More Dependence

So that most of this series has been out of the book of Galatians. And I've just been because of that I've been spending a lot of time in the book of Galatians. Over the last five or six weeks, I've read it front to back a lot. I've stayed in certain chapters a lot in this book has been messing me up in a really good way. But but in a way that like, takes a lot of preconceived notions that I had, or maybe thought that I didn't have and realize that I actually did have. And it's been challenging me to look at my walk with Jesus in a bit of a different way. And last week, Pastor Matt was giving background about Galatians, five, and he talked about how Paul had been correcting the churches in Galatia. For trying to return to a works based faith. The really almost the entire point of the book of Galatians. Is Paul pleading the case that hey, this is not about works. It's about Jesus. It's not about how good you are, it's not about how perfectly you follow the rules. It's not about any of those things. It's about Jesus. And when when Pastor Matt talked about that I wanted, I wanted more context. So I've just been diving into the book of Galatians. And today, we're going to be in Galatians chapter three, we're going to go verses one through five, if you want to go ahead and turn there. But I'm going to give a little bit of background on that.
Galatians chapter three, follows Galatians chapter two, that is the way that the books in the Bible work. They go numerically, surprise. But at the end of Galatians chapter two, there's a moment where Paul, the apostle Paul is confronting Peter, who if you if you know who Peter is, he was one of Jesus's disciples, one of the 12 disciples, and He was actually the disciple that was among three that were the closest to Jesus, anytime he would go somewhere privately and send people away and only bring a few people along, he would always bring Peter, James, and John. And so Peter was like one of Jesus's closest friends after after Jesus died, and was resurrected, and went back into ascended back into heaven. The first message that was ever preached proclaiming the good news of Jesus to a group of people was preached by Peter, Peter was actually really the founder of what we now call the local church. So Peter was a big, big, big deal. He was a big player, and like, we would not be here if it weren't for the ministry that Peter carried out here on Earth, after Jesus ascended. So Peter was the guy. And we come into this moment of Scripture where Paul was confronting and correcting Peter. And first off, I think that's a little strange, because when I read scripture, especially when I read about like the disciples, and like people in the early church, I normally look through the lens of thinking that these people had it all figured out, that they were perfect that they, I mean, these were the guys that were teaching, the early church, all of the ways about how to follow Jesus. There's a few books in the Bible that were written by Peter. So we're learning from this guy. So I typically have this false lens, in my mind thinking that these guys had it all figured out. So when I came across this moment, of Paul, confronting Peter about something that he was doing that was actually damaging the church. It kind of perked my ears up, because here's the thing, if if Peter is susceptible to something, we probably are, too. And I think that sometimes we kid ourselves with the things that we think that we won't struggle with, and don't realize that we are, we're flawed human beings. There are going to be things in our life that we struggle with. The Bible addresses those things. But it was a little bit comforting for me to know that one of the things that I've struggled with a lot of my life was actually something that Peter struggled with, too. And it was this this is why Paul was correcting him, because he was changing the way that he acted based upon who was in the room.
So he came in was sitting with believers in a place called Antioch. And in Antioch, they were not it was not a predominantly Jewish place, it was Gentiles which Gentiles or anybody who are not Jewish, and according to Jewish customs, you're to separate yourself from people who are not Jewish, because they're not God's chosen people. But when God when Jesus died on the cross, what he did is he opened the door for those beyond the Jewish people to be welcomed into the family of faith. And so Peter was going in, he was proclaiming that to the Gentiles and Antioch and he would sit with them he would eat with them. He wouldn't go through all of the Jewish ceremonial washing laws, anything like that. He was living like a Gentile because he had been set free from the law because the law was fulfilled in Christ. And so then a couple of other guys from Jerusalem who
We're also followers of Jesus but adhered a lot more to the Jewish customs came to Antioch. And Peter got scared and was worried about their criticism and started living like they were living back under the law. And he started trying to teach Gentile believers that they had to live under the law to. And Paul came in, he was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not what we're going to do. He confronts Peter, in this moment, when he says, hey, you've been freed from the law, why are you trying to make other people live by it. And Galatians two ends with this phrase, and I'm going to read this twice, I don't have it up on the screen, I probably should have had it up on the screen. But this this phrase, kind of is the thesis to this whole message. He says, For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
If keeping the law, if doing all of the right things, could make us right with God, then there was no reason for Jesus Christ to die. So here's the point, we are all susceptible, me, you everyone in this room look around, there is not a single person in this room that is not susceptible to falling into the trap of a works based faith.
