Traits of the New Creature in Christ Pt. 5

Audio Message

Welcome to part five of the Traits of the New Creature.

Today’s trait for the believer in Christ is forgiveness.

The New Creature must be a forgiver.

I will continue with my theme of using actors to portray my thought process.

Today I have two actors to put before you. The first is an iconic figure that everyone should know.

John Wayne!

John Wayne has touched millions of people with his tough, rugged, work your way through any situation individualism. He is the portrait of the American way. From cowboy to military man John Wayne represented the American hero.

The second man I want you all to see this morning is the exact opposite for me. This man has become, to me, the representation of pure evil.

Bruce Dern.

Bruce Dern, playing the part of Asa Watts or “Long Hair” in the movie The Cowboys, did something that destroyed his person and my view of an iconic hero from the day he killed Wil Anderson to this very day.

Wil Anderson, you see, was the character played by John Wayne. The problem with John Wayne playing a character is he always surfaced as John Wayne. Whether it be Wil Anderson, Rooster Cogburn, Sheriff John T. Chance, Sgt. Stryker or the other 150 plus characters he played, he always surfaced as John Wayne.

So, when John Wayne, American Icon of Heroics, was shot and killed by Asa Watts, I saw Bruce Dern kill John Wayne.

John Wayne, up until this day in my young life was invincible. He always came out on top. He never lost. And you just knew he really was the hero he portrayed in so many movies.

Now this is not about John Wayne. But what happened on that day on a movie screen. This may sound absurd to most of you but Bruce Dern killed my hero. From that day forward, and still to this day, I can’t watch a Bruce Dern movie without some anger in my heart.

Have you ever felt that way toward anyone?

This may sound ridiculous to you but when a young boy goes to a movie to watch his hero and the hero dies, something happens. The hero can’t die! That’s just not right. It made John Wayne into a mere mortal no longer a hero.

Bruce Dern destroyed my belief in heroes and also himself before me for the rest of his career.

This is not a forgiving spirit.

Have you ever had something happen to you by someone that you just cannot forgive?

Every time you see them it brings back that haunting memory and something inside of you just can’t forgive them.

Last week our passage of Scripture came from…

Colossians 3:12-15

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Once again, my scenario for the day sounds ridiculous in comparison to real life events. But a part of my innocence was stripped from me the day Bruce Dern killed John Wayne. I did not see that Long Hair killed Wil Anderson. What I saw was Bruce Dern Making a mortal out of the great American Hero John Wayne and I hated it!

So, let’s turn this back to reality.

Who has hurt you? Who has stripped your innocence from you? Who damaged your view of humanity? Who is it that killed a part of your inner person?

Have you forgiven them?

When Jesus was being followed by a group of people who had raised Him up to the iconic level of Messiah, They must have been shattered when their Messiah was hung on a cross to die.

Their Messiah, their Savior, their Hero had been lowered to the level of a mere mortal in their sight.

The Scripture tells us that while Jesus hung on the cross dying He said…

Luke 23:34a

“Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.”

The Messiah was dying. The King of kings and the Lord of lords was suffering the fate of humanity. Death doesn’t come to the Hero of the story.

But in light of all this Jesus commands us to forgive.

When He taught us to pray He said…

Matthew 6:9-14

9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. 11 Give us our food for today, 12 and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

I wonder? Does my forgiveness depend upon me forgiving Bruce Dern? I mean really he was just playing a part.

I wonder how many times I have mentioned when seeing him on some movie or show I’ve said, “How could that man accept the part of John Wayne’s killer?” I believe I haven’t yet forgiven Bruce Dern.

I know this sounds very trivial in light of some of the things many of you have suffered. But, in your suffering have you forgiven?

Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

Let’s face it; we didn’t know what we were doing when we were sinning against God. And yet, he forgave us of the sins that hung His Son on the cross to die.

Since we have been forgiven we should forgive others.

Colossians 3:13

13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

With our forgiveness God gives us a new Spirit and makes us into new people.

John 20:22

22 Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”

What if a person, who has sinned against you, their forgiveness before the Lord depends upon you?

I know, this sounds pretty extreme. Could it be that God grants His forgiveness based upon my forgiveness?

I don’t believe someone will be condemned eternally due to my lack of forgiveness, but what if?

What if in my grudge against another person I am holding them back from receiving the forgiveness they need from the Lord?

Luke 6:36

37 “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven.

