Though Dead, We Live!

Thanks for listening! If you feel like the content is helpful, we would love it if you share it with your friends, subscribe, and provide a great review.

You can learn more about First Baptist Church of Mandeville, Louisiana here: www.fbcmandeville.org

You can hear Pastor Ronny's sermons here: https://www.youtube.com/@fbcmandeville/videos

You can listen to one-minute sermon clips here: https://www.youtube.com/@fbcmandeville/shorts

And you can contact us at info@fbcmandeville.org

Transcript

Welcome To Five Minutes

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in the Word. I'm Ronnie Cooksie. I

A Baby Saved And Adopted

SPEAKER_00 0:09

knew a couple years ago and they were part of a church that had a ministry to street children. The couple, although they already had children of their own, felt led of the Lord to let the church leaders know that if they ever came across a young gal who was pregnant and planning to have an abortion, that they were to tell the gal that they knew a couple who would take the baby. Well, they were jolted to reality a week later when they received the call that just such a gal had been found. And now baby Stephen is growing and learning with two very loving parents. He's their child, he's not destined for the street, but destined to grow up in a loving home where he will run and play and get hugs. But that

The Greater Rescue Story

SPEAKER_00 0:51

story doesn't top mine. I was born a sinner. I was condemned to die. There was no hope for me. I had sinned against the very one who had created me. But then the ruler of the world came down and lived and died in my place. He set me free from my destiny of eternal hell, and he adopted me as his son, and I'm living in that privilege forever and ever.

Romans 8:10-11 Read Aloud

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Well, this is what we see here in Romans chapter eight as we pick back up in verse ten. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. Wow.

Christ In You, Spirit Is Life

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Yes, our body that carries around our soul and spirit, it is dying, and it's a result of sin in the world. But there's a beautiful phrase here in verse ten. If Christ be in you, if Christ be in you, you've come to know him as your Lord and Savior, then you have an intimate relationship. The God who spoke the world into existence has taken up residence in your heart. He didn't just write you a letter. He didn't just simply send you a card. He didn't just take you to dinner. He didn't merely come over and look at your old pictures. He didn't stop at looking around the things you made in your shop or the things you've knitted. He didn't just listen to your heart over coffee. He lives inside you. That is worth shouting over. He doesn't just know that which you choose to share with everyone else. He knows every thought. He knows every emotion. And even though the body is dead because of sin, yes, you inherited a sin nature from Adam. You're a sinner. I'm a sinner. That's the bad news. You're not considered a sinner in God's eyes if you've come to know Christ, but you have sin. The surest way to know that you are a sinner is that you're dying. Every day you're closer to your physical death. Sorry for the bad news. But inside the sinful dying carcass, if you're a believer, you house the Spirit of God. And look, verse 10 doesn't say about the Spirit of God that He is alive or that He is living only, but He is life itself. He's the giver of life, He's the creator, He is life. And then in verse 11, Paul refers to the Spirit or the power that raised up Jesus from the dead. Jesus was here with us, he lived in our shoes without sin, died in our place, and then the Spirit of God that was in him, one and the same with him, raised him from the dead. And that same spirit dwells in the believer. The Spirit of God from the Holy of Holies, the one that spoke to Moses at the burning bush, the Spirit of God that only Moses was to meet on the mountain, the Spirit of God that fell on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Spirit of God that fell on Paul as he walked the road to Damascus, if you're a believer, that spirit lives in you.

Raised To Life, Respond Today

SPEAKER_00 4:17

And so what a joy this is to see that though we are dying, though we inherited a sin nature, if Jesus lives inside of us, that just as he was raised from the dead, we will be raised from the dead to live forever with him in heaven, but we're living in the domain of life even now. We're not living in the domain of the dead spiritually anymore. We were, and you are, if you haven't come to know Christ as Savior, but if you have, then though you be dying, you have the very one who is life living inside of you. That's exciting news, and that is encouraging. It's bigger than anything you may be facing today. Give the Lord praise. Thank him for this if you know him as Savior. And if you don't, don't wait another moment. Stop. Right now, ask him to forgive you, to come into your heart and live as Lord and Savior. God bless you. I'll see you next time as we pick back up in Romans 8.