Matthew 20:20-28

It's not about you. It's all about Him. Col 1:15-17; 2 Cor 5:15

We are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers. Often it becomes about getting something from Jesus, instead of being more like Jesus.

1. Lean into the one who first served you, Jesus. Be in the Word regularly. Surround yourself with those who love Jesus. Mt 20:26-28; Phil 2:5-7.

2. Jump in and start using your gifts. 1 Pet 4:10; Phil 2:9-11.

The Heart

Mt 15:1-9 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”  Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’  and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’  But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’  they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:   “ ‘These people honor me with their lips,  but their hearts are far from me.   They worship me in vain;  their teachings are merely human rules.’   ”

-Their motives were not pure

Heart - that part of us where our emotions and desires dwell. Gen 6:5; Jer 17:9; Prov 28:26a; Mt 15:18-19. 

Our Creator cares about what we do, but more about the how and why we do it.

Three areas of struggle for our heart motivation (what drives us):

1. Status, success, approval. Mt 6:1

2. Selfishness: we give to get (why do I pray?) Jas 4:3; to make ourselves feel better Gal 6:1a

3. Security (we don't want to mess it up with God). Rom 5:1

What we should be motivated by: seek to honor God by pointing others to Jesus.

1. Guard your heart. Prov 4:23

2. Get into God's Word regularly. Heb 4:12-13

3. Put God first. Jas 4:8-9

4. Be honest with God. Ps 139:19-24

Convinced: God Works for our Good

Romans 8:26-30 Sermon Points

The more we reaffirm who we are in the Christ, the more our lives reflect our true identity.

The Spirit of God seals who we are in God. We are God's children, adopted into His family.

Romans 8:26 – ““In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

Romans 8:28 - “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.”

To Know = ironclad certainty, convinced

In every situation, good and bad. Christians, those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 - “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.”

Good/Blessing = anything that draws us closer into the heart of God, the presence of the Holy Spirit and thus makes us look more like Jesus.

Romans 8:29 - “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

There is no greater good than to be like Jesus Christ!

Romans 8:30 - And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

Convinced: If God is for us

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8: 31 NIV)
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Question 1: If God is for us, who can be against us?

No one out thing can take us down when God is for us.

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NIV)
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“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NIV)
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“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” ( Psalms 19:1 NIV)
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“Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” (Psalm 19:2 NIV)
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“David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.” (1 Chronicles 29:10-12 NIV)
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““To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40: 25-26 NIV)
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“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” (Isiah 46: 9-10 NIV)
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“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalms 139: 13-14 NIV)
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“But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”” (Exodus 33: 20-23 NIV)
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“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” (Exodus 34: 29 NIV)
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Question 2: How will he not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?

“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?” (Romans 8: 32 NIV)
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Question 3: Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? Who will condemn you?

“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.” (Romans 8:33 NIV)
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“Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Romans 8: 34 NIV)
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“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2: 13-14 NIV)
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Question 4: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8: 35 NIV)
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“As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”” (Romans 8:36 NIV)
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“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 37-39 NIV)

Convinced: We Are God's Children

Paul is saying:

The Holy Spirit is giving him a deep desire to fight hard against sin.

The Holy Spirit is sitting him that he was a child of God.

The Holy Spirit is reminding him that our hope is not in this world but in Heaven.

Rom 8:12-25

1. If we are God's children, we have to get the IF right. v9; Eph 1:13-14. We only become God's children by salvation though placing your trust and faith in Jesus. Then we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Romans road: Rom 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10

2. If we are God's children, we will be fighting the fight against sin. v12-13; Col 3:5-10; Rom 6:1-2; Mt 5:29; Rom 8:14. The fight against sin is very serious, and if the Holy Spirit is in you, it will be serious to you.

How do you fight sin?

-Make a conscious decision.

-Don't underestimate your enemy

-Be honest about the areas you are weak

-win the battle of the mind

-surround yourself with like minded people

-Keep short accounts with God

3. If we are God's children, we will walk in confidence, not fear. v15; Mt 18:3: Rom 8:16. God doesn't want us to be in fear of whether our relationship with Him is okay. Because I'm a child of God, I can call Him Abba, Father, Daddy. The Holy Spirit prompts me to cry out to Him, He's my Daddy. 

4. If we are God's children, we will be more excited about heaven than earth. v17-18. Our view of God will shape what we think and do. There's a big difference in saying I believe these things, and living as if I believe these things. 2 Cor 11:23-28; Rom 8:19-25

Convinced: In the Spirit

This uncertainties of this world tend to get a higher place in our lives than the certainties of God. This needs to be flipped!

Rom 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 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 his Spirit who lives in you.

v5 Who we ARE determines how we live, are we of the Spirit or the flesh (sinful nature)? v9 I am of the Spirit, in Christ, and Christ is in me. 

What do we do now? Walk in the Spirit. Gal 5:13,16

1. Regularly remind yourself that your identity is in Christ. What we dwell on in our minds will shape the way we live our lives. Needs to be the Word of God. Rom 8:1; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 2:20, 3:26; Rom 8:17

2. Regularly recognize you are in a battle. Gal 5:16-17a

3. Regularly refill with the Spirit. Eph 5:15-18. Don't procrastinate being refilled with the Spirit. Memorize scripture, Col 3:16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. What we feed the most will grow the most in our lives.

Convinced: Grace

Convinced: to be completed certain, to be assured of something

How convinced am I of my life and relationship with God in these uncertain times?

Rom 8:1 therefore: I know what I'm not supposed to do, but I do them anyway, what a wretched man I am. BUT there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. 

Rom 8:2-4 There are 2 laws: OT law makes us aware of sin which leads to death, and NT law is grace which leads to life. We are separated from God because of our sin, but in a right relationship with God because of Jesus' death. Rom 6:14 we are under God's grace. We are IN Christ we need Him to be our LORD. 

1. Your identity is not found in your religious acts. It needs to be all about the Lord. Gal 2:16a

2. Your identity is not found in your performance. You in Christ vs You AND Christ. I don't have to do everything on my own, it's Jesus and I working together. He has the strength when I don't. Phil 1:6

3. Your identity is not found in your sin. Since I am in Jesus, I need to see myself as God sees me, through grace and Jesus' righteousness, but also with Christ inside of me. 

I am free to live my life imperfectly under the grace of God through Jesus, with Him as my Lord.