LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

            

ROMANS 8:5-11

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

Romans 8:5-11 "5 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. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 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. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 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[e] his Spirit who lives in you."

Our text reveals that there are only two ways to live life. Paul draws several difference between existence ruled by the flesh and the new life of the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit is to be "in partnership" with the Spirit. Life in the Spirit means to follow His lead and remain in His control. It is life governed by the Spirit of God. This life is distinguished by the mind being set or focused on serving Christ. This individual’s desires are not selfishly controlled but are controlled by the will of Christ who lives in Him. If you are a believer, the Spirit is always in you for the purpose of lovingly leading you. 

If a person is not in step with the Spirit of God he or she will be controlled by the flesh. These people live an existence which is dominated by sinful human nature whose focus and center of attention is self, whose life is lived to satisfy selfish desires.

These two mind sets are intent on opposite directions. 

1.The mind set dominated by the desires and activities of the sinful nature and its way lead to death. 
2.The mind set dominated by the desires and activities of the will of God and its way leads to life and life eternal. 

Each person is responsible for which mind set he pursues. The believer’s responsibility is to set his mind on living in submission to the indwelling Holy Spirit or to focus his mind on Christ. 

First in verses 5-8 Paul answers the question what does it mean to live according to the sinful nature or to live according to the Spirit? Verse 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 

People live life with one of two mind sets. One type of person’s mind is set  to seek those things he is most interested in, constantly talking about, engaged in and boasting about. Those who walk according to the flesh yield to the desires of the flesh. They have their desires set on the things of the world, the things this world has to offer.

Those who live according to the Spirit aspire for or have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. To walk after the Spirit is to align or subject oneself to the Spirit. The man who walks after the Spirit cannot act independent of Him (Gal. 5:16). He acts in subjection to or in accordance with the Holy Spirit. He may have many failures but his basic focus and uppermost concerns have to do with the things of the Spirit. The things of the Spirit are the things which the Spirit proposes and approves.

 it is impossible to be on both sides at once. You can not serve both God and Satan (or wealth, the world). 
The basic disposition or direction of our lives is either on God’s side or on the side of sinful human nature. The sinful nature and the indwelling Spirit are in conflict (Gal. 5:17).

We are involved in a real battle for the mind as verse 6 states, For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 

As Christians, we are to be self-disciplined not only in our physical appetites but also in our thoughts. To lose the focus of our minds is to fall prey to the devil. Satan wants to control your mind, to have mind-control over you so he can brain-wash you to see life his way. He will use your thinking as his weapon to control you, defeat you (spiritually), and eventually devour you. If you don’t learn to control/master your thoughts, Satan will win the inner war. You must win the battle for your mind!

The mind is so much a part of everything we do and it is difficult to discipline it. when often we fail in disciplining that vital part of life! Our thoughts begin to drift apart from God centered life into worldly and forbidden areas, and we let them go. We become anxious, lustful, hateful. We think proudly.  

 When you let the Devil control the way you think, you will live in fear, anger, depression … and some even live with thoughts of suicide. You are what you think. Proverbs 23:7 says – "For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." 

Your thought-life affects everything about you … how you act … how you feel … how you live. [If you THINK negative thoughts … you will ACT in a negative way. If you THINK sad things … you will BE sad. If you THINK you’re sick … you will FEEL sick. If you THINK you’re worthless… you’ll TURN OUT to be worthless. If you THINK bad thoughts … you’ll DO bad things. BUT … on the other hand … If you THINK Godly things … you’ll act more Godly! Each of us need to surrender our mind to God, or Satan will influence more & more, then control more & more of our thinking 

Lord, saturate our thoughts with truth, And let Your Word in us abide;
Then, thinking on the pure and good, May my whole life be edified! 

If a person persists in being worldly he is on the side of the world and must expect the world’s dooms (or death). On the other hand, if the things concerning God and His kingdom are his chief concern, he can expect life: sweet communion with God. The light of God in the mind, God’s love poured out in the heart, and joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 Those that set their mind on the Spirit have the inner assurance that past sins are forgiven, that present events, no matter how painful, are being overruled for good, and that nothing that might occur in the future will be able to separate him from the love of God in Christ. Such peace means basic freedom from fear, anxiety and restlessness.

