BY
PASTOR MIKE TAYLOR
“Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not,
because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”(1st John 3:1-3)
Romans
8:
4 “For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God.
15 For
ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God:
17 And
if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;
if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together.” (Romans 8:4, 15-16)
Of
all the passages that Paul wrote, Romans chapter 8 remains one of my
favorites. And the Apostle John confirms what Paul spoke of in this
glorious chapter. The chapter is full of promises to the children of
God. When I look at these particular passages, I become almost awe
struck at its implications that speak of the plans that God has for
each of His children. But let this passages sink in for a moment as
you meditate on its deep meaning. “Heirs and joint-heirs with
Christ” and we will be “like Christ” is what Paul and John
under the Holy Spirit's direction wrote. What does this mean to the
believer.?
I wrote about this very fact in times past
about Church Age saints being adopted into the “family of God”.
It's a most glorious promise to those who have accepted the payment
for their sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Besides being our Lord
and Savior, our King and our God, Jesus could also be given the title
in relationship to other children of God, as our “Big Brother” as
He is our “Kinsman Redeemer”.
I've heard that expression plenty of times, and I find it very hard to use the term “big Brother” , as I would never speak it to Him as such, since Jesus is God in the flesh, but in the family sense of what God our “Abba” Father has planned along with His Son from the very beginning of time, it is a family relationship that has been planned since before time even began.
Jesus became what Adam could not accomplish. He became the perfect man in His life upon this earth and the perfect sacrifice to cover the sins that each of us could not shed to join God the Father in a family unit. In His resurrection, the old body that Jesus dwelt upon this earth became a glorious body, a body of flesh and bone. Jesus was the second Adam from the portals of heaven, as our common ancestor Adam was the first born from the earth.
When describing the risen Lord, note that there is no mention of blood. Jesus was not alive as we are, in that the blood is the source of life providing oxygen to the cells of our body. But His life source was the Spirit of God, as ours will be. Note that in scripture, Jesus was able to perform actions that we are not able to perform, such as walk through walls, disappear while men looked upon Him, and rise into the clouds out of the apostles sight and many other actions that John said if they were all recorded, the books of the world could not hold them.
Jesus became our redeemer in every sense of the word. He became what we will become, a new creature that will follow the trail He blazed into glory. We will become the sons of God. We will be heirs of God's promises made to His Son, and by extension, to those of us who believe in the “One whom God hath sent.” (John 6:29b)
WHAT
DOES HE MEAN HEIRS AND JOINT HEIRS?
Just
think of what Paul is saying when he says we will be heirs and
joint-heirs with our King, our God, and our Savior. What is an heir?
In Jewish thinking, being an heir speaks to adoption into a family.
An adoption would make the adopted one legally eligible for an equal
share in the father's estate.
Now Jesus was intended to be the
firstborn among many brethren as Paul wrote further in this chapter
v. 29-32:
29 “For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren. (many
brothers and sisters) my emphasis.
30 Moreover
whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called,
them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified.
31 What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us?
32 He
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans
8:29-32)
This is beyond my comprehension, but within a finite
mind that only grasp in part what Paul is saying that God will give
us all things in an equal share all that belongs to our King Jesus.
All the rights of a family member will be given in equal parts to
each of those who have been called the “children of God”. When we
speak of sons or children of God, that is not to say that we will be
Gods ourselves, as some so erroneously believe of what Paul is
speaking of here. No, we will be Kings and Priest to our God for all
eternity. We will be given duties and responsibilities that any
family that is headed by a family Patriarch, will work for the family
in following the commands and the will of the Head of the Family. The
Head of the family is God our Father, whom we call our Father “Abba”,
and God Almighty. But I liken it to the phrase, we will be of the
“God Kind”. We cannot begin to know in complete knowledge or
begin to comprehend all that God has got planned for us.
9 “But
as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him.
10 But
God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For
what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is
in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God.
12 Now
we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which
is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us
of God.”(1st Corinthians
2:9-12)
God, who is a loving God, a Father to all of His
children will and has given good gifts to us this side of eternity in
this life. But can you even imagine what God who is infinite, without
limit, and the Creator of all things will bestow on those that love
Him in the next life?
First in this life, we have been
pardoned, our sin washed away by the blood of Jesus and given eternal
life and future immortality.
“There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from
the law of sin and death.
3 For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit.(Romans 8:1-4)
We have
been separated, called out of this world to the glorious light of our
Savior, who saved us and who loved us, before we even loved
Him.
6 “For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly.
7 For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a
good man some would even dare to die.
