Romans 8:9-11

Good morning, church. It's good to see you all this morning. We are in Romans 8 this morning.

That's page 944 in the Pew Bible. Let me ask you to turn there with me.

We are going to focus on verses 9 through 11 today.

But for our reading, I'm going to start in verse 1 so we get the context.

As we come to God's Word together, let me pray for us.

Amen.

Our Father, as we have just sung, how great is your steadfast love toward us.

Lord, you have taken our sin and you have separated it from us as far as the east is from the west.

Lord, there is no remembrance of our sin because of what Christ has done for us.

Lord, we confess this morning that we need your Spirit to come and make this truth real to our hearts.

Lord, in our own selves, our hearts are so cold toward you.

Our minds are so closed toward you and the things of you.

So now, God, as we come to your life-giving Word, we pray that you would dwell richly among us by your Spirit

and help us to behold wondrous things from your Word.

Lord, we ask this in Jesus' name, Father.

Amen.

Well, let me read Romans 8, verses 1 through 11.

Romans 8:1–11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh

in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,

who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,

but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law.

Indeed, it cannot.

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin,

the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies

through His Spirit who dwells in you.

When Beth and I were dating after college, we lived about two and a half hours away from each other.

I was living in Pennsylvania where I had a job,

and she was living and working back home in New Jersey with her parents.

So what that meant was that every weekend, I would drive two and a half hours on Friday after work

to stay in the spare bedroom at her parents' place just so we could spend Saturday and most of Sunday together,

and then I would turn around and drive another two and a half hours back to Pennsylvania.

Needless to say, that was not very fun.

And keep in mind, this was in the stone age when Skype and FaceTime didn't exist,

that when we talked to each other on the phone, we could literally only hear each other's voices.

That was all we had.

So when it became pretty clear to us and to the people whose godly wisdom we trusted

that marriage was in our future, that that was the right path for us, we could not wait.

We planned a six-month engagement, which is crazy short if you haven't gotten married before.

We booked the church.

We booked the ladies' club for the reception.

We booked the caterers.

We sent out the invitations.

And if you've planned a wedding, you realize that that's an incredible amount of work.

And at last, when our wedding day came, what happened?

We took on a whole new status.

Now, we were legally husband and wife.

Everything was now redefined.

Legally, what was mine was hers.

What was hers was mine.

You see, we had taken on a whole new status in getting married.

But with that new legal status of husband and wife came something else.

Beth packed up all of her stuff, brought it all the way from New Jersey to Pennsylvania,

and we moved into our first apartment together.

We actually started doing life together, taking up residence, dwelling in the same space.

Then the real fun began.

Now, imagine how strange it would have been after getting married, after entering into this whole new status,

where we were now considered one in a binding legal union.

What's true of her is true of me, and vice versa.

Imagine if after all that, we wrapped up the reception, said goodbye to the guests, watched the caterers clean up and head home.

Imagine if after all that, I then drove two and a half hours back to Pennsylvania,

only to see her every once in a while when the weekend rolled around,

and when we could get a chance to talk on our flip flones, and maybe write a letter or two.

That would have been very strange, would it not?

Now, I know some married couples have seasons where they have to live apart for various reasons,

but apart from those circumstances, don't you see the change in status goes hand in hand with the change of dwelling.

What's pronounced legally, that these two are now one, gets then lived out relationally.

And they don't just live in the same space, but financially, emotionally, physically, socially,

there's this increasing union.

They really begin to dwell with one another.

Now, what Paul is helping us to see in verses 9 through 11 of Romans 8,

this great chapter about assurance, is that something very similar,

but even more profound happens in a believer's relationship with God in Christ.

You see, over and over again in Romans, Paul has been saying,

through faith in Christ, you have a new status.

As chapter 5 of Romans will say, you've moved from being in Adam,

the old humanity, under the curse of sin and death,

and now, through faith, you are in Christ.

You are in the new humanity,

where his gift of righteousness has brought life.

Or, as Paul puts it right here in verse 1 of chapter 8,

there's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Through faith, we're united to Christ, now what's his becomes ours.

You see, if God's verdict over Christ is that there's no condemnation,

then that means God's verdict over us.

Though in and of ourselves, we don't deserve it.

It's the same.

There's no condemnation.

But you see, that's not the end of the story.

