Denying Christ's Name: A Warning from 2 Timothy 3

The Holy Spirit showed a warning to Lee about getting absorbed in our own thoughts and justifying our reasons.

This can lead to living by sensual, worldly, and non-spiritual thoughts rather than God's holy word.

The result is a lack of wisdom, discernment, and awareness of God's presence in our lives.

This can lead to sin and separation from God, and eventually, destruction of our spiritual life.

The The Holy Spirit showed my husband Lee in a prophetic word just recently that when we as Christians ponder upon and get absorbed in our own thoughts and justify our reasons or rationalize by which we will live, then we will suppose or presume these thoughts, which are no more than carnal reason, which are fleshly and sensual thoughts, we think them as true and accurate and authoritative. And if our lives are driven by the sensual, worldly, and non-spiritual thoughts which compel and motivate us to do and say the things that govern our behavior rather than eat and feed upon God's holy word, which carries a promise with it to change us from the inside out and ultimately bestows upon us the mind of Christ in a burning desire deep within the soul to live by his holy standards and conduct in the profoundness of his righteousness and purity. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And this will produce wisdom and discernment and keen awareness that God's Holy Spirit is alive and ever present within your soul. You become so aware of this fact that you care not to defile this preciousness of his work when it comes to the temptation of sin. Now, we can liken this to Joseph and Potiphar's wife. She was so infatuated with Joseph's physical being that she contrived a well thought out plan to entrap and ensnare him to commit adultery with her. And when she approached Joseph, along with the hordes of evil spirits of lust and perversion, which trailed along with her in presenting this violation and temptation to sin, Joseph said, how then can I do this great evil and sin against my God? You see, sin has longings and desires, and these are directed towards something that is absolutely forbidden in God's eyes. And this lust and perversion that trailed after Potiphar's wife, who was Egyptian, and this represents the cares of the world, carried with it a sin so violent that it is driven to overcome, to overwhelm and overthrow any and all self-control that you may have. It has one aim, and that one aim only, and that is to completely engross your mind with earthly, fleshly, and sensual perishable things that will steal and snuff any spiritual life that God the Holy Spirit may have planted within you. Lust and perversion bring estrangement or separation from God and will eventually destroy any hope of eternal life because one eventually succumbs to the temptation of sin and becomes rather a slave to that sin and ungodliness. Please understand that lust not only involves sensual pleasures and sexual cravings, but it also is an obsession, an inordinate desire for things and stuff and for wealth, for food, for personal acknowledgement, for anything and everything that stands in the way of being an idol and causes you to focus upon these things, which compel you to love and obey the lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, which are forbidden in 1 John 2.15, when Jesus said, Do not love the world or the things in the world. And if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Verse 16, for all that is sin in the world, the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever. You see, all of these natural appetites compel us to obey the lusts of our flesh. And these can be perverted into sin. But as Christians, if we are truly learning in Christ and have our being in him, then we are able through the power of his spirit to resist the lusts with their passions and enslavements. And since sin separates us from God and destroys the life of the spirit in us and leads us to take pleasure in whatever displeases God and violates his righteousness, then God will finally give us over to the desires and lusts of our flesh. You see, there is an order with God, because God is a God of order, and godly order brings harmony and peace with it. And the order here is that God has given every true Christian his spirit, called Holy Spirit. And the work of God's precious spirit is to produce a sanctifying influence of himself within your soul. And Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1-2, he says, You who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for obedience. Hear that? You were chosen for obedience to Jesus Christ and the sprinkling by his blood. You see, no one will see the Lord without this purifying work of his spirit. And this work within creates a desire in your soul to live in accordance with God's standards. Sanctify means to be set apart from sin. And when you understand this by the eyes of your spirit, you will just be appalled and aghast at the habitual sinful ways and practices that go on in your life. You see, you can't know this if you're not set apart from sin and the spirit opens and enlightens your eyes to see this. You won't be aghast or appalled at the sin in your life. See, to live in God's righteousness means that you are aligning yourself with his standard of holiness. And this refers to a state of being that conforms with this authoritative standard. And this requires obedience on yours and my part. Righteousness comes from the root word dikia. And in Greek it means straightness. and this straightness or uprightness defines God's character. This is not an attribute of God, but this is just the way God is. He does not change and he never will. He is rigidly righteous and this means that he is immovable, firm, he's set like a rock, he's unflinching and inflexible when it comes to his holiness and his purity and uprightness. and his hatred of sinful practices in his people. Righteousness is God's holy rectitude. He is upright in everything and every way, and he expects this of his holy people. So therefore, those who profess to be his people, he holds them accountable to his standard of righteousness, because now yours and my uprightness is defined in terms with God's righteousness. Nothing else will suffice as a standard or rule for God's holy people. Nada. Nothing. And the reason that so many professing Christians are driven by rules and thoughts of their own minds and thoughts and are compelled to say and do the things that they do is, again, because the life-changing revelation of God's word has no power in changing their old sinful and sexual selfish nature to produce the mind of Christ and the desire to live according to his will. The Holy Spirit showed Lee through a scripture that by doing this, these people are actually setting their own table and are feasting from it. God's word says in Psalm 69, verse 22, it declares that people are setting a snare for themselves by feasting at their own table. Psalm 69, 22. Let their own table, with all of its abundance and luxury, become a snare to them. And when they are secure in peace, at their sacrificial feast, let it become a trap to them. And these same verses, precious church, are quoted by Paul in Romans 11, just as in David's time. Paul, too, is describing the character of people in his time who, by the perverseness of their own decisions and ways to honor God, by their self-contrived obedience to him, proved rather to be a trap that would invoke God's wrath and rejection, rather than the blessings which are promised only for those who are in right relationship with Jesus Christ. So many times, these kind of people live in a false peace and feel that they are secure and in no danger at all, and deceivably think also that God loves them just the way they are. And this is where David says, in effect, Lord, these who sit in their pride with all of their comforts and luxuries of life, let this false peace become a trap for them. Let your punishment suddenly fall upon them