Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 515 to the tune Ephraim
463. Holy Ghost, we look to thee, raise the dead, the captive free, From the mighty take the prey,
teach the weak to watch and pray. Hymn 515. ? Glorious we are to
thee ? ? Praise her ever counting free ? From the mighty tiptoe pray,
Teach the winter, watch and pray. Now here o'er the meadow tray
Plays some haughty rebel band I can't find them to pick up
? To some heaven's children's heart
? ? If it be thy holy grail ? ? Hail thy gracious fatherland
? ? With the stars and make them bright ? Jesus, save me, or I die. Lord, I fall in saints' folly,
? Thy sweet counsels shall repeat
? ? Gladly lead us now to Christ our Lord ? ? Christ the prophet, King and
Prince ? ? Thine it is, O Church, to praise
? to comfort in distress, trembling, helpless, chosen by Stray to Jesus from the sky. Held all self to Jesus' feet,
? O'er and in us intercede ? ?
By God's hand to death and die ? Perish, O Earth, wilt and fear! ? Heaven and earth ? ? Support
the fight ? ? Let it be true ? ? Death reside ? ? And death
unable to shine ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Paul's epistle to the Romans in chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. for what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin, in
the flesh. That the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is
death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are
in the flesh cannot please God, But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because of sin, and the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we
are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For
if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. But if ye through
the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear, but we have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children,
then heirs. heirs of God, and join heirs
with Christ. If so be that we suffer with
him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth the manifestation of the sons
of God. For the creature was made subject
to vanity not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected
the same in hope. Because the creature itself also
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Not only
they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption
to wit the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope,
but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeeth,
why doth he yet hope for it? But if we hope for that we see
not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise, the Spirit
also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. Whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God before us, who can be
against us, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him
up for us all, How shall he not with him also freely give us
all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake
we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us, for I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. May the Lord bless that portion
of his own precious word and grant to us, O Spirit, of real
prayer. Gracious, merciful, and eternal
God, help us now to bow before thy great and thy glorious majesty,
to call upon thy great and thy holy name, and do grant that
in this service the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the
love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship of the Holy
Spirit may rest and abide upon us. We pray that in this service
we may be led of the Spirit and that we've read together in thy
word that as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God. May we have that witness, O Lord,
with our spirit and in the leadings that we have. that we're being
led by the Spirit of God. And may it please the most gracious
Lord to grant that we may have the word of truth open to our
heart and to our understanding. And that the Lord Jesus may come
and make his presence known here in the sanctuary, that we may
feel him near and close to us. and that we may be favoured with
that spirit of adoption that we've read of together. Oh, do
send thy spirit forth into our hearts, even the spirit of Christ,
that we might be enabled to say, my God, my Father. So bless us,
Lord, we humbly pray thee, graciously lift us above these trifling
toys below, And that we read together, O Lord, of the flesh
and of the spirit. And we know from our own experience,
O Lord, there is a constant conflict between the flesh and the spirit.
That which I would, I do not. And that which I would not, I
do. I find a law within my members that when I would do good, then
evil is present with me. And we desire, O Lord, that there
was graciously Undertake for us and guide us, O thou great
Jehovah. We're pilgrims in a barren land.
We are weak, but thou art mighty. Hold us with thy powerful hand.
