so so so so Good evening to all. Again, as we come together this evening, by the extended mercies of our mighty God, we would extend a sincere welcome also To those who are potentially visiting with us tonight, for whatever reason you've come to us tonight, we know that it's in the divine plan of our God to arrange it for a reason. So whether you've come for the first time or you've just come back again, we pray that you would see the face of our Lord Jesus and find comfort in that. Pastor Cruz. By way of announcements, Pastor Cruz is doing a pulpit exchange this evening with Pastor Terrell, who rhymes with barrel. So you can remember that. He just told me that little nugget. And so there's a pulpit exchange. Pastor Terrell is visiting with us, ministering to us. He's a church planter with the Living Hope Congregation in Dole. Also this evening, I've been told his wife and children are here. Good evening to you. Their names are Esther, she's nine, Josiah, eight, Mariah, six, and Miriam. and his wife Katie are visiting. So, we welcome them. We thank you for coming tonight. We welcome you to our church. So, Pastor Terrell, would you please step forward and lead us in prayer. It's a delight to come and be with you all. I'm told that I'll have a warm greeting because apparently I wear bow ties and so does your pastor. So, you know, we just need continuity. I mean, we don't want to erupt any further. But I ask you to stand for the call to worship. Hear the Lord's invitation, His warm welcome into His worship service. Shout for joy to God all the earth. Sing the glory of His name. Give to Him glorious praise. Come and see what God has done. He is awesome in His deeds towards the children of man. Receive the Lord's greedy grace and peace to you from God our Father, from our Lord Jesus Christ, and from the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. As the Lord says in Hosea, His compassions are warmed towards you. Let's ask the Lord's blessing upon this time. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for the privilege it is to come and to worship and to delight in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Lord, we pray that you would speak mightily to our hearts tonight. Lord, it's been a long day. We've had maybe friends and family over. Our eyes are struggling to stay open well. Our hearts are hard to stay focused. Would you be with us in this night? And may we hear of Jesus. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. We now have the opportunity to sing the Doxology. The Lord is true, next to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen, Amen. Please remain standing. Turn with me, if you would, to number 320. This will be our hymn of praise this evening. Number 320 for the tribute. It's also a hymn note. As with gladness little old did the guiding star behold. 320. So most gracious God today, Ever more He loved to be. As His thoughtful steps they sped, Till that lowly cradle bed, Where to when the meeting o'er, In whom the manner of o'er, So may we with heav'nly faith Have mercy, kindness, peace, peace. ♪ The day of her gifts was red ♪ ♪ And a cradle full of care ♪ ♪ So we believe in holy joy ♪ ♪ Pure and free from sin, our Lord ♪ ♪ All of us his presence bring ♪ ♪ Thanks to thee, O heavenly King ♪ ♪ Holy Jesus every day ♪ ♪ Keep us in the narrow way ♪ ♪ When we're left with things unasked ♪ ♪ May our ransomed souls at last ♪ ♪ Where the eagles soar to fly ♪ ♪ Where the clouds their glory hide ♪ ♪ In the heavenly country high ♪ ♪ He made no created light ♪ ♪ Thou his light, his joy, his power ♪ ♪ Thou his Son, his truth, and power ♪ ♪ Evermore and ever, hear us sing ♪ ♪ Alleluia to our King ♪ This evening, our confession of faith will be from the Heidelberg Catechism, which is found in the back of your hymnal, page 872. 872. We'll read question and answer from the Lord's Day I. So I'll read the question, and together we'll read its most beautiful and encouraging and comforting answer, which I would suggest we all try to memorize, if you haven't already. The one that we say here is different, perhaps, than one some of us may have memorized. So we'll have to be careful and follow it closely. So the question is this. Christian, what is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong body and soul in life and in death. to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has delivered me from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him. You may be seated. This evening, our responsive reading is taken from Psalm 141. Psalm 141. I'll read the odd-numbered verses, and then you respond with the reading of the even-numbered verses. Psalm 141 from the ESV. Psalm 141, a Psalm of David. O Lord, I call upon you. Hasten to me. Give ear to my voice when I call to you. Let my prayer be counted as incense before you and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart incline to any evil. to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity. And let me not eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous man strike me. It is a kindness. Let him rebuke me. It is oil for my head. Let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds. When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant. As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol. But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord. In you I seek refuge. Leave me not defenseless. Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of the evildoers. Let the wicked fall into their own nets while I pass by safely. You may remain seated. We'll continue our worship in the singing of the corresponding psalm from the hymnal, Psalm 141. O Lord, to you I call, and then we will sing stanzas one to five of 141. Oh, hear me unto Thee, hear me unto Thy angels' voice, and hear me when I plead. I've been sent to Thee, I am fled. Be gone, ev'ry trace from me. ♪ Amazing how bright and divine ♪ ♪ The living sacrifice ♪ ♪ Teach us more, Lord, than now ♪ ♪ When our habits are gray ♪ ♪ When the Lord our Savior falls ♪ ♪ Please come and let us pray ♪ ♪ For we need Your mercy ♪ That we may lay inside, And we may cover the ocean, Unleashing many lights. And just this right now, It is a blind rebuke, Well, join with me, please, with our congregational prayer. Gracious Father, we stand in amazement of your gracious provisions. You have wonderfully cared for us beyond our every thought or imagination. And though the depths of the riches, both of your wisdom and knowledge, how unsearchable are your ways. Your plan for our salvation is beyond our comprehension. You have shown us mercy that we have sinned against you in our words and in our thoughts and in our actions. You, the almighty God, creator of the universe and all humanity, perfect in righteousness and holiness, have given yourself for our salvation. And in light of that great gift, we come with our humble, though meager, praise and thanksgiving. Your profound gift, which demanded even your life of suffering and your death on the cross, demands our life of highest and greatest praise, yet even our praise is wholly inadequate. So we ask for your grace, to even hear and accept our thanksgiving, but oh, for a thousand tongues to sing our great Redeemer's praise. We would rejoice with the shepherds in our hearts, joined in grateful praise, when we remember the angels' words, glory to God in the highest, because of the good news of great joy which has come to us. We pray that your words of comfort and joy would ring through all the earth, that those glad tidings would come again with the great power of your spirit. Raise up a great throng of believers to your glory, O Lord. Call out with power and call men to fall before you. Oh, that men would praise your name for the salvation of their souls. We pray for dedicated men to be heralds of the gospel throughout the nations. We pray for those that are now faithfully proclaiming your message, we pray for your blessing upon Cliff and upon the words that he spoke again this afternoon at the Pines. Again, we pray, too, for the Hopps and the Westervelds and the Johnsons. And then we pray for the German and Terrell families, that they would be given encouragement and strength to greatly minister in the places you have brought them. We pray again for the Hillside OPC, for their pastor and elders and the growth and strengthening of that congregation. Our Father, we pray that you would hold them up, use them for the furtherance of your kingdom. We also thank you that after months of captivity, there's been a safe release of all the missionaries that were held hostage in Haiti. And we ask, too, for your heart to be seen in the interventions taking place for the tornado victims in the southern states. We pray for the speedy and useful work and help of the government and churches, but especially that in this time of crisis, the hearts of the people would be turned and they would find in you the help they need. And here in our congregation, we pray that you would uphold our people, some of which are struggling with sickness and disease. Some have problems within their family. Problems of finance or disagreements or even depression. Some have problems in the mind, the heart, the body and soul. Some of that's not known to us because it's deep and it's too personal to share. But we know that all of that is known to you. And because you know, we ask for your mercy. You are the wonderful counselor. Help us to direct each other back to you. We look to you. We ask of you to meet each one of us. You have called us to call upon you in our time of trial and trouble and struggle and labor. So we come to you now and ask for your gracious work. in the hearts and lives of your needy people. And we're so thankful that you have blessed us. You have provided us with the great and rich blessing of new memberships, and there's quite a number of people that want to join our church, and we pray for them too. And we ask that you would encourage them to come to the introductory classes coming up soon, and that that would be a great blessing to them. We ask for that, and we thank you now as we anticipate the promise of the new births in the coming year, We thank you and we pray that you would continue to give health to all. We thank you for blessing our families with love and joy of those gifts. We cherish the children that you have given to us. But Lord, that stands in stark contrast to the world that fights even some for their death. We face a world that takes no heed of your blessings or the value of the lives you give. Guide the hearts of rulers and judges to protect the unborn children. We pray again that you would intervene, Lord, and stop the killing that has plagued this land. We pray for your blessing on this service. As we have gathered in your name, we pray that you would meet us here and now. Minister to us in our need using the words that you give to our pastor this evening give him clear thoughts of your message Provide him with words that convey that message We pray also for pastor Cruz as he would deliver your message to the church in door we pray that those words also would be received and that you would give us a clear reception of those words as they reflect your truth, so we can be instructed and edified and comforted and encouraged because you have met us in our need. And so when we go from this place, may our lives clearly show your grace. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. At this time, would the deacons please come forward to receive our offering. StSq3 3.30 (-0.99)" so Hey. Please stand with me. We'll sing our psalm of preparation, number 310. Number 310, wild shepherds watched their flocks. The shepherds watched with awe strident, while sleeping on the ground. The angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around, and glory shone around. We shall study for life in heaven, and seize their troubled mind. The tidings of great joy I bring to you and all mankind, to you and all mankind. The Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and this shall be the sign. And this shall be the sign. As we may pray, whoever is up to thy will, Oh, late when I was tiny, Lay in a paper lane, And in a manger laid, As I was far off and forthwith, Appeared a shining throng, The angels praising God do thus address his joyful song, address their joyful song. A daughter is who God on high, to the earth be peace. God will henceforth from hand to men, begin and never cease. Begin and never cease. Will you join me in prayer as we can ask the Lord to open our eyes and hearts to his word. Join me in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we delight to open up your word and to hear your voice from your word. Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that is malleable. Rich soil to receive your word, that in our hearts you may implant the word of truth, and it may yield a harvest of goodness in our lives. Lord, protect us, guard us, give us the ability with our minds to be able to receive your word. And if any of my friends here do not yet know you, Lord, please let this word be rich, rich seed that they might hear of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, have their lives changed by its goodness. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. Man, I love the sound of pews. That's just like a heartwarming thing for me, hearing the wood creak in a pew. Well, please turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. We'll be reading verses 12 to 17. Romans chapter 8. 12 to 17. As you're turning your Bibles, you might ask, well, how does this relate to Christmas? Well, the sonship of Jesus prepares us for the sonship that we have in the Lord. So a big reason we can celebrate Christmas is because Jesus became a son. And because Jesus became a son, we can become sons and daughters of the living God. So as we have opened our Bibles to Romans 8, we're looking at verses 12 to 17. So then brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. A friend of mine from seminary struggled with the concept of father, the idea that God is father. So when he read scripture, It was heavy on his heart. He misread, he misheard, he felt wrong when God was described as a father to him. You see, his own father, his dad, was physically abusive and a drunk. So, in his mind, the idea of a father is something distant, cold, a hurtful idea. He even said one time to me, it almost felt like a cuss word. How could it be good that God is Father? He was only through the experience of seminary professors and going to a church where he was loved by the pastor and the people at the church and saw dads with their children that he understood how it could be a good thing that God is Father. You know, we can be in that experience too. We probably, all of us, don't come from perfect families. Maybe it's a mom or a dad, grandparent or grandma. Maybe it's the way that we interact with our spouse or maybe the way we feel we are with our children as we talk to them. We could easily read our own experience into the way God is and misunderstand God. Paul, in this passage, is intending comfort. He's intending assurance. Now, too easily, we can look at this passage and we can read commands that Paul is not giving. For example, he says, if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. And we can read that as a command and say, okay, well, friend, brother or sister, Are you putting the deeds of sin to death? Are you? Are you living for the Lord? Are you? That's not what Paul is saying. But easily, because our hearts read things in, we can easily read that as a command. But Paul wants comfort here for us. So as we consider the idea of adoption, let us focus on three things in this Adoption is a triumphant life. Adoption is a privileged life. And adoption is a confident future. So I'll say three things tonight. Adoption is a triumphant life, a privileged life, and a confident future. Adoption is a triumphant life. It's a privileged life. The comfort of sonship is that it's with the perspective that there is something in our past, that we have a former life, and that our present life is something different than that past. He says, so then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh. Well, that was back then. Our present life is that of debtors. Now, when he says debtors, he doesn't mean you owe a debt, you're financially in trouble. The idea of debtor here is more like the idea that you're under obligation, that you're under a master. You see, we have, it's because we're Americans, some of us is from Texas, we have this idea of absolute independence. Look, I'm a rugged American. Nobody tells me what to do, right? So we think we're