HOW TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT
Pastor KC Liu/Romans 7:14-20, 8:1-11/May 22, 2016
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14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. |
Good morning everybody! How are you all doing? I have good news this morning!
As a Pastor who is preaching from Paul’s letters, and as a fan who loves watching movies, especially the X-Men series, I want to be the first to let you know that there is a movie called “Apostle Paul” coming out next year! And guess who plays Paul? Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman! And guess who is producing it? Batman himself, Ben Affleck and his sidekick Matt Damon! Yay! Let me make you a promise. I promise that we will have a EM Movie Night next year when this comes out, and we will all go to the movie theaters together. Can I get an Amen?!
Today we are entering into Romans chapter 8. A German Christian once said that if the whole Bible is a ring, then Paul’s letter to the Romans is the diamond upon that ring, and chapter 8 of that letter is the sparkling point, the pinnacle of the priceless diamond. Is that a fitting description or a preacher’s exaggeration? We will find out in these 3 weeks as we dig deep into Chapter 8.
First, in order for chapter 8 to make sense, we must do a quick review of chapter 7. Last week, we asked a very important question, “Is the Law Good or Bad?” And what was our conclusion? We started off with God himself, who gave Moses the Law, or the 10 Commandments. They were given to us to teach us, guide us, protect us. But because of our sinful nature, the Law condems us of our sins.
I made an analogy with the Law being Judge Dredd, who is both judge and police. Paul gives good advice to all the ladies, “you don’t want to marry this man. Once he is dead, take off!” Judge Dredd can only save us if we are perfect and sinless. But obviously we are not, so Judge Dredd cannot save us. He puts us under arrest and throws us, the law-breakers, in jail (metaphorically speaking). The Law that was sent to help us, ends up having to punish us.
So we conclude that the Law is bad? Paul says “NO! The Law is still holy, just, and good!” Let’s pretend Paul is here at EM talking to us. We’d say to him, “Paul, you are out of your mind! I do not want Judge Dredd in my life!” Paul says, “If Judge Dredd is not in your life, you will not even notice how frequently you break the law. If Judge Dredd is not in your life, you will live carelessly, immorally, disobediently, violently, and you wouldn’t even blink. You won’t even know you’re doing wrong. You won’t even know the difference between your right hand and your left hand! But now that Judge Dredd is patrolling the streets, you are very careful about abiding every law.”
Calvin raises his hand slowly and says, “I don’t know Paul, I still don’t like the Judge Dredd. I still struggle with sin a lot. He is going to kick my butt". Paul says, “I know exactly what you mean. I am the same way. "19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. I love God’s law with all my heart.23 But 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. ” (Romans 7: 19, 23) So the Law kicks my butt too!
Emmanuel stands up quickly and says, “Really Paul? Even you? But you are a super Apostle, you should be super godly and super anointed. Didn’t you write like half of the New Testament? How can you struggle with sin as much as I do?”
Paul says, “Don’t label me as a super apostle. I don’t like being labeled. I can’t live up to your expectations. The fact is, I am a slave to sin! “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? (Rm 7:24)" Ahhh!!!!” At this point we are stunned. Paul is getting very emotional here. He has his eyes closed and head bowed down, thinking back to the time when he struggling with so much sin in his life, so much pride, so judgmental, so hateful, so violent. And he remembers all that we talked about in chapter 6 and 7: a man in defeat, a man in despair, a wretched and miserable man, an unhappy man, a slave to sin…
Sophia slowly walks up to him and asks, “Uncle Paul, are you alright? Do you need some tissues?” Then slowly Paul raises his head, with big bright eyes and a glorious smile on his face, and his hairs even grow a few slick inches. And he says to us in Romans 8:1, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” And we’re like, “huh? What happened? In chapters 6 and 7, weren’t you all sad and emotional? But entering into chapter 8, it’s like you are a different man! A man of victory and hope!”
And we must ask, “what happened to you Paul? How did you get from a conflicted soul who wanted to do good but couldn’t, whose mind accepts God’s will but whose body won’t? How do you get out of that conflict and into the victory where you can say, ‘I can do it. I am free from all that. I am living a life of victory and obedience’ ?”
