Galatians Chapter 5 Verses 19 – 21

 This list goes from external to internal, do you see that? Bounces

between the two. Why? Because what goes on in the heart of a person

eventually and always makes its way out. That’s why you observe

how someone is rather than only what someone says because their

attitude and habits and someone said “seasoning” tells the whole

story!

 Hatred, contentions, selfish ambitions, dissensions… Hatred is a good

example to talk about just for a moment. What law can regulate

against hatred? Hatred is an issue of the heart. It manifests

outwardly but hatred itself, that is a work of the flesh, forbidden by

God, and is a heart condition. Another word for hatred is ill will or

animosity or a grudge. I am confident that everyone that has lived any

number of years in adulthood right now can think of a grudge we

have held or still hold against someone. God forbids that. Who can

tell you not to have that in your heart? No one at all. Your mind

cannot even tell your heart to not hold a grudge! It’s a pure heart

condition!!

 Another word for hatred is antipathy. Antipathy is the opposite of

empathy. Empathy is to depart the objective, separate the person

from the problem, and then visit that person’s perspective. Another

word for that is kindness. The Word of God tells us that grudges, ill

will, antipathy…, they are all hatred and against all that God is. The

thing is though, no one can law anyone else out of those things. This

is 100% how close you are personally to Jesus and how mature you

are in the Spirit, if these things get dealt with in your life…

 Let’s follow this lit fuse. How do you do that? How do you stop

being grudgy and how do you stop having ill will towards the evil that

has happened to you in your life? YOU DON’T! It’s not that your

flesh turns into a flower child or something! HA! “Peace and love,

man!” It’s that YOU, and you alone, arrest those things like the

criminals and trouble makers and law breakers that they are in your

heart of hearts! Hatred is a virus and some people are just fine being

SICK but there are antibodies in the Spirit as a result of your

proximity to Jesus and so when those things arrive in your

temple/heart, they don’t run around long before they are spear-

tackled, cuffed and booked! Locked up!

 Paul said this clearly in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, “Though we walk in the

flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our

warfare are not carnal but mighty in God (our love and ride-or-die

tightness with God) for pulling down strongholds, casting down

arguments (within ourselves) and every high thing that exalts itself

against the knowledge of God (there it is, how?), brining every

thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to

punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” ALL of

that is INTERNAL work as a result ONLY of being near to the Cure,

Himself!! That is how you deal with hatred which looks like

animosity, which looks like antipathy, which looks like grudges,

which looks like ill will. ALL of those things reek of hell.

 Another word for contentions is drama or variance (good with some

groups and bad with others). Someone who just creates drama. There

was no problem…, but you aren’t walking in the Spirit so now there’s

drama… Somethings can appear spiritual, but it’s just the flesh.

When it stirs up drama, it’s the flesh. Why not rather back off…?

Create peace instead of strife…

 Selfish ambitions, means divisions that create strife… Dissensions

means to originate division… All of these things are evident, they are

not of the Spirit, they are of the flesh.

 “God called me to do this,” is not a bullet-proof statement. Some

think it is… Whatever they want to do, “Well I prayed about it and I

believe God called me to do it.” If it involves any of this list, you

believe wrong. It is the flesh. But boy that statement, “God is calling

me to this,” is a weaponized shield Satanism and self-service. If God

has called you to it, it will look like the fruit of the Spirit, not the

works of the flesh!

 And Paul says clearly here, those that this is who they are, without

internal law of relationship with Jesus, anti-evil-bodies present in the

heart of hearts, the Kingdom of God is not for you… Martin Luther

said it this way, “Christians also fall and perform the lusts of the

flesh. David fell horribly into adultery. Peter also fell grievously when

he denied Christ. However great as these sins were, they were not

committed to spite God, but from weakness. When their sins were

brought to their attention these men did not obstinately continue in

their sin, but repented. Those who sin through weakness are not

denied pardon as long as they rise again and cease to sin. There is

nothing worse than to continue in sin. If they do not repent, but

obstinately continue to fulfill the desires of the flesh, it is a sure sign

that they are not sincere.” So “not inheriting the Kingdom of God,” is

not a punishment but rather an objective revelation that there was no

citizenship in the first place…

Galatians Chapter 5 Verses 22 - 23

 Notice the wording of the “works” of the flesh but it’s the “fruit” of

the Spirit. Works speaks of a factory, with all of the smells, the waste

products, the timecards, the slaves to the bosses…, fruit speaks of a

garden! Peaceful, beautiful and pleasant! These things aren’t works…

They just come forth, these are inevitable echoes of being near to

God… Jesus said in John 15:4-5, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the

branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither

can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me

you can do nothing.”

 The works of the flesh are many. The fruit of the Spirit is one thing.

The single fruit of the Spirit is love. One immense truth out of that

observation is that you can assemble the full stack and weight of all

the works of the flesh for all time and one fruit of the Spirit is greater!

