Welcome to Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell. For 20 years, Dr. Steve's 30-minute radio program, Life Lessons, was heard throughout the United States. Committed to comprehensively teaching through entire books of the Bible, Pastor Steve pulls out the deep, eternal truths in each section of Scripture without skipping over the challenging passages. He applies what is learned clearly and practically so that we're inspired not to just be hearers of the Word, but doers also.

I've been going kind of slowly through Romans, so I decided to speed it up. I'm going to do the entire first eight chapters of Romans today. And I want you to see the big message, the overall flow of thought, because there's a whole thing that Paul is developing, and it's very powerful, and it's very practical.

And I want you to see the big message, the overall flow of thought, because there's a whole thing that Paul is developing, and it's very powerful, and it's very practical. And we're going to look at that message. And then I'm going to take, and I'm beginning today. This is really, it's a foundation and an introduction. But I'm going to do a series on steps to freedom.

Because the principles that are in these chapters of Romans are key to getting free from addiction, from depression, from all sorts of temptation. It's how you deal with this assault in God's ways, with God's power, with his resources. I have lived these out for at least the last decade. I mean, very consciously doing this.

These principles work. What I'm suggesting to you isn't kind of a fun idea. I read it somewhere. I counsel at the front of this auditorium all the time after virtually every service. People will come up with depression or with whatever else. And I find myself ticking through certain principles over and over and over and over again.

And I thought... Why don't we talk about those? Why don't we lay them out? Why don't we look at it properly? And so these steps to freedom, these really work. And we're going to begin today. It will not be easy. We're going to only take the first one and deal with that. But I want you to know that there is hope.

If you have an addiction, if you have depression, if you wonder what's wrong with you, why do thoughts like they go through your head, go through your head? What you need to know is everybody does. And nobody knows what to do with it. People cope with the issues of life different ways. God has given us a way that not only doesn't destroy us, but makes us strong and heals us.

That's what we're going to be beginning today. Father, would you open the word to us? Would you fill our hearts with faith so that we can hear your word, Lord, and it's life to us, not just information. I pray for the grace to speak so that it is your word we hear, your voice we hear, not mine.

We ask that in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's start at Romans 8, verse 1. I'm going to actually have you repeat after me. This is an extremely important statement that Paul makes right here. And it captures an awful lot of what he says. In terms of the answer of Romans first eight chapters.

So I'm going to read this verse one, and then you read after me, and we'll do that with verse two, and then I'll read the rest. All right. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now you say that. Therefore, there is now no condemnation.

For those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. You. And the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did. Sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh. And as an offering for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh. So that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Who do not walk according to the flesh.

But according to the spirit. There it is. Now let's try to understand what he really meant. What's the message of Romans 1 through 8? As we read through Paul's careful arguments and explanations in these chapters, it's easy to lose sight of the great truths he's explaining to us and the good news of how it all applies to our lives.

We can get lost in theology and miss his main points and how they fit together. In the first half of his letter, he not only explains God's plan to rescue sinful people, but he also explains God's plan to transform forgiven sinners into sons and daughters with hearts as pure and holy as his.

In other words, God hasn't just forgiven our sins. He has also set us free from our sins so that we can live fruitful lives. Is that good news or what? None of us want to be just forgiven. We need to be set free. Free from the control of our flesh and the devil.

He didn't just command us to be holy and then leave us on our own. But he provided the power we need for that to happen. Yet the process isn't automatic. It doesn't happen without us playing our part. And that's what Paul is trying to teach.

First, we'll summarize the wonderful message of chapters one through eight, and then turn to a series of practical steps designed to help us learn how to be free from bondages and run the race God has set before us. All right, now, obviously, I'm not going to have you read eight chapters. So let's just summarize them.

First three chapters of Romans, Paul is laying out the problem. He's explaining how bad off humans are. Romans chapter 1, he talks about people who don't have a Bible. Who've lived their lives not knowing the Word of God. And he says they need to be saved because they've worshipped the creation, not the creator.

