If you'll turn back with me now
to Romans chapter 8, we're going to be looking at
three verses of Scripture, primarily verses 14 through 16. The Word
of God teaches these four things. It teaches that the Spirit of
God produces in us a full consciousness. A full consciousness, I'm talking
about believers now, of what God is to us. A full consciousness. There's
no such thing as a believer who doesn't know what he believes.
He's not a believer. You can't believe what you don't
understand. You have to see something clearly
to believe it or disbelieve it. Somebody turns out the lights
and it's dark. You say, it's dark. Well, I believe
you. Why? Because I'm standing in the dark
with you. I understand that. I understand
when the light comes on. I understand. But all of these
things I perceive clearly. And yet, men and women go around
saying, I believe, but can't tell you what they believe. I've
got a problem with that. You can't believe what you don't
know. You have to know what you believe. Paul said, I know whom
I have believed. I know him. I know him. And then secondly, a true revelation
of God is his pure and perfect character and man in his fallen
state. That's what it means to know
God. To know any other kind of God
is to know the God of this world. Satan's called the god of this
world because he is the one who projects and influences and whispers
these things in men's ears and they go off believing in a false
god. Go through the Old Testament,
it's full of it. They went off chasing Moses,
went on the mountain, get the law and came back and he's worshipping
a calf before he could get back down from the mountain. Leave
man to himself, he'll worship anything, anything except the
true and living God. This revelation of God is a revelation
of God's pure and perfect character and man in his fallen state. And then this gospel. is a revelation
of the hidden mystery of the book of God. This book is a mystery. Now, you're just a liar if you
say that I sat down when I was about 12 years old and picked
this book up and read it and understood it. You didn't do
any such thing. This book is a mystery. The things
that it sets forth is a mystery. Paul said they were a mystery.
You might doubt whether or not I'm called of God, but you can't
doubt the Apostle Paul. He wrote half the New Testament.
This man was inspired of God, and he said, I preach the gospel
in a mystery. What mystery? The mystery which
God has hidden from this world before the foundation of it.
But it's declared throughout all these pages, and it's a mystery.
And when God gives men that revelation of Christ, he understands the
mystery. He understands the mystery of
godliness, and he understands that mystery of iniquity, and
he understands these great mysteries that are mysteries to this world.
I often preach to men, and I say, well, I've never heard anything
like that. That's because it's a mystery. It's a mystery. And then I know
this. Those whom God saves, He sends
His Spirit, and His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that
we are sons of God. And I'm going to give you a few
Scriptures here that you can take if you're taking notes.
2 Corinthians 1.22, John 5, verses 10-11, 1 Corinthians 2.12, Galatians 5, 22 and 23, and 1
John 4, verse 13. You can go all the way through
and there's a hundred more. I know that these four things
are absolutely and unchangeably fixed in the eternal counsels
of God, and accomplished in the person and work of Christ, and
applied to the hearts of chosen sinners by the Spirit of the
living God. I know these things are so. that
God chose a people in Christ. That's what He says. Have you never read Ephesians
chapter 1? That's what it says. According
as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world.
Oh, you say He's talking to Jews. Oh no, you can't buy your way
out with that. You go on down in the book of
Ephesians just a little bit, He reminds them that they're
Gentiles. He said, now you remember where God found you. You were
Gentiles. You didn't have a Christ. You
didn't have God. You was without God in the world.
You had no hope, no covenant, no word. You didn't have anything.
God revealed to you what He never revealed to Israel, the glory
of God in Christ. God chose a people in Christ,
and the Scripture said He predestinated them unto the adoption of children. My soul. What's that mean? That
means He fixed. He fixed their destiny as children
of God. That's what that means. And He
predestined everything that must come to pass to have that end. All that God chose in eternity
are going to be His sons in eternity future. No doubt about it. God predestinated us. unto the adoption of children.
That's what Paul said. Well, why? How in the world did
God do it? According to the good pleasure
of His will. Well, I don't see how it can
be. That's why He's God and you ain't. That's right. He's God. And then secondly,
that man fell in the garden and the effects of that fall are
manifested in all his physical sin. That's why you know what
these children are going to do. I've used this example so much.
Go back there in the back and sit every toy known to man out
there and say, y'all can play with anything you want. Here's
iPads and computers and all this stuff. You can have all of it.
