Ben Brinkerhoff – Class 4: Exhortation – Set Thy Mind on the Things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-11)

1
00:00:00,760 –> 00:00:06,080
Well, good morning.
A little bit more awkward on

2
00:00:06,080 –> 00:00:09,360
Sunday morning, isn’t it?
Good morning, my dear brother

3
00:00:09,360 –> 00:00:13,160
and sisters.
This is the 4th class this

4
00:00:13,160 –> 00:00:15,280
weekend.
In some ways I think

5
00:00:16,520 –> 00:00:22,080
unfortunately it’s the most
difficult say that because you

6
00:00:22,080 –> 00:00:25,720
know, it really took me, it
really took me a long time to

7
00:00:25,720 –> 00:00:28,360
get my head around the subject
we’re going to.

8
00:00:28,930 –> 00:00:32,850
Addressed this morning.
And sometimes you think to

9
00:00:32,850 –> 00:00:38,370
yourself as as clear as God’s
where it is that sometimes that

10
00:00:38,370 –> 00:00:40,410
he hasn’t made my mind very
clear.

11
00:00:40,530 –> 00:00:44,490
And so I struggle to impart to
you some of the things which I

12
00:00:44,490 –> 00:00:46,170
think are in the word of God
here.

13
00:00:46,170 –> 00:00:49,090
But fortunately, it’s not about
me, it’s not about you.

14
00:00:49,090 –> 00:00:52,570
We’re just going to read God’s
words together and try to gain

15
00:00:52,570 –> 00:00:57,050
some spiritual lesson from them.
And I hope.

16
00:00:57,950 –> 00:01:01,030
But leaves you with something
meaningful and helpful this

17
00:01:01,030 –> 00:01:04,310
morning is you prepare to
partake of the bread and the

18
00:01:04,310 –> 00:01:08,550
wine.
And as you recall from last

19
00:01:08,550 –> 00:01:10,630
night that we left on a little
bit of a cliffhanger.

20
00:01:10,630 –> 00:01:12,990
And I guess we did that on
purpose, not because we did,

21
00:01:12,990 –> 00:01:16,750
because Paul did.
And the end of verse four of

22
00:01:16,750 –> 00:01:18,950
Romans chapter 8.
Paul.

23
00:01:18,950 –> 00:01:22,830
Leaves us with these words.
He talks about these wonderful

24
00:01:22,830 –> 00:01:24,670
blessings that we have in Christ
Jesus.

25
00:01:24,670 –> 00:01:28,320
Aren’t they wonderful and.
And and the blessings include

26
00:01:28,920 –> 00:01:31,960
this idea that there’s no
condemnation for those who are

27
00:01:31,960 –> 00:01:34,920
in Christ Jesus.
And we discussed just what a

28
00:01:34,920 –> 00:01:40,640
beautiful idea that is, and how
when all we see is the mercies

29
00:01:40,640 –> 00:01:44,480
of Christ that separate us even
from death itself, that that

30
00:01:44,480 –> 00:01:46,280
those words are so precious to
us.

31
00:01:46,280 –> 00:01:50,840
And and yet these wonderful
blessings seem to contend to

32
00:01:50,840 –> 00:01:53,830
have some.
Hanging on on what it means to

33
00:01:53,830 –> 00:01:56,310
be in Christ Jesus.
And and Paul leaves with this

34
00:01:56,310 –> 00:02:03,230
word in verse four.
And the word is that this

35
00:02:03,230 –> 00:02:10,509
blessing, as wonderful as it is,
is for those who walk not after

36
00:02:10,509 –> 00:02:14,470
the flesh, but after the Spirit.
And as you recall, I had you cut

37
00:02:14,470 –> 00:02:17,550
out your pencils, and I had you
underline the word who, because

38
00:02:17,550 –> 00:02:19,630
that’s kind of a rather
important word, wouldn’t you

39
00:02:19,630 –> 00:02:22,760
say?
Given that we all want to

40
00:02:23,080 –> 00:02:27,840
participate in these blessings.
And so and so Paul, I think, I

41
00:02:27,840 –> 00:02:30,560
think Paul recognizes for
himself that there’s a tension

42
00:02:30,560 –> 00:02:33,320
in that word.
There’s a tension in that

43
00:02:33,320 –> 00:02:36,280
statement.
Who walk after the spirit?

44
00:02:36,520 –> 00:02:38,760
Well, who are these that walk
after the spirit?

45
00:02:40,400 –> 00:02:43,240
How do I do that?
What does that mean?

46
00:02:43,840 –> 00:02:48,480
And so Paul’s going to dedicate
himself in the next 5 to 6

47
00:02:48,480 –> 00:02:51,170
verses.
And really trying to explain for

48
00:02:51,170 –> 00:02:53,770
us what does it mean who are
these people who walk after the

49
00:02:53,770 –> 00:02:56,330
Spirit?
And he feels the tension in that

50
00:02:56,330 –> 00:02:58,690
statement.
So to resolve the tension for

51
00:02:58,810 –> 00:03:01,530
for himself and for us, he
explains what he means.

52
00:03:02,170 –> 00:03:04,810
And starting in Romans 8 and
verse five and six and I’m going

53
00:03:04,810 –> 00:03:10,050
to read now the out of the Rs.
V for those who live.

54
00:03:10,050 –> 00:03:14,410
According to the flesh, they set
their minds on the things of the

55
00:03:14,410 –> 00:03:17,330
flesh.
But those who live?

56
00:03:17,530 –> 00:03:21,590
According to the Spirit.
To set their minds on the things

57
00:03:21,590 –> 00:03:25,190
of the Spirit.
To set the mind on the flesh is

58
00:03:25,190 –> 00:03:30,070
death, but to set the mind on
the Spirit is life and it’s

59
00:03:30,070 –> 00:03:34,350
peace.
Now the King James just has the

60
00:03:34,350 –> 00:03:37,990
word mind, but the RSV really
uses that word, set thy mind,

61
00:03:37,990 –> 00:03:39,590
and that’s important.
We’ll get back to that in a

62
00:03:39,590 –> 00:03:43,070
second, but it seems to me that
if we’re going to understand

63
00:03:43,070 –> 00:03:45,830
anything about Romans chapter 8
and verses 5 through 11, we

64
00:03:45,830 –> 00:03:49,400
really have to get our minds.
Around these words spirit and

65
00:03:49,400 –> 00:03:51,960
flesh and and and the word mind
itself.

66
00:03:52,760 –> 00:03:54,600
And what do we what do we make
of these words?

67
00:03:54,600 –> 00:03:56,840
Not that we want to define them
because Scripture to find some

68
00:03:56,840 –> 00:03:59,680
force, but but you know those
words can mean different things

69
00:03:59,680 –> 00:04:03,920
to different people in this
audience and so we have to get

70
00:04:03,920 –> 00:04:06,280
to a common maybe a common
understanding what Paul’s really

71
00:04:06,280 –> 00:04:08,400
talking about when he uses these
words.

72
00:04:08,400 –> 00:04:10,720
So so to begin with what does
the word mind mean?

73
00:04:11,400 –> 00:04:15,440
Well, following the The Revised
Standard Version, the mind is

74
00:04:15,440 –> 00:04:19,640
something that can be set.
That’s quite important because

75
00:04:20,000 –> 00:04:22,800
it relates to your thoughts.
Basically things that have this

76
00:04:22,800 –> 00:04:24,440
obvious element of choice to
them.

77
00:04:24,440 –> 00:04:28,040
Now, now, that may be in
contrast to something like

78
00:04:28,040 –> 00:04:29,720
feelings.
Actually, you can’t set your

79
00:04:29,720 –> 00:04:31,480
feelings very often, you just
have them.

80
00:04:32,520 –> 00:04:35,920
You don’t choose your feelings.
Those who might be afraid of

81
00:04:35,920 –> 00:04:38,080
something, like heights, they
don’t choose to be afraid of

82
00:04:38,080 –> 00:04:39,360
heights.
They don’t want to be afraid of

83
00:04:39,360 –> 00:04:40,240
heights.
They just are.

84
00:04:41,960 –> 00:04:44,200
So feelings can often not be
set.

85
00:04:45,290 –> 00:04:48,850
But your mind, whatever the mind
is in these verses, there’s this

86
00:04:48,850 –> 00:04:53,810
obvious element of choice of
these words, and that matters.

87
00:04:54,650 –> 00:04:57,410
So our mind is something here
which we have some control over.

88
00:04:58,890 –> 00:05:03,730
You can control what you think
about and what actions you take,

89
00:05:04,890 –> 00:05:08,280
but then what is flesh?
The first thing we observe about

90
00:05:08,280 –> 00:05:10,200
flesh, it really isn’t something
material, is it?

91
00:05:11,040 –> 00:05:14,320
Flesh doesn’t refer to the skin
and the muscle and the bones in

92
00:05:14,320 –> 00:05:17,880
our hands and our arms, and but
it refers to the way the flesh

93
00:05:17,880 –> 00:05:22,200
expresses itself, its desires
and its wants.

94
00:05:22,240 –> 00:05:25,160
The attitude of the flesh.
And that was our focus from

95
00:05:25,160 –> 00:05:28,480
yesterday.
But what is the spirit?

96
00:05:30,200 –> 00:05:31,400
Seems quite important, doesn’t
it?

97
00:05:31,400 –> 00:05:33,880
Because this word spirit comes
up 22 times in this chapter.

98
00:05:35,800 –> 00:05:38,000
The word spirit comes up 22
times.

99
00:05:38,240 –> 00:05:40,080
Brother Stevens, would you think
it’s quite important that we

100
00:05:40,080 –> 00:05:42,920
figure out what that word means?
I reckon, yeah.

