WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.179 Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church 00:00:04.179 --> 00:00:07.280 ! And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:11.419 ! A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here. 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:17.699 We are continuing this morning in our series in the book of Romans. 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:23.820 And you'll remember that Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD. 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:29.839 It is called Romans because it is written to the churches in the city of Rome. 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:33.039 And this letter to the Romans is about the gospel. 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:38.579 It's about the good news of Jesus' death and life and his resurrection. 00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:43.679 I imagine that, you know, as you live your lives throughout the week, 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:48.320 you're pulled in all sorts of directions and distracted by so many things as all of us are. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:54.679 And so as we come again to Romans, I want to remind you where we are in the big picture, okay? 00:00:54.679 --> 00:01:03.340 Romans chapter 5, we talked about the fact that we are saved by Jesus' life and death and resurrection. 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:07.340 We are not saved by our behavior or our works. 00:01:07.460 --> 00:01:10.180 So there's this great good news that comes out of chapter 5. 00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:12.939 Chapter 6 then goes on to say, 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:17.359 But that doesn't mean we can live however we want. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:24.000 Even though we're not saved by our works, we still live lives of holiness before God. 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:26.039 So that then raises this next question. 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:27.799 So we're saved, chapter 5. 00:01:28.259 --> 00:01:31.299 We still live lives of holiness, chapter 6. 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:33.340 How do we do that? 00:01:34.039 --> 00:01:35.560 Chapter 7 goes on to tell us, 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:36.719 Well, we don't do it. 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:37.740 It's not the law. 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:42.740 It's not God's rules that empower us to live holy lives. 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:44.439 Rules can't save you. 00:01:45.299 --> 00:01:47.640 More law doesn't lead to more holiness. 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:49.820 And so we get this payoff now. 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:51.599 In chapter 8, we're getting the answer. 00:01:51.740 --> 00:01:55.640 How is it actually that we live lives pleasing to God? 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:59.079 It comes by the Spirit of God. 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:00.740 If you have your Bible with you, 00:02:00.800 --> 00:02:03.280 you look at the last verse from last week, 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.140 chapter 8, verse 4, which says this, 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:09.439 We walk not according to the flesh, 00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:12.139 but according to the Spirit. 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:15.500 That's our introduction to this week's passage, 00:02:15.620 --> 00:02:17.139 which is verses 5 through 8. 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:18.659 And our question is simple. 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:19.680 How? 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:24.099 How do we walk by the Spirit? 00:02:25.259 --> 00:02:28.939 How do we live lives that are changed and transformed? 00:02:29.259 --> 00:02:30.900 We know that doesn't happen through rules. 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:36.140 How do we live lives that are changed and transformed by Christ? 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.159 As has recently been the case with Romans, 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:42.140 of course, we have so much going on in this passage, 00:02:42.259 --> 00:02:44.819 so I'm going to take the same approach I took the last time 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:46.420 I preached from Romans, which is this. 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:48.700 I'm going to try to preach in a straight line. 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:51.800 I'm going to try to be as clear as possible from top to bottom. 00:02:52.140 --> 00:02:55.939 We are going to spend a lot of time on verse 5. 00:02:55.939 --> 00:02:59.979 We're going to spend a little bit of time on verses 6 through 8. 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:03.039 The reason for that is that verse 5 is really the foundation. 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:08.159 Verses 6 through 8 then lay out some things that logically fall into place. 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:09.340 So how? 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:11.520 How do we walk by the Spirit? 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:15.759 So with that, I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 8, 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:17.280 starting at verse 5. 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:20.180 One place you can turn is in your worship guide. 00:03:20.259 --> 00:03:22.020 You'll find this on page 7. 