But now don't go in that door back there. Where's the first
place them kids going to go? In that door. They'll go around
on top of them toys and go over there and open that door, see
why they ain't allowed in there. That's sin. That's what's in
us. We're born sinners. That's what
this book teaches, and that's what this revelation of Christ
makes his people to understand. They understand what's in them.
There's a sinful nature in us. Man fell in the garden, and the
effects of that fall are manifested in all his seed. By one man,
he says in Romans 5.12, by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men. How can
you prove that, Paul? For all have sinned. All have
sinned. And then thirdly, that Jesus
Christ came into this world as a representative man and lived
and died for all God's elect, redeeming them from all the consequences
of their fall in Adam. Everything the infinite perfections
of God demanded of that people, Christ accomplished on their
behalf. Righteousness. Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it.
Isn't that something? He accomplished that. What God
demanded, that righteousness that God demanded in the perfect
attribute of His character of righteousness, He fulfilled in
Christ. Justification. We're justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that was in Christ
Jesus. Huh? Redemption. We're redeemed in Him, aren't
we? In whom we have received redemption, even the forgiveness
of sin. And we're reconciled. All things
are of God who hath reconciled us unto Himself through Christ
Jesus. Huh? He accomplished all of those
things. And then fourthly, he now reigns
victorious over all, and he irresistibly calls out all his elect by his
sovereign spirit to identify and make known their adoption
and redemption as sons of God. No mistaking it. No mistaking
it. They'll know they are sons of
God. If nobody else in this world
believed these things, I'd still preach them, because I know in
my heart they're so. I read them on every page. I
see them in every type. We've been going through the
Old Testament. I can see them as clearly in the types as I
see them over here manifested in the New Testament. I know
these things are so. You go out here and you say,
well, I just don't hardly see how that can be so. He's the
only one who believes these things. Let me tell you something about
the majority. They've always been wrong. Read about them in this book.
They've always been wrong. God sent His messenger down into
Egypt to declare that He had chosen a people, entered into
a covenant with their father Abraham, and was there to deliver
them out of the bondage of Egypt, and all who found hope in being
sons of that covenant father. gathered themselves together
in Goshen, believing God. And God spared them of all the
plagues. He gave them light when Egypt
sat in darkness. He preserved their sons and daughters
by the blood on the doorposts. And he walked them freely, marched
them right out of Egypt, split the sea. They passed through
the sea, preserved them in the wilderness, and took them into
Canaan. And Goshen is a picture of Christ.
They were all made willing in the day of God's power. It wasn't
an unwilling soul that walked out of Egypt. They were all willing.
And I know that these things are offensive. They're an insult
to man's wisdom. You mean I can't read this book
and understand it? That's exactly what I mean. You
read it this afternoon and give me a call and tell me what you
know about this book. You don't have to read the whole
thing. Just read a chapter and tell me what that means. You
can't do it. This is an insult to man's wisdom.
He tells you over there, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom
knew not God. That's what it says. Didn't they
have the scrolls? Didn't they have the prophets?
Sure they did, and they still didn't know God. Israel even
had teachers. They had pictures. They had types.
They had the priesthood. They had all those things. They
still didn't know God. It's an insult to man's wisdom.
They're an insult to his family tree. You mean to tell me my
parents were wrong, my grandmother was wrong, that dear old aunt
that I treasured was wrong? That's exactly what I'm telling
you. If she didn't know this. And it's an insult to his spiritual
ability. I know these things are foolishness
in the light of a long-standing traditional religious heritage. Religion said man is basically
good with a few bad flaws. Now isn't that what they say?
He's got some... I ain't always, that's what a
fella told me, I ain't always doing the right thing. But one
thing I can say, well that one thing ain't going to get you
anywhere. You have to do all things. Cursed is he who continues
not in all things written in the book of the law to do. If
you're going to pick a righteous standing before God, you're going
to have to do the whole thing. From the cradle to the grave.
I've never met anybody that could do that. But here's what religion
says, man is basically good with a few bad flaws. God said he
looked down from heaven and there was none good. Now who's telling
the truth? Huh? Who you going to believe?
You going to believe God or the majority? I'm telling you that's
what the majority of religion preaches today. Man, he's a good
fellow, but he needs fixing up. No, he's a bad fellow. And he's
an idolater. And he don't know God. And he's
lost in all his righteousnesses before God or his filthy rags.
