Scripture
– NKJV
Ephesians
4:17-24
This
I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as
the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being
past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness
with greediness.
But
you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been
taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your
former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new
man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Romans
6:1-14
What shall we say then? Shall we
continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to
sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were
buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.
For if we have been united together in
the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His
resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the
body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we
believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been
raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For
the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He
lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed
to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your
members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God
as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness
to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but
under grace.
Romans
8:5-11
For those who live according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according
to 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, nor indeed can be. So
then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh but in the
Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have
the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead
because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the
Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised
Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His
Spirit who dwells in you.
Galatians 5:16-26
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one
another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by
the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident,
which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery,
hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of
which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those
who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one
another, envying one another.
Bob’s
thoughts:
It
still amazes me how much more connected we feel when we are warmly welcomed. We
were greeted by a number of people, including two Marines.
The
sanctuary is a wide arc with a great wood beam ceiling. The floor is sloped theater-style
so it was easy to see the screen. The only cross I could find in the sanctuary
was on the ceiling light fixtures.
When
we first arrived and heard the volume of the praise group practicing, I went
looking for ear plugs, but with the exception of the last song, I didn’t need
them. It was good to sing some familiar praise songs, though I wish we could
have heard the female leads. I also enjoyed the offering solo.
A
woman shared a great personal story on Christ’s healing and her recovery.
The
pastor talked about the songs we sing in our worship being for God…it was encouraging
to hear that again. I really appreciated the pastor’s prayer for illumination,
something that is often missing.
I thought
the sermon was well developed and biblically supported with plenty of Scripture.
Every time I thought the message was running a little long, the pastor brought
up another good point. The congregation was attentive and the sermon seemed
well received.
I
smiled when he talked about God redirecting our paths, and how often He has
done that to Jan and me.
The
pastor moved around a lot during the sermon but there was never any echo or feedback.
Jan’s
thoughts:
This
church has been on our list for some time, and today turned out to be the day.
The building is spacious with plenty of pews set in a circle facing the front
of the large sanctuary.
As
we entered and received a bulletin we were told this was nametag Sunday, which
we learned is undertaken every few weeks. Numerous folks stopped to introduce
themselves and welcome us, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the nametags had
something to do with their comfort in greeting visitors. Of course Bob’s t-shirt
attracted some other Marines in the congregation.
Plenty
of time was given to greet others and many welcomed us and invited us to stay
for donuts and coffee following worship. There were a few prayer requests and a
testimony by a woman with a remarkable story of God’s healing.
I
appreciated the pastor’s comment that the words to songs can give our spirits
the words to worship God. I often feel this way.
The
message, entitled “Two Natures in Conflict,” dealt with the sinful, fleshly
nature with which we are born and the ‘new creation’ God calls us when we accept
Christ as our Savior. He pointed out that whether the conversion is radical or
gradual, the mind is transformed and how we ‘do life’ changes. However this
transformation is hugely dependent on us and our willingness to put forth
conscious effort to fight the cravings of the sin nature. We must run to God
with the hidden things in the life of our mind and heart, things He knows
already, but when we confess them barriers fall and we again experience a
spiritual connection with God. We must choose to yield to our new nature
instead of our sin nature. We must make a “continuous declaration of
dependency.”
Something
else that resonated with me was his definition of ‘living in the Spirit’: being
constantly conscious of God’s Presence.
Of
course, as long as we are on this side of heaven, our old nature will plague us.
He proceeded to list five actions we can take to fight this spiritual battle:
1
– Humbly acknowledge the carnality in our minds and lives;
2
– Renounce the hidden things of darkness and confess them;
3
– Apply God’s Word to the situation; renovate the mind;
4
– Be constant; keep trying and don’t give up;
5
– Put guilt and shame in their place; “there is therefore now no condemnation to
those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
I
appreciated the concrete guidance in this message. Anyone who attempts to live
in the Spirit has experienced the spiritual warfare he spoke of. And I agree that
the battle is fought first in the mind, territory the Enemy is constantly working
to possess. We must take this battle for our minds seriously and fight like our
lives depend on it, because they do.
I
was grateful for the time after the service to chat with the pastor.
Our
prayer for this church:
Father,
we pray this congregation is in tune to Your redirecting their journey; it is
an exciting place to be. Amen.
