1 00:00:12,434 --> 00:00:14,741 Ok, third question... 2 00:00:14,741 --> 00:00:17,350 This also comes from the same guy, David Hopkins 3 00:00:17,350 --> 00:00:20,730 he kind of squeezed two questions in there, 4 00:00:20,730 --> 00:00:23,992 and I granted it because I think it's a good question. 5 00:00:23,992 --> 00:00:30,196 He says, "Also, how does the Spirit bear witness 6 00:00:30,196 --> 00:00:32,355 that we are children of God?" 7 00:00:32,355 --> 00:00:35,942 Now, of course, that comes from Romans 8:16, 8 00:00:35,942 --> 00:00:39,820 "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit 9 00:00:39,820 --> 00:00:41,623 that we are children of God." 10 00:00:41,623 --> 00:00:44,809 Let me tell you this, 11 00:00:44,809 --> 00:00:53,101 The witness is varied. 12 00:00:53,101 --> 00:00:56,127 Let me explain. 13 00:00:56,127 --> 00:01:03,075 Right there in the context of Romans 8:16, 14 00:01:03,075 --> 00:01:07,413 the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit 15 00:01:07,413 --> 00:01:09,916 that we're children of God. That's 8:16. 16 00:01:09,916 --> 00:01:15,167 If you go back to 8:15, you know what you find? 17 00:01:15,167 --> 00:01:17,513 We don't have a spirit of slavery, 18 00:01:17,513 --> 00:01:23,484 we have a Spirit of adoption, 19 00:01:23,484 --> 00:01:27,081 by Whom we cry "Abba, Father." 20 00:01:27,081 --> 00:01:31,315 Now think about that, by the Spirit we cry, "Abba, Father." 21 00:01:31,315 --> 00:01:33,234 You want the witness of the Spirit? 22 00:01:33,234 --> 00:01:35,906 People wonder this all the time, what is the witness of the Spirit? 23 00:01:35,906 --> 00:01:38,115 How can I know I'm a child of God? 24 00:01:38,115 --> 00:01:39,879 Well, every true child of God has been given 25 00:01:39,879 --> 00:01:45,551 the Spirit of God as a guarantee of their inheritance. 26 00:01:45,551 --> 00:01:47,278 What is the witness of the Spirit? 27 00:01:47,278 --> 00:01:49,585 I'll tell you one witness of the Spirit. 28 00:01:49,585 --> 00:01:54,990 By that Spirit, that Spirit prompts all of God's true children, 29 00:01:54,990 --> 00:01:57,248 being a Spirit of adoption, 30 00:01:57,248 --> 00:01:59,650 it prompts us to cry "Abba, Father." 31 00:01:59,650 --> 00:02:02,195 What do I mean by that? 32 00:02:02,195 --> 00:02:06,701 You know as a Catholic, God was distant. 33 00:02:06,701 --> 00:02:09,533 God was far away. 34 00:02:09,533 --> 00:02:12,134 God was angry. Christ was angry. 35 00:02:12,134 --> 00:02:14,854 Mary was happy. You'd go to her. 36 00:02:14,854 --> 00:02:17,499 She's the mediatrix. 37 00:02:17,499 --> 00:02:20,487 You know, she was loving. She was approachable. 38 00:02:20,487 --> 00:02:24,221 God was mean. God was far. 39 00:02:24,221 --> 00:02:26,251 Or He was kind of unknowable. 40 00:02:26,251 --> 00:02:29,497 Or He was just a "big guy upstairs," 41 00:02:29,497 --> 00:02:32,929 or you've seen some of Michaelangelo's deal 42 00:02:32,929 --> 00:02:35,989 with an old man reaching off a cloud, 43 00:02:35,989 --> 00:02:39,543 or just some kind of Santa Claus figure or something. 44 00:02:39,543 --> 00:02:42,758 But do you know what happens when a person is truly born again? 45 00:02:42,758 --> 00:02:47,057 And the Spirit of God, the Spirit of adoption comes in? 46 00:02:47,057 --> 00:02:51,781 Suddenly, God is not distant. He's close. 47 00:02:51,781 --> 00:02:57,946 He's dear. There's intimacy. "Abba" 48 00:02:57,946 --> 00:03:00,568 "Father." 49 00:03:00,568 --> 00:03:06,141 You Christians, don't you talk to Him that way? 50 00:03:06,141 --> 00:03:07,972 Father. 51 00:03:07,972 --> 00:03:11,079 It's like, all of a sudden - 52 00:03:11,079 --> 00:03:13,208 I don't know why I just think of Craig riding his motorcycle, 53 00:03:13,217 --> 00:03:15,545 all of a sudden a dog runs out, "Father!" 