Full Sonship
Series: NO OTHER GOSPEL
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 24th September 2017
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 So sometimes a second chance is not good news. We had something of a crisis in our house this
00:00:08 --> 00:00:14 past week. It started out as a good thing and then went south. So many of you will know my
00:00:14 --> 00:00:20 oldest son, Bailey, and much to my delight, Bailey has just literally in the last week taken an
00:00:20 --> 00:00:26 interest in playing cricket. We've had a beach cricket set that I bought optimistically years
00:00:26 --> 00:00:31 ago and never, ever been used. So it's been sitting there in just a container in the backyard. And
00:00:31 --> 00:00:36 the other day he'd pulled it out and said, Dad, what's this? Can we play with this? And pretty
00:00:36 --> 00:00:40 much every day this week, we've been out there. We've got a little plastic set of stumps, a little
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 plastic ball and a plastic bag. And he's actually pretty good at it. I love my son, but I wouldn't
00:00:44 --> 00:00:50 have predicted that his coordination or lack thereof would have translated into sports. But it
00:00:50 --> 00:00:56 turns out he got a little bit of his mother's sport ability. And so he's good at cricket. So
00:00:56 --> 00:01:02 this all sounds like good news so far. But the crisis came when one day we'd finished our formal
00:01:02 --> 00:01:08 cricket time. It was a drinks break. And Bailey was playing with the cricket ball near a drain in our
00:01:08 --> 00:01:14 backyard. He'd picked up the grate off the drain and was holding the grate in one hand, the ball in the
00:01:14 --> 00:01:19 other hand. And you could just sort of see his brain processing what was going on. There's a hole in
00:01:19 --> 00:01:25 front of him. He's got a ball. And Sal swooped on it quicker than I did. And she instructed him
00:01:25 --> 00:01:30 to put the grate back on the drain and to make sure he didn't put the ball in the drain because
00:01:30 --> 00:01:35 otherwise he would be sad because then he couldn't play cricket anymore. About 30 seconds later,
00:01:35 --> 00:01:43 figuring that we had sufficiently parented the moment, we hear, uh-oh. Sure enough, he's still got
00:01:43 --> 00:01:50 the grate in one hand but the ball is gone. To which we explained, you know, tough, we can't get
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 it back now. This is part of, you know, you've got to learn to listen to mum when she gives you
00:01:53 --> 00:01:59 instructions and it means we can't play cricket anymore. And Bailey was understandably upset.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:03 There was some tears and we sort of said, you know, this is a disciplined moment. We can't kind
00:02:03 --> 00:02:07 of solve this too quickly even though there's another ball like right there. We can't tell him that.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:11 He has to actually figure out that if you don't listen to mum, you know, stuff goes wrong.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:15 And you would think, end of story, he's learned his lesson, we're not playing cricket for now.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:20 A few hours later in the night, we've had dinner, the boys have had their bath, we've read them books,
00:02:20 --> 00:02:25 we've tucked them into the bed and I'm having that blissful moment as a parent where I'm watching TV
00:02:25 --> 00:02:29 because they're both in their bedrooms and I hear whimpering coming out of Bailey's bedroom.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:36 So I eventually got off the lounge and wandered in to see what was going on and he was upset,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:41 he was crying and I'm like, mate, mate, what's wrong? And he was crying because,
00:02:41 --> 00:02:46 he loved cricket so much and he thought that he was never, ever going to be allowed to play cricket
00:02:46 --> 00:02:50 again because he had dropped the ball down the drain. I'm still not sure if he thought that he
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 could never play it because I was just really harsh and I would never let him or because there was no
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 other balls in the world. But either way, either way, he was not very happy and he was upset.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:04 And so, you know, I quickly reverted back to the excitement that he loved cricket and, you know,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:08 being a somewhat nice dad and I wanted to settle him down and, you know, help him get to sleep.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 And so I said, look, mate, it's okay. You know, we forgive you. We understand. We make mistakes.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:18 I've actually got another ball on the back deck. We can play tomorrow. It's fine. You know,
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 you can have a second chance. It's okay. And I thought, you know, this will calm him down. He'll
