1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,740 Now, let’s open our Bibles together, shall we, 2 00:00:02,740 –> 00:00:05,820 at Romans, in Chapter 8. 3 00:00:05,820 –> 00:00:09,020 We’ve set out a very clear aim for this series. 4 00:00:09,020 –> 00:00:12,020 And that is that you should savor all 5 00:00:12,020 –> 00:00:15,340 that is yours in Jesus Christ. 6 00:00:15,340 –> 00:00:17,020 And if you don’t yet know him, 7 00:00:17,020 –> 00:00:19,700 that you will savor all that can be yours 8 00:00:19,700 –> 00:00:22,660 in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 9 00:00:22,660 –> 00:00:24,480 And we began last week by seeing 10 00:00:24,480 –> 00:00:27,860 that in Christ, God removes the condemnation 11 00:00:27,860 –> 00:00:29,940 of sin’s penalty. 12 00:00:30,020 –> 00:00:31,100 The law couldn’t do that 13 00:00:31,100 –> 00:00:34,080 because we were weakened by the sinful nature. 14 00:00:34,080 –> 00:00:37,380 But God took the initiative, he sent his son, 15 00:00:37,380 –> 00:00:40,259 he made Christ to be the sin offering. 16 00:00:40,259 –> 00:00:42,520 And your condemnation, if you’re in Christ, 17 00:00:42,520 –> 00:00:45,040 was truly poured out on the Lord Jesus 18 00:00:45,040 –> 00:00:46,680 when he died on the cross. 19 00:00:46,680 –> 00:00:49,020 And for this reason, you are forgiven, 20 00:00:49,020 –> 00:00:50,639 your condemnation is passed, 21 00:00:50,639 –> 00:00:53,080 it never can be again. 22 00:00:53,080 –> 00:00:56,700 And your eternal future in heaven is secure. 23 00:00:56,779 –> 00:01:00,900 And the Bible calls this justification. 24 00:01:00,900 –> 00:01:04,180 And if that was the full extent of the gospel, 25 00:01:04,180 –> 00:01:06,419 it would be marvelous, 26 00:01:07,440 –> 00:01:11,680 but we saw last week that the gospel is even more. 27 00:01:12,980 –> 00:01:14,459 Because not only does Christ 28 00:01:14,459 –> 00:01:17,660 remove the condemnation of sin’s penalty, 29 00:01:17,660 –> 00:01:20,580 but we saw also that Christ breaks 30 00:01:20,580 –> 00:01:23,220 the condemnation of sin’s power 31 00:01:23,220 –> 00:01:27,180 because, if our salvation was justification only, 32 00:01:27,180 –> 00:01:29,940 it would mean God’s saying to us something like this. 33 00:01:29,940 –> 00:01:33,019 Now, here’s the good news, I forgive you for your sin. 34 00:01:33,019 –> 00:01:35,139 You will not go to hell because of your sin. 35 00:01:35,139 –> 00:01:37,260 You will go to heaven, 36 00:01:37,260 –> 00:01:39,739 but unfortunately, between now and then you’ll remain 37 00:01:39,739 –> 00:01:41,019 pretty much the same person, 38 00:01:41,019 –> 00:01:43,080 weakened by the same sinful nature, 39 00:01:43,080 –> 00:01:45,500 enslaved to the same passions, 40 00:01:45,500 –> 00:01:48,519 bound by the same self-centeredness and pride. 41 00:01:48,519 –> 00:01:51,419 And we saw last week that God’s rescue to you 42 00:01:51,459 –> 00:01:55,660 into me in Christ is better than that. 43 00:01:55,660 –> 00:01:56,900 We thought of it like this, 44 00:01:56,900 –> 00:02:01,300 if a new principal comes into a bad school, 45 00:02:01,300 –> 00:02:03,540 she will bring energy and resources 46 00:02:03,540 –> 00:02:05,300 and transform the whole place. 47 00:02:05,300 –> 00:02:07,940 And we should not think of the Holy Spirit doing less, 48 00:02:07,940 –> 00:02:10,100 when the Holy Spirit comes into your life, 49 00:02:10,100 –> 00:02:13,740 God’s presence brings hope because there is new resource, 50 00:02:13,740 –> 00:02:15,100 there is new power, 51 00:02:15,100 –> 00:02:18,500 God himself brings your life under new management. 52 00:02:18,500 –> 00:02:20,740 When you’re converted, your mind is set 53 00:02:20,800 –> 00:02:22,539 on what the Spirit desires, 54 00:02:22,539 –> 00:02:26,259 and the Bible calls this sanctification. 55 00:02:26,259 –> 00:02:29,639 And so if you now put these two together, 56 00:02:29,639 –> 00:02:32,699 justification, the removing of sin’s penalty, 57 00:02:32,699 –> 00:02:36,059 and sanctification, the breaking of sin’s power, 58 00:02:36,059 –> 00:02:38,039 if you put these two together, 59 00:02:38,039 –> 00:02:41,520 the Gospel is doubly marvelous. 60 00:02:42,500 –> 00:02:44,039 And what I want to say to you today 61 00:02:44,039 –> 00:02:45,899 from Romans chapter eight is, 62 00:02:45,899 –> 00:02:50,539 and it’s even better still. 63 00:02:51,539 –> 00:02:56,139 You say, what in all the world could be more than this? 64 00:02:56,139 –> 00:03:01,139 What could be added to so great a salvation in Jesus Christ? 65 00:03:04,339 –> 00:03:06,500 Well let’s ask this question today. 66 00:03:06,500 –> 00:03:08,800 Why did God save you? 67 00:03:10,300 –> 00:03:13,039 What do you think God had in mind 68 00:03:13,039 –> 00:03:16,100 as his ultimate purpose 69 00:03:16,139 –> 00:03:21,139 when he sent his own son into the world to rescue you? 70 00:03:22,960 –> 00:03:26,300 Was it that you would sin less? 71 00:03:27,479 –> 00:03:28,860 No, it’s more than that. 72 00:03:30,580 –> 00:03:33,500 Was it that you would serve more, 73 00:03:33,500 –> 00:03:36,399 get involved in a ministry, pray, give, go? 74 00:03:37,520 –> 00:03:39,259 No, it’s more than that. 75 00:03:40,460 –> 00:03:43,539 Is it then that you should get out of hell and into heaven? 76 00:03:44,440 –> 00:03:47,520 But then why does God want you in heaven? 77 00:03:48,720 –> 00:03:52,839 What is it that he has in mind for you in being in heaven 78 00:03:52,839 –> 00:03:55,080 that is his ultimate purpose? 79 00:03:56,619 –> 00:04:00,399 Now, I think we get a clue as to where to go with this 80 00:04:00,399 –> 00:04:02,839 by looking at the end of Romans chapter eight. 81 00:04:02,839 –> 00:04:04,639 So I hope you have it open in front of you. 82 00:04:04,639 –> 00:04:07,679 Remember, this is the great chapter in the Bible 83 00:04:07,679 –> 00:04:11,500 about God’s rescue, how God rescues sinners. 