You know, I believe the, the Word shows us that once the Lord sets His heart on us, the enemy, the devil, our flesh can't keep us from coming to the Lord. Once God sets His heart on a person, we're gonna come to Jesus. But that doesn't mean the fight is over. We have an enemy who, as Christians, he's going to cause us and try to cause us to be ineffective.
And so we're going to be battling sin our whole life until the Lord takes us home. And that's why I wanted Dan to share that, because we're not out there worshiping idols, we're worshiping Jesus. But we can have idols in our heart.
I'll tell my quick story about, and I've told this before, I joke that I only have about 10 stories and I tell them over and over and over again. So most of you have probably heard this. But I was on my way down to speak at a friend's church down in the valley. This is 1980, 2, '83. We had had 2 babies that had died.
One lived for 10 months, was in the hospital for 8 or 9 months. And we were trusting the Lord to give him health and a long life. Psalm 91, we were believing God's word that he was going to live. He made it through 5 surgeries and was doing really well. He was born prematurely, was 2 pounds 12 ounces.
When he was born. He recovered from these 5 surgeries, and then one day he was in the hospital. One day we got a call and the Lord had taken him. Gone. Just like that.
And I had to stay home with Kelly. Judy and Kelly and I were at home, and someone had to stay with Kelly. So I stayed with Kelly. Judy drove to the hospital to see to see Michael. And I just knew that when Judy got to the hospital and saw Michael's body, that she was going to have a faith crisis.
On the way to the hospital, the Lord showed Judy that the long life that we were believing for Michael was going to be in heaven and not on earth.
And she saw that just as clear as day. So when she got to the hospital, she didn't have a faith crisis. God had already done a work in her heart between the East Side, like out in the Yarbrough area, and driving to Providence. God showed her that the long life that we had been believing for, for Michael, was not going to be here, but it was going to be with the Lord.
An amazing revelation. So I'd worked through that myself. And this was a few years later, and Judy was having some back problems. And she had an X-ray that showed a white spot on her X-ray. And that either meant an injury, an infection, or a tumor.
And they wanted to wait a few months and do another X-ray. And during those two months, they ruled out injury. They ruled out infection. So it was definitely a tumor. Did another X-ray.
The white spot was bigger and brighter, which meant that it was a tumor and probably cancerous because of the way it was growing. So the next thing they wanted to do was do a biopsy. So in between the second X-ray and the biopsy, this friend of mine asked me to go down and speak at his church, small church down in Fabens. He was like a spiritual dad to me. He had started his church.
Judy had lived with their family for a number of years right out of high school. So I'm driving down, I'm thinking about what I'm going to say, and I start thinking about this thing on Judy's back. And all of a sudden, out of my mouth comes this: Lord, you took Michael, and you took Hannah, and if you take Judy, I'm not going to serve you anymore.
I had never consciously had that thought before, ever.
But there was something in my heart that just erupted out of me. And I pulled over. I was somewhere between I-10 and Fabens. And I was just undone. Where did that come from?
What was that? The Lord said, spoke. It wasn't an audible voice, but it might as well have been. He said, you're idolizing Judy and your children. You have those above me in your heart.
And I had no idea that was going on. No clue. But there it was. And I just started weeping, weeping, weeping, asking the Lord to forgive me, receiving his forgiveness. You know, 20 minutes, 25, I don't know.
I was just crying, talking to the Lord. I had no idea that was in my heart.
Get back on the road, I'm driving down to Jack's church. I walk in there and my face is just, you know, all puffed up. I've been crying. He goes, what is wrong with you?
So I told him, I said, Jack, I can't speak this morning. I mean, I'm undone. So I told him what had happened. And he said, well, just tell them. That's your message today.
Tell them what just happened to you. And so I did. I mean, I shared that and cried some more.
But we can get idols in our heart. We can start putting things above God, serving God for what he'll do for us. And if he doesn't do those things, then we start charging him.
Sanctification, the furnace, the forge, crushing, crushing that needs to take place in our life to make us more like Jesus. And the Lord is so faithful to help us, show us hidden areas. I had no idea that was there. I knew Judy had some issues in trusting the Lord, I was really concerned about her drive to the hospital that morning. The Lord is so faithful.
He's so faithful by His Spirit to show us these areas in our heart that He's after. The sanctification of the Lord, setting us apart to be holy, useful for Him.
I got a call today from my son. He said, Dad— he knows we're going through this on the Holy Spirit, but he's aware that we're going through this, but he had no idea how timely his call was. He said, Dad, I've been listening to this message on the internet, and this guy says that it's not Jesus that's in our heart when we're saved, it's the Holy Spirit.
