The Indwelling Intercessor/Hear what the Spirit says to the Churches!

What a Saviour! What a God! Father, Son and Holy Spirit! I'm so glad He came to save me!

Yesterday morning I preached on Romans 8:26-27 which I gave the ongoing title, 'Assurance of Glorification' (part4 - this time) - subtitled, 'The Indwelling Intercessor'.

We looked at the fact that 1. We are weak and need help! 2. God the Holy Spirit comes to our aid! 3. God the Father always says 'yes' to the Holy Spirit's perfect prayers!

What blessed me was the fact that Paul includes himself in this honest acknowledgment of human weakness and all round frailty (Rom 7:24 continued really) and that even down to his prayers – the vehicle of expression with regard to all of life’s concerns.

If Paul was weak, as he was, and if this was okay, as it is (not an excuse to be lazy and passive – but perspective that ‘oozes’ comfort for the fact of its universal truth!) then little old 'I' am in good company for being weak too! Paul needed the prayers of his brethren, so do I etc.

Especially, and more honoring to the immediate context, however, Paul, the church in Rome, and all saints in all ages with them need the intercessory (prayer) aid of the almighty Holy Spirit.

Good news...He comes to meet that very need in our lives!

The very groaning’s that we experience, the aches and cravings - those heavenly aspirations for holiness and to be all that Christ has called us to be for Him and His glory - is proof positive of the Holy Spirits presence in our hearts!

But it goes further!

These self-same groaning’s are caused within our hearts (the arena of activity) by Him and ought to bring to the forefront of our minds the fact that He is about His holy business of ‘inter-Trinitarian-communion’ on our behalf.

He is praying to the Father for us!

Now these prayers, are they of a positive or a negative nature? Seriously the question is even silly because of the obvious answer - yet worth the time to highlight the obvious and so perhaps therefore taken for granted.

Let’s see, we are weak and need help. Otherwise stated we are insufficient, broken, leaking, flat (something less than sufficient) - He (God the Holy Spirit) comes to help (not harm) us!

It's positive!

More so, He intercedes for the saints (whom He has come to help!) according to the will of the Father (entire Godhead really) who is - by the way - "for us" (see verse 31)!

So what have we seen?

God the Father, obviously, says 'yes' to the very things He Himself wants (‘will of God’ prayers articulated to Him by God the Holy Spirit who is praying the Fathers will).

God the Holy Spirit cannot pray amiss! He never errs! He utters perfect prayers that the Father always answers in the absolute affirmative!

And now ‘connect the holy dots’...which are all ‘for’ and not against us!

These Holy Spirit prayed prayers are all for our good, help and, in short, becoming all that God wants of us - absolute conformity to the image of His Son!

Just this one text alone, if all Scripture besides were lost to us, would suffice for the thinking Christian to have absolute assurance of salvation!

We cannot ever lose our salvation!

We must rejoice in the assurance of Glorification that this Indwelling Intercessor doctrine brings in its wake!

Praise God forever!

Last night we summed up the seven letters to the seven churches of the Revelation (Ch. 2-3) and my message was entitled, 'To all pastors of all churches in all ages', subtitled, 'Hear what the Spirit says to the churches'.

The end of the matter came to us in the following questions being answered. 1. How does Christ want us to think of Him? 2. What pleases Christ? 3. What displeases Him? 4. What will be the outcome for those who refuse to heed His warnings? 5. What will be the outcome for those who overcome?

We had a heart searching time together and recommitted our lives individually and as a church family to His cause and glory alone.

The gist – worship Him in spirit and truth! Love God with all you are and have and your neighbour as yourself!

However you ‘slice it’ - authentic inside-out heart religion along with sound doctrine is absolutely vital. No compromise with sin ever! We need to learn to be righteously intolerant of sin in our own lives as well as the lives of others…patient, indeed, with penitent, failing brethren but disciplining impenitent pretenders promptly so as to guard the purity and holiness of the church of our precious Saviour.

We need a new fear of Christ in our churches!

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Eccl 12:13-14)

All glory to Him and Him alone!