Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life - How to Change

Episode Date: July 26, 2024

Through faith in Christ, through the gospel, through the Holy Spirit, you can experience lasting, deep, radical, permanent change. If you’re going to make such changes, you need to understand the nature of Christian change. You have to understand the nature of it, the pattern of it, and the process of it. Galatians 5 shows us that Christian change is 1) gradual, 2) inevitable, 3) internal, and 4) symmetrical. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 19, 1998. Series: Galatians: New Freedom, New Family. Scripture: Galatians 5:16-18,22-25. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Are you seeking to change something in your life but find yourself falling into the same habits? Is there any hope for lasting change? This month, Tim Keller is preaching through the book of Galatians, which is all about how Christians can experience true transformation in Christ and how our issues are not solved by our good works, but by allowing the gospel to transform every area of our lives. After you listen, we invite you to go online to GospelInLife.com and sign up for our email updates. When you sign up, you'll receive our Life in the Gospel quarterly journal

with articles that feature how the gospel is changing hearts, lives, and communities, as well as highlighting other gospel-centered resources. Subscribe today at GospelandLife.com. I'm gonna read from passage chapter 5, 16 to 18, and then 23 to 25. See that? It's a passage we began looking at last week. We're going to complete this week. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the spirit

you are not under law. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. This is God's word. Now this is a great passage on change.

How to, through faith in Christ, through the gospel, through the Holy Spirit, experience lasting, deep, radical, permanent change. And I really don't think there's any other place except Ephesians four and five that's parallel to this. What I wanna do tonight is show that if you're going to make these changes, you have to understand the nature of Christian change.

You have to understand the pattern of it, which we did look at somewhat last week, but I'll complete that. And we have to understand the process of it. We have to understand the nature of it, the pattern of it, the process of it. Now, if you wanna understand the nature of it, which you have to in order to experience it,

there's many, many things about the nature of Christian change implied in the phrase. It's a very simple phrase, very, very familiar. The fruit of the spirit. And there's four things that are implied that tell us something about the nature of Christian change. Four things. That Christian change is gradual,

inevitable, internal, and symmetrical. Gradual, inevitable, internal, and symmetrical. Let's go. First of all, these first two have to come together, otherwise you'll be in despair. So let's keep them together. First of all, the word fruit, why does Paul suddenly use the word fruit?

Why didn't he say the traits or the characteristics? He uses the word fruit because he's deliberately, as he often does, and as the New Testament writers often do, he's deliberately evoking a metaphor of botanical growth. First Peter one, it says, you were born by the imperishable seed of the word of God. Psalm one talks about the fact that we are godly like trees that grow up near the water and so forth.

So there's a lot of emphasis on on botanical growth and the reason for that is to tell us at least one thing and that is Christian change is as gradual as a turnip growing or a potato growing or a flower growing, it's gradual. Now, botanical growth, you can never really see happen. You can know it's happening. You look at it, you know, well actually any kind of growth, not just botanical growth, when you look at a young boy or a girl, you say, I think you've grown.

Now, why would you say I think you've grown? Because you can't see them grow. Growth is always so small, you say, I think you've grown. Now, why would you say I think you've grown? Because you can't see them grow. Growth is always so small, so gradual, you can't see it. It can never be seen, it can only be measured. Growth is always very, very slow, and therefore it's very mysterious. Now, what does that mean practically? Why would Paul talk about love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness as fruit? Well, simply this. First of all, New Yorkers, if this is gradual, it means you need to be patient. New Yorkers, you need to be patient. You don't see dramatic change. You don't see it overnight. Now, I shouldn't say that exactly

because I think we all do know that there are seasons in fruit trees where it comes very quickly. On the other hand, there's other seasons in which one season is fruit trees have to go through winter time. It's part of the cycle. And they are growing through winter time.