84 00:04:11,539 –> 00:04:14,139 And it begins with the removing of sin’s condemnation, 85 00:04:14,139 –> 00:04:16,739 breaking of sin’s power, how does it end? 86 00:04:17,720 –> 00:04:19,540 Well, many of you know this so well, 87 00:04:19,540 –> 00:04:23,679 it ends with Paul saying, I am convinced that, 88 00:04:23,679 –> 00:04:26,660 verse 39, neither height nor depth 89 00:04:26,660 –> 00:04:28,660 nor anything else in all creation 90 00:04:28,660 –> 00:04:32,559 will ever be able to separate us from what? 91 00:04:33,540 –> 00:04:38,540 The love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 92 00:04:39,140 –> 00:04:41,320 Now that’s where Romans eight is going, 93 00:04:42,019 –> 00:04:44,000 that’s what it’s ultimately all about 94 00:04:44,000 –> 00:04:46,500 that you should be brought into the conscious, 95 00:04:46,500 –> 00:04:49,820 continual, everlasting knowledge 96 00:04:49,820 –> 00:04:54,399 of the glorious love of God. 97 00:04:54,399 –> 00:04:59,399 God’s rescue ends with God’s people rejoicing in his love. 98 00:05:01,839 –> 00:05:05,279 The ultimate purpose of the Father and of the Son 99 00:05:05,279 –> 00:05:08,000 in mounting this rescue is 100 00:05:08,040 –> 00:05:13,040 that you should enjoy God’s love forever and forever. 101 00:05:14,440 –> 00:05:17,260 That is what we are saved for. 102 00:05:17,260 –> 00:05:18,880 See, last week, we were thinking about 103 00:05:18,880 –> 00:05:20,420 what we’re saved from 104 00:05:20,420 –> 00:05:23,100 the penalty of sin’s condemnation 105 00:05:23,100 –> 00:05:25,359 and the condemnation of sin’s power. 106 00:05:25,359 –> 00:05:26,839 That’s what we’re saved from. 107 00:05:26,839 –> 00:05:28,040 But what are we saved for? 108 00:05:29,480 –> 00:05:31,279 Paul’s moving us forward here. 109 00:05:31,279 –> 00:05:35,239 We are saved for the enjoyment of God’s love forever 110 00:05:35,239 –> 00:05:38,299 that you will flourish in the knowledge of his love, 111 00:05:38,299 –> 00:05:39,959 that you will be changed by it, 112 00:05:39,959 –> 00:05:42,959 that you will know yourself throughout your life 113 00:05:42,959 –> 00:05:47,480 to be rich in it and through it and because of it. 114 00:05:47,480 –> 00:05:50,779 Some of us know, at least parts of the Westminster 115 00:05:50,779 –> 00:05:54,279 shorter catechism that is a kind of tool 116 00:05:54,279 –> 00:05:56,119 for learning the Christian faith 117 00:05:56,119 –> 00:05:58,440 in the form of questions and answers, 118 00:05:58,440 –> 00:06:00,239 and perhaps the best-known question and answer 119 00:06:00,239 –> 00:06:01,640 is the first one. 120 00:06:01,640 –> 00:06:03,079 The question goes like this, 121 00:06:03,079 –> 00:06:06,600 what is man’s chief end? 122 00:06:06,600 –> 00:06:10,119 What is the purpose, the ultimate purpose 123 00:06:10,119 –> 00:06:12,059 for which you were created? 124 00:06:13,059 –> 00:06:15,500 And the answer to that question is already on the screen. 125 00:06:15,500 –> 00:06:17,040 So please say it with me. 126 00:06:17,040 –> 00:06:21,220 Man’s chief end is to glorify God 127 00:06:21,220 –> 00:06:24,260 and to enjoy him forever. 128 00:06:24,260 –> 00:06:26,859 That is the purpose for which you were created 129 00:06:26,859 –> 00:06:31,859 and the purpose for which Christ came to rescue you. 130 00:06:32,000 –> 00:06:34,619 So I want us to savor this today 131 00:06:34,619 –> 00:06:37,980 because it’s where Paul goes in the middle of Romans 132 00:06:37,980 –> 00:06:40,100 in chapter eight that’s before us. 133 00:06:40,100 –> 00:06:43,279 God’s rescue is more than justification. 134 00:06:43,279 –> 00:06:45,540 It is more than sanctification. 135 00:06:45,540 –> 00:06:49,899 It involves adoption in which God 136 00:06:49,899 –> 00:06:53,100 in his incredible love in Jesus Christ 137 00:06:53,100 –> 00:06:56,079 brings those he justifies and sanctifies 138 00:06:56,079 –> 00:07:00,000 into his own family so that we may forever 139 00:07:00,000 –> 00:07:03,980 beginning from now through Christ 140 00:07:03,980 –> 00:07:08,980 enjoy the riches of his love. 141 00:07:09,600 –> 00:07:11,399 Now, I want you to notice in the verses 142 00:07:11,399 –> 00:07:15,000 before us how Paul keeps emphasizing this one theme 143 00:07:15,000 –> 00:07:18,220 that we’re brought into this family relationship with God. 144 00:07:18,220 –> 00:07:21,760 We’re adopted as his sons or as his children. 145 00:07:21,760 –> 00:07:23,760 Verse 14. 146 00:07:23,760 –> 00:07:27,440 Those who are led by the Spirit of God are what? 147 00:07:27,440 –> 00:07:29,279 Sons of God. 148 00:07:29,299 –> 00:07:30,160 Verse 15. 149 00:07:30,160 –> 00:07:32,119 You did not receive a Spirit that makes you 150 00:07:32,119 –> 00:07:33,559 a slave again to fear, 151 00:07:33,559 –> 00:07:36,500 but you received the Spirit of sonship, 152 00:07:36,500 –> 00:07:39,839 and by him we cry, Abba, father. 153 00:07:39,839 –> 00:07:43,839 Verse 16, the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit 154 00:07:43,839 –> 00:07:47,720 that we are God’s children. 155 00:07:47,720 –> 00:07:50,579 And verse 17, now if we are children 156 00:07:50,579 –> 00:07:53,119 then we are heirs, heirs of God 157 00:07:53,119 –> 00:07:54,720 and co-heirs with Christ. 158 00:07:54,720 –> 00:07:57,359 If indeed we share his suffering in order 159 00:07:57,359 –> 00:07:59,239 that we may share his glory. 160 00:08:00,640 –> 00:08:01,920 Sons of God. 161 00:08:03,100 –> 00:08:07,559 Just a little quick sidebar to put one question to rest. 162 00:08:07,559 –> 00:08:12,519 Why does he say sons and not daughters? 163 00:08:12,519 –> 00:08:14,480 And there is a very simple answer to that 164 00:08:14,480 –> 00:08:17,000 that’s important just to grasp. 165 00:08:17,000 –> 00:08:22,000 In the ancient world, sons inherited, 166 00:08:22,119 –> 00:08:24,679 daughters did not. 167 00:08:24,679 –> 00:08:26,779 How many folks think that is fair? 168 00:08:28,299 –> 00:08:31,700 I thank God that the gospel has brought great changes 169 00:08:31,700 –> 00:08:33,840 since the times of the ancient world, 170 00:08:33,840 –> 00:08:36,260 but that’s how it was in the time of the apostle Paul 171 00:08:36,260 –> 00:08:37,679 in the secular world. 172 00:08:37,679 –> 00:08:41,080 Sons inherited and daughters did not. 173 00:08:41,080 –> 00:08:46,080 But in the gospel, all such distinctions are abolished. 174 00:08:46,619 –> 00:08:49,440 All of God’s children, male and female, 175 00:08:49,440 –> 00:08:52,119 in Christ are heirs of God. 176 00:08:52,119 –> 00:08:54,760 And all of God’s children in Christ, 177 00:08:54,760 –> 00:08:57,039 male and female, inherit. 