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["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] ["Ode to Joy"] Hey, man. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. We're going to get started with song number 419. Song number 419, Sound the Battle Cry is our first song. And if you are able to, let's all stand together for song number 419 and sing this out unto the Lord. Sing it on that first verse. Sound the battle cry See the foe is nigh Raise the standard high For the Lord Gird your armor on Stand firm, everyone Rest your cause Upon his holy word Rousin soldiers Rally round the banner Ready, stand He passed the word along Onward, forward Shout aloud, O'Zanna Christ is Captain Of the mighty throng Strong to meet the foe Marching on we go While our cause we know Must prevail Shield and banner bright Gleaming in the light Baddling for the right We ne'er can Baddling for the right We ne'er can fail Rousin soldiers Rally round the banner Ready, stand He passed the word along Onward, forward Shout aloud, O'Zanna Christ is Captain Of the mighty throng O thou God of all Hear us when we call Help us one and all By thy grace When the battle's done And the victory's won We may wear the crown Before thy face Rousin soldiers Rally round the banner Ready, stand He passed the word along Onward, forward Shout aloud O'Zanna Christ is Captain Of the mighty throng Amen, wonderful singing. Let's start our service with a word of prayer. Dear God and my father, we thank you so much for just allowing us to be here in your house this morning. We do pray that you would please just bless every aspect of the service, Lord. We pray that you would please just bless the singing unto you, Lord dear God, that we prepare our hearts for the preaching. And most of all, please bless the preaching of your word. I pray that you would please be with pastor, fill in with your Holy Spirit, guide him through the scriptures, Lord God, bring to remembrance of the things that he has studied, Lord God, to bring to us. And I pray that you would please also bless us in the congregation, that we would have open ears and open hearts, that we might receive your word of gladness, Lord God, today. And I pray now these things in Jesus' name, Amen. You may be seated, song number 147, leaning on the everlasting arms. Song number 147, leaning on the everlasting arms. Song number 147, sit on that verse. What a fellowship, what a joy divine, you may need all the everlasting arms. What a blessedness, what a peace is like. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh how bright the path flows from day to day. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms. I have blessed peace with my Lord so near. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. All right, great singing. Thank you for being here this morning. Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song, which will be song number 146 if you want to get that ready in your song books. A Shelter in the Time of Storm, song number 146. If you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand and one of the ushers can get one for you. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank you for being here. Did everyone fill these out right now? First and last name. Today's date. Did you bring a first or second time visitor? Did you bring a third time visitor? Have you attended all three services? And did you go so many once this week? And then add up the total points at the bottom there. Shouldn't take too long. Did everyone fill it out already? Are we just people of character and integrity and just preparation? Alright, I should just go ahead and collect all the quarter sheets. I mean, I hope that means that everyone just filled it out and they're just not, you know. Alright, we got some there in the back. Our song leader right here. I think Brother Angel right there. Alright, let's go ahead and take our songbooks. 146 A Shelter in the Time of Storm. Song number 146. Song number 146. Song number 146. A Shelter in the Time of Storm. Song number 146. The Lord's our rock and Him we hide. I see it on that first the Lord's our rock in him. We hide a shelter in the time of storm Secure whatever It'll be time a shelter in the time of storm Jesus is a rock in a weary land a weary land Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land Shade by day defense by night a shelter in the time of storm Alarm no foes of fright a shelter in the time of storm Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land a weary land a weary land Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land a shelter in the time of storm the Raging storms may round us be a shelter in the time of storm We Leave our safe retreat a shelter in the time of storm Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land a weary land a weary land Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land a shelter in the time of storm Oh Rock divine Oh refuge dear a shelter in the time of storm Now our helper every year a shelter in the time of storm Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land a weary land a weary land Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land A shelter in the time of storm Amen wonderful singing at this time our ushers will be receiving the offering You You You Morning we're in first John chapter number three First John chapter three the Bible reads Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God Therefore the world knoweth us knoweth us not because it knew him not We live in now are we the sons of God and doth not yet appear what we shall be But we know that when we when he shall appear we shall be like him we shall see him as he is Every man that hath this hope in him purify at themself even as he is pure Whosoever committed sin transgresseth also the law for the sin is for sin is the transgression of the law And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in him is no sin Whosoever bideth in him sineth not whosoever sinneth hath not seen him neither knoweth Neither known him little children let no man deceive you he that do with righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous He that commiteth sin is of the devil for the devil sinneth from the beginning For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him And he cannot sin because he is born of God in this the children of God are Manifests and the children of the devil whosoever does not righteousness is not of God neither He that loveth not his brother for this is the message that she heard from the beginning We should love one another Not as Cain who was of that wicked one and slew his brother and wherefore slew he him because his own works were evil And his brothers righteous Marvel not my brethren if the world hates you We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren He that loveth it not his brother abideth in death Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren But but whoso hath this world's good and seeth his brother have need and shreddeth up his bowels of compassion from him How well how dwelleth the love of God in him my little stroke children let us not love in word neither in tongue, but indeed and in truth and Hereby, we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him where if our heart condemn us God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things Be loved if our heart condemn us not then have we confidence toward God and what's over we ask we receive of him because we Keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight And this is his commandment that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment He and he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him and Hereby, we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us. Let's pray dear Lord God We just thank you for your word, and thank you for this opportunity We have to hear it preached. We just ask that you would be a pastor from here now Please strengthen him for only their spirit, and please just bless the preaching to edify the congregation Just help us to be better Christians and in Jesus name we pray man Okay, we're in first John chapter 3 and the time of my sermon this morning is the sons of God the sons of God You know there's a lot of weird doctrines a lot of weird teachings out there That will seek to define what it means to be a child of God to be a son of God and people often Designate this title to just pretty much anybody right they'll often say well. We're all children of God We're all sons of God, but what people fail to realize is that that specific title children of God sons of God is exclusive amen It's for the VIP so to speak right the very important people in God's eyes Which are referring to God's people so God's people children of God sons of God these are all synonymous one with another and it can Just be given to just any person in this world. There are some stipulations there's one stipulation should I say that is necessary to fulfill in order to have this particular title and To prove that look at first John chapter 3 verse number 1 says behold What manner of love the father hath bestowed upon the whole world no it says But bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God Therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not now obviously we know that for God So loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life However, the person who believes on Jesus Christ is the person who has the privilege to be called a son of God and the proof of that is the found in verse number one where he makes that distinction between the sons of God and The world that knows us not he says in verse number two Beloved now are we the sons of God and it did not yet appear what we shall be But we know that when he shall appear We shall be like him for we shall see him as he is go with the if you went to Galatians chapter number three Galatians chapter number three the Bible tells us in John chapter number one that Jesus came into his own his own received him not but listen to this But as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God Even unto them that believe on his name the Bible says so according to the Bible the stipulation to become a child of God Is not that you know, you have the label Christian. It's not that you have to be a good person It's not that you know, you have to adhere to certain doctrines It's only one doctrine and that is the doctrine of salvation Bible says you have to believe on Jesus Christ and Thereby become a son of God and he even goes on to say in verse 13 which were born not of blood what does that mean we can't be a son of God just because your Grandparents are children of God right if your grandparents if your mom and dad your great-grandparents You know your your your ancestry they were just all known for being Christians They're all known for being believers in Christ That doesn't automatically place you in a position of being a child of God, right? And I said this last week, but God doesn't have any grandchildren, you know, everyone has to believe on Jesus Christ Exclusively to have that and it says here that they were born not of blood Nor of the will of the flesh. You can't will yourself to be a child of God Like well, I'm just gonna behave like a child of God. I'm just gonna keep all of God's commandments I'm gonna do the good works and thereby earn the title of being a child of God No, it says no, no not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man But of God so God has to be the one who institutes this title of into a person an individual and it's all based upon Their belief on Jesus Christ. That's why I'm not necessarily 100% against saying receiving Jesus Christ is your Savior because the verse explicitly says but as many as received him To them give you power to become the sons of God and of course he clarifies that it says as You know those who believe on his name so the teaching that we are all children of God is Is pretty prevalent and you'll find this amongst Mormons, you know Mormons will teach this they'll say that we're all children of God Catholics will say this but just people in general Okay people who don't necessarily have a thorough understanding of the scriptures and they don't necessarily adhere to a specific a Sect of Christianity They have this mentality that well all of mankind are children of God. We're all children of God. We're all sons of God Irrespective of our beliefs, right? And what they seek to do is to unify all people Okay, the reason they say this is because they want to they don't want to offend people they want to unify all individuals irrespective of their beliefs and Give them that title of being a child of God because they're basically saying well, you know, we're all God's creation God made us God loves us and therefore we're all children of God. And of course the purpose of that is to tolerate all people Regardless of what they believe now thankfully, you know when the Bible talks about but as many as received them when the Bible talks about Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, you know, God is no respecter of people He's not gonna say. Oh, this is only for white people, you know, cuz you'll often hear this Oh Christianity is the white man's religion, right? and you know That's not true and they'll often say well, you know Christianity is all about the white man and you're buying into the white man's religion But here's the thing is that Jesus Christ wasn't white Jesus Christ was obviously a Jew according to the flesh He was an Israelite But even then he loved the entire world and at the end of the day Everyone who bleeds bleeds the color red and it doesn't matter what skin color you are, you know It's not about the what race you come from. It's about the human race God so loved the world. He loves all tongues and nations and peoples and anybody regardless of what color of skin you are what culture you come from what country you you you're a part of You can become a child of God and be a part of that spiritual nation Through Jesus Christ, okay So it doesn't matter if you're white black brown You know if you're yellow if you're red And so many people today place such an emphasis on the color of the skin Not recognizing that you guys could all unify together in that same weird ideology But if you don't believe on Jesus Christ, you're gonna split hell wide open And you know what when you're in hell burning for thousands of years You're not gonna wonder who did I bump into down here in hell? Was he black? Was he white? Was he you know Asian? It's not gonna matter Because it doesn't matter my friends what matters is the salvation of the soul What matters is to become a son of God What matters is to be a daughter of God a child of God that is what's most important look at Galatians chapter 3 And look down at your Bibles at verse 26 Here's another proof that you can't just not anybody can become a child of God It says in verse 26 for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus For as many as you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ So in order to be a child of God you have to place your faith in Jesus Christ look at chapter 4 and verse number 1 He says now I say that the heir as long as he is a child the birth nothing from a servant Though he be Lord of all but is under tutors and governors into the appointed time of the Father Even so we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world But when the fullness of the time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law To redeem them that were under the law then he might receive the adoption of sons and listen to this in verse number 6 and Because ye are sons God hath sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying Abba father So according to the Bible when you believe on Jesus Christ you become a son of God you become a child of God but another way of describing this event is The adoption of sons now, why does the Bible refer to us believing on Jesus Christ as the adoption? Well, one of the reasons why is because of the fact that a lot of these promises that you see in the Old Testament Were given unto Israel according to the flesh, right and they unto them were committed the oracles of God They were given the covenants of promise. They were essentially the ones who God gave these promises to and Israel's the area in which salvation would come from that's where Jesus Christ was born we are Gentiles right according to the flesh and So when we believe on Jesus Christ, it's essentially like we're adopted into the spiritual Israel God now claims us those who were not a people are now the people of God because God has adopted us into that covenant We now inherit those promises as well We are now the seeds of Abraham we're children of spiritual Abraham That's what it means to be adopted And so, you know doesn't matter which way you cut it We're sons of God because we believe on Jesus Christ, but even if you want to argue against that, okay We're still adopted though, you know, we're adopted because you know The Bible talks about us being grafted into the branch grafted into the root Okay, grafted into the tree to become the people of God He says there that we have the spirit of a son in our hearts crying Abba father So that means that we have God the God of the universe as our Heavenly Father He's the one who's begotten us through the gospel He says in verse number seven wherefore thou are no more a servant but a son and if a son then an heir of God Through Christ go to Acts chapter 17 if you would act chapter 17 So what do we see so far? Well, we see that we become children of God by believing on Jesus Christ And children of God sons of God, they're both synonymous. Okay, and sometimes people will try to separate these Because they want to separate child of God and people of God and sons of God and the reason why is because of the fact that there's a weird doctrine out there that tries to teach that the Jews Are the people of God, right? They'll say that the Jews according to the flesh those who are in Israel are the people of God and they'll say yeah Christians are the children of God, but the Jews are the people of God, but that's nonsense my friends You can't separate the two Okay, and let me show you how nonsensical that doctrine is because anybody Regardless if