Christ Lives Within You | Ps. Nate Capshaw

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you for joining us.

To learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at Celebration ORL or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.

Morning.

Welcome to Celebration Church Orlando.

So thankful that you are here on this beautiful floor today.

I think we can give God a little bit of praise for the weather, right?

You decided to be the ones who said, you know what?

Despite the good weather, I'm going to go worship God.

That's right.

Extra crowns for you in heaven.

If you haven't had a chance to meet me, my name's Nate.

I'm one of the pastors here.

And just so thankful that you are here this morning, especially if it is your first time, like Cassie said earlier.

I want to extend a special welcome to you.

If you have any questions or comments or angry letters, send those to the P.O.

box.

Other than that, come out to the tent.

And I'd love to meet you and just thank you for being here this morning.

A lot of familiar faces this morning, so welcome home to all of you who call Celebration Church your home.

Grateful that you are with us as well.

Want to extend a welcome to everybody who's watching online.

Grateful that you're with us, whether it's right now, tomorrow, or 10 years from now.

Hopefully we're not meeting at the Orlando Museum of Art 10 years from now.

But if you are in the Orlando area, would love to have you here at 9 or 10 30 a.m.

on a Sunday morning.

We are continuing our series, The Spirit Within, this morning, and we'll be in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

If you have your Bible, whether that be digital or paper, Romans chapter 8 is still in the same place, whether digital or paper, so don't worry about it.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

It's still in the New Testament.

If you don't have a Bible, have no idea what I'm talking about, that's okay.

We have a Bible for you, actually out at the tent, and we'd love to gift that to you.

We have released our note-taking feature on the app.

So if you want to take notes, you can download the Church Center app and do that as well this morning.

But Romans chapter 8 is where our reading will be.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

If you got it, say I got it.

Okay, cool.

Romans chapter 8, verse 1 says, So now there is no condemnation, and that so now is uh basically because of what happens in chapter 7, but we don't have time to read chapter 7.

Romans 8:1

But so now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

We could close our Bibles right there and continue to worship God for that.

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.

So God did what the law could not do.

He sent his own son in a body like the bodies we sinners have, and in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his son as a sacrifice for our sins.

He did this so that the just requirements of the law would be fully satisfied for you and for me, for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature, but instead follow the Spirit.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death, but letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

For the sinful nature is always hostile to God.

It never did obey God's laws, and it never will.

That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature.

A great reminder to all those who are in Christ: you are not controlled by your sinful nature.

You're controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.

And remember that those who don't have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to Him at all.

And Christ lives within you.

Think about that.

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 the same Spirit living within you.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters at Celebration Church Orlando this morning, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.

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 called children of God.

This is God's word for us today.

Thanks be to God.

If you are taking notes and you want a title this morning, today's title is Christ Lives Within You.

Christ Lives Within You.

God bless you.

Let's pray together.

Lord, you're so good.

Lord, you're so kind to us.

You've created an opportunity for us to be able to worship you, the holy God of the universe in song.

We're able to come and be generous with our tithe and our offering, and somehow it's seen as a pleasing gift to you.

We're able to remember you through the act of communion.

We're able to fellowship with one another, God, and all of these things we're just grateful for.

Lord, we're thankful for your word.

We're thankful that it's in our pockets and on our bookshelves countless number of times.

Lord, we're thankful that you have provided it and you preserved it.

Lord, I have absolutely nothing to say.

Your word says it all.

And so this morning I just ask that you would illuminate our hearts and minds because of your Holy Spirit living within us.

It's in the name of Jesus we pray, and the church said Amen.

Can I be honest with you?

Can we be honest in church?

Is that cool?

Preaching's tough.

Today, for whatever reason, it's a little bit tougher for me personally, but I'm gonna give you and give God, honestly, the best that I got.

Is that okay with us this morning?

Romans.

Amen.