00:03:22 --> 00:03:28 be fine. But he looked at me and burst out into full blown tears at this point. And I'm like,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 what is going on here? I thought I'd solved the problem.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:39 But he just looked at me and he said, it won't work. And I'm like, what won't work? There's a ball.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:43 It's fine. We have a ball. We have a ball. He said, no, it won't work. And I said, why? He said,
00:03:43 --> 00:03:51 because the drain is still there. The ball will go down the drain. I said, well, not if you leave
00:03:51 --> 00:03:56 the grate on the drain. You know, the grate has never been off the drain before. The only way it's
00:03:56 --> 00:04:00 going to go down is if you pick it up and put it down there. You know, this isn't something that you
00:04:00 --> 00:04:06 have to fear. There's a decision in there. But for him, giving him a second chance didn't actually
00:04:06 --> 00:04:11 make him feel any better. It increased his anxiety that he was going to blow it again.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:15 That having stuffed that first opportunity, giving him another opportunity was just more
00:04:15 --> 00:04:19 pressure to get it wrong all over again. In fact, we had to come to an agreement where the next
00:04:19 --> 00:04:23 morning we would go and get a rock that was too heavy for him, not too heavy for me, that I would put
00:04:23 --> 00:04:28 on top of the drain, which he then couldn't get off for future cricket games, just so that he was
00:04:28 --> 00:04:34 sure that he wouldn't end up in that same horrible situation where he has ruined his life and he can
00:04:34 --> 00:04:42 never play cricket again. Sometimes getting a second chance is not good news, because all it does
00:04:42 --> 00:04:50 is add pressure, add fear that you will waste this new opportunity in the same way you wasted the
00:04:50 --> 00:04:57 first opportunity that required someone to give you a second chance. The Galatians were up to week
00:04:57 --> 00:05:01 seven, round seven if you like, of working our way through this book, getting to know these people.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:09 They had heard the gospel from Paul. They had heard the offer of free forgiveness through Jesus' death
00:05:09 --> 00:05:16 in their place, through his resurrection to new life. They had heard loud and clear, God is giving you a
00:05:16 --> 00:05:25 second chance. But once the initial wonder and excitement of that forgiveness wore off, reality kicked in.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:32 What if we waste this opportunity like we wasted the last one? I mean, that's amazing that God would
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 love us like this, but what if we just keep doing what we were doing before? I mean, what's changed?
00:05:36 --> 00:05:41 We haven't changed. The only difference between before and now is God did something. We're still the
00:05:41 --> 00:05:48 same people that we always were. So what if we waste this opportunity? How can we possibly stay forgiven
00:05:48 --> 00:05:55 and stay loved by God when we weren't able to make ourselves loved by God or make ourselves forgiven in
00:05:55 --> 00:06:02 the first place? See, the issue for them, the question they're asking is, now that we've been loved,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:11 how do we live now? How do we live as Christians? How can we be sure that we're going to stay saved,
00:06:11 --> 00:06:17 stay forgiven? These are the questions they've been wrestling with. They understand that they were forgiven
00:06:17 --> 00:06:24 by Jesus, but what they're trying to figure out is, what does it look like to live forgiven?
00:06:25 --> 00:06:31 What does it look like to stay forgiven? And so Paul, in this passage that Lauren wrote out for us,
00:06:32 --> 00:06:38 takes them back to the beginning to help them understand what God has already done for them.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:42 Now, it's fair to say, if you've been around for our seven weeks of Galatians, and the good news is
00:06:42 --> 00:06:51 there's still another five to go, that this book is somewhat repetitive. We keep getting back to the
00:06:51 --> 00:06:55 gospel. We keep going back to what Jesus has done. We're looking at it over and over again from every
00:06:55 --> 00:07:03 angle, and that's not a bad thing, because Christianity is actually quite simple. It's not easy, but it is
00:07:03 --> 00:07:08 simple. There's no extra information that we need to kind of hold out for that's going to suddenly
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 solve all our problems and deal with all our doubts.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:21 The gospel is the answer to the questions that they're asking, and we're asking, and everybody is asking.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:26 You might be sitting here feeling the same tension that they were feeling of,
00:07:26 --> 00:07:31 wow, that's incredible that God loved me like that, but now that I'm forgiven, how do I make sure I don't
00:07:31 --> 00:07:40 blow it? How do I make sure I don't waste it? In the gospel, God has already answered the question.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:46 The issue is, we just haven't dug deep enough. We just haven't gazed for long enough. We just haven't
