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Sermons
Pastor Don Pieper - audio not available
Romans: 8:1-14, Galatians 5:16-26
Last week we saw how vital our freedom in Christ was to Paul and
the early church. Our reading from Galatians 5 picks up right
where we left off last week: “For you have been called to live
in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom
to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to
serve one another in love… So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide
your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature
craves.” (Galatians 5:13, 16)
Paul is saying that a life of freedom and joy is available right
now. My main job is to remain connected to God. When my primary
focus is being present with him, every-thing else has a way of
falling into place. When my primary focus becomes anything else,
my inner vitality suffers, and I become a lesser version of
myself. In John Ortberg’s book, “The Me I Want to Be”, Ortberg
illustrates this truth: “I wanted to learn how to ski, but our
boat could not generate enough power for me to get up out of the
water. I know nothing about boats or engines, but a button
labeled, ‘power-tilt seemed promising so we gave it a shot. I
got behind the boat and yelled to my, ‘Hit it!’ The bow of the
boat lifted out of the water at a 45 degree angle and moved as
if it had been shot out of a cannon. Adequate power to get my
body up out of the water was not a problem – survival was! I
gestured wildly for the boat to slow down but my kids
interpreted my waving as a desire to go faster, so they revved
the boat throttle. I was not just up, but was bouncing through
the air like a rock skipping across a smooth lake. That day I
discovered that I could ski – I just needed power.” Trying to
become the person you were made to be through your own effort is
like trying to ski behind a rowboat. We need a ‘power-tilt’ for
the soul… This life is not something we produce; it exists
independently of us, as Scripture reveals... “You will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1:8)
“Those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things
that please the Spirit… Allowing the Spirit to control your mind
leads to life and peace.” (Rom 8:5-6)
“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s
leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:25)
“Though you have not seen him, (Jesus), you love him…and are
filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8)
Would you say this describes you? Are you filled with
inexpressible joy? John Ortberg makes this observation: “I think
that people are moved by the vision of Jesus, and overwhelmed by
the hope and beauty of his promise, they say yes to it. For a
time, there is a kind of spiritual honeymoon period. They are
filled with love for God, are drawn to the Bible and are eager
to share their faith. They even note some exciting changes.
Perhaps their use of profanity disappears or certain habits are
overcome. But over time this sense of progress stalls out.
Instead of life flowing with rivers of living water, I yell at
my children whom I love. I worry too much about money or my job.
I am short with my wife or take her for granted. I use deception
to get out of trouble or to get what I want. I pass judgment on
people easily, casually, arrogantly. My prayer life is up and
down. I am stuck in the gap between the me God sees…and the one
you see! The problem is that we think we have to close the gap
through our own ingenuity. We convince ourselves that if we just
try harder… Some times we manage the gap by pretending. We learn
to fake it. We speak as if we had deeper spiritual experiences
than we really have, as though our sin bothers us more than it
really does. Some people seek to recapture the emotions they
felt when they first came to faith. Others quietly give up. At
the beginning of our life with God, we become aware of a gap
between God and us, a separation caused by sin. We come to
understand that we cannot bridge this gap by our own efforts. We
cannot earn God’s love and forgiveness; it comes only by God’s
grace. And so we embrace this grace and commit our life to God.
But there is still a gap – the gap between the me I am right now
and the me I’m Meant to be – what Luther called the “sanctified
me”. This gap we think we can bridge but we cannot. This gap,
too, can only be bridged by grace. Self-improvement is no more
God’s plan than self-salvation. God’s plan is not just for us to
be saved by grace – it is for us to live by grace. God’s plan is
for my daily life to be given, guided, guarded, and energized by
the grace of God. To live in grace is to flow in the Spirit. When
the girls were still quite small Melanie was quite insistent on
being allowed to pour her own glass of milk or juice. I was a
bit reluctant but Melanie was relentless. One day little Melanie
lifted the heavy gallon container of milk and tipped it towards
the glass. Milk went gushing into the glass and miracle of
miracles she pulled it back just in time. The glass wasn’t just
full; the milk crowned the top of it. Not a drop was spilled. We
marveled. We delighted. We sang, ‘Gloria in excelsis’! But then
Melanie, in her excitement, grabbed the glass and swung it from
the counter to the table. To say that the spillover was
tremendous is an understatement! When someone bumps into me,
what spills out of me reveals what is inside of me. Paul spoke
of people being ‘full of the Spirit,’ and the spillover effect
was tremendous. “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the
dead, lives in you, and just as God raised Christ Jesus from the
dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit
living within you.” (Romans 8:11)
Jesus told his followers that when the Spirit arrived, they
would receive power. When the Spirit flows in you, you are given
power to become the person God designed… In particular, when we
are in the flow of the Spirit, we become increasingly full of
the fruit of the Spirit which Paul describes: “love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-3)
You could call these the outward evidence of a life in the
flow…! I read of a father shopping with a fussy two-year-old in
his grocery cart. “Be patient, Billy,” the father whispered.