Pardon me. The creation, not the creator. And they have violated their consciences. They're guilty. They've sinned knowingly against those two things. They didn't worship the creator, and they violated their consciences. Romans chapter 2, Paul talks about people who do have a Bible. In that case, it was the Jews, but he would say the same thing to church-going Christians.

People with a Bible need to be saved too. They know right from wrong, but hypocritically sin anyway. In Romans chapter 3, he really brings it together and he says, everybody needs to be saved. In fact, by God's standard, we are worse off than we realize.

He says, there is none righteous, no, not one. Then he says stuff like, we have the venom of snakes underneath our tongues. What a thought. But he's showing us from God's perspective, how do we use our speech? Well, we hurt people and lie and deceive and cut people down all the time.

He says, from God's perspective, you have no idea how bad your speech about people is. He says, and he just goes on and on. So he's just showing us, if you think that you don't need a savior from God, you have no idea how bad off you are.

Now, the second section of this portion of Romans, he gives the solution. Romans chapter 4, he says, there is only one way to be saved. And now look at this. There has only been one way since the beginning of the human race. There has never been more than one way to be saved.

Ever. From Abraham or us today, there has only been one way. What is that? It's the righteousness that God gives to those who have faith. Whether it be Enoch, Noah, or Peter. Romans 5. Here is what God had to do so he could justly judge sin and yet still forgive people.

And give them this righteousness. With all this sin, he can't just ignore it. Something had to happen with all of this mess of our sin. And he tells us how he took care of that. Through sending his son to die for us, pay the price, so that he could justly punish him and therefore give to us the gift of righteousness.

How is it he can just suddenly put over our lives righteousness when we have been so sinful? Romans chapter 5. Now he turns and he begins to say, given this, here's the problem, here's the solution. How does God change our lives?

How does he come in and transform us? Because he doesn't just want to forgive us. Romans 6 says, Does the gift of righteousness mean God doesn't care if we become righteous in our daily lives? No.

His gift has freed us from slavery to the appetites and temptations of our flesh, so we can obey him. Romans 7, As a Christian, I have a new heart that wants to obey God. I love his ways. But I find there are still forces in my flesh that hold me captive.

How do I get free? Does that make sense? Many people misunderstand Romans 7 and they've just ruined the whole thing. Because they have a hard time and they say, well, this struggle can't be for a Christian, so it's got to be.

These are unbelievers we're talking about here. Look at it again. Paul says the heart of this person in Romans 7 loves the law of God, wants to obey the law of God, but can't. He ends the book with, wretched man that I am, who will set me free from the body of this death?

From the appetites and passions and depressions and addictions that this stupid body of mine has, he says. Who sets me free so that I'm not controlled by my body anymore and I can do what my heart wants to do? Is that a good cry? Yeah, that's how Romans 7 ends up.

That's the heart of a believer. Romans 8. Here comes the answer. The key to freedom is learning to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit who now lives inside us.

This is something I must learn to do. It is not automatic. And he will tell us how to do it in that chapter. Here now, here's the last section. Here's the depth of God's commitment to us while we are being changed.

In the middle of all of this, while this process is going on in us, here is the depth of God's commitment to us. Romans 8 verse 1 says what? We just read it. There is therefore... No condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

And then he ends the chapter 8 with those magnificent words where he says, if God be for us, who can be against us? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? Meaning those in Christ.

Who will bring a charge? And he talks about things present and future and devils and anything else. He says, nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Somebody say, thank heavens.

Yeah. So while I'm being changed, while I'm being set free, while all of this is going on, I'm covered. The grace of God remains over me. His love remains upon me even when I'm sinning and struggling.

Even though I still struggle and fail as a Christian, the righteousness God gave me because I have faith does not fail me. Through it all, I continue to be loved by God and saved.

Now that brings us to some foundational truths. God's mercy to me, this is what Paul's teaching, God's mercy to me doesn't mean he has dropped his standards. His goal is still the same.

