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 --> 00:00:21,560 our faith, words and actions. Find out more about our church 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,360 at emmausrdonline.org. Here's this week's message. 6 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:30,640 Hey, we are in the third week of a three-week series and it's 7 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:35,200 made in the made in his image. We are made in the image of God, 8 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,000 all of us, right? So first week we talked about 9 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,640 men who are made in the image of God and what that is what we are 10 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:43,960 called to look like and how that's supposed to work. 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:48,520 And then last week I had the rare opportunity to traverse the 12 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,080 waters of biblical womanhood. Thank you for your patience and 13 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,800 your kindness on that one. This week we get to talk about 14 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,920 being children of God, being children of God. 15 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,400 Now I've thought for a while about how to kind of get us 16 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,080 warmed up on this topic. And, and here's how I've chosen 17 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,520 to do this. There are a set of phrases, and 18 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:11,800 you could probably think of 1000 of them if you took the time, 19 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:16,520 but it's the two people phrases. It's the two people phrases. 20 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,040 So here's what I mean by that. There's two kinds of people in 21 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,520 this world. There are the pessimists and 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,600 there are the optimists. So glasses half full, drink up, 23 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,960 friends, glasses half empty. You have to slow down, right? 24 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,720 And I don't know, there are the savers and the spenders. 25 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,240 So what we learned through Financial Peace University, if 26 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,960 you've been through that, is weirdly enough, in a lot of 27 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:44,000 couples, usually there's one of each, right? 28 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:48,720 And so the savers, man, what they do is they tend to hold on 29 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,280 to money a little bit more tightly and they always feel 30 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:53,320 like they don't have enough, even though there's plenty 31 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:54,600 there, but they don't want to spend it. 32 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,200 And then we've got the spenders who it's always burning a hole 33 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,720 in their pocket. And so they're more than happy 34 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,520 to just like we, here we go. I had it had past tense. 35 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,320 It's gone. I think I need more again. 36 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,440 Gosh, what's another one? There are two kinds of people. 37 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,080 There are the early birds, and then there are the kings and the 38 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:19,240 Queens of the snooze button. I know which one I am. 39 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,520 Yeah, I actually, I I made a confession. 40 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,360 And it's true. I don't know. 41 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,360 This morning, I hit the snooze button for a grand total of 42 42 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,360 minutes. I'm not joking. 43 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,080 That happened today. Now, you might say, well, that's 44 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,000 fine if you like. You know, that's who you were 45 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,520 and you planned for it. Oh, no, I did not plan to stay 46 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,560 in bed an extra 42 minutes, but my tired brain was like, you 47 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:46,120 can't leave. And I was like, yes, you're 48 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,280 right, I can't. And so there we are anyway. 49 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,920 Well, here's the thing about the, the, the two people kind of 50 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,080 kind of phrases. You could absolutely look at 51 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,840 those things and you could look at me and you could say, you 52 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:01,160 know what, that's not really fair. 53 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:06,000 That's not fair because saying that there's only two kind of 54 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,960 people for any given topic, that is far too narrow. 55 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,840 That is not nuanced enough because there is a lot of Gray 56 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,960 space in between the extremes that you named to which case, if 57 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,400 that's your argument, I would say well done, touché. 58 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,240 In fact, it is true that there is a lot of Gray space between 59 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,280 these things and maybe maybe I was too narrow in giving you 60 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,920 that illustration. However, here's what I can tell 61 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:36,400 you. There is for sure at least one. 62 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,280 There are two kinds of people. That is always true. 63 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,560 It never fails. Here it is. 64 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,880 There are two kinds of people. There are children of God and 65 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,960 there are children of the devil. How's that strike you? 66 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,880 There are just two. There are only two families. 67 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:02,120 There's only two kinds of humanity. 