Pastor Mark Olmos
May 29, 2005 - W0522

Have you ever done anything stupid…again, and again, and again? Sure, we all have and it’s frustrating. That’s because after we’ve become a Christian, we expect our life to change. Instead, we often find ourselves tripping over the same things that can make us feel discouraged and defeated. “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?” (Rom. 7:22-24). Paul explains this struggle between right and wrong and basically gives us three reasons in answer to our question of…

WHY CHANGE IS SO HARD…

We’ve all had those struggles. It’s like being on a diet and going to a restaurant with friends. We are set on ordering the salad, but after hearing everyone else’s order, we give in and fall off our diet by ordering the very thing we vowed not to. And by the time we leave the restaurant we feel really guilty. Or our battle may be more serious. It could be anger, intolerance, or an emotional vulnerability that causes wrong decisions in relationships. And like Paul, we want to be patient, pure, and have self-control, but there is this battle raging within us. It is a battle that brings us to the second reason pointed out in this passage..

It’s clear that sin has a hold on us. And the Bible tells us that although God created us in His image to have a personal relationship with Him; Adam and Eve broke that relationship and introduced sin into the human race. As a result, sin has infiltrated our hearts and souls. That sin pulls us away from God and towards being selfish, indulgent, and unloving. Sin is so dominant within us that it’s like swimming against strong currents. We are trying so hard to be good and the sin within us keeps dominating, persisting on holding us back from God. Then the third thing we learn from this passage is…

Paul explains this as being a miserable or wretched person. We feel defeated in the aftermath of sin as we face the guilt or the pain of being used. We often ask ourselves why we did we do something we knew was wrong! Or we feel miserable as we see our family hurt by one of our outbursts of anger. And when we know we’ve messed up our response may be one of confusion where we wonder why we just can’t get it right. On the other hand, we may respond with feelings of worthlessness. As a result, many times we decide to either fake our faith on the outside even though we feel differently on the inside, or we simply quit.

The neat thing about this passage is that after Paul explains why change is so hard in Romans 7; in the very next chapter he describes exactly how God can change our lives. So He offers us hope because God’s desire is to change us to become the person we are meant to be for Him. So let’s take a look at…

1. I NEED TO TRANSFER MY TRUST FROM MY EFFORTS TO JESUS CHRIST!

When Paul says: “Oh this miserable person I am, who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?”, he answers that question with: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 7:24-25). In other words, Jesus is the only one who can free from this dominance. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

You see in the time Paul wrote this, people believed that they could be right with God by just following His commandments. They trusted their own human efforts. And it’s no different today. People know that sin keeps them out of Heaven yet believe they haven’t done anything that bad that warrants non-entry and further feel they can still live up to God’s standards.

With that thought in mind, what if we were standing before God today and He asked why He should let us in to Heaven. Remember that sin is any thought, motive, or action that’s dishonoring to God. How many sins do you think you do in a day? Suppose you just do 5 a day. Multiply that by 365 days a year which equals 1,825. Then multiply that by 20 years. That’s 36,500 sins. The point is that we are sinners and have piled up a lifetime of sin and fallen short of God’s standard. Thus, no one can make it to heaven on their own effort.

The Good News is that God loves us so much and sent Jesus Christ to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. Jesus died to pay the full penalty of our sins: past, present and future, so that we would be declared innocent in the courtroom of God. And when we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, God is able to do a spiritual transaction where He wipes out our sins completely. That’s why the Bible says: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)

So we are assured that our lives are paid in full by Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross. There is no condemnation for those who believe in Jesus Christ. One Christian author said it this way: The gospel replaces the best that we can do with the best that He can do. In essence, we are free from the penalty of sin and the power of sin is broken in our lives. So the first step towards genuine change is by transferring our trust from our efforts to Jesus Christ. The next step is…

 

2. I NEED TO SPIRITUALLY FEED THE SPIRIT AND STARVE THE FLESH.

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.” (Rom. 8:5-6).

This happens after we become a Christian and are a new creation born again with God’s Holy Spirit living in us. Remember that our spiritual life is still encased in temptable flesh and therefore, still responsive to the world. So there are patterns of behavior that we must change. And the whole point of Christian growth is for the inside to work its way to the outside. In the meantime, it’s a battle. So how do we win it?

I read a story that captures this concept well. It’s called: The Story of the Dog and the Dove. A man who owned a dog catered to its every whim to keep peace in the house. One day, when the man brought home a beautiful dove, the dog’s demands increased violently until it threatened the life of the dove. This prompted the man to stop giving in to the dog’s demands and turned his attention to the dove nursing it back to health and strength. In doing so he brought the dog’s behavior under control and peace returned to his home.

