1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,720 Let's take our Bibles and turn together to Romans chapter 8. 2 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:16,280 I really appreciate your praying for us as we travel the last couple of weeks. 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,040 I took the opportunity to rest during that time. 4 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:25,360 I did not preach, but I did teach one Sunday school lesson at the church where I had formerly 5 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:31,520 pastored and where my wife's family all now attends and where we attend when we're with 6 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,480 them on vacation. 7 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:38,560 I had promised a year ago to teach the older women's class. 8 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:45,120 And if there's anybody you don't disappoint or offend, it's the older women in a church, 9 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:47,240 and I wasn't about to do that to them. 10 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,080 They've been very supportive in my ministry in the past. 11 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:55,760 And because I had promised them a year ago, I decided I'd teach them, and we had a good 12 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,400 time together in John chapter 1. 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,760 I was obligated to them, you see, because of my word. 14 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,640 There are different kinds of obligations. 15 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:09,160 We've been looking at the obligation we have to the Holy Spirit in this part of Romans 16 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,080 chapter 8. 17 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,100 Read with me as we begin in verse 12. 18 00:01:13,100 --> 00:01:16,280 You follow along in your Bible as I read out loud. 19 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:21,560 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh to live according to the 20 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:22,560 flesh. 21 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,920 For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. 22 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:31,640 But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 23 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:37,400 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. 24 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:43,120 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received 25 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,140 the spirit of adoption as sons. 26 00:01:46,140 --> 00:01:50,320 By which we cry out, Abba, Father. 27 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:55,760 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and of 28 00:01:55,760 --> 00:02:02,280 children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with 29 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:08,880 Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. 30 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,080 Even though it does not specifically say that our obligation is to the Holy Spirit, 31 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,520 that is the clear implication. 32 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,600 We are not obligated to the flesh, but we are obligated to the Holy Spirit. 33 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:25,600 The reason for that is because of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. 34 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:31,880 The last time we were together, we saw that the Holy Spirit empowers the Christian. 35 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:32,880 Verse 13. 36 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:41,540 He empowers us that we might put to death the deeds of the body and thus live. 37 00:02:41,540 --> 00:02:48,840 You and I cannot put to death the deeds of the body or the lureings of the flesh in our 38 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:57,380 own strength, but the Holy Spirit enables us, once we have determined and chosen to 39 00:02:57,380 --> 00:03:07,640 take that direction, that we might consistently put to death the deeds of the body. 40 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:09,520 So He empowers us. 41 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:15,880 The last time we talked about how we can appropriate that power of the Holy Spirit, we don't have 42 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,280 time today to go into all of that again, but if you weren't here, I encourage you to borrow 43 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,520 one of the tapes from us or buy one if you wish and listen to that. 44 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:30,400 It's one of the keys to a productive, fruitful Christian life, the empowering of the Holy 45 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:31,400 Spirit. 46 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:35,960 Not that that message says everything that could be said about the subject, but at least 47 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,480 it will get you started in the right direction. 48 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,920 In verse 14, we see a second work of the Holy Spirit, which we want to look at today in 49 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:49,760 part, and that is that He leads the believer. 50 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:55,800 This ties together with Galatians 5.18, which says in essence the very same thing, that 51 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:00,400 those who are led by the Spirit of God are not under the law. 52 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:05,600 A different thrust there, and yet the same truth is involved, those who are being led 53 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:07,880 by the Holy Spirit. 54 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:13,280 They are God's children, as it says here, the sons of God. 55 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,160 The verb is in the present tense. 56 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,880 In other words, it's a continuous experience. 57 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:27,800 For all who are being led continually by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. 58 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:34,740 This leading of the Holy Spirit is an evidence that one is genuinely a Christian. 