If you’ve got a Bible, go ahead and get it out and go with me to Romans chapter eight. And as you’re getting there, I’ll tell you just a couple of things, that other young man’s name was Jaron, and his name matters, and I’m going to catch that from Matt now. And also, I want to make a promise to you that if I’m elected president, if you will vote for me for President United States, I will eliminate Daylight Savings forever. Yes, thank you. Thank you. I’m pretty sure I won’t get elected.
Let’s get to the Word of God. The title of this message is “The “IF” That Matters” (Romans 8:9). “The “IF” That Matters.” There is an “IF” in Romans chapter eight and verse nine. And it is the big “If”. It is the “If That Matters.” It is the “if” that determines if all of the promises that are listed in chapter eight are yours or not. And that is going to be the if of whether or not you are in the spirit or in the flesh, whether you are regenerate or whether you are not.
Let’s see this in the text. I’m going to start out in verse six, as Paul is describing the distinctions between two natures, not between two different walks. Okay, we covered this in previous messages. If you’ve had a misunderstanding related to that, you can go back and listen and we break it down, and you’ll see it very clearly. But starting in verse six, it says, Romans 8:6-9 “For the mind set on the flesh is death.” That means an unregenerate mind. It’s not talking about when you think about the wrong things. That’s not what that means. “But the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” That’s talking about a believer. They have been given eternal life, and they are at peace with God. “Because the mind set on the flesh (that’s a carnal human being) is at enmity toward God.” In other words, they are God’s enemies. That cannot be said of a born-again person. “For it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.” That is talking about an unregenerate person. And verse eight, consequently, “And those who are in the flesh are not able to please God. However, you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.” What is the qualifier? Well, here it is, right here. This is a conjunction. How many of you are old enough to remember” “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” That’s right, hallelujah. If that’s the conjunction, and it is a subordinating conjunction. So that means that you have the main, right here, main clause, and then you have a dependent clause following it. “You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, IF,” and that’s the huge “if”. And what is the qualifier? That you think right thoughts? No. That you walk perfectly? No. That you have your mind somewhere? That there’s something you do? No. The qualifier here in this subjunctive clause is very simple. It’s that you have the Holy Spirit. “However, you’re not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed, the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, He does not belong to Him.” Only those who have the Holy Spirit belong to Jesus. Okay? And that’s the qualifier. And this word, “if”, is enormous in our sanctification, because what we come to realize is this, there’s one category of people who are in Christ, and it’s those who have the Holy Spirit. And it doesn’t mean that you’re not going to stumble, struggle and even sin. It doesn’t mean that. It means that you’re going to be in that battle until the day where your body dies or the Lord returns. And that’s how we understand Romans 7:14-25, okay? This is the key to this. “If”. The “if” is very important. It is indeed the “‘IF’ that matters.” And so, the Spirit dwelling inside believers, both individually and corporately as they’re gathered together, but still in the individual is the essence of the argument here that every blessing that you’ll see moving forward will be determined upon whether or not you’re in Christ, and Christ is in you. That’s synonymous with saying the Spirit is in you. If any man does not have that, he does not belong to Him. People that don’t have the Holy Spirit do not belong to Jesus Christ. That’s what the text says. That’s what it means by what it says. And you can absolutely believe and trust it. It doesn’t matter how much theology you’ve learned. You can go to school for the rest of your life. You can spend eight years in seminary, in cemetery. It won’t change it if you’re not raised from the dead. You know, you’ve got to have the Holy Spirit.
And so, what I want to show you is past and fulfillment and present and future. I want to show you the presence of God inside of His people, growing toward that end, from type and shadow in the Old Testament fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus Christ walked out in the church in a new and living way. And forward, looking to His indwelling presence tabernacling with us in the consummation of the ages, in the future, after the millennial kingdom. This is a wonderful study. And what this does is it sets our feet down solidly on the rock so we can say, “Wait a minute, the gospel is good news, and it’s not just for a moment, but it keeps me and sustains me, and one day it fulfills its promise in eternal life with God face to face. So, let’s see where that was first, type and shadowed. You could say it probably was typified earlier, but one the most obvious example in all of the Bible certainly is the tabernacle that God had Moses and the children of Israel construct.
So, number one, there’ll be four points if you want to make notes.
