I would like you, please, to open your Bibles, and I hope everyone has a Bible here. We are going to look today into the eighth chapter of the book of Romans in the New Testament, and we are looking into the book of Romans, and from the book of Romans we learn about the ways of God with men, and about the fact that God, not only that He had saved us, not only that He had brought us to Himself, and made us children, and made us children, sons and daughters of the Father, but He also want us to live a life for Him. While we are waiting the time, we are waiting the day, in which we are going to be called by the Messiah, to be called by the Lord Jesus, to be taken to be with Him in glory, but until we are going to be there with Him, He left us here in this world, and He wants us to live for Him.

In the book of Romans, we are in the book of Romans, and in the book of Romans, we are in the portion of the book of Romans, chapter 6 and 7 and 8, which deal with the theme of sanctification. Not only that we have been saved, but we are also in the process of being daily, being set apart, sanctified for the Lord Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, our Messiah. We have covered chapter 6, we have covered chapter 7, and today we are going to begin dealing with the 8th chapter of the book of Romans, and I would like to begin from verse 1, and we are going to take the first 17 verses of Romans, chapter 8, in our ministry meeting today.

Let me read these verses, let me read these verses, beautiful and very interesting verses. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ, or in Mashiach, as we say in Hebrew, in Mashiach Yeshua, in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, for the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Jesus, has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Verse 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. For to be fleshly or carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace and shalom. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Mashiach, he is none of his.

And since the Messiah be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But since the Spirit of him that raised up Yeshua from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Messiah from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage, again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, our Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, with Mashiach. If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Now, I'll stop here with the reading for today, and I hope I will cover, by the grace of God, the passage that I read. But I would like, brothers and sisters, just by way of introduction to chapter 8, I would like to remind you of a few things here before we are going to go into this chapter 8.

Now, remember that it was God, in his wisdom, that he wanted to win a people for himself. He loved men so much that he was willing to send his beloved son, the Messiah, to this world. And because the Messiah came, and he paid a penalty for sin, God now is able to reach out to people like you and I, sinners by nature and by practice, and to win us to himself, if we believe that Yeshua, that Jesus, have paid a penalty for our sins. And so, we've covered up to chapter 7, so far in the book of Romans, and we learn from those chapters the essays that are found that we can tag this book.

Many essays. Now, it's so precious to realize that the Bible teaches us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And since all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, God needed to provide salvation. And he did so, beloved brothers and sisters, when he sent Yeshua, Jesus, our Messiah, to die for our sins. And we read in the scripture, in Romans chapter 5, we as believers have peace with God through our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And so, you know, beloved brothers and sisters, if you are a believer, and if you are a child of God, you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

This peace is not for a time and a season. This peace is for eternity. This peace is once and for all peace that God, shalom, that God had provided for those that belong to Yeshua the Messiah. But many times in our lives as believers, we don't have peace, or I should say, the peace of God. Not the peace with God, Romans 5 verse 1, but the peace of God, Philippians chapter 4. We often don't have the peace of God because we are living here in this world, and many times we stumble, and we fall, and we sin, and we hurt God. We hurt ourselves, we hurt others, and yet we are in the school of God every day as we walk with the Lord.

We are in the school of God. So, the thought of sanctification, God wants to see believers like you and I, growing spiritually, maturing in the things of the Lord, following after Him, serving Him, pleasing Him, and being a blessing to all those that are around us. But how are we going to live such a life? How is it possible for a believer, for a Christian, for a Messiah follower, to live a life that is pleasing to God? How is it possible? Should I do it in the energy of my flesh? Should I do it in the energy of the human nature? Should I keep laws and rules in order to please God?

Well, we find out, as we have just finished chapter 7, Paul himself said, listen, and if you remember what we said earlier, Paul found and discovered our past and himself said, oh, wretched man that I am. He said, the things that I want to do, I don't do them. And the bad things that I don't want to do, those things I do, Paul is struggling within himself. Perhaps like you and I. And you and I know very well how we are struggling in our lives as believers. We oftentimes, instead of doing the right things, we do the wrong things. We even make a commitment and we say to God, God, from today on, I'm starting a new page in my life.

And then a new page began, a white page began, and it doesn't take too long, but it got dirty. It's no longer white. It's no longer the same because I dishonor him. I hurt him. I sinned. And I lived a life that is not pleasing to him. And so on. How are we able to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord? Well, Romans chapter 8, beloved brothers and sisters, is one of the best chapters to learn about the believer's experience and the believer's ability to live a godly life. And that's why in Romans chapter 8, we have four things in which the apostle showing the believers in order to show us that we can be set free.

