1 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,360 This is ERC Sundays, the messages at Emmaus Rd. 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,240 Church in DeWitt, Iowa. ERC is a Church of people 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,320 striving to grow in Jesus and make him known to others through 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,520 our faith, words and actions. Find out more about our church 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,680 at emmausrdonline.org. Here's this week. 6 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,400 I know not all y'all are ready to jump in both feet right now, 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,880 but know that that's our, that's our vision, that's our mission 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,600 for this body believers, to build you up and encourage you 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,600 in the truth of Jesus Christ. So there's not a great way to 10 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:41,120 transition out of that. So we're just going to 11 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,520 transition to God's word because that's a good place to go at any 12 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:50,240 time. We're in Romans 8 and I'm going 13 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,400 to start at verse 5. Our text for this morning is, is 14 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,600 later on in, in kind of 14 through 18. 15 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,960 But I want to read these verses as a way of reminder here, 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,240 Romans 8, verse 5. And then we'll jump ahead. 17 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:05,960 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the 18 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:08,720 things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit 19 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:10,880 set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 20 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:14,200 Paul has this ongoing narrative here, this tension, this war 21 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:15,640 between the flesh and the Spirit. 22 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:20,640 Verse 6 for to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set 23 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,720 the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 24 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:30,680 We have two paths forward. I think the life and peace one 25 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,160 is, is the more appealing path. That's what we're going to 26 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,480 pursue. Mindset on the Spirit is life 27 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,880 and peace. We jump ahead to verse 14. 28 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,440 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 29 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,320 You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into 30 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:50,840 fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by 31 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:56,200 whom we cry, ABBA, Father, the Spirit himself bears witness 32 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,080 with our spirit that we are children of God. 33 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,000 And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs 34 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,320 with Christ, provided we suffer with him, in order that we may 35 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:11,800 also be glorified with him. This is the reading of God's 36 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,800 Word. How many of you in here and some 37 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:21,800 of you are currently children in in the childhood sense? 38 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,760 All of you at some point were children in the childhood sense 39 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,720 and still some of you still have relationship even with adult 40 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,880 parents. But how many of you in here 41 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,520 children you can answer to when you had parents to submit to 42 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:37,560 you? How many of you were rule 43 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:39,880 followers? They said it, you did it. 44 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,760 OK. I was I, I honestly was the rest 45 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,160 of you not judging, just we know now we know. 46 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:59,160 For those of you that were rule followers, did you do it out of 47 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:01,200 out of joyful obedience like you believe? 48 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,120 Oh, yeah. Mom, Dad, that's that's a great 49 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,520 idea. That's the way I should do this. 50 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,400 I'm. I'm going to follow that because 51 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:10,480 it sounds like a good idea. How, how many of you just, like, 52 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:15,200 joyfully obeyed? How many of you did it out of 53 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,880 fear for what would happen to you if you didn't? 54 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,920 OK, little more, little more. OK, we got one, one in the back. 55 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:29,440 Yep. I honestly feel that I, I'm 56 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,200 more, I was not a perfect child at all. 57 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,160 And my parents were not perfect parents, but I was a pretty 58 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,360 typical first, first born who just, yeah, followed because 59 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:40,920 they were the rules. Those were the rules. 60 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:42,840 So you just follow them because they're the rules. 61 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,840 I'm not saying that's that's right or wrong, but I at times 62 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:54,240 was also ruled by a spirit of fear of the wait until your dad 63 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:58,000 gets home sort of sort of essence. 64 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:10,120 Now, in my own broken, sinful, earthly parenting, I never want 65 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:16,000 the spirit of fear to be what rules and leads my children. 66 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,440 I know not all of you in here have a perfect picture. 67 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,280 How many of you in here had a perfect parents? 