And because they're growing, all during the year, they get bigger and bigger and they bear more and more fruit. But during the winter time, you see nothing at all. And then there's other times in when you see a great deal. And what that means, of course, is that growth in these graces, growth in love and joy and peace and character, is very, very gradual.

And it's very, very mysterious. And sometimes it's seasonal, and sometimes it's even more invisible. It's never so fast that you can really see it. And what that means, of course, is, I'm usually fairly careful. This time of year, we usually have testimonies, and the testimonies are high points.

We do it at Easter, we often have testimonies. One of the things that's hard, because usually Kathy and I hear these testimonies beforehand, we kind of try to edit them and so on, we're always a little afraid, because if somebody says, I want to share a testimony of a condition that I had and it's gone through the grace of God.

And even though that may be the case, you have to realize for every one person who finds that they're going through a season of growth where the fruit is coming in very quickly, there's 10 people who are going through a season of growth in which that condition is going away very, very gradually. And therefore we have to be patient. And we have to recognize the fact that growth, you see,

by definition growth is never something you ever feel, in spite of what they call growing pains, not the growing pains, you never feel growth. You can only measure it. It can be tested. So for example, a 16 year old boy can run, probably, last year at the very same time, he can probably run 100 yards faster than he did last year.

Why? Well, he's an inch taller and his musculature is more developed and all that. But he doesn't feel faster. If you sit the kid down and say, hi 16 year old boy, it's March 1st. Do you feel faster than you did on March 1st last year? And the kid will say no, you don't feel faster,

but you are faster. You're only faster when it's tested. And that's another thing that's so mysterious about growth. You may be growing, but you can never really tell until sometimes a trouble comes or a difficulty comes or something shows up. And suddenly you realize, my, couple years ago I never could have done that.

You see, I never would have been this patient. But when you're just sitting here, do I say, do you feel patient? You know, I never could have had that kind of self control. When you're just sitting here, do you feel self controlled? Just like you don't feel fast. Growth is mysterious, growth is gradual.

You need to be patient, you need to realize it's often invisible, it's often missed. But, on the other hand, this is not just fruit. This is fruit of the spirit. What is the seed that is producing the fruit? Christian change is gradual, it's mysterious, it's seasonal, it's slow, it's almost invisible. In other words, you have to be very careful not to be impatient, but on the other hand, here's the hard side of this. Christian growth is inevitable. If you have the Spirit of God in you, there will

be change. You will worry less, you will God in you, there will be change. You will worry less. You will become more patient. You will become a more loving person. You will become wiser. You will be able to face your troubles. You must. G. Campbell Morgan, G. Campbell Morgan

is a British minister and he told a story that's probably my favorite example of gradual growth and the power of growth. He said he was in, and he told a story that's probably my favorite example of gradual growth and the power of growth. He said he was in Italy and he saw, he was in a graveyard and he saw that there was a huge marble slab over some man's grave, but an acorn had gotten into the grave,

you know, about 600 years ago. And out of that acorn came a shoot, out of the shoot came a tree, and out of that acorn had come a tree that had grown up so big and so tall it had split the marble slab in half. Now, common sense will tell you, here's an acorn, here's a slab, who wins? A thousand pounds down on the acorn, who wins?

It's a no-brainer, right? No contest, that's right, no contest. The acorn, who wins? It's a no-brainer, right? No contest. That's right, no contest. The acorn always will win. And if botanical growth has that kind of power in its gradualness, if botanical growth has that kind of power, what kind of power will the Spirit of God have? Because this is not just fruit, this is fruit of the Spirit. And if the Spirit of God is in your life, you will change. And if you are not,

we have said over and over and over again, you are not saved by fruit. You're not saved by love, joy, peace, patience, and you're not saved by fruit, you're saved by faith, but you will never be saved by fruitless faith. You're saved by faith, not fruit, but you're never saved by fruitless faith. You're saved by faith, not fruit, but you're never saved by fruitless faith.

