Good morning, church. It's good to see you all this morning. We are in Romans 8 this morning.
That's page 944 in the Pew Bible. Let me ask you to turn there with me.
We are going to focus on verses 9 through 11 today.
But for our reading, I'm going to start in verse 1 so we get the context.
As we come to God's Word together, let me pray for us.
Amen.
Our Father, as we have just sung, how great is your steadfast love toward us.
Lord, you have taken our sin and you have separated it from us as far as the east is from the west.
Lord, there is no remembrance of our sin because of what Christ has done for us.
Lord, we confess this morning that we need your Spirit to come and make this truth real to our hearts.
Lord, in our own selves, our hearts are so cold toward you.
Our minds are so closed toward you and the things of you.
So now, God, as we come to your life-giving Word, we pray that you would dwell richly among us by your Spirit
and help us to behold wondrous things from your Word.
Lord, we ask this in Jesus' name, Father.
Amen.
Well, let me read Romans 8, verses 1 through 11.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
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
in 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.
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.
If 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.
When Beth and I were dating after college, we lived about two and a half hours away from each other.
I was living in Pennsylvania where I had a job,
and she was living and working back home in New Jersey with her parents.
So what that meant was that every weekend, I would drive two and a half hours on Friday after work
to stay in the spare bedroom at her parents' place just so we could spend Saturday and most of Sunday together,
and then I would turn around and drive another two and a half hours back to Pennsylvania.
Needless to say, that was not very fun.
And keep in mind, this was in the stone age when Skype and FaceTime didn't exist,
that when we talked to each other on the phone, we could literally only hear each other's voices.
That was all we had.
So when it became pretty clear to us and to the people whose godly wisdom we trusted
that marriage was in our future, that that was the right path for us, we could not wait.
We planned a six-month engagement, which is crazy short if you haven't gotten married before.
We booked the church.
We booked the ladies' club for the reception.
We booked the caterers.
We sent out the invitations.
And if you've planned a wedding, you realize that that's an incredible amount of work.
And at last, when our wedding day came, what happened?
We took on a whole new status.
Now, we were legally husband and wife.
Everything was now redefined.
Legally, what was mine was hers.
What was hers was mine.
You see, we had taken on a whole new status in getting married.
But with that new legal status of husband and wife came something else.
Beth packed up all of her stuff, brought it all the way from New Jersey to Pennsylvania,
and we moved into our first apartment together.
We actually started doing life together, taking up residence, dwelling in the same space.
Then the real fun began.
Now, imagine how strange it would have been after getting married, after entering into this whole new status,
where we were now considered one in a binding legal union.
What's true of her is true of me, and vice versa.
Imagine if after all that, we wrapped up the reception, said goodbye to the guests, watched the caterers clean up and head home.
Imagine if after all that, I then drove two and a half hours back to Pennsylvania,
only to see her every once in a while when the weekend rolled around,
and when we could get a chance to talk on our flip flones, and maybe write a letter or two.
That would have been very strange, would it not?
Now, I know some married couples have seasons where they have to live apart for various reasons,
but apart from those circumstances, don't you see the change in status goes hand in hand with the change of dwelling.
What's pronounced legally, that these two are now one, gets then lived out relationally.
And they don't just live in the same space, but financially, emotionally, physically, socially,
there's this increasing union.
They really begin to dwell with one another.
Now, what Paul is helping us to see in verses 9 through 11 of Romans 8,
this great chapter about assurance, is that something very similar,
but even more profound happens in a believer's relationship with God in Christ.
You see, over and over again in Romans, Paul has been saying,
through faith in Christ, you have a new status.
As chapter 5 of Romans will say, you've moved from being in Adam,
the old humanity, under the curse of sin and death,
and now, through faith, you are in Christ.
You are in the new humanity,
where his gift of righteousness has brought life.
Or, as Paul puts it right here in verse 1 of chapter 8,
there's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Through faith, we're united to Christ, now what's his becomes ours.
You see, if God's verdict over Christ is that there's no condemnation,
then that means God's verdict over us.
Though in and of ourselves, we don't deserve it.
It's the same.
There's no condemnation.
But you see, that's not the end of the story.
This new status comes hand in hand with a new presence.
