LIVE THE LIFE YOU WERE DESIGNED FOR

0:02 It was 1994, and my dad had brought home our first home computer. I was 13 years old, and I was fired up. See, I always loved technology, even at a young age. Now, students, you've got to remember that it wasn't like today. Like, you didn't have a smartphone and a tablet and technology at your fingertips all the time. The only place you could probably use a computer was like at the computer lab at school. But now we had one at home and I was so excited. I opened up the manual and I wanted to read and learn everything I could about this computer. I read through all the help documentation about all the applications because I wanted to figure out what made this thing work and how to best utilize it. I was so excited. I went to school the next day and I told one of my friends, hey, guess what?

0:54 We got a home computer. He said, man, that's awesome. He said, I've got this game that you should install. I said, okay, cool. So the next day at school, he brings me a stack of about 10 floppy disks. Now, those of you that are my age, you know what a floppy disk is. If you don't know what a floppy disk is, you can YouTube it later. But I took these floppy disks home, and man, I was so excited. I was in such a hurry. I got home, I put the first floppy disk in, and I was clicking go, hit yes, enter, enter, just go, just get this thing installed. And I worked my way through all 10 disks until finally the game was installed. And then I began to play and I enjoyed it. I had a good time. I spent a couple hours playing this game. And after I was done, I hit quit and I exited the game. And to my shock and to my horror, I realized that everything else that was on the computer before was now gone.

1:48 The applications, the operating system, all my dad's files, all gone. Now my dad was about to return home in about an hour. And so my chest, I could feel my heart beating through it. I can feel the blood leaving my face going, oh no, what am I going to do? How many of you have ever been in such a hurry that you skipped over the instructions? We've been there before. I think we all have. Well, I think a lot of times we can live our lives this way. We think, I can just figure it out. I can just figure it out as I go. Or maybe you're clicking yes to all the next prompts that life is throwing at your way, onto the next quick fix, the next thing that's gonna bring pleasure or joy or just for the moment. And we fail to consult the instructions that God has given to you and to me.

2:46 We don't heed the directions from the ultimate designer. See, God has designed a life for you and for me that is far better than anything that we could ever imagine. It's a life better than anything we could ask, think, or imagine, Scripture tells us. But oftentimes, we don't heed the instructions. We've been studying the book of Romans, and I believe that today as we unpack Romans chapter 8, Paul is going to lay out some steps for us to live the life, the ultimate life that God has in store for each and every one of us. Quick backstory on Romans for those of you that maybe missed the previous weeks of the series. Romans was written by the apostle Paul and before he was Paul, he was Saul and he was a bad guy. He persecuted Christians. He put them in prison and oftentimes would even kill Christians. But he met Jesus and his life was turned upside down and He became one of the biggest proponents and spreaders of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the known corners of the world at that time.

3:54 He planted churches and he wrote letters that make up most of what we have of the New Testament today. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write so much of what we know of as the Bible today. So here it is, Romans chapter 8. And biblical scholars would agree that the book of Romans is probably the most important book in the Bible. And they would argue that Romans chapter 8 is the crown jewel. So today, let's dive in and discover these steps that Paul has for us in discovering the life that is truly worth living. Romans chapter 8, verse 1 says, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. See, the first step that Paul wants us to take is to find true freedom.

4:50 Find true freedom. Notice at the beginning of verse one, it says, therefore, first word out of the gate. Well, what's it there for? It's referencing back to chapter seven. If you were here last week, Pastor Derek Bonneau unpacked chapter seven where Paul was talking about his struggle with sin. All the things that I don't wanna do, I do, and the things I wanna do, I don't do. And he says, oh, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? So in chapter seven, he's saying, man, I have such a sin problem. And so he begins chapter eight by saying, okay, since I have this sin issue, therefore, how much condemnation am I going to deal with? And out of the gate, he says, none. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That word condemnation, maybe it's confusing to you.

