Romans 8 | Clayton Hentzel

Crossing family. How good was that baptism video?

I just do not ever want us to take that for granted because we

don't deserve that kind of grace.

But man, he's giving it to us. If you are.

Here for the first. Time or the first time in a

long? Time.

We are so incredibly glad that you are here.

You are here on. Potentially a sermon on the best

chapter in scripture. Yeah, I said this a couple weeks

ago. There's Romans 5, there's Second

Corinthians 5, and there's Romans 8.

And I'm just incredibly glad that you're here to hear it.

Hopefully somebody invited you. Somebody told you that our

church loves you. And I hope that what you

experienced today will change you to those of you who are part

of the crossing nation. Gathering at all of our

different locations, those of you watching online, and to

those of you who are part of our inside family, God bless you.

We welcome you, and we're incredibly thankful that we get

to do ministry with you. I want to do a quick.

Recap of. Romans Chapter 7 and then we're

Romans 7 · chapter mention

going to jump right into Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

The big issue in Romans Chapter 7 is how do people who were

Romans 7 · chapter mention

holding on to the law and those who were not holding on to the

law? Figure out a way to get along

and the Jews who received the law who received.

The Old Testament, we're kind of proud of their position for

having the. Instruction from God.

But they weren't following it. They weren't really living by

it. In fact, the law revealed.

Just how sinful and messed up they really were.

All it did on the good side is reveal how good and righteous

God. Is it would be kind of like.

Me telling my oldest. Son to not hit the my youngest

son and. Then him hitting him.

Anyway, any parents in the room? OK, so I've given him the law

and he's disobeyed it. But to.

Go a step further. The oldest son claims

superiority. Over the younger.

Son because after. All dad is the one who gave.

Me the instructions about not hitting people.

That was what was. Happening in this church.

So Paul has been moving these people inside of this division

issue, trying to unify them, and then he gets to Romans chapter

Romans 8 · chapter mention

8. And he.

Gives us a picture of God that you and I can't fathom.

The scariest part of. Writing this sermon.

Is that it's just such a good. Chapter.

And yet it's so hard for us to own it, to walk in it.

There's a story in scripture of the sower who goes out to sow

seed, and some falls on the hard path.

And some falls up amongst the rocks, and some falls amongst

the thorns, and then some falls on the good soil.

And the. Crazy thing about Romans. 8.

Is it just is so hard for it to get all the way into us just how

good God is because. You and I, we.

Struggle in our relationship with God because we need a

better picture of Him. And if you can, allow Romans 8

into your heart. It would give you an unshakeable

faith. So I preach this to you not as a

person who's arrived, but a person who's on the journey.

Trying to take it all in Romans. Chapter 8, verse.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

One, 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 for what the law was powerless to do because it

was weakened by the flesh, So what the law couldn't do, God

did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to

be a sin offering. So Jesus wrapped himself in the

stuff that looks like you and me.

He identified with sinful man to become a sin offering for you

and me. And so he condemned sin in the

flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law

might be fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh,

but. According to the Spirit.

Now when he says but now, so right.

Here where? He says.

There is now. He is pointing back for those of

you who've been on this. Sermon series The whole.

Time He's pointing back to two. Verses that are critical to

understanding Romans chapter. 8 He's pointing back to Romans 321

and Romans 7 verse six. But now, apart from the law, the

righteousness of God has been made known to which the Law and

the prophets testify. The answer to this question Who

does? Who is this righteousness apart

from the law that the law and the prophets testify?

Who has been made known? This is literally.

The Sunday School answer. Jesus, when you read the Old

Testament saying hey. That guy right here.

Then the second thing Romans 76 But now, by dying to what once

bound us, the law, we have been released from the law, so that

we serve in a new way of the Spirit.

Not in the old way of the written code.

So I'm. Going to take.

You all the way. Back to right here.

But now there is no condemnation, no condemnation.

If you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ, there is no

condemnation over your life. This takes place both vertically

and horizontally. In other words, vertically in

the heavenly court. On judgment Day, those in Christ

Jesus will receive a favorable sentence.