free. You know, we've been set free from the tyranny of King George. We're free, right? But that's not the position of Scripture. You're either under the mastery of sin and the devil, or you're under your master, the Holy Spirit and the Heavenly Father. You're under one of two masters. You're never set free. You're always under obligation to a master. And Paul in chapter 7, previous to this chapter, Paul in chapter 7 is saying that former life was my former life and my present life is my present life. But what he really says is this, I don't do the things I ought to do and the things I shouldn't do. Well, those are the things I'm doing. a wretched man that I am, who will free me from this body of sin? I am not kicking goals for Jesus. I know that my past life is past, but I'm torn. He says in verse 13, for if you're living according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you'll live. That's verse 13. Yes, I have an old life, the former life. That former life was death. Now the idea of death is more than croak, you're dead, right? It's the idea of destruction, that sin, the consequences of sin, is always harmful. When I sin, it doesn't just hurt me often, it hurts other people around me. The effect of that sin has ripples on the pond for how close people are to me. There is always death. There is always a bad consequence to sin. There is no sin that goes along that doesn't negatively affect me or other people, and particularly my relationship with God. Particularly that it offers me condemnation. That every time I sin, it's a crime against the kingdom of heaven and my king. That's my former life. But Paul has, from verse 1 and chapter 8 here to verse 11, 1 through 11, he's been making this point. But Christ has set you free from that. You have a new life. And four times from verse 1 to 11, he has said, you've been made alive. By the Holy Spirit, you have been made alive in Jesus Christ. So now what you need to know is that's your former life, but your current life right now is a vibrant, abundant, joyful, God-praising life. to love what God loves and to hate what he hates. The things that hurt me in my relationship with him and others, the things that separates me from him and separates me from others. I am called to live not according to the flesh, which you will die, but if by the spirit you put the death of the deeds of the body, you will live. I'm called to live in that life that had been set free. It's a lot like if you've ever dated somebody. who is not your current spouse, your spouse, right? What do you do when you dated somebody and then they're in your rearview mirror, you decide that that didn't work? Well, what you do on Facebook is you unfriend that person, and you lose their number. Now, what's the problem? The problem is if you keep them as a Facebook friend, and they're popping up on your feed, or you keep that number, why are you holding on to it? Are you gonna go back to that relationship? Well, you say to yourself, no, then what are you hanging on to? Right? That's our past life with sin. We have been set free. We don't need to hang on to anything that happened in the past. Unfriend that friend. Lose that number. That's the idea. And people at this point misread John Owen. If you've heard of the mortification of sin or John Owen, there's a famous quote. Part of that quote is derived from this verse. Be killing sin or sin will be killing you. You've probably heard that phrase. Be killing sin or sin will be killing you. People mishear John Owen at this point. People mishear Paul at this point because they misread John Owen. John Owen is not saying you can or have the ability to actually kill sin. If you put me in a boxing ring between sin and temptation, and myself, nine times out of ten, and if I'm honest with my own heart, ten times out of ten, who's going to come out there a winner? It's temptation, it's sin. You see, when you match us up against sin, sin is always the greater thing. And Paul talks about sin in Romans 6 as sin as your master. We easily get mastered by sin and you've been set free from that mastery. So it can't be that I can kill sin. No, later on in this chapter in Romans 8, Paul says we're more than conquerors who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus at the cross has defeated sin. So then what does it mean that I'm called to kill sin? It means I am to live in that victory that Jesus has won. And as I live in that victory, sin is no longer holding mastery over me. It's being killed, but not because of me, but because I'm living in that freedom from bondage that Christ has earned for me. And so when you live for Christ, and you put to death the deeds of the past, you're just going with what God already has given you. You're going with the Spirit along the path that Jesus has laid down for you. for me. It's living in what Christ has won for me. But he doesn't just say that. He says now in verse 14, we are led by the Spirit of God for all who are sons of God. Wait, what's going on here? This triumphant life, this victorious life, also involves being under the authority now, under God's house, by the Spirit and we're no longer orphans. You see what he says in verse 15 here? He says, everybody who is led by the Spirit are sons and daughters of the living God. My voice is squeaky, excuse me. We're sons and daughters. If you are led by the Spirit, those who are led by the Spirit, guided by the Spirit, are children of God. Now, this verse 14, where it says you're led by the Spirit, that word led, that verb is, it's an interesting