This new status comes hand in hand with a new presence.

Three times in these three verses, 9 through 11,

we're told that the Holy Spirit indwells the believer.

That he comes and he takes up residence within.

And the word indwell means a settled, permanent residence.

The Holy Spirit's not just passing through,

here one day, gone the next.

The Holy Spirit's not like most of us when it comes to New Haven.

We're here for a couple years,

and we're on to something else, right?

That's what I thought was going to happen to Beth and I.

God had other plans.

Maybe he's got other plans for you.

But no, the Holy Spirit is here to stay.

He's settling in.

He's never going to leave.

So this morning, I want us, with the Apostle Paul here in verses 9 through 11,

to pause and to consider and to rejoice in the reality

that if you are in Christ, then the Spirit of God dwells in you.

And we're going to do that in three steps,

just looking at each of these three verses in turn.

And in verse 9, we're going to see the fact of the Spirit's indwelling,

just the brute fact of it, the reality of it.

And then in verse 10, we're going to see that there's present power

in the Spirit's indwelling.

And then in verse 11, we're going to see that there's future transformation

because of the Spirit's indwelling.

Clear?

Let's do it.

Okay, first, the fact.

Verse 9.

Look at verse 9 again.

You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,

if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

It is a truth universally acknowledged

that a single man in possession of a good fortune

must be in want of a wife.

You recognize that line?

It's the opening line of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Some people are shaking their heads.

Am I the only geek here who's a Jane Austen fan?

Okay.

Jane Austen begins one of her greatest novels

with just wit and irony and sarcasm,

as only she can do.

Here's a universal truth.

That a man possessing good fortune must be in want of a wife.

But here, you see, Paul is laying down a universal truth.

He is laying down a reality with no irony,

no sarcasm,

just full-on joyful truth.

That the Spirit of God indwells everyone who belongs to Christ,

and conversely, no one who does not belong to him.

Look at verse 9 again.

Let me try to unpack Paul's tightly packed reasoning in this verse.

I think it goes something like this.

How can Paul be so sure that the Roman Christians,

the you in verse 9,

are no longer in the flesh?

That is that they're no longer in the realm

or under the sway

of that old self-centered nature

that we inherit from Adam.

That's what the flesh means here in Romans

and in pretty much all of Paul's language.

It's our old self-centered fallen nature.

How can Paul be so sure

that they're no longer in that realm,

but in the realm of the Spirit?

That is in the realm of the Spirit's liberating reign and presence.

How can he be so sure

that that transfer has been made of them?

Well, because the Spirit of God dwells in them.

You see, the words, if in fact, there,

don't so much cast doubt on whether the Spirit dwells in them.

Rather, Paul is showing the deep logical connection

between being in the Spirit

and having the Spirit in you.

But how can Paul be so sure

that the Spirit of the living God dwells in them?

It's quite a claim.

Well, because as the rest of verse 9 says,

if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them,

they don't belong to Christ at all.

So the question for Paul is,

do you belong to Christ?

Are you His through faith?

If yes,

then there's no doubt in Paul's mind

that the Holy Spirit dwells in you.

And if the Spirit dwells in you,

then you're no longer in the flesh,

but you're in the Spirit.

That is Paul's reasoning.

And you see what the central plank of it all is.

It's the reality, the truth,

that the Spirit of God indwells everyone

who belongs to Christ through faith.

Okay, now why is that such a big deal?

Well, in the next two verses,

we're going to see two implications

of the Spirit's dwelling in us.

But I want us to just pause for a second

on the stunning fact of what Paul is saying.

That if you are in Christ,

then the Spirit of God dwells in you.

The Spirit of God dwells in you.

If you've been a Christian for a while,

maybe that's become a very familiar thing to you.

You were told, rightly,

that when you put your trust in Christ,

the Holy Spirit came to dwell within.

But do you realize, friend, what that means?

Stop and consider who we are talking about here.

The Holy Spirit of God.

The one who hovered over the waters of creation,

bringing life to what God the Father made through the Son.

The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit who descended in glory

upon the tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament

with a glory so devastatingly holy

that everyone had to bow down

and no one could stand up

because he was there.

The Holy Spirit who came like a whirlwind

and fire at Pentecost

and that launched the church into a mission

that erupted and ripped through the first century

with an energy and a life that is yet to cease

even to this day.

