Sermon Notes 4-26-2015

The Road to Romans!

The battle that rages within!

Romans 7:25–8:11 (ESV)

²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

³For 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,

⁴in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵For 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.

⁶For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

⁷For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

⁸Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹You, 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.

¹⁰But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

¹¹If 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.

And the Battle rages on!!!!

VS 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

·      We have to never forget there is a battle raging within us

·      Call it the battle of good and evil or the flesh and spirit

·      But the battle is there non the less

·      When we meet Jesus the flesh (evil part of us) is separated from the Spirit (the now good part of us)

·      And we will deal with this battle or evil will take over

o   We live in a world dominated by evil

o   We live in a world that is dying

o   We live in a world that will one day die because of the fall and sin

·      We can either face it head on or hide from it but one way or the other we will have to deal with it

o   You know that person how hides from conflict

o   Runs from problems

o   Does it ever turn out good??

So how do we deal with Sin??? How do we not fall pray to the power of Sin!

·      We live in the spirit!!

  

The Spirit will SET YOU FREE! (the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

VS 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

³For 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,

⁴in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

(The Good) There is no more condemnation!

·      That is GREAT news!

·      We no longer have to worry about paying for our Sin (death)

·      We no longer have to worry about the day of Judgment

·      We no longer have to fear God, we can now see him as our father and Jesus is our big brother!

(The Bad) So how do we stay humble???? Basically what it’s saying is no matter what you do, you are free from judgment!

(The Ugly) To stay humble we have to hear what it doesn’t say

·      It doesn’t say we aren’t accused of sin

·      It doesn’t say we don’t deserve it

·      It doesn’t say we don’t need to own it

·      Or mourn it

·      It doesn’t say there is no penalty for it/ because a heavy price was paid for it

·      It doesn’t even say God wont discipline us for it

·      It only says that we wont be condemned to death with the rest of the world

That’s what keeps us humble, that should take the air out of your sail, and loose the pride and arrogance that comes with the fact that you will live forever adopted in to the family of the one true KING. The fact that you didn’t earn it, don’t deserve it, and in fact you should even be counted in it!

It was Jesus that set you free

·      Jesus did all the work

·      Jesus stands before God as your lawyer

·      Jesus Sets on the throne, not you

·      You, you need to take your rightful place

·      Stay humble

·      Always looking, always searching your heart

·      Stay repent, stay in prayer, walking with your brothers and sisters

·      And remember the battle is not only in the world, but more importantly in you!!!!

Just because we carry this body of sin around doesn’t mean we have to dance with it!

VS 3 For 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,

⁴in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

·      You ever gone to a dance and left with someone else?

·      The person you went with just treated you bad

o   Got you in trouble

o   Was taking you down the wrong path

·      Then someone (God) sent someone over

o   That treated you good

o   Helped you

o   Kept you out of trouble

That what happened here

·      You been dance with the devil all your life

o   He got you in to trouble

o   Got you a death sentence

o   Because he has one (guilt by association)

·      Then God stepped in and righted the course

o   Sent Jesus to fix what Adam broke

o   The law is good/but in our weakened state would never work

·      So God fulfilled the law with the Blood of His Son

o   That’s why Jesus stands before God on your behalf

o   He paid the price

o   He boldly advocates on your behalf

o   He shows God the nails he took for you

o   The scares of all your sins

o   And says ”I PAID FOR THAT MAN”

o   HE was BOUGHT AT A HIGH PRICE!

So now we walk not according to the Sin of the world, but by the Spirit that set us free!!

·      We have a choice

·      We have options

·      Dance with the one you come with

·      Or take the better option and leave with the one who wants ya!

YOU GOT TO GET YOUR MIND RIGHT!!!!

Vs 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.

⁶For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

⁷For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

⁸Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Although there is no longer condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, we still face a choice of where we set our minds.

·      So where are your thoughts, desires?

·      What drives you?

·      Who is God in your life?

IF your mind is on the world (the flesh)

1.    You run from God (you hide in the dark)

a.    You put yourself in Gods rightful place as lord over your life

b.    You are a kingdom of one

c.    Whatever you want must be good, and right because your God

2.    You desire things that only make you happy

a.    You live with addictions of all kinds

                                               i.     Drugs

                                              ii.     Porn

                                             iii.     Alcohol

                                            iv.     TV

                                             v.     Shopping

                                            vi.     hobbies

b.    You hurt people to get what you want

c.    Things matter more than people

d.    Money controls you

e.    Appearance rules you

f.     Social status matters

g.    And DEATH scares the hell out of you!

The mind set on the flesh cannot serve God because of natural hostility, and because the sinful flesh is under judgment leading to death. All flesh is doomed to die; if our life is focused on serving our flesh, we cannot simultaneously serve God

IF your mind is on the Spirit (Jesus)

1.    People matter

a.    Relationship become more important than things

b.    We want to serve others

c.    We want to be a part of Gods greater plan

2.    We start to look in the mirror

a.    We look at ourselves in light of who Jesus was

b.    We start to see our need for a savior

c.    We start to understand we aren’t God

3.    Repentance and Faith become a priority

a.    We pray regularly

b.    We seek forgiveness daily

c.    Our faith and understanding of Grace, mercy and Love becomes our obsession

4.    We stop running from God and we run to Him

a.    We no longer see Him as overlord

b.    We start to see Him as a good Dad

c.    We seek advice in His word

d.    We share our lives with Him

e.    We expose our Sin to Him

f.     And We lay it all at the foot of the cross

Sermon Notes 4-18-2015

The Road to Romans!