101
00:05:43,840 –> 00:05:46,720
He agrees.
So even our presiding brother

102
00:05:46,720 –> 00:05:50,880
thinks that’s the case.
So.

103
00:05:51,880 –> 00:05:54,680
And the spirit again is it’s one
of those Bible words, is it not?

104
00:05:55,920 –> 00:05:58,560
And it’s it’s a word that’s
commonly used in the Bible and

105
00:05:58,560 –> 00:06:00,760
it’s also commonly used today,
but it’s used in different

106
00:06:00,760 –> 00:06:03,600
contexts now.
So what does the what does the

107
00:06:03,600 –> 00:06:06,540
spirit mean?
Now, unfortunately, we can’t

108
00:06:06,540 –> 00:06:10,300
look out the window because all
we see is this Gray, foggy

109
00:06:10,300 –> 00:06:13,180
stuff.
And that’s killing me because

110
00:06:13,180 –> 00:06:16,380
it’s hurting my point.
But if we were to look out the

111
00:06:16,380 –> 00:06:20,620
window, we were to see the trees
and we’d see the trees moving.

112
00:06:20,620 –> 00:06:24,100
But what’s causing those trees
to move?

113
00:06:26,140 –> 00:06:28,460
Well, the wind would be causing
the trees to move, of course,

114
00:06:29,260 –> 00:06:33,580
but can you see the wind?
So what the spirit is?

115
00:06:34,690 –> 00:06:40,570
Is a spirit stood for things in
the Bible that have power where

116
00:06:40,570 –> 00:06:46,490
the evidence or the effect of
the power can be seen, but which

117
00:06:46,490 –> 00:06:49,690
the agent of the power cannot be
seen.

118
00:06:50,970 –> 00:06:52,530
And that I don’t know if that
clarified anything.

119
00:06:52,530 –> 00:06:56,010
So let me say it again.
Spirit stands for things that

120
00:06:56,010 –> 00:06:59,570
have power.
Where we can see the effect, we

121
00:06:59,570 –> 00:07:02,510
just can’t see the agent.
And if you see the wind blowing

122
00:07:02,510 –> 00:07:05,390
as a tree, you see the effect of
the wind on the tree, because

123
00:07:05,390 –> 00:07:09,510
the tree moves and see you see
the tree moving, but you don’t

124
00:07:09,510 –> 00:07:13,870
see what’s making the tree move.
And so the ancients called Wind

125
00:07:13,870 –> 00:07:18,390
spirit.
What else has power that can’t

126
00:07:18,390 –> 00:07:22,470
be seen well in a live person,
for example, now if I had a dead

127
00:07:22,470 –> 00:07:25,110
person and a live person, right?
That’d be pretty spooky,

128
00:07:25,110 –> 00:07:27,190
wouldn’t it?
But if I had a dead person and

129
00:07:27,190 –> 00:07:29,390
an alive person right here in
the floor in front of me?

130
00:07:30,150 –> 00:07:31,590
They look awfully similar,
wouldn’t they?

131
00:07:31,630 –> 00:07:34,110
I mean the dead person, the live
person, they they both have

132
00:07:34,110 –> 00:07:37,350
hands and feet and and faces and
hair, and they’d have all many

133
00:07:37,350 –> 00:07:39,870
of the same parts, In fact, all
the same parts.

134
00:07:40,230 –> 00:07:43,110
In fact, they’d be made of the
same stuff.

135
00:07:43,110 –> 00:07:45,510
They’d be made of the hydrogen
and the carbon and the and the

136
00:07:45,510 –> 00:07:48,550
oxygen, and it had all the same
parts and and they’d be made of

137
00:07:48,550 –> 00:07:56,990
the same things.
But there’d be one difference

138
00:07:56,990 –> 00:07:59,350
between the two if I told the
live person to.

139
00:08:00,220 –> 00:08:01,860
This delay, there very still
will be.

140
00:08:01,860 –> 00:08:08,020
The difference is that you’d see
in that live person the chests

141
00:08:08,020 –> 00:08:13,060
go up and down, up and down.
It’d be the only noticeable

142
00:08:13,060 –> 00:08:17,340
difference between the two,
perhaps, and that live person

143
00:08:17,340 –> 00:08:23,180
would be breathing, and that
thing can be thought of as

144
00:08:23,180 –> 00:08:27,480
breath and alive people breathe.
They can’t see the air they

145
00:08:27,480 –> 00:08:29,960
breathe, but without the air
it’s obvious that they die.

146
00:08:29,960 –> 00:08:35,559
And so the ancients called
breath that invisible thing that

147
00:08:35,559 –> 00:08:37,480
seems to make alive people
alive.

148
00:08:38,080 –> 00:08:40,480
Without it, people die.
They call that spirit.

149
00:08:44,039 –> 00:08:47,480
It’s also clear that a lot
people can think, no, no one can

150
00:08:47,480 –> 00:08:49,600
see your thoughts.
I mean I can look in in the

151
00:08:49,600 –> 00:08:51,640
audience and I see some blank
stares.

152
00:08:52,840 –> 00:08:55,720
I see some people that look
confused and.

153
00:08:56,380 –> 00:08:58,700
I can see some people that look
bored and some people that look

154
00:08:58,700 –> 00:09:01,660
amused.
So I can maybe maybe try to read

155
00:09:01,660 –> 00:09:03,620
your thoughts from your from
your, from your face.

156
00:09:03,620 –> 00:09:05,260
But I could be getting this
totally wrong.

157
00:09:07,020 –> 00:09:09,020
So I can’t see your thoughts per
se.

158
00:09:09,020 –> 00:09:11,060
But thoughts are quite powerful,
aren’t they?

159
00:09:11,980 –> 00:09:13,820
I mean, how motivating are your
thoughts?

160
00:09:14,700 –> 00:09:17,580
They can think your thoughts can
take you in any any one of many

161
00:09:17,580 –> 00:09:20,980
different directions is based on
thoughts, but they can’t be

162
00:09:20,980 –> 00:09:23,460
seen.
But they’re very powerful.

163
00:09:24,140 –> 00:09:27,330
And so the ancients called.
Thoughts, Spirit.

164
00:09:29,210 –> 00:09:30,490
And there’s other examples for
that.

165
00:09:30,490 –> 00:09:33,210
For example, angels.
The work of the angels is

166
00:09:33,210 –> 00:09:35,850
somewhat obvious.
We see the angels working in our

167
00:09:35,850 –> 00:09:38,850
lives and and doing things that
may be on retrospect are quite

168
00:09:38,850 –> 00:09:40,290
clear.
But the time they aren’t.

169
00:09:40,890 –> 00:09:42,890
And the Bible we see the work of
the angels.

170
00:09:43,250 –> 00:09:45,930
They are always seen when
they’re working sometimes, but

171
00:09:45,930 –> 00:09:49,770
not often and and most often
they’re not seen at all, but

172
00:09:49,770 –> 00:09:51,810
they’re still working.
So.

173
00:09:51,850 –> 00:09:54,570
So we see the effect of the
angels work, we don’t see the

174
00:09:54,570 –> 00:09:57,080
angels themselves.
And so the angels are called

175
00:09:57,080 –> 00:09:59,160
spirit.
They’re calling ministering

176
00:09:59,160 –> 00:10:02,720
spirits.
But let’s get even more subtle,

177
00:10:03,000 –> 00:10:05,760
shall we?
What about words?

178
00:10:06,800 –> 00:10:10,120
So you can’t see the words as
they travel from my mouth

179
00:10:10,120 –> 00:10:13,440
through this microphone up into
the projection system.

180
00:10:13,600 –> 00:10:18,760
And they the sound waves bounce
off the different molecules in

181
00:10:18,760 –> 00:10:20,880
the air until they hit your
eardrum.

182
00:10:21,040 –> 00:10:22,680
You can’t see any of those
things.

183
00:10:24,000 –> 00:10:29,500
You can’t see, and I can’t see.
But words, words are really

184
00:10:29,500 –> 00:10:35,780
powerful, aren’t they?
You know, I’ll tell you how

185
00:10:35,780 –> 00:10:40,100
powerful words are.
I fell in love with my wife

186
00:10:40,820 –> 00:10:43,700
because she talked to me.
Not that she was the only one

187
00:10:43,700 –> 00:10:49,940
who had talked to me, but we
talked about things that I’m not

188
00:10:49,940 –> 00:10:52,300
going to talk to you about as it
should be.

189
00:10:52,900 –> 00:10:55,840
And.
Because we spoke and we talked

190
00:10:55,840 –> 00:10:59,440
so intimately that that’s why I
fell in love with her.

191
00:11:00,880 –> 00:11:04,000
And many of us who are married
will recognize that the reason

192
00:11:04,000 –> 00:11:08,600
we fell in love, whatever that
in love thing is, was probably

193
00:11:08,600 –> 00:11:10,640
not because of how nice looking
the person was.

194
00:11:10,640 –> 00:11:15,200
It’s probably because of the
quality and the depth of our

195
00:11:15,200 –> 00:11:19,500
discussions.
Of the words that passed between

196
00:11:19,500 –> 00:11:20,620
us.
And they weren’t just words,

197
00:11:20,620 –> 00:11:23,980
they were invisible, but somehow
they went inside of us to invoke

198
00:11:23,980 –> 00:11:27,540
within us.
Such a deep and powerful

199
00:11:27,540 –> 00:11:29,100
feeling.
Of love.

200
00:11:30,860 –> 00:11:33,660
It’s words.
And with my wife and I, she

201
00:11:33,660 –> 00:11:35,980
being in New Zealand and me
being in the United States, we

202
00:11:36,740 –> 00:11:38,140
didn’t even have Skype at the
time.

