Some of you know my story, where your name is a place where I'm sitting in the Christian Gospel Person masturbating version and one of the first very first things that I've learned about God during those days that was here is that it gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit and to us to be windows into bns in order to change and transform us into the kind of people that he's created as to be. And early on in those days, as I was reading God's word, pretty much the first time ever shrunk. As in reading through the gospel of John binder animals and I was struck by frequent pattern in surfing. It wasn't surprising first that God gives us his standards. How do I live what's right and what's wrong? So for example, put up Ephesians four, 29 and a Bible study with some of these verses few weeks ago that don't let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. So their standard that God is in his word. That's just one that's actually a happy person, a B, right? So no cynicism or these very, very cynicism, rudeness, tearing somebody down to make yourself feel better, or you know, all unwholesome topic comes out our mouth like that's the standard, but instead works that are constructive words that are thoughtful words that creatively build up, but then God also gives us motivation, right? Then it might give grace to those and listen, so there's the motivation, so no unwholesome talk, but don't know what's helpful for going into the so that might give grace to those listening. Are Mammals naturally be a channel or a vehicle or a vessel to bring race into somebody else's life? That's. That's amazing. That's exciting that God could use us in that way. Just our words with our lips and all of a sudden somebody can experiment with grace because of what we said as a good motivation and I'm expected to find stuff like this in the Bible of course, that there's God's standards and then some motivations for why we should aim for those who carry out those standards, but then it wasn't too long in the Christian life that I had. Another big question that came out of this, which is, but how
Speaker 2:do you do it?
Speaker 1:How can a human being like me or like you faithfully live out the stairs for which God calls us? Because so often, even if this might be the motivations that are there, I failed.
Speaker 2:You fail.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to live out God's standards is sometimes trying to like without the argues resolutions time, yeah, I know that I know what I ought to do, but I just fail to execute. I don't follow through. God says, don't be anxious about anything, but yet you can. We worry. God says, put bitterness often. Pray for your enemies, but get whole prejudice. We have a hard time leasing others, releasing someone with forgiveness. God says joyfully surrender your money, your possessions, your time, and yet we're sometimes just so reluctant to do it so stingy because you know, it means giving up the security and comfort that we value so much so it'd be failed. God has the standards that we fail and some days just speaking personally, stuff isn't. C minus, some days it's a b plus. Some days it's just an APP. You just say, can I have some great inflation? Know How do we live out God's standards and are living, but personally again, but when I became a Christian, I recognize the many, many things about me that needed to change, desperately needed the change, but I couldn't change them myself in my own power and my own strength. So how does faith in Christ actually lead to real change in the Christian life? And this is where did that. I was just struck by this in the scriptures and this is our theme for tonight. God doesn't just give us his standards and his motivations and say, okay, well good luck. I wish you the best of check back in with you later. You know? Instead God gives his people a gracious, precious, extraordinary provision. God gives us his Holy Spirit to transform us, to change us and to remake us so that we obey him so that we live for him so that we can live by his abundant life giving standards. And Only God can do this. We can live for God because he has put his spirit in us, and that spirit is constantly at work in us to transform us like there's Galatians three, three, having begun in the spirit. Are you now being perfected by works of human effort? And I'm in the obvious answer is a no, of course not. That's not how you're being affected or being affected by the spirit. And Philippians one, six, I know it's a favorite verse from any of you. He God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. So our text tonight, those aren't our texts, but our text tonight is a passage out of Romans eight, and it's arguably like text classic texts of Scripture that highlights the spirit's power to transform us. So listen, as I read God's word and Josh Eight, the next slide. So Romans eight, starting with Verse Five, the Apostle Paul, inspired by the spirit writes to us these words from God. Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their mindset on what the spirit desires, the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You however are not in the realm of the flesh, but are in the Brown of the spirit. If indeed the spirit of God lives in you and if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, you're not belong to Christ, but if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the spirit gives life because of righteousness and if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his spirit who lives in. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation not to the flesh to live according to it, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you
Speaker 3:well live.