Romans chapter 8 is found in the longest letter we have from the Apostle Paul in our Bibles.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Instead of addressing isolated issues within the church like some of the other epistles seem to do, Paul arguably crafts the most thorough and comprehensive explanation of the gospel.

Up until this point in his letter, Paul has given a brief history of God's relationship with the Hebrew people and how he planned to bring worldwide restoration through those people.

Among other things, Paul demonstrates how everyone, by default, is born into sin and needs saving from death, and how placing our faith in Jesus is the answer to death.

And if you want your head to spin, you can read chapter 7 this evening before you go to bed, where he speaks about the paradox of God's law, how it is holy and effective, yet insufficient for pleasing God.

Our current series concerning the Holy Spirit was built on questions that we posed to you, that we submitted to you, members of our congregation.

And this morning I'd like to kind of turn that around on all of us and have us all consider a question.

Is that okay with you?

Here it is.

Has there ever been a time in your life?

Perhaps even that moment is right here, right now in that seat, perhaps you've felt dead inside.

Has there ever been a time in your life, perhaps even right now, when you felt dead inside?

Can you relate to emptiness, hopelessness, perhaps even misery?

When thinking of death, we typically project out to a future instance that will occur when we draw our last breath, right?

While the reality of bodily mortality tends to flood our minds, I believe the scripture has a little bit of a broader understanding of death.

In other words, death has the potential to affect more than just the body.

Death permeates all of existence.

Our entire being, our mind, our souls.

Marriages, friendships, businesses, churches, hopes, and dreams are all susceptible to the inevitable decay of death.

It's the code that just can't be cracked.

Even if the blood is flowing from the left ventricle of your heart to the rest of your body, even if the signals passing through the neurons in your brain are firing on all cylinders, the Bible informs us that death is an inward and potential outward experience for everyone.

Happy Sunday.

Romans chapter 5 explains that the plague of death is a result of one instance.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

And I believe this explanation is the clearest illustration for the severity of sin.

Because of one person's failure, the entire world, the whole of history, every plant, animal, region, and relationship is reeling from the impacts of this one decision to ignore God's guidance and exercise self-agency.

Thanks, Adam.

Doesn't that seem a bit unfair?

Come on.

Doesn't that seem a bit unfair?

I don't know about you, but the doctor in Greenville, South Carolina, who helped deliver me into this world, before he did that, I didn't have a one-on-one with God as to whether or not I wanted to inherit sin from Adam.

God didn't give me the choice of whether or not I wanted the trajectory of my life to head towards the grave.

By the mere fact of me being born, I've inherited the infection of sin and succumbed to its power, leaving me responsible and needing to be held accountable to God.

It's all a bit overwhelming, isn't it?

On a large scale, the complexities of global strife and malevolence can cause great anxiety or sometimes even just great indifference.

On a smaller scale, the anguish and tragedies we face as individuals produce worries and stresses that seem unquenchable.

Feelings that can leave us dead inside.

Unfortunately, our sin nature leads us to fall prey to the original sins absurdity of self-governance.

Think about it, God gives life to everything, including humanity, providing humans with the distinct honor of bearing his image and likeness, as well as the privilege of managing and overseeing all of creation.

Then humans get the bright idea to try and figure things out for themselves, ignoring God's wishes for them, to trust that he has provided everything they need, namely his presence.

Not much has changed, has it?

Think about what is being touted as the highest form of transcendence today, especially within our society.

The sovereignty of self is the zenith of existence.

The world says in order to experience life and inner peace, you have to find your true self.

Our society's current philosophy states that a life lived in total surrender to your every whim, will, and desire produces happiness.

Self-help, self-care, self-ownership.

How's that working out for us?

How's that working out for us, Church?

A few scrolls through your Instagram and a few seconds down your newsfeed will prove that the worship of self leads to the degradation of all.

Pointing out again the severity of sin and how one decision can impact everyone else.

If the notions, it's just one time, if I'm not hurting anybody else, it's okay.

I have the right to say and do whatever I want.

