1 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:12,600 Hi and welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:15,840 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,200 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:23,440 encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,160 We continue our series titled All Roads Lead to Rome, which is 6 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,960 a study in the book of Romans. As we study this letter written 7 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,160 to the Jewish and Gentile believers in the city of Rome, 8 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:39,520 we ask that you put yourself in their shoes, for our context is 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:43,200 not that different after all. Our hope is that through this 10 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,280 series, you would experience the fullness of knowing who God is, 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,880 what He did for you through Jesus, and how you can live a 12 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,320 life that honors Him and blesses others. 13 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:56,600 Hi Church. What a joy it is to bring gods. 14 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:58,400 What do you? We're looking at the book of 15 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,000 Romans and today we're looking at Romans 7 to 8. 16 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:07,800 And today's passages are a bit long winded, repetitive. 17 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,520 And so I just titled it something easier for us to look 18 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:12,960 at it titled it the good, the Bad and the beautiful. 19 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:15,920 I don't know if you watched the old Western, which was the good, 20 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:17,880 bad and the ugly, but today we're going to be looking at the 21 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,520 good, bad and the beautiful. Just this past week, I had an 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:24,760 experience of how I had to put what I'm going to preach today 23 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,840 into practice. So I have a couple of things in 24 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:31,520 the house which, you know, I curate and create just, you 25 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:33,120 know, it's like a lot of DIY stuff. 26 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,640 And then So what I did was I have a small wooden tray that I 27 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,520 bought and I have my glass water bottles on that. 28 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,640 And two days back, I came down in the morning and found 29 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,600 leftover lemongrass incense sticks, which we used to drive 30 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,200 away mosquitoes. My son had actually lit it to, 31 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,120 you know, drive away mosquitoes while he was studying. 32 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,440 And what had happened was one of those sticks had leaned over 33 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,160 onto the wooden tray, which was almost brand new, leaned over 34 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,960 onto the wooden tray and had burnt into it. 35 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:03,720 So in the morning, they were just ashes there. 36 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:07,960 But there was the indelible mark of, you know, the, the incense 37 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,440 stick on the wood. And for 5 minutes, I was, you 38 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,040 know, so upset about it. I was like, how can you do this? 39 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:16,240 You know, I was telling my son, because here's the thing. 40 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:18,360 There's a rule. The rule was that you would not 41 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,760 light these sticks anywhere near wood or plastic, that you would 42 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,040 light it near the sink or, you know, near the tiles. 43 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,080 And he had flouted the rule just so that he won't get bitten by 44 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,400 mosquitoes when he studies. And because of that, it had 45 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,760 caused damage to this piece of furniture. 46 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,200 But as I was, you know, correcting my son, I was doing 47 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,840 it in a rather loud voice. My other two children reminded 48 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:43,320 me and they said, ma, look at it. 49 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,000 It doesn't look that bad. It looks like, you know, it's 50 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,560 the pattern on a, it looks like the pattern on wood. 51 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:50,920 And when I looked at it, it was true. 52 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,000 It just looked like it was treated wood now. 53 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,840 And so I replaced, I kept it back in its old place, put the 54 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,160 bottles back on and it's there again. 55 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:05,120 And I was reminded that how so often, you know, we look at the 56 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,440 law, the word of God, as something that's too hard to 57 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,560 follow through on and inevitably break it. 58 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:14,840 And that's where sin is revealed. 59 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:17,680 But the beautiful thing is that we're going to look today in 60 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,080 Romans 8 and how all things work together for good. 61 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,800 Just like my children could see the good even in a tray having 62 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,360 burn marks on it. I believe God is calling us into 63 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,280 a place of looking at everything he has allowed in our lives 64 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,760 through the lens of a good God. That's, you know, no matter what 65 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,560 happens, he works everything out for good. 66 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,280 So today's our topic is basically divided into three. 67 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,680 We're going to be looking at the law, which is the word of God. 68 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,720 We're going to be looking at sin and we're going to be looking at 69 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,320 life in the spirit. We're going to be looking at the 70 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,360 Spirit of God so that that these three things and I just want to 71 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:53,200 look at different passages. We're now going to look at all 72 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:54,880 of it because it's a lot of content. 73 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:56,960 So we're just going to take pivotal passages. 74 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:58,720 We're going to look at it. We're going to understand what 75 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,560 Paul is writing to us right now. So Romans Chapter 7 verse one, 76 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,120 it says now dear brothers and sisters, you who are familiar 77 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,160 with the law, don't you know that the law applies only while 78 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,800 a person is living? Verse four. 79 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,960 So this is the point. You died to the power of the law 80 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,320 when you died with Christ and now you are united with the one 81 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:22,640 who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a 82 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,000 harvest of good deeds for God. And Paul was talking in this 83 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,840 about how he used the example of marriage. 84 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:32,360 He said while you are married to someone, you cannot leave that 85 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:33,760 person and go live with someone else. 86 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,360 That would be considered adultery and that would be 87 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,440 breaking the law. If one of the members in the 88 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:44,440 marriage passed away because of death, that marital law ended. 89 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,240 Then if one of them chose the one living, chose to get married 90 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,160 again, that would be completely OK. 91 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,840 And that's what he's trying to explain, that only as long as 92 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:55,480 someone is alive does the law apply. 93 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:57,560 Once they died, the law doesn't apply. 