Let's take our Bibles and turn
to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. Continuing our study of this
blessed book that was written by the Apostle Paul to the church
at Rome, we stopped last week with the
thirteenth verse. And Paul's statement in the latter
part of that thirteenth verse said, If you do through the Spirit
mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. What he was saying was this,
If the nature of our old man And all believers have an old
nature about them. There's two natures in a believer. An old nature and a new nature.
An old man and a new man. An old creation and a new creation.
There's a new creature born from above, born again. If you find yourself And that
old nature does not dominate or rule the life, is what he's
actually saying. If that's the case, it's because
you're alive. If the old nature doesn't dominate,
it's there, believe me, and you know it's there. There's an old
man and a new man, and they strive one against the other. Now, the
new man is evidenced by his walk, by his life. Beginning in verse
14, this morning Paul says, "...for as many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of God." Now, you know that we're
powerfully, I'm talking about a believer, is powerfully regenerated
by Almighty God. Powerfully. There's a new creature
in there. But though we're powerfully regenerated
by the Spirit of God who quickens us by power, we're still like
little children and we've got to be led by the Spirit of God. We cannot do anything without
Him. The Lord said that. Without me,
you can do nothing. Now, this being led by the Spirit
of God, they that are led, for as many as are led by the Spirit
of God. Let me tell you what this does
not mean. It does not mean that the Spirit
of God causes God's people to do something that they don't
want to do. It doesn't mean that. I know
that there's an old nature there that resists the Spirit of God,
but there's a new nature there that absolutely desires, longs
to, and is willing in the day of God's power to love Christ,
to hunger after Christ. As I've said before, why? Why
are you here? Why are you here this morning?
Well, I can tell you what a believer says. I'm here because I want
to be here. I want to be here. I desire. I want to hear. I want to hear what the Scriptures
has got to say. I want to hear what the Lord
Jesus Christ, that He said, my sheep hear my voice. I want to
know what God has got to say to me today. And you're sitting
there, and I too, I sit right with you. I just, I want to know,
I want to know what this Scripture's got to say right here. I want
to know what, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, I want
to know something about that. I want to know, what is it to
be led by God's Spirit? There is a new spirit, a new
will. When it says, I will give them
a new spirit, that's a new will that absolutely is granted, given
to God's people that does of His good pleasure. They do. They long. The Spirit of God, in leading
God's people, enlightens their understanding concerning Christ. Every time you hear the gospel
preached, the Spirit of God must give you light right then. Right then. Because if He doesn't
give you light then, you don't get it. You say, but I've heard
that before and I can figure it out. You don't have to read
Ephesians 1-4 to me, you know, for His chosen us and Him before
the... I got that part of it. No, you didn't. No, you didn't. If He doesn't give you light
right now, you don't understand it. You don't rejoice in it.
You don't appreciate it. It's when the Spirit of God takes
God's Word and right then, right then, yesterday's faith is gone. I need faith for today. I need God to do something for
me right now. John 16, 13, the Lord speaking,
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth presently. Presently. For he shall not speak
of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.
