How are you? Five of you. That’s good. If you’ve got a Bible, go ahead and go with me to Romans chapter eight, we’re going to continue our series. Just a little bit of housekeeping time for me to eat some humble pie. I’ll give you a little bit of back story. By the way, humble pie is always healthy for the Christian, so I hate to do it publicly, but I have to. 10 years ago, when I came to Sherman Bible, I had studied from the NASB for 30 years, and since that time I came this church was in the ESV. And so, I transitioned. I was a much younger man, and I got my brain to finally start thinking, dreaming, meditating upon ESV. So, I’ve logged in the 10 years, if you just do the math, it’s just over 12,000 hours of study time. And that doesn’t include my personal reading, and I’ve been in ESVs. That’s what I’ve been doing. And I cross reference into LSB and NASB. And what I found when I got up here and I said, “Hey, we’re going to teach out of LSB from now on” is I was actually lying. I meant well. It wasn’t lie. But I just can’t pull it off. I find it’s a distraction in the pulpit and that I go to look and I’m usually, I don’t really read the verse. I don’t know if you know that, I know what it says, and I’ve been in it enough to where I’m really just getting a prompt, or sometimes I’m just going right from memory, and when I look down and I see different letters and words in different order, I get a little stumbled. And so sorry, old dog, no more new tricks. I’m going to teach with ESV. Please don’t let that make you stumble. It’s a wonderful translation. It’s literal. And LSB, ESV and NASB, I commend them to you. They’re all completely suitable. Hey, and if you went out and you bought an LSB Bible, good for you.
Okay? Title of the message is “Evidence Of The Spirit’s Leading” (Romans 8:12-14). “Evidence Of The Spirit’s Leading”. Again, we’re in Romans eight. And what’s the theme of Romans eight? It’s the assurance of the believer that they are in Christ, and that Christ is going to see you all the way through by His Spirit to the very end. He began it, and He’ll take you that way. That’s why it begins. “No condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus,” right? So, let’s pick it up. That being the theme right here, I’m going to start in verse nine. Can’t recover all the weeks gone past, but we want to see it in context. “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.” And here’s the “if” that matters, right? It’s talking about two natures. “If, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin.” Right? It will eventually go on the ground. “Yet the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Not your righteousness, but Jesus’. It’s a life freely given, and that’s at regeneration. He goes on verse 11, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ, Jesus from the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” That doesn’t mean the here and now. That’s talking about the resurrection otherwise you wouldn’t get sick and you would never die. And all the faith teachers and the faith healers would be telling the truth, and we know they’re not. How do we know that? Because many of them wear glasses. Anyway, verse, right? Verse 12. “So then, brothers, we are debtors.” And now we come into our text, 12, 13, to 14. “We are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.” Okay, so when it says we’re “debtors”, who are we indebted to? We’re indebted to the Holy Spirit. We’re indebted to Christ. We’re indebted to our Heavenly Father. We’re not indebted to this old man. We’re indebted to the one who’s rescued us from our sin. Verse 13. And then here’s the verse. This gets cherry picked and misunderstood more often than maybe almost any other verse in the book of Romans. If you just take this at only face value and you don’t understand the context. Okay, it says, “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.” If you don’t understand that in context, and if you don’t understand how the verbs are to be parsed and thus understood in the Greek, you’re going to think this says, “If you live bad, you’re going to die. If you live good, you’re going to live it.” Doesn’t mean that these are two conditions, two separate natures, one an unbeliever, and the other a believer. It’s been the same theme we’ve been going through since we got into eight. It’s talking about two different natures. And so, when you see this word, “if you live” this is in the present tense in the Greek. What does that mean? That means habitual, nonstop, headlong, ongoing, unrepentant. In other words, it’s what you do all the time. Who does that describe? It describes an unregenerate person. That’s who this is talking about. So, “For if you live according to flesh, you will die.” And what death is this referring to? This is the lake of fire. This is eternal damnation after that second resurrection, right? So that’s referring to the nature of an unbeliever. “But if by the Spirit you put to death.” Notice it’s “by the Spirit that you put to death.” It could be or you’re putting to death the deeds of the body. “You will live.” “You will live.” Who’s that referring to? That’s referring to a true Christian. And you say, “But you don’t understand, I go through these times and I have these stumbles and I have these struggles where it feels like I’m not submitted to the Spirit. It feels like I’m not putting to death the deeds of the body. In fact, sometimes I stumble and I yield to them and I sin.” Right? That’s Romans seven. This is talking about the Holy Spirit’s work that you start bearing that fruit. Because if the Holy Spirit is in you, the Holy Spirit is leading you to put to death the deeds of the body. It’s not perfect yet. That’s why it’s sanctification. It’s a process, okay? And so, the Spirit is the one doing that. There’s no such thing as a true Christian that does not have this happening. And it doesn’t mean it’s perfect, but there’s some fruit starts to be born. Why? Because the Holy Spirit’s living and active. You have a new life in God. So, it’s talking about two different natures.
