Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast,
where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to
this podcast.
I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen
you in the word of God.
Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has
for us here today.
We are in the book of Romans and we're in a sermon series called
why Theology Matters.
Why Theology Matters.
Why does it matter what we believe about God?
And I think most of us know the answer to that, because what
we believe about God links directly to what we do in connection
to that belief.
And so here in Romans chapter eight, if you have your Bibles, turn
there with me.
Romans, chapter eight.
We've been looking at what salvation brings us.
Salvation in Jesus Christ through Jesus Christ.
Salvation is not found in anything else.
Salvation is not found in our works.
That's what the Bible has told us so far.
Not by works that we have done.
We know that the book of Ephesians, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, tell
us that it's a gift of God.
It's a gift of grace, not of works, lest any man should boast.
And so here In Romans chapter 8, we're reminded about what we have
in our salvation.
It says in verse number one, there is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus.
The Bible says here in verse number one of Romans chapter eight,
that what we have in salvation is salvation from judgment or condemnation.
But the Bible has told us here in Romans that when we trust in Jesus
Christ as our Savior, the Bible tells us, tells us that the
Holy Spirit indwells us.
And so the indwelling of the Spirit brings salvation from judgment.
That is what salvation brings us.
But salvation brings us other things.
We see in verse number eight that we are 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, He is none
of his.
And so the Bible tells us that in salvation we have the indwelling
of the Spirit.
And the indwelling of the Spirit brings us salvation from condemnation
or judgment, but it also brings us the presence of God, that
God lives within our lives, that he doesn't just come visit us
from time to time on Sunday mornings, but that as a believer,
I have the Spirit indwelling me.
And that means that God is with me.
One of the names for Jesus is Emmanuel.
God with us.
One of the beautiful things that we can take with us as believers
is that we have a personal God, the God who cares about every
element of our lives.
That he loves us, that he cares for us, and that we know that
he is with us and he will never leave us nor forsake us.
And so what does the Spirit of God bring us?
The Spirit of God brings us no more condemnation.
That's exciting.
I don't know about you, but that makes me want to cheer because
I deserve condemnation.
I deserve judgment in my sin.
All of us, if we're honest, deserve what the Bible says is the
wage of sin.
The wages of sin is death.
But when we are in Christ, there is no more condemnation.
There's conviction, there's the fact that we need to know that
we need to change in Christ.
But there's no more condemnation.
We don't have to pay for the sins that we committed.
Why?
Because Jesus paid that price for us on the cross and he conquered
death through the resurrection.
So therefore we can live in eternal life.
But then the Bible tells us that there's more.
He saves us from condemnation.
But verse nine tells us that he gives us his presence.
He is with us in the midst of our difficulties, in the midst of
our pain, in the midst of our loneliness, in the midst of our confusion.
God is with us, and he will lead us to truth.
But the Bible says more here in Romans, chapter 8.
Not only does he save us from condemnation, not only does he give
us his presence, but we here see in verse number 12 that the Holy
Spirit does something in us.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit changes us.
Look at verse number 12 with me.
The Bible says here that the believer's victory over sin comes
through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
He says, therefore, brethren, we are debtors.
We have an obligation because of what God has done for us, because
of his sacrifice.
We have an obligation.
But that obligation is no longer after the flesh.
He says we are debtors, not to the flesh.
And if you're new with us, let's just talk very quickly about
the definition of flesh and spirit.
The Bible says that when we are saved, we are indwelled by the
Spirit, but we still have the sinful flesh that hangs on.
And that's that battle that we fight.
Are we going to obey and follow the Spirit, or are we going
to give into the pleasure?
Are we going to give into our flesh?
Are we going to give into sin?
And so often Christians fall back into the trap of the flesh.
And he says here, no, we are not debtors to the flesh.
We we are debtors to the Spirit.
Why?
He says, because to be in the flesh means that we live after the
flesh, and therefore we've been saved from that.
He says we're not debtors to the flesh.
We are not supposed to live in the flesh.
Verse 13.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die again.
Remember, the flesh brings destruction.
The flesh brings sin.
The flesh brings death.
But then he goes on to say, but if ye, through the Spirit, do
mortify or kill the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
And so he says here, what does the Holy Spirit do in us?
It brings us an obligation to follow after the truth of God.
It brings us the obligation to walk in obedience to him.
We owe nothing to the flesh.
And as Christians, sometimes we live as if we do owe something
to the flesh.
Well, I've got to feed the flesh.
I have to obey the flesh.
The Bible says, no, we have to die to that.
That word there in verse number 13, mortify.
It's a strong word.
It says here, basically, to slay the flesh, to kill the flesh,
to die to that and to live in the Spirit.
So we owe nothing to the flesh.
But I want you to think about this.
We owe everything to the Spirit.
We owe everything to God.
Why?
Because he brings life, peace and righteousness to our lives.
And so if you're tempted to quit, if you're tempted to think
that the world is going to bring something better to you, that.
