Forever: You

“Now there are a good many things which would not be worth bothering about if I were going to live only seventy years, but which I had better bother about very seriously if I am going to live for ever. Perhaps my bad temper or my jealousy are gradually getting worse—so gradually that the increase in seventy years will not be very noticeable. But it might be absolute ell in a million years: in fact, if Christianity is true, Hell is the precisely correct technical term for what it would be.” 
‍- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 

17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;

20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 
‍- Galatians 5:16-21 

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Flesh vs. Spirit

You vs. God

“A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience, but war within. He maybe known by his warfare as well as by his peace.” 
- JC Ryle.

Mixer

What’s the funniest advice your mother gave you?

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Connect

1. Who is someone that you admire that has ‘good character’? What are those qualities, and how do they inspire you or scare you?

2. Have you ever been disappointed to find out that someone’s ‘good character’ on the outside didn’t match who they were inside? How did this affect you?

3. Have you ever been in a group where you were hesitant to admit that you were a Christian? Why?

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Sermon Questions

Scripture: Galatians 5:16-23; Colossians 1:16; Romans 5:1, 7:15

1. What did the CS Lewis’ quote and Pastor Jared’s inference ‘you are forever you, for better or worse’ shake loose in you? Why does Christian character matter not just for 60-70 years, but for all eternity?
2. What did you learn about ‘the flesh’ versus ‘the Spirit’ and the struggle between them? Why do you think God left that struggle in you when you became a Christian? Are you surprised that He did?
3. Paul lists the acts of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21. Do you think Paul’s list equalizes us in God’s eyes?
4. How does it give you hope that the Holy Spirit offers to work with you daily? How can you bring Him into your specific struggle area this week?

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Go Deeper

“Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live forever,  and this must be either true or false.”

C.S. Lewis

You are forever you. A thousand years from now, you will still be living with yourself. The invitation to have eternal life isn’t just an invitation to go to heaven when you die. It is an invitation to begin living now the life God longs for you.

Your character in this life matters. Your choices matter. You are making choices today that will be with you in a thousand years. So if we are going to live forever, what do we do?  We might as well get started on this eternal project while we are on Earth.

Pastor Jared Herd

As we begin unpacking the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 this Fall, there is work to be done to lay the foundation. If you are ‘stuck with you’ forever, are you the kind of person you want to be? If you are not, then how do you get there? Can you love yourself enough, as God loves you, to surrender to Him and allow His Spirit to work in you? This week, spend some time making lists and finding some words from God to encourage you.

1. What was your life like before you met Christ? In the message this week, we talked about the struggle here of all of us once being enemies of God. We were once at war with Him: We did what we wanted to do. Our spirits opposed the nature of God’s Spirit. What could you write down from the list that Paul gives in Galatians 5:19-21 that describes you before Christ came into your life? Are there areas you still struggle with?
2. Read Romans 5:1. When you finally came to God, how did you find peace with Him? What does peace after a time of war feel like? What changed in your relationship with Him that you can now call yourself His ‘friend’?
3. After you came to Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that you are a ‘new creation’. What were you expecting to happen? How did you see this pronouncement: as an end, or a beginning, or both? Why did Pastor Jared say that now you struggle with something new? Read Romans 7:15.
4. What are you willing to admit to yourself and to God that you still need His help to cut from your character and make you into the Forever You that He designed you to be?
5. Look ahead to the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Familiarize yourself with the order. What are you hoping for God to do in your life as each one of these is poured out on you? What would happen if you prayed for more of them? What does ‘against such things there is no law’ mean? How would these fruits benefit the Kingdom of God on Earth?
6. What Scriptures can you find that remind you that the Spirit of God is alive and working in you - and encourage you to keep walking forward with Him? Can you be patient with being a work in progress?

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Prayer

Spirit of God, I want to trust. I want to listen. I want the Fruits of the Spirit to begin to emerge in me. I don’t want my flesh to win the conversation. Strip away the things in me that are not the eternal me. And help me to be patient with myself. In Jesus’ name. Amen.