The Day I Died – Week 4

 

Take a deep breath and get ready for far reaching study on the heart!

 

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

 

What is the antidote for the verse above? How can a Christian avoid being deceived by their heart? (Hint: think New Testament)

 

***For Leaders – Answers will vary. Then read to Gal 5:16-17 with the Group.

 

Gal 5:16-17 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

 

First question on your way to the antidote for deception of the heart. Why is it possible in the first place for us to “walk in the Spirit”(v.16)?

 

***For Leaders – John 3:6 is the answer. It is impossible to “walk in the Spirit” unless you have been “born in the Spirit”. As New Testament Christians, we have experienced something that those who lived before Christ have not and that is being born again or being born of the spirit.

 

Second question on the way to the antidote. What is your flesh that is described in Galatians above (v.17)? And why does it war against our new spirit?

 

***For Leaders – In summary, your flesh is a remnant of something that has already died. When you are born again or born in the spirit, your old man dies only one time! Then you have a new person born in you! Our flesh is the leftovers from our old man that we have to keep suppressed through the word, prayer and walking the Spirit so it does not influence us. Our flesh will ultimately die when we physically die. There will be no more strings attached to our flesh when we go to be with Jesus!

 

Third question on the way to the antidote of knowing whether your heart is deceiving you. 1) How do I know if I am being influenced by my flesh? 2) How much are emotions involved in the “fruits of the flesh” below?

 

***For Leaders – Gather answers and then read the text below.

 

Gal 5:19-20 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

 

***For Leaders – The key word above is “obvious”. The Greek word there is phaneros which means to shine, publicly apparent. “What’s going on in my heart?” is the questions to ask yourself. The works of the flesh are obvious and will shine brightly when we honestly examine our hearts.

 

How much are my emotions involved in the “fruits of the Spirit” below? (Don’t over think it!)

 

Gal 5:22-23b But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…

 

***For Leaders – This is where we land the plane! Look at the first three fruits of love, joy and peace. Those are all emotionally based conditions. Is love only emotion? No, of course not. We act lovingly even when we don’t feel it, but that is not where love regularly resides! Love is emotional. So we land on the fact that the Bible shows us that there are flesh born emotions and Spirit born emotions. We can examine our hearts and ask ourselves with confidence, “Are these flesh born emotions that I am experiencing or are they Spirit born emotions?” Flesh born emotions are obvious…they will shine. So will Spirit born emotions…they will shine.

 

Jesus was fully human so he did all of his miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. Can you think of moments when “Spirit born” emotions caused him to do something?

***For Leaders – Examples of Spirit born emotions below!

Matt 9:36 – When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matt 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

 

In summary for the study, Gal 5:17 warns us not to do “whatever we want” because our flesh born emotions can take us down the wrong road. However, Spirit born emotions can take us down the right road by having compassion on a rival, loving the person that nobody can stand and perfect love literally casting fear out of our lives! (1 John 4:18)