00:07:46 --> 00:07:50 mined the riches that are there. There is more goodness in the gospel. We're not even going to cover
00:07:50 --> 00:07:55 it. In the next five weeks, this 12-week series will barely scratch the surface. There is more
00:07:55 --> 00:08:01 blessing and more guidance available, and so just like the Galatians needed this message again, we
00:08:01 --> 00:08:07 need this message tonight, right now. We need to come back to the gospel, and Paul wants us to go right
00:08:07 --> 00:08:14 to the beginning, to what we were before we met Jesus. And in reality, it's possible that some of us
00:08:14 --> 00:08:19 in this room are still in this situation. If you're not a Christian, if you're not somebody who's
00:08:19 --> 00:08:25 following Jesus, what we're about to read is describing you right now. Have a look, Galatians
00:08:25 --> 00:08:29 chapter 4, get it in front of you, your phone, your Bible, whatever, Galatians 4 verse 1.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:35 What I'm saying, this is Paul talking, what I'm saying is that as long as an heir is underage,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:41 he is no different from a slave. Although he owns the whole estate, the heir is subject to guardians
00:08:41 --> 00:08:49 and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in
00:08:49 --> 00:08:57 slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. Now, Paul is twisting and combining
00:08:57 --> 00:09:02 metaphors here in a way that makes my head hurt, but let's get the point of what he's saying.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:08 The point is, if somebody has an inheritance but they're not old enough, they are restrained,
00:09:08 --> 00:09:14 held back from that inheritance by guardians and trustees. That's kind of the picture, and he's
00:09:14 --> 00:09:21 saying, in the same way, before we met Jesus, we were restrained from the thing that we want,
00:09:21 --> 00:09:27 the thing that we need. Not by guardians and trustees, but the phrase there, the elemental
00:09:27 --> 00:09:32 spiritual forces. See, what Paul's getting at is something he talked about last week, and Steve
00:09:32 --> 00:09:39 talked a little bit about us being restrained and enslaved by the law. See, the point is that when
00:09:39 --> 00:09:47 God created us, created all of us, he created us to know him. So the Bible uses phrases like,
00:09:47 --> 00:09:53 when he made us, he wrote eternity on our hearts. And that's why all of us, whether we're Christian
00:09:53 --> 00:09:59 or not, are driven by this desire to be the best that we can be. We're driven to do a little bit
00:09:59 --> 00:10:04 more, to be a little bit better. There's this sense that we're not quite content with just this,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:11 and that's because we were made for more than this. It's part of who we are. Whether we recognize
00:10:11 --> 00:10:18 that that something more is to know the God who made us and to live for all eternity in a relationship
00:10:18 --> 00:10:25 with him, whether we can name that, we do know deep down that we're made for more than just 80,
00:10:25 --> 00:10:31 90, 100 years and then being put back in the ground. We want to last longer than that. We want
00:10:31 --> 00:10:41 significance. We want legacy. We're enslaved because no matter how hard we try and satisfy
00:10:41 --> 00:10:49 that need for significance and joy and happiness and satisfaction, we can't get it left to our own
00:10:49 --> 00:10:56 devices. All the things that we chase and try and use to deliver those things, instead of delivering,
00:10:56 --> 00:11:02 become our masters because they don't quite give us what we want. And so then we push them harder and
00:11:02 --> 00:11:10 chase them more and we end up enslaved. And the gospel is clear, that is everyone. That's not some
00:11:10 --> 00:11:17 of us. Before Jesus, that is every single one of us. And I want to say this as gently and as humbly as I
00:11:17 --> 00:11:24 can. If you're not a Christian, you have a master in your life. You might not call it a master,
00:11:24 --> 00:11:29 but if you're not a Christian, whatever it is that you are chasing to make you happy, whatever it is
00:11:29 --> 00:11:34 that you need to be fulfilled in your life, that is your master. It owns you.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:46 And the gospel message is that that is every single human ever without Jesus. And the reality is even
00:11:46 --> 00:11:51 Christians now who have met Jesus still sometimes wrestle with and struggle with the lure back to
00:11:51 --> 00:11:57 those old masters, the appeal to return to lives that are lived chasing other things. But the good
00:11:57 --> 00:12:03 news of the gospel that we need to keep hearing over and over again is that into our slavery, into the
00:12:03 --> 00:12:11 hopelessness and the frustration of not being able to get what we want, God acts. God shows up. Have a look
00:12:11 --> 00:12:19 at verse 4. When the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:27 to redeem those under the law that we might receive adoption to sonship. Now follow the logic here for
