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Ok, third question...
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This also comes from the same guy, David Hopkins
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he kind of squeezed two questions in there,
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and I granted it because I think it's a good question.
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He says, "Also, how does the Spirit bear witness
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that we are children of God?"
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Now, of course, that comes from Romans 8:16,
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"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit
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that we are children of God."
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Let me tell you this,
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The witness is varied.
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Let me explain.
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Right there in the context of Romans 8:16,
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the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit
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that we're children of God. That's 8:16.
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If you go back to 8:15, you know what you find?
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We don't have a spirit of slavery,
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we have a Spirit of adoption,
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by Whom we cry "Abba, Father."
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Now think about that, by the Spirit we cry, "Abba, Father."
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You want the witness of the Spirit?
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People wonder this all the time, what is the witness of the Spirit?
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How can I know I'm a child of God?
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Well, every true child of God has been given
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the Spirit of God as a guarantee of their inheritance.
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What is the witness of the Spirit?
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I'll tell you one witness of the Spirit.
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By that Spirit, that Spirit prompts all of God's true children,
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being a Spirit of adoption,
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it prompts us to cry "Abba, Father."
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What do I mean by that?
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You know as a Catholic, God was distant.
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God was far away.
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God was angry. Christ was angry.
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Mary was happy. You'd go to her.
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She's the mediatrix.
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You know, she was loving. She was approachable.
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God was mean. God was far.
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Or He was kind of unknowable.
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Or He was just a "big guy upstairs,"
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or you've seen some of Michaelangelo's deal
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with an old man reaching off a cloud,
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or just some kind of Santa Claus figure or something.
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But do you know what happens when a person is truly born again?
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And the Spirit of God, the Spirit of adoption comes in?
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Suddenly, God is not distant. He's close.
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He's dear. There's intimacy. "Abba"
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"Father."
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You Christians, don't you talk to Him that way?
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Father.
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It's like, all of a sudden -
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I don't know why I just think of Craig riding his motorcycle,
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all of a sudden a dog runs out, "Father!"
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Or you know, you cry out right away.
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There's this natural impulse as a Christian
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to cry out to your Heavenly Father.
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With me a lot of times it's "Lord."
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But a lot of times I'm addressing Him as "Father" too.
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You know what? There's that inclination.
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It's not foreign. It's not forced.
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It comes out.
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Why? The Spirit of God -
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by that Spirit we are compelled.
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God is no longer a distant God.
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He's a close God.
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How else?
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By the Spirit.
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Again, another text that we come back to
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over and over and over and over...
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If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds
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of the body, you will live.
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People who have life, have the Spirit.
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People who belong to Christ, have the Spirit.
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People who have the Spirit,
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put to death deeds of the body.
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You not only have this compulsory cry to God,
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there's this intimacy,
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but there's this putting to death the deeds
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of the flesh, of the body.
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And if you're not seeing that consistently,
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I'm not talking perfection.
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But when you come, when there's this transformation
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in your life, when there's a looking to Christ,
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and there's true faith,
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there's going to be a putting to death of sin,
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and if there is not battle with sin,
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and war with sin, and victory over sin,
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and a conquering.
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Yes, sometimes we're falling,
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sometimes the battle is prolonged,
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and it's aggressive and it's difficult,
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but if there is not victory, if there is not
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a pattern of victory that is identifable,
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where all things become new,
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and you see a newness,
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and it's worked out by the Spirit of God,
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then that's another witness.
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How about another one?
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Very closely attached to that.
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We read in Galatians 5,
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What are the fruits of the Spirit?
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I guarantee where the Spirit is, He's working love.
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Where the Spirit is, He's working joy.
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Where the Spirit is, He's working peace,
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patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
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gentleness, self control.
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If a person does not radically become possessed
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by a love they never knew,
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a love for God, a love for Christ,
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a love for their fellow man, especially for Christians,
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if that isn't a radical change, I can tell you
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the Spirit of God's not there.
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And joy, a joy that you never experienced before.
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I don't mean the happiness, the drunken happiness
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that goes along with parties
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and rides at Six Flags and that kind of thing.
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I'm talking a deep-seated joy.
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It's attached to the things that Christ has done for you,
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and salvation.
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Those are the fruits of the Spirit.
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And they will be there.
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Yes, they're not always at peak maximum level,
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they ebb and they flow,
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but if you don't have a love like you've never had before,
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if you don't have a joy like you've never had,
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if you don't have peace like you've never had before,
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that's one of the witnesses of the Spirit.
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Let's go even further in this.
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How about this one?
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Romans 5:5, "God's love has been
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poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
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Who has been given to us.
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For while we were still weak, at the right time
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Christ died for the ungodly.
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For one will scarecely die for a righteous person,
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though perhaps for a good person one will dare even to die.
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But God shows His love for us in that
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while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
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Now follow this: God shows His love for us,
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in that while we were still sinners,
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Christ died for us.
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That's right there in the context and attached to this:
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God's love has been poured into our hearts
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through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.
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You know what one of the witnesses of the Spirit of God is?
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He pours the love of God for us
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into our hearts.
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And that love is identifiable in the fact
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that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
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God shows His love for us in the cross.
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The Spirit of God pours it into our hearts.
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By that Spirit, it's poured into our hearts.
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And it comes back to the cross.
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I'll tell you this, one of the dearest
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and most precious witnesses of the Spirit
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is when the cross is personal, precious,
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and overwhelms you with expressions
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of the love of God for you.
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I mean, it causes joy and tears,
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and expressions...
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and listen, I'll tell you this,
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the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit
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that we're children of God.
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The Spirit of God is mighty.
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And where He intends to bear witness,
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you will hear it!
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It's not this kind of thing where, well,
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He just kind of whispers, and it's like,
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I don't know, I can't be certain.
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Listen: this is the Spirit of God.
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When He means to bear witness,
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He bears witness. And you hear it!
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And I'll just give you one other thing,
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do you know what Jesus Christ said of the Spirit of God?
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When the Spirit of Truth comes,
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He will guide you into all truth,
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He will not speak on His own authority,
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but whatever He hears, He will speak.
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He will declare to you things that are to come.
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He will glorify Me.
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I'll tell you this, you know what one of the
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witnesses of the Spirit is?
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He glorifies Christ.
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And I'll tell you this,
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one of the witnesses of the Spirit
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is not just God's love for us
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in what He did with His Son on the cross,
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but Christ becomes everything to us.
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You see the Spirit of God came to exalt Christ.
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And if the Spirit of God is indwelling you,
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one of the Spirit's main witnesses within you
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is going to be of Christ.
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And if Christ isn't your chief love,
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if Christ isn't your chief affection,
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if Christ isn't receiving the focal attention of your life,
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then you can be certain the Spirit of God is not operating, or
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the Spirit of God is grieved in your life.
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Because the Spirit of God has come into this world
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to exalt Christ, and in those in whom He indwells,
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He indwells to exalt Christ.
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And He will make much of Christ.
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And if He's within you, He will turn your
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attentions to Christ.
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He will make Christ real in the Word.
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He will make that come alive.
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These are basically the witnesses of the Spirit.
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Don't take them lightly.
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If you cannot identify with these things,
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oh, run to Christ.
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Run to Him.
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Plead. Call upon the name of the Lord.
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This is salvation.
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That's what it's all about.
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What is eternal life?
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Somebody tell me.
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To know God and the Christ Whom He has sent.
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Knowing Them, intimacy.
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Where is that? John 17:3.