Then in verse 14, look at verse 14. This is a key here. It says this, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God, are the sons of God.” This is present, passive indicative. It’s present meaning that it’s already been accomplished. It’s passive, meaning it’s something you’ve received. It’s not something that you’re doing. And it’s indicative in that it’s just simply a statement of fact. This doesn’t say you’re a son of God. If you manage to get yourself led by the Spirit, it doesn’t mean that. That’s not what it means. It means if you’re led by the Spirit, you are the Son of God. You could reverse the language. You could say everyone who’s the Son of God is led by the Spirit. That’s right, because this is something that has happened to you. It’s not something that you do. If that was the case, this would not be passive, it would be actually active, and it would not be indicative. It would be in the imperative verb. It would be something that you have to get about. What is God doing? He’s giving us assurance that what? That the Holy Spirit is at work inside the real believer, and He’s going to accomplish His glorious will of conforming you and I as believers more and more into the image of Jesus Christ. That’s a sharp assurance.
So, the question then comes, then, if I’m going to have assurance, how do I see the Spirit leading me? Now, let me just let you know this is not going to be talking about Him leading you to the correct lottery numbers. Oh, darn. Now, does the Spirit guide us in practical choices? Yes, He does. He absolutely does. He does that by the means of His Word. But theologically speaking, there are two subheadings of the leadership of the Holy Spirit. And basically, everything else falls under these two subheadings. Two subheadings, number and they’re gonna be our two points. Number one is illumination. Number two is sanctification. Illumination and sanctification. That’s what He’s doing. If the Spirit of God is leading you, this is how He’s leading you, and you can see this in your life. This is a good kind of a good heart, check for all of us, right to ask, “Well, is this happening in me?” Well, let’s take these one at a time.
Here’s
1. Illumination
So, when we say “illumination”, what are we talking about? That means you’re able to see and understand gradually as you grow God’s Word, He illuminates the scriptures for you. He allows you to see clearly. Now this always begins with the same start. It’s 1 Peter 2:2, “Like a newborn infant, sincerely desire that sincere milk of the word,” right? What you find is, as soon as someone’s regenerate, they want the Word of God. Doesn’t mean they want it perfectly. It doesn’t mean they want it consistently, but there’s a desire in them for the Word of God. They want to hear it, they want to know it, and they want to understand it. Okay? The Holy Spirit is the one who does this. He allows you to understand the Word of God. That’s what illumination is. Now think about this. When you come into a room, if the lights are all turned off, like in here, there’s no windows, you come in and you can’t see anything. And just because you can’t see anything, you might think there’s nothing in the room. Well, that’s basically the picture of an unbeliever. You tell them about the Bible, and they can’t see anything. Why? The light’s not turned on yet. But when the lights go on and the Spirit does that, it’s the Holy Spirit’s work, the lights go on and suddenly you see, and you’re like, “Oh, I didn’t know all this was here.” Well, it already was, but you were blind to it. The light was not turned on. You were not regenerated yet. But when the Spirit goes to work. He allows you to understand the Bible, not just to let it go in your ear, but for you to have a heart that’s prepared to catch that seed like soil. That’s what Jesus talked about, and then it would bear up good fruit, 30, 60, and 100 fold. He allows you to discern it.
