The Spirit Is Life

Do you want to be spiritually minded.

Well, it will close your eyes on. Hmmm. That's not spiritual mind of the spiritual mind of this is to dig deep into the word of God to learn that the treasurer asked to memorize it to make it your second by second, nourishment welcome reviewing the mind on this Tuesday I'm there is no question that we lead busy lives we are preoccupied by work, family concerns, the bills that keep piling up and we have even more to worry about now than we did this time last year, economy, health the state of the world.

But today Dr. Derek Thomas will remind us that always things are just distractions from what really matters sleep together.

Romans eight to hear that verse five.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit sets their minds on the things of the spirit sets the minds on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace for the minds that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law.

Indeed, it cannot those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, I'm not in the flesh but in the spirit, if in fact disputed term God dwells in you.

Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you.

Although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. 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.

I want to see three things in this passage this evening. Three statements that are true about every Christian on the first is that the Christian is a life I don't mean that he or she has a pulse. I don't mean it in the solar sense mean that I mean that the Christian is a lie leave as opposed to being dead in trespasses and in certain there are contrasts that Paul introduces here the contrast between walking according to the flesh and walking according to the spirits. There is a walk or Christian walk, and it is a very different walk from the walk. That is, according to the flesh or Paul uses the contrast of living according to the flesh and living according to the spirit or is he also uses your mind doing the things of the flesh and mind doing the things of the spirit. One is a way of death. The other is a way of life. The natural man you see here refers to the natural man in verse seven, the mind that is set in the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law.

Indeed, it cannot. So the natural man is dead in trespasses and then sends his will is bound to his nature, he cannot serve God. Indeed, he cannot please God undertakes supernatural sovereign energy of God to bring that person out of a state of death and into a state of life.

Think of the metaphors that the New Testament employees. The one in John chapter 3 where Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus unless a man is born again or born from above unless a man who has experienced that sovereign work of regeneration in his heart in her heart he cannot see the kingdom of God, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

John 33 and John 35 is speaking to Nicodemus.

Nicodemus is the great Bible teacher. He's the one who knows the Scriptures since identity is is the preeminent conference speaker in Israel. And Jesus is saying something to him and Jonathan wants you to understand this. He has great understanding. He has a profound understanding of Scripture and Jesus is saying unless you are born from above you cannot see.

You cannot understand, and you know what Nicodemus said I don't understand what you're saying. Underlining the fact of his great need that he was a Bible teacher but he wasn't regenerate was still dead in trespasses and sins. We need a new birth under Paul here in Romans 820 he's talking about the person who walks according to the spiritual who minds the things of this individual who lives according to the spirit you think they think that this person is allowing the six to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life. Think of another metaphor in the New Testament to second Corinthians 521. If any man be in Christ and and in English we we provide a verb, if any man be in Christ he is a new creation, but the verb doesn't exist in the Greek if any man be in Christ. New creation something of new creation, something of the new heavens and new up something of that all of existence that will be forever perforated into the here and now something of the not yet perforated into the here and now a new creation. Every Christian is a lie leave with a life that is testimony to the life to come, that something of eternity because perforated into our life. Right now we have a look. We have a glimpse of eternity perforated into our very existence differs and be my friend for over 40 years would often into some incite the privilege of ministering alongside him for two years First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, sometimes at the end of the sermon, he would say into the great thing to be a life is and is a great thing to be spiritually alive is and is a great thing to be a Christian.

We are lying were not dead wherever allying with a life that will continue forever, or the second thing I want us to see is that the Christian lives for God by demonstrating what Paul calls here spiritual mindedness.

It's a continuation of the fourth verse that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us 20 refers to in verse five is living according to the spirit or in verse 13. If you live according to the flesh, you will die produced by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Does he mean precisely here by engaging in spiritual mindedness will have a little test for you roughly about the same time as I was reading. Following the 1974, 75, II picked up from review before little book, the booklet by John Stott and I have a great affinity for John Stott times converted through reading his book basic Christianity value my life.

My spiritual life to him. I would to God come out of it but I will. I would to John Stott instrument and to jumpstart for this is a book that was called your mind matters.

Now this was written in the 60s, late 60s and the time to mid 20th century, when evangelicals, especially in Britain were deeply suspicious of how seminaries and so on board teaching out of their intellectual level under a strain. I think of Pietism that what we needed was something more, more spiritual, rather than intellectual, and under somewhat of a false antithesis. I think crept into evangelicalism in the mid 20th century in Britain between spirituality and and intellectualism – since Allsop was addressing this and addressing it in a manner in a way that this is for college students.

