The Conflict Within

Romans 8:5-17
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 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 because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

1. Choose your governor
2. Humbly accept the tension
3. Walk daily in the Spirit

Romans Series: No Condemnation

Romans 8: 1-4
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:2
..because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

1 John 1:8
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh

1. Our Habits
2. Performance Culture
3. Life choices
   
   Galatians 5:18
   But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
   
   
4. How we relate to God
   
   Romans 8:15
   The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.
   
   
5. How we love others

Our God is a ‘Turn Around God’

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend
on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.”

Romans 8:28 NIV
“And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according
to his purpose.”

1. Even when you don’t see it – God’s working

Proverbs 4:18 NLT
“The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn
which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.”

2. God’s plans for you are always good!

Proverbs 3:5 NLT
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend
on your own understanding.”

3. Coincidences are God’s hidden miracles

Luke 7:11-16 NIV
“ Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his
disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he
approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried
out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a
large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw
her, his heart went out to her. Then he went up and touched
the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still.
He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat
up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They were all filled with awe and praised God.”

Tax Free life - Anger Management

Proverbs 16:32
Better a patient person than a warrior,
one with self-control than one who takes a city.

Proverbs 25:28
Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.

What does self-control look like?

1. A gentle answer

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

2. Perspective on consequences

Proverbs 21:23
Those who guard their mouths and their tongues
keep themselves from calamity

3. Seeking advice

Proverbs 12:15
The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.

4. An unexpected gift

Proverbs 21:14
A gift given in secret soothes anger,
and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

5. Advanced prevention

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.

6. A graceful truth

Proverbs 27:6
Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Christ is Enough (Colossians)


Colossians 2:2 (Message)
I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery.

Colossians 2:6
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,

Colossians 2:8 (Message)
Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ.

Christ is enough on his own

Colossians 2:9 (Message)
Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Christ is enough for forgiveness

Colossians 2:13-14 (Message)
When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross.

Christ has redeemed our old life

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

The God who Delivers

1 Kings 1:29
As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble

1 Kings 1:29
9 The king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 30 I will surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”

His Presence is our Deliverer

Psalm 139:7
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

His Pardon is our Deliverer

Psalm 51:7-9
7
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

Luke 15:20
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

God’s miraculous provision

Philippians 4:19
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches

I AM The Way

John 14:3-6
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Ephesians 2:1
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Psalm 103:14-15
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;

1. THE WAY
2. THE TRUTH
3. THE LIFE

Romans 3:23
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.