Resurrection Lutheran Church -

4620 Cypress Gardens Road,

Winter Haven, Florida 33884

He was raised for our Justification.

4620 Cypress Gardens Road
Winter Haven, FL 33884
ph: 863-324-7263
alt: 863-221-8893
cjohnk@resurrection-lutheranwh.org

Sermons and Papers

Trinity 14, September 17, 2017, W.H. Galatians 5:16-24
In the name of the One to whom we belong,
Dear Fellow Redeemed:
We follow the theology of the cross. The joy of Christmas, the birth of the Lord Jesus, soon turned into a life of trial and temptation…until Jesus dragged His own cross through Jerusalem to the skull shaped hill. Christ Jesus crucified is our faith. And Jesus told us to take our cross as we follow Him. As much as we might want a life free from struggle, in this evil world we drag a cross to the inevitability of our own death. As much as we might hope for happiness, His promise of glory is on the other side. We live under the shadow of the cross.

This has been a week of sorrow and suffering. For those who endured the brunt of the storm, thinking straight is a struggle. Stress dominates every day. The end may not seem foreseeable. We are in the shadow of the cross. We see glory by faith. Today, Paul teaches us to live by the Spirit when the flesh objects. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

My flesh cries out for comfort and routine. It desires the good life we had. It demands of God, “Why? What have I done? Suffering doesn’t seem to be the blessing you promised?’” The flesh is our old nature. It is our sinful self. It is at war with the Spirit. Our flesh desires peace and comfort. And Satan whispered in Jesus’ ear: “Fall down and worship me and I will give you the world.” Today, it is easy for me to confess that I would rather have the world than Irma. But which is better. God’s will and way lead to glory. Satan’s promises leads to destruction.        Naturally, the flesh always knows best. It knows better than God. It is demanding. It is powerful. It also claims to be right even if God disagrees. God describes the flesh.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

Many things here prick our consciences.   Under the burden of the cross, we highlight a few today.

The flesh is selfish. We had to confess this week past. Waiting, we hoped and wished and maybe even prayed that the storm path would miss us. And with embarrassment we then realize “if it missed me it might have hit you”. The flesh looks out for itself, ourselves. We see nothing good in discomfort and paid.

The flesh envies. The natural and covetous eye looks around and sees the blessings God bestows on other people. It decides God must be wrong in giving those gifts to those people instead of us. And as we hunkered down after the storm, the flesh led some to do something about it. No sooner had the storm lifted than looters came out. And when I first heard that some in Winter Haven had power before me, envy overwhelmed me. How could this be? That so many escaped the storm with little damage, why were we selected to enjoy so much of the cross.
The flesh knows best. The flesh thinks it sees clearly while
leading us away from God’s path. Paul has a warning: I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who follow the flesh will not inherit the Kingdom. Those who follow the flesh may have some comfort in this world before they hear God’s condemnation.

God’s Spirit leads us to the cross of Jesus. The cross is the destination of our sin and the condemnation of the law. The law cannot condemn those who follow the Spirit. Jesus put Himself under the law for us. He freed us from the law’s condemnation.

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

Outwardly, there is little difference between those who follow the flesh and those who follow the Spirit. We are not better people. When the cross weighs heavily upon our shoulders, we are inclined to feel sorry for ourselves. We sin.        And we are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. The Bible says,

“Jesus has defeated our enemies.”

One of those enemies is God’s law. God will not accuse us. God found Jesus guilty. God sentenced Jesus to our death. He paid our price. God said it:

Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

We were baptized into Jesus. We were buried with Him. Jesus nailed our old nature to His cross to kill it. It is dying. We are no longer its slave. Freed, we follow a better master, God. Jesus covered our flesh with the beauty of His holiness. God looks at us and sees only His Son, pure and holy. No different from others, we are covered in Jesus’ beauty.

Dr. Luther wrote: He that believeth hath as great a sin as the unbeliever. But to him that believeth, it is forgiven and not imputed: to the unbeliever it is not pardoned but imputed. To the believer it is venial: to the unbeliever it is mortal and damnable; not for any difference of sins, or because the sin of the believer is less, and the sin of the unbeliever is greater: but for the difference of the persons. We are in Christ.

The flesh doesn’t give up. It continues to tempt us. A war wages within. The flesh battles to turn us from God’s path. We still feel the shame of our sin. The Spirit reminds us that cannot condemn us. We are holy in Jesus. God is gracious.

Living by the Spirit of God we produce. Jesus said:

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Those who follow the Spirit produce beautiful works.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.        Since we live under the cross, the produce may not seem readily visible. Consider this. On His cross, Jesus wondered: My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me.

Those who follow the Spirit may not see. We may wonder where is God when we need Him the most. We may feel forsaken. God hides Himself and His love. He was there in fellow Christians throughout the country who were praying for us during the storm. He hid in our friend or neighbor who phoned to make sure we were okay. He hid in that soul who offered us help after the storm, that soul that took us in, who gave us a sympathetic hug and listened as we told our story. God hide himself in cheer-ful wait person who served us breakfast in a resturant after the as we basked in air conditioning we didn’t have at home. Those pole climbers who came down to restore power, those FEMA workers. God was in us as we did small every day things for each other. God did not forsake us. We just can’t see the hidden God.

We know He is gracious. We know He will care of us in every way as long as we live. He will never fail us. Even in the face of the devastation of the storm, God cares. So, it is hard to feel happy but we can know we are blessed. Christians learn to endure the worst with confidence, confidence in God. We follow the Spirit by faith in Jesus. When the flesh distracts us with the glitter of the life we desire, we follow the Spirit under the cross, to the glory He promises. When we can’t see God anywhere, we remember His promises and see Him were He will be found. And through the storm, and under the cross, we know relief.
Amen. Soli Deo Gloria!

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4620 Cypress Gardens Road
Winter Haven, FL 33884
ph: 863-324-7263
alt: 863-221-8893
cjohnk@resurrection-lutheranwh.org

Resurrection Lutheran Church -

4620 Cypress Gardens Road,

Winter Haven, Florida 33884

Sermons and Papers

Trinity 14, September 17, 2017, W.H. Galatians 5:16-24

In the name of the One to whom we belong,

The flesh knows best. The flesh thinks it sees clearly while