1. Type And Shadow
This would be the tabernacle. And what was that for? It was for God dwelling among His people. And so, God gave all of the directives at Mount Sinai to a man named Moses, right? Remember Charlton Heston? That’s a joke. If you’ve been to a church where nothing is ever enjoyed that way. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you haven’t been here before. He gives it to Moses. And what is Moses told to do? This is what you’re going to build. You’re going to build going to build a tabernacle. He gives them all the design to it, and then Moses, along with the help of many, many others, sets out. Moses oversees it, and he gets the temple completed. Here are the last verses of how that was completed. Let’s read this. This is Exodus chapter 40. Start verse 17. Exodus 40:17-35, “Now, it happened in the first month of the second year. On the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. Moses erected the tabernacle and laid its bases and set up its boards and inserted its bars and erected its pillars. He spread the tent over the tabernacle and placed the covering of the tent on top of it, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark and attached the poles to the ark and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. He brought the Ark into the tabernacle and placed the veil of the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. Then he put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the veil. He set the arrangement of bread in order on it before Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. Then he placed the lamp stand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle. He lighted the lamps before Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. Then he placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the veil, and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. Then he placed the screen at the doorway of the tabernacle. He placed the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. He offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering. Just as Yahweh had commanded Moses, he placed the laver between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. From it, Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet when they entered the Tent of Meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. He erected the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and he put up the screen for the gateway to the court. (Watch) Thus, Moses finished the work.” That’s very noteworthy. “Moses finished the work.” Everything he was faithful. He was faithful in all things pertaining to God’s house. Verse three, two and three tells us that’s what Moses did. In other words, he did it correctly. As a result, look at verse 34 and 35 “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.” This word “glory”, kavod in Hebrew. Or if you want to pronounce it right, kavod, you just have to act like you’re clearing your throat. That’s the way you speak Hebrew. “The glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.” Now, what does that mean? That the word, that word “kava”, literally means “weight” or “weightiness”, the weight of the presence of God Himself filled this tabernacle. And so, what’s the result? Remember God and man dwelling together. That’s what it was to be a picture of. But watch the result. Verse 35 it says, “And Moses was not able to enter Tent of Meeting because the cloud dwelt on it.” That word is important, “And the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.” So, what is this a picture of? This is a picture of God’s design, time and desire to dwell with those created in His image. Yet there was a problem. The problem is, God is perfectly holy. No sin can approach Him, and man is sinful and cannot approach the presence of God. That’s what the picture was. So, God arranged a picture of sacrifice blood, which the life is in. The blood would be poured out in type and shadow that would point to another sacrifice that would one day come, as well as a greater Moses. You see, Moses was faithful in the tabernacle, but a greater Moses was prophesied that would come, who would be faithful in every way, shape and form.
That’s where we find number two, fulfillment in Christ.
2. Fulfillment In Christ
So how was the tabernacle fulfilled in Christ? Well, it went from a building to the actual body of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled it the type and shadow by being born of a virgin, fully human and yet fully God, no sin, lives a perfect life. And this was prophesied Old Testament. But let me just show you right here in Matthew 1:21-23, talking about Mary giving birth, right? “And she will bear a son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Now, all this took place in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled. Saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translates (what? translated means) God with us.’” God with us. God’s presence near God’s people. But sin is in the way. Now what’s demonstrated the fulfillment of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle the Son of God.
Look at John 1:14, it says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This word “dwelt” literally in the Greek means “tabernacled”. “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” As a matter of fact, the glory was greater in Jesus Christ than it ever was inside the tabernacle. And people could see Him. People could talk to Him. People could approach Him. People could touch Him. Didn’t mean He was less holy. It means He condescended to our condition. Taking on in Himself the form of a servant, tabernacled among us and we beheld his (what?) His glory. “Glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of (what?) grace and truth.” Good thing, right? And what was He here to do? He was here to finish the work. He’s the fulfillment of Moses. He’s the greater Moses. I don’t know if you’ve heard the news lately, Moses died. Did y’all hear that? Y’all hear that? I got update this morning: “Moses still dead.” Right? We needed a better Moses. We needed an eternal one. Are y’all awake this morning? Okay? He came to finish the work. What work was that? It was to lay His life down for the sheep, that He would take it up again and give Him eternal life, so that what? So that the glory of God could dwell with man, even in a new and living way. We’ll get to that.
