My Sin . . . and "The Things of the Spirit", Part 2

When a Christian assumes his actions were often followed by guilt and shame were these convictions come from and we have any control over the simple choices. We are prone to make well today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll was teaching from a passage in Romans chapter 8 describes the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In particular, were looking for instruction on how to deal with our sin. So let's begin now, right where we left off on the previous program.

Chuck titled his message my sin and the things of the spirit nowise the spirit suddenly introduced in Romans, because apart from him. There is no possible way to control the flesh.

We are awash, we are adrift we are at the mercy of our flesh, but because he is within us.

We can no power that overcomes Sam and gets us through life. In another dimension, and because we can. We must that's the thesis of this series. Now, if you have seen dwelling in you and the Spirit dwelling in you, what you have is a struggle, a battle royal that's going on, which sometimes you feel and more often than not you and I do not feel but it's there.

Nevertheless, to appreciated and all of its vigor.

Look at J.

Galatians chapter 5 will come back to Romans eight before were through, but just just a little more in-depth examination of the struggle. Paul writes of it in Galatians 5 there are certain skirmishes or battles that we experience from without.

Galatians 513 to 15 you were called to freedom, brethren only.

Do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Grace has delivered us from the domination of sin. We are freed from legalism. We are freed from the demands of sin, however, were not to use it as an opportunity to do as we please. But we do what we do for the good of others for the whole law is fulfilled in one word in the state, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another. Take care lest you be consumed by one another I think is a little humor in that list you eat each other up. If you if you fight and argue and and bite at one another. Take care that you don't consume each other. Now he gets to the inner struggle in verse 60 but I say, walk by the spirit. Now that is a mouth full. That is, of course, the secret which will look into later another time walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh, just ask you straight out you have to answer in your own mind. I do not know your answer. You don't know my answer to you more often than not walk by the Spirit.

Do you even know what that means what I believe in Christ has nothing to do with believing in Christ. That's conversion that salvation. This is Christian truth, not truth given to the lost person is not talking about believing with all your heart that Christ died for your sins. That's conversion is you are and now a believer. If you are on the side of the cross. You're now in the family of God, do you walk by the Spirit is your day spent walking in the power of the spirit or is it in the energy of the flesh, and I think I can read your answer and in some of your faces you.

You have to say you're not pleased with it.

But more often than not you walk in the flesh, and that concerns you. If it if you didn't, you wouldn't be listening you're concerned about that. It's a habit that you built.

It's a pathway of your mind, and we could get into any one area of CNN and some of you would say that's me all about categories and you walk long enough in the category of sin.

You become what is called addicted to it and your labor will see in a moment that your life can look like an unbelieving life as you walk in flesh you pick up the habit of lying.

You begin the line you lie on a regular basis and before long you do not tell the truth.

You are a liar you fall in the category of sexual sins. You play with it before long, it grabs more of your attention and before you know it is a whole secret world that goes on in the realm of of the sensual life that no one else knows about but your trafficking in it and you know what the time you're doing it. It's wrong, but you keep doing it, surely that is something other than walking by the spirit and yet you know with all your heart, you belong to Christ and you would in fact a stand at any moment to give praise to God for saving your soul.

The problem is the domination of sin while all the while there is the Spirit who is grieved within you, wanting to be in control of your life.

Now look at 17. This is the description of the struggle.

Here's the struggle between flesh and spirit.

For the flesh sets its desire against the spirit and the spirit may I read this sets its desire against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you please living Bible puts it this way is keep looking at your seven verse 17 for we naturally love to do evil things that are just the opposite of the things that the Holy Spirit tells us to do and the good things we want to do when the spirit has his way with us are just the opposite of our natural desires.

These two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control over us and our wishes are never free from their pressures. William Barclay calls this the war in the soul. The amplified Bible renders the central part of the verse. These are antagonistic to each other continually withstanding and in conflict with each other friends and neighbors. This is a war battle royal and it could be going on while we are dressed nicely for church as we assembled with God's people. There is this enormous enormous struggle when it happened in Luther's life back in the 16th century working over the biblical text. Knowing of the of God's plan for him and commission for him to put the text in the language of the people from the Latin to the German and at times in that castle he would be fighting with the enemy and one time even through it across the room and there was there was a mark on that wall for four years of the ink is a dream down throwing it well against the enemy. We never felt like doing something like get out of my life. You just but you can't get a hold of it is all in the invisible realm. That's the insidious part of it in in real war you can see the enemy and you can load up in and defend your country from the enemy forces. But in this deep and supernatural warfare within us there.