He said, what do you think about that? I said, he's right.
The Bible says Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. Remember when He ascended? The angel said, "Why do you look?" That's the same Jesus will come back just as He was taken up.
Jesus said, "It's necessary that I go to be with the Father so that the Holy Spirit can come." The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are so united in the Trinity that when we say we've received Jesus, and we've asked Him into our heart, He doesn't come down out of heaven. The Bible says He's at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. It's His Holy Spirit, it's the Spirit of Jesus that's in our heart.
I mean, that may be a disappointment to you, but don't let it be. It's still Jesus, it's His Spirit. So John goes, Wow. Yeah, I said, our God is an amazing God.
Revelation 3:20, Jesus said, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice, the chapter tonight is on the nearness of God, God's presence with us. Jesus said, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him. Fellowship with Him and He with me.
So that picture has been used, that scripture has been used many times to picture Jesus' desire to come in. When we open the door, He comes in. When He gives us, when He gives us by His Spirit faith and grace to repent and come to Him and receive Him, He comes in to fellowship with us by His Spirit, to fellowship with us, to dwell within us. Paul says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Lord dwells in us by His Spirit and fellowships with us.
6 · Expounds the Great Commission to demonstrate that Jesus's command to go is inseparable from His promise to be with His disciples always by His Spirit
The nearness of God. Think about these scriptures that we've heard before. Matthew 28:18-20. It's been called the Great Commission, and Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always." to the end of the age.
That's the Lord's promise, to be with us, to be near to us always. The Creator God promises to be with us, to be in us. He commands us to go, but He says you're not going on your own. Wait, He told His disciples, wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. 'You shall be filled with the Holy Spirit. You shall be filled with power to be my witnesses.'
7 · Expounds Psalm 34 to establish that God's nearness is most certain in brokenheartedness and suffering, while acknowledging that sometimes God removes the awareness of His presence to reveal what is in the heart
Psalm 34: 'The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.' Pretty serious verse. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all of their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. Have you been brokenhearted in your life? Have you ever been brokenhearted and felt that the Lord is not near you?
The promise of God's words is that he is near to the brokenhearted. You know, there's a real interesting verse in the Old Testament, and it just came to my mind, so I'm not sure where it is, but it says that the Lord removed the awareness of his presence from a certain person to see what was in his heart. Not that the Lord needs to know, but he removed the awareness of his presence from this particular person so that what was in his heart would be revealed.
That definitely was happening to me on that drive down to my friend's church.
I got to thinking about my fear, not the presence of the Lord. If the Holy Spirit's presence had been very real to me at that moment, I probably wouldn't have had that thought.
But the awareness of his presence was removed, and all of a sudden what was in my heart came out. Interesting. So when we're brokenhearted, when life hits us, and we're crushed by life, the Lord is right there. The promise of God's Word is that he is near to the brokenhearted. He's very near to us.
That's good news. I'm thinking about this donor family. The Lord's very near to them. Them. I don't know if they're Christians or not, but the Lord is very near to the brokenhearted.
Sometimes we don't see Him. Sometimes we're not aware. Sometimes we're charging God when terrible things happen to us. But He's very near. He's wanting us to turn to Him, to draw near to Him.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
8 · The preacher steps out of the expositional flow to address a specific pastoral situation in the congregation—a donor family facing loss—applying the theology of God's nearness to their immediate suffering
I'm thinking about this donor family. The Lord's very near to them. Them. I don't know if they're Christians or not, but the Lord is very near to the brokenhearted.
9 · Expounds Hebrews 13 to connect contentment and freedom from the love of money with the promise that God will never leave or forsake His people
Hebrews 13: Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have. For the Lord has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we can say confidently, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? That's a quote. It's a reference back to Joshua 1:9. I will never leave you nor forsake you, God says.
10 · Expounds Joshua 1:9 in its historical context of leadership transition from Moses to Joshua, emphasizing God's promise to be with Joshua as He was with Moses
Joshua 1:9, no man shall be able to stand. This is when Moses had passed. Joshua was taking leadership of the people of God in the first chapter of Joshua. This is God's promise to Joshua. Listen to this. No man shall be able to stand before you. This is the Lord talking to Joshua. All the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 'with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.' That's the Lord's promise to His people.
This was a particular promise to Joshua.
Jesus said to His disciples, Matthew 28, 'Go into all the world, and I will be with you till the end of the age.' God's promise is to be with His people, to be near His people. 'I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong.' and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers and to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all that the law of Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn to the right or to the left, that you may be good and have success wherever you go.
The book of the law, God's word, shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, do not be fearful, do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Go. The nearness of the Lord, His promise to be with His people.