they're Jew or Gentile if they reject Jesus Christ, they're gonna go to hell So according to that logic There's people in hell today. There are Jews They according to them would still be considered the children are the people of God Now that's nonsensical to think that there's anybody in hell Who is a person of God the people of God because the people of God don't go to hell Okay, the reason they're even called the people of God is because of the fact that they're saved you understand now obviously in the Old Testament The Jews were referred to as the people of God based upon that covenant, but then that switched in the New Testament Okay where the Jews according to the flesh are no longer the people of God the kingdom of God was taken from them and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. We are now the people of God in Christ Jesus now every single Jew and Israelite in the Old Testament Who believed on the Lord and made that transition to the New Testament, you know, they remain the people of God So, you know they get to be Israelites but you know what at the end of the day they're now believers And in fact the Bible specifically says in the New Testament that if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, there's neither Jew nor Gentile Okay, so it's not like you know, we're just gonna put this hyphenated. Well, I'm Guatemalan Christian Wouldn't that sound silly? I'm a Salvadorian Christian I am a Mexican Christian I am a black Christian. I'm a white Christian. We don't we don't attach Our Nationality to our belief system because that doesn't matter to God You know, and so why would we say well i'm an Israeli Christian I'm a judeo-christian Right doesn't make any sense because of the fact that God doesn't care about those things And you know, this isn't a sermon on replacement theology But it's always good to learn these things and reiterate the importance of what the bible says about it You know the the proof that God doesn't care about those things is that he specifically told his disciples in the New Testament To leave Israel and go reach out to the gentiles Because the gentiles were the fish that were biting during that time You know the bible specifically says that he came into his own his own received him not well If the if the jews didn't want to receive Jesus Christ, then Jesus is saying well go to the gentiles then And you're like, well, I have an issue with that Well, you shouldn't have an issue with that because that's why you're even here today Reason you're in this church the reason you even know about the things of God The reason you even believe the gospel or you believe in the word of God or you know about Jesus Christ Is because there's some gentile believer out there thousands of years ago who branched out they got saved some jew reached them And they got saved and they preached the gospel to someone else who preached the gospel to someone else Who eventually ended up reaching us? I mean, that's a very condensed version. Obviously, there's a lot more that went into that I'm, just saying you know, the fact is is that we thank God that you know those believing Israelites Actually want to reach out into the gentile community And reach gentile believers because that's the reason why we're here today. Okay And so we've received that adoption whereby we cry abba father now don't get cute with this and think well Does this mean that when we pray we should abba? Abba father, you know that's really big sometimes and people like to just kind of You know, uh Be hyper spiritual in that manner. This is just simply saying that we can cry out god our father you understand You know, my son went through a phase Where he would just call me father And it's not like I told him to call me that He would just for some reason just went through this little phase where he's just like father Yes, father And it was weird because you know in public you would do it and I would think man people probably thinking like I'm telling my son to call me father or whatever, you know And I don't know where he got it from it was just a phase I mean, he still calls me dad obviously, but i'm just saying like, you know father well, you know in the bible It's not weird to call god our heavenly father because that's exactly who he is You understand which is another reason why we know we can't lose our salvation It's because of the fact that we're sons of god We're children of god and he is our heavenly father and god doesn't send his children to hell Right, right Just as you cannot just regardless of what type of a relationship you had with your physical parents You may hate your mom and dad which is which would be wicked But you can hate your mom and dad and move to the other side of the country You can't remove the dna in your body to say well i'm no longer your child. You will always remain Your mom and dad's child will in like manner. We will always remain the the children of god Because of the fact that we've been regenerated renewed according to the washing of the holy ghost Okay Now you're in acts chapter 17. Look what the bible says in verse 24 It says here in verse 24 god that made the world and all things that are in seeing that he is lord of heaven and earth Dwelleth not in temples made with hands Neither is worship with men worshipped with men's hands as though he needed anything seeing he gave his life to Excuse me seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things and hath made of one blood all nations Of men for to dwell on the face of the earth and have determined the times before appointed And the bounds of their habitation so according to the bible, you know, god made everyone of one blood So this is more proof that god doesn't care about your race And in fact the reason he gave so many diversities of race is because it just makes life exciting, right? You know, I think it's great to have a church where you have all kinds of colors Why not? Why do we have to have an all-white church? Why would we have to have an all-mexican church? Why would we have that all-black church, you know, we should just have just people in church regardless of what color Race they are, you know god is interested in all nations because they're of one blood And look what it says in verse 27 that they should seek the lord if happily they might feel after him and find him Though he be not far from every one of us for in him We live and move and have our being as also certain of your own poets have said for we are also his offspring So what is he saying here in this passage? He's basically saying, you know god appointed your life He gave you your habitation. He gave you your boundaries. He placed you in your family. He put you in california He put you in that city. He put you in that neighborhood. He gave you your features. This is all Given to you by god. Go ahead. Ulysses. You could bring that up You went to go buy that didn't you you did or you could plug it in ignore ulysses while he does this thing here You know, he gave us all these things why well if happily the bible says we should seek after the lord So I said ignore him don't look don't stare at him there's And so The bible says that he gave us these habitations why so that it would situate us in a place where we can seek after god And eventually hear the gospel and get saved. Okay, so people are like well What about the african and the jungles? What about the person in the communist country? God allowed that person to have those boundaries and that habitation And you know experience that type of oppression that in light of that they would seek after god Right that they would feel such pain and suffering and oppression that it would cause them to seek the god of heaven And cry out to the lord and god would send a soul winner to give that person the gospel, okay? But I want you to notice verse 28 he says for we are also his offspring So we often use that title offspring to describe children, right? But what this is specifically saying it's not saying that all mankind are children of god. It's saying that we are his creation So because we are his creation the bible tells us that he sends the rain upon the just as well as the unjust You understand god has no ill will towards mankind You understand like he wants all mankind to be saved. God is not willing that any should perish But that all should come to repentance. He so loved the world, right? That's why he sent his son. Jesus christ is to die for everyone. Why because we are his offspring. We are his creation He loves us. He doesn't want mankind to go to uh to die and go to hell Therefore, you know, he he situated their their habitations as such he sent his son to die on the cross verse 29 Verse 29 says for as much then as we are the offspring of god We ought not to think that the that the god hit is like into gold or silver stone graven by art And man's device now go to job chapter one The reason I want to bring up that passage is because it specifically says that we are god's offspring Okay, and so is the unsaved person But it doesn't mean they're the child of god because they're god's offspring. It means they're god's creation God made