The Holy Spirit who created worlds,

who brought men and women to their knees,

who conquered empires with the word of the cross,

the same Holy Spirit,

the Lord,

the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son

is worshipped and glorified,

as the Nicene Queen says.

This Holy Spirit dwells in you.

I think we need to just pause for a second

and take that in.

In you, Christian.

And so you realize that according to Paul

and to the rest of the New Testament,

there's no sort of two-tiered Christianity.

There's no sort of group of super-Christians over here

who are indwelt by the Spirit

and they've really got it going on.

And then there's all the schmucks over here,

the rest of us,

who aren't indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

We're just getting by by the skin of our teeth.

No, Paul is saying,

if you belong to Christ,

the Spirit of the living God

has taken up settled,

permanent residence within

every single one of you.

Friends, does that not change

how you see yourself?

More importantly,

does that not change

how you see God

and His great grace

and His great purpose?

Now, I realize some of you here

are not Christians.

Maybe you're interested in spiritual things.

Maybe you're not so sure

about this Christianity thing just yet.

Let me say to you

that you're very welcome here.

We want this to be a place

where you can explore

and hear what Christianity is all about

and ask good questions

and see whether or not

Jesus is who He says He is.

And I imagine that for you,

all this talk about the indwelling Holy Spirit

probably either seems very curious to you

and maybe you want to know more,

or else, maybe more likely,

this just seems totally absurd.

How could anyone believe such a thing?

But you know, if you think about it,

is it all that absurd?

If there is a God who made us

and who loves us,

and if that God in love

took our humanity upon Himself,

and if He bore our worst,

if He bore our failure

and our selfishness and our sin

so that you and I could be released from it,

is it so hard to believe

that that God who made us,

who loves us,

is it so hard to believe

that that God would also want to be near to us?

to be with us,

to not just be a God above us

or over us

or even a God among us,

but to be the God within us,

closer to us

than we are to ourselves.

Maybe it's not so strange.

Maybe it's exactly

what we've all been longing for.

So that's our first point.

Just the fact

of the Spirit's indwelling.

But what's the implication of all this?

If the Holy Spirit dwells in us,

what does that mean?

So in the next two verses,

Paul will show us,

and if we could sum it up

with one word,

that one word would be

life.

Life.

In verse 10,

we see that the indwelling Spirit

is life.

And in verse 11,

we see that the indwelling Spirit

will give life.

In verse 10,

this life means present power.

And in verse 11,

this life means future transformation.

Let's look at the present power.

Verse 10,

but if Christ is in you,

notice by the way,

before we go,

here's an aside.

Notice by the way

how differently Paul describes

the Holy Spirit here.

The Spirit,

the Spirit of God,

the Spirit of Christ.

Here he just says,

if Christ is in you,

what's Paul doing?

Is he sort of getting

all of his categories confused?

Is for Paul the Spirit in Christ

just sort of one person?

No.

What Paul is saying

that the Spirit of God

and the Son of God

and the Father,

though they are very distinct persons

in one God,

their actions can never be separated.

That Jesus,

from the Father,

sends the Spirit

and the Spirit mediates

the presence of Jesus

into our hearts.

This is the same thing

Jesus taught

in the chapter from John

that we read earlier

in the service,

that he was going to send

a helper,

the Holy Spirit,

and he would dwell in you.

And then Jesus is going to say,

oh,

and my Father

and I will come

and we'll make our home in you.

You can see how reading passages

like Romans 8,

like John 14,

how the early church

in faithful interpretation

of Scripture

would speak of God

as triune,

one God,

eternally existing

as three persons.

But that's not Paul's

main point here.

He's talking about

the present power

of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Back to verse 10.

If Christ is in you,

although the body is dead

because of sin,

the Spirit is life

because of righteousness.

Now, friends,

Paul in the rest

of the New Testament

is quite clear.

Being a Christian

does not exempt you

from physical death.

The body,

as Paul says here,

is still subject to death

because of sin,

because we still inhabit

this fallen world.

But that is not

the whole story

for the Christian.

Even though our outward bodies

waste away,

even though we get sick,

even though we wrestle

with mental illness

and physical illness,

even though we struggle

with aging and dementia,

even though,

unless the Lord returns,

each one of us

in this room

will physically die.