That was the audience. I think that he was addressing and he really based it on Psalm 30 to be not like the mule that needs to be driven by bitten bridal but but use your understanding some 30 to use your understanding launched the book based on the text to use your understanding matters and he begins with the sentence and I didn't check whether this was the actual first sentence but it's it's at the very beginning of this in the booklet the manger's secret of holy living lies in the… Fill in the blank manger secret of holy living lies in the mind with what he said in the minute because he believed that what you see affects the way that you behave now without going into faculty psychology and all of that mess. Surely we can agree we can agree that the way you think about something affects the way you do something your whole approach to life is governed by the presuppositions of the way that you think about something we can use the term mindset to be spiritually minded.

What is this mindset under the contrast here that this mindset stuck in my dreams. The things of the flesh under the mindset that mine the things of the Holy Spirit when he talks about flesh. The six to set the mind on the flesh is death is using it in a different way.

Sometimes a 1/and Jonathan for example, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. In verse 14 and the Word was made flesh is not saying he was made sinful flesh, but the whole point of the Roman Satan verse three. This is to contradict that. But he was made flesh, flesh and blood.

He was a human being.

He wasn't in operation wasn't a ghost begin. Just seeing to be a human being he was at here is an actual human being. Here the bellybutton was all very, there was an umbilical cord, tying him to his mother Mary look like Mary, he never looked like Joseph, there would be a time in his teenage years when he was in the carpenter shop before his before Joseph died in the name of the son would be shining on him and you look at him and profile and you say to yourself something about his jaw. Something about the color of his eyes.

So you'd say he looks just like Mary was here when Paul is using the word flesh to set the mind on the flesh is death to set your mind on that which the flesh, the sinful flesh Adamic flesh corrupted flesh, iniquitous flesh that is born again flesh doesn't know anything about this resurrected life leads to death. So the natural man is the one who lives according to the flesh. To be sure natural man has moments when he glimpses the transcendent natural man can sometimes despite himself. What Paul says in the first chapter of Romans that they not only conceive the eternal power and Godhead of God except through to them is not just something that's out there. Objectively, it actually gets through. They actually get it, but they suppress it but hold it down in unrighteousness. Journaling and I am going back 45 years, but I remember vividly reading this. This question then in his treatise on the duty of spiritual mind mindedness asked the question what you think about when you're not thinking about anything in particular you know so sometimes we are so fixated on what were doing. Our mind is going hundred miles an hour because where we were on the project, run a mission but I'm told him of those times when you're sitting in the chair daydreaming is nothing about anything in particular for this your mind default in general and said it's a great test of your spiritual mindedness. It's a great test of your spiritual maturity. It's a test as to how far you have grown in sanctification's terrifying isn't it when you think about it while there's an advertisement you may have seen this advertisement and that's an advertisement on behalf of a company that some teaching English to foreign students under their in this for the bunker under the instructors coming to where the sparseness and negative space given some instruction and use the room and over the loudspeaker comes a message Mayday Mayday were sinking under this happens to three times an instructor doesn't come back, so he gets on the microphone and he says sin and very pronounced German accent thought to you sinking off well it's the question that Paul is asking you here what are you thinking about what you thinking about remember what John Calvin said in the institutes in the book one chapter 11 in section 8 minus minute's actual factory of idols pectoral my DeLorean.

So what does it mean to be spiritually minded spiritual here with a S to my the things of the spirit.

What you think the spirit minds that would be of course to our course in seminary that would be a referral RRC were here it would be a 24 lecture series what to what the Holy Spirit minds and term of only a few minutes to think about a few of them things that had dear and close to the Holy Spirit. Scripture holy men of old growth as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

All Scripture is breathed out and and the very language of of steel new store since the word spirit wins in spirit that the Holy Spirit is like the wind blows but you cannot you cannot see it all you can. Paul even knows its effects. All Scripture is the product of God the Holy Spirit breathing air blood breeds, God speaks what Scripture says God sets and every Jonathan Tittle, the product of the Holy Spirit, the greatest gift that he ever gave us full which men like Thomas Cranmer gave their lives in the flames, in order that you and I might have access to it. In common, your words about hid in my heart.

