Gift of The Holy Spirit

The point: Remember that the most humble believer has the same endowment of the Spirit of sonship as Paul the apostle - there are not two tiers of Christians in this matter.

When a child gets into a fix and cries 'Mommy, help me! Daddy, help me!' - that is the emotional tenor of 'Abba.' It's not a carefully chosen word but an instinctive cry of dependent love, and the Spirit creates just that disposition toward God.

Now we must pause and do a little explaining. What do these words, Abba, or does the word Abba mean? Well, the word Abba is the Aramaic form of saying Father in the most intimate, endearing way. It would be parallel to our cry as little children. You kids get in the fix and you cry out, Mommy, help me! Or Daddy, help me! Well, that's the figure here.

14:28 - 14:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The Spirit of adoption is given primarily not to stamp upon us the likeness of sons, but to enable us to revel in the privileges of our status.

Paul could have said the Spirit is given to stamp upon us the likeness of sons, and that would be true. But in this context Paul says the Spirit is given primarily to enable us to revel in the privileges of our status, crying Abba, Father.

He says that the spirit of adoption is given primarily not to stamp upon us the likeness of sons, but to enable us to revel in the privileges of our status. You see it? He hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, and it's not the Spirit who cries, but in the parallel passage, it's the Spirit who enables us to cry, Abba, that is, Father. Now, why is that so amazing? Well, for the simple reason, my friend, is that the person who receives the Spirit of adoption is the person who has discovered some very soldering things about God.

19:14 - 20:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not trust claims of 'the witness of the Spirit' divorced from deliverance from the dominion of flesh; if He has not done that in you, you are none of His.

People claim they have received a direct testimony from the Spirit saying 'Thou art a son of God.' Pastor Martin asks wryly: 'Is God's voice treble, tenor, or mid-tone? What voice did you hear?' The witness of the Spirit is not an audible whisper but enabled crying 'Abba, Father.'

People say they have a direct testimony. I want to ask them, is God's voice treble, tenor, or mid-tone? What voice did you hear? No, no. In the context he is saying this, because the spirit of adoption enables us to cry out a Father that is God's own witness to our sonship, operative in that ability to draw near to God and to call Him our Father.

29:04 - 29:33 Read in full sermon

The point: If you were taught that calling God 'Father' is presumptuous, repent of that teaching and honour God by calling Him what His Spirit prompts you to call Him.

Imagine parents who picked out an orphan and went through all the expense of adoption, took him home, and he always addressed his adoptive father as 'Mr. Jones' and his mother as 'Mrs. Jones.' How would they feel? So God is dishonoured when His adopted sons refuse to call Him Father.

Legitimate parents. A child that no one cared for. Ended up perhaps in an orphanage. And yet these parents set their love upon that child and went through the expense and time and all of the fuss of all the adoption papers. And the day came when they take that child into their home. And he always addressed his father as Mr. Jones and his mother as Mrs. Jones.

38:54 - 39:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The Holy Spirit never bears an independent testimony. He beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God.

Martin recounts hearing an influential British preacher say that if all you can do is read 1 John and examine your life, you may get by - but if you receive the direct witness of the Spirit, evidences are no longer necessary. A frightening doctrine, Martin says, because the Spirit never bears independent testimony.

The Holy Spirit always bears a joint witness, never an independent witness. And in the history of the church and in our very own day, there are those propagating a witness independent of evidence. I've heard it said by a man preaching in one of the most influential churches in Great Britain. If all you can do is read 1 John and examine your life in the light of it and conclude that you're a Christian, that's all right. But If you get this direct witness of the Spirit, evidences are no longer necessary. What a frightening doctrine. The Holy Spirit never bears an independent testimony. He bearet...

44:46 - 45:41 Read in full sermon

The point: In the extremities of life, test whose god you actually serve - cry to money or pleasure or friends and see whether they move with compassion; only the Father of adoption hears.

Pastor Martin recalls sitting on his backside after a slip, knowing he had done severe damage to his ankle just before a trip to Australia, surrounded by little children. His heart lifted up, 'Oh, my Father, this is from you.' In extremity the adopted son cries 'Daddy, help me.'

I remember how vividly this came to me that week before I was to go to Australia. There was that quick slip and there I sat on my backside knowing that I'd done severe damage to that ankle and with a bunch of little kids all around me to lift up my heart and say, Oh, my father, this is from you. What a privilege to know God is our father and in our extremities to cry There's a little child. Daddy, help me. You who are unconverted, you can have your pleasures. You can have them. What do you do in your extremities? Cry to the thing that you're God and see if it has a heart that's moved with pity...

47:10 - 48:06 Read in full sermon