59 00:04:34,740 --> 00:04:40,800 He does not say those who are filled with the Holy Spirit are being led by the Spirit 60 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,240 of God. 61 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:49,960 But He says all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. 62 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:55,960 So that leading of the Holy Spirit, whatever that is, and we'll talk about that in a moment, 63 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:02,440 is proof that one is genuinely a child of God. 64 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,240 Notice too that that verb is passive. 65 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:12,840 Those who are being led, allowing themselves, in other words, to be led, these are the sons 66 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:17,800 of God. 67 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:23,720 This idea of being led by the Spirit is not only said to be the experience of the Christian, 68 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,600 but it was the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ too. 69 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:31,160 There's one specific instance in His life where that is clearly stated. 70 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:36,320 In Luke chapter 4, we have a record of that. 71 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:46,080 It says in the first verse of that chapter, and Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned 72 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:58,520 from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days. 73 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:07,480 The idea here is that He was thrust forth, or He was impelled, as Mark puts it. 74 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:13,480 Luke says He was led about by the Holy Spirit for 40 days in the wilderness. 75 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:21,280 And interestingly, the same verb is used again in verse 9 where it says, and He, Satan, led 76 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:29,480 Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand in the pinnacle of the temple. 77 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:38,720 The idea here means that Satan conducted Him, that Satan took Him along to the pinnacle 78 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,880 of the temple. 79 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:47,280 And so we have some insight there as to what this verb really means, being led, of the 80 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:48,280 Spirit. 81 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:50,840 It means to be conducted. 82 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:54,520 It means to be led about. 83 00:06:54,520 --> 00:07:01,840 Mark tells us in a parallel passage, it means to be impelled, to be thrust. 84 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:08,480 So those who are being led about, those who are being conducted by the Holy Spirit, these 85 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:14,080 are the sons of God. 86 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:15,080 What is this leading? 87 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:24,080 Well, it's more than God's direction in a particular isolated decision. 88 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:28,800 The leading of the Holy Spirit, the conducting of the Holy Spirit that is mentioned here 89 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:38,400 of the believer, embraces His responsibility for lifelong guidance. 90 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:44,640 It's not that the Holy Spirit leads me in that situation or in this instance, but it 91 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:53,880 is that throughout my whole life, the Holy Spirit acts as a shepherd to guide me. 92 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:59,680 Now immediately when I say the word shepherd, there should come to your mind one of the 93 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,320 Psalms, and that is which one? 94 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:04,320 Psalm 23. 95 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:09,720 Let's turn back there just a moment, take a look at that. 96 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:19,040 This work of shepherding the believer is the work of the Holy Spirit of God. 97 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:24,780 David writes, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 98 00:08:24,780 --> 00:08:27,440 He makes me lie down in green pastures. 99 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,840 He leads me beside quiet waters. 100 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:35,980 Here we have provision as a part of His guidance. 101 00:08:35,980 --> 00:08:41,920 He says, because of the shepherd that I have, I don't need anything. 102 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:47,060 He makes me to lie down in green pastures, sheep like that. 103 00:08:47,060 --> 00:08:50,520 He leads me beside the quiet pools of water. 104 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,560 Sheep will not drink from a rushing stream. 105 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:58,280 They have to have a pool where it's quiet and still. 106 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:05,620 And so as our shepherd, the Holy Spirit gives us provision for our needs so that we are 107 00:09:05,620 --> 00:09:06,620 sustained. 108 00:09:06,620 --> 00:09:11,400 It goes on to say, He restores my soul. 109 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:15,200 Sheep are easily agitated. 110 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:19,840 They're upset, they're nervous creatures. 111 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,560 Sometimes Christians are too. 112 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:28,840 The work of the Holy Spirit is to restore us. 113 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:34,600 He says He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. 114 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:40,680 The Holy Spirit leads us in sanctification for the name of the Lord. 115 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:49,600 By the way, that means in honor of who He is, in consistency with who He is. 116 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:54,160 He says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 117 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:55,960 for Thou art with me. 118 00:09:55,960 --> 00:10:01,100 Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. 