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 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:31,360 In our series on Romans 8, it's already already we've learned 7 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:35,000 and we've taken in so much to be honest, in week one, we learned 8 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,480 that because of sin, we are essentially prisoners of war and 9 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:43,160 that in order to be made free, we cannot do that so much 10 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:45,920 through willpower. We will fail far too often. 11 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,000 Instead, we need to have the gospel, the truth of Jesus 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,320 Christ, penetrate our hearts and our minds in such a way that we 13 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,400 can be free. And then last week, Pastor Matt, 14 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,480 he brought us from justification in Christ, meaning just as if 15 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,440 I'd never sinned. Cool idea, right? 16 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,320 Well, we go from justification. And he spoke about 17 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:12,120 sanctification and how the Holy Spirit in our lives is 18 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,320 sanctifying us through our whole lives. 19 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:15,960 And I'll probably never forget it. 20 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:18,240 I love what he said about it. He said because of the 21 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:22,520 sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, man, we do 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,160 not have to fear our worst, nor do we have to hope in our best. 23 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,040 What an incredible truth that we have in the gospel and that's 24 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,840 amazing. And so this week, God's Word 25 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:40,040 draws us into what it looks like to live a spirit filled life. 26 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:44,760 Now, why does that matter? Why can't we just do things the 27 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:46,680 way that we kind of like to do them? 28 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,160 Well, let me give you an example of why it doesn't work. 29 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,920 Let's say for example, that you decide I'm going to go out and 30 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:57,920 I'm going to buy a brand new shiny car with all the bells and 31 00:01:57,920 --> 00:01:59,680 whistles. And you know what new cars look 32 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:01,080 like? If you've seen them, they've got 33 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,480 these gigantic screens on them now and there aren't even real 34 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,800 buttons anymore. Everything is on a screen and 35 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,360 they just come with like the best GPS ever. 36 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,320 And So what happens is let's say you take this shiny new ride 37 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,040 with its world class GPS and you take it into unfamiliar 38 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,440 territory, but you do have a goal of getting somewhere. 39 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:26,520 Well, the GPS, it tells you turn right and you say, silly 40 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,720 computer, I have a better route. And then a little while down the 41 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,000 road, it says, take this exit. And all you can say to the 42 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,080 computer is you don't know me, you don't know what I'm doing. 43 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:41,200 And then finally, after you've made enough mistakes on your 44 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,840 own, it says rerouting, rerouting, rerouting over and 45 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:47,360 over again. It's like, I've heard it before, 46 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,560 right? And you say, come on, I'm doing 47 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,520 my own thing here. You can't tell me what to do. 48 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,120 Well, before you know it, you've doubled the time of your trip 49 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,520 and you might be wildly frustrated with the entire 50 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:03,640 experience. Now, the point I'm getting at 51 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:10,240 here is that God's Holy Spirit is this fantastic, this, this 52 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,000 amazing navigational tool that he gives us. 53 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,640 It is a tool to get us to move and to go in the right 54 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:19,520 direction. And when we listen to that 55 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,600 navigational tool known as the Holy Spirit, what happens is man 56 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,680 doesn't mean that life is perfect, but it sure does mean 57 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,640 that we find the right routes a lot quicker and the trip is far 58 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:33,720 less painful. And and it's just in a 59 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,560 significantly better way to move through this world. 60 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:43,320 And so here's the thing. I want us all, all of us, every 61 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,080 single person in this room, I want us to live full and free 62 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,400 lives. And that happens best when we 63 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,600 are living life with the Holy Spirit and when we are not being 64 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,080 led by our flesh and our most base desires. 65 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,720 All of a sudden, I can be led by somebody with real wisdom, real 66 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,160 wisdom, real heavenly wisdom. And so that's where we're going 67 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,440 to go today. And I'll tell you one more thing 68 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:09,840 that the Bible tells us, and this is kind of interesting to 69 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,080 me. The Bible tells us that those 70 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,480 base desires that we typically follow, those things need to 71 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,240 die. They have to die. 72 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,200 And that sounds awfully dramatic, but it's true. 73 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:26,960 And so let's figure out how this works. 