Joyful Confidence in the Crush of the Lord

What did you turn with me to Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5, joyful confidence in the crush of life. All you've experienced the crush of life in one way or another. And so these good words that come to us today in Romans 5 are meant to encourage uplift and sustain us in our daily walk with Christ and through Christ with the Father. Listen to these words as Paul writes in Romans chapter 5 verse 1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exalt in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we exalt in our tribulations knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, perseverance, proven character and proven character hope.

And hope does not disappoint because the Lord, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Way too often our view of ourselves and our relationship with God is based on our circumstances and our moods. Too many times we try to live our Christian life out of our moods. I was singing this morning that old song that I think Johnny Cash and his wife saying we got married in a fever hotter than a pepper sprout. Remember that? That's how some people live their lives.

They're either hot or cold, you know. They're either burning up and they think everything is just great with God or there is cold as can be and they think God is a million miles away. Well, we tend to do that. We are prone to that because we live out of our moods rather than in our circumstances that are affected and affect our moods.

But the revelation that the believer has been justified by faith is the key to really understanding how the Father now sees us. What is our relationship with God like? Well, we really need to understand God's perspective. That's our problem. One of the things that Solomon says over and over again in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament is don't trust your heart. Your heart lies to you because we are fallen and our perspective is distorted.

There are many times that we feel it feels so right. But in fact, it's so wrong. And what we must do is come to have the same perspective that our God has in relationship to what our relationship with him is and notice this. God's perspective of our relationship as we have been looking at in Romans 5. Notice this. According to verse 1, he says, we have been justified and because we've been justified in the past, we in the present enjoy peace with God.

We've enjoyed peace with God. He's going to talk a lot in this chapter about reconciliation. Reconciliation in regards to relationships is when there is a rift of some kind. There is some offense that separates people. And reconciliation is a removal of that barrier and the reconciling of people. And he says, this is exactly what's happened to us through the work of Christ.

We've been reconciled. We have peace with God. And having peace with God is the most important thing in all of life. It's more important than any circumstance that you will ever face is having peace with God. And then verse 2, he says, we have access and a secure future. He says through whom that is through Christ, we have also obtained our introduction by faith into this sphere of grace in which we stand and we exalt in hope concerning the future, hope of the glory of God.

We have access into grace for the present and we have a secure future. We know that he's going to conform us into the image of Christ. Every true believer is going to be conformed into the image of Christ. There is going to be a transforming work that takes place. And it's taking place today in the life of every believer. And then in verse 3, because of these things, because of these truths that he tells us in verses 1 and 2, because of these realities, we can be completely positive about life's problems.

And he's going to explain why. He says we can boast in our tribulations. We can exalt in our tribulations. What an amazing thing. He has said in this passage, in fact, if you notice in verse 2, verse 3 and then in verse 11, he talks about us exalting. We exalt in the glory that's promised to us in the future when we enter into the presence of God, change, transform to the image of Christ.

We exalt in verse 3 in the present tribulations because we understand there a loving process of transformation and maturation. And then he says in verse 11, we exalt ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ. Well, why? Why do we have joyful confidence in the crush of life? Notice, first of all, it is because in verses 3 and 4 is because we embrace God's perspective about our tribulations.

Now, you can take these statements as statements of fact, because these are characteristic of the believer, or you can take them as imperatives. That is commands. We ought to do this. Really, what Paul is doing here is he is stating a fact.

Now, it's true. There are times in our lives when we're not doing these things. When we're not exalting in tribulation, but we're being crushed by them.

But the reason is we aren't living the way that God has designed us to live. We aren't living naturally as a believer in Jesus Christ who has been justified, made right with God. The reason that we can't exalt, the reason that we can't have joyful confidence in the midst of tribulations in the crush of life is because we embrace God's perspective about our tribulations. The word tribulation here, in some translations, it's translated affliction. It means to press, to be pressed, to be squeezed. Isn't that a great description of the problems of life that you've been going through over the last six months?

It's the squeeze of circumstances. We get pressed on every side, and we wonder if we're going to be able to ever survive. It comes on us so crushingly that we don't know if we're going to be able to get through them.

Well, this is a powerful truth if you will take hold of it this morning. If you will take hold of the truth, the reason that we can exalt in tribulations because we embrace God's perspective about our tribulation, it's a powerful truth that will change your life. The reason it is a powerful truth is when you assume that there is a benefit involved in the difficulties that you are going through, then you won't lose heart with them. You won't lose heart with them. You'll be able to wait upon God. The Bible is clear about waiting upon the Lord.

