If you would please take your scriptures and let us turn once again as we are considering again the letter of the Apostle Paul that he penned to the churches of Galatia. We turn to the Epistle of Galatians and we come once again to chapter 5, a very important chapter. as the Apostle Paul is discussing our liberty, that we are to walk and live in, in Christ. And of course, how do we do that? We do so by walking in the Spirit. But there is a battle that's going on within us, and that battle is with our flesh. And so again, the Apostle reveals this battle that goes on where the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. and that these are two are contrary to one another. And so what we are doing in this short series here in this part is actually walking through what are the works of the flesh. We are categorizing them. And so we are in those works that we might want to call relational or social. as we look at those today and focus on those. I will be reading beginning in verse 13 of chapter 5 and reading down to the end of the chapter. But we'll be focusing on, again, those works of the flesh that are highlighted in the second half of verse 20 and the beginning of verse 21. But before we come to the reading and preaching of God's Word, let us once again seek God's help that He might open His Word to our hearts and that He might do that spiritual surgery upon us, revealing and convicting us of our own sin that these things highlight in our lives. So let us pray. Our gracious and heavenly Father, we do thank you for your holy word. We thank you that is a sharp, double-edged sword that pierces down the dividing asunder of soul and spirit And we pray that you would do this spiritual surgery upon us. We thank you for your great promises in the gospel. We thank you that you have justified us freely as we have faith alone and united to Jesus Christ and you provide his righteousness and he takes away our sin. But you've also do the work in your salvation through the work of your son applied to us by your spirit of sanctification. And that's what we are considering here today. As we look at these things, these things are not always fun to look at, especially as we examine our own lives and consider our own failings in them. And so Lord, we do pray that you would again cause us to repent, to flee from these things, to fight against them, and to seek your holiness and your righteousness. And again, that we would be trees that would bear forth the fruit. Again, that we would be branches as we are connected to the vine, bearing forth the fruit from the vine who is Jesus Christ. And we thank you that that life flows through Him by His Spirit to us, your people, and that we bear fruit unto you, to your glory. We pray at Christ's name. Amen. Well, dear beloved, if you please still again stand for the reading of God's Word, And our word comes to us from Galatians 5, beginning in verse 13. I do remind you, Knox Presbyterian Church, these are the words of God. For you, brethren, have been called to liberty. Only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, beware, lest you be consumed by one another. I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another. in order that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those that practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love. joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such, there is no law. And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God, it stands forever. Please be seated. Children, I want you to imagine, now listen, imagine for a moment a place where there is no crying, there are no tears, there is no pain, and no sadness. Where you do nothing wrong, nor does anyone do anything wrong. Where there is no evil, nor wickedness, nor sin, Where there is no danger within or danger without. Where you would never be hurt, nor would you ever hurt anyone. But most of all, where you would be with Jesus. And He would be with you always. And we would worship and glorify God fully and completely forever. A world of complete and full love, joy, peace, and absolute freedom. What do you think of that? How does that make you feel? Would you enjoy living in a place like that? But in order for that kind of place to exist, And the good news and promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ is, it will. But in order for a place like this to be, it must be characterized further by holiness. By holiness. Thinking about living in such a place as this should make you feel happy. happy. For even you children, you can recognize that there is something deeply and seriously wrong with our world. For you to see and even experience brokenness, sadness, pain, and sorrow. Again, this was never God's intention for His creation. Yes, He ordained these things to come to pass, but in His original purpose, no. But in a world in which there is no brokenness, no sadness, no sorrow or pain, again, it would be a happy world. Completely and fully happy. But understand this, listen, that only a holy world will be a happy world. If we lived in an absolutely happy world, it must also be a holy world. The Puritan theologian Richard Sibbes said, he who would be happy, must. Be holy. And this is the reason that God's primary attribute is that He is holy. The prophet Isaiah records the seraphim crying out that God is thrice holy. No other attribute of God is spoken in the