If it like Peter did it, this guy who started the church who first proclaim the message of freedom in Christ through his work, not ours, the first person who ever proclaimed that because of his insecurity, because of the people that he was in the room with fell back into it. So if he's susceptible to it, I think that we are, too. And so this is what was happening in the church in Galatia. And that's why Paul brought up what happened with Peter because he wanted to make a point of it to teach the church in Galatia, how they could live differently. So that's where we pick up and chapter three, verse one, and I'm going to tell you, before I get into this, this scripture is pretty strong. It's very pointed. Paul is not very kind in the way that he speaks to the church in Galatia. And here's the reason why.
In Second Corinthians, it talks about if we try to go back to the old way, living under works to try to please God, it says that our hearts are hard.
And it says that we can not understand the truth.
And it says only in Christ is that veil removed, and our hearts become soft before the Lord. Sometimes hard hearts need an abrasive word, to break up the heart or ground of of the heart. And so I don't think he's trying to be mean in this, what he's trying to do is shake their foundation, and get them to realize that their hearts have become hardened to the truth of God. And I just believe there's, there's some of us in this room whose hearts have become hard before God, because we've tried to live out of our own works. And so I believe what's going to happen when we read this is it might feel abrasive, but allow the truth of God to shake your heart up. And listen to this truth because it's so good. He says this, O foolish Galatians, who is cast and evil spell on you. For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made clear to you as if you'd seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not. You receive the Spirit because you believe the message you heard about Christ? How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the spirit? Why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely, it was not in vain was it? I asked you again? Does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not. It's because you believe the message you heard about Christ. When I say this, God is the giver of new mercy.
God is the giver of new Mercy. Mercy is not receiving what we deserve. It's saying okay, I deserve something that and what we all deserve. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, and a spiritual death that separates us from God eternally. And the Bible also says that all have sinned, and fall short of God's standard.
Mercy is saying what we deserve is to be completely separated from God. But that's not what we get. Because of what Jesus did. God is the giver of mercy, not our own efforts. You can't earn mercy.
You can't be good enough to get it.
As good as you are on your best day. The Bible tells us that our righteousness before the before the Lord is like filthy rags. He is perfect, He is holy, and we're not.
And that presents a problem if we try to do it on our own. But I just believe that if we want to live a life of fruitfulness of love of peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, it comes from living dependent on God, not reliant on ourselves. So I have three keys today that we're going to talk through and these really came through
I'm really looking at moments of my life this, this really is not a message that it's a message. It's completely out of the Scripture, but the Scripture read my life back to, because this is the way that I struggled, was through self sufficiency, was trying to do things on my own. And so, three keys to living dependent on God number one, and these points, this first one especially, is also a little pointed. But the point of that is to break up our hearts a little bit. Number one, we need to reject the lie of self sufficiency.
I want to I just want to call it as it is self sufficiency is a lie.
It's not like another option, that the Bible says Jesus is the truth. There's not truth outside of Jesus. There's not truth outside of his word. And his word, never in the New Covenant promotes self sufficiency. self sufficiency, believing that we can do it on our own is a lie. Galatians Three, two, Paul says it this way, let me ask you this one question. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not. Saying imagining that we can do it on our own is a lie. So what does I ask myself this question, when I'm struggling in the area of self sufficiency, what does that sound like? Because if we're believing a lie, the lie normally has a sound right? And it sounds one of two ways. Typically, I can do this on my own, or maybe even maybe shift that a little bit, I have to do this on my own.
It's kind of if you've ever heard that in your mind, like, Man, I just, I can do this, I got this, I can do this on my own, or I have to do this on my own. No one's here to help me, I've got to do it on my own. That's one side of it. The other side of it is, I could never do this.
I could never do this. And that typically, wherever your mind goes, When you're in a place of self sufficiency, shows where where your
natural tendency typically is, the I can do this on my own, or I have to do this on my own typically results in pride.