178 00:08:57,080 –> 00:08:59,760 The promise of God, therefore Paul uses 179 00:08:59,760 –> 00:09:02,599 this distinctive language that was the only way 180 00:09:02,599 –> 00:09:05,760 he could communicate that we all inherit, 181 00:09:05,760 –> 00:09:07,919 that we are all male and female alike, 182 00:09:07,919 –> 00:09:12,719 brought to the position of sons of God. 183 00:09:12,719 –> 00:09:14,840 Now let’s think what this adoption in which 184 00:09:14,840 –> 00:09:17,979 God brings us in Christ into his family is about. 185 00:09:17,979 –> 00:09:22,760 It is the grace by which he makes us his own children 186 00:09:22,760 –> 00:09:27,119 bringing us into the enjoyment of his love 187 00:09:27,119 –> 00:09:28,340 and it is amazing. 188 00:09:29,659 –> 00:09:32,400 I love that song that we sometimes sing, 189 00:09:32,400 –> 00:09:35,200 Thank you, Jesus, 190 00:09:35,200 –> 00:09:38,460 that once we were your enemies 191 00:09:38,460 –> 00:09:42,320 and now we’re seated at your table. 192 00:09:43,580 –> 00:09:44,559 Thank you. 193 00:09:45,440 –> 00:09:46,940 Thank you, Jesus. 194 00:09:47,780 –> 00:09:49,320 That’s a transformation of adoption 195 00:09:49,320 –> 00:09:52,739 that God’s former enemies are now his sons, 196 00:09:52,780 –> 00:09:57,380 his daughters seated at his table 197 00:09:57,380 –> 00:09:59,020 enjoying his love. 198 00:10:00,739 –> 00:10:04,799 Now, this brings us to a very practical subject today 199 00:10:04,799 –> 00:10:07,760 because the reality is that while we know 200 00:10:07,760 –> 00:10:09,700 that the Bible teaches this, 201 00:10:09,700 –> 00:10:12,659 many Christians I think live far below it. 202 00:10:14,340 –> 00:10:19,020 We believe that God forgives our sins in Christ, 203 00:10:19,780 –> 00:10:22,340 we believe that God is at work by the Holy Spirit 204 00:10:22,340 –> 00:10:25,359 to make us better people in Christ, 205 00:10:26,820 –> 00:10:30,260 but there are many, even within the church, 206 00:10:30,260 –> 00:10:34,659 who are not sure that God really loves them. 207 00:10:36,340 –> 00:10:38,500 And if this has been a struggle for you, 208 00:10:38,500 –> 00:10:41,099 I am so glad that you are here today, 209 00:10:41,099 –> 00:10:43,960 I want you to be looking into the Bible 210 00:10:43,960 –> 00:10:46,659 with the expectation that God will touch you 211 00:10:46,659 –> 00:10:51,479 by his Spirit and give you a fresh knowledge 212 00:10:51,479 –> 00:10:54,039 of his love through the Word today. 213 00:10:54,039 –> 00:10:55,840 Will you look with me at verse 15? 214 00:10:57,119 –> 00:10:59,020 Paul’s addressing this issue head on 215 00:10:59,020 –> 00:11:04,020 when he says God did not give us a spirit 216 00:11:04,159 –> 00:11:08,859 that makes us a slave again to fear. 217 00:11:10,400 –> 00:11:13,780 When God gave the Holy Spirit to you in your life 218 00:11:13,780 –> 00:11:17,000 as a person who believes in the Lord, Jesus Christ, 219 00:11:17,000 –> 00:11:19,179 he did not give you the Spirit 220 00:11:19,179 –> 00:11:21,400 so that you could merely go on trying 221 00:11:21,400 –> 00:11:23,820 to prove yourself to God again. 222 00:11:23,820 –> 00:11:25,719 He didn’t put you in that position 223 00:11:25,719 –> 00:11:27,619 because that is slavery. 224 00:11:29,119 –> 00:11:31,700 A relationship that continues 225 00:11:31,700 –> 00:11:35,919 because you demonstrate your worth, 226 00:11:35,919 –> 00:11:38,539 your value on a continuing basis 227 00:11:38,539 –> 00:11:41,799 is the kind of relationship you have with your employer. 228 00:11:43,500 –> 00:11:46,320 A relationship with an employer is sustained 229 00:11:46,599 –> 00:11:49,719 by you, by me demonstrating, 230 00:11:49,719 –> 00:11:54,559 continuing value in the context of that relationship, 231 00:11:54,559 –> 00:11:55,580 that’s just how it is. 232 00:11:55,580 –> 00:11:58,640 That’s how it is in the relationship 233 00:11:58,640 –> 00:12:01,239 that a person has with an employer, 234 00:12:02,460 –> 00:12:03,880 and there are some of us who, 235 00:12:03,880 –> 00:12:05,599 because we’re familiar with that 236 00:12:05,599 –> 00:12:08,119 and we’re actually comfortable with that, 237 00:12:08,119 –> 00:12:12,419 we try to relate to God on the same kind of basis. 238 00:12:12,419 –> 00:12:15,599 Look at what I’m doing for you. 239 00:12:15,599 –> 00:12:20,599 God, look how hard I’m working for you, God. 240 00:12:23,119 –> 00:12:27,599 Look at how hard I’m trying for you, God. 241 00:12:29,119 –> 00:12:31,440 And God says to us, 242 00:12:31,440 –> 00:12:35,340 that is not the kind of relationship that I want with you. 243 00:12:37,000 –> 00:12:40,640 Because if you’re always trying to prove your value to me, 244 00:12:40,640 –> 00:12:42,080 you’re a slave. 245 00:12:42,919 –> 00:12:45,799 And I did not send my son into the world 246 00:12:45,799 –> 00:12:48,119 to make you a slave again to fear. 247 00:12:50,880 –> 00:12:52,559 I was speaking with someone, 248 00:12:52,559 –> 00:12:55,099 a guy who had just broken up 249 00:12:55,099 –> 00:12:58,440 a relationship with his former girlfriend. 250 00:12:58,440 –> 00:12:59,940 Obviously, it hadn’t gone well. 251 00:13:01,000 –> 00:13:04,760 And I asked him what the problem had been. 252 00:13:06,000 –> 00:13:09,979 And he said, well, oh no, it just wasn’t easy. 253 00:13:10,260 –> 00:13:15,260 He said, I felt that every time I was with her, 254 00:13:16,539 –> 00:13:20,559 I always had to do something to make her happy. 255 00:13:22,619 –> 00:13:23,440 Wow! 256 00:13:25,020 –> 00:13:26,359 That’s slavery. 257 00:13:30,039 –> 00:13:32,739 I’m not surprised that relationship broke up 258 00:13:32,739 –> 00:13:34,479 if that was his experience. 259 00:13:35,359 –> 00:13:38,780 This person, at least as he had perceived it, 260 00:13:38,960 –> 00:13:40,940 they seemed to be fundamentally unhappy 261 00:13:40,940 –> 00:13:42,619 and every time I’m with you, 262 00:13:42,619 –> 00:13:46,520 I have to do something to make you happy. 263 00:13:48,539 –> 00:13:50,200 Is that how you think about God? 264 00:13:52,340 –> 00:13:55,460 That somehow God tolerates you, 265 00:13:55,460 –> 00:13:56,799 puts up with you, 266 00:13:58,659 –> 00:14:00,419 but that you need to do something 267 00:14:00,419 –> 00:14:02,960 and keep doing something to make him happy. 268 00:14:02,960 –> 00:14:04,219 Come to church. 269 00:14:05,679 –> 00:14:06,840 Pray! 270 00:14:07,340 –> 00:14:09,340 Read the Bible, give some money, 271 00:14:09,340 –> 00:14:10,820 go on a missions trip. 272 00:14:12,239 –> 00:14:15,419 Do something to make God happy 273 00:14:15,419 –> 00:14:18,780 and that’s slavery 274 00:14:18,780 –> 00:14:19,659 and you know what? 275 00:14:19,659 –> 00:14:22,219 It kills love. 276 00:14:22,219 –> 00:14:24,179 You cannot love God on that basis. 