three-fold way. Holy, holy, holy. And why is it? For the blessed God is altogether fully and completely and perfectly holy and therefore He is the most blessed and happy one of all. And He wants you to partake of His happiness. And if you are to experience His happiness, you must also experience His holiness. And again, the good news is that it is God's goal and purpose and plan to put everything right and to bring about this world that we have just imagined and described. We call it the new creation. We call it the new heavens and the new earth, where only righteousness dwells. It's something to base your dreams and hopes upon. And not just a fleeting hope, but a real hope that will one day take place. This is the plan and purpose of God from all eternity. His plan of salvation and redemption ends in this glorious and happy truth. This is His promise to you as children, to you His covenant people, to you who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is His promise to you, and He will be faithful to fulfill it. Don't doubt that. And we have a description of this very place in our passage in verses 22 and 23, in what is described as the fruit of the Spirit. But in order to better appreciate this truth, this reality, we must also consider it in contrast to its opposite, and that is this list of the works of the flesh, and I tell you, get ready, because it's not fun to think about these things. They're hard to think about. They're difficult to think about and to dwell on. The last two times we were together, we considered the sexual immoral works of the flesh and the spiritually wicked works of the flesh, namely idolatry and sorcery. And so this brings us today to the largest category within the apostles catalog of vices here, what we might call the social works of the flesh, or perhaps a better title would have been the anti social works of the flesh, because they destroy society. And they begin with hatred and culminate with murder. They revolve around the sign of anger, animosity, and hostility toward others which bring about division and conflict and strife. What we might call social vices that bring about the destruction of community. These break down personal relationships among individuals and among groups, families, communities, and especially the church. The philosophers have said that man's chief problem is his environment. But even though man's environment is never perfect and often has a detrimental effect upon him, that is never our worst problem. It is never our worst problem. But we assume man's worst problem is his unfavorable circumstances. If our circumstances were just different, we would be better. So that's the problem, unfavorable circumstances, environment. So what do we do? We build better housing. We create better transportation. We arrange for better education. We provide better opportunity, better jobs, more income, and all such things. And all these things may be desirable, but they can do nothing to solve mankind's basic fundamental problem. No outward remedy will fix man's inward problem of who he is. And in fact, in almost every case, every one of these cases, outward conditions offer actually more sophisticated opportunities to practice evil. We take the good gifts of God and even the resources that we have in creating things that are very useful in our world and we use it for wickedness. Because these very benefits themselves are corruptible and become corrupted by the very ones they are designed and intended to help. According to the Apostle Paul here, what is man's problem? Man's problem is sin. And it's inside of man. It's in us. And even in regenerated, born-again believers in Jesus Christ, we still have a remnant of sin within us. The old sinful nature that continues to be present. So the problem is the flesh. And the flesh corrupts all. That inward remnant of sin, that old man within us, it corrupts everything. And simply by the sheer number of social or anti-relational sins in this list, this appears to take the precedent and the priority of what Paul is trying to stress here. After all, the apostle begins and ends this section with these very things in verse 15 that we read, if you bite and devour one another, you will consume one another, or the end, verse 26, let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. There's the focus, there's the priority, the precedent. So this brings us to today's purpose statement for our message, which is, be on your guard against these social works of the flesh, for they will destroy your relationships with others. Be on your guard against these social works of the flesh, for they will destroy your relationships with others. And we're going to consider this warning under one point this morning. As pastor worked his way through his sermon, I found out it was going to be too much to deal with some of the other points that we will deal with next time. So just one point, single point this morning, but this will be connected to next week's lesson, next Lord's Day's lesson. The first point, which I will call a description of deadly social sins. A description of what the Apollo paints here portrays as deadly social sins. A portrait of the inner turmoil that is continually boiling in the hearts of the people of this world, just waiting to explode like a volcano in destruction. And they do. That's what we see all the time. That's what we hear