Take your Bibles and turn back with me to Romans 8. Romans 8. Begin our reading again in verse 14. I'm going to title this message, Suffering Sons. Suffering Sons. And that's going to be the two points of the message. First of all, sons who are the sons of God. And what are the benefits of being a son? There are great benefits. And secondly, suffering sons. Because we're going to see that what God has promised His sons often, in the experience, seems to contradict. And that's just all it is. It's a seeming contradiction. It is no contradiction. And Paul will explain this. First of all, who are the sons? First of all, I want you to understand this, that not everyone are sons of God. Not everyone are sons of God. Now all men are created by God, but not all men are sons. Our Lord Jesus in John chapter 8 clearly testifies to this. He tells those Jews who professed in verse 30 of chapter 8 to believe on Him. They professed to believe Him. And yet, He says of them, because they would not believe on Him alone, they also trusted in their connection with Abraham. They said, we're not sons of fornication, we're children of Abraham. And he said, no, if you were Abraham's seed, you would believe me. But because you believe me and you believe in your connection to Abraham, you are of your father, the devil. Now, got that. Notice their genealogy. They were sons not of God, but of Satan. Now consider that. In just a few verses before, they believed on Him. The Scriptures are plain. He said, and they believed Him. They believed on Him. And yet, just a few minutes later, He says, you're not My children, you're the children of the devil. Now why? Because of this, they mixed their genealogy, their connection with Abraham, with Him. They said, well, we believe you, but we also believe in Because we're Jews, we're going to be saved. And so all who trust in Christ plus something. Listen to me. You are not the sons of God. If you trust Christ plus your works, plus your ceremonies, religious obedience, you are not the sons of God. You put anything to the sacrifice and righteousness of Christ, you defile it. Over in Exodus 20, after the law was given, the Lord told Moses, He said, if you make an altar of earth, you take some stones and you put them together to build an altar. The day you put a hammer to it, you defile it. Now why would He do that? Because that's a picture. Christ is the altar, isn't He? Every altar in the Old Testament is a picture of Christ. You put your work to Christ, you defile it. You defile it. Remember Uzzah? The priest that put his hand to the ark? That ark was on the cart and it stumbled. The ark stumbled and the cart was about to fall. He put his hand to steady it. And what did God do? God killed him because he put his hand to it. This is what God says. You put your hand to the work of Christ, you are not my children. Believer in Christ alone, you who believe in Christ alone, I pray that God the Holy Spirit would reveal to us again why Christ came. Why He came. He came as a willing surety, a willing sacrifice, a willing offering, a willing Redeemer. That's why He came into the world. And this blessed Redeemer, consider this, He took the whole weight of our sin, guilt, and shame upon Himself. He willingly did this. He took the whole debt. Joy to the world. Why? The Savior's come because He took the whole debt. Isn't that joy? Isn't that joy? That He took the whole debt, left nothing for us to take? We who had nothing to pay. We had nothing to pay. There's no righteousness in us. There's nothing we could offer God. Christ came and He paid the whole debt. I like that picture of the surety, don't you? When Judah was surety for Benjamin. Remember what he said to Jacob? He said this, I will be surety for him. If I bring him not again to thee, let me bear the blame. That's what a surety does. He takes the whole responsibility. When Christ came for His children, He took the whole thing. The whole weight of our salvation rested upon the shoulders and work of Jesus alone. A burden lifted, isn't it? Behold Jesus, the justifier of all His children. And His children desire to worship upon an altar made by God, Christ is the altar. Christ is the sacrifice and Christ is the high priest. He's everything. He's everything. And by His one offering, this is the hope of His children. By His one offering, His one offering, He hath perfected forever them that are His children. Them that are sanctified by God. He has perfected forever all His children. But the children of the devil are those who go about to establish their own righteousness. They pollute and despise the offering of Christ. Listen, you put anything to Christ, it's because you don't believe it's another. Isn't that right? You believe Christ did most of it. But if you believe you have to put one thing to it, listen, you are spitting on the offering of Christ and you are not His child. With the children of God, listen, we have no righteousness of our own. We have no righteousness of our own. God has by His free grace made Christ to be all our wisdom. Righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Now, is He all your wisdom? How do you know God? How do you believe on Christ? Is that you or Him? It's Him. What about your righteousness? You got anything to add to that? No, that's Him. What about your sanctification? You got