The Power to Stay – Message Notes

SPIRIT — The Power to Stay

Text: Romans 8 (NLT)

1 | NO CONDEMNATION — THE POWER TO COME CLOSE

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

—Romans 8:1–2 (NLT)

There is no condemnation between you and Jesus.
If there’s no condemnation, there’s no distance.
The Spirit empowers closeness.

2 | WHAT THE LAW COULDN’T DO — THE POWER TO ALIGN

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.
So God did what the law could not do.
He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have.
And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

—Romans 8:3–4 (NLT)

The law can diagnose the problem, but only the Spirit can align, empower, and transform you.

3 | FROM SLAVES TO SONS — THE POWER OF BELONGING

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

—Romans 8:14–17 (NLT)

Romans 7 speaks like a slave.
Romans 8 speaks like a child.

The Spirit is not your taskmaster — He is your Father.

4 | THE SPIRIT HELPS YOU — THE POWER IN YOUR WEAKNESS

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

—Romans 8:26–27 (NLT)

Your weakness is not a failure — it’s where the Spirit steps in.

5 | NOTHING CAN SEPARATE YOU — THE POWER TO STAY SECURE

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

—Romans 8:31–39 (NLT)

Romans 7: “I can’t hold on.”
Romans 8: “The Spirit holds you.”

6 | TAKEAWAY: THE BIG WHY

The Spirit doesn’t just free you FROM something — He frees you FOR something.
He forms you so that what you offer the world is not:

1. blame
2. shame
3. condemnation

But:

1. peace
2. hope
3. courage
4. joy
5. strength

Spirit-led fruit

The Spirit gives you the power to stay in Jesus — and the power to serve others like Jesus.

7 | FAITH DECLARATIONS

DECLARATION 1 — Identity

I belong to Jesus.
There is no condemnation over my life.
I am not what I did.
I am who Jesus says I am.

DECLARATION 2 — Presence of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit lives in me.
I am not alone in the battle.
The Spirit is the wind in my sails.
He turns my life toward Jesus.

DECLARATION 3 — Reflection

I choose Jesus’ reflection today.
My past is not my reflection.
Grace didn’t move — I am realigning.
I fix my gaze on Christ.

DECLARATION 4 — Adoption

I am not a slave to fear.
I am a child of God.
The Spirit calls me son / daughter.
Abba, Father.

DECLARATION 5 — Help in Weakness

The Spirit helps me in my weakness.
When I don’t know what to pray,
the Spirit is praying for me.
I am held, strengthened, and guided.

DECLARATION 6 — Victory

God is for me.
Nothing can separate me from His love.
Overwhelming victory is mine in Christ.
It is well with my soul.