Stop 9 Church
We want to share important pieces of our worship service with those who might not have been able to be there in person.
Stop 9 Church
Galloping through Galatians - Part 5/6
What happens when we mistake rule-keeping for authentic faith? This powerful exploration of Galatians 5 challenges us to reconsider what freedom in Christ truly means.
"For freedom Christ has set us free." With these words, Paul launches into one of scripture's most radical redefinitions of what it means to follow Jesus. The lesson examines how easily we can fall into the trap of legalism—focusing on rules and traditions while missing the heart of the gospel. As the teacher candidly shares from his own journey away from legalistic thinking, we're invited to consider how pride infiltrates religious rule-keeping and damages our relationships with others.
The discussion takes an unexpected turn when we discover what Paul actually meant by the often-misused phrase "fallen from grace." Rather than referring to moral failure, Paul was addressing those who abandoned grace by trying to justify themselves through law-keeping. This reveals a profound truth: we cannot mix grace and works as paths to righteousness.
Perhaps most powerful is the exploration of how rigid rule-following affects our witness. When young people see Christians more concerned with following regulations than loving each other, they understandably question the authenticity of our faith. The contrast between "works of the flesh" and "fruit of the Spirit" provides a compelling framework—we don't produce spiritual fruit through harder effort but by simply remaining connected to Jesus.
Ready to move beyond religious performance to experience the freedom Christ intended? Listen as we discover that the only thing that truly counts is "faith working through love." Your relationship with Jesus will never look the same.
All right, we are quickly winding down here. Yay, yeah, I knew you were. Thanks. This is next to last class for this particular subject. And then in June and July we will have a variety of people each week, somebody new presenting a themed message. What's that Variety show? Lots of singing and dancing and stuff like that. Okay, so we are in Lesson 6 today, which I have entitled Freed for Freedom. But first name the artist. Name the artist.
Speaker 1:Here's the song title Should I come home or should I go crazy? Oh, come on, should I come home or should I go crazy? Don't quit my day job, thank you. Thank you, wasn't that good, mercedes, wasn't that good? No, she says no. Okay, gene watson, should I come home or should I go crazy? This is a great song. All right, see how you do on this one. You're the reason our children are ugly. Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn says the elder yes, he is right, you're the reason our children are ugly. Now can you imagine writing that song? Oh, here's another line. This is a good one. I wonder what the inspiration for the song was. You know I like it.
Speaker 1:There was a joke years ago that there was a woman country star. Her name was Kitty Wells. If she'd have married Conway, she'd have been Kitty Twitty. Kitty Twitty, very possible, very possible, kitty Twitty. All right, one more. If I'm going to sink, I might as well go to the bottom. If I'm going to sink, I might as well go to the bottom. Who do you think sang that one? Nope, not Willie. No, not Hank. Johnny Paycheck Look how young and handsome he is there, got the old. You know the posed, you know thumb on the chin, pensively looking at the camera. Johnny paycheck, all right.
Speaker 1:Chapter five Did you guys read chapter five, like you were instructed to last week? Just finished it. It just slipped my mind right, right on the tip of my tongue. This is the English Standard Version Now. Who wrote the book of Galatians? Paul? And he wrote it to the churches in Galatia, which was a region, not a city. There are a number of churches in Galatia, so this is probably a circular letter meant to be read in one church and passed on.
Speaker 1:Chapter 5, verses 1 through 6. For freedom, christ has set us free. Hence the title of the lesson today For freedom, christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery we talked about last week talking about the idea of slave versus free, and we talked about the son of promise versus the son of the flesh. Do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Speaker 1:Look, I, paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision maybe we were talking about, this was kind of the subject we were talking about If you accept circumcision, christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, only faith working through love. If you know what circumcision is, notice that he says you are severed from Christ.
