Experiencing His Power at Work in Us (Part 2)

[Chorus] [Music: Hymn playing] You have done for us. Hallelujah, we are grateful, oh Lord. Oh, we are grateful, Father. Oh, we are grateful, Jesus. Oh Lord, our Father, for all You have done for us. Hallelujah, we are grateful, oh Lord. Oh, we want to say that You are good. Another miracle You’ve done has brought us joy. And we are changed, another hope we have. We’re blessing You right now. Father, we declare. Father, we declare that we love You. We declare an everlasting love for You. Oh Lord, we declare. Father, we declare that we love You. We declare an everlasting love for You. Oh, one more time, we declare. Father, we declare that we love You. We declare an everlasting love for You. [Narrator] Church fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home from [unclear: us]. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] Our Father, indeed we want to say that You are good. We are saying that You are kind. We are saying that You are faithful. We are saying that we have enjoyed Your mercy severally, we have enjoyed it diversely, we have enjoyed it in different ways. Lord our God, if we think back to how many men and women started the year 2022 and if we look at the rate of casualty, destruction of life and properties in this nation in the last, oh God, 11 months of this year, even we ourselves we are wondering that we are alive. We give You glory, our Father. We give You honor, we give You adoration. Life is not a right; life is a privilege. Mercy on whom we will have mercy. Oh Lord our God, to You be all the glory for granting us life. Accept our thanks again this day as we gather unto You in the name of Jesus. Our Father, our eyes on You. The scripture says Paul plants, Apollos waters, but it is God that gives increase. > 1 Corinthians 3:6 Lord, we are asking, we are praying that You will give increase to our meeting. Lord, we pray for our brethren who are joining us on Mixlr, our brethren who are joining us on Telegram. As we all connect together this evening, Lord meet with us in the name of Jesus Christ. Let there be a working of Your spirit within us, among us. So that whether online or physically present, oh God, Your church will be edified, Your name will be glorified in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. [Speaker 2] We started a very important topic last week, and that is "Experiencing the Power at Work in Us." Experiencing the power at work in us. And we took time to look at the text where that topic was taken from. We looked at it, we raised issues around it. And then we moved to Romans 4 to begin to discuss the matter further. Then we went to Genesis 17, and then we came back to Mark 16. Those of us who were around last week, I don’t know whether anybody will have heart, is there something you want to share with us from our last week discussion? So those of us who are here physically, we know brethren online are not opportune to be able to say one or two things. But of course, brethren online, you can test whatever you want to say. If there is something you want to say, you can place it on Telegram, you can place it on the family tent group page, and you can place it on Mixlr. [Speaker 3] Yes, I learnt a lot last week Monday. One of the things that really occurred to me strongly was why we don’t believe what God has said. We rationalize it, we rationalize the Bible and thereby we offer an alternative gospel. And that alternative gospel is more or less heresy. That’s one of the things I got. If we don’t labor to cast down imaginations of things that exalt themselves above knowledge of God, we'd offer alternative gospel to what God has said. Another thing also is that by simply believing in God, that’s how we actually experience the power of God in us, by simply believing God. [Speaker 2] Thank you very much. We just need to take the gospel as it is, take what God said just as it is. If we don’t, we rationalize it, and what we have is an alternative gospel. Secondly, experiencing His power at work in us is simply by believing what God said. Any other contribution before we move on? Does anybody have anything further to say? Those of us who were around last week? Okay, so I think we can move on from where we stopped last week. And therefore, for the benefit of being able to carry everyone along again, those of us who are just coming in this week. One important thing we need to know about our Christian life is that the Christian life is not lived ordinarily by willpower. It is not willpower that lives the Christian life. We live the Christian life by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to be able to live the Christian life. And so last week in looking at the matter of experiencing, because our concern is that many believers don’t experience this power of God at work in them. Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, My burden is light." > Matthew 11:30 Yet, people say Christianity is not easy. What makes that yoke easy and the burden light is because there is a power at work in us, and that is the power of God. We’re able to live the life of God by the power of God that is at work in us. And so our focus last week, we saw in Colossians where Apostle Paul made a very, very fundamental statement. He said, "I labor, striving according to His mighty power that works in me mightily." > Colossians 1:29 So we showed that these men that lived for God, they were able to do it because a power was at work in them. And it is that power that we were talking about, the power of the Holy Spirit, the resurrection power. That power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. That same power, [unclear: I will not