when they least expect it. And as I've mentioned, Paul used the same term in his epistle, in the 11th chapter of Romans. And let's look at this, please. Turn with me. Let's go there to Romans 11, beginning in verse 6, please. But if it is by grace, his unmerited favor and graciousness, it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. It would be meaningless. What then shall we conclude? Israel failed to obtain what is sought God's favor and obedience to the law. Only the elect, those chosen few, obtained it, while the rest of them became callously indifferent, blinded, hardened, and made insensible to it. Verse 8, as it is written, God gave them a spirit, an attitude of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that should not hear, that has continued down to this very day. Verse 9, and David says, Let their table their feastings, banqueting, become a snare and a trap, a pitfall, and a just retribution rebounding like a boomerang upon them. Let their eyes be darkened or dimmed so that they cannot see, and make them bend their back, stooping beneath their burden forever. But please understand here, it was not with malicious or malignant words that he repeated this same thing that David had spoken in his day. Their table should become a snare and a trap and a stumbling block to them because, because, because they were rejecting the Messiah, the very one who came to set them free from the law of sin and death. This was a prophetic proclamation set in motion from the very beginning of time. And this is saying that the same evil will fall upon them in each generation as it fell upon the disobedient in the times of David and in the times before David. These words were proclaimed by David and yet were prophetic in type and analogous of the Christ to come. what should have been a blessing to these disobedient pride-filled people has now become a curse for them instead the temporal earthly blessings that they enjoyed at this time have become a stumbling block and a punishment and a curse all because they rejected the Messiah whose kingdom was not of this world but was from above They could not see or be privileged to know the greatness of the work of the Holy Spirit in their soul, which was to become known as enlightenment to the eyes of their spirit. That this manifested greatness is due to the price that Jesus Christ paid for them upon the cross. This greatness of the soul, dear ones, is to make them an heir of his glory. Jesus' precious blood, his death, his burial, and resurrection was the price and the cost that he paid to have each one of us whom he saw before the foundation of time. And we have people like this in every generation. They can only see to the end of their noses. They have no spiritual vision or understanding that the true eternal joys lie beyond this earth. They did not see or understand, because of their evil, lusts, and idolatrous preferences, that the fulfillment of the biblical promises are for those who qualify because of right relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 1.20 declares, For no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. This system of God's grace and inheritance of his many promises and the enjoyment of his many promises, which see us through and aid us on this Christian journey, are found only in those who believe in and live in Jesus Christ by conforming to the standards of his righteousness, which is ordained by God, his Father in heaven. And the word believe carries with it the firm belief and understanding that one must be completely loyal and faithful to Christ, their Savior. They must be committed to him and carry a deep respect and reverence for him as the ruler of their hearts. They must put their trust in him and place their lives in his care. This is called commitment. And this is actually living in Christ. Jesus said to live in him is likened to the analogy of the branch and the vine. He said he is the vine and we are the branches. And if we are not attached continually, please hear that, continually to him, drawing life, giving nourishment from him, from his word, then we will dry up and will eventually be cut off from him completely because we're living apart from his godliness. You see, this life devoted to living a godly life is not just a moral life, but it is truly a godly one. 2 Timothy 3.12 declares, Indeed, all who delight in piety, that is faith and holiness, are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Jesus Christ and will meet with persecution and will be made to suffer because of their religious stand This life is lived in Jesus Christ Do not miss it And again it is analogous of the branch being connected to the vine which Jesus spoke of in John 15, verse 5, saying, I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him bears much abundant fruit. There's going to be proof of it, dear ones, of being connected to Christ Jesus. There will be abundant fruit. However, apart from me cut off from vital union with me, you can do nothing. Verse 6. And if a person does not dwell in me, he is thrown out like a broken off branch and withers, and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned. We are the branches. And Jesus is the vine. We may be a moral person, but yet not one who is connected to Christ. And there are many nice people who would never think to steal or commit adultery or fornicate or use foul language. These people use nice, correct, proper language and can be very courteous. But if they are not connected to Jesus Christ, they will perish. We can be a good neighbor, a good friend, a good employer, a great husband or wife, but without life in Jesus Christ, all will perish. You see, it is not only a godly life, but a Christian one. We are not only to live godly, but we are to live godly in Jesus Christ. Let me repeat it. We are to live godly in Jesus Christ. And this means that we are to be governed by the revelation of Jesus Christ in the word of God. And this is not something that we can just mouth with our words. This precious church is something that evidences itself in your nature, in your character, and it spills forth in your actions, your deeds, and your words and define quickly who you belong to. Either the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And this conformity for a Christian in Christ is to be in agreement with the very nature and character and the image of the one who died for us. And this means we are in binding oath and in obedience with the righteous requirements of God our Father. And this means we find it pleasing and we desire to harmonize with all that God's word requires of us in order to look like our pattern who is again Jesus Christ. We will desire to conform to our perfect example and be moved by his grace and depend upon his ability to intercede and protect us and lead and guide us. Now, having said all this, you may be asking, well, where are we going to go with this word today? And when Lee shared his revelation with me, what he didn't know is that the Lord had impressed a subject upon my heart, which I was to give today, and this subject is called, Could You Be Guilty of Denying Jesus Christ? Could you be guilty of denying Christ? and what the Holy Spirit had shown Lee in regards to many in the church who live in the realm of their own lukewarm imaginations and are guided and driven by their fleshly passions and lusts rather than living in the realm of being guided by precious Holy Spirit. I said, this is perfect for what the Lord has given me today as a subject to be developed and taught. Don't you just love how the Holy Spirit works? Here a little, there a little. We each have a part in gifts as members in God's church, and we certainly want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when he is giving someone else whom you trust a part to be fitted into the whole. So what has God shown in Lee in terms with this word? Let their own table with all of its abundance and luxury become a snare to them. And when they are secure in their