00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:25.460 No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word. 00:03:27.260 --> 00:03:30.860 Jeremiah chapter 23 tells us that God's word is like a hammer 00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:33.000 that breaks a rock into pieces, 00:03:33.160 --> 00:03:37.180 which is a way of saying that there is nothing so powerful 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:41.600 that God's word is not more powerful still. 00:03:42.540 --> 00:03:47.200 So that's why we read now Romans chapter 8, starting at verse 5. 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:54.119 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. 00:03:54.819 --> 00:04:00.019 But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 00:04:01.119 --> 00:04:03.739 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, 00:04:04.500 --> 00:04:08.419 but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 00:04:09.259 --> 00:04:13.219 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, 00:04:13.219 --> 00:04:16.740 for it does not submit to God's law. 00:04:17.540 --> 00:04:18.939 Indeed, it cannot. 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:25.019 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:30.040 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:34.500 Our Father in heaven, we do praise you, 00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:39.939 and we thank you again this morning that you are our loving and gracious Father. 00:04:39.939 --> 00:04:44.319 Father, that you haven't left us to figure out life on our own, 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:47.839 but instead you guide us, you instruct us, 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:50.860 you tell us how the world works in words that we can understand. 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:55.740 Even more than that, you sent your Son to save us from our sins. 00:04:56.439 --> 00:05:00.180 So we ask this morning that you would send your Holy Spirit now here 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:02.540 in a powerful and extra special way, 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:08.300 that you'd use the Spirit to open our minds and to soften our hearts, 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:12.000 to unstop our ears, to clear our eyes, 00:05:12.960 --> 00:05:19.040 and that we would be able to see the beauty and the glory of Jesus Christ, 00:05:19.740 --> 00:05:23.360 that you would grow our love and our affection for him, 00:05:24.060 --> 00:05:26.340 you'd grow our reverence and our awe for him, 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:30.199 and that would lead us to follow him in obedience. 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.139 And we ask all of these things in his mighty name. 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:34.139 Amen. 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:34.300 Amen. 00:05:34.300 --> 00:05:34.379 Amen. 00:05:36.960 --> 00:05:38.879 I know that many of you, 00:05:39.400 --> 00:05:42.340 through either your work in the military 00:05:42.340 --> 00:05:44.920 or perhaps your work with scouting, 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:48.620 are great readers of maps. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.460 Now, I'll admit that I'm young enough 00:05:51.460 --> 00:05:53.379 to have spent enough time with Google Maps 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:54.740 that I'm not a map reader. 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:56.460 I'm actually just a map user. 00:05:57.100 --> 00:05:59.259 But I know that some of you are map readers, 00:05:59.340 --> 00:06:00.800 and you know if you're reading a map, 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:04.759 there's one thing that's especially necessary. 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:09.740 And that is essential that you need to have the key or the legend. 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:12.800 The key or the legend spells out for you 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:15.259 what different symbols on the map mean. 00:06:15.340 --> 00:06:18.460 You need to know which symbol shows you where the hospital is, 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:20.620 which symbol shows you the airport. 00:06:20.620 --> 00:06:24.560 How do you distinguish between different types of roads? 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:29.339 And I mention that because as we go through Paul's letter to the Romans, 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:30.920 and we've already seen this in a sense, 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:33.560 we have to have a legend with us. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.519 And what I mean by that is that Paul uses very technical, 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:39.639 sometimes difficult language. 00:06:39.899 --> 00:06:41.279 And so for us to really understand, 00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:42.680 to get at the heart of his message, 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:46.540 we have to know what those terms mean. 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.840 We saw that in chapters 6 and 7. 00:06:49.840 --> 00:06:52.139 We see the same thing before us this morning. 00:06:52.139 --> 00:06:55.180 To understand Romans chapter 8, 00:06:55.259 --> 00:07:00.680 we have to first clear the ground and know the key, the legend. 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:02.259 Now you might be wondering, 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:03.979 man, that sounds kind of boring. 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:06.120 You just used the phrase technical term. 00:07:06.219 --> 00:07:07.719 Why would I want to learn the key? 00:07:08.479 --> 00:07:09.819 And I give you an incentive here. 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:17.419 Verse 6 says that you have an offer of life and peace. 00:07:19.099 --> 00:07:20.719 Do you want life and peace? 00:07:22.139 --> 00:07:25.019 Well, you're going to have to understand the key. 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:25.979 Okay? 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:26.779 So pay attention. 