Real faith that brings in the Spirit of God will inevitably lead to growth, and we have to ask ourselves some hard questions. In fact, no, no, don't ask yourself. You'll never, no, ask your friends. Go to people who've known you. Some of you have been Christians a long time. And think about this.

Some of you are Christians a long time. You still can't keep secrets, so nobody gives any to you. You're undiplomatic and abrasive in some cases, and therefore you really don't have a whole lot of friends. Think about it. Over the years, there have been these quirks in you you you have a secret Secret sin that you do in the dark you haven't been able to overcome it You're not a very loving person or you're a very very you tend to be extremely resentful or you're always getting your feelings hurt

That's why you go from group to group or from town to town or from job to job Maybe from church to church. You're always having your feelings hurt, always feeling snubbed, always feeling like nobody likes me. This is a lack of love, a lack of joy, a lack of peace, a lack of patience, a lack of kindness, a lack of goodness, a lack of faithfulness, a lack of gentleness, and a lack of self-control. Now, I'm not saying you're not a Christian,

I'm saying you cannot know you're a Christian if you're not changing. I'm not saying, remember, remember, gradual, inevitable, keep them together. You cannot know you're a Christian if you're not changing. I'm not saying, remember, remember, gradual, inevitable, keep them together. You could be a long time under that slab. The acorn may be there a long time. I'm not saying that if you're not growing, nevermind, you can't be a Christian.

I'm saying if you're not growing, don't you dare. If you're not growing, if you're just sort of giving up on yourself, if you say, hey, I've got habits, but you can't teach an old dog new tricks and you're not like growing if you're just sort of giving up on yourself if you say I've got habits But you can't teach an old dog new tricks and you're 18 You know if you if you're doing this shame on you Shame on you This is the spirit

The spirit if it's there will definitely grow So great so change is gradual. Change is inevitable. Keep going. Change is internal. Now, here's what I mean. What is the fruit of the spirit? What is the fruit of the spirit? Leading, counseling, managing, editing, dancing, singing. These fruits, is this fruit of the spirit? Intelligence, IQ, is that fruit of the spirit? Charisma, is that fruit of the spirit? Do you know what's going on here?

There is a difference between mechanical growth and organic growth. There's a difference between mechanical growth and organic growth. There's a difference between external mechanical growth and a difference between internal organic growth. If you keep throwing bricks on a pile, the pile is growing. That's not organic growth. The pile is growing, yes, but it's simply in quantity. It's not becoming more complex, it's not becoming more vital, it's not the way a child grows, or the way fruit grows, see? It's not internal, it's not alive, it's mechanical.

Martin Luther, John Wesley, two classic examples of men who were very religious for several years before they really understood the gospel, before they really, really got converted, before they really received the spirit of God indwelling in their heart, before they really understood the gospel, before they really, really got converted, before they really received the spirit of God indwelling in their heart, before they were born again. But they were very religious. But look carefully.

They did good things, and they wrote books, they wrote commentaries, and they taught the Bible. And they gave alms to the poor. So they fed the hungry, and they clothed the naked. So they fed the hungry and they clothed the naked. And they shared the faith and they instructed the wayward. And they did all these good deeds. They were growing their record, they were growing their resume,

but they weren't growing themselves. And in 1 Corinthians 13, there's that very frightening passage which many people read at weddings, and they read at funerals, and they do calligraphies, and they're up on, not in New York, of course, nobody has calligraphy, doesn't, anyway, but they have them on their walls, and all that sort of thing, and it's a frightening place,

because that's the place where Paul says, you can teach, you may speak with tongues of men or angels, you may teach, you may know all mysteries, you may give your body to be burned, you may give your money away. He's talking about mechanical growth. He's talking about doing good and feeding the poor and evangelizing and leading and activities and business

and busyness and religious activity. And he said, you can do all that and have nothing. If you don't have love, patience, remember? He says, love is patient, love is kind, love is courteous. He looks at the Corinthians and he says, you've got all this mechanical growth, but you're harsh, you're rude, you're discourteous, and you don't have self-control.

