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Morning, everybody. Good morning. How are you? Happy Independence Day weekend. It's good to see you.
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I see a lot of red, white, and blue out there this morning. We have got quite a a lot of sugar to put in this bag today. We're trying to put 10 pounds of sugar in a five pound bag. Would you stand with us and we'll get started? We've got a missionary to hear from, a video, and lots of good music.
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I'm gonna invite Scott to come forward. And I got a microphone for you right here. Would you join us in leaning on the everlasting arms?
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Worshiping together. Amen. It's good to see y'all. What a joy divine leaning on the everlasting arms what a blessedness what a peace is mine leaning on the everlasting arms leaning leaning
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on the
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everlasting arms oh how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way leaning on the everlasting arms Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
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leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning,
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leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. On the everlasting arms. What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms.
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I have blessed peace with my lord so near leaning on the everlasting
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arms leaning leaning on the everlasting arms on the everlasting arm. Leaning
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couldn't hear the bass
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up here. That's right. Gonna get there.
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It threw me off.
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You're gonna have to sing this one.
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Oh, I'm
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just kidding. Battle Hymn of the Republic. Obviously, I'm from the South but I think it's okay. We we're gonna let it go.
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It is absolutely okay.
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No, it's happy Independence Day. This is a great song and it looks to the glory of God actually ultimate So, let's let's sing it together.
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Eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored he has loosened there the lightning of his terrible Swiss sword his truth is marching on moving out glory I have seen him in the watchfires of a 100 circling cats. I have builded him an altar in the evening news and dance. I can renew. Just sins by the den of flaring lamps. Truth
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Amen. Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Okay. That was my fault.
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I have this little clicker thing and it was behind my back and I kept pushing the buttons accidentally. Pay no attention to the little girl back there actually doing a good job. Okay. So, announcements this morning. Summertime, we do have nursery available downstairs.
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It's for ages zero through five years old and there's also a new nursing room downstairs. It's a comfortable place, private place. So if the baby would like to, you may go downstairs and feed. New nursing rooms downstairs and that's good. Monday nights, we typically have a Monday night service every Monday night at 06:00, but tomorrow, rather than doing a Monday night service, we're going to gather here for the parade out on the lawn on the south side of the building over there.
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The parade passes right by and so it's a great time to gather. If you want a place to see the parade, it's a good place to gather right out there. So, Monday nights is not happening but Monday morning, parade 10:30 and there will be bagels and coffee and things like that provided out here. If you wanna come, this is a good spot. Because tomorrow is the July 4.
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So, happy Independence Day. If it doesn't come up on that screen, I don't remember it. If you're here last week, you can testify to that fact. So, would you stand up and greet one another check your bulletin for any other announcements.
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Okay, gang. Let's worship together. Let's rein her back in. Oh, beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of rain, and every gain divine oh beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years I now alabaster cities claim undemned by human tears America America God shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining see. I just love that big ending stuff.
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Try to milking that out. Thank you, Judy. Yeah.
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Amen. Amen. I think there's one more.
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Oh, good. Scratch that sermon. We're gonna sing all day today.
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Hymn number six seventy, if you wanna find your part, it's a nice chorus. Make me a blessing.
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To someone today tell the sweet story of Christ and his love tell of his power to forgive others will trust him if only you prove to every moment you live make me a blessing make me a blessing out of my life may Jesus shine make me a blessing oh savior I pray make me a blessing to someone today give as was given to you in your need love as the master loved you be to the helpless a helper indeed unto your mission be true make me a blessing make me a blessing out of my life may Jesus shine make me a blessing oh savior I a blessing to someone
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Amen. Y'all can have a seat. That one goes from the coal mine to the mountain top. Amen. That's high and low.
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I'm going to ask if the frontline team would come forward. We're going to take up an offering right now but I want to explain a little bit first. We are going to take up today two offerings. It's not because we didn't get enough the first time around, okay? And it's not not because we're behind.
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We are doing this because we have a special time four times a year. We have a special time set aside for our missionaries to come in. We invite four of the 20 something that we support to come in. Four of them per year. Now, the way it's worked out this year, Melissa is coming today, July 3 for the first time.