anything to add to that? No, that's Him. What about your redemption? You got anything to add to that? No, that's Him. Therefore, all who are led by the Spirit of God, Paul said. How do you know all that? Man, how do you see Him as all that? That's just being led by the Spirit of God. That's the Spirit of God's work. It's to point us to Christ. You who are born again, you're born again of the Spirit. And look what He says, you are led by the Spirit of God. Where does He lead you? He leads you to Christ. Isn't that where He leads you? And look what He says, you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. All who are led to the Spirit are going to come to Christ. And listen, you that have come to Christ, you will not be moved from Christ. This is good news. Because I feel everything trying to pull me in the opposite direction. Everything without and everything within is pulling me in the opposite way. But here's my hope. If we're led by the Spirit, you shall never be led again to bondage. You're not going to be led there. The Spirit don't lead you there. Anybody trying to put you back under the law, I want you to understand this, that's not the Spirit of God leading you. The Spirit of God won't lead you to a spirit of bondage. He won't ever put you back under there. We are moved to this. We are never going to be moved from Christ. Never going to be moved to Christ. What are we moved to? We're gonna be moved to cry, Abba, Father. That's what we're gonna move to. We're gonna cry to God, always to God, through Christ. You are sons of God. That's what it says. You are led by the Spirit to Christ. What are you? You are the sons of God. Nothing gonna change that. That's astounding, isn't it? Ain't nothing gonna change that. You are the sons of God. You are the sons of God. You are sons because you are sons by grace, aren't you? You're not sons by merit. You're sons by grace. Through the Spirit of God it has revealed to us these things. Jesus said, the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abides forever. Listen to what He said. And if the Son shall make you free, You shall be free indeed. You shall be free. If the Son makes you free. Now listen, what does that mean? That means this. We were in bondage. You that are sons, you know this. You were in bondage. You were in bondage to sin. You were in bondage to the law. Paul says in Romans chapter 7 that we were married to the law. The law was our husband. And it can only condemn us. That's all the law could do. It could never forgive. It could never help us to be better. It can only condemn us. And we were married to that. We were in bondage to it. But here's the joy. There is a Son. There is a Son of God. And He said, the Son abided forever in the house. And He said, if this Son makes you free. Free from what? Free from the guilt of sin. Did the Son make you free? You are free from the guilt of sin. If you're a son, you're free from sin's guilt. That's what He's been telling us all the way through this, isn't it? We've been dealing with this book for a while now. And He said you're dead to sin. What does that mean? I'm dead to the guilt of sin, to the condemnation of sin. Why? Because I'm dead to the law. Law said I had to die. And you know what? I did die. I died in a substitute. When Christ died, I died. I'm dead to the law. What does the law have to say to a dead man? Nothing. Nothing. Can't say anything to him. He's dead. Can't say anything to you, sons of God. You're dead. Why? The Son has made you free. And you are free. You are free. He said, I'm not going to bring you back to the bondage of fear. Not going to bring you back to oppression. I'm gonna bring you to a different spirit, a spirit, what, of adoption. Adoption. Whereby you cry, Abba, Father. Now how do you do that? How do you deliver you from the bondage of the law and sin? How do you do that? By fulfilling it. Not by skirting it. Not by going around it. That's how men want to go around. You got a man, he wants to find a legal loophole. Right? You see a man, he's committed a crime. What does he hire a lawyer for? Hires a lawyer to find a loophole. He's guilty, but he wants a loophole. No loophole in the law of God. Only way to God is through the law. If you go try to go through the law, you'll die. But you see, I went through the law in a substitute. When Jesus Christ honored that law, I honored it in Him. The Son came, and He came honoring the law of God in obedience and sacrifice. He satisfied the law. Remember what He said? He said, I came not to destroy the law, but what? Fulfill it. And he said, except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall let no one enter the kingdom of heaven. What is he saying? He said, your righteousness is worthless, but my righteousness. That's the only way you're going to enter in, is you have my righteousness. He came to magnify the law. I think it's Isaiah 42. He said, this servant, this son. In Isaiah 42, behold, my servant. Who is that? That's Christ. And Isaiah 42, let's see, when I write down, verse 21, it says this, He shall magnify the law. Nobody wants to magnify the law. Everybody wants to see the law at a distance, right? You don't want to magnify it. You don't want to really know what it says. They want to pick out this one and this one and say, well, maybe I can possibly obey this one. Maybe I