“You can handle this, Billy. It’s okay, Billy.” A woman stopped
him and said, “I don’t mean to interrupt our shopping, but I
just had to tell you how wonderfully loving and patient you are
with little Billy.” The man replied, “Actually, my son’s name is
Patrick. My name is Billy.” The Spirit is available to whisper to
us thoughts of love and joy and peace and patience every moment
of our life. All we have to do is stop, ask and listen. Note
that the Spirit doesn’t just flow in us; He always flows through
us so that others might flourish as well. (Rev 22:2) When you are
in the flow of the Spirit, there is going to be some spillover
that blesses someone else. Anytime you see life flourishing, it
is receiving nourishment from beyond itself. This is true of a
tree and it is true of you. A tree’s job is not to try harder to
bear fruit; the tree’s job is to abide near the river and fruit
happens…but not overnight. As we go about life, either we do
things that open ourselves to the Spirit’s influence in our
lives…or we do things that close ourselves off to the Spirit. As
Paul wrote, “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the
Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become
conceited or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”
(Galatians 5:25-26)
The Holy Spirit is always ready to guide you toward God’s best
version of you. Of course, many times I don’t want to be guided!
I want to blow up at someone, or make sure I go first, or make up
a story to cover my tracks. The more my habits are formed around
resentment or anxiety or greed or superiority, the more I quench
the Spirit. It will take time and submission for habits to get
re-formed and to get back in God’s flow. Once when I attended a
pastor’s conference I looked into renting a car. I was asked if
I would like a G.P.S. with the car. This was before I owned one.
I remember thinking, “I’m not going to pay for that. I don’t need
that. I can find my way…” Famous last words. I wound up getting
lost in the parking lot trying to find the car. I went with the
GPS. I noticed the voice on the GPS spoke with an English accent.
I guess that’s because a British accent always sound smarter,
more impressive. I also noticed that it spoke with a woman’s
voice because…, well…, same thing. So, I’m driving around and
this strange lady is telling me what to do, where to go! Who is
this lady? How do I know I can trust her? What if I want to go
the other way? To live in the flow of the Spirit means doing
what Jesus says. I tend to get lost... I am going to need his
perspective and his power… I have to admit that first drive with
the GPS really triggered my inner rebellion. I became convinced
that the woman in the box was wrong and that I knew better. So
once when she said to turn left, I turned right. She spoke right
up: “Recalculating route. When possible, make a U-turn.” So…, I
unplugged her and would you believe it – I got lost as a loon.
When I plugged her back in, you know what she said? “You idiot,
I told you so. You’re on your own now!” Of course, she didn’t
say those things. She simply said, “Recalculating route. When
possible, make a U-turn.” That is grace. God will say to you,
“Here is the way home. Execute a U-turn.” As soon as you are
ready to listen, as soon as you are willing to surrender, you’re
back in the flow. That is grace. Jesus is the only one with the
big picture. To all who approach him, he is the ultimate
thirst-quencher, life-giver, direction finder, Spirit-bringer.
He invites you to jump into the river of life – to get in to the
flow of the Spirit – so that he can hand craft your thoughts and
your days to more and more closely match his vision & his heart
for your future! To help each of us take steps in that direction
a new course on living in the Spirit, swimming in the flow of
God’s guidance, is being offered this fall called, “Morph”!
You’re invited to join us in September…as we jump in…!
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