Feed us with the bread of heaven this afternoon. Come and break
the bread of life unto us. Come and grant that we may drink
of that living water, that if any man drink, it shall be in
him as a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Oh,
we pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst make us more
spiritually minded. Our affections, our desires,
may be set more on things above than on things in the earth. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that the Lord Jesus may be exceedingly precious unto us. Dear Savior,
let thy beauties be my soul's eternal food, and grace command
my heart away from all created good, grant that it may be so,
that we might know the sanctifying effect of the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, for a closer walk with thee,
a calmer heavenly frame, a light to shine upon the road that leads
me to the Lamb. Oh, we pray, dear Lord, that
thou wouldst graciously bless us. We pray, thou great God,
that we may know those divine drawings of the Father. None
come except the Father draw. Oh, that we might know that sweet
drawing. Draw me, that we will run after
thee. That we pray that thou would
remember us as a church and as a congregation. We thank thee
for all thy mercies toward us collectively as a people. We
thank Thee for Thy loving kindness and Thy great goodness that has
passed before us in the way. And we thank Thee, most gracious
Lord, for Thy blessed Spirit, for His heavenly power, for His
divine unction. We thank Thee, most gracious
Lord, that our Lord Jesus Christ was made flesh and dwelt among
us. We thank thee for that holy life he lived as a man here upon
earth, and that holy righteous law that he has fulfilled for
his people and has brought in everlasting righteousness. We
thank thee, most gracious Lord, for the wonderful glory of Calvary,
that perfect, acceptable sacrifice offered unto thee by thine only
begotten Son. For by one offering, He hath
perfected forever all them that are sanctified. Oh, we do thank
Thee for that sacred glory and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that Thou wouldst fill our hearts with gratitude that He died for
our sins, He laid down His life for His friends, and He rose
again for our justification. We thank thee that he has swallowed
up death in victory, and he has made a new and living way into
the holy place. Whither the forerunner is for
us entered even Jesus, now to appear in the presence of God
for us. Lord, we pray that we may catch
a glimpse of the glory of your lovely man, even this day as
we gather around thy word. We thank thee that at the appointed
time he will come again, bringing his sheaves with him,
and that we thank thee that thy saints shall come with him, that
they will be glorified in his saints. Lord, we wait that day,
that great day. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
look upon us then as a church, as a congregation. Remember our
brethren, the deacons, and graciously bless them with all needed grace,
wisdom, and help. Undertake for them in all their
concerns and do all those things that they undertake to do. And
we do pray that they'll always remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship, and that they'll always bless
us indeed. Help us to love each other, serve each other, and
bear each other's burden. thereby fulfilling the law of
Christ. And we do pray that thou wouldst
graciously, graciously guide us, and graciously bless us,
and grant that there may yet be a generation raised up among
us that shall call thee the Redeemer blessed, that shall follow on
to know the law. Lord, do hear us, we pray thee.
Bless the dear children Bless them with that rich grace that
is in Christ Jesus. Bless them with the fear of the
Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Our dear young friends,
as they grow up into manhood and womanhood, in their teenage
years, do graciously preserve and keep them from all evil,
and keep them from the natural incarnations of a carnal mind, and keep them from the temptations
of Satan, and keep them from the allurements of this vain
world that has to death ten thousands hurled. Bring them to feel the
reality that there is a God, that there is a day of judgment,
that we all have sinned to come short of thy glory and the great
need of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. So bless our
young friends. We do humbly beseech thee and
guide them, O thou great Jehovah. but we do pray that there was
open eyes and ears and hearts. May there be one and another
here, O Lord. It could be said as it was with
Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened. Grant that it may be so. We pray,
most gracious Lord, that there was guide and direct to our young
friends regarding their education, regarding their employment, and
regarding a partner in life's journey. We lovingly commend
them to thee and to the word of thy grace, which is able to
build them up and to grant them an inheritance among them that
are sanctified. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
graciously remember parents and give them wisdom and guidance
and direction in all matters, and graciously help them to cast
their burdens upon the Lord and to look to Thee and to cleave
to Thee, we do humbly beseech Thee. And we pray, most gracious
Lord, that Thou would enable them, the cause that is too hard
for Thee, bring it unto me, enable them so to do. O Lord, we do
beseech Thee for Thy great namesake. And we pray for the prodigals
that have wandered, that Thou would stretch out Thy almighty
arm that thou wouldst cause them to be in want and cause them
to return by thy irresistible grace, by thy almighty power. And as we were speaking, O Lord,
this morning of that spirit of love, do come and shed abroad
thy love in their hearts. We do humbly beseech of thee
that we may be rooted and grounded in love and know the love of
Christ which passeth not in. We pray, dearest Lord, that thou,
in thy precious mercy, would remember this village. Send out
thy light and thy truth. Powerfully work in this neighbourhood,
in the surrounding villages and hamlets. Gather precious souls
into the sanctuary. Build the walls of Jerusalem.