The Lord said, He shall glorify me. He will set forth the opinion
of the triune God in the glorying of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
will set forth what God Almighty has been pleased to do for his
people in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in that latter part of
verse 13, But if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds
of the body, you shall live. To mortify the deeds of the body,
let me tell you what the easiest way that I can explain it, because
you know this, there's things that you're never going to be
rid of. Paul, in that latter part of
the 7th chapter of the book of Romans, he was describing, he
says, the will is present with me, but how to perform that which
I would I find not. What is it to mortify the deeds
of the flesh? I'll tell you what it is to desire
their death. to desire that those deeds be
absent from me. I find myself so easily not believing
God. Not believing God. Let me give you a perfect
example. Especially those of us that have
found ourselves starting to get a little older in life, maybe
you've already retired and you're invested, you know, you worked
hard and you've invested in your company and you've got some,
you know, some, you know, your retirement, you know, and how
many of them here, you don't have to raise your hand, how
many of you here is tied in, you know, to the stock market. And, you know, you let the stock
market drop 300 points in one day. And you know, you know that whatever
your retirement is, whatever, you know that it went down. How
quickly do we not believe God? Do you think that Almighty God
is going to let you Go hungry. Did you eat today? You'll eat
tomorrow if he tarries. You'll eat. You'll eat. We are
so quick. You say, well, I don't think
like that. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. The reason I know
you do is because I think like that, too. We are so, and Paul
says, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? They that are led by the Spirit
of God." God Almighty leads His people to see and desire the
glory of Christ in all things. In all things. In electing grace,
God's people say, I'm thankful that God elected. I am thankful
that the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed me by His grace. I thank for
that. I am thankful that the Spirit of God regenerated me
and called me out of darkness, but you remember this, He must
sustain me. Go back sometime and read the
6th chapter of Matthew when the Lord was speaking, talking to
His people. He told them, He said, why do
you take thought for, you know, things of tomorrow. Consider
the lilies. Solomon and all of his glory
wasn't arrayed like one of these. Aren't we prone to just doubt
God? We just doubt Him. We forget
we're so prone. As many as are led by the Spirit
of God. And this is where a believer
struggles. They do. They know the Lord will not forsake
me. How do I know that? He said there,
He said, I'll never leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
I've told some of you this. Don Fortner told me something. Doug, his son-in-law. Doug and Faith had been married
for quite a few years. And one day Doug asked Don, he
said, you mind if I come over and borrow a wrench from you? You know, do you mind if I come
over if I need a wrench? Don said, I gave you my daughter. You think I wouldn't give you
a wrench? He's given us His Son. Do you
think He'd let us suffer and not provide for us in this life
all of our need for salvation and our temporal need? The Lord
will provide. They that are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of God. That is, the regenerated
sons of Almighty God. They that are regenerated are
made evident that they are the sons of God. But let me tell
you this, before God's elect were regenerated, they were still
sons. They were sons before. They may
be dead in trespasses and sins, And they may walk according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air. But God's elect have always been sons. God has never
looked on them any other way except being sons. I can prove
that. Galatians 4, 6, And because ye
are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father, because ye are sons. God has
sons that He's everlastingly loved and chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. But now this term, as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. It's
got a special meaning. Number one, let me tell you what
it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that they're sons by nature. There's only one. There's only
one who is God's Son by nature. That is the Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son. They're not sons by nature. They're not sons in the general
grace of God Almighty in creation because you could even refer
to the angels as being the sons of God. It speaks of those in
creation. But this term is one that refers
to sons concerning redemption. They're sons of God according
to redemption. Sons by birth and sons by adoption,
which is the only two ways that anybody could ever be considered
a son. Actually a son. Either by birth
or by adoption. By taking them and making them
your own. And this, those two ways, refers
to a believer. Sons by birth and sons by adoption.
God adopted His people in an everlasting covenant of grace. They've always been God's adopted
people. They've always been God's adopted
son. Remember that? God never changes. So therefore, whatever God considers
His people to be right now in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, they've always been that. So they're sons by adoption,
but then in time, They'll be sons by birth. He'll call His
people out of darkness. And then they're made manifest
that they've always been God's son. They've always been God's