tell a lie again]. Before three days into the new year, he has told twenty lies. And then they go back and say, "Okay, from the month of February, I will stop drinking." Before January ends, he has drunk three cartons of beer. And then you begin to wonder, you will make resolve, you will break them, because it is not willpower that lives the Christian life. It is the power of God that is at work in us. And then we called our attention last week to another very, very important scripture. The scripture says, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, because it is God that works in you both to will and to do." > Philippians 2:12-13 I’m still going to expand that scripture further, because many times people don’t understand what the Bible means by trembling. People take that trembling as negative. So when you say work it out with fear and trembling, some people think it is cringing before God, not being able to come boldly to the throne of grace, that is the trembling. Inferiority complex about entering God’s presence. That is not what the trembling is talking about. It is far, far, far, far, far from that. So I’m still going to expand the matter of that trembling. Because one major thing I tell people, if you will not derail from understanding scriptures, the first thing about scripture, anything you are reading in scripture, the first thing is to place that thing you are reading within the context where you are reading it. Once you take it outside that context, you may not get the mind of the writer, sorry, what he's trying to communicate, why God is speaking. God speak in a way that is sequential, accumulating, climaxing at something. God speak to us in a way that if you follow the scripture within the context, you will get the mind of the scripture. But many times what people do, they will read one verse in one place, they will take that verse out of the context of that scripture, and then go and explain it in another context. Like somebody who said that Jesus said the unfaithful steward, who defrauded his manager and went ahead and did a lot of things. And Jesus now commend that steward, that the children of this world are wiser. > Luke 16:8 He said, "You see, Jesus is... when we are smart on people, we get commendation." It is because he has taken it out the context. Jesus was saying something within that context. So many times when you take something outside the context, many times we derail. And so as we look into the word of God in trying to understand a matter, we must look at it within the context. When Paul said "with fear and trembling", we must take it within the context of that scripture to understand what he meant by the trembling. So I will come to that later to expand that scripture. But what I’m just trying to bring to us today as I try to move on is that there is the good pleasure of God, it is God that works it in us. That is what we are saying. And the focus of last week discussion, this week discussion, the focus is "How do we experience? Experiencing it." And the major thing that we introduced last week about experiencing it is what? Believe God for what God has said. What did God say? Abraham believed God. > Romans 4:3 If God says something, believe God for what He has said. And then we went ahead to look at the text in Genesis. And we said when God was speaking to Abraham, Abraham was struggling with what God said. He was reasoning in it. And I said another thing we must deal with in order to experience the power of God is that we must deal with our imagination. When God is speaking, you begin to... God was telling Abraham, Sarah will give birth to a child according to this time of life. > Genesis 18:14 Abraham was thinking, "Is it possible for somebody who is a hundred years to still impregnate a woman? Can somebody who is ninety give birth? Ah God, let Ishmael live." God said, "No. Is anything too hard for God? I said Sarah will give birth." > Genesis 18:14 So I said if we don’t learn to deal with our imaginations instead of believing God, we begin to rationalize the word of God. We begin to rationalize it. And I gave example: as many as believe in Him, He gave them power to become children of God. > John 1:12 Christians will still not believe that they have power. He says He gave them power to become. We still be believing that, "Ah God give me power, God give me power." We don't walk in that consciousness that there is power to become. We still be believing that "Ah, God give me power, God give me power." The scripture says those who receive the gift of righteousness and abundant grace... we still be asking God, "Give me grace to follow, give me grace to follow." We're not working within the context of what He said. Instead of saying, "God, thank You for the grace. Thank You, Lord. Cause me to grow in grace," we don’t take God for what He has said. We always try to reduce God to our experience. I gave the example, the scripture says we are made righteous because Christ was made sin for us so that we can become righteous. > 2 Corinthians 5:21 People still believe today that they are sinners. So after people have given their life to Christ, they still carry the mentality, "You know I’m a sinner." God said Jesus was made sin for you to be made righteous. We don’t believe that we have become righteous. We first want to experience righteousness to believe that we are righteous. We become doubting Thomas. "Except I put my hand," that is "except I live holy, I will not believe I'm righteous." Whereas until you believe that you are righteous, you will not ever be able to live holy. It is something you believe that the power of God will work in you to become holy. So you see serious