1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,280 Hello everyone and thanks for tuning in to Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:14,280 Here at Trinity, we're a church of ordinary people learning to love Jesus, live like Jesus 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,920 and lead others to Jesus, and we want to share the good news with you. 4 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:24,720 Today is Pentecost Sunday and we are beginning a brand new sermon series called Organic, 5 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:26,720 Fruit of the Spirit. 6 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:31,440 Today and for the next several weeks, we will be looking at the various fruits, as described 7 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:36,520 in Galatians 5, that we bear when the Holy Spirit is with us. 8 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,760 Thanks again for joining and we hope you enjoyed the message. 9 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:41,760 God bless. 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:49,400 I'm reading this morning from Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 to 25. 11 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:54,240 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. 12 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,880 Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 13 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:03,400 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants, 14 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:08,720 and the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. 15 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:13,400 These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your 16 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,960 good intentions. 17 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:21,620 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 18 00:01:21,620 --> 00:01:27,000 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear. 19 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:34,840 Sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, 20 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:42,760 jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild 21 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,400 parties and other sins like these. 22 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:51,600 Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit 23 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,400 the kingdom of God. 24 00:01:54,400 --> 00:02:02,280 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, 25 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:08,820 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 26 00:02:08,820 --> 00:02:12,480 There is no law against these things. 27 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:17,300 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature 28 00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:20,880 to his cross and crucified them there. 29 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:25,240 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part 30 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:26,720 of our lives. 31 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:28,200 This is the word of the Lord. 32 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,880 Well, as we've already said, today is Pentecost Sunday. 33 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:32,880 And I hope you know what that means. 34 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,480 It means that today is a day of celebration. 35 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,480 We have so much to celebrate today. 36 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,720 And just in case you don't understand what we're celebrating, we're celebrating the fact 37 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:50,080 that the Holy Spirit has come into this world and come into our lives. 38 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:54,920 And that Spirit enables us to do things that we could never do without the Spirit's power 39 00:02:54,920 --> 00:03:00,160 and become a kind of people that we could never become on our own strength. 40 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:05,120 And you might say, well, what kind of people is the Holy Spirit making us into? 41 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:06,200 And I'm glad you asked. 42 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:07,200 We just read it. 43 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,280 The fruit of the Spirit is... 44 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,240 You guys probably sang this as kids, as a song. 45 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:13,400 Let's just say them all together. 46 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:21,800 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 47 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:23,680 gentleness, and self-control. 48 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:29,600 See, this is what happens when the Spirit of Jesus gets a hold of your life and starts 49 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:34,200 to form you and starts to change you and transform you. 50 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:40,240 So if Jesus is in your life, this is what your life should look like, right? 51 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:42,000 This is what we're celebrating today. 52 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:43,000 Wonderful. 53 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,800 And I think actually, I might as well just save us all a lot of time and just end the 54 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:51,400 sermon right here and just say, okay, everybody, go and do this, right? 55 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,880 Go and be this, go and live this way. 56 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,080 Let's pray, end of sermon, right? 57 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,720 Nope, not right, not right. 58 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:07,560 Because if we are honest with ourselves and honest with each other, we know that very, 59 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:13,680 very often our life does not look like this. 60 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,960 And maybe at moments, maybe at moments it does look like this. 61 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:21,920 We see some of the love and some of the self-control that you see up there, but not always and 62 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:23,200 not often. 63 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,680 And that can be very confusing and very frustrating. 64 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:27,760 And what is going on here? 65 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:33,480 We are just told that when the Spirit of God comes into our lives, that we become these 66 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:39,920 kind of people and yet I look at my life and I do not appear to be that kind of person. 67 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,640 I still struggle with anger and I still struggle with envy and pride. 68 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,560 And I have all these addictions and all these problems that are chasing me around, right? 69 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:50,840 Where is the fruit? 70 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:52,880 Why isn't it working? 71 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,600 What is going on here? 72 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:03,400 So while a Pentecost Sunday is a day of celebration, it is also for many of us a day of some resignation. 