This is John 4:34, “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to do (what?) and to finish His work.’” Sounds familiar? That’s not a coincidence, friends. That’s divine design. He knows what he’s doing. He knows what he’s talking about. Moses took care of one tabernacle. Jesus was the real tabernacle. He was the true tabernacle. John 17:3-4. And Jesus says, “And this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (Then He prays to the Father) ‘I glorified You on the earth, having (done what? having) finished the work which You gave me to do.’” And in fact, once all of it was done, what does He say? Matthew, or rather, sorry, John 19:30, Jesus is on the cross. He has borne the wrath of God for the people of God. “Therefore, when Jesus had received the sour wine, (He said, what?) ‘It is finished.’ He bowed His head and He gave up His spirit.” He was the fulfillment of it.
Now, if the type and shadow was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, well, surely it’s over? No. One of the keys you need in your hermeneutical bag of tricks or tools is the understanding that what God typified in the Old Testament was fulfilled in Christ. It doesn’t go away. It is lived out by the church in a new and living life. What is that new and living way?
Here’s number three.
3. New And Living Way
It is God dwelling in His people, not just with them, but in them. So, when you see that word, “if” the “‘if’ that matters” in Romans 8:9, this is its history typified fulfilled, and yet it doesn’t end. God’s end is still to make a way for Him to dwell, not just with but in His people. This is John 7:37-39 it says, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture said, (watch this) from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” Now pause on this. What does He mean “innermost being”? He’s talking about your brain? He’s talking about your mind, your will, your emotions? No, He’s speaking about the deepest part of who you are. It is your spirit. “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” How can we know for sure that He means innermost being is of the spirit? Well, we cheat around here we read the next verse, “But this He spoke of the Spirit whom those who believed in him were going to receive for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” In other words, the full capacity of the atonement had yet to be accomplished, and once the Son accomplishes it, it’s the Spirit who applies it. Let me say it to you this way, the Holy Spirit cannot take up residence anywhere that is not perfect. Now His omniscience can, or His Omnipresence can be there for sure, but that’s not His residency. He takes up residency inside of a believer after they are cleansed of their sin, raised from the dead, and then He makes His home inside of them.
Look at John 14:16-17, He says, “‘And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate that He may be with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him or know Him. (Watch) You know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you.’” Now, why does He say, “He abides with you”? Because He’s talking to who? He’s talking to His disciples. Now, let me ask you a question, were they still Old Testament, or were they New Testament yet? They’re Old Testament. Now, it’s written in your New Testament, but the atonement hasn’t taken place yet. The new covenant has not been cut in these verses. Christ has not been crucified. He’s not raised from the dead yet. And so, He’s talking to them. And this is how the Old Testament saints, in that sense, according to Jesus, had the Holy Spirit. He’s with them. But He said this, “He’s with you, but He will be in you.” So, Jesus is going to fulfill it. He’s going to fulfill the work. And, as a result of that, the Shekinah glory, if you will, the Kavod of God, the weight of His glory and His person in the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, will actually dwell inside the individual believer. I don’t know about you, but that’s a staggering truth.
Well, when exactly did this happen? Well, it began in Acts chapter 2 50 days after the resurrection, which the resurrection was on the feast of First Fruits. No coincidence at all. 50 days later there was the Feast of Pentecost, PENTA meaning 50, and that’s what was happening. This is the day of Pentecost. This is Acts 2:1-4. “And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all together in one place. (This is the 120 in the upper room) And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues like fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them, and they were all (look at this) filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” And yes, they did. They spoke with other tongues. But it was not blather, gibberish. It was literal languages. We’ve gone through this if you want to hear the understanding of this, you can go back to a series I did years ago called Cover To Cover, and you can listen to the message on the book of Joel. It’s the Cover to Cover is one message for every book of the Bible. Now it all points to Christ. You listen to the voice, or you listen to the message on the book of Joel. And we talk about this cover it in detail. These were real languages, the point is not whether they spoke in tongues because they did. They spoke in other languages that they’d never learned, and the people that spoke those languages were amazed, and why? That was proving that they were that they were getting something that had never been given before. And then when the first time, when the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit, they too, spoke in tongues. But other instances are recorded where that never happened and that faded away as we received the Word of God. The proof now is the Spirit working through the Word. We don’t come with those power, signs and wonders God is working in not on. And so, this is where it was actually given. People say, “Well, who does that apply to?” It applies to each and every single believer who will ever have faith in Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit. Is it subsequent to your salvation? No, absolutely not. It is at the time of regeneration, the Spirit takes up residency inside of you. There’s not a subsequent baptism. If you’re here and you were taught and you’ve been waiting for something else to hit you harder. Listen, I tell you what the gospel is, good news, and you get the entire package. Again, if the Spirit’s not in you, you don’t belong to Jesus. That’s Romans 8:9. You know this? So, you can’t say, “Well, I was a Christian and then I got the Holy Spirit.” No, it doesn’t work that way. I’ll end it on that. I don’t want to keep, yeah, you’re tempting me. Some of y’all are like, “really?”
