Hand in Glove

Apart from me you can do nothing in the apostle Paul's informed us already in Romans eight verse 11 that the believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God who enables the believer to walk with God right. The believer is as it were occupied by the hand of God, the believer of the glove is inhabited. He is energized by the Holy Spirit Christianity. Ladies and gentlemen, is nothing less that I hand in glove experiences the last several broadcast Stephen Davey has been taking into Romans seven and eight. This is the final lesson in that series called the war within the apostle Paul says that we've been adopted by God when you think of that word adoption you should take it literally it means that as believers we are God's children. We are children of the King of Kings and the Lord of lords. What are the eternal and immediate implications of that will stay tuned to find out your Stephen with the message that he's calling hand in glove. Thus far in our study of Romans chapter 8, we have discovered a new pardon from the king. We have discovered a new friend in the Holy Spirit and a new obsession by virtue of a new mindset. We are about to discover as we allow that Holy Spirit who doesn't dwell us to conform us to the image of Christ that we experience a number of wonderful things. Things that are ours, by perhaps are standing.

The things we experience as we allow the spirit of God, as it were to invade our lives and live by means of his power throughout our activity and the energy run/I brought along something to illustrate that this morning I think is probably a little silly illustration but I hope you never look at the glove the same again never gets below 60 all pull out these gloves and put them on.

I brought one along with me. I have an amazing glove here with me. This glove is incredible. This glove can point this glove can give a thumbs up sign my glove even knows how to give the sign for I love you. I can pat somebody on the back with my glove. This glove knows how to shake hands. This glove can applaud a last minute win by the Wolfpack if they would ever have one. This glove can smack somebody for saying something like that Sunday morning. This glove is amazing right of course not. This glove is entirely useless unless my hand is incited. What I glove does is directly related to what's inside the glove right you could say this way.

What ever possesses the glove determines whatever the glove performs. Whoever activates the glove determines the activity of the glove, for without me this glove can do nothing. That sounds familiar, doesn't for Jesus Christ that apart from me you can do nothing in the apostle Paul's informed us already in Romans eight verse 11 that the believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God who enables the believer to walk with God right. The believer is as it were occupied by the hand of God, the believer of the glove is inhabited. He is energized by the Holy Spirit Christianity.

Ladies and gentlemen, is nothing less that I hand in glove experience. It is impossible to live it on your own. We are merely willing gloves and God's Spirit is the omnipotent hand and when the hand of God, as it were in habits indwells energizes and motivates and leads us we are able to experience a number of wonderful new thing in addition to the things we've already learned how we view three of them. First of all, you're able to follow somebody new. This is divine leadership and I want to begin were left off. Now with Romans chapter 8 with me in verse 12. So then brethren, we are under obligation not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. But if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live for all who are being led by the spirit of God, these are son of God that Paul is first, speaking in general terms. He is reviewing for us what he is already taught specific language in the previous verses of this chapter.

If you live in the flesh. If you live by the flash if you live for the flash that's proof that you're gonna die and he begins to tell us this wonderful truth and privilege that we are being led by the spirit of God. What is it mean to be led by the spirit. What is somebody mean when they say on being led by the spirit.

What should they mean there are a number of answers floating around in many of them are dangerous to the believer as they try to define what it means to be led by the spirit. Some believe spirit leadership comes through some sort of mystical experience some special intimation. Perhaps some voice some unusual feeling. Maybe even divine revelation.

Something in addition to what God is already said you're being led by the spirit. When you have a word from God through the spirit you hear it nobody else does. I think the latest fad coming down the evangelical pipe. As I've mentioned, my staff and in fact I think is less greenhouse classes.

What I believe something that'll be viewed as spirit induced dream dreams from God that will now direct the believer and I've Artie seen some kind of hinting at that. I saw one book already in a Christian bookstore about this subject, but since the New Testament letters of the church say absolutely nothing about receiving dreams from God.

You have to know how to interpret the right is all the shysters and all the hucksters AOI not having to write their books and I can put it into print in the gonna make their dollars and sends all those who will buy it so that you can somehow know how to take this dream from God and make sense of it to put their speculations in the print and the long result of it will be that believers are simply distracted again by one more gimmick, which will take their minds away from the revealed truth of God's word that God has spoken is not nearly as exciting as what God said to me last night my dream, God said to me last night in my dream always will win out over somebody single God is already spoken as far back as the days of Jeremiah. False teachers were leading the people astray by virtue of their dreams. They had and they said they were from God when he read you a paragraph from Jeremiah the said quoting God in the last days, you're going to understand this. I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. I have heard with the prophets of said who prophesy falsely in my name hello is anybody says the name of Jesus doesn't mean that what follows is right. Anybody says something and uses God's name doesn't mean it's right and from God that was happening all the way back in the Old Testament, the prophets are saying. I have had a dream. Is there anything in the heart of the problem prophesies falsehood.

