How to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Pentecost 2007
Relationship through the Spirit
Romans 8:1-17
Intro – Acts 1:1-5, 2:1-13
Jesus says, “Don’t do a thing until the Spirit comes.”
Why is the Spirit so important?
What does the Spirit have to do with our relationship with God?
Everything!
Romans 8
Three ways of relating to God
Law – following the rules
Older Brother (Luke 15:11)
Pharisees
Woman quoted from Wm. S. Barry – “In my time we wanted to be on the right side of Him, but we didn’t want to get too close.”
Sin – rebelling against the rules
Younger son
“Sinners” – true rebellion – Andy at Laurel Steel – sinning as a way to get back at God for letting his mother die the way she did.
Some people live this lifestyle out of anger, like Andy, some because they have been convinced that sin is a way to true life:
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” Romans 8:5-8
Both these ways of relating to God live with a feeling of condemnation (or possibly arrogance) you either feel condemned because you are doing your best, but never quite measuring up, never truly felling the love of God, or you feel condemned because you are living a condemnable lifestyle!
But there is a better way – the way of the Spirit – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2
The Holy Spirit – loved children of the Father
Jesus’ death does for us that which our obedience cannot do:
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful humanity to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in human flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4
Relating to God by the Spirit beats out both of these other ways of relating to God:
The Spirit Is Better Than Sin:
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.) 10 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. 11 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.
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 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. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Romans 8”9-14
Sin eventually brings death – in ourselves and in the one we sin against, but the Spirit brings life!
The Spirit Is Better Than Law
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.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 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. Romans 8:15-17
When we only relate to God through the law, we feel like a slave – like the older brother, and we are always in fear of offending the slave-master.
The Holy Spirit with in us reminds us that we are not Slaves, but we are well loved, adopted children.
We no longer come into God’s presence with our head hung low because we do not match up with the law, or with a hateful sneer because we are rebelling against the law, But we can come into his presence with our heads held high looking into the loving eyes of our Father.
Not only is relating through the Spirit better than the other two, relating to God through the Spirit deals with the downfalls of the other two!
Forgiveness of Sin
Jesus’ death on the cross pays for our rebellion
The Law in our heart
The Spirit also deals with our failed attempt to please God by trying to obey all the rules
Ezekiel promises the Spirit in this way: 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Nicky Gumbel has this great illustration of what the Spirit does for us. When we go out hiking for a day, we bring our lunch on our back in a backpack. The lunch weighs us down, but as the morning moves on, we stop and eat our lunch. The food turns from being a weight on our back to fuel in our belly. By giving us the Holy Spirit, God’s law goes from being a weight on our back to being fuel in our very being – so that we not only know God and his ways, but we want to do them too!
Paul says it this way in Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
John16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
Inheritance
The amazing thing is that like how the younger son wanted his inheritance now, we get a portion of our inheritance now through the Holy Spirit!
We get a piece of Heaven in our lives now – we do not have to wait until the final Resurrection!
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says this: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Part of that deposit is how the Spirit works in our lives to give us the power to relate to God and partner with him to see His Kingdom Come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven
You can see this immediately on the Day of Pentecost when the disciples go out on to the street, prophesying and speaking in tongues so that everyone could understand them in their own language.
Gifts The Spirit gives us all sorts of gifts so that as a community of faith, we can know God more, and work with him to see his kingdom appear
words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues…
The Spirit helps us to Pray even when we do not know what to say
Romans 8:26-27
The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God
The Sprit works within us to change our character:
Fruit Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
Back to Pentecost
The birthday of the church – we are born again through the breath of the Spirit, we are born into relationship with God!