peace, let it become a trap or a snare to them. And this is saying that many, many thousands upon thousands of believers who call themselves Christians and sit in ignorance and are deaf and blind and without the true life of Jesus Christ shining in their hearts because they've taken the Lord's grace lightly and have instead become hardened and calloused and insensitive to his word, which should have changed and renewed their darkened souls by arousing their spiritual senses and implanting or impregnating the revelation of truth in the fallow ground of their hearts. And God says in Romans, Chapter 11, verse 8, that he's given them over to a spirit of stupor or apathy or lethargy because of their indifference to living his way and their disobedience to diligently and habitually apply this life-changing word once they heard it. So in regards to what we have discussed in laying the foundation for this word, which I have called again, could you be guilty of denying Jesus Christ, then the question has to be asked. When people do things on and in their own power and live in the realm of their imaginations and are driven by their own lusts and thoughts, which are in all actuality in opposition to Jesus' command, where he says we are to obey his every word, then my question to you is, are we not denying his name when we continually do things according to our own unregenerate nature? Will we not walk about as pretenders of the faith, just warming the pews of the churches each Sunday? 2 Timothy 3.5 declares, Although these people hold a form of piety, or piety means true reverence for God, they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it. Their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession. Avoid all such people, turn away from them. You see, true piety or genuine godliness is having a deep reverence towards God. It means having a vital and real union with him through the power of his Holy Spirit. And to be guilty of denying Christ means that we will refuse to allow the Spirit's workings of sanctifying us or setting us apart from our sinful and ungodly ways so that we truly see and live in the realm of God's truth. We live in a day where the church of the living God has grown so cold and indifferent to the pure, unadulterated word of God. She has taken the truths of God and mixed it with untruths and therefore cannot discern the difference between the two. And the Lord spoke to the people in the Pergamos church in Revelation 2.12. He said, write this letter to the leader of the Pergamos church. This message is from him who wields a sharp and double-bladed sword. I am fully aware that you live in a city where Satan's throne is, at the center of satanic worship. And you've remained loyal to me and refused to deny me, even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you by Satan's devotees. Verse 14, and yet I have a few things against you. You tolerate some among you who do as Balaam did when he taught Balak how to ruin the people of Israel by involving them in sexual sin and encouraging them to go to feasts of their idols. Yes, you have some of these very same followers of Balaam amongst you. Verse 16, change your mind and attitude or else I'll come to you suddenly. I'll fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Let everyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Everyone who is victorious shall lead of the hidden manna, The secret nourishment from heaven and I will give to each a white stone on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one else knows except the one receiving it. The word of the Lord was to forsake these false doctrines that were impregnating the church. History confirms that when the people are given over to serve idols, we have many idols today, that they will depart from the one true God. And this practice was quickly infiltrating the church then, as it is in our day today, too. And this word said that where these people live was in the very center of where Satan had established his throne. And how many know that Satan has a right to us and establish his throne in the midst of idolatrous and sinful people? You see, when we sin, Satan has rights to come and set his throne up in the midst of our sin. The church had remained loyal to Jesus, but it was tolerating those who held these false doctrines and practices. And God knew that if he didn't give them a strong rebuke, that they would all become infected in time like leprosy. And so he gave them a choice, and it was a simple choice. They were to repent and turn away from these wicked practices and enjoy eternal life or persist in tolerating evil, which would in time invoke God's righteous anger and wrath. What does this mean to deny Christ? How can you personally be guilty of denying your Savior? Well, first of all, to live a life that denies Jesus Christ, please hear this, to live a life that denies Jesus Christ is to ignore what he teaches and commands in his word. Are you guilty of that? As you learn and hear the truth, do you put it off and think, oh, I'll get around to that tomorrow. That's for older people, not for me today. Oh, God knows my heart. Now I'll overcome that fleshly thought or passion and desire in time and yet make no real effort in overcoming it now while today is called today and you have breath. You see, we live in a generation where many professors of the faith want to have it both ways. They love the world, and yet they've had a witness or someone told them that hell is real. So Jesus becomes their insurance policy, so to speak. He becomes to these kind of people like Santa Claus who comes down the chimney just in time to deliver the gift of eternal life when they might need it. They want to enjoy all the pleasures and the gadgets and the stuff that the world has to offer. They want to be popular and well-known, and they become then known as people-pleasers in God's eyes at the expense of working out their own salvation. They have no real zeal or fervency for Jesus Christ and his cause. And so many churches have turned worship in their churches into a worldly spectacle. All the lights and the smoke, which is the false Shekinah glory of God. How profane. And the noise that the world would enjoy. And it becomes like an amusement and much like a rock concert in many churches around the world today. People remained backslidden just like in Elijah's day. And they couldn't decide whether to follow God or their many Baals, which were their idols. And Elijah cried out to the people in 1 Kings 18, 21, saying, How long will you halt and limp between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. And if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. These people were denying their God. And today millions in the church are denying their Savior, Jesus Christ. And one of the worst things that one, a Christian may possibly do in his lifetime is to openly deny his Savior before the presence of any man or woman. This seems to be the way that most people view the denial of their God and his son, Jesus Christ. But unfortunately today, millions and millions of professing Christians are not even aware that they are denying Jesus Christ in so many ways. Because the world is so strongly ingrained in the lives of these multitudes of millions, They do not see where their sinful practices and sinful words and deeds and actions in business, in school, in their workplaces, in their careers, and even amongst their unbelieving family members. And these are all red flags and beacons that are loudly proclaiming the denial of Jesus Christ. And please, I am not talking about new babes in Christ who remain in a place of ignorance and are not willfully sinning. These are babes. But I'm talking about believers who have sat in the pews of churches for years and have heard the word of God and preached and taught and are still the same as they were years ago and have remained hardened in their hearts so that the true fruit of God could not take root and bring the beautiful and necessary