The answer is here is Chapter 8. Let’s take a look at some keywords, and here lies the secret to his transformation. Back in chapter 7, the keyword that appears over and over again is the word “I”. Paul uses this word “I” about 25 times. Paul is saying that if we are trying to do right in our own strength, we will certainly fail. We cannot earn God’s righteousness with our own strength. We cannot earn salvation by the good that we do. Our sinful bodies gravitate towards evil deeds. Evil pulls our bodies like a strong magnet. Therefore, if it was up to our own actions that determine our salvation, we would never make it.
For example, in Islam, in order for you to go to paradise, your good deeds must outweigh your bad deeds. In their holy book, the Koran, it says “Surely, good deeds erase bad deeds.” Is there truth in this? No, good deeds cannot erase bad deeds. Doing good will not erase your sin. The Bible has no teachings like this. Muslims are trying to obtain salvation by “works of righteousness”. But Paul would say to them, “no, if you depend on your works, you will never make it.”
Any religion, whether Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or any other religion, will tell you that you must “do, do, do” and try to earn your way to heaven. But Paul is saying, no. I cannot earn this, it is a free gift. The finished work of Jesus on the cross is already done. It’s done, done, done! There is nothing you can do, because it is already done. What you can do is trust that it is already done. You see, although good deeds are good, they are the fruits of your salvation, not the roots of your salvation.
Coming back to the text. All the I's in Chapter 7 are now gone in Chapter 8, they're gone! And now another word appears over and over again. And that is the word “Spirit”. Now, Paul is no longer sad as he was in chapter 7. He is now beaming with hope in chapter 8! “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Now in these first 4 verses, there’s something very important. Paul shifts from what “I” can do, to what God did. The Law, Judge Dredd, was powerless to save you. So we can’t depend on him. World religions say that we must do more good than bad, but that still doesn’t erase our sins. So we can’t depend on “religion”. Paul says in verse 3 that there must be a sin offering to erase the sin. That’s the only way to get rid of it. Someone has to pay for it. In the Old Testament, they offered up animals as sin offerings. But now, God has sent his own son to be the sin offering. It’s not us that made this happen; God made this happen.
God gave you a way to fulfill His law. God helped you qualify with gold standards. God didn’t throw away the law. God didn’t‘ lower the bar and lower the standards so you can come into his kingdom. God kept His holy law, kept the perfect standard and set the bar super high. Through the Spirit of Christ, he empowered you to be perfect, through the finished work of Jesus on the cross! Jesus carried you on his back and crossed the finished line.
So we’re like, “Judge Dredd is still here?” Yup! He is still here, after all, He was sent here by God! But now he is on your side, and every time he sees you, he gives you a warm smile!”
"5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God."
So we see here that Paul draws a big contrast between two things: the Flesh and the Spirit. In other words, all the “me, myself and I’s” in chapter 7 are of the Flesh. If we live in the flesh, we are a slave to sin. This results in death and hostility towards God. We won’t submit to the Law, and we cannot please God. To live in the flesh is just a bad state to be in. You don’t want to be here.
Paul says, the secret to your victory is to walk in the Spirit, or walk with the Holy Spirit. Desire what the Holy Spirit desires, be governed by the Holy Spirit! Let’s continue.
"9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
Paul is really emphasizing how important the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit gives you Life, Peace, Righteousness, and Eternal Life (Verses 6, 10)! In order for you to live in Chapter 8, you must be governed by the Holy Spirit! Now let us look at who Paul is talking to in verse 9. Paul says “You”. Who is “You”? They are the believers in Rome, both Jewish believers and Gentile believers. Paul is talking to a Christian audience.
Now notice something very important. Even though Paul knew that he was addressing the church in Rome, he did not make the assumption that every person in that church had the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Christ in them.
In 3 short verses, Paul uses the word “If” 4 times. If indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. If Christ is in you. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. Paul basically repeats himself over and over again, 4 times. Why? Because he is trying very hard to tell them that just because you go to church does not necessarily mean you are governed by the Holy Spirit!