contradiction in the Christian faith. People don’t take God for what He said. We want another gospel. We want to believe something else. Like some of us, I gave our example before we began to really understand scriptures very well. We were praying, "God, Olowo-shon-mide [unclear: Yoruba phrase], God joy, Father, Agbara orun [unclear: Yoruba phrase], oh, power of God, make me a new creature. Oh Jesus, enter into me, make me a new creature." Until one day when we began to experience scriptures, and the Lord was easing a matter in our heart by way of understanding. "Are you in Christ?" I said yes, I'm in Christ. He said, "What did the scripture say? If any man be in Christ, not that he will be a new creature, he is a new creature." > 2 Corinthians 5:17 I said, "Ah! We have been praying stupid prayers. You are a new creature. Until you believe you're a new creature, you won't experience the newness of life. You are a new creature. Stop asking Me to make you a new creature." That was how we began to find ourselves. As we believe, as we hold to God, and that principle was the principle of the power of God that was at work in us. Abraham believed God. What now happened? For righteousness... it was accounted for righteousness. What now happened to him? What brought a living spermatozoa? Power of God. What brought a living egg into the dead body of Sarah? What brought power of God to work? He believed God. So there is a power of God at work in us when we believe God, and we are accounted... it is accounted to us as righteousness. What happened? The power of God starts doing what? Starts working in us. There's something I don’t know whether I made reference to last week before I begin... where I stopped last week was that being able to hear those who heard God. And then we’ll come back to Romans 8, that’s where we are really going to today. Romans 4 concluded, then we go to Romans 8. Now, I normally give this illustration when we are looking at that of the cross. I said Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so shall the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." > John 3:14-15 And I said when you look at that situation, there was a major challenge. What was the challenge the Israelites were having? What was the challenge? Living serpents were on the floor, bitten by those serpents, what happens to them? They will die. Then they asked the Lord to take away the serpent so that they can live. God said that is not My method. My method is leave those serpents, the serpents are not your problem. And I keep telling believers today: sin, self, the world, the devil, they are not your problem. Your major problem is your mindset and your focus. Your mindset and your focus. Where your mind is and what you are looking at determines whether or not those living serpents will prevail or they will not prevail. So the real issue is not about those things that you are struggling with in life. It's not about the lust. It's not about the anger. It's not about the impatience. It's not about the bitterness. It's not about the fornication. It's not about... I don't know what you... it's not about the lying. Your real problem... that’s not your real problem. Your real problem is not or are not the serpents that are on the floor. Your real problem is what you are looking at and your mindset. That’s the real problem. Now when you look at it in that scripture, because I want to lay some foundation, link it back with last week, then I want to enter into our real discussion for today: Romans chapter 8, the law of the spirit of life. There's a law. There are actually two laws, but the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. We’re getting there later. But I’m trying to introduce something to you, a background. Experiencing the power at work in us. The power is at work, but many of us are not experiencing it. The power is there. You are doing what you are doing not because you are powerless. You are doing what you are doing because of your mindset and your focus. I’m telling you. That’s the reality. If you are sinning, you are sinning not because sin is powerful. And I’m that direct to believer, oh. And I’m telling you this is real. It may look like... somebody was discussing with me in the course of the week and I encouraged the person that please follow us today. In fact, please try and listen to what we have been doing since the month of November. The person was saying, "Sir, masturbation is strong. The thing is so powerful that I have tried." I said look, the problem is not with the masturbation. The problem is with your mindset and your focus. He said, "Because I like it... will I keep sinning and keep repenting?" I said no. But the truth is that the day you stop trying and you decide to sit, that is when you will start walking with God. You sit in the kingdom; you sit to work. You don’t stand to work. Is that not a mystery? How do you work when you want to work? You stand up to work. But in the kingdom, you sit down. When you sit down, you now start working. As you are working, you will now start standing. That’s Ephesians. Sit, work, then stand... stand against the devil and his wiles. Those are the three things in that place: sit, work, stand. And I tell you to go and get this book by Watchman Nee, "Sit, Walk, Stand." It's a book that will expand that Ephesians for you very well. But that must be mystery. We sit to work. What I’m trying to make you understand, if you strive to do it, you will not be able to because willpower cannot have victory over self, over sin, over the devil and over the world. Willpower cannot. If willpower could do it, then the law would have been effective. When God gave the law, "Do not steal, do