What if my forgiveness depends upon me forgiving others?

Is it even possible that my forgiveness of others carries that much weight?

You’ve probably never thought like this before.

So, let’s go a little deeper.

Leviticus 4:20b

In this way, the priest will make atonement for the people, and they will be forgiven.

Leviticus 4:26b

In this way, the priest will make atonement for the leader’s sin, and he will be forgiven.

Leviticus 5:10b

In this way, the priest will make atonement for those who are guilty, and they will be forgiven.

Leviticus 5:13a

In this way, the priest will make atonement for those who are guilty, and they will be forgiven.

Leviticus 6:7

The priest will then make atonement for them before the LORD, and they will be forgiven.”

Leviticus 19:22

The priest will then make atonement for him before the LORD with the sacrificial ram of the guilt offering, and the man will be forgiven.

Now, you may be saying to yourself, “I’m not a priest.”

I beg to differ with your thought.

A person who has come to Christ for the forgiveness of their sin becomes a part of a royal priesthood.

1 Peter 2:9 N.L.T.

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9 N.I.V.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

What is the greatest declaration of praise you can give about the LORD?

He took my sin. He forgave my sin. He died for my sin.

Your new life should be a changed life. A life willing to forgive others because of what God so graciously forgave you.

I know this is extreme.

But the person or persons that have done you wrong cannot be forgiven until you forgive them and you will never know the true life giving joy of forgiveness until you forgive them. Don’t fall to the thought that we can absolve sin. Christ is the only way for sin to be forgiven before God.

Many people over my years of life have hurt me. I know that I have hurt many people along the way. God forgave me of all of my sin, so, how can I hold an account against those who have hurt me?

Many times the hurt that I have experienced has actually helped me, made me stronger and made me more dependent upon the Lord. God uses all things for our good. The Scripture actually says…

Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

See, Bruce Dern actually did me a favor. He made me aware that John Wayne was just a mortal human being. It probably helped me to be able to handle, with very little fanfare, John Wayne’s death to cancer.

See, a hero can’t die but a human being must die. We die due to sin. We reside in a sin-filled world full of sin-filled people. Once we come to know our forgiveness, is it too much to ask for us to forgive others?

For the most part, people are so full of themselves and their selfish-desires that they don’t even know what they are doing.

Can we, who can now see, hold a grudge against someone who is blind?

They need what the Lord has to offer and although they have hurt us we have what they need. It could be that their damage to our person might just be what delivered us to our forgiveness. Who are we to hold a grudge against the tool God used to bring us to Himself?

If you knew that you held in your hand the power to forgive, would you use it?

Colossians 3:13

13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Now, before we leave I just want to tell you that a real Hero will rise from the dead.

Wil Anderson stayed dead. The cowboys returned home without him. But our Hero Jesus didn’t stay dead. He overcame death resurrected from the grave ascended back into heaven with a promise to give us a helper, counselor, guide and a new inner Spirit that will empower us to live above the ways of this world.

The trait of forgiveness comes along with the new Spirit that comes with being a new creature in Christ!

Christ is the ALL in All!

Many people I know deny Christ. In the simplest form they deny Jesus, the person, as their needed personal Savior.

Most of these people do not really understand what they are denying when they deny Christ. Most people that do accept Christ for salvation don’t really know who or what they are accepting either.

Christ is a term, a name or a word that has been associated with Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.

It is true that Jesus, the person, is the Christ. But let’s not limit our understanding to this alone.

Christ is far more than Jesus’ last name. Christ is the power, the principle, the law, the Spirit, the mechanism, the vehicle, the tool or the person by which God accomplishes anything and everything He does.

According to Scripture all things were created by Him, for Him, through Him, and nothing exists that He didn’t create.

Christ is the Creator, Maker, Author, Sustainer, Ruler, Redeemed, and Deliverer.

Christ is the Arm of God. Christ is the Light of the world. Christ is the Word and the Wisdom of God.

Christ is the Rock and the Root of everything. Christ is the beginning and the end. Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

When a person denies Christ they are denying God, His power, His way, His rule and actually the existence of everything.

When Paul the Apostle declares that the truth of God should be known to us by everything that surrounds us, he is telling us that the works and ways of God have been revealed to us by Christ.

See, God has limited Himself to working all things through Christ. This really is not a limitation as we understand limits. All things are made, created, held together and sustained by and through Christ. Christ is the way in which God works. You could say that Christ is the method or system by which God operates into our realm.