68 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:28,760 Nobody didn't get anybody, OK? Nobody thinks they had a perfect 69 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,360 parents. Some of you I know, had very 70 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,560 broken relationships with your parents. 71 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,400 What's important as we enter into this passage of sonship and 72 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:43,760 as children of God, we need to guard really hard against 73 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:48,040 letting our broken experience either as parents or with 74 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,760 parents. We need to work really hard not 75 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:58,320 to let that brokenness inform our view of who God is as a 76 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:02,680 heavenly Father. We can't go bottom up with that 77 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,200 relationship, OK? God is the perfect example of 78 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:10,440 fatherhood, of a loving father. And that should then inform and 79 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,880 model how our parenting on earth happens. 80 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,720 No, we don't do it perfectly, but we shouldn't let our 81 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,960 brokenness inform what we think about God and what fatherhood 82 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:21,000 is. He's the model. 83 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,600 He's the start. He's the root of what that's 84 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:25,080 supposed to look like. OK? 85 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,640 It's supposed to look more like this. 86 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:33,120 You guys go ahead from. I don't know why this isn't 87 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:33,920 working. There we go. 88 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,240 OK, We have these two options, right? 89 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,840 When we need help, when we do something wrong, when we mess up 90 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:45,480 inevitably because we will. I never want my kids to mess up 91 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,080 and think Dad's going to kill me. 92 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:55,040 That's a spirit of fear, right? The perfect Heavenly Father, the 93 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:59,000 posture that he offers is the second one. 94 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,200 I want their first thought to be I need to call my dad. 95 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:10,440 That's how our Heavenly Father views us as his children, and 96 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:15,240 that is the opportunity that we have to go to him. 97 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,760 That's the way we can approach our Heavenly Father. 98 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:21,880 I'm broken and I can't figure this out. 99 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,200 We don't need to shrink back in fear and uncertainty. 100 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:31,680 We need to turn our eyes towards our perfect heavenly Father and 101 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,720 say, I know you're the one who holds tomorrow. 102 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,560 You're the one whose power will see me through. 103 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:44,600 This passage tells us that we are children of God and this is 104 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,240 the posture that we get to have as children of God is I need to 105 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,720 go back to my father, the brokenness, the suffering, the 106 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,440 understanding that I lack in this situation. 107 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,080 My father has it. He has it. 108 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,000 I need to call my dad. We go to him in prayer. 109 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,320 We go to his word. We're encouraged in a body of 110 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:11,920 believers in wise counsel. Paul has a couple conditional 111 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:23,320 statements in this passage. You click ahead and he calls out 112 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:31,120 a spirit of fear as not being what we are made for. 113 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:38,520 I'm going to read a quick little commentary. 114 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:40,440 This is called reading Romans with Luther. 115 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,080 It's a great resource as you're working through Romans by a 116 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:50,160 theologian, RJ Grunewald. I have fractions of a couple 117 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,880 excerpts of this paragraph that I'm going to read, but I'd like 118 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,400 you to take in his thoughts on what a spirit of fear is and why 119 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,760 we have it. A spirit of fear is what you 120 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:05,120 experience when you don't trust that God has your best interest 121 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:09,480 in mind. What you experience when you 122 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,320 don't trust that God has your best interest in mind. 123 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,040 How many of you as kids? Nope, whatever your parents say. 124 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,840 Doing the opposite thing. That's not the best way, Dad. 125 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,520 I got better ideas. I got a better plan for that. 126 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:26,080 This isn't it. I know that's that's mine. 127 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,640 A spirit of fear is what you experience when you don't trust 128 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,440 that God has your best interests in mind. 129 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,840 When you go along with the rules because you're afraid you'll get 130 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:42,760 caught, that's a spirit of fear. When you are obedient only when 131 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,040 it's convenient, that's a spirit of fear. 132 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,880 When you begrudgingly submit to the law because it's the law, 133 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:54,560 even though you don't want to obey, that's a spirit of fear. 134 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,560 For some reason, when it comes to our relationship with God, a 135 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:02,680 parent child relationship, we have difficulty understanding 136 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:06,800 this concept. God's rules aren't those of a 137 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,440 tyrant trying to rob us of our freedom. 