If you wait on the Lord, He'll deliver you. He'll deliver you. I don't care what the situation you are in. If you will wait upon the Lord, He will deliver you. And I do know by experience what it's like to be waiting and thinking that He's never going to deliver. I do know what that feels like, but you know what?

He does deliver. And He will deliver. And there's a hundred people here who could stand up and say, yes, He delivers. He delivered me. He delivered me under the crush of the pain of the circumstances of life when I waited upon Him and relied upon Him. And if you take hold of this truth, you'll see the troubles of life as an important part of God's work in you to make you like His Son.

Think of it. The problems we face, I mean, think about this concept that Paul gives us here, this truth, that the problems that we face right now give us reason to express joyful confidence, to exalt this word used twice before this place in Romans. And you know where it's used? It's use of the Jews who exalt it in the law. And it's a criticism of them that they took great delight in the fact that they possessed the law. You know, kind of like people who own a Bible and they put it on their coffee table.

They never crack it. They never open it. They never read it. They don't have a clue what it says, but boy, they feel good about that Bible sitting there on their coffee table. It's almost like a good luck charm. And that's how Paul, that's what Paul is criticizing, those Jews, not all Jews, but those Jews who thought because they possessed the law that they exalted in that, how impoverished they are.

But he says, what we exalt in, imagine this. Notice the contrast. What do we exalt in? We exalt in tribulation. What makes you confidently joyful or joyfully confident in your Christian life?

Well, I'm having so many troubles. I'm having so many problems. I know God is at work. God is working on me. See, that's what Paul says. We can have that kind of confidence when troubles come.

It doesn't matter what they are. Give me inflation, recession, you know, losing a job, marital strain, a wayward child is breaking your heart, our own inadequacies that become so big, our own failures that just crush us. Any problem that we are facing as Christians is something that Paul says should trigger joyful confidence when you understand this truth. When you apply this truth, we can boast in the fact that God will use, and this is the biblical teaching. God will use 100% of our problems as a means of transforming us into what delights the heart of God. What is it that delights the heart of God?

It's what you become as a person when you are transformed into the likeness of Christ. Remember, Paul says to the Galatians, I am in labor again for you until Christ be formed in you. You came to faith, you believed on Christ, but now I'm groaning and I'm in pain like a woman in labor waiting to deliver a child until Christ is formed into you until your character is changed until you're dominated by the hope of the gospel instead of the circumstances of life.

And so we can boast in that. We're not under the law of Moses, but we're under God's great parenting principle. And his great parenting principle is that he will use every and any event in our lives to make us like Jesus Christ, just like a good parent who's raising a small child and basically controls the atmosphere and which that child is. He controls everything about him. And he allows certain things to happen, but it's for the good of the child, it's because of his love for the child. And what we are told here is that God is in control of our lives and that nothing is going to touch our lives, that's not a part of his good plan in transforming us and forming Christ in us.

And some of us, there are people, because I picked this up and talking to people over the years, there are people who actually think that the Christian life is like this. You grow like crazy, you get under some Bible teaching, especially you come to Christ and you grow like crazy and you get to this plateau and then you never have to work again. You just go through life on this plateau that you've reached and you're this mature Christian that you just float through life. And then so you wonder, why in the world is God bringing all these difficulties on me? I've already reached the plateau.

Well look up, there is this huge mountain up there that God wants you to climb. He is at work in you and transforming you into the image of his son. What if we don't understand this principle? If you don't live by this principle, I'll tell you what will happen is you will, when trials come, when difficulties come, you'll respond in one or two ways, maybe a combinational, either respond in despair. And the reason is, is in first Peter one, it says, when you come into difficulties and God is refining your faith, the first thing that happens is you see yourself as you really are. At least you get a glimpse.

All right, singing about this, when Moses wanted to see God and God says, no one sees my face and lives, but I'll pass by you. I'll put my hand over the cave in which I want to put you. I'll pass by and I'll let you see my afterglow. I think that's what it is in trials. We don't see the whole picture, but we see a little more of the picture of what we really like and what our character really is and man is shocking to us and we can be in total despair because we discover we're not really as far along as we thought. We really are pretty immature in the faith and in our walk with Christ.