Despite of all that,

Paul says there's another

principle at work

within us.

The Spirit is life

because of righteousness.

Oh, we could have spent

the whole morning

on just that one phrase.

I was actually tempted

to just preach

a whole sermon

on the Spirit is life

because of righteousness.

The Spirit is life

because of righteousness.

First,

whose righteousness?

Yours?

Has the Spirit come

and given you life

because of your moral goodness?

Because of your worthiness?

Because of your record?

No.

God takes up residence

in you

because of His righteousness.

This is the message

of the entire book

of Romans.

In our high school

Sunday school class

this morning,

we tried to spend

most of our time

thinking about this idea

of God's righteousness.

That God's righteousness

has come to us

the guilty

as a gift

through Jesus Christ,

the righteous one.

And this makes Christianity

totally different

than anything else.

Every other religion,

friends,

is about offering

a righteousness

to God

in hopes

that He'll love

and accept us.

but Christianity

is about receiving

a righteousness

from God

with the assurance

that nothing then

can separate us

from His love

and acceptance.

And because of that

righteous status,

the righteous

given to us

through Jesus'

faithful life

and sin-bearing death,

because of that,

there is nothing

keeping the Holy Spirit

from coming

and taking up

residence within

and bringing

a new power of life

where once there was

sin and death.

The power of sin

has been broken

through the righteousness

of Christ

and now the Spirit

comes flooding in

with unstoppable life.

Now what does that

present power

look like?

Well, Paul has actually

been telling us

and he'll go on

to tell us

right here

in Romans 8.

Let's paint a picture.

The present life

of the Spirit

means a new mindset,

verse 5.

If you live

according to the Spirit,

you set your mind

on the things

of the Spirit.

It's a whole new

desire

or controlling

passion

for your life.

You're no longer

bound

to just think

about yourself

and how you can

exalt yourself

and how you can

win others' favor

for yourself,

but you're bound

and you're captivated

and you're drawn out

into loving Christ

and delighting

and exalting

in Him.

You have a whole

new mindset.

The power

of the Spirit

also means

a new

submission

to God

and God's

word.

That's verse 7.

Paul says there,

if you're in the flesh,

you don't submit

to God,

you're hostile

to God,

you don't submit

to His word.

The implication

is that the

opposite is true.

If you're in the Spirit,

if the Spirit

dwells in you,

then

out of our

new desires

come a new

obedience.

You see,

the Spirit

comes and He

changes not just

our inner desires,

but also our habits,

also the way we live,

also the shape

of our life.

Of course,

we will always

wrestle with

temptation and sin

in this life,

but what Paul

is saying here

is that more

and more

sin

loses its

control over us.

More and more

we delight

in God's ways

now

and new habits

begin to form.

This new life

also means

a new witness

within

that we are

children of God.

This is jumping

ahead to verse 16.

Friends,

I don't know

about you,

but I think

most of us

struggle

with an old

voice

in our heads,

a voice

of condemnation,

of shame,

of guilt.

An old voice

that stretches

the whole way

back

to the garden

that comes

and tells us

that we need

to work harder

and prove ourselves

that God

doesn't really

love us

and have our best,

so we need

to do it

on our own

to fit in.

But you see,

now,

because of the

indwelling Holy Spirit,

because the Spirit

is life,

because of righteousness,

that old voice

is met

by another voice,

the voice

of the Spirit

witnessing to our

spirit

that we are

God's children,

heirs of eternity,

awash in dignity

and glory

that's nothing

like this world

or the favor

of the world

can give.

Last,

this new life

in the Spirit

means that there's

a new groaning

within us,

a new groaning

for the new creation

and the Spirit's help

for us

as we pray.

That's verse 23

and verse 26

and 27.

This life

that's in us

because of Christ's

righteousness

through the Spirit

means that there's

an inner longing

for God's future.

There's an inner groaning

to see creation healed

and for his justice

to come

and make things right.

And when we don't

even know how to pray

for that,

Paul says,

the Spirit prays

for us.

And though we might

not be able to hear

those prayers

on our behalf,

we can be sure

that with them come

peace

and joy

and a renewed sense

of the love of God.

So,

brothers and sisters,

Christian,

the Spirit

is life in you.

