God's Spirit

This morning we're beginning Romans 8, that glorious chapter that many love and we've been challenged to memorize together. In order to reflect and prepare ourselves to think about this glorious chapter of scripture, I thought I would take us back to the glory days, my senior year of high school football. About week seven, We're sitting three and three. We're feeling good because we just beat Travelers Rust with a blocked field goal. So the playoffs hopes are still alive. But next up is Greer. The Greer Yellow Jackets. Number one in the state, undefeated. They've got a number of guys going on to play college ball. So what happens in high school football, or I assume most weeks of football, Monday's the day you get together with the coach, he reviews tape, he praises those who played hard, he corrects those who did not play well, and then he starts giving the game plan so that you have confidence going into the next week. All right, here's the team, here's their strengths, here's their weaknesses, here's how we're gonna play it, let's go practice. That's what happened this Monday. The coach simply said, it'll take a miracle from God for us to beat them. Needless to say, that was not a very good week of practice. We walked through the motions. No one was really committed. The coach had already said, there's no game plan. We're just going to go out and get beat. No one wants to really contribute the energy and the effort to a clear losing cause. It got so bad that Friday at lunch, the players were betting on how much we would lose by. Friday night, that came to an amazing reality. Without any expectation we would win, we got beat. And let me be clear, they were going to beat us. They manhandled us at every single position. We were overpowered. They were incredible. But we got beat 81 to zero. That's 11 touchdowns and two... I don't remember getting safety, but I don't know how that happened. And the score doesn't even reflect how bad it was. I mention this because we just left Romans 7. Romans 7 talks about how weak our flesh is. Romans 7 left us with wretched man who will deliver me. Romans 7 talked about how we cannot do what the law calls us to do. If we left Romans 7, we would be like my high school football team that week. Why put forth that energy and that effort? Let's just wait for Jesus to come back. That's why Romans 8's here. To give us confidence to fight the battle that is ongoing because we can't win in our own strength because God has given us the power to win. God has given us the power to have victory over sin. leave with a defeatist mentality for Romans 7. That's why we have to see Romans 8. It's that powerful, powerful chapter. Think about it. It begins with no condemnation. It ends with no separation. And in the middle, there is no defeat. This is the chapter of victory. In Jesus Christ, we have victory. By the power of the Spirit of Christ, we are going to go out and we're going to fight together knowing that the victory is ours because of what Christ has done and continues to do. Romans 8, no condemnation, no defeat, no Separation. That's why this is the chapter that Christians love and long to embrace and to trust because it gives us hope to live right now in the blessing and the mercy of Jesus Christ. If we just think about this chapter for another moment, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit is referenced 19 times. That's once for every two verses. This is a clear turn in the book The law was referenced 29 times in Romans 7, along with numerous references to our weakness, our sin, our evil. God has declared us righteous. Now he is showing us how we can be obedient to that righteousness. It says more about the Holy Spirit. It has 19 references. There's numerous ways the Holy Spirit is described. The spirit of life. The Spirit of God. The Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus. The Spirit of adoption. This is the Spirit. God Himself who dwells within us. To free us. To give us the power to live in the freedom of Jesus Christ. This morning we're looking at Romans 8, 1 through 11. We're walking slowly through chapter 8 because it is so important. to grasp the freedom that is being declared here and the victorious life that Paul is declaring. If you look at our passage, verses 1-11, I want to give you a simple outline. There's three main parts. They're broken up, verses 1-4, 5-8, 9-11. 1-4, 5-8, 9-11. The first is this, what God has done. What God has done. He has set us free. Verses five through eight, what we do, we set our mind on the Spirit. What we do, we set our mind on the Spirit. The third, also important, how we do it. The Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. You have confidence because of what Christ has done. You have confidence because of what the Spirit has done and continues to do. I'm weak. Yes. But the power of the resurrection draws inside of you. That's how we can live in the freedom of Christ. What God has done, what we do, and how we do it. Will you pray with me? Father, we praise You that Your Word, Your Word is clear. We praise You that we can look to Your Word and we can see these truths that change our lives. I pray that we would walk away this morning with confidence because of who You are and what You have done and what You continue to do in us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Romans 8 verses 1 through 11 what God has done what we do and how we do it There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus The law the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death For God has not done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do. By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh. In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us. Who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. 