Speaker 1:So I want to highlight three key, key three key themes in this passage. Uh, so it's an identity to claim a miraculous power to experience. And finally an obligation to live out okay, so first and identity to claim almost every single verse actually go back to like the first few verses, Josh, almost every single verse in this passage emphasizes that those who have put their faith in Christ are also in the spirit. First five. Those who live in accordance with the spirit versus the mind governed by the spirit. First, nine little later, you are in the realm of the spirit. And then verse 10, Christ is in you and apply it is the spirit of Christ is in you. So if you are in Christ, then the Holy Spirit is in you. And this is who you are. This is your identity. You might describe yourself as a musician, an athlete, a big reader, a young adult, but even more fundamental to your identity. If you're a Christian, is that the Holy Spirit is in you. You are spirit filled. Not only are you living in the realm of Princeton University, but sure simultaneously and at all times living in the realm of the spirit that round what would that reality is just as real as your classes, as your teachers, as your roommates might not be undermined, is much right, but it's the reality. If you're a Christian, just as Princeton students is not going to stay part of your identity, at least now for your seniors, that time is really short. It's so sad, but do you believe that another unmistakable and more significant part of your identity is I am a temple. I'm a container. I'm a vessel of the Holy Spirit in which in which he lives. This is your identity, and if you want to read more of Romans, I mean Marie beard, part of Romans eight tonight, but if you read the wider context, if you go back to Romans six, right? One of the big questions that's raised there, and you've probably heard something like this, race is low. Oh, so this business of God forgiving sin and God does it out of sheer grace to us in Christ. Well, you know what? I'm going to help God out. I'll sin as much as possible. I'll just go out there and live it up. I'll live as I pleased because then God will forgive me even more and God will get even more glory. Some sort of life, sort of theological logic like that, and this is a great. This is a great deal. It's like the theological loopholes like on tax day, people look for tax loopholes to get more taxes back then maybe they deserve. It's like there's this theological we bowl of grace. It's like, Oh, well if God forgives and it's his business to forget, then I'll help him out. But Romans eight says, no, right? This is not who you already more. You have the new identity. You were now in the spirit, so we now you live as one who is in the spirit and in whom the spirit dwells, so that logic doesn't work. Or you go to Romans seven, Romans six, you can read yourself. Romans step. It's a little different kind of logic. Actually a lot of different. It's like one of the complaints that's voice there is I am doomed to always messed up. I don't want to sin. I don't want to rebel against God lives selfishly, but I just can't help it. I never lived as I want to live, whereas God calls me to live and the same thing applies here. Romans eight says the exact same thing. It's a resounding no. That is not who you are anymore. You have a new identity. You are now in the spirit. It is possible for you to live as God calls. You, told that you can live as one who has the spirit come on time. I tried to make this point that this at this point of our identity in Christ, so a bunch of fifth grade boys and I'll just share with you how I did it. You could just let me go off. It was if it was a good idea or not. So I grabbed this volunteer. His name is John. I gave him a basketball because I had a bad. I knew exactly what I was doing. I had a basketball with me and we also just happened to be in the gym and I said to John, it's like four feet, four inches.
Speaker 4:I said take this ball and I want you to run down to the other end of the gym and I want you to dump this thing like Lebron James. Right? And then like all the other boys are there, like laugh. And then John's like looking at me with like this fear in his eyes. So John runs down there. Everybody talks about as high as he can, which is all like, I don't know, six inches, you know? And then the body goes flying into the side and read. It's just, you know. And it comes sort of walking back with his head down and you know, he was
Speaker 1:great sport, it was a great sport, but he just did not have
Speaker 4:what it takes to do it. So. So then I made my theological point on the fifth grade level. If John isn't Lebron James, like he doesn't have the body, the strength, the ability to go abroad than it is so foolish of me to tell them like, go do this and don't, you know, like be exactly like go, go play. Like, and talk like Ron James for the street.