1 Corinthians 3:16. Now, who’s he speaking to? Well, he’s speaking to the church at Corinth. He’s speaking to a group. So he says, “But you.” Now the “you” here as it is in all the places where we show you, it’s plural, but it’d be like if I said, “y’all”, I’m still talking to you, but there’s a group of you, so speaking, in essence, to every single individual, although they’re in a group. “Do you not know that you are a (what?) you are a sanctuary of God?” Do you know that? Did you know what was typified in the Old Testament, in the tabernacle, it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ? He finished the work, and when you were regenerated, you became the new and living way of the tabernacle in the wilderness. Wow, that’s incredibly good news. It is incredibly good news. And it’s the assurance of the guarantee that what He started, He will finish, not only in history, but also in your life. That you are the sanctuary. “…Are a sanctuary of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells (where?) in you? “In you.” “He dwells in you.” Living inside the spirit of every single true believer is the Spirit of Christ, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit. Matter of fact, when you read your Bible, when you read your New Testament, unless that Word says “Holy Spirit,” you can usually not determine whether it’s talking about the Holy Spirit inside of them or their own spirit. You know what the answer to that is? Yes, Because if anybody, if any man, belongs to Christ, he is what? He’s one spirit with Him. He takes up residence inside of you, and you become living, born again.
Here’s 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body (here it is, is what?) is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit? (Who is where? in you) Whom you have from God, and that you are not your own.” The one, the one who possesses you, possesses you. Do you understand that? The one who is in you. Now, if you’re like, “Wait, is he saying, I’m possessed?” You better hope you are. If you’re in Christ, you’re not possessed with the demon, you’re possessed with the Holy Spirit. You have Him living inside of you, and you’ve been made alive. And who do you belong to? The one who bought you. That’s the way that works. As we say in theology, those are the rules and stuff. That’s how it works. He’s inside.
What about 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, “Now He who establishes us with you is Christ.” He’s saying the apostles in the church there in Corinth, same God, same spirit, “Establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us. (Is God who also look at this) sealed us and gave us the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.” “Hearts” is a general term for the inner man. Think about that, He gave Him as a “pledge”. By the way, this word in the Greek literally means “down payment”. A down payment. In other words, He put a deposit of something in you to testify that He’d come back for the rest. Now, how many of you are old enough to remember layaway? Do you remember layaway? Right? The rest of you are a bunch of credit card users. Well, what we used to do is, when you wanted to buy something, but you didn’t have all the money you could put it on layaway. Let’s say you’re gonna buy something for $100 dollars. Back when $100 was $100. You could say, “I’m going to give you $10” and so they put it, they would lay it away for you, and they give you a receipt. You pay $10. You owe $90 and for the next nine weeks, you come back and you give another $10 then at the end of nine weeks, you have that $100 item. That’s what it’s talking about. The initial deposit put in you is a down payment that He will keep His Word to you all the way to the end. And He wants you to know this so that when you get to the end of Romans eight, and you hear that “Neither death nor life nor any other thing can separate you from the love of God that is a in Christ Jesus,” you’ll be able to say this, “Yes, and that’s the testimony. It’s the Spirit that He put inside of me.” And if you think this is gooder, it gets gooder, because you know what we hit next in Romans eight? Adoption. He’s not just occupying you, He’s bringing you into the family of God. We’ll plumb the depths of that, I guarantee it. But this is amazing. It’s He sealed us and He gave us the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts. That’s His pledge to you, even when you struggle with sin, even when you stumble in unbelief, even when you don’t behave like a Christian. I don’t know if you’ve lived long enough for somebody to look at you and say this, “You call yourself a Christian?” I’ve had people say that. Maybe some of you have thought it. “Yes, I do. Absolutely, I am. I have the Holy Spirit in me. Is that the work of me? No. Can I boast in that? How could I? I didn’t do it. Jesus did it. And any good you see is the fruit of Him. And everything you see bad is me still being sanctified.” Why should we hide that fact it took the blood of Jesus to save us? The cross has already outed me. By the way, if you’re in Christ, and anybody thinks they know some bad things about you, and they try to say something, you should assure them of this, “It’s way worse than you think.” It’s so much worse than that, because it took the slaughter of the sinless Son of God to rescue you from damnation. That’s a good identity to have. And if you have the Spirit, you have the pledge. And it’s important. So, is it just here and now? It’s not.
