United Methodist Church Westlake Village

Fruits of the Spirit

• United Methodist Church Westlake Village

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Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the complexities of our world—political divisions, global conflicts, economic injustice—wondering what God expects from you in such confusing times? This exploration of Paul's letter to the Galatians cuts through the noise with refreshing clarity.

At the heart of Paul's message lies a fascinating paradox about freedom. Unlike our American understanding of individual liberty, Paul describes a freedom that comes through willingly "enslaving" ourselves to one another in love. "For freedom Christ has set us free," he writes, not so we can indulge our own desires, but so we might serve each other. The entire law, complex as it seemed, can be distilled to a single commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

What makes this teaching so powerful is how it speaks directly to our fractured society. When Paul warns against "biting and devouring one another," we can't help but see reflections of our political hostility and economic self-interest. Instead, he invites us to examine the fruits our lives produce. Are we generating love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? These qualities aren't virtues to strain toward through willpower, but natural outcomes that flow when we're connected to God's Spirit. The simple test becomes: what are you bringing to the party? Listen in as we discover how this ancient wisdom provides exactly the guidance we need for today's complex challenges, showing us that when we live interconnected with others, we become "more than we are alone."

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Pastor Darren:

We're in Galatians and I open with some questions. Have you ever been in this place of just getting overwhelmed by the complexities of the world around us? I know sometimes for me I get in this space where I do feel that way. I feel overwhelmed, I don't know exactly what God wants me to do, what God wants me to say, I'm not sure which direction I'm supposed to be moving, and it's just such a complicated world we entered this month. We were praying for bombing in Iran and Israel, and this was after a couple of years of Hamas and Israel and their violence, of years of Hamas and Israel and their violence.

Pastor Darren:

We're living through a time where we're trying to overhaul, or the current leadership wants to overhaul, how we run the country and we're feeling nervous for those that the country's been taking care of. And now we even have this kind of ugliness of trying to figure out there's a really bad guy, this Jeffrey Epstein, and we're trying to figure out what somebody connected to this and how, in our government, we're connected to it. And so it's this space. That's just very huh. What do you want from us, god? How am I supposed to live into all this complexity? How am I supposed to discern your will and live out who I'm supposed to be in the midst of what feel like just complex situations that we're living through. So Galatians, paul's letter to the church in Galatia, I feel like, brings some simplicity, some straightforwardness to this conversation. You might remember a few weeks ago the wisdom from Micah that I felt like really did a good job of simplifying the instruction from God do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God. I feel like this basic guidance. Here's another version that comes from Paul here in the letter to the church in Galatia. I have found it to be like cool water on a warm summer's day. Anybody want any of that. Okay, I hope you enjoy my cool water of some sort.

Pastor Darren:

As we move into this, first of all, I want to tell you two Theologically meaty letter. Sometimes Jesus, he would teach in parables there'd be stories, but Paul theology, so it's going to be a little bit meaty. I hope you can enjoy that. We're going to get our thickness, our oatmeal, this morning. Are you excited? Now some of you those of you who pay more attention might be looking and going.

Pastor Darren:

I see we did Galatians 5, verse 1, and then we jumped a bunch and then started on 17. Right, so just to let you know, that's how the lectionary goes. So we're following sort of the lectionary. This happened in June, not now, but I wanted it for this month. I liked it for this month. Also, those passages have a lot to do with circumcision and I promised the fellas I wouldn't dwell on that too long, so we jumped kind of right over that, but it does. Verse 1 kind of sets up the rest of it, so that's why it appears as it does. So I'm jumping in here.

Pastor Darren:

Here is the first verse, for freedom Christ has set us free. Sorry, I have it on paper. I needed to get it in official old guy font so big enough for me to read it. Sometimes you get up here and it's a little too small. For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

Pastor Darren:

I don't know if you remember, a couple of weeks ago we were talking about what Paul meant by freedom. It's not generally how we understand the American sense of freedom, the freedom to be able to do or create a society where people can be as free to do what they want as possible. That's kind of the American sense of things. That's not really what Paul was talking about. That's not the freedom he was talking about. He was talking about freedom from religious law, law being the ordered instruction of how we followed faith that we have in our Old Testament, in our Hebrew Bible, right. That that was what law was. That's what faith was was to follow the law and do all of the rules. And so Paul was saying we can simplify this. The spirit of this is love God, love neighbor. Everything can fit into there. So we're freeing you up from that sense of law and the complexity of law. That's part of what the freedom is, but also the freedom that comes with grace and forgiveness. We are free to live in the confidence of God's love, god's forgiveness, despite our imperfection. So that's what Paul's talking about with freedom here. So it's important as we go into the rest of it.

Pastor Darren:

All right, this next section, talking a little bit more about this freedom, and it's going to take a twist. I hope you're ready, for you were called to freedom and it's going to take a twist. I hope you're ready, for you were called to freedom. Brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence. But through love, become slaves to one another, but through love, become slaves to one another. Remember when we were talking about freedom and now Paul's saying no, I want you to accept enslavement. Accept enslavement to each other. Right, it's simplified when we sum up the commandments and all that God was trying to instruct us. The law, for the whole law is summed up in a single commandment. This is what Paul wants us to understand you shall love your neighbor as yourself. That's why he's talking about enslave yourself to each other, and in that way we become something better. We become what God wants us to be. We become what God wants for us. I hope we're okay with that.