If those notions which stem from the inside of us are producing the unfavorable outward results that we're all witnessing, then something within us needs to change.

Or as the Apostle Paul puts it in Romans 7, oh, what a miserable person I am.

Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

You ever made a similar statement before?

Something to the effect of, I'm a lost cause.

There's no hope for me.

I feel like no matter what I do, I am unable to change, I am unable to experience freedom from my propensities and proclivities, especially the ones that are self-destructive.

Paul gives the answer for this predicament.

Thank God in Romans 8:3.

Romans 8:3

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.

In other words, my adherence to some high moral standard is insufficient for overcoming sin.

So what is?

So God did what the law could not do.

He sent his own son in a body like the bodies we sinners have.

And in that body, God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his son as a sacrifice for our sins.

We live on this side of the new covenant, meaning that there was a point in time where sin did have, in fact, have control, but God, through Jesus Christ, declared an end to that control and he put it to death.

Amen?

He did that so the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for me and for you, who no longer follow our sinful nature, but instead follow the Spirit.

God's original intent was to always dwell with his people.

However, sin interrupted God's intention, causing him to initiate the sacrificial system that we see within the law.

Now, this sacrificial system was meant to signify the need for restitution.

An animal's life would be taken, and the blood of that animal sprinkled throughout the tabernacle or the temple.

And these are basically the two iterations of God's home on earth, okay?

That animal that did not deserve death had its blood shed instead of the person who, because of their sin, did indeed deserve such a consequence.

This purification ritual was meant to symbolize lifeblood overcoming death brought about by sin.

Tracking with me.

This grants these spaces, the tabernacle and the temple, as holy and acceptable and able for God's presence to dwell.

However, this system is insufficient.

And it's just merely a foreshadowing of what was to come.

Because the Apostle Paul described Jesus as the new Adam.

He is what you and I were intended to be.

People in perfect unity with God.

The reason Jesus had to live a sinless life was because you and I are incapable of doing so, due to the fact that we have inherited sin through birth.

This is why Christ's conception by the Holy Spirit and his birth of the Virgin Mary is crucial to the plan of salvation.

Since Christ was not born into sin, he had the opportunity to abstain from failure and fulfill the law.

And this merits him as the only sufficient sacrifice.

Now, church, a decision to recognize our inadequacy and embrace the sacrifice of Jesus enables you to be purified and sanctioned to possess the presence of God.

It's not a tabernacle anymore.

It's not a temple anymore.

It's right here.

Ladies and gentlemen, the spirit within us is the very essence of Jesus Christ Himself.

Someone who has repented of their sins and professed their faith in Jesus possesses more than just some indistinct celestial power.

It's not God's sidekick.

Christians host the very nature of God's one and only Son.

Christ lives within you.

If you're interested in learning a little bit more about what a life lived for the Holy Spirit, with the Holy Spirit looks like, then look no further than the life of Jesus.

Even as a child, he was teaching the teachers.

He was obedient to his earthly parents and his heavenly father.

He spent the majority of his life preparing for what we would coin as his life's work and calling, three years of earthly ministry, the type that impact that shifted the course of human history.

He surrounded himself with people who didn't look depart, people who may be overlooked for being used by God.

And he invested in those people, most of which went on to lead the greatest movement in the world, one that still takes ground today, the church.

Jesus made time for the sick, for the broken.

He shared a table with the outcast, and he wasn't worried about whether or not his reputation would be tarnished by the people he surrounded himself with.

He endured the fiercest temptations and the ugliest persecutions.

He handled all the gotcha moments thrown at him with grace and truth.

Always knowing what to say and how to say it.

He willingly endured the most egregious form of injustice and never tweeted about it once.

He prayed for his enemies.

He forgave his accusers.

He was faithful to the will of the Father.

My friends, the results of a decision to recognize Jesus and Savior as Lord are life-altering.

Everything that I just recounted is possible for you and I today.

Not because we have a great will, because our church attendance is so awesome, it's because Christ lives within you.

