Sermon for July 12, 2020 21 Minutes
Notes
Transcript
Sermon for July 12, 2020 21 Minutes
Sermon for July 12, 2020 21 Minutes
Good morning everyone,,, watching by video.
As most of you know by now,,, Bishop Swanson has requested that we refrain from worshipping together at this time to hopefully help to slow down the rate of infection we have from the coronavirus.
We haven't made a decision as far as how long this will last but we will do our best to keep everyone notified either way.
Shutting down this time hurts worse than the first time,,, but I know that God will bring good out of this somehow someway,,, we just need to trust Him and do what we are supposed to do,,, no matter where we are during this time!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Before I begin with my sermon,,, I wanted to begin this morning with an opening prayer and lead into the Lord's prayer like we usually begin our worship service. That way if you like,,, you can join me in saying the Lord's prayer.
Invocation and Lord's prayer
Dear Lord, I thank you for your continued presence among us today and every day. I thank you for those that are listening and watching by video. I ask for continued guidance for them and others. So we ask for healing for all of those that are sick this morning,,, we ask for safety and guidance for our healthcare workers and all others that must work during this time. Lord,,, I pray for all of those that are still working on clearing storm damage and helping others. We ask for comfort and rest for each of them. We also ask for comfort and healing for all that are struggling with the many different events that are troubling our country. We ask for healing from all these events for our great nation,,, and
We ask these things in Jesus's name who taught us to pray, by saying:
Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever.
Amen.
-----------------------------------------------------------
This morning I'll be reading Romans chapter 8 verses 1 through 11.
I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Romans 8:1–11
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 8:1–11
8 Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, 4 in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. 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.
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 the problem that Paul had with doing things that he didn't want to do,,, and not doing the things that he knew that he should do.
We saw that the Holy Spirit was the key to living the way that we should live as Christians today because we don't have the power to accomplish this on our own.
This morning we continue to study the words from Paul that will help us to see that if we have accepted Christ as our Savior we don't need to fear punishment for our sins and why.
My Bible Knowledge Commentary asks the question,,, "Must a believer spend his whole life on earth frustrated by ongoing defeats to indwelling sin?" which we looked at last week in verses 21–25 of chapter 7.
So we know from last week that the answer is no,,, but then it asks the question,,, "Is there no power provided to achieve victory?"
And as we will see,,, the answer is,,, yes.
In the verses,,, which we will look at this morning,,, Paul shows us how the Holy Spirit living inside us is what gives us the power to live a holy life like God intends for us to live,,, and he explains how it is the secret for spiritual victory in our daily living.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verses 1 and 2 say: 1 Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Paul reminded his readers that therefore—(since deliverance is “through Jesus Christ our Lord”,,, which you should remember from last Sunday in chapter 7:25),,, there is no condemnation,,, or,,, “punishment” that awaits those who are in Christ Jesus, as a result of their faith and identification with Him.
They are justified,,, declared righteous,,, and therefore stand in His grace,,, found in Romans 5:2,,, and not under His wrath,,, found in Romans 1:18,,, and possess eternal life,,, found in Romans 5:17–18, 21.
In verse 2 where it says the Spirit’s law of life,,, this refers to the authority of the Holy Spirit,,, who gives life and empowers believers to do what is right.
This doesn't mean that we will always do the right thing,,, but it does mean that the power is there,,, and to take advantage of that power,,, we must listen as it tries to guide us daily!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verses 3 and 4 say: 3 What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, 4 in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The law could not help a person overcome sin or escape the penalty for sin.
The law could only make you aware that you weren't living correctly,,, it never showed you how to live any different.
But God did show us,,, through His Son,,, Jesus Christ!
Paul wrote,,, that in the likeness of sinful flesh Jesus became human and experienced the weakness and vulnerability of human nature to sin, yet He did not sin.
He condemned sin Through Christ’s sacrificial death, God carried out His judgment upon sin, thereby breaking its power to control,,, some examples of this is found in Galatians 1:4 and 1 Peter 3:18.
Jesus’ humanity was an essential part of God’s plan to fulfill the law and break the power of sin.
Paul's words in verse 4 would be fulfilled through the death of Christ,,, because of this,,, believers receive righteousness,,, through the Spirit,,, they are empowered to obey the essence of the law,,, which is to love (Rom 5:8; 13:8–10).
In the last part of verse 4,,, where it says: who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Paul is giving examples of two ways of living: The flesh leads people to oppose God, so they are unable to obey Him,,, and,,, the Spirit dwells within believers and empowers them to do God’s will.
And then verse 5 continues with that example,,,
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verse 5 says: 5 For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit.
Paul is saying that if we don't have Jesus as our Savior,,, then we think about things of the flesh,,, in other words,,, we only worry about selfish things,,, things that we want,,, we don't care or think about anything else.
But,,, if we have Jesus as our Savior,,, then we think about things of the Spirit,,, in other words,,, we are not selfish in our thoughts,,, words,,, or deeds because we keep our eyes and our minds on God,,, through the help of the Holy Spirit.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verses 6 through 8 say: 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.
For those of you watching by video this morning that might not have heard of prevenient grace I'll try to quickly explain.
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 say: 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 says: 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,,, "But the reminder that the body is still subject to death need cause no 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!
-----------------------------------------------------------
And this will be possible because of the Holy Spirit living inside of us,,, guiding us,,, keeping us on the right path,,, even if we make mistakes and come up short.
It requires us to pay attention and be alert to the guidance because,,, every time that I've made a mistake,,, I can look back and see that I wasn't paying attention like I should!
The power to live a holy life is within us,,, if we just keep our eyes on Christ.
A lot of times when that phrase comes to mind,,, I think of Peter,,, getting out of the boat,,, using God's power to walk on water,,, (What a glorious sight that must have been for the other disciples),,,
But of course we know that for whatever reason,,, Peter became distracted by the wind and began to sink,,, but he reached out to Jesus and said "Lord, save me!" and we know that Jesus did save him and got him back into the boat.
That illustration is what the Holy Spirit does for us today!
As long as we keep our eyes upon Jesus,,, we can do mighty things!
But thanks to God's marvelous mercy and grace,,, we rest easy knowing that,,, like Peter showed us,,, if we take our eyes off Jesus as we get distracted,,, all we must do is cry out to Jesus and He will save us,,, every time!
(15:55)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Let us pray:
Dear Heavenly Father,,, we always begin by thanking you for everything that you do for us. We thank you for sending your Son to die on a cross for our sins and the opportunity to have the Holy Spirit helping us today. Help us to be aware of it's guiding voice as we go about our week. Help us to remember that we can accomplish great things if we do pay attention like we should. We ask now that you continue to watch over us,,, guide us,,, and lead us,,, in Jesus' holy name we pray,,, Amen!
-----------------------------------------------------------