The Vine and Branches Sermon
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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VICTORIOUS LIFE
1. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2. because, through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3. For what the law was powerless to do in that the sinful nature weakened it, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. 4. He condemned sin in sinful man so that the law’s righteous requirements might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4
Have you ever traveled from one place to another, and, on the way, you got lost? You wished you had had a compass to show you the way? Romans 8 is like a compass that shows you the way to a victorious life!
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He suffered and died on the Cross as an offering for our sins (Read Isaiah 53:10). There is no condemnation because of justification (God’s judicial decree whereby He declares a person righteous based upon the righteousness of Jesus activated by faith). The Spirit has replaced the law that produced only sin and death so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit (Read Romans 7:6). He has pronounced us righteous and delivered us from this body of sin.
That doesn’t mean that we have become perfect. The Apostle Paul admitted I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do (Romans 7:15). Even Paul, the devout Christian leader, sometimes struggled with doing things he didn’t approve of.
I hate to admit it but many times I have fallen short of the standard of living that God has given me. That is even true with all well-meaning Christians. The crossbar is set so high we cannot get over it with human effort alone. Paul also talks about future salvation. We will only experience salvation at its fullest after Christ returns to earth.
In the meantime, God has set a new and simple law that produces life: the law of faith (Romans 3:27) or the message of the gospel which is the law of the Spirit of life.
For what the law was powerless to do in that the sinful nature weakened it, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). God placed sin under the death sentence, but it has not been fully destroyed.
IF YOU ARE IN CHRIST JESUS THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION BECAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION! YOUR SINS CAN BE FORGIVEN, BUT TO BE MADE FREE, YOU MUST ACCEPT GOD’S FORGIVENESS!
-All Scripture passages are based on the New International Version-
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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VICTORIOUS LIFE, Part 2
5. 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. 6. To be carnally (governed by human nature) minded is death, but spiritually minded is life and peace. 7. Because the carnal mind is (at) enmity (the opposite of love) against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8. They are in the flesh (sinful or godless) and cannot please God. 9. But ye (you) are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God (dwells) in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Romans 8:5-9
What kind of life do you want to live? Do you want to live a life that focuses only on your desires, or a life that focuses on what God wants you to be?
“Paul’s primary purpose in writing the Book of Romans was to teach the great truths of the gospel of grace” (which means unmerited favor). Paul was writing “to believers who had never received” the teachings of the Apostles. -John MacArthur-
Romans 3:20 says Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight . . . Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
(“Weak” may be a more accurate word than “wicked). Non-believers are under the authority of their sinful human natures. Doing good deeds does not make us justified in God’s sight. To be justified is to have a right relationship with God which comes by faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
How can we live a victorious life? Our focus must be on Jesus and His Holy Spirit must live within us. The Bible says, they (who) are after the Spirit do the things that are spiritually minded. The Bible also says, to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Someone said the man whose life is under the control of the Spirit finds, that his conscious interests lie more in spiritual things. Being dominated by the interest of the Spirit is more than the hope of life and peace. It is because we already have them although not perfectly.
In the Bible, “life” Is regularly used to describe (the) experience of “communion with God.” In the New Testament, the word “communion” is often used as a synonym for “salvation.”
Many years ago, I had a vision that was a life-changing experience. Within, the result of that experience, changed who I am today. I think it is our human nature to want to have control of our lives. For me, I know that was true! However, when I had that vision, I realized there was no way I could please God without giving Him control of my life. When I made the promise to the Lord “take me and use me. I will go where you want me to go.” At that moment, tears of joy flowed heavily down my face. Within peace and joy came into my soul. That peace and joy is just as real today, as it was more than eleven years ago.
DO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN THE FLESH AND EXPERIENCE DEATH, or DO YOU WANT TO LIVE A SPIRITUALLY MINDED LIFE AND HAVE AN ETERNAL LIFE?
IT IS A DECISION THAT ONLY YOU CAN MAKE!
-All Scripture passages are based on the King James Version-
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THE STUDY OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: Introduction
“Although the author’s name does not appear in the Gospel, early church tradition strongly and consistently identified him as the apostle John. The early church father Irenaeus
(A.D. 130- 200) was a disciple of Polycarp (A.D 70-160). (Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John. With Polycarp’s permission, Irenaeus testified) that John wrote the Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia Minor when he was advanced in age” (John MacArthur).
The author preferred to identify himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved (read John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7 & 20). After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves (Matthew 17:1). The three disciples must have been the closest friends of Jesus.
The Gospel of John has been called “the crown of the Scriptures.” It is perhaps the easiest book to read in the New Testament. At the same time, it is the most knowledgeable intellectual book.
The eagle is a fitting symbol for the book of John. William Barclay says, “the eagle of all
living creatures alone can look straight into the sun and not be dazzled.” The Apostle John of all the New Testament writers has the most penetrating gaze into the eternal mysteries and the eternal truths, and into the very mind of God.
The central theme of the Gospel of John is written in John 20:31. The author says, “but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”
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John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word (John 1:1, NASB). The Word was active in creation. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host (universe).
-Psalm 33:6, NASB-
The Word was with God, and the Word was God. The divine Word (the Logos) and God were exactly alike. The Apostle John writes about the eternal preexistence of the Word who he identifies as Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us before Abraham was born, I am(John 8:58, NASB). John tells us Jesus, the Son of Man, was He who descended from heaven. (John 3:13).
All things came into being through Him (John 1:3 NASB). God… has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world(Hebrews 1:1-2, NASB).
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (overcome it).
-John 1:5, NASB)- When a flashlight shines in the darkness it shows what is ahead of us. It is a “spiritual flashlight” that shows us the giver of life. There is another kind of darkness. It is spiritual blindness. It is a state of mind that refuses to acknowledge the giver of life.
Our study next week will be from John 1:6-13.