 Well, we're going to be looking at Romans chapter 8 verses 1 through 18 tonight as we continue our series here in The book of Romans and so I'll begin reading at verse 1 I'll read verses 1 through 4 and We'll get into our study Romans chapter 8 beginning at verse 1 reading to verse 4 Paul writes there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus Who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit for the law of the Spirit of life In Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin He condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous Requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit So Paul has just written concerning a war a war that is a spiritual war a war that is raging within us We saw that in chapter 7 at verse 18 and 19 when he had said I know that in me that is in my flesh Nothing good dwells for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good? I do not find for the good that I will to do I do not do but the evil I will not to do that I practice and he went on into verse 23 he said I see another law in my members Warring against the law of my mind bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members And so as any Christian Desiring to live for Christ as any Christian who desires to live for Christ Well, that same Christian will encounter conflict within The desire to please the Lord battles with our inclinations as you know to satisfy the lust of our flesh and in Galatians chapter 5 verse 17 Paul had said it like this he said the flesh lusts against the spirit And the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you want And so we know this war this war that rages within us and this continuous internal battle Can begin to wear us down You know our own hearts Can cause us to feel guilty Our own hearts and memories Can remind us of what we've been and and that's the reality that propelled him to write verse 24 of chapter 7 When he said oh wretched man that I am who will deliver deliver me from this body of death So he understood that that battle Within who will deliver me is his cry. I'm I'm tired of this and and I don't want to be going through this I'm a wretched man. Who's going to deliver me? He went on in verse 25 and he said I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord So then with the mind I I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh love sin Who will deliver me God? God delivers me It reminds me of what we read in 1st John chapter 3 verse 20 when When John had said if our heart condemns us God is greater than our heart. He knows all things Who's going to deliver me from this body of death? Thank God through Jesus Christ. He's the one who delivers us And so as we begin We know even as paul has already stated that every person entering into the world has entered as a sinner Psalm 51 5 said surely I've been a sinner from birth sinful from the time my mother conceived me And no other no other human being no other person who wore human flesh no other Then jesus has ever been exempt of this So that answers the question. Why do people do such evil things? Why do evil things occur? Well, it they be they occur because of our human nature They they they occur because by nature we are sinful Our unredeemed human nature does what is natural for it to do When you read your bible paul actually gives lists of of some of the things that human nature produces the sinful things He said in glatians 5 19 through 21. He said the acts of the sinful nature are obvious sexual immorality impurity and debauchery idolatry and witchcraft hatred discord jealousy fits of rage selfish ambition dissensions factions and envy drunkenness orgies and the like and he went on to say I warn you as I did before That those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of god And so because of that all unbelievers are justly under god's condemnation You see the fruit of living a habitual sinful life Is judgment final judgment He had said that the wrath of god is revealed in heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness? When he was writing to the aphesians in chapter 5 He said in verses 5 and 6 this you know That no fornicator unclean person nor covetous man who is an idolater Has any inheritance in the kingdom of christ and god and he went on to say something important Obviously, he said let no one deceive you with empty words For because of these things the wrath of god comes upon the sons of disobedience There are pulpits today in the united states will say it's okay to do that I saw a video of a man who who said that there was a holiness in uh in Being a drag queen and so there are people and he actually called it a gift So there are I've looked through the gifts of the spirit haven't seen that yet, you know But that's what he said and he was a preacher by the one he was he was by the way he was on On in his pulpit and he was quote unquote preaching So is it possible for us to live with no sense or anticipation of condemnation? Well, that's what paul is saying as we begin our our study here in chapter 8 Notice what he says and he's already outlined that that there's a war within he's already outlined that all fallen short of the glory of god He's already outlined those kinds of things and he's spoken concerning this war and all and he had said Who's going to deliver me? But now he in verse 1 says this there is therefore now no condemnation To those who are in christ jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit So there's now no condemnation now notice how he says to those who are in christ jesus Now the phrase in christ jesus you might find this interesting if you take notes You might want to note this the phrase in christ jesus is used around 164 times in the new testament You know the