But the second way we sometimes respond is by disappointment, that is we're disappointed in God. Why in the world doesn't God do for me what is really best? Why is he allowing this to happen to me? The Bible says there's something else ought to come to mind when troubles come into our lives. And it's this, this is James chapter 1 and this is what should happen in the life of a believer who's simply believing the truth, you're not to be a giant Christian, just believing this truth. And that is this, count it all joy my brethren, when you fall into diverse trials.

The word count it all joy means reckoning to be nothing but the cause of joy. You got trouble? Bob Dylan had a song, it was sound like a garage band and all the song said was trouble, trouble, trouble, nothing but trouble. Ever feel like that? I know some of you feel like that today.

Well what James says is when you start having trouble you ought to say it's joy, it's pure joy because God is at work. God is in control of the circumstances of my life and he is going to use this trial, this pain, this hurt in order to do something glorious in my life. How can we know this is true? How can I really know this is true? And this isn't just some pep talk that I could go on PBS and do this little talk and tell people how to get through the difficulties of life. How do we know this is really true?

Well we know it's true by reflecting on the dimensions of God's love that he has revealed in the gospel. This is really important for you to think, for you to meditate. I was talking to a guy the other day that I've known for 35, 40 years now, something like that almost over 35 years. He's a pastor, preacher, follower of Jesus Christ and he's saying to me, you know what God's been working on me this last month? He says the fact that I don't meditate. I'm just going 90 miles an hour preparing sermons and doing work and do all this and I never just meditate.

I never cogitate on the word of God. I never take these truths in and think about them and let them roll around in my heart. Well that's what Paul says we ought to do in Ephesians 3. He says I'm praying that your inner man would be strengthened so that you could come to really comprehend what is the height and breadth and length and depth of the love of Christ. You know that God wants you to think about the dimensions of his love towards you and Christ Jesus to meditate upon them. I have an acquaintance in the ministry who does a lot of counseling and a very large search over in the peninsula and he said to me that when people come in with marriage problems this is the assignment he always gives them.

I want you to listen to them and then he says well here's what I want you to do before we meet next time. I want you to read the first 39 chapters of Isaiah and I want you to find out what your problem is in that in that passage of scripture because it mentions every problem you could ever face. I just want you to find it and find out what Isaiah says about it and then come back and we'll talk about it and I said well how many people do you get to come back?

Well he says for one thing nobody that isn't serious is going to come back. You want solution?

Meditate upon the dimensions of God's love and so what Paul is telling us is that the only way we'll ever live like this the only way we're ever going to walk like this is Christians and see the problems of life as a part of God's good plan in conforming us into the image of Christ is if we understand the dimensions of his love for us in Christ Jesus and he's going to say that right here in Romans 8 32 Paul is going to say that if he's given us his son then certainly everything everything without exception that he gives us in life is going to

work towards our good it's a part of his good plan so each time we face a problem we need to remember that we're not into the law of Moses or the law of batting averages you know I've had 14 trials and I've successfully went through three of them

but I'm getting better because last year I had 14 I only successfully got through one of them that's not how God works what God is telling us to do is to walk in faith we're under the parenting principle of growth in Christ Jesus and he is going to bring things to bear upon our lives until we grow he's not going to leave you as you are one of the most helpful insights I've ever had recently I have had recently is Dallas Willard was talking about people who look at problems in their life and they go I'm not really that kind of person I just blew it and he says and I tell them

well you're the kind of person who blows it see because your your actions your activity your what you're doing today is revealing the kind of person you are so if you're stealing from your company it means this is a kind of person you are you're a thief well what's the solution I need to be transformed I need to be transformed if I don't talk to my wife if I'm so selfish that when I go home all I do is this is getting really personal if all I do is is

you know take my computer and work on things that I have left over from the work turn the TV on eat the dinner she prepares me but say five words to her then obviously I'm the kind of person that needs to be radically transformed right radical transformation so instead of hiding what you're really like just come to grips with it and say

you know what there's a god in heaven who's able to change me this a god in heaven who's able to take people that are as hard-hearted as all get out who are so mean-spirited towards people and make them into soft pliable merciful loving people I've seen God do that over and over again right Jeff Jeff Leeson he's a soft-hearted guy that's the only way I've ever known him but I've heard rumors that he's not always been that way I think that is the grace of God he changes us he transforms us