11 · The preacher uses the well-known Footprints poem to illustrate that God's nearness is often most real in our hardest times when we feel most alone, and that what appears to be God's absence is actually Him carrying us through suffering
How many of you don't know what the Footprints poem is about? So when I say the Footprints poem, how many of you don't know what that is?
Anybody? Haas? David? The Footprints poem. How many of you know what it is?
Don't you feel funny that you don't know what it is?
Where you been, man?
So the Footprints poem is a poem about this person talking to the Lord and saying, Lord, you've been with me my whole life. 'But Lord, during my hardest times, your footprints weren't next to mine. There was only one set of footprints. Lord, you've walked by me, you've walked next to me, two sets of footprints all through life. But Lord, as I look at my hardest times, there was only one set of footprints.
You weren't with me, Lord.' And the Lord says to the person, 'Those were my footprints.' I was carrying you during your hardest times.
Isn't that true in our lives? Sometimes we feel like we're all alone during those hard times, and we see the footprint. We only see one set of footprints, and we say, Lord, we're with you. And he opens up our eyes and says, those are my footprints. I was carrying you.
That's the footprints thing. Yeah.
12 · Brief connective tissue concluding the Footprints illustration and preparing to move to the next scriptural passage
That's the footprints thing. Yeah.
13 · Expounds Psalm 23 to establish that the Lord's nearness is the ground for fearlessness even in the valley of the shadow of death
Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? For You are with me. Lord, you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me. Where? In the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
So these famous passages that most of us are familiar with are all referring to the fact that God is with us. He is near us. By His Holy Spirit, He is encouraging us. He is teaching us. He is empowering us.
He is with us day by day through— I mean, I think about Alec and Amanda being away from us, the church that they love, but they're not away from the Lord. There's another Sovereign Grace church that has come alongside of them and encouraged them, but the Lord has been right there with them, near them, through this trial with little Bodie.
Isn't that amazing?
14 · Signals a structural shift from introductory scriptural survey to focused exposition of Romans 8, referencing the book (presumably by Ricky) that is the basis for the teaching series
Alright, well, let's look at the book. Let's go— that was all by way of a little bit of introduction. But let's look at some of these things that Ricky has talked about in the book. So the first thing I want us to talk about is Romans 8, and this is on page 67.
15 · Introduces the theme of adoption by expounding John 1:12, establishing that salvation includes not just justification but familial relationship with God as Father
And this has to do with the spirit of adoption, the Lord talking to us about our relationship to Him when He saves us. He doesn't just save us, but He brings us into His family. John 1:12 says, "His own people did not receive Him, but to as many as did receive Him," that would be you and me, if we have received the Lord as our Savior, "but to as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become sons and daughters of God." Jesus taught us to pray, saying what? Our Father, who art in heaven. So the whole concept of family, God is our Father.
16 · Expounds Romans 8:13-17, establishing that the Holy Spirit both enables believers to put to death the deeds of the body and bears witness to their identity as children of God who cry 'Abba, Father
And so in Romans 8:13, Paul writes and he says, for you live according to the flesh. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. 'But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.' That's what Dan was talking to us about, putting to death those idols in our heart. 'For all who are led by the Spirit of God are' what? 'Sons of God.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit,' Holy Spirit, the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. I want you to think about that. Do you know that you're a child of God? Do you have that reality in your thinking when you think about your relationship with your heavenly Father? Is there something that's bearing witness in your heart that you are His son or daughter?
Think about that.
If the answer is yes, if there's something in your heart that's bearing witness, that's saying yes, there's something in your heart that's testifying, God is my Heavenly Father, I am His son, I am His daughter, it's the Holy Spirit. If that's bearing witness in your heart somewhere, If you're nodding yes, that's the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart, confirming to you that you are a son or daughter of God. Verse 17, and if children, then heirs, and heirs of God and fellow servants with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
17 · Expounds Galatians 4:4-7 as a parallel passage confirming Romans 8, emphasizing that God sent His Son to redeem and adopt believers into His family, sending the Spirit of His Son to enable them to cry 'Abba, Father' with the rights of heirs rather than slaves
And then the same thing Paul echoes to the Galatians in Galatians 4, verse 4. Galatians 4, verse 4. Turn over and take a look at that as well. Paul says to the Galatians, chapter 4, verse 4, but when the fullness of time has come— had come— God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. God adopts us into his family.
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but you are a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
18 · Shifts from exposition to congregational interaction, inviting people to share what the term 'Abba' means to them personally and theologically
So let's talk about this a little bit. What does that word Abba mean to you? What does it mean, and then what does it mean to you?
