CCF INT CHURCH – SOUTH AFRICA SUN 9 SEPT 2009  09.00HRS

( PART OF THE MESSAGE)

 

THOSE WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD ARE SONS OF GOD

 Rom 8:9-14

9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 

 

 The question now arises as to what spirit is leading you.

Your true identity is revealed by the spirit that is leading us.

 The spirit world is a vast realm. All kinds of spirits roam in this realm.

We can all come into one house, we can all praise and worship together.

Yet we are driven by a variety of spirits.

For example.

If you constantly causing division, always turning the hearts of the people away from the set man, instead of helping to build the family of God, then you driven by the spirit of Absalom …. That would identify you as the son of Absalom because you are led by that particular spirit.

There are those who refuse to respect that spiritual authority can be vested in a human vessel. They have one standard response “I only listen to God”.

In the following scripture Jesus confronts the Pharisees with this truth.

The people are unable to discern that He is the One sent by His Father.

 John 8:41-47

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

 

If you are destined for greatness, but you are unable to exercise your spiritual authority as the head of your home, then you are driven by the spirit of Delilah, a Philistinian spirit, which is a symbol of the flesh;  which will ultimately cause you to lose your vision totally and eventually will cost you your life.

This spirit will turn you into a sentimental, weak, blubbering individual.

This person never learns a lesson quickly.

Three times Samson encountered Philistines hiding in his house.

He said nothing, because this spirit will shut off your voice.

 

You can be driven by the spirit of your father. The spirit of evil can be imparted from generation to generation.

 2 Kings 24:8-9

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. 9 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father had done.

 You can be driven by the spirit of your mother.

 We all know about Jezebel. What we may not know is that she had a daughter by the name of Athaliah.

ATHALIAH

Athaliah married Jehoram (or Joram), son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Jehoram reigned only eight years and was succeeded by his son Ahaziah, who died after reigning only one year. Desiring the throne for herself, Athaliah ruthlessly killed all her grandsons-except the infant Joash, who was hidden by his aunt (2 Kings 11:2).

Athaliah apparently inherited Jezebel’s ruthlessness. She was a tyrant whose every whim had to be obeyed. As her mother had done in Israel, Athaliah introduced Baal worship in Judah and in so doing destroyed part of the Temple.

Joash was hidden in the house of the Lord for six years (2 Kings 11:3), while Athaliah reigned over the land (841-835 B.C). In the seventh year, the high priest Jehoiada declared Joash the lawful king of Judah. Guards removed Athaliah from the Temple before killing her, to avoid defiling the Temple with her blood.

(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

 You could be led by the spirit of ambition. All you are interested is to make a name for yourself.

 Gen 11: 3-5

3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.

 

As we can see the spirit that leads you will determine your identity. It will determine whose son you are; or who your father is.

SONS OF GOD ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD.

There is no flesh on view.

Sons of God are motivated by love for their Father’s Kingdom.