Our Sonship and the Leading of the Spirit Holy Spirit Series #1

[Music] if you would please open your Bibles to Romans 8 I'm gonna read straight from the King James not make any changes or any try I will try not to make any commentary I want to read the eighth chapter verses 1 through 17 only and then I will tell you what my text is and what type of application we should make from it there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus the backdrop of course one must read all the chapters that come before this is the exclamation mark on all that has come before who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit for the law of the Spirit for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit and the Spirit is obviously the thrust of these verses for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh they that are after the spirit the things of the Spirit you know seldom find somebody who is out in the world interested in the true spiritual things they may be questing after what we'll call mysterious wonders or things that represent in their mind spirituality but we're talking about the spiritual things from this book so let's be clear about that for to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace because the carnal mind is eminent against God for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be so they that are in the flesh cannot please God just pause there for a minute I said it's gonna try not to do this but I have to they that are in the flesh cannot please God don't just think of those people outside of the church think of your own person as we fight back and forth flesh and spirit just think about that that's something at some point to go back to and really contemplate why when we talk about the things of the Spirit and the flesh and the spirit being at war with one another it's important to stay in the word and keep the mind renewed in the things of God that we remain walking in the spirit and not after the flesh why because those that are in the flesh cannot please God but you're not in the flesh but in the spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he's none of his and if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousness but if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you some really heavy-duty theology and some theological battle grounds have been fought over these verses therefore brethren we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh for if he live after the flesh he shall die but if he through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body he shall live for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God if we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God and if children then heirs heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ if so be that we suffer with him that we may also we may be also glorified together that's all I want to read and what I want to lift out of this really is the essence of the 14th verse for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God and this is really important because you see I have taught messages out of John 3 Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night and we've talked about this people say they use the term born-again experience and not that that is a term that should be avoided however what is needful is if one studies the passage out of John 3 recognition comes that it cannot be simply a statement also and so is a born-again Christian honestly that is tossed around a lot you hear because all born-again Christian well you can't be a Christian unless you're born again we need to get the terminology straight a lot of times we say that as in maybe they came out of one denomination and now they have found that quote/unquote true faith but every person who comes must be born from above that's made abundantly clear in John 3 furthermore I'm gonna make some statement that probably will cause some a little bit of controversy but I'm used to it is it possible for people to be born again from above and have the need to be born again in other words is it possible to be born again from above that is God's Spirit taking up residence in you giving you eyes to see ears to hear and then falling away and coming back and coming back to repentance which by the way it can really only come that true repentance which I'll talk about can only come by God's Spirit leading you to that so can it be and I hope maybe we'll answer the question today maybe we'll find an answer in the scripture that will help us clarify that there's some people who fall off the wagon right they fall away and they fall away not just for a day a month or a year they follow away for a long time then they wake up one day and they realize what have I done I wasted these years I've fallen away from the one true faith the thing that I've known is it their self revelation that they should wake up and go back to following or is that God's Spirit coming after them like the Hound of heaven did God's Spirit ever depart if they were gone for multiple I'm asking questions because that's what I do really good ask lots of questions you should too because you'll find in asking those questions sometimes answers do indeed come but the text I'm looking at for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God I want us to look at this text but I also want to use some other text to support both the authority and the application now I've already spoken of what Christ said briefly but I want to go over this slowly because I have a feeling I'm not talking to the old-timers necessarily but I'm talking to people who have not been taught a lot of Bible