5:44 It's a judicial term. It's a sentence that the judge gives when the gavel is dropped and all of the evidence proves guilt and the sentence is death. That's what condemnation is. But Paul is saying, therefore, there is now no condemnation. Notice that word now. Not someday, not maybe, but right now. The moment you surrender your life to Jesus, in that instant, no condemnation. Think about it. When Jesus died on the cross, how many of your sins had you committed at that point? None, right? You weren't born yet. I wasn't born yet. None of us were born yet. But at that moment, Jesus paid the price for all past condemnation and all potential future condemnation. He did it in that moment. So once you accept Christ into your life, the trial is over, the verdict is in, and the case is closed.

6:39 You're not on probation. You're pardoned. That's good news. But see, the tendency is we often live our lives like we're still on trial, don't we? It's like, man, if I could just be good enough, maybe that'll wipe out the bad thing I did over here. And if I could just earn this, and if I can just, man, if I can just make myself look the right way. We live our lives. but see he wiped out all of our potential condemnation on the cross once and for all all existing and all potential future condemnation look at the end of verse one it says no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus notice this God doesn't love you to the degree that you are like Christ. He loves you to the degree that you are in Christ.

7:36 And for those of us who are followers of Jesus, that's always 100% in Christ Jesus. So you're not just forgiven, you're united with Christ. Have you ever seen those Russian dolls that you kind of open up and you put one inside the other, inside the other? That's kind of the picture here. You open one up and we go inside, the person of Jesus Christ. We are in Christ Jesus. When God looks at you, he sees his son. He sees Jesus. So what's true of him is now true of you. Jesus did the work and all we have to do is accept it. See, it's more than just deliverance from sin's guilt and punishment. It's also deliverance from sin's enslaving power.

8:40 Look at verse 2. It says, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. The law of sin and death. Man, we see the law of sin and death at work in our world, don't we? Just turn on the news, open up social media. Students, I'm sure you see it at your junior high, your high school, your college. We see sin and death, the law of sin and death at work all around us. But Paul is telling us there's a greater law. It's the law of the Spirit. Now, how many of you, you're familiar with the law of gravity, right? We've all experienced the law of gravity. I like to go to the gym and lift weights and man, the law of gravity is undefeated, right? No matter how strong I get, no matter how good my form is, the law of gravity says those weights are going to come down, right? As nice as it might be, they're never going to fall up. They're going to fall down.

9:33 That's the law of gravity. But see, there's another law that takes place. I can go just around the corner here to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, and I can get on a plane, and that plane can taxi to the runway and begin to pick up speed and take off, and that's the law of aerodynamics. And the law of aerodynamics is actually more powerful than the law of gravity. It can allow us to defy the law of gravity. That's the picture that Paul is painting here. The law of the Spirit can overcome the law of sin and death. Look at verse 3. It says, 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 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. In verse three, Paul is talking about the law here.

10:30 The law was the Old Testament law, the Torah. It was the first five books of the Bible. And the law was set in place to show God's holy standard, his righteous standard. But the problem with the law is that we can never live up to it. It was like a mirror. It could show us what's wrong, show us where we're dirty, but it couldn't do anything to help us get clean. It was the law. So Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh and died not just that we might be forgiven, but that we might live according to his righteous standard. See, the gospel message is not just stop sinning. That would be impossible, right? See, it's behold the love and mercy and grace and acceptance of God and then live according to the spirit.

11:26 Paul is echoing the heartbeat of Jesus here. I think about in the Gospels in John chapter eight, there's a woman who's been caught in adultery and she's in a town square and there's people all around and the religious leaders are there. And the law said that because of this woman's sin, she should be stoned to death. She should be punished. So the crowd standing around with stones in hand and Jesus walks on the scene. And he says, let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone. And one by one, they drop their stones and they walk away.

12:08 And Jesus looks at the woman and he says, has no one condemned you? She says to him, no one, sir. And he says to her, neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin. See, Jesus took the condemnation that we deserve so that we could walk free. That's your true freedom. Maybe you're here and you say, that's fantastic, Dave, that's great. I'm free from the penalty of sin, but how do I break free from the practice of sin? How do I stop hitting that button that wipes out my peace and my joy in my life? Well, see, that's what Paul is going to address next. The first step is we find true freedom. the next step is we have to take on a new mindset. Look at verse five.

