The Difference Maker
Romans 8:1 – 17
Introduction:
How often have you heard of the phrase, “difference maker” used in everyday life? I'm sure this is a phrase we are all familiar with. In fact, we often hear this phrase when it is used to describe a person who has done something that brought about a certain outcome. I'm sure also that we know of people from history or even people who are our contemporaries who are making a solid impact on our society or to whatever sphere we may belong to, be it the business world or in our schools. The term is even used in sports when a player or a certain circumstance affects the outcome of the game.
One difference maker that I was impressed with is a man named Illac Diaz. During our MBA class in marketing, my professor invited Illac Diaz to come share about his work. I was impressed with what he was doing to help the poor communities in the Philippines. His invention, the pedal-powered peanut shelling machine, is being used by poor rural communities to uplift their livelihood. Normally, when the women, children and the elderly are tasked to peel peanuts, they can only do a kilo an hour. However, Illac's machine enabled the people to peel from 27 to 50 kilos in an hour! The machine costs only PHP 3,000.00, making it an attractive and viable equipment for small peanut farmers. He has also invented a pedal-powered washing machine and dryer which can be used by the poor in urban communities for engaging in the laundry business.
Illac is also engaged in studying ways to build houses and school buildings using non-conventional methods (hollow blocks, G.I. Sheets). Thus far, he has built 25 three-room school building in Siargao using the Earthbag Construction System, costing only PHP 150,000.00 to complete each school building. He is also experimenting with PET bottles as a building material for low cost school buildings.
Another difference maker is the winner of the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida who is providing free education for poor children living in trash dumps and cemeteries using unconventional means, namely, through a pushcart. As a child, Efren experienced poverty, having lived in the slum areas of Cavite. He could have ended up like many children who live in the slums – hopeless, becoming a member of a street gang. However, he was chosen by World Vision as one of their sponsored children and this led him to achieve academic excellence as well as instill in him a desire to help the poor of Cavite by providing them with free education.
Efren Peñaflorida's work is slowly bearing fruit as former drug pushers and petty thieves have been reformed through their projects and now serve as volunteers of Efren's organization. Former scavengers of trash are now enrolled in schools. Some children who remain unschooled were able to learn how to read and write through the pushcart classrooms. Thousands of children have been reached and helped by his work.
For me, Illac Diaz and Efren Peñaflorida are difference-makers, because they are making a positive impact in the lives of many poor people.
Most likely, there is someone who has made a difference in your life, too. Your life may have been going on a tailspin when someone came around and helped you get up on your feet. You may have felt that there was no way out of your situation or dilemma when someone came and pointed the way out for you. That person may have been a family member or a close friend or someone here in church. I'm sure you would call that person a difference maker in your life.
There is someone who is making a difference in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Without him, there can be no success or victory in the Christian life. Who am I talking about? I am not talking about the pastor or the leaders of the church. I am not talking about the Sunday School teacher or the leader of your discipleship group. These people may have contributed something to your spiritual development but they are not the people who ultimately makes the difference in your walk with Christ. The one who makes the difference in your Christian life is none other than the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, the one whom Jesus has called as the Counselor. He is the difference maker in the life of the Christian. How is the Holy Spirit the difference maker in our lives? This morning, as we examine Romans 8:1 – 17, we will find areas in our lives where the Holy Spirit's presence has made all the difference; without him, there would be no way for us to be victorious over sin and live a life that is pleasing to God. But before we continue, we need to understand a few things about the Holy Spirit. Now, we are not entering a formal theology class where the discussion will leave you saying, “huh?”, and your fingers scratching your head. Instead, I will do my best to introduce the Holy Spirit to you in a simple, down-to-earth manner.