Fulfil what we read in thy word, for I am returned unto Jerusalem
with mercies. Lord, may it be so. Humble us
before them, give us the spirit of real travail. I've set watchmen
upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, shall never hold their peace,
day nor night. O thou great God, give us that
wrestling prayer which can wonders do, and bring relief in deepest
straits. Prayer can force a passage through
iron bars and brazen gates. For Lord, there is nothing too
hard for thee. Help us to commit our way unto
the Lord. Trust also in him. He will bring
it to pass. Remember those of us in the evening
time of life's journey and graciously go before us. The longest, O
Lord, can't be long before we shall be called. Hence, we pray
to be graciously prepared. Prepare me, gracious God, To
stand before thy face, thy spirit must the work perform, for it
is all of grace. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
graciously hear prayer for all thy servants as they labour in
word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Thou wouldst set them
free and at liberty, come up with thy dear servant in his
coming week, grant that he may come up in the fullness of the
blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that he may dip his foot
in oil and be made acceptable unto the brethren. Help us, Lord,
to pray for him. We do humbly beseech thee. We
pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst bless the churches
up and down the land and bless those that have much responsibilities
among the churches. Graciously help them to do that
which is right in thy sight and to walk in the fear of the Lord,
And we pray that the twos and the threes may multiply, even
as thou hast promised in thy word, a little one shall become
a thousand. Gracious Lord, grant that we
may see such a day, that thou wouldst return, that thou wouldst
make bare thine holy arm, that thou wouldst bring thy sons from
far and our daughters from the ends of the earth. We do humbly
beseech of thee. O Lord of hosts, let thy hand
be upon the man of thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom thou
madest strong for thyself. And we pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou, in thy precious mercy, that we hear prayer for thy Church
throughout the nations of the earth. We especially pray for
the Church of God in the Ukraine in this time of war and bloodshed.
that thou wouldst preserve and keep them, and help them to look
to thee, and richly bless them in these dark days in which they
live, and put a stop to war, and bring to naught the counsels
of the ungodly. O Lord, we do humbly beseech
thee. And we pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst graciously bless those that live in those
places where the name of Christ is hated, and where they are
persecuted, under prison and under death, because of the name
and witness of Jesus Christ. Send them help from the sanctuary.
Strengthen them out of Zion. O Lord, we do humbly beseech
thee. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
now be with us as we turn to thy holy word. Come and open
thy word to our heart and to our understanding. We ask with
the forgiveness of all our many sins, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 1078. The tune is Mitten 374. Dear Lord, and shall thy spirit
rest in such a wretched heart as mine, unworthy dwelling, glorious
guest. Favour, astonishing divine. Hymn 1078. ? Is such a man ? ? Jacob has died
? ? A worthy man ? ? In the lowest place of heaven above ? ? And their poor lives ? ? May
smile in the night ? ? Lord, have mercy ? ? With every being
? ? Face me ? and night. Jordan is come, Jordan is come,
? Did Jesus take my fainting heart? ? ? Has heard my cries
for evermore die? ? ? There shall fly from his hands
my soul to thee ? with singing voice. Where'er tempests roll, life
is no joke. Where'er Amen. With ardent faith, one hope aspires,
that in weakness and power we'll grow. We shall ? His hand ? ? God bless the land
? ? O mighty land ? ? And raise my heart ? ? Have faith in me to be my Lord
? ? I am the treasure of my trust ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to Romans chapter
eight, and we will read verse nine for our text. Paul's epistle to the Romans
chapter eight, read in verse nine for our text. But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. The apostle speaks very clearly
here concerning flesh and spirit and our flesh is fallen, our
flesh is corrupt, our flesh is unrighteous and even where the spirit of
God dwells it doesn't change our flesh, it changes the heart
But we have a carnal nature. We shall never be holy, this
side of the grave. As the apostle tells us, that
we carry about a body of sin and death, a corrupt nature. And to the living child of God,
who indeed has the spirit, and the teaching of the spirit, it's
a great burden and a great triumph. because they have the flesh,
with its corrupt desires, with its corrupt longings. And to
the child of God, that's something that perhaps seems to get worse
as they get older. And that old man of sin, which
is corrupt. Now the apostle in the previous
chapter, he speaks of it, and he speaks of that law within
our members, He says in verse 11 in chapter 7, For sin, taken
occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just
and good. Was then that which is good made
death unto me? God forbid! But sin, that it
might appear sin, work in death in me, by that which is good,
that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. You
see, And it goes on, it explains that conflict that there is in
the heart of the true believer. For we know that the law is spiritual
and I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow
not. For what I would, that do I not. For what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would
not, I consent under the law that it is good. Now then, it
is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. And
this is the great burden to the living child of God, sin that
dwelleth in me. It's a burden, it's a trial.