The I could never do this, I can never be good enough. It's insecurity. So it's pride, or it's insecurity. And as I was praying about this, and this is this is something that I've I really wrestled with insecurity in my life, I was radically insecure for most of my time that I've been following Jesus totally, totally panicked about what people thought about me what I could what I couldn't do. And I remember when the Lord showed me that insecurity and pride are two sides of the same coin.
So I've got a quarter here, it's got tail side, you can't see that. So it could could have been on the tail side could have not been who knows, and the head side.
But here's the thing. If I give this to someone head side up, is it more or less than 25 cents? If I give it to someone tail side up, is it more than or less than 25 cents. So no matter what side of your life, like it spends the same, no matter what side is up. So whether it's pride in your life, that showing face side up or insecurity, they both spend the same, and it's self sufficiency. If you're walking in pride, you're going to be self sufficient. If you're walking insecurity, your tendency is going to try to be self sufficient. We need to reject the lie of self sufficiency. So what I did is when I was walking in insecurity, I tried to prove myself to anyone and everyone, I tried to show people, Hey, I can't do this, Hey, I do have this figured out, hey, I really do know how to walk. Like I put all of my effort into trying to prove to people that I could be in my heart what I knew that I could not be.
But here's what we do with lies. Lies are dismantled by the truth.
Lies are dismantled by the truth. One of my favorite moments in Scripture is in Matthew three going into Matthew four. It's the baptism of Jesus, John the Baptist, baptizes. Jesus, it comes up out of the water, it says heaven open, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove. And it says the voice of the Father spoke from heaven and said, This is my Son, whom I love with him. I'm well pleased. And this was before any of the ministry of Jesus had began. He hadn't done a single miracle that was recorded in Scripture by this point. He hadn't preached any sermons at this point. He hadn't done anything from a natural standpoint, that would show that he somehow earned the approval of the Father. He just was his son. And because he was his son, he loved him and he was pleased with him. I believe that that was so strategic and so intentional when God spoke that over him because it shows us that our identity in Christ is not found in how we perform for him. It's, it's found in who we are to Him.
The Bible says in John 112, that to anybody who believed in Jesus and accepted him, he gave the right to become not slaves of God, not servants of God but children, sons and daughters of God. When God looks at us, He does not look at us as His servants. He does not look at us as his subordinates. He looks at us as his kids. And here's the thing I've got two little girls and they do not perform well.
all the time.
They don't. But I love them dearly, especially when they don't perform well.
I bring them in close. And there are moments of correction, and discipline. Then we talk
and say, Hey, I love you. That's not who you are. God does not see us as his subordinates, he sees us as his sons and his daughters, we need to begin to reject the lie of self sufficiency. There's a lot of things that my three year old can't do on her own. And there's even more things that my one year old can't do on her own.
She needs me. We need God.
A couple of truths from Scripture to dismantle this lie, John 15 Five, Jesus is talking to his disciples. He says, Yes, I am the vine, you are the branches. Here's the thing. We've got to know who we are and who are not.
The vine is the source of life, the branch is not. You are not the source of life in your own life. Jesus is and when we get over that in our minds will begin to believe that if we remain IN JESUS and He in us, we will produce much fruit and here's the here's this dismantles the whole thing. For apart from me, you can do nothing.
Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. Nothing we might be able to accomplish outwardly what looks good in the natural, but we're talking about spiritual fruit, we can produce no spiritual fruit apart from Jesus none.
John 663, Jesus is talking to his disciples again, he says, For the spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing.
And the very words I've spoken to you are spirit, and life. And some of you might hear this and think great. I'm powerless. Like awesome, what an encouraging message. Derek, you're telling me that I can do nothing on my own? The beautiful thing is this, you're not alone.
You're not alone. Number two, how do we live dependent on God, we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit. And let me tell you, that sounds a lot more complicated than it really is.
Because the reason that many of us rely on our own powers, because we don't believe that there's anything else available.
I don't think that we maliciously live lives self sufficient. We live Life self sufficient, because that's all we've ever known. And we live life self sufficient, because we've never heard that there's another way.
So funny. There's a moment in Acts chapter 19, where Paul comes in contact with a group of about 12 believers, they're followers of Jesus. And his first question to them was, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed, and their response, I think, is akin to probably a lot of our responses. They said, We haven't even heard there was a Holy Spirit. Like, and like, that's how I grew up. That's how I lived. I knew I believed in God, and he's up in heaven. And like, we talked a little bit about the Holy Spirit and like that he like, is kind of like our conscience. I'll get into that in a minute.