203
00:11:38,140 –> 00:11:40,580
In fact, for the first month or
so, I didn’t know what she

204
00:11:40,580 –> 00:11:41,980
looked like.
I was quite happy when I found

205
00:11:41,980 –> 00:11:45,860
out.
In fact, I called my dad right

206
00:11:45,860 –> 00:11:47,380
away and said, and she’s pretty
too dad.

207
00:11:49,630 –> 00:11:53,390
But I didn’t know what she
looked like at 1st and and so it

208
00:11:53,390 –> 00:11:56,150
was merely words.
It was all words.

209
00:11:56,150 –> 00:11:58,750
In fact, sometimes they weren’t
even spoken.

210
00:11:58,750 –> 00:12:00,430
Sometimes I just read them
through an e-mail.

211
00:12:01,190 –> 00:12:04,910
But but how powerful are words?
They’re invisible.

212
00:12:04,910 –> 00:12:11,470
But wouldn’t you admit that
they’re so powerful and you

213
00:12:11,470 –> 00:12:14,310
think about it?
Words have the power to save us

214
00:12:16,550 –> 00:12:20,730
words.
Words can give us life.

215
00:12:23,530 –> 00:12:30,690
If you hear the gospel message,
those invisible words which

216
00:12:30,690 –> 00:12:36,130
passed from the page, or for
someone’s lips into your ears,

217
00:12:36,930 –> 00:12:41,970
and you heard them, and you
believed them, and you knew

218
00:12:41,970 –> 00:12:46,850
them, and you confessed them
then, although no one can see

219
00:12:46,850 –> 00:12:50,830
it.
And although no one can point to

220
00:12:50,830 –> 00:12:54,710
the place where it’s recorded,
your name is now in the book of

221
00:12:54,710 –> 00:13:02,390
life because of words, because
you believe those words, because

222
00:13:02,390 –> 00:13:07,070
you knew those words.
So words in and of themselves

223
00:13:07,070 –> 00:13:12,830
are incredibly powerful things,
and I can’t see within you

224
00:13:12,830 –> 00:13:19,210
necessarily whether you believe.
Can’t see whether you know, but

225
00:13:19,210 –> 00:13:23,410
you know in, in and of yourself.
If the word of God has power

226
00:13:23,410 –> 00:13:28,810
within you because it changes
you, because you’re different.

227
00:13:31,330 –> 00:13:35,370
Why are you different?
Because you’ve heard some words

228
00:13:36,450 –> 00:13:43,970
and because you believe them.
And words become learning, and

229
00:13:43,970 –> 00:13:45,690
learning becomes faith and
faith.

230
00:13:46,070 –> 00:13:50,430
Supported by continue learning
and renewing grows into love and

231
00:13:50,430 –> 00:13:53,430
works and God provides that
believer life.

232
00:13:55,670 –> 00:13:59,550
And I hope that making this
association between words and

233
00:13:59,550 –> 00:14:06,030
spirit and learning in fact
demystifies this concept of

234
00:14:06,030 –> 00:14:10,390
spirit for us, because spirit
itself can be a very mysterious

235
00:14:10,390 –> 00:14:12,990
word, can it?
I mean, people talk about the

236
00:14:12,990 –> 00:14:14,150
Spirit.
What does it mean to have the

237
00:14:14,150 –> 00:14:15,830
Spirit?
And sometimes we wonder, can I

238
00:14:15,830 –> 00:14:19,870
participate in that?
Do I have the?

239
00:14:19,870 –> 00:14:23,790
Spirit is the spirit.
Working in me, is it?

240
00:14:24,710 –> 00:14:29,430
I don’t know.
You ask yourself that question.

241
00:14:29,430 –> 00:14:32,190
And and and the spirit.
The word seems so mysterious,

242
00:14:35,350 –> 00:14:37,270
and I want to demystify this
word.

243
00:14:38,550 –> 00:14:40,550
I never want spirit to be
mysterious.

244
00:14:40,550 –> 00:14:43,000
For you again.
Because this doesn’t have to be

245
00:14:44,560 –> 00:14:46,400
God doesn’t want it to be
mysterious for you.

246
00:14:46,400 –> 00:14:49,720
He wants you to understand it.
He wants you to know that you

247
00:14:49,720 –> 00:14:53,200
have it.
I want you to ask yourself the

248
00:14:53,200 –> 00:15:00,400
question, Am I any different as
a person because of what Jesus

249
00:15:00,400 –> 00:15:05,360
taught me?
And if so, would you deny that

250
00:15:05,360 –> 00:15:09,560
you have spirit?
Would you deny that the words of

251
00:15:09,560 –> 00:15:13,530
Christ are spirit?
Would you deny that you’ve come

252
00:15:13,530 –> 00:15:18,410
to know Jesus Christ, and that
Spirit has power in you to do

253
00:15:18,410 –> 00:15:20,770
things for which you would never
do of yourself?

254
00:15:21,970 –> 00:15:26,570
Nor do you have any inclination
except that which has been

255
00:15:26,570 –> 00:15:30,850
taught to you.
So you’re different, and so you

256
00:15:30,850 –> 00:15:35,770
have Spirit, and never deny it
and never forget it.

257
00:15:40,420 –> 00:15:43,940
In first John chapter 4 and
verse six we read we are of God.

258
00:15:45,540 –> 00:15:54,340
He that knoweth God heareth us.
He that knoweth God heareth us.

259
00:15:55,500 –> 00:15:58,020
He that is not of God heareth
not us.

260
00:15:59,300 –> 00:16:02,140
Hereby know we.
The Spirit of truth.

261
00:16:03,500 –> 00:16:05,260
So how do we know the spirit of
truth?

262
00:16:09,010 –> 00:16:11,530
Because of what you hear.
Because of what you know.

263
00:16:11,530 –> 00:16:18,490
Because of what you confess.
So spirit indicates and this is

264
00:16:18,490 –> 00:16:20,930
the word.
This is how John Carter in his

265
00:16:20,930 –> 00:16:24,890
book on the Romans, which is a
fantastic book, this is how he

266
00:16:24,890 –> 00:16:31,330
summarizes this word Spirit.
Spirit indicates a mental and a

267
00:16:31,330 –> 00:16:37,010
moral development through
hearing, learning, and faith in

268
00:16:37,010 –> 00:16:41,060
the Gospel.
Which has its ultimate source in

269
00:16:41,060 –> 00:16:48,340
God, who is Spirit and who’s
revealed it through His power,

270
00:16:49,220 –> 00:16:53,060
which is also called Spirit.
I think it’s a really good

271
00:16:53,060 –> 00:16:57,660
definition.
Now you think about Spirit and

272
00:16:57,660 –> 00:16:59,620
learning, and we think about the
gospel, don’t we?

273
00:17:01,340 –> 00:17:04,700
The gospel, which is the Spirit
word of God, Which is.

274
00:17:05,500 –> 00:17:08,099
The way that God is revealed to
us is truth in the gospel.

275
00:17:08,540 –> 00:17:10,260
And see how Paul speaks about
the gospel.

276
00:17:10,260 –> 00:17:13,339
In the first chapter of Romans
in verse 16, Paul says it’s

277
00:17:13,339 –> 00:17:16,900
about the gospel.
There Paul says I’m not ashamed

278
00:17:16,900 –> 00:17:21,260
of this gospel because, and this
is the word, what I want you to

279
00:17:21,260 –> 00:17:22,540
pay attention to, it’s quite
interesting.

280
00:17:22,660 –> 00:17:28,780
I’m not ashamed of the gospel.
It’s the power of God to

281
00:17:28,780 –> 00:17:33,660
salvation, everyone that has
faith.

282
00:17:34,600 –> 00:17:38,040
Why don’t you say the Holy
Spirit, The spirit was working

283
00:17:38,040 –> 00:17:40,240
out.
The salvation was working out.

284
00:17:40,240 –> 00:17:44,280
Salvation in us was, was, was
God through his power, His

285
00:17:44,280 –> 00:17:49,000
spirit is working out within us
and is calling people still to

286
00:17:49,000 –> 00:17:54,000
be saved, to know him, to
confess him that God is doing

287
00:17:54,000 –> 00:17:57,360
this through his spirit.
But Paul here says I’m not

288
00:17:57,360 –> 00:18:01,480
ashamed of the gospel, it’s the
power of God.

289
00:18:03,490 –> 00:18:06,770
So closely associated are these
things and tell me, does God

290
00:18:07,050 –> 00:18:10,130
have any power?
Does God’s Spirit have any power

291
00:18:10,130 –> 00:18:12,290
to save except through the
gospel?

292
00:18:13,490 –> 00:18:16,130
Can God save someone who has
never has any knowledge, or

293
00:18:16,130 –> 00:18:18,010
never comes to any knowledge of
the gospel?

294
00:18:19,890 –> 00:18:23,730
Can God choose to save someone
out there and choose to save

295
00:18:23,730 –> 00:18:26,330
them but never they come to a
knowledge of the gospel.

296
00:18:28,050 –> 00:18:34,560
He would not and he does not.
So how can God save through his

297
00:18:34,560 –> 00:18:42,000
spirit except through words?
I suppose he could, but he

298
00:18:42,000 –> 00:18:45,880
doesn’t.
So the gospel itself, Paul says,

299
00:18:45,880 –> 00:18:51,400
is the power of God.
It what gives God’s spirit

300
00:18:51,480 –> 00:18:56,920
power.
And God’s spirit is using the

301
00:18:56,920 –> 00:19:07,720
gospel as its means of saving.
And we can understand that the

302
00:19:07,720 –> 00:19:09,680
Gospels taught.
We can understand the Gospels

303
00:19:09,680 –> 00:19:11,480
learned.
We can understand the Gospels

304
00:19:11,480 –> 00:19:13,200
believed through the work of
God.