now I must tell you this I just want to make this announcement be prepared for God to burst your bubble because what we all tend to do is we tend to set boundaries around God in which we don't allow him to trespass in other words God would never do this he would never allow this to invade my life he would never allow this to happen to me

you see things happen to other people and you go man I'm glad God would never let that kind of thing happen to me oh don't count on it don't count on it I was with the believers it's actually been about three years ago talking to him we were doing something else but just in the conversation he's been walking with Lord for years a businessman and he began to kind of pour his heart out about his son his son has has has has become gay in his lifestyle I don't that's not the my favorite term

but he's become a homosexual this man's a believer takes his walk with Christ very seriously and it's just broken his heart and and probably for 30 minutes he told me how he just could never imagine that happening to because he raised his children up in the church he taught them the word of God he did what he thought he should do he was he didn't see himself as an absent father and all those things and yet there was well whatever the causes the fact is here's a believer who had something invade his life that he never thought God would allow to happen

you know some of you are like that it's just that you've gotten used to it now but if you would transport yourself back 20 years you think oh no God would never let that happen to me you see God is interested in transforming you

and so the fact is that God will surprise you at times you know I've had a lot of things in my life I assume could never happen to me because I had certain convictions about the word of God I obeyed God's principles in in my life in in these areas and all of a sudden I'm confronted with something that I never thought could happen to me it totally shocked me it took me a while to even get oriented towards it that I could even take it in the reason that he does that he wants to teach us something I want to turn to this once again I know I've done this before

but I want you to if you haven't seen it turn to second Corinthians all of you turn to second Corinthians chapter one and just mark this in your Bible so you can come back to it because this is really important here's God's purposes in bringing us through difficulties in ways we don't expect the

second Corinthians chapter one verse three blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction that's the same word all are all the crushing experiences of life so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction and you've noticed this in the life of this fellowship that certain people go through things and there's somebody in the flock who says I've gone through the same thing and they come alongside you and they minister to you and they comfort you

because God comforted them and they noticed this to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God in other words God comforts me in my affliction then I'm able to comfort you I can't tell you having gone through a couple of big things of my life how many people God's brought into my path because they're going through the same thing and I can say God will take you through this I promise you God will take you through this then he says this for justice the sufferings of Christ are ours and abundance so also our comfort is abundant through Christ

but if we are afflicted if we're pressed if we're going through difficulties it is for your comfort and deliverance or if we are comforted we go through it and God comforts us it is for your comfort which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer and our hope for you is firmly grounded knowing that as you are shares of our sufferings so also you are shares of our comfort and then immediately he tells them about an affliction that he's gone through that's terrifying when you think about the meaning of it listen to what he says for we do not

want you to be unaware brethren of our affliction which came to us in Asia that we were burdened excessively in other words the load of our troubles was so heavy he goes on it was beyond our strength so that we despaired even of life you ever felt like that have you ever felt like in the troubles of life that you're going to die you just can't get through this you're going to perish you can't even imagine life after this he goes on to verse 9 indeed we had the sentence of death within ourselves

you know we're ready to die I've talked to people like that going through trials and they're ready to die in fact it seems to them as though it'd be a relief to be able to die but then notice the purpose why does God allow this why does he bring things into your life what does he allow things to come into your life like this he says so that we would not trust in ourselves

but in God who raises the dead see the biggest problem you and I have today as believers as Christians who place their faith in Christ the biggest problem we have is we trust in ourselves instead of God we trust in our feelings we trust in our heart we trust in our circumstances we trust in our own wisdom we trust in our abilities instead of trusting in God and he said God took me through this so that and Paul was a brilliant man by anybody's measurement I got to tell you and he says God again in a fresh way wanted to teach me not to trust in myself

but to trust in the one who's able to raise the dead now what is the process of this this is important notice the the expression here back in Romans chapter 5 this expression in verse 3 that expression brings about that word brings about the word it's one single Greek word that's translated brings about means to accomplish and

notice that to accomplish there's a house there's a log cabin out on Byron highway down from us that I pass ever so often and it was never accomplished they started it they got the structure up I understand he got into a fight with the county and never got it completed probably didn't get it permit there's no roof on it but obviously this man spent a lot of money but he didn't accomplish the task never finished it this word means to finish to perform successfully to do something thoroughly

now notice that in light of that notice what he says we have joyful confidence in our tribulation because we know something that tribulation brings about perseverance well how does this happen tribulation brings about perseverance that's the first step tribulation produces patience or perseverance perseverance means the ability to abide under pressure abide they in the sense that to continue to love God trust God obey God worship God honor God when things are absolutely impossible in your life endurance means that when the crush of life comes down upon you and it's so heavy you think you're gonna perish you continue to believe God you continue to love