He's not a good man. There's none good. Now who you
going to believe? You going to believe God? I quoted
you that scripture. That's from the Psalms, and it's
also from Romans chapter 3. Religion said God loves everybody. God said, I hate Esau. Well,
yeah, but Esau did some things. No, he said that about Esau before
he was ever born or ever did any good or evil. That's right. That's what scripture says. Read
it over in Romans chapter 9. Religion said God desires the
salvation of every man. But God's Son refused to pray
for this world. And He got what He prayed for.
That's right. No matter what it was He asked,
He got. He got it. And He said, I pray
not for the world. The majority of this world rejected
the witness of God and attempted to build a tower Babylon. The
majority of this world left the worship in Abel. They left Abel
and the worship of God, and went over and lived in the land of
Baan. The majority of this world despised Noah when he built an
ark, and they all died in the flood. There's eight of them
in the ark. And we know for sure one of them
was lost. I'm talking about the majority
now. The majority of this world lived in idolatry while Abraham
believed God. This talks about Abraham. I mean,
look at the world in that day. God only recognized one man,
Abraham. That's no majority there, is
it? The nation of Israel stood in the ministry. It stood in
this minority while all the rest of the nations went out and worshipped
frogs and snakes and cows and all these ridiculous things.
And the Lord Jesus came unto his own, but his own received
him not. Only a remnant, he said, by the
election of grace, separated them from Sodom and Gomorrah,
being totally gone and annihilated. And all through the Gospel age,
even in the times of greatest revival, the Israel of God has
always been in the minority. What an evidence of the depravity
of man that he would take what God has always revealed to be
wrong and use that as the one evidence to prove that he's right.
Nobody but a depraved mind would conceive of such a thing. Ignorant of God. My friend, Satan
called the God of this world because he is the deceiver who
promotes these images in their minds that they call God. Israel said to Christ, Christ
was talking, I'm not talking about some Joe Blow over in the
corner, I'm talking about the chief representatives of the
nation of Israel. We're talking about the High
Council of Israel and the chief Pharisees and the chief priests. We're talking about those who
represented this nation in their religion in its purest, highest
form, came to Christ. And they said, whoa, wait a minute
now. We'd be not born of fornication. We have one God, one Father,
even God. You know what the Lord told them?
He said, if God were your father, you'd love me because I came
forth and proceeded from God. You are of your father, the devil.
That's your God. That's what he was telling them.
We have one father, even God. He said, this God that you call
father, that's Satan. That's who that is. He says in the book of Revelations,
I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are
not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. Natural man will have
none of the things of the Spirit of God, because he views them
through the lies of natural worldly religion, and they all appear
as foolishness unto him. There wouldn't be foolishness
except he understands those things in the light of religious tradition,
what he's been told, what he's been taught, what surrounds him
in this world. It makes up his mind and his
thought of who God is and what this salvation is. It never entered
my mind as a child being raised in Nazarene religion that salvation
wasn't in coming down the aisle and praying at an altar. I never
thought of anything else. That's all I ever knew from the
time I was a kid. I had this preconceived notion
of God saving people, and then their being lost, and then being
saved again, and being lost, and being saved, and being lost. You have none of the things of
the Spirit of God because He views these things through the
lies of natural worldly religion. And there always appears foolishness
unto Him. And Paul said, I'm quoting now
from 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14, neither can He know them because
they're spiritually discerned. Now, if you reject the things
of the Spirit of God, then you can never perceive God, because
this is how God is taught and revealed. If he rejects what
God has chosen to enlighten sinners, how can he ever come to a knowledge
of the truth? He plainly tells us we can't
call on an unrevealed God. And how shall you hear without
a preacher? All right, preacher, let's suppose
I buy into what you're saying. God has chosen a people. I see
that in Ephesians chapter 1. You can look at it again in 2
Thessalonians 2, verse 13. You can read about it in Peter's
introduction in his first general epistle that he sent out to all
the churches. You can go on and on and on with
this thing of election and so on. Well, let's say I buy into
what you're saying. God has chosen a people. predestinated
them unto the adoption of sons, that they're all dead in trespasses
and sins, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save them and
took them out and take them all to glory, and that He reigns
victorious now and He sends forth His Spirit through the preaching
of the gospel and calls out. Let's say I buy into that. How
do I know if I'm His son? Ain't that what's on your heart?