54 00:03:15,545 --> 00:03:18,594 Or you know, you cry out right away. 55 00:03:18,594 --> 00:03:21,131 There's this natural impulse as a Christian 56 00:03:21,131 --> 00:03:23,833 to cry out to your Heavenly Father. 57 00:03:23,833 --> 00:03:28,180 With me a lot of times it's "Lord." 58 00:03:28,180 --> 00:03:32,381 But a lot of times I'm addressing Him as "Father" too. 59 00:03:32,381 --> 00:03:35,180 You know what? There's that inclination. 60 00:03:35,180 --> 00:03:38,608 It's not foreign. It's not forced. 61 00:03:38,608 --> 00:03:41,784 It comes out. 62 00:03:41,784 --> 00:03:43,359 Why? The Spirit of God - 63 00:03:43,359 --> 00:03:46,657 by that Spirit we are compelled. 64 00:03:46,657 --> 00:03:49,992 God is no longer a distant God. 65 00:03:49,992 --> 00:03:53,358 He's a close God. 66 00:03:53,358 --> 00:03:54,962 How else? 67 00:03:54,962 --> 00:03:57,482 By the Spirit. 68 00:03:57,482 --> 00:03:59,467 Again, another text that we come back to 69 00:03:59,467 --> 00:04:03,330 over and over and over and over... 70 00:04:03,330 --> 00:04:07,051 If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds 71 00:04:07,051 --> 00:04:10,333 of the body, you will live. 72 00:04:10,333 --> 00:04:13,733 People who have life, have the Spirit. 73 00:04:13,733 --> 00:04:16,462 People who belong to Christ, have the Spirit. 74 00:04:16,462 --> 00:04:18,040 People who have the Spirit, 75 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:20,170 put to death deeds of the body. 76 00:04:20,170 --> 00:04:24,904 You not only have this compulsory cry to God, 77 00:04:24,904 --> 00:04:26,729 there's this intimacy, 78 00:04:26,729 --> 00:04:28,981 but there's this putting to death the deeds 79 00:04:28,981 --> 00:04:31,681 of the flesh, of the body. 80 00:04:31,681 --> 00:04:34,667 And if you're not seeing that consistently, 81 00:04:34,667 --> 00:04:36,314 I'm not talking perfection. 82 00:04:36,314 --> 00:04:39,302 But when you come, when there's this transformation 83 00:04:39,302 --> 00:04:41,400 in your life, when there's a looking to Christ, 84 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:42,741 and there's true faith, 85 00:04:42,741 --> 00:04:45,581 there's going to be a putting to death of sin, 86 00:04:45,581 --> 00:04:47,300 and if there is not battle with sin, 87 00:04:47,300 --> 00:04:49,915 and war with sin, and victory over sin, 88 00:04:49,915 --> 00:04:51,551 and a conquering. 89 00:04:51,551 --> 00:04:53,071 Yes, sometimes we're falling, 90 00:04:53,071 --> 00:04:54,954 sometimes the battle is prolonged, 91 00:04:54,954 --> 00:04:57,289 and it's aggressive and it's difficult, 92 00:04:57,289 --> 00:05:01,034 but if there is not victory, if there is not 93 00:05:01,034 --> 00:05:04,254 a pattern of victory that is identifable, 94 00:05:04,254 --> 00:05:06,468 where all things become new, 95 00:05:06,468 --> 00:05:08,103 and you see a newness, 96 00:05:08,103 --> 00:05:10,602 and it's worked out by the Spirit of God, 97 00:05:10,602 --> 00:05:15,101 then that's another witness. 98 00:05:15,101 --> 00:05:16,252 How about another one? 99 00:05:16,252 --> 00:05:17,793 Very closely attached to that. 100 00:05:17,793 --> 00:05:20,199 We read in Galatians 5, 101 00:05:20,199 --> 00:05:22,193 What are the fruits of the Spirit? 102 00:05:22,193 --> 00:05:25,438 I guarantee where the Spirit is, He's working love. 103 00:05:25,438 --> 00:05:27,623 Where the Spirit is, He's working joy. 104 00:05:27,623 --> 00:05:32,183 Where the Spirit is, He's working peace, 105 00:05:32,183 --> 00:05:34,661 patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 106 00:05:34,661 --> 00:05:36,971 gentleness, self control. 107 00:05:36,971 --> 00:05:48,371 If a person does not radically become possessed 108 00:05:48,371 --> 00:05:50,729 by a love they never knew, 109 00:05:50,729 --> 00:05:53,794 a love for God, a love for Christ, 110 00:05:53,794 --> 00:06:00,205 a love for their fellow man, especially for Christians, 111 00:06:00,205 --> 00:06:03,196 if that isn't a radical change, I can tell you 112 00:06:03,196 --> 00:06:05,351 the Spirit of God's not there. 