thing. It's actually specific to something. It's a verb about leading or guiding that's given to those who guide as guardians. or those who guard as custodians. It's this idea is this, there is God the father, he has a house, there are slaves or servants within the house, and it's their job to do different jobs. One job is given to a servant or a person in the house to guard or care for the master's children. They are to lead or to guide the master's children. Now, if the children misbehave, the master of the house, the dad says, hey, what's going on over there? Or if they're being troubled or they're being harmed in any way, the master of the house looks at that guardian or custodian and says, hey, take care of my children. So there's this idea of, as Romans, they get this idea, we don't live that way. It's more of the idea of a nanny. The idea of that nanny, it's that person leading or guarding, but to be in that situation means you have to be a son or a daughter of the master of the house. Now what this means is when we're saved and we're put under the authority of the Holy Spirit, we're not saved to a job or to a task. We're being saved to a relationship where the Holy Spirit is our nanny. and is holding our chubby little fingers. Imagine you're a toddler, and you're about to cross the street, and the Holy Spirit is saying, look over there, see that dog right there? You wanna go over there and pet that dog. But if you go over there, that dog's gonna bite you. That's the nature of sin. That dog's gonna bite you. You think you want it, it's gonna bite you. Go away from there. Or the dangers or the troubles of this life, it's like crossing the street in a big truck, not paying attention. Holding you back saying whoa, whoa watch out. That's danger right there as you cross the street It's the Holy Spirit's job to whisper good things in your ears to tell you good things and to lead you Because that's the job the father is given to the Holy Spirit You're not under the power of sin. The Holy Spirit is the one who guides you and cares for you this is a lot like Two friends of Katie and mine, they adopted a child from India. And as much as they are the parents of this child, this child at night wakes up in fits of terror, crying. Mom and dad come in and they comfort this child, it's okay, mom and dad are here, I love you. See, this child had seen and witnessed terrible things in India. Now, this relationship that is this child's is truly this child's, but it takes time to unlearn under this guidance and care and to learn past what has happened to them and to get past the troubles of the past. The Holy Spirit's job is to guide you, but that doesn't mean you've left everything in the rearview mirror. There's still stuff you're bringing with you. And you still, tonight, need the Holy Spirit's guidance and leadership because you're still waking up in fits of terror and fright because of all the sinful things that are past you. You see, you have a triumphant life in the Holy Spirit. My second point is also you have a privileged life. Paul takes things further. He says you're not just sons and daughters, like natural born children, but you're adopted. Now, I'm going to make an obvious point. This is the book of Romans. It's written to people in Rome. And in Rome, they had a very particular view of adoption. Adoption in Rome wasn't something to where if you wanted to adopt, you would do it because, you know what? I really want to have some kids in my family. I'm going to adopt. That's a view we have today. It's a beautiful view. But that's not the Roman view. The Roman view is predominantly you adopted because it did something for you. It benefited you politically or socially. So a great example of this would be Julius Caesar. He didn't have natural born children. The Romans and the Greeks, they didn't believe in an afterlife. So then how do you continue after you die? Well, it's in the esteem. It's in the name that you carry on. So what Julius Caesar did is he adopted his nephew, Caesar Augustus. And from that point on, his name continued on. So again, adoption was something that was done for political or social gains. It was a costly thing. It was done because it benefited you, the one adopting. But that's not what Paul says about adoption. In verse 15, he says, you have not received the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you receive the spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by whom we cry, Abba, Father. You see, we were slaves, but we are adopted. And in Rome, if you quickly put on your Roman hat for a second and think like a Roman, you'd go, wait, what just happened? A slave got adopted. See, rarely did a slave ever get adopted. It wasn't beneficial, right? But what happens is a slave, who nobody pays attention to, is taken from the bottom rung and given an elevated status and privilege that you would have never expected. So if you're Roman, you would say, who would do such a thing? That's incredible. Nobody would ever do such a thing because it doesn't benefit them. It doesn't work out for their benefit. And that's the amazing thing. You see, God doesn't do this because it benefits Him. He does it because it benefits us. And if you're Roman, you say to yourself, what kind of God is like that? That He would adopt me and take me from the bottom rung and bring me to the top rung. And He's not doing it because He's doing it for Himself. What kind of God is like this? Only our God is like this. So there's different privileges, and what we need to see is, as being in that