Live from Buffalo Creek. If you would turn your Bibles this evening to John Chapter 8. We've been looking at the names and titles of God's people. The first week we looked at God's people as the elect of God, chosen, beloved. Last week we looked at the redeemed of the Lord, those who have been bought with the ransom price of Christ's blood and have been brought out of the slave market of sin and the captivity of Satan, and how we ought to glory that we are called the redeemed of the Lord. We ought to manifest that everywhere we go. That's one thing about these names. There's always a practical application to the doctrinal aspect of this. If you're elect of God, manifest that you're holy and beloved. If you've been redeemed, you ought to live your life to the one who redeemed you. Tonight, we want to look at a couple of names that I think really are miraculous where God calls us the sons and daughters of God and children of God. The first thing I want to do is show you the great contrast between what we were by nature and what we are by grace. And in John chapter 8, Jesus is exposing the errors of the religious folks in Israel in that day who were saying, well, we've got Abraham as our father. And Jesus explained to them, listen, Abraham rejoiced to see my day. If you love and respect Abraham, you'd love me. But here's what he said unto them in verse 40, or verse 39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father, Jesus saith unto them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. That is always the way it is. You see that? If God is your father, you'll do the works of the one who's called you by grace. But he goes on. You do the deeds of your father. If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father." And it was known. We have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil. and the lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe Me? He that is of God heareth God's words. Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. These were unbelievers. They thought that they were right. and Christ was wrong. They hated His words. Christ came from God. He was sent by God. His words, He is the living Word of God. And they rejected that. And He said, you don't understand My speech because you don't know the Father. Your Father is the devil. the lust of your father, you are of your father the devil." Now that's a pretty terrible name, isn't it? Given to these unbelievers. You understand that in unbelief we were no better than that. We are descendants of Adam. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, so that death hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." When Adam sinned, we all fell on him. We are all accounted guilty in Adam, our federal head. And I thought about this because some people will say, well, why should we be responsible for Adam's sin? Because seminally you were in Adam. Everybody that descends from Adam are partakers of that original sin. It's passed on in inherent depravity. You inherit it. Every single person is born a sinner, guilty before God. And do you know what the Bible says? Turn over to Ephesians chapter 2. Again, the contrast of what we are by nature. Unbelievers who won't receive the truth are children of the devil. They reject the truth as it is in Jesus. That's what Satan does and has done. Look at this in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1. And you hath he quickened, made alive, who were dead in trespasses and in sins. We were guilty from birth. I want to tell you something. Every single person born of man and woman, have original sin. They have the guilt of sin from conception. And I got to thinking about this, people who object to saying that we shouldn't have, that's pride, that's arrogance, that just shows your sinfulness even more. Because what you're saying is, I could have done better than Adam in the Garden of Eden. God made a mistake. If He would have just made me as the first man, I would have made things right. You're arrogant. You're prideful. And you're sinful. No one is born in innocence. All are born as sinners. Guilty before God. And look at what He calls us when we're in that condition. wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh," listen to the description, "...worketh in the children of disobedience." We were completely disobedient. We rejected the commands of God. We wouldn't heed the truth of the law of God, the gospel of Jesus. We were children of disobedience. among whom we also had our conversation, our way of life, if you will, in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Think about that. In one passage, He calls us when we were in unbelief, dead sinners, who walked according to the course of our spiritual father, if you will, the devil, the prince and the power of the air. He calls us children of disobedience who are contrary to God, and then children by nature, children of wrath, because we deserve wrath for our guilt in Adam. What a contrast. Isn't it amazing that we were dead children of disobedience, children of wrath, you're of your father the devil and the works of him that you will do. We were liars. We were lawbreakers. We were ungodly. We were immoral. Those were our titles. But God, But God, you know before the world began, He adopted, He adopted me. He knew full well what I was in Adam and His eternal decree to love me and choose me and determine to make me like Jesus before the world began. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." I left out a part of that first verse. Therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew Him not. God loved us with an everlasting love and determined to make us His sons and daughters. We were so broken, we had no wealth, no goodness, nothing to recommend us to God, but He determined to adopt us in spite of everything that we were in Adam. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. As sons and daughters of God, legally brought into His family, God Almighty determined to love us in spite of what we were. Those adoption papers were drawn up. They were sealed by the covenant promise of Christ to redeem us, and then the promise of the Spirit to regenerate us in the new birth, making us children of God. There's a difference between these terms, sons of God, daughters of God. That pertains to our legal standing. We've been adopted legally into the family of God because we were in Adam. We were completely undone. Now here's the miracle. Because we were sons eternally, He sent forth His Spirit into our hearts. Look over there in Galatians chapter 4. Now you probably remember this because it seemed like I did a little series on the doctrine of adoption. contrasted it from regeneration. So some of this may be a little bit of a refresher. But look at this in Galatians chapter 4. in verse 4, but when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. Now, I want you to notice something, how all these titles kind of flow. Because we are God's elect, chosen, beloved, and given to Christ He determined to buy us, redeem us to God by His blood. And what is the result of that adopting eternal grace and that redeeming work? In time, the Spirit of God brings us to God, brings us to life. We're created. in Christ Jesus as children of God. He says in verse 6, And because ye are sons, by that decree of adoption, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. What did He do when He sent the Spirit into our hearts? Gave us life! Brought us to spiritual life! Quickened us! brought us from death to life. He created in us a spiritual nature, a holy nature that is compatible with our Father. Isn't that glorious? The names of derision that we once labored under. You're of your father the devil. and the works of Him you'll do. You're dead. You're children of wrath, children of disobedience. But now by the grace of God, we wear the title sons of God by eternal adoption. And in time we have the privilege of experiencing the grace of God as the third person of the Holy Trinity brings life to us and enables us to believe on the One who redeemed us. The One who bought us, gave His life for us. You see, The love of God is shed abroad on our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. We are now called the children of God because we've been created by the power of God to live unto Him, to live as children of God Look over Ephesians chapter 2. It says in verse 10, For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Hey, we are the children of God. We ought to walk. Isn't God good? Isn't our Father good? Aren't His commandments good? We ought to walk in those good things, those good works. But look over here, Ephesians 4, verse 22, that you put off concerning the former conversation, the old man which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness. He's created that new, holy, righteous nature within us as children of God. And because of the miraculous change in the new birth, we are forever changed. And what is amazing is we now want to obey God. We want to obey the Father. We want to live for Him and honor Him and exalt Him. This is how you know when you're saved. What are one of the first things children do when they're born? Isn't birth a miracle? Conception? Gestation? and birth, it's all miracles. And so it is with us as children of God. When we're born of God, look at 1 Peter chapter 2. See, if somebody tells me they're saved, that they're a child of God, but they don't have any desire or hunger for the Word of God, they don't love the things of God, They don't love the house of God and the people of God, the commandments of God. I question, are you really a child of God? Because look what it says here. He says in chapter 2, 1 Peter 2, Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, as newborn babes, as little children of God, desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. And you know something? If you've been created in Christ Jesus, I believe with all my heart that we're going to follow Him. We belong. The Father loves us. Look at verse 21. For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in His steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. You know, when you're a child of God, your life changes. You can't walk the same way you used to when you were a child of disobedience and a child of wrath. Now, you're under grace. And your whole life should be completely desirous of honoring God in everything you do. Ephesians 5.8, and we'll close on this. Are you a child of God? Do you wear that title? Do you say, I'm a child of the King? Then you ought to live like it. You ought to love the things of God. And you ought to separate from the things that are not of God. He says here, And He says in verse 6, Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Hey, don't live like you used to because judgment is coming on the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord." This ought to be our way of life. Desiring. to please the Father. Isn't that what Jesus said? I always do those things which please Him. Do you believe you've got a wonderful Heavenly Father that loves you, that hears your prayers, that's rescued, determined to save you? You're a son of God. You're a child of God. Live for the Lord. All that God had helped us.