The Spirit: The Greatest Chapter in the Bible, Part 3

Greer understands spirit of God is not merely trying to curb your behavior this year got a job, say, stop it, cut it out. God changes your heart so that you begin to desire God's will. God is not just after obedience. Paul tells us he's after whole new kind of obedience spirit you'll obedience that comes from the spirit fighting sitting on light modeling that events and confused by the role of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians repeat familiar phrases about the spirit, but they still don't know exactly what they mean and easy to be left wondering today. Pastor JD clearly teaches about why the Holy Spirit is necessary where he leads us and how he gives us assurance that were not slaves need to be afraid, but instead sons and daughters fist insecure and God bless.

So grab your pen in your Bible and let's listen in chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 the greatest chapter in the Bible.

This is a precious chapter of the Bible believers in the worst conditions imaginable throughout history in every different continent on earth, from all different cultures have found this to be. Maybe the most encouraging text of Scripture. The refined in all of the Bible Roman separate Bible scholar into the right goals.

Romans eight a veritable feast of Pauline themes that carries the power of the gospel in every verse he says that the church would just hoist it sales and catch the wind, the Romans eight there is no telling what would happen in the world.

As a result, I know some you that are more in the classical art you might know that Johan Sebastian Bach composed an entire cantata based solely off of this chapter he thought it was so powerful in its beauty and its power, so having said that, here's my big challenge to you for the summer you memorized Romans eight this summer. I promise you will be better it will be more refreshing than any book you've ever read any vacation you've ever taken. If you are part of the family. You, your family or small group committed to memorizing Romans eight I promise you will look back has the most powerful summer ever. I will, despite the fact that it is so beloved as a chapter cited by the Bible so beloved. There is some difference of opinion among Bible scholars about what the theme of Romans eight actually is. Many say it's the spirit of God because the spirit is mentioned 17 different times in Romans eight so obviously they say spirit is the primary theme. However, other scholars contend that it's all about assurance.

I mean, just think if you know anything about Romans eight.

Think of the many great verses in Romans eight about assurance Romans 81. There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans eight verse 16 the spirit in our heart testifies to our spirit that we are the children of God and cries out, father in us. Romans 828 we know that he is working all things together for good. Romans 832. We know that nothing can separate us from the house and the love of God in Christ Jesus, and the like.

Obviously, it's about assurance so which is it is Romans eight about the spirit or is Romans eight about assurance renewal about here. Obviously the best way to understand this is to put the two together and understand the theme of Romans eight is about the assurance that you and I have in the spirit assurance in the Christian life comes from intimacy with the spirit the spirits primary role in your life. You know what is the primary role in your life is not to tell you what college go to not to tell you today not to tell you various tips you need alive. The primary role of the spirits is to give you assurance that you belong to God.

So the question to ask from Romans eight is this how exactly does the spirit. Give us assurance. How does it give us assurance because that's what the rest of Romans eight is all about Ellis and this is to be so helpful for you because it can answer so many questions that some of you have about how to relate to the spirit of God. This chapter is full of little phrases that Christians sometimes repeat but honestly, candidly, or not quite sure exactly what they mean.

For example, read. We read a verse I Romans 826 the Spirit intercedes for us and groanings that cannot be uttered. Like I don't even know what that means is that mean if I have my spiritual ears review these whales sound with notes coming out of my heart that's the spirit making groanings that cannot be uttered. Verse 16 the Spirit testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children and Christians sometimes wonder what times they will vocalize this kind out but there like what is that how executive the spirit testified eyes, does that mean you like your voice every once in a while inside of you that whispers hey you're really a true Christian because some of you would say, I'm not sure about rock you heard the voice in fact if there is a voice and this is me Jenny talking out if there is a voice inside me talking like that. After I count the times tell me you're not really a Christian, not like the voices whispering hey you got everybody else pulled maybe mad yourself old you talk a big game and you act the part really well but I know what's going on in your heart and you're not actually a true Christian. I don't think you really say you like was that is out is maybe I'm not a Christian or is Paul talking about like a peaceful easy feeling that you know just will let you down. I just comes over you out of nowhere and you're like, I'm not sure that's a Bible verse for the lyrics to legal song.

I really genuinely didn't remember but I don't have peaceful easy feeling to come over me, in fact believes the feeling to come over me are on peaceful worried feelings that tell me that everybody's let me down and so is that what it's talking about is this serene feeling, how do you know the spirit of God is inside of you. What is it feel like for him to testify to you.

