Sermon Text: Romans 8:12-17
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Morning Message
Living the Christian life, a life of faith takes effort. I wish that I could tell you that it doesn’t. It would be easy for me to stand up here and tell you that we can just relax in our faith and wait for Jesus to come back. If only I could just smile like that preacher on TV and tell you how wonderful everything is and all that you need to do is just sit back and enjoy the blessings of God. I get myself in trouble with people who just love this certain preacher, so I just won’t say his name, but I have to tell you that I have a hard time trusting someone that just smiles all of the time and tells me everything that I want to hear. I am reminded of some people that I used to work with. There was one person in particular that was always dishonest; he was the perfect example of the saying, “I know that he is lying because his lips are moving.” I would like to give my fellow preacher the benefit of the doubt and say that he is just theologically wrong, but he makes so much money off of this feel good message that it’s hard to believe that his false positivity is not dishonest.
This is our human condition. We always gravitate to the easy way. We want all of the blessings of God with no restrictions on our flesh. We cling to the very thing that Jesus died on the cross to free us from. God has equipped us to win the battle over our fleshly desires and to overcome the temptations of this world, but we have to be willing to do battle. Let me give you an example from scripture how God can work in our lives, even through our fear and weaknesses. Now I am not going to read this to you, but you should take the time to read it. In the book of Judges, chapters 6 and 7 we hear the story of Gideon. God raised up Gideon to be a judge over Israel and to save them from the Midianites. Gideon became known as a mighty warrior, but he was not that in the beginning. Gideon asked God to perform a miracle, pass a test, not once, but twice, to prove that He would do what He said. Gideon knew what God wanted him to do, but he struggled with fear and doubt. Gideon’s test was not about determining God’s will but about finding the courage to do God’s will. Let me stop there for a moment. I believe that this is the same thing that we struggle with as Christians. We know God’s will for our lives and have a pretty good idea about how we should live before God, but we struggle with fear and doubt.
In chapter 7 God proves to Gideon and to all of Israel that He is able to defend and take care of them. I want you to read the story to see how God did this, but He whittled Gideon’s army down to 3 hundred men and sent them to battle against thousands of Midianites, and God won the victory for them that day. Now don’t get me wrong here, we are not to go about testing God. God is not our heavenly bellhop, waiting to do our bidding in difficult situations. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to tell us what His will is, and where Scripture and the Spirit seem silent, it is enough to know His character; that He will be faithful to direct our steps in His sovereign time. If you read scripture at all you know the character of God and you know right from wrong, and that God will never let His people down.
The Roman sentence of crucifixion lends insight into the nature of how we must put to death the deeds of the flesh. It is a real challenge to live in the Spirit and not by the flesh. We need to adjust our attitude and get serious about fighting this battle if we are ever to have victory over our old sinful nature. First, crucifixion was personal, focused on an individual. We must put to death the deeds of our own flesh by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. Each of us has our own personal battle to fight. We all have our weaknesses, and they are all different. No one else can help you overcome your fleshly desires because they are personal to you and must be worked out between you and the Holy Spirit.
Second, crucifixion was painful. We fool ourselves if we think the habits and desires of the flesh will die without a struggle. They will not. I will never tell you that walking with Jesus is easy. I am not that guy with the big smile on my face. It is the most rewarding thing that we will ever do, but ridding ourselves of old sin habits will be painful and will take sacrifice and the endurance that only the Holy Spirit can give. You have to want to do it, and that desire comes from your love for God and your dedication to your Savior.
Third, crucifixion was pitiless. There was no turning back once the process began. Victims of crucifixion were not removed from the cross until they were dead. We must be just as merciless in putting to death the deeds of our flesh. What happens to us over and over again is that we get all fired up and enthused, ready to fight against our faults and failures, only to lose that enthusiasm when things get tough. We hear a great sermon, probably not here, maybe on TV; we feel revived and ready to fight; we are full of the Holy Spirit, but we allow ourselves to lose momentum because we don’t stay focused on what God wants for our lives.
God equipped Gideon to lead the Israelites to fight, and He gave them the victory. God equips us to fight the spiritual battles that come our way too. We have been given the armor of God to withstand in the evil day. We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. We are equipped for battle. There is only one thing that God has not provided in order for you to be victorious, you must provide the determination. God will not do it for you. Live by the Spirit or by the flesh, choose life or death.
In Christ’s Love and Peace
Pastor Bob
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