The Open Word (Audio)

As Pastor David continues through the book of Romans, he will be exhorting us to examine our hearts to see whether the spirit of God dwells in us, or not. If the Spirit of Christ who raised Christ from the dead lives in you, then that same power can raise you out of your sinful life. It is this realization that we must understand in order to overcome sin. If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but, if you live according to the Spirit, you will live. Living in the flesh will bring you spiritual death.

Pastor David will be teaching us that Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death. There is therefore no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We are supposed to be living as though we’re saved. We no longer need to wallow in our guilt. We can go to God and call Him Abba, Father. Since we’ve been set free from sin and death, sin no longer has power over us. We are free to love Christ and obey Him, because He first loved us.

Pastor David will continue to teach us about the importance of living a bondage-free Christian life through God’s grace. Before we came to Christ, we were not free to live for God. We had a different master…the devil. We’re now under new ownership because Christ paid the price to bring us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light. It’s not the keeping of the law that changes us. It’s the love of Christ that changes us. It’s the drawing to Christ where we are strengthened.

Pastor David will be teaching us all about the power of God’s grace. For us to be able to live and work in God’s grace is a process of sanctification. We must renew our mind and believe by faith that we’re no longer bound by sin, and no longer in bondage to it. We must focus on the victory that has already been gained through the sacrifice of Christ. We can do nothing of our own works to gain grace. We must simply receive it in faith and walk it out in obedience by the power of the Spirit.

As Pastor David continues to teach us through Romans, he will teach us that the wages of sin is death. This is a spiritual death, a death of harmonious fellowship with our Father. As a believer we’re covered by the grace of God. We are His children, but if we walk in deliberate sin, the fellowship becomes distant. The closeness and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit in your life is distant as well. We as believers can experience the power of God and that closeness of communion; so, why choose sin?

As we continue through the book of Romans, Pastor David will be teaching us the dangers of taking God’s grace for granted. The Apostle Paul says, ‘because we have the grace of God should we continue in sin? Certainly not! The sign of a genuine believer is that they’re no longer a slave to sin, but are a slave to righteousness. Pastor David will teach us that sin no longer has dominion over us, so if we sin it’s because we choose to. We can no longer fall into sin; we walk into it!

As Pastor David continues his message on sanctification he will be teaching us the importance of our cooperation with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The more we walk in obedience the stronger we become as believers. If you’re saying to yourself, “I’m not very strong as a believer”, you must ask yourself if you are obedient, even in the small things. If you’re not obedient in the small things you’ll never gain strength and grow to live a life that’s victorious in Christ.

As Pastor David begins a new chapter in Romans he will be teaching us all about sanctification. Sanctification means set apart unto God. We are to be progressing unto perfection the work that began when we first received Jesus. Pastor David warns us that we ought to be growing more holy and more attracted to the work of God in our lives. If we’re not less attracted to the world and to its lusts then we’re backslidden. We must remain diligent and not grow slothful in our holiness.

As Pastor David continues to teach us about the benefits of God’s love he will be focusing on the specific benefit of intimacy and friendship with Christ. This benefit package is the best package ever offered, way better than any job on this planet. We so readily take benefits that are offered from our employers but how often do we opt out of certain benefits God offers us. The benefit to know and commune with God on an intimate and friendship level is what Christ desires for us.

As Pastor David begins a new chapter in Romans he will be teaching us the importance of understanding the benefit package available to all believers. The main benefit is God’s love toward us. Christ died for us even while we were yet sinners. How much more should we be able to understand His love toward us now that we are His children? We have the benefit of being able to call God, Abba Daddy. The question is, are you taking advantage of the benefit package offered to you?