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Melissa Landis, our missionary, grew up here. We sent her out, commissioned her, and she has been working like six years actually down in South Africa. So, today, we will take up an offer in her after she speaks but this is the general fund offering to begin with. I just want you to know. Either one of em, you can write for First Baptist Church on the pay to the order of line of the check.
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The second offering, all of that is going to go for Melissa. We'll count it and we know where to send it. If you only brought one check this morning and you want to just give to one of em, give to Melissa, okay? And that's the second offering but worship through giving time. Would you pray with me that God would multiply?
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God, we do pray that you would take this these tithes and offerings and acknowledgement that you are the one. Every good and perfect gift comes from you. All that we have. Lord, we want to honor you with all that we have. Recognizing you are our provision.
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I ask you lord if you would extend through these offerings your good gospel to the ends of the earth. Would you give would you give voice to the gospel through these offerings? We pray that you would just as you did the loaves and fishes, multiply them that many would be fed. Lord Jesus, I thank you that you start right here and in this church, we can start right here. 90 West Kelly, Jackson, 07/03/2016.
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But lord, that these reverberations, these ripples in the water will extend to the absolute ends of the earth. In Jesus' name, amen.
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I'm so happy to be here again. Amen? Amen. It's great to be in the church. This is this is the best place for us to be, especially on Sunday.
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And our brother, Adam, wants to say that this song, it's a very dear song to our wonderful friend, pastor Don Young.
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Thank you, Florine and Frenchie. Appreciate that. I it's it is a privilege to introduce, but a lot of you don't need an introducing to Melissa. So, Melissa, would you come on up? Yep.
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It's time. There's actually a video that's gonna play before you come up. I'm sorry. You're right. So there's about a six minute video she's gonna play first, let you know what a day in the life of Melissa Landis in South Africa is.
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And if you dug a hole, I want you to know this. If you dug a hole straight from here, you know we always say you dig a hole to China? If you dug a hole straight from here, straight through the center of the Earth, it pops out on the other side, it would actually be in the middle of the Indian Ocean and the closest land place that's inhabited would be Durban, South Africa. So, literally to the ends of the Earth, first Baptist has sent out Melissa as far away as she can possibly get from us on land. This is a day in her life.
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Typical days like for me in Durban, South Africa. And, it starts pretty early because we live in a city. There's a lot of traffic, and so a ten minute drive, on a Sunday afternoon takes us about an hour in the morning and an hour after work. When we get to the office, we will have a staff meeting, and discuss about the different things that need to happen that day and, deliveries, pickups, and, different things that are happening, and then we will disperse and head out. These are a few videos of things that I've been up to this year and things that happened throughout different days.
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Stand up on the waves and walk with me. Journey through the door. Come see what I can see. All the reasons we were made. Who we were meant to be.
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One of the main things that we do at Crossroads is the delivery of anything from food parcels, beds, clothing, shoes, school uniforms to our OVC kids that we work with in the rural schools. Usually, TD and I will load up my truck and set off hiking through the hills and deliver the goods directly to the kids' stores to make sure they that they get the products. It's a really special way to be able to share the love of Jesus Christ with the people.
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Over here at TD's home, aka the Hope Center. I'm currently standing in her lovely garden, where she grows really nice beans and really hot chilies. The crush is right over there. TD runs that from her home with mama Eunice, teaches them and takes care of them. We just got back from Dwedway area where we are taking on new schools to do a breakfast feeding program in, and we're enjoying this lovely autumn day.
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See you soon.
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Thank you, First Baptist Church in Jackson for sharing Melissa with us. God bless you.
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Good morning. Thank you for hanging in on that video. My name is Melissa, for
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those of you who
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don't know me. And I've been in South Africa as a missionary, sent from First Bee for almost six years now. I've been partnering and volunteering with Crossroads, which is an NPO, not for profit organization, for about almost three years now. And I just wanted to tell you a little more of what I'm doing over there. On the screen there, you saw the JAM porridge.