People who share his image and likeness. He said that right in Genesis 1. Let's create man and women. Let's make them in our own image, said the Father to the Son in this conversation in heaven. Let's make them in our own image and our likeness. Start it out there.

Romans 8 will say that God has foreordained that we become conformed to the image of his beloved Son. So the plan hasn't changed. So you could look at this, and this is what Paul deals with. You could look at this and say, well, if the only righteousness you can have is something God gives to people that have faith, well then, does it matter if our lives become cleaned up?

Does that matter anymore? Or is it all just the grace of God like that? And it doesn't matter. And Paul says, oh no, the standard has never changed. Because the goal of the father has always been sons and daughters who are in his image.

And that will never change. The standard has, he's not dumbed down the standard because of grace. He's bought us time to be transformed into his image. Did you get this? He did not dumb down the standards. He bought us time while he transforms us and sets us free.

Is that a good God or what? Is that a salvation that if you choose to walk with Jesus Christ, you can be saved? I don't care what your background, I care what your problems, what the issues are. This is a salvation that can save anyone who is willing.

He is determined to bring many sons and daughters to glory, says Barnabas in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10. What changes when we come to Christ is our position. We are now holy in God's sight, not sinners, even when we sin.

Our position, we are now holy in God's sight and are not sinners even when we sin. That's changed. And what has also changed in Christ is our freedom. Because we have died with Christ by faith, we are no longer slaves to sin.

We are free to obey because we have, first of all, died to the law. Would you say died to the law? So God can bless us. You can only kill a person once. Let me explain this. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, it isn't just that he died for you. Sorry, he went out and did that dirty work and I get to watch from a distance.

When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, it is though you died with him. That is literally said in Romans 6, buried together with Christ. Buried together. It's all one word. Buried together with. It's as though we have been laid into his grave.

When he died on the cross, spiritually, I died, you died with him. I wrote a poem years ago. Don't write many. And it's not a good one. It's just that it makes a point. Two men lay buried in one man's grave. One was a king. The other man a slave. Two men rose from the grave set free.

One was Jesus, the other man me. Two men lay buried in one man's grave. Did you get the concept? We die with him. His graves are grave. In the spiritual world, it is literally so. In the spiritual world, this is your death.

Now, the Bible comes along and says, Steve, the wages of sin is... Death. And the Bible says, look at you. You've lied. You've been selfish. You've been proud. You've been fearful. You've been angry. When the word of God, the law of God looks at me, it condemns me left and right.

How about you? So I'm done for. When the law looks at me like that. But I have died with Christ. So I have been executed for my sin. Literally, what the Bible pictures is that you and I, this is you, you have been on a diet. This is you. This is Christ.

It literally says that you are placed in him. So as he was crucified on the cross, you were crucified with him. As he was buried in the tomb, you were buried with him. And as he rose from the dead, you rose with him. You get it?

This in the spiritual world has already been accomplished. It's a done deal. So the Bible comes along and says to me, you're condemned. You fail here, you fail here, you fail here, and the wages of sin is death. And I don't say it. The Lord says it for me.

He's died with me. He's already died. In other words, the Bible, the laws of the Bible, now hang on, have nothing more to say to me in terms of judging me. They are my instruction manual. They teach me. They're precious to me. They have nothing to say to me in judgment.

You say, that's scary. Do you mean you're just cut loose? This is why people got so nervous about Paul. This is why they've been running around saying, are you saying we can just sit on?

And what Paul's answer is, no. The heart's changed. This isn't for rebels. This is for people who have repented and believed in Christ.

It's a whole other heart. We have died to the law. We have, second of all, died to sin. That is the key. Say died to sin. We have died to sin. And by that, we mean that rebellious, independent spirit that we inherited from Adam and Eve.

Every human born in this planet has that. You aren't born with sin. You're born as you're just a little baby. You haven't done anything.