son. But in regeneration, you know it and other people know
it. Until then, they look just like everybody else. They act
just like everybody else. They talk just like everybody
else. They talk just like the world. But you let Almighty God
give a man or a woman a new heart. And I'm telling you, they manifest
that new birth. So, they that are led, as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. They don't become the sons of
God in regeneration. Regeneration evidences that they
are the sons of God. So, verse 15, For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received
the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Now, we've
not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, that is, to distrust
God. That's not the new nature that
we have. We have a nature that doesn't
believe God. We were born with it. We came
forth from our mother's womb not believing God. Why does a
man or a woman not believe God before God calls them out of
darkness because they're dead. You don't do anything spiritually
toward God with any consistency concerning the Scriptures. Everything
that we do before the Lord calls us out of darkness is according
to our old nature. But we haven't received from
the Spirit of God That spirit of bondage to fear, to distrust
God, that is fear of losing my salvation, fear of measuring
up to God's standards, fear of not pleasing Him. Believers does
not receive the spirit that belongs to a slave or one that is in
bondage to an evil tyrant. That spirit, that spirit of bondage
to fear, that is a spirit that is totally concerned and manifests
itself. That spirit, a spirit of fear. And Paul says you haven't received
the spirit of fear. That spirit, the spirit of fear,
the spirit that doesn't believe God, manifests itself this way. I will do whatever it takes to
reconcile myself back to God. That is a spirit that doesn't
trust God. I trust myself. That's a spirit
of fear. Distrust of God. It's a word when you first read
it, you don't get the real meaning of it, but a spirit of fear means
I'll do whatever it takes to reconcile myself back to God. That's a spirit of anti-Christ. As I've heard men say, it's not
a spirit of anti-religion or anti-so-called morality, but
it's anti-Christ. It's anti-revelation of the Lord
Jesus Christ. You have not received the spirit
of fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby
we cry, Abba, Father. Now, the Holy Spirit is called
here the spirit of adoption. He is the spirit, either because
he's the cause of regeneration or because he's the seal and
the earnest of our adoption. But he is the Spirit. You have received, let me see
that word, capital S, that you've received the Spirit, the Holy
Spirit of adoption. He produces within the believer
and to the believer. a spirit of reconciliation in
the heart. How do you know what Almighty
God has purposed and said and willed concerning you and your
adoption? It takes the Spirit of God imparting
to you not only a new nature, but actually residing with you
and teaching, as the Scripture says, He'll bring back to your
memory of all the things that I've said, what he's heard, that's
what he'll say. He'll bear witness of me. God's
Spirit teaches, reveals, unveils, discloses the things of God. You've received the Spirit of
adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. In regeneration, the
Spirit of God breathes in us new life. And that's when we
know it, that God is adopted. How would you know that God had
adopted you unless the Spirit of God, the Spirit of adoption,
revealed that to you? You would never know that. You
would never conjure that up. You would never in a million
years come to the conclusion that God had adopted you unless
the Spirit of adoption had revealed that unto you. Now, when He by
power and grace imparts life to us. Paul says we cry, Abba,
Father. You know, we cry within our heart,
grown in our heart. And Paul uses two words here
that actually are interpreted, if you looked them up, Abba Father,
they're interpreted Father, Father. Abba does mean Father. But, you
know, that Abba Father, someone would say, well, what it is is
one of them was written in a Hebrew tongue and one of them's written
in a a Greek tongue, and he wrote them both to express that God
is no respecter of persons, and so Abba Father. It was Hebrew and Greek. That's true in a sense, but I
want you to read something. And if you're thinking that it
was just written just so there could be a good understanding
of it, turn with me to Mark 14. Mark 14, 36. And let me show
you who was the first recorded one to use those two titles. Mark 14, verse 36. The Lord Jesus Christ is praying
in the Garden of Gethsemane. Verse 35. Mark 14, 35. He went
forward a little. fell on the ground and prayed
that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all
things are possible unto Thee. Take away this cup from me nevertheless,
not what I will, but what Thou wilt. Now let me ask you something. When the Lord Jesus Christ in
the Garden of Gethsemane in agony, was praying to his Father, do
you think that he needed any explanation to the Father, to
explain to the Father what he truly meant? In calling
him, Abba, Father, something else was being said by the Lord
Jesus Christ, and Paul says, when we realize that the spirit
of adoption has taught us something. In our heart, we cry, Abba, Father. So my question is this. What
was being said? What is actually being set forth
in those two words? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
needed no explanation when he talked to the Father. And Paul
says, we say something in our heart, Abba, Father. And I do
know that one word is a Hebrew word and one of them is a Greek.
