We’re wanting the Holy Ghost to come in here and move.  We’re wanting to see miracles.  We’re wanting to see people baptized in the Holy Ghost.  Beloved, we need an environment for Him to flow freely, not one in which He is grieved.  Now, I know what some of you are thinking, “Man, I thought we were doing good.”  We’ve been doing good.  We are growing, but we’ve lost some ground here.  We’ve accepted the misuse of the tongue as acceptable in our midst.  Beloved, to praise God and demean our brother out of the same well is not possible.  What we’re going to see in the Scriptures here is that what is in abundance in our hearts is what we’re going to speak out of our mouths, and so how vital this is for us.

Back to Galatians for just a minute, and I think this is vital for us.  In Chapter 5 of Galatians, he talks about our liberty from being kept under the letter of the law, our liberty from the bondage of thinking that somehow by works we’re justified.  He’s giving us this great revelation in Galatians how it’s by grace that we’re saved through faith, and that circumcision of the heart is what’s necessary, and the confidence that we’re to have in the finished work of Jesus.  If you think, verse 4, you’ve been justified by the law, you’ve fallen from grace.  So now, in the context of all of this that’s coming forth here where he’s talking about justification by faith, that we’re no longer under bondage, verse 13, that we’ve been called now to a spiritual liberty that’s not to be used for an occasion to the flesh but, by love, we serve one another.  “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). Now, this context is still flowing here, and he’s setting for each and every one of us, that this love of our brethren—loving God with all of our hearts and our brothers as ourselves—is what fulfills all the law of the prophets.  He’s saying, as we’re coming to this revelation of justification, that just as we received it by grace through faith, so have our brothers and sisters, so let’s let them grow without your criticism.  Let’s let the Holy Spirit lead them and not your opinions; amen?  Let’s let the Word be truth and not our cultures and not our politics.

We’ve had strife here this year in the church, people—over the election, over politics in this last election.  I mean, real strife came up in our community.  Would that you were that zealous and vocal for the kingdom of God out in public or wherever you find yourself working.  Listen to what he goes on and says here.  I want you to love one another, and then he contrasts it.  What an extreme contrast he makes here.  “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed…”  A house divided cannot stand.  “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” praise God.  Now, listen to our admonition as he goes on here.  Be careful that you’re not consumed by one another.  “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).  He goes down, and as he gets into the flesh.  He starts off with adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft.  Then he gets into some areas here that have to do with interpersonal relationships, and he talks about hatred.

We like to use kinder words than God.  Hatred.  Let’s remind ourselves, if we hate our brothers, we’re murderers, and God’s love is not prominent, dominant, in our lives.  We realize that strife, and we’ll get into a lot of those words that we don’t like to have to deal with and see in our own lives, like talebearers and busybodies and gossips.  We like to call those other things like family, familiarity.  There’s nothing in the Bible that allows you to murder your relative.  “I just killed him because he was my cousin.  You know, we’re close.”  Where in the Scriptures are we given that kind of a concept that would let us think that the closer we are (to someone) it does away with something being malicious, hateful, gossip, slander?  Can you find that in the Scriptures anywhere?  It’s not there.  Go wear your concordance out, but you won’t come up with it.  Verse 10 of Chapter 3 in James, we’re very familiar with, says that, “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”  Who is wise among you?  Who is mature among you?  Who is a doer of the Word among you?  “…Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.  But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth” (James 3:13-14).