138 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,720 They are the rules of a loving father trying to do what's best 139 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,560 for us. Though I followed or feel like I 140 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:21,800 tried to follow most of the rules my parents had for me, I 141 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:23,160 don't. I know I didn't do that 142 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:28,600 perfectly in my adulthood, and I did have a good relationship 143 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:33,840 with my dad, with my parents. But in my adulthood, looking 144 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:37,960 back on the guardrails they tried to put up for my life, on 145 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:44,600 the rules that they orchestrated for my right living, I can't 146 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:51,840 come up with anything that my parents were dead wrong on that 147 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,040 were just a rule for the sake of having rules. 148 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,520 Every single thing that I can think of were the rules of a 149 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,480 loving father trying to do what was best for me. 150 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,520 The sooner we realize that in our Christian walk that that the 151 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,200 rules and guidance that God has has for us in here is not 152 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:17,840 oppressive, is not tyranny or just squashing our freedom. 153 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,440 It's actually the blueprint for how we experience the fullness 154 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,240 of God and the relationship that he has for us. 155 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:31,480 They are the rules of a loving Father trying to do what's best 156 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:36,280 for us. When we enter into that, then 157 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,760 being children of God is a desirable thing. 158 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,160 It's not an oppressive rule following thing. 159 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:49,800 It's a spirit that cries ABBA Father, that cries Dad. 160 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:54,960 I need help, and I know you're gracious to give it. 161 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:03,960 When we come to this realization being a child of God is 162 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:05,960 desirable. It's kind of an odd thing to say 163 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:10,000 sometimes, especially as a guy. Honestly, I had a good 164 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:15,040 relationship with my dad, but it wasn't like an intimate, 165 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,440 hugging, emotional thing, like, I don't know, it was the 166 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:20,480 relation to the guys. How would you? 167 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:21,240 Yeah. What's up? 168 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:27,920 OK, Paul paints a very different picture in this passage. 169 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:30,480 He uses tender words. You guys go to the next slide. 170 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:35,920 He uses some tender words that we did not receive the spirit of 171 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:37,840 slavery. We did not receive the spirit of 172 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:43,000 fear to squash our freedom. We've received the spirit of 173 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:48,680 adoption as sons to cry ABBA father, to have this tender 174 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:56,400 relationship with God. If I need to call my dad, he is 175 00:11:56,400 --> 00:12:01,360 the rock I can rely on. I have No Fear approaching him, 176 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:12,470 and I know he has the answer. When we come to that realization 177 00:12:13,550 --> 00:12:16,270 that it's our best interest in mind that our Father in heaven 178 00:12:16,270 --> 00:12:21,590 has for us, becoming a child of God is desirable. 179 00:12:22,630 --> 00:12:26,120 Paul then writes the Spirit himself bears witness with our 180 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,200 spirit that we are children of God. 181 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,480 How can we be sure that we are children of God? 182 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:34,480 Well, those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be 183 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:38,160 saved. That that seems to fall in 184 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:42,120 parallel line with us being children of God. 185 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:45,000 If we're saved with Jesus, then we're then we're heirs with with 186 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:47,520 of God. We're Co heirs with Christ. 187 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,160 It makes sense then that we would be children of God, but 188 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:53,240 how do we know? Do we feel sure of that? 189 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,200 Paul writes that the Spirit himself bears witness. 190 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,560 Think of a courtroom. What do witnesses do? 191 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,360 They testify to things that they have seen. 192 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,240 They speak things that they know. 193 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:10,880 They say I've seen this and this is what it looked like. 194 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:17,920 The Spirit bears witness with our own spirit, our own being, 195 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:22,400 that we are children of God. How does the Spirit work this 196 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,480 out in our lives? How do we know that we are 197 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:27,880 children of God? What does that look like in our 198 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,240 lives? The first thing that the Spirit 199 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:37,480 does, it wages war on our sin. Paul writes that we're not to 200 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:41,920 return to that spirit of fear, that spirit of slavery that we 201 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,840 had with sin. Those are the only tools the 202 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:49,560 enemy has, our lies and fear and hate and death. 203 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,160 If we're in Christ, that's not our relationship with our 204 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:57,560 Heavenly Father, our lies and fear and hate and death. 