The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like in the Star Wars movie where people keep saying “May the Force Be With You”, and where he could be either good or evil – good when used by Luke Skywalker or evil when used by Darth Vader. He is not, as the King James Bible unfortunately calls him, a “ghost” like Casper the Friendly Ghost. Instead, as we've mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity God; he is equal with God but subordinate in terms of function. He is called the Counselor, the one who will teach us and remind us of the teachings of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus were promised power when the Holy Spirit would come upon them in order that they may be effective in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Throughout the Book of Acts, we find the disciples of Christ preaching powerfully and fearlessly through the power of the Holy Spirit. They were able to perform miracles and cast out demons through the power of the Holy Spirit. More importantly, the Holy Spirit dwells within the believer, which explains why Paul said that we are the temple or the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and He serves as the mark of God's ownership over our lives.
Well, that's our short theology class on the person of the Holy Spirit. Now, let's see how the Holy Spirit makes a difference in the life of a believer from today's passage.
I. Our Condition
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives means that there is a change in our condition. Check out verses 1 & 2. Here it says, “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Because we are in Christ Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have already been set free from the power of sin and death. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that forgiveness for our sins is readily available, that we no longer stand as condemned people awaiting the judgment due to sinners. No matter how much the enemy, Satan, may accuse us, we are no longer condemned people. Why? It is because the forgiveness available through the death of Jesus Christ is available for all true believers, as evidenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit within Him. This is a lifetime guarantee! Up till the day I die, I stand forgiven before the Lord. I am no longer a sinner condemned to hell, but I am now a Child of God who is loved and cherished by God. The Holy Spirit's presence in my life is the proof that there has already been a change in my condition, from condemnation to righteousness, from sinner to saint.
Our being “in Christ” and having the Holy Spirit in us also means that we are free from the grip of death. Before we trusted in Jesus Christ, death was a reality that haunted us physically, spiritually and eternally. We were figuratively, dead men walking. However, when we came to faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us, we have been freed from the power and grip of death. We are now alive in Christ Jesus. Spiritually, we are now in a right relationship with God. Eternally, we will no longer face condemnation. Physically, we will experience death but this will merely be temporary as we will follow Jesus Christ through the path of resurrection.
That is the first difference the Holy Spirit has brought about in our lives when we received Jesus as Lord and Savior – there is a change in our condition. What this should mean for us is that we should live according to what has been made new in our lives. No longer should we think that we are helpless pawns who would be easily defeated by sin nor should we be afraid of death, because the Holy Spirit has changed our condition.
II. Our Concentration
The second difference the Holy Spirit makes in our lives is the change in our concentration. Check out verse 5. Here we read, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desire.” Before we came to Christ, our minds were held captive by our sinful nature and we think only of those things that would please our sinful nature. Now, what benefit did that bring us? It brought us nothing! In fact, when our minds were still held captive by the sinful nature, it resulted in futility and our being trapped in the deadly pattern of sin. It gave more fodder or fuel for the fires of judgment.
However, when we came to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit came and live inside us, our minds are no longer held captive by the sinful nature and we are given the power by the Holy Spirit to set our minds on things above, on things that are good, on things that please God. Every true believer of Jesus Christ possesses the Holy Spirit and we have the capability to think of good and to do that which is good through the Spirit's power.
While the Spirit dwells in us and gives us the capability to set our minds on what He desires, we do need to play our part. You see, the Holy Spirit, while he lives in us, doesn't want to make us mindless robots who does his bidding blindly. He wants us to submit to his leading. He wants us to deliberately and mindfully do the things that will please God. This is the reason why Paul, in Galatians 5:25, tells us to keep in step with the Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul instructs us to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit, and this is done by thinking about God, worshipping and giving thanks to Him.
Even after becoming believers and having received the Holy Spirit, we often go back to some of our old patterns of sinful thought and action. It isn't because the Holy Spirit is powerless or ineffective. It is simply because we have not focus our minds on what the Spirit wants to do in us; we have not set ourselves firmly on the new area of concentration the Spirit has in mind for us. It is because we are, at times, very lazy when it comes to the things that cause our inner spirits to grow. The Spirit will help us to think of thoughts that will please God, but we must participate in the process by filling our minds with the Word of God and by keeping ourselves filled with thoughts about God and his kingdom. We also participate by intentionally praying that God's Spirit will help us to focus on the things of the Spirit.