But you're born with the human spirit, which tends to be rebellious and independent. Don't tell me no. Mine. I mean, we didn't have to teach you that. It's just in us, isn't it? It's in all of us.

And so it will go on that we, because of that, walk away from God, do things our own way, try to do what we think is right in our own eyes, and create havoc. Hurt people, damage things, and we have sin. For our own sin, we die. We come under judgment.

But you and I, when we have come to Christ, have died to sin. We have repented. We have said, I am tired of being independent. I am tired of being rebellious. I know who God is. He's a loving, good, pure, holy father. And I choose to surrender to him now, not run away from him.

I am not a rebel. I am a son or a daughter who wants to obey him. I love him. And I want his guidance. And I want him to change me. I'm tired of these things in my life. I want to be like his beautiful son. Amen?

Now if you've had that happen, you know it. If you're still gaming God and running, you know it. But that's dying to sin.

That's the choice. I have repented of that sin, that root of rebellion and independence, and I have surrendered my heart to him in repentance. I have died to the law, I've died to sin, and I've died to the devil.

Say, died to the devil. He can no longer accuse us nor has any right to harm us because we have been put to death for our sin with Christ. God will not judge us because Jesus intercedes for us.

The Bible pictures the devil is having at this season access before the throne of God to make accusation against us.

Here is the cleaned-up version of the sermon transcription:

You. And He begins to own you. And the longer you walk in it, the deeper that control becomes. But in Christ, He has no right to me. No right to harm me. No right to control me. It has been broken entirely.

Now notice the language here is a little different than the others. We've died to the law. We've died to sin. We've died to the devil. But now it is we can choose. Now, let's look at this. We can choose to die to the flesh. Would you say, I can choose to die to the flesh? Because we have constant access to a far greater power.

So our spirit now can rule our body rather than vice versa. What happens when I don't have the power of the Holy Spirit to help me? All these passions. And Paul pictures it as residing in the stuff of your body. Literally, in there. All of these appetites and fears. All that stuff is in my body.

And people without the help of the Holy Spirit are ruled by their emotions. By their fears. By their hatreds. By their lusts. Aren't they? And yet, in Christ now, because I have, and I still have here, you've got to get a hold of this: I still have an old body. And I don't mean just 62. I still have a fallen nature body, don't you?

Some people, when they don't realize that, they think to themselves, "I've been a Christian for decades now. Why do I still have these strange feelings and temptations?" I mean, I have some awful thoughts go through my head. What's wrong with me? I thought I was a Christian.

You have the old flesh till you go to heaven. Great. But you also have... The power of the Holy Spirit. And the Lord will teach you how to use that power to walk free and above the control of this. So that your spirit rules your body rather than your body ruling your spirit.

You see this? This is what Jesus Christ, this is what Romans 8 is about. That our spirit now can rule our body because we have a new power involved. So what holds us back from complete transformation is that we don't consistently believe these truths or know how to access God's power.

Here's some practical suggestions as to how to do this. I'm going to cover these in the next few weeks. Steps to freedom. I said this, but I find myself constantly talking to people after service who are dealing with temptations, addictions, depressions, etc.

And I hear myself saying the same things over and over again. And I've noticed I keep using Paul's teachings from these chapters of Romans to explain how to find freedom. So I've decided to do a series on this subject covering key lessons I've learned in the hope that it will be of help to you.

Here are some of the topics I plan to cover: A changed heart. Hitting bottom. The real question. The importance of hope. Life skills. The gift of pain. Recognize the source. Cleanse the leaven. Flee. Don't fight. The tipping point. Freedom's not enough. And beautiful scars.

Let's look at just the first one now. Paul teaches that it is not enough to want to do the right thing because there are forces holding on to us that prevent us from doing what's good and provoking us to do what's bad.

Have you noticed? Have you? I want to please Him. I want to be loving. I want to be kind. I want to speak the truth. I want to be brave. And yet, boy, when some of those things come along, there's powerful forces in me that I'm wrestling against.

