If you can keep, turn your Bibles to Romans Chapter 6, our main focus this morning is in Verse 12-14, but I'm going to start reading from Verse 5, Romans Chapter 6, starting from Verse 5. "For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.

We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace." Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for this morning. We thank You for Your living Word that convicts, that judges, encourages and strengthens. We ask, Lord God, that You would give us soft hearts, that we would be like clay, easily moldable. And we pray, Father God, for Your grace to be sufficient.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You know, there's a lot of things that we do when we're little kids that we just do because our parents tell us. You know, if you're raising kids, you tell them to brush their teeth and they don't really understand why. You can tell them that their teeth are going to get rotten, but they just do it because you tell them to do it.

So when you're young, you expect them to do it. They don't have to understand. They just need to obey. But at some point in maturity, they learn why this is important. So every single one of you have, at some point in your maturity, realized that if you don't brush your teeth, your teeth are going to get rotten, your breath is going to smell, and you're going to look funny.

And so at some point, you understood why it was important, and so you took it upon yourself. Nobody tells you to do it. You just do it because you understand the consequences if you don't, and you understand the benefits when you do. Spiritually speaking, we go through the same process.

When we're younger, we don't know much, so we say, "Well, what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to come to church on Sunday? Are we supposed to read the Bible? What does this mean?" But at some point in our maturity, we have to understand why we're doing what we're doing, or else it just loses its meaning.

Or you may just stop doing it completely. You may just read the Bible when you're a young Christian because somebody told you to do it, and you kept accountable when somebody said you have to do it. Or maybe you'll have accountability groups that tell you if you don't read your Bible, you're going to have to buy boba for the rest of the group.

And so that's your motivation for why you're doing it. But at some point, you have to mature enough where you understand the consequences and the benefit, and so you choose to do it. And that's part of maturing. Why we do something is just as important of what we do.

There's a reason why Paul has spent five and a half chapters in the book of Romans, in the introduction of the gospel and his ministry, without mentioning one imperative. We talked about that, that the first imperative that we see in the book of Romans happens in Romans chapter 6, verse 11, when he says, "Consider, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." That's the first command.

Prior to that, all of it was about who God is, in light of who He is, who we are, in light of who we are, what Jesus has done, and because of what Jesus has done, what has happened to us. So basically, he set the foundation to teach us why we need to live, why we need to respond in certain way.

Because it is absolutely essential. Why we do, why we come to church and worship God, why we study the Bible, why we pray, is absolutely essential to what we're doing. If, having said that, if all we know is why, and then you don't practice the what, it is just as detrimental.

The author of Hebrews rebukes the readers of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 5. He says, "By this time you ought to be teachers." But he says in verse 14, the reason why they weren't maturing, he says, "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." So spiritual maturity is not just learning the why.

So because of the why, then the what. And that's what he's transitioning into in chapter 6. He's told us the foundation behind who we are, what has happened. Basically, it was a detailed presentation of the Gospel. He's not done yet. He's going to continue on with this. But then based upon that, he says, "This is what needs to happen." That's exactly what he says again in Romans chapter 12, verse 2.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed first by what? By the renewing of your mind." We need to understand what has happened. What do we believe? Why do we believe this? In order for us to practice what it is that we profess to believe. Paul, now, is going to transition.

He's already transitioned to verse 11, but we're going to continue with this transition of imperatives. And he's transitioning, basically, in this text, in verses 12 to 14, it is a call to the good fight. And that's exactly what he's going to say. He's going to tell us to fight.

Fight for our sanctification. Fight for righteousness. In our culture, a lot of people think that sanctification is just choosing the right boat to be on. I've chosen, and I've been justified, so if I just get on this boat and just relax, and it's just going to take me to God.

That's not the picture that we see in Scripture. Paul constantly reminds us, and he reminds his disciple Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2.12, to commit to fight the good fight. Ephesians chapter 6.11, that we do not battle and fight against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces. He describes this Christian walk as, in the Greek word, agonai, an agony, a marathon, to wrestle and to persevere through.