Three times in these three verses, 9 through 11,
we're told that the Holy Spirit indwells the believer.
That he comes and he takes up residence within.
And the word indwell means a settled, permanent residence.
The Holy Spirit's not just passing through,
here one day, gone the next.
The Holy Spirit's not like most of us when it comes to New Haven.
We're here for a couple years,
and we're on to something else, right?
That's what I thought was going to happen to Beth and I.
God had other plans.
Maybe he's got other plans for you.
But no, the Holy Spirit is here to stay.
He's settling in.
He's never going to leave.
So this morning, I want us, with the Apostle Paul here in verses 9 through 11,
to pause and to consider and to rejoice in the reality
that if you are in Christ, then the Spirit of God dwells in you.
And we're going to do that in three steps,
just looking at each of these three verses in turn.
And in verse 9, we're going to see the fact of the Spirit's indwelling,
just the brute fact of it, the reality of it.
And then in verse 10, we're going to see that there's present power
in the Spirit's indwelling.
And then in verse 11, we're going to see that there's future transformation
because of the Spirit's indwelling.
Clear?
Let's do it.
Okay, first, the fact.
Verse 9.
Look at verse 9 again.
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.
It is a truth universally acknowledged
that a single man in possession of a good fortune
must be in want of a wife.
You recognize that line?
It's the opening line of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Some people are shaking their heads.
Am I the only geek here who's a Jane Austen fan?
Okay.
Jane Austen begins one of her greatest novels
with just wit and irony and sarcasm,
as only she can do.
Here's a universal truth.
That a man possessing good fortune must be in want of a wife.
But here, you see, Paul is laying down a universal truth.
He is laying down a reality with no irony,
no sarcasm,
just full-on joyful truth.
That the Spirit of God indwells everyone who belongs to Christ,
and conversely, no one who does not belong to him.
Look at verse 9 again.
Let me try to unpack Paul's tightly packed reasoning in this verse.
I think it goes something like this.
How can Paul be so sure that the Roman Christians,
the you in verse 9,
are no longer in the flesh?
That is that they're no longer in the realm
or under the sway
of that old self-centered nature
that we inherit from Adam.
That's what the flesh means here in Romans
and in pretty much all of Paul's language.
It's our old self-centered fallen nature.
How can Paul be so sure
that they're no longer in that realm,
but in the realm of the Spirit?
That is in the realm of the Spirit's liberating reign and presence.
How can he be so sure
that that transfer has been made of them?
Well, because the Spirit of God dwells in them.
You see, the words, if in fact, there,
don't so much cast doubt on whether the Spirit dwells in them.
Rather, Paul is showing the deep logical connection
between being in the Spirit
and having the Spirit in you.
But how can Paul be so sure
that the Spirit of the living God dwells in them?
It's quite a claim.
Well, because as the rest of verse 9 says,
if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them,
they don't belong to Christ at all.
So the question for Paul is,
do you belong to Christ?
Are you His through faith?
If yes,
then there's no doubt in Paul's mind
that the Holy Spirit dwells in you.
And if the Spirit dwells in you,
then you're no longer in the flesh,
but you're in the Spirit.
That is Paul's reasoning.
And you see what the central plank of it all is.
It's the reality, the truth,
that the Spirit of God indwells everyone
who belongs to Christ through faith.
Okay, now why is that such a big deal?
Well, in the next two verses,
we're going to see two implications
of the Spirit's dwelling in us.
But I want us to just pause for a second
on the stunning fact of what Paul is saying.
That if you are in Christ,
then the Spirit of God dwells in you.
The Spirit of God dwells in you.
If you've been a Christian for a while,
maybe that's become a very familiar thing to you.
You were told, rightly,
that when you put your trust in Christ,
the Holy Spirit came to dwell within.
But do you realize, friend, what that means?
Stop and consider who we are talking about here.
The Holy Spirit of God.
The one who hovered over the waters of creation,
bringing life to what God the Father made through the Son.
The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit who descended in glory
upon the tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament
with a glory so devastatingly holy
that everyone had to bow down
and no one could stand up
because he was there.
The Holy Spirit who came like a whirlwind
and fire at Pentecost
and that launched the church into a mission
that erupted and ripped through the first century
with an energy and a life that is yet to cease
even to this day.