about. animosity, hostility, a list of angry words and works that are forbidden and are contrary to the life of God for us as His people and the world that He will bring us to at the end of this one. Well, let us consider them one by one as they are listed here in our passage. Brothers and sisters, they are given here for you to Search your own heart to dwell on, to meditate on these things and consider them. Do not just cast them aside. These are things that are to search your own hearts. And it begins with hatred. Hatred. Or enmity. It is a state of bitterness and vindictiveness towards another person. It was Esau's attitude toward his brother Jacob. Esau was filled with hatred, with enmity toward his brother. After Jacob deprived Esau of his inheritance, he began to nurture resentment against him. He had settled opposition of bitterness toward his brother and planned his death once his father passed. Sometimes the spirit of bitterness or enmity can be short-lived. Most of us wrestle with it in our relationships. Somebody does something to offend me, and in turn I nurse a bitter spirit against them. Hatred and enmity lies at the root of many relationship problems in marriages, with employees at work, and in the church. But when a person nurtures hatred or enmity, it marks their character. It marks their character. The bitter-spirited person constantly feels animosity towards those who have wronged him and wishes ill against them. Any kind of racial, political, or religious hostility, whether private or public, it all comes from the flesh. And we can become good at hiding this emotion, this feeling, this work of the flesh in our heart, sometimes even hiding it from ourselves. We're good at deceiving ourselves. I have no hatred, I have no enmity against anyone, when you really do. But it will eventually come out. These things are evident, they're manifest. And few things do more damage to relationships than hatred, enmity, whether toward God or others. Next is what is called or translated contentions. Or maybe translated, strife. Contingence or strife. This work of the flesh marks the person who by his speech causes tension and difficulties within relationships. Like a person infected with the flu, he moves among a group of people and spreads the contagion, the virus. He spreads discord. The apostle Paul says, avoid such people. Avoid them. This person creates strife by harsh words, slander, and gossip. We can think of Laban's. That is, again, the father of Leah and Rachel, the wives of Jacob. Laban, again, Jacob's father-in-law. The use of harsh words and accusing Jacob of being a thief in the night as he fled and he went away from Laban as he took his wives and his flocks. Again, that's a telling example. Solomon tells us in Proverbs 18, a fool's lips bring strife. They enter into contention. I actually like the way the English Standard Version puts it. It says a fool's lips walk into a fight and his mouth invites a beating. Few things, again, do more to damage relationships than slander or gossip, bringing forth strife and contentions. By such speech, walls are built up between people, and contentions and strife is the result. quarrels, conflict, arguments. One way that hatred is often revealed is simply in arguing, in disputing and conflict. It's not that we don't have those things sometimes, but are we living for that? Are we trying and designing? The one who's guilty of this is one that tries to do that. Children, have you ever had a bad fight with your brother or your sister? I'm sure you have. And while you were arguing, your words got so heated that you said things you wish you had never said. The Bible calls this sin. And must be confessed. Must be sought forgiveness for, cleansing from, repentant of. How often are our homes Unfortunately, the place of strife and contention, simply the tone of voice that is used, the language used, it should make us ashamed. This term, eris in the Greek, for strife or contention, was so prominent a vice as to be personified in Greek mythology as a goddess called Eris, who famously was the one that began the Trojan War. Of course if you've read Homer's Iliad, So Ares stirred up a contest between the three so-called higher goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera by offering a golden apple to the one who would be deemed most desirable. And this mythic story well captures the vice, self-centered competition that leads to the erosion of community and even the destruction of empires. Although it is characteristic of the life of an unbeliever, contentions and strife were a constant danger for the early church. We find this strewed throughout Paul's letters, warnings against these things. And it was primarily the false teachers that were going about causing these realities and why Paul had to deal with them. We'll look at that more in a later lesson. It's not only a danger for the early church, but it's a danger for the church today. And given the opportunity, again, of the opponents in the Galatian churches, it was very likely a very real threat. Well, next we have the term jealousies. Jealousies. The jealous person is discontent with his own lot and resents what others possess or receive. He is upset because his gifts or importance are not recognized by others. Jealousy produces resentment. A feeling that comes out of a me first attitude. Now, one may experience a proper jealousy. Jealousy