Listen for a moment. Does this sound familiar? “You know, I really don't understand myself sometimes. I want to do what's right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my conscience tells me that I'd be better off doing it God's way. But I can't help myself, because there's something inside me making me do these evil things. I guess there's no doubt about the fact that I've still got that sinful nature inside me. Because no matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do the right thing, I don't. And when I try not to do the wrong thing, I do it anyway. But if I'm doing what I don't want to do, am I really the one doing it, or is it sin living within me that's doing it? It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I know in my mind that following God's law is the best way to live. But there's another law at work within me that wages war in my mind. This other law always seems to win, so I give in to the same old things over and over again. Man, what is wrong with me? Who will free me from this rotten way I'm living?” Anybody know who said something like this? If you said, "the apostle Paul," that's right. Those are a paraphrase of his words, right out of Romans chapter 7. If you said, "I don't know who spoke those words, but it sounds a lot like me," you'd be right, too. I doubt there's a Christ-follower in this room who hasn't said to himself or herself, on more than one occasion, What's wrong with me? Here we are—we've become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We've been forgiven for our sins, we've been set free to live a new life, but we keep on doing the same old foolish, hurtful things. We should know better. We do know better. We don't want to lie or lust. But we do. We don't want to fight with our parents or yell at our kids, but we do. We feel lousy every time we waste hours doing things we know we should not do but we do it anyway. We want to share our faith, but we don't. We tell ourselves we're going to start reading our Bibles and praying more, but we don't. We thought we'd be further along by now, thought we'd have left behind some of those bad habits and attitudes. But they're still with us, still dragging us down. What's wrong with us? What's it going to take for us to become the people we want to be? It's going to take some outside help. More accurately, it's going to take some inside help. It's going to require the work of the Holy Spirit. No doubt you have heard of the TV show series called Extreme Makeover. This series focuses on transforming either a person or a house. In the case of a personal makeover, the team includes a cosmetic surgeon, a personal trainer, a wardrobe consultant, and a life coach. In the Home Edition show, the team includes carpenters and designers and architects. The idea is that these teams of experts do for the person or family what they could never do for themselves: transform their lives. In a similar way, God wants to transform you and I from the inside out. He wants to transform you and I from the people we are to the people he created you to be. And as it turns out, like the Extreme Makeover crew God is a team in himself: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Godhead plays a distinctive role in our transformation. This morning we'll be focusing on the work of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit may be the least understood member of the Godhead, but the truth is that without the Holy Spirit we would all be doomed to the kind of frustration that Paul expressed for us in Romans 7 Let’s walk through this passage together. My hope is that we will emerge on the other with understanding of just what it takes to live a life of following God. First, Paul reminds us that we've been justified through faith in Jesus Christ. Verse 1: "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Even though we have all fallen short of the glory for which God created us, God is prepared to forgive us on the basis of Christ's work on the cross. If we turn to God in repentance and faith, admitting our sinfulness and believing that Christ died in our place, God will declare us righteous, just as if we'd never sinned. That's justification—the act of God by which he declares us acceptable to him through our faith in Christ. Justification frees us from the penalty of sin. No condemnation in this life or the life to come—that's good news. The second truth he reminds us of is sanctification, the process by which God sets us free from the power of sin, so that we truly can become the people he created and desires us to be. Verse 2: "Because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Even though we still have that short-sighted, self-centered, self-destructive nature within us, we aren't slaves to it any more. If we are a Christian then we died to sin, so it is no longer our master. And we not only died to sin, but we were raised to new life by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. We have been given a new nature. There is power available to make us the people God wants us to be. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the old nature is still with us so we continue to struggle with sin. We continue to make foolish choices, to do the things we don't want to do, to hurt the people who mean the most to us. That nature is so strong we can't overcome it in our own strength. That's why we need some outside help. That's why we need that third member of the makeover team, God the Holy Spirit, who Paul introduces in verse 4: "In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit." As you have been reading the book of Romans over the last few days, God the Father and God the Son have been the key players. God the Father began the transformation process for us by sending his Son in the likeness of human beings to live a sinless life and to die on the cross for the sins of the world. God the Son did his part by showing us how to live, and then by paying the penalty of sin for us. But in order for the makeover to be complete, in order for us to actually become new people and live new lives, we need to comprehend what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives. The problem with the makeover shows is that after the renovation work is done, the team leaves. And the person or the family that has experienced the transformation is left to themselves. What happens when the botox wears off, and the wardrobe goes out of style? What happens when an active and excited family moves back in to a freshly painted, newly-furnished home? It's may only be a matter of time before things are not quite “showroom” perfect and then they're on their own to figure things out; to make it work. Things work differently with the makeover God has in mind for us, God the Holy Spirit moves into our lives, but not just to clean us up and to leave. He comes intending to stay for the long haul. And so in chapter 8 of Romans, the Holy Spirit takes center stage; he's mentioned 21 times in this one chapter. In the next paragraph, Paul explains why the work of the Spirit is so important. "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace, because the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." In these verses we learn what happens to people who try to live a good life on their own, apart from God. They inevitably fall short of God's ideal. We can't help it. No matter how hard people try to be good, to do the right thing. They will always come up short, because the sinful, human nature inevitably wins out. And that sinful nature leads us in one direction—death: physical death and spiritual death. As pessimistic as that sounds, we know it to be true. History and experience tells us that while human beings sometimes get it right and do some wonderful things, inevitably our sinful, destructive nature catches up with us and ruins everything. Check out the news today and your will find stories about sickness and death-story after story of horrific violence, deep-seated hatred, human incompetence, brutal oppression, broken promises, suppression of truth, miscarriage of justice. It does not end. The world is in rough shape. And what's true on a global scale is no less true on the personal level. Left to ourselves, our best efforts and intentions inevitably lead to disappointment, heartache, and frustration, We all need an extreme makeover—not a facelift or some home improvements, but a deep-down lifelong renovation of our souls. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. In the next paragraph, Paul explains how it works. The Spirit gives life. "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of God, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit, who lives in you." Often you'll hear people say that everybody has some of the divine nature within them; that each of us needs to tap into the "god within us." Sounds wonderful, but it's not true, according to the Bible. It is true that we have all been created in the image of God, with the capacity for relationship with him . Much of who we are reflects who God is. But the only people, who have God within them, are the ones who've asked him in. If we have not invited Christ into our lives, then the Spirit of God does not live within us. The good news is that when we do invite Christ into our lives, the Holy Spirit moves in. Theologians call this the "indwelling of the Holy Spirit." It's true for every believer, and it's true from the very moment that you open your heart to the love and forgiveness of Christ. The Spirit is with you from the moment of your conversion. And it is the work of the Holy Spirit to allow you and I to live life in a way that follows the pattern set by Jesus. The Spirit gives us the power to do the right thing, live the right way, make the right choices…to be right…but right in God’s eyes. Now there are often times later in life when the Holy Spirit acts in your life in new ways. He does work in fresh ways as we continue to search for his work. He gives empowerment and strength to serve in many ways. At times he takes our faith to a deeper level. The Holy Spirit is always at work as we agree to let him work in us. This is a very important point, one that I want to be clear. You cannot live the Christian life in your own strength. You can only do it in Christ's strength. The secret to living the Christian life is not trying harder to live like Jesus. It is allowing Jesus Christ to live his life through you. Perhaps you are familiar with a the fad of a few years ago….the WWJD bracelets—reminding us to ask ourselves in every situation, "What would Jesus do?" That's certainly a good thing to do. The problem is that when we can figure out what Jesus would do, we don't have the strength to do likewise completely on our own. We usually know what Jesus would do—Jesus would forgive, Jesus would tell the truth, Jesus would put other's needs ahead of his own. We just find it hard to do those things. Sure, we can grit our teeth and try harder and occasionally get it right. But day after day, over the long haul, we just can't pull it off consistently by sheer will alone. That sinful nature rears its ugly head and gets the best of us, as Paul himself discussed. Our only hope is to stop trying so hard and to let the Holy Spirit motivate and empower our actions. John Ortberg suggests it's like the difference between rowing a boat and sailing a boat. In a rowboat, you provide the power. With practice, you can get pretty good at rowing. And with training you can build up your strength to row quite a distance. But sooner or later your muscles give out, and you're dead in the water. In