19 · Through congregational interaction, the preacher develops the meaning of 'Abba' by gathering testimonies about intimacy, trust, security, and childlike access to the Father
So Ricky talked about this in the book. You may have studied it before. You probably already know this. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. What is that word Abba? We cry, Abba, Father, if the Spirit is in us. What is that?
Who said that? Okay, so what does that mean? What does that word mean, and what's it mean to you, John?
Don't you like John's voice? He doesn't need a microphone. So John's a colonel in the Army. That is called a command voice. Sorry, John, go ahead.
That personal relationship where I can call God the Creator Daddy. And knowing that as I'm speaking to him, he already knows what's on my heart. He already knows what I'm trying to hide. He enables the Holy Spirit to say, you're not done yet, you got to open up. And so He provides that conviction.
And when I screw up, He's there waiting on me. I got you, son. I got you.
So good, John. Good. Somebody else. I don't want you to try to outdo John, but when you read that, when you read Abba, Father, what does that say to you.
So yeah, Abba is that word, that very intimate word.
The picture I have in my mind is my kids coming to me and saying, Dad, or my grandkids coming to me and saying, Papa, with their hands out, jumping in my lap.
Or Emery, Or Ever, my granddaughters who are now married, can't believe I'm saying that. Ever's 18, or Ever's 21, and Emery's 18, and them coming and saying, Papa, can I bring some of my friends over to learn about the Holy Spirit? So yeah, sure, bring them over. Can you tell your story about how you and Nana got saved? Can you and Nana tell us your story?
About how the Holy Spirit moved back in the '70s. Papa.
It's that type of intimacy that Abba communicates. So when you think about it— someone else. Yeah, Diana. Do I have to use a mic? Do you have a command voice?
Do I have a command voice? I don't know. OK, so I think of complete trust abandonment of my own fears, security, and love.
Someone else? Larry?
No, I don't have a command voice either, but page 66 in Vicki's book, that's when I realized something. I was never far from my dad's heart at all. As soon as I read that, I recall the Rawlings baseball glove signed by Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees. That kind of dates me.
I found it in my dad's closet hidden away after he had returned from a trip back into the States.
Aha. My brother was a New York, Brooklyn Dodgers fan. I was a New York Yankees fan. And so the Mickey Mantle Rawlings baseball glove was obviously for me.
I wondered why. I asked my mom, why does Dad travel so much? Her answer was, well, you like to eat, don't you?
Well, yes, so my twisted youthful mind, I thought, so if Dad is at home, I don't eat? But— So he had a baseball glove signed by Mickey Mantle for you?
For me. And this was probably early in the year. Christmas Day, it was under the Christmas tree with my name on it. And so when I asked, kept wondering where Dad was, and if he's gone, I eat, if he's at home, I don't eat. Illogic.
Let's have someone else share a word. Oh, am I done? Next? Next? But so Larry was referencing what Ricky had written in his book.
If you read the story, Ricky wondered where his dad went to work and that if when he was at work, did he forget about Ricky. And then Ricky, when he went to work with his dad, as he got older, he saw a picture of himself, Ricky, on his dad's mousepad at work. So he knew that even though his dad was away, that he wasn't away from his dad's heart. Yeah, I know, I know, me too. Somebody else, one more.
Abba, Father. Yeah.
The picture I was just thinking about was, you know, when we stand, we fall back into somebody's arms. We've got to believe they're going to catch us. And I just had a picture that I can fall back into his arms and know that he's got me and just trust him.
Yeah, because you really had to trust your friends, right? That's good, Marguerite.
20 · The preacher narrates the dramatic story of losing his daughter Hannah and simultaneously adopting his son John on the same night, showing how God's providence worked through devastating loss to bring a new child into their family
So adoption— John, my son, is adopted. We adopted him from birth. Judy was in the hospital.
She We had lost Michael, the son I told you about. A year later she got pregnant again, and when she was 5 months pregnant, she was having a great pregnancy, and then all of a sudden she started bleeding one day and ended up in the hospital. And the same doctor that had delivered Michael and had helped her through that pregnancy told her, after he had tried numerous things to to stop the contractions, he said, this baby's gonna be delivered tonight and we're not gonna be able to save it the way we saved Michael.
And we were devastated. And she'd already been in the hospital like 3 or 4 hours and taken many medications and the contractions were just not stopping. He said, but however, he said, I do have a patient who just came to me 2 weeks ago that wants me to deliver her baby, and that baby's going to be born tonight, and I'm looking for someone to adopt it. And she's in the labor room right next door. We could hear her right on the other side of the wall going through her labor.