This includes both the sentencing and the execution of

judgment. And if the vertical is solved,

then the horizontal is served as well.

Because if God will not condemn us, what right does anybody on

earth have to? Condemn us.

You may not know this about me, but I have been to.

Court yuppers. And I've had to plead my case on

a couple of. Issues one time.

Was for a speeding ticket. A couple times I didn't have to

show up to court because I had an attorney who got me out of a

speeding ticket. God bless him.

But one time I did a bad thing and I had to show up.

And here's the tough part. I was waiting for a sentence

knowing I was guilty. I was hoping for him to say I

was. Innocent knowing I was.

Guilty apart? From Jesus Christ.

When you and I. Die when you and I face the

judgment. We arrived there knowing.

We are guilty. No one is good.

Except him. But because of Jesus's work on

the cross and us receiving that work by faith, we show up to the

court knowing that he has made it right.

He has paid the sentence, He has served the time.

He has made us right vertically with God.

And if God is not going to condemn us, and He's the one who

has the right to condemn us, what right does somebody here on

earth have to? Condemn you.

Now let me keep going. Who is this for?

Who gets to experience this? No condemnation reality.

What do you got to do to get that?

That sounds pretty fantastic. You ever heard of somebody going

on a nice vacation or getting cool tickets to go somewhere?

Be like well, how do you? Get that?

Well, you got to know somebody. Well, who's the somebody?

I don't know if I'm at liberty to tell you who they are, but

they know me, and that matters. So I get to go.

But you you don't. You see these people?

Getting this. No condemnation treatment.

Who gets that? How do I get that?

We got to know somebody. The difference is.

The person you get to know is doing everything in its power.

To be made known this. No condemnation, life is.

For you, I got good news. For you.

If you're rich. If you're poor, if you're

pretty, if you're ugly, if you're skinny, if you're fat.

Let me pause on fat for a second.

I make. Jokes in my sermons and it.

Seems like the only thing about my sermon you remember.

Is when I make fat jokes, so when I.

Was hanging out with a guy. This week he goes, You know what

my wife's favorite part of the sermon is when you said which

ones went in? Scat or Fat Clayton or Skinny

Clayton? She reached over and.

Touched my belly in service. She reached over people to touch

my belly in service. So listen.

If you don't, learn other things in the sermon.

I'll stop being funny, OK? I'll make this old school

church. All right, now who's this for?

It's for rich people and poor people.

Pretty people and ugly people. Skinny people and fat people.

Those of you who grew up with the right family.

Those of you who grew up in the wrong family.

Those of you who have the right upbringing.

Those of you who have the wrong upbringing.

Those of you who have it together, those of you who are

trying to fake it like you have it together, Those of you who

are messed up, those of you who see yourself as big sinners and

those of you who see yourself as little sinners, this is for you.

Turn your neighbors, say this is for you I'm talking about.

You this, no condemnation status with God is for you.

Whether this is your first time or the first time in a long

time, this no condemnation that you can have with God.

This right relationship that you can have with him is for you.

Well, how did God make that happen?

How did he turn that into a reality?

Here's what happened. God gathered up all of the sin

in all of human history. And he gathered it into one

place, and he laid it on Jesus and Jesus.

Took it all so that you could have no condemnation when it

comes to your relationship with God.

It's like. You pull the confetti cannon in

your basement and confetti's everywhere.

Or maybe it's glitter everywhere.

Or you know, if you're a person who's had water in your basement

and you have water. Everywhere.

What do you do? You get the broom out and you

you go around the edges and then you start pushing it to the

middle in sections and then you push it from the other side.

And then you start to walk around it until you've created

into one mound. And then you either you sweep it

up if it's confetti or you suck it up if it's water.

You you gather it into one place.

That's what he did with. Your sin.

He took all the sin of human history before the cross, and he

and He gathered it into one place.

He took all of your sin, the sin that you, you were doing, that

you didn't even know. Was a sin.