the air is is what is fit for the bird the sea is what is fit for The fish and we are in christ jesus as the bird is in the air and the fish is in the sea We are in christ jesus when he speaks concerning that it's another way of speaking of salvation It speaks about us how we came into a relationship with jesus christ When he wrote to the carinthians in first carinthians 12 13 he said it like this he said For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body? So we all belong together. We all have different gifts and abilities One person is an eye another person is an ear one person is a hand another person is a foot And paul speaks concerning that and he says which of those is unnecessary Every one of those is necessary And so we are all necessary in the body of christ We all be in place in the body of christ through salvation And there's one body and so he's speaking about us being in relationship to jesus christ because we are in christ And so being a christian is more than simply an outward form of identification Being a christian is being in christ that means there's a spiritual union with god through jesus that resulted Because of our faith in christ We're in christ. We're united with jesus by faith We're in union with him In john 15 he said it like this john 15 verse one He said i'm the true vine And my father is the gardener And he went on in verses four and five and he said remain in me and i will remain in you Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me I am the vine you are the branches the one who remains in me and i in him will bear much fruit For apart from me You can do nothing And so we're in christ we have been grafted in we'll see that later on in this in this book But we're in christ and in christ because we've been grafted in We are in this true vine we produce fruit because we're in him And so because we are in christ notice again in verse one we have no fear of judgment. We have no condemnation no fear of judgment In john 5 24 jesus said it like this he said most assuredly i say to you he who hears my word and believes in him Who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment But has passed from death into life In john 6 47 most assuredly i say to you he who believes in me has eternal life And so that came from our receiving the promises of god place in our faith in jesus christ And now having a relationship with him and we are now in christ And so verse one again the fruit of being in christ is we no longer walk notice according to the flesh According to the flesh We no longer live to satisfy our carnal desires So instead we walk according to the power and the leading of the spirit of god We don't walk in the flesh. We walk in what is called walking in the spirit In glacians 5 16 he had said walk in the spirit. You shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh So as christians we reveal that we're walking in the spirit In some very basic ways for example, what is our walk like? What is our way of life like? What is our manner of life like? Well in the second christians 5 verse 7 we walk by faith And not by sight A second aspect of walking in this way is our obedience and love evidence that we're walking in the spirit In second john verse 6 this is love that we walk in obedience to his commands And as you've heard from the beginning his command is that you walk in love and then third It's evidenced by a love for the truth. It's a love for god's word That which is the truth in third john verse 4 john said something that as an apostle and a minister it's something that i as a pastor can say He said in third john verse 4 i have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth And so that's a symbol or evidence that you are walking in the spirit you walk by faith You have obedience and love for the word of god and others and And that's how it demonstrates that you know the lord and so he says in verse 1 again There's therefore now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus who don't walk according to the flesh But according to the spirit verse 2 for the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death The law of the spirit of life is a principle It's a principle of spiritual life that works within us We have liberty in jesus christ through the holy spirit We've been set free from the bondage of the law You see in second carinthians 3 17 paul said where the spirit of the lord is there's liberty And so verse 3 for what the law could not do Why because it was weak through the flesh while in the law god had said standards no human being could achieve Again, we saw in romans 3 23. I'll have sin and fall short of the glory of god We couldn't fulfill its demands So Jesus did it on our behalf. That's why he could look at anybody including his own family could say this to his His mother mary. He could say which of you can convict me of sin Which of you he could he could look at his brothers But an odd upbringing they would have had Imagine that living with a perfect person Isn't that would be difficult Living with a perfect person would be mary has trouble with it every day Living with a perfect person is very hard She'll tell you But imagine that We cannot fulfill The intentions of the law We could do the best that we can and still not satisfy it completely. That's why we need the grace of god And so jesus came to fulfill the demands of the law So that we could have relationship with the lord and he gave his life as a ransom in matthew 5 17 He said I think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets I'm not come to destroy but to fulfill And that's what he did And so in verse 3 he said god did this by sending his own son in the likeness A flesh a human flesh God did this by sending jesus christ who had