendship
Today we reap, or miss our golden harvest