If you are governed by the Flesh, you are stuck in defeat and misery. If you are governed by the Holy Spirit, you have life and peace. If Paul were to ask you, “Are you governed by the Holy Spirit?” What would you say? If you'd say yes, then nod your head. If you say no, then shake your head. If you don’t know, don’t move your head. Well, many of you don’t know because I didn’t see any heads move. And for those who nodded, I couldn’t tell if that was a yes, or if you were dozing off!
Paul’s question: Are you governed by the Holy Spirit or by the flesh? I am not sure. How about, let’s work this backwards. Let’s take a look at this chart. If I am governed by the Holy Spirit, or am walking in the Spirit, I should experience the following things: life, peace and joy. Fruits of the Spirit. Joy in worshiping Jesus. Obeying the Word of God. Convicted whenever I sin. Notice how it’s not that I don't sin anymore. I still do because I still live in a mortal sinful body.
But when I do sin, I am convicted by the Holy Spirit. I cannot get away with it. I must confess my sins and repent. Therefore, I repent on a regular basis. When you are at home, at school, at work Mondays through Fridays, do you experience these things? I am not saying I have to experience them 100% of the time, 24/7. But this should be my reality the majority of the time. Paul is asking, do you experience these things? If you do, they you are governed by the Holy Spirit.
Let’s look at the other side. What does a life governed by the Flesh look like? According to Paul and other parts of scripture, I will desire and carry out my fleshly temptations. I will live in misery and defeat. I will feel empty and find my life meaningless. I will hear inner voices of condemnation. I will feel that death is near, maybe even feeling suicidal. I will not be convicted when I sin, I will just keep doing it without remorse or guilt. I will think it’s okay to do certain things even though the Bible clearly teaches against them. Therefore, I will not repent on a regular basis. I might repent on Sundays when the pastor prays a prayer of repentance, but I do not repent of my sins on my own.
To be honest, there are seasons of my Christian life when I live more on the side of the Flesh. But those seasons don’t last because Holy Spirit empowers me, convicts me, and brings me back to the other side. That’s the grace and mercy of God working in my life. So let’s take some time on this slide and reflect upon our lives right now. What are we governed by right now? The spirit or the flesh? And if we are on the wrong side, will we pray to God right now to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Repent of our sins, and ask Holy Spirit to take control of the steering wheel of our lives. Can we do that right now?
As a Pastor who is preaching from Paul’s letters, and as a fan who loves watching movies, especially the X-Men series, I want to be the first to let you know that there is a movie called “Apostle Paul” coming out next year! And guess who plays Paul? Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman! And guess who is producing it? Batman himself, Ben Affleck and his sidekick Matt Damon! Yay! Let me make you a promise. I promise that we will have a EM Movie Night next year when this comes out, and we will all go to the movie theaters together. Can I get an Amen?!
Today we are entering into Romans chapter 8. A German Christian once said that if the whole Bible is a ring, then Paul’s letter to the Romans is the diamond upon that ring, and chapter 8 of that letter is the sparkling point, the pinnacle of the priceless diamond. Is that a fitting description or a preacher’s exaggeration? We will find out in these 3 weeks as we dig deep into Chapter 8.
First, in order for chapter 8 to make sense, we must do a quick review of chapter 7. Last week, we asked a very important question, “Is the Law Good or Bad?” And what was our conclusion? We started off with God himself, who gave Moses the Law, or the 10 Commandments. They were given to us to teach us, guide us, protect us. But because of our sinful nature, the Law condems us of our sins.
I made an analogy with the Law being Judge Dredd, who is both judge and police. Paul gives good advice to all the ladies, “you don’t want to marry this man. Once he is dead, take off!” Judge Dredd can only save us if we are perfect and sinless. But obviously we are not, so Judge Dredd cannot save us. He puts us under arrest and throws us, the law-breakers, in jail (metaphorically speaking). The Law that was sent to help us, ends up having to punish us.
So we conclude that the Law is bad? Paul says “NO! The Law is still holy, just, and good!” Let’s pretend Paul is here at EM talking to us. We’d say to him, “Paul, you are out of your mind! I do not want Judge Dredd in my life!” Paul says, “If Judge Dredd is not in your life, you will not even notice how frequently you break the law. If Judge Dredd is not in your life, you will live carelessly, immorally, disobediently, violently, and you wouldn’t even blink. You won’t even know you’re doing wrong. You won’t even know the difference between your right hand and your left hand! But now that Judge Dredd is patrolling the streets, you are very careful about abiding every law.”