When all the smoke's cleared and all the facts boil down,
ain't that really the question? How do I know that I'm one that
he chose from eternity? How do I know I'm one for whom
Christ died? I remember Brother Mahan saying
one time he read a verse of scripture. He's talking about that book.
that book, that Lamb's Book of Life. And he said, when I first
read this passage, he said, the first thought come to my mind,
oh, he said, I'd like to look on that book. And then he said
he got thinking about it, and he said, oh, I don't know if
I want to look in that book or not. What if my name ain't there? Maybe I better not look. Maybe
it's better he holds the book. How do I know? Ain't that the
question? All these other arguments, when they're peeled aside, I'm
telling you now, this is what this book teaches. You can't
deny it. It teaches it in plain language. I'm not giving in on
these principles, not one inch. But I'm saying, take all of these
things and put them aside. Isn't the question that's on
every man's heart this, am I one for whom Christ died? God has chosen a people. How
do we know if we're one up? How do we know if we're God's
elect? How do I know if I've been affectionately
called or if I haven't just taken up some useless kind of religion?
How do I know if God has called me by His Spirit or Satan has
deceived me with some foolish religious idea? How do I know
that? How does one make his calling
and election sure? Now listen close. I want to read
my text here in Romans chapter 8 again. Romans 8 verse 14. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. And no need to look
around anywhere else. No need to debate about whether
the Baptists are lost, or the Church of Christ is lost, or
the Catholics are lost. Led by the Spirit of God, these
are the sons of God. For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Only a son cries,
Father. Huh? Only a son. My neighbor's kids never come
running over me with their hands up saying, Daddy, Daddy. None
of them did. Only my own kids. Huh? They knew me. We know him. He'll help us. Let me give you five things. just very briefly this morning,
that define being led by the Spirit. Now, if you're led by
the Spirit, he said, these are the sons of God. No doubt about
it. But what does it mean to be led
by the Spirit? Well, first of all, those who
are led by the Spirit receive the things of the Spirit of God. They receive them. They don't
reject them. They don't argue about them. They don't rebel
against them. They receive them. They receive
them. Several of you have told me the
first time you heard the gospel, you said, that's it. That's it. That's receiving the things of
the Spirit of God. What are these things of the
Spirit of God? Well, the Word of God. Actually,
there's two things that pretty much sum up the ministry of the
Holy Spirit, the Word of God and the preaching of the Gospel.
When He's come, He's not going to speak of Himself. His whole teaching ain't going
to be balled up in the gifts of the Spirit and speaking in
tongues and all this kind of foolishness that religions who
major on the Holy Spirit teach. That's foolishness. When He comes,
you're not even going to know He's here. The only way you're
going to know He's here is because He takes of the things of Christ
and shows them unto us. How does He do that? Through
the preaching of the gospel. And what is the gospel but the
declaration of the mystery of the Word of God? That's what
it is. There is no preaching apart from the Word of God. The
Word of God as it is preached, it's just the Word of God as
that mystery is declared. That's what Paul said over and
over and over. He declared the mystery. The mystery. The Word of God, the preaching
of the Gospel. No man, no matter how religious
he pretends to be and no matter how Radically, his life has been
changed, is led by the Spirit, if he will not receive the Word
of God and the preaching of the Gospel. Just take a pencil and
mark through his name. He's not the Son of God. That's right. I know this man. I know him.
I know what his life used to be. And I know that there was... Well, sure. You think Satan can't
produce a change in your life? Man, he'll take you from being
a prostitute and put you up here preaching. That's what he'll
do. He don't care what you are. He
don't care if you're a preacher or a drunk. He could care less
as long as you don't come to Christ. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
to everyone that believes, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek. The Word of God and the preaching
of the Gospel go hand in hand, and you can't preach the Gospel
without the Word of God and without showing by the Word that this
is the message of God's book. He says in the book of Peter
that we're born again, Not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible
by the Word of God. And then two verses later, he
said, this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto
you. Those who are led by the Spirit
receive the things of the Spirit. Now, the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God. That's what's wrong with
him. That's why he won't come to Christ. That's why he don't
know God. That's why he gets hung up in foolish ideas about
who God is and deceived by foolish worldly religion. You can't make
him receive them. And then secondly, those who
receive the things of the Spirit do so because they're born of
the Spirit. They're born of the Spirit. Romans
8, verse 5. Look back there, just a few verses.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.