I have said all this to try to get people to understand that a person cannot be saved without Christ. You cannot know God without Christ. You cannot come to God without Christ. All this is because God only works via the law, principle, power, Spirit, person or mechanism of Christ. There is no other way to God because Christ is the Way of God.

When a person gets ahold of this understanding, the revelation of God through the person of Jesus who was and is the Christ, it will become their foundation for all of life.

I pray you will check out the Holy Scriptures to find out Who and what Christ really is.

The Traits of the New Creature in Christ Pt. 4

Audio Message

As we start today I would like to continue with the idea of acting, playing parts or taking on the script of a certain role and then preforming it before others.

We, as humans, are continually trying to identify ourselves. We are seeking to find who we really are. We look around and join into groups that we desire to be in. As we do we take on the group’s dress code, we begin to act and speak like those in the group. After joining this fellowship we gather with them, travel with them, hang out and even eat with the gang. We have a tendency to make ourselves whatever we need to be to be accepted.

The person I would like to put before you today transformed her entire identity. She changed who she was and became a totally different individual. She did what so many would like to be able to do. Become something they are not.

Norma Jeane Mortenson was born on June 1, 1926. She never knew her father and her mother was mentally unstable. She spent many years of her early life in an orphanage. At her baptism she was given the name Norma Jeane Baker.

After being moved about in foster care she realized her way out was to get married. She was married in June of 1942 at the age of 16.

Her husband went off to war and she got a job. On the job she was discovered by a photographer that thought she had a great look.

When her husband returned in 1946 she was working as a model and their marriage dissolved.

By the late 40’s Norma Jeane had received a movie contract and decided to remake herself into a new person. She went from being an actress to becoming a whole new person. From this day forward she would be playing a part, not on screen, but in life. The transformed person became Marilyn Monroe.

By the mid 1950’s Marilyn had taken the world by storm.
So, what happens to a person when they take on a life role and then the world wants the person you’re playing and not the real you?

She went through a few more marriages, began trying to find peace in substance abuse and died a very untimely death at 36 years old in 1962.

Her transformation lives on. People still want and desire Marilyn Monroe. It’s a fantasy. She played a part and played it so well that right about 50 years after her death she is still one of the most intriguing people in our nation’s history.

Who are you, really?

Have you ever stopped to consider who you are?

Are you really you, or has the world around you made you something you are not?

Have you decided to play a role to fit in with a certain group or build your character in a way to be acceptable to those around you?

Gangs, teams, clique’s, places of employment have different dress codes or even uniforms. They dress to show who they are and that they belong. A person that decides to go to work for UPS had best like brown. If you want to be in certain gangs you must wear certain colors or know certain signs. Some organizations have secret handshakes. Some people groups wear like styles.

I attended a Seattle Seahawks football game, while riding down the elevator full of Seahawk fans there was a lone Oakland Raider fan with us. The Raiders had just been defeated. He had to feel a bit out of place in His Raider Jersey.

When I was in high school the athletes wore their letter jackets. On game days they were required to dress-up. They even wore ties. You always knew who was on the team because they were dressed for the occasion.

On game days the cheerleaders wore their uniforms to school. Last fall I was on the golf course when the Hoisington girl’s golf team was heading out to play. Two of the players were in cheerleading uniforms. They were total misfits on the golf course. Why? Because their exterior look didn’t blend in to with usual golfer’s attire.

Today’s passage may surprise you. This passage is a call to dress the part of a Christian.

Colossians 3:12-17

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.

The passage starts by saying, “Since you are…”.

Remember this letter was written to Christians. It was written to people who believe in Jesus Christ. As a believer, you have come to the Lord by faith. He has forgiven your sin and declared you right with Himself based on what Jesus did for you at the cross.

You are now a Christian. A Christian has the Spirit of the Lord living in them. Since you are now a chosen vessel of God’s Holy Spirit, in other words, you are a Christ-In-You or Christian, here is how you are to dress.

This dress code goes far deeper than exterior clothing.

For Norma Jeane to become Marilyn Monroe, all things had to become new. She changed her hair color, make-up, exterior clothing and her whole mind-set. Everywhere she went, everything she did was from that day forward going to portray the sexiest woman in the world. It was what was expected from her. It’s the part she chose to play. It was the part others demanded her to play also.