them. Okay. He created that heart that beats within their body He created that brain that they used to think he created their eyes he created their mouth He made them and gave them their habitation with the intention that that person would seek after him because of it You know god didn't make robots. We don't serve we don't serve a calvinistic god Where he's just like well, I created everyone but I just hate this segment of the population right here Why well just for absolutely no reason whatsoever, you know as soon as they're born they're reprobating. I hate them doesn't work that way. Okay God starts off loving everyone who's born into this world because god loves all the little children. Amen And I don't know if you know this but everyone starts off as a child except for adam himself, obviously Okay, but everyone starts off as a baby as a child and god loves that individual And you know, unfortunately those individuals grow up and sometimes they reject the message of the gospel And because they reject the message of the gospel You know god's not going to force salvation upon them. They have to accept that freely And if they choose not to then they suffer the condemnation of hell And so, you know, I want to make that point that the children of god the sons of god That title is designated for those who have believed on jesus christ plus nothing minus nothing Exclusively by our faith in jesus, so it's not like well we have to believe on jesus But we also have to be good people. We have to keep god's commandments doesn't work that way my friends the The gift of eternal life can only be given or received as a gift You give me a gift i'm not going to say Well, you know, I know you put in a lot of work for this. So let me just give you five dollars Well at that point i'm buying it from you But here's the thing with salvation. You can't buy it I mean, especially in today's economy, right? We're so broke, I mean don't even think about trying to buy salvation We we barely got enough money to put in the gas tank To get us from point a to point b. What makes you think you have enough money or enough riches Or enough goodness to get you to heaven So we need someone to pay the tab And you know what? Jesus christ paid the tab with his blood And you know, it's a disrespectful thing for mankind to think Well, I know jesus died on the cross for my sins. I know he resurrected. I know he lived a perfect life But I want to do my part as well You're basically saying that the sacrifice of jesus christ is insufficient for my salvation. I need to add some funds to that as well Where here's the thing though is that god doesn't accept your currency Your currency means nothing your currency might as well be monopoly money because it means nothing to god It's worthless So, how do you know? Well, the bible tells us that our righteousness are as filthy rags in the eyes of god, right? So it's just like you bring your best You bring your most moral deed You bring all the commandments that you've kept you bring all these things and god looks at it like What is this? What am I looking at here? This is nothing This is this is you can't compare this to the perfection of jesus christ So you have to accept the perfection of jesus christ to be saved And thank god for that, you know to work for your salvation People who think they have to work for their salvation that's a miserable life my friends Because when do you stop? How do you know you've reached that pinnacle? How do you know you've read you've attained? You know You don't you know the bible tells us that there's not a just man upon earth That doeth good and sinneth not so even if you spend this the rest of the week just doing all kinds of good deeds And keeping god's commandments you're simultaneously Breaking god's commandments as well So you always have you're always at a deficit Okay And so we become children of god we become sons of god based upon our faith in christ Not everyone in this world is a child of god They're the offspring of god in the sense of their god's creation, but if they want to receive the adoption They have to believe on jesus christ. They have to place their faith in him But here's another interesting weird teaching that comes with the whole sons of god Is that angels are the sons of god, right? I'm sure many have heard that They'll often say that angels we're talking about these celestial beings the messengers of god These celestial beings such as gabriel such as michael You know that these individuals are known as the sons of god Now you say well, what's the what's the problem with that? Aren't they god's creation as well? They're god's creation But they're not the sons of god and in fact the bible specifically says in hebrew Chapter one and verse number five to which of the angels said he at any time Thou are my son this day. Have I begotten thee? So that specific statement is made to say i've never said this to any angel You know, so this is like he's he's almost saying that like people have brought up this railing accusation Like god says that they're his sons. It's just like to which of the angels Said I at any time when have I ever said this? Thou are my son this day have I begotten now we can find scriptures saying, you know of god calling us his children God calling us his sons god calling jesus christ the son of god But we will never find a portion of scripture that states that angels are the sons of god. Okay Now obviously that's a silly doctrine It's it's weird it's silly But it kind of it kind of branches out into all these other weird doctrines too and the reason why is because Because people some people believe that angels are the sons of god Then they're going to have to explain why sons of god is mentioned in the old testament Right in their context just like we're going to look at here in job chapter one. Look at verse number 20 or excuse me Job chapter 1 verse number 5, excuse me It says and so it was well, let's let's skip down to verse number Verse number six Now there was a day when the sons of god came to present themselves before the lord And satan came also among them So when you read that We could obviously come to the conclusion that this particular event is taking place where in heaven right Because we see here the satan is coming among them later on we see that satan has this discussion with the lord and it's about job the lord tells uh Satan hast thou considered my servant job that there is none like him one who is true with evil man Who's perfect and upright so they're having this discussion in heaven, okay? Well, you have a problem with that if you have the sons of god also there you say why is that? Well, because people who believe that angels are the sons of god also believe in this doctrine known as abraham's bosom Where they'll teach that the believers of the old testament They didn't go to heaven They went to another place called abraham's bosom and it's this motel Next to hell in the center of the earth It's like a holding cell in the center of the earth So they'll say that abraham's bosom is in the center of the earth right next to hell It's not hell even even you know, it's not hell but it's it's in the center of the earth It's right next to hell and there's this just great goal fixing between them So it's just like the second compartment of hell, okay And what they'll say is that every believer in the old testament who got saved? And what they mean by got saved is they kept god's commandments. They did all the sacrifices they go to that second place Well, then you would have a contradiction because here in job chapter one you have the sons of god also defined as believers in christ in heaven presenting themselves before the lord And so they'll say well that's not referring to believers that's referring to angels Okay, it's referring to angels but folks In the old testament people went to heaven just like in the new testament Nowhere in the bible does it indicate that people went to abraham's bosom you have enoch who was translated into heaven You have elijah who went up into heaven And then you have the sons of god here presenting themselves before the lord And satan coming also among them. This is an event. This is something that's taking place in heaven. It's obviously referring to believers. Okay? Now, you know you have different, uh, you know various degrees of abraham's bosom of what people believe Because they'll say well, yeah, there's abraham's bosom old testament saints were there then when jesus died He went there and then he preached to the spirits in prison Because they had to get like saved again, basically So what is abraham's bosom it's like a christian purgatory You know what I mean, but folks abraham's bosom is like my bosom It's just this right here my chest, right? And obviously they're referring to luke chapter 16 Where lazarus dies and the angels carry him Right, they carry him meaning what they're going up Like you don't carry like going down You carry going up you understand It doesn't say the angels lowered him Into abraham's bosom it says that they carried him into abraham's bosom. And the reason they're carrying him into abraham's bosom is