The Spirits Indwelling Presence

Raul Ries: We used to be dead, but now we're alive in Christ Jesus. God has given us life to enjoy not only our earthly life, but to enjoy coming in the future, our eternal life with Him. So I think for each one of us, if we can get that thing in our minds, brainwash ourselves, I think we'll do better with Christ if we understand it.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio. The Bible teaching ministry of Roll Race in Diamond Bar, California. As Roll continues our series focused on the Holy Spirit, we'll think about the radical impact of the indwelling presence of God. He not only gives us strength and wisdom for today, He blesses us with hope for tomorrow. Our mortal bodies will die one day, but through the Holy Spirit's resurrecting power, we will live on with Him forever. In Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 9, here's Roll Race with our study, The Spirit's Indwelling Presence.
Raul Ries: He says, "But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit." "If so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you." Now remember the word "in you," not outside of you, "in you." "Now, if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, then he is none of His." "And if Christ be, again, in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness." "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you." And who's that? The Holy Spirit. "He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His spirit that dwells in you." In and you. Speaking of the Christian life. When you think of your own personal life and coming to Christ, what was the thing that convicted you before you came to Christ? Somebody shared with you, you read a book, or maybe you came across a Bible, read the Bible, or you watched a program, that somehow eventually over a period of time, you started becoming convicted. Knowing, this is wrong what I'm doing. And eventually as the Holy Spirit captivated you, and you began to not only talk to the Holy Spirit and say, "Lord, I come to You before You, I want to repent of my sins." That the Holy Spirit's power comes upon your life and you begin to understand as you read the scriptures that you have been forgiven. Cleansed and washed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, which is so cool. If we know what Paul says in verse 9, look at the first point here, indwelling of the spirit. He says, "But you are not in the flesh." You see, we were used to be in the flesh. We were the natural men. But somehow we got born again of the Holy Spirit, so he says, "But in the spirit of so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you." If He dwells in you, not outside of you, inside of you. "Now, if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, then he is none of His." You're not a Christian. The only way that you can become a Christian is for the Holy Spirit to come and dwell within my life. When I come and I repent of my sins and I ask Him to forgive me, then we began to see what Paul's talking about here, that the Spirit of God is dwelling in our lives, dwelling in us, and through our lives. The power of the spirit as we see, dwelling, staying, notice in my life, in my heart. And the word "dwell" here is a picture of a home. I'm at home. That's what the word is used. The Holy Spirit is at home in my life. The Holy Spirit not only dwells within us, but He makes His home, check this out, and takes residence and lives within us just as we live in our own personal homes. He makes Himself at home. The power of the Holy Spirit not only creates a glorious truth by indwelling presence of God with us. In John 14:16, Jesus said, "I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, Comforter, Paracletus, the one that comes alongside to assist." "That He may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him for He dwells with you and will be in you." Remember I told you, He is with you, He comes into your life and then He comes upon your life, the threefold Holy Spirit, with, in, and upon. Now, if the Holy Spirit comes into my life, then that means that the Holy Spirit can be grieved in my life. That's why we have to live holy lives, we have to live lives of holiness, but lives of obedience. So that I can come to know Him, His power, His grace, His love, His mercy that He gives to me every single day. Because the power of the Holy Spirit removes the believer from being what? In the flesh. We used to be in the flesh. We used to live in the flesh, but no longer. "Therefore, there's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Holy Spirit of God." Look at secondly, verse 10. The life of the Holy Spirit gives life to the believers. Romans 8:10. "And if Christ is in you," there it is again, He says, "in you, then the body is dead." Even though you look in the mirror, you know, and you see your body, your body's dead. By the way, every person that doesn't come to Christ, like in the world today, mother, father, brother, sister, whoever is outside the church, the non-believers, believe it or not, dead men walking. They're dead. Their spirit's dead. Oh yeah, they live in this world for a short time, but then death comes and they're separated. We used to be dead, but now we're alive in Christ Jesus. God has given us life to enjoy not only our earthly life, but to enjoy coming in the future, our eternal life with Him. Which I'm looking forward to. This is cool, but it's going to be better there. So I think for each one of us, if we can get that thing in our minds, brainwash ourselves, I think we'll do better with Christ if we understand it. Because here also the idea in the Greek is very clear, listen, "If Christ be in you, even though the body will die, will die because of sin, the spirit shall live because of righteousness." That's the way it's written in the Greek. "If Christ be in you, even though the body will die because of sin, the spirit shall live because of righteousness." Think of how many people, how many funerals have you attended to? I know how many funerals I've done, and it's always the same story. They died. How did they die? Well, you know, they give you the story. But I don't think, you know, whenever you go to a funeral, you go, "Man, that's too bad for them, but I got a long time to live," really? Do you know that? But then how many people, I've seen that in funerals, they're sitting there very sober, very serious, and in their minds they're thinking, "Wow, man, I wonder if I'm next." And then the second thing is, where am I going? Cause they give the message. The message lets you know whether you're going to heaven or hell. So as Christians, we need to know where we're going. We need to know that my body is dead, but I am alive in Jesus Christ. Let's look at the first point here, that