That this pleasure is going to be better than the pleasure of God,
folks, remind yourself.
Let me remind myself that my flesh is not what saved me.
My flesh brought nothing to me except pain and suffering and death.
It is the Spirit who changed me.
It is God's love that transformed my life.
And so therefore, when we are tempted, the doubt turn to the thing
that God has done for you and that is salvation.
We owe everything to the Spirit.
We are not debtors to the flesh.
And so there's this call here to reject self effort.
And if I can preach about anything here this morning, let me
preach about this.
The emptiness, the uselessness, the vanity of doing
what we believe the right thing to do in the wrong way.
Folks, I can try to do all the things that the Bible calls me to
do as a Christian, but if I do it in my flesh, if I do it in my
own strength, it's always going to fail.
I'm always going to find myself in disappointment.
I'm always going to find myself in bitterness.
I'm always going to find myself with some sort of emptiness
in my life.
And so, folks, there is a way to do something in the wrong way.
Even if we're serving, we can serve the Lord in the flesh.
I can try to love my wife in the flesh.
I can try to be a godly man in the flesh.
But what does it say?
He says, even if we're trying to do the right thing in the wrong
way, it will always lead back to the flesh.
And, and the flesh, as it says here, leads to death.
And so what do we do?
We look deeper into why we are doing what we are doing.
We do it because of what God has done in us in that change.
And so therefore, we are to reject self effort when it comes
to every element of our lives.
Romans, chapter 7, verse 18.
We saw that a few weeks ago.
Paul says, for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no
good thing, for to will is present with me.
But how to perform that which is good, I find not meaning.
I cannot do anything good in my flesh.
I need God in every area of my life.
John 15 tells us to abide in Him.
Why?
Because we cannot bear true Christian fruit without being in
him and being guided by Him.
The flesh.
Let me put it this way.
The flesh cannot overcome flesh.
Moral reform cannot produce holiness.
You know, I could sit here today and say, okay, this is what
it means to be a member of Middletown Baptist Church.
And you need to follow this list of rules and then you'll be
holy.
No, that's not how we're holy.
The only way that we can be holy in the sight of God is walking
in His Son's righteousness, imputed righteousness.
It is his perfection put on our account.
None of us can follow a list of rules and be holy.
And so the Bible tells us here that flesh will not destroy flesh.
The only thing that will destroy the flesh is the infusion
of the Spirit in our lives.
And so the obligation of the believer is to live in the Spirit.
We are not capable of changing ourselves apart from the divine,
all powerful nature of God and the Spirit indwelling in us.
And so we have the obligation, but we also have the operation of
the Spirit.
Look at verse number 13.
He says, if we live after the flesh, ye shall die.
The Bible says that we can have victory over sin, but the victory
over sin is not going to be found through trying harder.
The victory over sin is going to be found, as it says there in
verse 13, if we live in the Spirit.
But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,
ye shall live.
Victory comes by the Spirit.
The Bible says, kill, slay, remove those fleshly impulses in
our life.
The only way to do that, the Spirit enables us and empowers us
to continually put to death those sinful desires and practices
in our lives.
The Bible says that it is through only the power of God that
we can experience this.
It's not power of ourselves.
Go back with me if you have your Bibles.
Turn with me to Acts, chapter 1, verse 8.
Jesus is talking to his disciples right before he ascends
to heaven.
Some people tie Acts, chapter one, verse eight to the Great Commission.
And I think that this is a great verse to point to how we can
experience the power of God.
So many of us here, hey, we can experience the power of God.
The power of God can work in us.
The power of God can work through us.
We can experience the power of God.
And that's a great thing to say within church.
It's a great thing to say within the Christian circle.
But what does it mean to experience the power of God?
What does it mean to allow the power of God to work through us?
Well, it says here in Acts, chapter one, verse eight how we will
receive the power of God.
He says, but you shall receive power after that.
The Holy Ghost has come upon you.
The Bible says the power of God comes through the indwelling
and the guidance of the Spirit.
We're not going to see the power of God working in our lives
by our own strength, by our own power, by.
By our own wisdom.
It's by the guidance of the Spirit that we can experience the
powerful transformation that God brings to us in our lives.
And so he says here, when God gives you the Holy Ghost, when the
Holy Ghost indwells you, you will be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem and Judea and in Samaria into the uttermost part of
the earth.
The Bible says that God calls us to do things for him, with this
case in point, being witnesses for Him.
But when he gives us a call in our life, he gives us the power to
do it.
And God has allowed you to be in the place that you are in your
life at whatever capacity of service that you are in.
But God gives you the power through the Spirit to do what he
has called you to do.
You can do it, but not in your own strength.
If I was here this morning and I was telling you this, you are enough.
That sounds good because that makes me feel like I'm something.
You're enough.
You're so strong, you're so powerful, you're so smart.
Folks, if the centerpiece of our hope is me.
We're missing the point.
The centerpiece to my hope must be the power of God resting
on my life.