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 set their minds on the things of the spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. For the mind 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, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If in fact the Spirit of 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. 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. as we reflect upon this passage. I want to make a very general truth before we get into the three points. All of God is directed towards you. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit. They're all set their focus together to save you. Look at verse three. There's a simple rule here. Whenever God is set next to the Son, it's referenced to the Father. God has done what the law, weakened by sin, could not do. By sending His own Son, that's a reference to the Father. The Father has sent His Son to do what we cannot do. Then the Spirit, He's given us the Spirit of Christ to dwell within us. To continue that righteousness, that righteous change. Verse 11 has all three persons of the Trinity as well. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, Him who raised you from the dead, that's the Father. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit. All three persons are focused on loving you, and caring for you, and saving you, and keeping you, so that you once again worship the one true God who is worthy. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit. That's the beautiful truth, is they're committed to saving you, and then they're committed to giving you actually what you need to worship. Let's look at our passage. What God has done. What God has done. He sets us free from condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now this is an important passage and an important turn because of how Romans 7 really could leave you discouraged. Defeated. Now, I think the therefore isn't just hinging from what he said in Romans 7. I think he's picking up everything he has said so far in the whole book of Romans. The therefore, there's no condemnation, it actually sounds a lot like the first verse of Romans 5. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God. He's continuing his argument. Therefore, because Christ has come, because you've been declared righteous, because the Holy Spirit has come, which is better than the law, there's no condemnation. Therefore, because of all that God has done, there is no condemnation in this very important phrase. Christian, this phrase, always mark it in your text. In Christ Jesus. In Adam, I'm dead to my sin, condemned, defeated. In Christ, I'm alive. In Christ, I have victory. In Christ, I have peace. In Christ, I'm adopted. In Christ, I have life everlasting. In Christ, I have victory. That's an identity-shaping phrase. In Christ Jesus, when I'm connected to Christ, I have a different life. I have a new relationship with God. It's no longer condemnation and separation. It's being drawn near. It's being united with God himself. Verse 2, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. We are in Christ by faith. Verse 2. Notice that the two laws are put in opposition. The law of the Spirit of life. He set you free in Christ Jesus. The law of sin and death. The law of the Spirit versus what I believe is actually the law of Moses. I believe Paul is referring to the law of Moses as the law of sin and death. And that doesn't mean the law of Moses was meant to bring simply sin and death. But because of the weakness of our flesh, the weakness of us and our sin, that we cannot keep that law, the outcome is sin and death. He's now speaking very negatively of the law. Remember, the law is good, right, and holy. What's wrong is in our hearts. He's also making sure, if we go back to chapter 7, look at verse 6. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code, but in the new life of the Spirit. The law was good for what it was meant to accomplish, but we're still condemned under the law. It didn't take away sin. Christ has come, so there is no condemnation because he actually took away sin. The Spirit now completes what Christ accomplished for us by applying that new saving life to our hearts. Our flesh is weak. The law could not remove that. Now the Spirit does. This is the beauty of the law of the Spirit. It's now what that promise was that Mike read about earlier in Deuteronomy 30. The law now is written on our hearts. Not only do we have the law in our hearts so we know what God says, we have the power of the Spirit to actually keep what God says. The law of the Spirit of life is the law that allows us to actually be free from the chains of sin so that we can actually do what God has told us to do. The weak flesh cannot. The power of the Spirit can. We must know we have been saved for a new way of living. Life in Adam, sin and death. Living according to the spirit of Christ, it's life. Notice verse three. What God has done. God does what we cannot do. The law could not Condemn sin because it's weakened by our flesh. Notice there, verse 3. God has done what the law weakened by the flesh, that's us, could not do. But what did God do? Father, he sent his own sin in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh. We're praying for the Christmas season, and this is the message of Christmas. God the Father looked at us and said, there's no way they can save themselves. There's nothing they can do to even help themselves. So I will go do what they cannot do. The Son came down because He didn't have a weak flesh. He was sinless. He came down in the likeness of sinful flesh. He came down like us in every way, yet without sin. He lived the perfectly righteous life. He fulfilled every commandment. He lived the perfect life. And then he was condemned as if a sinner. He was condemned as if he had committed every sin we have committed. So that sin be defeated, so that God's wrath against our sin would be satisfied. This is the power of the message of Christmas. Jesus came to save sinners. He came sinless to take upon Himself our sin. As we sang earlier, He was crushed for our transgressions. If you're not a Christian this morning, this is the one clear message you need to hear. Actually, look down to verse 7 and 8. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh, not in Christ, cannot please God. This is the predicament of every human being outside of Christ. Everyone who is not in Christ. Everyone before they were Christians. There's nothing we could do to please God. We sin, then we become more sinful, then we sin more. That's the pattern. There's nothing we can do to please God. Jesus Christ, He came. The Father was truly pleased with Him. He crushed Him. So that when He looks at His Son, He saw our sin and believed in Him. forgiven. When he looks at us, he sees Christ and His righteousness. And he says, he looks at us and he says, I'm pleased with you. Not because of what I've done, but because of what Christ has done. If you're not a Christian this morning, God is not pleased with you. If you're not a Christian this morning, God is not pleased with you. And He will not be pleased with you if you keep trying to figure out a way of making Him pleased. God is only pleased and we believe in Christ, then our sins are forgiven. Then we're declared righteous. Then we're brought into that family of love as if children, his own child. Christian, we have to remember this is our identity. Christian, by faith, we have to always remember we are not condemned. We live defeated when we continue to live in accusation. We continue to live defeated when we continue to hear accusation and what Christ is declaring, what God's Word is declaring. You're not condemned. Christ has been condemned for you. Christ has condemned sin. He's won the victory. See, guilt, it paralyzes. Look to what Christ has done. Look to who you are in Christ and know there is no accusation that sticks anymore because Christ has forgiven you. There's something else we must see. In Christ, we're free. This is the beautiful, powerful message of Romans 8 and Romans 6. We're just coming back to that, really. You're free to live. Sin doesn't have to control you. You can actually say no. Because the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Him who set you free, He has declared you free. He makes you free. As long as we stop living and trusting our own flesh and trusting the Spirit, we can truly be free. It's as sure as this. When Christ was on the cross, he declared, it is finished. Those great and powerful words, everything I have been sent to do, it is finished. I have died in the place of sinners who believe in me. It's finished. We must learn to live in that great declaration. If you're not a Christian this morning, you can believe in Christ. If you're not a Christian this morning, you're not pleasing God and His wrath will be upon you. If you're not a Christian this morning, realize that if you believe in Christ, you can be forgiven. You must believe in Jesus. You must believe that there's nothing you can do that actually pleases God. And you must believe that everything Christ has done has pleased God. And that if you believe in Him, are now declared a child of God. Please do not leave here without talking to someone about that great gospel. As we continue, verse 4, where we haven't actually finished what God has done, but it takes a certain twist here. It takes a different direction that we need to look at. God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do. What has He done? He sent His Son in the likeness of simple flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in His flesh. Verse 4, there's a purpose clause. In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us. Who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Christ came. He died, He condemned sin in order that the righteous requirements might be fulfilled in us. Now, this brings us to a new benefit in Christ. We're now called to live a new life. We have been saved to now enjoy a new life. And we have to make sure there's two distinctions that stay very clear. We have been declared righteous so that we can now live according to Christ's righteousness. God has called us and declared us righteous so that we can now live and walk in that righteousness. We do not walk in righteousness in order to be free of condemnation. We can't please God. We do not walk in righteousness in order to not be condemned. No, we are not condemned, therefore we walk in righteousness. That distinction has to be very clear. Grace-fueled obedience is what we're talking about. It's not obedience to get grace, it's grace-fueled obedience. Now there's a phrase here that will trouble many of us, us. Righteous requirements. Righteous requirements. I believe what Paul is saying here is that for those who are now in Christ, there are actually righteous requirements for us. Didn't Christ die for everything so I can just live however I want? No. By no means, Paul says in Romans 6. You've been saved for worship. You have been set free from sin and death and guilt so that you can now know God and worship Him again. There's requirements. We could ask, what does God require? We could go to Micah 6a. Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with the Lord. We could think about the great command that Jesus makes clear, love God with all your heart, love your brothers and sisters, love your neighbor as yourself. We have requirements. We have redeemed responsibilities, if you don't like the word requirements. God expects much of us. Let me just walk through a few clear New Testament commandments. Forgive others as you have been forgiven. It's a righteous requirement. A righteous requirement. Forgive others as you've been forgiven. Notice what it doesn't say. Forgive others as they have properly repented. Forgive others as long as they truly feel how much they hurt you. Forgive others as long as you feel comfortable with the forgiveness. Forgive others as Christ forgave you. That qualifier is a high redeemed responsibility. Forgiveness is a mark of a Christian who is walking and thinking according to the Spirit. Other requirements. You could go to Ephesians. Put off the old man. Put on the new man. Put off those old ways. Stop stealing so you have something to give. Stop lying. Tell the truth. Think of others more important than yourself. Think of others, their interests more important than your own. These are requirements. Christ did say To be my disciple, you have to deny yourself and follow me. Some of these requirements, they're not comfortable, are they? We actually don't want to do some of these things. That's why they're clear commands. We obey because it's the Word of God, and He has given us the Holy Spirit so that we can obey. And let me point this out. The more we actually obey, the more they actually turn to desires to want to do them. If you're waiting to do something until you want to do it, you're never going to do it. Waiting around until that desire is stirred within you to do it, you're never going to do it. But getting on your face and saying, God give me the grace to do this, That is walking according to the Spirit. As we look to the book of Romans, and again we're doing a big picture of Romans, the message of Romans is being united as all kinds of different people in the gospel. There's a requirement that we as Christians think about how we're going to be united. All different kinds of people, all different kinds of sinners. It requires presence. If we're going to be united, we actually have to be together. It requires sacrifice, being willing to give up opinions or our own desires for the sake of the truth that actually unites us. It requires serving. A united church is one that serves one another. Most of all, it requires grace, being willing to forgive one another. What God has done, He set us free. What do we do? Notice it's always important to start with what God has done so that we know what we do in response. What do we do? How do we walk according to the Spirit? Well, Paul tells us, verse 5, 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 set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death. to set the mind of the Spirit as life and peace. The mind 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. We keep going back to this phrase in Romans, but it's just true of Scripture. There's two ways to live. The way of the flesh The way of the Spirit. The problem we all have is that we want to figure out a way of modifying so that we have a third way. What can I bring over from this side to this side? How can I modify this? Because, well, I want to really tinker with these two things because I really feel these fleshly desires and I could justify them. How can I bring them into this side? The way of the Spirit, the mind of the Spirit. There's two clear ways. Quit tinkering. You don't improve upon the Gospel. It's Christ, what He's done for us. It's His Word, what He commands of us. It's His Spirit, the power to actually obey. We have to not tinker. Trust God and obey. Notice verse 5, he's focusing back on the walking. The active living. Those who walk not according to the flesh, in verse 4. Those who walk according to the Spirit. The active living. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds to things of the flesh. Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds to things of the Spirit. So the walking, well, it's really focused on the mind. Look, there's two ways to think. Two different mindsets. This is quite interesting. As Paul talks about how you actively live, he takes it to the mind, the way you think. Our thoughts reveal what we love. We think about what we love. Our thoughts affect what we love. We will love what we think about. Our thoughts lead to actions. Paul is saying there's two different ways of thinking. Our mind He's not talking about mere head knowledge here. He's not talking about how many facts you know about the Gospel or God's Word or the Bible. He's not talking about the kind of head knowledge. He's talking about the mind, the act of thinking, what you meditate upon, what you dream about, what you focus your energy on, the activity of thinking. What preoccupies your mind? What do you prioritize with your thoughts? Let me give you an example. At Christmas, our minds are oftentimes set on decorations, parties, and gifts. That's setting your mind on a way of thinking about Christmas. That's actually what Christmas is about. Our minds, the way we think, sets up anticipation, affection, and action. What are we preoccupied with? The more we focus about something, the more we think about something, the more we believe it's true. Actually, what