305
00:19:13,200 –> 00:19:18,600
And it becomes the power of God,
and it becomes that which in

306
00:19:18,600 –> 00:19:23,960
someone has the ability to save.
You know, in Elpas Israel,

307
00:19:23,960 –> 00:19:29,310
Doctor Thomas puts it like this.
He says where the truth takes

308
00:19:29,310 –> 00:19:33,670
possession of the sentiments,
where the truth takes possession

309
00:19:33,670 –> 00:19:36,990
of the sentiments.
Setting them like that word,

310
00:19:36,990 –> 00:19:43,430
setting, setting them to work,
and so forming the thoughts, it

311
00:19:43,430 –> 00:19:48,190
becomes a law of God to them,
which the Apostle Paul styles

312
00:19:48,590 –> 00:19:52,430
the law of his mind.
And because it is written there

313
00:19:53,390 –> 00:19:56,750
through the hearing of the law
and the testimony which came to

314
00:19:56,750 –> 00:20:00,030
the prophets.
Through the spirit he terms it

315
00:20:00,350 –> 00:20:05,310
the law of the spirit inscribed
on the fleshly tables of the

316
00:20:05,310 –> 00:20:10,350
heart, and the law of the spirit
of life, because while obeyed

317
00:20:10,990 –> 00:20:20,550
confers a right to life.
So Paul says set your mind on

318
00:20:20,550 –> 00:20:23,790
things of the spirit and the
spirit he’s think he’s speaking

319
00:20:23,790 –> 00:20:26,710
about.
Is that spiritual self which is

320
00:20:26,710 –> 00:20:29,070
fed by the word of God, the
gospel through which God

321
00:20:29,070 –> 00:20:33,150
exercises his power to save, and
through which God and Christ

322
00:20:33,150 –> 00:20:36,070
dwell in us and and and we can
understand this because we go to

323
00:20:36,070 –> 00:20:37,350
another verse in the Old
Testament.

324
00:20:37,350 –> 00:20:39,110
It seems totally clear to us,
does it not?

325
00:20:39,470 –> 00:20:44,990
In in Isaiah chapter 57 and
verse 15 we read that God dwells

326
00:20:44,990 –> 00:20:53,910
in a high in a holy place, but
also with him.

327
00:20:55,680 –> 00:21:00,440
Who is of a humble spirit, of a
contrite heart?

328
00:21:01,280 –> 00:21:03,560
And for some reason that’s
really not confusing to us, is

329
00:21:03,560 –> 00:21:06,920
it?
We can understand that like

330
00:21:07,240 –> 00:21:09,280
that.
If you, if you see one of a

331
00:21:09,280 –> 00:21:15,920
humble and a contrite heart
because of the word of God

332
00:21:15,920 –> 00:21:18,360
working in them, you said you
know what God God’s dwelling in

333
00:21:18,360 –> 00:21:22,200
that person, that they’re not of
a humble and a contrite heart.

334
00:21:23,310 –> 00:21:24,590
Nearly, because they were born
that way.

335
00:21:24,590 –> 00:21:29,270
But because they have yielded
themselves up to God and that

336
00:21:29,270 –> 00:21:30,990
God chooses to dwell with that
person.

337
00:21:32,230 –> 00:21:33,750
And that’s not hard to
understand, is it?

338
00:21:34,710 –> 00:21:39,750
We can understand that.
And and actually this is the

339
00:21:39,750 –> 00:21:42,110
meaning of Spirit.
And every time it’s found in

340
00:21:42,110 –> 00:21:45,750
verses 5 through 11, it’s the
same meaning every time.

341
00:21:47,230 –> 00:21:49,190
And so I think you actually know
what Spirit means.

342
00:21:49,970 –> 00:21:52,130
I actually think you can look
inside yourself right now, and I

343
00:21:52,130 –> 00:21:56,810
think you can find within
yourself that which is fed by

344
00:21:56,810 –> 00:22:00,890
the inspired truth of God.
I think you can find inside of

345
00:22:00,890 –> 00:22:05,570
yourself where your faith is.
I think you can find within

346
00:22:05,570 –> 00:22:07,210
yourself where the love of God
is.

347
00:22:08,970 –> 00:22:11,850
I think you can find within
yourself the part that’s humble,

348
00:22:12,730 –> 00:22:18,530
the part that’s kind, where
you’ve learned Christ, the part

349
00:22:18,530 –> 00:22:21,890
that doesn’t seek self.
Seeks the benefit of your

350
00:22:21,890 –> 00:22:25,650
brother and sisters.
The part that rejoices in what

351
00:22:25,650 –> 00:22:28,410
is good.
The part that rejoices in the

352
00:22:28,410 –> 00:22:32,450
will of the Lord.
The inner man fed by the Word

353
00:22:33,690 –> 00:22:37,610
that loves the Word.
And this is where God and Christ

354
00:22:37,610 –> 00:22:44,130
dwell within you.
This is the right Spirit that

355
00:22:44,130 –> 00:22:46,770
David asks God to restore within
him.

356
00:22:48,370 –> 00:22:52,630
This is the humble.
And contrite mind where God

357
00:22:52,630 –> 00:22:58,150
dwells, I think you know it if
you can find it within yourself.

358
00:22:59,230 –> 00:23:02,190
I think you know when it’s fed.
I think you know when it’s

359
00:23:02,190 –> 00:23:05,990
weakened.
I think you know that defeat it

360
00:23:05,990 –> 00:23:10,950
is to is to have life and to
weaken it is to find death.

361
00:23:12,670 –> 00:23:17,670
And it’s not hard to understand.
And strange as it sounds, even

362
00:23:17,670 –> 00:23:22,310
those with this spirit, as
amazing as the spirit is, they

363
00:23:22,310 –> 00:23:26,670
still struggle with the flesh.
See, the flesh doesn’t go away.

364
00:23:27,710 –> 00:23:30,830
Even if you have the spirit,
this flesh doesn’t go away and

365
00:23:30,830 –> 00:23:33,710
and beyond it not going away.
As if that isn’t bad enough.

366
00:23:34,270 –> 00:23:39,710
It’s just not satisfied.
And I remember finding great

367
00:23:39,710 –> 00:23:46,690
comfort, tremendous comfort.
In these words which don’t

368
00:23:46,690 –> 00:23:50,570
really appear to be that
comfortable in Romans 8 and

369
00:23:50,570 –> 00:23:54,450
verse 7.
And these words are there where

370
00:23:54,450 –> 00:24:02,770
we read because the carnal mind
is enmity, enmity against God,

371
00:24:03,850 –> 00:24:06,370
for it is not subject to the law
of God.

372
00:24:07,810 –> 00:24:17,370
Neither indeed can be.
You know, I remember back in the

373
00:24:17,370 –> 00:24:19,490
first study, right?
And I talked about the fact that

374
00:24:19,490 –> 00:24:21,250
I was in the missionary.
Field.

375
00:24:21,890 –> 00:24:27,090
And I was in the the Persian
Gulf, and that sounds like it

376
00:24:27,170 –> 00:24:29,130
should be scary, but it wasn’t
that scary.

377
00:24:29,730 –> 00:24:32,330
But.
Things were things were quite

378
00:24:32,330 –> 00:24:36,530
hard for my wife and I I
remember struggling with my

379
00:24:36,530 –> 00:24:40,850
feelings and money was really
tight and I was defrauded and I

380
00:24:40,850 –> 00:24:45,020
had some money stolen which I.
Thankfully got back, but only by

381
00:24:45,020 –> 00:24:52,460
working with a local lawyer and
I remember my wife struggling to

382
00:24:52,460 –> 00:24:55,140
get medical care and she had
diabetes and she was pregnant.

383
00:24:55,140 –> 00:24:59,780
I remember worrying about the
health of my child and we didn’t

384
00:24:59,780 –> 00:25:01,180
have an easy way to cook hot
food.

385
00:25:01,180 –> 00:25:04,180
And I just felt this pressure
inside of me and I I just felt

386
00:25:04,180 –> 00:25:06,900
this pressure and actually I
kind of felt like I wanted to

387
00:25:06,900 –> 00:25:11,420
give up and it was a very, very
selfish feeling.

388
00:25:14,110 –> 00:25:16,270
I remember feeling bad that had
the feeling.

389
00:25:16,270 –> 00:25:17,630
And how.
How awful is that?

390
00:25:17,910 –> 00:25:21,590
Not only do you have this bad
feeling, you feel bad that you

391
00:25:21,590 –> 00:25:28,470
have the bad feeling, right?
I thought to myself, I’m doing

392
00:25:28,470 –> 00:25:30,270
the Lord’s work.
Shouldn’t this be joy?

393
00:25:30,950 –> 00:25:33,030
Should not be rejoicing and
doing the Lord’s work?

394
00:25:33,630 –> 00:25:36,630
And sometimes you may have this,
sometimes you may not feel good

395
00:25:36,750 –> 00:25:39,870
coming to the meeting on Sunday.
Sometimes you may not feel good

396
00:25:39,870 –> 00:25:41,470
pulling at your Bible to do
readings.

397
00:25:42,150 –> 00:25:45,390
Sometimes you may not feel good
calling in at the hospital on

398
00:25:45,390 –> 00:25:47,910
this new couple with it, with
the twin children, you think,

399
00:25:47,910 –> 00:25:49,190
oh, I just have so many things
to do.

400
00:25:49,190 –> 00:25:52,910
I don’t have time to do this.
It doesn’t feel like a joy.

401
00:25:52,910 –> 00:25:58,270
You’re not rejoicing and you
feel bad that you feel bad and

402
00:25:58,270 –> 00:26:00,110
you think to yourself, like,
shouldn’t I feel joy?