68 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,680 That's it. There is not more than that, 69 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,760 friends. Now again, perhaps you're 70 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:10,960 arguing with me in your head already, but we'll get to that 71 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,960 in a second. If you're not arguing with me, 72 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,680 then what I would guess is you might be doing some level of 73 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,440 self-assessment. If you're not actively arguing 74 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,200 with me, you're thinking, OK, well I've checked this box or 75 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,000 I've done this, or I think this, or I believe that. 76 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,440 So like that probably puts me in this camp or this camp, this 77 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,640 family or this family. Now, if you are arguing with me 78 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:36,280 in your head and you're ready to walk out, bear with me for a 79 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:42,960 moment and here's why. When we hear truth that we don't 80 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:48,120 like Capital T truth, let's just ask where it came from because I 81 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,760 will tell you the statement that I just made that may have 82 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,880 offended you or bothered you. It's not my statement. 83 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,640 It's not mine. Because here's the thing, I 84 00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:59,960 don't get to decide Capital T truth. 85 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:02,760 I don't get to decide truth at all. 86 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,320 It is what it is, a terribly overused phrase. 87 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:09,400 But anyway, I don't get to decide that. 88 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,640 That is so far above my pay grade. 89 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,640 Now, if you don't like the truth that I have given you that there 90 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,600 are two families and only two families, If you don't like 91 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,720 that, you can come talk to me. I'm happy to have that 92 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,400 conversation with you. However, I won't be able to tell 93 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,320 you more than the truth that is in God's Word. 94 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,320 I can't tell you necessarily why that is. 95 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,160 I can just tell you what God says. 96 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,800 So if you have a real problem with that, I'm going to 97 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,640 encourage you take that problem up to the Father, to the Son, to 98 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,080 the Holy Spirit. Take it up with them because it 99 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,600 is God's truth that there are only two families. 100 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:53,520 Now, all this is to say that whoever our Father is, we share 101 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:58,040 His DNA and if we share His DNA, we share his fate. 102 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,320 That matters. That matters. 103 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,920 And so while it may not initially seem super obvious 104 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:10,760 which DNA is flowing through us at any given moment, there are 105 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:13,440 ways to assess this. There are ways to figure out 106 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,920 what's going on inside here, right? 107 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:18,160 There are ways to figure that out. 108 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,880 And so we are going to use the Bible and it's capital T truth 109 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,920 to figure that out today. I hope you're ready for that 110 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,520 now. Last week, I I may have went a 111 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,000 little overboard with five points. 112 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,160 And if you were here, you're like, yeah, it was 36 minutes, 113 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:36,920 bro. I mean, it was. 114 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,720 Sorry. I'm trying to make up for that. 115 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,120 Kind of with only two points today. 116 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:46,080 You guys aren't that excited about it. 117 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:50,480 I am. You know, if you smile more, 118 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:57,280 I'll probably talk faster. Never mind. 119 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:00,400 Anyway, here's what we're going to be looking at today, friends. 120 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,760 Here's how we're going to figure out this children of God problem 121 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,040 or issue. First and foremost, we are going 122 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:09,160 to hear from Jesus and this is his quote. 123 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,400 You are of your father, the devil. 124 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:17,080 Seems harsh, but there it is. And then on the other side of 125 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,440 that, we're going to go backwards a little bit into John 126 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:22,280 chapter 1 and we're going to see what it means to be a child of 127 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:26,880 God and how simple that is. Because the Bible tells us that 128 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,880 it's just about receiving and believing and that's what it is. 129 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,600 So anyway, why don't we read John chapter 8? 130 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,160 I'll let you do that from this point. 131 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,320 Take off my glasses. We're going to read John chapter 132 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,880 839 through 47 and then we're going to go backwards into John 133 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,600 chapter one for a moment. But we read this in Jesus name 134 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:51,360 because it is in fact his word. They answered him. 135 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,160 Oh, by the way, sorry, we're in the middle of a conversation 136 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,880 right now, right in here. Jesus has been talking to people 137 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,040 who at least at one time had believed. 138 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,040 And if you go back to verse 31, it says so. 139 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:09,920 Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him past tense. 140 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,800 Something has gone terribly wrong in this conversation. 141 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,200 And I'll, I'll be honest with you like that scares me. 142 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,200 It really does. Because here's the thing, if if 143 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:22,560 I care about my church and I care about my community and I 144 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,440 care about people coming and meeting Jesus, man, you know 145 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,440 what, I don't want a bunch of people to look at me and go, 146 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,320 well done with you and they move on with their life. 147 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,440 But Jesus doesn't seem to have that problem here. 148 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,760 He doesn't seem to be living in that tension. 