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We partner with JAM, Joint Aid Management, to bring a breakfast feeding program to the rural schools. So there's a lot of kids who show up in the morning who come to school with empty stomachs, and maybe they haven't even eaten dinner that night. So it's difficult for them to focus. And a lot of kids tend to be a little more malnourished at different schools. So we are working with two local clinics to be able to identify the most at risk schools for malnutrition.
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And they've given us a list. And what I do is I take that list and I map out inland from Durban in a huge, big area where these schools are at. And then we will go and visit them and ask if they're on board to partner with us to do the breakfast feeding program in the schools. The teachers are the ones who mix up the porridge, and it's an instant porridge. And then they will give it to the kids.
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And it's specifically designed for ages four to six, so for little kids. And they've identified a gap there in the nutrition that they're not getting at that age. And this is fortified with the right vitamins to meet that. So my job is to GPS in my phone the different schools. And then I just hit the road and drive these back roads and find shortcuts.
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And I love it. I feel like God has designed me specifically with things that I love for this specific job. And so that's what I do. And that's one of the main things I've been focusing on. And then when I get back, I actually head back in a week from today.
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I'll be on a plane. And I will be following up with those schools. We were able to take on, I think in about six weeks, 18 new schools to start the breakfast feeding program in. And now we have a total of 32 schools that we're doing the breakfast feeding program in. And I think that's feeding around 3,500 kids, which is awesome.
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And then when I get back, I'll follow-up with the schools. And we might possibly even add more schools depending on how those original schools are doing, managing the porridge. And then other things I'm involved in are heading up our orphan and vulnerable children projects, which you saw we carry a lot of different things. Hiking, we just hike up hills and visit the homes, and sometimes it's a hike. It's a good 30 hike to their houses, and they're out in the middle of nowhere.
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And so it's a full day. And then there's a group coming out from California, a big group, that I'll be able to help lead some ministry with the end of this month. So I head back there in a week, and I'd appreciate your prayers. And I just want to say a huge thank you to this church because I put on the video there just the ways in which First Baptist, your giving, has been able to tangibly help different people over there with Pastor Shinny's church and CeCe's home and the Hope Center. All these all these lives are being impacted from your giving, and I just want to say a huge thank you.
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And I also want to encourage any one of you. I chose Michael W. Smith's song Rise specifically because it encourages me to go. And going can be stepping out these doors anywhere from your neighbor to your friend here in Jackson, and it can be going to the ends of the earth as Pastor Ray has mentioned. So I just want to encourage you guys to just be a light wherever God has you planted.
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And again, I want to say a special thank you. So thanks.
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Oh, Laker. We can do it again.
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Okay. So, I would like to invite up any current or former elder from this church and actually from any church. If you serve your church wherever that is, if you come forward and we're going to pray for Melissa but I'm asking Don Young. He was here as interim pastor two different times. Loves her, loves his church, and is an incredible encouragement to all of us.
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So,
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Now because he says, don't give pastor Don the microphone. He's never done anything in two minutes. This is a tremendous opportunity for us as a church to not only bless her, but to receive what God is saying. When pastor Ray asked me to do this, I went to be in prayer. I said, Lord, what word do you have to to give to her?
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Because it there's a tendency, especially when someone grows up in a church. There's a tendency for us to say, okay, she's gone. She's gonna go out. Go ahead. We pray for you.
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Bless you. But that's not what this is. The Lord gave me this word for her. What she's embarking on is uncommon mission. Something that's so unique, so special that God called her apart, set her apart to do and to be a part of, and we are a part of that.
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Amen. And so it's an exciting moment for the church. Yep. And then as I was reading, Jesus said, as the Father sent Me, so I'm sending you. And often we think that means, okay, Jesus came and now it's your turn.
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But that's not what it means. When you study it, it says, as the Father has sent Me, that very same way, I am sending you. Yep. Amen. That makes it much deeper, more profound.
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And the opportunity that you have is so powerful. And then the the big word that kept flashing on besides uncommon mission was harvest eyes. Well, the Bible said, open up your eyes and you'll see the harvest. Look what the Lord is at. The Lord has never asked us to pray for a harvest but for workers to go into the harvest.