403
00:26:00,470 –> 00:26:05,230
Should I feel joy in this?
And I was feeling guilty about

404
00:26:05,230 –> 00:26:08,350
these things.
I didn’t understand why I had to

405
00:26:08,350 –> 00:26:12,230
struggle against myself.
And I came across these verses

406
00:26:12,230 –> 00:26:17,150
and Romans.
And in my struggle, as I came

407
00:26:17,150 –> 00:26:21,030
across these verses and Romans,
I found tremendous relief.

408
00:26:22,950 –> 00:26:28,310
Do you know why?
Because there’s a part of me,

409
00:26:30,030 –> 00:26:35,790
and there’s a part of you that
will never be converted.

410
00:26:38,690 –> 00:26:42,570
You’ll never make it want to do
the will of God.

411
00:26:43,610 –> 00:26:50,090
It will always be selfish.
It will always be rebellious.

412
00:26:50,930 –> 00:26:54,770
And Paul calls that thing within
you the carnal mind.

413
00:26:56,250 –> 00:27:00,810
He says that it’s enmity with
God and in me.

414
00:27:00,810 –> 00:27:06,810
I could feel the carnal mind.
And at that time I realized.

415
00:27:08,160 –> 00:27:13,200
I simply need to accept there
was a part of me that would

416
00:27:13,240 –> 00:27:17,800
always want to rebel.
And by focusing on it and by

417
00:27:17,800 –> 00:27:20,600
feeling guilty about it, I was
just giving it life.

418
00:27:21,520 –> 00:27:24,720
I was making it stronger.
See, I was letting it convince

419
00:27:24,720 –> 00:27:27,200
me that I was a fraud, that I
was worthless.

420
00:27:29,720 –> 00:27:33,880
Look how Paul puts it.
In Romans 7, verse 25, thanks be

421
00:27:33,880 –> 00:27:35,640
to God through Jesus Christ our
Lord.

422
00:27:35,640 –> 00:27:39,160
So then I have myself serve the
law of God with my mind.

423
00:27:40,960 –> 00:27:42,400
But look at this a little bit
after that.

424
00:27:43,080 –> 00:27:46,280
But with my flesh I serve the
law of sin.

425
00:27:47,840 –> 00:27:52,160
And Paul realized the the
inevitability of this, that the

426
00:27:52,160 –> 00:27:56,480
flesh would not be converted.
It would always rebel.

427
00:27:56,760 –> 00:27:59,080
It wouldn’t always want to do
its own thing.

428
00:27:59,080 –> 00:28:03,410
It would always be selfish.
It’s not convertible.

429
00:28:04,090 –> 00:28:11,370
That’s why Jesus destroyed it.
That’s why he destroyed it,

430
00:28:12,850 –> 00:28:16,690
because his enmity with God and
he took that which of the

431
00:28:16,690 –> 00:28:21,490
himself was enmity with God and
it was nailed to the cross.

432
00:28:24,620 –> 00:28:27,540
So there is within you, and
there is within me that which is

433
00:28:27,540 –> 00:28:30,740
an enmity with God and will
never be converted.

434
00:28:31,620 –> 00:28:34,180
And Paul’s point is so beautiful
in its simplicity.

435
00:28:34,940 –> 00:28:38,740
You see, our struggle is not
trying to convert the carnal

436
00:28:38,740 –> 00:28:41,580
mind.
You’re not going to convert it.

437
00:28:41,980 –> 00:28:44,140
It’s not convertible.
We can’t.

438
00:28:46,340 –> 00:28:50,940
So what is our struggle?
Our struggle then, is choosing

439
00:28:51,820 –> 00:28:57,510
to set our mind.
On the Spirit, and that we can

440
00:28:57,510 –> 00:28:59,750
do.
And so Paul has done, is he’s

441
00:28:59,750 –> 00:29:03,470
lifted the struggle from that
which is inevitable, which is

442
00:29:03,470 –> 00:29:05,750
that you want to rebel.
That’s inevitable.

443
00:29:06,870 –> 00:29:13,190
Everybody here wants to rebel.
And so he’s lifted the struggle

444
00:29:13,270 –> 00:29:17,230
from that which is inevitable.
And he said no, no, no, it’s not

445
00:29:17,230 –> 00:29:20,510
about that which is inevitable.
With my flesh.

446
00:29:20,510 –> 00:29:24,940
I want to serve the law of sin.
He said, You know what?

447
00:29:25,100 –> 00:29:29,300
It’s not about that.
It’s about that which you have

448
00:29:29,340 –> 00:29:35,100
choice over, and you choose to
set your mind on the things of

449
00:29:35,100 –> 00:29:39,660
the Spirit, or you choose to set
your mind on the things of the

450
00:29:39,660 –> 00:29:43,060
flesh.
And so that is not inevitable.

451
00:29:43,940 –> 00:29:48,980
Desiring sin is inevitable.
The carnal mind within you is

452
00:29:48,980 –> 00:29:51,580
inevitable.
It will not be converted.

453
00:29:53,110 –> 00:29:56,830
But what’s not inevitable is
what you choose to set your mind

454
00:29:56,830 –> 00:30:01,670
on.
So.

455
00:30:02,350 –> 00:30:03,870
It’s really not about how you
feel.

456
00:30:05,910 –> 00:30:07,830
It’s not not about doing what
you want.

457
00:30:09,470 –> 00:30:12,510
It’s not a matter of following
the spirit because it feels

458
00:30:12,510 –> 00:30:17,150
good, or doing what feels good,
or hoping that mission work

459
00:30:17,150 –> 00:30:21,030
feels good, or hoping that
speaking to contacts feels good.

460
00:30:22,550 –> 00:30:26,630
It’s really not about what feels
good, it’s about what doings,

461
00:30:26,630 –> 00:30:28,190
what about doing what’s.
Right.

462
00:30:28,870 –> 00:30:30,430
About.
Choosing to set your mind on

463
00:30:30,430 –> 00:30:34,670
things of the spirit which is
not inevitable, which is your

464
00:30:34,710 –> 00:30:40,070
area.
Of choice, but how?

465
00:30:40,990 –> 00:30:44,070
How do we do it?
How do we set our mind on things

466
00:30:44,070 –> 00:30:50,120
of the Spirit?
So how can you possibly hope to

467
00:30:50,120 –> 00:30:52,640
put your mind on things of the
Spirit if you don’t know the

468
00:30:52,640 –> 00:30:58,720
things of the Spirit?
As a teenager, teenager I

469
00:30:58,720 –> 00:31:01,520
wondered if we’d always had to
do Bible classes all the time

470
00:31:01,520 –> 00:31:05,360
during Cy, C’s and and lectures
and Sunday School and always

471
00:31:05,360 –> 00:31:07,360
reopen the Bible, the Bible, the
Bible, the Bible.

472
00:31:07,480 –> 00:31:13,120
You know, I wonder if it was
just a matter of our elders who

473
00:31:13,120 –> 00:31:15,760
wanting to torture teenagers or
something, you know, and

474
00:31:17,040 –> 00:31:18,520
actually what our elders were
doing.

475
00:31:20,600 –> 00:31:23,280
Is there a trying to get as much
of this in my mind as they

476
00:31:23,320 –> 00:31:28,400
possibly could?
There’s something in here the

477
00:31:28,400 –> 00:31:32,800
fun and games can never give you
something here.

478
00:31:32,800 –> 00:31:37,160
So much more precious, so much
more meaningful.

479
00:31:38,400 –> 00:31:41,000
And it’s not that there’s words.
Those words mean nothing if not

480
00:31:41,000 –> 00:31:44,760
believed, but they’re they’re
hoping that if you believe them,

481
00:31:45,720 –> 00:31:50,420
that they can give you a gift.
Which is so much more meaningful

482
00:31:50,420 –> 00:31:52,300
than any fun and game not ever
could be.

483
00:31:56,700 –> 00:32:01,820
It’s a hope the scripture has
learned, believed and acted upon

484
00:32:02,980 –> 00:32:06,940
that it will feed that part in
you and which God wants to

485
00:32:06,940 –> 00:32:10,740
dwell.
Now listen to Paul and turn over

486
00:32:10,740 –> 00:32:15,020
to the book of Ephesians.
We’re going to look at Ephesians

487
00:32:15,020 –> 00:32:20,830
in chapter 4.
We’re going to look at verses 17

488
00:32:20,830 –> 00:32:26,350
through 24, and as we’re reading
it, what I’d like you to do is

489
00:32:26,350 –> 00:32:29,510
try to identify all the places
in this section of scripture

490
00:32:29,830 –> 00:32:34,590
where Paul is talking about
understanding or learning or

491
00:32:34,590 –> 00:32:38,790
hearing or knowledge or
teaching, understanding,

492
00:32:38,790 –> 00:32:43,510
learning, knowledge, teaching,
hearing, these types of words, I

493
00:32:43,510 –> 00:32:47,810
want you to ask yourself.
Do all of these words have

494
00:32:47,810 –> 00:32:50,810
anything to do with spirit?
Anything at all to do with

495
00:32:50,810 –> 00:32:57,250
spirit, Anything at all to do
with that inner man, the inner

496
00:32:57,250 –> 00:33:00,650
man where God dwells?
All right, so let’s start at

497
00:33:00,650 –> 00:33:03,290
first.
You know, I’ll read out of the

498
00:33:03,290 –> 00:33:05,050
King James Version.
I have the new King James

499
00:33:05,050 –> 00:33:08,050
Version in front of me, but I
think most of us probably has

500
00:33:08,170 –> 00:33:11,130
had King James versions.
So we’ll read out of the King

501
00:33:11,130 –> 00:33:12,930
James.
We’ll start at verse 17.