What's he saying? Again, he's not saying you're not a Christian, but he's saying it's possible, it is possible, out of a desire to prove yourself and out of a desire to feel superior to other people, to get very active in the church and to have the spirit use your talents to change the lives of people around you

and then you say, ah, I'm growing. Listen, you know what 1 Corinthians 13 is saying? Do you know what Galatians 5 is saying? Do you know what Matthew 7 is saying? When Jesus says on that last day there will be people who come up to me and say, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, do miracles in your name, cast out demons in your name,

through the power of the Spirit? And Jesus says, yes, but I never knew you. You know what it's saying? If people's lives are being changed through you, but your life isn't being changed, fly to him immediately. A lot of you are looking at how people are being helped by you.

You're counseling them and you're loving them, or maybe if you're leading a Bible study, you're doing all these things, mechanical growth, and you say, see, people's lives are being changed through me. That's not here as a fruit of the spirit. That's a fruit of their spirit. But that's's not if people's lives are being changed by you, but your life isn't being changed. You don't even know you're Christian. I'm not saying you're not. But real Christian change is internal. It has to be happening.

Okay, and fourthly, it's the fruit. It's's gotta be internal, it's fruit, it's organic growth. So fruit of the spirit means it's gradual, it's inevitable, it's organic and internal. Lastly, we're told here Christian change is symmetrical. Now this is a bit of a mind blower, so stay with me. For centuries commentators have noticed that Paul does something very stranger and he says the fruit, singular word, carpos,

the fruit of the spirit is, and then he gives you a list. So the subject is singular, right? And the predicate is plural. And so, you know, your English teacher says, Paul? No, Paul did this on purpose why? And the answer is Paul is trying to show something incredibly important about real Christian change and that is All of these things are one

How can we best understand the freedom we have in Christ What is the relationship between the law of the Bible and the grace that Jesus offers? In the book Galatians for You, Tim Keller takes you through a rich and deep study of Paul's letter as he reflects on the amazing grace we have in Christ. Galatians is a powerful book that shows how people can think they know the gospel but are actually losing touch with it. In this study of the book of Galatians, Dr. Keller helps you understand how this short book in the New Testament can transform your life. Galatians for you is our thanks for your gift to help Gospel in Life share

the love of Christ with more people. Request your copy today at gospelinlife.com slash give. Now here's Dr. Keller with the remainder of today's teaching. Years ago, Jonathan Edwards wrote a book and in that book he made one of his chapters this thesis. He says, where is it? Oh, pardon me, he says there is a concatenation of the graces of Christianity. Now you know in modern editions the editors never put a concatenation of the graces of Christianity. Now, you know, in modern editions, the editors never put down concatenation. They just put down, they figure,

oh, that must be an archaic word. It's not, it's just a big word. And they say, ah, Jonathan Edwards says there's a connection between the graces of Christianity. No, no, if you read the thing, you'll see. This is what he says about the graces of Christianity. He says if you wanna know whether the character growth that's happening in your life, if you wanna know thing you'll see. This is what he says about the graces of Christianity. He says, if you want to know whether the character growth that's happening in your life, if you want to know

whether the love that's growing in your life is real spiritual love from the spirit, from the gospel. If you want to know it's real love, real joy, real peace, real patience, and not a counterfeit, not something artificial, not something temporary, not something patched up, therefore it's fragile and it will go away under certain circumstances. Or it's just natural and it's part of your psychology

or your temperament. If you wanna know whether these things are spiritual and from the spirit, you must see that they always are absolutely concatenated. Well, somebody says, what is concatenated? You have to break it down. He says three things. First of all, this means first of all

Okay, that all the graces of Christianity go together All the graces of Christianity go together for example Here's peace and here is humility If you are a very proud person But you seem to be at peace, what is peace? It's a lack of worry, a lack of anxiety. If you're a very proud person, but you're at peace all the time,

it's a counterfeit peace. Because real peace always goes with humility, they always go together. Well, you say, how could that be? Well, let me break it down here for you. The peace that's spiritual is a peace that comes from humility. You see, you know how to deal with worry is arrogance.