Romans 8, however, gives us a few noticeable markers of a life governed by the Spirit of Christ.

The first of those markers is liberation from sin's control.

Romans chapter 8, verse 12 says, Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.

Romans 8:12

Let's think about this for a second.

If I'm the evil one, if I'm the enemy, and my job description is to steal, kill, and destroy, the most cunning way to do so is to convince humanity that sinful urges and decisions are just too difficult to overcome.

Can I be honest with you?

I believe that sometimes.

Personally, I believe that.

Sometimes I fall victim to that lie.

But you know what I want to believe even more?

I want to believe Romans 8.

I have no obligation to do what sin urges me to do.

Why?

Because Christ lives within me.

It doesn't have to be 9 or 10:30 a.m.

on a Sunday morning to encounter the presence of God through the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

If you are in Christ, Christ is within you and you have the power to overcome.

I know that that sounds incredibly oversimplistic, but doesn't need to be complex to be effective and true.

If Christ lives within us, we can overcome sin by fixing our attention on Him.

And a few things that can help us with that, examining His life.

We are so privileged to have four unique accounts of the life and words of Jesus in our pockets on an app or on our bookshelves.

Let's take advantage.

Let's read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Let's see how Jesus lived his life.

Let's see the words of life that flow from his mouth.

And let's examine our lives next to it and ask for his power to help us conform more to that in.

The second is commune with his people.

Be with other brothers and sisters who possess the same power, who possess Jesus Christ within them.

Confess your sins one to another so that you may be what?

You may be healed.

Not so that you can be smacked over the head with the Bible, so that you can be healed, free, forgiven.

Don't forsake the gathering.

Number two, I think something else that accompanies the life of people who are filled with the Spirit of Christ is we're able to please God.

Fathom that for a second.

Think about your life.

Think about the records of your life.

You are able to please God.

And it has nothing to do with who you are.

It has everything to do with the fact that Christ lives within you.

Romans 8.7, for the sinful nature is always hostile to God.

It never did obey God's laws and it never will.

That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature.

Romans 8.14, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

You're a child of God.

If it's that simple, if that's the only thing that you walk out of here with this morning, if you are in Christ, you are a child of God.

You are adopted into his family, and you have inherited all the rights and privileges that come along with that.

Can I get an amen to that, church?

There are so many other consequences that tend to accompany sin, ones that we don't often attribute to it, like feelings of insecurity, inadequacy, abandonment, isolation.

You know, outside of the obvious repercussions of poor behavior or wrong choices, our souls have tendencies to wonder about our worth, to question God's love for us.

You ever doubt God's endearment of you?

I do.

I doubt God's endearment of me.

When it he looked at Jesus before Jesus ever performed any miracle, and he said, This is my son in whom I am well pleased.

That spirit of Christ lives within you, and he can look at you and say, This is my son, this is my daughter, I'm well pleased.

Nothing to do with you, it has everything to do with the finished work of Jesus Christ.

So let's let our obedience to the Spirit flow from the joy of knowing that the just requirements of the law have been satisfied by Jesus.

There is no more work to be done to secure salvation and security in Christ.

It is finished.

And now God can be pleased.

Hopefully, one day you hear, well done, good and faithful servant.

Because you were awesome and great and preached a great message.

No, because Christ lives within me, because Christ lives within you, the ultimate good and faithful servant.

The third thing I think Romans 8 shows us accompanying the life of people who are filled with the Spirit of Christ is life with no end.

That sounds pretty cool.

Life with no end, Romans 8, 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.

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.

My friends, the greatest story ever told has no ending.

Jesus Christ overcame death, and because he lives within you, so you too have overcome death.

This earthly body will experience a conclusion because of sin, but you will inherit a heavenly body to be raised up on the last day, just as Christ was raised.

Because Christ lives within you, fear of death can take a back seat to the joy of eternal life and peace.

Hallelujah.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the message, this series was built on questions that we submitted to you.