because Abraham is like the father of faith. He's the patriarch whom all Old testament saints esteem as being someone who's important whereas lazarus was not esteemed in this world He was despised. He was rejected the rich man never gave to his needs. He just was not Esteemed as being an important person, but now he's so esteemed in heaven that he gets to be with abraham So it's essentially showing, you know that god, you know Favors the poor and in fact the bible says they who are poor in spirit Theirs is the kingdom of god So god is just rewarding lazarus Because of his poverty and you know the ill that came upon him now he gets to hang out with abraham in heaven That's what that's referring to. Okay And so the angels are not referring to or the sons of god are not referring to angels Go to genesis chapter six if you would genesis chapter six The second compartment of hell doesn't exist it never has Okay Anybody who goes to hell remains there There's no door, you know, you get you go to those hotels sometimes and they have like doors in between the rooms or whatever Doesn't exist in hell It's like what's on the other side of that. It's like oh, that's abraham's bosom But if you didn't get saved, you know, if you didn't keep god's commandments, you can't go there, you know what I mean? Like who's that guy that's the rich man He's the only one who's been able to communicate with someone who's on the other side of that or whatever doesn't exist You know abraham's bosom is just simply referring to the body part of abraham And you know anytime someone brings up abraham's bosom And tries to defend it Here's the simplest question that I asked them and it often blows their mind because they just never thought about it I said what was it called before abraham? Right Like If abraham's bosom is in the you know, lower parts of the earth. It's a second compartment. Well, abraham didn't exist since adam right and so like Whose was it beforehand? Now when you look up jewish encyclopedias and stuff You know, they'll say that it was adam's bosom They'll call it adam's bosom But obviously he he relinquished that right because he you know, he damned all of mankind And so it's just like, you know, there's a vacancy for this position who's who's for it, you know, and then abraham came up or whatever So is abraham in his own bosom, you know, it's just it's just weird And so look at genesis chapter six and verse number one It says it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth And daughters were born unto them that the sons of god saw the daughters of men that they were fair And they took them wise of all which they chose So another weird teaching regarding the sons of god is that it's not only referring to angels, but it's even referring to demonic beings Who came and had physical relationships with women? Okay And they'll use this passage of scripture. They'll basically say that the sons of god angels came into the daughters of women And they produced these offspring that were just giants. This is what's known as the nephilim doctrine And basically it's people who have watched too much anime Talk about anime for a second here, you know, what's that show called titan or something? What is it called cody? What is it attack on titans he was quick with that answer Attack on titans where you have these massive, you know, uh beings or whatever And you know, they claim that the sons of god Came into the daughters of women and they created these massive giants. Okay, and they'll use this portion of scripture to prove that Look at verse number three and the lord said my spirit shall not always strive with man for he is also flesh yet His day shall be 120 years There were giants in the earth in those days and also after that when the sons of god came in unto the daughters of men They bare children to them the same became mighty men which were of old men of renown And god saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil Continually, but I want you to notice that verse number four says that there were giants in the earth in those days Okay Now according to their doctrine the giants came after the sons The giants were a byproduct of the sons of god coming into the daughters of men right But here it says that there is giants on the earth in those days and also after that When the sons of god came into the daughters of men, so here we have the sequence backwards You understand according to this the giants were there prior to the sons of god coming into the daughters of women daughters of men Excuse me and created this offspring. Well, then that interpretation wouldn't make sense at all. He said well, who are the giants? Well, we have giants in your giant, you know, geo's a giant giant is just referring to a really tall person And obviously there's really giant people throughout history You know, I mean, what was the tallest? giant out there in history, I mean You know, it's seven feet eight feet nine feet tall But you're not going to reach someone who's like a couple stories high though Okay, which by the way, let me just tell you, okay All of that teaching comes from the book of enoch, yeah I've been reading the book of enoch lately And not because I believe it. Okay. I've been reading it to kind of show like people The nonsense that's found in that book. It's not inspired by god It's a nonsensical book and you know, you know, you have a lot of independent fundamental baptists That will criticize the book of enoch for not being the word of god, but they're teaching stuff that comes from the book of enoch Which is the nephilim doctrine Okay But we could easily disprove that by showing that the giants were in the earth in those days And then after that the sons of god came into the daughters of daughters of men you say well then what's that referring to then? The sons of god going into the daughters of men. It's referring to believers intermingling with non-believers Daughters of men is referring to those who are not believers And god condemns that the bible says be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness god condemns and disproves of a believer marrying An unbeliever, okay, and some people try to interpret that as saying oh, you know, that's racist You know, they'll say, you know god you're saying that god is against interracial marriages or whatever The bible doesn't teach that and there are people that teach that There's baptists that teach that But what the bible is actually teaching is that you shouldn't marry someone If they're like a buddhist They're like a hindu If they're like a muslim Regardless of what color they are you say why because of the fact that they have a different god And god is against believers marrying someone who worships a false god because then You're going to be carried away with that nonsense And you're going to be carried away from worshiping the true god. God doesn't approve of it That's what he's saying here. And that's why so you have here the sons of god going into the daughters of men They are having these offsprings And then the world becomes violent and then god destroys the world thereafter. Okay Now go to ephesians chapter two if you would ephesians chapter two And so you have this weird teaching that everyone's a child of god not true But as many as receive them to them give you power to become the sons of god even unto them to believe on his name You have this weird teaching that angels are the sons of god not true to which of the angels said he at any time Thou art my son this day have I begotten thee you have this weird teaching that fallen angels are the sons of god Not true because jesus also said that the angels neither marry nor are given in marriage So there you go, okay angels are not able to procreate my friends you say yes they are then why aren't they procreating today? Why aren't they creating more fallen angels today It's not happening. The bible doesn't say that they do that. Okay, that's a false interpretation Now let's talk about What we were before we got saved obviously we're children of god now because we believe on jesus christ But what we what were we before we got saved? Well, the bible categorizes all of mankind Into three parts. Okay, you have the children of god You have the children of the devil And then you also have the children of disobedience Synonymous with the children of wrath, okay Now look at look at ephesians chapter two And verse number one it says and you have the quickened this means brought back to life Who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein in time past you walked according to the courts of this world? According to the prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience Among whom also we all had our conversation in time past and the lust of the flesh Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath Even as others go to romans chapter five. So here we see that He's referring to he's talking to the ephesian church And he's basically telling them. Hey, you guys were brought back to life You were quickened because you believe on jesus christ. You were dead in trespasses and sin and Which means that you were children of