change that would bring them into eternity. You see, without sensitivity to God's spirit and his word, no true believer could claim the victory over the evil of sin which lurks within the depths of their darkened souls. In Luke's gospel, in Luke 22, verse 31, Jesus said to Peter, Simon, Simon Peter, listen. Satan has asked excessively that all of you be given up to him out of the power in keeping of God, that he might sift you, all of you, like a grain. But I have prayed especially for you, Peter, that your own faith may not fail. And when you yourself have turned again, strengthen and establish your brethren. Because of Peter's self-confidence, Jesus was letting it be known that his pride and also that he was insensitive to his words. Peter's faith weakened and he caved in and he denied his Lord three times when asked by the world, are you one of those who follow that man they call Jesus? You see, yours and my sin is shameful to God. Even after Jesus brought Peter this correction, Peter's pride and overconfidence was still in the way. because in verse 33, Peter says, Lord, I'm ready to go with you both to prison and death. But Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, before a single cock shall crow this day, you will deny me three times. You will utterly deny that you know me. And as I said our sin is shameful before God because we do not carry up the commitment or the vow that we made to him And that is that we would completely give him our lives and obey him in all that we do And all that the scripture says you shall love the Lord your God with all of your mind and all of your heart and with your entire being and with all of your might. With everything that is in you, you'll love him no matter what. This will be first in your heart. And if you've never made that commitment in a real and living way, then you have no promise of eternal life. I'm here to tell you that today. You have no real commitment and you have no Savior who will freely give you the promises and blessings which will bring you safely into his eternal kingdom. You see, feasting at your own table, that is, on your own minds and thoughts, is very hazardous to your spiritual health. And it eventually brings the shameful act of denying the Christ who was given to save you and me. In John 2.21, the word declares, Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either. he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Very few today are standing in the true faith alongside Jesus Christ. I'm afraid we have many antichrists sitting in the church today who've denied their Christ. We've been talking about those who profess Christianity and take on the name of Christ but are really unbelievers by their outright disobedience to conform to his word and his holy standards of righteousness and purity. These are really antichrists. And if we are not obeying the dictates of Christ's gospel, then we are actually opposing him by our disobedience and willfulness in doing things our own way according to the dictates of our mind of reasons and imaginations. Jesus said, will I find faith on the earth when I return? And let me say this. The only ones having faith on the earth when Jesus returns will be his elect. Fleshly minds of reason cannot understand the things of God when they are guilty of unbelief. yes indeed it is unbelief that drives professing christians to willfully do what they want to do and when they want to do it unbelief is the mother of all sin and because people have preferred to sin then god gives them over eventually to the things that they lust for and desire and i do not feel that i have to give a list to provoke you to thought in this subject today which which is called, Could You Be Guilty of Denying Christ? Do you have eyes and ears to hear and see the truth of this glorious gospel? Anyone who cannot see this truth, to say the least, is denying Jesus Christ. Yes, they can say the word and many can repeat it verbatim, but their hearts are far away from God and they know him not. until they come to see the sin in their own lives and hate it and loathe it as much as their creator does. And there are many who stand behind the pulpit today who are guilty of denying Jesus Christ. Many of them live double standards and prove this when their lives are publicly exposed and their sin is laid bare before the whole world. And we should not be surprised that this is on the increase because Jesus said this would be the case with the deceivers in the latter days. How can we be assured in our lives that we will not fall into the category of being guilty and denying our Christ? The true condition of your heart must accept and take on a serious warning of being aware always in the depths of your being regarding these few things. And that is that you carry about a fearful expectation and sense of God's judgment. And that you remember always that Jesus said he would deny those who deny him. And this means when you willfully sin in any way, fashion, or form, you are guilty of denying Jesus Christ. And Satan then has a right to come and set his throne up in your midst and govern your activities, your life, your business, and everything that belongs to you. And you should be keenly aware that Jesus Christ holds your eternal destiny in his hands. Only Jesus Christ holds the place where you will go for eternity in his hands. Luke 12, verse 4. Jesus says, I tell you, friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body. and after that they have nothing more they can do. But I warn you whom you should fear, fear him who after killing has power to hurl into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear him. So this is why we should always carry about that fearful expectation or judgment of who holds our final destiny in his hands. And also, and lastly, remember that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the greatest of all sins. And in fact, it is unforgivable. But when you are close to Christ, this will be impossible because you know him who loves you with a passion. You see, dear church, God cares about every detail in your life. And he loves you so much that he's given you his beloved son. And he's given you his spirit at all times, even in the times of trial. Precious Holy Spirit is given to you to help mold and shape your entire being into the one who resembles your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through his almighty power. And when you come to know and love him in this real intangible way, he will not let you fall into air and be guilty of denying Christ, the one who paid the price and cost to own you. But he will faithfully bless you beyond all measure and will bestow upon you the mind of Christ and a burning desire deep within your soul to live by his holy standards and conduct in the profoundness of his righteousness and purity. Today our message is called True Christian Believers Are Spiritually Adopted Into the Family of Love Jesus himself, in John 15, verse 10, gives us the example of the spiritual family kind of love when he said, If you keep my commandments, if you continue to obey my instructions, you will abide in my love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed my father's commands and live on in his love. Continuing in verse 11, Jesus tells us, I have told you these things, that my joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be full measure and complete and overflowing. Verse 12. This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. No one has greater love, no one has shown stronger affection than to lay down, give up his own life for his friends. You are my friends. if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do. How many know that the word if is a conditional kind of word. It is predicated on the choices that a person makes. It is contingent and subject to the preference of a person's will or desires. Jesus again said in verse 10, If you keep my commandments, if you continue to obey my instruction, you will abide in my