God you continue to honor him and worship him with your life you don't bail out you don't abandon your convictions you don't abandon the faith you don't abandon this relationship that's endurance endurance is really important this isn't a passive idea it is actively holding up under trial it doesn't mean to go limp it means to hold up and to continue to move forward it's likened to gold being refined in other contexts by the refiner's fire the real thing remains so this ability to abide under pressure it's what people look for when they hire somebody they want somebody who is able to stay on the job stay at the task even if it's hard

but notice the second step this endurance again brings about accomplishes perform successfully this is what does it endurance produces approved character you can't have an approved character in the biblical sense unless you've experienced endurance under the pressures of life trusting in God when it's hard approved character wow the word the word that's translated approved character comes from the idea of being watched of being watched you know there are so many secret you know there's a camera right there see that camera security camera I was thinking this morning I don't if they ever turn that on during our church services being watched

but it's being watched for the purpose of approval being watched in order to approve something it's an approved character an approved character is someone that has been watched and is functioning and has functioned under pressure what kind of a guy is this it's the word that's used of giving a reference when you get a reference from somebody you want somebody who's watched them under pressure and they have seen that they have an approved character they've been observed it's obvious to us we've seen it so when you list personal references on an application you're saying that this person has watched me he knows me he's seen

me perform under pressure it's not you don't ask somebody to give you a reference just because you want them to do you a favor it's because they know something about you they've watched your life and they've seen you you have an approved character see this is what is important an approved character is not going to come except through endurance if you bail out every time there's pressure in your life then you don't have an approved character you're the kind of person who bailes out you're you still need this process

now notice the third thing which flows out of that this approved character brings about hope the approved character Paul says produces hope now think about that the pressure of life when you're going through something difficult will you keep on doing the right thing you keep on believing God trusting God worshipping God it doesn't bring despair it brings hope the reason there are so many hopeless people in the church is several reasons some some of them don't know the promises of God some of them don't believe God they will fulfill his promises and some of them have bailed out so many times when the pressure of

life was upon them that they feel hopeless what will build hope this process tribulation endurance approved character hope hope God strengthens us and he produces produces he produces an approved character in us as we've trust him and go through these things and the result is we have hope in God I have a friend who owns used to own a couple airplanes remember I'm talking to me about this one of them was a single engine for passenger plane that he had on for many several quite a few years and then he had another plane that was a twin engine plane it was a twelve passenger had it was a bigger plane

but he'd only owned it for a short time and he had flown them both but one of them the twin engine plane was not tested in the sense that Paul's using it here because it kept failing the test they rebuilt the engines more than once but every time over any sustained use can ran into the same problem so whenever he wanted to go somewhere he always chose the tested airplane that makes good sense doesn't it the only way that we can become usable to God in the ultimate sense is to be tested and have an approved character to stick with it I've seen so many people who think that they're called to some ministry

but they can't sustain any ongoing pressure so that they prove they have an approved character they can obey God they can trust God in difficulties they'll stick to the task they'll carry it to the end and Paul says this is God's design in your tribulations he wants to prepare you so that he can use you for eternal things you know when when life is over and you stand before Christ the Bible says the most important thing to you then will be what do I have to offer to my Savior have I become the kind of person who has an approved character that God can use me

now I want to show you something about this it's so wonderful and that is this process of tribulation this is one of the things if you keep this in mind it will it will cause you to rejoice in the midst of trials to exalt to be joyfully confident in trials because if you remember that this process of trials as you go through it as you trust God you endure your characters is approved tested it will lead to a product and that product of course is hope

but let me point out something hope isn't just character it is relationship hope is what's important you know all these character trait problem character trait programs are great but character traits are not the end a tested character is so that you could come to hope in God hope has to do with relationship stop and think about it for one moment the people with whom you have relationship it's built upon a kind of trust I trust them if I call my wife up on the telephone and say I am starving she knows that's a lie

but she knows what I mean I'm very hungry and if she says to me well I'll fix you your favorite meal tonight so it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon from 3 o'clock until 530 I'm filled with hope because I have no doubt whatsoever