We can be set free. There are four things I mentioned here. There is freedom from judgment. And this is very important. It's the first four verses of Romans chapter 8. There is freedom from defeat. From verse 5 to 17. There is freedom from discouragement in verses 18 to 30 that we have here in Romans chapter 8. And there is freedom from fear in verses 31 to the end of the chapter. In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, Romans chapter 8 teaches us that not only that there is no condemnation in the beginning of the chapter, there is also no separation at the end of the chapter. Romans chapter 8 shows us that the believer, and I'm speaking now about believers, not unbelievers.

Unbelievers have, first of all, to deal with the question of sin. They must accept the fact that they are sinners and that Yeshua died for them and that he paid a price for their sins. But for the believers, we need to be assured, according to the scripture, that there is no condemnation at all because of our relationship with the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And so the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8, 19 times he used the word Spirit, capital S, Holy Spirit of God. 19 times in this chapter he mentioned the word the Holy Spirit of God and the necessity to allow the Holy Spirit of God to work in our lives.

In contrast to chapter 7, there are so many times the word I, me, and my is mentioned in Romans chapter 7, but in Romans chapter 8 the word Spirit is mentioned again and again and again because the Apostle wants to show us that if we are to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord, we must do so in the energy and the power of the Holy Spirit of God and not in the energy of our own human nature. So, Romans chapter 8 is dealing with the Holy Spirit of God and what he is going to do in the life of the believers. Before I'm going to begin in verse 1, I'd like you to turn to the Gospel of John.

John chapter 14, 15, and 16, and I want to read a couple of verses for you in these chapters. Now remember that Yeshua, our Messiah, before he died upon the cross, the Roman cross, before he died upon the tree, he was sitting with his disciples, Talmidim, in the upper room in the city of Jerusalem. And he was anticipating to leave them, to go back to the Father, where he came from. And as he was anticipating to go to the Father, he gathered his disciples, and if you remember, he celebrated with them the Feast of Pesach, Passover. He introduced to them also the memorial, the fact that he is going to die, and we are to remember the price that he had paid for us.

But then in chapter 14, he told them something that is very important. He said to them in chapter 14, and verse 16, and 17, look what he told them in these two verses. He says, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, and listen to the last part of verse 17, for he dwells with you, and he shall be in you. Now you notice that the Holy Spirit of God called Hill, in Romans chapter 14, a comforter. You see, these Hebrew disciples, who were sitting around Yeshua the Messiah in the upper room in Jerusalem, they needed to be comforted.

Because the Lord, the Messiah, was ready to leave, he's going to go to the Father's house. He said, in my Father's house, there are many mentions, I go to prepare a place for you, in the beginning of chapter 14. But then they were, perhaps they discouraged. And he says, listen, I'm not going to leave you comfortless. I'm going to pray to the Father, and he will give you another comforter. And what was that, or who was that another comforter? It was the Holy Spirit of truth. Ruach HaKodesh. The Holy Spirit of God, who he promised that the disciples will receive in the coming days. And then he says, listen, he says, the world cannot receive it.

He says, you know him. By the way, you notice, the Holy Spirit is a person. It's not an influence. It's not a feeling. You know him. Why? Because he dwells with you, and he shall be in you. See, the Holy Spirit of God did not yet come, because Yeshua was not yet glorified. And so he promised that the Holy Spirit of God will come, and he will dwell in the believers. Every one of us who is a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah, has the Holy Spirit of God indwelling us. He is a second person, or one of the persons of the Godhead, that is indwelling every believer in Yeshua, the Messiah.

And he is there to help us, to assist us, and to comfort us. Turn to John 15, another verse in the same gospel. John 15, verses 26 and 27. And I'm reading in verse 26. When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, and now notice again, he shall testify of me, and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. You notice what the Holy Spirit of God will do? According to this verse 26, he will testify of me. That is the job of the Holy Spirit of God, is to take the Messiah and present him before the children of God, and encourage us, and lead us, and direct us, and comfort us.

That is the job of the Holy Spirit of God. Look at chapter 16 of the same gospel. John chapter 16, verse 12. Again, he's speaking about the Holy Spirit of God. I have many things to say unto you in verse 12, But ye cannot bear them now, he says. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. Verse 14 said, He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. And you can see again and again the promise of Yeshua the Messiah, that the Holy Spirit of God will come, and he will guide the believer.

He will testify to the believer about the person of the Messiah. He will reveal truth to the believer, to the child of God. What is the promises of Messiah have been to the disciples before his death came to pass, after he died on the Roman cross. When he died, when he was buried, and he rose from among the dead, and he was ascended to heaven, then he sent the Holy Spirit of God, and the Holy Spirit of God now become our guide. That's why, brothers and sisters, it is so important to think of the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God in the life of the people of God.