love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed my Father's commandments and live on in his love. The choice that our Savior examples for us, aside from if you keep my commandments, is found in the latter part of the verse when he says, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. This is a profound, revealing, and wonderful statement which our Savior unveils and makes known about himself. We see that Christ's love for his Father is the motivation of his obedience. As an earthly father does not primarily love his son for his obedience, but because of the filial or the family or parental kind of relationship which he holds dear to his child or children. So the love which our Savior's father holds dear and highly prized to himself is not primarily because of Christ's obedience, but rather by the fervent and devoted agape or godly love relationship which holds his son forever and tightly bound and precious to himself. There are many hundreds of references to love in the Bible, which is a sacred and uniquely inspired word of God. And we can say that it is certainly the most distinguished and outstanding book of love in the world. It journals the greatest love story ever written about God's unconditional love for mankind in that he sent his precious son to die on the cross for sinners and offer eternal life to those who choose him as their hope of glory. John 3.16 tells us that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. You see, love is not only one of God's attributes, but it is also necessary and vitally important and essential part of his nature, which is the personification of love. And let me say, the personification of perfect love. It couldn't get any better than this. The Bible tells us that God is love in John 4, verses 8 and 16. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Verse 16, and we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Dear listener, such love surpasses our abilities of understanding. We are told in this Ephesians chapter 3 verse 19 book that tells us and declares that you may really come to know practically through experience for yourself the love of Christ which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience, that you may be filled through all your being unto the fullness of God, may have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God himself. You see, this is telling us that this love is not a natural kind of love. Love like this is an everlasting and free sacrificial and enduring to the end kind of love. And we know this love was very costly for our dear Savior when he gave up his life and spilled his blood for all who would choose him as their Savior. This, dear one, is known as agape love. And agape love indicates the nature of the love of God towards his dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ and towards the human race and towards those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter 14 verse 21 declares The person who has my commands and keeps them is the one who really loves me and whoever really loves me will be loved by my Father and I too will love him and will show, reveal and manifest myself to him I will let myself be clearly seen by him and make myself real to him Agape love communicates and makes known God's will to his children about the relationship and position towards one another. Love for one another was the proof to the world of true discipleship and genuine relationship with their creator God. John chapter 13 verses 34 through 35 declares, I will give you a new commandment, that you should love one another, just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another, if you keep on showing love among yourselves. Love found its perfect expression, dear ones, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christian love is the fruit of the spirit of Jesus in the believer. We must ask ourselves the question somewhere along this Christian journey of ours, how am I doing in exemplifying the nature and character of God, of his love, in my life? Is my love genuine and real? Or is it feigned and fake and phony and a big show? It is said that love is like an oil to the wheels of obedience. Love of God and for God empowers us to stay the course in keeping and doing what God commands and requires of us in his righteous decrees. King David said in Psalms chapter 119 verse 32 I will not merely walk but run the way of your commandments when you give me a heart that is willing the apostle Paul said that without God's love we are his nothing love inspired by the precious Holy Spirit in the genuine believer's heart never fails, but will always flourish. And just as God the Father's own dear Son is being developed in our nature and character, the Holy Father's love and affection went out to Christ as the Son of Man. And dear listener, just as a human father looks and beholds the strong and fervent love and constant obedience of his own child and feels his own warm affection and devotions going out to him. So every beauty of the son's incarnate nature and character and every act of his human obedience rendered him altogether lovely in the Father eyes Love like this is perfect love because God is love God said of his Son in Matthew chapter 3, verses 16 and 17, When Jesus was baptized, he went up at once out of the water. and behold the heavens were opened and he John saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him verse 17 and behold a voice from heaven said this is my son my beloved in whom I delight in the scripture where it tells that the heavens were opened or heaven was open prompts remembrances of people receiving visions from God. In them, they saw things unseen by others around them. For instance, in the New Testament, in Acts chapter 7, verses 54 through 56, this is when he was being stoned to death, and we're told in verse 54, But he, fully the Holy Spirit and controlled by him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory, the splendor and majesty of God and Jesus standing at God's right hand. And he said, look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand. but moreover back to what Jesus saw descending upon himself was the precious Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and we need to know that this is the first precise and absolute identification of the Holy Spirit with a dove like appearance in scripture it was a quite suitable and figurative symbol because when we observe the dove apart from other birds, we see its streamlined beauty and heavenly origin according to biblical representation of freedom, sensitivity, purity, and a peaceful nature. In repeating the scripture where the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, We just read that, and it's found in Matthew 3, verses 16 and 17. And I believe that we should look at that again a little more clearly. When Jesus was baptized, he went up at once out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened. And he, John, saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I delight. Now the descending of the Spirit on Jesus is a figurative or a symbolic divine act by which God empowers him to accomplish the ministry he was shortly to begin. Jesus' empowerment, of course, is not to be construed with Jesus' initial endowment of the Holy Spirit, three was conceived by the Spirit of God. Instead, it specifies that Jesus proves to be the one mightier than John the Baptist, just as John said he would be. It also serves as a reference point for understanding the authority which Jesus had in his ministry while he was on the earth. Jesus was empowered by God's Holy Spirit, and he speaks as a mouthpiece of God and acts as God, his father's instrument, stated in John chapter 7, verse 28, when Jesus spoke to the crowd and said, do you know me? And do you know where I am from? I have not come on my own authority and of my own accord and as self-appointed, but the one who sent me is true, real, genuine, and steadfast and him you do not know. In Isaiah chapter 42 verse 1 the prophet Isaiah