Sermon for Lord's Day October 8, 2023 The Importance of Preaching and Experiential Theology

Stand with us, if you would, to honor the reading of God's Word. Two verses. It's all that we're going to be reading,

Ezra chapter 5, verse 1, and Ezra chapter 6, verse 14.

These are the words of the living God. Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Edo, prophesied to the

Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.

And then in chapter 6, in verse 14, And the elders of the

Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Edo.

Thus far is the reading of God's Holy Word. You may be seated this morning. If any of you are similar to me in nature, you are a creature of habit.

And I found it, this week, a challenge to actually turn our primary text to a different book of the

Bible than the book of Luke. But here we are.

If you're taking notes this morning, the title for this sermon, and really the overarching theme for the series of texts that we're going to be looking at over the next several weeks in time that goes by.

We won't put a time limit on it. But if you want to write this down, what we're going to be looking at and getting to these next few weeks is we're going to be looking at context.

Context for the content of Haggai and Zechariah's sermons. So we're going to be getting context for the content of Haggai and Zechariah's sermons.

And if you want to put a parenthetical, I have a parenthetical in my note. This is somewhat of a

Puritan title. It's a long one. The significance of preaching throughout the history of the church in both the

Old and the New Testament. The significance or the importance of preaching throughout the history of the church, both

Old and New Testament. And particularly, particularly what we're going to see throughout the sermons of Haggai and Zechariah when we get to them, and particularly what we're going to see in the book of Ezra as we make that kind of our foundation and our framework and the context for understanding what exactly

Haggai and Zechariah preached. What we're going to see is this, the faithfulness of God.

We're going to see the faithfulness of God. And to give you maybe a new term, some of you, but experiential theology is what we're going to look at today.

Experiential theology. We'll define this here just shortly. Next week, we're going to begin by giving you some historical and some biographical information that will be helpful for us to know as we go into the book of Ezra.

We're going to basically do a survey of the book of Ezra, maybe chapter by chapter, skimming through that to lay a foundation.

And then when we get through all of that, we're going to look at the actual sermons of Haggai and Zechariah that were preached.

And as we see laid forward for us here in the text, we're going to see how that this caused the

Jews to prosper through the preaching of God's word. We're not talking about the prosperity gospel.

When we use that term, we're using it in a right sense. We're talking about this, that the word of God will prosper your soul.

The word of God makes the poor man rich, makes the poor man poor in spirit, rich in spirit.

The gospel of God, the preaching and proclamation of the gospel, causes the spiritually weak to be made spiritually strong.

The preaching and the proclamation of the word of God causes the faithless to grow in faith.

The preaching of the word of God is the primary means by which

God has communicated to his people throughout history. And it does not change because we have his word.

So next week, we're going to get some biographical and historical information at the beginning of the sermon.

But today, I want to just start by saying this, that preaching matters.

Preaching has been the means, as I stated, by which God has proclaimed his word throughout history.

In the first book of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, the Lord himself preached the gospel to that old serpent, the devil.

In Genesis 3 .15, what is known as the Proto -Evangelion, in Genesis 3 .14

-15, the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field.

On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

And the Lord told the serpent, I will put enmity between you and the woman.

And between your offspring and her offspring, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.

Noah was referred to in Peter's second epistle as a herald or as a preacher of righteousness.

2 Peter 2 .4 -5, the word of God states this,

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell, and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment,

If he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.

So what we see here today is this, proclamation or preaching has always been the means through which

God calls sinners to repentance and salvation.

1 Corinthians 1 .20 -25, the word of God says this,

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know

God through wisdom. We learned that in Sunday school this morning, right in Romans, just barely getting into that.

For it says this, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

The King James says, it pleased God that by the foolishness of preaching, that the lost would come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

For he goes on, Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach

Christ crucified. To the Jews, Paul said, this is a stumbling block, and to the

Gentiles or to the Greeks, this is foolishness. But, he said, unto us which are called, unto us which are saved, it's not a stumbling block, and it's not foolishness or folly, but it is this,

Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God, the scripture says, is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

So why should we seek any other means or mode of proclamation than preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of men's souls?

And so, here in the coming weeks, here in the coming weeks, what we're going to be doing is examining the significance of the preached word itself.

Particularly in the context of Ezra, which was a period of time in history where after the

Babylonians had taken the children of Israel into captivity. Actually, let me state it more true, where the children of Israel were given over into Babylonian captivity by God as chastisement for their sin.