13:01 It says, 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. It all begins in the mind. We are what we think. See, our behavior will be determined by what we meditate on, right? The mind of the flesh that Paul's talking about here, it's about me. It's about I. It's self-service, right? It's self-will. I can do it on my own. I don't need anybody's help. It's just me. I'm independent. I can do this. I don't need anyone. It's self-glory. I want the recognition. I want the likes. I want people to like me and follow me and I want the praise, right? It's self-gratification. It's power. It's money. It's sex. It's whatever that quick hit is of pleasure that's gonna gratify you. It's gratifying the self.

13:54 It's S-I-N. Notice I is in the middle, right? When I put myself in the middle, it's sin. It's pride. It's ego. It's about me. But look at the second part of verse five. It says, those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. What is the mind of the spirit? The mind of the spirit is, I think about things which glorify God. I spend time with other people that are pursuing Jesus and trying to be more like him in fellowship with them. I spend time in worship. I spend time in prayer. I spend time in God's word. I study it. I meditate on it. I let it penetrate to the very core of who I am. And look at the results of these things. Verse six, the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. See, this isn't about big decisions. This is about moment by moment living, moment by moment spiritual response. How many of you in the evening were going to confess yes, we're in church, doom scroll on your phone sometimes in the evening.

15:18 Okay, see, hands going up everywhere. Yes, I see them. I'm guilty as well. But sometimes we're just kind of vegging. You know, maybe you're perusing Instagram or Facebook or TikTok if you're cool and hip and young. And you're scrolling through all the social media, right? But what tends to happen to our minds and our hearts when we do that? Sometimes it can cause feelings of anxiety, maybe judgment, maybe jealousy. It's like, man, it must be nice. Wish I could go on that trip. Wish I could do that thing. See, ultimately, the Bible tells us that mindset can lead to death. So what do we do in those moments? What do we do in those situations? We can pause and say a short prayer and fix our focus on something that's true or something that's right. Shift our mindset from a fleshly reaction to a spiritual response.

16:13 See, that's where life and peace are found. Or maybe for you, it's bitterness or anger towards a family member or a relative, someone that has wronged you, someone that has stabbed you in the back and betrayed you. And every time they pop up in your contacts or in a text message, your mind goes there to vengeance, right, toward a revenge, or just something that I have harboring in my heart towards that person. Verse seven tells us that's the mind that's hostile to God. See, but the spirit-led mind recognizes that temptation and chooses the difficult but God-honoring path of forgiveness and peace. So my question today is, what have you fed into your mind this week? What social media have you perused? What websites have you visited? What shows have you watched?

17:06 What have you downloaded into your heart and into your mind? How much time have you spent in prayer? How much time have you spent in worship? How much time have you spent in the word? Have you studied it? Have you meditated on it? Maybe that's why you feel like you're just existing and you're not really living. You know, we've developed the Fellowship Church app here at FC. Now, we don't do this just for fun, but this is one of the ways that we can help you walk in the spirit and have your mind set on things of the spirit. Every day we do daily Bible readings and prayer. And this is just an easy way for you to start your day or at some point in your day, hit that pause button of all those other things that can be swirling around you and focus your mind on what is true. God's truth, God's word.

18:00 Spend time in prayer. See, oftentimes the things that you focus on determine the direction that you'll go. The things you focus on are going to determine the direction that you will go. I think about the disciples and I think about Simon Peter. In Matthew chapter 14, we read a story where the disciples are on a boat. You're probably familiar with this story, but they're in the midst of a storm. And in that storm, they see Jesus walking on the water. and Jesus is walking towards them and he calls to Simon, Peter, come, join me on the water. Peter, man of faith, he steps out of that boat and begins to walk towards Jesus. And as he has his eyes set and focused on Jesus, he walks on water. But as his shift focuses to the wind and the waves and the storm and everything that's happening around him, he begins to sink.