disobedience, okay? Now, why does he call unbelievers children of disobedience? Well, look at romans 5 verse 12. This is referring to adam here talking about adam It says wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin. So death passed upon all men For that all have sinned. Let me just give you a condensed version what that means We're all in this situation because of adam Okay The reason mankind is even going to hell in a handbasket is because two people Who just couldn't stay away from that fruit? In the garden of eden, okay and so Adam was the first person to what disobey He disobeyed the commandment of the lord the commandment of the lord Was to abstain and stay away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil He disobeyed that commandment and thereby Condemning all of mankind and therefore we are the children of that disobedience Which is why it says in verse 18 It says, uh, therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation Even so by the righteousness of one that free gift came upon all men into justification of life for as by one man's disobedience Many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous So we are children of disobedience because we're essentially children of adam. That's where we come from. Okay Okay Physically speaking that's where we come from and that's where we where we have inherited our sin nature from you understand And so therefore we are referred to as children of disobedience now children of disobedience can still get saved Okay, and in fact, it specifically says there but by the obedience of jesus christ many shall be made righteous Because of the fact that if we believe on jesus christ, who is that last adam according to first corinthians chapter 15? We can have eternal life and now be able to obey the lord understand And so for by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous So in other words when you get saved the bible specifically says that you're born again Okay, you are begotten through the gospel. This is what jesus christ was telling nicodemus You know accept you're born again. You shall not see the kingdom of you shall not see the kingdom of god And then nicodemus is like, oh can a man enter into his mother's room again and be born again I saw a funny meme the other day and it was like, uh you know, uh It was like it said anyone and then the statement was hold your horses And then it had nicodemus like holding a horse literally and only if you read the bible. Do you understand that mean you understand? Because hold your horses doesn't mean you have to literally go grab a horse and hold it Right, it's a figure of speech And the reason it has that person actually holding a horse and saying that it's nicodemus Is because nicodemus literally thought jesus meant you have to go back into your mother's womb and be born again Whereas what jesus was saying is you have to be born again. You have to believe on jesus christ You're born of water, but now you have to be born of the spirit. Okay? So we're begotten through the gospel now go with me if you would to go to first peter chapter one first peter chapter one How are we born again? Well, first of all by the word of god You see a person cannot get saved without the bible You need the word of god to be saved not some fancy illustration Not some instagram video where this guy speaking in a low voice and talking all romantically about spiritual things And convinces you you need jesus and give your life to jesus. That's not how you get saved The power is in god's word my friends You see when we go out there and preach the gospel we don't just tell people. Hey, just bring up the source with you And use the fanciest words possible woo them You know just woo them with your words and and persuade them No, we tell them to crack open the word of god and show them from the bible what the bible says about salvation Because the powers in the word of god the bible says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of god Okay, that's why it's important that when you go so when you bring a bible with you Obviously if you can quote the verses quote the verses but it's good to just open up the word of god and show them Like don't take my work for it. This is what the bible says, right? But look what the bible says in first peter one verse three It says blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, which according to his abundant mercy Hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead Now, let me just park it here real quick just to explain that If jesus christ died on the cross for our sins, but he only died on the cross for our sins. We cannot be saved Because people die for other people all the time, you know, they give their lives for others and it doesn't change their eternal destiny He had to have died on the cross and resurrected Okay, he was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification Which is proof that he is god because he was able to take his life back again And it's a signification that we will also resurrect one day Okay That's why it says that he's begotten us into a lively hope by the resurrection Of jesus christ from the dead you obviously need both Verse four says to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fate is not a way reserved in heaven for you Who are kept by the power of god through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed? At the in the last time go to verse 18 It says here for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold From your vain conversation received by tradition of your fathers. This means that you just can't give an offering for your for your soul Okay, it's not like you can just give what is it called? penance You know, you can't just give penance to be saved to be forgiven of your sins because it says here You can't be redeemed by corruptible things such as silver and gold Yeah proving that you can't use penance to get yourself saved or to get you forgiven of your sins Why from your vain conversation received by the tradition of your fathers? But with the precious blood of christ as of the land without blemish and without spot Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you verse 23 being born again Not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of god which liveth and abideth forever The power is in the word of god You know the flesh profiteth nothing my words that I speak unto you. They're a spirit and they are life This is what jesus christ said So we need the word of god in order to be saved. We don't need some fancy illustration. Do they help? Absolutely Does a good little explanation illustration help? Absolutely, but you know what god expects for us to use his word I mean you spend so much time putting it together for us Yeah, it's just like we're looking at like I got a better idea I got a better way of putting it This is the best way right here And so we get saved we become children of god we become sons of god By the word of god now go to roman chapter 8 roman chapter 8 and we'll spend the remainder of this sermon here We're almost done Because everything that i've showed you so far is it's pretty self-explanatory right it It's pretty self-explanatory in the sense that all we have to do to be saved is believe on jesus christ We have to place our faith in him We could become children of god sons of god by our faith. It's not by Ancestry It's not by the will of man It's not by the will of the flesh. It's by the will of god, right? And the will of god is referring to the fact that he's not willing That any should perish but all should come to repentance repentance meaning to place our faith in christ. Okay? So this is all pretty simple, right? It's pretty self-explanatory Now let's look at some passages that are kind of difficult when talking about the sons of god And here's the great thing about the word of god folks is that you read passages about the son of about uh, the sons of god That are just plain as the nose on your face It's very simple. It's just like oh As many as received him to them give you power to become the sons of god Even into them that believe on his name and who's that meant for that's meant for the babes in christ It's meant for those who don't really understand it and it's meant for us Also who have been older and we're older in the lord. We know things to kind of reinforce those things, right? But it's it's good to have clear passages in case someone wants to throw out there Oh angels are the sons of god or you know, all children all mankind are the children of god. We just bring out john 1 12 But here's what's great about the word of god is that it has milk but it also has meat Because look folks If the entire bible was just milk of the word we would just kind of basically stop growing Because we just get it right away But the bible also has some meaty portions It has steak It has liver it has ribs It has all that goodness in it where you have to kind of work at it, you know and and Tear off the meat and chew on it and digest it And so we're going to look at a little bit of the meat of the world when it comes to the sons of god Okay, and this is a passage of scripture that a lot