119 00:10:01,100 --> 00:10:08,320 The Holy Spirit leads us even sometimes in the way of chastisement, doesn't He? 120 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:09,320 Faithfully. 121 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:13,440 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. 122 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:19,640 Thou hast anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows, the abundance you see. 123 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:25,040 Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell 124 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,440 in the house of the Lord forever. 125 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:34,320 The Holy Spirit, who is responsible to guide me as a son of God, will some day deliver 126 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:38,520 me safe to my final destination. 127 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:47,200 And so I have provision, I have restoration, I have sanctification, I have chastisement 128 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:49,680 under the loving hand of God. 129 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:56,600 I have protection so that I know I'm going to reach home. 130 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:00,600 Those who are being led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 131 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:05,360 Christian, do you realize who you are? 132 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:11,960 You are a prince in God's new order of things. 133 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:20,640 His kingdom, which is now invisible but yet very real in our lives, will some day be expressed 134 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:29,640 visibly and literally not only in this world but throughout the whole universe. 135 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,040 You are a prince of that kingdom. 136 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:38,160 You are a sharer in it and of it. 137 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:49,980 And therefore the Holy Spirit of God is carefully, constantly leading you as a son of God. 138 00:11:49,980 --> 00:11:57,200 We have to be careful of a stubborn spirit. 139 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,960 The natural thing is that the Holy Spirit leads us, but it's possible for you and for 140 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:09,680 me to allow a rebellious attitude to creep into our lives. 141 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:11,960 And that's dangerous. 142 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:22,440 If prolonged, it can lead to spiritual stagnation and even spiritual ruin. 143 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:29,920 If a person has an enduring stubborn spirit that is never broken, it is probably evidence 144 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:37,220 of his true spiritual state that he's not truly a son of God. 145 00:12:37,220 --> 00:12:41,400 We sons of God are sometimes rebellious. 146 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,440 But God does work on that rebellion. 147 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:50,760 In Philippians chapter 2 it says, For it is God who works in you both to will and to do 148 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,320 of his good pleasure. 149 00:12:52,320 --> 00:13:03,400 In other words, God puts our wills under pressure and he begins to mold and to manipulate it 150 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:11,240 in the best of sense so that what we ultimately choose to do will be what he wants us to do. 151 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:16,000 It's God who works in us both the willing and the doing of his good pleasure. 152 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:20,040 Have you ever experienced a time when you said, well boy, that's something I would 153 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:28,520 never do, and yet over a period of time, in fact, you choose to do that very thing? 154 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:35,360 There was a time in my life when I said I would never be a pastor. 155 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:40,680 I was interested in other avenues of work for the Lord, but the pastorate had no allurement 156 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:43,080 to me whatsoever. 157 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:48,760 And I can remember a number of times saying, that is not what I choose to do. 158 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:54,480 And yet over the process of time, you see, God worked on my will until that point that 159 00:13:54,480 --> 00:14:01,360 I chose to do the very thing before I said I wouldn't do. 160 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:07,680 That's what it means when it says the Holy Spirit leads us. 161 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:14,960 If however one is resilient and rigid and refuses the leading of the Spirit of God, 162 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,200 it's evidence that God has not done a real work in his life. 163 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:24,160 Dr. Linsky said, the point is that God's Spirit naturally leads God's sons, shapes 164 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:26,040 their entire conduct. 165 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:28,440 It could not be otherwise. 166 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:33,440 If they were led by some other spirit or were going their own way, they could not be God's 167 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:34,480 sons. 168 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:39,800 One can tell who God's sons are by noting who is being led by God's Spirit and who 169 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:44,960 is not thus led. 170 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:50,880 Are you being led by God's Spirit? 171 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:56,940 Is he conducting you along the way? 172 00:14:56,940 --> 00:15:01,520 If he is not, then you are not his son of God. 173 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:08,080 Now if there is today some point of resistance in your life, then God is going to be working 174 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:13,960 over your will to change that. 175 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:20,120 He will work in you the willing and the doing of his good pleasure. 