Here’s number four,
4. Future Consummation
The consummation of the ages, after Jesus returns, slaughters His enemies, sets up the millennial kingdom, 1000 year reign, final judgment, eternal kingdom. That’s the future consummation, the consummation of the ages, where what we will do is simply dwell with God. Now here’s what we’re going to see. The dwelling was typified in the tabernacle. It was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. We are currently as the church, walking this out in a new and living way. Our pledge assures us of what is to come. So, what is to come? Well, let’s point to it first, in Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him.” That’s in Jesus. “You also.” Watch the progression here, okay? Because if you’re here and you’re saying, “Well, I want the Holy Spirit,” and I’m praying that there’s people this weekend that just go, “I want that.” Well, you say, “Well, how do I get Him?” Well, Jesus made it really clear, if you ask and it’ll be given, seek, and you will find, knock, and it’ll be open to you. That’s not talking about getting a new car, right? He says, right? For what father among you, if his son asks you for a piece of bread, you’ll give him a stone? Right? What son among you asks for fish, and you give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts, how much more your heavenly Father will He give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? If you have a desire for the things I’m talking about, God is working on you. Can you imagine that you’re in church and God’s working on you? That’s good news. He’s not working on people in every church. It’s only where His Word is being exposed. That’s the truth. It’s not about the feelings. It’s about what the Spirit does through the Word of God. Look at what Ephesians 1:13-14 says, here’s the progression, “In Him, in Jesus Christ, after listening.” That’s number one. Would you think listening is important? We think it is. You know, that’s why we don’t allow anybody to disrupt the services in here. Did you know that? This is why. We love kids. And if you’re one of those people that like to go online and be like, “They hate kids at Sherman Bible blah blah blah,” that’s probably how you talk. We love kids, but we love adults too, and we want you to hear the truth of the Word and understand it so it can go into your heart. It’s only life or death. “You after listening to the Word of truth.” What is “the word of truth”? Here it is, “The gospel of your salvation having also what believed.” You listen, you understand the gospel, and you believe. You find yourself believing. Look, “You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.” That’s the progression. You say, “I want the Holy Spirit.” Oh, you’re hearing the good news. The gospel is good news. It’s very simple, even a child can understand it. God is holy. Man is sinful. We needed a Savior to bring us back to God, someone to take away our sin and make us righteous simultaneously. Jesus did that. He becomes a man, fully God, yet fully human. He lays His life down after 33 years of perfect law keeping, He never broke one commandment, not through omission or commission, He lays His life down. Why? For His sin? No, for mine. And in faith. When the Spirit gives you faith, what does He do? He takes your sin, your sin goes off of you, and it goes on to the lamb of God that takes away the sin, and His righteousness goes on you, so that when God looks at you, He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That’s 2 Corinthians 5:21, that’s what Luther called “The Great Exchange”. What tremendous news that is. Well, do you have to have a magic prayer? No. Is there a ceremony you have to do? No. There’s nothing you have to do. You have to believe. And even that is a gift of God. And if you’re here and you find yourself believing your next is to repent of your sin and trust your Savior, tell someone. You listened to the gospel, you believed, and the Spirit takes up residency. But look what it says afterwards, “Who was given as a pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of His glory.” That’s the same word “pledge”. It’s a down payment. He gave us the down payment of our inheritance. You have but a small, tiny taste of what you’ll one day have in glory, a little bitty bit. And, by the way, it’s so mingled with the stain and the vestiges of the remnants of sin that are in our members, like Romans seven talks about that’s often sometimes hard to discern. But what you’ll find is that when the Word of God is feeding the people of God, what will happen is what’s in the Tabernacle of God will rejoice. That’s how the saints are fed. They’re strengthened with might, and they’re inner man, because the Word of God is dwelling richly in them, and you start to find yourself not weak like you were, not wavering and teeter tottering by every wind of doctrine, but you’re able to stand firm come hell or high water, you will say, “How did I get this stability?” It’s not because you tried harder. It’s because you came more and more humble to the throne of grace, to find mercy and grace to help in time of need, and the Word of God is nourishing you, and you’re growing up, you’re starting to be mighty, and you’re starting to be strong. There’s no reason to boast, because you realize it’s not you. It’s the Spirit living through you. It’s called “fruit”. Hallelujah. We don’t want to miss a single moment of this.