And he said, I have 5 patients who want to adopt, who have told me in the past they want to adopt. I've, I've contacted all of them and they're not ready at this moment on such short-term notice to take a baby. And if I can't find someone to take a baby, this baby, I have to turn it over to the state in the morning.
So I just want you to know that there is going to be a baby available Tonight, Judy, you're gonna deliver your baby, and that baby's not gonna make it because it's too small. Well, by that time, Judy was completely drugged up and pretty much out of it. So he's talking to me, basically. And Judy and I had never talked about adopting.
This baby is a Hispanic baby. The mother is Mexican citizen.
And so I told him, I said, listen, doctor, we've never talked about adoption. I can't— I'd have to tell you no as well. I mean, I can't even talk to my wife. She's going through labor, heavily medicated. So he goes, I understand.
I just wanted to let you know what's happening. So he had to go and take care of his dad who was dying from cancer, and he left us in in the very capable care of Dr. Joe Mendoza, who was obviously Hispanic, and Dr. Mendoza was a Christian. Your doctor, Dr. Mendoza? This is Dr. Gunter. If you know Mendoza, you probably knew Gunter.
So Gunter was a big German-American, bigger than me, and Dr. Mendoza is about 5 foot nothing. And at that time, Dr. Gunter wasn't saved. Saved. He actually gave his heart to the Lord a few years later. So Dr. Gunner had to go and help his dad, and so Dr. Mendoza came in.
So one of Michael's nurses— that night we were at Sierra Medical Center— one of Michael's nurses from Providence, one of his intensive care nurses that had been his nurse for 8 months and that we had been very close to. Those nurses become like your family. When your, when your baby's in intensive care nursery, the nurses there become like your family. And those nurses had become just like our family. And one of those nurses was on staff that night at Sierra Hospital.
She didn't have any babies to take care of. She heard about Judy being in labor. She came down and wanted to help Judy go through her labor. And so she did. She spent the whole night with us.
And throughout the night, she would go check on this mother next door. And we heard the mother being wheeled down into delivery. And then a few minutes later, a baby was wheeled into the nursery. And our nurse, Jan, went in to take a look at the baby. And she came out.
She said, Chuck, you need to see this baby. I said, I don't want to look at that baby. We're not considering adopting. She said, okay. So another hour helping Judy go through labor, and then Jan disappears and goes into the nursery again and comes out and says, Chuck, you need to take a look at this baby boy.
I said, Jan, I'm not going to take a look at this baby boy.
Because Jan was family, she kept going back into the nursery. So because of our son who had died, Because of his experience with nurses, Jan took liberties with us that a normal nurse wouldn't do. And she kept going into the nursery and coming back out and saying, Chuck, you need to take a look at this baby. I almost got really upset with her, and I'm not normally given to anger unless things get really intense, and then I do lose it from time to time. I was almost going to lose it, and I sat back in the chair and I thought, Lord, what's going on here tonight?
Dr. Mendoza comes in, so I tell him the whole story. He's a Christian. He said, Chuck, he said, if I didn't have 5 or 6 kids already, I'd adopt him. He said, but I know you and Judy. You're good people.
I said, but we're Anglo, he's Hispanic. He said, that doesn't matter. I said, but we've never talked about adopting. He said, well, I would consider it if I were you. So we called Dr. Gunner and asked him if we could give him an answer in the morning.
He said, well, sure. 2 hours later, they wheeled Judy into delivery and she delivers, had a very difficult delivery. They had to put her out because Hannah— that's what we named our little girl— got hung up on her pelvis bone. So they had to put Judy out, and Hannah fit in my hand. That's how small she was.
And I held her for 2 hours until she died.
And went in and spent the night in the hospital room with Judy. And we woke up the next morning. I told Judy about Hannah. She never got to see Hannah. We cried together and thanked the Lord for her life, thanked the Lord for His faithfulness.
And then so I thought, well, I need to ask Judy about this other situation. I said, baby, do you remember anything about this other baby that Dr. Gunner was telling us about. She goes, oh yeah, I think we should adopt her— adopt him. I said, what? She goes, yeah, do you think you could wheel me down to the nursery so I could take a look at him?
And I said, well, yeah. So, you know, I wheel her down to the window and we look in. She said, I think that's him back in the corner. And that was John. And 2 days later, we brought John home.
And 4 days later, we had a funeral for Hannah.
21 · The preacher draws the theological parallel between his adoption of John and God's adoption of believers, establishing that adoption creates legitimate, full sonship with no distinction between adopted and natural children—believers are genuine heirs with Christ despite being former enemies
So John is our adopted son. And we do not see him any different than Kelly, our natural-born daughter. We see them exactly the same.