of people get confused with Uh when it comes to the sons of god, in fact, I didn't put the entire passage on my notes here So let me just go there real quick romans chapter number eight Let's look at verse number one first and foremost it says there is therefore no con now no condemnation To them which are in Christ Jesus Who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit? Now sometimes people read that i'm like, oh man Wait a minute. I thought if we're saved we just receive no condemnation But it seems here in romans chapter eight that it's adding The the stipulation who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit So it kind of makes you wonder like okay. So does that mean like there is a condemnation to us if we do Walk after the flesh like how does that work? Look at verse number 14 For as many as are led by the spirit of god, they are the sons of god Now If you're not careful, you could read this and think to yourself. Oh, man So does that mean if i'm not spirit led? That i'm not a son of god because you can see how people can interpret that and i've had many people People who believe in a workspace salvation And believe in heretical things always point out this verse to me And they'll say hey it says many hours are led by the spirit They are the sons of god the implication being that if you're in the flesh You're not a son of god and that coincides with verse number one That you will receive condemnation because you're after the flesh and not after the spirit So this is some pretty heavy stuff right here, right? Because I mean the plain reading is right there He says in verse 15 for you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear But you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry a father the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit That we are the children of god. So what does this mean? Well tune in next week because no i'm just kidding that would be messed up if I did that What is this talking about? Well, you gotta understand first and foremost that romans chapter 8 is pretty deep doctrine Okay And it's not meant for the faint of heart or those who just don't really know the word of god You have to be able to decipher and compare scripture with scripture. Let me explain first and foremost what condemnation means, okay Because automatically when we think of condemnation we think of what? Hell which that is an appropriate connotation to that because in general that is what the word of god is talking about But condemnation just means punishment You understand? And so when the bible says there is therefore now no condemnation To them which are in christ. Jesus who walked not after the flesh but after the spirit He's essentially saying if you walk in the spirit, you're not going to suffer the consequences of your sin here You're not going to receive condemnation Here okay, why because you are walking in the spirit you're being led of the spirit therefore you're not going to receive punishment here Okay You say okay. Well, what about verse 14? Well look at verse number Look at verse number nine it says but you are not in the flesh but in the spirit If so be that the spirit of god dwell in you now if any man have not the spirit of christ He is none of his and then of course we see verse 14 for as many as are led to the spirit of god They are the sons of god. So what does this mean? Well again, like i've reiterated in times past every christian has two natures We have our flesh and we also have the spirit and these two are inseparable this side of eternity Okay, the moment you separate the two this is what happens you die So, I don't know if you know this you need your soul to like, you know in your body to live, okay? Once the soul departs in the body, you know, the chapter ends, you know, the book is over. All right And so now i'm speaking to you in my flesh my physical flesh, but the one who's preaching to you is my spirit That's the one who's communicating the word of god to you. This is what the bible refers to as the inner man, you understand? Well if i'm led of the spirit Then I am a son of god because of the fact that the son of god is being manifested to you Okay, that is what's being manifested and in fact The bible says that the spirit is the only aspect of our being that is born of god Our flesh is not born of god Because it sins it does wrong And in fact in romans chapter 8 says it's not subject to the law of god. Neither indeed can be You can't make your flesh just obey god's word The spirit has to lead the flesh To do its bidding you understand but the flesh in and of itself does not delight in the law of god It's not like your flesh is like oh man, you know, I feel like you know, i'm craving right now it's god's word Like my taste was is just i'm just craving preaching i'm just craving holy living i'm, just craving like Just you know Jesus christ and the word of god and prayer. I just want to do these with my flesh I just i've had this craving it doesn't work that way your flesh is actually contrary to the word of god Every day you have to make a decision to read the bible It's not like well, I gave my life to god last week and I just don't know why i'm just not serving god But it's because you're still in your flesh And your flesh desires to sin Every day you have to wake up and die to self And walk in the spirit and be led to the spirit so that the son of god in you can be made manifest Now some people are not satisfied with that answer Because they're just like well, you know You're not really answering though verse seven verse 14 as many as are led by the spirit. They are the sons of god But here's the whammy. Okay, here's what I say to that It's gonna blow your mind pay attention If you're not led of the spirit What's gonna happen to you according to verse number one you'll receive what? Condemnation which means you'll receive punishment Well, guess what the bible says in hebrew chapter 12 For whom the lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth And he says if you are without chastisement Then are you bastards and no sons? So if you're led of the spirit the son of god is made manifest If you're not led of the spirit Then you'll suffer condemnation and guess what happens to that? Well god chases you well How can he chase you if you're not acting like a son of god because at the end of the day you're still a son of god So because you're not acting like his son You're not acting right God has to chastise you he has to spank you He has to whoop you And if he didn't that would mean that according to the bible, this is not a cuss word According to the bible you are a bastard In other words, this is another way of saying is you're not saved Okay And so people always want to point to well if you're not led of the spirit You're not son of god, but they fail to realize that if i'm not led of the spirit i'm going to suffer condemnation Which also confirms that i'm a son of god Because of the fact that that's who god chases god doesn't chase in other people's children You know, I mean like I don't go around here spanking children that are not mine Now would I like to no i'm just kidding You know, I remember growing up And my growing up with my mom going to grocery stores and some kid would just be throwing a tantrum and my mom used to be like If that were my kid He would not get away with that. He's like what that mom just needs to do just just one good little you know And that'll take care of you know And i'm like is she's speaking to me Like is she she's kind of telling me this you know what I mean? I'm like, yes mother But you know, my mom's not gonna go spank someone else's child because the child doesn't belong to her Well, like man, you know god's not going to chastise or spank the unsaved. Okay, eventually they'll suffer punishment But he's not going to chastise them to make them partakers of his holiness because they're not even saved. They're not his children The children of god are only those who believed on jesus christ And the reason he chastises his children is so we could be partakers of his divine nature So we can Yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness the bible says so we can correct our ways And get back on track and be blessed of the lord and and be in good standings with god. Okay So yeah, okay as many as are led by the spirit Of god, they are the sons of god. Yeah when i'm led of the spirit i'm letting my light shine before you and therefore glorifying god But if i'm not led of the spirit then I suffer condemnation and then god punishes me Which also demonstrates that i'm a child of god now here's a good way to explain it This better work eli. Oh it does. Okay Here I have a light bulb Now whether I turn this on or not, it's still a light bulb But the only way it benefits you or the only way it's even you know, uh profitable Is if it's on So as long as I keep it on then it's manifest that this is the light But if I choose not to leave it on It's just showing that i'm not led of the spirit, but it doesn't take away the fact that this is still a light bulb So if you're not led of the spirit You know, you're going to suffer