[Ro 8:1] {1}Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. [3] For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, [4] so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [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. [6] For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, [7] 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, [8] and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

[9] However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. [10] If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. [11] But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

[Ro 8:1] Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

What does it mean to be saved?

It is like a man facing a death sentence. It is the day of his trial - but no one shows up. Suddenly, a guard comes to the cell and says; "Someone else claimed they were guilty and died for you - I guess you are free to go."

No condemnation, no sentence - that is the status of those who are 'in' Christ Jesus.

Quite literally, to be 'in' Jesus means that we are 'resting in' our relationship with him. In no way does this mean we can 'sit back and relax' (in fact, obeying Christ is much more intense than obeying the flesh). What it does mean is that we do not find rest in anything else but His will. I would go so far as to say that it means we are 'restless outside of his will.' Indeed, to make him, Lord, is to say that nothing else leads me.

Sin and Death: What normally leads people?

• The opinion of others;
• Our personal desires and lusts;
• Our fears (and, in our culture, particularly the fear of uselessness)
• Our emotions.

These are all parts of the 'law of sin and death' from which the 'law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus' set us free. Resting in Jesus means that anything can happen to us in this life and we can still rest in him.

This was important to the Christians in Rome because they were facing persecution. It seems to have lost it's importance to many Christians in our culture - but only because Christ has lost his prominence in our lives. We are subservient to a demi-god of comfort rather than the All-Mighty God of obedience. We don't need to 'rest in Jesus' because so few of us do anything that merits a rest. In fact, most of us need to be more restless in our comfort!

As we draw closer to our Lord Jesus Christ, Satan's attack becomes more intense. No longer is the channel changer and a beer the greatest wall between my Lord and my life. We meet the hard core temptations on a visceral - even physical level. At first it begins by those who we treasure either ignoring or angry at us for our new found joy - a jealousy that arises from our joy or fellowship. Eventually, our commitments may come under fire, our character is slandered, for some - even their very livelihood or life is threatened.

Yet, Christ promises the freedom of the Holy Spirit, which will guard us from sin and death. However, just because I promise you a gift doesn't mean you take it, unwrap it or put it to use.

Being used by the Holy Spirit means that the questions which rule my life are in opposition to the questions that ruled my life when I lived in fear. What statements lead the Christ-centered, Spirit-led person?

• Lord, give me the strength to be available - not comfortable.
• Lord, show me how to be where your Spirit leads without worrying about what I am supposed to do.
• How may I serve you right now, Lord?
• Where would you like me to be right now, Lord?

We are called to walk with Jesus. Most of the time, the disciples did not know where he was walking. The one time that they did (when Christ turned his face towards Jerusalem), the effort was to stop him. We do not correct Jesus - we follow him. We do not advise Jesus - we listen to him. We do not lead Jesus - we are led by him. Here is how Jesus said it to Peter;

[Jn 21:17] "Feed my sheep. [18] I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."

This Sunday, as I sat in Bible Class, our teacher (Russ Knopp - who also does the worksheet questions for this study) made a series of statements that touched the core of my 'walk' with Christ. As I listened, I wrote the following words;

Christianity, at it's core, is not about 'doing something.' It's about 'being someone.' Being available to Jesus Christ. It means I go where He wants me to go - I 'become' someone he can depend on. Someone who will be where he physically cannot be - I become his eyes, ears hands and feet.

I've got to get beyond 'doing' things for God - and just be where He wants me to be. I want to be Christ's intimate friend (and he wants to be mine - Psalm 137). My best friends are the one's who are there when I need them. They are not 'tell-ers' - they are 'be-ers.' They do not tell me what to do or tell me their story and leave.

"Jesus, I long to be your friend. I want to be where you need me. I want you to be able to trust me, count on me, have confidence in me. I want to be your intimate friend!"

We did a study a few weeks ago on Matthew 10:41 where we discussed 'receiving a prophet.' There are many people who - in their minds - are unable to be 'in the harvest.' Their fears are; "I don't know what to do." "I wouldn't know what to say."

This is the entire point - we needn't say or do anything. We just need to be available. However, I acknowledge that this alone is very uncomfortable - especially for a people raised in a culture that equates 'worth' with 'how much we do or earn.' My suggestion is that we can all be in the harvest - even if (for us) that means being an intimate friend to someone who is out there on behalf of the faith.

It is so awesome to have friends that send letters or call to ask; "How is it with your soul?" What a gift to have people that want to know how they can pray for this work - or even, "is there anyway we can support your mission physically?"

Usually, my greatest need is someone who will just go with me. Not necessarily to say anything or do anything with those I am meeting - but to just be a friend as I go. Most of the friends that have done this for me eventually gain the confidence to go and do by themselves. That adds a whole new level to the friendship!