a sailboat, the wind provides the power; all you have to do is catch it. If you know how to do that, even the slightest breeze can get you moving, and when the wind picks up, you can really fly across the water. Some people live the Christian life like they're rowing a boat. They do it all in their own strength—pushing and pulling, straining their muscles, gritting their teeth. It's not a lot of fun, and it's only a matter of time before their strength gives out, and they're going nowhere, or drifting off course. But for those who understand the Spirit, living the Christian life is like sailing a boat. The Spirit provides the power that gets us from one place to another. That doesn't mean we're passive. A sailor has to read the wind, to set the sails. But it's the wind that provides the power. Not surprising that the word for spirit in the Greek language, pneuma, is also the word for wind. It's not surprising that when the Spirit touched the believers on the day of Pentecost, the sound and feel of it was like a mighty, rushing wind. It's not surprising that when Nicodemus came to Jesus, asking for life in all its fullness, Jesus told him he would have to be carried there by the wind of God's Spirit. Living the Christian life isn't a matter of a determined “I can make this happen” attitude. It does take discipline but it is discipline empowered by yielding, a setting of the sails of your life to catch the wind of God's Spirit. That's what Paul invites us to do in this final paragraph. "Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Because those who are led by the Spirit of God, are sons of God." "Those who are led by the Spirit of God," those who are carried along by the Spirit of God, those whose sails are filled with God's breeze, are truly sons and daughters of God. So how do you do that? How do you learn to ride the wind of God's Spirit? With the few remaining minutes, let me offer you some sailing lessons. How do we catch the wind of the Spirit? First of all, get acquainted with the Spirit. A good sailor learns to read the wind, to discern its strength and direction, to anticipate its shifting patterns. So Paul says in verse 5: "Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Many of us are unfamiliar with the nature and work of the Spirit. So spend some time getting to know the Spirit. Study some of the key passages in the Scripture that speak about the Spirit. You might want to write them down: John 14, 15, and 16; Acts 2; Romans 8; Galatians 5; 1 Corinthians 2 and 12. Spend some time this summer working through those passages. Make note of all the activities of the Spirit. Do some reading on the subject of the Spirit's ministry. It's hard to ride the wind if you don't know where it comes from or where it blows. Get acquainted with the Spirit. Second, invite the Spirit's to become more active in your life. If you're a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit lives within you. But the interesting thing about the Holy Spirit is that he doesn't force himself on anybody; he doesn't barge in where he's not welcome. Look again at verse 14: "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." The particular word Paul uses there, to lead, doesn't imply the use of force. The Holy Spirit won't drag us or drive us against our will. We don't become robots, controlled by some alien force. His Spirit comes alongside us. And so it's important that we intentionally, deliberately invite and accept the Spirit's activity in our lives. Some people do that at the beginning of each day. Chuck Swindoll writes, "Many a morning I begin my day be sitting on the side of the bed and saying, 'This is your day, Lord. I want to be at your disposal. I have no idea what these next 24 hours will contain. But before I begin, before I sip my first cup of coffee, and even before I get dressed, I want you to know that from this moment on throughout this day, I'm yours, Lord. Help me to lean on you, to draw strength from you, and to have you fill my mind and my thoughts. Take control of my senses so that I am literally filled with your presence and power. I want to be your tool, your vessel today. I can't make it happen. And so I'm asking, Lord, fill me with your Spirit today.'" You don't have to use those words in particular, but you get the idea. Pray it on the side of your bed, on your way to work. You can pray it at the beginning of anything. Invite the Spirit's work in your life this summer, as you rest or visit or travel. Get acquainted with the Spirit. Invite the Spirit's activity in your life. Third, allow the Holy Spirit to direct you in critical moments. Look again at verse 13: "If by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." When that tempted to look at that which his unhealthy, when someone at work conflicts with you, when the kids are pushing you beyond your limits, you can grit your teeth and try hard to do what Jesus would do. Or, you can quietly, sincerely, and deliberately allow the Holy Spirit to fill your sails, and take you in the direction he wants you to go. When that critical moment comes, when a choice or opportunity or temptation presents itself, if you will take just a moment to check out what God is saying to you through his Spirit, you'll find strength you never knew you had to resist temptation and to choose what is good and right and true.
How have you been attempting to live the Christian life—in your own strength, or in the Spirit's power? We will never become the people we are capable of becoming, without the help of the Holy Spirit. The secret of living the Christian life isn't only trying harder; it's also resisting God less, trusting the Holy Spirit more, setting the sails of our lives to catch the wind of God's Holy Spirit.
Let’s pray that God would be released in our lives right now...