113 00:06:05,351 --> 00:06:08,646 And joy, a joy that you never experienced before. 114 00:06:08,646 --> 00:06:11,153 I don't mean the happiness, the drunken happiness 115 00:06:11,153 --> 00:06:12,710 that goes along with parties 116 00:06:12,710 --> 00:06:16,227 and rides at Six Flags and that kind of thing. 117 00:06:16,227 --> 00:06:21,194 I'm talking a deep-seated joy. 118 00:06:21,194 --> 00:06:24,685 It's attached to the things that Christ has done for you, 119 00:06:24,685 --> 00:06:27,265 and salvation. 120 00:06:27,265 --> 00:06:30,635 Those are the fruits of the Spirit. 121 00:06:30,635 --> 00:06:32,243 And they will be there. 122 00:06:32,243 --> 00:06:35,227 Yes, they're not always at peak maximum level, 123 00:06:35,227 --> 00:06:37,167 they ebb and they flow, 124 00:06:37,167 --> 00:06:39,494 but if you don't have a love like you've never had before, 125 00:06:39,494 --> 00:06:41,495 if you don't have a joy like you've never had, 126 00:06:41,495 --> 00:06:45,553 if you don't have peace like you've never had before, 127 00:06:45,553 --> 00:06:49,112 that's one of the witnesses of the Spirit. 128 00:06:49,112 --> 00:06:51,797 Let's go even further in this. 129 00:06:51,797 --> 00:06:59,249 How about this one? 130 00:06:59,249 --> 00:07:02,051 Romans 5:5, "God's love has been 131 00:07:02,051 --> 00:07:04,894 poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit 132 00:07:04,894 --> 00:07:06,927 Who has been given to us. 133 00:07:06,927 --> 00:07:09,038 For while we were still weak, at the right time 134 00:07:09,038 --> 00:07:11,013 Christ died for the ungodly. 135 00:07:11,013 --> 00:07:13,155 For one will scarecely die for a righteous person, 136 00:07:13,155 --> 00:07:15,998 though perhaps for a good person one will dare even to die. 137 00:07:15,998 --> 00:07:17,802 But God shows His love for us in that 138 00:07:17,802 --> 00:07:20,185 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 139 00:07:20,185 --> 00:07:24,237 Now follow this: God shows His love for us, 140 00:07:24,237 --> 00:07:25,701 in that while we were still sinners, 141 00:07:25,701 --> 00:07:28,034 Christ died for us. 142 00:07:28,034 --> 00:07:31,062 That's right there in the context and attached to this: 143 00:07:31,062 --> 00:07:33,280 God's love has been poured into our hearts 144 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,279 through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. 145 00:07:36,279 --> 00:07:40,063 You know what one of the witnesses of the Spirit of God is? 146 00:07:40,063 --> 00:07:43,359 He pours the love of God for us 147 00:07:43,359 --> 00:07:46,464 into our hearts. 148 00:07:46,464 --> 00:07:53,772 And that love is identifiable in the fact 149 00:07:53,772 --> 00:07:56,779 that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 150 00:07:56,779 --> 00:08:00,713 God shows His love for us in the cross. 151 00:08:00,713 --> 00:08:04,886 The Spirit of God pours it into our hearts. 152 00:08:04,886 --> 00:08:08,526 By that Spirit, it's poured into our hearts. 153 00:08:08,526 --> 00:08:12,297 And it comes back to the cross. 154 00:08:12,297 --> 00:08:15,866 I'll tell you this, one of the dearest 155 00:08:15,866 --> 00:08:18,422 and most precious witnesses of the Spirit 156 00:08:18,422 --> 00:08:23,112 is when the cross is personal, precious, 157 00:08:23,112 --> 00:08:25,874 and overwhelms you with expressions 158 00:08:25,874 --> 00:08:28,238 of the love of God for you. 159 00:08:28,238 --> 00:08:31,837 I mean, it causes joy and tears, 160 00:08:31,837 --> 00:08:34,043 and expressions... 161 00:08:34,043 --> 00:08:36,773 and listen, I'll tell you this, 162 00:08:36,773 --> 00:08:38,492 the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit 163 00:08:38,492 --> 00:08:40,965 that we're children of God. 164 00:08:40,965 --> 00:08:45,274 The Spirit of God is mighty. 