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Amen. The harvest has always been there. It's outside in Jackson. It's there in Durban. Yep.
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And so, we're going to ask the Lord to give you harvest eyes this morning. So, when you go back, it it's not just going back and I know your heart. It's not just going back. You're going back excitingly but to focus upward. Amen.
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To not not not to get distracted with all the busy things you have but to focus upward and receive his harvest eyes to reap in the harvest that he has for you. So as we lay our hands on you and pray for you this morning, that's where we're going. Father God, thank you in Jesus' powerful name. Amen. What a beautiful opportunity you give to all of us, not only to bless Melissa, but to say thank you, father, for calling her.
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And as you, father, sent Jesus, you are sending Melissa the very same way. You're asking her to go and to share and to open up her eyes, to open up her eyes to see the harvest that's around her, the children that she helps feed, the young people that she teaches sports to, the adults that she enters into their lives, the families that she helps, that it goes beyond just doing but continues to be that she shares and she becomes part of the light that you are shedding in that great place.
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Amen.
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Lord, thank you. With those harvest eyes, we pray lord a great harvest for her as she sees people come to Jesus during these next days. We pray for safety as he travels next Sunday and bless her in the days and months ahead. In Jesus powerful name, amen.
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Amen. Amen. Thank you very much. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you, Don.
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So I will invite the frontline team to come back forward. This is not deja vu. This is actually happening. And we'll give you another opportunity, to support and send out. Melissa, would you pray with me?
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God, I think of Durban. I was there. I know TD and I know Cece and I know Freedom and I know Mahindra. I know that those houses were not there two years ago. I know that you use this place to do that.
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Lord, I pray that you would that you would confirm Melissa's call day after day that when the difficulty happens, lord, she knows that you have already been through it just as the father sent you. We're sending her. We want for her to know that our support goes with her. So, in Jesus name, lord, would you expand your kingdom among the Zulu and the Lhosa people and the other tribes that she encounters up in those Hills. And Lord, would you encourage and strengthen their team at Crossroads, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
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In Jesus name, amen.
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Thank you.
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Alright. Thank you very much. So, this sermon this morning, usually, I put up there exactly which verses we're doing today. It's Romans eight as far as
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we can get.
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Okay? I kinda designed this sermon like a Kit Kat bar. We're gonna break off wherever we need to get to. We'll leave the rest for next time. Alright?
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So, to start off with, last week actually, I made it through the last part of chapter seven and the first part of Romans eight but I felt like I didn't give it as fair a shake as it deserved and if you are a Christian and you don't have at least part of Romans eight as a part of your being, please study it. I I even considered this morning having just Romans eight printed out, given it to you, and let's all memorize it together and in three weeks, we're going to recite it together, okay? It's that good. You need to internalize this. So, we're gonna go back and hit it again and this is a great place to start.
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Romans eight one says, now, therefore now, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. Now, we could go back to Romans one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and see that we deserve the condemnation. There's no doubt about our sinfulness. We are sinful.
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There's no doubt about God's goodness. There's no doubt that God cannot bad sin. But Romans eight says, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now, in Christ Jesus is very very important right there because union with Christ is what it's all about. Y'all seen this slide before.
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We hit it in Galatians. We have hit it in second Corinthians. We've hit it again in Romans multiple times. Union with Christ is what it's all about. We'll go back and kinda review Romans one through eight after we get through eight but union with Christ needs to remain in our minds and it we can't help it as long as we pay attention to the scriptures because he's going to say it again and again.
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Verse two says, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. In Christ Jesus because union with Christ through faith is what it's all about. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death and last week, I got right here and I reached for an illustration that I could not find and I stood up here literally scratching my head going, is it going to come back? There are 10 of y'all that had heard the first service and nobody said it. Help.
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In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus. In this format, in this translation, it's right on life in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus and it modifies life and that's a good translation, no doubt about it but it can also modify this. In Christ Jesus has set you free.