the outer appearance he looked he was in other words He's a physical human being and speaking of his incarnation jesus he's saying became fully human Yet he was without sin When he was writing to the philippians in chapter 2 he said it like this speaking of christ in verses 6 through 8 He said who being in the very nature god Did not consider equality with god something to be grasped But made himself nothing Taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness Being found in appearance as a man He humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross And speaking of the incarnation that god took upon himself human flesh So he sent his son in the likeness of man and what he did do in verse 3 he condemned sin in the flesh Again in the flesh speaks of his Substitutionary death on behalf of us He died for us isaia prophesied that in chapter 53 of his book verses 4 and 5 When you're speaking concerning messiah he said surely he took up our infirmities carried our sorrows Yet we considered him stricken by god smitten by him and afflicted But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our inequities The punishment that brought us peace was upon him By his wounds we are healed So he condemned sin in the flesh by taking upon himself My sin our sin and in doing so gave to us his righteousness He says in verse 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh But according to the spirit The requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us by faith in jesus We're unable to keep the requirements of the law. So we're made righteous We're made righteous by faith in jesus christ because as he Fulfilled the law. He did so on our behalf I've I've mentioned this scripture more than once second grinthians 5 21 But it bears repetition here. He made him who knew no sin to be sinned for us That we might become the righteousness of god In him we're unable to keep the requirements, but jesus did it on our behalf In verse 5 those who live according to the flesh said their minds and the things of the flesh But those who live according to the spirit the things of the spirit So what he's going to do here is contrast the life of the spirit filled man Spirit filled woman versus the carnal life Now the person in the flesh indulges their bent towards rebellion In everything they do They're bent towards rebellion If you say it's black they say it's white if you say it's up they say it's down if you say it's sweet They say it's sour If they say stop they say go It's just a rebellion against order And the bible says in proverbs 4 16 evil people can't sleep until they've done their evil deeds for the day They can't rest until they've caused someone to stumble And there's truth to that But christians set their mind on the things of the spirit What it's been called is a holy longing Like it says in psalm 39 verse 7 now oh lord For what do I wait my hope is in you So instead of us pursuing the things of the flesh where there is a just due penalty for those things Now that we're saved we live for christ and walk in the spirit And our our hope is set on something higher and it's more majestic It's being with him and serving him And so he says in verse 6 he says to be carnally minded as death But to be spiritually minded is life in peace To be carnally minded as death you can only party for so long Until you realize it's empty You can do it for a week you can do it for a month you can party for a year You can party for 10 years you can party your whole life away At the end you realize this is an empty life Eventually you realize it and ultimately what happens is you die and very often you die alone And you die unfulfilled and then ultimately you're judged To be carnally minded is death to be setting your affections on things below rather than things above And to be tasting and drinking the water of the world every day only leaves you thirsty But when your mind is set on the things of the lord well there's life and there's peace From god we set our affections on the things of eternity and i have to tell you The the the the longer you walk with the lord the more aware you are of eternity The longer you walk with jesus The more aware you are that you're just passing through At a certain point some of you will discover this some have already i've discovered this now at this point in my life When you're young you're you're caught up with with all the kinds of things that You can be caught up with you you get caught up with your education you get caught up with Relationship you get caught up with your job you get caught up with a variety of things You know these are things that you pursue and many of those are the things that are Necessary at that time in your life. There's no condemnation concerning those things But you do get caught up with them then if you get married you have your children You're caught up with raising the children And as they grow up in everything you get caught up with wanting them out of the house I mean that's how it works But you do you get caught up with quite a number of things over time and And after a while you may you may be less unfortunate enough to achieve many of the Goals that you set for yourself you got the degrees you got the good job You got the nice neighborhood you have a nice vehicle you have Relationship you have all of those things and yet if you don't have christ in the center of them It's all emptiness And then ultimately what happens is you get to the end of your life and then you have a chance to Look back over your life and you begin to wonder whether or not you accomplished the things that Really mattered and when you begin to speak to people and you ask them concerning what their Greatest regret is very often they'll say I didn't spend enough