What happens when you get tired of playing the part?

What if Marilyn had decided to be Norma Jeane again? What if the gang member decided he wanted out of the gang? What if the cheerleader was no longer on the squad? What if acting like a Christian is not really who you are in your inner most person?

You revert back to what is natural.

Since the true Christian has been chosen by God to be one of His holy people, and He has transformed you by giving you a new Spirit to live in you, you, by your new nature, should, ought to, and will be transformed into the Christian God has declared you to be.

There’s no turning back. You are now what you are. You don’t have to act like a Christian but you just do what is natural to the new nature that has been placed in you.

This may take some practice and some training. But, your new nature should be easy to flow with because it’s who you now are in Christ Jesus.

Last week I read Philippians 4:9, “Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Jesus tells us in Luke 11:28, He replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

And the Psalmist writes in Psalm 119:34, “Give me understanding and I will obey your law; I will put it into practice with all my heart.”

Yes, we have been given a new nature. Our inner being has been changed. Now we must understand how that looks on the exterior.

For Norma Jeane to become a symbol of sexuality she had to alter her exterior to look the part. She had to be recreated into a whole new person.

For the Christian, who has the Spirit of Christ now indwelling them, they must allow that new Spirit to transform them from inside to out.

How does this look?

“you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”

Now, I don’t want you to kid yourselves. If you do not have the Spirit of Christ in you this will be impossible to pull off. You may put these traits into practice but if the old sinful nature is still controlling your life, there will not be any peace in doing what this passage calls us to do.

Norma Jeane got tired of always having to be Marilyn Monroe. People wanted Marilyn. This self-created icon of sexuality was in demand. What Norma Jeane created had now possessed her. Marilyn now owned Norma Jeane. Norma Jeane was no longer alive. She died when Marilyn Monroe was raised to life.

The Christian dies to self and allows Jesus Christ to be raised to life within them.

Jesus has bought you at a high price. He has brought you back into right standing with God. He has delivered you from the old life of sin. He has placed a new Holy Spirit in your body and is calling you now to be who He has recreated you to become.

So it’s time to put on your new clothes and walk out into the world being that which Christ purchased you to become.

Romans 12:1-2

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

Let’s think of it like this.

God made you and had a plan for your life. You came into the world not knowing God’s plan and began to follow the behaviors and customs of the world around you. You began to make and mold yourself into the image you thought would fit into the plan you had for yourself. You chose the path that best fit your desires. You began to clothe yourself with the look, the lingo and the actions of this desired plan. You put into practice all the right moves to achieve your desired success.

Now you have come to realize that in it all, you’ve lost yourself and God’s desired plan for your life has been missed totally.

You are acting more like someone of the world than someone of God.

God desires to recreate you into the image He has for your life.

Are you going to let Him?

It begins with a change of heart of inner being. This change begins to work itself out into your appearance. And here is what it should look like.

Colossians 3:12-17

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.

We have now gone through four sessions of the “Traits of the New Creature in Christ”.

We started with love, went to self-control, changed the way we think and now we are allowing the Lord to transform us into new creatures. We are becoming new creations by way of Christ’s Spirit that indwells us.

Jesus wants us to be transformed into new people. We are no longer the natural, self-centered child we used to be. God is calling us to grow up into Him and take on this new life. A life that denies self and does the work he has called us to accomplish. He wants us to join into the royal priesthood and take the message of salvation to the world around us. In doing this he has a way he wants us to be.

God wants us to be loving, tenderhearted, kind, humble, gentle and patient with those around us. He wants us to forgive their faults as they do not have the relationship with Him that you do. He wants you to be peaceful and thankful in all you do. He wants you to be filled with His Word so you can teach and counsel those around you. He wants you to sing songs and hymns of praise and thanksgiving. And whatever you do or say it should represent who you are in Christ Jesus.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you became so much like Christ that people mistook you for Him?

Many actresses and a few actors have tried to portray Marilyn Monroe. Nobody will ever be Marilyn because Marilyn never really existed to begin with. She was a fantasy portrayed by Norma Jeane Baker.

The problem with this is we, in many different ways, are just like Norma Jeane. We have play acted so much that we have lost our identity trying to be someone we’re not.

Now it’s time to allow the Lord to recreate us into what He intended us to be from the beginning.

Christlikeness, it’s not an image to copy but a being to become. We don’t try to look like Jesus we want to become like Jesus. We are individuals with a personal look. But our person needs to appear more like Christ.