And there's a beautiful thing that we find in Second Corinthians
2 Corinthians, chapter number 12.
Paul says, Look, Lord, take this away from me.
Take this away from me.
And God says, no, Paul.
When you are weak, I am strong.
You are made perfect through my power and your weakness.
God's power is seen growing in our life when we realize our inadequacies
and turn to him.
And that's what Paul is talking about here in Romans, chapter
8, verses 12 and 13.
He says, the power of God can be seen through the Spirit.
And so we see a little bit more here in verse 13.
He says, but if ye through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live.
Now, how do we do that?
So you say, okay, good Pastor, I see the.
That I need to get rid of the flesh in my life.
Okay, I see that I'm supposed to follow the Spirit, but how do
I know what the Spirit wants me to do?
How do I follow his teaching?
How do I follow his conviction?
How do I follow his guidance in my life?
Well, the Bible says clearly throughout Scripture In Romans, chapter
10, verse 17, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of
God.
There's other passages of Scripture that speak of sanctify
them through thy truth.
Thy word is truth.
The way we see the Spirit's guidance in our life is by going
to his word as He.
He directs us in Scripture.
And so what I would say is this saturation is key.
Saturation for sanctification.
Think about it that way.
We need to saturate ourselves with the things of God so that we
can be sanctified in his truth.
That word sanctified just means to be set aside, to be set
apart, to be set differently for a different purpose.
And so the Bible says the key to that spiritual growth is saturation.
Saturation with what?
Well, filling our minds with the truths of God.
What we fill our minds with will determine our walk.
What we fill our minds with will eventually go into our hearts
and go out of our mouths.
What we fill our minds with will be exactly how we respond when
troubles come.
And so the Bible says In Romans, chapter 12, to renew our
minds, the Bible says to set our minds on the things above.
Colossians, chapter three.
And so to know the way of the Spirit is to know the direction of
the Spirit.
Now, we don't want to remove the Conviction of the spirit.
We don't want to remove the comfort of the spirit, but it starts
with the word of God.
So when the mind is fixed on the spirit and all the things of
the spirit, what comes after?
Well, Romans chapter 8, verse 6 tells us that.
Go back, he says, for to be carnally minded is death, but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace.
So to be spiritually minded is having our thoughts and our desires
and our direction aligned with the things of God.
And so it's a question of focus.
What is our mind fixed on?
Is our mind fixed on the flesh, or is our mind fixed on the
things of the spirit?
Our spiritual health depends on on a consistent renewal of our
minds.
Romans chapter 12.
We're going to get ahead of ourselves.
A little bit later on in the book of Romans, we see basically
practical applications of the spiritual truths that are given to
us in the first half of Romans.
And so later on in Romans, when we see the practical application
of all of these things.
He says in verse number one of Romans chapter 12, I beseech you,
I appeal to you, I beg you.
Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies, your everything, a living sacrifice wholly acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service.
He says, this, guys, as believers, we are called to give
everything.
Why?
It's our reasonable response to what God has done for us.
God has given us everything, and it's only reasonable for us to
give him everything.
The truth of the matter is that so often we think, well, God,
I don't want to give you that.
God, that's mine.
I want control of that.
But really what the Bible says is that God doesn't want us to give
our lives in the physical sense of killing something like the
Old Testament.
He wants us to give him a living sacrifice.
He wants us to live for him.
That's the way that we show our spiritual worship.
And so then he says in verse two, and be not conformed to this
world.
Don't act like the world, don't think like the world, don't
be like the world, but be transformed.
That's that transformation.
In the Greek, the word is the word we get in English.
Metamorphosis.
So, you know, a caterpillar crawls up on a branch, makes a chrysalis,
comes out a butterfly.
Totally different form of things.
That's what we are to do as a Christian.
We are supposed to be transformed by what?
By the renewing of your mind that ye may prove or demonstrate
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
We want to know the will of God in our lives.
We want to know the will of the Spirit in our lives as we are
to walk as Christians, it's renewing our mind in the truths of
God.
And so our spiritual health depends on the consistent renewal
of our minds.
When it comes to what we take in and what we think about.
If our mind is always set in the things of the flesh, guess what?
We're going to live in the flesh.
We're going to respond in the flesh.
We're going to live in rebellion.
We're going to live in brokenness.
And so the outcome of our choice is basically seen here.
There's two ways that we can go.
It's to live after the flesh, which is death, or we can live by
the Spirit, which the Bible says is life.
It's an issue of service.
Who are we going to serve?
Are we servants to sin or are we servants to the Spirit?
There's always going to be something that rules our life.
But the Bible says that we can't serve two masters.
If we think that we can serve God and serve ourselves, we're confused,
we're believing a lie.
The Bible calls that someone who is double minded.
And the Bible says that a double minded man is unstable in
all of his ways.
A double minded man is someone who says, well, I want the things
of God, but I also want the things of this world and I want to
blend those together.
I know what God's word says, but I feel this way.
So I'm going to go ahead and choose the way that I feel.