And one of the prompts that we sent out read are, are there any scriptures on the Holy Spirit you want help understanding?

Somebody wrote in Acts chapter 1, verse 8.

Acts 1:8

And in the New International Version it says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

And kind of paraphrasing the question is basically the person wanted to know, what is this power that the passage speaks about?

My answer to the question is simple.

The power is the authorization to tell other about the good news.

You see, there are no other credentials needed other than that of Christ living within you.

Peter was not a rabbi, he was not a Jewish scholar, he was a simple fisherman.

He answered the call to follow Jesus.

And when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up.

And the power and authority, he explained the gospel.

And that resulted in 3,000 people repenting of their sins and being baptized.

Friends, if Christ lives within you, you are certified to tell others they too can receive this gift.

There's no ordination process needed.

You have everything you need.

That is power.

It's a gift that liberates us from sin.

You can tell them it's a gift that allows them to please God.

You can tell people it's a gift that grants them eternal life.

You can tell them it's a gift that gives them authority to tell even more people about it.

Speaking of telling more people about it, we have a pretty cool opportunity here as a church to do that.

Yeah, we do it here in our city, but we can do it abroad as well.

Our friends over at Vita Church Orlando, and I hope Vinny's coming up soon, otherwise it's gonna be Oh, hey buddy.

Thanks.

Our friends at Vita Church Orlando.

That was funny.

Our friends at Vita Church Orlando, who is uh what we would classify as kind of like a partner church in the city with us.

They several of them serve here at Celebration and um you're good friends with with them, and uh they actually invited us to be a part of a trip happening at the end of November.

They have locations in the Dominican Republic as well as Haiti, and they go there on a regular basis.

They have a church and a school also in Haiti as well, and they invited us to come and to share the good news with people uh who desperately need to hear it.

And so I'm extending that information or that invitation to you.

And you have everything you need, you have the power that you need if Christ lives within you to be able to take this opportunity and go.

All uh necessary travel expenses are going to be paid by Celebration Church Orlando.

And I'm looking for five people who want to say yes.

Um, there are a few people at the nine who said they were in, so maybe only a couple of spots left.

You have everything you need to preach the gospel.

You have the power of Christ living within you, you have a testimony of the things that He's brought you out of.

Do you feel dead inside?

Today, you can be brought to life.

Today Christ can live within you.

Or maybe you're at a place in your life where you've forgotten about the spirit living within you.

Your life doesn't necessarily reflect the reality of Christ's residence in your heart.

May I remind you today it is finished.

And because of that, you have access to all that you need.

Be reintroduced to Jesus, who lives within you, and watch your life resemble his more and more each day because of his grace.

Will you bow your heads with me, please?

Before we pray, I just want to give you an opportunity to respond so that I can pray with you so that we can pray together.

If maybe your answer to that question is, yeah, I feel dead inside.

And I think the reason I do is because I've actually never, I never asked Jesus to fill me.

I've never I've never surrendered to him.

I've I've never even recognized the fact that I needed him, or perhaps I did.

I just didn't know where to look.

Maybe you're in here today and you're like, you know, I did that, and I truly believe that that Jesus does live within me, but I'm not attuned to him.

I'm not giving him my attention so that I can be changed.

If you fall into either of those categories or somewhere in between, and you just want to be prayed for this morning and you want to pray together, just lift up a hand right here in your seat.

I'd love to pray with you.

Amen.

Amen.

God, you see hands, but God, you know hearts.

Thank you by the work of your spirit that you're just drawing us to yourself, Lord.

We thank you for the gift of your presence, and it can reside in us.

Not even a geographical location on the map, Lord.

You can live within us because of the finished work.

And so, Lord, that's why we worship you today.

That's why we thank you today.

Remind us throughout all of our days what we have access to the power, the liberation from sin, the ability to please you, the opportunity to live life with no end.

Even though these mortal bodies die, Lord, we'll be raised, and the opportunity to tell other people about it.

We thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.