can be used in a proper and right way. A positive sense of zeal or dedication or loyalty. When one's rights are violated or wickedness is perpetrated, husbands and wives may be jealous for one another. They'd be rightly jealous for their spouse if they are, again, there is a sinful flirting with someone else or doing something that is inappropriate. Parents may be jealous for the allegiance and of the allegiance and protection of their children. We may be jealous for the truth of God and His righteousness. God Himself is jealous when His people disobey His law. He's jealous for His law. Paul, however, is clearly speaking herein of the negative sense of the sin of jealousy toward what someone is, has, or has done, and we want it for ourselves. We become jealous. This jealousy is the desire to get for ourselves what we see God giving to others, granting to others, and when we do not get it, we do not thank God, nor do we congratulate them. We harbor jealousy. It is a bitter jealousy. A hateful resentment. Coveting what belongs to someone else. This marked one named Diotrephes. The apostle John writes of this one in his third letter. Little letter, tiny one chapter letter. He said, I have written something to the church. I have written something to you, believers, congregation. But Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, or have the preeminence, does not acknowledge our authority. The Apostle John, writing, and this one, again, is jealous. The desire for preeminence is the root of much jealousy. Moreover, again, it's a violation of the Tenth Commandment. for it springs ultimately from discontent with God's providence. James warns that where jealousy is and selfish ambition exists, there is discord, there is strife, there's contentions, and there's every kind of evil. Next, the apostle describes outbursts of wrath. outbursts of wrath or anger. The fourth deadly sin, again is anger he describes here. The word literally means to breathe hard, to blow that air out of your nostrils, right? You see somebody flared up. You think of a bull when it gets mad when it sees the red, like just pawing at the ground and flaring and blowing. the air through its nostrils. It's to express a sudden unrestrained anger, expressions of hostility and animosity toward another. Again, anger is the expression of enmity, impatience, discontentment. It often manifests itself in seemingly uncontrollable, passionate outbursts, again, of wrath, of malice. It can also mean to boil up, to smoke, to put to death, to sacrifice. The idea of destroying, a destroying fire of anger. that bursts forth from you. The Puritan Richard Baxter says, it's that moment when you lose reason and only are driven by passion, by lust. And again, not a sexual lust, but a lust, an angry lust. He calls it a short madness or drunkenness that is drunk with that passion or emotion of anger. And this is serious sin. Jesus says that anger, sinful anger, is a violation of the sixth commandment. It is often accompanied with harsh words, tearing people down. It has intent to destroy. It's when you lose your temper, you lose control. You are in pursuit of destroying the other person, and it is murderous. It is murderous. It leads to physical violence. One of the more extreme examples in Scripture is the sons of Jacob, Simeon, and Levi when they massacre the inhabitants of Shechem. You wonder why God said, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. It wasn't so that you would take revenge, it was to limit them from taking vengeance upon themselves to themselves. Others like Nabal that we read about in the book of 1 Samuel possess no self-control and speak very foolishly in their anger, especially towards God's anointed one in that context, David himself. We speak of someone flying off the handle. That's an overreaction. Such fits of rage are a form of behavior that is unbecoming and unfitting of a Christian, a child of God, a disciple, a saint, a holy one. They drag us away from God and the moving of the Holy Spirit and further engulf us in the works of the flesh. We become like brute beasts, savage beasts that cannot control ourselves. There is, however, a silent anger as well. Those who are perpetually angry, although they, like Esau, may hide it, just below that surface, there's a boiling cauldron of hatred and anger. and resentment just waiting to explode. Having more self-control, perhaps, they are careful when they show their anger. But again, it will manifest itself. Moses tells you, warns you, be sure your sin will find you out. It will expose you. Next he moves on to what is called selfish ambitions. Selfish ambitions. Selfishness. Narcissism. Self-exaltation. You are the most important person in the world. It's all about me. Myself. And I. You cannot acknowledge your failures or the sufferings of others. You can only see the sins of others. You cannot see your own. Also, this selfish ambition, it tends toward unhealthy competition. It can be translated rivalries or disputes. This term derived from the political culture of ancient Greece, where it actually meant office seeking or canvassing for office. We don't have a problem with that in our culture, do we? Although many godly men and women have been called to live out their Christian vocation in political life, it is also true that politics attracts those persons given to self-promotion and self-service. I'm a public