Folks, I'm going to tell you here this morning, the truths of
God don't change by our feelings.
There's mornings that I wake up and I don't feel like doing what
God says because my flesh wants to reject that.
But that's when we mortify, we kill that and we say, no, Lord, it's
you, I serve you.
Whether or not it makes sense to me, whether or not it makes me
feel good, I follow you.
And so the Spirit leads us.
And, and some people would say this.
Well, isn't that like bondage?
Isn't, isn't, isn't that something that's going to bring us
down and limit us?
Well, let's see more about what the Bible says.
In Romans chapter eight, he says, for as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
So if we're led by the Spirit, the Bible doesn't say that we're
in bondage.
The Bible actually says that we are sons of God or children of
God.
And what does it mean to be a child of God?
Well, he says, for ye have not received the spirit of bondage.
Again, the fear, meaning this sin, is what brings us to bondage.
The flesh is what brings us to bondage.
Because that's all we can do when we're in the flesh.
We can't honor God, we can't live for God.
So it's actually the contrary.
When we receive the Spirit and when we follow in the Spirit, we
are no longer in bondage to fear and descent.
But ye have received the spirit of adoption.
What an amazing truth this is.
The Bible actually says that when we trust in God and when the
Holy Spirit indwells us, we are adopted into the family of God.
Now why does it say adopted?
That's an interesting word.
Why doesn't it say we're born again?
Well, we are born again, but also in a parallel idea, he says
that we are adopted into the family of God, meaning this, in the
old times, when an individual was adopted into a family, he or
she would not receive the complete inheritance until they were
adopted as an adult.
As, as.
As they became an adult.
That's when they received the whole inheritance.
The Bible says here that we are received in 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, then heirs of God, joint heirs with
Christ, if so, be that we suffer with him, that we may also
be glorified together.
So the Bible says here very clearly that when we are servants
to God, he doesn't just keep us in a room and lock us up and never
give us an opportunity to receive the blessings.
No, actually we are opened up and we are freed from our bondage.
And we are given freedom to serve him.
We are given freedom to be part of the family of God.
And we receive these blessings as joint heirs with Christ.
And so the Spirit leads us to freedom.
Not freedom to do what we want to do, but freedom to serve him,
while the flesh, as it says here, enslaves us again to corruption
into sin, into brokenness.
And so the ongoing work of the Spirit is this, that the Spirit convicts
us, the Spirit empowers us, the Spirit renews us and transforms
us and produces fruit, as we see in Galatians chapter 5, to walk
in obedience.
And so our responsibility is to die daily to that and to remember
our standing in Christ.
And so we saw already here this morning what the Spirit does
in us.
But I want to ask the question too.
Who the Holy Spirit makes us?
Well, the answer to that question, as we see in verse number
14, is this, that we are the children of God, as the Bible says
here, verse 14.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God.
Now, let's just stop there.
The Bible says that we who are in the Spirit are children of God.
What does that mean?
Well, First John, we read it this morning.
First John 3, verse 1.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that
we should be called the sons of God, the children of God.
So verse 14 tells us that there's this amazing thing that happens,
that when we're saved, when we are transformed, we are not just
followers of Christ.
Even though we are followers of Christ, we're brought even closer
as children.
And we are no longer in the sense of, as verse 15 says, we're
no longer in the sense of bondage anymore.
We're not held back, but we're freed.
And I think about this a lot because, you know, for me, I'm thankful
to be the child of my earthly father.
You know, if any of you know my dad, he's a great guy.
I love it.
I'm so thankful that my dad is my dad.
Now, some of us don't have that as a testimony.
Some of us might say, well, you didn't know my father, or, I
didn't even know my father.
Or, you know what?
If you knew my father, you wouldn't be thankful.
The idea is this, though.
No matter what the case might be, whether you're thankful for your
earthly father or not, all of us, if we are believers in Jesus
Christ here this morning, can be thankful that we have a heavenly
father who loves us, who will never forsake us, who will do everything
that a loving father does in every single way.
The only way that I can be a loving father to my children is because
I have experienced the love of Christ.
And that love of a father in my life has shown me what it means
to love my children sacrificially, to love my children
in a way that is different.
And so the Bible says here that when we experience the love
of God, we're experiencing the love of a father.
And then it says more here it says, whereby we cry, abba father.
Meaning this because of the spirit of adoption.
Because we are adopted into the family of God, we now can cry
out to God, not just as God, even though that is enough.
If we just had God up there, that was there, and he just stepped
away and said, I saved you and now I don't want a relationship with
you.
That would be enough to save us.
But no, God says, I want that relationship with you.
That word abba is a personal term.
It's like calling your father daddy.
There's a personal relationship now that we can have
with the Father.
I want you to see another verse in Hebrews, Hebrews chapter
four.
Hebrews chapter four tells us that the only reason that we can
do this, the only reason that we can have this personal access
with God is because of the work of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews chapter four.
And many of you know this verse, verse 14.