Worry is always in the Bible, a refusal to assume a humble's posture before God. In James chapter four, my favorite place almost on this, James chapter four verse 13 and 14, it says, listen you who say tomorrow we will go here and there and tomorrow we will do such and such, but you don't know and that, it says, listen you who say, tomorrow we will go here and there and tomorrow we will do such and such, but you don't know, and that's it. Anybody who worries thinks they know.

Anybody who's filled with anxiety, it's arrogance, because you're sure you know how things have to go. You're sure you know what you need. You're sure you know how history has to go. And the peace that is always there, always there, is a peace based on humility. Saying before God, God, you know what I need. You know what has to happen.

I don't know, I don't know. That's the reason I don't worry, because I don't know. I'm not sure. I put myself in your hands. I'm a child, you're my father. Real peace that will never pass away, the peace that passes all understanding,

the peace that's perfect, is always connected to humility. But if you're a proud person and you have peace, it's not real peace, it's peace based on the fact things are going well for you. And when you're a proud person and things are going well for you, you're actually misusing that peace

because what you're saying is the reason things are going well is I chose well. I'm saving, I got a good job, I got into a good school. I married a good person. In other words, your peace is a counterfeit peace. It is not a lasting peace. It will eventually fall apart. And this is in 1 John 4 verse 20, it says, He who says, I love God, but hates his brother is a liar. It does not say, he who says, I love God, but hates his brother is unbalanced.

It says he's a liar. That means if you don't have all the graces, you don't have any of the graces. Real peace is always connected to humility. And I can go on about that. You see, in other words, everything goes together. Some of you, for example, let me give you another example of this. Some of you, for example, let me give you another example

of this, some of you are very gentle, but you're not faithful. You know what faithfulness is? Loyalty and courage, courage. Some people are just temperamentally sweethearts. We know who you are, you know who you are, everybody loves you, if you weren't a Christian, you'd be a sweetheart.

It's your chemistry, it's your physiology, it's your Myers-Briggs-ness. You're sweet, okay? But you're a coward. See, natural sweetness, natural gentleness does not go with loyalty and faithfulness and courage and it very often doesn't go with integrity either. You're so filled with love, you don't want to hurt anybody,

which is completely selfish, it's a lack of love. See, real gentleness has't go with integrity either. You're so filled with love, you don't want to hurt anybody, which is completely selfish, it's a lack of love. See, real gentleness has to go with love and it has to go with faithfulness, it has to. If you're a coward and you're gentle, you're not really gentle. You see, if you're have peace and you're, but you're proud, you're not really, you don't really have peace.

Why? Because it's the fruit of the spirit, not the fruits of the spirit. So, Edward says, first of all, what this means is that there is a connection, they all come together. But he goes further than that. He goes a little further than that. He goes a little further and he says, secondly, they're interdependent. It's not just that they always come connected. They're very, very interdependent. So let me give you a quick example. A lot of people say they think they have self-control.

But you can't have real self-control. What really creates self-control is joy. See, the reason you get addicted to things is because you don't have any joy. Or I'll give you another thing. Very often, there's a counterfeit kind of self-control that comes not from humility and joy, but from pride. Can I tell you something that's been, now listen, women, this shouldn't be surprising to you,

especially since a lot of you do it to us. But I'll tell you how most of us little boys get such control. I mean, there's no doubt about it. The average guy doesn't cry as much as the average woman. Isn't that true? No, and I'll tell you how we got that kind of self-control. Because when we cried as little boys,

somebody came along and said, don't act like a girl. Now, that gets you self-control. But how does it work? By making you feel superior to girls. That's self-control without humility. That's self-control with arrogance. You can always get self-control through arrogance, but it won't last.