in the day and age of happy televangelist there's not too much Bible that's preached so there's not too much theology and there's not too much opening up of the Word of God that there are things that are needful to be understood now in the opening of John's Gospel John says Jesus came to his own in his own received him not but as many as received him he gave them the power the right the authority to become the sons of God as many as received him now this has opened up the theology of people accepting Christ it needs to be understood that in that day and age as Christ came to the ones who needed healing they didn't say oh I accept you now they simply said they needed to be healed where they came to see the spectacle that people were talking about about this man Jesus of Nazareth and they either mentally grabbed hold of what they saw and took it to themselves as a reality or they went away saying we got free food and that's all we need our bellies are full we don't need this Jesus right so it needs to be when we talk about as many as received him it needs to be understood in that context how Jesus called these disciples to follow to follow him and it says they straightway forsook their nets they didn't say well let me investigate to see you know what manner of man this is what his doctrine is let's investigate this they forsook their nets follow me forsook their nets and they began to follow so it's receiving in that way and it says as many as received him not just the disciples we can speak of the people the individuals that he touched that he spoke to that he preached to as many as received him he gave them the power to become the sons of God not by the will of man not by any other method except this came by God so it must be understood this way that's my authority first John is describing what happened let me go back to my text and reread for you as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God we're gonna divide that in two parts but to understand as I said Authority first Paul is not making up doctrine but if you look to the teaching of Christ I mentioned first John sorry John 1:12 but equally we have in John 3 which I mentioned Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night and the description of what Christ says a man must be born again from above think of this he explains exactly what is needed to get life eternal and he's speaking to a man who's a religious man who should know so think of this he says you must be born again from above now can as I said can somebody step forward and say the sinner's prayer which is commonly done in most churches as an altar call well I guess under the inspiration or under the moving if you willed are the guidance someone can come but truly if it's simply a prayer being repeated and it's not the heart recognizing its own issues because when the Holy Spirit comes your own issues are brought to you in your face they are not everybody else's issues although our total issues are the fact that we're sinners and we sin each person's issues are their own your past is your past it's not somebody else's past so how can you generically repent of something so generic when the Bible says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so how is it possible to say something that's a one size fits all and say okay God and I've done my part now doesn't work like that now that may be the first steps for some I don't do altar calls here you who attend here and have attended you know that we don't because as the word is going forth something should at some point click in your mind and your heart every single week and I'm just going to come out and say this if something doesn't click it's probably I hate to tell you you're not listening because the Word of God has the ability when preached when opened up like a key that can go into any lock and open up the ability to receive no more will I tolerate somebody's saying like I'm not getting fed well if you're not getting fed because you don't have a spiritual appetite and you certainly have ears blocked not because they're dirty but because they're not open to hearing and receiving God's Word and will not tolerate people saying something which this Bible has sufficed and this word has sufficed from generation to generation for someone who is looking for something and that something is not in this book now with that being said I go on back to the authority of this passage if Christ underscores the need that one must be born again clearly to enter in and to see the kingdom of God then you can put an authoritative stamp on what Paul is saying is this is not just some Pauline doctrine and theology that Paul's saying because he says it many times in many of the letters but the authority of Christ elsewhere we have Christ again in John's Gospel speaking to the woman at the well and after he tells her everything that she ever did and the current status of her the man in her life now which is not her husband he says to her woman the hour cometh is now when God essentially is seeking people to worship Him in spirit and in truth the father seeketh such as to worship Him in spirit and in truth so no form of worship can be done if you think about we're talking about worship to God without being led by the Spirit of God otherwise it's just mouth and noise going somewhere and I put a premium on this because I think there are a lot of Christians I'm not saying here I don't know I'm not God so I cannot see the heart but I think that there are plenty who live their faith in a universe void of this reality led by the Spirit of God and I'll go on in a minute to kind of try and define a little bit of