Speaker 1:Paul is not above using some earthy language to describe what he wants to describe. He's going to do that again here in a little bit. So he starts out by saying I, paul, don't they already know that Paul is writing this letter? He introduced himself at the beginning, right? He said hey, this is Paul writing this letter. So why does he repeat it here? Because they've got short-term memory loss Emphasis. What's he emphasizing? It's definitely his letter. What do they know about Paul? Hebrew of the Hebrews, pharisee of the Pharisees? He's told him this before he's going to say it again.
Speaker 1:If anybody has reason to hold to the law as a source of my righteousness, if anybody's going to rely on his own strength through the law, it's me right. I'm telling you this, but I'm going to tell you something different. Because, even though I could say this, I'm not saying it. Even though I could tell you yeah, you have to follow the law. I'm not telling you that Because there is no justification through the law. He tells them justification through Christ, which is what he preached to them, that's the gospel he preached to them is incompatible with justification through the law. You can't mix them together. We've talked about this over and over and over. You're probably getting sick of me saying that Our hope for righteousness comes through who, through Christ, through our relationship with Jesus, not through ourselves. That's where we are justified. That is our hope of righteousness. I don't think that's any groundbreaking news to you, is it? Now? He says this too.
Speaker 1:He uses this phrase you have fallen from grace. Now, if you grew up in the church, as I did. How many times have you heard that phrase? Ad nauseum right. This was quoted constantly and it was usually quoted in the context of once saved, always saved, right. Well, you can fall from grace. So constantly be on the lookout, you sinners. That is not the context at all that he's talking about here.
Speaker 1:When Paul uses this phrase, he's not talking about that at all. In fact, it's almost the opposite. When Paul says you're fallen from grace, he's talking about trying to justify yourself through keeping rules. If you're going to rely on God's grace, you don't rely on keeping the law yourself. Now, when it was quoted to me as a kid, it was almost in the context of now you've got to watch what you do. You've got to do the right thing or else you'll fall from grace, and that's almost the opposite of what Paul's saying. Paul's saying you can't do it all. You have to rely on God's grace to save. Does that make sense? Okay, are you guys awake? We should do some jumping jacks, maybe Lap around the building. This is almost like when I was coaching my kid's baseball team First thing, calisthenics, everybody reach for the sky, and then you touch your toes and all that. Maybe we should start doing that. Of course you guys would all end up in the ER if we tried to do this. We won't do that. Jeff Collier contacted me and asked about our life group, whether we would be interested in doing this volleyball challenge. I said, jeff, we're in. As long as we get a group discount at Southeastern Mid, we will jam that ER to overflowing. Yes, we will. No, no, no, no, it wouldn't do any good. Wouldn't do any good. He's falling from grace. That would be falling from anything. Yeah, we would be in the ER.
Speaker 1:Is it tempting to try to justify yourself, to try to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps religiously? Is that tempting Used to be? Why is it used to be? Oh, okay, if you didn't hear him, he said one question at a time. He already answered the one question he was going to answer. He'd like to speak with his attorney. He'd like to exercise his constitutional privilege.
Speaker 1:Okay, we're Americans. Right, we like to think of ourselves as wholly independent. Right, we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, even though we don't know what bootstraps are and most of us don't wear boots. But doggone, we did it. We like to think that we rely on ourselves. I can do it myself. I remember Jason wasn't so much. Andrew was the one. If you wanted to hold his hand crossing the street, he'd pull his hand away from you. I'd do it myself, and that's kind of the way we are with God I'll do it myself. It's very tempting, and I think one of the reasons it's very tempting is that it builds pride in us. I did it, I did it myself, I followed the law real well, I followed the rule, and I can say that because I can look at you and say I followed the rule and you didn't, because the focus is not only on me, it's also on you, Because I'm watching you too, because I'm following the rule and I'm doing real good and you ain't doing so good, patsy, and that's just too bad and I'm better than you.