94 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,240 And he's bringing it now to us and saying those of us who have 95 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,440 actually chosen to put our trust in Jesus have basically 96 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,120 crucified ourselves with Christ as figurative because every day 97 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,120 we have to die to our flesh, die to ourselves, and live for 98 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,480 Christ. So my question to you right from 99 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:15,880 off the bat, I'm going to ask you is how dead are you? 100 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,400 How crucified are you? Have you crucified your sinful 101 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:24,960 nature with Christ and are you living in step with the Spirit 102 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:26,280 of God? That's the question. 103 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:29,080 That's a big question because the truth is this is not a one 104 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,880 off event. This is a lifelong practice. 105 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,040 This is a daily thing. Needing to crucify ourselves on 106 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,720 the daily is something that we have to be avid about. 107 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,560 We don't need to strive because the Holy Spirit is the one who 108 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,600 actually does that for us. But we do need to be pliable. 109 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,320 We do do need to be involved. We do need to be aware that we 110 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,440 are a work in progress, and it's so important that we keep coming 111 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:55,560 closer to God in this process of sanctification because, you 112 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,880 know, the God is compared to light, He's likened to light. 113 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:03,280 And the more we come into the light, the more darkness is 114 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,800 revealed, the more darkness is rooted out. 115 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,440 And I believe God is asking us to come near to Him so that He 116 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,600 can root out evil in us, so that He can help us see the sin in 117 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:17,680 ourselves, so that we expose it to the gracious presence of 118 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,640 Christ himself. Now the thing about the law is 119 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:23,760 the law bad? The law, the word of God, is so 120 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:25,960 good. It was given with the greatest 121 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:30,640 of intentions by the greatest of all deities. 122 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:35,760 He is the Almighty God, and He in His goodness gave his people 123 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,080 the law. So it's very important to see 124 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,960 that the law is good. But the thing about the law is 125 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,120 that it brings condemnation. What does that mean? 126 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:45,600 Well, the minute you read the law, you read the Old Testament. 127 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,600 There are some who say, I don't read the Old Testament. 128 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:48,800 I don't like it. I don't get it. 129 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,320 The point of the Old Testament is for us to actually hold it up 130 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,600 to us like a mirror and identify in our lives where we have 131 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,000 similar cycles of sin, similar patterns. 132 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,600 I'm right now going through one Chronicles and two Chronicles, 133 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,120 and I was reading about this king the other day and it just 134 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,200 resonated with me because it said he does things right, but 135 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,120 he was not wholehearted in love, in following the Lord. 136 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:12,920 And I felt so convicted because it is true. 137 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,440 We try to live right. We try to do all the things 138 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,680 right, but sometimes our passion dwindles. 139 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:21,840 Sometimes my devotion for God is not wholehearted. 140 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,760 The point of the law is that it reveals sin in US. 141 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,600 It convicts us. It brings us to this place of 142 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,280 saying, oh, I get that, that sin in David. 143 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,160 I have that sin that Moses had with anger. 144 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,880 I have it. It reveals sin in us. 145 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,440 It shows us similar tendencies that we have. 146 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,440 The law brings condemnation because the truth is, when you 147 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,160 look at the word of God, there's so much to absorb and none of us 148 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:51,920 on our own can actually, you know, obey everything in the 149 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,200 law. And should we try, we will fail 150 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,760 miserably. So that's one way in which it 151 00:07:57,760 --> 00:07:59,880 brings condemnation. Of course, sometimes when we 152 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:02,600 look at ourselves in the light of the law, we see just how far 153 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,960 you know we fall. We fall short of it repeatedly, 154 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,080 and that again brings condemnation. 155 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,280 And then there's also the time when you read about a particular 156 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,840 law and then you wonder, why can't I just try it? 157 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,640 Why does God say this is bad? He says don't covet. 158 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,600 He first says, don't covet your neighbour's things or your 159 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,240 neighbour's wife because it all is. 160 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,480 It's a gradient. I start coveting things and then 161 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:32,600 I start eventually coveting what someone else has in a marriage 162 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,000 or in their family. And what Paul writes here is 163 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,320 that sin has this way of turning the good law into bad by 164 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,840 triggering up temptation. So had I not known what coveting 165 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:46,800 is, I would have not known it's a sin. 166 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,080 But the same law can sometimes evoke in me this thought of why 167 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:51,720 not try it? What's the worst that can 168 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,200 happen? And so that's why he says the 169 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,840 law brings condemnation. The problem, though, is not with 170 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,120 the law. The law is perfect, but the 171 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,720 problem is with us because we are inherently sinful. 172 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,480 Our condition is that of sinfulness. 173 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:12,800 We, each of us, every one of us all have sinned and fallen short 174 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,000 of the glory of God. None of us are above it. 175 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:20,520 And so before you knew Jesus, before you actively got into a 176 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,920 relationship with him, some of the things you indulged in may 177 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,280 may be so terrible you can't even mention it. 178 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:29,120 But Paul writes about that in Galatians chapter 5. 179 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,880 And I just want to read it because he talks about the acts 180 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:33,840 of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. 181 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:36,840 What the Spirit does in US produces fruit. 182 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:41,280 What we do is, is basically the stuff that comes out of our 183 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,200 flesh. It's stuff that we indulge in 184 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:47,200 knowingly and unknowingly. It's tough that we make a choice 185 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,720 to be involved in. The acts of the flesh are 186 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,440 obvious. Galatians 519 to 21. 