what that means the Spirit of God leads the Willing first of all we are never driven there's a translation that says Jesus was driven into the wilderness we're never driven by the Spirit of God hear me out the devil Satan drove the pigs to go off the cliff and into the abyss if you listen to enough preaching at some point I'm not talking about here but if you listen to enough preachers especially those religious folk on TV and for those people watching on TV say why are you religious no I'm not religious I'm not those religious folks I love the Word of God I'm a person who faith that Jesus is Lord but I'm not some religious freak you work out your life in your faith with him that's all I ask and you give me an hour of your attention in the Word of God and then you take the information and you work it out and I interested in doing this I got my own things to deal with right we are not last sued by God we're not hauled off some people think oh no God's gonna come and get you and he's gonna he's gonna last you and he's gonna really into the kingdom now a friend that you may actually fight like saw Paul Jesus saying to him in that vision now kick it against the pricks you're fighting this thing but for the most part don't think that that's the way you're going to be led see there's this idea by the way and we talked about the Spirit of God who is a person the third person of the Godhead there's this idea somehow and I've seen this I've seen it both I hate to tell you in churches I visited which made me extremely uncomfortable I've seen it on TV some idea somehow that when the holy spirit possesses I'm gonna use that word an individual they are into a fit of insanity they are outside of themselves they're uncontrollable but I asked you I urge you to read the day of Pentecost and the opening of Acts acts 2 and if you understand what's happening we have the sound of a mighty wind rushing wind coming in but the house wasn't blown down we have tongues as of fire above their heads but not consumed in other words all power is given but in control and in order and that by the way is the method with everything if you want to go down the pathway even with Peter standing up and delivering the sermon on the day of Pentecost with order given power but controlled by God not by man controlled and orderly anytime you see people doing these crazy displays doing the sheikhan and the crazy dance and they're all you know or some guy pulls off his code and does this and everybody falls down folks if you want to be duped by that be my guest okay but for the people who actually read this book and are in this word it doesn't work that way it works if you're the devil and you like to rest the scriptures and you like to make a cricketer out of God's book but all power is given but with control think of it as a horse wearing bit and bridle the horse has the power to take off but has come under that bit and bridle under the control that reins in the power that things are done in an orderly way so that's the first thing second thing I would say is there is no stranger impulsive behavior if this is the third person of the Godhead and we're gonna look in a few minutes at some of the scriptures with the third person of the Godhead be different if we have difficulty already defining because it's impossible to define the triune God but if we were going to look at some form of what has been revealed to us the scripture says no man has seen God but Christ has revealed him so in Christ we saw what the father looks like we didn't see Christ doing crazy things he did things that were unseen or unheard of but nothing crazy nope behavior the only crazy behavior around Christ where the lunatics and the devils that's it with the demons so when you think about it the third person of the Godhead think of a family or forgive me slightly blasphemous but if you're going to take an orange and cut it in three parts you have they are all from the same their their essence is the same so to suggest that when we are led by the spirit somehow we have impulsive abnormal behavior is not in line with the scriptures I want that to be made clear now some can resist the spirit some can grieve and some can quench we're given admonitions in the scripture mostly from Paul against these things and I think there's a clear reason why see God will not send his spirit into an individual's life against that person's will these are simple thoughts but if rightly understood these simple thoughts become very profound and very powerful because it means that although the flipside of this is all of God's children God's sons of gods are led by the spirit there are times when the sons of God do not let themselves be led that's resisting I'll give you a perfect case in point there have been times and I've told you this is how you learn obedience if you ever had an opportunity where somebody was trying to get you to do something or reach out to you there's some event and in hindsight we're not talking randomly but it had something to do with you the house of God the person of God a family of God you put it off and then later it was kind of one of those I shouldn't have put that off moments you ever had that happen to you that's what I'm talking about usually the inner compass we talk about is not some who-who do think it's actually God's guidance urging you on but we have freewill and we have the will to resist and to do otherwise we have the perfect ability to ignore which is why again resist grieve and quench or use words that are used to talk about the negative possibilities regarding the Holy Spirit now how is this leading effectuated how does it