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:28.819 You're going to have to understand the map. 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:33.899 First, we have to understand what Paul means here by this phrase in verse 5, 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:35.099 the flesh. 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:37.819 Now I want you to have, as we go through the book of Romans, 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:41.839 I want you to have burning clarity about what this letter means. 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:47.399 I don't want you to just hear a sermon and maybe gain a few insights or thoughts. 00:07:47.459 --> 00:07:50.399 I want you to turn back to the book of Romans later in your life, 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:53.439 and I want you to say, yes, I understand this now. 00:07:53.599 --> 00:07:54.539 I can discern it. 00:07:54.579 --> 00:07:55.859 I can make my way through it. 00:07:55.939 --> 00:07:57.159 And so to do that, 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:00.959 we have to know exactly what Paul means by the flesh. 00:08:01.019 --> 00:08:05.559 And so I'm going to point you to page 6 of your worship guide. 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:07.579 This is to the right of the sermon passage, 00:08:07.579 --> 00:08:10.319 which tells us the best definition I can find for you. 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:19.560 The flesh is human nature as corrupted, directed, and controlled by sin. 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:20.579 Okay? 00:08:20.620 --> 00:08:25.439 The flesh is human nature, directed, corrupted, controlled by sin. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:30.160 And it's critical at this moment that we know not just what the flesh means, 00:08:30.379 --> 00:08:32.820 we also have to know what it doesn't mean. 00:08:33.259 --> 00:08:36.340 It does not mean your physical body. 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:39.059 And I mention that because as English speakers, 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:40.559 that's really what comes to our mind first. 00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:46.100 Oh, the flesh, you mean that my kind of my embodied existence is what I am fighting against. 00:08:46.539 --> 00:08:50.340 No, doesn't mean physical matter is bad. 00:08:50.419 --> 00:08:53.720 The Christian hope, the Christian story is actually an embodied hope. 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:55.259 It's an embodied story. 00:08:55.800 --> 00:08:57.460 Whether anyone's told you this or not, 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.820 you, if you go to heaven, will have a body there. 00:09:02.020 --> 00:09:02.300 Okay? 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:06.820 So your hope is not to be free to get rid of the body. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.180 Your hope is to get rid of the sinful nature. 00:09:10.920 --> 00:09:14.840 Now, it's understandable that we might think our bodies are what we have to fight against, 00:09:14.900 --> 00:09:16.480 that they're what we need to get rid of, 00:09:16.560 --> 00:09:19.300 because as we live life this side of heaven, 00:09:19.300 --> 00:09:21.800 we have very complicated relationships with our bodies. 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:24.260 Complicated relationships with our bodies, 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:26.480 because maybe we don't like their size or their shape. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:32.480 We have complicated relationships with them because they're susceptible to disease and sickness. 00:09:33.059 --> 00:09:35.799 We have complicated relationships because as we age, 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:39.100 they sort of betray and rebel against us. 00:09:39.419 --> 00:09:39.659 Okay? 00:09:39.659 --> 00:09:42.319 That's an aside, but it's an important aside, 00:09:42.319 --> 00:09:44.240 because again, I want you to have burning clarity. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:49.039 I don't want you to be confused what Paul means here by the flesh. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:53.539 The flesh is human nature as corrupted, 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:58.539 directed, and controlled by sin. 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:07.579 Okay, we've established the flesh. 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:11.339 There's a duality here, so now we have to turn to the spirit. 00:10:11.579 --> 00:10:13.019 This is still in verse 5. 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:18.179 We have a clue here what's meant by the spirit because it is capitalized. 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:21.899 So it's not speaking about a spirit in general. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:24.519 No, it's referring to the Holy Spirit, 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:27.600 which is the third person of the Trinity. 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:31.100 There's a reason this morning our confession of faith, 00:10:31.199 --> 00:10:33.460 this was on page 3 of your worship guide, 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:37.720 was about the Trinity to remind us of what it is that we believe as Christians. 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:42.940 As Christians, we confess and believe in the triune God. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.899 That is, we confess and believe in the God who is one God, 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:50.160 but exists in three persons. 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.220 And each person of the Trinity has their own job description. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:57.019 The Holy Spirit has a lot of things under his job description. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:00.220 Some of the things the Spirit does are soften our hearts. 