And I understand that. But what do they mean? The word
Abba, I found out, is a title. It does mean Father. It means
Father. It is a word that was forbidden. It was a title that was forbidden
by a slave to use even if he was referring to his own physical
father. If a man was convicted of a crime,
if he was imprisoned, if he was a slave, if he was in bondage to any part
where he wasn't a free man. He could not, by Jewish law,
he could not refer to his own father with the title Abba. Abba was a word that was referred
to as a physical father or as a teacher only by a free man. That was a privilege. Slaves
could not use the title Abba. They were forbidden. That was forbidden. They couldn't use
it. So Abba was a word that was forbidden
to be used by any but a free man. Father, same word, same title. But it is the title that is given
to one that is one with. Okay? One with, one in agreement
with. One of them is a title that because
I'm free, I can use this word, Abba. I can use that because
I'm free. This one, this title, Father,
means I'm one with you. You and I are together. We're
one and the same. So, when the Lord Jesus Christ,
in the Garden of Gethsemane, spoke and said, Abba, Father,
what he was saying is, I am free, free from bondage, free from
penalty, and the Father is my Father. That was a very, very
significant Two words that went together. The Lord Jesus Christ
said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by Me. No man can call the Father, My
Father, except by his association in being one with the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord says, I and the Father
are one. So when he spoke to the Father,
Jeff, when he called Him Father, that's what he meant. I'm one
with You. When he called Him Abba, he said,
I'm free. I'm not of this world. Not in
bondage. Here's the holy, harmless Son
of God. And when he used the word Abba,
he was free. I'm a free man. in bondage to
sin. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
revealing by His Spirit when we've received the Spirit of
adoption, when the Spirit of God teaches us that the Lord
Jesus Christ has put away our guilt, having been made sin for
us at Calvary. And Almighty God judged Him in
absolute justice and that He put our sin as far as the east
is from the west, I know the presence of it is there. But
the guilt of it, we're not in bondage to the guilt of our sin. The presence, yes. The plague
of it, yes. The harassment of it, yes. But
the guilt of it and the penalty of it, no. Why? Because we're sons. Adopted. free in Christ. Free in Christ. And we can speak to Him in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ and say, Abba, a title that is
only used to those only a believer can truthfully say, Abba, because
I'm free. If God Almighty has not put away
my guilt, I can say the Word. But it means nothing before Almighty
God if Christ hasn't put away my guilt. If I've not been made
free in Christ from the penalty of my sin, then how can I speak
to Him and call Him my Father if the Lord Jesus Christ alone
is the way? No man comes to the Father but
by me. Nobody approaches Him but by
me. So Paul says here, we've not
received the Spirit. of the bondage again to fear,
but we've received the spirit of adoption whereby we can cry,
Abba, Father. Verse 16, the Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit,
beareth witness to and with, and I'll tell you what I mean
by this, the new man the new creature, that we are the sons
of God. Now, actually, there's a two-fold
witness here this morning, you that believe. There's a two-fold
witness that's going on that you are the sons of God. Number one, the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit itself, God the Spirit, beareth witness with our spirit."
Now, if there's ever been a Scripture that sets forth that there's
two natures in a believer, it's right here. Do you think that
the Spirit of God bears witness with our old spirit, our old
man? Do you think that's what he's
talking about? Or do you think that he's talking about the new
creature? Do you think the old creature, the old man, the old
nature, that's dead in trespasses and sins, that has no ears to
hear, no eyes to see, spiritually speaking. Do you think the old
man can perceive the things of God? No. There's foolishness
under him. He can't perceive them. No. But
there is a new nature. There's a new nature in a man,
and that new nature, the Spirit of God bears witness to that
new nature, to our spirit, that we are the children of God. So we have the witness of the
Holy Spirit that bears witness to the new creature. We can understand
that. You know, you read that, the
Spirit itself beareth witness. But you see the word with right
there? The reason I said a while ago
it bears witness with our spirit and to our spirit He does bear
witness to our spirit. The Spirit of God teaches the
new man. You're the sons of God. You're
the children of God. You're adopted. You believe what
Almighty God has to say. He bears witness to you. But
it also says and means He bears witness with our spirit. Here's the other witness. I said
there's a two-fold witness. It's the Spirit of God bearing
witness to our new spirit. But our new spirit also bears
witness that we are the sons of God. Your new spirit, your
new man, is a witness too, also. Listen to this Scripture, Romans
9.1, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, My conscience, that
new man, also bearing me witness in the
Holy Ghost." It is a witness that you even have a new nature.
That's a witness. That you've got a new nature
is a witness in itself. Paul says, I lie not in my conscience
bearing me witness. There's a witness to the believer
that he's alive because he's alive. Now, does that make any
sense at all? I'm standing here right now.