time with those I loved I didn't spend enough time relaxing. I didn't spend enough time enjoying I spent so much time doing all the work to get to the things I wanted And I never even enjoyed it Many years ago there was a song concerning a man who it was called mr. Business ban and It speaks concerning him having roses in the garden. He says have you even smelled the roses in the garden Have you ever listened to the laughter of your children when they said about to play You know all you've done is survive, but you've never lived was the whole point of it. Why is that? Because we're pursuing he was pursuing the things that didn't matter He was pursuing the things that didn't last And so Christians when we walk in the spirit We're seeking the things of the Lord And that's what we want in Colossians 3 1 and 2 if if then you were raised with christ seek those things Which are above where christ is sitting at the right hand of god your mind on things above Not on things on the earth So we have abundant life We have peace We have peace with god and we have peace from god Well, he says in verse verse 7 He says the carnal mind is enmity is that constant hostility. It's a war The unspiritual mind the carnal mind is is enmity against god It's not subject to the law of god nor indeed can be The non-christian is in a constant state of hostile warfare against the lord Again in Colossians 1 21 he had said once you were alienated from god you were enemies in your minds Because of your evil behavior And so your minds were not set on the things above he's saying the carnal mind is that constant war against god Isn't subject doesn't voluntarily submit to him is in constant battle against him So he says the result verse 8 so then those who are in the flesh cannot please god Why well, there's no spirit led longing to do so To to have a genuine a real desire to please god requires regeneration requires being born again Because with regeneration Comes the desire to please god And so you can't please them no matter what you do no matter how many prayers no matter How many times you go to church no matter how much money you spend No matter how much charitable work you do you can't please god Because even the things that are being done in the name of god very often are done for personal benefit It's so that someone may look at you and say oh boy, what a good person you are what a generous person you are So in fact what they're doing is what jesus condemned You know they're doing their works before men to be seen by men and receive the praise of men It takes a genuine believer to do it without the desire to be recognized for what they're doing It's been said the most beautiful sound in any person's ear is the sound of their own name on somebody else's lips Well, I'm glad that I don't have that spirit Well, sometimes we sometimes we do Sometimes we want to be recognized, but not all the time the lord has a way of breaking us because of that and bringing humility to us And so he's making it clear He says if you're in the flesh you can't please god first time But you're not in the flesh, but in the spirit if indeed the spirit of god dwells in you Now if anyone does not have the spirit of christ He's he's not his and if christ is in you the body is dead because of sin But the spirit is life because of righteousness But 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 his spirit who dwells in you And so in verse dying. He says you're not in the flesh if you're saved in other words You no longer are opposed to god now your body dies because The wages of sin is death And and you will ultimately we all unless the rapture occurs which we pray for of course You will I will we will physically die And we're in the state Of dying daily Some of us can say amen to that very loudly Though we are physically dying Faith in christ is actually producing life in us And john 11 25 and 26 jesus was speaking And he said i'm the resurrection and the life He who believes in me though he may die He shall live whoever lives and believes in me shall never die Do you believe this your body may physically die But spiritually you're alive So he says in verse 10 if christ is in you the body is dead because of sin In other words because of sin physical death still occurs even for believers yet Though physical death occurs We will be raised to life He says in verse 11 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 his spirit who dwells in you We are The temple of the spirit of god and the spirit of god Dwells in us. I think that's one of the things that um, I need to sometimes Remember out loud to to us the congregation believers Because there's still a very real That's the word there's there's a real evidence that there are some who have Yet to come to understand that that you are the temple of the spirit of god We many of us were raised with the mentality of going to church, right? What are you going to do this sunday? I'm going to church and that's a phrase we use and it's a generalization. We know that But we get the idea that the building is the church So where are you going that all this sunday? I'm going to church. No the church We know this is the individual believer in christ. We are his temple And what happens right now is the church is gathered together The building doesn't matter. We know that it's that we matter. Why because he has dwelt in us by his spirit In the old testament they built a temple They had a tabernacle at one time It was a portable tent a place of worship and there were various items that were within that and it was to Be transported to various locations as they traveled but in the in the later years A man by the name of david king david had it in his heart to build a temple for god and even went about Drawing