What will it look like? Well, the closest window we have is Revelation 21:1-4. This is at the consummation of the ages. If you’re in Christ, you’re going to be there. You’re going to like it, and this will make everything else pale in comparison. Listen, good and bad. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” Hallelujah. Aren’t you glad there’s a new earth? Because I think we’re messing this one up. But I’m really not worried about it because we get a new one. And, by the way, this is just free, for all those watching at home who are mad at me. We’re not going to destroy the earth. God is. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven, and the first earth passed away. There is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God made ready as a bride adorned with for her husband, and heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, (what does it say?) the tabernacle.’” There it is again, Exodus 40 to Revelation, 21 all ties together. Christ is its center. We walk this out in a new and living way, and it is toward that goal. “‘The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them.’” That’s face to face. That’s not just the deposit. That’s not just the pledge. This is the whole package. “‘He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.’” Christian, that’s your future, in case no one’s ever told you. And when you know that that’s your future, the things in the present tend to change a little bit, don’t they? They do. I remember just what I think it was last week. When did when do? When was that that the USA slaughtered Canada in hockey? When was that? Was it last weekend? Was it? Wow, that was awesome, that we slaughtered them. Oh, my point? Okay, well, we were back there, and we have the guy named Christian that plays that guitar, and, real talented, he’s a hockey fan, which most of us call “weirdos”, and he did not let us look at the game anybody on their phone back there between services. He was like, “No, don’t tell me. They don’t tell me the score.” Why? Because he wanted the drama of watching it live, right? Some of you still do this with the Cowboys for some reason. “Don’t tell me. Don’t tell me.” It doesn’t matter. But what happens when you know the final score? Doesn’t it take some of the drama out of the ups and downs, the highs and the lows? That’s what this is supposed to do. This is supposed to even you out, man. It’s supposed to take you to a place where you’re like, “You know what? Things aren’t good right now. That’s not the diagnosis that I wanted. That’s not the outcome of my job that I was after. That’s not where I wanted that relationship to go. But do you know what? In the end, we win.” I read the back of the book and you go, “Oh, that takes away some of the drama.” Can it still be hard? Yep. But you have the Advocate, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth living inside of you. If you are a believer in Jesus and there’s nothing He can’t handle, this is “The “IF” that really matters”. Let’s see it one last time, first part of Romans 8:9 however, Oh, wait, you know what? Yeah, I’ll read you that. I’ll read you that in a minute, however you are not. Oh, did I not read the last verse? Well, y’all mess me up. Yes, verse four, that’s a good verse, too. “And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death. There’ll no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things passed away.” There’s the end of the game. Just ruined it for you.
Here’s the text Romans 8:9a, “However, you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit (it’s the “if” that really matters) if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” I want to end with a quote by RC Sproul. If you don’t know RC, he’s with the Lord now. And this was his commentary one segment of it on that “If” in Romans 8:9. He says that “It is the only necessary condition that Paul gives. Paul does not say that we are in the Spirit. If we have the victorious Christian life, we are in the Spirit. If one condition only is met. The Spirit of God dwells in us. The Spirit enters and indwells every person whom he regenerates, and everyone He indwells. He gives the guarantee of our future redemption. He seals the redeemed against the Day of Judgment. When we are born of the Spirit, we are signed, sealed and delivered. We still fight with ongoing sin. But if the Spirit is in us, we are not in the flesh. We are in the Spirit, in Christ, and these blessed promises apply to us.” That’s “the “IF” that really matters”, church, that’s exceptionally good news.
KEYWORDS
Holy Spirit, Romans, Romans 8:9, Spirit of God, Regeneration, Tabernacle, Dwelt, Jesus Christ, Eternal Life, Sanctification, Old Testament, New Testament, Pentecost, Believer, Salvation, Gospel, Future Consummation, Pledge, Glory, Down Payment, Weight, Tent Of Meeting, Millennial Kingdom, Kavod, Immanuel, Sanctuary, Temple, Heart, Texas, Audio Sermon, Bible Sermon, The Great Exchange, Heart
Speaker
Steve LeBlanc