So, here’s a great prayer for you. If you wonder, how should I pray? This is the prayer. This is Psalm 119:18, basic memorization. You should know this verse, “Open my eyes.” The Psalmist prays, “Open my eyes.” Now, what eyes is he talking about? Is that his eyeballs? No, it’s the eyes of his heart. It’s his inner man. It’s his spirit. “Open my eyes that I can (what?) that I can behold (what?) wondrous things out of your law.” You know what that means? That means if He doesn’t open your eyes, you can’t behold. You can’t see. Now this does not happen in one fell swoop. It’s not like you become a Christian and then the Holy Spirit just does a dynamic, immediate thing, and boom, you understand the Word of God in its complete context, all of its authority, all of its sufficiency, all of its inerrancy, and you understand all of its analogous nature and you know every single thing there is. That doesn’t mean that, but it starts there, starts with a hunger, and then you grow in your understanding, this is God’s will for you, and so this prayer is always answered in the affirmative. If you pray this prayer, this is a great prayer, He will open your eyes and you’ll start to see. But you can pick up a Bible from dusk till dawn, and if the Holy Spirit’s not helping you, it’s not going to be effective. I can tell you this. You can hear preaching from dusk till dawn. Don’t worry, you won’t. That’s not a threat. But it won’t benefit you. It’s not from the mind of a man that does you any good. It’s from the Spirit of God. The Bible is a spiritual book, breathed out by a Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and it resonates and bears fruit when it enters into the spirit in a man. Yes, it goes through the cognition. It certainly does, but it’s of no effect, no efficacy, unless the Spirit goes to work. That’s why He is actually our teacher.
John 14:25-26 Jesus says it this way to the disciples, “‘These things I’ve spoken to you while I am still with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name (look at this) He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.’” Now, is this specific, in this instance, to the apostles? Sure it is, but it’s by extension to all believers. Why? Because it identifies the Holy Spirit’s the true teacher. That’s what we need to know. How does He do it? He illuminates the Word of God. Now does He use creaturely means? Sure He does. You can read a paper Bible. You can read an electronic Bible these days, right? He uses the creaturely means of teachers, of scholars, of commentators. I get it, but ultimately, who’s bringing the increase? Well, we can plant, we can water, but it’s God who brings the increase. Why is that important? God gets the glory. He is the one deserving of it, and the only one. John 16:12-13. He says, “‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot (look at this, you can’t handle the truth, right? Y’all know? you can’t) bear.’” What does that mean? It means it’s too weighty. It’s too heavy, it’s too awesome, it’s too fearful for you to be able to drink in. Why was He telling them that? Because at that point they didn’t have the teacher inside of them. They couldn’t bear it. Spiritual words from a Spirit to spiritual people. It’s what’s required. But He promises this in verse 13, “‘When the Spirit comes, He will guide you (guide you where?) into all the truth.’” What’s the truth? It’s the Scripture. He’ll illuminate it. That means, when you open it, or when you hear it, it’ll start to make sense. It starts to click. You start to get it. Your eyes come off of other things, and it starts to be focused more and more on Jesus Christ. Now, does that happen overnight? No, it’s a process of discipleship as God’s working in you to turn on those lights. And He goes on there, He says, “‘For He will not speak on His own authority (but whatever He hears Me speak) whatever He hears He will speak, and He will (what?) He will declare to you the things that are to come.’” He’ll talk to you. He’ll minister to you. Is it in human English words? No, it’s not. It’s deep down inside. And as the scripture is exposed to you, you’ll have a resonation with it. By the way, it’s a safe bet that the Holy Spirit wants you in this church. Why? Well, you’re here hearing the Word, and if this bums you out, that might be an indicator of who you aren’t. But if hearing God’s Word taught in its proper context, and you’re starting to understand what it says means by what it says, and how it applies to your life and finished work in the person of Jesus, I’ll tell you what that’s evidence of something in you. That’s not a good moral upbringing that does that. There are good, moral people that would reject the