Lima Community Church

In the book of Galatians, Paul is writing to a group of Jewish believers who have veered away from relying and walking with the Holy Spirit. They fell back into the way of life they were most comfortable with, that which they were raised on, the Jewish Law.

When these Jewish believers started relying more on the Law, they grew less sensitive to the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Paul uses the phrase, "For freedom Christ has set us free..." (Gal 5:1). Essentially, he is saying that Christianity is so much more than just accepting an invitation.

Paul is encouraging the believers to not only say yes to Jesus, but to walk with the Spirit.

If we want to walk with the Holy Spirit, what should we know?

vs. 16-18

The Jewish believers thought that a system outside of the Holy Spirit would work to defeat sinful lifestyles. This thought stemmed from their own understanding and logic, which they brought into their relationship with the Holy Spirit.

But the only true source of attack against a sinful lifestyle is the Spirit, and nothing else. The Holy Spirit can use good things in our lives, such as the Law of God, but these things should never be relied upon.

Even our own expectations and sources of help and logic and understanding should never be truly relied upon. They can be good tools used by the Holy Spirit, but should never be our partner in the walk (dance).

What should we know before walking with the Spirit? Don't settle for anything less than the Spirit?

vs. 19-21

The list of works of the flesh demonstrate what the Jewish believers were fearful of falling back into.

For us as Christians today, we have to be careful to not grade ourselves by this list, but to recognize the theme of these sinful actions and determine if any parts of our lives fall into the same theme: fear and pride.

When we fear that we won't get what we want we then believe we know better and attempt to take control of things.

Fear catalyzes our pride.

vs. 22-23

The singular fruit of the Spirit grows as a result of walking with the Spirit. We can't force the fruit to grow, but we can provide the nutrients to help the fruit grow to the fullest extent.

This fruit comes from the secure embrace of our God. This fruit is the beginning of life and life to the fullest. This fruit transcends every circumstance.

What should we know as we walk with the Spirit? Fear seduces.

vs. 24-25

The very source of spiritual life comes through the Holy Spirit, whom Christians receive upon placing their faith in Jesus. Our flesh no longer holds us prison. However, this does not mean that the Holy Spirit is leading us.

To have the Holy Spirit lead us, we must choose to walk with the Spirit, to say in step with the Spirit.

How? God has given us human relationships to model what it looks like to walk with the Holy Spirit!

- Time Spent in all sorts of different contexts, e.g., attending church, small groups, being around Christians in service, prayer, reading scripture, etc.

It's all about time spent, just like in any human relationship. And after time is spent, we can start to look back on how the Holy Spirit has started to work on our hearts, just like a close friend or spouse affects the way we think and speak.

When walking with the Spirit, what should we know? Every moment is an opportunity to walk (dance)!