74 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:31,000 Let's figure out how this movement of the Holy Spirit can 75 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,000 move us into better places, into an infinitely better life. 76 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:37,360 And so here's what that's going to look like today. 77 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,440 And we're going to see that first and foremost, the Spirit 78 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,760 kills rebellion. That's one of his jobs. 79 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,840 He kills that rebellion inside of us #2 we're going to see that 80 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:52,280 the Spirit creates courage in US, makes us new, makes us bold. 81 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,520 And finally, we're going to see that the Spirit invites us to 82 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,560 call the God of the universe Dad. 83 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:00,560 And that's an amazing thing, too. 84 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,360 So we're going to be reading from Romans chapter 8. 85 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:06,720 So we're going to pick up at verse 11 and we're just reading 86 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:11,000 verse 11 through 1511. Is there for more of a context? 87 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,840 I'm not really teaching on that today, more so teaching through 88 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:16,600 12 through 15. So if you want to grab a Pew 89 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:18,480 Bible, you're welcome to do that. 90 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,640 That's on page 944. Or if you have your own Bible 91 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,240 you want to follow on the screen, open up the Bible app. 92 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:29,280 Any of those are good options. But Romans 811 through 15. 93 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:32,640 And we read this in Jesus name because it's his word. 94 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:39,160 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in 95 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:43,560 you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give 96 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,920 life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in 97 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,320 you. So then brothers, we are debtors 98 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,640 not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 99 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,800 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if you 100 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:04,480 live according to the Spirit, you will put to death the deeds 101 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:08,280 of the body, and you will live. For all who are led by the 102 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:12,040 Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the 103 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:17,560 spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received 104 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:22,160 the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry. 105 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:27,800 ABBA, Father Herein's the reading of God's Word. 106 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,840 May it be blessed forever and ever. 107 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:37,360 So to get us started, there's this interesting phrase that 108 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,680 that the Bible uses in it. And it's this phrase put to 109 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,120 death, put to death. And that's those are strong 110 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,840 words. And so I don't always do this 111 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:48,800 with you guys, but I thought it was interesting enough 112 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,520 definition that I wanted to share that verb with you and 113 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:53,560 what it actually means. Here's what it means. 114 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:58,000 It means to stop a state or activity with lethal 115 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,600 determination. I actually like that a lot. 116 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,640 It kind of sounds violent, but for some reason I'm drawn to it 117 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,480 with lethal determination right now. 118 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,080 The idea that the Bible get it is getting to here is that 119 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,480 unlike our willpower, which I fully know and I hope you know 120 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:19,840 it too, is typically a like a subduing resource that has 121 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,840 limited energy to it. That's not how the Holy Spirit 122 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:29,040 works at all. He has unlimited energy to fight 123 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:34,000 and essentially starve out those things which our base desires 124 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:40,080 are always tempting us to do. And so let me just maybe give 125 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,840 you an example of how that works, this starving out idea. 126 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:49,120 So during the Civil War, OK, during the Civil War, the Union, 127 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,880 they're marching South and it's at, it's coming at a significant 128 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,240 cost. Well, they come upon Vicksburg, 129 00:07:55,440 --> 00:08:00,400 Ms. and what happens is they surround Vicksburg and instead 130 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:04,440 of going in and it costing the lives of more men on both sides, 131 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,680 what they do is they surround the whole place and they just 132 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,840 stop. They just wall off the entire 133 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,320 place. And so all of a sudden the 134 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,080 Confederate forces, they have no food coming in. 135 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:21,240 They have no resources coming in and they get weaker and weaker 136 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,880 as the weeks go by, and they're essentially being starved out of 137 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:27,160 the war. And it worked. 