Speaker 1:A lot of pride, a lot of very unchristian, ungodly pride, comes along with law keeping, even the phrase that we use. Sometimes when someone offers help, it says can I help you do this? And you say, no, I'm good. Yeah, we're not good at accepting help. Usually it's a sign of we see it as a sign of weakness. Right, we see it as a sign of weakness, and we wait until we have already crashed into the brick wall before we'll even break down and accept somebody helping us. You know a lot of pride. Yes, lonnie, don't we even kind of raise your kids at the same point? There's a good way. You can do it by yourself. Yeah, now, there's nothing wrong with independent. Let me put it this way there's nothing wrong with teaching your kids to learn to do things themselves. There's nothing wrong with that. But at the same time, we can foster some unhealthy pride by teaching kids never to ask for help, to be too proud to ask for help. Does that make sense? Now he says this at the end.
Speaker 1:Now, this is one of those mind-blowing statements. Paul's real good at throwing these out there, you know, and they just kind of go past you. You don't see it until you go back and read it again. Stop and think about what he's saying here. He says the only thing that counts is faith working through love. Forget trying to hold to the law, forget trying to exercise the law of Moses. He says the only thing that counts is faith working through love. In other words, law keeping apart from faith is useless Useless.
Speaker 1:Now, I did this yesterday. My wife it's her birthday. How old she is, how did you know? Actually, she's 18. So, yeah, we're going out on a date afterwards, so don't say anything. Okay, I did this yesterday. My wife was kind enough to let me work down in the basement by myself on the computer, because a lot of times she'll come down and sew Her. Sewing her she shed is the basement. You know I have a man corner. She's got the rest of the living room in the basement so she let me work by myself and I was thinking about this stuff and I came up with this. I'm not sure this is good or not. You'll have to tell me. Here's what I said If I believe because I want you to understand, I'm not trying to preach at you I am as guilty of this stuff as anybody, in fact probably more guilty.
Speaker 1:If I believe that keeping all the rules and traditions of the church now you define the church however you want, if it's the whole body of Christians, whether it's just our particular brotherhood. If I think that keeping all the rules and traditions of the church is what saves me, while at the same time I hate my brother in Christ for differing from me in his rules and traditions, I've missed the whole point of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. If you think that being a Christian means following a bunch of rules, you've missed the whole point. Right, and it's one of the reasons that I'm convinced that a lot of and I'm not saying all, but a lot of Gen Zers just reject the idea of organized religion. Oh, just a bunch of rules. Why would I want to do that? Why would I want to follow a bunch of rules that don't make any sense anyways? And people fight about the rules that they've made up themselves and fight each other over the rules that they've made up themselves and fight each other over the rules that they made up themselves. And they look at that situation and they say what point is there? What point is there in doing that? Now, if you show a Gen Zer that you know what it means to love like Christ loved and to serve each other as Christ served, now you've got something they're going to pay attention to. Then we'll impose the rules on them once they get in here. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding, I've missed the whole point.
Speaker 1:When I was growing up it was probably half a mile down the road there was a Baptist church, big Baptist church. They had money, money coming out the ears Lots of money Built this great big, huge church building, great big edifice on the front, not elephant edifice and there was, I dare say, some jealousy between our particular church and the Baptist Church. You know, because they had all this money and everybody who was anybody was going to this church, it was growing like crazy. It was never said out loud but it was implicit in the things that were discussed that these people were not Christians, only we were. They weren't true Christians, only we were. They weren't true Christians, only we were. I think we kind of missed the point. We were busy, I dare say, if not hating, at least not liking very much and not treating them very well, our brothers in Christ, because they differed from us. My brother and sister saw that.
Speaker 1:I've told you that before they have nothing to do with the church anymore, no interest whatsoever. That attitude seeps through. You can't hide it. You can try. You can dress up and look like a Christian, like you think you're doing it the right way. You know. You wear your suit and tie and all that stuff. You can use the Christian code terms and talk, you know, like only people do in church, all that sort of thing. You can be the church lady and whatever Young people see through, that that's phony and they see it and they know it. And when they get the opportunity to say I don't want to have anything to do with it, they're not going to have anything to do with it. You can't fake your way through Christianity. It can't be done. It can't be done, can't be done. I haven't worn a suit and tie here in a long time.