The only way for this to happen is for us to die to the old man and allow the Spirit of Christ to rise within us and make us to become what we were intended to be.

Let’s start by clothing ourselves with Christ and putting into practice all we have learned.

Traits of the New Creature in Christ Pt. 3

Audio Message

Today we are going to look at part three of the traits of the New Creature in Christ.

During part one we studied the trait of love and the traits of love in a Christian’s life.

Part two concentrated on self-control and the reality that self cannot and will not actually control it’s self without the power of the Holy Spirit working in you.

Last week I ran out of time and was unable to touch on goodness and faithfulness as I wanted to. So, let’s start here this week before we get into the next section.

Galatians 5:22-26

22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.

Let’s start by looking at goodness.

James 3:13-18

13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don’t brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.

If you remember from the first session, love is not jealous, proud, boastful or rude and it doesn’t demand its own way.

The Christian, controlled by the Holy Spirit, has died to self. Our passage tells us that goodness is opposite of jealousy and selfish-ambition. If you are doing things out of jealousy or selfish-ambition the works are wrongly motivated and will result in evil rather than goodness.

Now, don’t get me wrong. If you do a good work for someone it is good for them. It helps them. But, if you’re doing the good for your own motivated reasons, such as a selfish-ambition, the good is not from the heart of love. Love gives of self to others freely. Selfish-ambition gives to receive.

Selfish-ambition wants to be seen and noticed. It wants to be recognized for its good. It wants to be raised up, congratulated or memorialized for its works.

Many people do their good works only for their own good. Our passage tells us that this type of motivation will sow disorder.

Have you ever noticed how ugly self-motivated good works become if they go unrecognized? The person desiring to be noticed has to start doing things to make sure they are seen for their good.

True goodness comes from a heart of love. It doesn’t seek for itself but naturally does for others.

True goodness is seen and not noticed. It’s received and doesn’t have to be recognized.

Now let’s look at faithfulness.

Faithfulness is being faithful or keeping your faith throughout all circumstances.

Faith works. It is an active word. We act out our faith. If we have faith our life will resemble our faith.

We live out what we believe. We continue living according to our beliefs. What we believe drives us forward. Our belief is what we have based our faith upon. No matter what happens, a person of faith continues to trust in the lord and this is faithfulness.

2 Thessalonians 1:4

We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.

I know this is a tough passage but it shows that true faithfulness endures. Faithfulness endures because love endures every circumstance. Faith is an out working of the Love we have been given via the Holy Spirit in us.

James 2:14-20

14 Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless.

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” I say, “I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.”
19 Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! 20 Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless?

As you can see faithfulness and goodness work out or express themselves through a heart of love. The person doesn’t do these acts for recognition but they are the reflex action of having the Holy Spirit in you.

Staying with the theme of acting I wanted to share another actress that I knew.

I went to school with a young lady named Cindy Henninger. She would later become known as Lucinda Dickey. She appeared in a few movies during the 80’s. She was a dancer. Her dancing ability took her to California and she became a minor star. She was Kellie in “Breakin’” and “Breakin’ 2”. She was the Ninja in “Ninja 3” and she was one of the lead dancers in “Grease 2”.

Cindy was a normal jr. high and high school student. She was a bit nutty at times but just as normal as any other kid. Her mother was a dance instructor and she was a very good dancer even then.

She was different than some of the other actors I’ve shown so far. The others were playing parts that weren’t them. Cindy performed roles that were an extension of who she really was. She was a dancer. Dancing is what she did. So, here roles were much more a role of being rather than roles of acting.

Because Cindy was a good dancer she was awarded roles based on her ability to dance. What she was, as a dancer, defined what she did as an actress.

Faith works that way in a Christian. Because we are believers in Christ and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit we are not acting out parts but being who we really are. Since we are being what we have become it’s no longer and act but just the normal actions of the faithful Spirit-filled individual. We would, like Cindy, find it real easy to play the part of who we really are.

Now let’s move into the next set of traits found in the new creature in Christ.

Philippians 4:8-9

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.

The next trait that I want you to consider is how a Christian should think.

2 Corinthian 10:2-5

2 I hope it won’t be necessary, but when I come I may have to be very bold with those who think we act from purely human motives. 3 We are human, but we don’t wage war with human plans and methods. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds. 5 With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ.