servant. Yeah, serving yourself, using the public resources for yourself, rather than the service of others. For such political animals, climbing the ladder of success or manipulating the process for personal gain is all a part of the self-seeking lifestyle of putting me first. A self-seeking pursuit of office by unjust, ungodly means. While such characteristics are bad enough in what we call secular politics out there, they are especially disturbing and corrupt and heinous and grievous to the community of faith. Those vying for church office. Again, the community of faith whose Lord and Savior modeled the very opposite of selfish ambition. Because what do we read? We went through the Gospel of Mark, and at the heart of Mark, what was Mark all about? Christ came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. He said to His disciples, if you want to follow Me, take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Me. Because I've denied Myself. I've made Myself the servant of servants. If you want to be great in the kingdom of God, you must become servant of all and slave of all. The idea is pursuing, again, this idea and this sin is pursuing one's own ambitions while disregarding others and its effects on others. We will deal with the next two listed in another message. So this brings us then to verse 21, Envy. Envy. This word is very closely related, again, to jealousy. But envy is really jealousy gone to its extreme. It is wicked malice. It's the motivated, ill-natured desire to destroy others, not just want what they have. But to destroy it, again we think of vandalism, of vandalizing, it's because they have envy. To destroy others because you cannot abide them or their success. James again says that people murder and fight. Why do they do that? Out of envy. out of envy. The envious man has ill will toward others because they are more popular, wealthier, they have better marriages. He compares himself and seeks to undermine the success and happiness of others. Again, the envious man hates when others have joy. One commentator says, Envy refers to that desire born of bitterness to see a person deprived of the blessings and the rewards his or her virtues and efforts have justly won. Our culture is full of envy. People vote according to their envy of others to rob them of what they have. to tear them down and destroy them. If I can't have it, no one can. It's that attitude. We read in Matthew 27-18 that Pilate understood and recognized that the Jews had condemned Jesus out of envy. Envy creates murder in the heart and will commit physical murder when it finds the opportunity and can get away with it. From envy, Cain murdered Abel. The word literally means to look against. To be against, to look against. Note how Cain looked with an evil eye against Abel. They had a conversation. They went out into the field so no one else could see. And he did the deed. He looked against his brother. He looked with an evil eye. Consider how Joseph's brothers looked with evil, murderous intent against him. In Genesis 37. Remember how Korah, Dathan, and Abiram looked against Moses. They envied Moses. The position that he held. That God had. ordained him to. And of course, how Saul looked against David. We have lots of examples in the scripture. The spirit of anger, hatred, hostility, envy. And then finally, notice where it ends. The final one, murders. murders. The last in this list is murders, which is it to deprive life by an intentional killing. And we have a sweep here of the words that begin with an inward desire, passion, lust, temptation, and all these outward manifestations of hate, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, envy. And the trajectory at the very end is the intentional premeditated taking of life. Notice what the Lord said to Cain before he committed the deed. Why are you angry? Why has your countenance fallen? He did not heed God's warning of getting control of his sin, and then who is it laid dead on the ground as a result? His own brother, Abel. That is where this goes. That's where this leads. From hatred to murder. Matthew 5, Jesus says, if you hate your brother in your heart, you're a murderer. You've destroyed him in your own heart. 1 John 2.9, He who says that he is in the light and hates his brother, is in darkness. Verse 11, but he who hates his brothers in darkness and does not walk in the Spirit, walks in darkness and does not know where he's going because the darkness has blinded him. 1 John 3.15, whoever hates his brother is a murderer. Very clear. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 4, 20-21, last one. If someone says, I love God and hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him that he who loves God must love his brother also. Because he's made in God's image. Brothers and sisters, all the works of the flesh. If you think these things are not as heinous and grievous to the Lord, you are wrong. You are gravely mistaken. You are deceived. These interpersonal, relational, social works of the flesh are not merely failings or quirks of personality. They are deadly. They are destructive. They rip apart marriages. They tear to shred homes and families. They kill friendships. They disturb and disrupt communities. And these works of the flesh are deadly and destructively dangerous for the church. If they continue in a church, the light of the lamp of that church will be