Mr. Hyde. Who remembers watching Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Raise your hands. Read the book. Wow. You like that story. I remember in the 70s when Jack Palance played. Blair, Barb and I and Kim were trying to figure out who it was. Does anyone remember Jack Palance playing the part? Yeah. He was. kind of scary to look at in the first place. But anyway, great movie. But what a contrast of personalities, which we'll kind of touch on here. But with that, let's bow our head in prayer. Father in heaven, we thank you so much for tonight. We thank you for the Word of God we can open. And we appreciate that it's alive and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It cuts. It hurts. And we thank you for the opportunity to be able to open it. and have a small piece tonight to review as believers, and we just pray that our hearts can be soft in what you have to teach us, and we thank you for all that you are, in Christ's name, amen. So I invite you to open up your Bibles to the book of Romans, Romans 8. Romans 8 here contains the greatest concentration of references to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Actually one out of every two verses has reference to the Holy Spirit. And the chapter of chapter 8 begins with no condemnation and it ends with no separation. Chapter 8 is one of my favorite chapters. And when I didn't know what I was going to do this message on, beginning of this week, I just cracked it open and read the whole chapter and then decided just to pick out. A lot of times I'll do a topical study, which I enjoyed, but I thought I wanted to get into some verse-by-verse study and it was good. Let's read verse 1. We're going to go through 5 through 13, but just to review and set this up, let's go to verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did. by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. He condemns sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." So notice it starts out with no condemnation. What does it mean, no condemnation? It means no spiritual death. The death that Adam brought upon all men Christ has removed from those who trust in Him. Those who have trusted Christ are free from the law of sin and of death. They are no longer, we have no longer the body of Adam and Moses, but are in the body of Christ. So, this is different. Now, when we think about flesh, we think about just being carnal. Well, this chapter, it's in the context when they say flesh more, it's our old Adam self before being saved. So in verse two, as we see, for the law of the spirit of life, for the law of the spirit of life, that's not the 10 commandments, it's basically what Christ has brought. As it says, in Christ Jesus made me free. I don't know what that noise is. Verse four, well, let's go verse three, what the law could not do. And what could the law not do? The law could not give life, right? What the law couldn't do, God did. Salvation is the work of God. Sentence was passed and executed on the cross. He condemned the sin and he judged it with finality. Verse 4 says that, if you have a King James or New King James, I think New American Center said, so that. It's a heathen clause, which means it kind of in order that. expresses divine purpose, which is the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us, not by us. Paul uses the passive voice here, we don't do it, Christ and God do it. The requirement of the law is fulfilled in us by God. The Holy Spirit, when we come to know Christ as our Savior from sin, We see as a sinner we're unworthy and we accept his work on the cross as full payment. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit within us and we have the full potential to produce a life that's obedient, which is what the law commanded but could not produce. So the Holy Spirit furnishes the power, the choice is ours. The Holy Spirit furnishes that power within us and the choice is ours. It's like if you're bleeding, you cut yourself, and you need to get some help. You're going to run outside, get in the car, you have choices of cars. You have a fast big engine Ford out there, or you have a little clown car that's rusted out, breaks down half the time. So what are you going to take? You're going to take the big car, right? So we have the Holy Spirit within us, What are we going to use? Are we going to yield to that and allow him to do what's right? I think so. So, also here it says in verse 4, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. Now this doesn't have anything to do with how we act. Again, as we said, it's about the old covenant which is death being the new covenant now is life. So, Let's turn our Bibles a few pages to the right in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 11. 1 Corinthians 6.11 says, And such were some of you, Christ is talking to believers, or Paul is talking to believers here, that you were washed. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Christ and by the Spirit of our God. So, now as we jump back to Romans 8, we are going to start our study on beginning at verse 5. Letter A, you are where your mind is. You are where your mind is. Now, verses 5-8 form a closely knit section here. In fact, let's read through, starting verse 5-13. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. The unsaved do that. But those who live according to the spirit, who are saved, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Verse 7, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be, so then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. And he's talking about the unsaved there. But you, in verse 9, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. In other words, you don't get the Holy Spirit later. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin. But the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh, but if you live according to the flesh, you will die. And it is by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. So again, verses 5 through 8 here form a closely knit section with a series of conjunctions tying the various members and verses together. And as I recreated the verse, each verse starts out with a but, or a so, or a because, or a for. Paul is a very, very good writer. So here again, Paul begins to elaborate between the flesh and the spirit, which really begins our lesson here. For those who are according to flesh, set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who are according to spirit, set their minds on the spirit. So again, the word for there is a connective, connecting four and five, and in this text, Paul uses flesh and spirit to clarify the contrasting natures of the two covenant ages, It is not talking about Christian conduct again, between unsaved and saved. Galatians 4.29 states, but as that time, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit. So it is with us now. It is now also. It's a spiritual battle, isn't it? It is. Number one, those who set minds on the flesh will live lives according to Satan's agenda. And this is, again, like before you were saved. In this text, the contrast is the Old and New Covenants. When Paul used katasarka, according to the flesh, in other words, he is talking about those who are members of the body of Adam and Moses before salvation, and those who are then members of Christ. Now, so number two on your handout, those who set minds on the spirit will please God and will experience inner joy. And that Greek word according to the spirit is katanuma, which is talking about the saved. So this kind of again breaks down the fundamentals of Chapter 8 here, what we had mentioned prior. As a believer, we have been given a new nature. we can yield to that new nature and that's so important. But the question is, is this yielding to the new nature automatic or is it an act of the will? It is an act of the will. It's not automatic. This is a new struggle in us after we're saved that's brought to our attention. Does God have a new program after we're saved to change our flesh? He actually doesn't. God says that which is born of the flesh is flesh. It will always be flesh. It's always there. God has no program to change that flesh, rather he gives us something new, and as we know, it's the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit which lives within us. So, get this, it is no longer the new nature of the believer striving for mastery over sin in the body, It is the Holy Spirit striving against the nature. We just need to, if you think of it as a triangle, we have the old sin nature, we have the new nature, and then us. We don't need to keep fighting that old sin nature. We need to abide in Christ, realize our position in Christ, what he's done for us, worry about our own vertical relationship, yield to the Holy Spirit, abide in him and rest in him. The Holy Spirit will do the work. It's like a, a comparison of, say, a first grader being on the playground representing me, and a fifth grader, a bully, representing the flesh, and he's on top of me beating me up. And I can't do anything about it. He's bigger than me. He's a bully. Yet, out of the corner of my eye, I see my older brother, who's a senior quarterback, who's a captain of the football team, big and strong, representing the Holy Spirit, coming over. just pulls off that bully and throws him off, that's the way we need to think about just looking towards the Holy Spirit in our life to do that work for us. And he wants to. He indwells us, he wants to beat up that big bully. He wants to do that for us because he can. So Paul paints his picture in Ephesians 2. In fact, let's turn pages to our right to Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 Ephesians 2 verses 1-3 says, And He made alive those who were dead and trespasses and sins. We were dead and trespasses and sins before we were saved. Verse 2, in which we once walked according to the course of the world, according to the prince of the power of the air, which is Satan, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, Verse 3, among those whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and by nature children of wrath, just as others. Now here's a contrast here, but God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, his enemy in other words, he made us alive together with Christ, by grace we have been saved, And He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavens and the heavenly places. That's our position now, guys. Verse 7, that is in the ages to come. He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace, His kindness towards us through Christ. So, isn't that encouraging? He's encouraging us to see the contrast, and I think that's important to see the contrast of the past, what we were before salvation, to now, and our position in Christ, and what we really have. Again, that Holy Spirit dwelling within us. So this was the condition of us until we were saved. So question, does this flesh include the mind? It does. It does. And you, who were once alienated and enemies in our mind by wicked works, yet now he was reconciled in the body of his flesh through death. to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight." So the natural man now, meaning unsaved, strives even in his heart upon things of the flesh. He can't help it, really. He has no Holy Spirit within him. He's convicted by the Holy Spirit, but he doesn't have Him living within him. And we need to turn here to Galatians 5 to read what his steady diet is. To the left here, Galatians 5. Verses 19-20. Galatians 5, 19-20. And now the works of the flesh are evident which are adultery, fornication, uncleansingness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, rivalries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in the time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. It's ugly. Now, I'm not going to get into the other verses that gets into why they say that last statement, but that is what you were before you were saved. That's what you were before you were saved. In Colossians, Paul says to Puff, put these off, and we have to question ourselves, have we put these off? He wants us to abide. Colossians 3.8.9 says, but now by yourselves are to be put off of these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds. Isn't it humiliating, but true, that the child of God retains his silly nature within us, and it's frustrating? No child of God can be happy and living for the things of the flesh. It's like the prodigal son. Basically, he gravitated to the pig pen, But he didn't find true happiness until he