Speaker 1:If I could somehow put the grinds power, his strength, his essence into John. Well then tell him John and don would be a totally different story, right? And bringing it back to this point, which is God has put his spirit in us. This is our new identity for those of us who are in Christ. And because of that, it is possible, wonderfully possible for us to live like Christ because Christ spirit is in us. So therefore we can now live like him. Think about these four words from Romans Eight, 10 right Christ is in you, and just let that sink in and they consider that if you are in Christ, dad was your identity. Christ is in you, so claim it, you can live like him because his spirit is in you, so that's our identity. The second scene you might want to focus on is a miraculous power to experience. I want to zoom in on Romans 8:11 here. It's right up here on bottom of the screen and at the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you than he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his spirit lives in you. This first, let's just in our little secret. That's the Holy Spirit, was powerfully at work. That first Easter morning we just signed about Jesus rising from the grave. Jesus is dead in his too. He's crucified. He's. He's died there because of our sense, but the spirit raised him to life and if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead, God brings life healing and wholeness out of deaths and brokenness. This is what God does and yes, I know this. This verse gives us hope for the age to come, that we too will rise against something about that. That death is not the final word. God will give life to our mortal bodies through his spirit, so wonderful truth, wonderful promise, but it's also about life, real life here and now. God has the ability to bring life where there is death. If God can miraculously prize raised his son from the grave by the spirit, and he did, then God can miraculously transform us and give us life in the here and now by the same spirit who is at work within us. We can't say to the hot, I can't change. I'm doomed. I'm hopeless, because that's the same thing as saying, I think Jesus is still in the grave. He did not rise again. If God can bring Jesus out of the tune that you can change you in me by the spirit, so think about how you struggle to be faithful to God, to be faithful to Christ. I mean maybe you quickly give into fear, anxiety, anger, jealousy, know laziness, maybe disruptive speech patterns with certain people, the tendency to spin things or deceive when when you know your reputation is on the line, impurity, I have tried because you're quick to look down on others. I don't think about the ways that you struggled to be faithful to God and likely you're tired. You think about that. You're weary, you're discouraged tonight like do you believe that the spirit is in you, that the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and actually change and transform you, and this is so uniquely God. Only God can do this right? Just to put a fine point on this before we moved to the third and final point that we cannot change the hearts and minds of other people. We know this so clear, right? We can't change the minds and the hearts of others. Parents try to change the their children, right? Children try to change their parents, right? Democrats, Republicans and Democrats. I would love to see that on tv some day. Like there's like bunch of drag on a talk show where they're just talking and just some politician says, you know what, I've totally changed my mind. I've been completely persuaded by that forever. Right? We can't change people. And then we also added, we also struggle to change ourselves. I mean, some of you are aware of like the NFL play 60 movement. Come up. That next gap right there. There's no, this is the nfl play 60, just a couple. A couple of slides. You know, it's a call for kids to exercise to exercise 60 minutes a day, place 16. Um, and then there's also the got campaign, Jennifer Hudson and Alex per bag. There's less of like, Yo, Yo ma, cello player, Michelle Obama, the first lady. You're like, there's all these campaigns, whether it's 60 or gotten milk or you know, don't do drugs or stay in school or don't believe. Right? And it's always like famous people are gifted people and successful people who are making appeals to drink milk or stay in school or exercise, right? And you think about it, what's the basis that the, that they're giving to their giving a standard, this is just like God's word and what's the base? Somehow the basis is we can follow their example or we can be inspired by them because we look up to them or we can imitate them because we admire them or we can listen to their appeal because they're successful and they have weight with what they say or what they're calling us to. Then, you know, and sometimes that works. Um, there's, I don't have anything wrong or I don't have anything against these campaigns, but the point I'm trying to make here is that God goes so far beyond this in a way that only he can. He doesn't just give us an example or inspire us or motivate us or make an appeal to us, to, to, to like, here's the standard narrative that out. He gives us his spirit and he puts his spirit within us to actually help us. Empower us and equip us to live out what he calls us to. He doesn't just say to us like, okay, conform to this, do this, but he works in and through us, by his spirit so that we can conform to what he says. So and then finally, third and get Jennifer announced an obligation to live out there. You can go back, maybe go back to the last bit of scripture verses 12 and 13. We just read these last two verses again. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh to live according to it, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. So we'd have a new identity. We are in Christ and his spirit is in us. We experienced miraculous power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Does that work within us to change US and transform us? And so now verse 12, we have an obligation. We are no longer obligated to the flesh and that we're flush is a very tricky word.
Speaker 2:If you're like me, you think of, you know the skin on our, just think it died. I just use them like a short. Okay. It's a red light on or neither.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're good.
Speaker 5:Okay.
Speaker 4:Oh, so it's that word flesh. Really Awkward Place.