III. Our Confidence
The third difference the Holy Spirit makes in the life of the believer is the confidence He gives us. Now, what aspect of confidence are we talking about here in this passage? The confidence the Holy Spirit gives us in with regards to our relationship with God.
Before coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we were enemies of God because of our sinfulness. We were the objects of His wrath. However, when we trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, our relationship with God changed. We were given a total makeover. From his enemies, we became His beloved children. From eternal separation, we are now eternally united with God through Christ. How can we be sure of this change? Well, it is none other than the Holy Spirit's in our lives that guarantees we are the children of God.
Check out Romans 8:14. Here we read that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Furthermore, in verse 15, we read that we have received a Spirit of sonship, which leads us to cry “Abba, Father;” then in verse 16, we read that the Spirit himself testifies that we are God's children. The Holy Spirit gives us confidence when it comes to our relationship with God. He also enables us to call God our Father in an intimate manner and not as a distant being.
What does this confidence through the Holy Spirit mean for us? It means we can approach God in prayer, knowing that we are addressing our loving Father who cares about us. We can also feel safe about our relationship with God, that we will never be separated from God because we have the Holy Spirit within us. Because we are accepted by God as His children, we do not need to feel inferior in comparison to others. God's acceptance of us as His children means more than what people may think about us. Even if others do not accept us, as long as God accepts us, that is more than enough.
IV. Our Conciliator
Finally, the Holy Spirit is the difference-maker in our lives because He is our conciliator. Now, this is a word that we probably don't hear that much but I am sure you will be familiar with its synonym. The synonym for the word conciliator is the word intercessor. The Holy Spirit is described in our passage as being the one who intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (v. 26). In verse 27, he is described as the one who intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
There comes moments in our lives when we just don't know what we ought to be praying for, when we are uncertain what would be God's best for us. Well, even if we don't know what to pray for, since the Holy Spirit is living in us, He will help us by interceding for us, by lifting up our unvoiced concerns and cries to God the Father. We don't need to worry if the Holy Spirit is praying the right thing for us or not, because verse 27 tells us that he intercedes for us in accordance with God's will. What it means is that the Holy Spirit prays for us with God's will in mind. He will always pray for the right and best thing for us.
The thought that the Holy Spirit is interceding on my behalf brings comfort and peace to me because I know that He understands me and He never ceases to do this work for as long as I have breath. It is also reassuring to know that His prayer is in line with God's plan for me. So, even though I may have my personal agenda or plans, if they don't jive with God's will, the Holy Spirit will make sure to pray in accordance with God's will and not my plans. The Spirit will also eventually reveal God's will for us. What we must do is to obey and follow God's will once it is clearly revealed.
Conclusion:
The Holy Spirit, He is the difference-maker when it comes to living the victorious Christian life. It is because His presence in us indicates a change in our condition; His presence enables us to change our concentration from a sin-filled life to a God-centered life; His presence gives us confidence with regards to our relationship with God, assuring us that we are accepted by God with great love; finally, his presence in us means He is our conciliator, the one who intercedes for us when we don't know how to pray in accordance to the will of God.
For everyone here who have already trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit already dwells in you and He is in you so that He can make a difference in your life. However, as I've mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit does not intend to make us mindless robots. What God wants for us to do is to prepare our minds daily for the working of the Holy Spirit by reading and meditating on His Word, by praying and worshipping God. He also wants us to yield ourselves to Him, to surrender our lives everyday to God's leading, to learn to trust Him rather than depend on our own abilities and strengths. When we are consciously doing these things, the Holy Spirit will then do His work mightily in us and through us. We who believe in Christ have the Spirit in us, but have we allowed Him to have full possession of our lives?