How do I know I'm alive? Well, I just moved. You know, my life, my physical
life that is actually, I'm evidencing, you know, these hands are moving
and look, I can do this and I move my glasses and stuff like this.
My life, The evidence of my life is a witness to me that I'm alive. My life is not what makes me
alive. The life itself is a witness. But also, Paul says, the Spirit
of God bears witness with our spirit, to us and with us, that
we are the sons of God. The Spirit of God bears witness
to the sovereign work of grace in the salvation of our souls.
The Spirit of God bears witness, and our witness is also found
in that we believe it. There's a witness right there.
I could be standing here and preaching and declaring this.
Almighty God is sovereign. God is sovereign. God is sovereign
in election. He's sovereign in redemption.
He's sovereign in regeneration. And He's sovereign in keeping
you, sustaining you. He's sovereign in whatever He
does. The Spirit of God bears witness to that. There's also
a witness if you believe it. He'd be saying it's so, and that's
a witness. But do you believe it? There's
a witness to. His Spirit bears witness with
my spirit that I am the Son of God. 1 John 5.10, He that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. God's Spirit bears
witness with our spirit, to our spirit, and also in accordance
with our spirit. He preaches it. We believe it. Last verse, And if children,
then heirs, heirs of God, and joined heirs with Christ, if
so be, that would suffer with him, that we may also be glorified
together." Paul had said the Spirit of God bears witness,
along with our spirit, that we are the children of God. God's
people believe that. I believe it. I believe that
I am His by grace and mercy. I believe He has adopted me.
I believe He has called me out of darkness, I believe that He's
kept me to this moment. I believe that salvation is all
of grace. I believe that salvation is of
the Lord. I believe that. I believe that. Why do you believe that? Well,
because His Spirit has taught me that. And I believe that it's
so. He teaches me and I receive that. I believe His Word. My sheep
hear my voice. They follow me. They bow to me. If I'm a child then, if I believe
what the Spirit of God has taught me, if I'm a child, verse 17,
and if children, then I'm an heir. I'm an heir not by my own
work. I know that. but I'm an heir
according to God's purpose." Listen to this, Ephesians 1.11,
"...in whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will." Well, we've obtained an inheritance. That's what Paul said to the
church at Ephesus. But it was an inheritance that
was predestined, predetermined, according to the purpose of Him
who works all things after the counsel of His own will, not
mine, but His. I didn't will myself that I was
going to be one that inherits anything from God. God willed
that. Almighty God. So we're heirs. We've obtained an inheritance.
But let me ask you this. He says here, if we're children,
then we're heirs. Well, my question is this. Heirs
of what? Heirs of what? Matthew 25, 34 says, Then shall
the king say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of
my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world, the kingdom. Well,
you know somewhat how I think. So, the next thing I thought
of is, okay, what is the kingdom? Inherit the kingdom. Okay, then
what's the kingdom? The kingdom is, and I had to
look this up, the realm or place ruled by the king." That's what
the word kingdom means. The realm, the place ruled by
the king. So, the kingdom, when he says,
inherit the kingdom, that means you inherit, you are an heir
to the realm that is ruled in mercy and grace by the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself. That is, that place that was
predestined for all that Almighty God had everlastingly loved,
God Almighty had determined that they are heirs. They're sons,
they're children in regeneration. They know it. The Spirit of God
teaches them that. That's how they realize that
we're heirs. Heirs of what? Heirs of the kingdom.
The kingdom is that place ruled in mercy and grace by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Heirs. Heirs of the kingdom. The privilege, can I say it like
this, to be in His presence. That's it. That's what it means.
You're heirs of the kingdom. Any kingdom that you look at.
England's kingdom. That is, England's kingdom was
wherever England or the queen or the king or whoever it was
was the sovereign, humanly speaking, over that particular piece of
property. You were a resident of that property. You were under that kingdom and
all of the privileges that had to do with the protection of
the roads or whatever came with it, that was yours. You were
an heir, you know, of that and just being able to live there.