can obey this one. So they don't want the whole thing. Give me just ten commandments. Don't give me 613, because I can't handle ten. Much less 613. But know what Christ did? He magnified the law. He showed you exactly what the law is. You know what He did? And He made it honorable. He magnified it and then made it honorable. He obeyed it. And because of this, what does the heart of the child say? What do we cry? Do we cry for law? Or do we cry, Daddy? That's what that word means. You know that word, Abba, it's the only person to say that to a real son. In the house of a rich man, he had many slaves. He had many concubines, and some of these kings had sons by these slave women. They couldn't use that word. Only his true heirs could use that word. That's what he's saying. When God made you a son, He made you a son to cry, Daddy, Father. You know what you cry? You cry, Father, help. Father, help. Father, have mercy. Father, have grace. Father, have compassion. That's the heart of a son. We don't cry merit, we cry grace. And then we don't pursue merit. You know what my son? He does not pursue merit to be my son. He's my son. So we don't come to our Father with merit. We come to our Father with Christ. The Son hath made me free. Therefore what? I am free. I am free. And so faith alone in Christ is then the witness that we are the sons of God. We completely trust Him alone. And notice what follows if you are a son. Is that you? You're resting on Him alone? You're a son. You cry to Him? Father, you're a son. Now then, here's the conclusion. Look at this. He says in verse 17, and if children, then what? What are you? Heirs. Heirs. If you are son, then you are heirs. Those who believe on Christ alone are not sons by works. We have no right to any of the promises of God based on our marriage. Now listen, if you're basing your... I want you to get this. It's very important. If you are basing your sonship on what you've done, you're not a son. You're not a son. Stop deceiving yourself. You have no right to the promises of God. Go to Galatians chapter 4. Look what happens to servant sons. Slave sons. That's what His creation is by nature. Look at Galatians chapter 4. In Galatians chapter 4, In verse 21-31 here, he deals with this two women, Hagar and Sarah. Remember that? Hagar was a servant who had a son by Abraham. His name was Ishmael. Now, this was done for a very particular reason. It was done to get a type, a picture. Hagar, he says earlier in this chapter that Hagar represents the law. Her and her son represent sons of bondage. You know what God said about that? He said this, the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. The sons of bondage. He says in verse 21, Tell me you desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For as it is written, Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman, the other by the free woman. But he who is of the bondwoman is born after the flesh, and he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory? For these are two covenants, one of Mount Sinai, which gendereth unto bondage, and Hagar, which is Hagar. And this Hagar is Mount Sinai of Arabia, which answered to Jerusalem, which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all. And as it is written, Rejoice thou that bearest not, and break forth and cry thou that travailest not. For the desolate have many more children than she which hath a husband. Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh was persecuted of him that was born after the spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what saith the scripture, cast out the bondwoman and her son. See what's going to happen to all who gender to the law? You say, well, I believe in Christ. But I think that you've got to go back under the law to sanctify yourself. You're a son of the bondwoman. Gendereth fear. That's it. It's all it can do. It can't help you. And if you think it can help you, it's because you're blind and you can't see. You that see, you understand. Law can't help me. It genders to bondage. But we are not of them. Why? We're sons. Look back in chapter 4, verse 6. This is why He's saying that. He said, look at that in verse 6, "...because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your heart, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." Now consider this, you that are sons. You that are sons, consider this. You now know you're sons because you were already sons. You get that? He says you are the sons of God, therefore what? He sent His Spirit to you. Now why did He send His Spirit to you? Well, because you were already sons. Now you didn't know it. You were in bondage. You didn't know you were sons. But God sent forth His Spirit into your heart, crying, Abba, Father, because you were sons. We were the sons of God before we knew it, but now that we have the Spirit of God in the quickening power of His grace, we know that we are sons. And if sons, then what? We are heirs. Just as sure as you're a son, you're an heir. And just as you being a son cannot be taken from you, neither can your inheritance ever be taken from you. That's not true earthly things, is it? We're not sure of any inheritance here. You've seen that before, how men take inheritances, right? Father leaves something to his son, he dies, he leaves something to his children, and then what? Somebody swoops