8 But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much
more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through him.”(Romans 5:6-9)
Second we have been given
an earnest deposit of God's Holy Spirit that seals us as His
possession. I liken it to a layaway plan at your local department
store. The down payment has been made and the contract signed for
purchase. Along the way, more payments are made for the final
purchase price until the day of taking possession of the prize. Paul
speaks of this in Ephesians:
13 “In
whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which
is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians
1:13-14)
There is a future reception of more of the fullness
of God's Holy Spirit and a future redemption! The Scripture cannot be
broken (John 10:35). The apostle is teaching us that redemption,
like salvation, is a process that has begun but has not yet
reached its conclusion. Salvation is irrevocable and God will finish
what He has begun. Both of these processes began when we believed and
accepted Jesus Christ, but they will not end until we receive God's
Spirit in full measure and are glorified in His Kingdom. That will
come when we are called either in the removal of God's Church before
the Tribulation, or the tribulation saints resurrection and
glorification at the end of the Tribulation. This is all part of the
1st resurrection, which Jesus was the beginning of.
WE
AWAIT OUR REDEMPTION
But
in the meantime, we must be about our Father's business. As Paul
writes that we are not of the flesh, but of the Spirit, as we walk
after the things of the Spirit and do mortify the deeds of the flesh:
7 “Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit
of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he
is none of his.
10 And
if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit
is life because of righteousness.
11 But
if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,
he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”(Romans 8:7-11)
This
almost sounds like an impossible task, as we are still mortal. I
don't know about you, but I sin everyday, because of my flesh even if
it's just a thought. Paul had the same problem when he lamented in
Romans 7:
14 “For
we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under
sin.
15 For
that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that I do.
16 If
then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is
good.
17 Now
then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for
to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I
find not.
19 For
the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that
I do.” (Romans 7:14-19)
But fear not brothers and
sisters, Paul gives us the remedy for the sin that dwells in our
flesh.
“O
wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?
25 I
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I
myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
(Romans 7:24-25)
Each of us, who are the called of God battle
the forces of evil. Sometimes, because of our mortal flesh, sin has
it's way with us in our weakness. But if God's Holy Spirit rest in
your spirit, then you, just as I am, are convicted of that sin,
sometimes almost immediately. How do you get victory over sin? You
put on the whole armor of God. Brethren, we do not war against flesh
and blood, but against powers of spiritual darkness and the evil of
this world.
10 “Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his
might.
11 Put
on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil.
12 For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the
breastplate of righteousness;
15 And
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above
all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God:
18 Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
(Ephesians 6:10-18)
Even with the armor upon us, and we
fight the good fight as we use the weapons God has given us, we still
fail, we stumble and fall...it's inevitable, my brethren, because we
still have the curse upon us, called the flesh and this side of glory
we will continue the need to repent. John the apostle wrote what we
must do when we sin:
“If
we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we
lie, and do not the truth:
7 But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin.
8 If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us.
9 If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1st John
1:6-9)
My brothers and sisters in Christ, and all who read
this message, it is God's Holy Spirit that cleanses us daily. When we
fail, we confess. We are not suddenly lost from God's grace, but sin
causes loss of fellowship with God our Father. But with remorse and
prayerful repentance that relationship is restored, as if the sin
never happened. Oh, but some say, “How can God forgive me for I
have sinned a great sin?”. I imagine that is what King David
thought when his sin was revealed through Nathan the prophet and
David repented of fornication with Bathsheba and indirectly murdering
Uriah, her husband by placing him at the front of the battle. What
did David do? David repented in anguish for His sin, and that was
before God's Holy Spirit was given in it's fullness at Pentecost.
David cried out :
“Have mercy upon me, O God,
according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy
tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash
me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For
I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before
me.
4 Against
thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that
thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou
judgest.
5 Behold,
I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive
me.
6 Behold,
thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou
shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow.
8 Make
me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken
may rejoice.
9 Hide
thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create
in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within
me.
11 Cast
me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from
me.
12 Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free
spirit.
13 Then
will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted
unto thee.” (Psalms 51:1-13)
Even David, a man God called “a
man after God's own heart” was subject to temptation and sin. King
David humbled himself, and did not try to hide his sin from God, but
confessed it and asked for forgiveness in tears and anguish. God
honors a broken and contrite heart, when it is done in genuine guilt
and repentance. And God said that our sin would be as far as the east
is from the west, and would remember it no more.
Only
Jesus and God's Holy Spirit can deliver us from the law of sin found
in our flesh. Paul explains this even further in the chapter that I
love, Romans 8:
33 “Who
shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth.