the Spirit of Christ gives us life. For example, the Spirit of men lives because of the righteousness and death of Jesus Christ. Think about that. When Jesus Christ came, He came from all eternity. He didn't have to come. But He knew and He decided that He would come. Because our first parents, Adam and Eve, we studied that in Romans chapter 5, when they sinned against God, they hadn't made it to heaven. We would have never been the way we are today. We would have been eternal forever without sin. But when they sinned against God, man, they fell and they hid from the presence of God, and they couldn't hide from the presence of God. And God called out and said, "Adam, where are you?" Words of love, broken heart of God. "Adam, where are you? Why did you do what I told you not to do?" "Now you're paying the consequences. Separation from Me." And it's so sad when you read the story. Because when you read the story, you begin to see that each one of us individually, even though we have a mother and father, that our original parents, Adam and Eve, and they sinned against God. And that's why we are called sinners. This is why we repent and we come to Jesus Christ. Paul says in Romans chapter 10:9, he says, "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation." That's why we say, "Can you repeat after me this prayer?" You confess. You go through the prayer, "Dear Jesus, come into my life, forgive me for my sins." And then 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us." Notice that, Jesus came to die for the sins of the world and had no sin ever. And then he says, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become righteousness of God in Him." Notice that. The spirit of men lives by living a righteous and godly life. Matthew 7:21, remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven." "But he who does the will of My Father in heaven, he who does, he who does, the will of My Father." Secondly, the Spirit of Christ quickens the body in the future, in a great day of redemption. For example, the first part of the word "quicken" here, it means to make alive, to give life, to cause to live, or to renew, or to remake life. So the mortal body shall be quickened and made alive. John chapter 6:40 says, "And this is the will of Him who sent Me." "That everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up in the last day." John 11:25, Jesus said to her, Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life, and he who believes in Me, though he may die, yet he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." "Do you believe this?"
Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Roll Race. We're committed to helping you walk in God's goodness and truth with a solid understanding of His word. Visit somebodylovesyou.com for a wealth of resources, including Roll's study of the Holy Spirit titled, "Filled, Empowered, and Equipped." We'll tell you how you can get your copy in just a few moments. But first, back to More with Roll Race.
Raul Ries: Acts 24:15, Paul says, "I have hope in God which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust." So there's going to be two resurrections, the just and the unjust. 1 Corinthians chapter 15:42, he says, "So also," Paul says, "is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption." "It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory." "It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power." "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." "There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body." There is a spiritual body. Right now, we're living in our natural bodies. But we've been born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ lives in my life. You see, we used to be flesh and then the soul, and the spirit was dead. But we had a flip over, now the spirit rules, and then you have the soul, and the flesh is separate, it's supposed to be dead, we did Romans chapter 6. Remember? The flesh should never be king in my life any longer again. It's dead. Buried. That's what the Bible teaches. And that's why I get kind of bummed out when I see people within the church, wherever I travel, and even here, people that haven't changed. They're the same people. They come on their own agenda. They really don't come. I'm not saying everybody here, so don't get bummed out, okay? Don't write me letters. It's so cool to see people that come and they listen and they study God's word, and you see that change every week. Every week is a change. And when you pay attention, you're not texting, you're not mind somewhere else, but you're connected to the source, which is Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Then when you leave here, you go, "Wow, you know what, God spoke to me today. In the areas that God spoke to me, I want to change those areas of my life." Then the Holy Spirit is working in my life and through my life. So cool how God works. Thirdly, the two great assurances of the believer's resurrection. Number one, assurance of Jesus because He resurrected. In Romans 1:4, remember, "And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead." And then we see the second point here, assurance of the Holy Spirit of Him who dwells in us. 2 Corinthians 4:14. "Knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus Christ will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you." The Holy Spirit one day, can you imagine? I've seen it so many times. I saw it my dad when he passed away. You know, we're at the hospice, we're sitting there, we're watching him as, you know, coming down to the end of his life. And the day before he passed away, I was at home when he passed away. But when I left that night, you can see that it was just about time for the Lord to come and take him away. But it's so neat to know that he went to heaven. Yes, we do go through heavy things in this world, but it's only what? Temporary. Not permanent. And then I go to this hospital the other day to pray for this lady that's dying. It's kind of like a hospice home. And there's one here, one here, and one out here. So the one in the middle, we prayed for. And as I was praying for the one in the middle here, the one on this side, she was screaming and yelling, cursing the whole thing, no peace, no assurance where she's going, and at any point in time, she will die, and she'll end up cursing God. That is the saddest thing to see when you hear people like that. And I would pray that each one of us individually would know the power of the Holy Spirit, especially dwelling in my life and working in my life and through my life. That I have peace with God when I go to be with the Lord. Look at the third point, verse 11. Christ's resurrection assures us here. Verse 11, he says, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you," now