Now, there's a big difference, my beloved friends, I want to
make this clear, from sin dwelling in you and from you living in
sin. There's a very big difference
to those two things, sin dwells in the heart. It remains in the
heart of the believer. The old man which is corrupt.
But we're exhorted, I think the apostle does in the Ephesians,
he says, let us put off the old man and put on the new man. That is the new man of grace.
Speaking now to believers and to follow Christ and to walk
after him. because if we're walking in the
flesh the carnal mind he says it here verse 7 because the carnal
mind is enmity against God in other words it hates him for
it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be so then they that are in the
flesh that is they only have the flesh without the spirit
cannot please God We cannot please God without the Holy Ghost giving
us a new heart. Without the Holy Ghost quickening
our soul into life, we cannot please God. It's a solemn thought,
isn't it? The only way that a poor sinner
can please God is when they are brought into communion with Jesus
Christ and they love the Lord Jesus Christ, and then they do
those things that are pleasing in his sight. They follow him,
they serve him, they live unto him. It's a wonderful mercy,
but he says here, you see, in verse 6, for to be carnally minded
is death. And don't we prove that? When
we're carnally minded, It brings death, death into our heart,
death into our conscience. It sullifies spiritual life,
death. One hymn writer says, death within
us, all about us. And for to be carnally minded
is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. It's a wonderful thing, my beloved
friends, when the Lord gives us a spiritual mind, when the
Lord gives us a spiritual appetite, spiritual desires and spiritual
longings. It's a very precious thing. May
the Lord grant these precious blessings unto us to make us
more spiritually minded. Set your affections on things
above and not on things of the earth. or that the Blessed Spirit
would enable us so to do, that we may love our Lord Jesus Christ
in sincerity and in truth, but ye are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit. John, John the Apostle, in the
Revelation chapter one, he says, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day. What a mercy when we're in the
Spirit on the Lord's Day, when we go up unto the house of God,
that our heart is full of desires and longings and yearnings, and
we want to see Jesus, we want to follow Him, we want His Word
to be made a light unto our feet and a lamp unto our path. It's
a wonderful thing, friends, when you have that sort of appetite,
when the Spirit of God is stirring up His power within us. But ye
are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you. We touched on this this morning,
but you know, this chapter here, chapter eight of the Romans,
it's full of the divine work of the blessed Spirit of truth. And isn't that what we need?
And he says in verse 11, but if the spirit of him that raised
up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies, that is this
body that we have now, we're living on earth with, quicken
your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. He don't
just quicken the soul, he quickens the body. Our body and our soul
are united together. And when the spirit quickens
our soul and gives us life, he quickens the body. It motivates
us. Motivates us to do that which
is right in his sight. And to follow him and to serve
him. And to attend the house of prayer. Indeed, to pray unto
the Lord and to look unto the Lord. And to do those things
that are pleasing to him. When the spirit Truly active
in our hearts then we want to do those things that are pleasing
to him We want to follow Him we want
to serve him we want to live unto him He speaks in a very
similar way here in the 12th chapter of the romans doesn't
he? I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of god what what
he means there is the mercy that you've received in Christ, the
blessings that you've received in Christ, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. As a
believer, he's speaking there to believers, to those that have
received Christ, to those who have the life of God in their
hearts, to those in whom the Spirit of God dwells. present
your bodies, and live in sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you might know what that good and perfect and acceptable
will of the Lord is. the more closely we're enabled
to walk to Christ. The more we know of his love
and of his grace and of his mercy in our hearts, the more we should
desire to follow him. The more we should desire to
do what's right in his sight, the more we should want to consecrate
ourselves unto him. That is the desire of the spiritually
minded man and woman. present our bodies, everything
that we have, that's what he means, to present everything
that we have to his honor, to his glory, to use everything
that we have to his honor and to his glory. Oh, may the Lord
indeed make us more spiritually minded, but ye are not in the
flesh, but in the spirit. If so be that the spirit of God
dwells In our hymns that we've sung together, they've all been
on the glorious and divine person of the Spirit of God. Now, let
us speak for a moment on the Spirit of God, who he is, what
he does. Well, as the Word of God declares,
he proceeded forth from the Father and the Son. Christ in his discourses,
in John chapters 14, 15, and 16, teaching his disciples before
he was to ascend into glory. And he shows them very clearly
and very emphatically. He shows us too in those portions
how vital and how necessary the work of the Holy Ghost is. And
he also shows us that he is a divine person. He says, when He, the
Spirit of Truth, is come, He is a personal word. It belongs
to a person. And the Holy Ghost is a divine
person. Some have tried to say that He
was just an emanation from the Godhead, an influence from the
Father and the Son. But of course, my beloved friends,
that's not true. It's not consistent with the
word of God. He is in himself a divine person. When he has come, when he comes
to the heart of a sinner, he convinces them of their sin.