happen it's called normal behavior I'm gonna say that again kiss you were waiting for something spectacular it's called normal behavior say the beginning of all this is first and foremost when an individual you know that I think I should go to church what do you think that is you think you just woke up one day and said I think I want to go to church and then you start coming to church and you keep coming to church you think that's that's really you waking up because beef we were all children of darkness you would think that's you waking up or do you think that's something beginning to work in you we call that prevenient grace God is operating in your life before you even know it so the steps of this begin like that and the first thing that happens once we have been led by the spirit you'll notice the first message Christ preached preached was to repent the repentance that message is the first message spoken to our hearts now careful some of you who haven't listened long enough know very little about the Greek language and you just hear the latinized repent but this word from the Greek simply Metanoia means with the mind to change direction from going your way to following and going God's Way what what exactly could make you do that are you able of your own volition to do that well you could possibly for a time but not continuously and forever just note to self right there so that word repentance change of mind I was going in my direction doing my thing my life my way my me me me me and suddenly I turn and now I'm following Jesus which after that comes something called meta Mela my which is that godly sorrow that's when you are being led by the Spirit of God the first thing is to change your mind realize wow I I was looking at my life and thinking everything was ok it's all good I've lived a pretty good life everything's good so far but now I have something that has revealed to me that it's not ok and there was something missing and as I begin to be led I begin to see and understand and this brings grief because I have been confronted with the reality of my life and the behavior that if I was standing at the foot of the cross looking at Christ hanging there I could only hang my head in shame and look away I probably wouldn't be able to look for the grief the sorrow the embarrassment I mean put it all into all the words you want when led by the spirit these two are the beginning for the walk of the Christian now what happens and I feel this happens a tremendous amount of times people will come I just mentioned an altar call what happens is an altar call is given and sorrow Wells up in the heart recognizing the things that have been unnecessarily done against God but a life that has not been lived for Christ or has not been lived in the description of whatever the preacher has said sorrow comes but there has been no change from my way to his way none that won't stick that won't last now why is it that some people come and when I say they come they somehow are brought into the church or whatever means and method that you want to go by I would say the Spirit of God and God's prevenient grace some come in and these steps make sense to them the changing of the mind then comes sorrow and if if an individual has never felt sorrow this may make some of you uncomfortable but if you've never felt sorrow for the things you've done in your life things you know are displeasing things done in the flesh things done out of ignorance whatever it is if you've never had sorrow and never sat in prayer and did a little bit of groveling to God that you don't know how you could have done this or why you did it but you did it and you plead for his forgiveness if you've never been at that place today's a good day to go home and reflect on that which I'm saying because the beginning is the turning from my way to his way the second thing is that which I've called conviction that brings that godly sorrow the recognition of my condition and my need of a savior this is why Christianity today has become so glib and people are so cavalier about Bible teaching because if you don't have any recognition of how great your sin is you will never have any recognition of your need of the great Savior that's just the bottom line now having said that let me go on because there are people in this book who represent what I'm saying and it's not spelled out for us and then the Spirit came and like some people say and then the spirit said to me and I said right it's not like that I read about the prodigal and Luke's Gospel the prodigal son who was by the way part of the household of God if you will two brothers one asked for his inheritance oh he go off in a far country squanders it and what's interesting is that at some point he turns back and he says I have sinned now that type of turning back and saying in my father's house there's plenty of bread to spare recognizing he had all he needed in the father's house was a representation of our Heavenly Father I think that speaks volumes if we're not able not because someone has led you in a prayer but if we're not able like the prodigal to say I've sinned and not one to another that's James's version everywhere else in the Bible it says you speak to God you tell him about it or like the publican who said Lord be merciful to me a sinner think of these things because there's no way to utter to encapsulate these things without God urging through his spirit and now let me keep going because to be led by the spirit means our life is guided and we come under the direction of the Holy Spirit guided and directed still means you have the right and the power to do otherwise which most