removed. What are people seeing when they come into the presence and the assembly of the people of God? Are they seeing the same thing they see all around them and they experience? Are they seeing these things? Are they manifest before them? Or are a partaking of the delicious fruit of the Spirit. In Romans 1, the Apostle demonstrates that there is an interrelationship of these social or antisocial works of the flesh to that of both idolatry and sexual immorality. They're connected. There's a link. And they are listed together here in this same catalog in Galatians 5, 19-21. These things are not disconnected. They all have their origin and source in the flesh. And beware, your sin will never sit still. you think you can harbor it, you think you can hide it, it will come out. It will manifest itself by your words and your actions toward others. Remember, sin must either be put to death or it will put you to death. You are to kill it. You are to slay it. And not only are these social works of the flesh listed together here with the others, but they also have the same serious and grave warning, brothers and sisters, and I remind you, I'll keep reminding you of it, verse 21, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, I'll continue to keep telling you and telling you and telling you. that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. So be on your guard. Be on your guard, my friends, against these social works of the flesh, for they will destroy your relationships, your relationship with God first and foremost, but also with one another. It will destroy your relationships with other people out there, one another here in the church, in the community of the saints, among God's children, in God's house and family, but especially with the Lord Himself. If lept unstopped, Not put off, not cut off, not killed. These desires, these passions, these lusts of the flesh will work themselves out of you to the ruin of all your relationships and will ultimately end, as the Word of God says, in damnation. Brothers and sisters, do not turn a blind eye to these things in your life. Yes, they are ugly. Yes, they are disturbing. And we do not like to dwell on them, but we must recognize sin for what it is, and acknowledge it, and confess it, and call it what it is. We must diagnose it honestly and correctly, and society does not have the answer to these social sins. I can't just give you a better house, give you a better car, give you more money. It does not take care of the problem within. Only our God does this. Jesus Christ came to save us from this deadly, destructive path in life. This is not a description of life. It's a description of chaos. It's a description of confusion. It's a description of curse. This is the result of man's rebellion against the Creator. And the fruit of the Spirit is the very opposite of these things because the fruit proceeds forth from the Spirit of God. The fruit is a portrait of God. It's a picture of our Lord and our Savior who loved us and gave Himself for us to save us, not only from the guilt and damnation that these sinful works deserve, but from their very presence and existence in our lives. There will come a day, believer, there will come a day when these temptations of the flesh will no longer plague you. That these desires you will not experience or feel within you. These temptations. These lusts. You will not experience them nor feel them as you presently do. And I know you do, because I do. It's something we have to fight against. And we praise and thank the Lord, for this is our hope, our hope and faith in His promise to remove every part of these horrible things from our lives. But until that day, you and I are both called to deal with them, to fight against them, to put them off, to cut them off from us. Jesus says, if your eye offend thee, pluck it out. If your hand caused you to sin, cut it off. He's not talking about physically mutilating yourself because those things don't cause you to do that. What does? Your flesh, the inside, that remnant of sin, that old man. Put it to death. This inner struggle between the spirit and the flesh. Kill the flesh with its lusts and sinful desires that manifest in our lives in these works. Let me ask you, why is it so difficult to subdue and control our hatred, jealousy, anger, selfish ambition and envy? Why is it difficult? Because in so doing, we have to deal with ourselves. And we don't like doing that. We have to put ourselves under examination. Which we hate to do. I don't like doing it. Do you like going to the doctor to be physically examined? I don't. Do you like being examined psychologically? Or behaviorally? What about spiritually? We do not usually enjoy being the objects of observation and study. To be under the eye that looks through the microscope, especially of others, but even of ourselves. But remember, listen. The Lord sees. He doesn't need a microscope. The Lord sees. The Lord knows. He sees all and He knows all. And He sees you, my friends. He pierces through and sees you. Not the facade you put on. He sees who you really are. He sees down into the depths of your heart. He can see your very thoughts that you think, the dreams that you dream. Listen to what David says. Listen. Again, Psalm 139. O Lord, You have searched me, and You know me. You know my sitting down, my rising up. You understand my thoughts afar off. You comprehend my path and my laying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it all together. Where it came from, the source of it, the origin of it, you know it all together. You know what motivated me to say that, even before it proceeded forth from my lips. You have hedged me behind and before and laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful me. It is so high I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell itself, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me and hide me and the light about me, be night, even the darkness is not dark unto you. For night is as bright as the day, and darkness is as the light with you, because you are light itself. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret, skillfully woven in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance. My inner being, everything that makes me what I am, being yet unformed, I wasn't even formed yet, and in your book, all, they were all written. The days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. There's no escape. The Lord sees you and knows you. But I want you to see, I want you to know, what is the difference between the unbeliever and the believer? The unbeliever, again, hides in the rocks and crevices of the earth and says, hide me from God's judging eye, from His wrath that has come and He can't. What makes the believer different? What makes David different? What makes you different? Here it is, verse 23, Psalm 139. Search me, O God. Search me. Before, he was making an observation of what God does. Now is his prayer. Have at it, God. Search me. Examine me. Know my heart. Try me. Test me. Know my thoughts. And see. if there's any wicked way in me. And don't leave me there, but lead me in the way everlasting. That's the difference. That's the difference. The difference is, as hard, difficult, and uncomfortable as it is, as children of God, as the objects of His affection and love, as those who trust Him completely, we want the Lord to examine us thoroughly, inwardly, and outwardly, and to reveal who we truly are. He is the great physician. And we desire to hear his diagnosis, but especially his treatment. And what's his treatment? He does heart transplants. And he's a specialist at it. Of giving us a new heart through the power and presence of his spirit and by using his word. He takes the scalpel of His Word and He cuts away the stony, rock-hard heart and gives us a new heart that has only affection and desire for Him. Again, this is His specialty, my friends. Again, He is the only one that has the answer to your problem. To all your problems. the spiritual surgery of sanctification within to root out, cut off, kill, and cast away every wicked way in you and me. And praise and thank God that He does. And He leads us to life everlasting. This is what it means, brothers and sisters, to walk in the Spirit, and not fulfill the lust of the flesh, of being led by the Spirit of God. We'll consider some more points in these particular works again next time, focusing in upon that sin of anger, but primarily considering some practical instruction and help for putting these social and relational works of the flesh off. But for now, I want to leave you with the word from the Lord by the pen of the Apostle to the Colossians." Because of these things, these works of the flesh that we've just been discussing, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, envy, murders, because of these things, the wrath of God, not sin, the holy wrath, righteous wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. Listen. in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. Praise God, you don't do that anymore. That's the distinction. You live in the Spirit, as Paul says in Galatians 5.25. And if you live in the Spirit, because you're united to Christ by faith, walk in the Spirit. You used to live in these things and you used to walk according to the works of the flesh. But now you yourselves are to put off these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created you, where there is neither Greek nor Jew nor circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Sith, Scythian, slave or free. But Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering." What's he describing? The fruit of the Spirit. Put these things on, bear these things. Bearing with one another, forgiving one another, If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must forgive. But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. In other words, in all of this I just said, what He says in Colossians, in other words, walk in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit of God. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious and heavenly Father, we thank You and praise You for Your Word. It is that scalpel, it is that that cuts down deep into our own lives and hearts that we would seek to cut these things off from us as you've given us your Spirit that we might not again walk according to the flesh but walk in the Spirit. We thank you and praise you and we thank you for the promise that one day when you return you will remove all these things finally and fully from us that we will not have to battle and fight anymore because you have given us the victory. But we can claim that victory now because you have overcome the devil, the world and the flesh. We thank you and praise you, Christ, and we pray in Christ's name. Amen.