What does the movement of the spirit in you feel like I told you so many Christians are confused by this license. Got a lot of things in my trying to define or contain everything he does, but not told you God knew of in college. She was a friend of a friend who is young this recording studio and a passport is recording studio, he would give time for free to aspiring startup Christian artists just his way of serving the kingdom and so Tommy said he had this one lady commanded.

He said man.

He said she give Nancy pass through three hours and I gave it to Lauren he said she brought little prayer posse with her in a set up. All that was great. He said you know I hit record. She gets all set up with headphones on. She starts singing his as minimal everything she was actually really good. Sounded really good. He said, about two minutes in those suddenly ripped the headphones off and she says it's no use.

If he's not here. He's not here and I said I wasn't around when who's not here I'm here. You and I and in and if you think the spirit of God is not here. I mean the prayer team to come in is the prayer team to man. They started to pray around the room and later hands on stopping to donate pulled up his bottle oil and started to anoint things with oil and he said I was kinda nervous because unsoiled establishment of equipment exhibit so to let it go is after five or 10 minutes each. You can have it back on. She started again second time that she sounded awesome but same thing. After two minutes he take he's not here, brought the prayer posse back in that we went through this five times is that weeds consumed about an hour and I'm starting a little irritated because there was all this time it seemed like it. He said on her fifth time through, as she's she starts to sing. She gets about 10 seconds into the song and I look down and realize that in her monitor. What, they were headphones.

The reverb was not on. Now I don't know if you doing about recording the reverb base and what makes them full and that he said I just reset and turned it up and all of a sudden her hands go up and she's like oh yeah he is here he is here he is here. He said I didn't have the heart to tell a man I don't think that was a spirit I think that was the reverb so I'm not poke I'm not making fun of people who had the sensations that you like, what is it feel like you get emotional.

Is that what it is that you know the spirit of God is near. Is it that you get like Missy. Either you get a tingly feeling are they are your back, your neck stands up, or that somehow it always corresponds with the pastor get on a little alliterative roller are a crescendo in the music. What does the spirit of God. What does him testifying to you actually feel like the point is that many are confusing. So the next seven verses of chapter 8 are going to show you number one the necessity of the spirit of God for the Christian life.

The number two call to show you the trajectory of the spirit of God in your life and number three he's going to show you the assurance from the spirit that's what were going to break this down number one number one the necessity of the spirit of God. In verses 12 and 13. Paul explains that only in the spirit only the spirit can we escape the power of sin.

Verse 12 so then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to flash to live according to the flash so then so then points back to the point Paul made in the previous 11 versus what was that name. Point number last weekend. The main point was, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Paul is saying because because Jesus put it into sin. Through his death on the cross, you are no longer obligated to a human release from it, not obligated means no longer bound to it. We are no longer David no longer owns us to insist that we obey its dictates through Jesus's death. He released us from the penalty of sin, but Jesus also resurrected and that life imparted to us by his Spirit releases us from the power of sin. Make sure you get that straight because many Christians only have 1/2 gospel. They know that Jesus death releases them from the penalty of sin.

But Jesus didn't say that. He also raised from the dead, and his life releases you from the power of sin you are released from the penalty of sin by his blood, you are released from the power of sin by his spirit. Verse 13 because because he says if you live according to the flash going to die, but by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body.

Then you will live, listen, let me give you one last warning warning on this because this is the last time posing to bring this up so many Christians that don't live with the reality of what I'm about to say is, it was more time even if you are saved, even if you're saved in spirit filled sin is very much still alive and you and you should never forget that because sin is a predator and that predator is always on the prowl to destroy you and that is true no matter how far you've gone the matter how much you know how long it is been how much you have accomplished one time with Christian counseling Paul David Tripp you make recognize his name is not spoken here. The church authored a number of books and one of our probably are countries that keep most famous Christian counselors and you now backstage at a conference where both speak and added it was right after news to come out about another one of these euro pastors of one of these churches.

He was about my age had been discovered that his limits on how to double life and and I just called and the sediment disqualified for ministry.

Be totally honest with you was a little overwhelming to me because I knew this guy and I just seem like it was a whole string of them and I just I just I asked him I said Deacon what what what what happens to these guys. I know I know it's not happening to me. They all have somewhat common thread to them and he said he said well government.

He said he said this to think see is two things I see in these guidelines is another one is the absence of peer community. I don't mean they don't know anybody or their isolated because he said user their extroverts are there always around people, he said, but I mean peer community people. I can look into their eyes and tell them that what they're doing is wrong. He said number two plays into that this is the more deadly of the two. He said as he says these guys forget the power of indwelling sin.