Word of God. Now, why would they do that? Well, because illumination is an interesting thing, isn’t it? When you turn on the lights, you do get to see more about God, don’t you? But you also see more about you. Yeah, not your neighbor, not your enemy, not your spouse. Hopefully, those aren’t the same thing. You see more about you. And people say, “Well, I do want to know the Bible,” but what they really mean is they just want a few memory verses to encourage them while they do whatever they want. But when we have the whole council of God’s Word, it also shows us, us theologically, it’s called anthropology, right? It is a theological over overarching term as well. You start to learn, “Oh no, it’s not about me. There is a God. I’m not Him. Oh, oh no, I’m in sin. Oh, I deserve death and hell in that order. Oh, but look, there’s a Savior.” And then continuing through your discipleship, the Word of God points out your flaws, so people try to push back on that, and they’ll resist the Holy Spirit. Let’s not be that.
Luke 24 look at 44 through 45, Luke 24:44-45, after the resurrection. This is right. “And then He said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and Psalms must be fulfilled.’” What is He showing us here? This is very simple. The Old Testament is all about Jesus Christ. Now it is literal, grammatical and historical. No question. But every single story and verse and doctrine in the Old Testament is either about Jesus Christ or pointing to your need for Jesus Christ, needing a Savior, needing a better Moses, needing a better David, needing a better Samson, needing a better Nehemiah. How do you know? Because all those guys are dead, we needed a better Prophet, Priest and King. He says, all this is about Me. You say, “Wow. How can they comprehend that?” Well, their minds had to be opened. Look at the next verse. “Then He (that’s Jesus) opened their minds (to what?) to understand Scripture.” What is that? That’s the big guy. That’s illumination. You say, “Why? I thought you said that the Holy Spirit does it?” Right. He does it now. He does it right now but He’s not doing it here. Why? Because He’s not been given yet. Acts chapter two, I didn’t know if you know this, it’s after Luke. Both were penned by Luke, but it came later, and the Holy Spirit was given. And Jesus says, “It’s better for you if I go away, because then I’ll send the Spirit. But if I don’t go away, I won’t send the Spirit.” So, He sends the Spirit. Now the Spirit is the one who does this. He opens our minds to understand the scriptures. This is exciting, people, especially if you’ve seen a little bit, and then you have those times where you go, “Oh my gosh, I see a little bit more.” And maybe there was something in your life that that created some like some darkness and you couldn’t see as well as you wanted to, and now you see better than you used to. Your eyes are progressively being opened. That’s the Holy Spirit doing that. It’s always an amen. It’s always a yes to that. He opens the mind. He opens their hearts. 1 Corinthians 2:9-14 says, “But as it is written, (this is Old Testament quote, right?) ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.’” Look at that. No eyes seen, no ear is heard. In other words, it’s not known. But look at verse 10, “These things God has revealed.” And how did He do it? How did He illuminate it? “Through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” Therefore if you see it, it’s because the Holy Spirit showed it to you. This is illumination. This is how you grow in any knowledge. This is how you grow in in the revelation of His Word. It’s not new things that you need to be looking for. It’s old things that you’ve yet to see. You see that? He goes on verse 11, “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” Now we watch this, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world.” That’s talking about a Christian not the spirit of the world, “But the Spirit who is from God (look, this is the Spirit who is from God that we might what?) that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” Then where are those written down? It’s in the Bible. It’s the illumination of the verses. It’s when you start putting it together, it starts making sense. Christ becomes glorified. You start humbling yourself more and more, because you see who you really are. And then contrast is clarity. Thus, God gets all the glory. And as you begin to grow and grow and grow, you’re not taking credit for it. It’s because the Spirit’s doing the work. Now watch how we contrast this, and keep going. Look at verse 13, “And we impart this in words.” So, he’s talking about teachers. “We impart this in words, not taught by (look not taught