Exactly the same. When I talk to John, I have no different feeling than I have for Kelly. They're— he's my son by adoption.
We are God's sons and daughters by adoption, and the Bible says joint heirs with Christ. We don't deserve to be sons and daughters of God. We were his enemies that his Son died a terrible death to redeem. When God looks at us, he sees legitimate sons and daughters, just like when Judy and I look at our adopted son John. He is our legitimate son.
He is our son. He's not any less of a child of ours than Kelly is. When Kelly looks at John, that's her brother. Adoption is a wonderful thing. A wonderful thing.
That's how near God is to us. He has brought us into his family by his Spirit and made us sons and daughters.
22 · Uses the parable of the prodigal son to illustrate the Father's love and nearness, emphasizing that the parable is fundamentally about the Father who sees His returning child from a distance and runs to meet him—a picture of how God saw believers coming and gave them grace and faith to return
Think about the prodigal son in Luke 15. The son who was rebellious and not considering anything that his father had for him as valuable, he squandered it all. But he came back.
When he got to the end of himself, he came back to his father, and his father was looking for him. His father saw him coming. That's the Father's love for you and me. We were running away from God, His enemies. But by His Holy Spirit, He caused us to stop and turn back to Him.
And as you were coming back to the Lord from being an enemy, the Father saw you coming and gave you grace and faith to receive Him into your heart. That's the love of the father. The prodigal son is not about the son, it's about the father. It's about the father's love for his son. The nearness of God.
23 · Signals a major structural shift to a new section on the ordinary means of experiencing God's nearness, referencing Ricky's book and introducing three disciplines: Word, prayer, and corporate gathering
Page 70, Ricky titles it "Extraordinary in the Ordinary," and he's talking about how through the ordinary disciplines of the Christian life, How do we come close to God? And he gives us 3 things: through the word, through prayer, and through the gathering, through the church gathered.
24 · Issues a direct exhortation to prioritize the three ordinary means of grace—Word, prayer, and gathering—regardless of life circumstances, beginning with the priority of constant engagement with Scripture
And I just want to encourage you, wherever the Lord takes you in your life, set those 3 things as priorities. God's word—give yourself to a constant study of God's word.
25 · Transitions to inviting Brent to share his testimony about encountering the Holy Spirit through Scripture study, acknowledging that while supernatural experiences are real, the ordinary discipline of Bible study is a primary means of experiencing God's presence
If you remember what Brent said—how many of you were not here last week?
Last week. Just a few of you were not here. Brent, would you just come up and share again with us what you said about the presence of the Holy Spirit through your study of God's Word? Remember you shared that with us last week about how you have experienced the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit as you've studied God's Word? Because I think that's so profound for all of us.
Because many times we think about— and we're going to be talking about how the Holy Spirit moves in very many supernatural ways that are experiential.
26 · Shares Angelica's recent experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit as an illustration of memorable supernatural encounters with God's presence, comparing it to seeing the Grand Canyon—unforgettable first experiences that create lasting impressions
Where's Angelica? So Sunday after the first service, right?
So 3 weeks ago when we started this class, Angelica came up. She said, I've been wanting to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and nothing has happened. I must be doing something wrong. I said, you haven't done anything wrong. Just keep on, just keep pursuing the Lord and asking.
Well, after the first service, we prayed for her and the Lord just filled her in a very beautiful way. She just started weeping and the presence of the Lord came upon her in a very special way. And those times that we have with the Lord are very precious and memorable. You'll never forget that. I remember when I was first first filled with the Holy Spirit.
I'll never forget it. I remember the first time I saw the Grand Canyon. I've seen it once again after that, but there was nothing like the first time seeing the Grand Canyon. First time you're filled with the Holy Spirit in a special way, you'll never forget that. There'll be other fillings and other experiences you have with the Lord, but that was just a very special time.
27 · Establishes the theological claim that the primary, regular means of being filled with the Holy Spirit is through Scripture study, when God makes His Word personally real to individual believers—this personal address through Scripture is the Spirit's work
But on a regular basis, the way the Lord fills us is through His Word, as we're studying His Word. And as He's revealed— how many of you have been reading a scripture and the Lord says, this is for you, son or daughter? Well, that's the Holy Spirit. That's the work of the Holy Spirit making that word real to you in that moment.
28 · Brent provides exposition on 'Abba' as an Aramaic term of intimacy that Jesus taught His disciples to use in prayer, emphasizing the uniqueness of Christianity's transcendent God who desires to be known intimately
So Brent shared something briefly last week that was just the way you shared it. The way you shared it, it was so impactful, and I just wanted you to share that again. You may not remember exactly what you shared, but you're— yeah. Can I take a quick rabbit trail? Yeah.