This isn't easy. You know, one of the terrible lies people tell is if you've got problems, you've got needs, just become a Christian. It'll all go away. That's a lie. Somebody ought to just say it. It isn't like your problems go away, but a whole new power comes into you.

And that even in itself isn't an automatic fix. You have to know how to access that power to have the victory. I just want to stress that a second because what happens is people think to themselves, "Well, I've become a Christian and then here's this stuff still going on in me."

I must not either, maybe I'm not saved. That's one of the lies that'll come. I guess I never really prayed right. I guess I thought I surrendered. I thought I asked Jesus, but apparently I didn't because look at me.

Or I prayed and I asked God to take it away and he hasn't. Like he's up there going, "No way, I'm going to take alcoholism out of your life." Live with it. Or they say, you know, this works for some people. I know it does. I can see some people have real victory.

But I must be some kind of dud. I'm just not got the right stuff. I can't live this Christian life. I don't know why. I've tried. But I apparently don't have the right stuff.

That's baloney. That is an absolute lie. You just don't know what you're doing. And I don't say that to be rude. I say that they give you hope. These things are false.

What is the power that changes us? It's the Holy Spirit. To whom has He given the Holy Spirit? How many in this room?

So you have the same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. Is that enough power? All right, it's a matter of learning to access that power. He has given you everything, but you don't know how.

And this is the thing that I think has just been awful, is church life so often scolds people. Don't do that. The Bible says don't do that. See that? So stop doing it. And we're just like scolds. We tell people, don't. And then we don't tell them how to stop.

And then we judge them. It's a very ugly game. The fact of the matter is, there are ways. And I know there are. I have watched it now for decades. I work with people who have profound depression.

I've had people who have been so depressed that I never knew from week to week whether I was going to get the phone call that they've killed themselves. I have watched people with obsessive compulsive disorder where they're clawing themselves and washing their fingerprints off and just awful things of bondage come out and live free and live above it and live victoriously and live fruitful, peaceful lives.

Do you understand? I'm not saying, well, I think this might work and I read it in a book somewhere. I've battle tested this thing for years. And I got people I could just point to and say, see, it works.

Because the word of God is true. We got to take this seriously. This isn't a bunch of religious baloney. This is real realities, but you got to know how to lay hold of it.

And it begins here. And this isn't simply me tacking on like, oh yeah, we knew we were going to say something about this. I'm going to tell you, this step one, a changed heart, is absolutely where it has to begin.

He teaches that it's not enough to want to do the right thing because there are forces holding on to us that prevent us from doing what's good and provoke us to do what's bad. We desperately need God's help to be free.

But to receive this help, we must first come back to Him by submitting our will to Him and receiving His mercy. Those two things are vital.

As human beings, we are all born into this world with a rebellious nature. When Adam and Eve rejected God's authority, they gave the devil the opportunity to control us through our flesh.

And he does so very effectively. Look with me for a moment at Romans 5, would you? Verse 12. Paul says, therefore, just as through one man, and He's talking about Adam, sin entered into the world and death through sin.

And so death spread to all men because all sin. We all got that rebellious spirit from Adam and then we did our own sins which brought death to us.

Then let your eye go down to verse 18. So then as through one transgression, picking the fruit in the Garden of Eden, there resulted condemnation to all men.

We all got this disease. Even so, through one act of righteousness, Christ on the cross, there resulted justification of life to all men. One act of Adam diseased us all. One act of Christ saved us all if we will lay hold of Him.

Verse 19, for as through the one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. Even so, through obedience of the one, Jesus, the many will be made righteous.

Now look at Ephesians 2, one more place. Ephesians 2. Listen to how Paul describes our situation. And He's talking to Christians and he's saying, let's look at your former life before you became Christians.

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, condemned and judged and on your way to punishment. In which you formally walked according to the course of this world. According to the prince of the power of the air. Who's that? And of the spirit that's now working in the sons of men.

You followed what everybody else was doing around you. The devil had a control of you. And you had in you that rebellious spirit of Adam. That worked disobedience.