because of her approved character she's going to do exactly what she tells me she's going to do and our relationship our relationship is built upon trust and so I have hope in her word she will keep her word she has promised 41 years ago next month imagine that 41 years ago next month she promised to be faithful to me to love me through her whole life to never leave me or forsake me and she's kept her word and I hope in her word I earnestly expect her to finish the course with me that when they lay me in the grave she's going to be there

and she's going to be comforted by the people of God and she's going to say I stuck with him to the very end he's twice the man he was when we got married it's almost true hope relationship see hope is at the center of relationships hope is at the center of relationship when you lose when you stop trusting someone you no longer can hope in their word you don't expect you lose your expectation deferred hope the Bible says makes the heart sick

but if we know that we're loved by a good father then we're sustained in the midst of the most difficult trials see we need to deepen our trust in God so when I'm going through difficult things I know my God is going to take me through this right he's going to take me through this how do I know that because I have hope I've gone through trials he's been faithful to me he's stuck with me he fulfilled his word and as John says even if when I was unfaithful he remained faithful

because he cannot deny himself he can't stop being faithful to me it's impossible I have hope in him and the only way you will gain that hope is by going through trials enduring having your character changed and out of that character is going to be produced this glorious hope that we have in God's word so why do we have joyful confidence in the crush of life first because we embrace God's perspective about our troubles we know that our troubles are part of his good purpose and plan and conforming us into the image of Christ secondly

because we embrace God's perspective about our future and notice what Paul says about in verse 5 and hope that is this expectation about the future promises of God what God's promised concerning the future this hope does not disappoint the word disappoint means to shame to shame you down hope this hope hoping in God will never put you to shame because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us have you ever hoped in someone and they let you down and you were put to shame

you know you put your hope in somebody's word and so you're you're resting in that and you're you're exulting in it and everybody knows you're exulting in it and then the person doesn't come through you know sometimes fathers have this habit I've done it myself and I've had it done to be my my father where in order to get a child to act a certain way in a situation we make them promises and then we're unable to fulfill the promise

and so they begin to develop this attitude they don't believe our promises God isn't like that God will never make you false promises to get you to act a certain way or to do a certain thing God promises are good now notice this the hope is not putting us to shame why doesn't it put us to shame let me show you because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us this is the answer this is why you will never be put to shame through this hope that is developed through a proven character notices the love of God and

let me emphasize this this expression in this context the agape of God the love of God is referring to the subjective feeling that God has for us as his children that's what it's talking about in this context it's the subjective feeling that God has for us

now that sounds odd because we usually don't talk about God's love in this way because so much of the time it's referring to the objective demonstration of God's love but in this context he's talking about the spirit of God gushing forth within our hearts this deep profound sense of God's feelings towards us this is not an abstract concept with God it is pulsing with vibrant emotion God's love is kindly it is intended it is joyful to him to love us he actually enjoys the objects of his love have you ever thought about that that God enjoys you that God loves you you think you're better

than God you can enjoy a little grandchild or a little child who's done nothing for you except exist you can find joy in them and God can't find joy in you this is what he's saying is a spirit of God gushes forth in our hearts this profound sense of God's feelings towards us and then

notice this it has been poured out let me explain something about this expression is really important that expression is a perfect tense in the original language which means that it is describing something that happened in the history of every believer when you came to faith in Christ at that moment the spirit of God there was an event that took place the spirit of God gushed forth into your hearts poured out into your heart and this word emphasizes the effusion of it is so much it's overwhelming God filled your heart with the sense of his love for you and

now there's an ongoing continual result of that and that is this a deeply felt memory you know how there are certain things that you remember just instantaneously there are certain songs if I hear those songs from you know the 60s you have some songs like that maybe you're young ones from the 80s that's an ancient time 80s but I remember from the 60s and the 70s some of those songs come up and all of a sudden it just floods my life with this atmosphere all these memories some of them are very sweet some of them are very sweet at all

you know that happens well what he is referring to here is the spirit doing our work in us that gives us forever as when we get right with God when the Holy Spirit is truly working in us we have this deeply felt memory it's an indelible mark that is left upon the deepest part of who you are you're an object of God's love the amazing thing is when the spirit comes in power at times in our life it's the most important thing in all of life is to know that there's times when it feels like everything in life is taken away from you I've gone