34 Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.
35 Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword?
36 As
it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us.” (Romans 8:33-37)
WE
NEED JESUS MORE THAN EVER, ESPECIALLY NOW
We
have evil all around us, and in this day and age, it seems evil is
growing exponentially. When I was a little kid, I remember that there
were bad people in the world around me, and I was warned to not
accept candy from strangers, but most people were basically honorable
and moral people in the majority. I would have not fathomed at such
an early age, to see what I am seeing after almost 70 years of
life.
But OH, how the world has changed, and not for the
better. How can the average person on this planet survive the evil
that is becoming common place in this country and even more so in
other countries around the world? No wonder the suicide rate is
growing with people who have lost all hope. Or people who resort to
crutches of alcohol, or dangerous drugs (either street drugs, or
prescriptions) that rob them of the last shred of hope and security
as they try and escape reality. Unfortunately, I see it all the time
in the area of my ministry.
People are dying all around us and
it seems we can't stop the destruction of people who are determined
to bring on their own demise. But every now and then, one is saved
from the fire. One person is reached that was thought beyond help.
And what is the one thing, the one Person who brings them up out of
despair? The answer is Jesus Christ. When a person finally sees that
they are beyond hope, beyond fighting for themselves, and beyond
anything on this earth used as a remedy. Not drugs, not alcohol, not
bath salts, not promiscuity, and not main stream religion, because
each fails the individual if its root is not anchored in Jesus
Christ. When they hit rock bottom, the burden on their shoulder is
weighing them down with their head hanging and the only place to look
is up, we pray they see Jesus and someone is there to bring them to a
saving knowledge of His mercy and grace. That person must cry out and
seek safety from the only Source of that safety.
“I waited
patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my
cry.
2 He
brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and
set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And
he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many
shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” (Psalms
40:1-3)
HAVE
YOU FOUND MY ROCK, MY SAVIOR?
To
my unsaved friend out there, I say this. Jesus is the only way in
finding safety in this life, leading to the next life. You can search
from around the world from Los Angeles to New York City, from the USA
to the far reaches of the third world and back, but you will be
as you were, EMPTY and unfilled. We each have a void in our spiritual
lives that must be filled. As mentioned, some search for it in
pleasures of this world, in illicit drugs and alcohol, but in the
end, many will attempt suicide because they just cannot cope with
what is going on in this world.
We all search for a way back
to God or their definition of God. They search for peace and a place
called Heaven. They put their trust in “religions” and spiritual
enlightenment or many put their trust in themselves and don't think
they need God. Oh, how wrong each of them are. That void in your
heart, that void in your mind, and that void that is searching for
what makes life worth living, is found in only one place, AT THE
CROSS. (I call this our God Hole, that must be filled with Jesus
Christ). That is where our Savior died, my Savior, your Savior if you
would only choose Him and repent of your sins and turn to Him in all
humility and repentance.
37 “All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out.
38 For
I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him
that sent me.
39 And
this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at
the last day.
40 And
this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the
Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will
raise him up at the last day.”(John 6:37-40)
Jesus further
told us the truth, when He said in John chapter 14:
6 “Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.”
And there is no one that can
separate you from the love of Christ our Lord, when you profess faith
and belief in His saving grace, in His blood and resurrection that
began on Calvary's hill and fulfilled at His resurrection from the
dead.
We are told by Paul the Apostle in closing the chapter
that started this message, that no one can separate us from Jesus
Christ after we are saved by grace.
38 “For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to
come,
39 Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans
8:38-39)
I invite you to call upon the Lord Jesus right now.
Humble yourself and realize that you can't do it alone anymore. You
and I are the same, we are sinners. Only difference that may be
between us, is that I have asked forgiveness of Jesus of my sins and
as a faithful and loving God, He has done just that. He can do the
same for you if you humble yourself and believe these verses that sum
up the whole of the Bible.
“For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
17 For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved.
18 He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.”(John 3:16-18)
8' But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” (Romans 10:8-11)
Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Believe these words
of John 3 and Romans 10 in the void found in your heart and mind, and
God will make you along with many others who have gone on before
you...Sons of God and joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ...Praise
God.
This is Pastor Mike Taylor, proclaiming my Lord Jesus
Christ as the Savior of the world. My God who came in the flesh and
is coming again soon. If I can introduce you to my Savior and provide
you with support from God's Word, then give me an email
at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, or visit me for more biblical
instruction in Christian living or the way back to God. If you need
prayer, counseling, or just a friendly ear, drop me a line...God
bless you all,
TILL
WE MEET AT JESUS FEET
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