19:01 So Jesus reaches out his hand and he says, you of little faith, why did you doubt? See, that's the battle between flesh and spirit. The flesh looks at the storm and everything that's happening around and the spirit looks at the savior. See, our flesh is, man, look at all the bad things that are happening around. But in the spirit, I can look towards Jesus. See, peace doesn't come from calmer seas. It comes from a clear focus. That is your new mindset.

19:37 See, but maybe you're saying, well, Dave, that sounds great, but how? How do I do that? That sounds impossible. You don't understand my situation. You don't know what I'm dealing with. See, first we find new freedom. Then we take on a new mindset. But in order to do that, we have to unleash the Spirit's power. Look at verse 9. It says, 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. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the spirit gives life because of righteousness. See, whenever someone commits their life to Jesus, their sins are forgiven, but also the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside them. You can't do it on your own. Everybody say, I can't do it on my own.

20:39 That's freeing, isn't it? I can't do it on my own. That's right. The Spirit who lives in us gives us life. That's the power. Look at verse 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 his spirit who lives in you. That's a power-packed verse. That's crazy. You need to let that sink in. So the same spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of you, if you've surrendered your life to Christ and you're living for him, you have resurrection power available to you every day. Do I wake up that way? That's convicting for me. Do I live my life every day that way? See, it's for victory over sin and strength for obedience. You're not obligated to the flesh. You don't owe your sinful nature anything. Resurrection power. You say, Dave, I can't break this sinful habit. No, you can't, but he can. See, the Holy Spirit's power working in you. You can't overcome sin through self-effort. It's not going to happen, but by the Spirit, through his power, you can put it to death. That's what Paul is telling us here.

22:05 See, once we are rescued by Jesus, forgiveness isn't the destination. Many people think that. You know, you say, I've prayed that prayer. I've asked Jesus to come into my life. I've been forgiven. That's awesome. I'm so happy. That's the greatest decision you can make. But it's just the beginning. It's not the destination. It's just the beginning. See, Paul tells us once we've been forgiven, now we have an obligation. Look at verse 12. It says, therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it's not to the flesh to live according to it. 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. Obligation, man, that's a tough word, Paul. I like verse one where there's no condemnation and I'm free.

22:59 But now you're telling me I'm obligated, right? I love the idea where I get to pray a prayer and ask Jesus to be my Lord and savior and be forgiven of my sins. And I can put a scripture in my bio of my Instagram and I can live my life. But Paul's telling me there's more. There's more to it. There's an obligation. In light of what Jesus has done for me, my response is to wage all-out war against every part of my sinful nature, not by my power, but by the power of God's Spirit who lives in me. Did you catch that? I read a story about a French aristocrat, a French high flyer. And he had a very unusual pet. He had a lion cub. And he kept this lion cub in his house. I'm sure he was the talk of the town.

23:54 He was the life of the party. I can imagine he had it on a leash and he would bring it out and let people pet it and feed it. And this cub lived in his home. And every night when it was time for bed, he would take the cub and he would put it in his bathroom and he would lock the bathroom door. And this went on for a couple of years until the lion crub grew. After about two years, one night, it was time for bed, and Richard was trying to coax the cub into the bathroom. But the lion decided, I'm not going into the bathroom. It's not happening this time. So he tried pulling it, and he tried pushing it. He tried baiting it into the bathroom, but it wouldn't budge. And in an instant, the lion turned on him and mauled him to death. See, I think that's what happens to a lot of us Christians. We have these pet sins that we hang on to.

24:50 We think they'll bring fun. We think they'll bring satisfaction. We think they'll be a quick joy, a quick hit. But one day, those pet sins will mature, and they'll turn on us, and they'll kill us. The Bible says that Satan is like a roaring lion seeking tomb and fro whom he may devour. Are there things in your life, is that where you are, that are hiding in the bathrooms, in the closets of your heart? You've surrendered your life to Jesus, but maybe there's some dark corners that you really haven't surrendered to him. So let's do what the apostle Paul is telling us. Let's depend on the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. And remember that resurrection power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is available every day for victory over sin and strength for obedience.