declared that God would put his spirit on his servant and that prophecy came to pass at Jesus' baptism. When the precious Holy Spirit came upon individuals in the Old Testament he empowered them for divine service and this was the same purpose and reason that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus. However, Christ's purpose and mission was the greatest of all others since he is the only King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus didn't send salvation, dear ones. Jesus Christ did not bring salvation. Jesus Christ is salvation and eternal life is found in him. Jesus is salvation he didn't send it to the earth salvation I repeat is found only in Jesus Christ eternal life is found only in Jesus Christ before Jesus was soon to depart from his disciples and give them comfort he told them in John 14 verses 26 and 27 but the helper the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring you to your remembrance all things that I have said to you. You see, Jesus was comforting them with the promise of future understanding. Our dear Lord knew that the eleven did not fully understand what he had just revealed before he told them of their departure. And consequently, he wanted to encourage them with a promise that they would fully understand his words later. Jesus made these revelations to his disciples while he was with them. But when the Spirit of God came to abide in them, the Spirit would enable them to understand. And the Father would send the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name as Jesus' representative or ambassador with exactly the same attitude towards God's will that Jesus had. The Son of God had come as a messenger, the Father's messenger, and soon the Holy Spirit would come as a Son's helper and would live within every true believer to teach them by bringing memories or remembrances of things that they had learned by the teaching of the Holy Spirit found in the book of life called the Bible. The Holy Spirit continues his teaching ministry today by enlightening believers as they study Jesus' teachings. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is quite vast as he carries many titles with his ministry, and one of the titles and the work of the Holy Spirit by which he is known is called the Spirit of Adoption. There is a true story of a young lady who has been adopted and went in search of her biological mother, and the account starts off by saying, when she turned 21, Tammy Harris from Roanoke, Virginia, began searching for her biological mother. After a year, she had not succeeded. But what she didn't know was that her mother, Joyce Schultz, had been trying to locate her for 20 years. And according to a recent Associated Press story, there was one more thing Tammy didn't know her mother was one of her co-workers at the convenience stores where she worked and one day Joyce overheard Tammy talking with another co-worker about trying to find her mother and soon they were comparing birth certificates when Tammy realized that the co-worker she had known was in fact her mother she fell in her arms we held on for the longest time Tammy said it was the best day of my life you see dear listener each week we rub shoulders with people whom we may barely notice and if they share a birth in Jesus Christ they are our dearest relatives all we can say is how precious is the family of God have you ever met a fellow brother or sister in the Lord Jesus Christ in your passing of the day, whether it was while shopping, the doctor's office, or a casual get-together, or at work. And do you remember how encouraged you were when and how easy it was to communicate with them? It wasn't like you just met a stranger with whom you had nothing in common. It's like meeting your long-lost brother or sister whom you hadn't seen for a long time. And when we look at the term adoption in the natural, we see that it is defined as an act whereby any person receives another into his family, legally claims him for a son and appoints him as an heir. But when we look at spiritual adoption, we learn that it is an act of God's free grace where we are received into his family and have a right to all privileges as the sons of God. Just think about it. How wonderful and glorious at the very thought that the children of God, who are being raised from the dead on the last day, will solemnly and exclusively and individually enter into the full possession of that inheritance provided for them described by Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7 beginning in verse 18. For I know that nothing good dwells within me that is in my flesh. I can still will what is right, but I cannot perform it. I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out. For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am doing. Now, if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I, it is not myself that acts, but the sin principle which dwells in me, fixed and operating in my soul. Verse 21. So I find it to be a law, a rule of action of my being, that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me, and I am subject to its insistent demands. Verse 22. For I endorse and delight in the law of God in my inmost self with my new nature. But I discern in my bodily members, in the sensitive appetites and wills of my flesh, a different law, a rule of action, at war against the law of my mind, my reason, making me a prisoner of the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs, in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh. Verse 24 O unhappy and pitiful and wretched man that I am who will release me and deliver me from the shackles of the body of death O thank God he will through Jesus Christ the anointed one our Lord so then indeed I of myself with the mind and the heart serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin May I tell you that what Paul is talking about here in these verses is a spiritual change that is brought about in a person's life by an act of God. In this regeneration process, a person's sinful nature is changed and he is able to respond to God in faith. And dear listener, this does not happen overnight. What we are talking about here is that the soul begins and longs to earnestly obey God and his commands because their heart of love for him begins to open up and they now desire to please the one who died for them for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus sets the example for us even though he had no sin. Christ's love for his father is the motivation for his obedience. Let us not forget, we are endeavoring to enter into the family of love and righteousness by faith. And Jesus Christ has paved the way as an example for each and every one who chooses him as the hope of glory. The Greek word is formed by combining the word meta, meaning beyond, and the word noia, meaning mind. The combination literally means beyond mind. It expresses the idea of gaining a new mindset and a new way of thinking and acting, a new orientation to life. To repent really means to start thinking and acting in a radically different way. The Hebrew word metanoia means a fundamental change in character or belief. It is associated with the words repentance, rebirth, conversion, and regeneration. The word regeneration occurs only in the New Testament, but the concept is constant and common throughout the Bible. the literal meaning of regeneration means born again there is a first birth and a second birth the first as Jesus said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3 that birth is of the flesh the second birth is of the spirit being born of the spirit is an absolute requirement before a person can enter into this kingdom of God. Every biblical command to man is to undergo a radical change of character from the me, myself, and I, which is self-centeredness, to God-centeredness. And it's, in effect, an appeal to be born again. An appeal, dear ones, to be born again. therefore generation involves enlightening of the mind my precious Holy Spirit and