WE ARE HIS:

What do we hear in times Times of Weariness.

What thought is ringing in our ears

Life is tough. Attempting to live for Jesus in this world is tough. Seeking to serve Jesus

is ridiculously tough! At times the weight of it can overwhelm us.

We need to hear God’s reaffirming Word. We need to hear Him saying

“YOU ARE MY CHILD.”

Romans 8 is a balm to our weary soul. Romans 8 is the Mount Everest of the Bible.

WE’VE BEEN LIBERATED TO LIVE FOR JESUS. Romans 8:1-13

We are not condemned. We’ve been set free from the power of sin through the Spirit

We’ve been set free from the penalty of sin through Jesus.

This allows us to live the life God wants us to live.

We live the way God wants not by the flesh but only through the Spirit.

The flesh leads to death. The flesh is unable to submit to God & it can’t please God.

To walk according to the flesh is to have our life determined by the values of this world.

To walk according to the Spirit is to live under the control of the Spirit.

The Spirit is the mark that we belong to Christ & have the power of the Risen Christ in us.

So we don’t have to live by the flesh but we can, by the Spirit, put to death the flesh.

THE SPIRIT DWELLS IN US. Romans 8:14-17

God doesn’t leave us on our own, rather He sent His Spirit to dwell in us.

The Spirit leads us as God’s son. We’ve received the Spirit of adoption.

We don’t have the spirit of slavery leading to fear of condemnation & judgment.

Since we are adopted we have a New Father,

We experience full family rights (co-heirs)

We have the Spirits legal protections (no separation).

And we get to have a relationship with our Father.

When we doubt, the Spirit testifies that we are God’s child.

The Spirit bears witness that we are part of God’s New Family.

This testimony is confirmed in the deepest depths of our soul—

We have this subjective experience that confirms an objective reality.

This happens as the Word and Spirit work together in our life.

THE PRESENT IS POINTING TO THE FUTURE. Romans 8:18-27

We experience first hand the present sufferings of this age.

We see the raw humanity of those we seek to serve in their slander & ridicule

But the present sufferings don’t compare to the future glory.

The depression, anxiety & fear we experience in this life doesn’t compare to our future glory.

Paul reminds us that all of creation groans for the revelation of the Sons of God.

Creation is waiting for that one moment at the end of history when we will be revealed.

Creation is longing to be liberated from the curse of the Fall.

Creation groans for the future unveiling.

But we also know that the present sufferings don’t compare because right now

we are groaning for the resurrection of the body.

Our hope is the final resurrection from the dead.

This is the hope in which we’re saved! This is a living hope.

And though we don’t see it now, one day the very thing

God’s word promises will be seen with our eyes.

GOD IS WORKING ALL THINGS OUT FOR OUR GOOD. Romans 8:28-30

We have trials in our life now? Life is difficult. We l have to go to many funerals.

We love broken people. The ups & downs of life hurt.

It seems at time that everything in our life is chaos.

But God is working all things together for good.

We trust & rest in the fact that nothing is outside the control of God’s providence.

Nothing takes God by surprise; nothing is beyond his sovereign activity.

We can know that all things work together for good.

God has loved us & has chosen us before time to look like Jesus.

We can believe that God is in the process of working all things together

because God has summoned us into a relationship with Him.

We Believe that God is sovereignly orchestrating our life

God has declared us in right standing through the death of Jesus.

We rest knowing that God is working it all out

God has already chosen to glorify us in the future.

From beginning to end, God is working in our life.

NO ONE CAN ACCUSE OR CONDEMN US. Romans 8:31-39

In the course of our life some will seek to accuse us of things we didn’t do.

Many will condemn us because of something we said.

But in the eyes of God no one is able to prevail against us because of God’s love.

Since God has worked on our behalf, no one can be against us.

Because of God’s love, in providing Christ for us & justifying us,

no one can prevail against us either by what they say or do against us.

No one can accuse us & no one can condemn us. Satan can’t condemn us.

Our sin can’t condemn us. Our past can’t condemn us. We ourself can’t condemn us!

Nothing is able to separate us from God’s love.

No amount of external opposition can separate us from God’s love.

We have always & will continue to experience opposition in this life.

But we have a new identity in Christ.

We are triumphant over these things!

Absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love—

not even death

not the problems of life.

No spiritual power in hell can distance us from God’s love.

Despite the trials, circumstances & sufferings in this life,

nothing is able to separate us from God’s love.

His love is stronger than those things that attempt to separate us from Him.

God’s love for His Son is never-ending & because we are in Christ,

we can never experience a moment in which God will never stop loving us.

His love for us is not predicated on our performance but on Christ’s work on our behalf.

THE SPIRIT LEADS US.

The present doesn’t compare to the future.

God is working all things out for God.

We are not condemned.

WE ARE HIS!!!

Adapted from Michael Cooper