The greatest blessings of Christ are granted to those who walk after the Spirit. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace and this becomes our experience as we learn to walk in the Spirit. Isaiah 26:3 says, You will keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You. 

Do you have a need to control things? To find a solution for every problem? To have a back plan in case God doesn’t come through the way you think He should? Have you ever noticed that the more you try to fix things, the more anxiety you experience? Paul calls this, "The mind of the flesh." Fixing is the opposite of trusting; usually you can’t do both. Now that doesn’t mean God wants you to be mindless or helpless; it just means He wants you to live by faith, not head knowledge! When you learn to trust God and operate in "the mind of the Spirit," you experience peace in spite of the circumstances..

Instead of always trying to figure things out -learn to be comfortable not knowing, and start trusting the One who does! Make a decision today and every time you feel anxious, you’ll stop and pray: "Lord I’m bringing it to You and I’m waiting for Your answer." When you stop struggling with the when’s, why’s, and how’s, you’ll begin to experience God’s peace in a way you never have before. You’ll also position yourself for Him to intervene on your behalf. So make a decision today to surrender and trust God.
We all have our "own minds" about things, don’t we? What is right/wrong. What is good/bad. How we should act … talk … think … live. 

God is not interested in YOUR OPINIONS about these things. OPINIONS are a dime of dozen … everyone has one. God wants you to have the "mind of Christ" on everything you do, say, think. The "mind" of Jesus is PURE … He only wants what God wants. That’s the "mind" God wants you to have. [The Mind Of Christ - Philippians 2:5 – "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:..." ]
Every person is either under the control of the Spirit or under control of the old nature, either on a road of peace or on a road that leads to death. Walking in the Spirt is living with Him as the director of our lives.

Verse 7 emphasize the critical necessity of walking in the Spirit. "because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,"

Every unredeemed person whether religious or atheistic, whether outwardly moral or outwardly wicked is hostile toward God. If a believer lives in the flesh his actions also will be hostile toward God. 
Why? Because it is the nature of the mind set on death to oppose Him who is life. Thus the mind of the flesh is hostile to God, regarding Him as an enemy. Because a mind that is self-centered and self-willed does not submit itself to God, as a matter of fact as long as the mind of the flesh is in control it is not able to submit to God.

The mind of the flesh also is impotent to change its own nature. Those controlled by the mind of the flesh are helpless. They do not simple don’t submit to the law of God. They can not following the Law of God. [The law of God is the revelation of His nature, therefore opposition to God’s law is opposition to God.]

How did you learn your multiplication tables … States & Capitals … Bible verses? REPETITION! What you put into your minds, REPEATEDLY, will OCCUPY your mind. What OCCUPIES your mind, will ultimately express itself in your character and lifestyle.

Verse 8 reveals another sad truth. and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

Did you realize that God can be pleased? Mankind was created for the expressed purpose of pleasing God (Rev. 4:10; 2 Cor. 5:9; 1 Thess. 4:1). The Holy Spirit is the source of all that pleases God in man. A person who is NOT motivated or empowered by God even his best works are produced by his flesh for self-centered reasons and will never be seen by God as a work for God’s glory.
You need to understand that a life lived with its desires set on this world cannot please God. Those people who are living "in the flesh," that is those whose affection, purposes, thoughts, words, and deeds are basically controlled by their sinful nature are unable to please God. Realize that God’s heart is not an iceberg. It can be please and is filled with delight at our obedience (Col. 3:20).

We've been filled with the Spirit, but also we have learned that we leak! We need to daily surrender to the Spirit’s will and leadership so that We can daily live in the power of the Spirit.

So how do you mental-discipline ourselves? When you catch yourself thinking wrong thoughts, do you make yourself think about something else?
Where are some of the places you go and what are some of the things you do that feed our mind with the wrong kind of stuff?
Do you need to memorize verses like Philippians 4:5-8 to help discipline and retrain my mind?

According to the Bible every person is either under the control of the Spirit or under control of the old nature, either on a road of peace or on a road that leads to death. Walking in the Spirit is living with Him as the director of our lives.
Today through surrendering to the Holy Spirit in your life there is a constant abiding of love, power and soundness in your mind. So the question you should ask yourself is Are you experiencing the abiding love and peace of the Spirit? If not no one can change that but you. Right here right now God is speaking. How will you respond?