That like, we didn't really go into it.
But if we don't trust in or believe in the power of God, the only thing available to us as the power of man.
And the only power that you'll have to walk out, the call of God on your life is your own power. And God didn't call us to do it alone. He called us to do it with him. So in Galatians, three, two, Paul says this, he says, Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law? Of course not you receive the Spirit because you believed?
It's that simple. We received the power of God to live a life that pleases Him, not through our own effort, but by believing that it's available. I just wanted to tell you today that it's available, the power of God to live a life that pleases Him is available for you, if you believe
so what does this look like for me? I just asked God, God helped me today
that during all of the entire worship set, what I was down there doing is just praying, God, when I get up here, would it be you that speaks not me? God, I don't want to be dependent on any gift that you've given me. I don't want to be dependent on anything that I think is a good idea that I want to be dependent upon you and you only because my effort accomplishes nothing. If you leave here, and all that you got was Derek, we missed it. You don't need me. Everybody in this room needs the Lord, we need the power of the Holy Spirit, to live a life that honors him. And we cannot earn the power of God through works. We receive it through faith.
God will not not empower you, because of how good you are or how bad you are. He will always empower you, if you ask him to and if you believe that he will.
And I just I want to say this, I grew up with a really partial understanding of who the spirit was.
Like I kind of made that joke about like, Oh, he's your conscience like that literally was my entire understanding of the Holy Spirit. Like whenever I felt bad about something that was the Holy Spirit making me feel bad.
And can I tell you, the Holy Spirit does bring conviction that is a true part of who he is. But the Bible also says that you will receive power you will be clothed with power from on high when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
So not only does he just give you conviction, he gives you power. Have you ever
had conviction that you felt powerless to walk out.
Conviction without power is defeating.
And if we live life, based in our own power and try to follow God and the convictions that he puts on our heart on our own, you'll leave the faith way quicker than you joined. I promise you, because you'll be defeated. You'll live life thinking, I want to do this thing. I want to honor my parents, I want to be good in my job, I want to break this addiction. I want to be free, but I can't.
Because human effort accomplishes nothing.
But even in that, that verse, John 663, right before it, it says, For the spirit alone gives life. That's the good news. That the spirit alone gives life. God doesn't just give us conviction, he gives us power. We see it in Philippians 213. He says, For God is working in you. How do I know this is talking about the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus is in heaven, seated at the right hand of the father who's also in heaven, and they sent the Holy Spirit to Earth. So if there's God working in me, it's not the father. It's not Jesus. It's the Holy Spirit. He indwells believers, but it says this, giving you the desire, that's the conviction and the power. God doesn't leave us hanging. He doesn't just give us conviction. He doesn't just give us power. He gives us both. He He quickens our hearts to the moments where we're missing it. But then he gives us the power to live differently. That's good news. The Holy Spirit is working in you giving you both the power and the desire to do what pleases God, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit, not by actions, not my works, not by how good we are, or how bad we are, but by faith.
And it's only when we do that, are we able to live a life that pleases God in any way, shape, or form?
Number three, is this this is we're going to land this plane, we need to remain in Him
remain in Him.
I think
the power of the Holy Spirit and rejecting the lie of self sufficiency is not a one time thing.
I think for some of us, we think, okay, I overcame that lie. I overcame that thing I overt like, and now we're done.
As I was I was in this moment and first service, I was reminded of my personal struggle with radical insecurity. So I gave my life to Jesus about eight years ago, and almost instantaneously, he freed me from my addiction to alcohol. He freed me from my dependence on substances.
But I was not free of insecurity.
for a really long time, I wondered, like, why is this staying with me? Like to the point where literally, I had seasons of my life where I felt just paralyzed, I couldn't do anything. Because I would look around and I wonder, what's that person thinking about me? What what's in their mind? How do they think about what I'm doing? And I wouldn't do anything.
Because I was so fearful of people.
And I received the power of the Holy Spirit, I've rejected the lie, I don't need like, I know I'm approved by God. And I find myself just in the very same spot. Time and time and time again.
