Christ Our Assurance

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this building. I thank you we have a place to come and worship you.

I also thank you that we have the technology to worship, for people to come and worship with you online.

Father, I admit that this text that I just read encourages people.

It may make people angry. It may make people feel discouraged or confused.

But whatever people are feeling, Lord, I just ask that you administer to our hearts, to our minds,

that your Holy Spirit would be present and that we would just be focused on you.

Everything else, all distractions, would just fall away.

And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

So over the holidays, me and my wife, we watch a lot on Netflix.

And there's a new movie that just came up.

I believe it came out on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

And the movie's called Don't Look Up.

And I'm just going to say I'm not here to promote it.

I'm not here to say you should watch it.

I'm just, you can decide that for yourself.

But the premise of the movie, without giving any spoilers or anything of that away,

is about, it's an end-of-the-world genre movie.

There's a big meteor, which you find out right away, is coming towards Earth to destroy it.

And people are scrambling all over the world trying to figure out what to do.

It's basically a modern version of the movie Armageddon that came out many years ago,

just without the Aerosmith song in it.

And there's two prayers that I want to take from this movie that happened at some points in the movie.

I don't want to give it away.

And there's two of them.

So I'm just going to read them.

I wrote them down, so I'll just read them out right now.

So the first one.

Dearest Father and Almighty Creator,

We ask for your grace tonight, despite our pride.

Your forgiveness, despite our doubt.

Most of all, Lord, we ask for your love to see us through these dark times.

May we face whatever is to come in your divine will,

with courage and open hearts of acceptance.

Amen.

And in the second prayer, I'll just say that the person who does pray this prayer in the movie,

they are speaking in front of a camera, and they're addressing a nation.

So here it is.

I've been noticing a lot of prayers recently for people during this time,

and I commend that.

But I also want to give a prayer for stuff.

There's dope stuff, like material stuff,

like sick apartments, and watches, and cars, and clothes.

And that could all go away.

And I don't want to see that stuff go away.

So I'm going to say a prayer for that stuff.

Amen.

Now, there's quite a big stark contrast between these two prayers.

But I bring these prayers up, I quote them,

because the text we're looking at today,

these prayers speak directly to that text.

The text brings to light what these prayers are about,

and they do an excellent job.

I'm not saying the characters within the movie

do a good job at representing what they pray,

but the texts do an excellent job.

And in this text, the text talks about

there's only two ways of life to live,

and that's a life in the spirit

or a life in the flesh.

So if you haven't yet, turn to Romans 8,

Romans 8:1–11

verses 1 to 11.

Please do so now.

In just a brief context,

Paul is writing to a heavily persecuted church.

This church is being persecuted by the Roman emperor.

They're being martyred.

They're being tortured.

They're being ostracized, isolated.

They're being forced to hide.

They're forced to not walk the streets.

They have to do everything in hiding

because they'll get killed.

They'll get martyred.

And earlier, Paul, in the book of Romans,

he writes about basically what he says in summary.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and no one is capable of pleasing God.

And then he gets to chapter 8.

And some people have said that this chapter

is the inner sanctuary within the cathedral

of the Christian faith,

the tree of life in the midst of the Garden of Eden,

the highest peak in a range of mountains.

I don't know how many people here have hiked a mountain,

gotten to the top.

But as you're cresting the mountain to the peak,

your view is always disruptive.

You don't get a perfect view until you get to the very top

because the ground is going up in front of you.

And once you crest the mountain,

there's a perfect view,

a perfect 360 panorama view.

And the only thing that obstructs your view,

it would be other mountain peaks.

But what people are saying for this chapter

in the book of Romans

is that it is the Everest of all mountains,

the Everest of the book of Romans.

It's the highlight, the crescendo.

So I'll begin in verse 1.

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.

Now I know I might have lost some view

as soon as you hear the word law.

Some of you might be thinking

or saying to yourselves right now,

oh, those Christians,

all about the rules and missing out on life.

They always have to talk about laws,

things you must do differently,

things you have to do like this.

You must bow or get up at that certain time.

And that's a legitimate thing to think or say.

I thought the same thing before becoming a Christian.

But another way you could read this verse

is by switching law to worldview.

And I'll just read it again with that in mind.

For the worldview of the Spirit of life

has set you free in Christ Jesus

from the worldview of sin and death.

And also when you hear the word law

or read the word law in the Bible,

it's speaking about the Mosaic law.

And that was given to Israel in the book of Exodus

for a time when they're right on the precipice

of going through the threshold

into the promised land

that God has promised them

all up until this point.

And he gives them a law,

the way,

it gives them a worldview

and a way to live

that's different from the people

within the promised land.

God gave them a way

that they would be different,

that they wouldn't become distracted

by the gods within that land,

wouldn't become distracted

by the beliefs,

by what they did.

God wanted them to be a people

focused on him.

He wanted their hearts.