And we'll look at verses 14, 15 and 16.
Because of our standing in Christ, we have access to the Father
and we can say, abba, father, I need you.
In this time of difficulty.
I'm scared, I'm lonely.
I don't know what to do.
The Bible says in Hebrews 4, verse 14, seeing then we have a great
high priest that is passed into heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast our profession.
For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin.
So the Bible says the only way that we can know God is because of
our high priest, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the one, the way, the truth and the life.
But what happens then?
What is our access now because of Jesus, because of our faith in
him?
What has Jesus brought us?
It says in verse 16, let us therefore.
Therefore remember the word therefore means look back, see what
it's there for.
Right?
Because of what Jesus Christ did for us as the great high priest.
He says, let us come boldly or confidently unto the throne of grace.
We can come before God that we may obtain mercy and find grace to
help in time of need.
So one of the beautiful things that we have as being a child of
God is that we can go to God for everything and anything at any
time and ask him for help, as it says here, to obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need.
God wants us to come to him in our brokenness.
God wants us to come to him in our need and our emptiness and say,
lord, fill me, guide me, give me that type of grace and peace that
only you can give me in my life.
As a parent, I love when my children come up and need something
from me because as a dad, I get to provide that for them.
And if I, as a limited, flawed earthly father, am excited to help
my children.
Think about how much more a perfect heavenly father wants to
meet his children in times of need.
I run out of patience, though sometimes as a dad.
Some of you that are dads know that after my son has asked me about
the 40th question, I'm like, why?
Why?
He always wants to know why.
I'm like, son, it's enough.
Just stop asking me questions.
I'm done for the day.
I'm checking out.
The Bible doesn't say that God checks out on us.
The book of James says that if we lack wisdom, we can ask of it.
And he gives it to us liberally and he abradeth not, which
means this.
He doesn't get mad at us when we keep asking.
He just keeps giving it to us abundantly and abundantly and liberally.
He just keeps pouring the wisdom and power out to us in our
life.
Folks, you know what the truth is, is that my dad is here today.
They live in Florida, so 1,000 miles away, but because of the advent
of technology, he's a phone call away.
He's a text away.
And one thing that I can say about my dad is that if someone said,
hey, I'm going to give you a million dollars if someone answers
the phone, he's the one I'm calling, okay?
Because I know he's going to answer, okay?
Unless he's, like, dead or something, he's not.
He's going to answer his phone any time of the day.
And in the middle of the night, he answers his phone.
That's just his thing, okay?
But even then, there's limitations, right?
But we can call out to God at any time, 24, 7, 365.
And he's not too busy for us.
He can answer us and he can meet us in those times of need.
He's never upset with us.
He never says, that's enough.
I'm busy.
He has enough time for us.
He has enough care for us because it's abundant.
And that's not just for you, because my dad, you know, some of
you say, well, I never had a dad that answers his phone.
Maybe I can call your dad.
I'm gonna tell you that if all of us called him tomorrow, he's not
gonna be able to answer all of those calls, right?
He can't be.
But our Heavenly Father can answer all the calls of Middletown
Baptist Church and all the believers across this whole world
at the same time.
And that's the beauty of what we have as children of God.
And then we're.
And what does that mean.
That means we're brothers and sisters.
And sometimes brothers and sisters fight.
We know that.
Okay?
But the idea would be this.
We have the same spirit indwelling us.
You've heard me say this before.
If you, as a believer, have the spirit indwelling you, and this
person over here has the same spirit indwelling them.
What the Bible says is that we're both walking in the Spirit.
We're both walking in fellowship.
Oh, we might have some differences.
We might differ on what we should eat at the potluck or how
we should decorate a room.
But at the end of the day, we say, you know what?
We're here for the gospel.
We're here for the work of our Father.
We're about our Father's business.
And so what do we see here?
He says, the Spirit itself.
So he says, you can cry out Abba, Father.
So what does the Spirit Spirit bring us?
The Spirit tells us who we are in Christ.
We are his children.
The Spirit itself beareth witness.
This is verse 16 with our spirit, that we are the children
of God.
What does that mean?
That essentially means this.
The Holy Spirit confirms in our hearts that we are children of
God.
Now, there are some people that might call themselves children
of God that are not children of God.
But a true child of God is confirmed and reminded about his
love through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
One thing I do to my kids all the time, I say, hey.
Almost every day I say, hey, have I ever told you that I love
you?
And they're like, yes, dad, every day you tell us that you love
you.
I was like, well, I just want to remind you that you're my son.
You're my daughter.
I love you.
I do that because I know they need to hear that.
But I'm not perfect.
But you know what God does?
God gives us the Spirit to bear witness in our life.
That he loves us, that he cares for us, that he hasn't forgotten
about us.
But when we don't walk in the Spirit, when we walk in the flesh,
sometimes we're tempted to think, well, maybe God doesn't love
me.
Why?
Because I'm not walking in the Spirit.
I'm not perceiving the Spirit.