25:49 So these steps that Paul's giving us, he says we find true freedom, we take on a new mindset, and we unleash the Spirit's power in our life. And then we discover our new identity. Look at verse 14. It says, For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. The Spirit you receive 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. Skipping ahead to verse 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. See, that's it. That is your new identity. God's children.

26:41 We're children of God. You may have heard someone say before, oh, we're just all God's children. No, we're not. According to what Paul is telling us here in Scripture, those who have accepted Jesus and live according to his spirit are God's children. When we've surrendered our lives to him, then we become adopted. You're a son or a daughter of the Most High King. Adoption means that you belong. It means that you're a part, you're chosen, you're accepted. See, you're loved. Look at verse 17. It says, we are children of God and by him we cry, Abba, Father. That language he's using, Abba, Father, that's like Papa, Dad. See, I don't know what your relationship with your earthly father is like, but our heavenly father, he is the ultimate example of a loving and caring father. And it also shows us that we have an inheritance.

27:37 Look at verse 17. It says, if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. You're a co-heir with Christ. Everything he has is yours. His righteousness, his glory, his eternal life, you don't have to earn it. you already belong. You're not working for love. You're walking in it. Maybe you're wondering, Dave, you left us hanging with the story of your computer. Like, what happened? So an hour goes by. Dad comes home. And at first, he was not too happy with me, to say the least. But I told dad, dad, I'm sorry. I screwed up. I didn't read the instructions. I moved too fast and I made a mistake. Will you forgive me? I was scared. I was timid. I didn't know what to do. And I did the only thing I could do. I turned to my father. So that evening, dad and I, we sat at the computer, we read the manual, we followed the instructions, and we learned how to reinstall and reset the computer back to how it was supposed to be. See, that's exactly what God wants to do with you. No matter what you've wiped out, no matter what you've deleted, no matter what you've broken in your life, your heavenly Father is here. He just wants to sit with you and open his word and help reinstall the life that he designed for you. He's here. He wants to help you discover a life of fullness in Jesus, a life of purpose and a life of peace. But see, the question is, will you surrender to him? That's where it all begins. Will you surrender to Jesus? Not just some

29:42 of you, not just parts of you, but all of you. Romans 8, this is who you are in Christ. You're not condemned. You're free. You're not alone. You're empowered. You're not a slave. You're a son or a daughter of the Most High King. You're not a stranger. You're family. live in that peace and walk in that power and rest in that identity you are in Christ and that changes everything will you pray with me Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you first and foremost for the gift of your son, Jesus, who came to this earth to live a perfect life, to stand in the gap for us, to take our place, to take our punishment, to take our condemnation so that we may live a life of true freedom, a life of purpose and a life of power.

30:51 if you're here this morning you've never made that decision to ask Jesus to rule and reign in your life I want to give you an opportunity to do that right now right where you're at there's a conversation between you and God these aren't special words it's just you meaning it and you talking to God right where you're at you say God I admit to you that I'm a sinner I admit to you that I messed up I believe that you sent your son Jesus to this earth to live a perfect life to take my place on the cross to die and to rise again three days later and I choose this day to follow you from this day forward to the best of my ability.

31:48 I thank you for that. Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for saving me. And if you're here, and maybe you are a Christ follower, maybe you've been following him for a while, but there's areas of your life, there's closets, there's bathrooms of your heart where you've locked pet sins away. maybe today you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to repent to turn away from those areas in your life that you tried to keep hidden Holy Spirit I pray that you would convict us of areas that we need to fully surrender to you that you would speak to our hearts thank you for your Holy Spirit power that lives in us may we leverage it May we lean into the church, to the relationships here, to spur us on, to press us towards you. We confess those sins to you right now, God.

32:43 We pray for your mercy. We thank you for it, your forgiveness. And we walk in Holy Spirit resurrection power from this day forward. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name.