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Actually, you can reverse the order a bit. Greek word order does not matter. The four for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus because union with Christ is what it's all about and the spirit of life, the Holy Spirit has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Now, the illustration I was reaching for and not finding last week is this, the law of gravity. The law of gravity applies to every natural born creation, and it is quite literally what holds us down.
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Do you have it? Are you with me? Law of gravity applies to all of us. Right? The law of flight allows those beings that God has designed and empowered to overcome the law of gravity.
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So, birds and insects and flying things can overcome the law of gravity because they have a superior law, the law of flight. Now, I know it gets more complicated than that. Physics matter and don't press this analogy too far because they all break down at some point but that's the one I was reaching for last week. Law of gravity applies but the law of flight overcomes that law of gravity. In this verse, we see that Christ in the law of the spirit of life has overcome the law of sin and death and with that, I want to sing a song actually.
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It is not a churchy church song. It is a country song. Pascal and I rode down to Salt Lake City, Friday night and for five hours, we listened to phones on songs on my phone and a lot of em are country songs and as we're listening to it, she, the little theologian, came up with you know, it seems like to me that these are famous songs. Yes. If people listen to these songs and paid attention to the trouble that is caused by drinking and running around, that they would just not do that.
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That's that's a good surmise. In Romans seven, we see that, you know, the things that Paul wanted to do or things he didn't do, the things he didn't want to do or things he ended up doing and as we were going through, I kept thinking of different songs. You know, Merle Haggard and all these different people. This one's actually from a movie but I want you to hear it. I look for truth wherever it could be found and I think that this is the truth from the other side.
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It's not the churchy church stuff but he is verifying some of what Paul says at the end of Romans seven and pointing towards what he's saying in Romans eight too. So, Blake, help me out. Make me sound better than I do. I'll use this one, I think. Yeah, don't want to use yours.
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The strap on yours looks like a bear riding a bicycle with me on that thing. It's like this high. This one, this is a different one for that reason. All happens for a reason even when it's wrong. That's Romans eight twenty eight twenty nine by the way.
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Especially when it's wrong. Amen. So we're working our way up to that last part, but this guy has figured out that there is a little voice, a still small voice that's telling him what's wrong, and he's choosing to ignore it. He's listening to that other voice and that's alright. Who cares?
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No big deal. This is way people are. You don't need to feel guilty about that but there is such a thing as true guilt. People, there actually is and we all have experienced because we all have sinned. The law of gravity and law of flight.
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If we go on to look at the next verse, verse three says, for what the law could not do as weak as it was through the flesh, God did. Sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh. The law of sin and death applies to every natural born person. It's universal in its scope but it's powerless to remove sin and guilt.
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Now, psychologist will tell you, yeah, problem is that you feel guilty. No. Preachers will tell you, you are guilty. The Bible says, we are guilty. Removal of sin and guilt.
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What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. The law cannot do it. The law can only point out where we are sinful. In fact, Paul says that the law actually aggravates the condition by making you want to do it even more.
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Falling and flying look a whole lot alike till you hit the ground. It can't restore broken relationships. That song was from a movie and it was mostly about breaking relationships because you're chasing after the wrong thing. The law of spirit of life allows believers to overcome the law and sin and death the same way that flight allows a bird to overcome gravity. The Holy Spirit makes believers free as a bird.
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I'm not going to play free bird. I'm from Georgia. The Holy Spirit makes believers free as a bird from the law of sin and death but why does it do it? I love so that clauses. As pastors, you look for em.
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So that, it tells you why. God sent his son, Jesus, to condemn our sin because he had none. He had a perfect life. Didn't have to condemn his own sin with death. God sent his son, Jesus, to condemn our sin in his flesh, Jesus's flesh.
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So that, so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. That's what the Bible says right there. So that the right requirement and I keep saying righteous requirement because the root of requirement right there is the righteous requirement. So that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
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So, this requirement of the law might. Now, for the past few weeks, I have been using a slide that's talked about indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. Those three moods of speech that we use in English, indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. It's running off the screen there a little bit but indicative is just stating the facts. Imperative is a command and then, subjunctive expresses possibility and that's what this might is right there.