And he just went around the edges.

And he pushed it in. On the sins you you knew were

wrong, he went around the edges, and he and he gathered it into

one place. He He took the sins you feel.

Bad about and he. Swept it to the.

Middle and. And then he he took all the sins

that you don't. Feel bad about?

That's one of the things about Jesus I don't.

Get is he died for the parts of me that I know that are wrong,

but I don't feel bad about feeling them.

And he gathered it in the. Middle there's another thing I

don't get. About Jesus he.

He gathered the sins I. Haven't even done yet.

Here's another thing I don't get about Jesus.

He He gathers the sins that I committed after I gave my life

to him. After I knew better, after I

believed better, He. He gathered those two He

gathered your tomorrow sins in your in your next week sins.

He He gathered your next month sins.

He He gathered your next year. Since he gathered every sin for

all of human history from now until the time he comes back, He

gathered it into one place, and he put it all on the one person

who didn't deserve it. He's that good.

Our God is just that good. Satan tries to steal, but God

comes to bring freedom. Jesus sucks out the venom of

sin. He draws out the venom into his

veins. He's like a bomb squad that

takes all the sin of human history into the middle of

nowhere and then detonates it on himself so that nobody else is

scathed. Well, how did he do this?

Well, it's because he became inverse.

What am I at now? Verse 3?

He became a sin offering. The sin offering happened in the

Old Testament. This is why the Old Testament

matters. The sin offering is where they

would place the sins of humanity on an animal.

It was a way for them to transfer the guilt, transfer the

weight, transfer the betrayal, transfer the pain.

And they would put it on an animal.

They would call an animal the sin offering and it included.

Both their intentional sins and their unintentional sins.

But it also included their sense of ignorance.

I didn't mean to do it. I knew I shouldn't have done it,

and I didn't know it was. Wrong and they?

Put it on this animal and then as the animal went away, the

people experienced 2 things. As the animal left their

presence, they experienced forgiveness.

For both the Commission of the sins they committed and the

omission of the things that they were supposed to do, it is

possible to sin by not doing the thing that God calls you to do,

because when God calls you to it, you are supposed to do it,

and that means he died for. Those things too.

So they experienced A forgiveness, but they also

experienced a purification, in other words.

Through the sin offering, the people became worthy to

experience full participation in life with God.

He made us worthy to be around the one we harmed.

He made us so right with God that we can be in the presence

of the one we offended, of the one we let down.

There's some of you. You've messed up so much in your

life. You are under the impression

that you could never be made right with God because of what

you've done. But you are not made right with

God based on everything that you have done.

You are made right with God because of everything that.

He has. Done.

That's how good our God is. Romans 8.

This is where we're at verse 14. For those who are led by the

Spirit of God are the children of God.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live

in fear again. Rather, the Spirit you received

brought about your adoption to sonship, and by him we cry.

ABBA. Father, hear me, God does not

make you a second class citizen. That's what we would expect.

Okay, I get it. There's no condemnation.

You've made me right. I'll just be a second class

citizen in the Kingdom of heaven forever because of everything

I've done. He'll let me into the house, but

he'll never make me his. He says the spirit he puts

inside of you makes you a a son or a daughter.

And by this spirit we get to cry ABBA father.

We get to say this is what it's getting at.

We get to say Daddy, there was an old preacher of a successful

church. Who was a suit and tie?

Kind of. Guy.

And every time he showed up to preach, he was.

Wearing a suit and tie, he. Hired a young buck preacher to

come in. And start preaching alongside of

him, and he was. More of a blue jeans and button.

Downs kind of guy. And the old preacher kind of got

frustrated, the young preacher at the church, and he said,

don't you think you should be bringing your best to God on

Sunday? What would you do if you got

invited to go meet the president of the United States?

Wouldn't you dress up to meet him?

And the young preacher looked at the old preacher and said I

wouldn't if. He was my dad.

There's an attorney in. Our church, who I love dearly

and every. Time I go visit.

Him. I dress up because I.