73 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,720 We are like, it doesn't work. 74 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:06,720 It doesn't work. 75 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,800 It sounds good, it looks good, but all this stuff about this great fruit coming out of 76 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:11,960 our lives, it just doesn't work. 77 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:17,920 I have been following Jesus for years, you might say, and I still don't look like that. 78 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:24,040 And it may not even matter whether you came to Jesus all of a sudden and you had this 79 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,800 marvelous moment and you were changed and your friends even said, you are different. 80 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:29,040 There is something different about you. 81 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,440 You seem more loving and more joyful. 82 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,560 Or maybe for others of you, you came to Jesus a bit more gradually and slowly and bit by 83 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:42,640 bit and you did see some of this stuff, some of this, whoops, the spirit that was growing 84 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:44,480 in your life. 85 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:51,440 However, what happens is after one year or two years or five years or 10 years, right? 86 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:55,040 All of a sudden, all those issues that you thought you had dealt with and left behind, 87 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:56,800 they come back. 88 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,760 Those character flaws, right? 89 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,920 Those attitudes, those undesirable traits, they just came back. 90 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:03,920 They just came back. 91 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:08,320 And it's not that they just came back, but they kept coming back. 92 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:14,560 And Paul understood, Paul understood this feeling of resignation that we feel and maybe 93 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:15,560 you feel. 94 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:24,080 Our sinful nature is always doing what is contrary to the spirit so that you do not 95 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:28,040 do what you want to do. 96 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:33,340 So what do we do on a day like Pentecost Sunday, this day of celebration? 97 00:06:33,340 --> 00:06:40,040 But also I would say a day of some resignation, a day that we say, yay, the spirit came. 98 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:45,320 And then the next breath say, meh, but I'm still the same. 99 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:46,320 What do we do? 100 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:49,020 Well, I think there is another option. 101 00:06:49,020 --> 00:06:52,940 And here is the other option to say that this is not just a day of celebration. 102 00:06:52,940 --> 00:06:58,020 We don't have to pretend it's a day of celebration and we don't have to wallow in our resignation, 103 00:06:58,020 --> 00:07:04,200 but today could be a day of explanation, a day to actually ask the question, why is this 104 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,240 happening in my life? 105 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:08,520 And let's figure it out. 106 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:15,360 And today's the best day to do that because Paul is writing in Galatians about this very 107 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,480 thing, right? 108 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,920 Paul says, he says, hey, listen, let me explain to you. 109 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:20,920 Do you want to know why? 110 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:26,400 Do you want to know why you can have the Holy Spirit living in your life? 111 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:31,360 And at the very same time, you are constantly struggling and you constantly feel unchanged. 112 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:33,560 Do you want to know why, Paul says? 113 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:34,920 Let me give you an example. 114 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:36,640 Let me give you a metaphor. 115 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:41,920 And then what Paul does is much like Jesus would do all the time is he almost has a parable. 116 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:43,360 He has this metaphor that he uses. 117 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:47,480 I'm going to use this metaphor to explain to you why that tension and why that struggle 118 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:48,480 exists. 119 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:54,320 And the metaphor he grabs onto is the metaphor, the example of a garden. 120 00:07:54,320 --> 00:08:02,160 And he's going to use the garden imagery as a way of explaining both how the Holy Spirit 121 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:08,080 works and why it's so hard and why we stumble so much. 122 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:16,400 So over the next seven weeks, please join us as we try to unpack this really, really 123 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:17,400 important issue. 124 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:18,880 It's a brand new series. 125 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:24,440 It's called Organic, and we're going to be looking at how the fruit of the Spirit can 126 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:30,920 actually grow in the garden of your life and grow in the garden of your life as well. 127 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:37,280 So come with us, you know, get on some gardening clothes, pull out your gardening gloves, get 128 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:40,600 your gardening trowel and whatever. 129 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:45,920 And let's dig into this really, really important topic. 130 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:46,920 Okay. 131 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,880 Now, I don't know if you have a garden or if you're the type of person that has a garden, 132 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,840 but this year at our house, we decided we're going to make a proper vegetable garden. 133 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,000 So I went down to what? 134 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:01,660 Home Depot, got some two by sixes and some dirt, and we screwed it all together and hammered 135 00:09:01,660 --> 00:09:04,360 it all together and filled it up. 136 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,520 And then we said, okay, what are we going to plant? 137 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:10,520 And so we've been planting things already for well, over a month, you know, we're always 138 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,120 going out to see what's growing out there. 139 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:13,240 I thought, I'm quite proud of it. 140 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,160 It was a lot of work, but I'm quite proud of it. 141 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,440 So I thought I'd show you a few of the things that are growing. 