For the most part we think wrong. Since we generally think wrong we are called to take our thoughts and make them obey Christ.

Are your thoughts true, honorable and right? Do you think about things that are pure, lovely and admirable? Are your thoughts on things that are excellent and worthy of praise?

What is it that you think about during the day?

Romans 12:1-2

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

According to this passage we need to think about what Christ has done for us. As we do we will be transformed into new persons because we have changed the way we think.

Romans 8:5-9

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.

Now, I don’t want you to think that you are defined by your thoughts. You are defined by what you do about what you are thinking.

The Scriptures tell us that we need to make out thoughts obey Christ.

This is very difficult for those who do not know Christ. If you do not know Christ you do not know how you are supposed to think.

Our standard of thought is based in knowing Christ. The more we know Christ they more our thoughts will line up with Christ’s likeness.

If you do not know Christ you do not have a standard from which to measure your thoughts.

How do you know if your thoughts are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or fixed on what is worthy of praise?

If you are led by the natural spirit you do not know the truth. The truth can only be found in a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus said, “I am the truth”, he was saying that all truth could be discerned through Him. So, without the Truth you cannot know if what you are thinking is obeying Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:8-9

8 But let us who live in the light think clearly, protected by the body armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. 9 For God decided to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.

We have been saved by and through Christ. We have placed our faith in him and now we are to live in the light thinking clearly.

Since we have entered into a relationship with Christ He has given us His Spirit. This Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and He is leading us into all truth.

Romans 13:11-14

11 Another reason for right living is that you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So don’t live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light. 13 We should be decent and true in everything we do, so that everyone can approve of our behavior. Don’t participate in wild parties and getting drunk, or in adultery and immoral living, or in fighting and jealousy. 14 But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don’t think of ways to indulge your evil desires.

We are being called to allow the Lord to control our lives. He desires to give us the Holy Spirit that will lead us into all truth. This Holy Spirit in us is a Spirit of love, self-control and right living.

Philippians 2:3-4

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. 4 Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.

The Spirit of love that the Lord imparts to us is a Spirit that denies self.

The world as a whole encourages, builds up and even exploits the self. Everything in the world is bent on self-pleasure.

This is a foreign spirit to God’s divine Spirit of Holiness in Christ that He gives to the new creation. A person is not new until they receive that which comes in and transforms their life.

Once transformed, the new creature will love like he has never loved before, he will be more in control of himself than ever before and he will think differently than he thought before.

Is your life being transformed by the renewing of your mind? Are your thoughts changing so much that everything in your life is becoming new?

These are the traits of the new creature in Christ.

We have one more session to study through next week. Before we get there I want to ask you a very personal question.

Are you a new creature in Christ? Are you being made new? Are the old things passing away? Has your way of thinking been changed?

Traits of the New Creature in Christ Pt. 2

Audio Message

Last week we looked at the first and most important trait of the new creature in Christ. The Spirit of love that comes into your inner being when the Holy Spirit resides in you is a miraculous gift from God. God desires that we discern the world through a New Spirit and that Spirit has love as its foundation.

Now when you love the Lord your God the Scripture tells us…

Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

We must remember that all things are working together for good. That doesn’t mean that everything in our lives and the lives around us are going to be good. It means God causes or works all things together for the good of those who love Him.

This sets us up for the next passage that lists the traits of the new creature in Christ.

Galatians 5:22-26

22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.

Let’s start with a very quick review.

Conceit is part of pride and boasting. We covered those last Sunday.

Irritation and irritating we covered last week.

Jealousy and covetousness we covered last week.

When a person loves they are not prideful, they don’t boast, they are not conceited, they do not become irritated and don’t intentionally irritate others, they are not jealous and do not covet or desire that which others have.

These are signs of the Holy Spirit controlling your life.

Now let’s look at what a person controlled by the Holy Spirit is not. Then we will dig into our passage for the day.

Galatians 5:19-21

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20 idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Now, this is the natural course of a life lived in this world.

This is what comes naturally to the human being.

The only way to overcome these actions is for the Holy Spirit to enter your life.

Last week we talked about acting or playing the role of a Christian.

If a person’s natural tendencies are toward the sins listed in this passage and you asked them to act like a Christian, if they were a good actor and desired to take on the part they could, for a short amount of time, play the part.

They would though, have a great deal of difficulty fighting against their true nature.