That is the long and the short of it. But after that 70 years of Babylonian captivity,

God was faithful to his word, delivered his people out of Babylonian captivity, brought them back to Jerusalem, and they began to rebuild the temple.

They began to rebuild the tabernacle. What happened was, there were periods of time, as we'll see in the coming weeks as we look at Ezra, but there were periods of time where they just lost it.

They just lost heart, they lost motivation, they lost sight of God.

And it was always the preaching and the proclamation of the word of God that turned the hearts and that turned the minds of God's people unto himself.

As though we knew with children from time to time, our children might get frantic. And what might we do?

We might grab their face, hold it, and say, look at me. This is what preaching does.

Preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God does this. God takes his children by the hand, by the face, looks us in the eye and says, this is what

I am saying to you. And you will be blessed by being obedient to the preaching of the word of God.

So we see this. And so that being said, as we make our way to what is essentially the sermon transcripts of Haggai and Zechariah.

This is beautiful when we understand this, because basically that's what it is. It is the transcripts of the sermons that Haggai and Zechariah preached in the days of Ezra.

So we'll look to see that and what we're going to do as we go. We're going to take some time to familiarize ourselves with the immediate context of the events that took place that led to and resulted from the sermons of these two men of God, Haggai and Zechariah.

So this, as I mentioned to you a moment ago, this is where we're going to focus today.

Focus and try to gain a little bit better understanding of this term, experiential theology.

Not experimental, but experiential theology. And understanding this will be helpful to us as we go into this study.

The events in the book of Ezra lead us to worship the Lord. They lead us to worship the

Lord because of his faithfulness and because of his sovereignty.

As if we don't have a plethora of other reasons, in this particular text, in these texts, we see the faithfulness and the sovereignty of God.

And it should cause us to sing that old song, great is thy faithfulness.

O God, my father, there is no shadow of turning with thee.

Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not. As thou hast been, thou forever will be.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth. Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide.

Strength for the day and bright hope for tomorrow. These blessings all mine and ten thousands beside.

Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies

I see. All I have needed, God, thou hand hast provided.

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. Oh, thank

God today. So today, by the help and with the aid of the Holy Ghost, we desire to think for just a few minutes today about this idea, this term experiential theology, as contrasted up against intellectual theology.

We talk about this quite a bit, right? We talk about the importance of balance, of having and maintaining a balance in our

Christian walk. And as we move to examine the sermons of Haggai and Zechariah, it continues to be an important theme for us.

Now, the knowledge of God, the knowledge of God disconnected from experience does nothing for the person.

The knowledge of God disconnected from experience does nothing for a person other than giving them a knowledge to go to hell with.

They can go to hell with a handful of information, but if there is not the experience of the new birth in the heart and in the life of the individual, they are lost and they are doomed and they are damned for a devil's hell.

But on the converse, on the flip side of this, the knowledge of God connected to experience is life and it is liberty.

It is life and it is liberty to the one to whom the Lord calls to salvation.

As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul in the book of Galatians rebuking the

Galatian church for constantly trying to go back to the law. He said, would you just stand fast in the liberty that you've been called to?

For you have not been called under bondage, but you have been called unto liberty.

There is nothing more liberating. There is no more free knowledge. There is no greater.

I guess the Latin word might be a sin and fiduciary giving a sin to the truth of the word of God and having faith in the word of God.

There is nothing more freeing than knowing that your sins have been forgiven you and that you are saved by the grace of God.

The psalmist put it this way. We're in the Psalms. What should I fear?

Should I fear what man can do to me? No. Jesus said in the Gospels, do not fear what man can do unto you, but I say unto you, fear

God. For after the fact that he has killed you, he has power to cast your soul and body both into hell.

This is why we are taught to fear God. So when we think about this term experiential theology,

Joel Beekie made a fantastic statement on this. He said this. Reformed experiential theology teaches that Christianity is not only a creed and a way of life, but also an inner experience resulting from personal fellowship with God through the indwelling spirit of God.

How can an individual have fellowship with God? You must be born again.

And if you are born again, the Holy Spirit of God testifies with your spirit that you are a child of the living

God. Joel Beekie went on to say this. Some assert that this idea of experiential theology produces an unbiblical kind of mysticism.

But nothing, Beekie said, nothing could be further from the truth. Unbiblical mysticism separates

Christian experience from the word of God. But the historic reform stance demands this.

God -glorifying, word -centered, spirit -worked experiential

Christianity. And when I read that, I thought about our creed of the church.

At Reformed Baptist Church, we desire to be a God -glorifying,

Bible -saturated, missions -focused, Holy Spirit -empowered people of God.