came back to his father and made things right. Okay, I'm going to get this back in order. We have choices, don't we? So, what does the phrase in verse 5 mean? They that are after the Spirit. It's you and I who have accepted Christ as our Savior. It's the believer who has been born again, regenerated and dwelt by the third part of the Trinity that lives within us. And you are now built to love the things of Christ. You didn't know how to enjoy these things before, but now you have the capacity to enjoy those. Colossians 3, 1 and 2 says, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is. seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on these things above, not on things that are the earth. How more plain can you get than in Colossians 3, 1 and 2? Set your mind on things above. The King James states, set your affections on things above. What is your affection? What do you think about during the day? Can you and I do these things with our own effort? I don't think so. You and I probably only do these things by being in fellowship with fellow believers, going to church, reading our Bible, listening to good music. Listening to music speaks to someone's soul. And what we feed our minds with is how we're going to think. If we allow the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, which resides in us to work in our lives, it's only then that these positives will appear. We'll experience a supernatural inner peace and joy. So, letter B. You are in control of your future by what you set your mind upon. You are in control of your future by what you set your mind upon. Now, let's go back to Romans chapter 8 and read verse 6. Verse 6 says, For to be carnally minded is to be death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. So, for the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. The King James says, For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. So, to be carnally minded means that you are separated from fellowship with God, and that flesh is dead here and now. It doesn't say it leads to death. It is death. The old covenant, before we were saved, was a ministration of death, where the new covenant gives life and peace. Therefore, having been justified by faith, actually in Romans 5.1 says, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We can find that peace. Peace with God is the new status between God and the believer, which flows from the reconciliation accomplished to what Christ has done. Let's look in our verse text here Verse 7, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. In the New American Standard it says, the flesh is hostile towards God. Hostile towards God. For it does not subject itself to the law, for it can't even do it. So our carnal minds, number one, brings death, hostility and chaos. Carnal minds bring death, hostility and chaos. Who knows about chaos, hostility? This verse gives us a reason why the mind of the flesh is death and it's hostile towards God. It's unfriendly, it's antagonistic, bitter, unsympathetic, malicious and vicious and rancorous and venomous, poisonous, virulent, It's opposing. Adverse. Ill-disposed. And this was Paul even before his conversion, wasn't it? What did Paul do before he was converted? He actually thought he was doing the right thing for God by persecuting Christians. Killing them. In fact, Romans 7.14, right before this chapter, Paul says, For I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. And ask yourselves, are you bondage to sin right now? What you're going through in your life right now, are you bonded down to sin? Are you caught in a rut? Romans 7.5 states, in fact, says, For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions were aroused by the law, which are at work in our members to bear fruit in death. The sinful passions were aroused in the law before we were saved. Now the flesh serves sin. Romans 8.8, let's read that. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed, and if is in the first class there, meaning since, indeed the spirit of God dwells in you, which it does. Now if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, in other words unsaved, he is not his. So here it is, right here, now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he's not his, he's not saved. So this is where some people get hung up thinking they need to speak in tongues to get the Holy Spirit. No, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us when we accept Christ as our Savior. So, here lies the biblical definition of total depravity. We went to the party at Allison's last week for the youth kickoff. The Bible dress up and she wore a black sweater with a teeny little heart representing Jeremiah 17.9 which says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. When you talk about the depravity of man, you're talking about the utter inability of the under-redeemed to do anything that pleases God. It's like a dirty diaper. There's nothing pleasing about that. In fact, unfortunately, we have little ones in our house now, and for some reason, the diapers can't get in the garbage in the garage. And guess what? We've got two dogs, and you know what happens there. I'm picking up garbage every day out of the yard, and I just don't like seeing strung out diapers It's torn apart all over. And I keep thinking, I've done this for how long now? I'm tired of it. You just lose your patience as you get older. And I don't know. It's the way it is. But again, it's like that. It's just not pleasing. There's nothing pleasing about it. Anything that the flesh produces is not acceptable to God. He is holy. Anything we do is not acceptable to the will of God. It's like a stench in the nostrils of God. So then we ask, what is pleasing to God? What is pleasing to God? Well, without faith it's impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is the rewarder for him to seek Him. But without faith it's impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. What do you need here? Faith. Faith in what? Faith in Christ. Faith in that He's going to deliver His promises. He has promised us in the Word. What is it that gets us not to want to open the Bible? I'm in the same rut. Go and read that and get filled. Instead, there's so many things that pull it. All the wild games on