Validating a Christ-Follower

This morning’s devotion is kind of a wakeup call.  It’s a reality check.  It’s all about living up to name Christ-follower.  I know most of you have heard of “the Fruits of the Spirit” right? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another“ Galatians 5:22-23 NKJ.  Are we living out the things that are defined in the Bible as “those who are Christ’s’?”  If you read Galatians 5:19, it explains the opposite of someone who is a Christ-follower: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,^[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders,^[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”  Woh! That’s some intense stuff.   But some of those words are still kind of foreign to us.  We still think, “oh well, I don’t murder or fornicate or commit adultery.”  But!  Remember when Jesus said in Matthew 5:21 that even if you become angry with anyone you have already committed murder in your heart.  And it goes hand in hand with adultery.  Girls, if you have ever looked at Tom Welling or even Channing Tatum (yes ladies he is married!) and said “wow I wish I could be with him!” You have already committed adultery in your heart!!!  WOW! How the heck are we supposed to show the Fruits of the Spirit anyhow?  I mean, our culture is screaming at us and throwing all of the “works of the flesh” at us from all directions!  How is it possible?  Let me tell you how...  Don’t watch those movies!  There I said it. What? No way!  I can’t NOT watch movies with hot married stars in it, Sarah!  Well at least right now you shouldn’t.  If you can’t get through a movie thinking about how gorgeous that celebrity is, then you probably shouldn’t watch that movie anyways because you are setting yourself up for failure.  The devotional today wasn’t on living up to a specific standard.  It was actually about how we act that shows others around us (yes, even non-believers) what a true Christ-follower is.  It was on 2 Corinthians 6:3-13.  In these verses, Paul is telling the Corinthians that he has been careful not to let anything come into his life that would cause it a stumbling block for them.  He goes on to explain: “But in everything and in every way we show that we truly are God’s servants. We have always been patient, though we have had a lot of trouble, suffering, and hard times. ⁵ We have been beaten, put in jail, and hurt in riots. We have worked hard and have gone without sleep or food. ⁶ But we have kept ourselves pure and have been understanding, patient, and kind. The Holy Spirit has been with us, and our love has been real. ⁷ We have spoken the truth, and God’s power has worked in us. In all our struggles we have said and done only what is right.”  Now, if that doesn’t sound like the “Fruits of the Spirit” then I don’t know what is.  You see, it isn’t about a set of rules and following these guidelines because we have to or because we are supposed to live up to that standard.  No!  It’s because if I am telling you that lusting after someone is wrong, and I go and watch a chick flick and I lust after a relationship like the one in the movie, then my accreditation is all gone because I have committed lust in my heart.  Does that make sense?  I know it’s hard, people, but we have to think about the things we are doing.  Are we validating the Fruits of the Spirit in our own lives or are we living out Works of the Flesh?