149 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:43,320 And I find that interesting. Jesus, your church growth, your 150 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:45,160 church growth idea isn't working. 151 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,840 They're leaving, but he seems OK with that. 152 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,760 Anyway, that's where we are. We're in this conversation. 153 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:56,040 So verse 39, they answered him, Abraham is our father. 154 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,520 Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would be 155 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:04,760 doing the works Abraham did. But now you seek to kill me, a 156 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:08,280 man who has told you the truth that I have heard from God. 157 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:12,680 This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your 158 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:15,960 father did. They said to him, We are not 159 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:20,400 born of sexual immorality. We have one father, even God. 160 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:25,640 Jesus said to them, If if God were your Father, you would love 161 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,040 me, for I have came from God and am here. 162 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,560 I came not of my own accord, but He sent me. 163 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:34,760 Why do you not understand what I say? 164 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,840 It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 165 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:43,400 You are of your Father the devil, and your will is to do 166 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,520 your father's desires. He was a murderer from the 167 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:50,080 beginning and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is 168 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,320 no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of 169 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,120 his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 170 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,920 But because I tell you the truth, you don't believe me. 171 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:03,480 Which one of you convicts me of sin? 172 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,440 If I tell the truth? Why do you not believe me? 173 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,880 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. 174 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:15,480 The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. 175 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:21,560 And then if we flip back to chapter 1 briefly, here's what 176 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:28,160 it says starting in verse 11. He being Jesus, came to his own, 177 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:30,920 and his own people didn't receive him. 178 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:35,320 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he 179 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,400 gave the right to become children of God who were not 180 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,720 born, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the 181 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,560 flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 182 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:50,760 Here in this reading of God's Word, may it be blessed and 183 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:56,840 spoken forever and ever. So if you are paying attention, 184 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,080 what you may have noticed is that Jesus gives several 185 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:05,720 indicators of how this whole, are you a child of God or are 186 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:07,840 you a child of or a child of the devil? 187 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,200 He gives several kind of tests for that indicators. 188 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,960 And so I'm not going to go through all of them because we 189 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,880 would be here for kind of a long time and you would miss lunch 190 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,000 and you'd be angry at me. So we're not going to do that. 191 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,800 Instead, I'm going to give you 4 four that Jesus names, and 192 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:27,720 they're right up here. 4 indicators #1 Jesus lays out the 193 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,720 first Test of our adoption. Here's what it is, the first 194 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:32,520 Test of our adoption as children of God. 195 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:39,280 Do you love Jesus? Sweet. 196 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:41,120 Good. I can stop the sermon. 197 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:42,960 We're done. Let's go to lunch. 198 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,760 Not quite, no. Do you love Jesus? 199 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:49,280 That's the first Test. And here's the thing. 200 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:55,160 I think if I was to ask you. All right, so how are you going 201 00:11:55,160 --> 00:12:01,160 to prove to me, an outsider that you love your spouse or you love 202 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:02,960 your child or your friend or whatever? 203 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,680 How would you prove it to me? And I don't know, you might say, 204 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:08,720 well, I support them financially. 205 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:13,200 Oh, you've got one. Buy them chocolate. 206 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,560 Buy them chocolate. That's how I feel loved, 207 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:18,200 actually. So if you love your pastor, you 208 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:19,560 can do that sometime. It's fine. 209 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:22,920 Just don't even worry about I will feel loved. 