187 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:57,040 Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and 188 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:01,680 witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish 189 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:06,160 ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies 190 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,240 and the like. I warn you, as I did before, 191 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:14,920 that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of 192 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,840 God. Once we come into the saving 193 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,640 knowledge of Jesus, once we step into a relationship, ideally our 194 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,680 lives should produce good fruit. Ideally, we should be doing the 195 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,040 things that please God and enrich his people, enrich the 196 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,160 world. But there is a struggle, a power 197 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,640 struggle, so to speak. And I'm sure you've experienced 198 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,040 this, but Paul articulates it so beautifully in Romans 7 verses 199 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:38,720 22 to 23. And this is what he says. 200 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,320 I love God's law with all my heart, but there is another 201 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,040 power within me that is at work with my mind. 202 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:50,400 This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 203 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,560 Can you relate? We love God's word, we love 204 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:56,800 reading it, we love Bible study, we love community, you know, 205 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:58,960 outings where we're discussing what God is doing. 206 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,720 But privately I'm still struggling with certain old sins 207 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:04,480 or some new sins that have crept in. 208 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,280 No one knows. But I'm privately struggling. 209 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:09,440 And the beautiful thing is we can be real about it. 210 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,680 This is real. The the struggle is real. 211 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:17,000 So what actually happened is when Jesus died on the cross, 212 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,320 his perfect body was the sacrifice. 213 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:21,920 And so he paid the price for our sin. 214 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,680 So the penalty of sin was sorted out. 215 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:27,400 It's over. There is no more penalty for sin 216 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,280 for you and me who have chosen Jesus. 217 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,160 And the beautiful thing is in his resurrection from the dead, 218 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:37,600 he triumphed over sin and death. So the penalty is removed. 219 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,480 The sting of sin and death are removed. 220 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:45,480 And So what happens now is we are every single day going from 221 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,640 a place of less power to more power over sin. 222 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:50,560 So sin no longer has the upper hand. 223 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,400 Is sin still present? Yes, But sin doesn't have the 224 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,040 upper hand in the life of a spirit filled believer. 225 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,080 And it's so important to say that because it's not like you 226 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,440 and I will not have temptations When we're at office. 227 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:05,880 It's easy to lie to our boss that you're not feeling well, 228 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,200 just to head home when you really have an outing with 229 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,920 friends planned. It's so easy to fall into old 230 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,680 patterns or just, you know, giving that that cash under the 231 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:18,640 table and getting your job done rather than saying, I'll wait it 232 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:21,240 out, I'll wait it out. I'll not give that. 233 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,160 I will wait. Or maybe there are those moments 234 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:26,920 when your anger just hits the roof. 235 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:31,000 You say all kinds of things to your spouse, leaving them in in 236 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,640 a mess and you won't walk out. Even after you know Jesus, that 237 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,640 still happens. And maybe you're thinking, when 238 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,440 will this end? But the truth is, the struggle 239 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,120 is real. The struggle is real for every 240 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:45,120 human. But we Christians have the edge. 241 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,400 You know how we have the Holy Spirit in US and he calls us 242 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,560 into relationship with Jesus by saying, you know what? 243 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,200 You live with my help. You don't live anymore alone. 244 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,240 Before Jesus, we were just running on our flesh. 245 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:01,280 It was a fuel of the flesh that drove us. 246 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,080 I feel like doing this, I should do this. 247 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:04,760 I thought I should eat this. I ate it. 248 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,800 I, I felt that, you know, I should go and connect, reconnect 249 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:10,240 with that old person. I did it. 250 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:14,240 But now that I'm living the life that Jesus has called me into a 251 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,560 relationship with him, the Spirit of God is now in me. 252 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:20,800 This temple now has the Holy Spirit in it. 253 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,800 And he is telling me, hey, why not pause? 254 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,400 I know you're feeling like you need to do this, but have you 255 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,880 thought to ask me what I feel you need to be doing? 256 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,200 The solution to the struggle is that you would live by the 257 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,440 Spirit. That's the solution that Paul 258 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:40,480 brings to us, and that is what we're going to look at. 259 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,640 Romans Chapter 7, verses five to six, says when we were 260 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,360 controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work 261 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,840 within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced 262 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,720 a harvest of sinful deeds resulting in death. 263 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,520 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it 264 00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,840 and are no longer captive to its power. 265 00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:04,440 Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of 266 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:09,000 the Law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit, the old 267 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:13,000 way, the old way before Jesus was just looking at the law and 268 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,240 by wrote, knowing it and obeying it. 269 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:18,320 Wash your hands. Do these things, you know, offer 270 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:22,360 these sacrifices, you know, have these the way of worship 271 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,880 worshippers, you know, they articulated how it has to be 272 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,360 done. But in the new covenant where we 273 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,960 are living with the help of the Spirit, when I look at the Word, 274 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,040 I'm asking the Holy Spirit to open it up to me. 275 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,240 And I no longer am obeying it just because I have to, but 276 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:39,720 because now I have a living relationship with the One who is 277 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:41,960 the Word. It changes everything. 