00:12:27 --> 00:12:37 a second. What Paul is saying is the only actual son of God, the only entitled child of God, Jesus,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:43 who's not a slave in any way, who enjoys all the privileges of being in God's family, he's in
00:12:43 --> 00:12:50 heaven, he's happy, things are great. He's sent by the father into the world as a human, into the
00:12:50 --> 00:12:56 slavery we experience, into the limitations of death and everything. He experiences hunger, he experiences
00:12:56 --> 00:13:06 temptation. God sends his son into that to rescue us out of that. That's what's happening. The one who is
00:13:06 --> 00:13:15 a son and is free enters into slavery to free us so that we might receive adoption and enjoy what it
00:13:15 --> 00:13:23 is to be sons like him. He starts in freedom, we start in slavery, he enters into our condition,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:33 takes our punishment, lives perfectly and rescues us from slavery. But that's only the half of it.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:40 I mean the gospel message is not just God providing a new ball for cricket and then leaving us in the same
00:13:40 --> 00:13:44 dangerous situation where we're probably going to take the grate off the drain, put the ball down and be
00:13:44 --> 00:13:51 frustrated like we were in the first place. He doesn't just give you a second chance. Now I understand why
00:13:51 --> 00:13:56 when we talk about the gospel we like to say God gives a second chance but it's not technically correct.
00:13:56 --> 00:14:06 Because he doesn't just cancel the debt. He cancels the debt and then pours so much riches into our
00:14:06 --> 00:14:13 account that we couldn't use them if we tried. He doesn't just kind of forgive us and then say good
00:14:13 --> 00:14:19 luck, see how you go on the second attempt at following me. It's a double move. You were a slave
00:14:19 --> 00:14:27 unable to help yourself and he releases you which is enough to make you stop and marvel at God's grace
00:14:27 --> 00:14:34 for the rest of eternity but that's not the whole thing. He pulls you out of slavery, releases you into
00:14:34 --> 00:14:44 freedom and having freed you adopts you into his family, draws you close. He gives you the rights of being
00:14:44 --> 00:14:52 his child, rights to an inheritance, access to everything that's his and he does it while you were enslaved
00:14:52 --> 00:15:00 because you were rejecting him. So catch that. He doesn't just wipe the slate clean. He draws you into his
00:15:00 --> 00:15:07 family from a place of being his enemy and his opposition. That is the gospel.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:18 Jesus came into the world to redeem us, to rescue us and to make us sons and daughters of God.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:25 Now I just want to stop briefly to acknowledge some baggage that we might have as we look at a passage
00:15:25 --> 00:15:34 like this and hear that we receive adoption to sonship. God's not being sexist here. He's not saying men
00:15:34 --> 00:15:39 are better than women. He's not saying men are more valuable than women. We know that because that's
00:15:39 --> 00:15:43 inconsistent with everything else he says in the whole Bible. It's inconsistent with verse 28 in
00:15:43 --> 00:15:48 chapter 3 where we hear there's no longer male or female, that those distinctions are not primary in
00:15:48 --> 00:15:57 the way that God views us. He's also not endorsing the traditions in some cultures to see sons as a sign of
00:15:57 --> 00:16:03 blessing and daughters as somehow a negative thing. Again, what matters most in this passage is that as
00:16:03 --> 00:16:10 Christians, our worth and our identity is in Christ and we're clothed with Christ. So why does he use the
00:16:10 --> 00:16:18 word sons? Because he does. That's the language. What's he trying to tell us? Well, two things.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:27 In the time when this was written, in the culture where this is written, only male children, only sons,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:37 can be heirs. Only sons can have inheritance. To the point where an adopted male slave has rights to an inheritance
00:16:37 --> 00:16:45 that a naturally born daughter does not. That's the context into which this is being heard. And so what he is
00:16:45 --> 00:16:51 saying, what Paul is teaching us about the way God works, is he is saying that whether you are a male or a female is
00:16:51 --> 00:17:00 irrelevant, what the gospel does, is enable all of us to come into that precious position of inheritance.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:08 To come into the position where we receive the blessings of our heavenly father. We get the rights of
00:17:08 --> 00:17:14 sonship. But there's one other one in there which I think is even more exciting and more significant.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:23 God wants us to see ourselves in the place of the son.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:34 Say that again. When we talk about being adopted into God's family, that feels like an abstract concept.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:42 I mean, you don't live in God's house. He's not cooking dinner for you. What do we even mean by that?