210 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:26,480 You might buy them chocolate. You might support them 211 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:28,600 financially. I've got one in college, one on 212 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,760 the way. I feel that and I support them 213 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:33,040 financially because I do love them. 214 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:35,840 You might be supporting them emotionally in some way. 215 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:39,280 You might just prove you love them by how much time you spend 216 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,680 with them. Think even when you're not 217 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:44,360 around them, you're thinking about them. 218 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,560 You are thinking about their overall good and their welfare 219 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:50,040 and what's benefiting them. Even when they're not around, 220 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:52,600 they're on your brain. That's the way to prove that you 221 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,480 love somebody. You go out of your way to help 222 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,760 them. Even when it's not convenient 223 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,720 for you and it kind of messes up your day, you'll still do it 224 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,400 anyway. Your affection for them, it goes 225 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:07,920 beyond their performance for you. 226 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,240 So in other words, they may have had a terrible day, they may 227 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,640 have even made you a little upset or a little bit crossed, 228 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,960 and you still love them anyway. Maybe the the best indicator of 229 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:24,960 proof of love is when you love them through sacrifice. 230 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,400 You have to sacrifice your time. You have to give up something 231 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:34,120 you wanted to do in order for their benefit, in order for 232 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,200 their well-being. You sacrifice something for them 233 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:40,960 that is an indication of love. It's proof of love. 234 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:47,320 So Jesus, and I have to say this, and I want to say this 235 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:53,520 very clearly, so I'm going to slow down, loving Jesus is not 236 00:13:53,880 --> 00:14:00,480 primarily A moral obligation. It is not primarily a religious 237 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,840 obligation. It is not primarily an 238 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:09,240 intellectual act, nor is it primarily A doctrinal act. 239 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:12,400 That is not what it means to love Jesus. 240 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,120 You can fill your head with whatever, whatever knowledge and 241 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,280 information you want to. That doesn't mean you love 242 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,320 Jesus. I, I would venture a guess that 243 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,560 Satan himself knows this word better than I do. 244 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:27,880 Doesn't love him, doesn't love him, right. 245 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,400 And so here's the thing. Loving Jesus is an 246 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:38,320 intentionality with your time. I'll just ask you, is Jesus, 247 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,840 does he fit into your schedule? I mean, you're here today. 248 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,920 That's a good start. Does he fit in your schedule? 249 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,480 Does Jesus fit into your bank account? 250 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,360 Does he fit into your, your mind and your emotions and where, 251 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:52,840 where you're going with your life? 252 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:54,960 Does he fit into your decision making? 253 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,640 Because man, I, I love my wife, I love my kids. 254 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,040 I don't make decisions without considering them because I love 255 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:06,080 them. I won't, I can't, right? 256 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:11,720 This is maybe what it looks like to love Jesus in some way, and 257 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,320 there are other ways to prove it, not that you have it to 258 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,440 prove it to me or anybody else. You don't, but he knows your 259 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:19,920 heart. So something to think about. 260 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:25,600 Second thing, second kind of litmus test to weigh our 261 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:29,160 adoption as children of God. He says you cannot bear to hear 262 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,720 my word. This is Jesus's accusation. 263 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,840 They cannot bear to hear his word. 264 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:40,960 Now, the Bible is, I think, both terribly wonderful and awfully 265 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,160 frightening. And here's why I think that, 266 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:50,320 because inside the pages of Scripture, inside God's Word is 267 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,640 absolute truth. And I think maybe part of the 268 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,000 problem that we feel with absolute truth is a we probably 269 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,760 don't believe it in all because our modern society will tell you 270 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:02,800 that there's no such thing as absolute truth. 271 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,560 Your truth is your own. You get to determine that Bible 272 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,160 would say very differently. And that's the thing. 273 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:12,080 Absolute, real uppercase T truth. 274 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,640 It does agree. It does disagree with us and it 275 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,400 does disagree with culture. And I'm not saying it disagrees 276 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,080 in every single way. But here's the thing. 277 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:25,840 What do we do when truth disagrees with us? 278 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,960 How do we handle that? How does that work for you? 279 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:34,120 I, I would be curious 'cause I know how that works for me and I 280 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:35,960 know how that has worked for me in the past. 281 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:41,040 And it was painful, man, when Capital T Truth disagreed with 282 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,880 me. It hurts so bad. 283 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:50,320 Some of you are hurting right now because Capital T Truth 284 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:55,560 tells you you're doing it wrong and you don't like it. 285 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,120 It hurts. And so you just outright reject 286 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,240 it and say, I don't need that in my life. 287 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,040 I don't need to be told I'm doing it wrong. 