00:11:00.800 --> 00:11:03.080 The Spirit is the one who convicts us of sin. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:06.320 Now, the Spirit helps us understand God's word. 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:10.580 The Spirit does other things as well, which we'll see later in chapter 8. 00:11:10.680 --> 00:11:12.080 But that's what's being talked about here. 00:11:12.540 --> 00:11:19.620 The flesh, the nature of sin, the Spirit, God's Holy Spirit. 00:11:20.520 --> 00:11:24.780 And now that we have our legend, that we've kind of established our baseline, 00:11:25.040 --> 00:11:27.200 we can move forward in verse 5. 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:28.840 So look again with me there. 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:31.700 Verse 5 presents, again, this contrast. 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:35.560 It tells us there are those who live according to the flesh, 00:11:35.560 --> 00:11:41.520 versus, as opposed to, those who live according to the Spirit. 00:11:41.920 --> 00:11:46.540 Which is reminding us of the Christian teaching we have looked at many times, 00:11:46.540 --> 00:11:52.940 which is that there are two and only two ways to live. 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:59.220 You can live according to sin, or you can live according to the Holy Spirit. 00:12:00.800 --> 00:12:07.860 There is a war, there is a contrast between the flesh and the Spirit. 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:14.040 Now, at this point, we're kind of talking in these very high-level, 40,000 feet terms. 00:12:14.140 --> 00:12:17.620 You might be wondering, you know, what is the real difference on the ground 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:20.800 between living in the flesh and living in the Spirit? 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:25.199 Now, in this section, this verse, Paul talks in very general terms. 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:28.179 Thankfully, he doesn't always do that. 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:31.859 There's another place where he speaks in specific terms. 00:12:32.199 --> 00:12:35.019 And I'm going to invite you to turn to page 8 of your worship guide. 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:39.379 This is critical for us, and so I had it printed out for you as a reference. 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:43.240 Galatians chapter 5, verses 19 through 23, 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:49.659 goes into detail about what it looks like day by day in real time 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:54.879 to live life in the flesh or life in the Spirit. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:58.759 And so you'll see there, the works of the flesh. 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:00.820 This is page 8 of your worship guide. 00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:16.920 And things like these is Paul's way of saying, 00:13:17.060 --> 00:13:18.800 and this list is not comprehensive. 00:13:19.540 --> 00:13:20.600 Now, don't be distracted. 00:13:20.800 --> 00:13:22.960 There are some spicy things on here, so you might think, 00:13:23.020 --> 00:13:23.800 ooh, sorcery. 00:13:24.060 --> 00:13:24.640 That's exciting. 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:28.179 You might see some things here that are kind of, 00:13:28.259 --> 00:13:30.159 we consider more scandalous sins, right? 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:33.139 Sexual immorality, sensuality, idolatry. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:36.539 And I think it's easy at times to get distracted by those and think, 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:39.639 well, you know, maybe I've finished with those sins in my life, 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:41.580 and so obviously I'm living in the Spirit. 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:45.279 Well, Paul's not going to let us off the hook that easily 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:46.860 because it also involves this. 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:50.159 The enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:53.939 rivalries, dissensions, divisions, and envy. 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:58.519 Have you envied someone recently? 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:06.740 Do you have a dissension or a division with someone else? 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:12.179 Do you have a rivalry with another person? 00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:17.240 It's not just sorcery and orgies. 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:23.039 Paul tells us these other things, right, are our life in the flesh. 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:29.059 That is what happens when the human nature is controlled, directed, dominated by sin. 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:33.240 By the way, before I became a pastor, I think in my mind I sort of imagined, 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:35.199 well, you know, when the elders of the church meet, 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:37.879 what are they going to be dealing with in the congregation? 00:14:38.099 --> 00:14:39.599 And, you know, at the top of the list you might think, 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:43.399 well, sexual immorality and impurity and sensuality and idolatry. 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:46.759 And the reality is, you know, those things do happen, right? 00:14:47.259 --> 00:14:49.159 There's an awful lot more of this, though. 00:14:49.459 --> 00:14:55.220 Enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, and divisions. 00:14:56.620 --> 00:14:59.139 Which is to say, as we've looked at before, 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.299 the flesh still has a pool on us, right? 00:15:02.319 --> 00:15:06.159 We still have the presence of sin in our lives. 