up plans and things to do so and and the prophet came and spoke to him and said When did god tell you to build a temple? Has god given you a command to do that? It this thing in your heart is a good thing But david you're a man of war. There is blood on your hands God will not allow you to build that temple Your son solemn Solomon is going to build the temple Why because he was a man of peace david you're a man of war And so that's how the temple was first built and there were requirements For the children of israel at a certain age above 20 males 20 and above were to meet in and Go to temple at least three times a year for specific feasts And so the people Would go to temple And in the new testament the temple goes to people When you got saved you became the temple of the spirit of god And now the temple Is no longer in jesusland Jesus said the gospel shall begin to be preached in jesusland judaea samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth So we don't go to the temple the temple goes to the people And we go out to minister and when we gather like this is for the purpose of learning So we're equipped for works of service so that we can speak to those who don't know the lord And help them to become the temple of god themselves And so the spirit of god dwells within us And so we are that temple now notice how paul speaks of the spirit He also speaks says the spirit of god and the spirit of christ and those are interchangeable In verse nine he speaks of the spirit of god and the spirit of christ and in verse 11 he speaks of the spirit of him Meaning god's holy spirit And the spirit of him raised jesus from the dead in other words death could not hold jesus Acts 224 peter said god raised him from the dead Freeing him from the agony of death because it was impossible For death to keep its hold on him Let this sink into our hearts the same power that brought christ from the dead works within us Works within us It's been said the resurrection is an ongoing thing We grieve the loss because there is an emotional loss. We grieve the loss of those we love But they're never lost When I lose something and I used to lose things all the time because I was a a doper And I would I smoked so much pot that I began losing my memory I couldn't remember where I put my keys that actually became kind of a An easter egg hunt every day with my mom I I never knew where I put my keys And and she didn't know I was a loady. We used to call it loady. I don't know what's called now She didn't know that I was Constantly loaded. She didn't know that She just thought I was weird Every morning my mom and I would have a hunt for my keys every morning Because I would just walk in and just put them down somewhere, you know That's how it used to be It used to be that way But god has a way of changing lives, doesn't he And the spirit of god dwelling in you causes you to to aspire to greater things Transforms your life changes your purpose gives you meaning And causes you to to to be inspired to pursue him to follow him And and it's this power that works within us and gives you gives us life and it's an ongoing thing In verse 12 he says therefore brethren We're debtors not to the flesh to live according to the to the flesh For if you live according to the flesh, you're gonna die But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you'll live so We are under obligation to live for god not Our fleshly desires why is that? It's because jesus jesus bought us Jesus jesus purchased us in redemption We belong to him In first chrithian 6 verse 20 you were bought at a price Therefore honor god with your body And your spirit which belonged to god he redeemed you You are not your own you were bought at a price He took you from the from the marketplace of sin He redeemed you during the time of the writing of the new testament They had the a marketplace and they would they would sell slaves there And uh somebody would come and they actually paid what was called the price of redemption And in the purchase of that person that person who was purchased that slave That one who bottom had options They could use him during the time of the romans and greeks as a as a living tool Which is what one of the writers or the historians of that day referred to slaves as Or They could redeem to set free And we were in the marketplace of sin as a picture in scripture But somebody redeemed us they paid that redemptive price The price was the blood of christ And he chose to take us out of bondage Because the one who was in sin jesus said as a slave to sin he Redeemed us purchased us and the cost was his blood He did so to set us free Because all our lives we had been held captive by the enemy to do his will But now because we've been saved he's given us a new nature And new desires that go along with that So rather than remaining in lives of sin We have now been set free to be pleasing to him And by reading the word and walking in his spirit We're aware of the lust of our flesh and therefore we die to those things And we pursue those things that bring honor to god By the power of the holy spirit Titus 2 12 says teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust We should live soberly righteously and godly in this present age In verse 13 he said if you live according to the flesh you'll die But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body You will live Now when he speaks of this he's speaking obviously of the unbeliever who lives according to the flesh These people are coming under god's judgment. They order their lives according to placing their flesh They have no clue about loving and serving the lord As a matter of fact, it's just stupid to them. It's just foolishness to them You know, there are people who are very caught up with just living for their flesh I can still remember it was in this room Many years ago now And I gave an invitation And off to my right over here in this direction I saw movement right over here And I didn't know what was going on But you could see movement there And later on I was told what it was When I gave the invitation and said if you need christ, please come forward This young woman began to stand up to come forward and her boyfriend grabbed her and pulled her down Pulled her down And wouldn't let her he wouldn't let her out of the seat He wanted to live in the flesh This young lady wanted to live for jesus and he didn't come forward. She didn't come forward I don't remember seeing her ever again That happens He says in verse 13 if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you shall live If you reject listen even hating The sin that you were once held by that's a good thing You put to death the old way of life through spiritual discipline In uh first chrithians dying 24 through 27 Paul said it like this. He said do you not know that in a race All the runners run but only one receives the prize Run in such a way as to take the prize Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline They do it for a crown that is perishable But we do it for a crown that is imperishable Therefore I do not run aimlessly I do not fight like I am beating the air Now I discipline my body make it my slave So that after I've preached to others I myself will not be disqualified when he says I won't be disqualified I want to receive the full reward. It's like what it says in 2nd John verse 8 Watch yourselves so that you may not lose what you have worked for but may win a full reward I don't want to lose a single element of a reward. So I discipline myself Being filled with the spirit gives us strength To live for Christ and no longer satisfy the flesh Notice in verse 14 He says as many as are led by the spirit of God. These are the sons of God We are his children and by his spirit. He directs us were led by the spirit Through God's words and the internal promptings of the spirit Let me share a couple of things about that in John 16 verse 13 Jesus said when the spirit of truth comes He will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority But whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come You see the holy spirit leads us in our daily lives There's an intimacy and I want to develop this with you from them There is an intimacy that we as children can have with our father I have four children and they have they have insight into me that That children will have for a dad There are people who can say I know what your father will do And they they know me well enough to be able to say that well, I know what your father would do they could say that I know what your father would do But my children can tell you why I do what I do and there's a difference Someone can see the actions and explain what they've seen in the past But others can see the heart and know why that's being done When you are a child of God It's not that you're just talking about what God can do I've been around a lot of people who can tell me things that God can do It's not hard to find things that God can do just pick up the bible and look and you see it But there aren't that many who can tell you why he does what he does And there's a difference in that We don't want to know just the actions of God We want to know the ways of God We want to know why he does what he does and that takes intimacy And so when he's speaking concerning the Holy Spirit and the way the Holy Spirit works within us He's speaking of how we have this intimate connection with God And we know his actions and the reasons that he acts in this way In other words, we have communion with God by his spirit Now you see in scripture that that the Holy Spirit is one who leads you again verse 14 As many as are led by the spirit of God. These are the sons of God And so we see examples of the spirit leading for example in Matthew 4 verse 1 Where it says that Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil the spirit Let him there in the book of Acts in chapter 8 That particular chapter records how an evangelist the only one in scripture By the way who's referred to as an evangelist man named Philip How that the evangelist Philip went south of Jerusalem to an area called Gaza And while he was there he ran into a very powerful and influential Ethiopian eunuch Now this Ethiopian eunuch was was in his chariot and he was reading the book of Isaiah And as this was happening in Acts 8 29 the spirit said to Philip go over to that chariot stay by it Now Philip we read that story. He saw that this man was reading Isaiah And and he the man said Philip said do you understand what you're reading? And the man said how can I unless somebody teaches me? So what are you reading while he was reading out of Isaiah? And he read the portion and explained that that it was speaking of messiah And that that that Ethiopian came to faith in Christ And so the spirit those who walk in the spirit were led by the spirit God will lead us to do those kinds of things In Acts 13 it records how then Antioch and Church leaders were in prayer and worship and in Acts 13 2 and 3 it said while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I've called them And after they fasted and prayed they laid their hands on them and sent them off They were fasting they were praying seeking the Lord. He said set apart and that's how they went off on one of their ministry experiences So being led by the spirit Is another way of speaking of having communion with God There are times when God prompts you to action. Let me tell you a story. It's story time I was thinking of all these