And I remember this is sometime within the last four to six months to Tuesday morning pro Stan and right down in the front row. And I don't know why it just always hit me Tuesday morning prayer. Okay. I'm praying in my head, like, they don't see my mouth move into that they think that I'm praying, okay, is this a moment that I should go down on my knees? Should I lift my hand and I was thinking I wasn't even praying the whole time. I was just thinking about what other people were thinking about what I was maybe doing. And they weren't thinking about me. They were thinking about them, or they were praying.
And this was every single time I was at Tuesday morning prayer. These thoughts were consistently running. In my mind, I was always worried about what other people were thinking.
And about four months ago, I was standing right there.
And I had this thought, like,
I should probably think about what they're thinking about.
And we're almost done with prayer. And I realized that whole time like out my eyes, I looked around
and that feeling was gone.
And I don't know when it happened, or how it happened.
But God freed me. From that feeling of being petrified by what people were thinking.
Why do I Why do I say that? Sometimes our freedom comes through our remaining.
Paul had a thorn in his flesh that he talked about that he said I prayed to God consistently to take this thing from me. Every time God just said My grace is sufficient.
I
power is made perfect in your weakness. I tell you, it's only when we recognize weakness that will rely on the power of God.
And here's the thing, he freed me of that can I tell you, there's still some things that I believe in to get free. Like it's never a perfect, it's not perfect.
Sometimes God allows weakness to remain in us so that that will be humble enough to come to him and receive his strength.
Galatians three, three, says, How foolish can you be
after starting your new lives and the Spirit said, you started so well.
Son, Daughter, you started so well.
Why are you now trying to become perfect in your own human effort?
I just believe that's a word for some of us in this room.
You remember the passion of pursuing God initially, you remember the tears that will flow during worship, you remember how easy it was to lift your hands. And now you're standing in a room feeling dry.
Feeling like the presence of God has left?
Here to tell you the presence of God has not lifted
but your heart might be hard to it.
How does your heart get hard to the presence of God by picking up your own effort once again.
And I believe today is a day to trade our own effort. For dependence on God. You cannot do it on your own.
Life is kind of like a toy that someone sells you it's like batteries not included.
Right.
To try for so long of your life to turn on this stinking Gameboy it never turns on then you just put batteries in it comes to life.
God designed you to be filled with his power.
So that life has any meaning.
Wonder if you stand your feet, I just want to read a scripture over you.
But here's the truth that we need to understand. Here's my walkaway truth if you don't get anything, anything else out of today, I pray that you would remember this. I wonder if you can just close your eyes as I say this to
intimacy.
Not effort is the pathway to fruitfulness. Intimacy with God, not your own effort is the pathway to fruitfulness. That's not an excuse to do nothing.
It's an excuse to get in the presence of God. And then do something with what he puts in you.
You can't earn the gift of God by performance. But when you experience the gift of God through intimacy, it will produce effort in your life. You will live differently.
I serve my wife because I love her not to hurt her love. We serve God because we love him not to hurt his love.
John 15 four and five, Jesus says this Remain in me. Remain. Stay.
And I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it's severed from the vine and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine and you are the branches those who remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit. For apart from me can do nothing.
With every head bowed every eye closed.
If you've been feeling powerless,
desperate in your desire to serve God, but powerless to walk it out.
Just be like that's the group I'm supposed to pray for today.
And here's the here's the answer. It's so simple. Just receive the power of God. And we do that through faith not through works.
That's you and you say I want to live differently.
When I wonder if you just extend both hands to heaven, I just want to pray with you. Pray over you.
So Father, right now in the name of Jesus, I pray that you would break the lie of self sufficiency. God I pray that you would pull people out of the deception of a works based faith. God I thank you that Jesus is enough. Jesus was enough. Jesus will always be enough. There's nothing that we can add to the work that's already been done. It's completed. It's finished. That is why all the cross Jesus said,
is finished. There's no amount of work that brings us closer to you. There's no amount of effort that brings you closer to us, God you are here and the veil has been torn. So today in the name of Jesus, we step into your presence and power us with His Spirit, clothe us with your power from on high, and then we can continue to live a life that blesses you that honors that worships you that exalts you in Jesus name, amen. Amen.
Thanks again for listening to today's message. For more information on all that God's doing at Mercy city, or to share how the message has impacted your life, visit us online at Mercy City DOT church or on social media.