In verses 12 through 14, the image that he shows us in this struggle is about the kingdom, it's about reigning, it's about dominion, and even the word that he uses to present yourself as instruments of righteousness. The word instrument in other parts of the Bible is translated to weaponry.

So again, after painting the picture of what has happened, he says, "You were at one point part of this kingdom, now you are part of the kingdom of God, and there is this struggle that is taking place in these kingdoms, and now you must live according to what has happened to you." So, in these few verses, he's going to give an exhortation.

One is a negative exhortation, not to do something, and then he's going to give a positive exhortation to do something. And that's how it is outlined this morning in verses 12 to 14. First, a negative. He says, "Do not let sin reign in your mortal body." Do not let sin reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passion.

So the first thing is what not to do. What not to do is don't allow sin to have utter dominion over your life. To have absolute control. And the reason why he says that is because that's basically the gospel message. The gospel message basically was that at one point you were under the dominion of sin and death.

Now you've been delivered from that. Now stop living that way. You know what's interesting is he says that he's very specific about what you're wrestling with. He said, "Don't let sin reign in your mortal body." So let's stop a minute and talk about what he means by mortal body.

When we say, "Well, he's just human," or "He's just a mere mortal," what do we mean by that? Do we mean like, "Oh, he has superpowers?" Right? "He's powerful." No, typically when we say, "He's a mere mortal," we're saying, "He's weak." Right? "He's frail." Ultimately, it means that we're eventually going to die.

We're finite people. So when he says, "Don't let sin reign in your mortal body," automatically we know that Paul is saying every single human being who has a flesh has a corrupted flesh that we have to wrestle with until the day we die. Paul actually spells this out in 1 Corinthians 15, 42-44.

"What is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable." Perishable basically means that we're all rotting. I know some of us are rotting faster than others, but we're all rotting. No matter how much time, effort, and money, and cream that you put on yourself, right? Every single one of us.

I mean, we can prolong our youth for a period. We can spend millions of dollars just to prolong it, but that's all you can do. You can prolong a little bit longer. Every single person who has flesh is inside that which is perishing. And that's why when that is perishable, when it is sown, it will be raised imperishable.

He says, "It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory." It automatically tells us that by living in this flesh, there is dishonor that we're going to be wrestling with. When you accepted Christ, did the temptation disappear? If you say yes, talk to me afterwards, because whatever secret that you have, nobody else knows about it.

When you accepted Christ, the temptation didn't disappear. It was still there. You still struggled with lust, pride, greed, anxiety. All of these things still are dwelling in us. And that's what Paul says, that if you have the flesh, it is sown in dishonor, and yet it is raised in glory.

It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown in natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. And so what Paul is saying, he is assuming that every single Christian, again, he's talking to Christians here, not non-Christians, every single human being that has this flesh will have this temptation and weakness and dishonor along with this physical body.

So basically, Paul is saying, "Fight against this flesh." And you know what's interesting here when he says to fight? He says, "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness." The word "present" in the King James, in the New King James, is translated "yield." Do not yield.

And the word literally means to just come alongside and just let it happen. Yield. Whenever you're driving, you see a sign that says "yield." Basically, you're supposed to go there, and if there's nobody there, you go. But if there's another car coming, you're supposed to slow down and let them go.

That's the imagery that we see here where Paul says, "Do not yield yourself to the temptations of your flesh." That's the literal translation of what he's saying. Do not to let it reign. Because every single one of us, every single day, wrestles with temptation. See, the difference between wrestling with temptation and yielding to temptation is just allowing it to just have its free reign.

We all struggle with pride. Every single one of us. Typically, we're deceived to think that the people who are loudmouthed and have a lot to say, like, those are the proud people. But I found, again, from years of counseling and talking to people, being around a lot of people, that pride is a problem with every single person.

Introvert or extrovert. People who talk a lot and don't talk a lot. Pride is inside of all of us because the core of our rebellion against God is to want to have the glory that our Father has. That's what Satan wanted. That's what Adam and Eve wanted. That's what happened at the Tower of Babel.