00:17:42 --> 00:17:49 How do we know what that looks like? Well, we look at the one actual son of God.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:54 That's the only paradigm we have. What God wants you to hear is, you're a son. That doesn't mean you're
00:17:54 --> 00:17:59 not a daughter. But so that you know what being a daughter and a son looks like, look at the son,
00:17:59 --> 00:18:08 Jesus. That's what God has provided for you. He has adopted you into sonship, which means you are a
00:18:08 --> 00:18:15 daughter or a son of God who is loved in the same way that Jesus is loved by his heavenly father.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 See, this changes everything.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:29 It doesn't just give us a second chance at trying to follow God. It drags us well past that and securely
00:18:29 --> 00:18:34 into the favour of God. It makes us beloved children of God.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:40 John 17, Jesus is praying for his disciples just before he goes to the cross.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 And listen to what he says.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 He says,
00:18:43 --> 00:18:48 I have given them the glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:52 I in them and you in me so that they may be brought to complete unity.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:57 And listen to this. Remember, this is Jesus praying for his disciples and in turn for us.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:03 Then the world will know that you, the father, sent me, Jesus,
00:19:03 --> 00:19:10 and have loved them, you, me, as you have loved me.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 You catch what that's saying?
00:19:16 --> 00:19:24 God has loved us in the same way, with the same love that he has for Jesus.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:29 That's the intensity of God's love for his children.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:33 That's why that word son, while might be a bit distracting, is actually helpful.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:38 When you hear, I am a daughter of God, when you hear, I am a son of God,
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 what it means is, I am loved like Jesus.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 I'm loved with that same intensity.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:49 If you are a Christian, if you have asked God for forgiveness,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:54 if you are trusting in what Jesus has done to make it possible for you to be a Christian,
00:19:54 --> 00:19:57 then you are a child of God.
00:19:57 --> 00:20:00 Now, present tense, as we speak, not you will be, not you might be,
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 you are a child of God.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 It's there in chapter 3, verse 26.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:13 So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:17 For all of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 I'll say it again.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:21 You are a child of God.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 That's objective reality.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 That's not up for discussion.
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28 Imagine, it's a finished work.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:31 Jesus has died in your place.
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 Jesus is alive.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 He has paid for your sin.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 He has dragged you all the way out of slavery, into the family, and it's done.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 Now, unbreakably, irreversibly finished.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:47 You have the hope of heaven guaranteed by what Christ has done.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:51 You are a child of God.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 And that changes everything.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:59 That answers the questions that the Galatians are asking,
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 and maybe you find yourself asking.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:04 How do I live now that I'm forgiven?
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 How do I know for certain that I'm forgiven?
00:21:07 --> 00:21:14 What does it look like to not throw away this second chance to live like a son or a daughter of God?
00:21:14 --> 00:21:24 How do I know for certain that what Jesus did will not be taken away?
00:21:24 --> 00:21:27 That I'm not going to forfeit this gift of forgiveness and love?
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 Well, because I live like a child of God.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:36 Which means my identity has changed now.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 And that changes how we relate with one another.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:40 And it changes how we relate to God.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 Let's look at those two really quickly.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:48 First of all, if you are a Christian, it's there in verse 27.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 You have clothed yourself with Christ.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 And that is now your most significant identity marker.
00:21:54 --> 00:22:00 So what I mean is, if I was to list all the things about me that make me me,
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 I would say I am a man.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 I am a middle child.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 I'm a dad.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 I'm a pastor.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 I'm a husband.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 I'm a whole bunch of other stuff.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 And they're all good things.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 They're valid.
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 But when we clothe ourselves with Christ,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 when we start following Jesus,
00:22:17 --> 00:22:20 He becomes more important than those things.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 He becomes the first identifier for the way I view myself.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:27 But also the way that we view one another.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 I don't know what your identity markers are.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 But you do.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:36 But as Christians, we clothe ourselves with Christ
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 so that we see each other in that light.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 And that's why in verse 28 it says,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:44 There's neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free,
00:22:44 --> 00:22:47 nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:51 See, now we're Christian first.