And Romans chapter 8 is a total chapter that shows us the work of the Spirit of God in the life of the believer. So please go now to Romans chapter 8, and let's deal with this chapter verse by verse. The first thing that we learn, and this is so important to you and I, in verses 1 to 4 of Romans chapter 8, that you and I, because of what the Lord Jesus has done for us, we are free from judgment once and for all, that all the world is still awaiting who rejected the Messiahship of Jesus. Look at this. Verses 1 to 4, the freedom from judgment, no condemnation. We read in verse 1, but there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The first thing that we learn in verse 1 of Romans chapter 8 is that there is now therefore no condemnation for those who belong to the Lord Jesus our Messiah. Now Romans chapter 8, I would like to remind you that it follows immediately Romans chapter 7. And somebody put the number 8 here as a mark to separate between the two chapters, but actually, Romans chapter 8 verse 1 is a continuation, the same line of what Paul just finished to ask in Romans chapter 7. What did he say in Romans chapter 7 in verse 25 after he says in verse 24, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

See, Paul was struggling, Shaul was struggling in his life and he asked, who is going to deliver me? How can I get help? How can I get help to live the life that is pleasing to the Lord? What in the world am I going to do about this? How am I going to live the life of the believer? How am I going to do it? So he said in answer in verse 25 in chapter 7, I thank God through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord. So then with the mind, this is the inward man, with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin, but Romans 8 verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

See, Shaul, Paul, needed to get, first of all, to the firm foundation. How many a time, brothers and sisters, sin come into your life and you are struggling with sin in our life and you might say, wow, I blew it again and now God, probably God doesn't like me anymore. He doesn't love me anymore, you see, because I've committed that sin and I've gone wrong in this way or another way and we're probably condemning ourselves and we say, God, I do not know, I tried to please you, but I failed you again and God, I feel condemned. So you know what Paul learned? He says, listen, brothers and sisters, and listen, Paul is speaking, in fact, he's also addressing himself like he's addressing the Roman believers, he says, listen, one thing it is important to learn, that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ, in Mashiach, Jesus.

There is no condemnation. In other words, you think God did not know the struggles that you are going to go in your life every day? Do you think that God was surprised because you failed him or you failed your friends or your brothers or your family or you think God did not know it? He knew it before you became a believer and he knows it when you became a believer and after as a believer and following the Lord Jesus, he knows that. But if we understand the basis upon which we can move on in our lives as believers, there is fundamental truth that we have in the scripture, there is no condemnation in those that are in the Messiah, Yeshua.

No condemnation. Do you know why God cannot condemn you anymore? Because the condemnation that you and I deserve to receive, somebody else took it already when he died for us on the cross. Jesus, our Lord and our Mashiach, our Messiah, already paid, by the way, not only for your sins of today only, for your sins of the past and the present and for the sins that you and I will commit tomorrow. Everything he dealt with once and for all on the cross. And so, it is important to understand that there is no condemnation but it is only for those that are in Christ, in the Messiah.

And that's where every person has to ask himself or herself, am I in the Messiah, in Christ? Am I belong to him? Have I dealt with the question of sin in my life? Have I confessed that he is Lord of my life and that I deserve to be punished and he bore my sins in his body on the tree? Have I confessed that? Well, Paul, Shaul, is saying there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. Now, you notice, by the way, in verse 1 that it says in the second half of the verse, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

Most Bible teachers will tell you that this statement in the second half of verse 1 do not belong there. Many manuscripts do not show that this part of the verse is not there. It's actually in verse 4, a little bit lower. You notice in verse 4, it says the same thing at the end of verse 4, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. What we see here, that there is a blanket truth in verse 1 that the believer who is in the Messiah is no longer being condemned. God may discipline us when sin comes but when it comes to our positional standing before the Lord, before God, once and for all there is no longer condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.

And now we continue. And he's showing us now in the next verses and I'm following now in verse 2 and 3 and 4 and you notice it says in verse 2, it says, the law now cannot claim the believer. Why? Notice that it says in verse 2, it says, for the law of the Spirit of life in the Messiah Yeshua had made us free from the law of sin and death. You see, the law of sin and death has constantly condemned us because when God had given us a law or principle of law of rule and men fail every time in accomplishing what God demanded, it condemned us. It judged us.