of us most of the time do I included myself I never say anything to you that isn't true of me and preach to me first this is what we do most of the time we end up going back to rationalize that our sin isn't really sin or what we've done isn't really that bad we can start justifying and here we go all over again that's why I said is it possible for someone who's been born from above to resist to quench to push back to will call it not listen is it possible to do that yes now from a strange illustration of I don't know where but imagine you are somewhere I was gonna say in a foreign land but let's just say you're in Los Angeles and you don't have a GPS in your car and you don't have your little telephone device with Waze on it and let's just for the sake of being you know let's cover it all you don't have a Thomas guide in your car but I just dated myself right remember when II had to take out the big guide page and look at the map right you don't have any of that you got to stop and you got to ask somebody you're lost and you got to ask somebody for directions excuse me can you tell me that's happened many times I'm walking somewhere and somebody stops me says can you tell me where such-and-such the street is out and then we have my device and I can look it up but sometimes you have a new idea and you say but sometimes you know where to point them right and you say well you got to go two miles that way and then take a right and then take a left and then take another right and then keep going another mile and a half and then take another right and then look good they're already saying oh I'm already lost can you repeat that but you have to stop sometimes and ask for direction now if you listen to the direction and the person giving directions isn't trying to mess you up but if you listen to the directions and you follow them chances are you will get to your destination but how many times have you said yeah I have a general idea of where that is and you go off and you are plumb across you know way out of the way you're not even close and the husband's don't look at your wives because always the wives giving direction right when I'm saying to is at times we have to stop and get direction this is no different for the believer this is why when people say oh I don't need to come to church and I don't need to have somebody teach me you do because this is the other way that people are led by the Spirit of God we're led by the Spirit of God getting guidance and direction when when you go to the word sometimes we're completely lost we have no idea of where to turn or where to go but we know we can go into the word and we can find direction therefore really earnestly seeking it first we can start by praying and asking God please direct me this is what I need help with now there's also something called the concordance if the prayer isn't working quick enough for you go to the concordance and look up your subject matter but my point is that we seek for direction and when we seek for direction we become led by the Spirit Spirit gives us that guidance this Holy Spirit does not do violence to a man as I said we come under his persuasion John 16:13 Christ is talking he says when the comforter the Holy Spirit comes the Spirit of Truth he will guide you into all truth now that has been taken out of context for people to say well you see if I've received the spirit I don't need anyone to explain to me because I know everything because the Spirit will guide me in all truth and here comes the error of doctrine right there off the top of my lungs because being led the Spirit of Truth will guide you in all truth is the truth concerning Christ let me go back to my favorite question how do you get to know somebody spend time with them how do you get to know about God you spend time in his word so how do you get to know about spirit and truth and being led in all truth you go into the word God's Word is true this is the thing that people can't connect the dots with now I'm not sure about you but I can speak for myself that the pattern has been there are passages that anyone can understand a child can understand and there are places in the Bible that are hard and difficult and need explanation and one needs guidance and help not just from the Holy Spirit praying and reading but from God's ministers God's as Paul says God's called one's gifts to the church now if the church didn't need any gift ministers pastoring teachers it could just be that the word could have been passed out distributed we would never have had any heresies if you do read church history you recognize that through the ages there's been heresies of every kind to crop out why because unlearned were people who were not well versed with the whole book or putting the old and new together came up and formulated ideas of their own and some of them by the way are so difficult today the church is still divided about some of these things and there'll be somebody say I have somebody will come on say I have all the answers ok that's good for you but what we do know is 2nd Peter 1:21 the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy man of God as they spake they were moved persuaded guided by the Holy Spirit so God's method if you will the Holy Spirit leading as I said through reading through prayer through ministers and I'm not gonna say all ministers and I'm not gonna say all ministers at all time I'm gonna tell you that those who have been called by God to open up the word and strangely enough there'll be people who will listen to just about anything it's like spiritual it's the spiritual garbage can put put your foot there open