277 00:14:24,179 –> 00:14:25,299 You can’t. 278 00:14:25,299 –> 00:14:26,520 It kills love. 279 00:14:26,520 –> 00:14:29,820 It throttles it at its very source. 280 00:14:31,619 –> 00:14:33,419 It leaves you a man or a woman 281 00:14:33,419 –> 00:14:37,239 who feels dutiful towards God 282 00:14:39,039 –> 00:14:41,760 but cannot love God 283 00:14:43,840 –> 00:14:45,059 any more than you would speak 284 00:14:45,059 –> 00:14:48,580 about loving your employer. 285 00:14:51,520 –> 00:14:52,840 You see what Paul’s getting at 286 00:14:52,840 –> 00:14:54,700 in Romans chapter 8 and verse 15 287 00:14:54,700 –> 00:14:57,359 is the nature of the relationship 288 00:14:57,359 –> 00:14:59,400 that God wants to have with you. 289 00:14:59,400 –> 00:15:01,119 The purpose for which he sent his son 290 00:15:01,119 –> 00:15:02,640 into the world and the reason why 291 00:15:02,659 –> 00:15:05,440 he has given the Holy Spirit, 292 00:15:05,440 –> 00:15:08,559 not to make you a slave again to fear, 293 00:15:08,559 –> 00:15:10,440 not to put you in that position 294 00:15:10,440 –> 00:15:12,919 of always trying to prove yourself 295 00:15:12,919 –> 00:15:15,179 or always trying to do something 296 00:15:15,179 –> 00:15:16,280 to make God happy. 297 00:15:16,280 –> 00:15:19,099 Listen, many folks 298 00:15:19,099 –> 00:15:22,179 have a half-baked form of religion 299 00:15:23,280 –> 00:15:26,500 that is about believe in God, 300 00:15:26,500 –> 00:15:28,359 obedience to God, 301 00:15:28,419 –> 00:15:32,359 but it is without affection for God. 302 00:15:33,679 –> 00:15:37,440 And Paul says that is precisely 303 00:15:37,440 –> 00:15:40,479 what Christ came to rescue you from. 304 00:15:41,760 –> 00:15:44,280 It’s what he came to bring you out of. 305 00:15:44,280 –> 00:15:46,539 That’s why the Holy Spirit 306 00:15:46,539 –> 00:15:49,080 is given to the New Testament believers 307 00:15:49,080 –> 00:15:51,820 so that you will not be in that position. 308 00:15:53,659 –> 00:15:55,359 For as long as you are attempting 309 00:15:55,359 –> 00:15:56,859 to prove yourself to God, 310 00:15:56,859 –> 00:16:00,359 you will be a slave to fear. 311 00:16:01,460 –> 00:16:03,059 That’s not where you want to be. 312 00:16:04,780 –> 00:16:07,099 You feel the truth of God’s word 313 00:16:07,099 –> 00:16:09,320 pulling you away from that today. 314 00:16:11,820 –> 00:16:13,419 Now what does he want for us? 315 00:16:13,419 –> 00:16:15,320 You did not receive a Spirit 316 00:16:15,320 –> 00:16:18,179 that makes you a slave again to fear, 317 00:16:18,179 –> 00:16:23,179 but you received the Spirit of Sonship. 318 00:16:23,299 –> 00:16:24,820 Sonship. 319 00:16:24,820 –> 00:16:28,580 Some translations say the Spirit of Adoption 320 00:16:28,580 –> 00:16:30,820 or the Adoption of Sons. 321 00:16:30,820 –> 00:16:32,460 It’s all saying the same thing, 322 00:16:32,460 –> 00:16:35,539 that when the Holy Spirit comes into your life 323 00:16:35,539 –> 00:16:40,539 he communicates the richness 324 00:16:40,619 –> 00:16:44,340 of the relationship that you have with God in Christ 325 00:16:44,340 –> 00:16:48,219 through justification and by his blood. 326 00:16:48,219 –> 00:16:49,840 See, think about an adoption. 327 00:16:51,000 –> 00:16:52,799 What happens in adoption? 328 00:16:54,000 –> 00:16:57,359 First, there’s the legal side, 329 00:16:57,359 –> 00:17:00,320 and those of you who’ve gone through this process 330 00:17:00,320 –> 00:17:05,319 know how difficult, how protracted, how costly it can be. 331 00:17:06,640 –> 00:17:10,920 That’s justification, the legal side 332 00:17:10,920 –> 00:17:14,199 of God’s adoption of you in Jesus Christ. 333 00:17:14,199 –> 00:17:17,839 You are purchased by his blood. 334 00:17:18,619 –> 00:17:23,619 He makes you his own legally, securely, 335 00:17:24,119 –> 00:17:28,780 permanently, irrevocably, that’s justification. 336 00:17:30,000 –> 00:17:33,280 But, you see, that’s not the end of an adoption process, 337 00:17:33,280 –> 00:17:34,560 the legal side, is it? 338 00:17:34,560 –> 00:17:36,239 I mean, it’s foundational to it, 339 00:17:36,239 –> 00:17:37,640 but it’s not the end of it. 340 00:17:39,040 –> 00:17:41,660 When a son or a daughter is adopted, 341 00:17:41,660 –> 00:17:45,400 then the bonding process begins. 342 00:17:46,359 –> 00:17:50,020 And I want you to think about how the bonding process 343 00:17:50,020 –> 00:17:53,380 between you and the Lord who has purchased you 344 00:17:53,380 –> 00:17:56,060 is going in your life. 345 00:17:57,300 –> 00:18:00,339 Parents who adopt, want the adopted son 346 00:18:00,339 –> 00:18:01,780 or the adopted daughter 347 00:18:01,780 –> 00:18:06,699 to be secure and happy in the knowledge of their love. 348 00:18:06,699 –> 00:18:08,979 And, so, as an adopting parent, 349 00:18:08,979 –> 00:18:13,660 you would shower love upon your newly adopted son 350 00:18:13,660 –> 00:18:14,959 or daughter. 351 00:18:15,880 –> 00:18:18,900 And when Paul describes the Holy Spirit here 352 00:18:18,900 –> 00:18:21,859 as the spirit of sonship, 353 00:18:21,859 –> 00:18:24,939 he is telling us that it is the special work 354 00:18:24,939 –> 00:18:28,260 of the Holy Spirit given to you by God 355 00:18:28,260 –> 00:18:33,260 to make the love that the Father has for you in Christ real, 356 00:18:33,260 –> 00:18:35,619 to make you feel secure within it, 357 00:18:35,619 –> 00:18:37,920 to enable you to enjoy it. 358 00:18:38,319 –> 00:18:43,319 The Holy Spirit is given to you for the bonding process 359 00:18:44,680 –> 00:18:48,319 as a son or a daughter of God. 360 00:18:50,280 –> 00:18:51,140 I’ve been reading this week, 361 00:18:51,140 –> 00:18:52,760 it’s been such a blessing to me, 362 00:18:52,760 –> 00:18:54,680 a wonderful book by John Owen, 363 00:18:54,680 –> 00:18:58,040 a Puritan writer, it’s simply called Communion with God. 364 00:18:58,040 –> 00:18:59,760 Now I’ve got a couple of quotes from that 365 00:18:59,760 –> 00:19:01,800 for you this morning. 366 00:19:01,800 –> 00:19:03,959 Owen says this, he describes love, 367 00:19:03,959 –> 00:19:06,280 I think very beautiful and helpfully. 368 00:19:06,339 –> 00:19:10,119 He says love is a feeling or an emotion of union 369 00:19:10,119 –> 00:19:15,119 and delight and desire to be near the one who is loved. 