Even these prophets of deception from their own heart who intend to make my people forget my name by these dreams which they relate to one another, the prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has my word speak my word, and truth and ours is not saying God get a dream he saying stick to the word give a dream talent but the one the prophet, the true teacher who has the word of God, tell that I can remember being in an audience of about 5000 people. It was a Sunday service and listening to a church leader a pastor of a large church he was speaking on this text we did open to it was in his particular style, but he he quoted this verse that sounded interesting. He said he that hath a dream, let him tell the dream and then he went on, I began to tell about how God given them dream.

This is 20 years ago. I member sitting there thinking something is odd doesn't sound right. As I found the text that I just read to you and he only quoted the first part of the verse. He that have a dream, let him tell the dream the last part of the verse says, but he the true prophet that hath my word, let him tell my word Jesus goes on to say he says in his word is not my word like fire, declares the Lord Jehovah we know him as Yeshua, Jesus is not my word like fire is not my word like a Hammer which shatters a rock. I am against the prophets who use their tongues and declare the Lord declares I am against those who prophesied falsely and related these dreams and let my people astray. Mother faucet. I did not send them I did not command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit. Remember that when you see a book I want to warn you. The enemy knows that if he can get you to believe the Scriptures are not sufficient for everything you need for godly living. He has won a major victory.

He has made you as vulnerable as Eve in the garden that the word of God no longer matters that the word of God is no longer sufficient that something could be added to it that maybe he didn't say enough of it will be a danger to your life today, primarily in this culture the word of God is no longer settled. The church is now voting its opinion, it's feelings. Individuals in the church at large is voting in its own directions, determining what it will do and what it will believe because the word of God is no longer enough.

That's how you can have as we've been reading a faction within the Episcopalian church voting to put a practicing homosexual into office as an official representative of Jesus Christ on earth who speaks for God. How do you ever get to that point, you get to that point. When you take the word of God. You say it isn't enough. It isn't sophisticated enough, it doesn't address us. We progressed further. Now God surely would have something to say through us all that we would have the passion of the psalmist to pride establish my footsteps in thy word and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me. Or again make me to walk in the path of I word for I delight in it.

Since one of the key roles of the Holy Spirit is to illumine the Scriptures to the mind of the believer being a lad by God's spirit means to be led into the word of God just like our brother earlier this morning testified in the baptistery.

He is being a lad by the Spirit to do what to read the word of God for himself.

Jesus promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come and he says whom the father would send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembers all that I said to you that versus perhaps confusing Alisa was to me when I was in college taking a Bible examination and bring back everything that I heard. I couldn't quite understand it. This is a special significant promise to the apostles, who would become Christ's unique representatives and witnesses to the truth of God. After Christ ascended back to heaven they didn't have the ability to say to an audience. Turnaround is chapter 8 rewriting it.

They didn't have it yet is a God by his spirit brought back to their mind. 3 1/2 years worth of teaching an amazing way.

But this truth does apply in a general sense to the believer who gets in the word of God and finds the spirit of God illuminating its truth to their mind and their life. Paul referred to that in first Corinthians 2, when he wrote the unbelieving man does not accept the things of the spirit of God. They are foolishness to him he cannot understand them. They are spiritually appraised, but he who is spiritual.

That is been brought to life and dwell by the spirit of God appraises all things, for we have the mind of Christ, so that to be led by the spirit of God is to be led into the word of God and furthermore, to be led by the spirit of God is to be led.

In obedience to the word of God.

Paul said, I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not obey the loss of the flesh or like Paul encourage Timothy that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God failed this does the word of God, the very breath of God, and it is profitable for teaching, reproving, correcting, for training in righteousness, that the man of God that the believer may be absolutely totally adequately prepared equipped for every good work you have enough, you have enough. Are you being led by the spirit you could ask it this way, are you being led into the word of God and are you being led to obey the word of God. If you can say yes to that you are being led by the spirit of God. The Greek verb for led I'll go has a number of different nuances as it appears literally hundreds and hundreds of times in the New Testament.