The whole point of the law

was for their hearts

to be focused on him

and not on the things surrounding.

He wanted them to delight in him

for he is holy.

He wanted his people to be holy.

Now everyone has worldviews.

We can't deny that.

Where your worldview is

is where your heart is.

And God loved his people so much

he gave them something to help them.

But the reaction,

oh here,

Christians are obsessed,

always obsessed with rules and laws

and missing out on life.

They never want people to have fun.

It's very common.

And if we're honest with ourselves,

many of us

who have put their faith and trust in Jesus

probably think the same thing as well.

How many of us can truly say

that if our world was totally destroyed,

we would pray that first prayer that I read?

I think many of us would pray the second.

I think many of us would pray,

but I also want to give a prayer for stuff.

There's dope stuff, Lord.

Like material stuff.

Like sick apartments that I could get.

And watches and cars and clothes that I want to wear.

And that could all go away

if the world was to end.

And I don't want to see that happen.

We've all created identities

for our lives

that at first sign of destruction

we would pray for the second prayer.

Many people,

when the stock market crashed,

put all their money,

all their faith into that system.

And then it crashed.

And many of them,

a lot of them took their lives

because they were so,

their whole identity in material wealth

was gone,

was lost.

They lost it in the blink of an eye.

Or it could also be someone

who has put all their focus

on knowledge,

on gaining knowledge,

on studying.

And then they could have,

maybe something happens to their mind

or to their eyesight.

And they become completely lost.

And they don't know

what to do with themselves anymore.

See, everyone has an identity.

Humanity is obsessed

with self-gratification.

And that's what this text

is talking about here.

It's bringing to light

what it means.

You can either live this life

or that life.

Humanity is obsessed with slogans.

Like, be true to yourself.

My truth.

Don't mess with my truth.

See, humanity has been locked

into this mindset,

as the Bible says,

since the beginning in Genesis.

Since it fell.

And it's become so bad lately

that if you have a different opinion

or worldview

from what the culture demands,

it's called hate speech.

You get canceled.

Or even saying you believe in science,

you can face jail time

or be called narrow-minded.

But isn't that in itself

narrow-mindedness?

And with all that in mind,

we can read the next verses

of what Paul writes.

I'm just going to take a sip of water first.

See, Paul writes about all that

in the previous chapters.

And then he gets to chapter 8.

And in these next verses,

he says,

You see,

when you read the word flesh,

it seems kind of odd.

Like, why would Paul be writing

about his skin?

But what he actually means

is when he says flesh,

he's talking about a worldview,

an orientation of the heart

and the mind.

So that's what he's talking about.

And then he talks about also

in those verses

that God,

knowing that humans

cannot save themselves

from their selves,

He sent his Son.

He sent his Son

to walk among us,

to be fully flesh,

but fully God.

And he dwelt among us,

and he lived a perfect life.

And then he took on

the sin,

the criminal's death

that we deserved,

and died on the cross,

and then he rose again.

See,

it required the ultimate sacrifice

to be saved from ourselves.

And it could only be done

through the Son of God,

Jesus Christ.

And then,

the issue,

the law that I talked about earlier,

the Mosaic Law,

the issue that happened

because the human heart

is so corrupt

that they tried to make it

the ultimate,

the ultimate thing

for them to become saved,

that they followed this rule,

this rule,

this rule,

that they would be

almost in a sense enlightened.

But that's not the case.

Because Christ came

while we were still sinners

and lost in ourselves.

You see,

it's by faith,

not by works.

It's for those

who have put their faith

and trust in Jesus

will have eternal life.

Not those

who have done this,

this, and this

will have eternal life.

And the liberating work

of the Spirit

only takes place

in the context

of Christ's work.

And if we continue

in verse 5,

verse 6,

verse 6,

verse 6,

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.

When an athlete...

I'm losing my voice.

When an athlete...

When an athlete trains,

they're oriented

for a goal.

And that goal

motivates all their actions

that they do,

following up to that goal

they want to reach,

whether it's

an Olympic medal

or a 5k race

they want to run

or something like that

or a weight

they want to lift.

Everything they do

is oriented to it.

And there's nothing wrong

with Christian athletes.

But when it comes down

to it,

it comes down

to the identity.

Does the goal

replace God?

Are you living

for your flesh

or are you living

for the Spirit?

What is your mind

thinking about?

You see,

those verses

I just read,

there's action words

within those verses.

There's walk,

live,

and set.

Now,

some of you

might be asking,

what does that look like

for a Christian?

What does it look like

for a Christian

to live by the Spirit?

Well, walk,

that could be

going to church,

reading scripture,

or volunteering

within the church.

When live,

what does that look like?

It could be

an outward appearance.

Do you talk about

your faith with people,

people who do not

know the Lord?

Do you attend

a small group?

And then there's

set the mind,

and that is

meditating on scripture,

that is praying

and worshiping God.