00:22:52 --> 00:22:56 It's not to say that they're not Jews and they're not Gentiles
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 and they're not males and they're not females.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 That's ridiculous.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 We're still males and females.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:04 But the point is, we're not first males.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 And we're not first females.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09 We're first children of God.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:14 We're first those who have been rescued and adopted into the family.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 The most important thing for us identity-wise
00:23:18 --> 00:23:21 is that we are children of God.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:25 Which means that we can sit in a room with a bunch of people
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 who are nothing like us
00:23:26 --> 00:23:29 and be incredibly united.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:33 It means we can actually be this transcultural church
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 that we believe God is calling us to be
00:23:35 --> 00:23:39 because our new identity enables us to hold more loosely
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 to those other things.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 So, you know, as a stereotypical male,
00:23:43 --> 00:23:45 you know, the whole doing emotion and being honest
00:23:45 --> 00:23:47 and being encouraging and all those things
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 which are good and right,
00:23:48 --> 00:23:51 but I'm told by the culture around me I don't do as a male.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 I can let go of some of those things.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 Sure, it might make me uncomfortable at first
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 to have a really genuine conversation,
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 but I'm now first a Christian,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:03 not an awkward male who doesn't know how to talk about how I feel.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 I might still be that,
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 but first, I'm a Christian.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 So I need to let go of that discomfort
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 and embrace this identity.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:17 Embrace the fact that I've been rescued out of that rubbish
00:24:17 --> 00:24:20 that enslaves me and given a new identity
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 where I'm part of a family,
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 where instead of those things that are kind of unhelpful,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 I have a better identity marker,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 one that will last in Jesus.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 That's why Paul told us in chapter 2, verse 20,
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 he says,
00:24:32 --> 00:24:35 I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 but Christ lives in me.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 The life I now live in the body,
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 I live by faith in the Son of God
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 who loved me and gave himself for me.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 Christians live with a new identity,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:51 clothed with Christ in such a way
00:24:51 --> 00:24:54 that this identity is free to deny itself,
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 its preference.
00:24:57 --> 00:25:01 It's free to sacrifice for the sake of unity within the body.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 Children of God are released
00:25:05 --> 00:25:09 to find the differences that we have between one another
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 as a gift,
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 as an opportunity
00:25:12 --> 00:25:16 to let go of those secondary identity markers
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18 and hold most firmly
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 to this new identity I have as a child of God,
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 as one who has been loved and forgiven.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 Secondly,
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 having transformed the way we relate to one another,
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 being a child of God
00:25:32 --> 00:25:35 changes how we relate to God.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37 Have a look at verse 6.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:40 Because you are his sons,
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 God sent the spirit of his son
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 into our hearts,
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 the spirit who calls out,
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 Abba, Father.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 So you are no longer a slave,
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 but God's child.
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 And since you are his child,
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 God has made you also an heir.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:57 God sent his spirit in us,
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 having done a concrete,
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 objective work in Jesus,
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 he sent his spirit into us
00:26:03 --> 00:26:06 that we might be secure children
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 who in the power of the spirit
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 call out to God in prayer.
00:26:11 --> 00:26:15 That having been brought real close to God the Father,
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 the spirit might empower us
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 to actually live like that's where we are.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:25 One of the challenges of being a parent,
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 being a dad,
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 is just the gross things
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 that go along with having little kids.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 So having embarrassed Bailey,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 it's Hudson's turn now.
00:26:33 --> 00:26:36 Hudson is perpetually snotty.
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 It's impressive.
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 How often I wipe his nose is irrelevant.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 Trying to teach him how to blow his nose,
00:26:44 --> 00:26:46 you can do it a hundred times a day
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 and the second you remove the tissue,
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 there's a fresh trail
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 working its way down his face.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 By the end of the day,
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 he's covered in these crusties
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 and it's not pleasant.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 But one of the things
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 that goes with being a dad
00:26:57 --> 00:27:00 is being treated like a human tissue.
00:27:00 --> 00:27:03 I will chase him through the house
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05 with the snot flailing everywhere.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 He thinks it's hilarious.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 I've got a tissue in one hand
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 and those of you who've seen him
00:27:08 --> 00:27:11 know that he's a fairly robust young man,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:13 fairly well built, muscular,
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 if you will,
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 for a two and a half year old.