Let me just translate some of them that will give just further nuance to what it means to be led by the word of God or by the spirit of God in a put it in question form. Are you attended by the word. Are you accompanied by the word. Are you driven by the word. Are you pulled tugged by the word. Are you hauled and moved by the word. Are you literally escorted conducted directed. Are you piloted by the word of God, that good Vern appears some 200 times in the Greek Old Testament translation. The Septuagint will have time to even get into it, obviously.

But the very first time is significant as it directs the context of this verb in wonderful ways.

The first time it appears in the Bible is that breathtaking moment when Adam was roused from his deep sleep.

God, having taken a rib from his side and fashioned the woman God now leads Eve to Adam.

There's the verb he leads her to him and introduces her to him. Donald Ray Barnhouse wrote this way is that verb in that very first contacts were to set the stage of the wonderful privilege and precious truth of being led by the spirit of God. He said it this way could not help but look down through the years to that moment when the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon our Jesus Christ, and thereupon the cross of Calvary, he opened up the side of the Lord and from that suffering and death. He created the church of his redeemed people. Yes, the very ride of Christ while for those indwelt by the Spirit of God.

You have been brought as it were to be the bride of Christ and you have the privilege of following somebody new divine leadership the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, Paul goes on to say you're able to belong to someone not only divine leadership but a divine relationship. Look at verse 14. Again, for all who are being led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of God, for you have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption as son. What is it mean to be an adopted son of God.

I could tell you ahead of time. It is a wonderful and beautiful nuance of our redemption to use this word, he begins, of course, by setting the stage by telling us because of our adoption. We have received the spirit of fear with her little bit of that kind of testimony, the kind of guilt and fear that your never measuring up.

But somehow, those scales never tip in the right direction. This is what Paul is saying you'll have that spirit of fear. You will have to measure up to all of the law.

You are accepted by God on the basis of your adoption as a son.

What is it mean to be adopted. We typically think in our American culture of what happens when we adopt a child. We take a child from one family or an orphan who has no biological family.

Caring for him and we place them in our family, but the word adoption is a little different in the word of God.

In fact, it has a little bit of a different nuance or meaning.

The word adoption is rare. In fact, it's never used in the Old Testament because Jews didn't adopt it in the.because that other practices and social systems for those who are orphan and those rights of inheritance, but the word adoption appears five times in the New Testament, three of which are in the book of Romans and we think of the word adoption.

We often think just of our own culture, but Paul had a Roman adoption in mind and every Roman son went through a ceremony of adoption. Every Roman father adopted in the special ceremony. His son and this was a special ceremony whereby this son was in ducted into manhood. It was a ceremony where he was given the full rights of his Roman citizenship. It was bestowed upon that young man at his adoption.

Likewise, by saying that we are the adopted sons of God.

We have received at a median conversion by faith to Jesus Christ the full rights of our citizenship in heaven.

It isn't just for the wanted men say for five years or 10 years or 15 years and if I grope long enough that I get security then go to heaven or maybe I'll get the inheritance of the father.

Maybe after doing these things are no right away, at conversion, you are adopted. That's one of the many things that happens when you come to faith in Christ and you have been given the full rights. One of the rights has to do with inheriting the father's fortune.

That's why a little later on in verse 17 Paul talks about becoming a co-heir with Jesus Christ. He's thinking of a Roman ceremony of adoption, whereby the sun is able to inherit his father's fortune, so also being adopted into God's family. Paul is telling us that we will inherit our father's fortune. Can you imagine we are wealthy beyond imagination.

We experience only a little bit of it now but we will have all of paradise in the presence of our Lord and everything imaginable and our wealth will be so great that gold will be paid. There's also the use of the word adoption for the transference of one child into another and it happened in Roman culture and Paul I think had this in mind as well in a Roman adoption in this typical sense that we think of several things happen number one.

The adopted person lost all rights to his old family and more importantly the old family lost all of its rights to the sun, they couldn't come along later and say will now we really want you to come back and bail us out. What we really want to come back and continue our name know they lost at that adoption ceremony. All rights to that child. He literally is at work got a new father by law, the old life of the adopted person was completely wiped out infective if they were older when they were adopted, whatever debts they were all canceled out at adoption and in the ceremony. The adopted son received again the right to carry on the name of his new family. They were literally viewed as if they were biological children of the ones with adopted there's an illustration in Roman history that gives us how this ceremony was considered so complete, so legally binding, the Emperor Claudius adopted Nero. We don't know what he saw Nero but he adopted Nero he wanted Nero to sit upon his throne, and so we adopted in this kind of ceremony, Claudius had a daughter by birth biological daughter named Octavia and Nero decided that it be a good idea to marry Octavia to strengthen his grip on the throne because you'd be married to the biological daughter of the proceeding up and so he wanted to marry her but because of Roman law, considering them now brother and sister. The Roman Senate had to convene and make a special exemption of the law to Nero so that he could marry the one that everyone now viewed as if she were his biological. It's as if they were blood related.