mouth dump stuff in ok so that's not my idea of what should be going the next thing is that if we are led going back to my text as many as are led by the Spirit of God the spirit of God does not speak of himself this is the other oddity I've heard on Christian television spirit said to me the Holy Spirit spoke to me today and said and it's always something about them or it's about somebody they know but the Bible is really clear Jesus in his own words in John's Gospel says that he shall speak not of himself he shall glorify me so when people begin to talk about operations that proceed out of the mouth we're talking about being led by the Spirit that leads us to glorify God now I'm sure that there are people listening to me today that are not solid in their Bible I strongly urge you to look up what I'm saying because there's a point a really big point all this the Prophet you've heard me reference this many times Ezekiel says all God speaking all souls are mine but not all are led by the spirit and not all are the sons of God why even though all souls are mine the Bible says some are created for honor some for dishonor some are created for the exact purpose of raising up to build up and others to be torn down some to be raised and some to be destroyed the passage I've preached out of many times out of Corinthians the gospel is the power for those that are in the process of being saved equally to those now who will not listen those that are in the act of perishing same principle I hate to tell you this but when you begin to see this as crystal clear as this it's almost like saying I shouldn't be questioning as I said the authority of Christ I would not I am NOT but I'm asking you to look at these steps that I'm laying out why because it seems clear to me that people will take this equally to mean one can never make a mistake and one can never fall down and I just referenced the prodigal but let me go to a human picture of a mother or father walking a child or the child is just beginning to learn how to walk can the child fall down absolutely can the child fall down again and again in the stages of learning how to walk absolutely now the child is older doesn't need the assistance of the parents hands but yet can a child still stumble and fall yes can you or I at our age still stumble and fall the answer is yes it's possible I'm talking about not just the falling to the ground but the falling away that the falling down or the falling aside from the track that has been given absolutely and the whole point is when somebody does fall you almost have to go back to the picture of the infant as long as you're looking under him he's ready to pick you up he's ready to help you up again you do indeed have to be willing though to get up with his help he's not gonna pick you up against your will was that clear sure hope so all right I'm moving on to what all this means in John's Gospel as well because the bulk of this information between it's between Paul John and Peter but in John's Gospel we have something else that is characteristic of being led by the spirit and although it is not spelt out in these terms it's crystal clear love and love of the Brethren we know we've passed from death to life because we love the Brethren John in 1st John says anybody who hates his brother there's no way that you can walk around saying I love the Lord now you say you love someone you cannot see this is what Peter says well if you love someone that you cans if you don't love somebody that you can see how can you love somebody you can't see and the point is that most of the time when we talk about love and Christian love it turns out to be the biggest bunch of hypocrisy there's nothing worse than somebody who says oh I I love the Brethren or they have this I'm a Christian I'm a Christian man I'm a Christian woman and the acts that they do against other people are acts of hatred their acts of non love and you would like the world to believe that you love the one you cannot see that's a strange demonstration now I'm not gonna get any further into that except to say that there are plenty of people have the Spirit of Cain am I my brother's keeper not my problem or you'll have people who take this I'm gonna go now I'm talking about love in a different dimension so I'll take this to the extreme their whole world is about last suing the souls into the kingdom right then matter how they come doesn't get them in right but one should have a burden doesn't mean you go out you try and save as many people by sundown but one should have a burden if you think about it if you have the knowledge that you should have been essentially the death that you should have incurred a life that would be eternally separated from God and from the family of God and yet for some reason he came to seek and to save you and have a burden for other people if you have the love of Christ and the spirit leads you to this doesn't mean he leads you outside to get on the street corner and come on come on come on in come on in but it means you have a burden for other people who may be in the mindset where you were hanging over the precipice of the flames of hell not knowing it should have a burden that's love as well we're not talking about that kind of crazy stuff that people seem to think is the back-slapping let's all get together I'll bake for you if you bake for me type of love bake I said not big bake all right I'm gonna narrow this down so even if we look in the Old Testament the children of Israel they had not only the leader Moses but they had the cloud and the fire to lead them and yet they still by the way they wanted to go back to Egypt