And among them, people who didn't know the Lord, we all too formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

It is not enough to tell people about behavior modification. It's not enough to give them sort of some helpful hints to live a better life. It isn't enough to just counsel them and help them figure out why they're so weird.

Have you noticed you can go to counseling and I'm not against counseling. I think it has a real place. But I'll tell you something. The therapy, the ultimate deliverance will not be through counseling. You can figure out why you're weird, but you can't stop being weird.

And the only thing they're really concluding is now, the real power you need to live free of this is the Holy Spirit.

And it all starts with a surrendered will to God. So I could counsel you till you're blue, but if you haven't surrendered, all I can give you is helpful hints to live a better life.

But the same forces, the same issues, the same tempers, the same lusts, the same greeds swirl through you while you're trying to live a better life. And it doesn't work. They just take over again and drag you down.

So it has to begin at this deep point of the heart. A person must trust God because that's really, isn't that what surrender is about?

Why do people run away from Him? Why do people want, are afraid of Him? Well, they think He's going to judge them and He's angry at them and hates them in some cases.

In some cases, they just plain old want to do what they want to do. They have no idea the damage it's going to cause, what they're going to suffer from it. And they don't trust Him.

But when the revelation of the Spirit, whatever it is that opens a person's eyes and they go, "Wait a minute, what am I running away from Him for? Why would I run away from the one who made me, who loves me more than any human on earth will ever love me, whose heart is absolutely pure and has planned my days to serve Him?"

Why would I run away from Him?

Now, when you finally say, "This is stupid," and you put your hand in His called repentance, that's repentance. I am no longer rebellious. I'm no longer independent.

I love Him. I need Him. I want His will in my life. I am now a repentant person. See, repentance has to do with the future, not the past.

It isn't about being remorseful over the past. That's sorrow, and you can do what you need to do with that. Repentance is about the future, where I go from here. And how I get there.

And how I get there? Is choose to trust Him and submit to Him. Second thing that must happen is I must believe.

Passionately cling to Christ's cross and resurrection. As a payment and victory over my sin. Not just believe. Yes, I think Jesus is God. Son of God. And He died on the cross.

I think that happened. You must lay hold of what He did for you, for you. It's a matter of clinging, like I'm clinging to this thing. You hang on to Jesus. Because when you fail, when you shame yourself, when this stuff swirls through you, when the temptations and the thoughts go purging through your mind, surging through your mind, the condemnation just comes down heavy.

And you have to know, yes, but I'm in Christ. He covers me. I know I've failed. I've done it again. I've been stupid again. I can't believe these things. But I'm still loved.

You say, well, won't that just help people sin on? No, it'll keep them close enough to Christ so they can actually get free.

The way the devil wedges us out is to... tempt us, cause us to stumble over and over. We try to fix it. We try to get it right. We decide, oh, I can't do this thing. And then the devil says, "See, you're just not cut out to be a Christian."

Or all of this is baloney. Where's the promises? Where's God? And he drags you away into despair.

You must to be free. Have that constant confidence. I'm weak and I'm struggling, but Jesus Christ has washed me clean.

I continue to stay before God forgiven and loved and with the spirit of the Lord given to me to help me. Do you follow that?

I must surrender my will. I can't be running away or gaming Him anymore. I got to trust Him and I got to want Him and need Him.

I must know and cling to Christ with all that's in me that I am washed. I have been placed in Him. That what God sees is the goodness of Christ, not me.

I've got to stand firm in that or I'll cave in. And thirdly, I must receive the Holy Spirit.

Reconnect to God by welcoming His spirit to dwell inside me. He is the one who brings the power I need to be free.

There is a real presence of the living God who comes and lives inside your body. You become a temple of God. He's in there.

That's what Jesus says, "Rivers of living water. Out of your innermost being, out of your belly."

The Spirit of God will dwell inside of you. And now I'm not alone ever again. I have the power I need. I have the counsel, the comfort, the direction.