it. The Vikings plan. We don't read on the Internet about what the Vikings are doing. What's the news today? I believe it's just habit. being caught in a rut, mostly habit, we're creatures of habit, and I know I always say that, but we are. So, number two on your handout, spiritual minds experience life and peace. Spiritual minds experience life and peace. When we're saved and we accept Christ as our Savior by the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have the capacity to feed that. We can experience peace. What does God require for you to experience inner peace? Well, the life here he talks about is full satisfaction and the exercise of one's total abilities in Christ. Many Christians think they're really living today, man, going after what the world offers, but it's a shoddy substitute for the life God has planned for us. Do you realize that God has a special plan for each and every one of us? Each and every one of us. Peace. the experience of tranquility and well-being. If you are living in the flesh, you're not having fellowship with God and there's no in-between. We know what 1 John 9 says, we need to confess those sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness and restore that fellowship again with our loving Father. So, when I talk with pleasing God, I'm talking to Christians how they live. If we are to live in such a way to please God, by all we do, we need to abide in Christ. There is no way we can live a life that is pleasing without trusting Him. God wants us to trust Him. Millions of believers have trusted Christ for their salvation, but not living in faith, trusting God each and every day we need to do. Every day in every way. Not just some. We should be trusting God in our daily lives, but are you? Am I? When we fail to trust God, we doubt His sovereignty and question His godliness. Would you want your child or someone as close to you doubt your goodness, doubt your good intentions? Never trust you for what you say. In order for us to trust God, we must always view our adverse circumstances through the eyes of faith. Faith pleases God. So let's get back to our chapter here, verse 9. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. We just went through that one. Let me go down to... I'm going to skip some parts here. Let's just go to C in our handout. As a believer in Christ, you are a new creation. As a believer in Christ, you are a new creation. Again, try to get that mindset when we accept Christ as our Savior. It's a green light, a green light to worship, to be who God wants us to be. Do we fail? Yes. But again, we need to confess those sins and get back and experience that peace in life that He gives. The Holy Spirit lives inside a believer. Number one, the Holy Spirit lives inside the believer. In the second half of verse 9, it says, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, and it's true. The word dwells here is oikio, which means to dwell, reside, settle down. And it's just awesome to think the third part of the Trinity of God lives within us. What does this Holy Spirit battle with? Who lives within us? Again, Jeremiah 17, 9. And Romans 7, 18, which I don't have up here, but says, again, back in chapter 7, For I know that nothing good dwells in me, Paul says, that is, my flesh for the willing is present in me, but the doing of good is not. He struggled the same as we do. God His life-giving spirit, the Holy Spirit, is in us, and we need to concentrate on that and be aware of that. Moreover, it says in Ezekiel here, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to absorb my ordinances. Now, this is Old Testament, but he talked about having a new heart. Number two, the Holy Spirit is proof you belong to God. The Holy Spirit is proof that you belong to God. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. This here proves against the false notion, again, that the reception of the Holy Spirit is a second work of grace. whether we do something special, we get the Holy Spirit? No. In the New Testament here, we have in the Age of Grace, we have the Holy Spirit when we trust Christ our Savior. So, is your heart experiencing inner peace or turmoil right now? That's a good question, isn't it? I know I have my days, I have my moments, but when I'm concentrating on Vertically on what Christ has done for me, his plans for me, my home is in heaven. I get that peace. Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith. And the Son of God who loved me and gave himself on me. That is a great one to memorize, a great one to meditate on. Let's look at verse 10, and if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. In other words, now Christ being in you, the body is indeed dead on account of sin. That again ties with verse 24 of Romans 7, O wretched man I am, Paul said, who will deliver me, who will deliver me from this body of death. So question, is your heart experiencing inner peace? Do you realize the Holy Spirit lives within us because of what God the Father has allowed? When Christ on the cross paid for sin, it was a satisfactory payment that God the Father then imparted righteousness upon us because Christ has done through faith. So we will see here shortly that Because Christ was raised from the dead then, we are allowed to be re-raised and our body raised if we have that inner Holy Spirit. So, Romans 8, 11. We're moving right along. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Christ Jesus from the dead dwells in you, which He does, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you. And that's just what I basically stated there. D. As a believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit is proof of your future resurrection. Number one, the Father raised Christ and conquered death. The Father raised Christ and conquered death. In this verse, it says, we'll also give life. This is the future aspect. It's the promise of the future resurrection. The Spirit who raised up Christ will one day raise you up as Christ was. The Holy Spirit who presently lives within us It's like a down payment on God's future deliverance of us. So what do down payments do? It's a picture of what's to come. It's a satisfactory payment that allows you to be guaranteed basically what's to come. So, number two on your handout, the father promises to raise you in the future. The father promises to raise you in the future. Do you ever stop and think that everyone in this room has a 100% chance of being put in the grave one day? I'll be going to a funeral tomorrow with my aunt, and the older I get, I realize that's going to be me one day. It's a 100% chance. However, the indwelling Holy Spirit is our assurance that our bodies will be raised, as we see here, Christ was raised. And I think it's important, we'll just turn to one more verse, 2 Corinthians, to your right, chapter 5, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 1. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, in other words, our body, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. In this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from heaven. If indeed having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we are, who are in his tent, groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up in life, by life. Now he who has prepared us for the very thing is God, who also has given us the spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. And we are confident, yes, well-pleased to be rather absent from the body, to be present with the Lord. Therefore, we have to make it that aim, we meditate on that, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to Him. Because Christ was raised from the dead, you and I as believers will be raised from the body of this death, the old nature. Let's turn back and we finish up Romans 8 here, verse 12. Back to our left, Romans 8, we'll go over verse 12, which states, Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. We are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. As a believer in Christ, you now owe that old nature nothing. And I'm going to read on here. Let's read verse 13. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. Which means in this context, we're out of fellowship. But as by the Spirit you'll be put to death, the deeds of the body you will live. Now you owe the flesh nothing after Adam ate the fruit. Yes, he lived a hundred years or so, He died physically and he died spiritually right there. He died in the future and he died immediately spiritually. Man was turned upside down. The body of the old nature, the flesh became dominant. Today man is born or born dead spiritually, each and every one of us. Regeneration through believing Christ, though, has turned us right side up again. You are born spiritually then and you have a new master, a new nature, and that's what we do to serve God. Relying on the Holy Spirit to fight for us. So, stay close to God by doing what? Abiding in Christ, as we talked about. Can we be active like a busy ant and still have God in outer space in our minds as far as anyone is concerned? Sure. We all get that way, which we shouldn't, but a believer can be just like the unsaved if you're out of fellowship. You may say to yourself in your dishonesty, well, I've got needs, or movie stars got their needs, and certain people have certain situations, they have excuses, but guess what? Satisfying the old nature has literally plunged our nation down the toilet bowl into gross immorality. So remember, God says we are not debtors to the flesh and we owe that old sin nature nothing. Number one, when you live in the world you will die, as it's said here, meaning you will be out of fellowship. But question, are you happier in or out of fellowship? Think about it. We've all been there, we've been caught up in sin and are out of fellowship with God, and can you be deceived and believe or be in fellowship? No. When we're out of fellowship, we don't want to associate with other Christians, we don't want to go to church, you don't want to read your Bible, you just want to do your own thing. You don't even want to pray. And you're battling the Holy Spirit within you. So ask yourself, is that our problem today? I ask myself, is that my problem? And I'm guilty of it, probably more than most people. You may say, well, I don't have those problems, I lead a sheltered life. Well, how about your thought life? How about your tongue? Do we gossip? Do you stretch the truth? You may say, well, I like the things and I like the way things are. Well, do you really? Or you may say, I've tried to quit and I can't. But do you know what? Only Christ can remove it. Your plan B is God's plan A. We need to confess those sins. Only Christ can remove it. That's His business. If God can part the Red Sea, make a dead man come alive, raise Christ from the dead, don't you think He can create a miracle in your life? Can't He fix your problems if you abide in Him? So number two, submit to God's plan, you will live. Which verse 13 says here, when you submit to God's plan, you will live. In Matthew 11, 28, in conclusion, Christ says, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden. How many of you are feeling heavy laden? And I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon me and learn from me For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. How many souls here tonight need rest? For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. We need to trust Christ, not only for salvation and justification, but in our sanctification walk, trust Christ, walk in his ways, and we will live and experience life, peace, and inner joy. So let's pray. Father in Heaven, we thank you so much for the Holy Spirit that indwells us when we trust Christ our Savior. We thank you for the promises in your Word. Give us a natural hunger, a natural thirst for the Word of God, for Christian fellowship, and as Pastor does, for a burden for the lost. We thank you so much, Father. Life is short. Help us also see not just what we read, but experience that life is but a vapor. It's here today, gone tomorrow. Help us live in that way. Help us not get bogged down in the weeds of this world, but help us look upon you, rest in you, abide in you, and just dwell on that, meditate on that thought for our home is in heaven right now. We're an ambassador for you. Help us yield to that. And know we will be accountable to you at the beam of seat. And we just thank you for all your love and what you've done for us. And we pray for safety tonight on our return home. In Christ's name, amen.