it means you can still be led by the signs of God and the ways of God and still desire to go back to the flesh and the world and the devil there are those that prefer that this is why the parable the sower is mightily important for anyone who wants to really get it there are some people it doesn't matter what will happen the word cannot take root and if you're not sure if where to find the parable of the sower go to the Gospels and read it and don't argue that's just the way it is out of the mouth of Christ he speaks these things the Spirit helps us and leads us in our weakness interceding for us there are times when we need that leading guidance ever felt so overwhelmed you don't even know where to start the best place is to sit quietly and ask for help the Spirit knows how to intercede for us that's you know so let's attach the second part they are the sons of God for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God let's attach that second part sons of God does that mean that we look exactly like Jesus no because only Jesus could look like Jesus but if we're understanding the whole picture in being born from above there are going to be dimensions and qualities in our life that resemble our Heavenly Father they resemble our heavenly parentage that is inescapable now this is not this doesn't give somebody the license to go and be a food inspector and say well you're not like that so I've always said that there are workings in each individual life some are more gunked-up than others like that spiritual Drano that needs to clear away all the stuff happens over time just like fruit that does come it happens over time it doesn't happen in an instant and so sons of God special creation of God this is not when you were born into the creation although that's quite special that's God's life and God's life-giving power we're talking about those that have become the sons of God remember I quoted John 1:12 but of those that received him he gave them the power to become the sons of God the right the authority the ability if you will so what does that mean it means that there's a great privilege attached and that privilege should be viewed as God treating his children a certain way we ought to not be spoiled brats like all I know you know you see parents that have kids that are so spoiled and the way they talk to their parents rather we know who our Father is our Heavenly Father and the great privilege that we have is being sons again generic term but the children of God if you want the legal term from the book Paul uses it I have it here one two three four five times he uses the word adoption you want the legal term for it even though we're using English adoption the Greek word is sonship but if you want to go that way how do you become adopted you don't just say okay I'm gonna take you in your mind it becomes a legal fact you are mine now the paperwork has been done you are mine not as the slave you're adopted into the family of God there's the legal definition right there of becoming is there's something wonderful about all this language if you really especially if you're really one of those people who's sensitive to the fact that you do indeed drift in and out of recognition of your standing with God there are days when it is real and relevant and recognizable and there are days when you cannot see it I've been describing the days for the last few weeks when you cannot see it but now I'm talking about the ability to recognize this power of God leading you not making you something wacky now let me just go over these real quick because I have a few notes here that I want to talk about this new birth and being led which then makes us sons and daughters of God brings about a few things a change of heart motives desires a change of masters Romans 6 talks about this to whom he yield yourself and your members these are all vitally important why because there are too many people in churches who say they are his but they're not willing to surrender themselves the fear is I will lose my identity I will lose Who I am I'll lose my life well isn't that what Christ said if you're willing to lose your life for my sake in the gospel you'll actually find it you find out you find out who you are supposed to be not who you were faking it to be because that's how most of us before coming to the understanding go through life thinking well this is what I'm supposed to do you find out who you really are and what your calling is which means every single person by the way change if master says I can be a servant in my father's house I can be a servant I prefer to be a servant in my father's house then dwell in the tents of wickedness I can raise my hand and say send me Lord even though I know full well what that means no one's gonna hear me no one's gonna want to listen I'm gonna like what David says I be a janitor in God's house there's no excuse for people not serving by the way being led by the Spirit doesn't somehow you're going to float ten feet off the ground and have some holy rolling experience it means just what I've said these leading guiding helping to change your nature by the way from the inside which is God's deposit in you change of standing before God once alienated now reconciled and as I just mentioned the ability to serve with a purpose now all of that brings me to a conclusion because in my passage it says for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God buried where it says two places and I'll just highlight them because what I said about those being in the flesh verse the spirit now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he's none of his we're talking