privileged status as slaves who are now adopted, we have to see we have a new mindset. You see, slaves live in fear. Is the master going to accept me? Is the master going to punish me? Am I going to lose my job? They could beat the backs of their slaves with rods. You could live physically in fear. There is a fear as a slave, a spirit of slavery, but that's not our mindset as Pauls. You have not received the spirit of slavery to fall back in fear. Yet, if you came out of an unstable home, If you have a complicated history with family, if you have struggled in your own families with your spouse and your children, and you are convicted and struck to the core about wishing you were a better mom, dad, aunt, uncle, brother and sister, child, we could turn things on ourselves. We could read back into God fear, condemnation, and coldness. Maybe we have been cold or withdrawn with other people. We've given people the cold shoulder and says, you know what you did. I'm not going to talk to you. You know what you did. It's very evident around Christmas, right? They need to know how upset I am for what they've done, cold shoulder. We do that. We withdraw from people, we are hurtful, and then we apply that to our God and say, wait, He's doing that to me, He's disappointed, He's frustrated, I'm getting on His last nerve. Because we are complicated individuals, we read that drama with God when there is no drama. We add drama to our relationship with God because there's so much drama in our lives, that we think God is like that. But that feeling is not in God. We do not have a spirit of slavery. We do not live in fear, because Christ has died to free us. And the Holy Spirit has delivered us, so we have a new mindset. And in that new mindset, we have to fight our innate sense that God thinks of us in ways that he doesn't. We have a second privilege, it's not just a new mindset, it's a new name. The Holy Spirit in this new life awakens us to this new relationship. We are no longer orphans. Now, when we say that, Jesus said in John 8, you are of your father the devil who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. So how are we orphans? Well, you see, your father, who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning, he didn't take care of you. He's your father, but he's a liar and a murderer. He didn't work for your benefit. So you were left orphaned in your sin. No one to take care of you, no one to love you. You know, adoption is a beautiful thing. And it's unlike the way the devil is. You see, there are some kids that are adopted out of bad situations. They're taken out of a bad home and they're able to be adopted because that family over there was being evil. But frankly, there are plenty of people who give up their kids in adoption out of love. I can't take care of this child. This child needs to be in a better life, a better home. I can't provide it. And in love, I will give up my child for adoption. That's not Satan. Satan wasn't like that. Satan wanted to hold on to the image bearers of God because it meant something for him. So as we learn from Colossians, the Lord has to plunder the domain of darkness to bring people into the domain of the kingdom of his marvelous Son. The Lord had to wrestle these people out of the hands of this evil being to bring them in a great situation. And God does this in a courtroom. Two events happen in God's courtroom. First, there's dealing with your crimes against the court, against the government, against the king. You are guilty, but then someone comes in, takes out your criminal record out of your manila folder, puts it in their manila folder and takes their perfect record, puts it in your manila folder. And then the judge says, looking at your record because it's empty, this person is declared innocent. But it's all only because Jesus gave us his righteousness. What do we call that when you're declared innocent, found to be righteous, but you know it's not your own righteousness? That word is called justification. It's a legally binding statement in God's courtroom. You, as a citizen in the kingdom, have been found innocent before the king. That would be enough. You're off the hook. You're set free. You can live under that king without fear. But then something else happens. The judge takes off his powdered wig. He takes off the robe. He comes down from the bench. He takes a knee. He looks you in the eye and says, now I'm going to adopt you. You who were abused and harmed by that evil father, I'm going to take you home. And I am going to treat you the way that I know a child should be treated. He didn't have to do that in the courtroom. You were set free by justification. You're OK. You're in the good books, literally, but out of great love. Out of immense grace and mercy, He does that for you. You who are His children, sons and daughters. You are given a name. Even the name Sons and Daughters of the Living God is a name. That is above all names. It's a name. What more do you need to know? You are a child of God. It's a name that you share with Jesus. It gives you the same status and privileges as Jesus Christ. All the while, the Holy Spirit's been given the job to guard you and to hold your hand as a dear child of God to take care of you. to make good on that promise that God would always do better than Satan, because He is a good and loving God. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by whom we cry, Abba, Father. This leads us to our third privilege. We get an intimate relationship. With the devil, with fallen families, we can see cruelty and distorted relationships. Maybe a hug from a dad, a pat on the back from a mom, an encouraging word from a grandfather. All of those things can seem weird to us, because that's not my experience, you say. Intimacy can sound weird. For the Jews in the Old Testament, they didn't believe God as their father. They thought of it as an analogy, because God is so holy, he is so separated from sin, he could never be that close. but it all took revealing Jesus and his death to understand differently. We see in John 17, 21, the prayer is that they may be one as you and I are one. Lord, may they be one with you as you and I are one. And then Jesus, in this intimate oneness, unity, intimate relationship, he's in the Garden of Gethsemane, he's pouring his heart out. But because he has that beautiful relationship with the Father, that intimate relationship, he cries out, Abba, Father, if it is your will, would you let this cup pass from me? That word Abba is the Hebrew term for Father. Pater is actually what's in the passage. That's the Greek word for father. It means dad dad in two different languages Covering both groups of people both Jews and Gentiles daddy daddy. I'm in pain if it's your will. Would you please let this pass? D Martin Lloyd-jones commenting on this passage here in Romans 8 points back to that moment in Mark 14 and In Christ, this concept of dad changes, because when we are told we are children of God, we are given instant access to the Father, by which we cry out, like Jesus. This shows that this is not a conceptual thing, not an analogy, but an actual real thing. Because what it says is in the spirit of adoption, we get the right to call out Abba, Father. What kind of relationship is it when children are crying in their sleep and they've had a nightmare? Who do they call for? They call out for Mommy and Daddy. Because those are the people that first and foremost a child knows will appreciate and care for them in their hour of need. This is an intimate, close-knit relationship, and you're given that, where he's not just the king, but you're given that intimate relationship by which you can say, Lord, Father, not just my king, Lord, God, Father, Daddy, I'm in pain. And what does a good parent do when they hear that child crying out? Do they fold their arms and go, well, that's on you. Deal with your nightmares on your own. Is that what a loving parent does? No, they're there and they're stroking the back of this dear child. It's okay. That didn't happen. You're okay. You're safe. Mommy's here. Daddy's here. There's that nearness. There's that want as a good parent to hear them. It's like if you had kids that went off to college. You know that the moment they call you, you want to hear them. You're going to stop everything. They have their attention. Or if you've gone off to college and you're far from your parents, you know That the moment you call, if they can't pick up, they're going to call you immediately back. Why? Because you are close to them and they want to hear from you. And when you're in prayer, sometimes we don't feel that way. We feel like we're bothering Him. Or because of our sin, He's going to get upset at us. And He's going to say, well, you know what you did. Sure, I forgave you. Yeah, here's some grace, but you know what you did. You don't understand the nature that we get to call out Abba Father means. We have his undivided attention. He's fully invested in us. In that moment. This is a privilege of being a child of God. And thirdly, and my final point is, this gives us a confident future. We need to see ourselves as truly sons and daughters. And that this cannot be revoked. This can't be undone. So therefore, if it can't be undone, it's legally ironclad, then we have a future to where we're always children. Now, where does our passage say that legally our relationship is ironclad? Well, look at verse 16. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. You see, in this world, A child can be given up for adoption, but the nature of adoption is you're more legally bound to that parent in adoption than you are as a natural-born child. The Holy Spirit is there as a witness, bearing witness in your heart of what? Well, this is a legal statement. To be a witness is to be publicly, legally in a courtroom. You're an eyewitness. You're testifying. You're sitting there before the judge. You've made a vow that what you're going to say is true. You're a witness. You're an eyewitness. And you say, I was there. I was there in the Garden of Gethsemane, giving Jesus the power to endure this great turmoil. I was there. Or at the cross, when Jesus is bearing the awful weight of our punishment for sin, the Holy Spirit can testify, I was there. So when you feel like you've committed that sin that will undo all of your faith and you'll lose your adoption, the Holy Spirit stands up in the courtroom of your heart and says, hang on a second, I testify, I speak the truth that whatever you're going through, you will not lose your status before God. that God still loves you, that nothing has changed. The immensity of your sin, not that I'm encouraging it, the immensity of your sin does not change the ironclad relationship you've been given by the Father through the Holy Spirit. Even when Satan accuses you, and you're like Paul in Romans 7 saying, I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do, I'm doing the very thing I don't want to do, You feel lost. You feel like you failed. You feel like you're going to fall away. The Holy Spirit stands up and says, you are still a child