3-26-23 Sermon "Flesh or Spirit" 16 Minutes

Romans 8:6-11

This morning I'll be reading Romans chapter 8 verses 6 through 11. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Romans 8:6-11 This chapter was written to help us see that we don't need to fear punishment if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. Romans 8:6–11 (HCSB) — 6 For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Ephesians 5:8-14 and we seen that we,,, as Christians,,, as the church,,, should,,, "Walk As Children of Light".

And we learned that these verses deal with church discipline.

Believers are to walk in the light,,, and by doing so,,, we expose other believers of any works that are unfruitful,,, so that they too,,, may walk in the light and please God through their obedience.

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But we also looked at what we need to do about those that are not believers?

They must be confronted as well.

Again,,, it is very important to do so in a loving Christ-like manner.

First,,, we must recognize that they are where we were before we realized that we needed Jesus Christ,,, sinners that God loved enough to die for!

Every lost person deserves to know they are lost and how they can receive the mercy of God.

Second, we should look for every opportunity to tell our own reason why we have hope in Christ (see 1 Peter 3:15)

We tell them our stories,,, our witness,,, tell them the things that God has done for us,,, explain why God is important to us!

Third, we must show the Gospel for what it is.

The good news of Jesus saves us from eternal torment.

It makes us new people in Christ.

It produces love,,, joy,,, and peace,,, within us.

Every person apart from Christ needs to understand what it is that Jesus gives us right now.

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We do what we can to turn their life around,,, but we have also been warned to do it without jeopardizing our own life.

Paul wants us to tell others about Jesus,,, without sacrificing ourselves along the way.

We must be the light of Christ,,, and let His light draw them in!

To do that,,, we “Walk As Children of Light” so that everyone walking in darkness,,, can see the true way to go!

That’s our job as the church of Jesus Christ,,, living a life each and every day,,, that makes those around us to want what we experience,,, want what we have,,, so that all can enjoy the life of abundance that Jesus promised in John 10:10 that said,,, “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

God wants that for all.

We need to remember to show them,,, that’s our job as “followers of Jesus,,, to show them the benefits and blessings we’ve received,,, and that they are available to them.

So many times we aren’t the loving people that God intends for us to be,,, and that needs to change!

But we still remember these verses,,, we remember to “Walk As Children of Light”,,, while being sure that we stay on the pathway that Jesus intends for us to go,,, loving all,,, as we continue,,, being the church,,, that God calls us,,, to be!

This morning we will look at these verses in Romans and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 6 through 8 said: 6 For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Paul teaches that to have our minds focused on the flesh will be the same as death,,, but in contrast,,, if our minds are on the Spirit then there will be life and peace.

If we have our minds attuned to the world,,, then we won't submit to God's will because we will never hear or listen until we change.

And we cannot change unless we listen to the Holy Spirit as it tries to get our attention through what Wesley called prevenient grace.

John Wesley said that prevenient grace is the Spirit nudging and guiding us into a relationship with God even before we realize that God is doing anything for us.

It's those types of little things that will help us to see that we need more than this world can give us and make us search for more,,, even when we don't realize why.

We don't do anything to earn this,,, but we do have to make the choice to accept the gentle nudges that we feel.

We can ignore them,,, and many times we do for awhile,,, until either we accept,,, or our time is up and then there is no hope at that time!

___________________________________ Verses 9 and 10 said: 9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Paul changes his direction here from comparing flesh and Spirit to speaking to those of us that have chosen the Spirit.

He says that we aren't a part of the world anymore since the Spirit of God lives inside us now.

Also notice that Paul has changed from saying the Spirit of God to the Spirit of Christ.

He does that according to my Faithlife Study Bible to identify Jesus with the Spirit of God.

It says that Paul is trying to help us see that the Holy Spirit is the Helper that Jesus promised the disciples and because of that,,, it's available to us today!

And if Christ is in us,,, then we don't have to worry about mistakes we might make along the way,,, as long as we pay attention and let Him guide us back onto the correct path!

Then Paul wrote about an even better promise in verse 11.

___________________________________ Verse 11 said: 11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.

My Believer's Bible Commentary says,,, "That the reminder that the body is still subject to death should not cause any type of alarm or despair."

"The fact that the Holy Spirit indwells our bodies is a guarantee that,,, just as He raised Christ from the dead,,, so He will give life to our mortal bodies."

"This will be the final act of our redemption - when our bodies are glorified like the Savior's body,,, of glory."

What a wonderful day that will be!

___________________________________ So we can see from these verses that Paul is teaching them that they don’t need to fear death any more,,, as long as they have accepted Christ as their personal Savior,,, and they are living by the “Spirit” instead of the “Flesh”!

If you read the previous verses,,, you will see that Paul has been explaining about sin in his life,,, doing things that he doesn’t want to do,,, things that he knows are wrong,,, but yet,,, he does them anyway.

But,,, he knows,,, that with the Holy Spirits help,,, he has the ability to live a life that is pleasing to God,,, if he will live by the “spirit” like he should.

We have that available to us as well.

We make sure that we are on the right side of that constant struggle that we experience as Christians,,, the struggle we have with our “Flesh”,,, or living by the worlds standards,,, rather than living by the “Spirit”,,, God’s standard,,, which is where we want to be!

___________________________________ If we pay attention to the Holy Spirit the way that we should,,, He will lead us in the right way to live!

Our problem is that we just don’t listen to the Holy Spirit like we should all of the time.

That’s what happens when we slip up,,, make a mistake,,, go the wrong way,,, etc....,,, we weren’t listening like we should.

But God will also use the Holy Spirit to get us back on track,,, back on the path that God wants us to stay on,,, again,,, we must pay attention,,, but He will do that for us!

So my challenge for all of us as we prepare for Palm Sunday next Sunday,,, and Easter Sunday the next week after that,,, is to be sure that we decide for ourselves,,, whether we will live by “Flesh or Spirit”,,, because living by the “Spirit” will be a key component to our living a life that is pleasing to God.

And as Christians,,, living as Children of the Light,,, going into the Easter celebrations,,, we must be prepared,,, to follow the Holy Spirit,,, as we live our life,,, the way that God intends,,, for us to live,,, so that others can see the light of God shining out from us,,, as it brings them to God,,, or makes them aware of God’s love being available to them!

And that begins by making the choice,,, “Flesh,,, or,,, Spirit”,,, and we choose “Spirit” because we want to live in happiness and contentment today while we are here on earth,,, knowing that we are living a life pleasing to God,,, and also knowing,,, we will live in eternity with God forever,,, because of our choices,,, today!

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