You want to be spiritually minded well Paul is saying you don't know. Close your eyes and come that that's not spiritual mindedness, spiritual mindedness is to dig deep into the word of God to learn that the treasurer asked to memorize it to make it to your your needs and drink your yard, your hourly minute by minute, second by second, nourishment to grow in grace to remember what Jesus said in the upper room. I will go away but I will come to you again. He was talking about the Holy Spirit what is the great ministry of the Paraclete, the other comfort of the other helper. It is to make Christ known to you and me. He is the personal representative agent of the Lord Jesus. Now that Jesus in his incarnate body is in heaven.

He is in another realm. He is in a parallel universe to this one. He is crossed through the veil to the places we call heaven and there he is physically in space and time honey cannot be in two places at one time his human body does not possess the attributes of ubiquity, but instead he sends his. His personal representative, agent, the one with whom is the son of God. He has been in communion with for all eternity makes Jesus special to you. His business is always to reflect the roof follow joints of the glory of the Lord Jesus. He wants you and I to have a big majestic view of the Lord Jesus. What does it mean to be spiritually minded truly means to have holy thoughts sanctified thoughts and that's what this passage is largely about its emphasizing the role of progressive sanctification and how that sanctification how that separated us manifests itself in the realm of our thinking of minds of our meditation of our exploration. So the first thing I wanted this to see was that the Christian is alive. The second thing was that the Christian lives for God by demonstrating spiritual mindedness, then the third thing is that the Christian is going to be brought all the way home notices he brings the civil section to a close in verse 11. It actually continues to the verses that follow. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you test positive for second.

This is the spirit of Christ and and elsewhere that he refers to in verse nine. For example, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ S. The spirit of Christ, the spirit who indwelt Christ who knows Jesus best knows Jesus best the Holy Spirit. I'm not saying the Holy Spirit who indwelt Jesus in the womb is a little toddler as a as a teenager at the beginning and onset of his ministry in as he walked into temptation when trial as he faced enemies and difficulties. As he faced the enduring penalty of the cross which was by the Holy Spirit.

In that same Holy Spirit draws a new there's not a trial is not a circumstance that Jesus has not walked through before the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

The witness of the Holy Spirit on this witnessing ministry of the Holy Spirit telling us and reminding us of our identity in Jesus Christ but also reminding us in bringing to our attention.

The Lord Jesus because there is not a trial. There is not a circumstance that hasn't walk through and it is the Spirit's testimony to witness to us the word cry. In verse 15 is the word that is used in the Gospels when Jesus cried out on the cross, meaning I think that Paul is saying that the most endearing times to be reminded of our adoption into the household and family of God, the most the most eloquent moments when the Spirit's testimony as to our identity as the adopted children of God is actually when we are at our lowest point when all we can do is cry in the spirit, the spirit comes and he reminds us of who we are by drawing us to embrace once again, the beauty and the loveliness and the attractiveness of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit in us, Christ in us by the Holy Spirit will let me leave you once again with the Christian drum ordinance in his seventh volume what you think about when you're not thinking about anything in particular and let that be, as it were, the impulse that we would use our time wisely to redeem the time by developing and encouraging all calls spiritual mindedness a minute minds, things students when encouraging and convicting thought from Dr. Derek Thomas, listening to Renewing Your Mind. I we web.

Thank you for being with us today. Today's message is from a ligand or conference. The theme was more than conquerors. Each of the nine messages was based on Romans chapter 8, reminding us of the great riches in this pinnacle chapter of Paul's letter when you contact us today with a donation of any amount we will provide you with a digital download of each message that includes today's message along with sessions from Dr. Steven Lawson and Dr. HP Charles Junior you can give your gift online@renewingyourmind.org or you can call us and make your request at 800-435-4343. When you reach out to us today. We will also include Dr. Thomas's most recent teaching series. Also on Romans chapter 8. There are 12 messages in that series and we will send you the two DVD set, along with a digital download of more than conquerors. Our phone number again is 800-435-4343. You can also make a request to give your gift online@renewingyourmind.org will of all the promises God makes to us as his children.

There is one that is almost too incredible to believe with adoption.

The same judge for dictation to be righteous, then says I want you to come home listening. I want you to live with me. I want you to say your new house and when we get to the house I'm going to show you all of my riches and all that I possess are yours will discover what it means to be heirs of God and coheirs with Christ Wednesday on renewing your