They think that because they've accomplished so much in ministry because they know so much now that they get past the stage when they got to be on the lookout for what sin is trying to do to them and that is the sure fire way to set up that predator to absolutely destroy don't you hear this again. I don't care how long it's been. I don't care how much you know I don't care how much you've accomplished. Sin is still in there. That is until you go to be with Jesus.

Sin is still in there and it is looking for opportunity to destroy you for the Puritan John Owen says you gotta be killing sin or is going to be killing you. There is no neutral spotless sin, you are actively killing it, or it is actively killing you.

Most of us, however, what we do is we flirt with sin and we try to do is tame sin rather than telling but I told you that that's a silly as is people who try to make a pet out of a predatory animal right when we talk on this a few weeks ago to make these predatory animals in the make and pass because that's an exotic patio is about awesome and then everybody shot when you know fluffy the cougar you flip the switch and all of a sudden meet somebody and herself. One of our staff members showed me an article this week, his hometown newspaper with this headline pet bear killed Pennsylvania woman escape from his hometown. How you read the article to Pat bear's name was Teddy Wright. She had Teddy for not is a black bear.

She had important nine years right and then all of a sudden you're just in the barracks which is one day and and and Mulder and tells her they did all these interviews with these people you know in our neighborhood and and and they were all like surprise, the woman was like she was such a good person we thought she had a strange hobby was that I don't doubt that she was a good person. I really don't.

But keeping a bear in your house is not strange hobby like scrapbooking or collecting stamps. I don't care if you name it. Teddy my kids are not coming over to hang out at your house okay right were to play dates at my house because sooner or later. Sooner or later bearers are always get to do what bearers do just like sin will always do what sin does. You cannot tame it. You have to be killing it, or it will be killing you.

The point is is a Christian, you've always got to be fighting sin in the spirit and make sure that you know let's make sure we state the obvious here.

Make sure you know that Paul says it's only by the spirit that you can hope to do this if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body.

It is then that you will live. My friend Matt Chandler says fighting sin without the spirit is like open hand slapping a bear is just not go well for you my fielder. When you do a once but is not well after that. I know that many of us feel defeated by sin because many of you feel defeated by sin because even try to fight the impulse of sand to the powers of the flesh, you got to learn to fight sin of the power the spirit now this was moments where everybody goes like this.

That's right, pastor NAI advisor. What does that mean you gotten my don't know right. What does it mean to fight sin but a policy of people exit like the forces of light like Star Wars belugas like you know but use the force Looper evangelism of how the spirit is like these are not the droids you're looking for, what, how do you summon out the power of the Spirit in your life right and be honest.

You really know how to do that. But what what what switch you flip your from the flesh, the spirit, so maybe a little five-step quick five-step process of fighting in the spirit always entails number one. The first is humble confession, humble confession, the opposite of this is what your instinct tells you do and that is to hide your faults and keep your faults to yourself because that way you can maintain the illusion that you got everything together and nobody sees the mess that you actually are.

But that is a mistake because there are certain things that God can only heal that God will only kill when you bring them into the light. There are certain kinds of moral mildew on the soul that you can only get rid of by exposing it to the light of God's presence. That's why James five says, confess your faults one to another, and then you will be healed by the way, this doesn't mean you gotta tell everybody everything nobody wants to go home today and put on Facebook every dark secret. Did you ever have. We want to read that okay, but you do you everybody everything that you need to tell some people that are close to you need to let them see what's going on in your heart. Maybe it's a trusted friend. It's a counselor at your small group there certain things that the spirit of God only does when you bring them into the light of day number two, number two. It always involves total surrender, total surrender, I mean this in contrast to a negotiated settlement with God, which is what most people want right right mean you become a church thing I need God to add a little bit of religion back into my life. I need God to give me a stable family write what I gotta do to be a good Christian, but that won't work because God the Holy Spirit is not of course you can employ don't grow stronger in the spirit so to speak. The Holy Spirit is a person that you surrender to and when you say no to the Holy Spirit even about a small thing, you cut yourself off from fellowship with him and when you cut yourself off from fellowship with him.

Not only do you lose his presence. You also lose power. Number three after total surrender. You got reassurance in the gospel the Holy Spirit the primary things he does model MSN you and guide you must speak always wait for the primary thing he does is he reassures you in the gospel. The spirit breaks sand hold on you by reminding you of your full acceptance with the father because the power of new life flows only from assurance in the gospel, which is a little counterintuitive for most people right because when Jesus would release people from the power sin number Johnny last week I told you we would release people from the power sin, he would start with acceptance and use that to move them toward change. So he's dealing with the woman caught in adultery. He says neither do I condemn you acceptance now therefore go and sin no more. He put acceptance. Neither do I condemn you before change. Go and sin no more, because he knew she would never have the power to change until she felt the power of acceptance to the spirit of God.