And so what happened, we needed to be freed from the judgment that the law placed upon us. And so that's why he said, for the law of the Spirit of life in the Messiah has made us free from the law of sin and death. You see, under the law we were condemned when the law said, thou shalt not do this and we have done it. Well, it condemned us. It killed us. It demanded justice. So how can we be freed from that which condemned us? Well, the only way to be freed from that is to turn to the person of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

And that's why he says, for the law of the Spirit of life in the Messiah, Jesus, had made me free. See, Paul again is building up upon the effect of the finished work of Yeshua, the Messiah, that what the Lord Jesus have done, we are free from the law because of the finished work of the Messiah. The law can no longer condemn us because God provided the judgment that we deserved in the person of his beloved son, Yeshua, the Messiah. Next verse, verse 3, the law not only cannot claim the believer, but it also cannot condemn the believer. It says here in verse 3, for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh.

God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sins condemn sin in the flesh. You know, it is unfortunate that many think that by seeking to fulfill or at least seeking to place themselves under law or laws or the law that God had given, they think that the law will produce something good in them. But it doesn't work because the law is like a mirror that shows us the fallacy that existing in our lives and in our hearts.

It's just like you are going to a mirror in your own house this morning before we came to the meeting we went and we looked at the mirror and what the mirror showed us wait a minute there is a scar here there is a bag underneath my eye there is a white beard and I'm getting older there is a boldness and I'm getting what's going on I'm a bit heavy all the fallacies in me you know what that is exactly what the law does internally it shows us that we fail God that we are simply not what God expecting from us to do and he drive us to the Messiah and that's what happened here

the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh see the law is not weak on its own but it was weak the law is unable to produce something in a human nature because of our flesh is sinful and so what happened for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God did something about it God has sent his only son and notice it says in the likeness of sinful flesh you remember when Yeshua came to this world he didn't come with sin in his life he looked like every one of us he was a man he was born in Bethlehem he grew up in a

Jewish home in Atzeret his mother Miriam raised him in a Jewish home in the land of Israel his stepfather Yosef have been a carpenter he grew up like any other Hebrew in the past and he grew up like men like people like you and I but he did not have sin in him he was sinless he was the one who was born to the virgin Miriam sinless and that's why it says here he God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh but he sent him for sin and God condemned sin in the flesh you remember we read in the book of Colossians that he bore our sins in his body on the

tree so beloved brothers and sisters these are fundamental truth of the scripture that there is no condemnation for those of us who belong to Yeshua the Messiah why because the Lord Jesus freed us because of his finished work on the tree then he says not only the law cannot claim us verse 2 not only the law cannot condemn the believer verse 3 but the law cannot either control the believer why because the law do not have the power to provide holiness in the flesh because we have a sinful nature look at this verse 4 that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us notice who walk not after the flesh but after the

spirit what he is saying here that the law who demand righteousness for men could not bring it about in men because of the sinful nature but when we became believers in the Messiah the Holy Spirit of God took residence in the life of the believer we have a new birth and in the power of the Holy Spirit of God we can fulfill the righteousness of the law on a basis and a strength of the Holy Spirit of God so this is amazing truth to understand beloved brothers and sisters the law cannot do in the believer what the Holy Spirit can produce in a believer the law failed because of our sin nature but the Holy

Spirit of God is able to work in the life of the believer and so we learn from those verses the importance of the fact that there is no condemnation for those that are in the Messiah Yeshua so those first four verses are very very important for us to get a hold of so we move on now in the next verses from verses 5 to 17 where we also read today we have the second point that our apostle is mentioning to us in this chapter in Romans chapter 8 not only that we are freed from judgment but we also can be free from defeat do you feel sometimes that you have been defeated as a believer

don't you feel sometimes I feel sometimes when I do things in the flesh and not waiting on the Lord you feel like you've been really defeated you feel like you haven't been victorious in your day by day living you feel defeated you feel like so defeated because you simply allowed the old man the old nature to take control over your life instead of feeding on the new man on the Lord on Yeshua the Messiah we fed on the old man on the old nature we fed it and we gave it the wrong type of food we will be occupied with that which is not pleasing to the Lord well here in this chapter Romans 8

verses 5 to 17 the apostle Paul shows us that we can be freed from defeat we don't have to live a defeated life we do not have to live a defeated life we don't have to do so we can live a life that is victorious and some of us can definitely say that we see other Christians and other believers that really live for the Lord God used them in ministry God used them in their life they are blessing to others they are ongoing continuing living for the Lord and you can see the testimony in their lives you and I can do the very same thing if we will only allow the Spirit of God to

take control over our lives and that's what the apostle emphasizes now in verses 5 to 17 and so in verses 5 6 7 and 8 he shows us some contrasts and he shows us in those verses that there is contrast between the flesh and the spirit life and death enmity against God and following God he shows us those contrasts in those verses look at the contrast first of all in verse 5 the contrast between the flesh and the spirit for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit mind the things of the spirit he shows us a contrast first of all we can