370 00:19:18,459 –> 00:19:21,300 Now you think about that as a description 371 00:19:21,300 –> 00:19:23,579 of God’s love for you. 372 00:19:24,800 –> 00:19:28,199 The Holy Spirit is given to you the spirit of adoption 373 00:19:28,199 –> 00:19:31,680 to assure you of this wonderful reality 374 00:19:32,339 –> 00:19:37,339 that God has affection for you, 375 00:19:38,640 –> 00:19:40,660 that he wants to be near you, 376 00:19:41,660 –> 00:19:45,359 that his great desire is to be close to you, 377 00:19:45,359 –> 00:19:49,319 that he has most intimate, loving, fatherly concern 378 00:19:49,319 –> 00:19:51,520 for everything that concerns you. 379 00:19:52,880 –> 00:19:53,719 He loves you. 380 00:19:54,900 –> 00:19:59,640 You think of that God wanting to be close to you this week? 381 00:20:00,619 –> 00:20:04,099 The Holy Spirit similarly is given to us 382 00:20:04,099 –> 00:20:06,719 to evoke within your heart a responsive 383 00:20:06,719 –> 00:20:09,579 or a reflective love back to the father, 384 00:20:09,579 –> 00:20:12,400 to bring you to the place where your delight 385 00:20:12,400 –> 00:20:16,119 and your desire would be to be near to him, 386 00:20:16,119 –> 00:20:19,540 to walk with him, to choose this 387 00:20:19,540 –> 00:20:23,219 because you want to be close to him 388 00:20:23,219 –> 00:20:25,780 and you have affection for him. 389 00:20:27,479 –> 00:20:28,719 We’re moving beyond something 390 00:20:28,760 –> 00:20:32,079 that’s just about what I believe and how I try to behave. 391 00:20:36,000 –> 00:20:38,520 The distinguishing work of the Holy Spirit 392 00:20:40,599 –> 00:20:45,599 is that in assuring the believer of the love of the father, 393 00:20:45,800 –> 00:20:48,719 he brings us to the place in verse 15 394 00:20:48,719 –> 00:20:51,020 where as adopted sons and daughters, 395 00:20:52,079 –> 00:20:55,459 we cry out Abba, Father. 396 00:20:55,459 –> 00:20:57,280 You did not receive the spirit 397 00:20:57,359 –> 00:20:59,640 that makes you a slave again to fear. 398 00:20:59,640 –> 00:21:01,939 You did receive the spirit of sonship, 399 00:21:01,939 –> 00:21:05,140 the Holy Spirit coming to assure you of your adoption 400 00:21:06,219 –> 00:21:10,079 and it’s by him that we cry, Abba, Father. 401 00:21:11,020 –> 00:21:12,020 It’s just beautiful. 402 00:21:13,040 –> 00:21:16,660 Notice there’s passion here, passion. 403 00:21:16,660 –> 00:21:20,939 It’s not by the Holy Spirit we say, Abba, Father. 404 00:21:20,939 –> 00:21:23,900 I really know that God is my Father in heaven. 405 00:21:23,900 –> 00:21:26,540 Boy, if you could say that without feeling anything. 406 00:21:27,319 –> 00:21:29,839 You probably have not really got it. 407 00:21:29,839 –> 00:21:31,339 It’s not that we say, Abba, Father. 408 00:21:31,339 –> 00:21:35,000 It’s that we cry, Abba, Father. 409 00:21:36,079 –> 00:21:40,099 There’s a sense of the love of God 410 00:21:40,099 –> 00:21:44,099 that is coming into your soul by the work of the Holy Spirit. 411 00:21:44,099 –> 00:21:45,380 Who is it that cries? 412 00:21:45,380 –> 00:21:47,239 We cry. 413 00:21:47,239 –> 00:21:49,479 You know that the Father loves you. 414 00:21:49,479 –> 00:21:51,839 How do you know that the Father loves you? 415 00:21:51,839 –> 00:21:56,839 Well, it is by the Holy Spirit, by him, we cry. 416 00:21:58,020 –> 00:22:00,420 Abba, Father. 417 00:22:02,300 –> 00:22:05,959 God demonstrates his love in two ways. 418 00:22:05,959 –> 00:22:07,959 They’re both in Romans, Chapter Five. 419 00:22:09,079 –> 00:22:12,140 He demonstrates his love for us 420 00:22:12,140 –> 00:22:15,339 in Jesus Christ by his death on the cross, 421 00:22:15,339 –> 00:22:19,219 that’s Romans, Chapter Five and Verse Eight. 422 00:22:19,219 –> 00:22:21,339 God demonstrates his love for us in this 423 00:22:21,339 –> 00:22:23,040 that while we were still sinners, 424 00:22:23,040 –> 00:22:25,000 Christ died for us. 425 00:22:25,920 –> 00:22:27,560 Many of us know that. 426 00:22:28,459 –> 00:22:30,239 But have you also homed in on Romans, 427 00:22:30,239 –> 00:22:31,739 Chapter Five and Verse Five, 428 00:22:31,739 –> 00:22:34,219 which tells us that God pours out his love 429 00:22:34,219 –> 00:22:37,959 into us by the Holy Spirit. 430 00:22:37,959 –> 00:22:42,500 God has poured out his love into our hearts 431 00:22:42,500 –> 00:22:46,699 by the Holy Spirit whom he has given to us. 432 00:22:46,699 –> 00:22:49,619 So it is the special work of the Holy Spirit, 433 00:22:49,619 –> 00:22:50,939 we’re learning this morning, 434 00:22:51,020 –> 00:22:53,640 to convince you of God’s love 435 00:22:53,640 –> 00:22:56,439 so that instead of constantly trying 436 00:22:56,439 –> 00:22:58,280 to prove yourself to God, 437 00:22:58,280 –> 00:23:01,420 which will actually kill your love for God, 438 00:23:01,420 –> 00:23:04,040 you will come to enjoy his love 439 00:23:04,040 –> 00:23:07,680 in the security of knowing that he loves you in Christ. 440 00:23:07,680 –> 00:23:09,500 You’ve been taught this by the Spirit 441 00:23:09,500 –> 00:23:11,119 as you’ve learned it from the Word, 442 00:23:11,119 –> 00:23:12,900 and therefore you cry out, 443 00:23:12,900 –> 00:23:14,979 “‘Abba, Father.” 444 00:23:17,140 –> 00:23:18,859 Now, I think there are then two questions 445 00:23:18,859 –> 00:23:20,560 for our last few minutes together. 446 00:23:21,660 –> 00:23:24,660 Number one, how do I get more of this? 447 00:23:24,660 –> 00:23:25,900 Because if you’re following me 448 00:23:25,900 –> 00:23:27,500 and if you know the Lord at all, 449 00:23:27,500 –> 00:23:30,060 there will be in your heart as there is in mine 450 00:23:30,060 –> 00:23:33,260 a sense of, Lord, I want to enter more fully into this. 451 00:23:33,260 –> 00:23:36,099 I want to know more of what Paul is speaking about 452 00:23:36,099 –> 00:23:37,579 right here in my life. 453 00:23:37,579 –> 00:23:42,239 How do I get more of this? 454 00:23:43,900 –> 00:23:46,680 And maybe a second question would be, 455 00:23:47,699 –> 00:23:50,300 and what difference is that actually going to make? 456 00:23:51,479 –> 00:23:53,420 And I want to answer both of these questions 457 00:23:53,420 –> 00:23:57,119 by way of three applications 458 00:23:57,119 –> 00:23:58,660 in the time that remains here. 459 00:24:00,079 –> 00:24:04,140 It’s gonna make a difference in three areas, 460 00:24:04,140 –> 00:24:06,819 number one, it’s going to transform your worship, 461 00:24:07,719 –> 00:24:12,199 number two, it’s gonna transform your experience in pain, 462 00:24:13,140 –> 00:24:14,619 and number three, it’s going to bring you 463 00:24:14,619 –> 00:24:16,900 a new sense of living hope. 464 00:24:16,900 –> 00:24:19,079 That’s where it’s gonna make a difference. 