by) human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit.” How does that work? It’s the key to exposition right here, “Interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” What does that mean? Means they’re regenerate. That means we’re teaching the Word of God in it’s proper context. It’s not a human wisdom. It’s not a bunch of life hacks. You don’t need my opinions of things. You need the exposure to the scriptures. The mind of man can’t profit you. You need the Word of God. That’s what will bring the change. Now it’s possible that maybe somebody might be more distracting than another person, but the vessel is what matters. It’s substance that’s inside of it. If God doesn’t bring the increase, we labor in vain. And then finally, look at verse 14, “The natural person (what is he talking about? That’s an unsaved person) natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.” What does that mean? It means he does not believe the Bible. He won’t, he can’t. He’s blind to it. Now, let me help you with this. This is a great relief for you as a witness for Jesus Christ. You don’t have to convince anybody that the Bible’s true. Isn’t that good? It’s not your job. You know, when I share Christ with people, I always say, “The Bible says this, Bible says that.” And some people go, “I don’t believe the Bible.” I’m like, “Oh, well, that’s your problem.” Like, well, and then they want to get into a debate. “Well, I think it was written by men. I think it was this and that. And, you know, this is full of contradictions.” And, I mean, they’re spewing ignorance, I know, but I’m not going to tell them that. I’m just simply going to say, “Hey, I can’t convince you. The Holy Spirit has to do that. What I would encourage you is to read it, really read it,” and then I keep quoting the scripture to them, because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ, you see? But they can’t receive it. They’re not going to believe it’s true. That doesn’t mean we don’t quote it. That means we do. That’s the motivation for it. They can’t receive it. Why they don’t receive the things of God? “For they are folly to him, and he’s (what? he is) not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” You can’t spiritually discern something if your spirit’s dead. You see it? The Holy Spirit is the one who does the illumination. He’s the one that allows us to see.
Ephesians 1:16-18. This is a great prayer. “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers (watch the prayer, you want to know if what the Apostle prayed for you? Here it is) that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit (the spirit of what?) of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” He illuminates. It turns on the light. “Having (look at this, having) the eyes of your hearts enlightened.” Sounds like Psalm 119:18, doesn’t it? Have you memorized it yet? Right. “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your law.” There’s the answer to that prayer that He would do that, “That the eyes of your heart would be enlightened, so that you may know (what? now watch, watch what you know, think about this) what is the hope to which He has called you.” Think about that, eternal life in Christ. “What are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.” I mean that is such a monster of truth, that if you are missing that, basically, what are you missing? You’re missing assurance. You’re missing the forward thoughtfulness of the disciple. Disciple, well, a well-trained disciple, does three things. He’s always looking back at the cross. He’s always focused on the glory of God in the present. And he’s always looking forward to the glorious resurrection and the return of Christ. If you’re here and you’re not a believer, oh, you’re missing out, the water’s warm. Come on in Ephesians 3:16-19. Another prayer that, “According to the riches of His glory, He may grant you to be (what? look at this) strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being.” Now, what does that look like? Does that mean you go walking around? You go walking through Walmart. You’re like, “I’m strengthened with power.” Somebody says, “How you doing?” “I’m strengthened with power.” “How are you doing?” “Bless God. Too blessed to be stressed.” No, “Strengthened with power in your inner being.” Look verse 17, “So that (look) Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (that’s you growing in your faith through the Word that you) being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend.” What? Comprehend what? The Word. Do you know it takes spiritual mind to comprehend the Word? Do you know you have to endure sound doctrine? Do you know there’s a time coming and