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So that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us and the might is contingent upon our will, our volitional choice to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. He condemned sin in the flesh so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Now, that begs this question. What is the requirement of the law? Anybody?
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Anybody? To love God and to love people. Now, our motto at the church before I, long before I got here, was with all we are, loving God and loving people through Christ and the only way that it's possible is through Christ. People are pretty unlovable a lot of the time. Loving God and loving people through Christ is the righteous requirement of the law.
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If you look at the 10 commandments and here's a representation of em. The first four of em having no other gods before God, making no graven image or idol, not taking the Lord's name in vain and remembering the Sabbath to keep it holy. The first four of em are about loving God. Actually, that fourth one is kind of about loving yourself too because everybody needs some rest. Loving God.
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And the second part, this last six, honoring your father and mother, not killing, not committing adultery, not stealing, not lying, and not coveting is about loving people. So, when Jesus summed them up, what's the greatest commandment? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and your neighbor as yourself. He covered this. If you look, this is facts not yet an evidence.
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We haven't gotten to Romans 13 yet but I'll just give you a fast forward. Oh, nothing to anyone except to love one another. Jesus's greatest commandment, right? For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law, you shall not commit adultery or murder or steal or covet. If there's any other commandment, it's summed up in this saying, love your neighbor as yourself.
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Love does no wrong to the neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. He says it a couple of different times up there. So, we can stick with that. Loving God and loving people is the righteous requirement of the law.
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For those of us who do not do not walk according to the spirit, that walk is a habitual action. It's not to say that you won't misstep occasionally but it is the habitual action is not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. So, I can say this, this is the first part of the break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar. Believer in Christ. Because of what Christ has done, his finished work, it's now possible.
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It is possible for you to love God and love people as you should. That's a good feeling. To know that it's possible. We don't always do it perfectly but it is possible and that you're free from the law of sin and death. So, proceed humbly.
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Walk humbly forward and depend on his spirit. That's your first charge. We've got time. Six more minutes. So, here we go.
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Got another song. How about that? This one, in the first service, the folks recognized it as a song that came out 1987. In this sermon or in this service, you might recognize it as one that came out in 1962.
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Sorry. Or you might not. You know?
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I like the '62 version better myself. I can play neither. So, I want you to think about it because the next couple verses that we're looking at, it there's some truth in this one too. I can't believe I sang that on a Sunday we took up
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two offers. A whole lot of spending money.
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It's gonna plenty of money to do it right, child.
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It's gonna take time, a whole lot of precious time. So,
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George Harrison sang that song in 1987. I was 16 years old when it came out and I didn't know about the previous version. I like the previous version. The guy who wrote it is Rudy Clark. He wrote the Shoop Shoop song and several other songs but he was not talking about Hare Krishna.
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So, George Harrison when he sang it very likely was singing to some foreign god. That doesn't change the truth that's there though. When you set your mind on something, it's very powerful. In fact, Paul goes on to say in verses five and six and seven, for those who are according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. That's indicative.
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It's straight up. If you are of the flesh, you set your mind on the things of the flesh but those who are according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. For the mindset on the flesh is death but the mindset on the spirit is life and peace. Have you ever seen a more a greater contrast between death and life and peace? Because the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile towards God.
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I thought immediately of Peter's confession of Christ. So, in Matthew 16, Peter and the other disciples are there and Jesus gathers them together and says, who do men say that I am? And they say, well, some say Elijah and some say this and some say that and Jesus said, but who do you say that I am? And Peter, the bold and pettiest one, steps forward and says, thou art the Christ, good old King James. Thou art the Christ, son of the living God.
54:35
You are the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one, the one we've been waiting and looking for and we're following you. You are the Christ, son of the living God and then, within 10 verses, this happens. From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and that he must be killed and raised up on the third day and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying, God forbid it, lord. This shall never happen to you but Jesus turned to Peter and said, get behind me, Satan. You're a stumbling block to me for you are not setting your mind.