142 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,840 So this is our lettuce that is coming up. 143 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,120 And just behind that, we have some garlic that is growing. 144 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:25,640 So we're enjoying watching that. 145 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,840 And then these are, anyone know what these are? 146 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:28,840 Peas. 147 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:30,320 You guys are good. 148 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,760 And so you can see our peas are already coming up and we put a little trellis there so the 149 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:36,940 peas can start climbing. 150 00:09:36,940 --> 00:09:39,040 And then this, anyone? 151 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:40,040 Spinach. 152 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,840 Yes, it's some spinach just coming up. 153 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:44,360 Cute, lovely spinach. 154 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,160 And then does anyone know what these are? 155 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:47,160 Peppers. 156 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:48,160 You got it. 157 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,760 Peppers are, we planted those. 158 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:51,760 Whoops. 159 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:53,760 Then let me just go back one. 160 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,680 We've got, this is some cabbage. 161 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:57,560 This is some red cabbage. 162 00:09:57,560 --> 00:10:00,120 These things are just getting started. 163 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:05,240 And then we've got these lovely little baby beets that are just popping up on us. 164 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:06,920 We love our little baby beets. 165 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,120 They're going to be lovely when they grow. 166 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,480 It's all coming along quite nicely. 167 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:15,240 And you might think, oh, gardening's not that hard. 168 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:20,400 Just go get a bit of seed, throw it on the ground, walk away for six or eight weeks and 169 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:25,800 come back and you'll have this wonderful salad just waiting for you to eat. 170 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,000 I mean, it would be great if it worked that way. 171 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:34,000 But if you actually tried to grow something that way, what would happen is you would come 172 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,840 back six or eight weeks later and you know what you would find? 173 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:42,160 You would find a whole lot of weeds and not much fruit at all. 174 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:50,000 No, if you actually, if you actually want to make the ground, produce a lot of fruit 175 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:57,040 or a lot of veggies, then you have to develop the skills of a gardener, right? 176 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:04,680 You actually have to learn things like plant spacing and seed depth and you know, watering 177 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:09,920 schedules and how to weed and you'd have to learn with how to deal with, you know, changes 178 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,960 in temperature or how to how to deal with diseases. 179 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:19,280 And one thing that we have discovered is you have also got to learn how to deal with pests, 180 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:21,820 how to deal with predators. 181 00:11:21,820 --> 00:11:28,120 So here's for example, we planted a few strawberry plants, mostly because we read that when you 182 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,280 plant strawberries, they create lovely flowers. 183 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:35,520 The flowers attract these beneficial wasps, which then will eat all the nasty bugs on 184 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:39,560 your other plants like, you know, caterpillars and larvae and stuff like that. 185 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:44,640 So we planted a bunch of these, these strawberry plants in our garden and then, you know, we 186 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:46,080 thought, great, we went away. 187 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,440 We came back a few days later and we discovered that something had gotten into the garden 188 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:57,800 and dug up one or two for sure of our strawberry plants and they're actually kind of useless. 189 00:11:57,800 --> 00:11:58,880 They couldn't even be rescued. 190 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:01,960 This is what one of them looked like when we finally, when we finally got to it. 191 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,400 And we thought, oh no, this cannot be, we cannot do this. 192 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:09,240 And of course we immediately suspected rabbits, right? 193 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,840 Because for some reason in streetsville, there are rabbits everywhere. 194 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,280 I swear streetsville is built on a rabbit Warren. 195 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,920 It could be the squirrels, but we thought it was rabbits. 196 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:23,560 And so what we did is we went back to Canadian Tire or whatever and we bought some of this 197 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:24,560 stuff. 198 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:28,280 This is like a green kind of garden fence, right? 199 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,000 And we said, okay, here's what we're going to do. 200 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,760 We're going to put this garden fence all around our garden. 201 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,040 That's exactly what we did. 202 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,840 And we thought, okay, now we've dealt with that problem. 203 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:45,520 And we went away and we came back a few days later and we discovered more problems. 204 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:49,960 Our garlic bulbs, some of them had just been pulled right out of the soil. 205 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,680 And again, the peas had been attacked yet again. 206 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:55,920 So we thought, how is this happening? 207 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:57,080 We just put up the garden fence. 208 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:02,120 And then we thought, ah, it could be that our enemy is coming from the skies. 209 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:03,120 It's birds. 210 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:05,080 Birds are coming in and creating this problem. 211 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:12,800 So we went back to Canadian Tire and we bought some of this, this netting, this bird netting. 212 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:14,280 And you can hardly see it there. 