The Holy Spirit who created worlds,
who brought men and women to their knees,
who conquered empires with the word of the cross,
the same Holy Spirit,
the Lord,
the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is worshipped and glorified,
as the Nicene Queen says.
This Holy Spirit dwells in you.
I think we need to just pause for a second
and take that in.
In you, Christian.
And so you realize that according to Paul
and to the rest of the New Testament,
there's no sort of two-tiered Christianity.
There's no sort of group of super-Christians over here
who are indwelt by the Spirit
and they've really got it going on.
And then there's all the schmucks over here,
the rest of us,
who aren't indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
We're just getting by by the skin of our teeth.
No, Paul is saying,
if you belong to Christ,
the Spirit of the living God
has taken up settled,
permanent residence within
every single one of you.
Friends, does that not change
how you see yourself?
More importantly,
does that not change
how you see God
and His great grace
and His great purpose?
Now, I realize some of you here
are not Christians.
Maybe you're interested in spiritual things.
Maybe you're not so sure
about this Christianity thing just yet.
Let me say to you
that you're very welcome here.
We want this to be a place
where you can explore
and hear what Christianity is all about
and ask good questions
and see whether or not
Jesus is who He says He is.
And I imagine that for you,
all this talk about the indwelling Holy Spirit
probably either seems very curious to you
and maybe you want to know more,
or else, maybe more likely,
this just seems totally absurd.
How could anyone believe such a thing?
But you know, if you think about it,
is it all that absurd?
If there is a God who made us
and who loves us,
and if that God in love
took our humanity upon Himself,
and if He bore our worst,
if He bore our failure
and our selfishness and our sin
so that you and I could be released from it,
is it so hard to believe
that that God who made us,
who loves us,
is it so hard to believe
that that God would also want to be near to us?
to be with us,
to not just be a God above us
or over us
or even a God among us,
but to be the God within us,
closer to us
than we are to ourselves.
Maybe it's not so strange.
Maybe it's exactly
what we've all been longing for.
So that's our first point.
Just the fact
of the Spirit's indwelling.
But what's the implication of all this?
If the Holy Spirit dwells in us,
what does that mean?
So in the next two verses,
Paul will show us,
and if we could sum it up
with one word,
that one word would be
life.
Life.
In verse 10,
we see that the indwelling Spirit
is life.
And in verse 11,
we see that the indwelling Spirit
will give life.
In verse 10,
this life means present power.
And in verse 11,
this life means future transformation.
Let's look at the present power.
Verse 10,
but if Christ is in you,
notice by the way,
before we go,
here's an aside.
Notice by the way
how differently Paul describes
the Holy Spirit here.
The Spirit,
the Spirit of God,
the Spirit of Christ.
Here he just says,
if Christ is in you,
what's Paul doing?
Is he sort of getting
all of his categories confused?
Is for Paul the Spirit in Christ
just sort of one person?
No.
What Paul is saying
that the Spirit of God
and the Son of God
and the Father,
though they are very distinct persons
in one God,
their actions can never be separated.
That Jesus,
from the Father,
sends the Spirit
and the Spirit mediates
the presence of Jesus
into our hearts.
This is the same thing
Jesus taught
in the chapter from John
that we read earlier
in the service,
that he was going to send
a helper,
the Holy Spirit,
and he would dwell in you.
And then Jesus is going to say,
oh,
and my Father
and I will come
and we'll make our home in you.
You can see how reading passages
like Romans 8,
like John 14,
how the early church
in faithful interpretation
of Scripture
would speak of God
as triune,
one God,
eternally existing
as three persons.
But that's not Paul's
main point here.
He's talking about
the present power
of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Back to verse 10.
If Christ is in you,
although the body is dead
because of sin,
the Spirit is life
because of righteousness.
Now, friends,
Paul in the rest
of the New Testament
is quite clear.
Being a Christian
does not exempt you
from physical death.
The body,
as Paul says here,
is still subject to death
because of sin,
because we still inhabit
this fallen world.
But that is not
the whole story
for the Christian.
Even though our outward bodies
waste away,
even though we get sick,
even though we wrestle
with mental illness
and physical illness,
even though we struggle
with aging and dementia,
even though,
unless the Lord returns,
each one of us
in this room
will physically die.
