PASTOR'S CORNER

Gal 6:7-10 John MacArthur said “The Christian has only two fields in which he can sow, that of his flesh and that of the Spirit.”  See, to sow to one’s flesh is to ponder to it, give in to it and coddle it….which the opposite of crucifying it as we already read in (5:24) .  See, John Stott said “Sow a thought, reap an act, sow an act, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, reap a destiny.”  Holiness is a harvest and every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, wallow in self-pity, we are sowing in the flesh.  Sadly many Christians sow in the flesh and wonder why they don’t reap holiness, victory and blessing.  We need to be reminded who we serve and what we are to sow on this earth……… because the world is always sowing to the flesh.  And this is the battle we face as well and we need to proceed with caution. Why? God will not be mocked!  Unfortunately we live in a culture that only desires to sow in

Gal 5:24-35; 6:1-6 John Owen wrote an amazing book called “The Mortification of Sin” which is where I took my title from for this message. It’s a wonderful book that talks about the dangers of sin and how we are to avoid such acts of the flesh.  He got the title for his book by preaching a number of messages on Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death (mortify) the deeds of the body, you will live.”  Why? Sin is a deadly and it kills and John Owen said in his book “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”  As we’ve seen over the past few weeks that the flesh is at war with the Spirit that indwells in us. (v17).  We need to be alert to the dangers of sin. Why?  Sin is deceitful “but exhort one another daily, while it is called "TODAY," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Heb 3:13.  Sin is dehumanizing ……sin dismantles relationships and corrupts the human soul. The less we

Gal 5:16-21 As we have been studying this book together the underlining theme and the truth of this letter is that Jesus is the primary person behind our justification and the Holy Spirit is the primary Person behind our sanctification .  As John MacArthur said in his commentary “A believer can no more sanctify himself than he could have saved himself in the first place. He cannot live his Christian life by his own resources any more than he could have saved himself by his own resources.”  What is John MacArthur trying to say?  The simplest answer is that the Christian life is a life lived under the direction by the power of the Holy Spirit .  Your life is and must be governed by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Your life must constantly need to live by the power of the Spirit.  Why? For this reason we need to submit to the Spirit. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.