And then I'll get to that. I promise to be fast. But you know what I'm talking about. Yeah, I think I do. But you had brought up the term Abba.
Yeah. Oh yeah. Which is an Aramaic term, and Jesus uses that term because it denotes something more than just a role. It's a term of endearment, of intimacy. And so he chooses to use that.
One of the things is we have a transcendent God, which makes us different than all the other religions of the world. That God wants his people to know him. And I, My brain just went away, Chuck.
We have a God, transcendent God, who wants— oh, I think one of the most amazing things is is when Jesus tells his disciples how they should pray. You mentioned that, but it's amazing because he declares "Our Father." So it's plural. In fact, Jesus gets in a lot of— am I getting ahead of— okay, Jesus gets in a lot of trouble with the religious leaders of the time because he equates himself with the Father, but he's doing more than that. He's telling his disciples Instead of praying, which would be proper, to God Almighty, to pray, 'Our Father which art in heaven.' Anyway, I just love the intimacy of that. As far as Scripture, I don't know what I said to this, and I doubt that it wasn't very profound, but, but, but sure, well, Scripture is living, it's God-breathed.
And so as we press into Scripture, and as we press into Scripture because, not because we want to know things, but we want to know our Father. We want to know Abba. God comes alive, and He comes alive in many ways. Sometimes it is with chastisement and correction. But often it's that reassurance, that love, that encouragement, that building up, that edification, that pressing into us that gives us a desire to continue to persevere in Him.
So I don't know if that's what— That's good. Thank you, Brent.
29 · Establishes the theological claim that Scripture is unique among all books because the Holy Spirit who inspired it thousands of years ago makes it alive and personally applicable today—believers are not reading about God but encountering God Himself through the Spirit's work
So the 3 things that Ricky mentions here on page 70 and 71, he calls it the extraordinary in the ordinary. Ordinary meaning just in our daily Christian walk, we can experience the extraordinary work of the Holy Spirit as we're in the Word, and as the Holy Spirit is making the Word alive to us and speaking to our hearts. It's not— you're not just reading about God.
You're just not reading a book about religion, the Christian religion. You're reading something that the Holy Spirit initiated when these men were writing it thousands of years ago, and God makes it alive to you today. There's no other book. There's no other book ever written that's like the Bible, because it's alive, and it speaks to you as you read it, and it's the Holy Spirit that enables that to happen.
30 · Illustrates prayer as simple, honest communication with God through the story of Judy's 93-year-old mother, who despite feeling inadequate prayed one of the most beautiful prayers the preacher had ever heard—demonstrating that God is as near as opening your heart to Him in simple conversation
And then the second thing he talks about is prayer, communication. Simple communication with the Lord. I think I shared— I don't know if I shared this with this group or just with some of you, but Judy's mom, who's 93, lives with us, and she wanted to rededicate her life to the Lord about a month ago. And so Judy and I sat down— she's a Christian, but she's nearing the end of her life, and she's examining her heart, and she's got some bad doctrine. I think she's still kind of trusting in, in her life as a Christian to get her saved. So we're continuing to preach the gospel to her.
No, Mom, it's not that good people go to heaven and bad people are going to hell. We're all going to hell until the Lord turns us around and brings us to Him and gives us faith to trust in Jesus, in Jesus' perfect life instead of our good works. But she's still, you know, she's wanting to do better in her life, to be pleasing to the Lord. So we're working on her with the gospel, but Very tender. She's identifying things in her life that she maybe hasn't asked forgiveness for in the past.
And so we sat down with her to pray, and she said, I want you guys to pray for me. I said, I'm not gonna pray. We're not gonna pray for you. This is you praying to the Lord. Well, I don't know how to pray.
I said, Mom, you pray every night. You pray yourself to sleep every night. Prayer is just talking to your heavenly Father. Just talk to him right now out loud. 'But you guys do it so much better.' I said, 'Mom, just talk to God.
Talk to your Heavenly Father.' So she did. She started out loud praying, and she prayed one of the most honest, beautiful, intimate prayers that I have ever heard. Just talking, she said, 'Oh my Lord,' and she just started talking and confessing certain things and asking His forgiveness. And recommitting her heart to Him. It was like holy ground.
It was so simple, so pure, so real from her heart straight to the Lord. It's like Judy and I were sitting there watching this holy communion between Mom and her Lord.
Prayer. God is as near as you just opening up your heart to Him. And talking to him about whatever's going on in your life. He knows what's going on in our lives. He knows every single detail.
Just open up and start. It doesn't have to be pretty. It doesn't have to be religious sounding. It's just you talking to your heavenly Father.