165 00:08:45,274 --> 00:08:47,457 And where He intends to bear witness, 166 00:08:47,457 --> 00:08:49,603 you will hear it! 167 00:08:49,603 --> 00:08:51,224 It's not this kind of thing where, well, 168 00:08:51,224 --> 00:08:54,059 He just kind of whispers, and it's like, 169 00:08:54,059 --> 00:08:57,338 I don't know, I can't be certain. 170 00:08:57,338 --> 00:08:59,442 Listen: this is the Spirit of God. 171 00:08:59,442 --> 00:09:00,705 When He means to bear witness, 172 00:09:00,705 --> 00:09:05,043 He bears witness. And you hear it! 173 00:09:05,043 --> 00:09:07,162 And I'll just give you one other thing, 174 00:09:07,162 --> 00:09:09,856 do you know what Jesus Christ said of the Spirit of God? 175 00:09:09,856 --> 00:09:10,765 When the Spirit of Truth comes, 176 00:09:10,765 --> 00:09:12,290 He will guide you into all truth, 177 00:09:12,290 --> 00:09:13,708 He will not speak on His own authority, 178 00:09:13,708 --> 00:09:15,343 but whatever He hears, He will speak. 179 00:09:15,343 --> 00:09:17,125 He will declare to you things that are to come. 180 00:09:17,125 --> 00:09:18,752 He will glorify Me. 181 00:09:18,752 --> 00:09:20,720 I'll tell you this, you know what one of the 182 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:22,403 witnesses of the Spirit is? 183 00:09:22,403 --> 00:09:24,782 He glorifies Christ. 184 00:09:24,782 --> 00:09:27,179 And I'll tell you this, 185 00:09:27,179 --> 00:09:29,756 one of the witnesses of the Spirit 186 00:09:29,756 --> 00:09:34,172 is not just God's love for us 187 00:09:34,172 --> 00:09:39,083 in what He did with His Son on the cross, 188 00:09:39,083 --> 00:09:42,396 but Christ becomes everything to us. 189 00:09:42,396 --> 00:09:45,018 You see the Spirit of God came to exalt Christ. 190 00:09:45,018 --> 00:09:47,860 And if the Spirit of God is indwelling you, 191 00:09:47,860 --> 00:09:53,361 one of the Spirit's main witnesses within you 192 00:09:53,361 --> 00:09:56,234 is going to be of Christ. 193 00:09:56,234 --> 00:09:58,531 And if Christ isn't your chief love, 194 00:09:58,531 --> 00:10:00,615 if Christ isn't your chief affection, 195 00:10:00,615 --> 00:10:07,958 if Christ isn't receiving the focal attention of your life, 196 00:10:07,958 --> 00:10:10,677 then you can be certain the Spirit of God is not operating, or 197 00:10:10,678 --> 00:10:13,465 the Spirit of God is grieved in your life. 198 00:10:13,465 --> 00:10:15,680 Because the Spirit of God has come into this world 199 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:18,805 to exalt Christ, and in those in whom He indwells, 200 00:10:18,805 --> 00:10:21,594 He indwells to exalt Christ. 201 00:10:21,594 --> 00:10:23,368 And He will make much of Christ. 202 00:10:23,368 --> 00:10:24,955 And if He's within you, He will turn your 203 00:10:24,955 --> 00:10:26,507 attentions to Christ. 204 00:10:26,507 --> 00:10:28,906 He will make Christ real in the Word. 205 00:10:28,906 --> 00:10:30,978 He will make that come alive. 206 00:10:30,978 --> 00:10:34,502 These are basically the witnesses of the Spirit. 207 00:10:34,502 --> 00:10:36,891 Don't take them lightly. 208 00:10:36,891 --> 00:10:39,893 If you cannot identify with these things, 209 00:10:39,893 --> 00:10:41,683 oh, run to Christ. 210 00:10:41,683 --> 00:10:42,970 Run to Him. 211 00:10:42,970 --> 00:10:46,815 Plead. Call upon the name of the Lord. 212 00:10:46,815 --> 00:10:49,405 This is salvation. 213 00:10:49,405 --> 00:10:51,146 That's what it's all about. 214 00:10:51,146 --> 00:10:53,827 What is eternal life? 215 00:10:53,827 --> 00:10:56,813 Somebody tell me. 216 00:10:56,813 --> 00:10:59,605 To know God and the Christ Whom He has sent. 217 00:10:59,605 --> 00:11:01,964 Knowing Them, intimacy. 218 00:11:01,964 --> 00:11:06,508 Where is that? John 17:3.