welcome we’re there when people will no longer endure sound teaching but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will assemble or gather for themselves false teachers in accordance with their own lustful desires. We see that everywhere. I mean, I don’t know what’s up with you guys. You come here. I yell at you out of the Bible, and you’re like, “Thanks.” That’s got to be the Holy Spirit, or you have the worst hobby in the world, like man, you know you could sleep in, you realize that? No, but God’s done something. You are “Strengthened by the Spirit to be able to comprehend (look) with all the saints.” Look, there’s no super saints. There’s no tier one, two and three without comprehend with all the saints, every real saint is growing in that understanding, as long as they’re exposed to it. What is “The breadth and the length and the height and the depth and to know (what? to know) the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” What is that? That’s illumination. And the more it’s illuminated, the more assurance you have. All those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. This should just comfort you. If you’re here and you say, “Well, I don’t know, I’m not very advanced.” Right? Guess what? Even if you say that, that’s an illumination. You say, “Well, I just feel like I’m learning and I’m growing in something.” That’s illumination, that’s the Holy Spirit doing that. That’s not some art of some human being. The Spirit’s giving you light. He’s letting you see. You know what? That should speak to your heart. Well, if He’s working in me, He’s going to finish what He started. That should bring assurance to you as you stumble and struggle and fail and sin in Romans seven, you ever look and go, “Yeah, but I still have a heart for His Word. I still want to know the truth. I don’t want to be put in the dark.” Well, those are two greatest prayers, “God, open my eyes and please don’t leave me where I am.” Those are good prayers, speaking of leaving you where you are or not.
Here’s
2. Sanctification
Sanctification. So here, if illumination is understanding God’s Word, a desire and an understanding of God’s Word, and that’s the Spirit doing that, sanctification is a submitting to the Word. It’s a coming under the Word. It’s not just the hearing, it’s the doing, right? What does James say, “Don’t be hearers, only deceiving yourself, be doers.” So that’s what this is talking about. And you say, “Well, wait a minute. Now it’s my turn?” No, no, no, no. What we’re going to see is that the roots of your sanctification are from God Himself. The roots of it now the fruit is going to be produced from that root. Now, do you have a part to play in that? You do, but Romans eight isn’t talking about that yet. It’s just not. That’s why the tense of the verbs is so important. We’ll get to the imperatives. There’s a lot of them, chapters 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. Tons of imperatives. But this will be the fuel for you to say, “Okay, I know what I’m supposed to do, and then I see myself stumble. Oh, but wait. I can remember Romans seven. This is common to the disciple. Oh, I can remember Romans eight. I have assurance, and I’m secure in Him.” And then you can do what? You can repent, you can believe, and you can keep on growing. That’s what sanctification is. This is the Spirit’s ministry. If you’re experiencing this, you’re being led Colossians 1:9-10. “And so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be (what? this is so good) filled with the knowledge (of what?) of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Spiritual meaning, what? It has to be discerned spiritually. Meaning, if It’s not discerned spiritually, it’s just going to be a bunch of how tos, because you can be a moralist, you can beat people over the head, particularly with some verses in the Old Testament. I mean, you know, the Word of God is a sword, and it’s sharp, but only if you use the sharp side, you take the broad side, you knock people out, right? This is designed to cut it and simultaneously heal. That’s what this is talking about. So that that will happen. Look at the next verse, “So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” You see the progression? The Holy Spirit does what He does, and then “So as to walk (He does His work, and you cooperate) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing (what? Fruit) fruit of the Spirit, and every good work increasing in the knowledge of God.” So, it’s reciprocal, right? It’s cyclical. It goes around and around. You grow in knowledge, you bear more fruit, you grow in wisdom, you bear more fruit. The more you’re seeing Jesus, the more like Him you’re becoming.