not lie," there would have been no need for a new covenant if willpower could do it. But willpower could not do it, that is why the law failed. In any case, God didn’t give the law to save anybody. He gave the law so that we can know how sinful we are. He gave the law so that we can know how much we are in bondage, that even when you say "I don’t want to," you will still do it. That is why God gave the law. So in the mind of God, it is the Lord... I like that scripture in Isaiah. He said, "For the gods of the nations, they carry... they have to carry them on the beast of burden." You know what God is trying to say? The nations carry their God, but I carry My people. Hallelujah! He carries His own people. The nations carry their God, but our own God carries us. And that is what God did in salvation. Now if you look at what I’m presenting in that Numbers, I’m saying that the real problem in that incident, because that is the incident, what makes that incident so crucial for us as Christians, is that Jesus Himself said salvation that God is offering the world on account of His love is going to be exactly as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. So anybody that does not follow that method will die. Jesus said that is the method of God. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man will be lifted up, so that whosoever believe will be saved." > John 3:14-15 So the matter is on believing. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believe will not perish." > John 3:16 He emphasize it again. So when you look at that place, experiencing the power, you will see that why today believers are struggling with sin, self, devil, this, that, as their problem and they are focusing their prayers on these things. When you look at that incident, you will realize that after God... please listen. Before God made provision for the serpent on the pole, the problem was the serpent on the floor. If you don't run, if you don't focus, if you don't carry your leg, if you don't do this, you will die. But immediately God placed the serpent on the pole, the problem shift from the serpent on the floor to what you are looking at and where your mind is set upon. So if the serpents are there and you have "they can't do me anything" and you are looking up, the problem is solved. But if your focus is still down, "Hey! Look at this one! Big one! It will... the poison..." If it is still like that, no matter how much you do like that, till Jesus will come you are going to hellfire, because that will not conquer the serpent on the floor again. It will not. The more you do that, what actually cannot work is what? The power of God. Where is the power of God? I want to ask you: where is the power of God in that story? The power of God is with God. The power become effective when you do what? When you look up. The power become ineffective when you don’t look up. Is that not? If you look, something... because I said it, how do I experience the power of God? I said something about the cross. The power of God becomes operational when you look at the serpent. Why? Because God said look at the serpent. If God had said touch the serpent, when would the power of God become operational? When you touch the serpent. If God has said... I mentioned under the cross that God’s power follows the word of God. God’s power follows what God said. The power of God is in what He said. And that is what I’m bringing back to you for an understanding of the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus as we look at experiencing the power of God. He says, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through Him were all things made. Without Him was nothing made that was made. In Him is life. That life is the light of men." > John 1:1-4 Now listen, the light of men is the life. Where is the life? The life is in the Word. Is that not true? That life that is in the Word is the light of men. Now look at it: it is that light that shines into darkness and the darkness could not comprehend. > John 1:5 So where does a man get a light that darkness cannot comprehend? Do you see that? So there is nothing in you that can deal with darkness. I want you to get that very clear. There is nothing in you that can deal with darkness. There is no, no, no, no. And that is why I always make this statement, that when you see men who truly understand the working of God’s power, who truly understands it, not just men who are operating their spiritual gifts, who truly understand it, go and check them one after the other, they are clothed with humility. Because they understand it is nothing about them; it is all about God. If you look at this thing, the light that shines into darkness comes from where? From the life that is in the Word. That is what I’m showing you in that place. Where was the darkness with the children of Israel? It was on the floor. Is that not the darkness? It was biting them and they were dying. They needed to overcome this darkness, they needed to overcome this thing. God said, note it, God said, it is in the saying, and then all you need to do: look. When you look in that which God said, anybody who believe that which God said, the power of God becomes operational in that person. So somehow once you look up and you believe, as often as the serpent bite, what happens? Any effect? Any effect? So what happens? What happens is that when we talk about living the Christian life, please get me clear. The Christian life is not an isolated life from everyday life realities. The reality for the Israelites was that those serpents on the floor, it's not as if their venom became dead. Their venom is potent, alive. Anybody who is not looking up, that