Lent: Our Struggle Sermon Audio Here
Romans 8:6-11
When your engine making weird noises, or your computer is behaving strangely, or there’s a sudden change in health status; It’s important to pay attention to what’s going on internally!
Why Is The Spiritual Life A Struggle?
We’re Stuck With Two States ~ Romans 8:6-8
- v6 “mind of the flesh” to live according to that state; “mind of the Spirit” to live in the state of the Spirit
- v7 description of the meat-minded: hostile/OPPOSED; it wants its OWN way, not God’s, and it CAN’T choose God on its own!
- v8 NOT merely “controlled by” but IN THE FLESH; there’s no separation. We do NOT have a neutral nature that is somehow influenced by a bad fleshly side and a good godly side
we are either living led by the Spirit, or we are quite literally meat-heads
We’re Settled By One Spirit ~ Romans 8:9
- v9 IF the Spirit lives in you, you aren’t “of the flesh”; Spirit brings life and peace to the spiritually dead (God breathed the Spirit-becomes a living soul); CONVERSELY, if the life lived isn’t of the Spirit, that means the Spirit isn’t present = meat-minded
If a person can’t live led by the Spirit, they’re lost
We’re Saved To Serve Forever ~ Romans 8:10-11
- v10 NOTE: your body is dead because of sin whether you have the Spirit or not; all flesh dies. The point Paul makes here is that even though your meat-tent will pass away, what is YOU, your SELF, doesn’t need to: when you allow the Spirit to make Your life His HOME, He brings you to life, KEEPS you alive, and produces His righteousness IN you to show you it works
- v11 God’s Spirit OVERRIDES death; we no longer need fear it, because we will live THROUGH/PAST it; our bodies will still fade, but they are merely temporary dwelling places for our SELVES which have been joined to the Spirit. And since the Spirit (our roommate in us) will live forever, so will we!
God DESIRES to bring us to life: but we have to receive what He gives on His terms so we know HE is at work, not us.
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