An actor plays his part for an amount of time but once they walk off the set or stage they revert back to themselves. If you have ever met any actors and actresses they are hardly ever like the people they play.

The movie “Parade” was filmed near Hutchinson. The cast stayed at the hotel in which the Quick Print I worked at was located. I met Maxwell Caulfield and Michael Learned while they were staying there.

Maxwell Caulfield was probably most known for his role in “Grease 2” and Michael Learned was Momma Walton.

They were normal people, well at least Michael was. Maxwell was a bit hyper and quite into himself. He was very outgoing and yet he was interested in what we did at the print shop. He stopped by a couple of times while waiting on his ride just to chat and ask questions.

Michael was very quiet. She came in to stay out of the rain while waiting on her ride. She said hello and it sounded and looked like Momma Walton but not quite as old fashioned.

Rosanna Arquette was also in the film. We saw her a couple of times but she avoided everyone and never spoke to anyone. Don’t know if she was shy or not wanting to be noticed.

These three individuals were recognized for parts they played but were not the people they portrayed on the screen.

Once the camera was off they become themselves again.

I say this because far too many people who claim to be Christians are just playing the part. As soon as they are off the stage they revert to (following the desires of their sinful nature, their lives produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.)

I know this cuts to the core of a person’s being but a Christian has nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

An actor puts aside their sinful nature for a time while performing their part but they will always revert back to their natural self as soon as they are off the stage.

The Word says, “If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

So, let’s get into today’s passage.

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.

We’ve already covered love, patience, kindness and gentleness as opposite of being rude, joy and peace were covered during advent, so we need to look at goodness, faithfulness and self-control.

The major point here that I would like to spend most of our time on is self-control.

Self-control is listed numerous times in the Scripture. I am not going to go through every passage but I have picked a few for your consideration.

Now, according to the Scripture when the Holy Spirit controls your life there will be self-control.

When the natural spirit controls your life there will be a whole list of sins.

Self-control is spoken of three times in the proverbs.

Proverbs 5:21-23

21 For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. 22 An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. 23 He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his incredible folly.

This is a tough teaching. How many of us have at some point in our lives found ourselves in desperate situations because we lacked self-control?

Your life began to spin out of control because you didn’t know when to say no or stop or I can’t or I want out.

Self-control is exactly what it says. It is the ability to control yourself.

According to Scripture, if you do not have the Holy Spirit in you, you will not be able to control yourself because the self desires to chase after its own sin nature.

Sin is natural to those who have not been spiritually reborn. Actually the Scripture tells us that we have been sold into the slavery to sin.

Since we are slaves to sin it is impossible to control ourselves unless we have the help of God’s Spirit living in us.

Proverbs 25:28

28 A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls.

Lacking self-control is like laying down your weapons in warfare. You would be unable to defend yourself against the enemy’s offensive attack. You would be drug off into all kinds of sin because your self-control is not present.

Self-control is a trait of the new creation in Christ. If you have not yet been recreated, you may be able to stand for a time but something will sooner or later grab you and pull you down.

Acting out the part of self-control is dangerous. The natural spirit, when left unfed, gets real hungry. An appetite needs to be satisfied. When you have not yet died to self you will hunger for selfish satisfaction.

Only when you die to self and allow Christ to fill you and lead you in every part of your life will you overcome this world and its ways of enslaving you to sin.

Proverbs 16:32

32 It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city.

Last Sunday we looked at patience. Today we are seeing that self-control is better than conquering a city. Why? If you are able to conquer a city what is to stop you from conquering another and another and another…

Self-control doesn’t have to conquer anything but the self. According to Scripture, without the help of the Holy Spirit, no man can conquer himself and no man wants to.

The natural man’s inclinations are more, bigger, faster, better and right now.

Patience and self-control are traits of the new Creature in Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-7

5 So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. 6 Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. 7 Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone.

Love was the trait of the new creature in Christ that we discussed last week. We expanded upon the trait of love and looked at the traits of love in a Christians life.

As we can see through this passage many things are attached to self-control. Moral excellence, knowing God, patient endurance and finally love.

Without self-control everything else in this passage is out the door, down the street, across town and totally out of the natural spirited person’s sight. It is non-existent.

You can’t have the trait of self-control without yielding yourself to another’s control over your life.

You cannot control yourself because your self wants, desires, has passion for and inclinations to chase after its own desires. Self cannot be controlled by self. It’s spiritually impossible. The self wants and the self desires to fulfill the self’s wants.