176 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:25,600 How happy it is when we recognize that stubbornness and we repent of it. 177 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,920 And that may be where you are today, I don't know. 178 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,280 There may be some issue that has arisen between you and God and you have said, God, I will 179 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:39,520 not. 180 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:45,720 That rebellion today is creating a lot of friction in your life. 181 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,280 Today what your need is is to repent of it, confess that to the Lord. 182 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,160 Will you do it today? 183 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,700 Go on being led by the Spirit of God? 184 00:15:54,700 --> 00:15:59,000 There could not be a happier state for any human being than what is described in this 185 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,760 verse in Romans chapter 8. 186 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:05,320 To be led by the Spirit of God. 187 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,560 Down in verse 15 we have another work of the Holy Spirit. 188 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:14,180 The second one that we'll look at today, actually the third in our list. 189 00:16:14,180 --> 00:16:19,100 It is that he encourages the believer. 190 00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:25,200 God has designed that we should have confidence before him. 191 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:35,120 Although he is majestic, high and holy and awesome in greatness, yet God provides for 192 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:42,800 intimacy with himself for such lowly ones as we. 193 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:48,040 And that intimacy is based upon a loving relationship. 194 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:58,120 You see, we are not God's slaves, though we gladly confess that we are slaves of the 195 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,800 Lord Jesus Christ. 196 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:07,360 But God has not called us his slaves, but rather he has called us his sons. 197 00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:13,000 That's emphasized in verse 15 where it says, you have not received a spirit of slavery 198 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:22,200 leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit or the spirit of adoption as sons 199 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:27,420 by which we cry out Abba, Father. 200 00:17:27,420 --> 00:17:32,360 He speaks about the attitude or the spirit of slavery, and that was the spirit of our 201 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,140 pre-conversion days. 202 00:17:35,140 --> 00:17:40,640 As it says in Hebrews 2.15, the Christ came that he might deliver those who through fear 203 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:46,180 of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 204 00:17:46,180 --> 00:17:53,560 Slavery and fear go together because a slave has no assurances. 205 00:17:53,560 --> 00:18:00,640 His very existence is at the very whim of his master, and that's the way we were before 206 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,680 we were saved. 207 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:07,200 We were dominated by the power of darkness. 208 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,400 Satan was our master. 209 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:15,120 We were under the dominion of sin. 210 00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:17,920 But now we've not received that spirit. 211 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:25,080 We have received the spirit of adoption as sons, not as slaves. 212 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:31,520 And that sonship has provided for an intimate communion with God. 213 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:38,780 It allows us to cry out, and the word here means learning to cry, with deep emotion, 214 00:18:38,780 --> 00:18:46,640 to shout to God, Abba. 215 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:53,440 What a term that is, to think that you and I could approach God with that term, because 216 00:18:53,440 --> 00:19:08,520 that term is an Aramaic term which manifests the closest kind of a father-child relationship. 217 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:18,840 It's a word that connotes dearness, and we could bring it into our vernacular today legitimately 218 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,700 as daddy. 219 00:19:21,700 --> 00:19:28,360 This is Father's Day, and those of you who have the joy of being a dad know how delightful 220 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:34,280 it is when that little baby first says, Dada. 221 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:40,320 Of course, that's the first thing they ever say, isn't it? 222 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,320 They may say other words like mama before that, but you never really hear it distinctly 223 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:48,160 like you hear dada, right? 224 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:50,240 That comes across. 225 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:51,960 And it's the most beautiful sound. 226 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:59,200 If you don't have children, it's difficult for you to understand what I'm talking about. 227 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:03,000 But as you look down at that little one and you hear those words, it does something to 228 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:04,000 you inside. 229 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,280 It's a warm feeling. 230 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:09,440 There's such an intimacy involved in that. 231 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:17,680 And you see, that's what the Holy Spirit allows us to do with God. 232 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:25,800 God has given us the spirit of adoption so that we can say daddy. 233 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:30,440 Do you know God on that kind of a basis? 234 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,020 Do you know Him that intimately? 235 00:20:33,020 --> 00:20:35,680 You see, that's what He really wants. 