Isn't that what our Lord told Nicodemus on John 3? That which
is flesh is flesh. It's always going to be flesh.
It's never going to be anything else. But they that are after
the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded
is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God. It's not at enmity, it is
enmity. Hatred, hostility. Now, not against
the God of this world, but against the God of Scripture. A fellow
got angry one time, his face got all fledged, got about the
color of my shirt, and he said, I don't care what the Word of
God says, I know what I believe. You better think that over. But
that's the natural mind. It's enmity against God. Enmity against God. It's not
subject to the law of God, and that word can be rendered the
word of God. Neither indeed can be. And no
man left in his natural state can be led of God because he
rejects the things of the Spirit and will not be put in subjection
to these things. He will not make his foundation
the Word of God. He won't do it. You listen to
him when he talks. The foundation of all his arguments
is what he believes and what seems to be right to him and
all these other things which the Word of God plainly tells
us is vanity. There is a way that seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof is destruction and death. Scripture said, He came unto
His own, and His own received Him not. But to as many as received
Him, to them gave He power, the right and privilege, the ability,
the willingness to become sons of God, even to them that believe
on His name, which were born. Ain't that what that says over
in John chapter 1? which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God." That man who had been born again gladly receives the Word
of God and the Gospel of Christ. So those who are led of the Spirit,
they receive the things of the Spirit. And those who receive
the things of the Spirit are born of God. John 3, verse 6,
that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born
of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto you,
you must be born again. Thirdly, we're talking about
being led by the Spirit. What does it mean to be led by
the Spirit? Here's the third thing. Those
who are born and led by the Spirit of God have the mind of Christ. That's what chapter 8 here is
all about. walking in the victory of the
faith that has the mind of Christ. It sees Christ as righteousness,
Christ the atonement, Christ as reigning king, Christ as hope,
Christ as life. God hath made him to be unto
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Oh, we don't
know the way. I am the way. I am the way. I am the good shepherd. I am
the life. I am the light. It's all in Him. That's the mind of Christ. The
mind of Christ understands that. He is the Savior. Thou shalt
call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. What do you mean the mind of
Christ? I mean that the person and work of Jesus Christ in the
salvation of chosen sinners is the eternal purpose of God in
all things. It's the reason for creation.
See it down there in Romans 8, 19 through 20. Look at this. For the earnest expectation of
creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. This is the
purpose of God in creation. For the creature was made subject
to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected
the same. And this whole thing is about
the redemption of sinners in Christ. It's the reason for creation,
and it's the message of the Old Testament, to him give all the
prophets witness. It's the clear and undeniable
declaration of the New Testament revelation in Christ, God has
saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace given us in
Christ Jesus before the world began. And the mind of Christ understands
the necessity of the incarnation of Christ. To rise up out of
the curse of Adam, another Adam must appear. You know, we hear
these verses read to us at funerals. I don't know how many funerals
I've been to. where they read 1 Corinthians chapter 15. But
I don't know that I ever heard it at a funeral. But I did hear it from the pulpit
one day. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 45, the
first Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam was made
a quickening spirit. There's two Adams. There's two
representative men, two federal heads. The first man is of the
earth earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is
the earthy, such are they also that are earthy, and as is the
heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. As we have
borne the image of the earthy, we also shall bear the image
of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption." It is the person of the God-man
mediator on this earth that brings again hope to all his sons. He
is the first begotten from the dead. Now brethren, if you don't
see that, you ain't got any hope. There's no hope apart from his
resurrection. If Christ be not raised, we're
all yet in our sins. Ain't that what he said? That's
exactly what it says. Thirdly, the mind of Christ perceives
how God has set forth his son as a propitiation for our sins,
and how that God, holy God, perfectly just God, can justify sinners
and still be God. And the mind of Christ is an
understanding that leads us to walk not after the flesh, but
after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made us free, revealing who God is. exposing men as they are. And we're left with no other
hope than to walk in the free justification of grace in Christ
and trust in His righteousness alone. Let me ask you something this
morning. I know many of you in here, I picked out a couple of
hymns that I'm pretty sure everybody in here would know. Could you
sing these hymns with no hypocrisy? No hypocrisy. Now listen to me.