see a contrast between a believer and an unbeliever but we can also see a contrast between a believer who is spiritually minded and a believer who is carnal minded we can look at it both ways you see they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit mind the things of the spirit and he used the word mind here you notice he used the word mind you know what do we do with our mind we think about things in our mind we analyze things in our mind and I don't know about you but many times my mind is filled with all kind of things I'm

thinking about this situation I'm thinking about family needs I'm thinking about the fellowship need I'm thinking about all kind of things coming to my mind and to your mind I'm sure but what we fill our mind with will affect our lives and if we mind as it says those that are after the flesh they do mind the things of the flesh and those that their mind is filled with the things of the spirit will be minding the things of the spirit of God and so what do we fill our mind with if our minds are occupied with all kind of things of the flesh and not the things of God well definitely it will ultimately

will be evident in the way we live in the way we behave but all if our mind is filled with the things and we are after the things of the spirit you will notice that there is a spiritual aspect of our life as well a person have mentioned it like this and I think it was very important you know every one of us here live in this world and we have many needs we have to provide for our family so we need to think about jobs we have to take care of practical things we have family we have children we have jobs to take care we have financial needs we have to take care of

our car of our house we have insurance we have all kind of things the mundane things of our daily routine we cannot just shut the door and say I am not going to think about money about job about family and just shut my mouth and just memorize verses all day long if you can go all day long and we think sometimes it is very spiritual a person if you memorize verses all day long you don't need to think about your family you don't think about your financial life you don't need to think about anything else your job and all these things just memorize verses and you are going to be spiritual well it's not what

the Bible teaches us we have responsibilities here in this world but the difference between those that mind the things of the flesh and those that mind the things of the spirit is simply this that the unbelieving world have no spiritual aim in other words there is nothing beyond what's happening here in this world they don't think about God they don't think about the need to worship God and to adore him and to praise him they don't think about their spiritual need they don't think about eternity and their destiny as far as they are concerned it's only here and now when we finish this life it's six feet under the ground and it's all over but

for the believer they mind the things of the spirit of God yes we take care of our job we need to do things irresponsibly with our family and all the area the sphere of life that we have but that is not the only thing that we think about we bring the things of God we bring the person of the Lord Jesus into every situation in our life and so he say those that mind those spirit they are also mine their mind is filled with the things of the spirit of God and the spirit of God will direct us to the beauty of the Lord Jesus of Yeshua who loved us and cared for us and

gave his life for us and so the aim and the goal is not only what here is now and now but it's also the things of the Lord and so us against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and they are contrary to each other there is a struggle that we have every day so what we learn from that is that if we are believers and we are while we need to deal with the elements of this world the things that we are part of in this world but we should bring the Lord Jesus into every situation the Lord wants to be part of our life he wants to be in our homes he

wants to be with us in school he wants to be with us everywhere he wants us to have fellowship with him and if we mind the things of the spirit of God he will take part in our lives and what a blessing it is when the Lord is part of our life he watch over us he protects us with all the fallacies of this world he protects us from the pitfalls that are always right before us every time we move forward and so the contrast between the flesh and the spirit notice verse 6 another contrast and this time it between life and death verse 6 for the carnally minded or the fleshly minded is death

and he says in verse 6b but to be spiritually minded is life and peace and shalom chayim and shalom we say in Hebrew you see another contrast do you know brothers and sisters that every time when we even as believers walk in the flesh it always going to lead us to spiritual deadness don't you feel that a time we have no spiritual energy no joy spiritually why why is it that we even as believers live very similar to the world around us why because we minded the things of the flesh we haven't been occupied with the word of God and with Yeshua the Messiah which and we have been occupied with all kind of things

that lead us into spiritual deadness no power that's what he's saying here now again you can make a contrast between a believer and unbeliever because the unbeliever his carnal mind is only going to lead him to death not only the physical death but eternal death and the spiritual minded the believer will be ultimately led into life and he's going to be eternally with the Lord but we can also apply it to believers the spiritual believer and the unspiritual or the carnal believer who mind the things of the flesh ultimately it leads to deadness meaning that there is no vibrancy you are kind of not rejoicing in the Lord you feel empty you feel shallow sometimes

we can come to a meeting and because we have not been occupied with the Lord we have no energy no spiritual energy to praise Yeshua the Messiah but when we have been occupied with him and we can gather together in the meetings we have a full our cups are full and we can praise him by day following after him so the contrast between the flesh and the spirit verse 5 the contrast between death and life notice in verse 7 there is a contrast between war with God or peace with God notice verse 7 because the carnal mind is enmity or war is at war against God for it is not subject to the law of