happens here is our mind betrays what we claim as our beliefs. We may say Jesus is Lord, but is that actually what you think about? Do we confess Jesus is Lord, and does that declaration actually reflect in any way what we are preoccupied with? Let me make this clear. The mind isn't what we know as head knowledge truth. It's thoughts that rule our lives. It's the activity of thinking. So the obvious question, what are you? What are you thinking about? What do you think about? Work? Hobbies? Sport? Entertainment? Now, on one level, I want to say, are these bad things? No. Are these things of the spirit? No. You see, we're always thinking. Usually we're having to think about what's pressing in. You know, at work we have thoughts that are demanded of us because we have to administrate or we have to teach or whatever it is. We have people always pressing in, demanding thoughts. What I really want to think about is what we call the screensaver. Where does your mind go when somebody isn't demanding your attention? That really reveals what we love. We prioritize. What Paul makes clear is there's two ways to think. Paul is making it clear that we're no longer condemned in Christ, therefore we should have different thoughts. We think according to the flesh and the Spirit. So at the flesh, I want to say at one level, there are good things that you could be thinking about in your life. You may have all kinds of good thoughts about things in this world, but it's not the things of the Spirit. A fear is that we could be amusing ourselves to death with good thoughts instead of actually thinking according to the Spirit. At another level, I want to make sure the fleshly thoughts, they're sinful. Fleshly thoughts, that's plotting sin. Let me give you just three kind of categories here. A sip, a peek, and a jab. A sip is whatever we want to run to for comfort. Whatever we want to try to administrate to our own soul when we don't feel good, whatever that is, that's a sip. What can I get a little taste of? It could be literally a taste of alcohol. That'll make me feel better. It could be ice cream. Could be reading a certain magazine. It could be looking at anything. A sip. What do you want to taste that's going to make sure you have that comfort and fun? A peek. This is that guilty pleasure we try to sneak in. When that moment arises, how can I just capture a peek or a simple taste of sin? This could be gossip. It could be sleaze. It could be argument. It could be pornography. A mind set on the flesh plots, how can I get that little taste? A jab. You ever think about how you replay arguments in your mind? Have you ever lost one? A jab. Oh, if I just had this to say over again, I'd get them good with this. If this ever comes up again, I know exactly how to just get them right there. These are things of the flesh. Proactively thinking how I win. Proactively thinking how I can get a taste of that little treat that I think I need. There's one other way of thinking about the flesh that I want to separate from these, and that's worry. Anxiety. This is a real problem because our world is full of worry. This is why Romans 8 ends with the most memorable passage. All things work together for good. There's so many things to worry about. That's why Paul says, stop worrying. God said you're not condemned. You're not defeated. You're not separated. All things work together for good. Don't worry. That is a fleshly way of thinking. How can I improve my life so that I don't have to worry? No, it's not saying, how are you trying to use the things in my life to glorify you, most God? Worry is a way of thinking according to flesh. Now, it's important. God never just says, stop doing something. He always replaces it with something better. Right? So it's not just stop thinking in the corner of the flesh as if you can just stop. No, you know, you change directions. Start thinking of the way of the Spirit. Start studying your mind in the ways of the Spirit because it leads to life. Well, what is the way of the Spirit? Let me first just make sure we're clear. The way of the Spirit is not mysterious. Scripture is so crystal clear as to what it means to set your mind on the Spirit that we don't have any question about it. You see, as we've already kind of walked through some of those phrases of the Spirit, He's the Spirit of Christ. He's the Spirit of life. He's the Spirit who indwells you to give you all the things that Christ has accomplished for you. In John 14-16, Jesus makes it very clear. He's the Spirit of truth. He's going to come and tell you all that Jesus has said. To know how to set your mind on the things of the Spirit is to know how to think according to Scripture. That's how clear it is. The Spirit isn't out there giving some new mysterious truth or experience. The Spirit of Christ has come so that we have, in words, the words of Christ, the Word of the Father, so that we can read and trust Him. Flip over with me real quick to 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. This is Paul trying to set a church that's just in chaos back in order. And he refers back to the same truth we're talking about right here. Beginning at verse 11. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things really given us by God. And we impart this in words, not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person, Judges all things, but himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. The Spirit has come. to indwell us so that we actually can have the mind of Christ. And it's not something mysterious. Christ said he's going to come and remind you of all the truths. These are the truths that we're supposed to be thinking about so that we can set our mind to the things of the Spirit. Now, let me just make sure this is clear. God is saying you can think my thoughts with me. This is an invitation from God that is quite amazing. You can think after me. You can think like me. You can have my thoughts. Now here's the problem. We too often think our natural thoughts are actually pleasing to God. No, they're not. Basement 1 verse 7. God says, You can have my thoughts. You can have the mind of God Himself because He's living inside you, the Holy Spirit, and He's wanting you to know more about Him. We could go to Romans 12. Be transformed in the renewal of your mind so that you may test things to discern the will of God. Now, this isn't just letting your eyes roll over the pages of these Spirit breathed out words. This is submitting, carefully studying, because these are God's thoughts that He wants to give us so that we know Him. The problem is we're usually too distracted. The problem is that we're usually to have so many other things prioritized in our mind, we don't actually take the time. Let me ask you, what keeps you from studying the Word of God? There's the other question. Are you willing to give up a TV show to start studying the Word of God? Is there a TV show that you say every week at this time, I'm going to make sure I'm watching this show because it's my favorite show? If God's Word doesn't have that same kind of priority, I'm not sure you have the Spirit of God dwelling inside of you. Because this is way more entertaining than anything on TV. These are the thoughts of God. This is God telling you who He is. There's nothing more glorious ever spoken than these words because they tell us who God is. A wise life is one whose priorities are properly ordered. Quite frankly, a fleshly life, everything's out of whack. We don't live with wisdom. I mean, think about it. How much have you thought about sports this past weekend? How much time did you dedicate to watching games or checking scores versus studying and thinking about what God has said? Does the time Comparison, reveal a wise and ordered life. What are you setting your mind on? You see, it's not just new thoughts, it's actually a new way of thinking. Think about a simple trip to go shopping. Here's a question, some questions that you might have to ask if you're actually trying to think according to the Spirit. Is the item I'm buying, is it modest? Is me purchasing this, is it good stewardship? Is this item something I want or something I need? Am I looking for the best product or the best price? Am I purchasing this for a status or is it really going to serve something more practical? If there's all kinds of questions, if we actually start thinking, okay, Spirit, guide every thought, give me discernment in every action, shopping becomes a real practice. I want to be very clear about something. Communication is really hard. Communication is hard. Alright, so you've got words, you've got the communicator, you've got the recipient. I'm getting more and more frustrated. It's kind of embarrassing how often I find that what I intend to say was not received in the way it was intended. We're bad communicators. Let me give you great confidence as I am charging you to pursue God's Word. God is a perfect communicator. You see, when I put together words and then they leave my mouth, I have no control over how they are received. I have no control over what they actually do to the person who receives them. God has perfect control over what He says, how He says it, why He says it, and even what it does to you. Knowing God from His Word has very little to do with your intelligence. You don't need a great IQ to know God from His Word. You need a spirit. If the spirit dwells within you, have confidence. Have confidence that you can study this Word and it will illuminate those truths and you can know them. It's not confidence in your ability to know these things, because yeah, there's a lot of hard words. There's a lot of funny names. There's a lot of difficult truths. But the more we pursue them, the more we pursue the life committed to that truth, the more we will understand. We can think God's thoughts. Why would we want to think about anything else? What's more glorious? Finally, and quickly, how do we do it? The Spirit of Christ dwells in you. If Christ is in you, the body is dead, the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. Verse 11, if the Spirit of Him who raised you from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ will also give life. When you're faced with temptation over what you're going to think, what you're going to do, what you're going to desire, Trust one thing. The same power that rose Christ from the grave dwells within you. Your flesh is weak. God is able. We have all kinds of reasons. We have all kinds of excuses as to why we don't do something. If you have the Spirit of Christ in you, you don't have an excuse. The Spirit of Christ The Spirit of Him who raised Christ, He empowers you. There's no defeat. Our faith in Christ is what gives us confidence to set our minds to the things of God, to resist temptation, and to know we are not condemned. Will you pray with me? Father, we praise and we thank You for Your Word. We thank You, Father, that You sent Your Son to condemn our sin. We thank you for this. You've sent your spirit so that we can continue, Lord, to learn of you, to trust you, to know who we are in Christ, and to know how to live according to Christ. Help us, Lord, to be a church united on these truths. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.