Heavenly Father, I thank you for this building. I thank you we have a place to come and worship you.
I also thank you that we have the technology to worship, for people to come and worship with you online.
Father, I admit that this text that I just read encourages people.
It may make people angry. It may make people feel discouraged or confused.
But whatever people are feeling, Lord, I just ask that you administer to our hearts, to our minds,
that your Holy Spirit would be present and that we would just be focused on you.
Everything else, all distractions, would just fall away.
And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
So over the holidays, me and my wife, we watch a lot on Netflix.
And there's a new movie that just came up.
I believe it came out on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
And the movie's called Don't Look Up.
And I'm just going to say I'm not here to promote it.
I'm not here to say you should watch it.
I'm just, you can decide that for yourself.
But the premise of the movie, without giving any spoilers or anything of that away,
is about, it's an end-of-the-world genre movie.
There's a big meteor, which you find out right away, is coming towards Earth to destroy it.
And people are scrambling all over the world trying to figure out what to do.
It's basically a modern version of the movie Armageddon that came out many years ago,
just without the Aerosmith song in it.
And there's two prayers that I want to take from this movie that happened at some points in the movie.
I don't want to give it away.
And there's two of them.
So I'm just going to read them.
I wrote them down, so I'll just read them out right now.
So the first one.
Dearest Father and Almighty Creator,
We ask for your grace tonight, despite our pride.
Your forgiveness, despite our doubt.
Most of all, Lord, we ask for your love to see us through these dark times.
May we face whatever is to come in your divine will,
with courage and open hearts of acceptance.
Amen.
And in the second prayer, I'll just say that the person who does pray this prayer in the movie,
they are speaking in front of a camera, and they're addressing a nation.
So here it is.
I've been noticing a lot of prayers recently for people during this time,
and I commend that.
But I also want to give a prayer for stuff.
There's dope stuff, like material stuff,
like sick apartments, and watches, and cars, and clothes.
And that could all go away.
And I don't want to see that stuff go away.
So I'm going to say a prayer for that stuff.
Amen.
Now, there's quite a big stark contrast between these two prayers.
But I bring these prayers up, I quote them,
because the text we're looking at today,
these prayers speak directly to that text.
The text brings to light what these prayers are about,
and they do an excellent job.
I'm not saying the characters within the movie
do a good job at representing what they pray,
but the texts do an excellent job.
And in this text, the text talks about
there's only two ways of life to live,
and that's a life in the spirit
or a life in the flesh.
So if you haven't yet, turn to Romans 8,
verses 1 to 11.
Please do so now.
In just a brief context,
Paul is writing to a heavily persecuted church.
This church is being persecuted by the Roman emperor.
They're being martyred.
They're being tortured.
They're being ostracized, isolated.
They're being forced to hide.
They're forced to not walk the streets.
They have to do everything in hiding
because they'll get killed.
They'll get martyred.
And earlier, Paul, in the book of Romans,
he writes about basically what he says in summary.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and no one is capable of pleasing God.
And then he gets to chapter 8.
And some people have said that this chapter
is the inner sanctuary within the cathedral
of the Christian faith,
the tree of life in the midst of the Garden of Eden,
the highest peak in a range of mountains.
I don't know how many people here have hiked a mountain,
gotten to the top.
But as you're cresting the mountain to the peak,
your view is always disruptive.
You don't get a perfect view until you get to the very top
because the ground is going up in front of you.
And once you crest the mountain,
there's a perfect view,
a perfect 360 panorama view.
And the only thing that obstructs your view,
it would be other mountain peaks.
But what people are saying for this chapter
in the book of Romans
is that it is the Everest of all mountains,
the Everest of the book of Romans.
It's the highlight, the crescendo.
So I'll begin in verse 1.
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.
Now I know I might have lost some view
as soon as you hear the word law.
Some of you might be thinking
or saying to yourselves right now,
oh, those Christians,
all about the rules and missing out on life.
They always have to talk about laws,
things you must do differently,
things you have to do like this.
You must bow or get up at that certain time.
And that's a legitimate thing to think or say.
I thought the same thing before becoming a Christian.
But another way you could read this verse
is by switching law to worldview.
And I'll just read it again with that in mind.
For the worldview of the Spirit of life
has set you free in Christ Jesus
from the worldview of sin and death.
And also when you hear the word law
or read the word law in the Bible,
it's speaking about the Mosaic law.
And that was given to Israel in the book of Exodus
for a time when they're right on the precipice
of going through the threshold
into the promised land
that God has promised them
all up until this point.
And he gives them a law,
the way,
it gives them a worldview
and a way to live
that's different from the people
within the promised land.
God gave them a way
that they would be different,
that they wouldn't become distracted
by the gods within that land,
wouldn't become distracted
by the beliefs,
by what they did.
God wanted them to be a people
focused on him.
He wanted their hearts.