138 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,560 It worked. People didn't have to die. 139 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:34,640 It just worked to starve them out. 140 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:39,640 Abraham Lincoln actually said this was the key to the war, to 141 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,480 starve them out. And the point is just this. 142 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:48,640 When we are consistent in God's Word, when we are consistent in 143 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:52,320 prayer, when we are consistent in worship of Him, what we're 144 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:55,720 doing is we're drawing ourselves ever closer to the power of the 145 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,240 Holy Spirit. We're becoming more sensitive to 146 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,080 it through all those different means. 147 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:03,800 And what's happening is the Spirit is then moving inside of 148 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:08,600 us to starve out those base desires, to put them to shame, 149 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,760 to to make them lose their resource and their power. 150 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,840 And so man as that is being starved out not by our 151 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,840 willpower, but by the Holy Spirit in US. 152 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,360 It's amazing that those temptations which once seemed to 153 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:27,440 hold us and they seem to grab us by the throat, all of a sudden 154 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,280 those things get strangely quiet. 155 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:37,200 They grow dim. Now I have to tell you, it is so 156 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,320 cool when that happens. It is so cool when that happens. 157 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:43,280 And here's how I know that it's not because I went to seminary 158 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:46,920 or I read a lot of books. It's because I've lived it and 159 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,400 I've been living it with the Spirit of God. 160 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,960 As as I've poured into my relationship with God, as I've 161 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,480 made my relationship with the Lord a top priority in my life, 162 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:00,720 all of a sudden, man, these temptations, these things, 163 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,080 they've grown strangely dim in my life. 164 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:08,080 Here's a really cool thing. Years ago when I first became a 165 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,400 Christian in like my mid late 20s, I was struggling with some 166 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,640 of this stuff and Pastor Paul Lang who was here, I was talking 167 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,840 to him about it in this very building and he said, oh, Chris, 168 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:24,000 lean into your relationship with the Lord, Make it a priority and 169 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:29,880 God will change your desires. If I'm being really honest, I 170 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:33,040 thought he was a little crazy. I was like, I've been trying to 171 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:35,440 change me my whole life and it hasn't worked. 172 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:37,640 He's just going to magically do that. 173 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:43,000 Oh yes, Oh yes, he was absolutely right. 174 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:47,320 As I lean into my relationship with the Lord, man did he change 175 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,200 my desires? Man is he change what I want and 176 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:55,720 what I think is important. Now, having said all of that, 177 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,680 does that mean that I'm not a Sinner anymore? 178 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,280 If you don't know the answer to that question, then you just 179 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,040 need to talk to me for about 60 seconds and you'll figure it 180 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,320 out. You'll know, you'll know. 181 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,000 But what I'm telling you is that this experience of a heart 182 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,280 change, this experience of the Spirit changing my desires and 183 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:23,000 drawing me closer to Christ, it has absolutely changed my life. 184 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,760 It's changed my demeanor. It's changed how I think and how 185 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:28,680 I work and how I talk and how I move through this world. 186 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:33,920 And it has most certainly starved out most, if not all of 187 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:37,040 the things that were holding me captive. 188 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:41,440 Again, I don't say this as a guy who read books. 189 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,800 I say this as a guy who's lived it, and I continue to live it 190 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,640 every single week. It's amazing. 191 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,760 So that brings us to something really important, friends. 192 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,480 If you've been listening at all over the last several minutes 193 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,400 and you are struggling with the flesh, you're struggling with 194 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,400 these temptations that seem to keep on winning the war. 195 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,600 Gosh, you know what? It's not a knowledge problem. 196 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,680 It's not a knowledge problem at all because I've just told you 197 00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:16,880 how it works. The Bible tells you how it 198 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,920 works. So what are you going to do 199 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,960 about it? Are you going to keep fighting 200 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,920 the same dumb fight and taking on casualties? 