205 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:01,800 No, the spirit is life and peace in the Heavenly Father. 206 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:11,080 So if the Spirit is in us, we should be waging war, putting to 207 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:17,080 death the deeds of the body. We should not be excusing and 208 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:24,440 justifying our sin, that we should be actively fighting 209 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,120 against it, not out of anything that we could earn, but because 210 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,600 the Spirit works and changes in US. 211 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,360 It's OK to not be able to overcome those struggles on your 212 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:34,800 own. That's what the Spirit is there 213 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:39,680 for. The Spirit is there to fight and 214 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:44,400 beat sin for you, with you as a helper. 215 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:51,400 It's unnatural for our sinful earthly bodies to want to not 216 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,880 sin in our earthly bodies. We want to sin, we want to 217 00:14:54,880 --> 00:15:00,320 justify it. The Spirit brings that change. 218 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:06,880 The Holy Spirit of God makes sin an enemy, something to be 219 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:12,320 opposed and fought against in the Spirit we're hating sin and 220 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,000 putting to death. If you have those things inside 221 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,960 you, if that is your proclivity to sin, you are a child of God. 222 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:23,560 If not, if you're stuck in that justifying, excusing, making 223 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,680 peace with your sin, you've got you've got some more convicting 224 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:36,520 words in in the Bible to hear. And it's not anything so great I 225 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:39,800 said, I said last time, 2 weeks ago, it's not anything so great 226 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,800 that we need to fear our worst or hoping our best that we could 227 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,880 do. It's by the Spirit that we are 228 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:50,240 children of God and God isn't going to leave us on our own to 229 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:54,600 sort it out on our own. We don't fight alone. 230 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,040 We have the Spirit with us. We have the body of believers 231 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,880 with us. That's why I didn't think it was 232 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:08,360 such a stretch for the events of this week that I shared at the 233 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:15,760 start. Somehow that person was 234 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:24,600 overwhelmed by a spirit of fear. In that moment of weakness in in 235 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:31,440 whatever was overwhelming this week, he succumbs back to that 236 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,800 spirit of fear, that slavery to fear. 237 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:38,320 He lost sight of his inheritance as a child of God. 238 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,960 What was waiting for him? Because this is conditional. 239 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,720 If we are children, then heirs, we are heirs of Christ, provided 240 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:49,320 we suffer with him. That doesn't sound very fun. 241 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,720 Sounds like God's cramping my style here on earth. 242 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:05,920 Unfortunately, Jesus promised we would have trouble. 243 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:11,079 John 1633 says in this world you will have trouble. 244 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,319 He said that right to his disciples, the ones who are 245 00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:17,839 closest following Him in this world, you will have trouble. 246 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:20,960 But take heart. I have overcome the world. 247 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:30,360 We have an immeasurable glory. Next slide to look forward to. 248 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,600 One more. I consider the sufferings of 249 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,120 this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is 250 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:44,080 to be revealed. Whatever is facing us as 251 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,080 children are God of God. Whatever sufferings are present, 252 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:49,880 we have a Father in heaven. We can cry ABBA Father too. 253 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:55,880 We have a Spirit who advocates on our behalf, witnessing and 254 00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:00,920 testifying to our sonship and daughtership. 255 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:05,960 So how do we know we have the spirit? 256 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:13,320 Are you waging war against sin? Are you approaching God in that 257 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,480 ABBA father? Oh, I messed up. 258 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,840 I need to call my dad sort of way. 259 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,880 And then ultimately, are you submitting to Jesus, Lordship, 260 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:27,880 that these sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory 261 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:33,800 that is to be revealed? Paul writes more on this. 262 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,440 Philippians 38I count everything as lost because of the 263 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,440 surpassing worth of knowing Christ. 264 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,320 Second Timothy 312 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life 265 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:46,400 in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 266 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,880 And Hebrews 12, the Lord disciplines the one he loves and 267 00:18:50,880 --> 00:19:00,360 chastises every son he receives. It was asked this week in the 268 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:05,240 Thursday morning Bible study. OK, so then if we have to suffer 269 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:09,520 to be heirs, what, what kind of suffering can we expect? 