213 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:15,280 Oh, you can see it. 214 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:16,280 Yeah. 215 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,760 So we, we used a bunch of twist ties and we put this netting over top of the garden. 216 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:20,760 And we thought, okay, good. 217 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,200 We got the problem solved because now we got things protected from the side. 218 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,840 We got things protected over top. 219 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:27,960 And we're all good. 220 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:29,220 So we went away. 221 00:13:29,220 --> 00:13:30,760 Everything was good for a couple of days. 222 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:32,960 And then we came back and guess what? 223 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,080 More damage in the garden. 224 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:37,880 Cabbage was nibbled. 225 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:42,120 Bean seeds that we had literally just planted had been dug up. 226 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,320 And we thought, how on earth is this possible? 227 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,080 This is how it happened. 228 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:53,360 We found this, that something had actually chewed right through the green fence that 229 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:54,360 we had put there. 230 00:13:54,360 --> 00:14:00,200 And we thought, oh gosh, we started putting twist ties to kind of cover the gaps that 231 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,680 they had cut in the fence. 232 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:08,040 But we decided we needed a more severe, a much more drastic plan. 233 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,480 And that's when we enlisted the help of a doc. 234 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,720 We said, we're going to, we said, Holly, listen, listen, are you listening? 235 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:16,720 She said, yes. 236 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:18,540 I said, you're going to guard this garden. 237 00:14:18,540 --> 00:14:20,960 Do not let anything come in there. 238 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:22,800 Do you understand your job? 239 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:23,800 She said, yes. 240 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:24,800 We nodded her head. 241 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:25,800 And then we said, we went away. 242 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,240 And then we came back. 243 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,800 And of course the next day more fence nibbled, more plants damaged. 244 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:36,880 And now my friends, they were going after the baby beets. 245 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:38,520 Not the baby beets. 246 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,200 Yes, the baby beets. 247 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:41,320 We said, how did this happen? 248 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,600 And then we said, this is how it happened. 249 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,800 This dog is completely useless. 250 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,760 You know, for just about a moment I was like, you know what? 251 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:52,960 Maybe I do like cats more than dogs. 252 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:54,600 But then no, I came to my senses. 253 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:56,400 I thought, what am I saying? 254 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,800 Whoa, that was a wow. 255 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,320 And instead what we did is we went to Canadian tire. 256 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:06,920 And again, this time we got the chicken wire, the chicken wire now to go around the whole 257 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:08,200 thing. 258 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:14,600 And I have to say everybody so far, so good, so far, so good. 259 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,040 So now here's the question. 260 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:17,640 Here's the question. 261 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,040 What the heck? 262 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,760 What the heck is going on here? 263 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:26,360 All we're trying to do is grow a little bit of food, people. 264 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:30,840 But between the weeds and the rabbits and the squirrels and the birds and the lazy dogs 265 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:37,200 and all this, all these forces, all these forces are working against every day and every 266 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:43,120 night something is trying to destroy what we are growing. 267 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:49,320 Now I said what we are growing, but is it true that we're actually growing this? 268 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:55,040 I mean, we think about it, if all this works, let's say the fence and the netting and the 269 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:59,680 other fence and everything actually works and weeks later we come back to our garden 270 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:05,360 and I'm able to eat a great big salad, can I honestly say I grew this salad? 271 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:10,000 Can I say I grew these onions, I grew this lettuce, I grew these tomatoes? 272 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,160 I think the answer has to be no. 273 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,440 I didn't grow this stuff. 274 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:18,280 I'm just the gardener. 275 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:27,960 My job was to provide an environment where the fruit could be grown, but I didn't grow 276 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:28,960 it. 277 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,200 Now just pause there for a second. 278 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:40,120 That is the perfect way to understand the work of the Spirit in our lives. 279 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,240 We can't transform ourselves. 280 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,360 We can't change ourselves. 281 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,280 Only God can do that. 282 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:56,760 What we can do is tend the garden of our lives so that the Spirit can do that transforming 283 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:01,600 and growing work and make us more like Jesus. 284 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:07,160 Another way to put it is this, is that God is the grower and we are the gardeners. 285 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,480 I do not control the sun. 286 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:11,720 I do not control photosynthesis. 287 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:16,840 I have no control over the genetic makeup of these plants and these seeds. 