God neither indeed it can be here's the third contrast you see fleshly minded or carnal minded is enmity against God do you know that God is not pleased with the world and its sin and fleshly carnal the old nature you know for this carnal mindedness Jesus the Messiah had to die for this enmity that the world is against God the human nature is against God the Messiah had to do something about it when he came to this world and he paid the penalty for sin so being carnally minded is actually being at war against God listen if you go back please to chapter 5 of Romans just couple of verses there look look what we

read here in chapter 5 and verse 10 for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son you see what he's saying here we were enemies of God and the carnal mindedness is really against God is enmity against God when Yeshua the Messiah came he eliminated that enmity when he paid the penalty and God had reconciled us he restored to us his favor he recovered what we have lost because of sin and he brought us back to himself through the death of the Messiah Yeshua on the cross and so we have the third contrast in verse 7 enmity war against God or peace with God when we are

spiritually minded and not carnal minded finally now in verse 8 the fourth contrast is pleasing self or pleasing God it says then in verse 8 so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God God it not say they might have a chance to please God but they can't the Bible teaches us here that those that are in the flesh simply cannot please God doesn't matter how much they try and that's why the Lord want us to realize as believers to learn from that he says listen if I am going to live a victorious life I have to please God and if I am going to please God I have to depend not upon

the flesh not upon the old nature but I have to depend upon the Holy Spirit of God which will lead me which will guide me which will guide everyone that will wait on him to be guided by him so the unsaved person live in a lowest level of life he cannot please God but the believer has able to help him if we only wait on the Spirit of God for guidance so now that we have talked about those verses and we saw the contrast and we learned that we don't have to be defeated if we just wait on the Lord and be guided by him and have the Spirit of God guiding us notice now

in the next verses 9 10 and 11 the believer have to to Yeshua the Messiah verses 9 10 and 11 only believers have the Holy Spirit of God unbelievers don't verse 9 but you are not in the flesh Paul is saying to the believers but you are in the Spirit and notice he says since I know in the King James he says if but he doesn't put a doubt here it's actually not if it should be since since so be now if any man have not the Spirit of the Messiah he does not belong to him now let's not make any mistakes if a person is a child of God the Holy Spirit of God

resides in the believer in those that belong to the Lord Jesus the Messiah if a person does not have the Holy Spirit of God according to this verse Romans 8 verse 9 this person does not that only the believers have the Holy Spirit of God the unbelievers don't have the Holy Spirit of God if any man have not the Spirit of Christ the Spirit of Messiah he is none of his put your finger here and turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 6 for a moment 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 the Corinthians needed to learn this truth and they needed to remember that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in them in 1st Corinthians chapter 6

and verse 19 and 20 Paul is saying to them what don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you and which you have of God and you are not your own for you have been bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which belongs to God the problems that they had they had sexual immorality they were taking one another to court they had parties in the midst of the fellowship didn't care for each other they were not waiting on each other they were not sensitive to each other and he asked him look how can you live like this how can you

be like this you are the people of God you belong to the Lord Yeshua the Messiah don't you know that your body is the temple of the Spirit of God don't you know that the Spirit of God dwells in you don't you know that you have been bought with a price and you are not your own you know we have been bought with a price the price was so high we can't measure the price that the Lord Yeshua paid in order to purchase a people for himself the price was his precious blood it was his life he was cut off in the midst of the living he died on a Roman cross and he paid

a penalty for our sins and he bought us he purchased us with a price the price was very high and therefore the apostle is emphasizing to the Corinthians listen you belong to the Lord you are not your own really don't behave don't act in the flesh and when you stumble and you sin and you act in the flesh repent and turn back to God that's what he is saying that's what we need to do we fail so many times when we have to turn back to the Lord realizing that we have the Holy Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit of God desires to lead in Romans chapter 8 in verse 10 we find out

not only the believer have the Spirit of God but the Spirit of God is life in verse 10 he said and if or since the Messiah being you the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousness he's telling the believers at Rome to recognize that since the Messiah being them he says the body the old nature because of sin you know the body is dead because of sin and the sin nature but the spirit gives life because of righteousness there is a contrast here between those that don't have the Holy Spirit of God and those that have the Holy Spirit of God because the Spirit of God is life

and then in verse 11 he says that the Spirit of God will raise the believer as the Messiah was raised it says in verse 11 but since the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he it says in verse 11 he that raised up the Messiah from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit which dwelleth in you now what he is really speaking about here is not only talking about the future day after we are going to die and be resurrected and going to be together with him but he is saying to us here that the Holy Spirit of God is able to quicken us

