Spirituality Wrongly Understood

• Galatians 5:1-15

Spirituality Rightly Understood

• Galatians 5:16-25

• verses 18, 23 - you will not need legal code to shape you.

BHAGS's

• Galatians 5:11
• 1 Corinthians 1:23

• Romans 12:1-2 - Will you allow God to transform you?

The Life You've Always Wanted

• Galatians 5:16-25
  
  We were made to live in step with God. (verse 25)

What is Love?

• Galatians 5:22
  The greatest evidence of transformation will be love.
  "Love" (Greek: "agape") is in verb form in Galatians 5

• 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
  • Patient - allow God to be at work in His timing.
  • Kind - giving others the space to be who they are.
  • Not Envious - giving God the room to do what is perfect.
  • Not Boastful - being humble enough to let others be better.
  • Not Proud - Sacrificing my own pride to serve another.
  • Not Rude - every ounce of communication being thoughtful.
  • Not Self-Seeking - not seeing the other as a means to fulfillment.
  • Not Easily Angered - letting others do things we don't like.
  • No Record of Wrongs - Forgive and forget.
  • Rejoices with Truth - whatever is honest is better than what I want.
  • Always Protects - keeping the other safe.
  • Always Trusts - believing the best course really is the best.
  • Always Hopes - hope drives our behavior.
  • Always Perseveres - we never shut down.

When love is all these things, Love never fails.

The Life You've Always Wanted

• Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:13
  
  Absolutely everything produced absolutely nothing.

A Life of Celebration

• Ecclesiastes 11:7-10

• Circumstances can steal joy.
  • Lamentations 5:15, Joel 1:12
• Obedience causes joy.
  • Psalm 19:8, Psalm 97:11, Isaiah 58:14
• Strength and joy are linked.
  • 1 Chronicles 16:27, Nehemiah 8:10
• God gives joy.
  • Nehemiah 12:43, Psalm 4:7

• Matthew 11:25-30
• Hebrews 4:6-10
• Acts 16:22-28
• 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
• Isaiah 40:28-31

The Life You've Always Wanted

• Galatians 5:22-24
  
  Do you feel safe in this life?

A Life of Peace

A Life of Safety

• Matthew 8:23-27 - Jesus was convinced that our universe is a perfectly safe place for us to be.
A Life of Risk

• Matthew 10:34-39 - The peace we're called to is not a search for comfortable circumstances.
A Life of Singing

• Psalm 29 & 30 - Joy is linked to peace, which is linked to trust.
A Life of Constant Casting
• 1 Peter 5:7 - Anxiety is to become a cue for prayer.
A Life of Otherness
• Isaiah 43:1-4 - You (and others) are the beloved.

The Life You've Always Wanted

• Galatians 5:22-24
  
  The great danger of hurry is mediocre spirituality.

An Unhurried Life

Two sides to patience:

• "Makrothumia" - a self-restraint of the mind before it gives way to action. (People vs. circumstances)
Depth comes from an uncluttered life.

• Romans 5:3-5
• James 1:2-4

Freedom To Run Unhindered

Free ourselves to finish
Finish to focus

• God produces depth of love by making us utterly alone with Him.
Focus by faith

• Faith drives us to do what can only be done in God.

The Life You've Always Wanted

• Galatians 5:22-24
  
  Remember the fruit is the promise of God.

Kindness

Why are we rude?

• It flows from our need to rank each other.
God's Kindness.

• Romans 2:4
• Titus 3:4
• Philippians 2:1-11
Ironic, isn't it: We rank. So does God. He places Himself at the bottom.

Goodness

Accountability is a gift. But it is one that only you can invite.
• John 3:19
• 2 Timothy 4:3-4

The Life You've Always Wanted

• Galatians 5:22-24
  
  Faith - "pisists" — means to persuade.

Faith

• Elisha / Aram — 2 Kings 6:8-23
  
  We don't see God. We don't feel God. But God is.
  • James 5:17-18
  Faith is about perception and persuasion.
  • Romans 8:38
  • Romans 4:21

Fear

• Asa / Aram — 2 Chronicles 16:1-9
  
  God is looking for an opportunity to show His strength.

Flesh

• Ahab / Jehosophat — 2 Chronicles 18
  
  Ahab wanted to hear what was pleasing to him.
  • 2 Timothy 4:3-4
• Persuasion, or confidence in God, will lead to right behavior.

The Life You've Always Wanted

• Galatians 5:22-24
  
  Gentleness - "Prautes" — not in weakness but in power.

Gentleness

It is the middle ground between two extremes.

• getting angry without reason (Matthew 5:22) and
• Not getting angry at all (Ephesians 4:26).

Anger

Why did Jesus get angry?

• Depravity (John 2:13-17) — Misuse of ministry.
• Deception (Mark 3:1-6) — Misuse of people.
• Death (John 11:35-38) — Misuse of creation.
What did he not get angry over?

• God's will.
• People's failure.
• Gossip, slander, false accusation.

Meekness

James 1:19-25 — Accept God's dealing with us as good and do not dispute or resist.

The Life You've Always Wanted

Galatians 5:22-24

• Self-control - "Egkrateia" — temperate, literally means "in strength".
• We sometimes behave contrary to our moral conscience (we give in to temptation)
  
• The answer to temptation is self-control.

Temptation

James 1:12-15

• Being tempted is not God's deal; it is our deal.
Romans 1:25

• Temptation comes from created things, which are shadows of God.
  
• We are made to worship — most of us worship created things.
  
• Worship and lust are almost the same word: I really want that.
  
• The Greek word "lust" is also used to mean to eagerly and earnestly desire God.
  
• Created things were made to draw us to the Creator.
Philippians 3:7

• Paul says all the created things he thought were good, are worthless in comparison to knowing God.
  
• If we know how good the created things are, imagine how awesome the Creator of these is.

The Way Out

1 Corinthians 10:13
• God always will provide a way out when we are tempted.
Philippians 3:7-11
• Knowing Christ is the difference to getting out of temptation.
• Desire to know God needs to be stronger and the created things will matter less.
• Paul had a perspective of how awesome God is.
2 Corinthians 10:3-11
• God's weapons can demolish the things that have lordship in our lives.
• Desire for God will begin to demolish the strongholds.
• Take every thought and make it obedient to Christ.

• No formula, no Scripture, no easy answer how to do this.
• It is going to take God to show you how.
• Do you want God to show you the "switch" in your heart for you to desire Him above everything else?
• Ask him to show you the switch, and to flip it for you.