Just want to be. Respectful to him.

But his kids don't have to dress up to see him.

Because his kids get to call him dad.

When you come into a right relationship with God through

Jesus, you get to start calling him dad.

You get to sit on his lap, have that kind of loving

relationship. Well, now that I'm in this.

Relationship with God and. He's my dad.

How do I talk to God when I don't know what to say?

How many of you have ever been in a spot?

Where you don't know how to pray.

You've ever found yourself in a spot and you don't know what to

pray. You've ever found yourself in a

spot, and you don't even know what words to use for the pain

you're navigating, The frustration you're feeling, the

hurts you're feeling, and you're going.

I know I'm supposed to call you dead, but I don't even know how

to put what I'm feeling into words to talk to God.

What do you do when you don't know what to say?

What do you do when you don't know what to pray?

This is. How good our God?

Is in the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself

intercedes for us with wordless groans.

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.

I'm going to teach you something here for a second.

Imagine this is a table. Okay, you can tell I didn't do

well in art school. And I want you to call this.

Table your prayer. There is this word inside of

this. Passage.

I just read the word is help. In the same way, the spirit.

Helps us in our weakness. The word helps is the Greek

word. Tsunanti lombonomi.

Tsunanti lombonomi you don't have.

To remember, but you might as well say it.

Tsunanti Lombonomi. It means something specific.

Pay attention. It means together on the other

side, to take hold. So here's you and your prayer

life. I don't know what to say.

I don't know how to say it. I don't got the words to put it

together. You can't lift up the prayer by

yourself. If I stand here, I'm a strong

guy. I can't get this thing off the

ground. But soonatti lombotomi, the

Spirit helps us now. Remember what it says.

Together on the other side, the Holy Spirit comes together with

you. On the other side of you and he

lifts the prayer to God with you.

He says what you can't. Say he.

Mutters the words you can't put together.

He prays on your behalf to help you navigate the pain you are

experiencing, and he intercedes with perfection because he knows

and understands the will of God. What do you say when you don't

want this? Don't know what to say?

You say nothing at all, knowing that the Spirit He has placed

inside of you is. Praying on behalf of you, that's

how. Good our God is do you wish

your? Prayer life was better.

Do you find yourself at a loss for words when you don't know

what to say? When you find yourself wordless

and empty and inadequate? When you feel overwhelmed by the

weight of what you're facing? When you find yourself ill

equipped to speak to a holy and perfect God?

The Spirit. Helps he comes.

Alongside of you together, on the opposite side, And he takes

hold of you, and he takes hold of your prayer.

Romans 828 And we know that in all things God works for the

good of those who love him, who have been called according to

his purpose. We used to have a guy in our

house. Named Ryan Garrity.

And Ryan Garrity. He's not good at a lot of

things. But.

Boy, can he cook. That's a profile shot.

I'm living proof. Of what the?

Cooking of Ryan Garrett. Can do.

You may not believe me now, OK. He's such a good.

Cook that he's. One of those guys that can go

into a. Kitchen or a pantry and go.

What do we have? How many of you guys?

Your wife has said what do we have?

And it's been a good. Meal, you know.

I mean, I I can whip something. Together, Ryan.

Garrity can whip something. Together, Ryan Garrity can send

you to the store to get things, and you can forget things and

bring some of the wrong things. And he can still put on a

spread. You guys may have heard me talk

about this. Did you know that?

There's mayonnaise in Portillo's.

Cake I think that was, I think. It was made by a descendant of

Ryan Garrity. I know we're going to make a

cake. What do we got?

Mayonnaise. Put it in, put it in.

We got a We got a guy in our church.

He invited me over to his house. We had Philly cheese steaks and

he put Philadelphia cream cheese on the on the bun.

Yeah, you're looking at me right now like I'm stupid, but I weigh

more than you. So I don't.

Know if that worked first. My point is the right Maybe

you're smarter for not being as fat.

As I am. But I'm just telling you, I know

good food. You wouldn't guess that putting

some Philadelphia cream cheese on some bread before you have a

Philly cheese steak would be the right idea.