Despite of all that,
Paul says there's another
principle at work
within us.
The Spirit is life
because of righteousness.
Oh, we could have spent
the whole morning
on just that one phrase.
I was actually tempted
to just preach
a whole sermon
on the Spirit is life
because of righteousness.
The Spirit is life
because of righteousness.
First,
whose righteousness?
Yours?
Has the Spirit come
and given you life
because of your moral goodness?
Because of your worthiness?
Because of your record?
No.
God takes up residence
in you
because of His righteousness.
This is the message
of the entire book
of Romans.
In our high school
Sunday school class
this morning,
we tried to spend
most of our time
thinking about this idea
of God's righteousness.
That God's righteousness
has come to us
the guilty
as a gift
through Jesus Christ,
the righteous one.
And this makes Christianity
totally different
than anything else.
Every other religion,
friends,
is about offering
a righteousness
to God
in hopes
that He'll love
and accept us.
but Christianity
is about receiving
a righteousness
from God
with the assurance
that nothing then
can separate us
from His love
and acceptance.
And because of that
righteous status,
the righteous
given to us
through Jesus'
faithful life
and sin-bearing death,
because of that,
there is nothing
keeping the Holy Spirit
from coming
and taking up
residence within
and bringing
a new power of life
where once there was
sin and death.
The power of sin
has been broken
through the righteousness
of Christ
and now the Spirit
comes flooding in
with unstoppable life.
Now what does that
present power
look like?
Well, Paul has actually
been telling us
and he'll go on
to tell us
right here
in Romans 8.
Let's paint a picture.
The present life
of the Spirit
means a new mindset,
verse 5.
If you live
according to the Spirit,
you set your mind
on the things
of the Spirit.
It's a whole new
desire
or controlling
passion
for your life.
You're no longer
bound
to just think
about yourself
and how you can
exalt yourself
and how you can
win others' favor
for yourself,
but you're bound
and you're captivated
and you're drawn out
into loving Christ
and delighting
and exalting
in Him.
You have a whole
new mindset.
The power
of the Spirit
also means
a new
submission
to God
and God's
word.
That's verse 7.
Paul says there,
if you're in the flesh,
you don't submit
to God,
you're hostile
to God,
you don't submit
to His word.
The implication
is that the
opposite is true.
If you're in the Spirit,
if the Spirit
dwells in you,
then
out of our
new desires
come a new
obedience.
You see,
the Spirit
comes and He
changes not just
our inner desires,
but also our habits,
also the way we live,
also the shape
of our life.
Of course,
we will always
wrestle with
temptation and sin
in this life,
but what Paul
is saying here
is that more
and more
sin
loses its
control over us.
More and more
we delight
in God's ways
now
and new habits
begin to form.
This new life
also means
a new witness
within
that we are
children of God.
This is jumping
ahead to verse 16.
Friends,
I don't know
about you,
but I think
most of us
struggle
with an old
voice
in our heads,
a voice
of condemnation,
of shame,
of guilt.
An old voice
that stretches
the whole way
back
to the garden
that comes
and tells us
that we need
to work harder
and prove ourselves
that God
doesn't really
love us
and have our best,
so we need
to do it
on our own
to fit in.
But you see,
now,
because of the
indwelling Holy Spirit,
because the Spirit
is life,
because of righteousness,
that old voice
is met
by another voice,
the voice
of the Spirit
witnessing to our
spirit
that we are
God's children,
heirs of eternity,
awash in dignity
and glory
that's nothing
like this world
or the favor
of the world
can give.
Last,
this new life
in the Spirit
means that there's
a new groaning
within us,
a new groaning
for the new creation
and the Spirit's help
for us
as we pray.
That's verse 23
and verse 26
and 27.
This life
that's in us
because of Christ's
righteousness
through the Spirit
means that there's
an inner longing
for God's future.
There's an inner groaning
to see creation healed
and for his justice
to come
and make things right.
And when we don't
even know how to pray
for that,
Paul says,
the Spirit prays
for us.
And though we might
not be able to hear
those prayers
on our behalf,
we can be sure
that with them come
peace
and joy
and a renewed sense
of the love of God.