288 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:19,840 That is all on God. 289 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:24,840 And Paul even says, so it's not important who does the planting or who does the watering. 290 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:30,120 What's important is that God makes the seed grow. 291 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:37,640 And yet, and this is really important, and yet at the same time, my role is crucial, 292 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:39,080 isn't it? 293 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:48,020 I did not grow the fruit, but as a gardener, I can either help or I can hinder that depending 294 00:17:48,020 --> 00:17:49,560 on the part that I play. 295 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:55,480 So in the same way, in the same way, think of it this way, the same way, the Holy Spirit 296 00:17:55,480 --> 00:18:03,760 is trying to change me, trying to grow me, trying to influence me to make me more like 297 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:05,300 Jesus. 298 00:18:05,300 --> 00:18:13,080 And I can either garden my life in such a way that that kind of growth and all sorts 299 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:22,560 of good stuff can grow up within me, but if I ignore my job, that's just not going to 300 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,360 happen, right? 301 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:32,160 So if I want to grow good stuff, if I want to grow love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, 302 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:39,600 faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in my life, what do I got to do? 303 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:44,040 How do I have to garden my spiritual life to make that happen? 304 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:48,660 Well, just in the time I got left, I want to suggest there's three important steps we 305 00:18:48,660 --> 00:18:49,960 all got to do. 306 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,640 And let's start with this one. 307 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:59,040 As with every garden, the first step in a garden project, in the garden project, which 308 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:07,160 is your life, is to plant the seed of the Spirit within you. 309 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:15,360 Now that seed of the Holy Spirit can be planted in a moment or it can be planted over time. 310 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:19,700 Maybe the seed of the Spirit was planted in you when you were a child and your parents 311 00:19:19,700 --> 00:19:24,780 would read to you stories of Jesus and pray with you at night and the seed of the Holy 312 00:19:24,780 --> 00:19:26,900 Spirit was planted in your life. 313 00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:32,280 Maybe it was a Sunday school teacher, like right now happening downstairs here at Trinity. 314 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:37,200 There's teachers, there's volunteers who are teaching our little ones about Jesus and the 315 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,080 seed of the Spirit maybe is being planted in them. 316 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,400 Or maybe it was at youth group or maybe it was in university. 317 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,440 You had a late night coffee and a long conversation with a friend and they were explaining to 318 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:51,520 you who Jesus was and what the gospel is all about. 319 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,960 And you finally believed it for the first time in your life and they prayed a prayer 320 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,680 with you and the seed of faith got planted. 321 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,240 The seed of the Holy Spirit got planted into your life. 322 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,460 Or maybe it's actually you just came to church one day. 323 00:20:06,460 --> 00:20:11,040 One day you came to church and you'd heard it all before, but on that day it all just 324 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:12,040 made sense. 325 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:13,040 It clicked with you. 326 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,000 And when it came time for communion, you know what? 327 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,360 You came forward, but it was different this time. 328 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:24,820 This time you were coming forward because you had given your trust and your allegiance 329 00:20:24,820 --> 00:20:26,540 to Jesus. 330 00:20:26,540 --> 00:20:33,040 And when we give our trust and when we give our allegiance to Jesus, something happens. 331 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:39,880 The seed of the Holy Spirit goes into us and gets buried deep within us. 332 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:45,300 Now I just want us all to hear this clearly. 333 00:20:45,300 --> 00:20:52,280 When you believe in Jesus, something actually happens. 334 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:53,440 Something actually happens. 335 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:54,840 Paul puts it this way. 336 00:20:54,840 --> 00:21:01,600 He says, when you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 337 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:07,000 a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. 338 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,640 When you believed, something actually happened to you. 339 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:13,640 It might have been dramatic, might have been gradual, might have been fast, might have 340 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:18,080 been slow, but the presence of Jesus took a residence within you. 341 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,960 The spirit of Jesus was planted deep in the soil of your life. 342 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:28,680 And that spirit began the work of guiding you and forming you and changing you and influencing 343 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,680 your life and directing you. 344 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:32,480 That is all God's work, by the way. 345 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:33,480 That's all God's work. 346 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:39,080 We don't do any of that, but that's the first thing, planting the seed of the Spirit. 347 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:40,560 So I have to ask this question. 348 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:45,400 If you're not seeing the fruit of the Spirit in your life, have you actually planted the 349 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,080 seed? 350 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:53,000 Have you actually by faith put your trust and given your allegiance to Jesus? 351 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:59,640 Because it's really hard to grow anything in a garden if you don't plant the seed. 352 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,840 All you're going to get is weeds otherwise. 353 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,800 So that is the important first step. 354 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,280 The important first step is planting the seed of the Spirit. 