a change of the will and a renewed nature it extends to the total nature of man changing a person's desires and restoring him or her to a right relationship with God in Christ it's in Christ It can only happen in Christ. It is brought about and through Christ's dunamis power and love. God works in the willing and cooperative human heart, and the individual responds to God through faith and obedience, and their motivation for this love to and for God and his wonderful mercies and faithfulness are promised to those who love him. regeneration is an act of God through the Holy Spirit resulting in resurrection from sin to new life in Jesus Christ and we see this stated in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 which declares therefore if any person is engrafted in Christ the Messiah he is a new creation a new creature altogether the old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come. You see, a state of spiritual adoption is never without a separation from defilement. Defilement represents sin here. And how many of you know that this process does not happen overnight? God is so merciful to his children when they first come to him he doesn't show them the whole load of their sin hallelujah praise God he gives the command though to come out from amongst them and he has given us answers and the power through the Holy Spirit and he has given us faith in his promises to continue on until we truly understand the word metanoia, which again means a change to one's senses and is knowledge of one's own ego. it's a radical change in character and belief dear ones it is a rebirth a conversion a regeneration and the word regeneration is only in the New Testament but as I mentioned before the concept of it flows throughout the whole Bible the literal meaning again of regeneration means born again 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 17 and 18 declares so come out from among unbelievers and separate sever yourselves from them says the Lord and touch not any unclean thing and I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters says the almighty can you see that as a beginning of the adoption process. Regeneration is a physical act and it gives us a likeness to God in our nature and character. And adoption is a legal act that gives us a right to an inheritance. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. John in chapter 1, verse 12 declares, but to as many as did receive and welcome him he gave the authority the power and privilege and right to become children of God that is to those who believe in adhere to, trust in and rely on his name so to become children of God it is a divine and supernatural act of God and we must understand that the privileges of adoption are in every way a great, powerful, and all-inclusive privilege. Spiritual adoption implies great honor. Just think about it, dear one. This means that those who have become the children of God have God's name put upon them. These are described as his people, and they are called by his name. Ephesians chapter 3 beginning in verse 14 tells us, For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his Holy Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width, the length, the depth, the height, and to know that the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all fullness of God. These are no longer slaves to sin in the world, but released and freed from its dreadful bondage and are raised to dignity and honor. Galatians chapter 4, verses 6 and 8 tells us, because you are really his sons, God has sent the Holy Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. And therefore you're no longer slave, bond servants, but a son. And if a son, then it follows that you are an heir by the aid of God through Christ. Those who are sons or children of God are promised inexhaustible provision and riches. They inherit all things and all blessings of a temporal kind that are for their good and shall be given them as declared in Psalms 84, verses 11 and 12, which declares, For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord bestows present grace and favor and future glory, honor and splendor and heavenly bliss. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, happy, blessed, and fortunate to be envied is the man who trusts in you, leaning and believing on you and committing all and confidently looking to you and that without fear or misgiving. Hallelujah. All the blessings of God's precious grace are treasured up in Jesus Christ. And as well, these people are promised divine protection and unspeakable joy and peace. Dear ones, are you experiencing these for a mention blessings of God in part at this time in your life? These are all promised to the spiritually adopted children of God. as the father of a family is always on the lookout to defend and secure all of the children under his roof and those who are committed to his care so it is with Jesus Christ who betrothed promises to protect and defend his people in Isaiah chapter 32 verse 18 the word declares my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation in safe dwellings and in quiet resting places. You see, as adopted children of God, these have unspeakable joy. They enjoy the most intimate communion with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. They have access to his throne at all times and under all circumstances. the evidence of adoption are simply put in several identifications and the first one is that the spiritual children of God have renounced all their former sins and dependencies on the old way of life and Jesus gives us the example in the parable found in Matthew 13 verses 45 and 46 which tells us again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls who on finding the single pearl of great price went and sold all he had and bought it. And Apostle Paul who had found his pearl of great price as he describes this figuratively in Philippians chapter 3 verse 8 says yes furthermore I count everything as a loss compared to the possession the priceless privilege the overwhelming preciousness the surpassing worth and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord of progressively see going I'm going to stop here and say he went from knowing Christ his Lord to progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with him and perceiving and recognizing and understanding him more fully and clearly for his sake I've lost everything. In other words he's given it up willfully and consider it all to be mere rubbish, refuge, drags in order that I may win and gain Christ the Anointed One. And the second one is love and affection. And this always applies to spiritual adoption. The children of God feel a deep love for Him above all other objects, people, or anything. Our Lord's own excellency is His unspeakable love and goodness to his own children. And his promises of future blessings are all grounds of the strongest love and described by David when he said, Lord, whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none on the earth that I desire besides thee. And the third evidence of spiritual adoption is that God's children have access to his throne with holy boldness told to us in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 6 which declares, let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace, the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners, that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace to help in good time for every need, appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it. And the fourth evidence of spiritual adoption is called obedience. Those who are adopted into a family in civil adoption must obey the laws of that family and so it is with believers. They must prove themselves adopted by their obedience to the word and ordinances of God. Jesus said in John chapter 15 verse 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do. Jesus exclaimed in John chapter 14 verse 15, if you really love me, you will keep, you will obey my commands. You see, dear