I am just a hot mess!

	Romans 7:12 25 (NLT)

¹²But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.

¹³But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.

¹⁴So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.

¹⁵I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.

¹⁶But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.

¹⁷So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

¹⁸And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.

¹⁹I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

²⁰But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

²¹I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.

²²I love God’s law with all my heart.

²³But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

²⁴Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

²⁵Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

SO what cause this mess anyway?

^{VS 12} But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.

¹³But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.

¹⁴So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.

·      The law is good

·      The law is holy

·      Lets not forget that

o   God gave us the law for our good

o   To help us understand right from wrong

·      Adam in his Sin took what was good and condemned us all

o   And from that day forward Sin has controlled us

o   We see it everyday

o   The CEO that takes more than he deserves

o   The spouse who cheats

o   Just watch the news (read some headlines)

·      So the trouble is not with the law, its us

o   In our human broken state

o   We become a slave to sin

o   That is why I say the many control the one, the one cant control the nmany!

§  The kid that runs with the wrong crowd

§  The guy at work that follows when he knows its wrong

§  The wife that listens to the un forgiving friend

o   We have to get this point that a battle rages with in every believer

§  From our flesh (the part of us that craves sin, lust, greed, pride)

§  And our soul (the spot where Jesus has taken up residients)

·      That’s why the bible says that with out Jesus there is nothing good in us!

o   For the unbeliever there is nothing good

o   We only want what is bad no matter how it looks on the out side

o   We are born that way

o   And we live that way

Psalm 53:1 (NLT)

¹Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!

2 Timothy 3:1–3 (NLT)

¹You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.

²For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.

³They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.

FINISH THIS!!!!!

Does this ring true in your life!!!!

VS 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.

¹⁶But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.

¹⁷So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

¹⁸And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.

¹⁹I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

²⁰But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

There are 4 major points here!

1. We don’t understand ourselves, 2. We know what we do is wrong, 3. I know that nothing good lives in me, and 4. It is sin living in us all that is the cause

So lets take a look at these 4 points

1. We don’t really understand ourselves

·      Most of us never take the time to understand what truly happened to us the day we meet Jesus

·      Most of us don’t know about this battle that rages with in us

·      Most of us don’t know how to combat the sin with in us

·      If we are unbelievers its easy

o   We do what feels good

o   We worry about ourselves

o   We are the only God we have to please

·      But when we meet Jesus it all changes

o   We are like the hulk!

o   With this good and bad raging with in us

o   We have to work at it every stinking day

o   Everyone said it would be easy

o   But its not

o   That’s what Paul is saying here!

§  I don’t do what I know I should do

§  I want to I just don’t

§  And that leads us to the next point!

2. We know what we do when we sin its wrong!

·      We know when we sin its wrong

·      We know when we watch that channel late at night we shouldn’t

·      We know when we hide in that bottle we shouldn’t

·      We know when we tell that lie its wrong

·      We know when we use people to get what we want its wrong

·      We know when we should give more but we don’t

·      We know when we should help more but we don’t

Its called sin of omission and commission

·      Not ding what we should or doing what we shouldn’t

And we know deep down in our core its wrong, and what you might not know is that’s the spirit talking to you!

That’s Jesus living in you, you never felt like that before, but know you do!

3. We need to know NOTHING GOOD lives in us apart from Jesus!

·      There is not one ounce of good in us

·      Not even a little

·      We know the Law is good

·      We know we should follow but we cant

·      Because Sin is all consuming

·      We cant run from it

·      We cant hide from it

·      It is everywhere

·      And its sin living in us that causes it all!

4. Sin cause us to rebel

·      We need to know that Sin will always be in this world and in our lives

·      We cant run from it

·      We could all go live on a compound and it would still be there

·      Because we live in a fallen world!

·      This is HUGLY IMPORTANT

o   That means if there is a part of us that does not fall to sin (our Soul)

o   That when God rebuilds the earth we can Join him

o   As long as we live in this body of flesh we will always battle it

o   But some day we will be shed of it

o   That’s what we need to concentrate on and why we need to continue the fight!

2 Timothy 4:5–8 (NLT)

⁵But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

⁶As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

⁸And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

Does this hit at the heart!

VS 21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.

²²I love God’s law with all my heart.

²³But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

·      Vs 21 could be my theme song!

o   We know we will fail

o   We know we will make mistakes

o   But so does God!

·      He knows that we will never concur this why we are still here

·      This is why its so important to not judge others but love them

o   The only difference is that we know Jesus, that we are trying to live better

§  But we will never be perfect

·      Jesus said this!

 John 8:7–11 (NLT)

⁷They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

⁸Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

⁹When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.

¹⁰Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

¹¹“No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

·      Here is my point!

o   If you truly love Jesus you wont want to judge others

o   If your truly believe you wont need to judge others

§  You wont need others to look bad so you look good

§  Because you will know the only good in you is Jesus

o   If you truly follow Jesus you wont have time to judge others

§  You will belooking longer in the mirror than you will at others

§  You will be talking with him, about your sins and wont worry about what others are doing

§  You will worry more about their salvation and less about your self preservation

o   You see we have to repent to win the war of sin in our own lives

o   We have to pray to combat the evil that lives with in us

o   We have to be in community to learn what God wants from us

·      And when we truly see ourselves for what we are, we will want others to know that there is only one way out of this mess we call life and his NAME IS JESUS!