201 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,600 Or are you going to lean into your relationship with the Lord 202 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:32,720 and allow Him to start doing the heavy lifting? 203 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,560 Because He will through the Holy Spirit, He'll do it. 204 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:38,840 If you let him pursue that relationship with the Lord 205 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,080 through His Word and through prayer and through worship. 206 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,160 My goodness, friends, it will change you. 207 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,680 Now here's the thing, as it changes you, we learn and we 208 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:53,960 experience that the Holy Spirit, it doesn't just kill those base 209 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:58,320 desires, it also creates courage in US, creates real courage, 210 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:02,760 real boldness, right? It says that you did not receive 211 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:07,480 the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. 212 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,000 I think it's really interesting. I learned something new 213 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,080 recently. CS Lewis often talked about this 214 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,000 thing called serval fear. Serval fear. 215 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,720 Do you know what that means? I didn't tell like a week ago, 216 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:22,200 so no problem. If you don't, it's fine. 217 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:27,240 Serval fear is the idea that we are so willing to bend our knee 218 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:33,280 and we're so willing to serve as if we were a slave who is scared 219 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,520 of what his master's going to do to him if he fails. 220 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:41,080 That's what serval fear is. And this text tells us and the 221 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,480 entire Bible tells us that that is not what our relationship 222 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:45,840 with Christ is supposed to look like. 223 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:50,600 That's not how we are supposed to address God is in that, you 224 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,680 know, meek, that meek fear of what's he going to do to me if I 225 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:57,040 mess up. Well, here's the thing, I like 226 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,640 debates. I enjoy that stuff. 227 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,720 So let's just say that's how you are in your Christian walk right 228 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,880 now. You are actively afraid of what 229 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,520 God is going to do with you when you mess up. 230 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,440 Well, I will tell you unequivocally that means a 231 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,040 number of things, but I don't have time to get into all of it. 232 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,680 So I'll just tell you the most important thing that means. 233 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:25,000 It means that you don't trust God if that's where you're 234 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,400 living right now. I'm telling you, you have a big 235 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,920 trust issue with God. Let me prove it. 236 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,680 When you sin, do you immediately think, Oh my goodness, God must 237 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:40,560 be so mad at me. He must be so disappointed with 238 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:42,360 me. I promised Him I wasn't going to 239 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,000 do this and I keep doing it over and over again. 240 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,480 I don't even want to pray. I don't even want to pray 241 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,840 because I'm too ashamed. I cannot go to him and repeat 242 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:52,680 the same things that I've been doing. 243 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:58,080 He won't take it. My goodness, friends, that's all 244 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:02,760 pointing to the fact that if that's you right now, when Jesus 245 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:08,480 said it is finished, that hasn't hit your heart yet, that has not 246 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,560 penetrated your mind and your heart in such a way that you 247 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:15,960 walk with confidence. Because when Jesus said is it is 248 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:19,000 finished, he means that he is not joking. 249 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,760 He gave his life for it to be finished, so that you don't have 250 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,920 to live in fear, so that you don't have to be afraid, so that 251 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,320 you can come to God with your open and honest confessions and 252 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:33,160 say, Lord, I did it again. But I know, I know because of 253 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,520 what Jesus Christ has done that you have made me clean. 254 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:39,280 You have washed me with the blood of Christ, and I am white 255 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:43,000 as snow. The Bible clearly states in 256 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,880 first John 418, there is No Fear in love, but perfect love. 257 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:53,480 It casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and 258 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:57,320 whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 259 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:03,560 You see, Fear says I must obey or else. 260 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:08,240 Fear says I got to get this right or God's going to be so 261 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,440 mad at me. Fear says I don't, I can't go 262 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,680 back to him. I've I've broken my promise too 263 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,320 many times. He won't take me back. 264 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,600 Those are all fear statements. And here's the thing about fear, 265 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,200 man. Satan uses it and it will make 266 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,200 you compliant for a while until you've just been fed up and 267 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,640 you've had enough. Let me give you a fun example. 