The man, the woman, the boy, or the girl. You can tell somebody the gospel all day long, but until you know the gospel, you are still lost.

And you still need to be saved. It does not matter how long you've been in the church, how many sermons you sit under, until the work of regeneration is done by God alone in your heart.

You will not be saved. But thanks be unto God. The good news of the gospel is this, brothers and sisters, that whoever shall call on the name of the

Lord shall be saved. It's good news. Beekie went on to say this.

Such Christianity produces a balanced Calvinism that does justice to all aspects of the

Christian life. It does justice to the intellectual, to the emotional, to the volitional, and to the spiritual.

It helps promote a comprehensive Reformed worldview. It shows us how to live in two worlds.

How to have heaven before our minds to guide and to shape our lives here on the earth.

Our confessions, again, the confessions of our faith are so beneficial to us concerning understanding experiential theology.

For in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 29, really question 29, and just a few questions there.

Question 29 says this, how are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?

How are we made partakers? The answer is this, we are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ by the effectual application of it to us by His Holy Spirit.

Question 30 says this, how does the Spirit apply to us the redemption that was purchased by Christ?

The Spirit applies to us the redemption purchased by Christ by doing this, number one, by working faith in us.

What is faith? Faith is the gift of God. How can I know if I have faith?

Because you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. You believe that Christ died for your sins.

You believe that He was buried, and you believe that on the third day He arose from the dead.

You do not have to be an intellectual academic to know this. You can be the sinless man, woman, boy, or girl in the world, and all you need to understand and know is that God is holy, that you are sinful, that Christ died for you, and you believed on Him, therefore you are saved by the grace of God.

Question 31, what is the effectual calling? The effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and of our misery, and enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and by renewing our wills.

By the way, the will of the unbeliever is dead set against God.

He renews our will. He renews our stubborn and our obstinate and our rebellious, stiff -necked wills, where we want to fight and kick and scratch against Him at every turn, and He causes us to be willingly and graciously and lovingly turned to Him and to worship

Him for who He is. He renews our will. He does persuade and enable us to embrace

Jesus Christ. Have you ever tried to hug somebody that don't want to be hugged? I mean, second,

I think, well, yeah, I would say a dead fish hug is far worse than the dead fish handshake.

Right? You go ahead and shake somebody's hand, and their hand just, it just flops. And you ever try to hug somebody like that, they just kind of stand there?

Oh, friends, you've got to know this, that God and His mercy and His regenerating work of salvation in your heart and in your mind causes you not to just want to stand there with your arms flat down to your side, but to hug and embrace and to hold

Him with everything that you have. That is the grace of God at work.

This is experiential theology. So, question 32, what benefits do they that are affectionately called partake of in this life?

That's question 32. And the answer is this, they that are affectionately called do in this life partake of justification.

Oh, friends, do you understand? Do you realize? Have you given great thought to this idea that the justification of God is an experienced reality to the believer?

It means that as you stand before the throne of God, the judgment of God, that Christ Himself, His life,

His death, His burial, and His resurrection now accounts for your good.

Where nothing good stood there before. This is experiential theology. The answer goes on to say this concerning what benefits in this life do believe that are the affectionately called partake of justification.

And then we have it listed in the catechism adoption. What does it mean to be adopted?

It means that all the rights and privileges of the natural born child are now yours.

Once I was clothed in the rags of my sin, wretched and poor, lost and lonely within.

But in wondrous compassion, the King of all kings, in pity and love, took me under His wing.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I'm a child of the

King. His royal blood now flows in my veins.

And I, who was wretched and poor, now can sing.

Praise God. Praise God. I'm a child of the

King. I've been adopted. Have you been adopted? Do you know that you are a child of God?

Do you know what Christ has done for you? If you did not know up until right then, now you know.

Adoption, sanctification is the reality experienced in the life of the affectionately called child of God that we are made new every single day, that we are cleaned.

Not to mention the several other benefits that are given to us going on in the catechism.

What are the benefits which in this life that do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification?

The answer is this. The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification are this.

That you have assurance of God's love. That you know that you are kept. That you have a peace of conscience knowing that the blood of Christ Jesus has washed away your sin.

You have joy in the Holy Ghost. You have an increase of grace and you have a perseverance.

You have the ability now that God has put within you and that works in you to keep you until the very end.

What benefits do believers receive from Christ that is dead? It's not just this life but it's the next life.