about the Spirit of Christ the Spirit of God the Holy Spirit these are all the same terms being used he's none of his now there may be people listening to me today that will make a crazy mistake that I made many years ago when I first came into the church I wasn't exactly sure kind of like flying a plane how does this thing work right I wasn't exactly sure I was listening I was gripped by the message but then I was conflicted because I had seen a few things on TV and I had been to one or two other services where they did other things and people came forward and they they did this prayer over here and other people signed cards and other people went into this is from a former life they went into little boxes with curtains and talked to somebody they didn't know behind the curtain telling them burying their soul and telling them their most private things in a confessional now you know why I used to call the little carrying case I took Newman around him when he was a puppy the confessional as confused because I didn't know the word enough to know that God will work that out as you grow and as you go and as you walk in God's Word and in God's ways God begins to work that out on these things that we once I imagine were the way I now understood to be man's caricature of God's Way of leading men unto salvation and unto himself now from Paul's other writing let me just point out one thing and then I'm done out of Galatians 5 same flesh and spirit Galatians 5 but I want to read these to you because the fifth chapter and Galatians really nails this home beginning at verse 16 I say then walk in the spirit you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would but if he be led of the Spirit you're not under the law because this whole passage in this book refers to those who were being judaized taken back to the law but he goes on to say in verse 25 if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit and different from verse 16 walk in the spirit that is physically your Christian walk this verse 25 to walk is the Greek word stoical men which means to come under the guidance of it's actually used in a military term there's the general and then there are those underneath following coming under the rank of that one who is in charge if we live in the spirit let us also come under be guided by be led by the spirit now very simply put the reason for this my desire is to like blanket being put out for those people who have been wrestling and trying to figure out why is my maybe my walk is a little bit out of water a little bit out of whack or their things missing here that like those people that were encountered they believed and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ but they hadn't heard so much as receiving the Holy Spirit there are people who have all kinds of doctrinal ideas and errors about the leading and the guidance of the Holy Spirit so my goal today was to clarify how the authority which I highlighted which is Christ beginning with Christ and his words the application which comes out of Paul's writing and you can go through much of Paul's writing I highlighted Romans and Galatians there are also passages in Ephesians a little bit and also in Philippians that can clarify as well to say this is part and parcel of what God is equipping us has equipped us with and the idea somehow that being led by the Spirit makes you some loony-tune crazy person that has to have gyrations all over the place no its power that is under control that is orderly organized which takes you back by the way always to the same place the anchor of the soul taking us back into the word and fixing our stance once more in the place and on the person of Christ who never moves remember I said one of those is to glorify Christ to fix us to the one who never moves so when we think about this it should bring us to a new realization of our sonship and our standing before God to glorify Him to give him the praise the days when you wake up and you have difficulty and you can't think of anything else thank God for the fact that you have new standing with him thank God for the fact that you're part of the family of God and a part of the family of God it says when one hurt all hurt begin to pray and if you're not sure where exactly to begin the Spirit will give you the guidance lead you into the scriptures to help you to build back up to the place and if you are willing to be guided the Lord will through the spirit pick you up and help you on your way and if you can't famous words from dr. Scott if you can't stand up sit up if you can't sit up nod your head if you can't nod your head blink your eye but by faith and by this wonderful helper we have the Holy Spirit we can and we will come through and conquer and that is my message you've been watching me pastor Melissa Scott live from Glendale California at Faith Center if you would like to attend the service with us Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. simply call

Channel: Pastor Melissa Scott, Ph.D.

Views: 3,876

Rating: 4.9223299 out of 5

Keywords: Pastor Melissa Scott, Holy Spirit, Faith Center, faith center Glendale, Sonship, Person and Works of the Holy Spirit, sons, daughters, Leading, Led, Pastor Scott, Romans, KJV, Bible Study, sons and daughters, romans 8, romans kjv, Help from the holy spirit, power, response to the call of God, born again, adopted sons and daughters, Pastor Scott teaches, Faith Center church, Pastor Scott exposed, pastor melissa scott exposed, pastor melissa scott 2018, pastor melissa scott youtube

Id: vFb1t4czw4Y

Length: 58min 3sec (3483 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 17 2018