Speaker 1:There was a time when I thought that was the right thing to do, because that's the way Christians dressed. I don't know why. I thought that that's just the way it was. I would rather be me, whether you like me or not, and some of you don't, and that's okay, because I don't like you either. Just kidding. Just kidding, tim, you're on the good side, sort of. Okay, yes, go ahead. Christy, I can't hear you. I'm sorry, I'm older.
Speaker 1:If I were to grow up, if anybody would have told me I ended up coming to a church of Christ, I would have called them a liar. You would have called them a liar. Yes, because I was told. I was told by somebody that went to the church of Christ. I grew up going to a Baptist church. You went to a Baptist church. Oh, I'm glad you've seen the light. I was told. I was told that I worshipped John the Baptist. You worshipped John the Baptist. Did you eat locusts and honey too? No, okay, gotcha, you know what. We talked about this a long time ago and I don't want to cover the same ground again, but I talked about how this was pervasive. I don't know was pervasive. I don't know how pervasive it is now. Maybe it still is, I don't know. It wasn't.
Speaker 1:I want to convert you to Christ. It was. I want to convert you to our team. I want you to be on the right team. I want you to wear the jersey with the right name on the front. We're not on the Jesus team. We're on the name your denomination team. We're not on the Jesus team. We're on the name, your denomination team.
Speaker 1:I don't buy that anymore. There was a time when I did. I don't buy that anymore. I want to reflect Jesus in my life, not some name on the front of the church. I want you to come to know Jesus, not my particular idea of what a creed ought to be. I want to show you, through my service and through my love of Jesus, what it means to be a disciple, not give you a creed book and say here, memorize this.
Speaker 1:I think we miss the point sometimes. Does that make sense? All right, I'll get off my soapbox. I'm going to run behind here right now. That clock says it's 10 till 11. Are we that far behind? Must be set to Atlantic time.
Speaker 1:Okay, chapter 5, verses 7 through 12. I told you I get so worked up about this stuff sometimes. I just got to chill out, man, you know, mellow out. You were running. Well, who hindered you from obeying the truth?
Speaker 1:This persuasion, the persuasion he's talking about, is persuading them to follow the law of Moses. This persuasion is not from him who calls you A little leaven, leavens the whole lump. That's a tongue twister. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been removed.
Speaker 1:I wish those who unsettle you, those who are preaching circumcision, would what? How many syllables E-masculate? Four syllables E-masculate. Anybody who knows what that is find Tommy Strasser. He'll explain what emasculation is.
Speaker 1:As I said, paul is not above, using some very earthy language here with these people. You know what circumcision is right. We talked about this before. Yes, removing the foreskin from the penis. He says I wish they'd just emasculate themselves. What is he talking about? I wish you'd cut the whole thing off. That's what he's saying. I wish you'd cut the whole thing off. That's what he's saying. I wish he'd cut the whole thing off.
Speaker 1:They get this, they understand this and they're probably laughing. We're wrapped too tight to laugh at that. This is a joke. He's saying this to make a point, but to be funny too. He uses some funny phrases here, but I dare not laugh because that would get me in trouble.
Speaker 1:Who hindered you? The NIV says who cut in on you? It does. If you're reading the NIV, that's what it says. He's talking about a race here. Now, you would not believe this. This is the God's honest truth. When I was younger Now you would not believe this. This is the God's honest truth.
Speaker 1:When I was younger, I ran cross-country. I know that's hard to believe. I was not very good. My goal in every way was not to have a girl finish ahead of me. That was my goal. I don't want any girls to finish ahead of me. I was terrible. I was horrible, in fact. My senior year I didn't even run. I was just so discouraged. I'm not doing this anymore. I humiliate myself every week.