At the core of our rebellion against God is self-exaltation. That's what he says, remember, Romans chapter 1? They refuse to acknowledge the Creator and give credit to the creation, which is made in their own image. So at the core of who we are, we struggle with pride. And as long as we're in this flesh, pride is going to be right in there with us.

There's a difference between struggling with pride and yielding to pride. When somebody says something and then you say, "You know what? I'm just going to not let that guy get away with this." And you're yielding to it. There's a difference between struggling with lust and yielding to lust. Where you just kind of justify yourself.

It's like, "Well, where do you draw the line? Everybody does this." And so that's just the way it is. And then you yield yourself. You're no longer struggling. We all struggle with greed. Who doesn't want to live comfortably? Who doesn't want more things? It's one thing to be struggling and being tempted by that.

It's another thing to yield to that and say, "You know, I'm just going to give in. That's just the way it is. I'm going to have it all." See, Paul is saying that as long as you're in this flesh, that temptation is going to be there. And you don't have to commit to commit these sins.

It's always there. It's always knocking at your door. Lust is always knocking at your door. Your pride is always knocking at your door. It's the difference between struggling with that and just letting it have control. So Paul, again, knowing what it is that we have in Christ, do not yield yourself so that sin would reign in your mortal body.

So if you do that, it will continue and cause you to commit even more sins. Now, if Christianity was all about what he just said, right? And if that's all you know about Christianity, you're probably one miserable person, right? Imagine living in this world, you know, and you see what everybody else sees.

You see all the new technologies coming out. You drive in a nice neighborhood and you see nice houses. It's like, "Oh, that's nice. It would be nice to raise my children in that house." You see Facebook and all the great places that people have gone. All the things that you can have.

All the things that your head is filled with thinking, "Oh, it would be nice. It would be nice if I went there and did this and ate that and lived there and bought this." And then you come to church and he said, "You can't have it!" You can't have it!

If you're a Christian, you can't have that! That house looks awesome, but you can't have it! "I want to eat that food." No! You can't have it. Pick up your cross and deny yourself if you want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. If Christianity was, that's all it was, what a miserable way to exist.

If that's all you know of Christianity, of course you're not going to persevere. It's like a man starving to death constantly hanging around at a buffet. You know what I mean? Hoping somebody will spill it and it will accidentally enter your mouth so you don't have to feel guilty.

I mean, that's how Christianity is sometimes. It's like, you know what I mean? It's just about denying. But that's not what Paul says. There is that negative aspect of, "Do not yield yourself to the flesh so that it would rain." But then here's a positive one. He says, "But present yourself to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness." Again, the word "present" here is to yield.

Yield. Just like there is, if you're living in this flesh, there's this constant temptation knocking at your door, tempting you with lust, greed, pride, anger. But along with that, if you are a genuine Christian, the old wineskin has gone. The new wineskin has come. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is indwelling in us.

And not only is there a temptation knocking at your door, every Christian has the Holy Spirit also knocking at your door. See, that is the hope that we have in Christ. It is not simply about denial. It's about embracing life that the Holy Spirit desires for us. 2 Corinthians 5, 1-4.

Again, Paul says, "For we know that if the tent," and the tent he's referring to is this physical body, "if the tent which is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For in this tent we groan." As long as we are in this flesh, he says that we are groaning, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.

For every Christian, there is a groaning inside of us, desiring to be with the Father. If indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked, for while we are still in this tent we groan, being burdened. As long as we are in this flesh, we are burdened by temptation, we are burdened by desires, but there is this groaning for the life that He has promised in eternity.

As much as there is a knocking on your door, so that sin may reign over your life, there is also a knocking by the Holy Spirit that is constantly groaning to bring you closer to the Father. In Romans chapter 8, 22 it says, "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childhood until now.

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruit of the Spirit, groan inwardly." He's not just talking about the Apostle, he's not talking about just a few select Christians. Every Christian who has the Holy Spirit in him, there is a groaning inwardly. And what is that groaning?

What is that groaning? He says, "We groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons." The redemption of our bodies. That is the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. A non-Christian is constantly living under the temptation of their flesh. As though it just go. And that's why they are under its dominion.