There is nothing seen. It is all invisible and some battle. Nevertheless well, what happens when the flesh is dominant. What happens when the flesh wins the battle and takes charge you you not get elected you not like the list. Verse 19 and following. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions that would be arguments factions and beings, drunkenness, carousing's and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God will wait a minute that mean I'm not a Christian. Look at the word practice. Paul uses words very carefully. This is a word that it's the word crossover PRA SSO it means to practice and the tense of the verb means to habitually practice is describing the lost person. The person who habitually practices these things is known as a lost individual will not inherit the kingdom of God, but he lists them in a context for the Christian.

Not that we habitually practice them. But we know them.

We do them. We play with them on occasion they rise up and characterize a day of our lives are in our of our lives. The point I'm making is that we can live like a lost person for a period of time and you cannot tell the difference by looking at how deep sin can impact us all. The need for confession of sin for walking in the spirit in such on such a level that it does not take dominance over need not do so. Romans six tells us now what, what is it that the spirit produces when he is in control.

Drop down a little further, the fruit of the spirit. Verse 22 all the things you and I love and want to have characterize our lives and this is just a representation of a group of them love, joy, peace, patience and kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those of the things I want to have characterize my life and yet you and I have to admit that because of the struggle in our not handling it as we should. And as we could. We walk like versus 19, 20 and 21 more often than we want to admit that tell you something that bothers me.

It's these things of the spirit back in Romans chapter 8 the life of the spirit that intrigues me. See how he puts it in in Romans eight verse five, those who are according to the flesh, we just read about those things set their mind on the things of the flesh, dissension, carousing and drunkenness and in those things mentioned there in Galatians 5, but those who set their minds on the spirit, the things of the spirit and I were talking and by the way it it isn't it it is a mechanical tell you there are times I just would love to be able to chart all this and give you four techniques in three easy steps and pass out little 3 x 5 cards and let you go on your way like little Christian robots you walk, you walk that out. It works like a charm. But is not the way the spirit works in the teaching on the spirit is is not it is is will is some of the deep things of God and Jesus himself said to Nicodemus this, the wind blows where it will we see words come from we see where it's going. We see what is doing but we do not know which direction we do not know the plan so it is with the spirit, the wind blows where it wishes you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So were those who were born of the spirit.

Some things related to the Holy Spirit are as unexplainable and unpredictable as the direction and movement of the wind. Nevertheless, it's their available. What are some of these things of the spirit. I want to close with that I am. I'm intrigued by the things of the spirit. I decided to limit these things to the eighth chapter of Romans for there's a whole list of them for five of them right here like in verse six, the mind set on the flesh is death.

When you operate in the realm of the flesh.

It's like a deathlike existence. It's horrible. It it stinks like death it. It is, it is a death existence, but the mindset on the spirit looked the first thing life and peace. Verse 11 says a similar thing in verse 13 says a similar thing.

Verse 11 of the spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. There is a life there is a piece as a part of the things of the spirit.

Verse 13. If you are living according the flesh, you must die, but it but the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. I mean really live. There was a dimension of living in the spirit that you will not touch as you operate in the flesh. So the things of the spirit would include what I will call life and peace. Verse 15 is another you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, the father, and you had it.

Talk to you before these are very intimate words. Daddy, daddy, a sense of intimacy with God and absence of fear before God. That's another part of the things of the spirit. People who live under the dominating control of the spirit come to God with confidence and with assurance and without fear. That is, without fright is a holy respect for God that is always healthy, but one who is operating in the realm of the spirit can call on God in prayer with confidence not demanding of God.

But with that sense of assurance, God, this is your work these things and I lay them before you, and there is a sense of reticence or for fright before the living God. Verse 15 I see that in the spirit of adoption as sons by which were able to call him our own dad, verse 16. Verse 17 enter assurance if we are children, then heirs, heirs of God fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Doubts are gone. There is a sense of inner assurance that 16 and 17. I'm sorry the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. There is a sense of inner assurance doubts flee away.

When you operate in the realm of the spirit you don't operate in the realm of many many doubts you have a sense of assurance. Here's one that has interested me for years they be YouTube. Verse 26, 27 in the same way the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Haven't you ever spent hours like that you don't know what to pray how to pray. Haven't you ever thought how do I even frame this and perhaps in the pressure of your situation you don't know how to put it into words will as you're walking in the spirit in that situation he who searches the hearts.

Verse 27 knows what the mind of the spirit is because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

I take it that there are times when I am in in in in such need unable to put these feelings and thoughts and desires into words that I rest upon the presence of the Holy Spirit who interprets for me the needs and he communicates on my behalf with the living God, who understand there in a dimension. The spirit of the father in a dimension together that I am not in and I rely on him to do that for me. I call it assistance in prayer is another one. Verse 817 and following an inner awareness of the will of God. The spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God and in verse 27 he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God and there is an inner awareness of his will and that's when he goes into knowing that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. God's intimate spirit brings to our awareness.