Calvin raises his hand slowly and says, “I don’t know Paul, I still don’t like the Judge Dredd. I still struggle with sin a lot. He is going to kick my butt". Paul says, “I know exactly what you mean. I am the same way. "19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. I love God’s law with all my heart.23 But 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. ” (Romans 7: 19, 23) So the Law kicks my butt too!
Emmanuel stands up quickly and says, “Really Paul? Even you? But you are a super Apostle, you should be super godly and super anointed. Didn’t you write like half of the New Testament? How can you struggle with sin as much as I do?”
Paul says, “Don’t label me as a super apostle. I don’t like being labeled. I can’t live up to your expectations. The fact is, I am a slave to sin! “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? (Rm 7:24)" Ahhh!!!!” At this point we are stunned. Paul is getting very emotional here. He has his eyes closed and head bowed down, thinking back to the time when he struggling with so much sin in his life, so much pride, so judgmental, so hateful, so violent. And he remembers all that we talked about in chapter 6 and 7: a man in defeat, a man in despair, a wretched and miserable man, an unhappy man, a slave to sin…
Sophia slowly walks up to him and asks, “Uncle Paul, are you alright? Do you need some tissues?” Then slowly Paul raises his head, with big bright eyes and a glorious smile on his face, and his hairs even grow a few slick inches. And he says to us in Romans 8:1, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” And we’re like, “huh? What happened? In chapters 6 and 7, weren’t you all sad and emotional? But entering into chapter 8, it’s like you are a different man! A man of victory and hope!”
And we must ask, “what happened to you Paul? How did you get from a conflicted soul who wanted to do good but couldn’t, whose mind accepts God’s will but whose body won’t? How do you get out of that conflict and into the victory where you can say, ‘I can do it. I am free from all that. I am living a life of victory and obedience’ ?”
The answer is here is Chapter 8. Let’s take a look at some keywords, and here lies the secret to his transformation. Back in chapter 7, the keyword that appears over and over again is the word “I”. Paul uses this word “I” about 25 times. Paul is saying that if we are trying to do right in our own strength, we will certainly fail. We cannot earn God’s righteousness with our own strength. We cannot earn salvation by the good that we do. Our sinful bodies gravitate towards evil deeds. Evil pulls our bodies like a strong magnet. Therefore, if it was up to our own actions that determine our salvation, we would never make it.
For example, in Islam, in order for you to go to paradise, your good deeds must outweigh your bad deeds. In their holy book, the Koran, it says “Surely, good deeds erase bad deeds.” Is there truth in this? No, good deeds cannot erase bad deeds. Doing good will not erase your sin. The Bible has no teachings like this. Muslims are trying to obtain salvation by “works of righteousness”. But Paul would say to them, “no, if you depend on your works, you will never make it.”
Any religion, whether Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or any other religion, will tell you that you must “do, do, do” and try to earn your way to heaven. But Paul is saying, no. I cannot earn this, it is a free gift. The finished work of Jesus on the cross is already done. It’s done, done, done! There is nothing you can do, because it is already done. What you can do is trust that it is already done. You see, although good deeds are good, they are the fruits of your salvation, not the roots of your salvation.
Coming back to the text. All the I's in Chapter 7 are now gone in Chapter 8, they're gone! And now another word appears over and over again. And that is the word “Spirit”. Now, Paul is no longer sad as he was in chapter 7. He is now beaming with hope in chapter 8! “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Now in these first 4 verses, there’s something very important. Paul shifts from what “I” can do, to what God did. The Law, Judge Dredd, was powerless to save you. So we can’t depend on him. World religions say that we must do more good than bad, but that still doesn’t erase our sins. So we can’t depend on “religion”. Paul says in verse 3 that there must be a sin offering to erase the sin. That’s the only way to get rid of it. Someone has to pay for it. In the Old Testament, they offered up animals as sin offerings. But now, God has sent his own son to be the sin offering. It’s not us that made this happen; God made this happen.