But for Christians, we still live in this flesh, and until we are completely delivered from this flesh, we still have that same temptation. But the difference now is, we have the Holy Spirit also groaning and fighting to bring us to the Father. This is not something where he is saying that it may happen to some people.

It is happening. Every Christian, every Christian, there is a groaning that God has placed inside of you that cannot be satisfied until you are with Him. Paul again says that in Philippians 2.12, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." You see what Paul says here? He says, "You need to work out your salvation with fear and trembling because God is already going that direction. The Holy Spirit is already pushing you toward that direction.

The Holy Spirit is groaning to cause you to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." He says it again in Colossians 1.28, "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone with true Christ for this I toil, struggling with all His energy that powerfully works within me." He wasn't simply saying, "Hey, work hard, be determined." He is saying, "No, the Holy Spirit is already moving.

He is working powerfully in you already. There is a groaning that is constant in you that longs to be adopted for final redemption." And so what he says is, "One, do not yield to that constant temptation knocking at your door. Instead, yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. Yield yourself to God as instruments of righteousness." We are no longer helpless in our sins.

You may feel that way at times, but what Paul is saying here through the Holy Spirit is no Christian is helpless in his sin. See, the difference between a non-Christian who is struggling with guilt versus a Christian who has guilt upon him, a non-Christian has no answer for his sins.

So when guilt comes upon him, it leads to condemnation and more guilt. But for a Christian, when guilt comes upon us because of our temptations, because of our sins, we have an intercessor between us and God who has taken away the barrier between us and the throne of grace.

And that is why he constantly invites us. We have a high priest who is sympathetic toward our weaknesses because he once walked in this same tent that you and I struggle with. And so we are no longer helpless in our sins. So he says, "Do not yield to the flesh, but yield to the work of God." You know what's really interesting about these commandments?

The tense for the negative and the tense for the positive instruction is different. In the English, you can't see that. In the English, it seems like it's all present tense, that we have to continue to wrestle against our flesh and continue to wrestle for the things of God. But you know what's interesting here?

And I'm going to read what John Stott says about the tense here, and then I'll just explain. "Whereas the command not to offer ourselves to sin was in the present tense, indicating that we must not go on doing it, the exhortation to offer ourselves to God is in the aorist, which is clearly significant.

Although it may not be a call for a once-for-all surrender, it at least suggests deliberate and decisive commitment." Now, you have to understand the difference between these two tenses. The present tense is something that is happening now, it's continuing, and it's an everyday struggle. Aorist tense is a simple past tense.

It's something that happened in the past, it has an effect on it today. Where Christ was crucified for our sins happened in the past, but it has its effect on us today. So the challenge to offer yourselves as instruments for righteousness is in the aorist tense. So let me unpack that.

What Paul is saying, what John Stott is saying, the commandment here for the present tense, for the negative is that we are to continue to wrestle, continue to struggle, not to allow sin to have complete dominion over us. Continue to fight. But the commandment, but the commandment to yield yourself to the Holy Spirit begins decisively at some point when we say, "This is who I am." When you embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you confess your sins, and you repent of your sins, that's not something that happens later on, saying, "You know what, I'm going to follow Jesus." At some point decisively, when you gave your life to Christ, this is what has happened.

That you have decided to follow Jesus. And that was a commitment that you made. But for some reason, in our generation, in our culture, to decide to follow Jesus, and the decision to accept Jesus, have become two separate decisions. That you have some crazy Christians, and then you have the normal Christians.

You have the level 1 Christian, level 2 Christian, level 3 Christian. So level 3 Christians are the ones who do mission work, church planting, and forsake all things to follow Christ. And then you have the level 1 Christians who just accepted Christ, and just kind of ride this out.

See, what Paul is saying is this decision to embrace Christ, and the Gospel message was a decision that every Christian made, whether you know it or not. This is who we are. We have been crucified with Christ. We were buried with Him. And then we were also resurrected in His life.

See, Winston Churchill had to give this speech to England during World War II, where the Nazis were completely taking over Europe. It looked like that even France was going to fall, their greatest ally. And then they were going to cross the Channel, and their plan was to come and fight England.