listener, as was stated before, Jesus' great love for his Father is the motivation of his obedience. And beloved John the Apostle, in 1 John chapter 2, verses 4 and 5, exclaimed, whoever says, I know him, I perceive and recognize and understand and am acquainted with him, but fails to keep and obey his commandments, his teachings, is a liar, and the truth of the gospel is not in him. But he who keeps treasures his word, who bears in mind his precepts, observes his messages in its entirety. Truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected, completed, reach maturity and by this time we may perceive know and recognize to be sure that we are in him and the last one the fifth one is the evidence of spiritual adoption is called patience and this dear ones is the joyful expectation of our inheritance Paul said in Romans chapter 2 verses 7 and 9. To those who by patient persistence in well-doing, springing from piety, springing from humbleness, unseen but sure, glory and honor and the eternal blessedness of immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and self-willed and disobedient to the truth, but responsive to wickedness, there will be indignation and wrath and there will be tribulation and anguish and calamity and constraint for every soul, every man who habitually does evil the Jew first and also the Greek and the Greek there means Gentile dear one have you and are you awaiting this final day we never know when our full adoption into the family of love will be finalized in that last day when we stand before our maker and give account of what we did with our lives, our time, our resources. And throughout this whole teaching today, which I say is only a snippet or a piece of a huge whole part of a subject of spiritual adoption, but from all we have covered today it is my prayer that you might truly understand and learn that spiritual adoption is an act of free grace through the Lord Jesus Christ a reminder of what Paul taught us in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 5 when he said for he foreordained us destined us planned in love for us to be adopted, revealed as his own children through Jesus Christ in accordance with the purpose of his will, because it pleased him and was his kind intent. Love for Jesus Christ is a magnet that draws the believer to their Savior. And finally, let us never forget, never, never forget, that love and faith are main ingredients in the spiritual adoption process to be called the children of God. Love for Jesus Christ takes us to the place where the Hebrew word metanoia says that it's beyond the mind. And this love for our Savior is a supernatural love and lives above the natural realm, as I like to call it. It is a real and genuine love and desires above all things to please our Master, who gave up his all to have each one of us. Let us all sincerely press in to give up our all and reach for the higher place in our precious Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you. In our message today, we're going to discuss the subject of Will you pass the test of having true faith in Jesus Christ? How can we know and recognize genuine faith from false faith in ourselves and in others who have a profession of being a believer in Jesus Christ. Since faith is a monumental and a large part of our Christian life from beginning to end and is an instrument by which the gift of salvation is received through our Lord Jesus Christ, it is imperative that we understand the importance of faith working in our lives. Apostle Paul declared that salvation is through faith and not through keeping the works of the law. We're going to look at that in Ephesians chapter 2 beginning in verse 8. For it is by free grace, God's unmerited favor, that you are saved, delivered from judgment, and made partakers of Christ's salvation through your faith. And this salvation is not of yourselves, of your own doing. It came not through your own striving. But it is a gift of God. Not because of the works, not fulfillment of the law's demands, lest any man should boast. It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can take pride in himself, in it, or take glory to himself. Verse 10. for we are God's own handiwork his workmanship recreated in Christ Jesus born anew that we may do those good works which God predestined planned beforehand for us taking paths which he prepared ahead of time that we should walk in them living the good life which he prearranged and made ready for us to live you see saving faith It involves you and me personally by depending on the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice. And it has to be the only basis for us for the forgiveness of sin and entrance into the privileged place called our eternal home But please understand the saving faith is also a personal commitment of one's life to follow Christ in obedience to his commands, just as the apostle Paul declared when he said in 2 Timothy 1, verse 12, For this reason I also suffer these things. nevertheless I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day you see Paul's faith was founded in Christ alone and it was living faith in the one whom his heart loved and in whom he believed we read that in whom he believed for I know whom I have believed. His faith had divine substance, dear ones. Jesus, in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 7, beginning in verse 21, makes it very clear anyone's faith must be solidly founded on him or else what they stand on will be destroyed. Matthew, chapter 7, verse 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven on that day many will say to me Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds and I will declare to them I never knew you go away from me you lawbreakers everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed. It was utterly destroyed. When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law. When Jesus was speaking his Sermon on the Mount, he gave many examples of identifying marks of true and genuine faith towards the conclusion of his sermon. In Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 and 14 Jesus called people to choose between two pathways the narrow road of the kingdom of heaven which leads to eternal life or the broader wide road of the world which leads to destruction and to eternal death. By mentioning the narrow road he describes how difficult it is to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is not the road of least resistance. It is a difficult road. This narrow road is difficult to find and difficult to follow. In Jeremiah chapter 29, beginning in verse 11, the prophet declares, For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you. Verse 13. And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity. In Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6, the word declares, But without faith, it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to him. For whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that he is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek him out. Salvation is a gift from God. And let me tell you this, this gift cost our Lord Jesus Christ much. It cost him his life by a horrible death upon the cross of Calvary. He was gone, and he lived in the unapproachable, uncreated light of eternity with his Heavenly Father. He willingly divested himself of this pure, unadulterated light of glory in order to come to this earth for you personally, dear listener. now you and I must search for him with all of our hearts we are told that when we do he will make himself known in our hearts just as Apostle Paul prayed for us in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 17 through 19 when he said for I always pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory that he may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation of insight into the mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of him. By having the eyes of your heart flooded with

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