God gave you a way to fulfill His law. God helped you qualify with gold standards. God didn’t throw away the law. God didn’t‘ lower the bar and lower the standards so you can come into his kingdom. God kept His holy law, kept the perfect standard and set the bar super high. Through the Spirit of Christ, he empowered you to be perfect, through the finished work of Jesus on the cross! Jesus carried you on his back and crossed the finished line.
So we’re like, “Judge Dredd is still here?” Yup! He is still here, after all, He was sent here by God! But now he is on your side, and every time he sees you, he gives you a warm smile!”
"5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God."
So we see here that Paul draws a big contrast between two things: the Flesh and the Spirit. In other words, all the “me, myself and I’s” in chapter 7 are of the Flesh. If we live in the flesh, we are a slave to sin. This results in death and hostility towards God. We won’t submit to the Law, and we cannot please God. To live in the flesh is just a bad state to be in. You don’t want to be here.
Paul says, the secret to your victory is to walk in the Spirit, or walk with the Holy Spirit. Desire what the Holy Spirit desires, be governed by the Holy Spirit! Let’s continue.
"9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
Paul is really emphasizing how important the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit gives you Life, Peace, Righteousness, and Eternal Life (Verses 6, 10)! In order for you to live in Chapter 8, you must be governed by the Holy Spirit! Now let us look at who Paul is talking to in verse 9. Paul says “You”. Who is “You”? They are the believers in Rome, both Jewish believers and Gentile believers. Paul is talking to a Christian audience.
Now notice something very important. Even though Paul knew that he was addressing the church in Rome, he did not make the assumption that every person in that church had the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Christ in them.
In 3 short verses, Paul uses the word “If” 4 times. If indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. If Christ is in you. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. Paul basically repeats himself over and over again, 4 times. Why? Because he is trying very hard to tell them that just because you go to church does not necessarily mean you are governed by the Holy Spirit!
If you are governed by the Flesh, you are stuck in defeat and misery. If you are governed by the Holy Spirit, you have life and peace. If Paul were to ask you, “Are you governed by the Holy Spirit?” What would you say? If you'd say yes, then nod your head. If you say no, then shake your head. If you don’t know, don’t move your head. Well, many of you don’t know because I didn’t see any heads move. And for those who nodded, I couldn’t tell if that was a yes, or if you were dozing off!
Paul’s question: Are you governed by the Holy Spirit or by the flesh? I am not sure. How about, let’s work this backwards. Let’s take a look at this chart. If I am governed by the Holy Spirit, or am walking in the Spirit, I should experience the following things: life, peace and joy. Fruits of the Spirit. Joy in worshiping Jesus. Obeying the Word of God. Convicted whenever I sin. Notice how it’s not that I don't sin anymore. I still do because I still live in a mortal sinful body.
But when I do sin, I am convicted by the Holy Spirit. I cannot get away with it. I must confess my sins and repent. Therefore, I repent on a regular basis. When you are at home, at school, at work Mondays through Fridays, do you experience these things? I am not saying I have to experience them 100% of the time, 24/7. But this should be my reality the majority of the time. Paul is asking, do you experience these things? If you do, they you are governed by the Holy Spirit.
Let’s look at the other side. What does a life governed by the Flesh look like? According to Paul and other parts of scripture, I will desire and carry out my fleshly temptations. I will live in misery and defeat. I will feel empty and find my life meaningless. I will hear inner voices of condemnation. I will feel that death is near, maybe even feeling suicidal. I will not be convicted when I sin, I will just keep doing it without remorse or guilt. I will think it’s okay to do certain things even though the Bible clearly teaches against them. Therefore, I will not repent on a regular basis. I might repent on Sundays when the pastor prays a prayer of repentance, but I do not repent of my sins on my own.
To be honest, there are seasons of my Christian life when I live more on the side of the Flesh. But those seasons don’t last because Holy Spirit empowers me, convicts me, and brings me back to the other side. That’s the grace and mercy of God working in my life. So let’s take some time on this slide and reflect upon our lives right now. What are we governed by right now? The spirit or the flesh? And if we are on the wrong side, will we pray to God right now to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Repent of our sins, and ask Holy Spirit to take control of the steering wheel of our lives. Can we do that right now?