278 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:43,200 It changes how I look at the Word. 279 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:45,280 I'm not trying to memorize all of the scripture. 280 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,280 I'm trying to live it out. So each day what I take is a 281 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,280 bite size input. I'm allowing God to actually 282 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,520 translate that into action in my life. 283 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,720 And that is what it looks like to live in the Spirit, in the 284 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:00,480 new nature, the Spirit LED nature, not the fleshly nature, 285 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:04,000 not the old sinful nature, but living in the Spirit. 286 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,400 Now I want to just, you know, lay some ground rules. 287 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:10,480 When we say living by the Spirit, many people twist that 288 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,680 and turn it to their advantage. Living by the Spirit does not 289 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,360 discount the Word of God. So it doesn't mean that because 290 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:21,240 he says, you know, the law and all the law causes condemnation, 291 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:23,000 but this living by the Spirit is above it. 292 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,120 It doesn't discount the need for the word of God in our lives. 293 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,600 Roman 8, Romans 8 verses 7 to 8 says this. 294 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,720 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. 295 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,960 It never did obey God's laws and it never will. 296 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,600 That's why those who are still under the control of their 297 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:39,800 sinful nature can never please God. 298 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:41,680 So what are you under the control of? 299 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,320 If it's a sinful nature, the Word of God will make no sense 300 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:47,320 to you. You will just look at it as 301 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,400 something you have to do because you were taught that from, you 302 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,040 know, the time you were a child. Or maybe you do it because your 303 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:53,640 pastor has been encouraging you to do it. 304 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,560 But if you are truly living by the Spirit, the Word of God will 305 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,440 become your compass. That is your God's love letter 306 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,960 to you every single day and He's directing you. 307 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:05,920 Living by the Spirit requires the word of God. 308 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,080 The law doesn't get obsolete. It doesn't become null and void. 309 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,880 In fact, it comes alive. The second thing you should 310 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,680 remember, when we say living by the Spirit, it means that it 311 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,320 doesn't mean that we're just controlled by our feelings and 312 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,600 our thoughts. A lot of people will say, I feel 313 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:22,160 like, you know, I should tell you this. 314 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:27,400 I feel like we should do such and such, but it's not about 315 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,040 being led by feelings. It's being led by the Spirit of 316 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,120 God who was a being who is God himself. 317 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,280 And so it really means that we not that we discount our 318 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:38,920 thoughts, attitudes and emotions. 319 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:40,640 Not at all. Our thoughts matter. 320 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,080 Our feelings matter, but they don't become what we lead by. 321 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,880 Instead, they do come under the lordship of Christ, which is why 322 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,640 he talks about in verse six, letting your sinful nature 323 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,600 control your mind leads to death, but letting the Spirit 324 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:59,920 control your mind leads leads to life and peace is very simple. 325 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:02,280 You just have to in a moment when you're about to explode in 326 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,119 anger or you're about to say that lie to your boss. 327 00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:08,280 It might just require you saying I know I feel like that's the 328 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,760 easy way Lord, but what must I do in this moment? 329 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:15,200 How do you expect me to respond? I remember that morning when I 330 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,359 was berating my son for burning my tray. 331 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,640 After about 5 minutes, there was just this nudge as to explain to 332 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:26,160 him why I was upset. So I told him, you know, while 333 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,120 of course it spoiled it a bit and I, I feel bad that you 334 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:30,840 spoiled, it's just a thing at the end of it. 335 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:34,760 But there's a bigger issue where it could be a fire hazard, you 336 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:36,840 know. So I had to explain to him my 337 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:38,640 heart for him as a mother as well. 338 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,120 And that was a spirit move. That was because that was in my 339 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:43,680 head. It was in my heart because I was 340 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,160 so worried that he was studying alone downstairs and I was not 341 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:50,640 there. But when I spoke that to him, he 342 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,520 was able to understand where I was coming from. 343 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:56,400 And also the Spirit of God moved in me to remind me that this was 344 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:58,760 just a thing. It's OK. 345 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:04,080 And I wonder how many of us would allow us, our feelings and 346 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,440 our emotions to be led by the Spirit rather than us being led 347 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,120 by those. When we live by the Spirit 348 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:14,160 doesn't mean that sin just magically disappears. 349 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,920 It actually doesn't. We live in a fallen world. 350 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:21,000 The only consolation is that when I live in the Spirit, the 351 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,880 power of sin begins to diminish. The control sin has over me 352 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,480 diminishes. Am I still tempted? 353 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,680 Yes, but can I beat the temptation? 354 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:33,920 With God's help I can. With the Spirit of God in me, I 355 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,680 can. Romans 8 verse 10 says Christ 356 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:39,480 lives within you. So even though your body will 357 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,920 die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have 358 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:44,840 been right mean, made right with God. 359 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:48,480 Which means I am mortal. I'm going to have life maybe 360 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:52,160 till about 80, I don't know how long, but for whatever long, 361 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,440 however long God has instituted my life for. 362 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:59,960 But I will still be vitally alive and vibrant till the day I 363 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:03,360 close my eyes because the Spirit of God moving within me. 364 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:05,120 So sin, Will it stay in the world? 