This is what Ezekiel prophesied in Ezekiel 36:26-27, God says, “And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put in you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” And as a result of Him doing that, now think about this, a new heart and a new spirit, right? Here’s what is the result. Look at the next verse, “And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” People look at that. They go, “‘Cause me?’ Oh, I’m not going to be a robot. Nobody’s going to make me.” He’s not talking about a robot. He gives you a new heart, He gives you a new spirit. And guess what you want to do? You want to do this. He causes it by changing your heart. You ever given ice cream to a young baby? Not really young. Don’t email me your health stuff. Okay? You ever give an ice cream to I don’t know what the appropriate age might be a 10 month old, Kelly’s the baby expert. They get a revelation. It’s like an illumination goes off in their face. Put it on their finger, and you put there, and they’re like, “Oh, right.” They’ve been illuminated to the wonders of ice cream. Now, once that’s settled in them, are you ever going to have to force them to want ice cream? No, no, and you think, “Oh, that’s not good. You shouldn’t give the kid that much sugar.” Listen to me, ice cream is actually healthy. I want you to think, let’s go, root to fruit, right? Ice cream comes from milk. Milk comes from cows. Cows eat grass. Ice cream is salad. There. Ice cream sales in Grayson County soar. Maybe you’re new, you go, “Why do we laugh sometimes like that?” Here’s why, because the weight of what’s happening in this is a solid joy, and sometimes we want to give a little relief to that, and it keeps you from sending me mean emails about my health. So, He says, “I’ll do that.” And how will we do that? Well, He’ll sanctify us. How will He do it? He’ll do it through the Word. And again, it’s cyclical. Look at John 17:17. “Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.” What about Philippians? Philippians 2:12-13? “Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Now this word does not mean that you’re going to save yourself. It means you’re going to see it through all the way to the end, along with what God does. And the next verse tells you why, though, by the way, this word is katergazomai your ergo is in that. Yes, I that’s an actual Greek term, katergazomai. So might you hear the ergon in that? So you’re gonna see it to completion. But guess who’s doing the work? Look at the next verse, “For it is God who works (where does He work? He works) in you (what does He work to want to?) both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” In other words, He puts a new spirit, a new heart, in you, and your wanter changes the more He’s working in you. Many are led by the Spirit of God. These are the sons of God. Is this happening in your life? Then you belong to Him. And that’s a deep assurance.
Galatians 5:22-23, I know you know this, “But the fruit of the Spirit (I know we’ve nailed all these, right?) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (flip over) gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law.” Now, what are those? Those are fruits. They don’t come from a factory. It’s not the working thing you’re doing. It’s what the Spirit’s doing. He’ll create that. Can you grieve Him? Yes. Can you quench Him? Yes. Can you resist Him? Yes. But ultimately, He’s going to win. He is committed to your sanctification. Let’s pause for effect. I hate it when I hear people swallow. I don’t know if I’m allergic to Grayson County or 40 mile an hour winds. Okay, so, yeah, yes. So what?
Let’s understand and sum it up, right? He’s illuminating the Word of God, which is, what? How He sanctifies you. And so, the illumination leads to the sanctification, and within the sanctification, you’re not always going to cooperate, right? Amen. Thank you, sir. One person in here is aware of his actual condition. If you’ve raised a kid, you’ve had that kid at some point say this, “No”, and then you’re like, “Oh”, and the other brothers and sisters are like, “Father, they may not survive.” And when you don’t cooperate, what does the Holy Spirit do? Does He give up? Does He go, “Well, I tried You know, I got to leave him where he is”? No. What does He do? He takes you to a place of discipline so that He can continue. And discipline is part of sanctification, and as He’s working that in you. Whether it’s corrective in your quiet time, you know, you get alone, you read the Bible, you’re going to prayer, and the Holy Spirit convicts you. “Hey, look how you spoke to that person,” or “look how you drove through that parking lot.” I’m not the one convicting you. It’s the Spirit. And what do you do? That’s corrective discipline. And you say, “Lord, forgive me based upon the finished work of Christ. Thank You that You’ll cleanse me and forgive me, Lord, as I confess it to You.” Or if you don’t do that, what does He do? He can step it up, and through creaturely means, He can bring about a change in your heart by humbling you. You’re going to see these two together. It’s going to be illumination and then sanctification.