288 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:07,040 Not by man or by God or about anybody else. 289 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,040 I'm doing the best I can. I don't want to hear it. 290 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:19,480 OK, OK, I understand that. I do. 291 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,520 Here's the thing. Capital T Truth will hit you 292 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:28,200 right between the eyes, and it'll hurt the most when you've 293 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,200 built your identity on anything other than God. 294 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,280 It will tear you down. You have two options when you 295 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,800 build your identity on anything other than God. 296 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,520 You have two options. When truth hits you in the face, 297 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,200 you can outright reject it and move on with your life. 298 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,240 Or you can let it break you a little bit, Let it examine you. 299 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:51,280 And that's the thing about bearing God's Word. 300 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:54,720 We think we read the Bible. No, the Bible reads us. 301 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,680 There's a difference. The Bible reads us. 302 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:05,560 What do you do with that? Can you bear God's word #3 The 303 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,560 third test of our adoption is children of God is does your 304 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,880 desire line up with God's will and desire or does it line up 305 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,240 with Satan's? That sounds crazy. 306 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:21,880 I'm not joking. If I told you and I wouldn't, 307 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:26,640 but if I was like, man, you and Satan have a lot in common, 308 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:30,600 crazy. If I said that to you, you'd be 309 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,440 like, hey, this man's crazy, B, I'm not coming back here and I'm 310 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,080 going to tell everybody about him because he's lost his mind. 311 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,440 That's what you do. But here's the thing, we think 312 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:43,760 when we and, and these religious people who Jesus is talking to, 313 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,840 they are the religious elite. They follow all the laws. 314 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:48,400 They dress the right way, they act the right way. 315 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:51,040 They talk to the right people. They say all the right words. 316 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,320 They do all of it. And Jesus says you're doing the 317 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,400 will of your father, the devil. What? 318 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,080 Let's figure out what Satan's will is. 319 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,000 What are his desires? Go back to the beginning. 320 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:12,200 Satan's desire from the very beginning was to be equal or 321 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:14,800 greater than God. Pride. 322 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:20,120 His pride said, I know God created me in all this, but I 323 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:22,680 think I could do it better. I think I can do it better than 324 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,000 him. After his fall, what does he do? 325 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,680 He looks at the people, the man, the man and the woman made in 326 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:31,360 God's image and he says, you know what? 327 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,720 This didn't work out for me, but it might work out for you. 328 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:37,280 Why don't you give it a shot? Why don't you try to be God? 329 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:43,440 Didn't work out for them either. So then Satan has since spent 330 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:47,160 the rest of his time for thousands and thousands of years 331 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:51,320 convincing all of us that we should be our own God, that we 332 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:55,760 should create our own truth, that life is about us and what 333 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,480 we want and how we want it done. That's what life is supposed to 334 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,160 be about. And that's that's prideful and 335 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:08,440 it's selfish and it's downright mean because it's all about me. 336 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,360 What have you done for me lately? 337 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:14,880 I get to create my truth. Don't you dare tell me how to 338 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,280 live my life. God, I've got a better way. 339 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,160 This is who Satan is. His will and his desire is to 340 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:26,840 dominate is to dominate. Here's how you know. 341 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,720 Do you have to have it your way? Do you have a terribly difficult 342 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,160 time apologizing when you know you're wrong? 343 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,920 How do you know? Because will of Satan says I 344 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,560 don't apologize. My desire is not to be humble. 345 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:45,480 My desire is to Lord it over you. 346 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,240 Are you trying to Lord your life and your decisions over God? 347 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:53,680 Are you letting Him do His work? That's what it is. 348 00:20:55,120 --> 00:21:00,440 So who's your father? Whose DNA do you have flowing 349 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:05,240 through your veins? Who are you emulating with your 350 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,600 decisions? I would hope that one way or 351 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:15,960 another that you would be able to look at all this and you'd be 352 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,880 able to say, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 353 00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:21,960 What the rest of the world does, that's their business. 354 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:23,880 But As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 355 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,720 Is that your humble attitude or still trying to do it your own 356 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,040 way? Let's take the last one real 357 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:37,000 quick. Children and the devil do not 358 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,240 stand on the truth. We talked a lot about truth this 359 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:42,680 morning, so I'm not going to beat this one up too bad, but I 360 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:47,920 do want to leave it at this. Here's a capital T truth that we 361 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:51,120 all need to hear, that we all need to take into our heads, 362 00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:59,880 into our hearts on our own. We are painfully lost sinners. 