So Winston Churchill, as the Prime Minister at that time, had to rally the country up to gear up for fight, even though it looked bleak. And that, not sermon, but that, what do you call it, the speech that he gave is noted in history, because it kind of caused the resolve of the nation to fight against the Nazis, and eventually they ended up winning.

And this is a clip, or a short verse from that speech. Winston Churchill says, "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills.

We shall never surrender." Paul's imperative in verses 12-14 is a challenge to the Church to embrace what has happened to us. It's to embrace and make a decisive decision that this has happened to us. In Romans chapter 12-1 it says, "I appeal to you, brothers, by the mercies of God." In the NIV it says, "In view of the mercy, to present your bodies, to offer up your bodies, to yield your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship." Paul is not commanding us to do anything that God is not already doing inside of us.

See, the challenge for sanctification isn't, "Hey, every desire is headed toward way, but deny yourself and go this way." See, that's what sometimes we think Christianity is. It's quite the opposite. The challenge for sanctification, the application of what we know of the Gospel, is basically, "God has begun a good work in you.

Now go with it. Live up to it." That's why he's able to say, "Live up to the calling that you have been given. Live up to it." He's not saying, "Earn it." God already gave it to you. Now live consistently with what you profess. He says, "Live and resist and give as those who have been brought from death to life." As people who have died, but also have been resurrected in this new life, where the Holy Spirit is dwelling, groaning inside of us, who's working powerfully within us, to live as those people.

And if we live in any other way, we're not living the way God intended us to live. Years ago, when I used to play a lot of basketball, there was this one guy that we used to play basketball with, and he was about 6'1", 6'2". And obviously, if you're 6'1", 6'2", you don't have to be the best basketball player.

You just have to be there. Right? The ball falls, put your hand up, pick it up, give it to somebody, and you're awesome. This guy would dribble the basketball, and he was an athlete. He could run up and down, he could dribble. But he had this weird habit of bending down when he would shoot.

He would go like this, and awesome, and he'd bend down like this and shoot. Every time he would shoot, we're like, "You're 6'2". I can come behind him and squat him. Get that out of here. Right? So every time he shoots the ball, we're like, "What are you doing?" Stop bending down.

God gave you the gift of height. Stand up straight, put your hand up, and shoot it here. No one can block you. Right? But for whatever the reason, he got this bad habit of squatting. So he shoots like he's 5' tall. Even though God gave him 6'2". Right? What Paul is saying is, live as those who have been brought from death to life.

That you've been given this new life. To stop living like you're still bound in the flesh. That you're still bound in dominion of sin. Like, "Oh, I have no control over this." No. The Holy Spirit is working in you. Isn't that why you come to church? Isn't that why you want to read the Bible?

You join small groups because there is an urging in the Holy Spirit that can't be satisfied unless you are at the center of his will? That's what a Christian is. God opened our eyes to see the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's what we're attracted to.

We want more of it. We desire more of it. We're frustrated when we don't get it. And so all sanctification is, is come and get it. The door has been opened. There is no barrier between you and the Father. Come and get it. This life that you've been looking for.

This peace that you desire so much. The love that you are craving is in the Father. There's nothing holding you back. Come and get it. That's what he's saying. Give up to the calling that you have been given. He says in 1 Peter 2, 9-10, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. How does the Bible describe, how did Paul describe the fall of mankind? All have sinned and fall short of what? The glory of God. Because God created us to glorify Him. And the only way that we can glorify Him is to be in His glory.

To be affected by His glory. To be near His glory. But when we sin, there was a barrier between us and Him. And we can no longer do that. That's why our whole sin of mankind is described as falling short of that glory. So the restoration of salvation is to be restored and to be reunited with His glory.

And not only are we reunited with His glory, we are to be proclaimers of this glory. And that's when we feel alive. That's when we feel alive. Isn't that your testimony? Isn't that what you've experienced if you are a true believer in Christ? Isn't that the real longing in your life?

That sometimes we try to dress up with having things and going places. And having the right friends and the circumstance. And we are all trying to dress this up, but if you are a genuine child of God, you know. You know that life is in Christ, in Christ alone.