And then I start to think, well, maybe God is in my Father.
Or maybe he hasn't loved me enough today.
Or maybe I failed too much, and maybe I'm going to find condemnation.
But when we're walking in the Spirit, the Spirit, as it says in
verse 16, confirms in us, bears witness in us that we are the
children of God.
God reminds us repeatedly, you know, want to know how much I love
you, Send my only begotten son for you.
I've adopted you into the family of God.
I've saved you, I've transformed you.
I promise eternal life for you in heaven.
Folks, we're never, if we're walking in that truth, we are never
tempted to think that God has stopped loving us, that God has forgotten
about us, that God isn't enough.
Folks, it's when we drift into the flesh, into the, as the Bible
says, the spirit of bondage again, that we're tempted to doubt,
that we're tempted to lose our confidence, that we're tempted to
stray away and think that the world or the sins of the flesh will
give us some sort of pleasure and satisfaction.
But he says, no, as a child, you are to serve me, you are to love
me.
And then it's not just busy, busy, busy service, you're pouring
in.
What does verse 17 say?
It says, and if children.
So if he says, if you're a child of God, which are what you
are, if you're a believer.
Now let me stop here.
Not every single person that walks this planet is a child of God.
I've heard some people say, well, aren't we all just children
of God?
This promise is for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ.
Now, we are all created in the image of God.
That's why we are to love every person and give the gospel
to every person and not mistreat anybody from any walk of
life.
We are to speak the truth in love.
But.
But the Bible says that it is those who, in verse 8, verses 1 through
16, that he's been talking about that have trusted in the Lord
and have received the Spirit.
Those are the children of God.
So I can't just live the way that I want to live, live in faithlessness,
reject God and say, well, I'm a child of God, so I'm going to receive
all the blessings.
Those who receive the blessings of God, as we're talking
about here, are those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as savior.
So he says, if you have done that, you are a child of God.
And then he says, if you are a child of God, then heirs.
So it's more than just being in the family.
You get to be an heir to the kingdom, you get to have the blessings
of God, you get to have the spiritual riches of God.
And then he says, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
So he says, you get to have everything if you are a child of
God.
Now, let me stop here.
Sometimes you could read this verse and misread it and think, well,
if God loves me, he's going to give me everything that I want.
And we could talk about a buzzword today, Prosperity.
Well, if you love God enough, He'll give you everything you've
ever wanted.
He'll give you that car you wanted.
He'll give you that house.
You want it?
Well, not necessarily.
Because if it's not in the plan of God or the will of God, he
doesn't have to give us those things.
But the Bible does speak of a type of prosperity that he will give
us.
And that is in the book of Ephesians, spiritual prosperity.
Prosperity of knowing that he is there.
And it doesn't matter how much money I have in my bank account.
I have all the spiritual blessings in my account because of
who is my Father.
And so he says, if so.
And so he says, if you are identified with God in Jesus Christ,
then you're identified with Jesus.
And he says, to be identified with Jesus means that life isn't
going to be completely smooth in every way.
Look at Jesus.
Earthly ministry.
Did everyone love Jesus?
No.
People came against Jesus.
People persecuted Jesus.
Jesus went through physical pain and suffering.
So he says, to be identified with Jesus means to identify with
him in his difficulties and in his blessings.
So he says, if we are joint heirs with Christ, if so, be that
we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
And so he says, folks, the promise is not that everything is
going to go completely smooth in our life.
The example for that would be Jesus.
If anyone was loved by God, it was Jesus.
But Jesus went through problems.
And so if you're going through problems and say, well, God doesn't
love me, folks, Jesus went through pain and struggles.
Jesus was betrayed.
Jesus was forgotten about.
And so you will be too.
But the truth is, is at the very end, he says, yes, you get to
suffer like Jesus suffered sometimes, but then you get to be
glorified together.
And that glorification is the greatest thing because he says, one
day you will be reunited with your Abba Father.
You will no longer have the flesh of pain and suffering and hopelessness
in this world.
But you will be glorified with him and reunited with him, and you
will be able to walk with no more pain and suffering.
And then that day you will say, you know what?
It was worth.
Was worth it.
Why?
Because I'm identified with Jesus Christ.
Sometimes we're going through struggles and pain in our life when
we're Tempted to doubt.
But if you are a believer in Jesus this morning, you are his child.
He loves you.
He has all the power, all the prosperity in this world, and he
wants to impart that into your life.
When it comes to your spiritual walk, don't allow the struggles
and the circumstances of this world dictate to you who you are
in Christ.
The only thing that should be your definition of who you are in
Christ is your identity in him.
And say, yes, I am with Jesus no matter what.
So therefore, there's gonna be struggles.
But I'm still a child of the Lord.
You know what I could ask you, are you having a good week?
And most of us would answer based on our circumstances.
I had a tough week this week.
Had a lot of pain, lost someone.
I understand what we mean by that.
Circumstantially, we can have tough weeks.
We can have a bad day, right?