270 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,880 I have more good news. It's all the suffering, all, all 271 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:16,640 any kind of suffering that you can think of. 272 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:25,640 Suffering, struggling with sin, suffering, struggling with 273 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:32,560 physical, mental, emotional, financial, overwhelming things. 274 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,080 But Paul writes these words that he does not consider the 275 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,520 sufferings of this present time being worth comparing with the 276 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:53,240 glory that is to be revealed. The life of a Christian picking 277 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:59,080 up that cross daily and following Christ as brothers and 278 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,880 sisters with him, as Co heirs with him. 279 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,960 The sufferings of that life, the hardship of that life, Paul 280 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:12,160 writes, is not worth comparing with the glory that is to be 281 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,480 revealed. That song Echo Holy that we sang 282 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:19,760 before. A million angels fall face down 283 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,720 on the floor, all to echo. Holy is the Lord. 284 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:29,520 That's the inheritance. There is not a thing on this 285 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:36,480 earth that will get worse in heaven. 286 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,360 Everything will be made new and made better. 287 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:44,240 Even the greatest things that you have in this life, the best, 288 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,640 happiest, most joyful, most pleasurable things you have in 289 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:53,720 this life, they pale in comparison to the most boring 290 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:59,440 thing in heaven. So much so that Paul says it's 291 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,720 not even worth taking the time to compare the things of this 292 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,960 earth to the things of heaven we can't comprehend in our finite 293 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:14,480 minds. Suffering with Jesus simply 294 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:19,360 means that when these things face you, when the world 295 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,400 overwhelms you. And I can't put myself in each 296 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,400 and every one of your individual situations. 297 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,640 And some of them I can't fathom. Some of them I wouldn't handle 298 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:34,320 very well either. But how you handle them well is 299 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:40,480 running back to Jesus, bringing your burdens with Him. 300 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:47,640 For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light, because he is 301 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:52,760 that caring father that has the posture of come home, my son, 302 00:21:52,760 --> 00:22:03,860 come back to me, my daughter, because I can help a child of 303 00:22:03,860 --> 00:22:09,940 God wages war on sin, cries out ABBA father to one that will 304 00:22:09,940 --> 00:22:13,340 answer him well, and submits to Jesus. 305 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:30,720 Tech has been really friendly today. 306 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:40,000 A child of God wages war on sin, cries ABBA father to a father 307 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,800 who cares and answers and submits to Jesus as Lord, even 308 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,520 in his suffering, even in our suffering. 309 00:22:56,090 --> 00:23:00,930 So this morning I don't have much more to offer you than the 310 00:23:00,930 --> 00:23:04,040 hope that is in Jesus. That should be the greatest 311 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:13,320 thing you take hold of, but also to encourage you that when your 312 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:21,400 life feels dark and hopeless, I can testify that there is a God 313 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:26,600 who cares about you. You might have your own personal 314 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,840 wrestlings with that. I promise He does. 315 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,320 And there are people here who will also bear those burdens 316 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,840 with you. Yeah, it's scary. 317 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:45,040 And it takes an act of humility and brokenness to bear those 318 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:47,560 burdens to others. Yes, we we bear them and lift 319 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,280 them together, but we also have to take the step of being 320 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:57,360 vulnerable with them. We worked really hard for there 321 00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:02,360 not to be a spirit of judgement here, but a spirit of life and 322 00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:07,040 peace. We can bear these burdens 323 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,960 together by the power of the Spirit for the promise of 324 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:16,400 eternal life to come. Love you church, let's pray. 325 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:27,960 Our great God, we thank you for the freedom of not having to 326 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,680 live in or submit to the fear of our sin. 327 00:24:39,690 --> 00:24:47,580 Jesus, you made away. You suffered more than we could 328 00:24:47,580 --> 00:24:55,060 ever think or imagine. The joy that was set before you, 329 00:24:56,260 --> 00:24:59,340 your creation, your children, your people, you endured the 330 00:24:59,340 --> 00:25:04,500 cross. So I pray that as your children, 331 00:25:04,500 --> 00:25:08,760 as your people, we would not shrink back into fear, we would 332 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,880 not fall victim to suffering and hopelessness. 333 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:14,840 We would find our identity rooted in you. 334 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,960 We would find our hope in life eternal. 335 00:25:23,990 --> 00:25:26,950 May the truth ring out in our hearts and minds today, but we 336 00:25:26,950 --> 00:25:29,790 are no longer slaves to fear and the evil one. 337 00:25:30,550 --> 00:25:34,270 We are your children. We are loved, we are protected, 338 00:25:35,550 --> 00:25:39,350 we are yours. Most comforting truth we can 339 00:25:39,350 --> 00:25:41,550 have. In the holy name of Jesus, we 340 00:25:41,550 --> 00:25:51,240 pray. Thanks for listening to the ERC 341 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,760 Sundays to support work God is doing an Amazed Rd. church. 342 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,320 Visit amazedrdonline.org/giving.