Speaker 1:But John Glenn, whenever we saw them at an invitational okay, their runners, when you're trying to pass them, they would do this. They'd stick their elbows out and run like this so you couldn't get around them. I didn't even know who John Glenn was. I had no idea. I just noticed their runners were dirty and they'd try to trip you and stuff. You know. Now this is 40 years ago, more than that, 45 years ago.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to get around these guys and they're trying to stop me. Well, that's kind of the situation here. You're trying to run your race and these guys are trying to stop you from running your race. Don't be distracted, right, don't be distracted. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves. If you read the King James version, the authorized version, I would. They were even cut off, which trouble you. You get the point right. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. What does this mean? What's Paul talking about? He throws this in and I'm wondering how does that fit into all this? This in, and it kind of. I'm wondering how does that fit into all this? A little leaven leavens the whole lump. What's he talking about?
Speaker 1:You ladies who bake we don't used to be ladies made bread every day, right, made bread every day, or at least every week. Did you make bread, glenita, every day? No, you weren't a baker. My grandma used to make. We called it yeast bread. I guess all bread, unless it's not unleavened, has yeast, but we used to call it yeast bread.
Speaker 1:Oh, it was so good. She'd bake it and then she'd wrap it in wax paper and put it in her bread box. Get that out, cut it. So good. How much yeast do you think she put in that dough when she was making her bread? The yeast amount I'm a professional, I'm a professional. Don't try this at home. Okay, don't try this at home. That's pretty good. I have to give you credit, that was pretty good. The yeast amount Do you throw a handful of yeast in Just a little bit, just a little bit, just a pinch between your cheek and gums, right? Doesn't take much, doesn't take much. So in what situation is he referring to here? Because he's not talking about bread. Mercedes, did you bring me one? Of course not. No, no, no, no, no donuts for the framer.
Speaker 1:Well, it could be this. It could mean that persuading just a few of the Gentile brothers in the Galatian region, persuading just a few of them, to follow the law of Moses, particularly with circumcision but it also is going to go farther than that. You're also going to have to follow certain days and times and weeks and months and stuff like that. You're also going to have to follow the dietary laws, and all that Persuading a few Gentiles to do this will cause that error to spread. That could be what he's talking about. It also could be that if you accept circumcision, it's going to increase the number of rules you've got to follow, because if you accept that one, then they're going to give you another rule. And then you follow that one, they're going to give you another rule Pretty soon. You've got a whole book full of rules you've got to follow, right? Either one, I think, fits the situation, either one. Have you noticed that in your own life, when you make a rule for yourself, pretty soon you've got another rule you need to follow and then another one.
Speaker 1:I hate mowing the lawn. I've got to do it this afternoon. At some point I'm going to ruin Julie's birthday by being out there on the mower. I hate mowing the yard. I hate it. But you can't just mow. There's another rule. You can't just get on the riding. I've got a riding mower. Okay, putting around, that's how we do it. You can't just mow on the riding mower. You also have to have a push mower, because there's spots where the riding mower won't get right. So you've got to have the push mower. You've got to do that. But then there's another rule on top of that. Then you also have to have the weed eater, right, and why is it always at the farthest reaches of our property is where the string runs out, you know, or the battery quits.
Speaker 1:That's the way it is religiously. You add one rule to yourself and you say, okay, now I have to do this, and pretty soon you've got to do another one. And then you've got to do another one, and then you've got to do another one, and then you've got this list of rules Faith expressing itself through love. There's your rule. There's your rule. There's your rule. Don't fall prey to this false teaching.
Speaker 1:He has spent most of this letter talking about the pitfalls of following the law of Moses in particular, but legalism in general. What does it tell you about this subject that he has spent so much time talking about it? What does that tell you? It's a serious problem and nobody thinks they have it. Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah, the other guy is the legalist and he's wrong.
Speaker 1:I threw that in there to see if you're paying attention. By the way, I grew up a legalist. It's a battle I fight all the time. I fight it all the time. Kevin and I have talked about this before. We have very similar backgrounds, grew up in a very legalistic church, as I said again.