You wake up, and I don't know how many of you have ever, like,
stepped on a kid's toy in the middle of the night or in the morning.
I was getting out, and I stepped on a sharp thing, and it's
like the sharpest thing in the world.
And I'm.
I already started out the day bad.
I stepped on a toy.
I'm doing this.
I did this.
And didn't get my coffee when I was wanting to get it.
And it's just a bad day.
But really, truthfully, let's talk about this.
All of us, if we are believers in Jesus Christ, can wake up in the
morning and say, I'm a child of the King.
He's my father.
It's a good day.
I can wake up and I can say, you know what?
Yeah, I'm having some bad circumstances.
But the bigger picture is this.
It's never a bad day in Jesus Christ.
Oh, we can weep.
The Bible says there is a time for mourning.
But that morning.
And when I talk about morning, I'm not talking about the sun coming
up.
I'm talking about sadness.
But there is a time where we can say, even in the midst of our
brokenness, we can turn to him and say, he's our Father and he's
gonna make all things right.
I know as a kid, I dealt.
I still deal with actually confidence and fear and dealing with
people.
But if my dad was with me, we'd go to the store.
He's like, all right.
I wouldn't even want to talk to anybody.
But if my dad was there, I was confident because my dad was big
man on Campus.
He was going to be the one that, hey, wouldn't mess with me.
My dad would take care of him.
I walked with more confidence when my dad was with me because I
believed in him.
I believed in his strength.
I believed in his wisdom.
And so no more was I afraid because I had his presence with me
on a much more infinite level.
That's how we should be walking, with our Savior on our side.
What can the world do to me?
What can that person who's a naysayer do to me?
Well, what.
What can that.
That sickness do to me?
Why?
Because I'm walking with my father.
He's got me.
I'm under control now.
Not my control, but his control.
And so here this morning, I want us to go back.
We're gonna summarize all this, and we're gonna end with this
dot here in verse number 17.
So we saw in verse number 12 what the Holy Spirit does in us.
And that is, he changes us.
He allows us to die to the flesh and live a life of obedience
to God.
But then we see it shifting there in verse number 14, that not
only does God do a work in us in transforming us into Scripture
Spirit, but the Spirit also makes us a child of God.
And the child of God has confidence in him, access to him,
hope in him, strength in him, effectiveness in Him.
So here this morning, I don't know where you're at in your spiritual
walk.
Maybe some of you are going through a tough time.
Maybe some of you are going through times of doubt.
Maybe some of you are going through times where you don't feel
the love of God.
You know what?
What I would encourage you to do is go back to what he has done
for you.
He's already proved it.
And the Bible says there in verse 16, that the Holy Spirit reminds
us of his love and of his grace and of his power and of his
sacrifice.
If you're tempted to think that he hasn't done enough for you,
think about what he said on the cross.
Three words in English, one word in Aramaic.
Tetelestai.
It is finished.
God's already done the work for you by sending his only begotten
Son.
He died on the cross.
He conquered death through the resurrection.
All we do is tap into his power and his grace in our life,
his strength in our life.
So the Spirit's working us.
It brings death, you say, Wait, I thought the Spirit brought
life.
The Spirit's work brings death.
Death to our flesh, but brings life to us and transformation to
us.
Some of you might have struggle with other things.
Maybe you don't doubt God's love, but maybe you do this because
I've been here.
There's a sin in my life that I can't get victory over.
I'm just always angry.
I just always fly off the handle of people.
I can't control that.
Or, you know what, there's this vice in my life that I just
keep turning to and I keep turning to.
Or there's this private thing that nobody knows about me, but this
is what I think about all the time.
And I just can't get victory over that sin.
The Bible says that the spirit can come in and piece by piece, like
a scalpel, like surgery, just take out those things in our life.
Not because we're good people, but because of the Holy Spirit's
power and its perfection in our life.
Folks, if you're struggling with something that you say I cannot
get victory over, this is too much.
All I can do.
No.
The Bible says in First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 13,
that there's nothing that he has given us in our life that we
can't find a way to victory in.
What I would encourage you to do is ask God to give you strength
to mortify, to slay the flesh in that area.
Sometimes people say, well, Pastor, you act a certain way because
you're a pastor.
You have to.
No, let me tell you, folks, every day I wake up and that flesh
rears its ugly head in my life.
And I want to do everything that my flesh wants to do, but it's
dying to that.
And do I succeed every day?
No.
We all know what it's like to be in the flesh.
We all know what it's like to have that remorse and that conviction
and say, you know what, I need to get that right.
But the beauty is that we can get it right if we confess our sins.
He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
So here this morning, I don't know where you're at in your spiritual
walk.
Maybe, maybe let's go back even one step further.
Maybe you can say this morning, I don't even know if I am
a child of God.
I don't even know if I've trusted in Him.
I don't even know if I understand what you mean by having
forgiveness and salvation.
Folks, the gospel is very simple.
Jesus Christ came to this earth.
The Bible says the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld his glory.