Being an intimate friend - most often means 'just being there.'

[3] For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, [4] so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [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. [6] For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, [7] 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, [8] and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

It is difficult to stress how the law of which Paul speaks not only leads to death - but is death. To God, Jesus, Paul and therefore us, being apart from God is to be dead. Conversely, being in God's will is life. Jesus preached a final heaven - but also a kingdom available to us now; "Your kingdom will come when your will is done on earth as it is in heaven."

Being apart from God's will is not being in His kingdom - and that is death. There will be a final hell and a final heaven - but you don't have to go anywhere to make this life one or the other.

While the law demanded perfection to the letter, God demands perfection of the heart.

Just imagine if the laws of the universe did not demand perfection. A majority of scientists are now telling us (not that we need their word to have faith) that the multiple conditions necessary for life to be present in this universe were so remote that there had to be an overseeing, intelligent Creator. If, for example, the gravitational pull were off by even less than a billionth, stars could not have formed. The laws of the universe demand ultimate perfection.

To be imperfect in the presence of perfection is to tarnish what is perfect. However, to bring sin into the presence of love is ruinous. Even if it is only one billionth of all the people who have ever lived. Imagine the impact of bringing selfishness into a loving family. It doesn't simply affect the one who is selfish - it affects the entire family. It changes the way the entire family responds to each other. In kind, one sin doesn't simply affect the sinner - it affects all people. My personal sin affects my entire family, my entire church, my entire world.

God knew that was the cost of giving us a choice to love. So, He created Jesus as the perfect sacrifice and the perfect model.

Jesus fulfilled the demand of the law for perfection. Through his offering - we can be included in perfect relationship with the Father. However, Jesus also gave himself as a seed so that the Holy Spirit would be available to walk through life with us.

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, the Holy Spirit is the perfect guide.

[9] However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. [10] If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. [11] But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

How do we know if the Spirit of God dwells in us?

1. First of all, we know it by promise;

   Jesus promised that He would return to the Father so that the helper would come. Our God has never broken a covenant with His people. No matter how far we strayed - He always kept His side of the bargain. We can count on the promises of yesterday and bank on them tomorrow.

2. Second, we know it by evidence;

   Look at the change in the Apostles before and after Jesus' death. Look not only at the power of the preaching and healing available in their lives - but how much the world unreasonably hated them. There would be no reason to fear the religious commitment of the apostles prior to the descending of the Holy Spirit. They were hidden in an upper room in Jerusalem - afraid to even leave town. However, the living presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives following Pentecost made them into women and men that the Romans and Jewish leaders feared. Injustice and apathy should always fear the name of the Lord!

   The power to love boldly always frightens the power to rule by fear.

3. Third, we know it by character;

   Why would God give such a precious sacrifice if He were not also prepared to draw us into relationship with Him? That would make absolutely no sense at all. God gave the precious gift of love that we might have the precious gift of life. Even more, the type of gift God offered (His beloved son) indicates the type of life He wishes to give us - a rich and abundant life!

   Those in the Holy Spirit will begin to see their character change. They will abhor the path of sin and desire the path of righteousness. This does not mean we always do what is right (read last week's study from Romans 7). It does, however, mean that our desire to walk with God in His grace starts to become the benchmark of peace in our lives. It becomes what we long for and strive to attain.

4. Fourth, we know it by God's presence in our life;

   The Holy Spirit makes us restful in the work of Jesus and restless in path of sin. The Holy Spirit empowers us to long for and become ready for the direction of the Lord. In addition - when we are not plugging our ears and humming - the Holy Spirit makes us able to hear where God would call us to be at any given moment of our day.

   Many people claim to 'not hear' the Holy Spirit in their life. "I don't hear the voice of God."

   There is a great measure of truth to that statement. Hearing is but one of our simplest senses. Only a childish faith expects to hear God audibly. A mature faith seeks to experience God in each moment. God is near at all times.

   Hearing is also impaired by the desires of the listener. Better that should seek God with our total being. He speaks to us through the Word, we feel Him through fellowship, we are empowered by Him in acts of service, we are enveloped by Him in the presence of prayer. He calls us emotionally by breaking our hearts with compassion and gives us direction through the gifts of our talents and aptitudes. Anything turned over to God is changed into glory.

   We experience God more than we hear Him.

   What is it that we experience when the Holy Spirit is in us? A terrible restlessness when we are not in His path and perfect rest when we are in His path. His path is peace, it is joy, it is the spiritually abundant life.