365 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:06,840 Yes. Will still sin still touch me? 366 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:08,200 Yes. Will the fallenness of the world 367 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,960 still touch me? Possibly could, but I will never 368 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:17,280 really be brought down and held down by it anymore because I am 369 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,800 moving from one place of powerlessness to greater power 370 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,960 over sin. And that's what the Holy Spirit 371 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:25,920 does. And you know, the truth is all 372 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,960 of this is really up to us. Many people assume that when we 373 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,440 say, you know you should be led by the Holy Spirit, that you 374 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,240 know, he just takes over you and he moves your hands and legs. 375 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,360 He tells you what to speak, He moves your mouth. 376 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:40,040 It isn't that It's a beautiful place where the Spirit of God 377 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,360 is. When we give Him room, He leads 378 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:45,800 us as a Father leads a child by the hand. 379 00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:49,680 Just taking you step by step. That's what it looks like. 380 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:52,160 You can choose whether you yield to Him. 381 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:54,920 You can choose whether you submit to Him. 382 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,160 You can choose whether you listen to me. 383 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,720 It's all on you because the best part of humanity, every human, 384 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,200 is that we have free will. I can choose if I submit to the 385 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,000 Holy Spirit. I can choose if I want to be led 386 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,080 by. If I still want to be led by my 387 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:12,120 feelings, it's on me. And God's not going to say 388 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,400 anything about it. It's important to understand 389 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,440 this is a choice. Living by the Spirit is a 390 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:20,720 choice. It's a choice you and I have. 391 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,800 And so I want to ask you, what do you think living life in the 392 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:30,240 Spirit looks like in today's life, in our world today? 393 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,440 What does it look like? And I just put this into two big 394 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,320 subtopics. I believe that in the present, 395 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:41,360 right, where we're living the life and the Spirit makes us 396 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:44,920 fully alive in the present, What does that look like? 397 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,840 We're going to be looking at Romans 8, verses 11 to 17 as we 398 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:50,960 read it. I want you to understand that 399 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:53,640 this is a present condition. This is the place we're at. 400 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:57,920 We were saved by God through Jesus, right? 401 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,480 And now we're in this intermediate period where we 402 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,080 have not yet reached eternity. We're in the now and not yet. 403 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:05,760 So we have not yet reached eternity. 404 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,040 We are not where we used to be. We're in the middle, right? 405 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,120 And in the middle is where it seems like so much is happening. 406 00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:16,480 Ever since I said yes to Jesus, He's put me in the situations 407 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,880 where my I need to love more, where I need to be more patient, 408 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,920 where I'm enduring more. I feel like it's one battle 409 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:24,920 after the other. I feel like the victories are 410 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:26,520 very sweet, but the battles are hard. 411 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:29,640 You know, that's an intervening period and it it is a hard 412 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,520 period. And and Paul speaks to that in 413 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:34,880 Romans chapter 8. He says, therefore, dear 414 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,200 brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your 415 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,720 sinful nature urges you to do. But if you live by it's 416 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,400 dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the 417 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,360 Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you 418 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:49,760 will live. For all who are led by the 419 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:51,600 Spirit of God are children of God. 420 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,120 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful 421 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:57,480 slaves. Instead, you received God's 422 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,840 spirit when he adopted you as his own children. 423 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:05,960 Now we call him ABBA Father, for his Spirit joins with our spirit 424 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:08,520 to affirm that we are God's children. 425 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,480 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. 426 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:15,320 In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. 427 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:19,200 But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his 428 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,560 suffering. So much fact in just a few 429 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,000 verses. And what the gist of it is this? 430 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,400 OK, this is the gist. We are in the process of being 431 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:29,400 sanctified, of being consecrated. 432 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,800 Like we said, this whole year has been about set apart, being 433 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,560 set apart. And this season for most of us, 434 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,960 whether you are in your teens, you're in your 20s, your 30s, 435 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,960 forties, fifties, 60s, till you reach eternity, we are in this 436 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,160 process of being sanctified on a daily basis. 437 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:49,520 And the Holy Spirit makes it endure bearable because he's the 438 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,280 one who mediates it. The Holy Spirit works in us 439 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,080 through situations that we encounter through the people 440 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,360 that we encounter, through our jobs, through our health issues. 441 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:03,400 He is working to sanctify us and make us more like Jesus. 442 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,360 That's the point of the season. And the important thing in this 443 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:11,720 time, in, you know, living fully alive in the present is 444 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:14,720 remembering our identity as children of God. 445 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,040 You and I cannot live fully alive in this moment of time in 446 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,400 history if we are not sure of who we are in Christ. 447 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,960 And the truth is, we are children of God. 448 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,000 That's what the Holy Spirit does when the Holy Spirit is given to 449 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,920 us. He affirms and establishes that 450 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:35,240 you and I are sons and daughters of the Most High God. 451 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,560 And what does that imply? It implies an inheritance. 452 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:42,640 The Holy Spirit himself is the first, you know, he's the the 453 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,640 first bit of that inheritance. He's the, you know, just that, 454 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:50,000 that sweet first taste of the big inheritance that we have in 455 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,640 Jesus. We are Co heirs with Christ. 456 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,960 But there's this small subtext. It says if you want to share in 457 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:00,000 God's glory, you have to share in his suffering. 458 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,560 So a lot of us walk through seasons or have walked through 459 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,720 or walking through or will walk through seasons of hardship. 460 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,400 You will have grief, you will have loss, you will have health 461 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,160 issues. You'll have setbacks at work. 462 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:16,400 You'll have relational fallouts. You will be heartbroken. 