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:12.620 Now, thankfully, Paul doesn't just give us the negative here. 00:15:12.699 --> 00:15:13.980 He also gives us the positive. 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:17.159 So we see what it looks like to live life in the flesh. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:22.179 And then we get a vision of what it looks like to live life in the spirit. 00:15:22.319 --> 00:15:25.480 Again, this is Galatians 5, page 8 of your worship guide. 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:30.139 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:34.879 faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:39.700 Do you want to live life in the spirit? 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:42.439 That's what it looks like. 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:47.740 Do you want to know if someone is a spiritual person? 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:52.639 If they're being changed and transformed by the work of God? 00:15:55.019 --> 00:16:02.279 Do you want to know if you are being changed and transformed by the work of God? 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:04.659 That's what it looks like. 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:06.500 That's the contrast. 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.779 Life in the flesh, life in the spirit. 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:15.659 I've got good news for you. 00:16:16.379 --> 00:16:18.480 We have cleared the ground at this point. 00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:21.399 Okay, so take us a while to understand what's happening here. 00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:27.720 In verse 5, that takes us back to our original question. 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:31.240 How do we live life according to the spirit? 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:42.320 How do we become people of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control? 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.500 Paul doesn't leave us hanging. 00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:49.879 He tells us right here in verse 5. 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:52.980 We set our minds. 00:16:52.980 --> 00:17:05.059 Those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. 00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:16.859 Where you look determines who you become. 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:30.919 What you meditate on is what will decide how you live your life. 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:40.820 Those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. 00:17:40.819 --> 00:17:53.919 I grew up camping and going to summer camp as a kid. 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:57.460 And that included a certain amount of canoeing. 00:17:58.340 --> 00:18:06.060 And if you're in a canoe, there are various strategies you can use with your oars to keep your canoe headed straight. 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:06.960 And that's great. 00:18:07.080 --> 00:18:09.620 You know, you can have your J stroke and your left stroke and your right stroke. 00:18:09.619 --> 00:18:14.239 But ultimately, if you want to end up in the right place, you have to do this. 00:18:14.919 --> 00:18:21.939 You have to pick a spot where you want to end up and you keep your eyes up on that. 00:18:22.659 --> 00:18:23.019 Right? 00:18:23.099 --> 00:18:26.819 Because where you set your eyes, that determines your destination. 00:18:27.139 --> 00:18:30.119 Yeah, you need to use different strokes along the way to get there. 00:18:30.219 --> 00:18:34.299 But if you don't know where you're headed, none of that matters. 00:18:34.439 --> 00:18:36.119 In fact, that's how you end up at the right place. 00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:39.559 That's also how you know when you're off course. 00:18:40.479 --> 00:18:44.679 Now the word mind here is more than intellectual. 00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:48.259 It's easy for us as Westerners to think, well, when Paul says mind here, 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:52.039 it just means I need to do more meditation and more reading and study. 00:18:52.139 --> 00:18:56.379 And it's certainly not less than that, but it is also more than that. 00:18:56.439 --> 00:19:03.359 If you mind something, that is telling you about the entire orientation of your life. 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:11.359 That is your hope and your vision and where you give your attention and your energy. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:18.399 Faith, in other words, is not just one component among many components as you walk in this world. 00:19:18.500 --> 00:19:27.619 No, it is the lens, the commitment, as we've talked about before, the keystone that sets everything else. 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:38.079 If you want to live your life in the Spirit, set your mind on the things of the Spirit. 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:41.759 Now that raises another question. 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:44.960 Okay, I'm supposed to set my mind on the things of the Spirit. 00:19:45.099 --> 00:19:46.879 That's where I'm charting my course. 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:49.059 What are those things? 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:59.819 You do not set your mind ultimately on the fruits of the Spirit because the fruits of the Spirit are downstream. 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:06.519 The fruits are what come when you set your mind in the correct place. 00:20:06.659 --> 00:20:08.579 No, you don't set your mind on the fruits. 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:13.000 You set your mind on what it says here, the things of the Spirit. 00:20:13.399 --> 00:20:13.960 Well, okay. 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:15.980 What are the things of the Spirit? 