5. Fifth, we know it by God's power in our lives;

   His yoke (steering wheel / harness) is well-fit - but it is still a harness! God does not want me to be a baby follower. I only grow when I put my faith to practice. The Spirit is alive within you if you do not feel comfortable sitting on His glory. You have to share the Good News! You are broken by the alienated. You are called to love unreservedly and unexpectedly.

   However, the well-fit harness will never draw me to places that I won't be able to serve. God might lead an elephant up a mountain cliff - but not without providing a path that is just wide enough. Wide enough to make it - but skinny enough to prompt the elephant to pray each step of the way.

   Additionally, God will often call us to places that need healing in our own lives. Remember His goal is spiritual wholeness not personal comfort. As a result, we are often called to places that are personally uncomfortable. To the very places we want to say; "Certainly God doesn't want me to go there!"

   If you have an open wound from your past - God may well call you to minister to someone else hurting from the same wound in the present. A person who cannot heal the pain of a bankruptcy in their earlier years may be called to someone facing insurmountable financial woes today. Likewise, a person who is a 'control freak' may find themselves ministering in an environment where they are playing second fiddle - or even cleaning the bathroom for the whole string section. God puts us to use - but never uses us. It is His desire that we all take part in growing His kingdom.

   The bull that wears the yoke pulls a heavy load, the Morgan Horse that wears the harness is majestically strong. Yet, both of them are worthless if not put to work. Wouldn't it be exciting to be a majestic worker in God's harvest?

   We are so often prone to say; "Well, He can't be calling me to do that." Remember that He is probably not calling you to do things as much as He is calling you to be with someone. We don't have to eradicate hunger we just have to share bread with someone who is hungry. We don't have to solve homelessness - we just have to provide shelter and safety to someone who needs it.

   We don't have to be the next Martin Luther King, Jr. Usually, we are more readily called to simply recognize and support those who are in the forefront. In it's simplest form that means just 'being' present to them. Walking with them as they bear their burden. Sometimes it is being a prayer companion, offering financial support, making your home or hospital for them to bring the wounded to - or, even to be a heart where they can receive respite from their wounds (receiving the prophet and the righteous man - and giving a cup of cold water to the littlest ones, Mt 10:41-42).

   Look for God to give you the power to be - long before He ever gives you the power to do.

6. Sixth, the Holy Spirit will call us to fellowship.

The very word for the Holy Spirit (parakletos) means comforter (one who comes with strength), someone who will stand back-to-back with you in battle, even the Fearsome Breath of God! Yet, in the New Testament, God's breath was breathed on community. That doesn't mean everyone 'got it' - there are definite cases of people who were breathing out when they should have been breathing in. Look at the dramatic story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. This type of behavior is most evident when church becomes 'about me and us' instead of 'about You, oh Lord, and them (the alienated).'

The Holy Spirit is made evident in a committed fellowship - one that is ready to do the work of God and wants to be focused on the goal - whatever the cost. It is evident in the study of the Word, the outreach to the needy and, of course, by the way they love one another. Of course, love is not the absence of conflict either. It is however, commitment to conflict based in trust and a vision. Whenever there is passion - there is conflict. However, there is a radical difference between conflict based in love and conflict based in selfishness. The latter asks; "What's best for me?" The former seeks; "How can Jesus be served?"

Last week I spoke of the "9/11 Underground." A concept that came to me through a fellow Pastor and friend, David Brauer-Rieke of Christ the King Lutheran Church. He said that a series of articles in the Atlantic Monthly is highlighting the accomplishment of those who worked to clean up the 9/11 disaster. Their work was done faster and less expensive than predicted because of one thing. They all worked from the mission of; "Find the bodies."

The leader of the organization was anyone underground who thought they might have found a body. Whoever was stretched out in that dark hole and asking for a crowbar - received what he asked for - when he asked for it. If you were in the hole at that time - even if you were the Mayor - you wouldn't even contemplate saying; "Do you know who I am?" Let alone; "That's not my job / task force / committee."

This was the original church / fellowship of the Lord. This was how everyone operated. It was not a bureaucracy - it was a vision-based organism (for more information on "Vision-Based Organisms" - see Jerry Goebel workshops). The sole (soul) purpose of the church was to 'find the bodies' wounded by life. The helpless, hopeless and those who had not heard the Great News.

The resources of the church were poured into whoever was on the front line. The church acted like there was no tomorrow. Like 9/11, there was urgency to their work. They truly saw their mission as pulling lives from the fire!

When did we lose that vision? When did we lose that urgency? What can we do to bring it back to our churches again? Our jails are full, our schools are failing, our families are dying and our churches and government are lost in a moral quagmire.

"Lord! I ask you to bring the fire back to our bellies. Let's live with one vision - 'find the bodies - bring them to you!'"

"[Romans 8:11] But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

"Give us LIFE, Lord. One that is worth living."