The Pivot Point: Life in the Spirit
Speaker: Dave Ashcroft
Scripture Focus: Romans 8:1-11
Dave Ashcroft delivers a sermon focusing on Romans 8:1-11, which he describes as the "pivot point" for transitioning from a past lived for the flesh to a future lived for the Spirit. While Romans 7 illustrates the believer's struggle with sinful nature—doing what one hates despite wanting to do good—Romans 8 offers the solution.
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Key Points from the Message
- ✝️ The Two Laws: The speaker compares a believer filled with the Spirit to an emergency vehicle. Just as an ambulance operates under a higher law of public safety that allows it to bypass speed limits, a Christian operates under the law of the Spirit, which frees them from the law of sin and death.
- 📖 The Spirit as an Adapter: Ashcroft uses the analogy of an "adapter" to describe the Holy Spirit; the Spirit connects believers to God's power and revelation, much like an adapter connects a device to a wall socket.
- ✨ The Seal of Ownership: The Holy Spirit is described as a deposit or "seal of ownership" that guarantees the believer's inheritance and acts as evidence that the debt of sin has been paid.
- 🤝 Three Separate Stages: Salvation, water baptism, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit may be three distinct events in a believer's life.
"If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."