So,
brothers and sisters,
Christian,
the Spirit
is life in you.
Next week,
we'll go deeper
into what that looks like
for us
to be active
in that life-giving power
in the present,
what it means
to put sin to death,
to live by the Spirit.
We'll talk about
some of our responsibility
and all of that
next week,
but this morning,
I wonder
if we just need
to hear a word
of comfort
and encouragement.
Perhaps you're discouraged
and disappointed
in your own lack
of holiness.
Perhaps you're feeling stuck.
How can I ever
overcome
this area
of sin
in my life?
How can I ever
change?
How can I ever
meet the challenge
that lies before me now
as a follower of Christ?
Well,
friend,
the short answer is,
in yourself,
you can't.
But,
the Holy Spirit
dwells within you.
So,
you don't have
to remain
stuck.
You don't have
to remain
in that relationship
that you know
isn't pleasing
to Christ.
The Holy Spirit
dwells in you.
He will give you
the courage
to end things
if you need to end things,
to walk away,
to ask for help.
You don't have
to go back
to that sinful habit.
The Holy Spirit
dwells in you
in that habit,
that behavior.
It's not you anymore.
It doesn't define
you anymore.
It doesn't have
dominion over you anymore.
You belong
to the Spirit
and He dwells in you.
And if you've been
too afraid
to ask for help,
too embarrassed
or ashamed,
listen to what
the Holy Spirit
says to your spirit.
You
are a child
of God.
And there's
no place
for shame here.
We're all sinners
and we all
stand
on the righteousness
of another,
the righteousness
of our faithful
Savior,
Jesus Christ,
and He has made
us all
sons and daughters.
So there's
no more shame.
There's no more fear.
And that old
way of living,
it's not
your future.
There's present
power
through the
indwelling
Spirit.
But last,
this is our
third big point,
the fact,
the present
power,
power.
But Paul goes
on to say
there's future
transformation.
Verse 11,
if 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.
Where
is all
of this
heading?
Not just
our service
this morning,
which you're
thinking,
well,
I hope it's
heading to
coffee downstairs
or something
cold to
drink because
it's hot
in here.
Where is
all this
heading?
Not just
your week
at work.
Is it
heading to
a promotion?
Is it
heading to
a vacation?
Where is
all of
this
heading?
Your life.
What's
the destination
that God
has in store
for those
who belong
to His
Son and
are indwelt
by His
Spirit?
Paul says
if you
want to
see your
future,
then look
to Christ
Jesus.
If you
want to
see where
God is
taking you,
then look
to your
King.
Look to
your King
who entered
into such
deep
solidarity
with us,
who took
hold of us
so firmly
and so
completely
in the
incarnation
that now
what's
true of
Him
will be
true of
us.
That's
part of
what it
means that
Jesus is
the Christ,
is the
Messiah.
In the
Old Testament,
the Messiah
stood for
His people.
What was
true of
the King
was true
of the
people.
If the
King
obeyed,
the people
got blessed.
If the
King
disobeyed,
everything
went downhill.
But now
Christ,
our perfect
King,
has come.
He's
taken hold
of us
as people
so that
what's
true of
Him is
true of
us and
He's
taking us
there.
And friends,
what do we
know is
true of
Jesus?
It's that
God the
Father
raised Him
from the
dead
through the
power of
the Holy
Spirit.
And Paul
says if
that same
Spirit
dwells in
you and
He does
on the
last day
when the
trumpet
sounds and
Christ returns
to judge the
world and
make all
things new,
you too
will be
raised to
unceasing,
transformed,
physical,
material,
unending
life.
And
nothing
is going
to stop
it.
now there
are many
saints in
this room,
many
believers in
this room
who have
run the
race
faithfully
for many
years.
And
brothers and
sisters,
you know
better than
many of
us what
it means
to have,
as Paul
says,
a mortal
body,
a body
that grows
old and
weary,
weary.
But know
this,
saints,
one day
the Holy
Spirit in
you,
who has
continued to
give your
spirit new
life and
vitality through
all of life's
trials and
temptations,
that spirit
who has
empowered you
to live for
Christ day
in and day
out will
one day
make your
body
new,
just like
Christ,
your Savior.