condemnation. You're not going to be a blessing to others. You know, your light's not shining So to speak you're not shedding light on god's word to a lost and dying world It means you're not doing good works because you know The bible says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven You're not going to be a blessing to others You're not going to help others. You're not going to be able to pull people out of the fire You know when your light is on you're able to do those things Well, if it's off it's it's it's worthless You understand we don't know there's lights in a room until they turn on And then once they're on we're like, oh there is lights and if they come on we're like, well, I know that's a light Because that's what it's supposed to do. It's just not on right now. This someone's not flipping the switch So here's the practical application for the sermon today, okay Be led of the spirit Don't suffer condemnation And flip the switch Don't listen to these preachers out there They try to just burden you with all these things of like, oh you got to make sure you fast You got to make sure you do all these things in order to be a son of god It's just like no you can just do it in a moment Obviously if you're not even saved the way you can do it in a moment by believing on jesus christ Okay, go to second corinthians chapter six You can just do it in a moment by just believing on jesus christ. The spirit of god can dwell in you eternally the bible says that And whom you also trusted after that you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation And whom also after that you believe you were sealed with the holy spirit of promise So you're you're legitimately a son of god once you believe on jesus christ, even if you're just a worldly carnal person You're just worldly as the days long You're carnal. You're just you're just don't read the bible You you stub your toe and you say those blessed words That the world uses and you just you just you know, you just struggle if you're saved you're saved Salvation just gives you the light bulb and connects you into the the outlet you understand But it's up to us to flip the switch And you know, it doesn't happen overnight Necessarily as far as like learning god's word, but you can flip the switch right off the bat Like as soon as you like look how fast that was, you know, lisa came He plugged it in and there's a switch and So what's the switch just walking in the spirit? You know if you chose to come to church today, that was you walking in the spirit If you're delighting in what i'm telling you by god's word you're in the spirit You have the switch on the goal as a christian is just to keep that light on But look, we're not perfect. And so, you know, what's going to happen today? My switch is probably going to go off One of you guys are going to you know, make me turn my light off Someone's gonna make me upset or something. I'm gonna be like, yeah. Yeah, and then And then he's just like going about your day and and then you're driving and someone cuts you off and just like You know and then you got to turn it back on You know what I mean? You're you're you're talking to your wife and everything's going well, and then you know She says something that makes you mad. You're just like And you're like no I got it You know because you keep remembering you know what I mean your husband your husband says something mean to you And you know, he says something mean to you and it hurts your feelings. So now you're just like this And then you forgive him but then you're like, but you know, that was mean that he said that And you're like, you know what though? I got to leave it in god's hands And you're like, but I should give him the hands though. No, no, no, it's just like And you just go back and forth some people that's how they live. They're just like this the entire time Throughout the day. They're just like this Just on and off on and off the goal as a christian is just to stay on And you know what the longer you're a christian the long the more you read the bible the more you're in church The longer the light actually stays on doesn't mean it never turns off It just stays on probably longer for longer amounts of time Look what the bible says in second corinthian 6 And verse 16 it says what agreement at the temple of god with idols for ye are the temple of the living god As god had said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their god and they shall be my people Wherefore come out from among them and be separate saith the lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you Listen to this and will be a father unto you and you shall be my sons and daughters saith the lord almighty So we see here that god's stipulation for having that relationship as a father with a son is that we live separate lives You understand when we're letting our light shine we're doing that which is pleasing in the eyes of the lord he's like then i'll receive you We say well, is that saying that you'll reject us if we don't what's it? What it's saying is that if you choose not to be separate then god's just going to punish you Which confirms that you're saved Because god only punishes You know people who are saved in order to bring them back to the ways of the lord Okay, and so, you know some basic doctrine in the in the beginning of the sermon Some explanation of some more difficult passage at the end of the sermon and just a really practical application as the conclusion which is Work on keeping your light on And don't get upset at people if their light turns off every once in a while because it's just it's hard sometimes It's hard to keep that light on 24 7 where we are all endeavoring to just keep the switch on sometimes it goes off Stay in the fight stay in church stay in the bible Stay reading the word of god stay praying Stay striving and then you'll realize hey my lights been on longer than usual, but you know, that's pride So then it just goes off again It's just the way it works so All right. Let's pray father. We thank you so much for your word Thank you so much for the practicality of the bible And the deep doctrine thereof lord. I pray that you'd bless us lord as your people and thank you so much for for Bestowing such great love what manner of love upon us that we should be called the sons of god And uh, what a wonderful thing lord. I pray that we be able to live up to that To that title lord on our day-to-day life that we would manifest the son of god within us And um and let our light so shine lord. I pray you bless the The remainder of our day lord the soul winning the activities and of course the sunday night service in jesus name. We pray. Amen So Amen song number 67 pearly white city is our last song This is a newer song for us, so please just follow along Song number 67 sit on that first verse There's a holy and beautiful city Whose builder and ruler is god? John saw it descending from heaven When pat rose in exile he trod His high massive ball is of jasper The city itself is pure gold And when my froton is here folded Mine eyes show its glory behold In Bright city Pearly white city I have a mansion a harp and a crown Now I am watching waiting and longing For the white city that's soon coming down No sin is allowed in that city And nothing defiling or mean No pain and no sickness can enter No creep on the door novice Their sorrows our cares are forgotten No tempter is there to annoy No parting words ever are spoken To destroy In that bright city Pearly white city I have a mansion a harp and a crown Now I am watching Waiting and longing For the white city that's soon coming down No heartaches are known in that city No tears ever moisten There's no disappointment in heaven No envy and strife in the sky The saints are all sanctified. Holy They live in the sweet harmony there My heart is now set on that city And someday its blessings i'll share In that bright city Pearly white city I have a mansion a harp and a crown Now I am watching waiting and longing For the white city that's soon coming down My loved ones are gathering yonder My friends too are passing away And soon I shall join their bright number And dwell in eternity's day They're safe now in glory with jesus Their trials and battles are past They overcame sin and the tempter They reached that fair city at last In that bright city Pearly white city I have a mansion a harp and a crown Now I am watching waiting and longing For the white city that's soon coming down Here Adrian have you trusted jesus as your savior? Yes. Okay upon your public profession I'm going to baptize you in the name of the father and of the son And of the holy spirit going to cross your arms over your chest Buried in the likeness of his death. Praise to walk in the newness of life Congratulations All right. Let's pray we'll be dismissed father We thank you again for this day Thank you for the baptism And I pray lord that you'd help our lights to shine today and bless us as we go on our way bless the the baby shower And the practice and soul winning and all there is lord. We love you. We thank you. Pray this things in jesus name Amen, you are dismissed Okay, you're good