55:15
You are not setting your mind on God's interest but man's interest. Jesus knew what he had to do and Peter did not understand exactly how that needed to go and he was acting out of honestly, selfishness. He was looking at it from his perspective. He did not have the spirit's interest in mind but just his. Now, granted this was before the cross.
55:37
It was a slightly different time but he was following after Jesus. Two and a half years probably at this point. It's hard to tell. For you're not setting your mind on God's interest but man, so this begs this question. Can a Christian, a true Christian, a real Christian, can a Christian set their mind on things of the flesh?
55:53
What do you say? Yes or no? Yes. I think Paul is very clear about that in seven but Romans eight says over and over and over again, it's talking about the people whose minds are set on the flesh or according to the flesh. So, it's a good balance here.
56:09
It balances things very well. Can a Christian set their mind on the things of the flesh? I think that they can. One of the main reasons I think that they can is because in Colossians, Paul speaking to other Christians uses this verb again in the imperative and he says, therefore, if you've been raised up with Christ, Christians, keep seeking the things continually. Keep on seeking the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of the of God.
56:36
He's interceding for you there by the way. Set your mind, imperative verb. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. So, he says, yeah, it's possible for you to get off track or to start concentrating on the wrong things. For you have died and your life is hidden in Christ with God.
56:53
So, Christian, I'm saying this, Romans, it's indicative. Yeah, Christians set their mind on the things above but I'm with Paul and Colossians right now and using an imperative for all of us gathered here, Christians. Set your mind on the things of the spirit. Piece number two of the Kit Kat bar right there. Seven and eight, I'll repeat again just to ramp up to nine through 11.
57:16
I think we'll end right there. So, seven, because the mind of that is set on the flesh is hostile towards God, it does not subject itself to the law of God. Paul says earlier that it even aggravates it. It makes it want to do it even worse, forbidden fruit. It does not subject itself to the law of God for it's not even able to do so and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
57:38
However, Christians, you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells in you but if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. This sets up, sets us up to see that there are not varsity and junior varsity Christians. If you are a Christian, you do have the Holy Spirit as a part of your life. Now, I'm all for having a a feeling. It's great when you have one of those times where God chooses to show you more of himself and give you a greater power in his name through his spirit but everyone of you that has Jesus has the Holy Spirit in your life.
58:12
If Christ is in you, union with Christ is what it's all about. Though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Union with Christ is what it's all about and if you look at this, dead and alive. Again, no greater contrast except if you're thinking this is temporal, earthly, death, and earthly life. Eternal death, eternal life.
58:36
That's the greatest contrast ever. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness and I will end right here. But 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. There's a song. We sang it this morning.
59:01
It's by Jeremy Camp. Jeremy Camp is a new Christian artist and the song is beautiful. I wish I had the music up here. I play that one too. I don't know.
59:11
And it says the same, actually, it's right here. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave, the same power that commands the dead to wake lives in us, lives in us. The same power that moves mountains when he speaks, the same power that can conquer agency lives in us, lives in us lives in us lives in in us amen. So, had somebody yesterday that texted and said that I'm I'm struggling. I'm finding myself at the end of Romans seven, not in eight.
59:55
I'm finding that though I want to do this, I seem to not do it and actually, when he texted, that was the screen that was up on my computer. This was a couple days ago actually and that screen was up and I said, hey, man. You know, the same spirit, the same power that raised Jesus from the day of his from the dead is alive and living in you. Do you think that he can't handle that temptation? Do you think that he can't handle that difficulty?
1:00:22
The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. He raised up Christ Jesus and he will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit. Okay, I'm going to stop right there. Kit Kat Bar is over. We're five minutes past.
1:00:36
Would I get the Judy, will you come forward? We're going to sing one closing song. If you would stand up with me, we'll finish this off next week. Have thine own way, lord. Have thine own way.
1:00:49
He goes on to say that he has not given us a a spirit of fear or slavery but of adoption as sons. So, we can reach out and say, daddy, tell us what you'd have us do.
1:02:50
Amen.
1:02:58
I've got a benediction for you from Hebrews 13. Now, may the God of peace who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, may he equip you with everything good that you may do his will. Working in us, that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen.