You will
be raised
anew on
the last
day,
you will
run and
not grow
weary,
you will
walk and
not faint.
All the
effects of
sin on
the fall
of your
body
will be
undone
and God
will get
the glory
for conquering
all the
effects of
sin,
even
undoing
death
itself.
But if
you're here
this morning
and your
race is
just
beginning,
if your
body is
still pretty
healthy,
if you
seem to
be doing
okay,
if you're
in your
20s,
you can
pull
all-nighters,
do all
that good
stuff that
people in
their 30s
and 40s
shouldn't do
anymore,
well friends,
you need to
hear this
too.
You need
to see what
sort of
future God
has in
store for
you.
You need
to see
that the
indwelling
of the
Spirit
means
that what
lies ahead
of you
in Christ
is not
something
less
physical,
less
joyful,
less
thrilling,
but more.
What's
ahead of
you
in
Christ
is
life.
So when
you are
tempted
to trade
Christ
for the
pleasures
of this
world
now,
when you
are faced
with that
bargain,
remember
where the
Spirit
of God
is taking
you.
Remember
that this
life isn't
your only
shot at
joy,
that this
life isn't
the terminus
of all
your desires,
that the
days of
your youth
aren't the
only chance
that you
get to
enjoy
life and
have
pleasure.
you see,
the Spirit's
indwelling
presence means
that you
are destined
for the
new heavens
and the
new earth
and the
resurrection
of the
body where
the present
joys of
this present
age will
be seen
as just
the foretaste
that they
are.
It's almost
impossible for
us to
imagine
what it
will be
like to
live in
a renewed
creation
that's been
liberated from
sin and
death,
that's been
liberated from
evil and
injustice,
that's been
liberated from
shame and
guilt.
It's almost
impossible for
us to
imagine how
rich it
will be to
drink the
joys that
God, our
Creator,
intended us
to drink
and to
drink in
these, in
our bodies.
After all, God
created us in
a body, didn't
He not?
He redeemed us
through a body,
the body of
Christ that's
been resurrected
and His future
for us will be
in the body
made totally
new.
joy.
And it
means all
the things
that you
want to
enjoy and
experience in
this body.
The rightful
enjoyment of
those things
will not be
withheld from
you in
God's future.
Following
Christ,
friends,
doesn't mean
less joy,
but more,
infinitely more,
and He's
put His
Spirit in
you to
make sure
that He
gets you
there.
So,
friends,
if you
belong to
Christ,
if you
belong to
Him through
faith and
the Spirit
of God,
the very
Spirit of
the living
God dwells
in you,
and that
means life,
life now
and life
to come.
So,
let me wrap
up by
asking,
do you
have that
life?
Do you
want it?
In your
more sober
moments,
do you see
how lifeless
your life
has been?
then,
friends,
hear the
call of
the gospel
that Jesus
says,
I've come
that you
might have
life and
have it
to the
full.
Jesus
says,
everyone who
comes to
me,
out of your
heart will
flow a
river of
living water
by which He
meant the
Spirit who
dwells within.
a life
that will
start to
overflow
its bounds
of our
old way
of being
until in
the future
to come
it will
overflow
and transform
even our
very physicality.
Friend,
you want
that life,
and if you
want that
life,
then you
must come
to Christ,
the life
giver,
the one
who died
and rose
again for
you so
you could
be right
with God
and so
you could
receive His
indwelling
Spirit and
have that
life.
Life now
and life
to come.
Let's
pray.
Father,
we pray
that you
would help
us to
grasp more
deeply the
reality of
the indwelling
Spirit within.
And,
Father,
as we've
meditated this
morning on
some of the
truths that
this brings,
things,
Lord,
I pray that
you would
help us
to see that
begin to
shape our
lives,
shape how
we think,
shape how
we act,
shape how
we love
and how
we long.
But most
of all,
Father,
in this
moment,
we just
give you
thanks and
we give you
praise that
you would
look upon
us,
guilty
sinners,
and you
would choose
to take up
residence
within,
that you
would come
and you
would dwell
within us,
and that
where we
had chosen
death again
and again
and again,
you would
come and
free us
to choose
life and
to be
alive.
Lord,
help us
as a
church
to be
people
who live
by your
Spirit,
we pray.
Amen.