He guides them. He will guide you into all truth,
Christ says. And he shall be in you. These are the words of Christ.
He shall be in you. the Holy Spirit will be in you.
I often refer you to those words in John chapter 7, and there
in John chapter 7 and verse 38 or 37, we read in that, in the
last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, if any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. He
that believeth on me As the Scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water. Then he interprets it, but this
he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should
receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet
given, because that Christ was not yet glorified. Also, showing
that he is a divine person, in the Gospel of John in chapter
4, when the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking, unto the woman by
Jacob's well and he says in verse 14 but whosoever drinketh of
the water that I shall give him shall never thirst what he's
speaking of there my beloved friends is the Holy Ghost he
shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be
in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life which
shows that he will never leave he will never forsake springing
up into everlasting life. When the Holy Ghost enters into
the heart of a sinner, that's what Christ is saying. When he
dwells there, it is like a never-ending fountain of living water rising
up within the soul of the believer. You know, we speak of that word,
without him we can do nothing. That is applicable to every person
in the Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Without Him, we can do nothing. So applicable to the Holy Ghost.
Without His indwelling in your heart, you would not be a believer. You would not follow Christ.
It's only as we follow Him, and we read here in verse 14, I often
quote it, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God. The evidence that we are indeed
a child of God is to be led by the Spirit, to be guided by the
Spirit. And there is that evidence that
He dwells in your heart, and therefore you're a child of God. See, and because of that, it
says so, And if Christ be in you, because he's speaking there
of the Holy Ghost in verse 10, and if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because
of righteousness. But if the spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead, clear teaching there that the
Holy Ghost raised up Christ from the dead, dwell in you, He that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. Mortal bodies because
we're going to die. We all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. We must die. Therefore we have
mortal bodies. What a mercy if the spirit dwells
in our mortal bodies. Therefore brethren, but we are
debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh for if you live
after the flesh you shall die but if you through the spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body the word mortify means to kill
to mortify the deeds of the body see what a mercy if we know something
of this and you shall live for as many
as are led by the Spirit of God. Where will the Spirit of God
lead you? Well, he will lead you under
the law to realize that you're a sinner, to realize that you're
lost, to realize you're undone, to realize you're unclean and
unrighteous altogether. That's the leading of the Spirit. When he has come, he will Recruits
the world of seeing of righteousness and of judgment That's the divine
work of the spirit in the heart To teach you what you are and
where you are as a poor lost sinner And that same spirit will
teach you to flee from the wrath which is to come the day of judgment
You teach you to flee from the wrath which is to come and he will teach you where to
flee. To Jesus Christ, the only true God, the Eternal Father
sent his only begotten Son to redeem his people from sin and
Satan's power. Jesus himself said, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. And that's where the Holy Spirit
will lead you for life and for light. Christ said, I am the
light of the world. And when the Holy Spirit leads
you to Christ, light will shine into your heart. God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness has shined into our hearts with
the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
That's where salvation is. That's where the Holy Spirit
will lead you. And that is who the Holy Spirit
will reveal unto you. It's the glorious person of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but he are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now that next part of our text
shows you how vital it is that the Spirit of God should dwell
in us. And notice he's called the Spirit
of Christ. Now if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, that's the Holy Ghost, he is none of his. He is none
of his. Oh, my beloved friends, these
things are written in the Word of God to show us how vital and
how necessary the work of the Holy Ghost is. And how vital
and necessary it is that he dwells in our hearts. If he dwells in our hearts, he
quickens our souls. He gives us spiritual life. And
then we can say, with the dear apostle here, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For the law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death. That's the gospel, the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The law
and sin of death is the Ten Commandments. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do.