31 · Establishes the theological claim that the Holy Spirit creates unity in the gathered church across political and social divisions, that Jesus is present in the gathering by His Spirit, and that corporate worship is a primary means of experiencing God's nearness and presence
And then the third thing he talks about is finding the Holy Spirit in the gathering, the gathered body of Christ.
Do you realize that the Holy Spirit is at work right now in this gathering? The fact that we can be gathered together. Listen, there may be Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, whatever, whatever, whatever here. That's not why we're here. We are here because the Holy Spirit has baptized us into the body of Christ.
And we have unity because of Jesus. You remember that one of my 10 stories is our friend who told us, "I would not be your friends if it wasn't for Jesus." We wouldn't be friends. There's 4 of us talking after a golf match. He says, "Listen guys, I wouldn't be friends with any of you guys if it wasn't for Jesus." but we were very good friends because of Jesus. That's the work of the Holy Spirit.
That's the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, where two or more gathered, I am there in the midst of you. How is Jesus in the midst of us? By His Spirit.
So when we come together, when we worship Him, when we praise the Lord together, you know, John is so faithful to tell us, listen guys, we're not here putting on a concert for you all. We're here to lead you into worship. As we worship together, as we join our hearts in worship to our Lord, the Holy Spirit is present, and the presence of the Lord comes and meets with us. So the nearness of God through the gathered church worshiping together.
32 · Signals a shift to the final theme of personal relationship with God, urging the congregation not to take for granted the reality of personal access to the Almighty Creator, and introduces Evelyn Wilkins as an example
And then the last thing that we'll talk about that we're not having much time for discussion tonight, we will take some time. The last thing he talks about is our personal relationship with God.
And sometimes we say that kind of just offhanded, that we all have a personal relationship with the Father through the Son by the Spirit. Never take that for granted. Never take the fact that you can have a personal relationship with your Heavenly Father, who is the Almighty Creator, Evelyn Wilkins, who passed away just a few months ago, had a favorite song.
33 · Illustrates the power of personal relationship with God through Evelyn Wilkins, who despite tremendous loss testified 'I've been through enough to know He's enough for me
And the song was, "I've been through enough to know that He's more than enough for me." I've been through enough to know that He's enough for me.
So think about that. I loved to be there with Evelyn because she had been through a lot in her life. She lost her husband. She lost a son, Danny. She'd been through a lot in her life.
But her testimony was, I've been through enough to know that He, the Lord, is enough for me. That personal relationship that she had with her Heavenly Father filled me up every time I was with her. I went to encourage her, to minister to her. I left the one being ministered to because of her personal relationship with Jesus, because she had found him faithful in every season of her life.
Evelyn was one of the most interesting ladies. She was tender and kind, but she had a sharpness to her personality. Right, Stacy? Where she told me, she said, Chuck, you shouldn't be doing that. If she knew that I was involved, and you know, she would just get in my face.
Chuck, you know that's not right. She talked to me like one of her sons.
She had a relationship with Jesus that inspired me, that touched my heart, that encouraged me in my walk. That when I have things going on in my life, when Judy and I have things that were hard, and maybe we were questioning the Lord's love, I could think about Evelyn. And see God's faithfulness in her life, and that carried me through and Judy through.
So your personal relationship with the Lord is not only precious to you, but it encourages the person sitting next to you.
34 · Provides a synthesis statement reiterating the sermon's main thesis—that God's nearness to His people is accomplished by the Holy Spirit who draws believers together and reveals God to them
God is near to us by His Holy Spirit. It's by His Holy Spirit that He draws us to together, and that he expresses himself to us by the Holy Spirit of God.
35 · Issues specific instructions for small group discussion and prayer, directing people to either share testimonies of God's nearness or confess struggles with feeling distant from God and request prayer, creating concrete action steps for applying the sermon's teaching
So let's do this. Let's break into some groups like we did last time. Don't just turn around and be with 1 or 2, but find like 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 and spread out.
You know, you can go back here to these chairs and back where Carlos and Gloria are and back where Amanda and Kathy are. Just find a group and talk a little bit about your experience with the presence of the Lord being near to you, and how that has been a blessing in your life. Or maybe right now, listen to me before you move, maybe right now you're going through one of those seasons that is a hard season, and you're not feeling that God is very near to you at all. And if that's you, if you're feeling that God is not near to you right now, ask your group for prayer. Just confess that and say, guys, I need some prayer.
I know that God's supposed to be near to me. That's what the lesson was about tonight, but I'm not feeling that he's very near to me. Would you pray for me? So if that's you, do that. So let's just break up, just randomly break up, get 5 or 6 in a group, okay?