venom does what? It kills them. It only does not kill those who are looking up. Are you understanding me? What I’m saying is that the Christian life, this experiencing God’s power, is not something that everybody ordinarily experience. All of us can be together, the serpent can be killing Brother James and not be killing Brother Paul. Why? Brother Paul is stronger than Brother James? Is that the reason? Why is it not killing Brother Paul and it's killing Brother James? Because Brother Paul simply did what? Looked up. Brother James simply did what? Looking down. So what I’m trying to make you understand, when you see believers living victoriously and you are struggling, the difference is not that they are more powerful than you. The difference is that there is something that you are ignorant about. Am I communicating gradually? Am I building something systematically? What I’m trying to see is that the victory, the Christian victory, God working in us the good pleasure... and we find some people being able to live consistently in no situation no matter what. They're able to take the truth, you're wondering. In no situation, ladies with talk, all their breasts flying around, you wonder, you are dying with lust. You say, "Brother, are you not feeling? I don’t know, Brother, don’t you have feeling?" He looks to you like a supernatural person. But the problem is not that he's spiritually more powerful than you. The problem is just what? In understanding. And that is why I tell people, the Bible says wisdom is the principal thing; with all your getting, get understanding. > Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing. With all your getting, you must get understanding. You must understand. Now in... so what I’m trying to make you see gradually is that you know I stopped last week somewhere. I said when you look at Mary Magdalene. That was where we stopped, Mary Magdalene’s story. You still remember? That was where we closed the thing. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. At the tomb, the angels came to confirm to her, Peter and the person that came, that He was stolen. She grew... even then we were speaking in November that God help me to grow in revelation. She grew beyond that of angels, grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord. She grew to encountering Jesus. Now when she encountered Jesus, Jesus now said, "Go and tell them that I have resurrected." > John 20:17 When she came to tell them, what happened? They did not believe. In fact, they were hardened. And we stopped at the point last week that Jesus came and rebuked the disciples for not believing the woman. And I concluded last week that look, in the workings of God, get all of these things set. It is God that is at work in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. > Philippians 2:13 Fundamental to God working also is the instrumentality of man. You must beg God to be able to hear those who have heard God. They did not believe Magdalene. Jesus came, He rebuked them for not believing. So when men have heard God and they bring what God has said, not their own words, when you don’t receive them, you did not receive the person who sent them. Are you understanding the point I’m making? So I stopped last week when I said be very careful. I’m the one who told you that as there were false prophets among them, there will be false teachers among us who will bring in damnable heresies. > 2 Peter 2:1 While that is true, you must beg God to grow in discernment, to be able to discern who is a false teacher, who is a true teacher. Because connected to where you are going in life are men that God has positioned in different places. And you are to receive their message for you to also get to where you are going, experiencing the power of God. There are men, there are individuals, there are people. For these people, God positioned Mary Magdalene. Unfortunately, like I said last week, they look at her... and the Bible gave a very interesting introduction. But I’m not looking at Magdalene today. I’m looking at the ways of God, that should be another teaching. I’m just making reference so that why the Bible first tell us the background of Magdalene, somebody that Jesus cast out seven demons, was the one again that brought message to Peter. The ways of God is another topic for another day. But the point I’m trying to bring out was that Magdalene was positioned for them. Unfortunately, they did not receive the message of Magdalene. When you are taking... because you did not receive a message you ought to receive from individuals that God has positioned for your life, you'll still be wallowing around, turning around in darkness. When as far as God is concerned, your life should have moved on. So that by the time God will be coming to you to now speak to you personally, the Lord will be telling you that when you are saying, "God, give me victory over this," the Lord will be saying, "Have you not read?" > Matthew 12:3 Have you not read? That was what He did with me. He said, "Son, look at this scripture. If any man be in Christ, a new creature." So which prayer are you? I want you to explain your prayer. You said I should make you. I said you are. So which report will you believe? Do you know that was a major turning point in my life? It was. When you say something have 360-degree honestly I became another man. I became another man. Ah! I’m a new creature. Ah! Let me tell you some of the things... you know we were growing up in a Yoruba environment. Ah, Iya mi a je mi o [unclear: Yoruba phrase]. So all this while that is... I've been suffering myself. Oya, awojo meje [unclear: Yoruba phrase], seven days fasting because you want to become