Speaker 1:I'll say it for the hundredth time good people loved Jesus, did the best they could, really believed that. This is something I needed to learn. But I've broken away from that to a degree, because I don't buy the legalist stuff anymore. I just don't buy it. It's very important, not just for them, but for us.
Speaker 1:It's very easy to fall into the trap of believing I've got a bunch of rules I've got to follow and if I don't follow them I'm going to H-E double toothpicks. It makes for a miserable life. Miserable life Because not only do I hate myself because I can't keep the rules right, I hate you because you're not keeping the rules. I think you should keep. What a miserable way to live. Miserable, all right. 13 through 26.
Speaker 1:Ready to go, for you were called to freedom brothers. How many times has he called us to talk about? Or how many times has he said the word freedom in these passages? You were called to freedom, brothers, so you're free. Christ has freed you and, in the context he's talking about, he's freed you from the need to keep a bunch of rules to be justified, but only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love to serve one another. Why were you freed to be able to do anything you want to do? Yeah, I can live any way. I want to live. He says no, no, no, no, no. You were set free to.
Speaker 1:What does it say? I'll do you what, I'll tell you what. Like I said before, in law school, I, the professor, would throw a question out and the answer was right in front of us. And we, you know, in law school, you want to think I'm very smart, I'm very erudite, I'm more eruditer than my neighbor and you know all this stuff. So we start throwing out answers and the professor gets so mad and says why don't you just read the statute. It's right in front of you.
Speaker 1:What does it say? Through love to serve, you're free to serve each other. You're free to serve. That's what you've been freed to do. I don't want to do that. I am not doing that. I am not serving other people. You're here to serve me and I'm here to serve myself. I ain't serving you Through love to serve one another.
Speaker 1:For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, and he uses a bunch more than one word, but it obviously means one thought you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envies, drunkenness, orgies and things like these.
Speaker 1:I warn you, as I warned you before that those who do such things hmm sorry, I went to public school okay, those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. It's a joke for you teachers out there, lighten up. Okay, it's a joke. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is some of you know this already right Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited provoking one another and envying one another. So our freedom is not to be used selfishly, but to serve each other through love. Now, if my job is to serve you through love, if I don't love you, am I going to serve you? No, Okay, I am not going to serve you or I'm going to serve you in an unloving manner. Right? Cold food, warm beer, bad service. Have a nice day. I saw that sign at a restaurant one time. I thought that was really good. Paul says the whole law is summed up in this command love your neighbor as you love yourself. Therefore, if you are tempted to follow the law of Moses, follow this law instead. Love your neighbor as yourself. You can fulfill the law of Moses by just doing that. That sums up the law. So how do you do this? How do you do this?
Speaker 1:Martin Luther King Jr once said I thought this was a great. I heard him say it in a clip I watched one time. Everyone can be great, don't? We all want to be great, right, everybody wants to be great. Watch these guys playing baseball or football or whatever. And you know, guy hits the home run and he's pounding himself on the chest and running around the bases doing stupid stuff. You know, everybody wants a spotlight on themselves. He says you know what? You can be great because you can serve. Everybody can serve. You want to be great. Be a servant, Be a servant. Here's another quote. It's hard to get a beat on what's divine when everybody's pushing for the head of the line. That's Johnny Paycheck. Nobody wants to play rhythm guitar behind Jesus. If you've never heard it before, get on YouTube, look it up. Good song.
Speaker 1:Here's the question when the world, when the unchurched, when those who don't know Jesus look at us, do they see a bunch of rule followers, or do they see people who love each other and serve each other? There's your question. There's your question. I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to say it. There's Johnny, by the way, that's probably more the way you see him right In jail. Greenfield, ohio, is where he was from. Home of Johnny, paycheck Walk by the Spirit. He says Paycheck, walk by the Spirit. He says we are to walk by the Spirit.