I want to show you the progression in one key set of verses, ten to be exact. This is Hebrews 12:1-10. By the way, this is what? The purit. This did not originate here by any means. Puritans used to call this. What is it? Vivification and mortification. In other words, you’re seeing God in Christ through the Scripture, and you’re fixing your eyes on Him in the Word of God, and therefore, consequently, you’re able to put those things to death through His sanctification and your cooperation in that but if not, then it’s discipline. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us. (Look at the next statement) Looking to Jesus.” “Fixing our eyes on Jesus,” King James, right? Being fixated with Him. In other words, vivification, or what we would say, illumination. We’re seeing Him in Scripture. There’s no other way for you to fix your eyes on Jesus. You can think on Him, but it’s going to be the Bible that you’re thinking about if you’re thinking about Him rightly. Otherwise, you have imaginations, right? And you end up watching “The Chosen” or was it called “The Chosen”? And then your doctrine gets all messed up, and we got to come back in here and fix it. Yeah. Okay. Well, he doesn’t like “The Chosen”? You’re thinking, “what?” Are y’all watching “The Chosen”? Stop it. That’s not a picture of Jesus Christ. That’s a perversion of it. Don’t do that. I didn’t even yell at the first service. See? You got me sidetracked. “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Look at the next word, “Consider” (again, that’s illumination) Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself so that you may not grow weary or faint hearted.” Now we get a contextual shift, “In your struggle against sin. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” It’s true, isn’t it? Have you suffered as our Lord did in the garden yet? No, you haven’t, neither have I. But that’s the context, “And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as (does this word look familiar? as) sons.” Many are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. “You’ve forgotten the exhortation (of what?) ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or be weary when reproved by Him.’” What is that? That’s sanctification. You’re dragging it, you’re resisting it, you’re grieving Him. And what does He do? He comes to discipline His child. Wonder how many He disciplines? It says verse six, “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves and chastises every son whom He receives.” This is the leading of the Spirit. This is actual Romans 8:14, it’s what it’s really referring to. It’s not you flopping on the ground, barking like a dog and yelling gibberish. It’s not you walking around, you know, working these miracles, acting like you’ve been given some supernatural power. There is a supernatural power. It’s working in you, and it’ll work through you, through the fruit of the Spirit. This is the real work that He does as He conforms you more and more. And, by the way, this should comfort you. This should comfort you that He’s that committed to you. It’s not well, you know what? That’s it. Some of you have a picture of God that He’s kind of standing over you like this, and He’s looking at you, and He’s just going, “Just do it one more time. Do it one more time.” He’s not like that. But He does have a rod, and it is big enough for every backside. Verse seven, “It is for discipline that you have to endure, God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” Right? And then you go to Walmart and you see him, but God does discipline His kids. “If you are left without discipline in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” Many are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. “Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? 12 and 13 and 8, “For they disciplined us for a short time, as it seemed best to them. But He (that’s God) disciplines us for our (what? He does it for our) good that we may share His holiness.” In other words, start to live more and more in conformity to His character, not our old character. This is the work of the Spirit, illumination, sanctification, and everything else is happening underneath those two subheadings. That’s the Christian growing.
Again, Romans 8:14, we’ll end, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.” Here’s the question: are you experiencing this? And if your answer is “yes”, that’s who you are. That’s a deep assurance. Again, it’s not a sinless perfection. It’s not a perfect way of guidance. You’re oftentimes the problem. Well, if there is a problem in your relationship with God, it’s you, but He’s at work to will and to do for His good pleasure, and He’s committed to it. What great assurance we have.
KEYWORDS
Holy Spirit, Illumination, Sanctification, Romans 8, Assurance, Believer, Spirit’s Leading, Regeneration, Resurrection, Fruit Of The Spirit, Spiritual Discernment, Discipline, Teaching, Word Of God, Teacher, Helper, Truth, Anthropology, Katergazomai, Ergon, Fruit, Bible Church, Churches In Grayson County
Speaker
Steve LeBlanc