in with a nice fancy lawyer and they take everything. That can't happen here. Because you are sons, you are heirs. You are heirs. I want you to know this. This is not a point of pride or presumption. You may boldly say this, I am a son of God. You that believe on Christ, you are sons. Now I can say that because God said that. That's it. I can't tell you any other reason. You won't be able to look at me and see a son of God. You won't be able to follow me around. You won't be able to mark down all my deeds and figure out, oh, look at him, he must be a son. No, you won't see that. I'm a son of God because God tells me so. Because the Spirit of God bears witness with my spirit that I am a son of God. And it's not presumption. It's not pride. We are the sons of God and we are heirs, listen, of God. I like this. This word of could be translated two ways. It could be translated by. I'm an heir by God. And it could be translated of. I think both are great. First of all, I'm an heir by God. I'm an heir because God made me one. What can you do about it? What could I have done about it? Nothing. Did I deserve it? No. Did I earn it? No. Could I marry it? No. Can I keep it? No. It's by God. You're an heir by God. God made you one. Therefore you are what? An heir. God said you were. God said he's an heir. So what does that make you? Makes you an heir. Because God made you one. How? Through Christ. That's how he made it. And second of all, we are heirs of God. Now this is great too. What does that mean? That means God is my inheritance. I inherit God himself. Remember what he told Abraham? I am thy exceeding great reward. You're an heir of me. Now, if we have God, what do we have? We have everything. We have everything. Believer in Christ, being a son of God, see that all that God is and all that God has is now yours. Listen to what he says. Now I want you to get this deep theological meaning of this. All things are yours. Now what does that mean? That means this. All things are yours. That's what it means. It's just as simple as that. All things, Paul said this, all things are for your sakes. You got that? All things are for your sakes. The world spins so that God might show his goodness to you. That's it. It gets no, it's deep. I don't understand every part of that. I don't understand how that works. But I don't have to understand how it works. I've got a car out there and I really don't understand how that thing works. You know, I turn the key and it cuts on and I drive and it steers like it's supposed to. I don't understand how everything works in that car. I don't have to. I don't have to understand everything that God is doing in Providence. But I know this, He said it, all things are yours. Why? Because I'm yours. Now get this, I'm His. Now I understand that. I belong to Him. He did everything. He saved me. I understand that. But this one is really neat. He belongs to me. I wouldn't say it if God didn't say it. Heirs of God. And join heirs with Jesus Christ. Because you are sons. This is your inheritance. Listen to these words. All of God's love is yours. All of God's mercy is yours. All of His grace, all of His power, all of His kingdom, all of His goodness, all of His righteousness are yours through Jesus Christ our Lord. When a tree blossoms and it bears so much fruit that it just can't even hold it, does the branch get any glory? No. The fruit comes from the tree. It comes from the root. Where does all your fruit come from? It comes from Christ. Outside of Him, I don't have anything. In Him, I have everything. In Him, I have everything. Now, because you are the sons of God, this is the conclusion of that, nothing's going to separate you from Him. That's what Paul's going to get to in the very last part of this. Who shall separate me from the love of God that's in Christ? If I'm a son, and I'm an heir, and God made me one through Christ, then who in the world is going to separate me from my Father? Who? Name it. He said, nothing. Nothing. That's the first point. Now then, listen to this. Does your experience match that? Do you walk around with a big smile on your face saying, boy, I'm a child of God, I'm an heir of all things? Oh, it's so great. Everything's so wonderful. The seas part for me. The mountains remove themselves. My obstacles are nothing. I float over them. I walk on water. Everything's well. Is that your experience? No. The experience of the believer seems to contradict the truth that we have all God's love, all God's grace, all God's mercy, and all God's favor. Often it appears we have none of His love, none of His grace, none of His strength. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ and you've not suffered yet, just wait. Why? Because this is the law of every one of God's children. I'm going to read you 1 Peter, what he tells us to the elect. He says to those elect saints, he says in verse 7, he says, the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire. shall be found in the praise of the glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. In chapter 4 and verse 12, he says this, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which shall try you as though some strange thing happened. What is the first thing you think when a trial comes your way? You think this, man, that's strange. Why would God do such a thing to me? He said, don't think that way. It's not strange. It's not an anomaly. This is the lot of every son of God. And so during these times of pain, when our hearts cry out, I have a father. If we are sons and heirs of God, of His grace and mercy. Why do we suffer? Why do the heirs of God suffer? One believer penned this. He said, Lord, if indeed I am thine, if thou art my son and my song, why do I labor in pine and why are my winters so long? He said that because this is the lot of every son in this world. God promises to His sons, listen to this, this is the covenant, this is what He promised us. He said, and I will make an everlasting covenant with thee, that I will not turn away from them to do them good. But I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good. I will plant them in the land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. You, child of God, in your suffering, is that true? Is that true? God said, I will never turn away from you to do you good. And yet what you experience don't seem too good. Child of God, let us be well persuaded that our condition as sons, that we may pass through these difficulties in cheerful service, that we may be able to rejoice even in the darkest of times, To see this, that our sonship does not depend upon our circumstance. Your sonship does not depend on your circumstance. You've got to hold on to that one. Because that's the first thing you think. When my circumstance turns south, when everything goes wrong, that's the first inclination, am I His or am I not? Rebecca cried that when she was struggling with the children in her womb. She said, why am I the... If you promise that the Christ should come from this womb, that this should be the Lion of the Christ, then why do I suffer? Why am I thus? Child of God, I want you to see that all the suffering and affliction, though grievous and painful as it be, It only seems contradictory to our inheritance, which we have by faith in the Word of God. But it is never meant for your destruction, only for your good. Look back at your text at verse 17. Notice what he says. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, join heirs with Christ. Yay! Then what? If so be we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Listen, we did suffer with Him as our substitute, but I promise you this, if you are in union with Him now, you will suffer the same as He did. You will suffer the same as He did. And so then, if our brother Christ, who suffered in the flesh, He did not escape suffering, how then do you expect to? The answer is clear, we will not escape affliction. Matter of fact, He said this, in this world you shall have what? What did He promise you? You sons of God, what did He promise you? You shall have tribulation. What is your cheer? He has overcome. That's my cheer. I won't find any cheer here. I won't find any joy here. The joy is that He's overcome this. And so what does Paul say then? Look at verse 18. He says, "...for reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." What is he saying? Reckon. Impute. That means charge it to be so because it is so. The sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory. Why? Because they're not They're small and they're short. They're only for a season. They're only for a time. And soon they're going to be done away with forever. So when you put them in comparison to eternity, you find out that your suffering is only for a short time. Our times of affliction, though they be our whole life, in light of eternity, when compared to the promises of God, are as nothing. Pretty soon, we're going to be forgotten. You got that? Nobody's going to even know you were here. Somebody might read a letter you wrote. I've got sermons out there. Surely, maybe somebody will read a sermon. They won't know me. They won't know you. Pretty soon, we'll all be forgotten here. Nobody will know us. We even existed. What does that matter to you if you're a son of God? It doesn't, does it? It doesn't matter at all. Why? Because of the glory which shall be revealed in us. Yes, we do hurt and we do suffer. And I want you to know this, faith never removes pain. You think that it would. You think that if we would just believe God enough that the pain would subside. No. He never promises that. He promises that through faith we may endure it. but it will never be lessened because we believe. But looking to the promises of God, we shall not despair." And he talks about the creation here, and I'm not going to go through that, but he's telling you this. Don't you see this creation groans? I mean, earthquakes and floods and that horrible thing in North Carolina, that big hurricane came through there and just destroyed everything. You know what that tells me? This creation is cursed. It's cursed, isn't it? You that have done any planting at all, any gardening at all, you find out the thorns come up faster than the fruit. And they come up easier, don't they? Why? Because the world groans under this. It didn't do anything. And yet because of man, it suffers. What is the whole creation waiting for? It's waiting to be delivered. One day it's going to be delivered. This whole creation is going to be delivered. And look at verse 23, and not only does the creation... Creation is not the only thing waiting for this. Not only so, but we ourselves also, being the first fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves waiting for the adoption to wit, the redemption of the body. What are we waiting for? We're waiting for the fulfillment of this thing, aren't we? We're waiting to see all of the promises fulfilled. I've not seen all the promises fulfilled yet. I've only got a down payment. I got the Spirit of God in me, and He testifies of me that I am a son of God, causes me to believe the Word. I grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. But man, if I grow to the fullest extent I can, I still ain't even going to touch what I'm going to be. So what does that give me? It gives me hope. And He said, look, if hope is seen, then it's not hope, is it? Why are you going to wait for something you already have? I don't have everything yet. I'm promised everything, but I just don't have it yet. So what do we do? We wait. We wait how? We wait suffering. We wait in faith, trusting, and believing. And look what he says here. 28. We that are sons of God, heirs of God, we know something. What do we know? I know God's true. Don't you? I know God's promises are true. I say this, let God be true and every man a liar including this one. Including what goes on up here. I say he's a liar. Take God's side against myself. God's true even in the teeth of my despair and pain. God's promises are true. And I'm just going to wait because He's going to give them to me. They're mine. He gave them to me through Christ and He ain't going to take them away. They're mine. And we wait for them. And we know something, that all things work together for good to them that love God. to them who are the called according to its purpose. All things, I like this, you better get this, work together, not individually. We experience pain, and sickness, and sorrow, and grief. These things we say, and because it's true, are evil. These are bad things. Is there not evil in the city? And hath not the Lord done it? What is he talking about? Providences. Dark providences. Is it not the hand of the Lord that brought these things? Yes. And they are dark. They are painful. We don't say they're good. What does God promise? He says, I'm going to take that evil thing and I'm going to work it together with this other thing. And good is going to come out of it. That's what He promises you. They're going to work together for your good. Listen to me. Your good. And they work together for the good of all God's people, but specifically for the good of them that love God and are called according to His purpose. Only His children. That text is only for His children. It's not for anybody else. That is not true of the lost. All things do not work together for the good of the lost. They work for their destruction. What does God promise you, children? He says, all your suffering are going to work together for your good. All things are of God, and all things work together for our good. I'm going to give you that illustration of Joseph. What a good illustration that is, Joseph. Do you think it was good that his brothers sold him into slavery? Was it good when he was a slave in Potiphar's house and did all that was well in Potiphar's house and his wife lied about him and sent him to prison? Was that good? Was it good when he told the dreams and then the butler forgot about him and left him in prison? Was it good? What was God doing? working together for good. That's what he told his brothers, wasn't it? You meant it for evil. God meant it for good to save much people alive. What God's doing is no secret to you who are His sons. What God is doing is no secret. He is moving all things to call His elect. even your suffering. And what will God do? He will work it together for your good. Why? You are His sons. Chosen sons. Redeemed sons. Purchased sons. Free indeed. Made free by the Son of God. Heirs of God, join heirs with Christ. All things are yours. All God's love, all God's mercy, all God's providence is for you. And these seeming contradictions reckon it to be so, because it is. They're just light afflictions. Not worthy to be compared with what God has promised to sons. And all these things are going to work together for your good. Now, I can't tell you how. Again, I don't have to know how. Do you? You have to know how this is going to work out for your good. You have to know. But you do know something, right? That all things will work together for your good. You know that. You know that. I'll tell you this, the safest place for a son is at the feet of Christ, isn't it? Isn't that the most precious place that you find? In the teeth of our pain? I often wonder how John felt when he leaned on his breast. I'll know that someday, I'll know what that really feels like. Until then, we just wait for it with confidence, because we are sons. We are heirs. Spirit of God, testify that in you. What's his testimony? Do you believe on Christ? Again, be dismissed in prayer. Gracious Father, please dismiss us with Your mercies and kindness. I beg You to pour out Your Spirit on the sons that you would be gracious in our afflictions and heal us, strengthen us. And I know this, the Spirit himself intercedes for us. I pray that you would bless these people. There be any who are still in bondage, that you would, by grace, free them. Give them faith in Christ alone. I ask this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.