465 00:24:20,400 –> 00:24:23,199 And how are you gonna get more of it? 466 00:24:24,359 –> 00:24:26,339 By believing the gospel, 467 00:24:27,319 –> 00:24:29,819 by committing yourself to the will of God, 468 00:24:29,819 –> 00:24:31,420 however costly, 469 00:24:32,439 –> 00:24:35,479 and by fixing your mind on the glory 470 00:24:35,479 –> 00:24:37,319 of your inheritance to come. 471 00:24:37,319 –> 00:24:39,900 We’ll see how these things actually weave together 472 00:24:39,900 –> 00:24:42,819 as we continue here for a moment. 473 00:24:43,680 –> 00:24:45,119 What difference will it make? 474 00:24:47,180 –> 00:24:48,719 It’ll make difference to your worship 475 00:24:48,719 –> 00:24:50,719 because what we’re talking about here 476 00:24:50,719 –> 00:24:53,300 in the cry, Abba Father, 477 00:24:53,300 –> 00:24:56,439 that is the fruit of the spirit’s work in your life, 478 00:24:56,439 –> 00:25:00,060 is nothing other than the affectionate cry 479 00:25:00,060 –> 00:25:02,560 of a son who knows that he is loved. 480 00:25:03,680 –> 00:25:05,439 You receive the spirit of sonship 481 00:25:05,439 –> 00:25:07,760 and by him we cry, Abba Father. 482 00:25:07,760 –> 00:25:10,239 The spirit himself is testifying, 483 00:25:10,239 –> 00:25:13,680 verse 16, with our spirits, that we are God’s children. 484 00:25:13,680 –> 00:25:15,560 So at its very roots, 485 00:25:15,560 –> 00:25:18,339 this felt awareness of the love of God 486 00:25:18,339 –> 00:25:22,479 is the affectionate cry of a son, a daughter, 487 00:25:22,479 –> 00:25:27,479 who knows that he or she is loved by God. 488 00:25:28,239 –> 00:25:30,359 This is the most intimate expression of love. 489 00:25:30,359 –> 00:25:32,719 Does God hear expressions of love 490 00:25:32,719 –> 00:25:35,420 from you to him like this? 491 00:25:36,219 –> 00:25:41,219 Does he receive from your heart worship like this? 492 00:25:44,540 –> 00:25:46,380 I want to give you a second quote from John Owen 493 00:25:46,380 –> 00:25:49,979 that really has struck me powerfully. 494 00:25:51,380 –> 00:25:52,680 Owen says this, 495 00:25:53,680 –> 00:25:55,959 the greatest sorrow and burden 496 00:25:55,959 –> 00:25:59,479 that you can lay on the father, 497 00:25:59,479 –> 00:26:03,920 the greatest unkindness that you can do to him is. 498 00:26:04,339 –> 00:26:05,699 I want to pause it there. 499 00:26:07,439 –> 00:26:09,520 How would you finish that sentence? 500 00:26:10,479 –> 00:26:11,959 He’s talking to Christians. 501 00:26:13,319 –> 00:26:15,959 Christian, the greatest sorrow and burden 502 00:26:15,959 –> 00:26:18,560 that you can lay on the father, 503 00:26:19,920 –> 00:26:24,520 the greatest unkindness that you can do to him is, 504 00:26:25,599 –> 00:26:27,079 here’s what Owen says, 505 00:26:28,319 –> 00:26:32,079 not to believe that he loves you. 506 00:26:34,339 –> 00:26:35,839 You and I mighta thought he was gonna say 507 00:26:35,839 –> 00:26:37,760 some scandalous sin or whatever, 508 00:26:39,540 –> 00:26:40,699 but you think about it. 509 00:26:42,040 –> 00:26:44,839 The father says to you, look at my love for you. 510 00:26:46,400 –> 00:26:47,839 I sent my son. 511 00:26:49,420 –> 00:26:52,900 I gave my son for you. 512 00:26:54,959 –> 00:26:57,680 I made him the sin offering. 513 00:26:57,680 –> 00:27:00,880 I passed your condemnation onto him. 514 00:27:01,099 –> 00:27:04,719 And you say, what more are you looking for, 515 00:27:04,719 –> 00:27:07,280 the father would say, for me 516 00:27:07,280 –> 00:27:09,660 before you believe that I love you. 517 00:27:12,280 –> 00:27:14,880 And the son would come to us, would he not, 518 00:27:14,880 –> 00:27:16,699 and say, look at my love. 519 00:27:16,699 –> 00:27:17,939 I came, I chose to come. 520 00:27:19,640 –> 00:27:21,099 I left heaven for you. 521 00:27:22,680 –> 00:27:25,739 My back was scourged for you. 522 00:27:27,260 –> 00:27:29,939 I went through Gethsemane for you. 523 00:27:30,219 –> 00:27:31,400 To the cross for you. 524 00:27:32,280 –> 00:27:35,160 And you still don’t believe that I love you. 525 00:27:38,640 –> 00:27:42,119 And the holy spirit would say to you, I have come to you. 526 00:27:42,119 –> 00:27:46,660 I have entered your life, I have wrapped myself around you. 527 00:27:48,239 –> 00:27:50,640 You have grieved me many times 528 00:27:50,640 –> 00:27:52,359 with your sins and with your doubts, 529 00:27:52,359 –> 00:27:54,839 but I’ve never left you and I never will. 530 00:27:54,839 –> 00:27:56,959 Now what more do you want 531 00:27:56,959 –> 00:27:59,520 before you will believe that I love you? 532 00:28:00,500 –> 00:28:03,319 Greatest sorrow, the greatest grief 533 00:28:03,319 –> 00:28:05,800 that you can lay upon the heart of the Father 534 00:28:05,800 –> 00:28:08,099 is after all He has done 535 00:28:08,099 –> 00:28:12,119 not to believe that He loves you. 536 00:28:15,160 –> 00:28:17,520 And Paul says it is the special work 537 00:28:17,520 –> 00:28:20,540 of the Holy Spirit to communicate this into your heart 538 00:28:20,540 –> 00:28:21,939 and how is it gonna happen? 539 00:28:21,939 –> 00:28:23,560 How do I get more of it? 540 00:28:24,859 –> 00:28:27,020 As you believe the gospel. 541 00:28:27,020 –> 00:28:31,099 Friend, this pretty straight forward today. 542 00:28:31,099 –> 00:28:35,540 It is time to believe the gospel. 543 00:28:35,540 –> 00:28:37,380 You can’t live on having believed the gospel 544 00:28:37,380 –> 00:28:40,300 once 20 years ago, you need to believe it today. 545 00:28:40,300 –> 00:28:43,380 It is time for you to repent 546 00:28:43,380 –> 00:28:45,339 of not believing that God loves you. 547 00:28:45,339 –> 00:28:48,979 It is time for you to come before God today 548 00:28:48,979 –> 00:28:52,140 and to say, God I am so sorry. 549 00:28:52,140 –> 00:28:56,520 I am so sorry that I have laid this burden upon you. 550 00:28:56,520 –> 00:28:59,199 I have done this greatest unkindness to you, 551 00:28:59,199 –> 00:29:02,359 I have after all you have done not believed 552 00:29:03,280 –> 00:29:04,739 that you have loved me. 553 00:29:06,199 –> 00:29:09,520 But Lord today I believe the gospel. 