You wouldn't think putting mayonnaise in your chocolate

cake would be a good move, but when?

God. Goes into the kitchen of life.

He can take even your worst moments.

And whip up something good. That's how good our God.

Is There is nothing that our God can't redeem.

There is nothing that our God can't repurpose for his glory

and for our good. I've seen God take broken

marriages and use it to help other people put their.

Marriages back together. God can redeem things.

He is working for their good. Behind the scenes, I've seen

addicts turned into Ministry leaders and mentors at Regent.

I've seen them take infertile people and make them wonderful

Foster and adoptive parents. I've seen God take the very

worst of us and turn it into the best part of us.

And who can do? That only God can.

God promises that your pain will not be without purpose when you

place it in His hands. Now I know you'd like a life.

Without pain, so would. I but that.

Place is called heaven, and we're not there yet.

But what God does? Promise is that he will.

Come to you in the middle of your.

Pain. And if you will give him your

pain. And you will give him your sin.

He can redeem it. For his glory and for your good,

and nobody else can do that. So, Paul.

Gets to the end of Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

And he goes what? Shall that's never what?

Shall we say then, in response to these things?

If God is for us, who can be? Against us.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also, along with Jesus, graciously give us all

things? Who will bring any charge

against those whom God has chosen?

It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who

condemns? No one.

Christ Jesus, who died more than that who was raised?

The life is at the right hand of God is also interceding for us.

So right now the Holy Spirit is inside of you interceding on

behalf of you. And Jesus is sitting next to the

Father, interceding on behalf of you.

If God's for you, what can't he do?

Who can be against you? He's just that good.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or

nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake,

we face death all day long, we are considered as sheep to be.

Slaughtered. No, in all these things we are

more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I'm convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels

nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

neither height nor depth or anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in

Christ Jesus our Lord. This does not mean that in this

life we will not have trouble. It does not mean that we will

not experience hardships and heartache.

Some of us will live lives where things do not go up and to the

right. Some of us will live lives where

we experience hardships due to our belief in Jesus.

However, the things that happen on this earth cannot separate

you from the love of God. Nothing can interfere with what

he has done on your behalf in advance.

Here's what I'm saying. If God's for you, who can be

against you now? Hear me?

I'm not saying God's for your business.

I'm not saying God's trying to help you buy a boat.

I don't want you going home tattooing this and saying, you

know, I've been trying to get a girlfriend because my wife's not

enough. He's not for that either.

Here is what God is for. He is working nonstop, never

sleeping. He is working for your good and

for His glory. He never takes a day off trying

to repurpose your pain. He never takes a day off of

loving you, caring for you, providing for you, putting

breath in your lungs that you and I don't deserve if God is

for your salvation. If he's for your justification,

if he's for your eternity, who can stop him?

No one. No one.

If God is pursuing a relationship with you, who can

get in the way? If he was willing to send his

son to die on the cross for you, what won't he do on your behalf?

He's already. Given you his very best.

And there might be some of you right now at this point in time

in the message. Who are going well?

This message. Is good for somebody, but you're

not quite sure it's good for. You because you're like me.

You got a past and the hardest part of my.

Relationship with Jesus is getting over my sin.

Because I'm. Fully aware of how jacked up and

messed up I am and you might be thinking, well that's great news

for all the. All the one O 1 centers.

But you got a doctorate and stupid.

I got multiple doctors and I got an honorary one too at the

county jail in Lee County, Iowa, you might be thinking.

But man, Satan. Satan.

Never seems to take a day off either.

Maybe Satan can stop me from experiencing this, so I'm going

to read to you. Romans 837.

Through 39 again. Know in all.

These things. We are more than.

Conquers through him Who? Loved us for I'm.

Convinced that neither death nor life pause.

God never stops loving you even when you're dead.

All the people who are in hell. All the people.

Who died outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ

he never stopped loving. How good is the heart of God

that he never stops loving you? So whether you're dead or

breathing, he doesn't stop neither angels or demons.