463 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:18,800 You could have moments when you've had a set back 464 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,840 emotionally, whatever it looks back looks like. 465 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:26,280 I want to encourage you this, that as children of God, the 466 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,120 discipline of God comes in as well. 467 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:30,480 Because who? Which father who doesn't love 468 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,920 his child doesn't discipline the child? 469 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:36,080 It's essential because in the book of Hebrews he talks about 470 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,400 this. He says that a father who, the 471 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:43,120 Heavenly Father, loves us and so disciplines us in love so that 472 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,280 we will be partakers of His Holiness and that we would be 473 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:50,480 righteous. There is a reason for what we 474 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,240 walk through today. What you are walking through, 475 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:56,320 there is a reason for it. Don't think that you are just in 476 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:59,840 the middle of a cosmic blitz where you know just everything 477 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:01,600 bad in the universe is happening to you. 478 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,400 You are seen, you are identified by the God of the universe, the 479 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,400 Father, the Heavenly Father who is your Father knows exactly 480 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,880 what you're walking through and you know, in fact, he's he's got 481 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:13,960 you in the palm of his hand. He knows exactly what's 482 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,240 happening. And so it needs us to come to a 483 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,960 place of accepting that discipline is painful. 484 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:21,840 We state the facts. This is hard. 485 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,040 What I'm going through is too painful for words. 486 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,440 Lord has been prolonged. It's been protracted. 487 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:28,920 What do I do? But the beautiful thing is that 488 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:34,280 I need my struggles and my setbacks need to move me towards 489 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,600 Jesus and not away from Him. And that's what the Holy Spirit 490 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:41,160 does in sanctification. As much as he's working, he's 491 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,680 not doing it. Removed in such a way that you 492 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:45,400 know what, you just figure this out. 493 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,560 I'm working on you, but you know I'm working on you from a 494 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:49,440 distance. The Holy Spirit is intimately 495 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,920 working in our lives through every situation, through every 496 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:54,880 circumstance, because you are a child of God. 497 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,840 You are loved, and He is shaping you. 498 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,040 He is removing the things of the flesh that need to be removed 499 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:05,280 from you so that you will live on in a greater dependence on 500 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:09,080 the Holy Spirit. And so it requires that we move 501 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,280 closer to God. Some of you have moved away from 502 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:12,760 God because you said, you know what, God? 503 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,040 I don't know if I ever understand what you're doing. 504 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:17,400 This doesn't seem like your hand. 505 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,680 I said yes to you, but it seems like you've said no to a bunch 506 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,600 of things in my life. I believe that God is asking us 507 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,360 to move from asking these questions of why me or why now 508 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:30,480 to what are you teaching me, Lord? 509 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,240 What are you doing in me? What are you accomplishing in my 510 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,440 life? Because those are the questions 511 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:37,360 that get him to really speak back. 512 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:44,120 It's important that to be fully alive in the present, you allow 513 00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:46,440 the Holy Spirit to establish your identity. 514 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:51,960 You are a child of God. In the times that the Romans, 515 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,320 the book of Romans was written, anyone who was adopted into a 516 00:26:55,320 --> 00:27:00,120 Roman family got all the rights of a full of a fully, you know, 517 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:03,560 legal original son. And they didn't have to be born 518 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,680 into that home to get it. The minute they were adopted, 519 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,560 they got all of the inheritance just like any other natural 520 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,080 childhood. And you and I are no different. 521 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:16,000 When we accepted Jesus, when the Spirit of God dwelt in US, he 522 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:17,480 brought us into that inheritance. 523 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,240 He brought us into that family, sealed us. 524 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,880 And so today I want to ask you, how alive are you living? 525 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,240 You're dead in Christ, but you're alive in the Spirit. 526 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,680 You died with him. You crew were crucified. 527 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,160 Your flesh had to be crucified and is getting crucified on a 528 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:37,640 daily basis. But you are being made alive by 529 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:41,000 the Spirit. And that's how by acknowledging 530 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,440 who you are in Christ, that's how you live fully alive in the 531 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,080 present. The second thing I believe is 532 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,360 Paul continues from that passage talking about how we need to 533 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:53,320 share in the glory of God. We also have to share in his 534 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,000 suffering. And he talks about the future, 535 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,080 OK. He talks about the end times, 536 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,080 What's going to happen when we close our eyes in death. 537 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:05,600 We meet our Savior and the glorious, a future that lies in 538 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:08,080 wait for every believer. And that's what he's writing 539 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,400 about in verses 18 to 21. This is what he says. 540 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:15,040 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he 541 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:19,080 will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting 542 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:23,320 eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children 543 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,880 really are. Against its will, all creation 544 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:30,280 was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope, the 545 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:34,200 creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's 546 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,600 children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 547 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,560 This is so exciting for me because I just recently had to 548 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,640 do a root canal because I had a decayed tooth. 549 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,440 And just going through that process made me realize that I 550 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:49,960 look forward to heaven, where I'll have a good set of teeth, 551 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,760 hopefully, and no decays and no fillings. 