554 00:29:09,520 –> 00:29:12,560 Today thank you for your amazing grace to me 555 00:29:12,560 –> 00:29:14,560 in Jesus Christ. 556 00:29:14,560 –> 00:29:18,079 Demonstrated on the cross, poured out by the Holy Spirit. 557 00:29:18,079 –> 00:29:20,920 Lord today Ibelieve the gospel 558 00:29:20,920 –> 00:29:24,359 and you will find that the Holy Spirit assures you 559 00:29:24,420 –> 00:29:28,119 of the love of God as you believe the gospel. 560 00:29:30,520 –> 00:29:34,599 And you will find within you wonderfully 561 00:29:35,719 –> 00:29:39,920 a sense of being able to say Abba, Father. 562 00:29:41,319 –> 00:29:46,319 I’m utterly persuaded that 90% of a faithful pastor’s work 563 00:29:49,239 –> 00:29:54,239 is helping Christians believe the gospel. 564 00:29:54,400 –> 00:29:58,359 I’m utterly persuaded of that, that he loves you. 565 00:30:01,800 –> 00:30:03,439 Here’s the second application. 566 00:30:04,760 –> 00:30:08,599 Not only is it the affectionate cry of the son 567 00:30:09,520 –> 00:30:10,599 who knows he is loved, 568 00:30:10,599 –> 00:30:14,959 it is the anguished cry of the son who suffers. 569 00:30:16,199 –> 00:30:18,160 You received the spirit of sonship 570 00:30:18,160 –> 00:30:20,920 and by him we cry out Abba, Father. 571 00:30:20,939 –> 00:30:25,359 And then notice where Paul goes with this next in verse 17. 572 00:30:25,359 –> 00:30:27,640 Now, if we’re children we’re heirs, 573 00:30:27,640 –> 00:30:29,439 heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, 574 00:30:29,439 –> 00:30:32,380 if indeed we share in his sufferings. 575 00:30:32,380 –> 00:30:34,319 Now, why in all the world when he’s talking 576 00:30:34,319 –> 00:30:37,040 about the love of God would he be bringing in suffering? 577 00:30:40,760 –> 00:30:44,560 Well, where was this prayer Abba, Father 578 00:30:44,560 –> 00:30:47,979 first heard in the Bible? 579 00:30:48,939 –> 00:30:53,939 This was the prayer of Jesus where? 580 00:30:54,060 –> 00:30:57,339 In the Garden of Gethsemane. 581 00:30:57,339 –> 00:30:58,439 He fell to the ground. 582 00:30:58,439 –> 00:31:01,000 Mark tells us in chapter 14 verse 35 583 00:31:01,000 –> 00:31:02,839 and he prayed if it’d be possible 584 00:31:02,839 –> 00:31:05,160 that this hour might pass from him. 585 00:31:05,160 –> 00:31:10,160 Abba, Father he said everything is possible for you. 586 00:31:11,300 –> 00:31:15,560 Take this cup from me yet not what I will 587 00:31:15,560 –> 00:31:18,380 but let your will be done. 588 00:31:20,780 –> 00:31:23,459 Now you see that you are seeing something very incredible 589 00:31:23,459 –> 00:31:26,520 that by the Holy Spirit the very prayer 590 00:31:26,520 –> 00:31:28,959 that Jesus prayed, the very relationship 591 00:31:28,959 –> 00:31:32,680 that Jesus had with the Father in his own darkest hour 592 00:31:32,680 –> 00:31:35,599 is the relationship you can have 593 00:31:35,599 –> 00:31:37,579 with the Father in your darkest hour. 594 00:31:37,579 –> 00:31:40,420 That’s what he’s saying if we share his sufferings 595 00:31:40,420 –> 00:31:42,180 in order that we share in his glory. 596 00:31:43,140 –> 00:31:48,140 And the same comfort, the same love of the same Father 597 00:31:48,199 –> 00:31:50,140 that was experienced by the Lord Jesus 598 00:31:50,140 –> 00:31:52,040 in the garden of Gethsemane 599 00:31:52,040 –> 00:31:55,699 you can draw on in your greatest hour of pain. 600 00:31:57,160 –> 00:32:00,680 And the Holy Spirit is given to you for that purpose. 601 00:32:02,780 –> 00:32:05,099 And all of us come to our own garden of Gethsemane, 602 00:32:05,099 –> 00:32:07,859 the place where you struggle with what God has called 603 00:32:07,859 –> 00:32:10,359 you to face in your life, 604 00:32:10,579 –> 00:32:12,199 And the voice of what God has called you to endure. 605 00:32:12,199 –> 00:32:14,660 The cup that you would wish, if possible, 606 00:32:14,660 –> 00:32:16,619 could only be taken from you. 607 00:32:16,619 –> 00:32:19,180 And you will come that place too of saying, 608 00:32:19,180 –> 00:32:24,180 yet not what I will but your will be done. 609 00:32:27,160 –> 00:32:32,119 You say how can I know more of this love of the Father 610 00:32:32,119 –> 00:32:34,260 in my own life, same way as Jesus did. 611 00:32:35,699 –> 00:32:39,920 The Holy Spirit will communicate the love of the Father 612 00:32:39,920 –> 00:32:43,060 into your heart, not only as you believe the Gospel, 613 00:32:43,060 –> 00:32:46,420 but as you commit yourself to pursue His will, 614 00:32:46,420 –> 00:32:48,920 whatever the cost. 615 00:32:50,280 –> 00:32:51,880 And here’s the last application, 616 00:32:53,439 –> 00:32:58,119 for it is not only the cry of a son 617 00:32:58,119 –> 00:33:01,180 who knows that He’s loved, the affectionate cry, 618 00:33:01,180 –> 00:33:05,500 it’s not only the anguished cry of a son who suffers, 619 00:33:06,500 –> 00:33:11,500 but this spirit engendered cry, Abba, Father, 620 00:33:12,040 –> 00:33:14,119 this relatedness to God 621 00:33:14,119 –> 00:33:19,119 is also the joyful cry of a son who inherits, 622 00:33:22,099 –> 00:33:24,560 and you said that’s where Paul goes also in verse 17, 623 00:33:24,560 –> 00:33:26,280 did you notice that? 624 00:33:26,280 –> 00:33:27,719 You have not received the Spirit 625 00:33:27,719 –> 00:33:29,760 that makes you a slave to fear again, 626 00:33:29,760 –> 00:33:32,160 but you have received the Spirit of Sonship. 627 00:33:32,180 –> 00:33:34,619 And by Him we cry, Abba, Father, 628 00:33:36,000 –> 00:33:38,040 we’re God’s children, verse 17, 629 00:33:38,920 –> 00:33:41,119 and if we’re children, we’re heirs, 630 00:33:41,119 –> 00:33:45,000 heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. 631 00:33:45,000 –> 00:33:46,520 And so I think what we’re learning here 632 00:33:46,520 –> 00:33:49,119 is that the Holy Spirit will communicate 633 00:33:49,119 –> 00:33:51,060 the love of God into your life 634 00:33:51,060 –> 00:33:52,280 as you believe the Gospel, 635 00:33:52,280 –> 00:33:55,760 as you commit yourself to follow the will of God, 636 00:33:55,760 –> 00:33:57,459 even in the most painful places, 637 00:33:57,459 –> 00:34:00,099 and as you anticipate 638 00:34:00,099 –> 00:34:03,099 your everlasting inheritance in glory. 