Next week,

we'll go deeper

into what that looks like

for us

to be active

in that life-giving power

in the present,

what it means

to put sin to death,

to live by the Spirit.

We'll talk about

some of our responsibility

and all of that

next week,

but this morning,

I wonder

if we just need

to hear a word

of comfort

and encouragement.

Perhaps you're discouraged

and disappointed

in your own lack

of holiness.

Perhaps you're feeling stuck.

How can I ever

overcome

this area

of sin

in my life?

How can I ever

change?

How can I ever

meet the challenge

that lies before me now

as a follower of Christ?

Well,

friend,

the short answer is,

in yourself,

you can't.

But,

the Holy Spirit

dwells within you.

So,

you don't have

to remain

stuck.

You don't have

to remain

in that relationship

that you know

isn't pleasing

to Christ.

The Holy Spirit

dwells in you.

He will give you

the courage

to end things

if you need to end things,

to walk away,

to ask for help.

You don't have

to go back

to that sinful habit.

The Holy Spirit

dwells in you

in that habit,

that behavior.

It's not you anymore.

It doesn't define

you anymore.

It doesn't have

dominion over you anymore.

You belong

to the Spirit

and He dwells in you.

And if you've been

too afraid

to ask for help,

too embarrassed

or ashamed,

listen to what

the Holy Spirit

says to your spirit.

You

are a child

of God.

And there's

no place

for shame here.

We're all sinners

and we all

stand

on the righteousness

of another,

the righteousness

of our faithful

Savior,

Jesus Christ,

and He has made

us all

sons and daughters.

So there's

no more shame.

There's no more fear.

And that old

way of living,

it's not

your future.

There's present

power

through the

indwelling

Spirit.

But last,

this is our

third big point,

the fact,

the present

power,

power.

But Paul goes

on to say

there's future

transformation.

Verse 11,

if the Spirit

of Him

who raised

Jesus from

the dead

dwells in

you,

He who raised

Christ Jesus

from the dead

will also

give life

to your

mortal bodies

through His

Spirit

who dwells

in you.

Where

is all

of this

heading?

Not just

our service

this morning,

which you're

thinking,

well,

I hope it's

heading to

coffee downstairs

or something

cold to

drink because

it's hot

in here.

Where is

all this

heading?

Not just

your week

at work.

Is it

heading to

a promotion?

Is it

heading to

a vacation?

Where is

all of

this

heading?

Your life.

What's

the destination

that God

has in store

for those

who belong

to His

Son and

are indwelt

by His

Spirit?

Paul says

if you

want to

see your

future,

then look

to Christ

Jesus.

If you

want to

see where

God is

taking you,

then look

to your

King.

Look to

your King

who entered

into such

deep

solidarity

with us,

who took

hold of us

so firmly

and so

completely

in the

incarnation

that now

what's

true of

Him

will be

true of

us.

That's

part of

what it

means that

Jesus is

the Christ,

is the

Messiah.

In the

Old Testament,

the Messiah

stood for

His people.

What was

true of

the King

was true

of the

people.

If the

King

obeyed,

the people

got blessed.

If the

King

disobeyed,

everything

went downhill.

But now

Christ,

our perfect

King,

has come.

He's

taken hold

of us

as people

so that

what's

true of

Him is

true of

us and

He's

taking us

there.

And friends,

what do we

know is

true of

Jesus?

It's that

God the

Father

raised Him

from the

dead

through the

power of

the Holy

Spirit.

And Paul

says if

that same

Spirit

dwells in

you and

He does

on the

last day

when the

trumpet

sounds and

Christ returns

to judge the

world and

make all

things new,

you too

will be

raised to

unceasing,

transformed,

physical,

material,

unending

life.

And

nothing

is going

to stop

it.

now there

are many

saints in

this room,

many

believers in

this room

who have

run the

race

faithfully

for many

years.

And

brothers and

sisters,

you know

better than

many of

us what

it means

to have,

as Paul

says,

a mortal

body,

a body

that grows

old and

weary,

weary.

But know

this,

saints,

one day

the Holy

Spirit in

you,

who has

continued to

give your

spirit new

life and

vitality through

all of life's

trials and

temptations,

that spirit

who has

empowered you

to live for

Christ day

in and day

out will

one day

make your

body

new,

just like

Christ,

your Savior.

