6-8-25 Sermon "Not In Fear" - 15 Minutes

Romans 8:14-17

This morning I'll be reading Romans chapter 8 verses 14 through 17.

And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Romans 8:14-17

Romans was a letter from Paul,,, written,,, as it says in Romans 1:7,,, “to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints". It wasn't written specifically for the church in Rome,,, but for all! And,,, as usual,,, we are able to look at these words and learn from them today.

Romans 8:14–17 (HCSB) —

14 All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “•Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs —heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

The word of God for the people of God,,,

 thanks be to God!

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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Last Sunday we looked at Luke 24:44-53,,, and from those verses we learned,,, that the disciples are returning to Jerusalem,,, to "Something New"!

And they spend their time,,, in prayer together,,, praising God for this blessing.

Again,,, I reminded you,,, these are the same ones that were hiding,,, scared,,, confused,,, unsure of what to do,,, but the joy that they share together must be indescribable,,, especially compared to their previous attitudes.

But now,,, they know and fully understand,,, the words that Jesus gave them before His death and resurrection!

They are in position to receive,,, "Something New"!

And,,, they can accomplish the task that God has for them,,, through the help of the Holy Spirit,,, that God has promised them!

They spent their time together,,, in prayer,,, as well as praising God,,, while they waited.

And I told you that we don't have to wait for the Holy Spirit to arrive,,, He's here with us,,, each and every day,,, but spending the time in prayer,,, worship,,, and fellowship together as believer's,,, prepares our hearts and minds so that "we" are in a position to hear God's voice as He speaks to us!

And that's what got my attention during conference,,, the repeated emphasis on our relationship with God,,, our right relationship with God,,, that gets us into a position,,, or an attitude,,, so that we are able to hear,,, God's word,,, to us!

His word,,, given to us,,, by the Holy Spirit,,, when we are exactly,,, where we need to be!

As we head out to begin another week,,, I asked God to help us to remember these verses,,, and the things that the disciples did,,, to help prepare themselves,,, while they waited for the Holy Spirit!

And help us,,, to live out that same attitude,,, "preparing ourselves",,, as we continue the work,,, that God has for us to do!

Knowing now,,, that work will be much easier,,, if our relationship with God,,, is where,,, it needs to be!

This morning we will look at these verses in Romans,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verse 14 said: 14 All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior,,, we have the ability to be led by God’s Spirit as children of God.

This enables us to live a life that is sin free,,, the problem we have,,, though,,, is we don’t pay attention to God’s voice that tries to guide us,,, as we go through our day to day activities.

We tend to shut that voice off after church on Sunday,,, or turn the volume down where we can ignore it until next Sunday,,, and then we turn the volume back up,,, so that we can make an effort to attend church.

But if we would take advantage of it,,, God has given us the power that we need to live a sin free life,,, and be led by His Spirit,,, every day,,, of the year.

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Verse 15 said: 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

When we sin,,, we sometimes think,,, I’ve really made a mess of my life and I have nowhere to turn,,, but,,, that is Satan's way of keeping you down.

Paul says,,, that we didn’t receive a spirit of slavery,,, meaning that we aren’t bound by the master of sin,,, we are free.

Satan doesn’t have it’s hold on us any longer,,, we are able to cry out,,, Abba, Father.

We have the ability to speak to God,,, and know that He will be there to help us with anything that we need,,, because we have been adopted into the family of God!

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Verse 16 said: 16 The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children,

Once we become Christians,,, there is a spiritual instinct in us as a newborn believer,,, that we are a child of God.

The Holy Spirit tells us that it is so.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our personal spirit,,, that we are a member of God’s family.

He does it primarily through the word of God.

As we read the Bible,,, the Spirit confirms the truth that,,, because we have trusted the Savior,,, we are now,,, a child of God.

And the more that we read and study,,, the more that we are assured of that fact.

It’s during the times when we allow ourselves to get complacent,,, and we don’t spend time with Gods word like we should,,, that Satan uses this time to his advantage,,, to make us think otherwise!

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Verse 17 said: 17 and if children, also heirs —heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Membership in God’s family brings privileges that can boggle the mind.

All of us,,, as Christians today,,, are heirs of God.

An "heir",,, of course,,, eventually inherits his father’s estate.

That is just what is meant here.

All that the Father has,,, is ours.

We haven’t taken possession and enjoyment of all of it,,, but nothing can prevent us from doing so in the future.

And we are joint heirs with Christ.

When Jesus returns to take control of the world,,, and set everything right that has been made wrong,,, we will share with Him in all of God’s wealth.

At the end of that verse,,, when Paul adds,,, seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. ,,, he is not making heroic suffering a condition for salvation.

And he’s not describing some elite inner circle of overcomers who have endured great afflictions.

Instead,,, he sees all Christians as being co-sufferers,,, and all Christians as glorified,,, with Christ.

Of course,,, there are some who suffer more than others as they live a Christ-like life,,, and this will result in differing degrees of reward and glory.

But "all",,, who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior,,, are seen here as incurring the hostility of the world,,, with all of the worlds shame and reproach.

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We know,,, or should know,,, that our road isn’t going to be easier just because we are Christians.

If anything,,, it becomes harder,,, because Satan will do everything that he can,,, to steer us in the wrong direction,,, keep us on the wide road,,, the way of the world,,, and off the narrow path where Jesus has told us to stay.

And it’s so easy to give in when Satan tells us,,, we are terrible Christians,,, we make too many mistakes,,, fall short too many times,,, have sinned in the worst kind of way,,, or sinned too much,,, God can never love us because of all of this,,, and on and on,,, with all of the negative thoughts that plague us day after day,,, and Satan wants us to believe,,, this,,,

But,,, we know,,, that God has prepared for us,,, a way going forward,,, and given us “Power for Holy Living”,,, that Satan can never get around,,, if we will just learn to lean on God going forward,,, instead of trying to lean on our own strength.

We can’t live the life that God has planned for us,,, we can’t stay on the narrow road that Jesus guides us to,,, without the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit along the way.

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We should also know,,, that we shouldn't live in fear of any kind if we trust God the way that we should!

Now that we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior,,, we have become a part of the family of God!

Not on a trial basis,,, or a period of learning how to act,,, or a time of learning the right things to say,,, but immediately!

And,,, as a member of God's family,,, we have,,, all of the strength and power needed,,, to do the job,,, that He has for us to do!

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Again,,, I know that I say this over and over,,, but we must get this right,,, God speaks to us,,, through His word!

We have to spend the time in His word,,, reading the Bible every day,,, to have our hearts and minds in the position to hear God's voice,,, and,,, to be able,,, to understand what He wants us to do!

That's what makes this day,,, Pentecost Sunday,,, so special to us as Christians today!

God has made this possible for us,,, and we need to take advantage of it,,, so that we can live a life that is pleasing to God,,, and a life that is filled with the indescribable joy,,, through our personal relationship with God,,, again,,, made possible,,, because of the presence,,, of the Holy Spirit,,, today!

All made available to us today as Christians,,, because,,, of what happened,,, when the Holy Spirit came down,,, to the disciples,,, at,,, Pentecost!

So,,, lets do the right thing,,, and give this day the attention that it deserves,,, honor it by spending time with your Bibles each day,,, reading and studying,,, time spent in prayer,,, quiet times spent listening for His word,,, so that we know,,, as the children of God that we are,,, living through faith,,, not in fear,,, ready to complete the job,,, that God has,,, for us,,, to do!

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Hymn: 337 - Oakdale

Hymn: 337 - Seminary

Benediction

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