And it'll be a rigid kind of self-control, because sometimes you need to cry and we can't. I tell you, there's a concatenation of the graces. They all come together. Peace and joy promote integrity. What is integrity? Faith, see, you know where it says goodness there? The word goodness is really sincerity.

Peace and joy, integrity. Why? What is integrity? Integrity is a person who is the same every place you go. You're the same, sincerity is a person who's not one way with one crowd, another way with another crowd. Not one way on Monday, another way on Sunday.

Not one way in public, another way in private. You see that? A person of integrity is someone who's always the same. Not manipulative. Well, where does that come from? It has to come from utter joy and tremendous peace. All these things, I mean, I'm almost done here, so I don't have my time's up, but just think about this.

Some of you are great at meeting new people. You seem very joyous and bubbly, but you can't keep your friends because you're not faithful and patient. And what that means is you don't have real joy. Real joy that doesn't go along with the faithfulness and the patience is just extraversion. It's not real joy.

Some of us are extremely accepting. People will come to you and talk to you about their problems Some of us are extremely accepting. People will come to you and talk to you about their problems, because you are so accepting. You are so nonjudgmental, but the reason you're nonjudgmental, see, you're gentle. But the reason you're gentle is because you have no self-control in your own life. You're always falling down, you're always lapsing,

you're always breaking your own promises, and you're always breaking promises to others, and that's the reason why you're so tolerant and accepting. You've got no discipline of your own. That's why you're so open. In other words, your tolerance and your acceptance is not coming from humility and peace and joy, which is a way of dealing with your own conscience.

Some people are incredibly unflappable. They seem to have peace, but they're not gentle and they're not kind. Why, where do they get their peace from? They don't care. They don't care, and that's not real peace. These things will all break down.

Or here's another one. Some people are very naive, other people incredibly cynical. And you know what that is? That's a lack of symmetry. Because both of those are lack of humility. When you meet a person who's always getting taken and always saying, how did that happen?

Why would anybody do that? You know, there's no cynicism at all. Well, how could that have happened to me? Here's a person without humility. You don't know about how sinful human beings are. But when you reach somebody who's incredibly cynical, and there's plenty of those folks in New York, in fact, they all write op-ed pieces for the New York Times

from what I can tell. Incredibly cynical. Everybody's out to get you. Everybody's out to rookie. Everybody's out to do this and that. Everybody's, that is just as much a lack of humility. If you are that cynical, it means you think everybody else, but me of course, it's incredibly self-righteous

to be naive, it's incredibly self-righteous to be, to be cynical, the gentleness and the self-control and the peace and the kindness and the courage, they all always go together. Look at yourself. kindness and the courage, they all always go together. Look at yourself. Now, you know what? Time's up, we have to do the Lord's Supper. And I didn't get to all the rest of this stuff.

Actually, if you were here last week, I gave you some ideas about how all this develops. It develops because, look at here, I can just go over it again. It says, how do you deal with it? How do you really create love, joy, peace, patience? I've tried to give you tonight a catalog. I want you, when we go to the Lord's Supper,

to look at your heart and to say, are these things growing in my life? If they are growing in your life, celebrate. If they're not growing in your life, then realize that here I am sitting down and I am willing to live at this low level when I have absolutely no excuse to do so. Now how are you gonna develop those things? Here it is.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified, and we talked about this last week, the sinful nature with its over desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is contrary to the sinful nature. Now, I'll just summarize that.

There's always, always two things if you want to grow in grace. You'll see this in Romans 8, you'll see this in Colossians 3, you'll see it in Hebrews 12, you'll see it right here. Every place there's always two. Crucify what? The sinful nature, does that mean just stop? No, no, no, we said last week that your main problems in life

are the things that you want too much. It says, crucify the sinful nature with its overdesires. Find those things which are too important to you, more important to you than Jesus Christ that are running your life and creating the fruit, that creating the works of the flesh. And on the other hand, it says, keep in step with the spirit. What does keep in step with the spirit mean?