00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:22.480 Look at me at page 5 of your worship guide, which says this. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:29.880 The rest of Romans 8 tells us what the Spirit is preoccupied with. 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:37.799 How in Christ we are adopted, loved, and welcomed. 00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:41.880 That's the fixed point. 00:20:43.220 --> 00:20:44.620 That's the destination. 00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:55.579 That is the truth that guides and directs and determines everything else in your life. 00:20:56.839 --> 00:20:59.339 Helps us understand chapter 7, by the way. 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:04.059 Remember the whole point of chapter 7 was the law can't change your heart. 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:07.099 The law rules. 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:11.679 They can't bring new and beautiful things out into your life. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:14.700 But God can. 00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:21.440 And he does it by his Holy Spirit. 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:35.319 As your eyes are fixed on his work for you in and through Jesus Christ. 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:42.119 The law cannot change you or save you. 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:44.399 God can. 00:21:44.399 --> 00:21:51.679 As we remember what he has done for us. 00:21:51.680 --> 00:22:09.940 How in Christ we are adopted, loved, and welcomed can and does change everything we do. 00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:15.600 Do you want to live life in the Spirit? 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:23.980 Then evaluate every action through that lens. 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:26.420 Do everything in light of that. 00:22:26.420 --> 00:22:34.539 I told you before about my friend who years ago told me he gets up every morning. 00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:38.500 And every morning he has to ask himself this question. 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:44.400 Do I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead or not? 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:51.780 And that's returning to first principles every day. 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:52.460 Right? 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:53.300 He's coming back. 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:55.920 What's the really important question? 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:06.640 If God the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, raised Jesus Christ from the dead, 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:18.520 then you can face whatever comes. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:27.580 If God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, raised Jesus Christ from the dead, 00:23:28.800 --> 00:23:32.460 then you can face whatever comes. 00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:39.960 That is fixing our eyes on the things of the Spirit. 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:48.340 By the way, that's why we come together here every Sunday morning. 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:55.360 Because our eyes are constantly being pulled in other directions. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:02.219 And God knows that every single week, at least once a week, 00:24:02.219 --> 00:24:06.519 we need to sit down and have our vision adjusted. 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:11.859 In the new members class, we talk about in our first class 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:14.339 the importance of being in worship on Sunday morning. 00:24:14.419 --> 00:24:17.439 And I call it the 101 of the Christian life. 00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:19.299 And the reason it's the 101 is this, 00:24:19.479 --> 00:24:23.799 that we need to look again and again at Jesus Christ. 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:30.919 And we need to be reminded week after week of what he's done. 00:24:32.159 --> 00:24:36.579 And God has called us to do that here together. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:40.940 That, by the way, is my job as a preacher. 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:45.419 When people say, well, that man, he's preaching or he's giving a sermon, 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:49.519 often what they mean is, man, that person is laying down some rules 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:52.019 and some laws and some commandments and some principles. 00:24:53.339 --> 00:24:55.099 And you know what the Bible does have? 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:57.779 Rules and laws and commandments and principles. 00:24:59.019 --> 00:25:01.500 But chapter 7 said, that's not going to change you. 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:06.259 The job of the preacher is this. 00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:10.379 To present Jesus Christ. 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:15.220 That we would see his glory and his beauty. 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:22.900 That you would remember how in Christ you are adopted, loved, and welcomed. 00:25:26.620 --> 00:25:28.500 We sang it right before the sermon. 00:25:28.660 --> 00:25:29.540 This is on page 5. 00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:35.380 Hast thou heard him, seen him, known him? 00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:39.740 Is not thine a captured heart? 00:25:41.600 --> 00:25:45.020 Chief among 10,000 own him. 00:25:46.540 --> 00:25:49.700 Joyful choose the better part. 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:57.300 What can strip the seeming beauty from the idols of the earth? 