363 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:07,880 On our own, sin is just absolutely stuck and multiplying 364 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:13,320 inside of our DNA. On our own, we cannot hope to 365 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:17,280 overcome sin. This is not a willpower problem. 366 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:24,320 And on our own, we are lost to hell because on our own we are 367 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:30,520 in such a dreadful position, such a lowliest state, that God, 368 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,560 through his Son Jesus Christ, had to come and die and shed his 369 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,880 blood for us. And he did. 370 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,760 But he did. And that's the point. 371 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:47,160 He saw our lowly estate. He saw us just rummaging through 372 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,200 the muck in the mire. And he said, you know what? 373 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:52,600 I'm taking that, I'm taking that. 374 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,720 I, I see their guilt, I see their shame, I see their 375 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,480 rebellion. I will act as though all of that 376 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:01,440 was mine so that they can be clean. 377 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:05,800 I will take all of that on my own shoulders so that they can 378 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,520 be righteous. That's what Jesus Christ has 379 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,320 done. He was willing to look at the 380 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:15,840 sin and the shame and he saw our DNA and he said, I'm going to 381 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:20,560 switch places with you. I will take the DNA of the devil 382 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,680 and I'll pay the price for that so that you can have my DNA so 383 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,400 that God can not just look at the outside of you, but look 384 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,680 deep inside of your heart and find you clean and find you 385 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,920 lovely, find You Beautiful, find you somebody he wants to spend 386 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:39,440 eternity with. That's what Jesus did and he's 387 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:46,640 done it for you. Who's your father, Lizzie? 388 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:55,000 Now you got to keep going those four tests and there's more 389 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,760 because Jesus says like 7 or 8 things. 390 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,400 Take some time. Take some time with that. 391 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:08,520 It's OK. It's OK beyond that, when you 392 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,400 come out of that self examination and hopefully 393 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:18,320 repentance, which is a daily act, when you come out of that, 394 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,960 I hope you come into God's word. I hope you come into his gospel 395 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:27,760 because all everything I just said is just self improvement. 396 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,880 If you don't have the gospel, it's just me trying to get 397 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:33,880 better for getting better sake and it won't work. 398 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,960 I can't save myself. It won't work. 399 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,520 The gospel is where all this comes and fulfills itself. 400 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,880 And here's what the gospel says. But to all who did receive him, 401 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:50,280 who believed in his name, he gave the right to become 402 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,960 children of God. Let me walk you through this 403 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:57,680 briefly, and let me start with two people who are much smarter 404 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:00,520 than I am, who summed this up very nicely. 405 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:05,360 Tim Keller said the gospel is not primarily something you do, 406 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:11,280 but it is something you receive. It's not something you do, it's 407 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,120 something you receive. And then Saint Augustine said 408 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:19,600 Christ is received by the humble, for the proud do not 409 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:23,640 receive him. They can't because the prideful, 410 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,640 arrogant people, they're just mimicking Satan. 411 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,320 But it is the humble that can receive him. 412 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:35,000 You see, what God's word and what these faithful men are 413 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,800 trying to tell us is that through our known needs we can 414 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,360 come before the throne of grace and we show up there with 415 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:45,600 nothing. We don't bring any gifts or 416 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,920 prizes to God and say, Hey Lord, I'm here and look what I brought 417 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,240 you. No, we come before the throne of 418 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:56,960 grace absolutely empty handed. We come without payment because 419 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:02,120 the gospel says that it is the will of Christ and that He for 420 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,240 the joy set before him, He endured the cross. 421 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,080 He endured the cross for the joy set before him. 422 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:15,240 What an amazing thing that Jesus goes to be tortured with joy in 423 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,360 his heart, knowing that it was going to save you and that it 424 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:22,000 was going to save me. That's the gospel. 425 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,680 That is beautiful. That is beautiful. 426 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,680 And so in all these ways we get to receive without payment. 427 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,040 Think of it like a small child. Small child. 428 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,520 I love them, they're cute, but they can't do much of anything 429 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,680 that matters. They have to receive everything. 430 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:44,360 They have to receive it. They have to receive love and 431 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:47,080 care and affection. They have to receive food and 432 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,600 clothing and shelter. They don't do any of that on 433 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,480 their own. And so for us children of God, 434 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:58,200 the gospel is the same thing. We just get to receive it. 435 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,240 It's not something you work for. It's not something that you have 436 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,640 to build up your strength to receive. 