His role is to remind you in whatever mess you're in. You belong to God, and I told you that that that that's the irony of the Christian life is the only one to ever get better are those who understand that their acceptance with God is not conditioned on their getting better. That's that's what the spirit doesn't three, number four for memorizing specific Scripture. When Jesus fought Satan in the wilderness and resisted his temptations what any use specific Scripture that dealt with the temptation.

Paul calls the word of God in Ephesians 6 the sword of the spirit to spirit use of Scripture as his weapon trying to battle temptation and sin without a thorough knowledge of Scripture is like going into a gunfight without a God, not even Jesus would do that and understand Jesus's character was stronger than yours. You get that right. He was the son of God, you're not even Jesus the son of God, thought that he needed Scripture to fight temptation, how much more should you. Which means you ought to be memorizing Scripture start with Romans eight that are given to you to listen if this if this right here in this moment. If this is the only Scripture intake that you get week by week. You are never going to be able to resist the temptations of the confusion site Satan's attacks on you our daily which means that your Scripture intake must be daily as well.

Number five last one. Don't just avoid sin.

Just avoid sin pursue wisdom.

Most Christians walk through life trying to see like how close they get to the borders of Sam without actually crossing by that. That's God's rules.

I don't cross these lines, but how close can I get knots will be okay.

That's not the way toward the spirit. When you're walking with the spirit you not try to avoid sender trying to be in fellowship with him and me and that means the question is not what is not simple but I get away with.

The question is what is the spirit of God want me to do in a situation and that changes your your calculus from what is not sin to what is the wisest thing to do here because what the Spirit wants you to do is always with the wisest thing to do is Paul tells us there are many things are lawful or not simple but they're not health. That means certain choices may not be simple per se but they don't align you with the spirits will see you get the power the spirit of you and fellowship with him when you're in fellowship with him, then you have his presence with his presence, comes his power to those are five ways you can fight send the spirit as you understand spirit of God is not merely trying to curb your behavior registered got a job, say, stop it, cut it out as my job. That's what I got to a stop and counted out the spirit of God changes your heart so that you begin to desire God's will. Were you begin to seek righteousness because you love righteousness. God is not just after obedience. Paul tells us these after a whole new kind of obedience spirit fueled obedience that comes from the spirit fighting sin in your life just necessity the spirit okay so number two was here from there to the trajectory of the spirit, but trajectory is here where you taking it first 14 problems led by God spirit are God's sons. The question you should ask here is led by God where is he talking about people who get messages from the spirit spelled out in their Cheerios or their alphabet soup each day to have things whispered to them about other people. Is he talking about when the spirit shows up, it gives you clarity about some decisions because some of you say I just don't know how much that happens to me and how do I know I'm actually in Lebanon spirit right and you know like it is out. It means I knew a guy Skype Muzak is a great preacher but some of the middle point. He would just stop. Hold on, hold on. Some come through okay. I got no I can tell not to get mad. Slow down God I can't take on this and have a conversation with the Almighty writer and stayed and turn around and he would relate to us, today was a great theatrical triggers. We are all paying attention when the conversation but you like. I just don't know if that happens to me a lot and is that really what is talking about that I'm engaging to be led by God's spirit bursting Christians interpret this verse.

Something like that. But don't look at the context was a context. When Paul says, led by God spirit he means led by the Spirit into Christlike mean the Holy Spirit's guidance and power every day.after your change behavior after your change heart you're listening to Senate life with JD Greer as pastor Jenny is emphasized. Romans is the favorite book of the Bible for many theologians and chapter 8 is often considered the greatest chapter of the greatest, but that's why we're spending more than a week dissecting.

I'd like to encourage you to get our new Bible study where you can go even deeper into the theology and issues discussed in the book of Romans. Specifically, chapter 8, this brand-new study, but comes as a three-part box set throughout the year. You can get the second volume today and if you missed the first millennium. Make sure to ask how you can get that as well. Having faith in God's righteousness leads to unfailing hope as your studying chapters 4 through eight of Romans. You'll get into the concept of helping suffering our union with Christ. The obedience of faith in the role of the Holy Spirit as we did in today's message will send you the second study, but as an expression of our thanks when you donate today to support this ministry Senate life is funded by listeners like you.

Your gift truly does make a difference. Ask for volume 2 of the Roman sending me if I can only say 33 520-866-5220 we can get online check out pastor Jenny has taught me anything you want to do that today to gain weight honest answers to tricky question find it online.

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