268 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:36,280 Let's say money is tight and so you know where the cop sits, 269 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,320 you've scouted them, you know where they sit. 270 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,840 And so man, you are, you are keeping that speed limit down 271 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,840 because you are afraid of having to pay that ticket. 272 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:49,600 But as soon as money is no longer an object, you're like 273 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:53,240 Zoom, zoom, here we go. I've done it. 274 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,960 It's no, it's not funny, but I think it is. 275 00:16:56,120 --> 00:17:00,920 Sorry, can't help it. I've shared this story before 276 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,680 but I'll be brief about it. When I was a teenager, I went to 277 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:06,839 a youth convention. It wasn't with our denomination, 278 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:12,880 but man, I am sure that their entire goal was to just scare 279 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,560 the hell out of us the whole time showing these videos of 280 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:18,640 kids getting car crashes and going to hell. 281 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:24,000 And man was I afraid. Man, was I so afraid coming out 282 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:28,119 of that conference until I wasn't. 283 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:30,520 And it really didn't take that long. 284 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,360 And in fact, instead of being afraid, I became bitter and I 285 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,440 said I don't need that. I don't need that manipulation. 286 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:38,680 I don't need that junk in my life. 287 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:44,800 And I walked away. That's why the truth of the 288 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:49,040 gospel, it needs to penetrate our hearts and our minds and our 289 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:54,040 souls, because it is the assurance of God that creates 290 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:58,040 courage in all of us. We don't well that up inside of 291 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,400 ourselves as if we can do that. No, it is the Spirit of God 292 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,360 telling you you're a son, you're a daughter, that creates real 293 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:07,200 courage in us. It creates boldness and it 294 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:12,800 creates freedom because courage comes when you know you are 295 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,400 fully, fully accepted by God. And courage comes when we trust 296 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,360 the work and the character of God. 297 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,720 And courage comes when we reject Satan's lies. 298 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:28,760 And by the power of the Holy Spirit, we move into freedom and 299 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,880 joy, knowing that we are sons and daughters of the very King 300 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,200 of the universe. That will get you freedom. 301 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:38,120 That will move you forward in your life. 302 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,800 Oh my goodness, friends, I when you're no longer a slave to 303 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,080 fear, you become a child, a child of God. 304 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,040 And that is a remarkable thing because when you become a child 305 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:51,280 of God, you know what that means. 306 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:55,840 The Holy Spirit then invites you to call the God of the universe. 307 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:09,260 Dad. Long time ago, long time ago, 308 00:19:11,140 --> 00:19:15,580 there was an occasion where I was first called Lissa's 309 00:19:15,580 --> 00:19:20,880 husband. Wow, what a moment. 310 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:27,480 Truly the, the, the pride I felt of being her husband. 311 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:32,280 Amazing that that's never left me. 312 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,560 And then at some point in my younger life, the first time I 313 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:42,520 was called Mr. Hartley by a student, that was really cool. 314 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:49,920 I felt so accomplished. And then first time I was called 315 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:55,520 pastor by somebody. My goodness, friends, the weight 316 00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:03,400 of responsibility. But none of that is the same. 317 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:09,200 None of that is the same. The first time I was is the 318 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:19,800 first time I was called Dad. First time I was called Dad, it 319 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:24,800 permanently shifted my heart. It has permanently shifted my 320 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:26,240 heart. It moved my heart. 321 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:30,640 And I knew in that moment, I knew in that moment of receiving 322 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:35,720 the the gift in the title of Dad that I would do anything. 323 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,960 I would spend the rest of my life doing anything and 324 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:43,080 everything it takes to love and care for my children. 