502
00:33:14,500 –> 00:33:18,020
This I say therefore, and
testify in the Lord, that ye

503
00:33:18,020 –> 00:33:25,140
henceforth walk not as other
Gentiles walk in the vanity of

504
00:33:25,140 –> 00:33:32,940
their mind, having the
understanding darkened, being

505
00:33:32,940 –> 00:33:39,020
alienated from the life of God
through the ignorance that is in

506
00:33:39,020 –> 00:33:44,140
them because of the blindness of
their heart.

507
00:33:45,830 –> 00:33:50,990
Who, being past feeling, have
given themselves over to

508
00:33:51,270 –> 00:33:54,870
lasciviousness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness.

509
00:33:56,270 –> 00:34:11,449
There’s 20 But ye have not so
learned Christ, if so be ye,

510
00:34:11,449 –> 00:34:16,850
have heard him, and have been
taught by him.

511
00:34:18,409 –> 00:34:24,770
As the truth is in Jesus, that
ye put off concerning the former

512
00:34:24,889 –> 00:34:30,170
conversation, the old man which
is corrupt according to

513
00:34:30,170 –> 00:34:40,449
deceitful lusts, and be renewed
in the spirit of your mind, Paul

514
00:34:40,449 –> 00:34:42,639
says here.
To be renewed in the spirit of

515
00:34:42,639 –> 00:34:45,679
your mind now in Colossians, in
chapter 3 and verse 10, and what

516
00:34:45,679 –> 00:34:50,360
is really a very parallel
passage, Paul puts it this way

517
00:34:51,159 –> 00:34:58,640
and put on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the

518
00:34:58,680 –> 00:35:08,480
image of him that created him.
Do you understand?

519
00:35:08,480 –> 00:35:11,360
We’re not torturing you
teenagers.

520
00:35:12,800 –> 00:35:16,560
Isn’t about torture.
There’s some hope, perhaps

521
00:35:17,360 –> 00:35:26,000
optimism may play a part that
that the words they do something

522
00:35:26,000 –> 00:35:32,240
to your mind and that they renew
you, and that they create a

523
00:35:32,240 –> 00:35:37,800
place within you where Christ
and God will dwell and that

524
00:35:37,800 –> 00:35:42,900
you’ll change.
That’s what we’re trying to do.

525
00:35:44,860 –> 00:35:49,100
That’s why every time we get
together, we focus on the word.

526
00:35:53,900 –> 00:35:56,300
But how would you react to
Paul’s words?

527
00:35:56,460 –> 00:35:58,620
How would you react to Paul’s
words that there’s something

528
00:35:58,620 –> 00:36:01,580
inside of you, this carnal mind
that you have and I have, that’s

529
00:36:01,580 –> 00:36:03,020
simply never going to be
converted?

530
00:36:04,580 –> 00:36:07,860
Now I responded by reading those
words in a time when I was.

531
00:36:08,210 –> 00:36:15,890
In a very, very stressful
situation, By saying that makes

532
00:36:15,890 –> 00:36:21,050
me feel so much better.
But I think there also could be

533
00:36:21,050 –> 00:36:25,570
another reaction on the opposite
side, which says there’s

534
00:36:25,570 –> 00:36:27,410
something in me that can never
be converted.

535
00:36:27,650 –> 00:36:31,330
I almost feel hopeless.
I almost feel hopeless.

536
00:36:31,330 –> 00:36:34,170
I mean, I’m going to struggle
with this my whole life.

537
00:36:35,010 –> 00:36:37,010
There’s this famous story about
Harry Tennant.

538
00:36:38,020 –> 00:36:42,580
And and Harry was giving a class
for teenagers at a Bible school.

539
00:36:43,380 –> 00:36:45,620
And he asked the teenagers
essentially about their desire

540
00:36:45,620 –> 00:36:49,540
to sin and how that desire to
sin would change as they aged.

541
00:36:50,460 –> 00:36:54,380
And the teenagers basically told
them, told him that when they

542
00:36:54,380 –> 00:36:56,180
got older, they wouldn’t want to
sin anymore.

543
00:36:57,780 –> 00:37:00,100
And so he went out to the class,
The next class he’s given to the

544
00:37:00,100 –> 00:37:01,820
adults, he says adults.
Good news.

545
00:37:02,300 –> 00:37:06,460
The teenagers have all concluded
that you don’t want to sin and

546
00:37:06,460 –> 00:37:07,700
all the adults.
Laughed.

547
00:37:09,410 –> 00:37:12,370
But that’s what the teenagers
thought, that when I got older,

548
00:37:12,370 –> 00:37:14,610
I wouldn’t want to sin anymore.
And and actually what I’m

549
00:37:14,610 –> 00:37:18,250
telling you is that you’re going
to want to sin until you die.

550
00:37:20,170 –> 00:37:23,050
There’s a part of you which will
never be converted.

551
00:37:23,170 –> 00:37:26,650
And I guess on the extreme end
that might be hopeless for some

552
00:37:26,650 –> 00:37:30,290
people.
And and I think Paul was

553
00:37:30,290 –> 00:37:32,530
thinking maybe people are going
to respond the wrong way to

554
00:37:32,530 –> 00:37:34,930
these words.
And So what he says in the next

555
00:37:34,930 –> 00:37:38,630
several verses is just meant to.
To make his readers feel more

556
00:37:38,630 –> 00:37:40,230
comfortable about what he just
said.

557
00:37:40,830 –> 00:37:45,710
And so he says in verses 9
through 11 he says, but you’re

558
00:37:45,710 –> 00:37:47,670
not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit.

559
00:37:47,830 –> 00:37:49,710
He says, listen, this is
hopeless.

560
00:37:50,070 –> 00:37:52,030
You have this Carl mind that’s
never going to be converted.

561
00:37:52,150 –> 00:37:54,830
But guess what?
You don’t just have the Carl

562
00:37:54,830 –> 00:37:57,310
mind.
You also have the Spirit.

563
00:37:57,510 –> 00:38:00,350
Now, for people without the
Spirit, this is truly hopeless.

564
00:38:02,030 –> 00:38:03,990
For people without the Spirit,
this is truly hopeless.

565
00:38:03,990 –> 00:38:05,630
But he says, listen, it’s not
for you.

566
00:38:06,230 –> 00:38:09,150
Because you don’t just have the
carnal mind, you have something

567
00:38:09,150 –> 00:38:11,710
more than the carnal mind.
You actually have the Spirit.

568
00:38:12,110 –> 00:38:14,950
And so he says in verse 9.
But you are not in the flesh but

569
00:38:14,950 –> 00:38:18,550
in the spirit, if indeed the
Spirit of God dwells in you.

570
00:38:19,070 –> 00:38:24,190
Now if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he is not his.

571
00:38:25,110 –> 00:38:30,110
But if Christ is in you, the
body is dead because of sin, but

572
00:38:30,110 –> 00:38:31,950
the Spirit is the wife because
of righteousness.

573
00:38:32,950 –> 00:38:34,150
It’s quite a passage.
To this.

574
00:38:34,690 –> 00:38:38,450
But in summary, simply saying
that that you don’t need to be

575
00:38:38,450 –> 00:38:42,050
concerned if you have the
knowledge of Christ and believe

576
00:38:42,050 –> 00:38:45,690
his word, that gospel which has
power to save and will save you.

577
00:38:47,490 –> 00:38:48,490
That you don’t have to lose
hope.

578
00:38:48,650 –> 00:38:51,970
Because you’re not just in the
carnal mind, you actually have

579
00:38:51,970 –> 00:38:54,890
the spirit too and that spirit
within you will work out your

580
00:38:54,890 –> 00:38:57,610
salvation.
So don’t lose hope.

581
00:38:58,570 –> 00:39:02,570
Of course we read these verses
and say is Christ in me?

582
00:39:03,900 –> 00:39:08,020
What does that mean?
We don’t, we don’t read them

583
00:39:08,020 –> 00:39:10,420
with the intention that Paul
wanted to be read because we’re

584
00:39:10,420 –> 00:39:13,500
getting worked worked up over
over whether Christ is in us.

585
00:39:14,740 –> 00:39:17,340
And we ask ourselves the
question, is Christ in me?

586
00:39:19,060 –> 00:39:22,300
And some of you might be sitting
there right now going, I don’t

587
00:39:22,300 –> 00:39:27,780
know, is Christ in me?
I don’t know.

588
00:39:28,020 –> 00:39:31,660
And you ask yourself the
question, well, what’s that

589
00:39:31,660 –> 00:39:32,820
supposed to feel?
Like.

590
00:39:33,610 –> 00:39:36,810
What does it feel like for the
chairman if Christ is in you?

591
00:39:37,730 –> 00:39:40,650
Bit of a tough one.
That’s the issue.

592
00:39:40,690 –> 00:39:44,570
He thinks it feels great.
But what?

593
00:39:44,570 –> 00:39:47,410
What brother chairman, if the
brother sisters out there don’t

594
00:39:47,410 –> 00:39:49,490
feel great, does that mean they
don’t have Christ in them?

595
00:39:50,090 –> 00:39:52,850
And that’s the question.
So that’s that’s the conflict,

596
00:39:53,370 –> 00:39:58,210
You know, what do we do then?
What do we do if we don’t feel

597
00:39:58,210 –> 00:40:01,970
good?
I think that’s where we get

598
00:40:01,970 –> 00:40:05,430
ourselves tripped up.
Because we think that having

599
00:40:05,430 –> 00:40:09,030
Christ in us is supposed to be a
feeling.