a new creature. We are not conquerors; we are more than conquerors. > Romans 8:37 Somebody fought the battle. We are asked to enter into that victory. The lamb has been crucified. Satan has been conquered. Sin has been destroyed. These are things we need to understand. But don’t ever miss the emphasis: only in the cross. Only as you believe. Only as you believe. What! What are you to believe? Is what I’m emphasizing now: believe what has been written. So if you want to as a believer get out of your struggle, this book of the law should not depart out of your mouth. > Joshua 1:8 Begin to meditate on it day and night, crying into God, "Oh Lord, that I may see. Oh Lord Jesus, where are You? You have been written, You are here, You are here. I want to see You here." And as you cry by the tomb, you will experience the Lord. Magdalene was by the tomb. She was able to see what a generation did not see. The generation are not seeing Jesus in scriptures, but I’m telling you Jesus and His power, they are in the scriptures. They are in the scriptures. They are in the scriptures. So what I’m adding very fundamentally to you this evening is that see, as far as Jesus is concerned, many things you are struggling about today, the Lord will be saying, "Have you not read?" Many things you are bringing to the Lord, the Lord says, "Have you not read?" And if you have read, don’t you believe? Can you agree as far as Jesus is concerned? Not believing what was written is not doing what? Is not accepting God. Is not accepting God. And so brethren, as you bring that matter of what has been written into Romans, it was written for our sake. As you bring that matter into Romans, I want you to quickly come with me to Romans chapter 8. No, Romans 7 into 8. I will take 7 into 8. Romans chapter 7 into 8. Experiencing the power at work in us. Experiencing the power that is at work in us. Are you there? Romans chapter 7. I read from verse 19 into Romans chapter 8 verse 6. Are you there? I take the reading: "For the good that I would do, I do not. But the evil I would not do, that I practice." > Romans 7:19 Is this a contradiction? Was this man experiencing contradiction? He was. Verse 20: "Now if I do what I would not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." > Romans 7:20 "I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wish to do good." > Romans 7:21 I want to do good, but evil is present with me. Please take your mind back: they don’t want to die, but what is present with them? What was present with them in the wilderness? The serpents. They don’t want to die, but what was present? Death. I’m showing you, I’m just keeping these things side by side themselves. Verse 22: "I delight in the law of God according to the inward man, but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind." > Romans 7:22-23 Are you seeing something? Are you seeing the matter of law? There's another law in my member, warring against the law of my mind. So where is the battle? The battle is in the mind. Warring against the law of my mind and... look at it, what? "Bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." > Romans 7:23 So there is a law of sin in my member. There is a law of sin in my member. But the battle was won where? Something happened in my mind, and so it brought me... what I want to do in my mind I could not do it. I was subject to the other law was working. And then there was a law of sin in my member. That thing in my member, that impatience in my member, that lust in my member, that lying in my members. That thing that is in my members. Something was bringing me to captivity to just what's in my member. Verse 24: "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" > Romans 7:24 This is a point that believers must come to. It is not about willpower. "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" What do you see in the verse 25? "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." > Romans 7:25 You see what he said? Who will deliver me? The answer, the answer, the answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. You see what he said? The answer is in Jesus Christ. I take it in NLT. It says, "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." > Romans 7:25 Brethren, where is the answer? Hallelujah! Thank God! Who will deliver me? The answer, the answer, the answer is in Jesus Christ. Having said that, look at what follows in the chapter 8. What do you see chapter 8? "Therefore..." > Romans 8:1 Where is the therefore coming from? It's coming from the 7. He has said thank God, the answer is in Jesus. He now want to tell you how the answer is in Jesus. Because I’ve told you that the matter of this topic is experiencing this power. How do I experience the power of God? He said thank God, the answer is in Jesus. Therefore, there is now no condemnation... no struggle, no up and down, no "body of death", yo, how do I overcome? There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. So ordinarily if you're in Christ, should there be condemnation? Should there be contradictions? So if there are contradictions, if there are contradictions, it means this Jesus that you are in, there is something you don’t understand about this Jesus. Because the answer is in the Jesus that you received. Are you understanding the bottom line I’m drawing? Are you getting the bottom line? He says, "Who did not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit." > Romans 8:1 Now that's what some people... what does that mean? Who did not walk according to the flesh, according to the spirit? Now if you look at NLT, NLT did not put this "according to the flesh or spirit." If you look at NIV, NIV just said, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." King James added "who did not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit." Now don’t let that addition confuse you. Take it from what he was saying before. He has told you that he wanted to do right, but there is something working where? Where? In his mind. Bringing into this one. He now said thank God, the answer is in Jesus. There's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who does not walk according to the flesh but spirit. He was talking about two things: where is your focus? The flesh or the spirit? By the spirit, he was talking about a law, a mind. He says, "For the law of the spirit..." do you see that? He talk about a law in the verse 7. What is that law? He said that law was warring in his member. It was warring in his mind and he made him to subject to the captivity that was in his members. Is that not as it was in his mind? He now said the answer is in Jesus. There's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who did not walk according to the flesh but spirit. He was talking about two things: where is your focus? The flesh or the spirit? By the spirit, he was talking about a law, a mind. He says, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free." > Romans 8:2 From what? Please, if you read this thing like this: "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus will make me free from the law of sin and death," will it make any difference? Will it make any difference? What will be the difference? But what did He say? He says, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." So how many laws here now? Two laws. The law of what? The spirit of life and the law of what? Sin and death. Two laws. What free us from sin and death is what? The law of the spirit of what? Of life. Look at something. In that verse 7, the last verse, what did He say? He said so with my mind, I will do what? I will serve the law, I myself serve the law of God. So the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus operates where? Operates where? Where? In the mind. He said "with my mind." With my mind. So when you say with your mind, what is He trying to say? What is He talking about? The way you think, the way you reason, the way you are thinking. It tells you something very, very important. The law of the spirit of life has to do with what? How your mind is what? Is set. The law of the spirit of life that sets you free from the other one has to do with a mindset. We’ll leave the matter here today. There is a law. That law operates by what? A mindset. That mindset makes that law to operate. It is that law that set you free from the first law. We’ll leave the matter here today. Let us go ahead to pray. I want you to talk to the Lord along this line. Experiencing the power at work in us. Experiencing the power that is at work in us. The struggle is not about the serpent on the floor. It's not about the things around you. It's not about your roommate that is so impatient. It's not about that sister that always put her breasts outside. It's not about that brother that will not let you rest, always calling you. It's not about that emotion that you are feeling and you know we are so much in love now. It's not about the emotion. The real problem is about the mind. It's about the mindset. It's about the focus. It's about the focus. It's about the focus that we have summarized, that we are bringing together, is about what is written. That which is written, that there is a law of the spirit of life that set us free from a law of sin and death. I want you to pray this evening and just talk to the Lord along this line. With all your getting get understanding. Lord God Almighty, God, God, open my eyes that I may walk, I may walk. There may be a working, a working, a working, a working, a working of the law of the spirit of life. It is a working. There is a law. There are laws at work in us. The law that prevail in your mind becomes what holds you captive. There is a law, there is a law. Ah, there's another law. They war in your mind. Which report will you believe? Our Father, our eyes on You, our eyes on You, our eyes on You. Lord beyond this meeting, Lord beyond this meeting, Lord God Almighty, open the eyes of Your people. Give understanding, give understanding, give understanding, grant insight, grant insight, grant insight, grant insight, oh our God, for You work in us both to will and to do of Your good pleasure. That our life may please You in every angle, in every way, in everything we do. That our lives may please You in the name of Jesus. Lord God Almighty, that we may live as overcomers. Overcomers in this world in the name of Jesus. Thank You almighty Father. Blessed be Your holy name our God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. [Speaker 2] Let’s share the grace in fellowship. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen. [Narrator] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and marriage through preaching and teaching of God’s word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development and mission heat. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class, every Monday 5 PM. Adenike [unclear: Name] Center for Singles Club, every first Saturday of every month at 10 AM. Marriage forum, second Saturday of every month at 10 AM. Family life seminars, regular school outreaches and everyday counseling. For further counseling you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere [unclear: Name] community opposite Bo-re-joy [unclear: Name] filling station along Ije-re [unclear: Name] Road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are: 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all.