Only under the authority of a higher power will the self surrender. That power is the Holy Spirit in you.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.

See, everything in this passage is in direct opposition to what love is. You can’t love properly without the Holy Spirit and you can’t control yourself without the Holy Spirit.

No man, women or child will ever be totally self-controlled because self must be controlled by something outside of the self.

John 14:17

17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

This is the power that today’s, so-called, Christian is missing. They are followers of a self-defined standard of morality but they are not being led by the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

24 Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. 25 All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.

See, the self does what it desires. It will discipline itself to its self determined goal. It will work hard to get what it wants.

The self does not think eternally. The self only considers what it wants and how to get it right now.

The self must come under the Lord’s standard and die to self to be right with God.

Self doesn’t desire God. Self desires to be God. Self desires to be lord of his own life, king of his own destiny and the conqueror of his own domain. Self must take upo his cross dying daily and following Jesus Christ.

This is impossible without God. This is impossible without the Spirit of the Lord indwelling you.

1 Peter 1:13-16

13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. 14 Obey God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be his children—is holy. 16 For he himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Children are under the headship of their parents. Children obey because their parents have power over them. They rebel because they believe they know better than their parent.

We are the same with God. We are in charge of the self until we submit to the Lord’s rule and reign over our life.

We cannot be holy until we are separated from the world and the self and live to God.

To be holy is to be separated unto God. This allows us to be under the King’s lordship following His rule and reign. When we submit to His Kingship he promises to send us a helper that will indwell us giving us the power we need to overcome this world and the self.

Then, and only then, will we be able to control the self. As long as self is in charge we are not following the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our life and we will fail reverting back to our selfish desires.

This is why we must die to self.

Self-control is a trait of the new creature in Christ and it’s easy to recognize those who are not self-controlled. They have not submitted their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They have not nailed the passions and desires of the self-spirit to the cross and crucified them there. They are still chasing their selfish desires.

Where are you today?

Are you a new creature in Christ or are you just religious denying the power that will make you godly?

Maybe you’re not even religious. Maybe you’re just all about yourself thinking you’re good enough to get to heaven based on your own outstanding record.

Question is, are you holy? Are you separated from self and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct your life?

Maybe it’s time to give in and allow the Lord to come into your life and take His rightful place.

We Need the Holy Spirit!

I would like to address a problem that has over taken our nation.

In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 the Apostle Paul writes, “You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.”

What I want you to understand from this passage is the power that is being rejected.

The people of our nation line up to take part in numerous religions and disciplines. We can’t wait for the next self-help seminar or book. The Christian community offers all kinds of leadership training, Bible studies, prayer events and encouraging retreats.

I do not have a problem with any of these well-meaning events. But the issue of the day is the lack of power people have to live godly lives in a world that is becoming more and more chaotic.

See, the true teaching of the work of the Holy Spirit, in a person to make them right with God, has become foreign in our midst. The power of the Holy Spirit is the missing link that will bring the rest of the issues Paul listed in the Scripture above to fulfillment in an individual’s life.

The Holy Spirit is not a power that I release with my words to make things happen. The Holy Spirit is not a power that will make the world a better place for me to live. The Holy Spirit is not a power that I press on other people so they will do what I want. The Holy Spirit is God working in an individual to empower that person to live life as Christ would live it if He were here right now.

In the Christian world we call this process of God working in us sanctification. What it really means is God will come into your life and help you to live a life separated or holy unto Him.

The Holy Spirit’s focus is God and holiness before Him. The Holy Spirit, dwelling in a person, is fed and built up by the Word of God. The Holy Spirit works in a person to draw them to God.

Are you starting to see that even the desire for this type of power is missing in our society, community and even churches today?

Most seem to want nothing more than a self-power that will help them to gain and attain in this world. This is NOT the work of God’s Spirit in a human being. Christ calls us to deny ourselves. This can only happen when the Holy Spirit is leading a life.

Some may pretend to be holy for a time but truth will be exposed and without the Holy Spirit’s work they will revert back to their self-centered ways.

As Paul teaches many have a form of religion or act religious but they lack and even deny the power that will make them holy or godly.

To receive the Holy Spirit a person must seek God and not just be seeking for self. This is why I hear people say, “Christianity doesn’t work for me”. It wasn’t intended to. It’s God’s work in you to make you right with Him. Do you want this power?