Isn't Jesus the one who said, "If you drink of the water of this world, you are going to be thirsty again." You may quench it for a period, but you are going to be thirsty again. But the water I give you, if you drink of it, you will never thirst.

The bread that you eat of this world, you will be hungry again. So if you are nibbling to find life in this world, there is a constant hunger and constant thirst. And you have to constantly dress that up by doing more and more things. But the invitation for us who know Christ, who have been redeemed, is that the seat of mercy has been opened up.

Now come with confidence. And when we live at the center of His glory, glorifying His name, that's when we really live. Remember the movie, "Chariots of Fire"? I'll date it. Some of you guys may remember. "Chariots of Fire" was about Eric Liddell, who was the main character, and he was an Olympic runner.

And he was a committed Christian. And he made news because he refused to run on Sunday because he wanted to have corporate worship. And that made a big deal about it. So they interviewed him. And one of the lines in the movie that really stuck out, and I think repeated over and over again, where they asked him about his running and his relationship with God.

And this is how he described it. "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure." He said it wasn't about the running. It was about giving glory to God. But God made him fast. So when he runs for His glory, he feels His pleasure.

That is the testimony of every Christian that's been born again. When we live our life to magnify and glorify God, we yield ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness, we feel alive. Yes or no? And I think every Christian will say, "Amen." Because that's why we're here. We can get easily distracted and put other things in the path, and thinking like, "Oh, if we just did this, if we just changed this, and if we just had this, and we have all these little things that we think, like if we just adjust it, if we just get the volume right, if we just get this right, and if we just do this, everything will be okay." But at the end of the day, life is found in Christ and Christ alone.

The reason why you may not be satisfied is because you may have drifted away from the center of His glory. The reason why you're constantly adjusting your life to make it right, and it never seems to get on the right channel, is because you're looking for the wrong channel.

Only when we are at the center of His will, the more we abide in Him, the more we live. And He concludes in verse 14 with a declaration. "This is what has happened to us, therefore this is what you should do." And then He concludes with this absolute declaration, "This will happen," verse 14, "for sin will have no dominion over you." Now it's not a challenge, it's not a command, He's just stating a fact.

"If you're a Christian, for sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace." In other words, because God is not waiting for you to do your part, to do His part, He's basically saying, "Go live." He's telling us a fact, just like the book of Revelation.

He's not saying that if you struggle and you get it right, and if the church does its job, that Christ is going to come and redeem, and all this stuff is waiting for you if you get it right. The whole book of Revelation, in the context of chaos, struggle, that because of what Christ has done, it is the final chapter of human history, and it is absolutely victorious in the name of Jesus.

It is not simply telling us what might happen, it's declaring what will happen because of what Christ has done. And that's how He concludes this section. If you are a child of God, if the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you, and it is constantly groaning to be with the Father, yield yourself to that.

Give yourself to that. Because He who began a good work in you, He will carry it unto completion, until the day of Christ. So the challenge for us as Christians is, not simply to get on the boat, to come alongside and work and labor and toil and fight, along with the Holy Spirit who is already doing this inside of us.

Would you take a minute to pray with me? Because I know there's a lot of you in this room, where this struggle is real. In fact, let me say, not a lot, all of us, every single one of us, we struggle with temptation, loneliness, maybe anger and bitterness. And maybe some of you have just allowed yourself, you've given yourself to them, and let it have control over you.

And you're miserable as a result of it. You don't find joy in that. You don't find peace in that. But as we are challenged and encouraged this morning, that you know that the Holy Spirit is constantly drawing you to Him. And maybe you've been resisting because of anger, because of bitterness, because of whatever it was.

That you will come before the Lord and recognize what Christ has done, and now yield yourself, present yourself to God, that we may be used as instruments of righteousness. Sin will no longer have dominion over you, because we are not under law, but under His grace. Let's take some time to pray before the Lord, asking the Lord to make it even more clear to us, what it is that we have in Christ, that we may embrace it and live and worship.

Let's take some time to pray.