236 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,460 He wants that. 237 00:20:39,460 --> 00:20:45,920 The kind of relationship that God wants with you as His Son is not a distant, cold relationship, 238 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:53,840 not a formal thing, but God wants you to come close to Him and to, as it were, be cuddled 239 00:20:53,840 --> 00:21:02,460 in His arms and whisper into His ear, daddy. 240 00:21:02,460 --> 00:21:07,800 The Holy Spirit encourages us to know that kind of intimacy. 241 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:12,040 The very same truth is given in Galatians chapter 4 where it says that God has sent 242 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:24,300 forth the spirit of His Son into our hearts, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 243 00:21:24,300 --> 00:21:29,360 This concept of adoption is a very significant one, too. 244 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:36,800 It is not as though God has adopted us as strangers into His family as we think of adoption, 245 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:44,320 but this term adoption is based upon Roman law in that day. 246 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:53,760 A father would adopt his son in the sense of placing him into the family as an adult 247 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,120 at a certain point. 248 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:03,560 Even his own-born son would receive adoption when the father chose. 249 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:09,920 What it signified was that at that point on he was an adult, no longer to be considered 250 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,600 as a child. 251 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:20,600 It was not only a matter of property, inheritance, but a matter of civil status before the government 252 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:21,600 as well. 253 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:30,320 It involved, from that point on, a sharing of obligations and rights. 254 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:36,560 It was such a union as to imply that this is my other self. 255 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,720 That's what adoption was all about. 256 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:47,640 What the Holy Spirit has done has brought to us that relationship to God. 257 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:54,640 We are His children, as we will see in a moment, but we are also His sons. 258 00:22:54,640 --> 00:23:00,580 That was a term that John, the apostle, for example, never used of us. 259 00:23:00,580 --> 00:23:08,040 He reserved son of God for the Lord Jesus Christ and refers to believers as God's 260 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:09,440 children. 261 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:16,140 But the apostle, being led by the Spirit of God, also chooses to use the word sons referring 262 00:23:16,140 --> 00:23:17,840 to us. 263 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:25,400 He says that we have been placed into God's family as His sons. 264 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:31,440 The very moment that you are saved, this happens to you. 265 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:38,740 At the instant that you are born into God's family, you are also adopted, which means 266 00:23:38,740 --> 00:23:46,420 that from that time on, everything that God has is at your disposal. 267 00:23:46,420 --> 00:23:52,700 You may not know how to use it, how to appropriate it, but there is nothing more that you need 268 00:23:52,700 --> 00:23:55,020 as a child of God. 269 00:23:55,020 --> 00:23:58,440 Everything is yours at that point. 270 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:04,760 You cannot grow and increase in what you can possess. 271 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:09,540 You may grow in your appropriation of it, you may grow in your understanding of it, 272 00:24:09,540 --> 00:24:14,440 but the whole thing is yours at that moment. 273 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:15,440 You are God's son. 274 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,440 You are adopted. 275 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:25,160 Now with that as a background, remember again that God wants to know intimacy with you as 276 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,880 His adult son. 277 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:37,440 He wants to hear you whisper into His ears, Abba, Father. 278 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:45,620 It is such a tragedy when a child and parent are separated, and oh the grief that comes 279 00:24:45,620 --> 00:24:57,200 to the heart of a father or a mother when a child refuses to acknowledge that relationship 280 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,300 with them. 281 00:25:00,300 --> 00:25:05,240 And there are instances of that that are multiplied. 282 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:16,280 The heart of parents break because a child refuses to be intimate, to speak with, to 283 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:22,240 acknowledge parental relationship. 284 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:27,940 Now if you and I feel that on a human level, how do you think God feels when you and I 285 00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:34,160 as His sons refuse to speak with Him? 286 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,880 Or we draw away from Him? 287 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,240 Or we are cold toward Him? 288 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:49,060 Of course, the heart of our Father is grieved by that. 289 00:25:49,060 --> 00:25:58,160 Because the thing that He desires so earnestly is what the Holy Spirit tries to encourage, 290 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:10,360 and that is our drawing near enough to say, Daddy, Father. 291 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:15,920 Are you in that kind of speaking terms with God today? 292 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:21,520 The Holy Spirit is trying to encourage it in your life if you are a Christian. 293 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:25,720 What is it that is keeping you away from it? 294 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,240 Will you deal with it? 295 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:33,280 Will you? 296 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:37,200 Let's take a look once more into our text, verses 16 and 17. 297 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:41,880 We'll see here the final work of the Holy Spirit in our text. 298 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,820 That is that He witnesses to the believer. 