here it is, "dwells in you." "He who raised up Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through His spirit who dwells in you." Two times, dwell in you, who dwells in you. So the resurrection of Christ assures us that each one of us individually will be resurrected from the dead. I love that. The resurrection assures us that we will be with Christ. In John 1:1, he says, "In the beginning was the Word," Jesus, the Logos. "And the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and He was in the beginning with God," who's that? Jesus, the Trinity of God. "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." "In Him was life, and the life and the light of men, and the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Secondly, the resurrection of Christ is He who claimed to be the Son of God. Ephesians 1:14 says, "Who is the guarantee of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory." The guarantee of our inheritance. And then thirdly, the resurrection of Christ confirms what? That He is the Savior of the world. Yes, the Savior of the world. 1 Corinthians 15:2, "By which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preach to you," Paul says, "unless you believe in vain." "For I delivered to you first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures." Notice the word of God. "And that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures." And then fourthly, the resurrection of Christ proves what? That He is Spirit of life. The Spirit of life. 1 Peter 1:3. "Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope." "Through the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." And then how about fifthly, the resurrection of Christ by an empty tomb. John 20, verse 1. "Now the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark. And saw the stone had been taken away from the tomb. And then she ran and came to Simon Peter and the other disciples whom Jesus loved." And said to them, "They have taken away the Lord." Somebody took Him out of the tomb. And we do not know where they have laid Him. And then Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, which was John, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other, that's John, had ran Peter. Peter was huffing and puffing, notice that. And came to the tomb first. And he stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloth lying there, and yet he did not go in. And then Simon Peter came following him, and went into the tomb, and he saw the linen cloth lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying within the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. And then the other disciple who came to the tomb first, went in also, and he saw and believed, for as yet, they did not know the scripture, and He must rise again from the dead. They still had not read the scripture that He would rise again from the dead. Here we are today, we know that He rose again from the dead. Then what's keeping people from coming to the knowledge of the truth if we really believe that Jesus died and rose again? And if you can get brainwashed in your minds, that I only have one life to live, and it'll soon be past, and the only thing that is going to last is what I'm doing for Christ today. That's it. Nothing else. So I really encourage you this morning to study and allow the Holy Spirit to use your life powerfully in such a way that you can't even believe it. In conclusion, let me tell you this, God's power in my life. Acts 2:24. "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that He should be held by it." "For David said concerning Jesus, 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I am not shaken.'" "Therefore, my heart rejoices, my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope." "For you will not leave my soul in hell or sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption." "You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence."
Guest (Male): How wonderful it is to know that God's resurrection power lives within every Christian, a daily promise of eternal life with Him. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Roll Race. Today's study was "The Spirit's Indwelling Presence." If you'd like to get a copy with much more teaching, we'll be happy to send one to you for a donation of $5 or more. All you have to do is call us at 800-634-9165. And to further encourage you with insight into the gifts and blessings of the Trinity's third member, we'd like to offer you Roll's seven-part series, "Filled, Empowered, and Equipped." It's available on CD or USB. Celebrating God's daily presence in our lives as Christians, this study illuminates the many ways His Spirit will enrich our faith and direct our steps. To purchase Roll's seven message study titled "Filled, Empowered, and Equipped," visit us at somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165. We'll send you the CD collection for $20, or if you prefer, the flash drive for just $11. The number again is 800-634-9165. Our mailing address if you'd like to order by writing to us is Somebody Loves You Radio, PO Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California, 91765. The Somebody Loves You worldwide YouTube channel features Roll's weekly Straight Talk program streaming Tuesdays at 10:00 AM West Coast Time. You'll also find podcasts of all of these programs on that channel, or you can browse our podcast libraries on iTunes and Spotify. To keep God's word at your fingertips 24/7, download our app for digital Bible studies and live-streamed Bible teaching. Just a reminder that we're funded solely through your tax-deductible gifts, and we are grateful for your partnership. Next time, as we continue in this series, we'd love to have you join us. We'll discover how we can enjoy victory over fleshly habits that dishonor God when we listen to the instruction of His spirit and obey the commands of His word. Now with a closing thought, here's Roll once again.
Raul Ries: And then Christ's power, John 10:18. "No one takes it from Me," his life, "but I lay down my life of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again." "This I command I have to receive from My Father." And then lastly, the Spirit's power, Romans 8:11. "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus 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." Quote by Martin Luther, he said, "Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf and springtime." Every leaf and springtime. Think of what God has done in your life and what He's doing even in your life this morning here. Because He loves you. You've come a long ways, keep moving forward, don't look back. Don't stand still. Always on the move where? To the cross of Jesus Christ.
Guest (Male): This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.