355 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:14,760 But once the Spirit has been planted, then now we do have a very important role to play. 356 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:21,440 We become gardeners tending to our spiritual life. 357 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:27,920 In other words, we need to be providing the right environment now for that seed to grow, 358 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:33,440 determining how much influence the Holy Spirit is actually going to get in my life. 359 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:40,000 In other words, we now need to create the conditions for growth in our lives. 360 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,480 And so this is the mystery. 361 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:46,600 And this is why so many of us struggle on days like Pentecost, because yes, on the one 362 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:50,720 hand, we receive the Spirit as something completely outside of us. 363 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:51,720 It is God's work. 364 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:53,960 It is God's seed. 365 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:59,880 And yet at the same time, if I want fruit, I've got a job to do, right? 366 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:06,320 Just as I can't expect the sun and photosynthesis to do everything for me at home in my garden, 367 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:10,120 you can't expect the Spirit to just do everything for you. 368 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:15,880 You've got to become a gardener of your life. 369 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:21,280 That's what Paul is getting at when he says stuff like, since we're living by the Spirit, 370 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,360 let us follow the Spirit's leading. 371 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:25,680 Let's walk by the Spirit. 372 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:27,240 Let's be led by the Spirit. 373 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:34,960 He says you have to garden your spiritual life in such a way that the fruit of the Spirit 374 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,400 can grow more and more and more. 375 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:39,640 And you might say, well, how do I do that? 376 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:44,280 What kind of things do I do to make my life hospitable to the growth of the Spirit? 377 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:45,280 How do I garden? 378 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,040 Well, let me just go back to my garden at home. 379 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:53,240 When we were working and planting on our garden, we chose, first of all, an environment that 380 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,200 worked for growth, a sunny spot, not a dark, shady spot. 381 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,560 We had to water that garden. 382 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,580 We actually even created the exact right soil. 383 00:24:02,580 --> 00:24:05,560 We brought in some topsoil, some triple mix, and some manure. 384 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,960 We mixed it all together to make just the right mix. 385 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:09,960 And then, of course, we did. 386 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:15,080 We put in some trellises and stuff like that to support the growth and help these plants 387 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:16,120 climb. 388 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:22,280 And in the same way, I want to say you need to provide the right environment in your life 389 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:23,920 for spiritual growth. 390 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,360 Put yourself in a sunny place. 391 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:32,280 Put yourself in places where God's love can radiate down in your life. 392 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:37,120 Don't hang out in dark and dingy and dank places in the world. 393 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:43,080 There's plenty of places we could be that just aren't going to give us God's life-giving 394 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:44,360 energy. 395 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:50,640 And then secondly, feed and fertilize the soil out of which you're growing, right? 396 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,520 We just did a whole series on reading the scriptures and how the last thing we talked 397 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:58,240 about was how you need to feed on the scriptures, how you need to eat those scriptures. 398 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,680 Are you feeding yourself with God's word? 399 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:06,360 And then thirdly, just like we put a trellis up, you need to put some structures into your 400 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:10,160 life that are going to enable and help you to grow. 401 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:11,160 Make some decisions. 402 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:12,160 Put some structures in. 403 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,960 Those might be like worshiping every single Sunday, maybe joining a life group. 404 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:22,240 These are structures that you're putting into your life, ensuring that you have a time of 405 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:26,060 prayer with God every day, ensuring that you have a chance to sit down and read your Bible. 406 00:25:26,060 --> 00:25:27,920 Maybe you practice the Sabbath. 407 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:29,620 Maybe you practice solitude. 408 00:25:29,620 --> 00:25:31,760 You can do all of these things. 409 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,820 And what's happening is you're creating structures. 410 00:25:34,820 --> 00:25:36,320 You're creating the environment. 411 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:40,500 You're providing the kind of conditions for growth. 412 00:25:40,500 --> 00:25:41,920 You can't transform yourself. 413 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:43,280 I'm not saying that. 414 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,160 But what you can do is create the conditions for transformation and growth. 415 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,280 And so that's the second question I have to say to you. 416 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:53,400 If you're frustrated and you're like, I never see any growth, I never see any love, joy, 417 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:55,680 peace, patience, kindness, goodness in my life. 418 00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:03,800 The question is, are you providing the right kind of environment for that growth to take 419 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:05,840 place? 420 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,400 So how do we grow this fruit? 421 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:12,360 First we have to plant the seed of the spirit within us by faith in Jesus Christ. 422 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:16,660 Secondly, we got to provide the right kind of environment for spiritual growth. 423 00:26:16,660 --> 00:26:20,560 And the third and the final thing I want to mention this morning is that if you want to 424 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:25,880 grow the fruit of the spirit, you're going to need to protect your garden from predators. 425 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:27,440 Protect your garden from predators. 