299 00:26:45,820 --> 00:26:55,080 He testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. 300 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,180 Here the Apostle uses that other word than sons. 301 00:26:59,180 --> 00:27:06,680 He calls us here the technon of God, the born ones of God. 302 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:14,920 Sons is a legal status with God, but here is that personal relationship that entitles 303 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,360 us to our inheritance. 304 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:25,720 The Spirit bears witness, testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. 305 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:29,160 Do you know that today? 306 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:34,320 Is there that inner witness with your spirit? 307 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,680 By the way, you know in the Bible it takes two witnesses for something to be established, 308 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,560 doesn't it? 309 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:48,160 And the implication is here that first there is our witness by which we cry out Father. 310 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:54,420 And then joining that first witness is a second witness, the witness of the Holy Spirit. 311 00:27:54,420 --> 00:28:00,240 He bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 312 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:02,600 Do you have that inner witness? 313 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:06,100 That blessed assurance that Jesus is yours? 314 00:28:06,100 --> 00:28:16,360 God wants you to have that, and frankly it's more than something that's subjective. 315 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:26,680 The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit by producing in our lives works, good works. 316 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:34,640 And it is that production of fruit in our lives that gives us great assurance that we 317 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,200 are children of God. 318 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:45,680 As John Stott said regarding this witness, it is God's word as heard in our inner hearts. 319 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:51,200 It is God's work as seen in our lives. 320 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:58,800 This witness of the Holy Spirit is not only a little voice down inside, but it is the 321 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,640 production of fruit. 322 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:07,240 It is the evidence that we are children of God because of the change that takes place 323 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,600 in the way that we live. 324 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:16,320 And he says if we are God's children, we are heirs of God. 325 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:21,000 In other words, God has us as his heirs. 326 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:26,000 The Lord Jesus Christ will inherit all things, but he says here that we are fellow heirs 327 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,160 with Christ. 328 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:33,440 In other words, we share equally with the Lord Jesus Christ and all that God would give 329 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:37,480 to him, which is everything he's created. 330 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:41,440 Now you stop and think about that. 331 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,600 I don't know if you've ever inherited anything or not. 332 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:44,600 I never have. 333 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:50,560 I don't ever expect to really. 334 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:55,920 If you've not been an heir, it may be difficult for you to identify with this as it is for 335 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:57,320 me. 336 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,680 And yet the truth is still there. 337 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:05,240 When we inherit something, it means that we have gotten it not because of what we've 338 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,000 done necessarily, but because of who we are. 339 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,140 It's because of a relationship. 340 00:30:12,140 --> 00:30:20,800 And because of our relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, you and I are God's 341 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:22,100 heirs. 342 00:30:22,100 --> 00:30:30,120 And everything that he would pass on, you will share in with the Lord Jesus Christ. 343 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:38,320 There's also another thought here that's involved with Roman law, and it was this. 344 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:45,840 When it came time for the inheritance to be experienced, all of the heirs had to be present 345 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,400 to experience it together. 346 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:56,920 It could not be portioned out to them at different times and places. 347 00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:00,920 You know what that means? 348 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:09,000 That means that before the Lord Jesus Christ can officially receive his inheritance from 349 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:16,440 the Father, you and I have to be with him. 350 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:24,640 If you as a child of God should somehow be lost and not be there on that day, then no 351 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:31,120 one will get any inheritance because you are part of the family. 352 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,640 You are an heir of God. 353 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:42,360 So it's another indication of the security that you and I have as God's children. 354 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:50,840 We are his heirs and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. 355 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:53,080 The Holy Spirit makes that real. 356 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:55,680 He witnesses that to us. 357 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:02,920 He gives us that inner assurance that we are God's children and that as we have suffered 358 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:09,760 with him, we are going to be also glorified with him. 359 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,400 D.L. Moody said, never tell a man he's converted. 