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There are 3 forces that constantly wage war against us.

John calls them: the World, the Flesh, and the Devil.

The most destructive is our own flesh.

What does the term “Flesh” mean?

“Flesh” is human intellect, human will, and human emotion, acting independently of God.

The Spirit gives life but the flesh counts for nothing.

True Christian worship is doing what God wants.

Christ broke the power of sin over you.

In Christ you’re not the same person you used to be.

Study is meaningless without a solid foundation.

The entire Bible is a text for the study of the Holy Spirit.

Paul knew he was not walking alone, he was being led, he was being empowered, by the Holy Spirit.

1. He is a Person, Not an It.

2. He is the Holy Spirit.

3. He is Spirit.

4. The Holy Spirit is God’s Agent.

When God wants to act, he acts through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit empowers.

A series on the Holy Spirit and the Spirit Filled life.

We have been passed from condemnation into acceptance.

- By virtue of the blood of the lamb He passes over our past sins.

- He empowers us to live differently, righteously and holy lives.

He gives you the lamb within to empower you.

It’s impossible to live the Christian life apart from the Holy Spirit.

Heaps of people try to live in their own abilities:

1. On the basis of their mental power.

2. On the basis of their will power.

3. On the basis of their emotions and feelings.

All of those are deficient.

Today lets note these 2 things:

1. Awareness.

That you can’t live the Christian life by doing the best with your flesh.

2. Begin to pray now.

That in these coming weeks God will encounter all of us.

The church in Rome had people of Differing Backgrounds.

There was this problem in the early church - they were allowing Disagreement to Divide the body of Christ.

In these verses Paul calls us to 4 things:

Watch Vigilantly, War Valiantly, Walk Virtuously and Wait Victoriously.

Our focus and attention is on Jesus.

Our motivation for obedience as believers is Not Fear of Punishment.

Our motivation as believers is Love for the Lord.

There are times when we need to Refuse to Obey government.

- There are examples in Scripture of Civil Disobedience. Paul and Peter, who wrote concerning obeying government:

- Both of them Practiced Civil disobedience.

- Both of them were Jailed repeatedly.

- Both of them were ultimately Martyred by the state.

- There are 2 major reasons for us to Disobey Government.

There has always been a certain degree of tension between Church & State.

· We see this at the Beginning of the church because the church began with the Death and Resurrection of Christ.

· When the Jesus Died on the Cross, the State put him to Death, because they though he was going to Overthrow Roman rule.

· Within that tension, God has given us definite Guidelines:

- He does Not tell us what Political Party to join or vote for.

- He does give us guidelines on their Responsibilities and Rights.