437 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:07,920 You just receive it like a child. 438 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,600 There's a way to say this. I kind of like it. 439 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:17,120 I didn't say it in the first service, but imagine a child, 440 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:23,240 small, barely walking. And what they do is they look up 441 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:27,200 and they just, they just reach, they reach for a finger, they 442 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:31,200 reach for a hand, and then they get to walk and they hold on 443 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,040 tight because they can't really walk that well on their own, but 444 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:38,160 they hold on so tight. They hold on so tight to the one 445 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,000 who protects them, to the one who loves them, to the one who 446 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,000 would do any for them, anything for them, they hold on tight. 447 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:45,760 What are you holding on tight to? 448 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:49,160 Are you holding on tight to God or is it something else? 449 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:51,800 Because everything else will let you down. 450 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,760 I know because I've lived it. Everything else will let you 451 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:58,560 down. So what are you holding on to? 452 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:05,280 Last thing, this whole receiving business, it sounds very poetic 453 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:08,920 and it sounds very nice and it's cute and all that kind of stuff. 454 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,240 I get it. But how then do I receive? 455 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,240 How am I supposed to receive? Am I just supposed to go, all 456 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,080 right, Lord, come on, you're going to do something here. 457 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:21,680 Are you just going to say some words to me? 458 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:25,360 Like what does it look like? It says so right there. 459 00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:28,560 To receive, you just have to believe. 460 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,920 You just have to believe. Now, I am well aware that 461 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:36,720 throughout our lives we have been either subtly or overtly 462 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,640 taught that if it's too good to be true, it isn't. 463 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,920 We've been taught that, and that's pretty wise. 464 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,760 Because here's the thing, If you've been getting emails or 465 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,640 texts from a, from a Prince of an African nation saying he 466 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:55,120 wants to transfer his wealth to you, that's not real. 467 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:57,480 That's not real. Please don't send them bank 468 00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,480 information or your Social Security number or anything like 469 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:00,400 that. Please don't do that. 470 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,600 That's not real. It is too good to be true and 471 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:08,600 it's not true. However, the gospel sounds too 472 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:10,840 good to be true because it's so simple. 473 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:17,080 It's so simple. Romans 10/13 says everyone who 474 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:20,200 calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 475 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:24,400 That is my favorite Bible verse because it's so simple and I am 476 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:33,160 a simple person call believe, O What we're saying here with this 477 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,920 belief is to the degree that I am dependent on God, to the 478 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:42,040 degree that I see my need as need, to the degree that I'm not 479 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:44,400 saving myself and I know I can't save myself. 480 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,120 And I believe in Jesus Christ and his death and his 481 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:51,040 resurrection to cleanse me of my sins and raise me back to life 482 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,440 To the degree that I'm leaning and depending on that, that is 483 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:56,280 to the degree that I am a child of God. 484 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:59,160 And as I am a child of God, I am free. 485 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,920 I am free from all this garbage. I am free from Satan. 486 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:09,040 It doesn't mean I never sin, but I am free from His grasp and I 487 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,320 will never go back. You don't have to either. 488 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:18,880 It is as simple as believing. It's not more complex than that. 489 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,200 Please don't let anybody tell you it's more than that, because 490 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,760 the Bible is painfully clear. If you believe in the Lord Jesus 491 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:28,760 Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you will be saved. 492 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:42,080 That's it, that's it. So OK children of God, as I 493 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:47,280 address you, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ quite simply, very 494 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:52,120 much like a child, simple belief and watch how he changes your 495 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,240 DNA. Watch how he changes your 496 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,360 desires. Watch how he changes your 497 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:01,200 priorities, watch how he changes how your willingness to forgive 498 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:06,880 people increases and you have peace and all comes through very 499 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,280 simple belief. It is not complicated friends. 500 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:15,480 So therefore believe like his child and you will receive an 501 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:23,360 inheritance as his child. Thanks for listening to ERC 502 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:25,800 Sundays to support the work God is doing. 503 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:30,440 An Amazed Rd. church. Visit amazedrdonline.org/giving.