The whole point of the law
was for their hearts
to be focused on him
and not on the things surrounding.
He wanted them to delight in him
for he is holy.
He wanted his people to be holy.
Now everyone has worldviews.
We can't deny that.
Where your worldview is
is where your heart is.
And God loved his people so much
he gave them something to help them.
But the reaction,
oh here,
Christians are obsessed,
always obsessed with rules and laws
and missing out on life.
They never want people to have fun.
It's very common.
And if we're honest with ourselves,
many of us
who have put their faith and trust in Jesus
probably think the same thing as well.
How many of us can truly say
that if our world was totally destroyed,
we would pray that first prayer that I read?
I think many of us would pray the second.
I think many of us would pray,
but I also want to give a prayer for stuff.
There's dope stuff, Lord.
Like material stuff.
Like sick apartments that I could get.
And watches and cars and clothes that I want to wear.
And that could all go away
if the world was to end.
And I don't want to see that happen.
We've all created identities
for our lives
that at first sign of destruction
we would pray for the second prayer.
Many people,
when the stock market crashed,
put all their money,
all their faith into that system.
And then it crashed.
And many of them,
a lot of them took their lives
because they were so,
their whole identity in material wealth
was gone,
was lost.
They lost it in the blink of an eye.
Or it could also be someone
who has put all their focus
on knowledge,
on gaining knowledge,
on studying.
And then they could have,
maybe something happens to their mind
or to their eyesight.
And they become completely lost.
And they don't know
what to do with themselves anymore.
See, everyone has an identity.
Humanity is obsessed
with self-gratification.
And that's what this text
is talking about here.
It's bringing to light
what it means.
You can either live this life
or that life.
Humanity is obsessed with slogans.
Like, be true to yourself.
My truth.
Don't mess with my truth.
See, humanity has been locked
into this mindset,
as the Bible says,
since the beginning in Genesis.
Since it fell.
And it's become so bad lately
that if you have a different opinion
or worldview
from what the culture demands,
it's called hate speech.
You get canceled.
Or even saying you believe in science,
you can face jail time
or be called narrow-minded.
But isn't that in itself
narrow-mindedness?
And with all that in mind,
we can read the next verses
of what Paul writes.
I'm just going to take a sip of water first.
See, Paul writes about all that
in the previous chapters.
And then he gets to chapter 8.
And in these next verses,
he says,
You see,
when you read the word flesh,
it seems kind of odd.
Like, why would Paul be writing
about his skin?
But what he actually means
is when he says flesh,
he's talking about a worldview,
an orientation of the heart
and the mind.
So that's what he's talking about.
And then he talks about also
in those verses
that God,
knowing that humans
cannot save themselves
from their selves,
He sent his Son.
He sent his Son
to walk among us,
to be fully flesh,
but fully God.
And he dwelt among us,
and he lived a perfect life.
And then he took on
the sin,
the criminal's death
that we deserved,
and died on the cross,
and then he rose again.
See,
it required the ultimate sacrifice
to be saved from ourselves.
And it could only be done
through the Son of God,
Jesus Christ.
And then,
the issue,
the law that I talked about earlier,
the Mosaic Law,
the issue that happened
because the human heart
is so corrupt
that they tried to make it
the ultimate,
the ultimate thing
for them to become saved,
that they followed this rule,
this rule,
that they would be
almost in a sense enlightened.
But that's not the case.
Because Christ came
while we were still sinners
and lost in ourselves.
You see,
it's by faith,
not by works.
It's for those
who have put their faith
and trust in Jesus
will have eternal life.
Not those
who have done this,
this, and this
will have eternal life.
And the liberating work
of the Spirit
only takes place
in the context
of Christ's work.
And if we continue
in verse 5,
verse 6,
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.
When an athlete...
I'm losing my voice.
When an athlete...
When an athlete trains,
they're oriented
for a goal.
And that goal
motivates all their actions
that they do,
following up to that goal
they want to reach,
whether it's
an Olympic medal
or a 5k race
they want to run
or something like that
or a weight
they want to lift.
Everything they do
is oriented to it.
And there's nothing wrong
with Christian athletes.
But when it comes down
to it,
it comes down
to the identity.
Does the goal
replace God?
Are you living
for your flesh
or are you living
for the Spirit?
What is your mind
thinking about?
You see,
those verses
I just read,
there's action words
within those verses.
There's walk,
live,
and set.
Now,
some of you
might be asking,
what does that look like
for a Christian?
What does it look like
for a Christian
to live by the Spirit?
Well, walk,
that could be
going to church,
reading scripture,
or volunteering
within the church.
When live,
what does that look like?
It could be
an outward appearance.
Do you talk about
your faith with people,
people who do not
know the Lord?
Do you attend
a small group?
And then there's
set the mind,
and that is
meditating on scripture,
that is praying
and worshiping God.