of God. Maybe you might say in your heart, well, I mean, come on, that's a stretch. Is God really like this? Zephaniah 317 says this, the Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. Who does that when you come in a room and this person just praises you and is delighted and rejoices over you? It's not apparent. He will quiet you by his love. You're troubled. So that person says, shh, I'm here. I love you. You're gonna be okay. It's okay. Quiet you by His love. He will exalt over you with loud singing. Who does that? Who sings songs over us? Isn't that a parent? Making up songs about how much they love their children. This is true of the Lord. In God's courtroom, He affirms the reality that you are God's child. We learn in Revelation 21, after the courtroom scene, where the Lord separates the sheep from the goats, what does the Lord do at that moment when condemnation has come, but it has not come to his children? He wipes every tear from their eye. Do you recognize the significance of that? After the legal court case is done and you are found innocent again before the Lord, the first thing he does is he wipes every tear from your eye. Do you see the tenor, the intent of God, that when you mess up, when you feel judgment or condemnation is strong, His step towards you is kindness and love and grace because you are his children. Not only that, but in verse 17, and if children, then heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. I'm going to finish here. Not only are we confident about our future because the Holy Spirit is testifying time and time again, you have Your adoption, it is ironclad. You're not going to be lost. Well, what we're told is we're joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We have equal rights. Now think about this. In Rome, if somebody is adopted into the family, the firstborn says, well, that's awful. I just now see my inheritance dropped that amount. They don't want adoption because then they're going to lose that much of their inheritance. But in Jesus' case, He's not like that. Remember in John 17, His prayer is that they may be one, like you and I are one. He is fully invested. He wants to give away His inheritance to you. He is not like the Romans. Jesus writes in heaven, His reward, His estatus, His approval, they're all mine because Jesus' work on the cross was something He gave away that as a reward. So that when I get to heaven, this rich inheritance is mine. But it's yours after you've suffered. Remember in Philippians 2.9, Christ was glorified. reached his reward, but after a time of suffering. That the path in my adoption between here and there is my inheritance, my reward is not on this earth. I'm not gonna enjoy this place. And furthermore, because I'm identified with Christ, I have to take up my cross, I have to die to myself, to the world I am Christ, I will suffer in this world. But then afterwards, I will be in glory. I will receive the full effect of my adoption, where I will hear, just like Jesus has been told, well done, good and faithful servant, you will have that yourselves. You will have honor. You will have joys. You will have excitement. You will come into the full inheritance of what is yours as children of God. And that's after a time of suffering. It's not now. You have a taste of it here, but you come into the full reward when you're before the Father. And he finally gets to wipe every tear from your eye. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you that Jesus became a son. that we might become sons and daughters of not only the King, but of our Father who's in heaven, who did not want to leave us in that relationship with Satan, but has caused us to be children of God. And if any of my friends here do not yet know that, Lord, would you tonight Make that legal exchange in their hearts, where they know that the crimes are forgiven, that the punishment has been laid on Jesus Christ, that they are innocent and now adopted into your family, and that you will love them forever and evermore, Lord. Please be with my friends tonight. Let them rest in delight, particularly at Christmas, that they are loved, and they are precious, and they are honored in your sight. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Would you please turn in your hymnals to 351 and stand as we sing how deep the Father's love for us. That's 351. How deep the Father's love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss! The Father turns His face away, As who could join the Chosen One? Bring many sons to all three. Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon his shoulders. Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice, Call out among the scoffers, It was my sin that held me there, Until it was accomplished. His dying voice has brought me life I know that it is finished I will not boast in anything No gifts, no power, no wisdom But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection Why should I gain from which record? I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my rent. Please hear the Lord's blessing on your week. Fear not, O Zion. Let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exalt over you with loud singing. Amen. so so so so Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much. Okay. Thank you. It's like they make it look so awkward. Everybody's crazy. It's going to be so crazy. It's going to be so awkward. Okay, so we're going to go ahead and get started. It's in your collection, you know. I saw one of those, too. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.