Speaker 1:How do you overcome the desires of the flesh? By trying harder. That's how I learned. That's how I was taught growing up. You just need to try harder, like Avis, right? You try harder. No, that's the wrong answer. By the way, no Wrong Survey says I wish I had one of those buttons. You know, when I'm in the hearing room at work and somebody says something stupid, I just go. I'd probably get fired. How do you overcome the desires of the flesh? Rely on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:He talks about the works of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit. What's the difference between works and fruit? Well, you can eat one, you can't eat the other. Yes, okay, yeah, what's the difference between works and fruit? Let me ask this question how do you produce fruit? How do you guys anybody here have an apple tree? Okay, we've got blackberry vines behind our house. I didn't plant them, they just came up. At least I think they're blackberries. I've been eating them for a couple years. I hope that's what they are. If they're not, I suppose that answers lots of questions.
Speaker 1:Then, huh, how does that blackberry vine produce that fruit? Does it work real hard at being a vine? Is that what it does? It gets in there and it says I got to work, I got to work, I got to work, I got to make those blackberries. What does it do? You know what it does? It bees, it bees. It is a blackberry bush. That's how it produces blackberries. That's all it has to do. All I have to do is be a blackberry bush and I produce blackberries. I don't have to work at it.
Speaker 1:Okay, I want to produce the fruit of the Spirit. Pace, pace, peace, patience, love, joy, all that stuff. How do I do it? I work real hard at it to produce those fruits, right, is that how you do it? How do you produce the fruit? Be a disciple, be connected to Jesus, love the Father, be If you want to. You be you. Let the Holy Spirit. Do the Father Be. If you want to you be you. Let the Holy Spirit do the work. You get busy. I'm going to tell you right now you get busy loving Jesus. The rest takes care of itself.
Speaker 1:We're going to talk about Mission. Sunday is today. Okay, we have some real good videos and Jim Orr and Tacey are going to talk to us about the work that is done in Cuba. You'll probably cry, so get your hankies ready. We need money to help those folks. I'm going to say something real quick here to plug that work. They need electricity and they need water, and they're short of both. And the best way to help them Jim and Tacey have found out is we need. There are four main churches in Cuba, four big buildings, but two of them were shooting to get solar power generators on their roof. It's gonna cost five grand each to get those things bought and installed. And another lady needs transportation. They'll tell you all about that. It's another five grand. So we want to raise at the minimum $15,000 to do that right Now.
Speaker 1:I could get up here and say you know what, if you love Jesus, you dig in that purse of yours, dig in that wallet, and you'd get that money out. You know you should be doing this. You should be working harder at being. I could do that stuff. I could do that, but I don't believe that that's the way to get things done. We hardly ever talk about giving here, almost never, because we believe the elders believe it's more important for you to have a relationship with Jesus. If you love Jesus, if you are busy allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your life, that takes care of itself. All we have to do is say, hey, we have a need, and people will jump through the roof to go do it. It's more important to get you to love Jesus. The fruit will take care of itself. Does that make sense? I was taught growing up you've got to work real hard. Working real hard wears you out, makes me tired and I quit Because I didn't want to do it to begin with.
Speaker 1:Johnny says come back next week or else we're going to finish up next week. Chapter 6, the last chapter in Galatians. Chapter 6, the last chapter in Galatians. Now, if you have questions, if you have comments, save them up for next week. I'll hopefully leave a little bit of time at the end for you to do that. If not, we'll all sing along to. Nobody Wants to Play Rhythm. Go Harder by Jesus. Comments, questions anything we've missed. There's a lot of stuff to digest, I realize. Don't work hard at bearing fruit. Let Jesus bear fruit in your life. Got it? I want you to not work, but be Just be. It'll take care of itself. All right, you've been a good class. Stick around for the presentation today during the lesson and I think you're going to enjoy it. Have a good class. Stick around for the presentation today during the lesson and I think you're going to enjoy it. Have a good week.