00:25:58.340 --> 00:26:01.940 Chapter 7 tells us rules are not going to strip the beauty from the idols of the earth. 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:09.519 No, not a sense of right or duty, but the sight of peerless worth. 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:15.460 Do you want the fruit of the Spirit? 00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:22.620 Do you want more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control? 00:26:22.620 --> 00:26:27.660 Do you want what verse 6 refers to in life and peace? 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:35.880 Then you must set your mind on the things of the Spirit. 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:43.080 You must set your eyes on Christ. 00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:59.119 I told you we were going to spend a lot of time on verse 5, which we have, and very little time on verses 6 and 7. 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:00.379 So look there with me briefly. 00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:04.079 Verse 6 tells us the result of these things. 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:10.139 The result of life in the flesh is death as opposed to life and peace. 00:27:10.140 --> 00:27:15.640 Now it doesn't say that it will be death or that it results in death, although it does. 00:27:15.700 --> 00:27:17.240 It said it is death. 00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:18.660 It's death right now. 00:27:18.940 --> 00:27:25.600 And ultimately it is death because those who are in the flesh are under God's judgment. 00:27:28.140 --> 00:27:30.720 Galatians 5, that long list. 00:27:30.820 --> 00:27:33.700 Remember on page 8, what does Paul say? 00:27:33.700 --> 00:27:41.759 As I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:43.600 You know this. 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:44.460 You know this intuitively. 00:27:44.740 --> 00:27:51.360 If you interact with people who this list describes, people with strife and jealousy and fits of anger, 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:55.519 those people are not people of life and peace. 00:27:55.519 --> 00:28:04.039 If that list in Galatians 5 is the list of your life, at least some of it, I know this. 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:08.839 Joy is not a part of any of it. 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:14.180 To set the mind on the flesh is death. 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:17.599 It says another thing in verse 6. 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:20.200 To set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:22.559 It doesn't say it will be life and peace. 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:25.899 It does not say it results in life and peace, although it does. 00:28:26.919 --> 00:28:29.859 It says it is life and peace now. 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:35.000 And it is life and it is peace because you have been reconciled to God. 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:46.559 The end of anxiety and fear and strife ultimately and finally comes from fixing our eyes on him. 00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:56.259 That's what gives us the hope and perspective and confidence to move from what is wrong to what is right. 00:28:56.379 --> 00:29:01.519 To see what God has done to reconcile us to himself. 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:06.500 Then in verses 7 through 8 basically say one thing. 00:29:07.159 --> 00:29:10.779 If you're in the flesh, you are fighting against God. 00:29:10.779 --> 00:29:17.440 It is impossible for you to do the right thing for the right reason. 00:29:17.539 --> 00:29:20.099 That is for God's honor and his glory. 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:24.859 Doing things out of thanks to him for his work of creation and redemption. 00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:28.039 Theologians call this total inability. 00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:35.759 Which is their way of saying only those in the spirit can do what pleases God. 00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:41.579 That's verses 6 through 8. 00:29:42.660 --> 00:29:44.079 So we'll end how we started. 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:49.579 How do we walk in the spirit? 00:29:52.519 --> 00:30:00.359 How do we become people of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control? 00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:08.679 We do it by setting our minds on the things of the spirit. 00:30:10.199 --> 00:30:17.179 Which is to say we do it by setting our minds on Christ. 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:22.100 And so that's why we're going to sing. 00:30:23.100 --> 00:30:26.759 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. 00:30:27.779 --> 00:30:32.120 Not be all else to me, save that thou art. 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:37.960 Thou my best thought, by day or by night. 00:30:39.060 --> 00:30:43.960 Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. 00:30:44.740 --> 00:30:45.299 Let's pray. 00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:56.039 Our Father in heaven, we do praise you and thank you that you don't meet us with rules and commands that we can't meet. 00:30:56.159 --> 00:30:58.240 But instead you come to us with your grace. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:03.639 Your grace that by your Holy Spirit fixes our eyes on you. 00:31:04.639 --> 00:31:07.319 And that you use to change us from the inside out. 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:10.940 We ask that that would be our hope in our life. 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:15.039 That we would love and follow you in faith more and more. 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:17.000 And we ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:31:17.500 --> 00:31:17.759 Amen. 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:17.899 Amen. 00:31:17.899 --> 00:31:17.940 Amen.