In the same way, our spiritual battle is like that. The dog represents our flesh with appetites and desires that demand to be fed. The dove represents our new, spiritual life with a desire to please God. And the key to winning the battle between the two is to feed the spirit and starve the flesh. “Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col. 3:1-2)

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worth of praise.” (Philip. 4:8)

Your mind is the doorway to your heart and soul. What we hear and see influences what and who we are becoming. So our challenge is to fix our minds on spiritual things. How do we do that? Simply, it’s to make sure our day is all about God. Begin with sliding off your bed right onto your knees and invite the Holy Spirit to fill you. Read the bible daily. Go on walks with Him to just pray and talk with God. Fill your life with worship. To live a godly life, we must also intentionally stay away from the things that feed the appetite of the flesh. Sometimes it means staying away from friends. It doesn’t mean we give up on them, it just means that we must wait until we are at a point where we are strong enough to influence them instead of them influencing us.

The Bible says: “Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5). Some of us may say sin is out of control in our lives. That’s because we’ve fed it so much. Now we must reverse that trend. Then as the Holy Spirit helps us, the third step is…

 

3. I NEED TO COOPERATE WITH THE SPIRIT'S LEADERSHIP IN MY LIFE.

“…you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live.” (Rom. 8:12-13)

“If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Gal. 5:25)

What does it mean to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading? There are two things we must do. The first is we need to be sensitive to the conviction of the spirit. The Holy Spirit will point us towards areas in our life that need to change. Of course the most obvious things change first. Then as we continue to grow the Holy Spirit goes deeper and works inside. It’s sort of like the check engine light on a car. The Holy Spirit will take you deeper and highlight deep issues of pride that need to be changed to humility. Maybe it is issues of bitterness we’ve harbored and it’s time to work that out of our life. Or there may be arrogance in our manner that needs to turn to humility and kindness. So with that conviction, the Holy Spirit prompts us to study His word that will work out those parts of our life that need changing. And in following His leadership, we become sensitive to His conviction.

Another way we can cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s leadership is to be responsive to His promptings. You see, God wants us to be Jesus to the world – to bring Jesus’ kindness, service, and love to everyone. So as we go about our lives, we must keep in mind that it’s not about us. Rather it is about what God wants to do in and through our lives. We need to be obedient to those promptings. He may prompt us to pray, to give, or to serve someone in a special way.

There are so many hurting people in need of a gentle touch, a person to come alongside them with guidance, encouragement, and prayer. We don’t always have to close the deal, but sometimes all we need to do is plant a seed of love and kindness in a person’s life. That’s why it’s important for us to be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit because He’ll prompt us to acts of kindness and love -- to be Jesus to somebody.

Additionally, the Holy Spirit will prompt us to acts of commitment. It may be that we need to study the Bible more. It may be we need to pray more. Sometimes the Holy Spirit may even wake us up at night to pray. And even though we may not know what to pray for, be obedient and the Holy Spirit will guide us in that prayer. When we make ourselves available to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, He will fill our lives and prompt us to step up our commitments and say it’s time we use our gifts and abilities to serve God.

In following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we start to demonstrate the character of the Spirit. It is the character of Jesus Christ and is called Fruits of the Spirit. The final point that helps us find genuine change is…

 

4. I NEED TO ENJOY THE PRIVILEGES OF BEING A CHILD OF GOD.

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” (Rom. 8:14)

In Romans chapter 7, Paul talks about the great struggle between the flesh and the spirit. He says, “Who will free us from this? Then answers, “Jesus will free us from this”. Then he talks about following the leadership of the Holy Spirit that will change us. Later he says, the fact we are led by the Holy Spirit confirms that we are children of God. Never underestimate what that means. God is our Father and we have a special relationship with Him and Paul describes the incredible benefits of knowing God. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:31-32). Paul then ends this chapter by reminding us that absolutely nothing will ever separate us for the love of God!

The Bible says there is only one God, but He exists in three persons -- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. And it has an awesome meaning for us because the Son saves us and gives us life. The Spirit indwells in us and fills us with His power. And, the Father adopts us and makes us His own. When that happens, we change. In other words, Jesus saves us from condemnation and no longer dominated by sin and can live free where the character of the Fruits of the Spirit is revealed in our lives.      

There is, however, one thing we must do. We must keep one key thought in mind each day. KEY THOUGHT: Each day i need to make the choice. Each day we must choose how we will live. Let us place our full trust in Him knowing we must choose to feed the spirit and those things which please God. Let us be responsive to the promptings of His leadership in our lives and to enjoy all the privileges of being His children.