552 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,920 And you know what an assurance we have? 553 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,800 We have a future where there's no death or decay, there's no 554 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,000 suffering, there's no corruption, there's no pain. 555 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,480 But until then, that's where we're at. 556 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,200 And so I believe that when we live in the Spirit, he makes us 557 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,080 fully prepared for the future. How does he do that? 558 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:17,360 He prepares us now, right? And this process of 559 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,680 glorification is what happens when we meet Jesus, when our 560 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:23,840 bodies are transformed to the resurrection body that Jesus had 561 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:27,200 when he was resurrected. But The thing is, we're not. 562 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,560 We're not there yet, right? And so how do we prepare better 563 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:32,960 for it right now? Well, the wait is long. 564 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:36,840 If you've gone through a long chronic ailment, you know that 565 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:41,320 the wait is unending. Twists and turns, but no end 566 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:42,800 insight. Maybe you're going through a 567 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:44,720 divorce and the process is so long. 568 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:49,000 You're so traumatized just by every visit to the court. 569 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:51,560 Maybe you're walking through a season of barrenness. 570 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:53,520 You've been waiting for that promised child, and you're 571 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:55,120 going. I don't know how long I can do 572 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:56,960 this. Lord, I'm at the end of my rope. 573 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,200 The wait is hard when we're preparing for this future, this 574 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,840 glorious future. Until then, the wait is so long. 575 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,200 The wait is hard. When will I get my breakthrough? 576 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,880 Lord? When will I find that spouse? 577 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,960 When will I get that dream job that I've dreamt of and wished 578 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:16,560 for? Romans 8 verses 26 to 28 says 579 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:19,080 this. The Holy Spirit helps us in our 580 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:21,200 weakness. For example, we don't know what 581 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:24,320 God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us 582 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:27,200 with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 583 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:30,760 And the Father, who knows all hearts, knows what the Spirit is 584 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:32,760 saying. For the Spirit pleads for us 585 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,760 believers in harmony with God's own will. 586 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:39,560 And we know that God causes everything to work together for 587 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:43,520 the good of those who love God and are called according to His 588 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,640 purpose for them. God has given us the Holy Spirit 589 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:52,920 to help us in the wait. Because most of us, we're 590 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,680 miserable waiters. We don't know how to wait. 591 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,680 In another translation, it says wait confidently and 592 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,800 expectantly, both of which are adjectives that don't epitomize 593 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,640 most of us Confident. The minute we get that other 594 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:09,560 closed door, we're just like, I can't do this anymore. 595 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:13,720 I'm done expectantly, Lord, half the time we're bracing ourselves 596 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,320 with some kind of negative impact. 597 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:18,360 But God is saying, I want you to wait. 598 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:21,600 And the one you wait with is the Holy Spirit who is interceding 599 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:23,640 for you. So maybe all you have are tears. 600 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,160 The Holy Spirit will use that. He'll translate that. 601 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,520 Maybe all that you have is so much pent up anger and 602 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,280 frustration that what you prayed for has not happened yet. 603 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:37,400 He will intercede for you. I want to ask you this, does 604 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:42,000 your waiting involve praying and abiding or has it been involving 605 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,480 ranting and raving? There's a difference because 606 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:51,080 when I am abiding and praying it changes the way I wait. 607 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,880 I found that while we are in the, all of us are in different 608 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:58,320 seasons of waiting. The one thing that has helped me 609 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:01,880 has just opened the Bible and reading it till God speaks to 610 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:03,240 me. I just read. 611 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,200 I can read the Psalms. I would read Nehemiah. 612 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,960 I would just read something and I'd say, Lord, I don't know what 613 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:11,000 to do. Can you please speak to me? 614 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:13,720 Sometimes He'll speak to me in the first chapter, sometimes He 615 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:15,320 speaks to me after the 30th chapter. 616 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:20,320 But can I encourage you that you will abide and pray rather than 617 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:24,560 ranting and raving because that is what this wait does, is 618 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:26,440 preparing us for a glorious future. 619 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,680 If I don't know how to wait now, I will not value what I'm 620 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:34,800 waiting for when I receive it. I need to come into a place and 621 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:39,200 in the abiding, in the praying, I find that my connection with 622 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:43,400 Jesus tightens and the Holy Spirit is so beautiful because 623 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:47,360 the Holy Spirit is pleading with the will of God in mind. 624 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:50,160 So the more I'm in touch with the Holy Spirit, I start to 625 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:54,800 understand God's will for me. And it's been amazing because we 626 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,760 have actually lived this way. My husband and I have prayed for 627 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:00,760 certain things and then we started we started praying in 628 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,920 the Spirit and we said, Lord, our words are not doing it. 629 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:05,120 So we're going to pray in the Spirit. 630 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:09,240 And as we started praying in the Spirit, we found that God was 631 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:11,600 explaining certain situations to us. 632 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:15,080 So we started praying not what we wanted, but what he wanted. 633 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,840 And I would encourage you to do that because intercession is 634 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,560 really coming to this place of understanding God's heart and 635 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,440 then pleading with him in alignment with his way rather 636 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:26,960 than just saying these are the things that I want. 637 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:32,960 Lord, do it now it changes. So it's really requires that we 638 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:35,440 live in the spirit and order that we'll be fully alive in the 639 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,640 present and fully prepared for the future. 