Speaker 5:Stop. Don't pick at the skin on your body. Not Credit secret. I think it's just trying to live by.
Speaker 4:Hopefully this is three. Um, so it's not like flesh and bones in our body and they meet on a drill like that kind of animal flesh, right? Like this is not what is meant by flesh. Your flesh. Whenever you see that word, flesh and script, sometimes it's translated sinful nature of sin dominate itself. That's self absorbed nature that we all have that like where our interests are, actions. It always curves back in on ourselves, living for self, living for others and not living for God. That when you hear the word flesh, that's what you need to think of. And so we're told we're no longer obligated to fat, no longer obligated to the flesh. Instead, we are now obligated to the spirit and by that spirit we put to death the misdeeds of the body, so when the spirit of God is in you, and if you're a Christian, he is then you were obligated, you're curious, dented some versions. You're found to live by that spirit and you're obligated and indebted in bound to now put certain things to death that namely the misdeeds of the body or sin living by the spirit. It's not a passive thing as if you do absolutely nothing and God does absolutely everything. No, if we have this spirit, we are now obligated to actively, minute by minute live by that spirit who is in us. It is not an option to say live by the spirit for three days out of seven or I'm going to live by the spirit when I'm with these friends, but not with these friends or I'm going to live by the spirit and these areas of my life, but not in these areas of my life. I mean, even just hearing that, it just sounds foolish, right? But isn't that what we do? What we live for self? In a given moment in time or in a given place instead of living for and by the spirit. So let me just get practical here, these last few minutes, and what does it look like to live by the spirit in this way and put selfishness and sin to death and as we're obligated to do so. You got to the very last slide, Josh. Thanks. So when you sin admitted to God and others, I think that's a huge step of what it means to live by the spirit. When you become aware of sin in your life or you do sin, you just confess it right away. You send against somebody else, you confess it to them. You asked for forgiveness. If you want a healthy relationship with God and with others, you have to humble yourself and admit wrong when they're guilty. And often when I run, this is when I had my most most lucid thoughts. I know I've shared this with some of you and that's often when I realized, okay, Chris, you are really angry or jealous or you have felt slighted or undervalued, right? And I have to catch myself in that moment when I have these clear, lucid thoughts and I have to admit it to God and say, God, I'm sending right now. We're on the cusp of sitting and I have to admit my weaknesses to God, and it's a good idea to also admit it to others as well, but don't just stop there. Received God's forgiveness again, is what it means to walk in the spirit or live by the spirit. Think of Romans eight one. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and that no condemnation. It's an emphatic no, like the condemnation is destroyed. It's gone. God is not hanging condemnation over our head, waiting for us to mess up to drop it on us again. No God has removed competent condemnation from us in Christ. So receive that gift again, another step by fake. Claim the reality that the spirit is in you and call upon him to change you. So that was just go back to when I'm running. I often pray things like, Spirit, I know you are ending your at work within me. Please put that jealousy to death. I can't do this alone, but I know you are with me and by you all things are possible. So by faith, claim the reality that the spirit is in you and call upon and can change your and another stop minding sin because it leads to death. A lot of the Romans eight passage is about what our minds are fixated on what we're preoccupied with. Um, you know, there's a lot of alignment and a lot of the speech in this passage. So what are you minding? You know, when the Bible talks about our mind, it's not just about our cognitive functions are rationale so much. It's like what is it that we're craving, fantasizing about? What is it we desire, longing for dream about. And here, here's Romans eight, five and six where I read this earlier. Those who live according to their flesh have their mindset on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. So what is controlling you, what is governing you, moving you, animating you, and one of the things that controlled and governed me was people's approval and recognition. Uh, this is what motivated me in academics and athletics, particularly in high school, and I loved it when others recognize my talent for it wrote newspaper articles about me or gave me awards publicly. And then just like I shared very briefly at the beginning, and then I became a Christian, and the spirit of God truly came into my life. I began to break all of that term that didn't happen overnight. It was a process. It still is a process that's unfolding. But I can say that the spirit is faithful and God has changed me through his spirit. The spirit always does this in partnership with God's truth to God's promises. So for me it was like, well, if I don't win this person's approval or recognition, you know what? That's okay that doesn't control and govern me anymore because I know that God loves me. God accepts me. God delights in me and calls me and that