in other word to produce in the life of the believer that which is honoring to the Lord that what he is saying honoring unto the Lord so the Spirit of God is dwelling in the believer that is essential to understand it and now the last portion here and we're going to cover this last portion from verse 12 to 17 and please follow up with me on this not only that we have the Holy Spirit of God but the Holy Spirit of God also is able to control us and to help us so we will not live a defeated life look at this verse 12 and 13 the Spirit of God will help us to put

to death the works of the flesh we read in verse 12 therefore brethren and notice he called them brethren because they were already believers they were the children of God they were believers and he called them brethren they were saved they had the Holy Spirit of God and he shall die or in other words you will have no fellowship no joy no blessings but if ye through the Spirit mortify the deed of the body then ye shall live now again he's talking to believers he doesn't talk about death that we're going to die physically he's talking about believers who need to be awakened in their spiritual progress they need to be living a life that

is vibrant for the Lord and that's why he says brother and listen we are not debtors to the flesh you know brothers and sisters we don't have to allow the flesh to take control over our lives all the time the old nature does not have to win or to take over in our lives he doesn't have that means that when we say things we can be more careful when we want to say something wrong about somebody to cut him down or to get angry at somebody we don't have to do that we can wait on the Lord and ask Lord help me and the Spirit of God will help us instead of cursing somebody blessing

somebody that mean if we are having to make a decision which direction to go in our life we don't have to do the wrong thing we can do the right thing and the Holy Spirit of God will lead us and guide us but it's not possible on our own it's only possible as we yield as we submit ourselves as we wait on the Lord and allow him to lead us so we don't have to be debtors brother he said therefore we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh we don't have to live like that we don't have to be defeated in our lives as believers we can live a victorious life

in the strength of the Holy Spirit of God he says here because if we will allow ourselves to live in the flesh ye shall die he doesn't mean that they will die only physically he doesn't mean that they will die eternally he called them brethren they are saved they belong to the Lord but he mean you will die in a sense of there will be no fellowship with Lord there will be no power no energy no blessings and that's what he wants to produce in the life of the believer vitality for the Lord spiritual guide for our life so we can be living a victorious life and the Holy Spirit of God verse 13b through

the Spirit you can mortify or put to death the deeds of the body what is the deed of the body with this body we committed every sin in the world with his eyes we look where we should with the ears we listen to what we shouldn't with our mouth you know what the other passages said in the Bible in the gospel of John with the same mouth we praise God and we curse man that's the way we are and we are children of God you see we going to heaven we going to spend eternity with Yeshua our Mashiach in heaven praising him but what about now do I have right now do you have to

right now to be defeated and to be a debtor to this old nature that constantly cause us to be away from the things of God do we have to be so Paul said no we don't have to it's so nice to see a believer that allowed the spirit of God to control him or her you can see it you can enjoy it you envy it because you can see the joy that existing in that person life the service to the people of God the ministry that God used them because they mortify in the power of the Holy Spirit they mortify the deeds of the flesh they don't allow their flesh to take control over their

lives that's what the apostle lead us here in these verses here's the next verse is verse 14 15 16 and 17 we learn that the spirit of God will help he will lead us he will direct us he will bear witness he will draw us from the wealth of the Messiah in those verses we read in verses 14 all the way to verse 17 look at these verses such beautiful verses verse 14 it says for as many as are led by the spirit of God they are the sons of God you know how we show that we are the children of God is when we are led by the Holy Spirit of God he will

lead us he will direct us he will lead us to the things of God God always lead by the way you notice it doesn't lead you know the spirit of God is a gentle Holy Spirit he leads Yeshua is a shepherd he leads he doesn't drive he leads us and he draws us he wants our affection connected with it he leads us and that's why it says as many as are led by the spirit of God they are the children of God the children of God are being led by the Spirit it says in the next verse verse 15 the Spirit of God direct us to the Father for you have not received the spirit

of bondage again to fear but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba our Father you know you and I did not receive the spirit of bondage we are not slaves we are sons we are daughters of the Father you know we love in Hebrew every child call his father Abba it's a baby talk Abba it's a relationship that we have and God brought us into a relationship he's our father and when we stumble he loves us and he wants us to be picked up and he helped us just like you and I who had children know when they were kids when they were toddlers and they couldn't walk and they stumble

and they fell we didn't spank them we lifted them up and helped them to stand and actually held them and helped them to walk and that is a beautiful thing you remember when you raised your little boy or little girl how you loved them and you saw them crawling and you wanted them to stand up and you want to see them walking here's the first step and the second step and look at them look at her look at him look how beautiful it is or maybe when they took a bicycle the first time and you held the bicycle for them until finally they took a ride on the bicycle that's exactly what God does with