640 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:42,840 And even as we close, I just feel like someone needs this 641 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:44,800 reminder. You may have been going through 642 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:48,840 a season of hardship, persecution, suffering, worry, 643 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:50,920 anxiety. Whatever it is, I want to 644 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,120 encourage you that to remember this. 645 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:55,800 Maybe you're thinking God's forgotten about you or you're 646 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,400 not in favor with God. God doesn't love you. 647 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:02,680 I want to close with this passage, Romans 8, 35 to 39, and 648 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:05,040 it is for you specifically if you've been saying I feel 649 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,400 unloved by God. I feel forgotten. 650 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,040 I feel like I have made some choices which has made me take 651 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:13,080 10 steps away from him and I feel lost. 652 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:15,040 I don't think God knows where I'm at. 653 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,400 This is for you. Can anything ever separate us 654 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,800 from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves 655 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:25,159 us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted or 656 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:28,320 hungry or destitute or in danger or threatened with death? 657 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:33,000 No, despite all these things overwhelming victories, ours 658 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:37,280 through Christ who loved us. And I'm convinced that nothing 659 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,800 can ever separate us from God's love. 660 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:44,440 Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our 661 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,960 fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the 662 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:51,320 powers of hell can separate us from God's love. 663 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:54,639 No power in the sky above, on the earth below. 664 00:34:54,960 --> 00:35:01,080 Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us 665 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:05,480 from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our 666 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,880 Lord. Isn't that amazing? 667 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:10,840 Nothing. What you are going through, what 668 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,480 you have gone through, the decisions you made, nothing can 669 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:17,240 separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. 670 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:20,480 And so I want to just remind you that you are more than a 671 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:21,920 conqueror. Whatever you're fighting 672 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:23,360 through, remember he fights with you. 673 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,480 He fights for you. So you are more than a conqueror 674 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,360 in Christ Jesus. And your victory is evidence 675 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,800 that he loves you. Even if you're on the wait for 676 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:35,640 your victory, He loves you right there. 677 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:38,200 He sees those of you who are waiting. 678 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:40,080 He sees those of you who are suffering. 679 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:44,000 He feels with you. He he grieves with those who are 680 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:49,160 grieving for those of you who are wrestling with your sinful 681 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:51,960 nature, you know the things all of us are wrestling in some 682 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:53,960 aspect. Would you just throw up your 683 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:55,920 hands and defeat and say, Holy Spirit come in. 684 00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:00,200 I want to live fully alive. I want to live fully prepared. 685 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:04,880 And so as we close, I just want to play this scripture over each 686 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:08,440 of you that you would live completely aware of the 687 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:10,960 resurrection power that is alive in you because we are not living 688 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:14,720 with a spirit that is powerless. We have the the mighty power of 689 00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:20,560 God living within us because the same spirit that raised Jesus 690 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:23,360 from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies 691 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,840 through His Spirit who dwells in new Romans 811. 692 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:28,280 I'm praying that over you right now. 693 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,280 Father in Heaven. I just pray for everyone who is 694 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,840 listening in that God, they will experience this resurrection 695 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,280 power in their minds, in their bodies. 696 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:40,520 I pray God they will experience it in their wombs. 697 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:42,680 I pray they will experience it in their heart. 698 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:46,240 Father, I pray that you will bring life to mortal bodies. 699 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,840 Spirits will be resurrected. Souls will be resurrected. 700 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,400 Lord, we pray that bodies will be resurrected. 701 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:54,880 We pray God, your power will course through. 702 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:58,880 If anyone's having circulatory system disorders that your power 703 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,880 will just go through that those blood cells and heal them. 704 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,920 Father, if anyone is having Lord back problems, the God you will 705 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,680 resurrect that spine. You will change things that are 706 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:13,680 broken into something of worth or father, I pray for those who 707 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:17,560 are having life situations that are like ashes, that God, you 708 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:21,200 will breathe life into it. You are the God Lord who showed 709 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,400 Ezekiel that you breathe life into dead bones. 710 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:27,680 God, for you nothing is impossible, nothing. 711 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:32,120 And so we praise you for that magnificent God, and we ask that 712 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:35,920 you would come in your power. You come in your power. 713 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:39,960 I pray for those marriages which are on the brink of separation, 714 00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:42,600 that God, you will breathe your resurrection power into those 715 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:47,680 homes, that you will bring about reconciliation, that your love 716 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,280 will envelope these families and these couples. 717 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,400 Father, I pray where the doctors have given up hope that your 718 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:59,840 power would course through these bodies and resurrect them back 719 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:03,240 to life. We love you, we honor you. 720 00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:06,240 Spirit of God, we ask that you would take control of our lives. 721 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:11,080 Lead us, guide us, hold our hands, guide the things that we 722 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:12,920 think about this, that we speak about. 723 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:14,960 Help us. We cannot do this alone. 724 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,600 Intercede for us as you already do. 725 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:21,760 We love you. We thank you in Jesus name, 726 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:24,600 Amen, Amen. God bless you. 727 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:29,080 Have a spirit filled week. Thanks for listening to this 728 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:32,200 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 729 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:35,920 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 730 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,600 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 731 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,360 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 732 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,560 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 733 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:50,240 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 734 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:54,760 and to connect with us, go to Via Zion dot in. 735 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,880 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.