These are very important words. For what the law could not do. What cannot the law do? It cannot
give you life. It cannot bring salvation to
your heart. He cannot enlighten you only
to the fact that you're in darkness and bonded in a sinner. That's
all that the law can do. The law, for what the law could
not do, in that it was weak through the flesh. What he means there
is that, as he says in verse 12 of chapter 7, where for the
law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. There's
nothing wrong with the law. The wrong is in you and your
total inability to keep it and to fulfill its holy commandments. You can't do it because you're
born in sin and sin is any transgression of the law of God. And if you're
in that position at this time when you're trying to please
God and you're trying to make yourself better and make yourself
more acceptable unto God, you'll never do it. You've set yourself
a task that is utterly impossible. There's only one man, my beloved
friends, that has fulfilled the law, and that is Christ. He says
here in the Romans, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
unto all them that believe. You come to the end of the law,
the end of all hope in yourself and what you can do. And then the Holy Spirit will
lead you unto Jesus, unto the Saviour, unto Him that has fulfilled
the law, honoured the law, magnified the law. I preached twice this
last week from that beautiful word in Psalm 37, marked the
perfect man. And behold the upright, for the
end of that man is peace. Who is it? It's Christ. There's
no other perfect man that has ever walked this earth, but Jesus
Christ, the eternal son of the eternal father. He lived a life
perfectly consistent with the holy law of God. He fulfilled
that law. He honored that law. He magnified
that law. Mark the perfect man and behold
the upright, that's Christ. For the end of that man, the
end of every man in Christ is peace. The end of that man is
peace. You'll find peace nowhere else.
You'll find salvation nowhere else. You'll find deliverance
nowhere else. But in our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you, now If any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his. It's a very solemn thought, isn't
it? How many professing Christians there are that do not have the
Spirit of God, that do not feel the necessity of having the Spirit
of God? It's a solemn thought, isn't
it? You're none of his if you don't
have the Holy Ghost dwelling in your heart. How vital, my
beloved friends, to have the Holy Ghost dwelling in our hearts
and to have that evidence that we are indeed being taught by
the Spirit of God. And though you have those fluctuations
like we have looked at in the seventh chapter, The flesh lusting
against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. For the one
is contrary to the other. Every true child of God has that
battle. The flesh lusting against the
spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. They're contrary. Your flesh wants to do this,
but your new man wants to do that. And hence there's a conflict. Well, I would do good. that evil
is present with me. There's a tremendous conflict
that time goes on in the heart of the true children of God between
the flesh and the spirit. It's a mercy if you know that
conflict. It's a mercy if you have that
evidence that the spirit of God dwells in you, that you have
the new man of grace. Even though at times your flesh
may be so strong And perhaps we get into a backsliding state
and condition. And then in doing so we grieve
the Holy Ghost who dwells in the heart. And then as John Bunyan
puts it in his Holy War, the spirit withdraws to the inner
keep. You know you have an inner keep
in the castle, or John Bunyan puts it in that homely way. The
castle is called Mansoul. and the inner key, the Holy Ghost
is there. But he said he shuts all the
doors. And like the hymn writer says, no longer burns our love,
our faith and patience fail. Why? Because the Holy Ghost is
grieved and he's withdrawn. And our love to Christ only burns
as he feeds it, as he gives it. And when we grieve him, then
we're then we're far off from him. I think it's in the Epistle
to the Ephesians, isn't it, where the dear Apostle, he speaks of
that work of the Spirit and the grieving of the Spirit and how
soon we can grieve him. You see, I believe it's in the
fourth chapter, isn't it, where He speaks of, in verse 30, and
grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption. It's the Holy Spirit that seals
Christ into the heart, or He seals the blood of Christ into
your soul that cleanses from all sin, or He seals the glorious
everlasting robe of the righteousness of Christ upon you, so that Oh,
you know that sweet blessing of forgiveness of sins. You know
what it is to be truly blessed. Now, if you look at the context
here, what the Apostle is speaking of, if you look from verse 22
in Ephesians 4, that you put off concerning the former conversation,
the old man which is corrupt, according to his deceitful lust.