truth with the spirit in my life. Those two things together, God's Word and God's spirit began to remake me and change me and I, you know, I got to the point where you know that knowing that God calls me his own is greater than any newspaper article or any award that I could ever receive. And so this is what we're called to. We're called to put such things to death. We're called to, to crucify these things. These things take drastic measures. The old way of putting it in the King James version is mortified. Mortified, like execute, um, these things that, that lead to death. So stop my sin because it leads to death. And then finally mind what the spirit desires and pursue those things that help you live by the same spirit. I want you to think about this. How does God encourage you? I mean, how does he do Nicoli encourage you to live by his era and be aware of what God uses to move you to check it took to put sin to death and to say yes to his spirit. I can share a few examples from my own life. So one example would be I find a mountain, or I see mounds, I just, I feel how small I am in a sense, how big God is and it makes me say in my heart I want to live for the God who made these mountains and that's just how God moves in my heart by spirit. So wants to live for him. Another one is hearing people's stories. I mean this past summer is that as that church, there were like 200 kids running around and I was talking to one of my dear friends, her name is Donna. She can barely walk on her own, but the spirit of God has come into her life and it's amazing. She's not bitter. She is one of those painful, most joyful people. I know. She's always talking about how good God is and it's just so clear to me. The spirit has come into her life and has transformed her and she changed her and has grounded her on the promises of God for her in Christ. And so hearing other people's stories. When I hear a story like Donna's and I walk away from that saying, I want to live for the same God she lives for, I want to say no to sin and I want to say yes to the spirit and righteousness and yes to God's promises and live for him. Just like dominant. Watching certain movies can point needs to Christ. This is fresh on my mind because a few days ago my kids were like making fun of me and laughing at me because they were reminiscing and remembering how like when I saw pixar, a inside out with them, you know the scene when the clown Dang bomb. He sacrifices himself so that yes, it's okay, but if there's this scene where a class clown sacrifices himself for the sake of like the main protagonist and like when I was watching the movie in the theater with my kids, they look at me. When that scene happened like that in that moment, it made me realize that it's just the spirit in me made me realize this is exactly what Christ has done for me. I don't much but God used a pixar film in that moment, so just impress upon me that Christ loves the living for him is right, is good. It's not foolish. You know, it might sound strange. It certainly to my kids, it might sound strange to you, but that there are things like that that impress upon us by the spirit to live for price and say yes to the spirit of learning. History is another one, was so much brokenness in the world when I studied history just makes me so grateful that God is moving history to a directed certain end were all things made new and transformed and again, it just, it makes me say yes, I can live for that kind of gone. I can say yes to the spirit and no to sin and memorizing scripture. The spirit always works with scripture, so there are passages of scripture that I've memorized and those moments where you just have free time or walking from one class to another. You're standing in the shower and your mind is in neutral and then it begins to slip somewhere. Just tend to call scripture to your mind, and so many times the spirit with the word has been pressed me who god is, what he's done for me in those moments. So there's just some of the ways in which you know, minding what the spirit desires and pursuing those things that will help you live by the spirit. So what does God use for you to encourage you, for you to live by the spirit, for you to put to death the misdeeds of the body and to say yes to the spirit, to saying Yes to Christ, to say yes to righteousness, set your mind and your heart on those things. Pursue those things. Put Sin to death that's surprising or God, I give you praise and thanks because of who you are. You're an ordinary. You did not leave us alone, but you sent your son to come to live and to die and to rise again on our behalf. And now he's the Senate. That the right hand have you had your right hand and you have sent your spirit to be with us and to be in us. Lord God, we invite you.
Speaker 6:We
Speaker 4:asked you what we call upon you to fill us with your spirit, fill us with the of your spirit so we would put to death the misdeeds of the ball, that we will walk in step with the spirit who is in us that we wouldn't live and the agents of Christ in this world. Wherever you call us, I pray that you would confirm this identity in us, that you would give us hope that you can change and transform us. I see my brothers and sisters here tonight and I know just by walking with them for some of them three, four years, I have seen your spirit at work. When your spirit is good, you were faithful. So Laura, would you continue to do this? I promise you will continue to. So we invite you, we asked you to, to continue to do your good work by your spirit in and through us and all this. In Jesus' name.