through those times I've gone through those moments where it felt like there was absolutely everything has been taken away but then the spirit of God sweeps over you and he gives you this sweet memory that you're an object of the love of Almighty God it reminds you of his deep affection for you and it sustains you it gets you through those hours it has been poured out and that's his emphasis that it's there's an ongoing effect that will never stop you can never get rid of this get right with God have the spirit of God speaking to you and this will be the most important

thing to you more important than anything else that you think is so awfully important to you at this moment and notice where it happens within our hearts in other words at the very center of who you are man it's amazing how we can live on the peripheral that we can live for things that are so insignificant they're so out there on the edge that have so little to do with the real issues of life and we can worship and bow down to things that are nothing

but in but idols of the heart but what God has done has done something very deep and when you start living at the center of your being when you get back to living at the center the spirit of God is really working the memory floods your heart this is where it takes place within our hearts at the very center of who we are and then notice this through the Holy Spirit this is the agent he's the one who does it the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit who was given to us

now notice this we experience God's love through the Holy Spirit this is a ministry a divine supernatural ministry of God the Holy Spirit nobody else can do this nobody else can do this I've had that experience of trying to talk somebody into something and realize it's impossible if the spirit doesn't speak to your heart then I can talk for days and never change your mind right you all experience that

but notice this last part of this statement he was given to us he was given to us he's a gift from the Father that's what the New Testament calls him he's the gift from the Father the Father has given us this gift and he was given to us for this very purpose that he would be a constant reminder of God's love for us in Christ Jesus it is through the Holy Spirit that we experience this realization of God's love for us and

you know what the Spirit does the Spirit is constantly bringing home to our hearts God's constant love namely in the death of Jesus Christ that is he keeps pointing us there and again it's like it's like singing that song that brings up all these memories it brings to bear up on our heart wait a minute in all my troubles and feeling abandoned I remember Jesus died for me God sent his son to die for me that's how much God loves me no matter what happens in your life

the fact is this is the great testimony this is a great demonstration Paul's going to say later on in this chapter the great demonstration of God's love is that Christ died for you when you were weak and ungodly and sinful and unable to do a thing for him Christ died for us the Spirit was given to us he is the gift of the Father and he keeps pointing us to the cross he keeps saying look at the cross I know you're confused you ever been lost you've ever been out there and you couldn't find your way I've been that way before you get out

you know get out in the forest somewhere right Mitch I can get lost in the forest I led them on a walk on time we were totally lost and you think you know where you're going it seems like you're going the right direction right how do you get your bearings only one way spiritually you get your bearings you got to look at the cross the cross is right at the center and if you can find the cross if you can just get turned around and see the cross you'll start going in the right direction

and so the Holy Spirit is an ever present witness to the heart and he will never leave you he's going to constantly tell you this you count on it you're never going to get away from this he's always going to be there when he comes to take up residence in you and he's always going to be pointing you to the same thing the cross notice this Galatians 4.6 it's amazing revelation of the heart of God Paul says to the Galatians who are having difficult times man they're fighting and feuding in this church and it's

because they've lost touch with the grace of God and so Paul says to them in reassuring them he says because you are sons God has sent forth the Spirit of his son into our hearts crying abba father what does that mean it means the Holy Spirit produces within your heart this deep sense of God's love for you as your father and your identity as his child it's his job in Romans 8 little later in this book we're looking at he's going to say you have not received the Spirit of slavery that leads you to fear again

but you've received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry out abba which just means dear father dear father see this is what God is up to in your trials the reason he's allowing you to go through trials even today and the ones that are coming the ones that are passed is always the same it's because of his great love for you and you know when you're not faithful he remains faithful because he cannot deny himself and so he will keep it up he'll keep it up sometimes we wish he wouldn't there are moments in your Christian life when you wish the Holy Spirit you could just turn it off you can't forget

because he's come to take up permanent a permanent place in your heart will you come up now yeah let me pray our father we thank you that our troubles our pressures the crush of life upon us is not wasted because you were at work and not only do we know it we can rejoice in it we can have joyful confidence when troubles befall us we thank you that you've brought us through so many and you've taught us so much

but we know we have so much further to go there's so much more work to be done upon us father and I just want to for this congregation say to you that we lay ourselves before you and ask you to finish your work accomplish your task we pray that Christ would be formed in us in every way that you would be glorified and delighted in the product of your grace we pray in Jesus name you