And the Bible says that Jesus came to this earth.
He lived a perfect life.
He died on the cross for our sins, not his sins.
He's perfect.
But he died on the cross for our sins.
Three days later, he conquered death through the resurrection.
And now he's offering the gift of grace.
And those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved in
faith.
And here this morning, that is what it means to be a child of God,
to trust in him.
Now you grow in your understanding of your heir being
an heir of Jesus.
I don't think that everyone who got saved the first day, they
understood everything that it meant to be a Christian and every
blessing that comes with that.
But we are to start that process of growth when we trust in
Jesus Christ as our savior.
So maybe for some of us here this morning, it's just trusting
in him and becoming a child of God.
For others, it's going back to that and being reminded of the gift
of grace.
But if I could leave you with anything here this morning, if you're
a child of God, you can call out to him and say, abba, Father,
I need needs you.
And he'll be there for you in times of help, in times of strength,
in times of confidence, when you lack where you lack, and by the
way, we all lack, that's where God fills in.
And God is powerful beyond all measure.
And here this morning, I'm thankful to be called a child of
the king.
I'm thankful that I can go to him in a personal way.
I've used this analogy before, but some of you are visiting with
us, and so you haven't heard it before.
So it'll be new to you.
All of you folks that have been here before, just bear with
me here in my office over across the way, most people come
and knock on my door and say, hey, you have a minute to talk?
You know, my children, they don't knock.
They just throw the door open.
I could be on the phone or I could be doing work.
Yeah, you used to do this a lot more than they do now.
They're cool.
Now, the two older ones, they don't do this as much, but they used
to run and jump on my lap and grab me and hug me, Daddy, hug me.
And they just go right in my desk.
Daddy, you got any candy in here?
Of course.
Usually there is some candy in there.
They grab the candy and they just take.
They take it right?
It's there.
It's.
Why?
Because I'm their dad and they have access and they can come boldly
or confidently.
Dad's not going to get upset with me when I do this because he
loves me.
That's exactly the picture of what we are to be with Jesus and
in our relationship with God the Father.
Because of Jesus, we have access to God.
We can come boldly, throw our arms around him and just say, lord,
I need you right now, Lord, what do you got for me today, Lord?
Can I take in more blessings?
Can I have more things?
And you say, well, isn't that selfish?
No, God's grace is abundant, meaning the riches are there.
He wants us to have it, we're to grow in grace.
He wants us to come in and petition for him to work and to rule
our lives.
And so, folks, God will answer that prayer.
He will answer the prayer to say, lord, give me an opportunity
for you today.
God, give me an opportunity to get something from your word.
God, give me peace today.
He's not going to necessarily remove us from all the storms of
life, but he'll be with us in the ship, across the waters in the
storm to give us that peace and strength.
So if you're in a storm right now, know that he's not going to
necessarily take that storm away for you.
Maybe he will, maybe he won't, but he'll be with you through it.
And so just trust in him this morning to be the Father, the perfect
heavenly Father that he claims to be in scripture.
I'm going to ask if you're able to to stand with me, every head
bowed, every head closed, as the music plays here this morning.
Romans 8 is a passage of scripture about confidence, but not
confidence in ourselves, but confidence in God.
Confidence in the fact that we have no more condemnation.
Confidence in the fact that conviction brings us to a place of
confession, that brings us to a place of comfort.
But here this morning, folks, maybe we've just been so.
You know what I feel in my spirit in this world today?
Just a sense of apathy, just a sense of just being dead to everything
around us.
We're so overstimulated in this world today.
And so, folks, get it right, get your priorities straight this
morning.
Who are you going to serve?
Is Jesus the answer?
Is he your Abba?
Father, are you going to go here this morning and say, lord,
I need you.
I just want to commune with you.
I just want to fellowship with you.
Some have already come here this morning.
I want to give you an opportunity to come here in a few
moments.
But here, what I want to say to this, this morning is important.
If there's someone here today, I don't know where you're at, but
God does.
And if you have been trusting in anything outside of Jesus Christ
for your salvation, the best decision that you could ever make
is to come to him in faith and say, lord, I need you.
Save me from, from my sins.
Folks, I want everyone in this room to know what it's like to be
a child of God, to be a joint heir with Christ, to be, to be a
blessing to this world because of the blessing that God has extended
to us.
But folks, you gotta start in faith.
The fellowship starts with faith here this morning.
So if you need Jesus Christ as your Savior, we've got some folks
up here.
We can show you in the word of God what it means to be a believer
in him, to trust in him, to walk in faith.
Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working
hearts and lives.
I pray that we can follow you in obedience as you've called us
to follow in Jesus name.
Amen.
As the music plays, some have already come.
If you need to talk to the Lord here this morning, you can do
it in your pew.
You can do it up here.
Follow him today.
Sa Sam Sa thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist
Church podcast.
I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.
You would like to find out more information about our church
or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com
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Thank you so much.
God bless.
Have a wonderful day.