And then

when people

walk in the flesh,

it's the opposite

of all what I just said.

You're living

for yourself,

that self-gratification,

and that is what

this text is talking about.

And I acknowledge

there could be

people here

who've been hurt

by the church.

They've been hurt

by people who,

what other people say,

are very holy,

and they're confused

by that.

And I'm not going

to defend them.

But I will

say one thing.

Jesus came for them,

he came for you,

and he came for me.

See,

the human heart

has always been corrupt,

and even though

people have put

their faith and trust

in Christ,

we still battle

with the flesh.

And in verse 9,

Paul writes,

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

from the dead

will also give life

to your mortal bodies

through the spirit

who dwells in you.

See,

when you put your faith

and trust in Jesus,

you're given the spirit

that dwells within you.

It gives you assurance.

It gives you assurance

that what you have

was given to you,

and it will not be

taken from you.

And without the spirit,

you're lost.

There's nothing

that can guide you.

There's nothing

that motivates you

because the heart,

until Jesus returns,

will always be battling

against itself,

battling against the flesh.

Now, some of you

might be saying,

whether you're online

or in person,

you might be saying,

so what?

How can you believe

in this stuff?

How can you believe

in the spirit?

Angels are a God.

The only thing I can say

is give my personal testimony,

a brief thing of it.

I believe in a created world

and that humanity

in its pride

sinned against God

and became cursed.

But God knew

it couldn't save itself

from itself.

So he lovingly sent

his only son

to become sin

and die a death

we deserve.

And Jesus rose from the dead

and is glorified.

And those who put their faith

and trust in Jesus

will have eternal life.

The spirit is given

to believers

to guide,

convict,

and comfort them

in times of need

and despair.

See, my life

was so different

before I came to faith.

And I still struggle

with things from my past.

But I can't deny

something happened to me

to draw me to Christ.

It was not my own doing.

Regardless of what people

with science backgrounds,

psychology backgrounds,

atheistic backgrounds,

and other religious

backgrounds may say.

When I was 18,

I walked into a church

as someone so angry

at the world.

I wanted to die.

I was addicted to drugs,

heading either back to jail

or into a self-inflicted overdose.

And two hours later,

I came out as someone

completely different.

My anger,

my addictions,

my worldview,

my shame,

was completely changed.

Now, some may say

I experienced a chemical change

in my brain

that can be explained like that,

or I was brainwashed.

But all I can say

is how can you deny

or explain

the millions of changed lives

that have lived

through the centuries

over one fact.

All these lives

that are changed.

Myself,

you could be sitting here,

your life has changed

over one fact.

And that is

that Jesus rose from the dead.

People have been martyred.

They've gone to jail

over that one fact.

And I know

there's also people here

who have never had

that conversion moment.

They've always just known

that Jesus is their Lord.

And that is a beautiful thing.

You should cherish it.

But the Spirit was given

for the reason of assurance.

You see,

when the Spirit is within you,

dwells with you,

he helps guide you

to walk,

to live,

and to set your mind

to think about Jesus and God,

to live a life

that is holy to God.

You see,

Paul,

leading up to this verse,

in chapter 7,

he's writing about

his struggle with his flesh.

He wants to do this,

but he's constantly doing this.

He wants to do that,

he's constantly doing that.

He is so conflicted,

he cries out,

wretched man that I am.

He is so conflicted.

And then,

he writes in verse 1,

chapter 8,

There is therefore now

No condemnation

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who struggle with greed, with lust, with doubt, with addiction, with shame, with envy, with jealousy, with regret.

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

Because that is a free gift given to those who have put their faith and trust in Christ.

The Spirit is within you.

You have that assurance, regardless of what you're going through, regardless of what you've done.

There is always that assurance.

And you see, in verse 11, it talks about the end times.

It talks about the end.

You see, you can either have eternal life or you can be lost in yourself.

God will just give you up to your desires.

But this is the new year.

People make resolutions around this time.

If you are here and you do not believe in Jesus, you're skeptical.

You struggle with that idea.

I would encourage you this year to set a resolution for one year to explore Christianity.

Read good books on it.

Talk to people who know what they're talking about.

Take a course on it.

And if you are here and Jesus is, in fact, your Lord and Savior,

rest in the assurance of Christ's work.

It is finished.

The Spirit is within you.

And you can pray this prayer that John Newton prayed.

Teach me to live by faith.

Conform my will to thine.

Let me be victorious in death and then in glory shine.

You see, the Bible has such a magnificent promise that Christ came for humanity.

For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son,

for that all who believe in him will have eternal life.

Rest in Jesus.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, as I said earlier, this text can bring people to anger,

can bring people to despair, can bring people to joy.

And I just ask, Lord, right now that your Spirit would just minister to our hearts and minds.

Help us, Lord.

Convict us where we need convicting.

Give us encouragement where we need encouragement.

And I just pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.