The Scripture says that we're heirs, heirs of salvation, but
he says secondly, look at this, we're heirs, heirs of God. That's something else here. What
does that mean? It's all obviously tied together.
Heirs of the kingdom, and it says heirs of God, it means God
is our inheritance. We're heirs in the sense that
we're Heirs of His kingdom, to be able to be in His presence.
But, heirs of God means God is our inheritance. Heirs of God. Galatians 4.7, Wherefore, thou
art no more a servant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. Listen to this scripture. It
will make a lot of sense. Genesis 15.1, Fear not, Abram. I am thy
shield and thy exceeding great reward. I am your reward." An
heir, an heir of God. That we have God, we're an heir
to have Him to possess His presence. An heir of God. To have God Himself
as our inheritance is to possess. His grace in this life and His
glory because of the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ in the next. Listen to David in Psalm 73,
25. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? Who do I have but You? A believer speaks of Christ. who is their inheritance? An heir of God. We're heirs. Heirs of the kingdom. Heirs of
God. But listen to this. And join
heirs with Christ. You know, though, this world
right now sees no manifestation of the believer's glory with
Christ. You look at a believer and a
believer sees some evidence of the glory of God in regeneration. But the world by and large sees
no evidence of what it is to be a joint heir with Christ.
That's a mystical thing, to be a joint heir with Christ. What
does it mean to be a joint heir with the Lord Jesus Christ? When the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world, a body prepared Him. He was made in the likeness,
you know, of sinful flesh. We looked at that the other day.
He had all the frailties of this flesh. He got older. That's why He aged. He was made
in the likeness of sinful flesh. He was thirsty. He got hungry.
When they put nails In his hands, he felt that. You know what it
felt like? It felt just like if somebody
put a nail in your hand. He felt it. He was thirsty, hungry,
tired, wearied. He was made in the likeness yet
without sin. All of the frailties of this
flesh. As a man, in the likeness of
sinful flesh, as a man, he obeyed God. He did only always those
things that pleased the Father. He obeyed God. The Father said
of Him, that's my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased, obedient. All that is given Him for His
obedience, all of the respect, all of the glory that is given
the Lord Jesus Christ is given His people. because of their
association and being found in Him, chosen in Him. All that
we receive, we receive because of Him. Because He is our surety. The Lord speaking in John 17,
22 says, "...and the glory..." He's talking as the man, Christ
Jesus here. The God-man. "...the glory which
Thou hast given Me, The glory that thou gavest to me as God
Almighty, would he have any glory given to him? He was glory. But as a man, God
Almighty bestowed upon him the Spirit of God without measure.
And here God speaks of the Son, Christ Jesus, the man, totally
God and totally man. And He says, the glory, the opinion,
the word concerning your opinion of Me. The glory. That's My beloved
Son. I'm well pleased with Him. The
glory that Thou gavest Me, I've given them. That they may be one, even as
we're one. We're heirs. Heirs of the Kingdom. Heirs of God. God is our great
and exceeding reward. And joint heirs with Christ. Let me tell you, that's a mouthful
that I just cannot comprehend. Sons of God. Joint heirs with Christ. If so
be that we suffer with Him. Obviously, it doesn't mean the
vicarious death at Calvary. We were crucified with Him, being
found in Him, but the sufferings that we suffer, he's talking
about right here, are the sufferings and the resentments and the chastisements
that we go through because of our association with Him. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3, 12,
"...Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution, rejected, despised, as He was. If you're without
chastisement, you're none of His. But He says if we suffer
with Him, we'll also be glorified together with Him. God's opinion
is going to be made manifest. Paul says we're in this life,
if you're led by the Spirit of God, directed made willing in
the day of his power. It's evident that you're the
sons of God. All that God calls, he directs. He teaches. He moves, guides. He said, we're
children. And if you're children, then
you're heirs. Heirs of God. And join heirs
with Christ. It will evidence itself this
way. You'll suffer with Him. You'll
go through this world, but you'll be glorified with Him, too. I
pray the Lord might be pleased to teach us, comfort us. Comfort ye my people, saith the
Lord. Comfort them. If Almighty God
calls you out of darkness, just stop. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Gary, why don't you lead us in
a closing?