Only Paul just wanted to say is not significant in the fact that we refer to each other as brothers and sisters, we use the term rather lightly.

Don't wait in the mind of God. He was adopted us. It's as if we were literally related by blood, so treat your sisters right preacher brothers right in the mind of God. It's as if you were born to the same parents. And so in the mind of Paul as he gives us this great truth.

He tells us that we been adopted by God. What did God see in us what would he see in us, we would save a lot of what Claudius would see in the role God see in us knows our hearts and yet he took us sinful poverty stricken, helpless, lost debt laden sinners and he adopted us into his own family so that all of our sinful debts were canceled out of the inheritance of heaven is now all our because the spirit of God is the hand inside the glove activating the glove of our lives.

We are now able to follow somebody new were now able to belong to somebody new and let me be one more were able to speak to someone new. Not only do we have divine leadership and a divine relationship. We can experience divine worship look at the latter part of verse 15 again you've received the spirit of adoption whereby or by which we cry out what said Abba father said again Abba father.

You just said something that no Jew would ever say you've said something new, no Jew would ever address God as father. By the time of our Lord and even buying, of course.

Beyond that, the time of the apostle Paul names of God within the community of Jews were no longer even being spoken. They were being withheld more and more from public speech and even from prayers in the writing or the copying of Scripture by this time when a scribe reached the name of God in the Old Testament record delay is Quil Downey going to wash his hands thoroughly need come back any. He picked up a special quell any right the name of the consonants of God and replace the special Quil backing pick up his old cloning continue on through the tax they had such an incredible reverence for the name of God, and that's a good part of and I would encourage you to have great reverence for the names of God. Don't use the names of God with a trite spirit. Don't say oh my GLD's name shouldn't be used as some sort of exclamation like that.

Treated with great reverence. We can learn that from them. The sad part is that they had great reverence.

It was great distance from this God, but the spirit of God would change all that, because of Christ's atoning death and the spiritual creation of spiritual life and those who trust in Christ alone. The Christian can now call God father is fascinating to discover the Jesus Christ in the New Testament always spoke of God as his father use that address and all of his prayers, which is another good sign for us to speak with intimacy. As we approach and he never prayed to God.

He always prayed to the father except for one time only, and now is his cry from the cross right when he cried out, and he said my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, but that only proves and strengthens this point, the prayer that one in particular came from the lips of our Lord. At the moment in which he was made sin for us, and that intimacy was broken.

That fellowship was set aside so he would refer to him as God no longer the intimacy that he had prayed earlier in the garden when he said to his father Bob father, our Lord taught his disciples to pray with this kind of intimate confidence. They taught them to pray in this model prayer by beginning with our what our father know what is Abba me with the word father is simply the Greek word translated into English father Abba is the Aramaic expression which simply means father. They both mean the same thing. The only difference is the fact that Abba is the address of small children to their fathers. It was common in this day the Jewish Talmud confirms that when a child was weaned. He or she would learn how to say the words Abba and Emma, daddy and mommy Poppa and mama so there is a radically new intimate approach to God. No Jew would ever consider addressing God as his father and he would considered blasphemous presumption to ever enter God's presence and call him pop when they are put together.

They show both intimacy and respect.

This is saying something entirely new. God and by what right left right. The indwelling occupying, enabling person of the Holy Spirit who was brought us to life. So this winter if it ever comes every time you put on your gloves.

I trust you will never look at your gloves the same again, but you will be reminded of the principle of God's Spirit indwelling.

You activating in you.

These wonderful truths. By the way of these gloves could talk, they never think of saying to me, I'll go alone today. I don't need you anymore.

Furthermore, they would never grit their teeth that they had a and complainant got a get out of the one causing glutton of the codesimply surrender to the hand that indwells them and by yielding to the indwelling movement and direction of the Holy Spirit like a glove yields to the hand is action is in a way, simply hand wisdom from the heart. Today's lesson is called hand in glove and it's the eighth and final lesson in the series entitled the war within. If you have a comment or question, or would like more information you can send us an email if you address it to info@wisdomonline.org will add your question in Stephen's answer to our collection once again that email address is info@wisdomonline.org starting tomorrow were to shift our focus to the Christmas season make plans to be with us this same time tomorrow right here on wisdom