us brothers and sisters it's so precious to know he loves us so much he cares for us so much he doesn't want to see us going astray toddlers that we are children and that need to be growing and we can cry Abba our Abba our father we don't have to fear for me we have been brought into a relationship with the father he's not there with a bat ready to hit us he's there with an open arm and he says listen for this fall for this sin I sent the Messiah Yeshua to die get up move on yield to me allow me to be your leader your guide allow the Holy Spirit of God to

lead you that's what he's really saying for you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba our father and you know we all have been brought into this relationship with the father and the son and is called in the Bible my son the angels are called in the book of Job the sons of God but no individual was called the son of the father before the Messiah have come it is only in the present day dispensation in which you and I live in that you and I individually can call the father Abba father and that's what the spirit of God will

do the spirit of God not only will lead us but the spirit of God will direct us to the father and saying father help me with this situation help me with this need help me to honor you in my life father when I go and stray Abba father help me to be turning back to the right direction when I dishonor you when I dishonor the Lord father help me that I will not continue in this pathway you remember the story of the prodigal son I love that story very much because the prodigal son left the father's house and he had gone all the way to a far away country and there he wasted everything that

the father had given him and when he was away in a far country had nothing left for him anymore in his hand you know what happened he was hungry so he went and he began to eat the food that the pigs had eaten and the Bible teaches us in the gospel that when he came unto himself to the end of himself he says I will arise and I will go unto my father and I will tell him father I confess before you and before heavens father receive me as one of your servants but you know what the father the father was looking waiting for him to come he longed for this child of him to

come from the pig pen to come back and the father when he took him back home and you remember he covered him he put on him another robe and he gave him shoes on his feet he gave him ring on his finger speaks of relationship that he had with him lost and now he is found in other words this son always had been the son of the father whether he was in the house or whether he was in a pig pen he was always the son of the father he never stopped to be the son and you know no pig in a pig pen ever said I will arise and go unto my father only

that one son that have gone life because he will lead us unto the father where we can cry to him Abba father I need your help I need your counsel I need your direction and we need that every day of our lives we need the counsel of the father the guidance of the father now the spirit of God not only that he going to lead us and he direct us to the father notice that verse in these verses look in verse 16 the spirit bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God that what the spirit will do you see the Holy Spirit of God will remind the human spirit listen I'm

a child of the father I don't have to live a defeated life I have no condemnation but I also do not need to live a defeated life I can be freed from defeat I can live a victorious life as a believer I can own in the Lord and so the spirit of God will remind us you say Gideon you know what you are a child of the father you shouldn't continue this way when you go wrong go back go back to your father go back to the Lord have your life pleasing to the father you are son of the father the spirit of God will bear with me thank God for the holy spirit of

God that we have in dwelling God he reminds us who we belong to and then finally in verse 17 the spirit helps us to draw from the wealth that we have in the Messiah it says here in verse 17 and if children then you are heirs heirs of God and joint heir with Christ with Mashiach since so be that we suffer or if we suffer with him we shall also be glorified with him together he says listen listen the Holy Spirit of God will remind us that we have so much in the Lord do you know that you and I are core heirs with the Lord I mean China in Russia in Muslim countries poor

destitute have nothing you and I are privileged to have so much in this country but there are many believers who have nothing even in this world and so what we learn here from this passage that they need to be reminded that we are heirs we are co-heirs with the Lord one day when we are going to be with him we going not only rich in a physical way if you will on the material way if you can say because we are going to be of course in heaven with him even a new heaven a new earth we are going to be here with him reigning with him but we have spiritual wealth that belong to

us because we are heirs of Christ heirs of the Messiah and joined earth with him see the father gave the son everything and because you and I link with him he has given us so much and so the Holy Spirit of God will direct us to draw from that which we have in him I am co-heir with the Messiah you are co-heir with the Messiah and there is so much wealth spiritual wealth joy peace blessing everything we have in the Messiah because of what he has done for us so brothers and sisters in this subject for today in Romans chapter 8 we learn two things number one there is no condemnation for those that are

in Christ in Messiah Yeshua you and I never will be condemned anymore because the condemnation has been dealt with once and for all when Jesus the Messiah died for us but there is also not necessarily anymore to be no more defeat there is no more defeat and therefore in these verses which we have read today there is no obligation to live a defeated life anymore we can live a victorious life if we allow the Holy Spirit of God to take control of our lives may he do so may we will allow he may help us to do so for the name of the Lord Jesus and for the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levitam