360 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:15,600 Never tell him he's saved. 361 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:20,160 Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal that to him. 362 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:24,320 Has the Holy Spirit revealed that to you? 363 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:29,920 Do you have confidence within your own heart that you are a child of God, one of his born 364 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:30,920 ones? 365 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:38,000 Now, it's possible to have salvation without assurance. 366 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:39,500 It is. 367 00:32:39,500 --> 00:32:42,040 I had that for several years. 368 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:45,320 It's possible to have salvation without assurance. 369 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:56,160 But you know, it's also possible to have assurance without salvation. 370 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,560 What do I mean by that? 371 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:06,480 I believe it's possible for some people to base their assurance on some experience or 372 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:13,040 some prayer that's prayed rather than on the witness of the Holy Spirit in their lives 373 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:20,280 as he produces the works and the transformation. 374 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:25,600 I've heard people say, and maybe you have too, well, I was born again back in 65, but 375 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,720 I haven't lived much like a Christian. 376 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:33,520 That's probably because he isn't one. 377 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:37,720 He may have assurance that he is based upon something that happened back then, but my 378 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:45,360 friend, if there is no change in the life, if there's no evidence, there's no fruit, 379 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,920 then that assurance is probably a false assurance. 380 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,120 And there's been no new birth. 381 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,080 He's no child of God. 382 00:33:55,080 --> 00:34:00,480 It's possible to have salvation without assurance, but it's also possible to have assurance without 383 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:03,160 salvation. 384 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:09,080 I don't mean to throw a cloud into your life or to make you doubt what the Spirit of God 385 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:19,200 may have genuinely done, but I ask you this, on what is the assurance that you have based? 386 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:26,960 Is there really proof by the work of the Spirit in your life that you are a child of God? 387 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:33,240 If so, then rejoice in what is yours in Christ. 388 00:34:33,240 --> 00:34:40,560 But if today you don't have assurance that's based upon the Spirit's witness, then your 389 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:46,440 need today would be to be saved. 390 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:50,360 I pray that God will help you to do the thing you ought to do. 391 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:53,560 Now assurance is something that grows. 392 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:57,520 It increases as we walk with the Lord. 393 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:06,000 And frankly, as we as believers live in disobedience, assurance shrinks. 394 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:12,200 It's possible for a Christian to be so out of the will of God that he has no assurance 395 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:19,920 he's a Christian at all, and yet he still may well be. 396 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,060 Assurance is rather subjective. 397 00:35:22,060 --> 00:35:24,480 We have to evaluate it closely. 398 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,840 But how is your heart with God this morning? 399 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:30,240 Has the Spirit of God done a work in your life? 400 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:34,080 Is he witnessing to you that you're a child of God? 401 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:42,200 Is he encouraging you today to draw near to God and to say, Daddy? 402 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:48,060 Is he leading in your life, providing for you? 403 00:35:48,060 --> 00:35:54,520 Are you responding with a yielded spirit, surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, or 404 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:59,800 are you in rebellion today? 405 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,880 I pray that the work of the Spirit of God in our lives would be such that before we 406 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:10,680 walk out of this church today, the Lord Jesus Christ will have his way with each of us. 407 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:17,760 Father, may that be true in my life completely, and the life of each person who is listening 408 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:20,000 to me right now. 409 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:24,800 We thank you for the gracious work of the Spirit of God. 410 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:33,240 And our prayer is that even as we close this service, you would bring to consummation your 411 00:36:33,240 --> 00:36:35,000 working in our lives. 412 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:40,200 That there's someone here today, Father, who needs to trust the Savior, who's never 413 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:44,720 been born into your family, may do that today. 414 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:53,240 There's a child of yours who's away from you, who's distant, who's cold in his relationship 415 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:54,240 to you. 416 00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:58,960 May today draw near. 417 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:15,400 In Jesus' name I pray, amen.