You will

be raised

anew on

the last

day,

you will

run and

not grow

weary,

you will

walk and

not faint.

All the

effects of

sin on

the fall

of your

body

will be

undone

and God

will get

the glory

for conquering

all the

effects of

sin,

even

undoing

death

itself.

But if

you're here

this morning

and your

race is

just

beginning,

if your

body is

still pretty

healthy,

if you

seem to

be doing

okay,

if you're

in your

20s,

you can

pull

all-nighters,

do all

that good

stuff that

people in

their 30s

and 40s

shouldn't do

anymore,

well friends,

you need to

hear this

too.

You need

to see what

sort of

future God

has in

store for

you.

You need

to see

that the

indwelling

of the

Spirit

means

that what

lies ahead

of you

in Christ

is not

something

less

physical,

less

joyful,

less

thrilling,

but more.

What's

ahead of

you

in

Christ

is

life.

So when

you are

tempted

to trade

Christ

for the

pleasures

of this

world

now,

when you

are faced

with that

bargain,

remember

where the

Spirit

of God

is taking

you.

Remember

that this

life isn't

your only

shot at

joy,

that this

life isn't

the terminus

of all

your desires,

that the

days of

your youth

aren't the

only chance

that you

get to

enjoy

life and

have

pleasure.

you see,

the Spirit's

indwelling

presence means

that you

are destined

for the

new heavens

and the

new earth

and the

resurrection

of the

body where

the present

joys of

this present

age will

be seen

as just

the foretaste

that they

are.

It's almost

impossible for

us to

imagine

what it

will be

like to

live in

a renewed

creation

that's been

liberated from

sin and

death,

that's been

liberated from

evil and

injustice,

that's been

liberated from

shame and

guilt.

It's almost

impossible for

us to

imagine how

rich it

will be to

drink the

joys that

God, our

Creator,

intended us

to drink

and to

drink in

these, in

our bodies.

After all, God

created us in

a body, didn't

He not?

He redeemed us

through a body,

the body of

Christ that's

been resurrected

and His future

for us will be

in the body

made totally

new.

joy.

And it

means all

the things

that you

want to

enjoy and

experience in

this body.

The rightful

enjoyment of

those things

will not be

withheld from

you in

God's future.

Following

Christ,

friends,

doesn't mean

less joy,

but more,

infinitely more,

and He's

put His

Spirit in

you to

make sure

that He

gets you

there.

So,

friends,

if you

belong to

Christ,

if you

belong to

Him through

faith and

the Spirit

of God,

the very

Spirit of

the living

God dwells

in you,

and that

means life,

life now

and life

to come.

So,

let me wrap

up by

asking,

do you

have that

life?

Do you

want it?

In your

more sober

moments,

do you see

how lifeless

your life

has been?

then,

friends,

hear the

call of

the gospel

that Jesus

says,

I've come

that you

might have

life and

have it

to the

full.

Jesus

says,

everyone who

comes to

me,

out of your

heart will

flow a

river of

living water

by which He

meant the

Spirit who

dwells within.

a life

that will

start to

overflow

its bounds

of our

old way

of being

until in

the future

to come

it will

overflow

and transform

even our

very physicality.

Friend,

you want

that life,

and if you

want that

life,

then you

must come

to Christ,

the life

giver,

the one

who died

and rose

again for

you so

you could

be right

with God

and so

you could

receive His

indwelling

Spirit and

have that

life.

Life now

and life

to come.

Let's

pray.

Father,

we pray

that you

would help

us to

grasp more

deeply the

reality of

the indwelling

Spirit within.

And,

Father,

as we've

meditated this

morning on

some of the

truths that

this brings,

things,

Lord,

I pray that

you would

help us

to see that

begin to

shape our

lives,

shape how

we think,

shape how

we act,

shape how

we love

and how

we long.

But most

of all,

Father,

in this

moment,

we just

give you

thanks and

we give you

praise that

you would

look upon

us,

guilty

sinners,

sinners,

and you

would choose

to take up

residence

within,

that you

would come

and you

would dwell

within us,

and that

where we

had chosen

death again

and again

and again,

you would

come and

free us

to choose

life and

to be

alive.

Lord,

help us

as a

church

to be

people

who live

by your

Spirit,

we pray.

Amen.