639 00:34:04,180 –> 00:34:05,680 Think much about this. 640 00:34:07,660 –> 00:34:11,060 The more you can get your mind onto reflecting 641 00:34:11,060 –> 00:34:14,939 on all that God has for you in Jesus Christ, 642 00:34:14,939 –> 00:34:17,219 all that Jesus is preparing for you, 643 00:34:17,219 –> 00:34:21,219 the more you will have an intense and wonderful awareness 644 00:34:21,219 –> 00:34:22,020 of the love of God 645 00:34:22,020 –> 00:34:25,260 communicated into your heart by the Holy Spirit. 646 00:34:25,260 –> 00:34:27,379 Wonder if you’ve thought about your inheritance recently, 647 00:34:27,459 –> 00:34:29,060 as an inhabitant of it all. 648 00:34:30,860 –> 00:34:32,379 The New Testament’s full of it. 649 00:34:34,620 –> 00:34:36,820 Paul says, all things are yours, 650 00:34:38,419 –> 00:34:40,360 whether the world or life or death, 651 00:34:40,360 –> 00:34:43,580 the present or the future, all things are yours 652 00:34:43,580 –> 00:34:47,419 and you’re Christ’s and Christ is God’s. 653 00:34:48,600 –> 00:34:51,620 Eternal glory is stored up for you 654 00:34:51,620 –> 00:34:55,780 in the Lord Jesus Christ as a much-loved son of the Father 655 00:34:55,780 –> 00:34:58,020 with the inheritance of the new heaven 656 00:34:58,020 –> 00:35:02,300 and the new Earth forever and forever and forever. 657 00:35:03,860 –> 00:35:05,800 One story, and then we’re through. 658 00:35:05,800 –> 00:35:07,580 I found this in a piece by John Piper 659 00:35:07,580 –> 00:35:10,739 and he found it in a piece by John Newton. 660 00:35:10,739 –> 00:35:14,199 Remember John Newton, the slave trader, 661 00:35:14,199 –> 00:35:16,379 wrote the hymn Amazing Grace? 662 00:35:16,379 –> 00:35:19,439 Wonderful, wonderful ministry after he was converted. 663 00:35:20,639 –> 00:35:25,060 Newton told a story about a man 664 00:35:25,080 –> 00:35:27,639 who was going to New York 665 00:35:28,719 –> 00:35:33,719 in order to receive an inheritance of a million dollars. 666 00:35:35,439 –> 00:35:39,500 Now of course, back in John Newton’s time 667 00:35:39,500 –> 00:35:41,379 going to New York, he wasn’t in a car. 668 00:35:41,379 –> 00:35:43,780 He was on a carriage and it was being pulled by a horse. 669 00:35:43,780 –> 00:35:46,340 All right, so I want you to get the picture, 670 00:35:46,340 –> 00:35:48,719 and a million dollar inheritance in Newton’s time, 671 00:35:48,719 –> 00:35:50,800 I mean, I don’t know, let the investment people 672 00:35:50,800 –> 00:35:51,899 tell us what’s that now. 673 00:35:51,899 –> 00:35:54,780 I’m gonna call it a billion dollars, all right. 674 00:35:54,780 –> 00:35:57,959 So I want you to picture now this man 675 00:35:57,959 –> 00:36:01,580 and he’s in his carriage and it’s being pulled by the horse 676 00:36:01,580 –> 00:36:03,500 and he’s on his way to New York 677 00:36:03,500 –> 00:36:08,179 and he’s going to receive a billion dollar inheritance. 678 00:36:08,179 –> 00:36:12,479 And one mile from New York, 679 00:36:12,479 –> 00:36:16,600 the wheel on his carriage comes off brakes. 680 00:36:17,959 –> 00:36:22,959 So this man has to walk the last mile to New York. 681 00:36:25,580 –> 00:36:27,360 And Newton said this. 682 00:36:29,020 –> 00:36:31,439 What would you think of that man 683 00:36:33,699 –> 00:36:38,459 on his way to a billion dollar inheritance 684 00:36:39,620 –> 00:36:42,100 if throughout that last mile 685 00:36:42,100 –> 00:36:44,419 that he has to walk to New York, 686 00:36:45,659 –> 00:36:48,620 he grumbles about his broken carriage 687 00:36:49,620 –> 00:36:53,439 and all that is wrong with life in the world? 688 00:36:53,479 –> 00:36:56,360 Fancy me having to walk to New York. 689 00:36:57,199 –> 00:36:59,520 My carriage is broken. 690 00:37:01,560 –> 00:37:03,679 What would you think of such a man? 691 00:37:03,679 –> 00:37:04,780 Now, you see his point? 692 00:37:06,040 –> 00:37:08,399 Newton is saying that is precisely our position. 693 00:37:10,219 –> 00:37:15,179 You are on the last mile of your journey 694 00:37:16,419 –> 00:37:19,439 to the inheritance of the universe, 695 00:37:20,840 –> 00:37:22,860 to the new heaven and the new earth. 696 00:37:24,320 –> 00:37:27,199 To the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, 697 00:37:28,080 –> 00:37:30,320 to the company of angels, 698 00:37:31,479 –> 00:37:33,379 to the resurrection body, 699 00:37:34,639 –> 00:37:36,739 to life everlasting. 700 00:37:40,020 –> 00:37:44,760 It is the special work of the Holy Spirit. 701 00:37:46,199 –> 00:37:49,219 To communicate to you the Father’s love 702 00:37:49,219 –> 00:37:52,399 so that with freedom and joy 703 00:37:52,419 –> 00:37:54,860 you may live in love towards Him. 704 00:37:56,500 –> 00:38:00,000 And he will do that as you believe the gospel, 705 00:38:00,000 –> 00:38:02,879 he will do that as you commit yourself 706 00:38:02,879 –> 00:38:06,379 to the will of God in the hard places, however costly, 707 00:38:06,379 –> 00:38:09,239 and he will do that as you anticipate 708 00:38:10,459 –> 00:38:15,459 the glory that very soon will be yours. 709 00:38:16,500 –> 00:38:20,000 You did not receive a spirit 710 00:38:20,040 –> 00:38:22,719 that makes you a slave again to fear, 711 00:38:23,780 –> 00:38:26,280 but you received the Spirit of Sonship, 712 00:38:27,679 –> 00:38:30,800 and by Him, we cry out, 713 00:38:31,939 –> 00:38:34,780 Abba, Father, 714 00:38:34,780 –> 00:38:36,280 let’s pray together, shall we? 715 00:38:42,620 –> 00:38:47,139 Dear Father, work Your Word by the Holy Spirit 716 00:38:47,139 –> 00:38:52,139 into the deep, unbelieving corners of our hearts. 717 00:38:56,860 –> 00:38:59,500 Set us free from the spirit of fear. 718 00:38:59,500 –> 00:39:02,100 From the loveless drudgery 719 00:39:02,100 –> 00:39:04,340 of always trying to prove our worth to You. 720 00:39:07,959 –> 00:39:12,219 By Your Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Sonship, 721 00:39:12,899 –> 00:39:17,899 Lord bring us into the joy of sons and daughters 722 00:39:18,399 –> 00:39:20,080 who know the Father’s love. 723 00:39:21,179 –> 00:39:23,780 And more and more therefore love the Father. 724 00:39:25,580 –> 00:39:27,620 In the last mile of our journey 725 00:39:29,100 –> 00:39:32,679 to the glory that Christ has already prepared for us. 726 00:39:34,560 –> 00:39:35,939 In Your presence. 727 00:39:37,360 –> 00:39:38,199 Amen.