Pastor Darren:

This idea of enslaving ourselves to each other, not just something we do while we're on the journey of faith, but that that is the journey of faith, that enslaving of ourselves, that commitment to others, is really what Paul is kind of pointing to. But then he does this twist, this pivot If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. If you, however, bite and devour one another, you ever wonder how we would do if that was a test that was given to us. Are you abiding and devouring each other as a society? Politically, I don't know that we would want to take that class in any other way than pass-fail, any other way than pass-fail, right, I mean, we're certainly not getting an A in not devouring each other and biting each other. Economically it's kind of a challenge too, aren't we in a place where we're actually surprised when someone doesn't rank money as the highest priority, when other folks don't give all kinds of grace for somebody who's looking to make as much as he or she can? We're kind of really comfortable with this idea of hey, it's an open market, get what you can, get what you can. It's an interesting place to be when we're looking at that phrase, if you bite and devour one another. I think Paul's talking here about something bigger than that kind of reality, something that is about looking at a broader good, a common good. What does it mean to love your neighbor? What does it mean to enslave ourselves to each other? What I hear him saying is Paul's trying to tell us society's going to be better if we do that and you know what else? We as individuals are going to be better with that mindset. All right, we're moving on More theology.

Pastor Darren:

I told you it was meaty Flesh versus spirit versus spirit, flesh versus spirit. How many of you have? Well, you guys walked the journey with Pastor Walt, right? You know your Pauline letters. You know what he means by flesh. It's not generally what we understand flesh to be. We often think, oh, flesh. Well, yeah, talking about sexuality? Oh boy, that's pretty obvious.

Pastor Darren:

When we read this passage, we find he's not talking about sexual desires necessarily. He's really talking about human tendencies versus God's desires, our human desires versus God's desires, our human desires versus God's desires. You're probably hearing a duality in that. Oh, it's this way or it's the other way. And, by the way, human, bad, god, good. Sometimes that duality is helpful for people. Sometimes it's a little bit problematic when we're looking at her, our humanity, as being bad and the divine parts of us being the only good parts of us.

Pastor Darren:

But that's a bit of what Paul is trying to get across. The human part of you doesn't make all the greatest decisions. It's got other impulses, other things it's trying to get done. But there's a part of you that's divine, god inside of you, and that's the part that's good and we need to listen to that side. Do the God stuff? I think, is what Paul is trying to get across. So listen to what he says here Live by the spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh Again, not talking about sexuality necessarily, just talking about our human desires that go against what God would have for us, for what the flesh desires is opposed to the spirit and what the spirit desires is opposed to the flesh, for these are opposed to each other.

Pastor Darren:

To prevent you from doing what you want. You hear that duality. Would anybody argue with Paul a little bit on that? Or is that just me? Me and Stephen? The rest of you, yeah, it all makes sense. Anyway, and feel free to argue with Paul, deep man of faith, but still a man. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Remember the ordered instruction of faith from the Old Testament.

Pastor Darren:

Now, the works of the flesh are obvious. I have preached this sermon before and I like to offer this as an opportunity for full confession to anyone who is interested. So if any of this pertains to you, feel free to stand up, raise your hand. Now, the works of the flesh are obvious. Fornication Okay, impurity, impurity. Licentiousness Okay, running clean, running clean. Idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife Okay, those are easier. Okay, I get it here. We're going to get into some tougher ones here. Are you ready? Jealousy, anger, but only on the road Right. It's different. It's different Quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Pastor Darren:

I think in the midst of this, paul really wants us to hear that we can move away from this structured way of living faith with all these laws and just follow the laws. But we move into this new arena where it really might be just one, maybe two laws that it all barrels down to. We've said it before it's this law that says we need to love God and we need to love neighbor, and everything else will dovetail into that. That is really, I feel, like what Paul is trying to get us to understand. And if we are people who are trying to live into that spirit, to know God deeply, to feel that comfort, to feel that peace, to feel that sense of justice inside of us, then we need to focus ourselves into that one law or those two laws. And here's the deep irony of all of it that Paul is trying to get across. The irony is our enslavement to each other with these kinds of behaviors to each other, loving each other, loving God, our enslavement to each other actually is what leads to that true freedom. But it's not freedom in the way we usually understand it. It's a spiritual freedom, the freedom of knowing we are in step with God and we are being the people that God wants us to be. All right.

Pastor Darren:

Finally, the fun part Fruits of the Spirit. Enjoy this. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law against such things, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. I love that list one another. I love that list Especially. What I like about it is how it was written.

Pastor Darren:

Paul could have said you guys need to be better at showing love and you need to be better at showing faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and we would have taken it. Yep, you're right, paul. You're right, I'm going to do my best. But he doesn't do it that way. He talks in a way that implies a desire that we have and instead he refers to the fruits. He refers to these things as fruits, things that are produced in the world, love being produced, joy being produced. And he tells us that you can identify the Holy Spirit in your actions, in the world around you, by these fruits.

Pastor Darren:

We all want meaningful lives, we all want to know God, we all want to know the Holy Spirit. We want to look in the mirror in the morning and see somebody that God appreciates. We want to look in the mirror and see somebody we appreciate, want to look in the mirror and see somebody we appreciate. We all have that need to be able to see somebody good in that mirror. And Paul is in front of us saying when you see these things love, joy, gentleness, patience when you see those things, then you are in the presence of the Holy Spirit. You are producing it, you are seeing it being produced. When you see love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, there is the Spirit.

Pastor Darren:

It might be a little bit too straight forward, but the answer to the question we all wonder about are we in the spirit? Well, we can just ask ourselves what are the fruits of our presence? What are we bringing to the party? Because to me it spoke exactly to what Paul was trying to get at. When we live interconnected, even enslaved, with those around us, we're able to become more than we are alone. Interconnected, even enslaved, with those around us, we're able to become more than we are alone. I see the fruits. I see the fruits in that story and I know I started with this thought, this concern that it was hard to understand exactly what God was looking for in a complex world. And I see a video like that and I hear a scripture like this and I think, maybe, maybe it's not as hard as we think it is. Amen.