The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness and do immediately pass into glory for the scripture says to be absent from the body is to be present with the

Lord. And then their bodies, I'm sorry it says this, immediately pass into glory and their bodies being still united to Christ do rest in the graves until the resurrection.

Because that day and that hour when Christ comes the dead in Christ will be raised up.

According to the word of God. And what benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?

The last of these catechism questions will go through here. But at the resurrection believers being raised up in glory shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

The faithfulness of God, church, know this. The faithfulness of God isn't brought into reality by your opinion.

It doesn't become a reality just because you or I think it to be so. But the faithfulness of God, the faithfulness of God is reality.

The faithfulness of God is reality that is brought to our understanding by and through the work of the

Holy Spirit of God. The faithfulness of God is one of the great comforts that the

Lord has given to his people. We don't just read of God's faithfulness and magically we experience it, no.

The faithfulness of God, let me say it like this. The faithfulness of God is experienced, we are comforted when we experience

God's faithfulness through sufferings and tribulations in this life.

It's experienced, so just as the children of Israel endured chastisement, they also experienced

God's faithfulness. And like them, we as God's children, we experience the faithfulness of God by being brought through these trials and these tribulations.

Another of the old songs says this will soon be done with troubles and trials when we reach that home on the other side.

But until then, guess what? God is still faithful. God is still concerned about his saints.

God still cares for the needs of his people. As a matter of fact, in 2

Peter, 2 Peter chapter 1, 2

Peter chapter 1, this is what the word of God says. 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 3 through 11.

The scripture says this, according to his divine power, he's granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

And he's done this through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence by which he granted to us exceedingly great and precious promises so that through them you might become partakers of the divine nature.

That's experiential theology. Having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

And it is for this very reason that you are to make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue.

And virtue with knowledge. And knowledge with self -control. And self -control with steadfastness.

And steadfastness with godliness. And godliness with brotherly affection.

And brotherly affection with love. For the apostle Peter says this, for if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, the scripture says, and having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and your election.

For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our

Lord and of our Savior Jesus Christ. What good words!

Isaac Ambrose said this about experience. He said it pleases

God at times to give His people a high enjoyment of spiritual things, such as clear views of Christ, and to give them manifestations of His love, to give them a sense of pardon and assurance of hope with peace and with joy.

John Flambeau went on to say this, this experience that we have, this experience that we have of the power of religion in our souls is that only which fixes a man's spirit in the ways of godliness.

No experience doesn't fix you and establish you and settle you, but the experience of being born again, made a new creature in Christ, he says, fixes you in the ways of godliness.

Flambeau went on to say this, it made the Hebrews take joyfully the spoiling of their goods.

No arguments or temptations can wrestle truth out of the hand of experience.

For want of this, many professors turn aside from the truth in the hour of trial because they had not experienced and tasted the goodness of God.

They have only heard of it. They have only lived off second -hand knowledge, third -hand knowledge of the goodness of God.

But my friend, today you cannot live on someone else's experience. You must live according to the experience in your life of the work of God in that supernatural and saving way.

He went on to say this, Oh brethren, labor to feel the influences of religion upon your very hearts, for this will settle you better than all arguments in the world can do.

For by this, the ways of God are more endeared to men than by any other way in the world.

When your hearts have once felt it, you will never forsake it.

So my question to you today is this, have you personally experienced the work of God in salvation?

Are you saved? Have you been born again? I know you hear these questions regularly, but I'd rather die.

And have you heard them 10 ,000 times than to die and know that I did not ask you this question and be guilty of your blood?

Have you been born again? Has there been such a working in your heart and in your mind that you now understand that it was for your sin for which

Christ died? Have your eyes and have your ears been opened to the truth of God's word?

Have you tasted and seen the goodness of God personally? 1

John 5 9 -13 The Apostle John writes these words,

If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that He is born concerning His Son.

This is what God has said concerning His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony in himself.

Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God is born concerning His Son.

And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life.

And this life is in His Son. And whoever has the

Son of God has life. Whoever does not have the

Son of God does not have life. And John writes, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the

Son of God that you might know that you have eternal life.

That you might not have an experimental theology or an intellectual, just an intellectual theology, but you might have an experiential theology that you might know the grace of God firsthand.

Another of the old songs, and this is one of those songs that would probably be good for us to practice singing on Sunday night before 1689.

Number two, by the way, it's in the Razzle Dazzle hymnal. But it says this,

My soul is living in sunlight and I'm going along, rejoicing daily,

I'm singing, always singing a song. Oh, yes, I'm doing my best to shun the pathway of wrong.

