I would like to welcome everyone to the Wednesday evening service for Refreshing Hope Ministries. The goal of Refreshing Hope Ministries seems to be to renew your hope in this journey we are living. I really do enjoy helping others find that hope through the study of the Bible, because a relationship with God is the only place where my hope could be found. The Bible describes how that relationship can be developed. I am so grateful to Dion and Sylvia for the opportunity to be a part of what they are doing.
Not long ago I gave a message about the desires of my heart, in it I talked about seeing the visible Glory of God. I would like to reveal another desire of my heart tonight. Remember, the Bible says in Psalms 37:4; Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. It seems to me when we see the desires of our heart being revealed, our hope is truly renewed. The desire I would like to talk about tonight comes from Romans 8:19. The Apostle Paul says; “For the expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the Sons Of God. It seems to me that so many people have accepted Jesus as their savior and call themselves Christian, but for nearly 2,000 years this revealing still does not seem to have happened. One of the goals of my life is to help us see that change.
We need to always remember that the Bible was not written in English, most of the letters written by the Apostle Paul were written in the Greek language. Here in the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul uses the Greek word “huios” which is Strong’s #G5207. When translated into English this word means; of those whom God esteems as sons, whom he loves, protects and benefits above others. The Strong’s goes on to explain this word was used three different ways;
1. in the OT used of the Jews
2. in the NT of Christians
3. those whose character God, as a loving father, shapes by chastisements or Discipline
So how do we become this kind of son? The information we need should always come directly from the scriptures. Please turn in you Bibles to Mark 1:14&15; “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.” What did Jesus mean when He said Repent and believe the gospel? Is there any doubt in your minds that the Jewish leaders were religious in their beliefs? Their whole government was set up on the Torah and The Prophets. They were waiting for the prophecies to be fulfilled by the Messiah, they just believed that Messiah would become their King. Now they are looking at the Messiah and they did not recognize Him as the one they are looking for.
They obviously knew that Jesus was sent by God, the Bible says in John 3:1&2; “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” One can see from these verses that the rulers of the Jewish people knew that Jesus was from God, but His message was so radically different from what the leaders taught. Jesus was saying just do the right thing because that is what it means to love God. You are not supose to do the right thing just so that you look good in front of others. Jesus said in Matthew 23:5-7; “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, and the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the market places, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi.” It seems that Jesus was saying most of the things they were doing was so they could look good in front of men. It was their thinking that needed to change.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:33; “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” In other words, Repent and believe the gospel. God not only wants you to believe that He sent Jesus to this earth to die for you, but He wants to show you how to live a righteous life. He even sent the Holy Spirit to live in you, so He could put His laws into your heart. Jesus said in John 16:7-11; “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness because I go to the Father, and you see Me no more; of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.”
You see, it is the Holy Spirit’s job to show you how to live what God sees as a righteous life. God is not interested in your religious beliefs, He is interested in your growing in righteousness. The next time your heart tells you that what you just did was wrong, confess it to Him and ask Him how to make it right. My experience is that you will just know. 1st John 1:9 says; “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” It seems to me that God’s goal is to bring us into a righteous life.
I so desire to see our generation who are alive today, fulfill this revealing of the sons of God. Basic evangelism has done a good job of showing that Jesus truly was the Messiah. My goal is to convince believers to go beyond just getting saved. I believe that when the sons of God are truly revealed, we will be able to fulfill the Great Commission.
Thank you all, my name is Jim Jarrell, and I will see you again!
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Thank you so much for this great teaching, Jim, you are a blessing! What a world it would be if we could all be guided by the Holy Spirit each day and fulfill our potential in God's plan!
Thank you Jim for this teaching!