600
00:40:10,750 –> 00:40:14,350
We think that’s supposed to feel
good and warm and happy and

601
00:40:14,350 –> 00:40:18,750
enthusiastic.
And here I was on mission work.

602
00:40:19,630 –> 00:40:24,270
I didn’t feel warm or happy or
enthusiastic.

603
00:40:25,670 –> 00:40:28,870
Does that mean the work was bad,
the work was flawed?

604
00:40:28,870 –> 00:40:32,350
Does that mean Christ had
abandoned me?

605
00:40:33,720 –> 00:40:40,040
It wasn’t in me anymore.
And I think that sometimes we

606
00:40:40,040 –> 00:40:42,560
can think having Christ in us
means we don’t have to have any

607
00:40:42,560 –> 00:40:46,400
hard choices anymore because
everything is just so clear and

608
00:40:46,400 –> 00:40:48,040
right and wrong and everything
is just so obvious.

609
00:40:48,040 –> 00:40:51,400
And we don’t worry about it
making bad decisions or doing

610
00:40:51,400 –> 00:40:53,600
bad things because we have
Christ in us and it just feels

611
00:40:53,600 –> 00:40:59,720
good all the time.
And yes.

612
00:41:01,400 –> 00:41:03,640
Having Christ in us can bring us
great contentment.

613
00:41:04,280 –> 00:41:06,680
There’s no doubt that is
scriptural.

614
00:41:09,320 –> 00:41:12,720
But you’ll never get there
focusing on feeling good.

615
00:41:13,520 –> 00:41:14,720
Isn’t that the great irony of
it?

616
00:41:16,600 –> 00:41:19,480
You’ll never get contentment.
Trying to get contentment,

617
00:41:21,400 –> 00:41:24,240
you’ll never feel good trying to
feel good.

618
00:41:28,660 –> 00:41:30,860
And you think after all Paul is
said about the motions of the

619
00:41:30,860 –> 00:41:33,620
flesh and the mind of the
Spirit, that having Christ in us

620
00:41:33,620 –> 00:41:38,180
is merely replacing a bad
feeling with a good feeling has

621
00:41:38,180 –> 00:41:45,900
nothing to do with feelings.
Now turn over to John 6, where

622
00:41:45,900 –> 00:41:49,580
we learn a bit more about what
Christ in us really means.

623
00:42:06,180 –> 00:42:10,340
And after Christ fed the 5000,
it might be an understatement to

624
00:42:10,340 –> 00:42:13,260
say that people are
enthusiastic, enthusiastic.

625
00:42:13,900 –> 00:42:16,140
They wanted to take him by force
and make him king.

626
00:42:16,260 –> 00:42:19,060
Why not?
God said in Genesis chapter 3,

627
00:42:19,060 –> 00:42:21,140
verse 19 that by the sweat of
your face you’re going to make

628
00:42:21,140 –> 00:42:22,700
bread.
But this man has pulled it out

629
00:42:22,700 –> 00:42:25,500
of the basket.
How great is that?

630
00:42:26,100 –> 00:42:27,700
Who wouldn’t want to make that
person king?

631
00:42:29,300 –> 00:42:30,700
Of course they want to make him
king.

632
00:42:30,860 –> 00:42:32,740
And they’re very enthusiastic, I
mean.

633
00:42:33,270 –> 00:42:34,670
They’re pumped up.
They’re full of juice.

634
00:42:34,670 –> 00:42:37,590
Like all that evangelical stuff
like Hallelujah, Wonderful.

635
00:42:37,590 –> 00:42:38,950
You know, like that’s how they
felt.

636
00:42:39,390 –> 00:42:41,630
They felt good.
They felt really good.

637
00:42:44,430 –> 00:42:49,430
And Christ retreats to a Quiet
Place to pray because John had

638
00:42:49,430 –> 00:42:53,310
just been executed.
And when John was executed, did

639
00:42:53,310 –> 00:42:58,710
that feel good?
When John was putting his head

640
00:42:58,710 –> 00:43:02,750
against the platter, they feel
good.

641
00:43:07,500 –> 00:43:11,380
Was Christ not in him when he
did that?

642
00:43:15,700 –> 00:43:19,620
And Christ moves away to a quiet
place to pray, to gain some

643
00:43:19,620 –> 00:43:24,740
strength, and they find him the
next day on the other side of

644
00:43:24,740 –> 00:43:26,940
the sea, and they’re just as
excited as they were the day

645
00:43:26,940 –> 00:43:31,420
before.
And Christ says to them.

646
00:43:32,540 –> 00:43:34,180
And he proves them with his
words.

647
00:43:34,940 –> 00:43:37,220
Says you feel really good.
You feel really good.

648
00:43:37,220 –> 00:43:39,260
You want to make me king?
You want to make me king?

649
00:43:39,260 –> 00:43:42,180
You really do.
Well, just listen to what I have

650
00:43:42,180 –> 00:43:48,220
to say, he says.
You want to make me king because

651
00:43:48,220 –> 00:43:51,110
you ate bread.
You.

652
00:43:55,670 –> 00:43:57,470
Want to make me king because I
gave you a free meal?

653
00:43:59,270 –> 00:44:01,670
They said no, no, we want to
make you king because of you.

654
00:44:02,470 –> 00:44:04,430
This isn’t about free meal.
You’re the one.

655
00:44:08,280 –> 00:44:14,440
Jesus says in John 6, verse 54,
whoever eats my flesh and drinks

656
00:44:14,440 –> 00:44:20,200
my blood has eternal life, and
I’ll raise him up at the last

657
00:44:20,200 –> 00:44:26,040
day.
For my flesh is food indeed, my

658
00:44:26,040 –> 00:44:31,280
blood is drink indeed, and this
is the important bit.

659
00:44:32,440 –> 00:44:37,280
He who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood abides in me and I and

660
00:44:37,280 –> 00:44:39,480
him.
Well, that’s interesting because

661
00:44:39,480 –> 00:44:42,240
that’s where we’re trying to
find out about what does it mean

662
00:44:42,240 –> 00:44:44,560
that Christ twelves in you?
What does that really mean?

663
00:44:45,480 –> 00:44:47,880
We’re fortunate because here
Jesus is really talking about

664
00:44:47,880 –> 00:44:50,880
that very thing, and he’s saying
that He eats my flesh and drinks

665
00:44:50,880 –> 00:44:52,840
my blood abides in me and I and
him.

666
00:44:52,840 –> 00:44:55,880
So what does he mean by that?
He goes on to say, as the living

667
00:44:55,880 –> 00:44:59,200
Father sent me, and I live
because of the Father, so he who

668
00:44:59,200 –> 00:45:01,440
feeds on me will live because of
me.

669
00:45:04,860 –> 00:45:07,460
Jesus says that he abides and
saves those and eat his flesh

670
00:45:07,460 –> 00:45:10,500
and drink his blood.
So we should look at this

671
00:45:10,500 –> 00:45:12,980
language and say, does this
language at all invoke any

672
00:45:12,980 –> 00:45:15,220
discussion of the Spirit?
Because if it does, we’re

673
00:45:15,220 –> 00:45:17,540
probably on safe ground thinking
that really these are talking

674
00:45:17,540 –> 00:45:20,340
about very similar things that
Paul is talking about in Romans

675
00:45:20,340 –> 00:45:22,820
chapter 8 might be very similar
to what Jesus is talking about

676
00:45:22,820 –> 00:45:26,860
here in John Six.
We can understand what it means

677
00:45:26,860 –> 00:45:31,410
that Christ dwells in us.
And we move on over 60, And we

678
00:45:31,410 –> 00:45:34,370
read their the minions, his
disciples.

679
00:45:34,530 –> 00:45:39,090
When they heard this, they said,
this is a hard saying.

680
00:45:40,130 –> 00:45:44,370
Who can understand it?
And when Jesus knew in himself

681
00:45:44,370 –> 00:45:47,770
that his disciples complained
about this, his disciples, By

682
00:45:47,770 –> 00:45:49,050
the way, these are his
disciples.

683
00:45:49,050 –> 00:45:52,250
These are not just randoms that
had a free meal, right?

684
00:45:52,250 –> 00:45:54,250
I want to be clear about that.
These are, these are his

685
00:45:54,250 –> 00:45:58,770
disciples, he said to them.
Does this offend you?

686
00:46:00,910 –> 00:46:02,390
What they need.
You should see the Son of man

687
00:46:02,390 –> 00:46:07,390
ascend where he was before.
It’s the spirit who gives life,

688
00:46:08,630 –> 00:46:13,910
the flesh prophets, nothing.
The words I speak to you are

689
00:46:13,910 –> 00:46:19,350
spirit and their life.
So what is the spirit?

690
00:46:22,830 –> 00:46:24,510
It’s very simple brother,
sisters.

691
00:46:26,390 –> 00:46:28,510
It’s the words of Jesus that
give life.

692
00:46:30,840 –> 00:46:33,800
And isn’t that the exact point
that Paul’s making about the

693
00:46:33,800 –> 00:46:35,600
spirit of Romans?
He’s saying the Spirit gives

694
00:46:35,600 –> 00:46:38,960
life, that you have this carnal
mind, but the Spirit working in

695
00:46:38,960 –> 00:46:41,760
you is going to give life.
And he says Romans 8 verse 11.

696
00:46:42,000 –> 00:46:44,480
But if the spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead

697
00:46:44,480 –> 00:46:49,480
dwells in you, he who raised
Christ and the dead will give

698
00:46:49,480 –> 00:46:53,960
life to your mortal bodies
through his spirit who dwells in

699
00:46:53,960 –> 00:46:55,280
you.
So the Spirit gives life.