It's just like heaven for Jesus is near. My soul is singing the story of my

Savior each day, and I'm clinging still closer every step of the way.

I know that Jesus will guide me and from Him I'll not stray. It's just like heaven for Jesus is near.

I'm drawing nearer and nearer. The songwriter says this to that coveted goal.

And daily Jesus is with me, keeping watch over my soul. While every step of my journey

He does safely control. It's just like heaven for Jesus is near.

And the chorus of that song said, My sins are gone. I'm going on. I am happy in the light from the heavens above.

The King of Kings is by my side. He will safely guide. I follow Him without a fear.

Why? Because there is not to fear in Him. His sweetest joy to know that wherever I may go, it's just like heaven for Jesus is near.

It is certain. As the Bible states in 2 Timothy 3, verses 12 -17, the

Word of God says this, Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

While evil people and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

But Paul writes to Timothy and he says this, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and then firmly believe.

Oh, listen. That right there, just in itself, is a big statement. For if you go to the beginning of Timothy, you'll find that Paul makes reference to Timothy's grandmother and her faith, her experiential faith, the faith that was real, a faith that endures, a faith that lasts, a faith that comforts, a faith that saves.

He said, Remember the things that you have heard and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings.

That's the scriptures of the Old Testament he's referring to, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

So, in closing, I want us to look at five marks that demonstrate the reality that a person has experienced the new birth.

J .C. Rouse sets these forth in one of his older works entitled

The Old Past. In The Old Past, he gives these five marks that are used as identifier landmarks, if you would have it, of whether or not you have been saved by the grace of God.

He writes particularly on the subject of the importance of the work of the

Holy Ghost in the heart of man. He asks these questions. How are we to know whether we are partakers of the

Holy Ghost? By what marks may we find out whether we have the Spirit of Christ?

Reception of the sacraments, he said, and membership of the visible church are no proofs whatever that we have the

Spirit of Christ. Very clear. This is in the 1900s. He says this.

The presence of the Holy Ghost in a man's heart can only be known by the fruits and effects that he himself, the

Holy Spirit, produces. And so here are the five marks I'd ask you to consider carefully as you consider your standing before a holy

God. Mark number one, he said this. Where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be a deep conviction of sin and true repentance for it.

Conviction of sin and repentance. Mark number two, where the

Holy Ghost is, there will always be a lively faith in Jesus Christ as the only

Savior. Where you recognize that Christ alone has saved you.

That nothing else in this world is efficacious in salvation outside of the blood of Jesus Christ which atoned for your sins.

Mark number three, Ralph said this. Where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be holiness of life and conversation for he is the spirit of holiness.

He is the sanctifying spirit. He takes away the hard, carnal, worldly heart of man and he puts in his place a tender, conscientious, a spiritual heart that delights in the law of God.

He makes a man turn his face toward God and desires above all things to please

God and to turn his back, as he says in this old language, to turn his back on the fashion of this world and no longer make that fashion his

God. He sows in a man's heart the blessed seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, meekness, temperance, for against such things the

Scripture says there is no wrong. He that likes these things and knows nothing of daily practical godliness is dead before God and he has not the spirit of Christ.

Mark four, where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be the habit of earnest, private prayer.

Earnest, private prayer. Where we, you may have heard, some of you younger people may have heard old people talking about going into their closet and praying or maybe just hear about going out, if you're from the country, you hear about them just going out in the woods and finding a solitary place just to be alone with God so that you can pour your heart out.

Now you don't have to have the woods, you don't have to have a closet, but it is a reality that we will commune with God as believers.

Mark number five, and last of all, and we'll read our closing Scripture. Mark number five, where the

Holy Ghost is, there will always be love and reverence for God's Word.

Do you love God's Word? Do you seek daily communion with God?

Are you seeking holiness in your life? Do you have a lively faith in Christ Jesus today, right here and right now?

And lastly, due to all that, do you have that conviction of sin and true repentance?

Or do you love sin? Because you either love sin and hate

God, or you love God and hate sin. Romans chapter eight, verses one through eleven, the

Apostle Paul states these words, concerning experiential theology and knowing that Christ has made you a new creature.

There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

He did this by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin.

He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.

That's justification. Who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. That's sanctification.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.

But those who live according to the Spirit set their mind on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the

Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, and it does not submit to God's law.

Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please

God. But notice and oh, listen. Listen to the words of the

Apostle Paul. He said, you, however, are not in the flesh, but in the

Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Anyone, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the

Spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised

Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that dwells in you.