426 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:34,200 In other words, you have to guard your garden and protect what is inside there from all 427 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:39,960 the outside forces that are coming in and want to shred and destroy every good thing 428 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:42,080 that you are trying to grow. 429 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,720 I had to deal with squirrels or rabbits or birds. 430 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,440 I did figure out what exactly we were dealing with. 431 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,920 But in the garden of your spiritual life, it's far worse. 432 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:57,360 The things you have to face are sin and evil. 433 00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:02,640 I mean, our world's a wonderful place, but it is also a world that is deeply compromised 434 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,040 by sin and evil. 435 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:09,560 And while Jesus is there trying to pull you up and lift you up closer to God, sin and 436 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:14,280 evil is always trying to break in and tear you down. 437 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,880 Paul calls this the sinful nature. 438 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:23,560 He says the sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the spirit 439 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:24,560 wants. 440 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:28,040 And these two forces are constantly fighting against each other. 441 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:32,840 There's the sun and the water of God's Holy Spirit that is that is lifting us up and pulling 442 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:33,840 us upward. 443 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,440 But sin and evil just want to tear us down. 444 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:43,360 And there's a battle going on in you and in me right now all the time in this very way. 445 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:44,840 I'll just give you a quick little example. 446 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:49,840 Today we're focusing on the spirit, the fruit of the spirit of love. 447 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,120 Let's say you're having a conversation with someone and they say something that's especially 448 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:54,920 mean to you. 449 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,880 In that moment, all these thoughts go through your head and it really is only a moment. 450 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:00,180 It's like five seconds. 451 00:28:00,180 --> 00:28:02,880 You think, man, oh man, I could really let them have it. 452 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:04,440 Man, how dare they? 453 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:05,920 I could really put them in their place. 454 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:07,600 I could really embarrass them. 455 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:09,680 I've got some choice words for them. 456 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:14,960 In fact, I've got one zinger of a comeback that I have been working on for a long time 457 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:16,880 and that you're ready to go. 458 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,060 You're ready to let it last. 459 00:28:18,060 --> 00:28:19,480 But then there's this other voice. 460 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:20,800 And what's that voice? 461 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:25,760 It's the voice of the spirit of Jesus that is inside of you. 462 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:35,140 And that voice says, Rob, dude, that is not the kind of human being I'm trying to grow 463 00:28:35,140 --> 00:28:36,640 you into. 464 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:40,880 Rob, remember how I loved and forgave people? 465 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,880 Rob, remember how I loved and forgave you? 466 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:49,560 Rob, Rob, Rob, put up a fence, put up a net. 467 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,440 Don't let that stuff into your life. 468 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:57,480 Rob, get back into the garden of the Holy Spirit. 469 00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,400 Come back to the light of my love. 470 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,120 Come back to the soil. 471 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:03,240 Come back to the water of my grace. 472 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:08,880 You see, if we're going to grow the fruit of the spirit in our lives, and we've got 473 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:14,320 to protect our lives from those kind of predators that are there to kind of break it all down. 474 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:19,080 And Paul actually goes on and he gives us a list of some of the predators to watch out 475 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:20,080 for. 476 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:23,800 So please pay attention to this list because they're coming for you. 477 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:29,040 Sometimes these pests come to us through sexuality, actually. 478 00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:33,360 It's interesting that the first thing Paul talks about as these enemies to watch out 479 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:35,200 for has to do with our sexuality. 480 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:37,320 He talks about sexual immorality. 481 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:38,600 He talks about impurity. 482 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,640 He talks about lustful pleasures. 483 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:46,860 But Paul's saying, hey, if you want your garden to grow, you got to guard it from these things. 484 00:29:46,860 --> 00:29:50,320 But then he goes on from sexuality to talk about spirituality. 485 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:52,720 He says, here's some other things you got to watch out for. 486 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,160 He calls them idolatry and sorcery. 487 00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:01,000 Another way of just saying it is if you are in any way trying to get your life from a 488 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:07,480 spirit that is not the Holy Spirit, if you're dabbling in other kinds of spirituality, that 489 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,240 is going to break in and destroy your garden. 490 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:15,160 It is not going to help you grow even though you think that it might. 491 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:19,960 And then thirdly, he lists this whole bunch of things that you would say is not sexuality, 492 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:24,840 not spirituality, but relation, relationality, I guess. 493 00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:31,520 Look at it, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outburst, anger, selfish ambition, dissension, 494 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,520 division, envy. 495 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,520 Broken relationships are one of the most pernicious predators that are going to try to get in 496 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,680 and destroy what you are growing. 