Certain things that are part of God's perfect and unfathomable will, he makes that known to us, and there is what I call a flood of peace that accompanies it deep within us. You may have been cultivating a romantic relationship with a young man and as time passes. That romance begins to Bud and he feels drawn closer and closer to you as a Christian woman he's a Christian man, but somehow within you. There is a sense of resistance in the sense of of of removal from from him and you can explain what it is but you are you are in the in the realm of the spirit you are operating under his control and without being able to explain it fully. You know he is not the one for you and you you hold back and you don't commit yourself to an engagement or if you have committed. You break the engagement because you sense the will of God is not that the two of you become one and even though you cannot explain it for his satisfaction.

You must follow through because you know in your heart is right that they seem very ambiguous. That's the best I can do it is in that sense that that to God somehow intercedes in communicates with the saints, according to his will and that is all part of the realm of the spirit or the things of the spirit.

While our time is up. Let me give you a two or three thrilling thoughts that to me your worth pursuing. There are realms of earthly existence. We have never traveled. That's a thrilling thought to me. There are realms of earthly experience let's put it that way that we have never traveled the intimate spirit can open them up to us. Here's a second grade thought. There are depths of God's will, we have never tapped which the intimate spirit wants to show us.

There are depths of God's will, we have never tapped which the intimate spirit wants to show us and here's 1/3. There are dimensions of supernatural power. We have never touched which the intimate spirit will allow within us. There are dimensions of supernatural power. We have never touched which the intimate spirit will allow within us and that he is so full of variety in his in his in a role is is a part of the Godhead. I hesitate to give any particular example of illustration, unless you think it is limited to that, but I have I have come to the conclusion that that there is more so much more that could be hours. By way of peace and trust in power and confidence in victory in assurance, we would simply walk by the spirit which will be a subject we wanted develop in the future. Would you like to bow your heads and for a moment.

Just close your Bible and close your eyes, perhaps something has been said in this message that has prompted within you and awareness that that some things have gotten out of line and do you know what they are and the beauty of the of the person of Christ and in the work of the Holy Spirit is that is that we are met by the one who loves us and understands and is ready to forgive as we acknowledge these realms of wrong in our lives may not even be something wrong there may be some sense of inadequacy or or lack of the of trust in him assurance he wants to take that that limitation and make that right. Strong for you is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who is not given his or her heart to Christ. To do that. That's first, there is no sensor, no hope of a victory apart from Christ living within. So I invite you to come to the cross to acknowledge his death was on your behalf, and the payment paid was a payment paid for your sentence. That is, you receive him, he will wash away your sin, our father, we acknowledge your right to rule over us and have charge of us and we also acknowledge that far too many hours of our lives are spent yielding to to the flesh and is submitting in the midst of the struggle to the wrong source of power.

We thank you for the promise of hope for the reassurance that comes in and the thrilling thoughts that accompany a message such as this, and we anticipate with great delight the privilege of walking in a deeper and more meaningful consecrated manner with you. Thank you for Christ whose blood was given on our behalf and we bow before him. Your son is our maker and our master. And as we acknowledge his presence in and among us pray that he would be glorified through that which was declared and that which we do what ever in the very special and intimate way. Meet with us now. Right at this moment. At this juncture in our minds and make these movements delight. Jesus, as you can tell from today's message this series on the Holy Spirit is deeply personal in nature.

And that's because the Holy Spirit is a person as Chuck Swindoll explained the spirit isn't a cold and sterile truth to be studied on the page.

He's like fire your listening to Insight for living, Chuck titled the series on the Holy Spirit flying closer to the flame to learn more about this ministry, we invite you to visit us online at inside world.Borg this teaching series is complemented by one of Chuck's popular books this one is called embraced by the spirit and the subtitle gives you an idea of what you can expect to receive in this book the untold benefits of intimacy with God is he walking with God spirit brings us peace and comfort. It's relationship the columns our deepest fears and replaces them with hope. This is a powerfully practical book again. It's called embraced by the spirit to purchase a copy right now. Go to Insight.org/store or give us a call at 800-772-8888 this month tends to be one of the leanest months for nonprofit media ministries like Insight for living. All that to say is God prompts you to give a donation, please follow his lead. Your contribution will truly make a difference for those who come to rely on Chuck's teaching every day to give a donation right now. Call us if you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888 or go online to Insight.that big a deal.

I bill my join us. When Chuck Swindoll answers this honest question Tuesday on Insight for living. The preceding message my sin in the things of the spirit was copyrighted in 1992, 1993 and 2003 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2003 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited