The Power of Christian Community

I’ve been wrestling with God lately on some things, battling depression, anxiety, even questioning God, his will and purposes.

And I’m so grateful for my wife who has been there day in and day out challenging my poor thinking patterns. Reciting God’s word to me. She brings the truth up, and just keeps saying God loves you so much Justin.

So many people, members of the body of Christ, have encouraged me, Dennis and Barbara came over for Bible study last Thursday and that meant a lot to me. Yesterday my DC called and just talked with me and encouraged me. Not 15 minutes later the pastoral care officer for our area called to pray with me. My brother in law texted me some encouraging words. My friend Heston and I talked for about an hour on the phone.

I’ll tell you this, we need each other.

What if I didn’t have my wife, didn’t have my friend, didn’t have my fellow Christian leaders, my church members, what if? I would be in a much darker place.

We’ve talked about faith, healing, redemption, holiness, and service. Now we talk about community.

Too many Christians today operate as lonewolfs. They are an easy target for the enemy. But, when we surround ourselves with Christian community, we put ourselves in a position for success.

In Romans chapter 12 we see the apostle Paul telling us what it means to live in Christian community, and how to do it successfully.


The very first thing Paul does is give us a warning, he says this: “3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”

The very first thing to remember in Christian community is to live at a radical level of humility.

Why does Paul mention this first?

It’s easy to get proud. It’s easy to want to show off. Its too common in the church. Instead, let’s choose to be very humble, serving each other gently.

It says be honest in your evaluation of yourself. Don’t get puffed up. Evaluate yourself based on where you’re at in your faith.

Next Paul writes in verse 4-5 “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”

Secondly, we all have unique functions in the body of Christ. Your job isn’t the same as mine. You have skills I don’t.

You have a job to fulfill. You have an area where you can serve. And we need each other. We belong to each other it says.

What if we in this church really felt, we belong to each other? How would we serve each other differently?

Next in verses 6-8, “6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

These are gifts. Wrapped up in beautiful paper with golden bows, and placed at your feet when you became a Christian. And God says, use this gift I’ve given you. Use it for each other. Isn’t that beautiful?

Is your gift prophesy? What an amazing gift. Use it to speak truth in love to each other.

Is your gift serving others? Then serve people earnestly.

Is your gift teaching? Then it’s time to take up your role as a teacher.

Is your gift encouraging others? I love the gift of encouragement. Use it generously.

Is your gift leadership? Be a godly humble yet strong leader.

Is your gift giving? Give generously.

Is your gift showing mercy? Show mercy to people that are hard to love.

Let’s Pray: Father, bring to mind and heart which of these gifts are for us. And keep it in our minds, prompt us again and again to use the gift you’ve given us. We are willing God, in Jesus name, amen.

How else do we go about living in community together?

We are the army of God! We’ve got to learn to march together as one. And we’re getting our instructions.

Verse 9, “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.”

It’s easy to pretend to be nice. It’s easy to pretend to love someone. Just smile, say some nice words, and say “I’ll pray for you.”

God had to do some work on me in this area. I like ideas, thoughts, philosophy, theology, apologetics, but God had to train me to love people deeply. Just love them. Stop, and let your heart feel for them. Slow down, and see people, engage with people, talk with people, and learn their stories.

Where are you at with this? Do you genuinely love people? Not just your family. But your Christian family. Love them dearly.

Pray about this. Say God, I need you to help me love more deeply. And he will.

But also notice the second part of verse 9, it says, “Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.”

Hate what is evil. Hate what is wrong in the world. Don’t hate the person. But hate evil.

Recently during the opening ceremony of the Olympics there was a display mocking the last supper of Jesus. Do I hate the person that decided that was a good idea? No I don’t. I disagree with them, but I don’t hate them.

And it’s unfortunate, as soon as the world does something like that, you’ll have Christians who jump up and start attacking other Christians. How dare you notice that the world did that? How dare you hate evil? But we’re supposed to hate evil.

Many of these incidents very quickly become an excuse for Christians to attack other Christians. We have to stop shooting our own. Can’t we stand united when something like a mockery of the last supper happens? Unfortunately, many of us prefer to sling arrows at our own. It makes us feel superior, like we’re showing how merciful we are to the world. Yet we’re told by God, to hate evil, and love good.

Love the person, but hate the sinful attitude or action. Don’t be afraid to speak out against evil. But make it about the evil itself, not the person behind it. Jesus died for that person. But evil is still evil, and it’s ok to call a spade a spade.

So how do we prosper in Christian community? We love each other with genuine love. And we call out evil. We expose the deeds of darkness, and do not participate in them.

Many Christians will attack you if you speak out against evil in the world. But ignore them, they are wrong. They are mixing up mercy with truth. Mercy doesn’t erase truth. Mercy draws us toward the truth. But the truth needs to be in it’s place too. It can’t be hidden. And Christians can’t be silent in the face of evil. So if a Christian calls you judgmental, you tell them, I’m not judging anyone, I’m speaking up against evil. Why aren’t you doing the same?

Next, verse 10, “Love each other with genuine affection,[e] and take delight in honoring each other.”

Brotherly love, it says in the Greek, enjoy a sense of brotherhood, sisterhood in the church. I’m a salvationist, you’re a salvationist, let’s be excited about that. We’re the army of God, get excited! And enjoy honoring each other. That’s why we brag about each other, I saw so and so serving someone. I saw them volunteering at the food pantry. We honor each other, above ourselves.

Next verse 11, “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.”

How do we live in community? Don’t get lazy. Keep serving. It’s easy to start saying well I served the last year I’m going to take a break for a while. No, keep serving. Don’t get lazy. Work hard for God’s kingdom.

I’ve been so tired lately, and stressed, and I have to remind myself, keep serving God Justin. Keep speaking up for Jesus. Keep standing firm for Him.

And be enthusiastic, I like the footnote in verse 11, it says the Greek could be rendered, “Or but serve the Lord with a zealous spirit; or but let the Spirit excite you as you serve the Lord.”

Let the Spirit within excite you as you serve the Lord.

I love that. Get excited about serving God. I think it’s exciting. Doing God’s will is exciting!

There are so many great concepts here, next verse 12: “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”

Christian community, next keep looking back at the confident hope we have of eternal life that Jesus Christ has paid it all and made us new. Rejoice in that.

At the same time, be patient when troubles happen. I can relate to that. When we enter a problem, a struggle, a suffering, we instantly want it to be over fast. Can anyone relate? Be done now!

But God says be patient. And yes it’s on a clock. But wait patiently for God. These things take time to work out, by God’s action in the situation.

In those dark times, keep on praying, return to prayer over and over. I like to go sit outside on my back deck, or in Owosso it was on the front porch, and I just pray. Get alone with God for a while and talk to Him.

If you can train yourself to do that in difficulties you’re gonna rise up on eagles wings in those hard times. Get away from the phone or the tv or the computer, and sit with God in nature.

So many good instructions!

Verse 13, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”

Just be willing to help someone in need. When you see a need, say, you know what, I think I could help. Get messy in their situation. Get into it and help.

I remember there was a situation, messy situation at the corps, and this lady who was volunteering in our food pantry, she liked to get into those situations and she brought this family into my office and there was all this drama and I thought I don’t want to get into all this. Talking to the police, talking to the family, trying to find the truth, dropping off paperwork, this and that. But later the daughter joined our church, and I thought thank you Lord that she brought them into my office. As messy as it was sometimes you have to get into the situation and try to help.

It also says practice hospitality. Invite someone over for dinner. Take someone out to lunch, guys with guys, women with women, thank you. But yes, let God prompt you to do that. Invite someone over. Take them out for coffee. Get to know their story. Learn more about them. Invite your pastor over for dinner, he might not be a very good cook. You never know.

Here's a tough one, “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” (v.14)

Street preacher Cliffe Knechtle was being interviewed by Jake Paul online, and he shares this story about when he was playing division 1 basketball, but he was the worst player on the team, and there was a guy who would always make fun of him, and he hated this guy. It was Cliff’s dream to be a basketball player and this guy would always mock him and his basketball skills. And Cliff felt he would always hate this guy. So he went to God in prayer and said Lord I don’t think I can ever forgive this guy, but he asked for God’s help and sure enough God did a miracle in his heart, and he was able to forgive that person.

Is there someone who hurt you very badly, and you need God to do a miracle? First of all, believe it’s possible. Second, ask God for help. Third, pray and say, Lord I forgive him or her. And watch the miracle begin to happen. But remember, forgiveness for others is a command, not an option, it’s so important God even says if you don’t forgive someone their sins against you, God will in turn not forgive some of your sins. And we know what happens when sins are not forgiven. They must be punished.

Pray for people who have hurt you, pray that God would bless them, and God will deal with them. I’ve seen that happen. I pray for God to bless them, and God does something huge to deal with them. He heaps burning coals on their head. Why? Because I gave up my hate. I forgave them. I even prayed they would be blessed. Now I’m off the judgment seat, and God gets in the judgment seat, and he takes action. It’s biblical, look it up, Romans 12:20.

Next, verse 15-16, “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!”

This concept is really interesting in scripture, it’s the concept of empathy, of literally “feeling with” someone.

If someone is mourning you literally enter into that emotion with them, and mourn with them.

If someone is celebrating you literally enter into that emotion with them, and celebrate with them.

It’s a profound truth of scripture, it says about someone in prison, Hebrews 13:3, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”

Join in with someone emotionally. Remember that one. Celebrate with a Christian who is celebrating, and mourn with a Christian who is sad.

Also it adds, live in harmony. Enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know everything.

I’ve met a few know-it-all Christians. And it’s very off-putting. That’s why we return to verse 3 that says stay very humble. Don’t act like you know it all. Because no one does.

Verses 17-20 continue like this, “17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.

20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”

But I want to draw your attention to verse 21, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”

Yes, we want to call out evil. We want to call evil for what it is. And we want to love people even those caught in sins. But, at the same time, we can only overcome evil with good.

Sometimes we as Christians get so stuck on fighting and reacting to evil, we lose focus on building the good. As you build the good, the world becomes better.

I recall when the whole controversy with the Olympics took place, the television show the Chosen, they put out a picture from the show’s upcoming season of the last supper, a beautiful picture of purity and holiness. And that kind of beauty it a great response. Refocus on goodness. Overcome evil with good.

Main Points:

Remember the question was, how do we live in community?

1. Be radically humble toward each other

2. You have a unique role to fulfill in the body

3. Discover your spiritual gifts and use them

4. Genuinely love each other

5. Expose evil in the world, hate evil

6. Enjoy honoring each other

7. Don’t get lazy, keep serving enthusiastically

8. Be patient in dark times

9. Be quick to meet a need for someone & hospitality

10. Forgive one who hurts you, bless your persecutor

11. Join in with someone mourning or celebrating

12. Overcome evil by building good things

What is Greatness?

I recall a meme I saw online, it had a picture of a janitorial supply cart and it said, "Called to ministry? This will be your first pulpit." Truer words were never spoken. My first five years in ministry I mopped a lot of floors, and believe me, I expect more floors in the future. 

Ministry is much more than faith. It's action. If we are Christians, if we have been washed in the blood of Jesus, and our sins have been forgiven, then we will believe certain truths about who God is. We will want to attend church, and learn more and more about Jesus. We will want to seek healing for past hurts and traumas. We will learn to walk by faith, not by sight. We will learn what it means to be redeemed. We will also begin to walk in holiness, and see sins defeated in our lives.

Now, a lot of this is internal isn’t it? What’s going on inside of me? Healing, Redemption, Sin, Faith, etc. Now, we take it from internal to external.

Catherine Booth co-founder of The Salvation Army said, “A salvation that does not lead to service is no salvation at all.”

When we became Christians, we were in essence giving ourselves to God. Saying God I’m yours. We decided to follow Jesus. We made a commitment to obey Him and do His will. That’s all part of the package of being a Christian.

So we’re talking about where the rubber meets the road. Are you serving Christ in your daily life? Are you about your Father’s business? Or are you just living life for yourself, with a Christian sticker slapped on the outside of the bus?

God knows the difference. In fact, it says in the word that not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord’ will inherit the kingdom of God, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven.

Are you one of those "Sunday only" Christians? You come to church but that’s about it? We are called to more than that. We are called to be about our Father’s business. Did you know, everyone you see around you, at the store, in traffic, at work, at home, on the internet, they all need Jesus Christ as their savior? And without Jesus they are in great danger. Time is short. 

Jesus came to serve. That’s the example he set. In Matthew 20, we see Jesus explaining to his disciples why he came.

“17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” -Matthew 20:17-19

You might read that and think who would sign up for that job? Jesus would, for the sake of us.

It must’ve been really hard though to know it was coming. Have you ever had something really stressful on the horizon, and you just kept thinking about it and worrying about it? It's so hard. But Jesus signed up for that. We’ve also signed up for difficult service. But it’s so worth it.

Because Jesus also says, three days later I’ll rise to life again. There’s something better waiting on the other side.

Jesus lived with a deep concern for the people around him, for all people in fact. We’re called to something similar.

I think we like to help others. We do. Most of us do. We like to help. We do it if we feel like it. And it feels good.

But the real challenge comes when we don’t feel like it. Will you still serve then? That’s the challenge.

 Can we take it from, I like to serve, to, it is the focus of my life to serve?

So we saw the power of that explanation by Jesus of his radical service. Let’s see what happens next. Starting in verse 20…

"Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” -Matthew 20:20-21

What is it you want? Jesus brilliantly asks. I often scroll social media, and see people at points in their lives that they are proud of, at a wedding in a tuxedo, in a graduation gown from high school or college, on a stage for some reason, receiving some award or recognition.

What do we want? As humans, we want to be recognized. We want to be wealthy. We want to show how important we are. We want to be the greatest.

I admit at times that’s my focus, how can I become great? How can I be really special, show that I’m different, meaningful, useful, helpful, mighty?

I used to think well, if I write books then I’ll be important. Or maybe if I do good in sports. Or if I make lots of money. Or if I got elected for a public office, then my life will matter.

Then once we become a Christian we wonder, how can I be important in the Christian world, how can I influence people and innovate and make a difference?

What do you want? That’s the key question. Look at your motivations. What are you seeking in life? Nothing will satisfy but God himself. Anything else will fall short.

I used to think that getting married would make my life meaningful, that somehow true love would really change my whole life and make it good and right. Marriage is a blessing, but, it’s not the answer. Neither is fun adventures, parties, family, wealth, none of those things truly satisfy. Only Jesus Christ can fulfill our greatest longings.

Let’s see what Jesus does next.

Verses 22-23, “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

Jesus says you're missing the mark here. You don’t understand greatness correctly. Jesus later affirms that greatness is a good thing to seek. If you want to be great, if you want to make a difference, if you want to live a life of significance, that’s a good instinct.

But Jesus is going to help us adjust our aim. We want to be great, but we’re missing the correct target. We’re pointed at the wrong target.

We see how greatness is exercised in the world system, it’s exercised through power, wealth, and extravagance. The powerful parade around in fancy clothes, indulge every luxury imaginable, and they exercise control over our institutions, economies, and power structures. They act as “lords” over the “little” people like you and me.

Next, in verses 24-25: “When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.”

If you can understand this, you’re going to avoid a lot of pain in targeting things in life that don’t matter.

People have wasted their entire lives chasing things that don’t matter. It reminds me of something the famous actor Jim Carrey said. According to a source, he has a net worth of about 180 million dollars. 

He said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.” ―Jim Carrey

Gentiles, that’s the whole world, non-Jews, it’s all about power. People lord it over each other. They exercise authority over the masses. They seek to control people. We seek money, power, authority, influence, celebrity, and then when it doesn’t satisfy us, we are shocked.

What’s in your heart? Are you focused on money, marriage, family, education, pleasure? Whatever it might be, change it over to God. Only God can satisfy. 

But God feels far away. Then get closer! Draw nearer. Get into the tent with Him. Go deeper. Seek His face with all your heart. And you’ll know true meaning.

Next, Jesus says to his disciples:

Verses 26-27, “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—"

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, "Stop trying to be great! Just be a loser!" Nope. Jesus doesn’t say that. He says, Ok, awesome, you want to be great, that’s a good desire, now let’s talk about what real greatness is.

If you want to see greatness friends, stop by the food pantry and see Martha and Barbara serving bread and frozen meat to people in need.

If you want to see greatness, watch Sean carry out food pantry boxes and help old ladies load groceries into their cars.

If you want to see greatness, go visit the corps I served at last, and watch people like Julie, serving people baked good and produce from the free tables.

Jesus teaches us what true greatness is, and yes, it’s real. And the world will sometimes recognize this level of greatness, not always, but sometimes.

The world does recognize people like Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr, St Francis Assissi, and others as truly great people. But it’s rare.

Do you want to be great? Then become the servant of those around you who are in need.

The word for servant there is diakonos in the Greek, which gives the idea of someone who runs errands for someone else. The KJV renders it "minister." 

Do you want to be the greatest, as Jesus says, the first, then become the slave of all. The word slave there is doulos in the Greek, one who gives himself up for another, a slave or servant.

That will determine your status in heaven, in the next life, will you be the least or the greatest in heaven?

How well did you serve others? Those who made themselves servers to others will be great in the next life. They already are great today. But they will be rewarded greatly.

In the highest of heaven, the greatest heroes of the faith, in the next life, will be those who made themselves the lowly servant of all.

Lastly, Jesus says, “...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (v.28).

Look to the example of Jesus himself. What did Jesus do in His life? Did he seek power and money and authority? No he didn’t. Was he famous? Yes he was. But it wasn’t because he was seeking that. He simply did God’s will. And God brought the people to minister to.

Jesus our God came to serve. And even to die, to give his life as a ransom for many! To die for us, to empty himself of divine power and authority and serve those in need. That is true greatness.

So it’s time to set a new target in life. Let’s make our target greatness in service. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we admit we’ve targeted the wrong things in life. We’ve wanted money, we’ve wanted romance, we’ve wanted greatness in power but instead we repent and choose to desire greatness through humble service. Help us in this new endeavor, in Jesus name, amen.

Lastly, I want to talk applications. It’s all well and good to say we want to serve others. But how exactly do we go about doing that?

Let’s look at four examples quickly, of how to service others practically.

First, sharing your faith with others. The gospel, that all have sinned, all need a savior. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

We’ve got to do that. Get creative. Use social media. Use tracts, we have tracts in the lobby area you can use, just hand someone a tract. Offer to pray with someone. Share your testimony, what God did for you.

Second, pay for someone at the restaurant. Buy someone lunch. Grab someone some bread. Many come to the food pantry and they pick up food for someone else. Meet needs. That’s the second thing. Pay for someone’s groceries. Buy someone food or clothing or a hotel room, there are so many ways we can meet needs. If you don’t have a lot of money, get some food from the food bank or clothing from a charity, and share some of it with a neighbor. That’s giving too!

Third, volunteer at your local church. Step up and take a position of leadership. Volunteer at the local food pantry. Bell ring for The Salvation Army. Mentor a child at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Sponsor a child on Compassion International. Start a new ministry at your church. Lead a bible study. Start a small group. If God is tugging at your heart now, follow His lead. 

Fourth, find something unique to your skill set. It might be out of the box. I remember a friend of mine would minister to people on Xbox live. Others have started podcasts. I recently came across a guy who does Christian artwork. He uses his gift for God. I myself write a Christian blog online. Others have started homeless shelters, my wife started a women’s group, find what God has called you to, and then do it. It might be out of the box, but trust in God and do it!

A word of warning though, don't start something outside the will of God. Sometimes we get so excited we forget to check with God to see if it's His will. Make sure you pray first, and let God guide your ministry pathway. 

What will your reward be in heaven? It will depend on how well you make it your mission in life to serve others.

And in the end, it’s time to take another step closer to who God wants us to be. It’s kind of nerve wracking. It’s kind of scary. It makes us nervous to step out into the unknown. We try to explain away why we couldn’t go further to serve others. But instead of arguing with it, and trying to fight it, or argue with God, what if we just boldly said, “Ok God, I trust you, and I’m taking another step out into the unknown of radically serving others.”

Make a plan. Pray and ask God's help. What can you do today to bless someone? Small steps lead to bigger steps. Start small. Bless someone. Do it again. And pretty soon, you’ll go further than you thought possible. And you’ll be excited. Because God’s got all of you.

Putting to Death the Sins of the Flesh

We’ve been building a structure, and it’s based around what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We’ve talked about the fact that a Christian walks by faith, trusting in God and following God’s leading even when it seems odd or strange.

We’ve talked about how a follower of Jesus seeks and experiences healing from past hurts and sins that once troubled us.

We talked about how God has redeemed us, made us new, and given us a new identity in Him. And we work from that place of safety in Him.

Now we bring those concepts of faith, healing and redemption together with a fourth concept called holiness.

We’ve learned to walk by faith, we’ve learned to find healing and we’ve learned our identity in redemption, now, we need to discover how to live our live in response to these truths.

How does this work exactly? We’ve received Jesus Christ as our savior. His blood has atoned for our sins. Our sins went to Jesus on the cross, they are deleted. Christ’s righteousness has been placed upon us as our robe to wear.

What’s next?

Well, we find ourselves in this situation that is constantly discussed in the New Testament. We are redeemed which means our sins are ransomed and removed. We are also clothed in Christ, which means we wear Christ’s righteousness as our own.

We also have been given the Holy Spirit who lives within us and directs our choices. But at the same time, we still have the sinful nature.

What is the sinful nature? The sinful nature is what we were born with. It’s the reason we struggle with making bad choices. It’s an inheritance of the line of Adam and Eve, which we’re all part of. It’s part of the curse and punishment for the sin of Adam and Eve.

One might assume, well when I become a Christian the sinful nature must be removed right? Wrong.

Our sins are forgiven. We are changed and made new. We are born again. However, we still have the sinful nature. Which means we continue to have a tendency to want to sin.

So, we made the choice at some point in our lives to give our lives to Jesus Christ. The sinful nature remaining in us, along with the Holy Spirit, you could say is a test.

The test is, after you’ve been saved, will you continue to say "yes" tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

Or will you begin to say "no" to God, and "yes" to sin? The choice remains with you, into the future. Of course there will be consequences to the choices we make.

Will you be controlled by your sinful nature? Or by the Holy Spirit within you?

That is holiness, when we say yes to God and no to sin. Here is the definition for holiness. From the 1828 Dictionary: HO'LINESS, noun [from holy.] “The state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral character; freedom from sin; sanctity.”

This issue is discussed in detail in Romans chapter 8. Let’s take a look at verse 9. Paul has just been writing about the sinful nature. And what it does. Next he says...

It says this: “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)”

If you have the Holy Spirit, you belong to God, if you don’t then you don’t belong to Him at all. And the goal is, that the Holy Spirit would control our lives.

Next it says in verses 10-11, “And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead two thousand years ago lives inside of you, today.

So one might also think, well, once we’re a Christian, we should never die then, because God made us new. Also not true, we will still physically die, again because of the curse of death placed over the line of Eve. However, we get a picture of our future with Jesus.

Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, but three days later Jesus rose again from the dead. The same thing happens for the Christian. When we die, we can expect we will also rise from the dead after death, and find eternal life beyond the grave.

Because the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead literally lives inside you…

“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.”

We have no reason to say that we are caught in sin, because we don’t have to. That’s what it says. We are under no obligation to agree with the sinful nature when it wants to do something bad. Instead, the Spirit makes us free.

Verses 13-14 go deeper into what this means… “For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Remember this passage is speaking to Christians, brothers and sisters it says. And it says if you, Christian, live in accordance with the dictates of the sinful nature within you, you will die.

We still have a choice right now, am I going to obey the Spirit or the flesh? And if we make a practice of obeying the flesh, we begin moving away from God and toward sin. We begin to fall away from God.

But it says, if through the power of the Spirit. Through God. Through God’s Spirit, not in yourself. But through the power of the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the sinful nature, you will live.

So what do we need? We need power. We can’t put to death the misdeeds of the flesh by our own strength. Flesh can’t overcome flesh. But, the Spirit of God within us is mighty and powerful. We need power. Power from God. Through the Spirit, we can find victory over the flesh.

That’s a process I’ve seen so many Christians slowly walk through, at least the real ones. They are a new believer. They have received Jesus as savior. But they’ve got all these sins in their lives, lust, pride, theft, drinking, manipulation, gossip, slander, unforgiveness, hatred.

And I’ll watch God take them from one sin to the next, and they repent of it, they turn away from it, and they begin living a new way. Stronghold to stronghold they march surrounding the walls and besieging the strongholds and one by one the fortresses of sin fall tumbling down and come to nothing. 

And one by one, they are gone. The theft is gone, they practice integrity. Then the gossip is gone, they stop talking about others behind their backs. The unforgiveness is gone, they forgive their enemies. The hatred turns to love. And what you’re seeing in that Christian’s life is Romans 8:13 in action, they are, through the Spirit, putting to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature.

As those things are dealt with, those past sins, they go from being dominant in the life of the person, to being dormant. They are broken and defeated. They are gone. But I’ve also seen them come back, if the believer isn’t careful.

Sometimes as Christians we get too confident and say, "Oh that drinking is gone!" It's not a danger anymore. And then we go hang out at the bar. And pretty soon we’re drunk again, and saying, what went wrong? You’ve repented of it, great, it’s defeated, but keep your guard up, so it doesn’t come back.

All who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. That’s what it says. Do you really believe that you can be practically led by God’s Holy Spirit each day? It’s true, you can be.

For me it happens very naturally, as long as I’m praying in the morning, doing my devotions, reading the word, and thinking about God and His will throughout the day, I’m nudged by God during the day, and he helps me do His will.

What is His will? It’s little things. It’s praying for someone who comes to mind. It’s stopping to minister to someone who is having a hard day. It’s seeing an old friend and going and talking to them at the store. It’s calling up a family member and praying with them. It’s buying a Bible for your neighbor whose in the hospital and bringing it to them. It’s little things that are actually big things.

I remember I was at camp and God nudged me to give a little cross I had in my pocket to one of the kids in my cabin. I said Lord that child has been one of the worst kids! Why would I give him the cross? So I said no. God said it again. I said no again. God said it again a half hour later, God will just repeat stuff to you, believe me. And finally I understand God wanted me to call out the good in him. So I did, I called him over, and told him I felt God had called me to give him the cross, and he cherished that cross. He held it in his hand the rest of the day. God used it to touch his heart. 

Similarly, it’s rejecting temptations when they pop up. When you see that beautiful woman jogging, you look a different direction. You see that handsome guy at work, you decide to not even look that way. It’s refusing to gossip about someone you’re mad at. It’s saying no to the drama in the break room. It’s not cheating on your taxes. Simple things that are big things.

Now, you may be thinking, "Oh my, I have to put to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature. If I don’t I’m in trouble. If I live in sin, I’m in danger!" You're tempted to feel fearful and concerned. 

I think it’s good to be concerned, to care enough to take action, to want to be free from sins in your life. But, at the same time, we aren’t to be fearful slaves. We are God’s children.

Romans 8:15 says, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

We are not fearful slaves terrified of God. We do have a healthy fear of the Lord, don’t get me wrong. I do tremble at my heavenly Father’s might and power, but no, instead, we are adopted as God’s children. So we call God “Heavenly Father.”

Don’t be afraid. God is helping you every step of the way to be free from sins, to live holy. He desires your holiness. Through the Spirit he helps us to live it. And we do not tremble as slaves, instead, we stand with dignity as children.

Verse 16, “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” We can know in our hearts that we belong to God, because the Holy Spirit inside us, will join with our spirit, and confirm you are a child of God!

And lastly, verse 17-18 “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

This is just astonishing what is said here. You are His heirs. Do you understand what this is saying? God is your Father, you are his daughter, his son, which means you will inherit his kingdom. What that means exactly, we don’t know, it’s huge, bigger than we could imagine!

So is it worth it, to put to death the flesh? Yes it is. We will inherit God’s kingdom. Together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory.

But, if we share His glory, we must also share in Christ’s sufferings. I know you all understand what that means, as Christians we do suffer. And it’s tough, it’s really tough at times. But it’s worth it. Because what we suffer now, is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed later. In the next life, you’ll know, and say, wow, it really was so worth it. That suffering was nothing compared to this!

The goal then is that one day our lives would end and we could say, I’ve finished my race, the Holy Spirit really did lead me, the sinful nature was defeated, kept in check, and we can say, victory! The glory of God is my inheritance. Hallelujah!

In conclusion, maybe you’re wondering, why does it matter? Sure, I steal a bit here and there, no big deal. Yeah I fudge the numbers on my taxes, no big deal. Yeah, I look at the woman, yeah I cat around with the guys, why does sin matter so much?

Because there is no sin in the next life. In heaven there is no sin. There’s no place for sin there. So this life is our time to learn to walk free from sin. And we have the Holy Spirit within us, so we have the power we need through the Spirit to be free from sin. We won’t do it perfectly. But we can be free from sin. We will always make mistakes. But when we make mistakes we repent quickly, as soon as it happens, we turn to God and request forgiveness afresh. Despite that, we can learn to not sin, and live holy as God is holy. Jesus Christ has made the way, and given us the Spirit, and the word says we have no obligation to the flesh. It doesn’t control us, the Spirit does. So yes, we can be free.

Review of Main Points
1. Our battle is against the Sinful nature within us

2. The Holy Spirit lives within us & should guide us

3. We have no obligation to obey the sinful nature

4. The Spirit gives us the power to put to death the misdeeds of the flesh

5. The Spirit leads us in a process of victories over the sinful nature (holiness)

6. This doesn’t make us fearful slaves, instead we stand as children of God

7. If we practice holiness in the Spirit, we will inherit God’s kingdom (through sufferings)

And God won’t allow sin into heaven. You have to understand that. I worry many of us think, well I’m going to sneak into heaven with my sin. But that isn’t the case. If you try to bring your sin into heaven, by refusing to repent on the Earth, you will not be allowed into heaven. I firmly believe that. If we show up in heaven will all sorts of sins on our record that we never repented of, we’ll be shown the door. Don’t forget that saints. Repent today, the Holy Spirit will help, and you will be free.

God will Redeem your Broken Situation

I spent the last week at camp with my wife. We were tasked to serve as cabin counselors during the week, Monday through Friday. Let’s just say we had a very interesting week. 

The experience was so brutal and difficult that we both left feeling defeated and upset. Chelsey and I aren’t parents, we aren’t terribly gifted with children, though we’re learning. Neither of us had ever been counselors before. 

But God was present at the camp. He was with us. But there were many challenges. There was so much pressure. And we were so new. I became so overwhelmed with the experience that I actually had a mental breakdown, and had to leave the cabin.

And I was no longer a counselor for the rest of the week. I failed. I missed the mark. I did not complete something I had been assigned to. That was shockingly difficult for me.

It was late at night, and there had just been a thunderstorm, it was pitch black and I was carrying my suitcase, my bag and my bedding through the dark night, the rain and the mud, toward the lodge. And I stopped under a street light in the middle of the camp.

And I just looked up. And thought to myself: What went wrong? I don’t quit things. I don’t get overwhelmed and give up.

But I came to the lodge. And I came into my room there. And on the wall it said, “redeemed.” I didn’t sense any conviction from the Holy Spirit that I had done something wrong. I simply sensed God’s mercy and love toward me.

For the rest of the week I had to sit around the tables and deal with the glances of those who now saw me as the officer who couldn’t handle it. The guilt and shame was intense. But in the end, we finished out the week, and then we came back.

And I knew God was calling me to speak today about what it means to be redeemed. And in particular, when we confront failure in our lives. When we fail in our eyes, in the eyes of others even, God doesn’t see failure. He sees redemption.

First point today, God redeems broken situations.

It reminds me of a scripture from 2nd Cor 1:8-10 which says, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,”

Have you ever been in a situation in your life when you were under such intense pressure you despaired of life itself?

I’ll tell you this, Paul learned through his pressure, to rely on God, not on himself. Believe me, in those moments at camp, I had to rely on God completely. Sometimes we feel so locked into difficult circumstances that we feel it’s like a death sentence. It feels that way at the time, have you been there in life?

But, God raises the dead. He takes that situation that seems like a death sentence, and he brings you back to life through it.

God delivered Paul, and so God also delivered me, not from the situation, but through the situation.

We human beings naturally want to rely on ourselves. We want to do things our own way. We want to access our own strength and use that strength. That’s why this world is so messed up, because we refuse to rely on God.

That’s why we don’t pray in the morning before we leave the house. That’s why we forget to read our Bible, that’s why we don’t pray at night. That’s why we don’t ask God the next right thing to do throughout the day. We try to run our own lives. And then things don’t go right.

That’s our second point today, require yourself to rely on God. Pray when you don’t feel like it. Simply remind yourself, “No I need this!” I argue with myself you guys, when I’m tempted to roll over and go to bed, I’m tired. I stop myself and say "Justin, you get over there and get on your knees right now. You know what happens in your life when you don’t. Let’s go, now!"

Command yourself to pray. Command yourself to read the word. You say to yourself, self, in the name of Jesus, keep God first. Command your soul to turn to Jesus. Your soul is going to want to do it’s own thing. But you take over and say no, I know what to do, I need to pray.

But don’t you worry, because God will also help you to rely on Him. And He does that through tough situations that require us to rely on God, because we’re totally overwhelmed.

In those situations we need to rely on God’s strength, but also, on God’s wisdom. Paul writes to the church in Corinth and says we didn’t rely on human wisdom, but we relied on God’s wisdom.

When you feel a sense of failure, of shame, of guilt, you have to turn to God and verify that. Lord is that from you?

Sometimes God will convict us, if we sin. He will very much convict our hearts and say that wasn’t right, you must repent of that. And we do. We weep. We ask Jesus to forgive us anew, and we repent of that sin, we turn away from that sin. And we feel his forgiveness rush in.

But what about what seems like failure? But it really isn’t failure. It’s God’s mercy. It’s God goodness.

Point three, trust God’s wisdom over your own. You have to remind yourself: I’m redeemed. It doesn’t matter what other people are saying, what matters is what God is saying. It doesn’t matter what my own mind is saying, with those condemning thoughts of guilt and shame, what matters is what God is saying.

God is saying, you’re redeemed.

What does that word redeemed mean exactly? For that let’s turn to the 1828 dictionary. Noah Webster was a man two hundred years ago who felt God had called him to create a dictionary. And I believe that’s true so I’ll look back to that 1828 dictionary and see what it says.

It says this, “Ransomed; delivered from bondage, distress, penalty, liability, or from the possession of another, by paying an equivalent.”

It gives the picture of the fact that we were once held in ransom by the devil, because of our sin. Our sins meant Satan had authority over us. We were condemned under the power of sin, doomed to hell.

But, God sent his son Jesus Christ to pay off our debt, to become a ransom sacrifice by dying on the cross.

It pictures a ransom that was paid to set you free. You were held as a captive, and God paid the ransom payment and you were set free.

Your liability for your own sins, which was complete, is now eliminated. You once owed a massive debt for the sins you committed and it’s just penalty was hell. But now, Jesus took those sins and said, "I’m going to pay the amount. I’m going to do it by dying in their place."

Do you understand that what happened to Jesus on the cross was that he was actively taking the penalty you deserved? That’s what Jesus did on that cross. He paid your penalty, the cost for your sins, in His own blood. A ransom sacrifice, meaning you are set free.

You are redeemed. That’s our fourth point today, you are redeemed by the ransom sacrifice. You are set free. That happened at the moment you first truly believed the gospel and were born again. And it’s current to this moment in time as well. It keeps running into the future as you continue to believe on the Lord Jesus.

The message is not yes and no. It’s not off one day on one day, it’s consistent, it’s ongoing, it’s a journey together with the Lord. And the Lord has not left you. Maybe you walked away from Him, but He doesn’t leave you. He’s here. It’s not yes and no, it’s yes.

As it says in 2nd Corinthians 1:18-22: “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas[c] and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

Fifth point today, every promise God has made in scripture is “yes” in Christ.

What does it mean to be redeemed? It includes forgiveness, your ransom paid. However, it’s more than that. Forgiveness is one thing, my sins are forgiven, which is wonderful, but I’m also adopted. I’m now considered a brother to Jesus Christ, where we will share in his power and authority in the next life. I’ve been gifted the righteousness of Jesus. I’m royalty right now, though still in exile, until heaven.

God’s promises, a new Earth, yes in Christ. Sins forgiven, yes in Christ. Adopted as a son of the Lord, yes in Christ. Empowered for service, yes in Christ. Spiritual gifts given, yes, in Christ. The Holy Spirit within, yes in Christ. It’s all yes in Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to earn some of it, or work toward the promise, the promise is already yes right now.

Yet we have a response to make, and that is through Jesus we declare, “Amen!” What does that mean exactly? It’s faith.

Point number six, your part is to believe it. We believe that its really true that every promise of God is yes in Christ. God helps you to believe. But we must believe it. Otherwise we’re calling God a liar.

It’s crucial that you believe that every promise of God is yes in Christ. And it continues in verse 21 saying that it is God who causes us to stand firm in Christ. That looks into the future and expects that God will sustain us forward into the future as well.

We’re told three things that prove this reality of yes in Christ, first, he’s anointed us. Second, he’s set his seal of ownership upon us, and third he’s given us the deposit of the Holy Spirit in our heart.

To be anointed is to establish someone for service to God, oil would be poured upon the head of the person being set apart for service.

To be marked is to be established as someone who is owned by God. A mark on the skin in times past would indicate ownership. God marks us as his own.

To be given the Holy Spirit in the heart is to be in holy relationship with God. God guides our life daily by His Spirit within us. He directs what we do each day through this deposit of the Spirit.

Point number seven today is that you’ve been anointed, marked, and plugged into God by the Holy Spirit. And this proves your inheritance is true and real.

If I ever wonder or worry if I’m really a child of God, I ask the Holy Spirit within, Lord please testify if I’m a child of God. We worry like that don’t we? And God is so very often quick to reply to me, you are truly a child of God Justin. And I love you.

Or, the Holy Spirit will say, I love you, but something is off, you have a sin in your life that needs to be dealt with. And I’ll begin to pray and repent before the Lord of whatever the issue might be. But in all my ups and downs over the last 10+ years God has never left me for a moment. He’s not forsaken me. And he hasn’t forsaken you. He’s with us. And he’s speaking to us.

In conclusion today, remember in the moments like I experienced last week, underneath the street light in the dark rain, wondering what went wrong, God has not left you. You are still His. He will redeem your situation. And though I felt so alone in that moment, I wasn’t alone.

He sent out an army to find me. And lead me to safety. His angels surrounded me. And though the pain was tough in those days, he walked me through it. And he’ll see you through too. Trust in Him. Even when you’re totally overwhelmed and you despair of life itself, cry out to Him. He hears you. Even when you don’t feel he’s here, He’s here.

Let’s review our main points today:
1. God redeems broken situations

2. Require your “self” to rely on God

3. Trust God’s wisdom over your own ideas

4. You are redeemed by the ransom sacrifice

5. Every promise of God is “yes” in Christ

6. Your part is to believe it’s true “Say Amen!”

7. The Holy Spirit within proves your inheritance is real