325 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:52,200 Anything. Did you know your Heavenly 326 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,120 Father feels the exact same way about you? 327 00:20:54,120 --> 00:21:00,000 Did you know that? Did you know that as the Holy 328 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:05,320 Spirit draws you closer to Him and you call on Him, that he has 329 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:11,800 that same reaction? It opens his heart, it moves him 330 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,920 into love. I I can only imagine if I feel 331 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,720 the way I feel about being called dad, man, our heavenly 332 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:22,160 Father when we call out to him in that way, it just moves his 333 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,640 heart. It's amazing. 334 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:29,480 It's amazing. Now I want to give you something 335 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:36,920 interesting about this. When Jesus calls God ABBA, 336 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,120 father, it was a it was a radical thing for him to do. 337 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,200 ABBA is an Aramaic word that is really interesting because think 338 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,560 about how a little kid talks Mama Dada ABBA. 339 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,800 It's just kind of usually gibberish with consonants and 340 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:56,440 vowels mixed in. And but man, the word ABBA, it 341 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,840 sounds just like that. It's very familial. 342 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:05,160 And so for Jesus to call God the God of the universe, ABBA, you 343 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:11,280 know what he's doing? He's saying, Dad, let me ask you 344 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,720 a question. Maybe you know the answer. 345 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,640 Do you know when Jesus called God ABBA? 346 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:24,480 Do you know when he did that? It was in the garden the night 347 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:26,600 before he was going to be crucified. 348 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:31,520 It was in the garden. And so he, he prays ABBA. 349 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:36,840 Dad, isn't there any other way? Is there any other way we can 350 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:42,280 get this done and save them? Dad said no. 351 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:53,360 Jesus's response, unlike us broken sinners, that we are 352 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,200 always seeking our own self preservation. 353 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:07,080 Jesus said, OK, all right, I will honor you, Father, I'll do 354 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:08,320 it for you. I'll do it for them. 355 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:14,040 And then the next day, Jesus tortured and beaten, is hung on 356 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,920 a cross, hung on a cross. And while he's hanging on the 357 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,360 cross, he says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 358 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:27,080 In that moment, God's rejection of his own Son meant our 359 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,560 inclusion. In that moment, as God pushed 360 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,000 his Son away, he pulled us forward. 361 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,560 He pulled us into his loving embrace so that we can look at 362 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:39,800 God, we can look at the Creator of the heavens and universe, and 363 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:43,920 we can say Dad. And instead of rejection, he 364 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:47,600 just pulls us in tighter. That's the gospel. 365 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:52,440 That is the good news for every single person who puts their 366 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,480 faith in their hope and their trust in Jesus Christ. 367 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,920 I hope that's you today, man. I hope that's you today. 368 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:03,360 Because when that is you, you will no longer be afraid. 369 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,960 You will not be controlled by base desires. 370 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,480 You will move forward in your life in power and in freedom, 371 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,760 because the blood of Jesus Christ has set you free. 372 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:17,040 Amen. Yeah, My goodness, friends, 373 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,840 Jesus's rejection means everything to us. 374 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:32,080 I hope you see it. I hope you see how your Father 375 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:36,200 in heaven, your dad in heaven loves you and how he wants to 376 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:39,040 embrace you. Don't pull away. 377 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:43,720 Don't do that. He wants you to come home. 378 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:48,480 Let's all go home together, huh? Let's pray. 379 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:59,160 Our Father in Heaven, our Dad of the universe, Your steadfast 380 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:06,240 love is unrivalled. It is amazing what you've done 381 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:09,360 for us. I can't even fully wrap my head 382 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:13,840 around it, but I know it's true. So Father, I pray for each and 383 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:17,160 every person in here this morning that you would use your 384 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:22,400 Spirit to move them ever closer to you, that you would use your 385 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,760 spirit to give us courage and not fear that we would fully 386 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:32,280 lean on the gospel. Lord, may your name be glorified 387 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,280 for all times because of what you've done for us. 388 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:42,000 Lord God, move in our hearts, make us your children by your 389 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,680 word and by your spirit. We pray all these things in 390 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:51,240 Jesus name, Amen. Thanks for listening to the ERC 391 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,760 Sundays to support work God is doing an Amazed Rd. church. 392 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,320 Visit amazedrdonline.org/giving.