It says the spirit, we said last week, yearns. See, look up here at verse, don't forget this, verse 17. The sinful nature desires, and that's a word for over desire, lusts, for what is contrary to the spirit, but the spirit lusts too, it says. What does the spirit lust for? The spirit's in love with Jesus.

The spirit's got Jesus pinned up all over his room. The spirit looks at Jesus, I know I'm getting close, but this is the kind of language of the Bible. We are the bride. He is the bridegroom. And the Spirit is the best man. The Spirit is also the maid of honor. The Spirit is the person who's brought us together, and the Spirit's always saying,

look how beautiful he is. The Spirit is always looking and seeing the beauty of Jesus Christ and saying, the whole reason you don't have self-control, the whole reason you don't have love, the whole reason you're worried, you don't see how beautiful Christ is. You just don't see it.

And therefore, when it comes right down to it, this is the reason, by the way, why it does not say in Galatians five, the fruit of the spirit are this, and the weeds of the flesh are this. It doesn't say fruit and weeds, it says what? Fruit and works. Why would God, why would Paul deliberately

mix his metaphors? Because the works of the flesh are something that you do, but the fruit of the spirit is only something that you can open yourself to. Just like a gardener, gardener doesn't make the things grow, the gardener just creates the conditions through which the power of the seed is released. You cannot make yourself loving and joyful and peaceful.

You can't just say, I'm going to, I'm going to, no, uh-uh. You have to crucify. It means you have to look at the things that you lust after too much and you have to learn to lust for Jesus. That's, you can go home and say, what did the pastor say tonight was the secret to Christian growth? Lust for Jesus.

But, you know, am I just being risqué? Am I just being devil make here? Am I being kind of avant garde? I'm being Galatians 5 17. It says the spirit and the flesh are both lusting. Listen to the spirit. Pant after that which the spirit pants after. The whole point, what do you think the point

of the Lord's Supper is? To make Jesus real. You get something in your hand. You get something to feel. Hmm? You get something to drink. You get something to drink. It's a way of saying, oh Lord, be real to me. It's my whole problem. It's my whole problem.

I don't need new circumstances. We talked about this this morning. I don't need new circumstances. I don't need new information. I need the truth about Jesus Christ to be so real to me that my desires for these good things become manageable and as a result all the fruit begins to grow. Let's pray. Our Father as we go to the Lord's table that's all we ask for. We ask as Jesus says do these things in remembrance of

me and what are we asking for? We're asking to remember. Help us by your Holy Spirit, to see what he did for us. How will we love other people? Not selfishly, but just for who they are, unless we sense the reality of Jesus Christ dying for us, just for who we are, just because he loves us. How will we get joy, unless we see the beauty of what he's done? How will we get joy unless we see the beauty of what he's done? How will we get peace unless we realize

if we can't trust him, who in the world can we trust? How will we get patience unless we see him up there on the cross saying, Father, forgive them? How will we get kindness till we see him pouring himself out? How will we get integrity until we see we don't need anybody's approval but his? How will we get faithfulness till we see how he has never let us down? How we get humbleness and gentleness till we say, oh my oh lord if you were meek and lowly of heart, who in the world am I?

How we get self-control till we see we've already got the thing that will ravish our hearts the most. So help us, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for listening to today's teaching. We trust you were encouraged by it and that it gives you new insight into how you can apply God's Word to your life. You can find more resources from Tim Keller by subscribing to our quarterly journal at GospelInLife.com. When you subscribe, you'll receive free articles, sermons, devotionals, and other valuable resources.

We also invite you to stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Today's sermon was recorded in 1998. The sermons and talks you hear on the Gospel in Life podcast were preached from 1989 to 2017 while Dr. Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.