All the sin of the world, overcome in one single presentation of love!

Love shows up and every work of evil is subjugated! This is precisely

what happened at the cross! The Spirit of God has one work to do

within us and that is to show us the glory of abiding in Jesus…

 And love, agape unconditional, unrestrained, unmaintained

pursuit of the absolute best for someone other than yourself, is not

an emotion. It is a resolution. A determination. A drive. A leading into

the heart of God a person, place, situation or circumstance. It may at

times be accompanied with warm fuzzies but the fruit of the Spirit

love is to operate effectively within the position we’ve been redeemed

into, by Christ, in our heavenly citizenship. Love is a decisive resolve

to do what is right in the eyes of God, because God is love. And man,

your heart will burn to do that when you are abiding in Jesus!

 And the fruit begins to multiply! After love, not with it, before it,

during it even, ONLY after love comes the result…, joy! Want to be a

more joyful person? Can’t do it without love. The world sips

happiness like a cocktail and smokes happiness like crack. You get it,

it surges and then it’s gone, leaving you looking for more. Joy in the

heart of a believer, as a result of abiding in Christ, is a foundation

without cracks or defects. It’s laid down and it endures through

circumstance…

 Love’s reward is peace. Want to be a stronger person? Which means

more autonomous poise, peace? Can’t do it without love. Love’s

applause is grit! Longsuffering, strength of character. While everyone

else will fold, you are able to stand! While everyone else loses the

high of their happiness, you somehow mysteriously to the world hold

on to love, joy, and peace! Love’s compliment is kindness, goodness,

faithfulness…, gentleness, and delivers with it less control of others

and more control of self… Against such there is no law because this

one, this is an internal law. More than that, it is a heavenly immune

system to evil! Far superior to any external law! And it’s not a thing of

reminding or training. It’s a growth, a maturing, a full reengineering of

you to a far superior system because it is a living relationship with

God Almighty!! You don’t go back…

Galatians Chapter 5 Verse 24

 If you are Christ’s then no one has to correct you and teach you these

things over and over again. You learn them once and you latch on to

them and the baton of following Jesus, your accountability partner

becomes YOU! Elements of the flesh in you that continue to do harm

to you and others in your life, and you aren’t dealing with them? Bruh,

get saved! You need Jesus!

 Those that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh! That is in the past

tense! There was a point where you came in your life where you made

your own decision, under the influence and guidance of the Holy

Spirit and your personal experience with Jesus Christ, that you aren’t

your own anymore… And the things of the flesh are stupid,

profitlessness and gross to you! Have you hit this decision point for

yourself yet…? Oh, don’t worry about answering that with your

mouth…, your life-seasoning answers that…

 Oh, and if you have made that decision, do us all a favor and walk in

it… Don’t get full of yourself… It’s easy to do. Because once you’ve

turned this corner internally…, now you see with x-ray vision every

ounce of hint of aroma on others that have not…

Galatians Chapter 5 Verses 25 – 26

 If we say we “live” in the Spirit, then set out to “walk” in the Spirit.

Yes, it’s fruit but fruit can be spoiled by so many elements… Bring

that fruit forth. Synergize your will and efforts and priorities with what

the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you in your heart of hearts and don’t

talk about it, be about it! That is abiding in Christ and that is not a one

time, I’m going to really try today, event! This is a self-identifying-

resolution that you make one time and then God does the rest…

 Religion without the fruit of the Spirit leads to a headstrong, high-and-

mighty, conceited Christianity. Someone once said, “God wants

spiritual fruit, not religious nuts!” A life lived for self is a very small

life. One should awake to the universal objective fact that all of this is

really not all about you and the glory of man is empty! We don’t level

up making us better than others, we actually level up in the Spirit

making us better servants and admirers and adorers of others…

 Or maybe you’re just learning and puffed up rather than Spirit filled!

We, if we are Christians, ought to live SPIRIT FILLED! That’s where

life is anyway! Check out how David Guzik ends his study on this

chapter as we close because it is SO good, “This whole chapter lends

itself to a searching examination of ourselves. We often think that our

problems and difficulties are all outside of ourselves. We think that we

would be fine if everyone just treated us right and if circumstances just

got better. But that ignores the tenor of this chapter: the problems are

in us, and need to be dealt with by the Spirit of God. Augustine used to

often pray, “Lord, deliver me from that evil man, myself.” With that

kind of reality check, we can see a new world, and a new life — and

not one other person or one other circumstance has to change. All we

must do is yield to the Spirit of God, and begin to truly walk in the

Spirit.”

 I’ll add on to that by saying this…, just meet Jesus. Everything

changes because everything has to change as if you really meet Him,

all you want to do is be near to Him… Against that, law just becomes

silly and a tired subject of past conversation…