Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Spiritual Life, Part 21 of 28
TEXT: "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load" (Galatians 6:1-6).
IDEA: The Holy Spirit helps us understand the Law and motivates and empowers us to live by it.
PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate that apart from the Holy Spirit, God's standards mock us.
As a teacher, how would you measure whether you are accomplishing anything by your teaching?
How would you evaluate the depth and maturity of a Christian who wanted to be your pastor?
I. Which is easier to measure—abilities or disposition?
Is it easier to measure whether someone knows and can explain the Scriptures or whether or not he or she has a heart that wants to do what he or she knows?
How would you measure abilities? How would you measure disposition?
Most measurements are made by tests that try to discern what a person knows and how that person would apply what he or she knows.
When we know we are being tested for our attitudes, we are able to say and do the right thing.
One old maxim has it: Integrity is the main thing—once you have learned to fake that, you have it made.
It is easier to measure someone else's orthodoxy than that person's godliness.
II. It's a fundamental question to ask: What's going on in your life that could not possibly go on if you were not empowered by the Holy Spirit?
We ourselves would be more aware of our need of God than of our accomplishments for God.
It is other people to whom we minister that often reflect God's work in us to them.
The image of the fruit of the Spirit implies that what is accomplished is not the result of our effort but of the life of God in us.
Brian Chappell has said that after several years of ministry at a church, he was aware that people did not remember his sermons nearly as much as they remembered his life. I think often, though, the power of a sermon is related to the working of God in one's life.
