WCTLC

Praise God For What He Has Done!

1. Look At The Miracles

Rom 8:5 (NIV) Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Your body’s desires are diametrically opposed to the desires of the Holy Spirit. So, let Jesus show you the miracle He did concerning what your body has been wanting and what He gave you concerning what the Holy Spirit wants for your future.

The first part of Romans 8:5 says: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires.” That nature is called the sinful nature; and, it IS in your body. Now let Jesus show you through His Bible what your body actually wants because of that sinful nature.

2. Look At What Jesus Saved You From

Gal 5:19-21 (NIV) The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery (excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures); idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus empowered you through His creation Word to offer your body as living sacrifice. Isn’t that wonderful!

If the Holy Spirit hadn’t been speaking to your CONSCIENCE all during your adult life, you would have embraced all of these things in Galatians 5:19-21. John 16:7 (NIV) But I (Jesus) tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. Jesus, made sure you had God, the Holy Spirit’s continued help after He left. When you got saved, born again, and became a Christian, Jesus turned your body into a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit now lives IN you.

1 Cor 6:19-20 (NIV) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is IN you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God’s creation Word are empowering you to honor God with your body.

3. Look At What The
Holy Spirit Saved You From

John 16:8 (NIV) When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. As you can see, your body is anamalistic; it wants extreme pleasure. It wants to be self-serving. It wants to get its needs met no matter who gets hurt in the process. It has sexual drives that it wants satisfied and doesn’t care who it takes to meet them. What you see in the drives of a wolf are the same drives your body has.

Mat 7:15 (NIV) Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. These are people who resisted the Holy Spirit’s convicting power when He was trying to make them feel guilty for the wrong, bad, and evil things they did. 1 Tim 4:2 (NIV) Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. The Holy Spirit has been speaking to you through your conscience for years. He has been trying to keep you from becoming like these evil people.

4. Look At What God’s Creation Word Did

Rom 12:1 (NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. If this creation word hadn’t done more than just tell YOU what to do, you would be trying through human efforts, human reasoning, and human abilities to defeat an animalistic body that would keep making you a prisoner. Rom 7:23 (NIV) But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

Praise God For What He Is Doing Now

1. Look At Your Future

The second part of Romans 8:5 says: “But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” Now let Jesus show you what the Spirit wants or desires: Phil 4:8 (NIV) Finally, brothers, whatever is TRUE, whatever is NOBLE, whatever is RIGHT, whatever is PURE, whatever is LOVELY, whatever is ADMIRABLE--if anything is EXECELLENT or PRAISEWORTHY--think about such things. This is what you have your mind set on. This Scripture is giving you the PERMISSION to get this thought life, the POWER to get this thought life, and the RESPONSIBILITY to get this thought life.

2. Look At Your New Thought Life

Ask, Read, Believe, And Get Results: ASK Jesus to help you see that Philippians 4:8 is giving you permission to have this thought life flowing in you and through you to others. READ it so you can experience its creation power flowing into you as you read it. BELIEVE it created this powerful thought life in you. Start GETTING the RESULTS as you keep believing and quoting this verse. You just took advantage of this Scripture giving you permission, power, and responsibility. Responsibility is where you have to fight the battle. Like Peter, you will struggle with consistent faith in the permission and power.

3. Look At Your New Permission And Power

Like Peter forgot Jesus said: “Come,” you can forget that Philippians 4:8 said: Think about such things. Peter forgot that “come” gave him PERMISSION and POWER to come all the way to Jesus. You can forget that each Scripture you are now basing your life on is still giving you permission and power to do what they created in you. You still have the PERMISSION and POWER from every one of these Scriptures. But, you still have the RESPONSIBILITY of keeping your eyes and your faith locked in them.

Since you can only think one thought at a time, when you get distracted, you sink. How do you learn to concentrate?

Accept Your Responsibility

Live By The Spirit

Gal 5:24-25 (NIV) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us KEEP in step with the Spirit. How do you live by the Spirit? Before you try to KEEP in step with the Spirit, you need to learn how to live by the Spirit. Since your body has been made a temple of the Holy Spirit, He is providing you additional power for you to combine with the power of these creation Scriptures.

How To Live By The Spirit

Rom 8:13 (NIV) For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Just like you believe that the Bible gave you creation power to offer your body as a living sacrifice, you can now believe that the Holy Spirit is ALSO giving you the power to put to death and misdeeds of the body.

Try Or Yield

When you:

Try to examine the words and the beat of the music you listen to, and, try to listen to the music Jesus wants you to listen to,

Try to evaluate the content and concepts in the shows and movies you watch, and, try to set standards for what you should be exposed to,

Try to critique the kind of literature you look at and read, and, try to eliminate anything that expresses principles and belief systems that are contrary to the Bible,

Try to honestly and sincerely examine what kind of people you spend time with, and, try to decide which ones you should spend time with and which ones you should avoid,

Try to go over your typical conversations and see if they are representative of a true Christian,

Try to look at what you do together with other people, and, try to decide whether or not you are doing those things the Bible instructs you to do; or, you are doing what the Bible speaks against,

You fail! But, when BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, you win! Next week Jesus will spend time explaining HOW to BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body.

Resistance Through Faith