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that you put
on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and
true holiness. See, so there we have the old
man, and then we have the new man. Wherefore, putting away
lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are
members one of another. Be angry and sin not, let not
the wrath of the sun go down on your wrath, neither give place
to the devil, Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let
him labour, working with his hands a thing which is good,
that he may have to give to him that needeth. And let no corrupt
communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is
good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto
the hearers. Has that word ever condemned
you? Especially if you get into a light and frivolous mood, and
sometimes speak foolish things, a word like that will really
convict you. But that is good to the use of
edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers, and grieve
not the Holy Spirit of God. Now, if we do all those things
that are listed before, then we grieve the Holy Spirit of
God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption, Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking
be put away from you with all malice, and be ye kind, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children, and walk in love as Christ also hath loved
us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God, as a sweet-smelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness
and covetousness, let it not once be named among you, has
become its saints, nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting,
which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. You
see, my beloved friends, these things are written for our instruction. Our instruction. that we should
not grieve the spirit. And if we do grieve the spirit,
its sweet influences will be withdrawn. And then we, as one
says, I to my own sad place return. That's what happens when we're
carnally minded, worldly minded. Our heart set upon earthly things,
when we're not seeking first the kingdom of heaven and thy
righteousness. And all these things shall be
added unto you. But we get that the wrong way
round. We seek first our earthly things. And that is what our
chief concern is. Earthly things, carnal things.
Oh, that the Spirit of God may awaken us. Says here in the epistle
to the Ephesians, he says, Awake thou that sleepest and rise from
the dead and Christ shall give you light. If we're in a sleeping condition,
a Laodicean condition, a lack of spiritual mindedness, Christ
is not precious, Christ is not the altogether lovely one, Christ
is not all your desire, then it goes without saying that earth
and the things of it are. Oh, my beloved friends, may the
Lord keep us, but ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so be, that the spirit of
God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the
spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you,
the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because
of righteousness. You know, if we're in the spirit,
if Christ is precious, if Christ is the altogether lovely one,
you'll notice a difference. the sanctifying effect of the
presence of Christ and of the Spirit of Christ within you.
You know, I remember before I was brought into Gospel Liberty I
had a period of great conviction of sin and a period of deep teaching
as to the awful nature of sin that was within me and lived
in me. and the temptations that sometimes would take hold of
me, and my old flesh would go after them. But you know, friends,
when I was brought into gospel liberty, when Christ was made
precious, those same temptations had no hold. Christ was so precious. The presence of Christ and the
love of Christ, it has a most blessed, sanctifying effect in
our lives, so that we only want to live to Him And those things
that do not please Him, we don't want them. We turn away from
them. But when we're not spiritually
minded, we don't. We anchor after them. Such a
sacred thing when we feel that most blessed and sacred sanctifying
effect of the love of Christ in our hearts. And then we can
truly say we're in the Spirit. That's where John was, wasn't
it? In the Spirit. on the Lord's day but you're
not in the flesh but in the spirit if so be that the spirit of God
dwell in you now if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is
none of his may the Lord add Let us now sing together hymn
number 888. The tune is Saint Anatolius,
555. No wit, or will of man, or learning he may boast, No power of reason can draw sinners
unto Christ. So falling is nature, such a
flaw none can except the Father draw. Hymn 888. O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of ? Cherubim, nation, sacramentum
? ? Lentamentum, lentamentum ? ? Could any plague there be ? ? A cover
or a boat ? ? Extend a man or sing ? ? And giving thou some early stay
? ? We have need more than teach you today ? ? O come, O come, all ye faithful
? ? Joyful and triumphant ? ? O come, O come, all ye faithful ? ? And turn them to the cross ?
? Let sinners face me ? ? While they torch and feast upon the
cross ? The Spirit to us shown, the power
only to show, ? Student, which can bring home
an older soul? ? Illuminous and firm, strong in
faith, and triumph of heart, stream, and stream. So let my heart be drawn To Jesus
Christ, the Lord ? And God to please the poor ?
? It was now and is for all ? ? His sweet redemption through His
blood ? Now, may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest. and abide with us each, both
now and for evermore. Amen.