700
00:46:57,310 –> 00:47:00,030
It’s the words of Christ.
It’s his teaching, His precepts,

701
00:47:00,590 –> 00:47:03,710
the knowledge without which we
cannot please God, because we

702
00:47:03,710 –> 00:47:08,510
wouldn’t know what it was like
to be what what God’s like.

703
00:47:08,510 –> 00:47:09,870
We wouldn’t know what his
character’s like.

704
00:47:09,870 –> 00:47:12,510
We wouldn’t know what his
teaching is, what he what he

705
00:47:12,510 –> 00:47:17,350
wants us to know and to believe.
But it’s not just knowledge,

706
00:47:18,190 –> 00:47:20,790
okay.
It’s not just knowledge.

707
00:47:20,790 –> 00:47:25,790
It’s just words.
You hear all sorts of words.

708
00:47:26,230 –> 00:47:29,670
Words all day long.
It’s not just knowledge.

709
00:47:29,670 –> 00:47:36,790
It’s not just words, is it?
And we read that from that time

710
00:47:36,990 –> 00:47:39,710
many of his disciples went back
and walked with him no more.

711
00:47:41,230 –> 00:47:44,590
So I ask you then, if the Spirit
are Jesus words?

712
00:47:45,230 –> 00:47:47,150
Did the Spirit give warm
feelings?

713
00:47:48,230 –> 00:47:52,510
What did the Spirit feel like?
What did Jesus words?

714
00:47:52,510 –> 00:47:56,370
Life giving though they were?
What do they feel like?

715
00:47:58,010 –> 00:48:03,450
I’ll tell you what they offended
they brought up within his

716
00:48:03,450 –> 00:48:06,570
disciples negative and strange
and bad feelings.

717
00:48:08,930 –> 00:48:11,050
So I’m going to say this now,
and I really mean this very,

718
00:48:11,050 –> 00:48:12,410
very clearly.
I don’t know how to say it more

719
00:48:12,410 –> 00:48:14,130
clearly.
So to say as clearly as I can,

720
00:48:15,290 –> 00:48:19,690
The Spirit is not about your
feelings, so get rid of that

721
00:48:19,690 –> 00:48:22,970
concept.
It’s not about feeling warm and

722
00:48:22,970 –> 00:48:25,370
happy and secure and comfortable
and lovely and safe all the

723
00:48:25,370 –> 00:48:30,930
time.
Most often it isn’t about making

724
00:48:30,930 –> 00:48:32,770
the easy choice that feels
right.

725
00:48:34,530 –> 00:48:39,010
It’s about making the difficult
choice that’s right no matter

726
00:48:39,010 –> 00:48:43,890
how it feels.
And the spirit within you is

727
00:48:43,890 –> 00:48:48,970
going to allow you to make that
choice because you now know what

728
00:48:48,970 –> 00:48:52,070
right is.
Now know what God’s right and

729
00:48:52,070 –> 00:48:55,510
wrong is, what God’s good and
evil is, and you’re going to

730
00:48:55,510 –> 00:48:59,230
feel within yourself your own
good and evil come into conflict

731
00:48:59,230 –> 00:49:02,670
with God’s good and evil.
So what’s going to allow you

732
00:49:02,670 –> 00:49:07,750
then within yourself, when you
feel you’re good and evil, come

733
00:49:07,750 –> 00:49:10,710
into conflict with God’s?
What’s going to allow you to

734
00:49:10,710 –> 00:49:12,390
submit yourself to God’s good
and evil?

735
00:49:13,550 –> 00:49:15,910
What’s going to allow you to
yield yourself to him?

736
00:49:15,910 –> 00:49:21,990
It’s going to be the Spirit.
It might not feel good.

737
00:49:24,670 –> 00:49:29,150
And then Jesus said to the 12,
Do you also want to go away?

738
00:49:32,230 –> 00:49:36,430
But Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go?

739
00:49:37,790 –> 00:49:44,790
You have the words of eternal
life also we have come to.

740
00:49:45,720 –> 00:49:49,920
To believe and know that you are
the Christ and so you understand

741
00:49:49,920 –> 00:49:51,800
then it’s not just in the
knowing.

742
00:49:53,160 –> 00:49:55,000
The knowing doesn’t do you very
much good.

743
00:49:56,400 –> 00:49:57,840
I know some things about
economics.

744
00:49:57,840 –> 00:49:59,600
I studied them in school.
They’re not going to give me

745
00:49:59,880 –> 00:50:02,520
anything in the in the Kingdom.
It’s not going to help it.

746
00:50:02,520 –> 00:50:06,440
I know it.
It’s not just about knowing.

747
00:50:08,600 –> 00:50:11,760
And if you think that that we’re
up here just a pound scripture

748
00:50:11,760 –> 00:50:14,120
into your into your mind so we
can all be smarter, you’re

749
00:50:14,120 –> 00:50:17,520
wrong.
It’s not just so, you know.

750
00:50:18,280 –> 00:50:21,800
Now knowing is necessary.
But Peter didn’t just know.

751
00:50:23,600 –> 00:50:30,040
He knew and believed.
And he says, we have come to

752
00:50:30,040 –> 00:50:36,440
believe and know that you are
the Christ.

753
00:50:36,840 –> 00:50:39,640
And so he actually, he completes
this perfect, this perfect

754
00:50:39,640 –> 00:50:43,280
circle.
It’s not just knowing, it’s

755
00:50:43,280 –> 00:50:46,360
believing.
And it’s not just believing,

756
00:50:47,200 –> 00:50:54,200
it’s confessing.
And I reckon that as Peter saw

757
00:50:54,280 –> 00:50:59,920
his friends leave Christ, all
those disciples leave Christ,

758
00:51:01,200 –> 00:51:08,640
that it hurt, that didn’t feel
good at all, that he was really

759
00:51:08,640 –> 00:51:15,410
sad.
But Christ had the words of

760
00:51:15,410 –> 00:51:19,930
eternal life.
Where else was he to go?

761
00:51:24,810 –> 00:51:29,010
And So what we see then here
with Peter is we see that Peter

762
00:51:29,010 –> 00:51:31,690
has a spirit.
He has a spirit of Christ.

763
00:51:33,090 –> 00:51:37,930
That’s what allowed him to say
that he has Christ in him.

764
00:51:39,940 –> 00:51:42,580
He realizes, despite the
confusion, despite the other set

765
00:51:42,580 –> 00:51:44,860
of weapons, despite the
difficulty of the words, that

766
00:51:44,860 –> 00:51:47,060
Christ is life and Peter
believed him.

767
00:51:47,060 –> 00:51:50,460
And in that action the words
became belief, and that belief

768
00:51:50,460 –> 00:51:53,140
drove decision, and that
decision led to life.

769
00:51:55,460 –> 00:51:58,860
And brothers and sisters and
young people, we have the words

770
00:51:58,860 –> 00:52:02,740
of Christ, we have the same ones
Peter heard, and they dwell in

771
00:52:02,740 –> 00:52:05,820
us, and we know them, and we can
recite them or familiar with

772
00:52:05,820 –> 00:52:07,620
them.
So when do they become eternal

773
00:52:07,620 –> 00:52:10,450
life in us?
When do these words become

774
00:52:10,450 –> 00:52:14,970
eternal life in us?
When do they become spirit?

775
00:52:15,690 –> 00:52:19,530
When does the invisible agent of
the Word working within me?

776
00:52:19,810 –> 00:52:22,850
When does it display power?
When does the Word become

777
00:52:22,850 –> 00:52:29,570
powerful?
When we believe, and when that

778
00:52:29,570 –> 00:52:35,490
belief leads us to confess God’s
righteousness and to yield

779
00:52:35,490 –> 00:52:39,130
ourselves.
To his version of good and evil,

780
00:52:40,530 –> 00:52:45,610
and to make difficult choices,
Not easy ones, difficult ones,

781
00:52:46,850 –> 00:52:49,410
and certainly not choices.
Always feel good at the time,

782
00:52:51,250 –> 00:52:55,770
But which, if you make them,
bring great contentment.

783
00:52:59,210 –> 00:53:03,850
And each Sunday we do take him
in, and the bread and the wine,

784
00:53:05,770 –> 00:53:09,110
but just.
Just like our flesh is just

785
00:53:09,110 –> 00:53:12,590
carbon and oxygen and hydrogen,
so is this bread.

786
00:53:14,990 –> 00:53:18,990
I guess in and of itself it’s a
loaf of bread, but it’s not for

787
00:53:18,990 –> 00:53:21,030
you.
Do you know why it’s not just

788
00:53:21,030 –> 00:53:26,270
bread for you?
Because you believe so.

789
00:53:26,270 –> 00:53:30,350
It’s more than just bread.
It is Christ in you.

790
00:53:31,950 –> 00:53:35,790
It is you renewing yourself, and
it is in you.

791
00:53:36,530 –> 00:53:42,170
Proclaiming the Lord Jesus and
his death till he come.

792
00:53:43,290 –> 00:53:46,170
And so as we take this bread and
this wine, we pass it from hand

793
00:53:46,170 –> 00:53:47,850
to hand.
What do we think of ourselves?

794
00:53:48,890 –> 00:53:50,210
We don’t think of ourselves at
all.

795
00:53:51,930 –> 00:53:54,770
Suppose we think of the Lord
Jesus, we think of ourselves

796
00:53:54,770 –> 00:54:00,450
only in relation to Him, and we
make a decision once again to be

797
00:54:00,450 –> 00:54:08,380
like Him, to crucify our flesh.
Our desires and our passions and

798
00:54:08,380 –> 00:54:11,020
we choose to proclaim the Lord’s
death.

799
00:54:12,860 –> 00:54:15,100
And we ask ourselves a very
important question.

800
00:54:18,220 –> 00:54:23,180
Is Christ alive in me?
And am I dead to myself?