He's here. I just need to learn how to lay hold of Him.

Amen? Would you stand with me?

What we're going to talk about is how do you do that? And I'm going to talk very practically.

Just as clearly as I know how to spell it out, I'm going to talk to you about how this process really works. And I want you to have hope.

If you've been somebody that's been fighting with things for many, many years, and you thought, "I guess I just can't. I don't know what's wrong with me."

I want you to know, yes, you can. And I'm not being positive. I'm sure of it. If you'll do what the Word of God says.

And don't do it alone. You'll do it with others around you. You indeed can be free.

And the wonderful thing is you have no idea how many people need you. How many people need who you are. What God has gifted you.

How many lives you'll affect and change on this side of eternity. That's the real issue. That's what the devil's trying to prevent.

Is you being the woman of God, the man of God you've been called to be.

As we close, I want to just ask this. I've been as clear as I know how to be about repentance. About saying I'm no longer independent.

I'm not going to live my life without God. Try to get along without Him. I'm no longer rebellious. I no longer want my will. I want to surrender to His.

I recognize that my ways have been wrong and I want Him to clean my life and make it like Jesus. That's repentance.

Anybody today wants to say, "That's me." I'm making a real choice to repent today. That's what it is.

I do it right now. Just lift your hand up if that's you. Yes. Praise God. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Praise the Lord. Yes. Yes.

This, you're making a real decision. This is no game we're playing right now. Yes. You're saying, I heard you. I understand with my will in the presence of God. Yes. I am choosing right now to surrender to Jesus Christ.

I believe that He is good and He is God. I believe He's wise and strong.

And I'm tired of leading my own life, living for myself. I'm tired of that. I really want God's will in my life. And I will, as He shows me, I will follow Him if He will empower me to do so. And He will.

Anyone else, you want to make that one more choice? Yes, praise the Lord. Praise you, Jesus. Yes, hallelujah. Thank you, King.

All right, that's the first question. The second one was about clinging to Jesus Christ.

Did you understand that when He died on the cross, He was dying for the sins of the whole world, but you must cling to Him as it were.

You must say He's my savior. He died for my sins, not just what I've done in the past, but He continues to wash me clean and will the rest of my life.

I will always put my trust in what He did for me, not my own ability to even get my act together. That's not it.

I'll never deserve salvation. Nobody has ever deserved salvation. I got it.

And so I choose the righteousness that God will give to me. That purity, the holiness that He will place over me as a gift.

Because I put my faith in His son. That's the righteousness that I intend to stand before Him someday.

I won't be arguing for my own things. I'm going to be saying I belong to Christ. That's my hope and I put my arms around Him now.

And I make that choice. Anyone want to raise your hand and say, "I'm making that choice right now." He is my Savior. Yes. Yes. Yes. I cling to Him. I cling to His cross. Yes. Yes. Praise God. Yes

Here is the cleaned sermon transcription:

S. This is your birthright. And you made those steps. It's not simply a matter of judicial decision. I repented and I believe. But God wants now to come and fill you. Fill your life with His Holy Spirit.

So, Lord, right now we do. We open ourselves to You. And we welcome You, Holy Spirit. And we say that the powers of the flesh, the powers of the world, the deceptiveness of the enemy, and all this stuff is way too much for us. We've got to have You in our lives.

And we welcome You, Holy Spirit, into the deepest place of my heart. I hold nothing back. I want You to come in. I want You to counsel me. I want You to comfort me. I want You to protect me. Correct me when You need to. Encourage me to do the right thing. Guide me, dear one. I need You so much.

I welcome You, Holy Spirit. Just say that, would you? I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into the deepest part of my heart. Never leave me for all eternity. You are My Lord. You are My source. You are My strength. You are the giver of all gifts. To You I come. And to You I will depend on all my life.

Welcome in Holy Spirit of God into my heart. In Jesus' powerful name we pray.

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Note: I made some minor changes to improve readability and grammar, while keeping the original words and phrases intact.