You might be going, man, I got demons in my life.

I got demons trying to stop me. You might be thinking, man,

you're super intune to the spiritual world and you think

that there's demonic activity in your home.

And because there's so much demonic activity in my home,

God's love can't get through. Not true.

Because even angels and. Demons don't have the.

Power. To stop God from loving you.

Neither the present nor the future.

Well, God, because of what I'm going through right now, I've

probably given you reason to stop loving me, and some of you

are going, but I got. I'm doing it right now, but I

have a track record of doing it. Right.

And then doing it wrong and doing it right and then doing it

wrong and I don't know where I'm going to be at in the future.

And it's the story of the people who call the crossing home

they'll be. People have a great.

Run following Jesus and then they fall off the Cliff.

And while they are on their way to rock bottom or hitting rock

bottom, Satan introduces this lion to their spirit.

After all the good things you've done, how could you have done

what you did? And there's no way that God

loves you now. But he says.

Even what you do in the future can't stop me from loving you,

whether you were on the mountaintop.

Or in the. Valley or you have hit rock.

Bottom God predecided. To love you, that's how good.

He is or anything else in all. Creation, that means anything.

Will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in

Christ Jesus our. Lord, what is being conquered?

How are we more than conquerors? And what are we conquerors over?

We are more than conquerors because of Him.

And what are we conquerors of our sin, our past?

Our failures, our condemnation, our hell have been conquered by

King Jesus because God sent him on my behalf.

Nothing can stop God from loving you, which means God can be

trusted because he did what nobody else can.

Do God can be trusted because he's never given up on you.

God can be trusted because he has forgiven you, purified you.

And nothing will stop him from loving you.

That is how good God is. Room to a time.

Decision. I mean, I was chasing a booger

the whole. Sermon, it's just all I wanted

to do is. Like God bless.

Me with someone who? Cares about Kleenex?

Be honest. You go home with a booger, your

word's coming down and try and preach a 30 minute sermon.

Probably should have held the moment there.

That's just how good he is. So hear me this.

Invitation time is not about whether or not God loves you.

This invitation time is whether or not you love him.

Our life. Is supposed to.

Be a response to him. I want to say I don't know how.

You could go home and live the same, but I I know how because

I've done it. I don't know how you could hear

about God being that. Good on your behalf and.

And go back to being stupid. But I I I've done it.

But we need moments. Like this to shut.

Down and quiet. The whispers of our soul and the

whispers of. Satan and.

Allow God's piercing. Truth all the way into your

heart. So those of you who are.

Christians, we must live. A life in response to this kind.

Of work. To this kind of love on our

behalf, and if you're willing to humble yourself just a little

bit and go, God, I I got to get some things ironed out.

I got to get some things squared away.

Because your life communicates whether or not you have received

and whether or not you actually do love God, it sends a clear

message. Hell is full of.

People that God loves. It's just also full of people

who chose to not love God back. They never wanted to receive

what he did on their behalf. They never wanted to receive

what he did to make them right and as Christians.

We must do everything in our power to respond to that message

and to champion that message everywhere we go.

That's why the gospel is called good news, because have you ever

heard better news than that? So just a few moments, I'm

encouraged if you're a Christian and you, you got some stuff

going on, or maybe you got some stuff you need to.

Sort out. Would you come up here and just

get down on your knees? Do everything in your power to

get right with Him. And to those of you who are in

this room and those of you who are watching online who have

never started an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus

Christ, don't put it off. He did all of that on your

behalf, but you have to receive it.

The good news is, he is ready to receive you.

Right now, would you stand with me, God, I'm asking that you

would do something that only you can do in a way that only you

can do it to bring about a change to make the kind of

difference in our lives that only you can make.

And God, I pray that you would do a work in our church, right?

Now. A work that doesn't just change

us. But a work that changes our

families, a work that doesn't just change our families, A work

that changes our community got do a.

Work. In each of us in your name I

pray. Amen.