things that I could share with you today because Because the Holy Spirit leads us and prompts us But this was not that long ago. My wife Marie and I were driving to New Mexico And I I can't see very well in the dark I I have a night blindness and also um You know glaucoma and I had a cataract In my left eye And so I'm driving it's around 12 or 1 in the morning No lights those of you who've driven into Arizona and all at night. You're in desert, right? And they're doing construction No line In in the lane that I'm in no line And so as it's as good as a single lane to me So normally what I'm hoping for is a car in front of me So I can just kind of tail them, you know and follow because I can't see in the dark and it's pitch black. There's no lights And as I'm driving We're going 55 60 miles an hour And everything in front of me is pitch black It's totally I I I'm driving by that by the lights As and you know, you're going that fast. You're You're you're traveling faster than you think you are covering more ground than you think you are And I began to get a bit nervous. No, my wife doesn't know this because I'm mr. Macho. She wouldn't know But I got a little nervous because I couldn't see And I'm driving it's just as good as me just driving into into darkness And so that's I'm driving And now there are cars and there's this kind of one of these gullies And then cars coming on the other side And I think within myself. I think Turn on your brights because you can't see I'm I'm reasoning with myself And I said, no, I can't um Because my my lights will blind the drivers who are on the other side of the road. I can't do that But I sense the spirit of the lord Say turn on your brights So I did I turned my brights on And right in front of me. I was driving straight to the lip I was about to go over And hit that gully But it was the spirit of the lord who said and I know it was He said turn on your brights. He actually did it twice the first time. I thought it was me second time I knew That wasn't the first time something like that happened. I'll give you another brief story We were on our way into towards the glendale area Marine are driving. It's a four lane highway. I usually drive on the in the third lane And there's no traffic in front of me and no traffic behind me and I sense the spirit say change lanes And so this time I did it quickly Change lanes Why why would I do that change lanes? I changed to the slow lane what we call the slow lane And as I did that within 10 seconds An 18 foot stake bed blew through the fence Come in the opposite direction Shot into my lane and then went back into You know what? The holy spirit still communicates He still leads you He still prompts you And what we need to learn to do is to listen to listen I I can't imagine how many conversations I've stifled with him simply because I thought it was just me Maybe too much salsa. I don't know So the holy spirit by his word teaches you his ways But in fellowship with him, he also leads you in your footsteps. That's why you pray. That's why you seek god That's why you say what do you want me to do today? How do you want to do this lord so that he's actually Leading you the spirit always leads us to obey the word of god and always leads us to glorify jesus christ Now finally in verse 15. He says You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out Abba father the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit We are children of god and if children then heirs heirs of god joint heirs with christ If indeed we suffer with him, we may also be glorified together For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy To be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us Now when he speaks of the spirit of bondage, that's referring to a frame of mind bondage to sin results in a life filled with fear Because you can't keep the law But we have received not the spirit of bondage, but a spirit of adoption It's a holy spirit Who gives us the ability to have a relationship with god and gives us that secure knowledge of fellowship with him And the spirit in verse 16. He bears witness with our spirit. We belong to him. There's an inner testimony I belong to god and and and this is a holy spirit Who produces a love for god a hatred for sin and a desire to walk in holiness And so in verse 17 if we're children we're heirs We're heirs of god joint heirs with christ We are heirs of god. He is the one who is going to give to us what is called our inheritance And he himself actually is our inheritance But we're joint heirs with jesus In christ we we receive through him. He's the air of all honor and glory of heaven And we're in him and united with him and all that he inherits. This is amazing We inherit in him In john 17 22 the glory you gave me. I have given them that they may be one even as we are one But he closes by saying Indeed if indeed we suffer with him that we may be glorified together with him If we suffer for his cause And bear the afflictions and pain as he did is what he's speaking about You know philippians 129 says it has been uh to you it has been granted on behalf of christ not only to believe in him But also to suffer for his sake And you know what he says in verse 18 i consider the sufferings of this present time Are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us I love second chrithians 4 17 and we'll close with this Our light affliction Which is but for a moment Is working for us a far more exceeding an eternal weight of glory What we go through may feel like forever right now, but he says it's only for a moment We go through it And there's a weight of glory Someone wrote as believers often Suffering comes through men But glory comes from god Our suffering is short But our glory is forever