And then
when people
walk in the flesh,
it's the opposite
of all what I just said.
You're living
for yourself,
that self-gratification,
and that is what
this text is talking about.
And I acknowledge
there could be
people here
who've been hurt
by the church.
They've been hurt
by people who,
what other people say,
are very holy,
and they're confused
by that.
And I'm not going
to defend them.
But I will
say one thing.
Jesus came for them,
he came for you,
and he came for me.
See,
the human heart
has always been corrupt,
and even though
people have put
their faith and trust
in Christ,
we still battle
with the flesh.
And in verse 9,
Paul writes,
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
from the dead
will also give life
to your mortal bodies
through the spirit
who dwells in you.
See,
when you put your faith
and trust in Jesus,
you're given the spirit
that dwells within you.
It gives you assurance.
It gives you assurance
that what you have
was given to you,
and it will not be
taken from you.
And without the spirit,
you're lost.
There's nothing
that can guide you.
There's nothing
that motivates you
because the heart,
until Jesus returns,
will always be battling
against itself,
battling against the flesh.
Now, some of you
might be saying,
whether you're online
or in person,
you might be saying,
so what?
How can you believe
in this stuff?
How can you believe
in the spirit?
Angels are a God.
The only thing I can say
is give my personal testimony,
a brief thing of it.
I believe in a created world
and that humanity
in its pride
sinned against God
and became cursed.
But God knew
it couldn't save itself
from itself.
So he lovingly sent
his only son
to become sin
and die a death
we deserve.
And Jesus rose from the dead
and is glorified.
And those who put their faith
and trust in Jesus
will have eternal life.
The spirit is given
to believers
to guide,
convict,
and comfort them
in times of need
and despair.
See, my life
was so different
before I came to faith.
And I still struggle
with things from my past.
But I can't deny
something happened to me
to draw me to Christ.
It was not my own doing.
Regardless of what people
with science backgrounds,
psychology backgrounds,
atheistic backgrounds,
and other religious
backgrounds may say.
When I was 18,
I walked into a church
as someone so angry
at the world.
I wanted to die.
I was addicted to drugs,
heading either back to jail
or into a self-inflicted overdose.
And two hours later,
I came out as someone
completely different.
My anger,
my addictions,
my worldview,
my shame,
was completely changed.
Now, some may say
I experienced a chemical change
in my brain
that can be explained like that,
or I was brainwashed.
But all I can say
is how can you deny
or explain
the millions of changed lives
that have lived
through the centuries
over one fact.
All these lives
that are changed.
Myself,
you could be sitting here,
your life has changed
over one fact.
And that is
that Jesus rose from the dead.
People have been martyred.
They've gone to jail
over that one fact.
And I know
there's also people here
who have never had
that conversion moment.
They've always just known
that Jesus is their Lord.
And that is a beautiful thing.
You should cherish it.
But the Spirit was given
for the reason of assurance.
You see,
when the Spirit is within you,
dwells with you,
he helps guide you
to walk,
to live,
and to set your mind
to think about Jesus and God,
to live a life
that is holy to God.
You see,
Paul,
leading up to this verse,
in chapter 7,
he's writing about
his struggle with his flesh.
He wants to do this,
but he's constantly doing this.
He wants to do that,
he's constantly doing that.
He is so conflicted,
he cries out,
wretched man that I am.
He is so conflicted.
And then,
he writes in verse 1,
chapter 8,
There is therefore now
No condemnation
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who struggle with greed, with lust, with doubt, with addiction, with shame, with envy, with jealousy, with regret.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Because that is a free gift given to those who have put their faith and trust in Christ.
The Spirit is within you.
You have that assurance, regardless of what you're going through, regardless of what you've done.
There is always that assurance.
And you see, in verse 11, it talks about the end times.
It talks about the end.
You see, you can either have eternal life or you can be lost in yourself.
God will just give you up to your desires.
But this is the new year.
People make resolutions around this time.
If you are here and you do not believe in Jesus, you're skeptical.
You struggle with that idea.
I would encourage you this year to set a resolution for one year to explore Christianity.
Read good books on it.
Talk to people who know what they're talking about.
Take a course on it.
And if you are here and Jesus is, in fact, your Lord and Savior,
rest in the assurance of Christ's work.
It is finished.
The Spirit is within you.
And you can pray this prayer that John Newton prayed.
Teach me to live by faith.
Conform my will to thine.
Let me be victorious in death and then in glory shine.
You see, the Bible has such a magnificent promise that Christ came for humanity.
For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son,
for that all who believe in him will have eternal life.
Rest in Jesus.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, as I said earlier, this text can bring people to anger,
can bring people to despair, can bring people to joy.
And I just ask, Lord, right now that your Spirit would just minister to our hearts and minds.
Help us, Lord.
Convict us where we need convicting.
Give us encouragement where we need encouragement.
And I just pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.