In my hands no price I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Is that your hope? Listen to
this. Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no longer know? These for sin could not atone. Thou must save, and thou alone. Can you sing that without hypocrisy?
Can you sing that, that being your hope? That's the mind of Christ. That's
the mind of Christ. And then fourthly, those who
have the mind of Christ enter into His rest. Hebrews chapter
4 verse 1 says, Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left
us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come
short of it. And all of Abraham's children, I want you to listen
to me, every one of them left out of Egypt. God preserved them
out there in the wilderness, but ten times, ten times, they
rebelled against God. Doubted Him. Just doubted Him. Just absolute
denial of everything that God said. Just doubted Him. All of
them were promised an inheritance in Canaan. But when they finally
come to the place, the place was occupied. Huh? And they sent in spies. And what
did them spies come back with? They're giants in the land. And
they're walled cities. This ain't like Egypt. They've
got walled cities over there. They've got machinery of war. They've got armies, vast armies
lined up. We can't go. We can't go in there.
We can't go in there. God's person and presence and
power that had been demonstrated in Egypt was denied and doubted
in unbelief. And God said, as I live, you're
not going in. And killed every last one of
them. He let their carcasses fall in the wilderness, didn't
he? None of them went in. And come right down to it, they
would not enter into that place of promised rest, because they
did not believe their God was sufficient to overcome their
enemies. And he said in verse 2, for unto
us the gospel was preached as well as unto them, but the word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in
them that heard it. Now listen, for we which have
believed do enter into rest. He didn't say might. He said
do. Do. They enter in to rest. Although the works were finished
before the foundation of the works. Think about that. They rest. Well, you know how
many people there is out there preaching this false gospel?
Yeah, and I can rest. I can rest. You know how many
ungodly spirits and how powerful Satan is out here in the world?
Absolutely, I know. And I can still rest. Caleb said,
let's go. They're whooped already. Knowing the evil and told depravity
of the flesh, knowing the power and subtlety of Satan, knowing
the enmity of this world and the influence and power of antichrist
religion. knowing that giants and walled
cities and fearful armies, the believer rests in Christ, knowing
that his Creator is He that is in him. And He is stronger than
anything else, mightier than anything else in this world. He knows that the reigning, victorious
Christ, He already has the victory. Alright? Here's the last thing.
He knows that all those led by the Spirit are led to Christ. That's where the Spirit brings
you, is to Christ. He doesn't bring you to the front
of the church. He doesn't bring you to sign a pledge card. He doesn't bring you to join
some organization. He leads you to Christ. To Christ,
this victorious Christ, the eternal Christ. The all-sufficient Christ. The Christ whom God has sent
forth. He leads you to Him. Leads you to Him. All that the Father giveth me,
Christ said, shall come to me. Why? Because that's where the
Spirit brings them. Huh? Those Jews murmured at Him. He said, there ain't no need
to murmur, except you're drawn to my Father. You're not going
to come to me. He draws me. And how does He
do that? By the Spirit. By the Spirit. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. And He said, hear this. I'm going
to repeat this. I already gave it away in my
Sunday school lesson. But this is the will of Him that
sent me that everyone would seeth the Son. Can you see Him? How do you see Him? Do you see
Him as God sent Him for? The Savior of all His elect,
the all-sufficient Savior, can you see Him as God sent Him forth,
the only way to propitiate God? The only way that God can be
enabled to be gracious to your soul, is that how you see Him,
hanging there, Christ alone? Everyone which seeth the Son
and believeth on Him. may have everlasting life, and
I'll raise him up at the last day." And our Lord even went
past that. He said, he that believeth in
me, he's passed from death unto life. Ain't no other way to believe
than to be born of God. As many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of God. Not a spirit of bondage
again to fear, always doubting, and always fearing, and always
subject to losing your salvation, but the spirit of adoption that
cries out, Abba, Father. One predestinated of God, secured
in Christ, given the earnest of the Spirit in his heart. Because
you are sons, he said, God has sent forth the Spirit of his
Son into your heart, crying, Abba. And that man who through the
Gospel by the Spirit is led to see Christ in all of God's eternal
counsels and decrees is a man who can truly know God in his
heart and call Him Father. He is the Father of everything
he believes, including Christ. He is the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.