497 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,720 So if you want your garden to grow, invest in healthy relationships. 498 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:48,400 And if you have unhealthy relationships, then just get those ones out of there. 499 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:50,600 So this is, look at this list. 500 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:57,480 This is what you are up against, sexual, spiritual, relational enemies that want to tear up the 501 00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:58,800 garden of your life. 502 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,280 It's a conflict that is never going to let up. 503 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:03,440 You're going to have to fight this every day of your life. 504 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:05,640 You're going to have to constantly put up new fences. 505 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:09,160 You're going to constantly have to patch the holes when they get through and you're going 506 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:13,440 to have to stand guard the whole time. 507 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:18,020 In fact, maybe even as I'm saying this, some of you are aware, you already know, you already 508 00:31:18,020 --> 00:31:24,200 know what it is is trying to get in and break down your life. 509 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,440 And maybe you know, it's like there's this addiction. 510 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:27,560 I just can't let it go. 511 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:30,840 It's social media addiction, or maybe it's just anger. 512 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:32,800 You just always so angry. 513 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,760 And listen, you got to get it out of your life. 514 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:39,560 If there is a weed growing in your garden, do not water it. 515 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:43,120 Yank it out of the ground and get rid of it. 516 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:44,440 Don't take your chances. 517 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:45,440 Okay. 518 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:51,040 Maybe it's, you know, some rabbit or squirrel is trying to like burrow its way in there, 519 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:52,040 right? 520 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:56,440 Chewing through your fence, sexual temptation, greed, envy, whatever. 521 00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:00,720 If that is the case, you know, don't say, oh, what a cute little rabbit. 522 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:01,720 Isn't that nice? 523 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:03,440 You know, come on in, come on in. 524 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:05,480 No, I don't mean this. 525 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:09,900 You pick that rabbit up and you knock it on the head. 526 00:32:09,900 --> 00:32:13,360 No rabbits were harmed in the filming of this sermon. 527 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,000 And you say, we're having rabbit tonight, everybody. 528 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,320 We're having a rabbit stew or something like that. 529 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:22,800 But you know, go confess what you're struggling with to someone. 530 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:27,240 Go see a psychologist or a psychiatrist or a therapist or whatever the case may be, but 531 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,200 don't take it lightly. 532 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:33,340 These things want to tear down the good work that God is doing. 533 00:32:33,340 --> 00:32:37,120 And if you feel like in a moment of temptation and a moment of struggle, you don't know what 534 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,600 to do, then just pray a prayer like this, just say, Holy Spirit, I need your help. 535 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,360 Holy Spirit, come to me right now. 536 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:46,280 Help me make the right choice. 537 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:48,600 Help me make the right decision. 538 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,240 Come Holy Spirit. 539 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:59,160 Paul says, if you live by the sinful nature, you will die. 540 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:04,560 But if through the power of the spirit, you put to death the deeds of a sinful nature, 541 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:05,560 you will live. 542 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:09,560 Do you want to see the fruit of the spirit grow in your life? 543 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,640 Are you tired of that feeling of resignation that it can never happen to me? 544 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:15,360 I'm never going to become that better person. 545 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:18,860 Then let's learn how to be good gardeners. 546 00:33:18,860 --> 00:33:20,440 Remember those three things. 547 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:24,200 First of all, plant the seed of the gospel deep in your heart. 548 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,600 Turn to Jesus, give him your trust, give him your allegiance. 549 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:32,040 Secondly, provide the right conditions for your spiritual growth, right? 550 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:37,840 God's love shining into your life, God's word watering your life, other structures to support 551 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:38,840 your growth. 552 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:44,600 And thirdly, protect your garden from the predators that want to tear it all down. 553 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:48,160 And you know what will happen if one day if you do all this, it may not happen overnight. 554 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:53,520 If you do all this, one day you're going to look down and you're going to say, oh my gosh, 555 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,200 what is that? 556 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:58,000 And breaking through the soil, you know what you're going to see? 557 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:06,880 You're going to see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self 558 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:13,800 control, the fruit of the spirit growing in your life. 559 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:15,800 Thanks be to God. 560 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:16,800 Amen. 561 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:19,680 Thank you for joining us today. 562 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:24,000 And we hope that as you go out into your week, you will take the message of today's sermon 563 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,780 with you and share it with others as well. 564 00:34:26,780 --> 00:34:30,960 And don't forget to follow our podcast to stay up to date with our latest sermons and 565 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:31,960 talks. 566 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:37,720 Today's sermon was taken from the May 19th, 2024, service at Trinity Church Streetsville 567 00:34:37,720 --> 00:35:05,640 in Mississauga, Ontario.