00:27:15 --> 00:27:17 And he will see me coming with the tissue,
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 reach for my tissue arm
00:27:19 --> 00:27:21 to make sure it can't get to the face
00:27:21 --> 00:27:23 and then dive with his face
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 for my shirt,
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 my shoulder,
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 my cheek,
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 whatever bit of me that he can get
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 because, I don't know,
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 he prefers that.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 But it's kind of disgusting.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 But he's my kid,
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 so he gets away with it.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 Just to be clear,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 if anyone of you
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 was to ever attempt
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 to use me as a human tissue,
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 if I see you leaning in
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 and there's snot on your face,
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 if I feel like you're trying
00:27:47 --> 00:27:50 to develop our relationship
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 in that way,
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 we're going to have a problem.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 I like to think I'm patient
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 and non-violent,
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 but there might be a line in there.
00:27:55 --> 00:27:58 But kids,
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 sons,
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 daughters,
00:28:00 --> 00:28:02 have special permission,
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 even entitlement
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 when it comes to their parents.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 And as God's children,
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 that's our position before him.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 He welcomes us
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 in our filth and snottiness
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 to have this unique,
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 free,
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 constant access to him.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:25 The Spirit leads us
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 to be people
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 who call out
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 to our heavenly daddy.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 We have been brought
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 into the family
00:28:31 --> 00:28:33 through what Jesus has done.
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 What the Spirit does
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 is make sure
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 we actually live
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 like we're in the family.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 It leads us to pray
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 when we're in need,
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 to pray in thankfulness,
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 to pray in doubt,
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 to pray in pain,
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 to pray in anger,
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 to pray in frustration,
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 in whatever state we're in,
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 and to be able to take
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 that state to God
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 because we know
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 he's our heavenly father
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 who welcomes us
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 with open arms,
00:28:57 --> 00:28:59 even when we become messy,
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 because he's our father
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 who cares for us
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 even when we can't see
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 how he's caring for us.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 As his children,
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 we have a secure hope
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 for eternal life.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:13 But what the Spirit does
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 is help us to taste
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 and see
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 and experience
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 and hold on to
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 that hope
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 and his presence
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 in all of our
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 day-to-day situations
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 and circumstances.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 The Spirit moves us
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 to call out to God,
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 to boldly
00:29:29 --> 00:29:31 cry out
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 because prayer
00:29:32 --> 00:29:35 is a privileged act.
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38 It is an act that says,
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 I'm welcome.
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 It's the practical outworking
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 of being a child of God.
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 It's the difference
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 between being a slave
00:29:48 --> 00:29:51 and being a child.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 Only one has the confidence,
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 has the right,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 has the security
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 to approach the Father.
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 The Gospel,
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 what Jesus has done,
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 draws us into
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 a relationship with God.
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 and the Spirit
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 directs us
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 and leads us
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 based on what Jesus
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 has done
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 to actually relate to,
00:30:15 --> 00:30:17 to actually live with
00:30:17 --> 00:30:19 God as our Heavenly Father.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 The objective work
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 is done in Jesus
00:30:23 --> 00:30:25 and the Spirit ensures
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 that we get the subjective
00:30:26 --> 00:30:28 day-to-day experience
00:30:28 --> 00:30:30 of being irreversibly,
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 unconditionally,
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 dearly loved,
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 just like Jesus.
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38 because you are
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 God's child
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 if you're a Christian,
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 God wants you
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 to enjoy that.
00:30:44 --> 00:30:44 He wants you
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 to be able to live
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 with the security
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 that comes with that.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 He sends His Spirit
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 so that your day-to-day
00:30:50 --> 00:30:52 doubts and fears
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 and everything else
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 might be totally transformed
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 by the reality
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 that your Heavenly Father
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 is with you
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 always.
00:30:59 --> 00:31:02 there's a deep
00:31:02 --> 00:31:04 intimacy on offer
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 for us
00:31:04 --> 00:31:06 as those who belong
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 to God.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 It's really interesting
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 that when Paul talks
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 about the Spirit here,
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 he talks about the Spirit
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 who says,
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 Abba.
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 That's an Aramaic word.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 It's not the language
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 the Galatians
00:31:19 --> 00:31:21 would have been familiar with.
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 But do you know
00:31:22 --> 00:31:24 why he uses that word?
00:31:24 --> 00:31:26 Because that's the language
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 Jesus spoke.
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 That's the language
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 Jesus used
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 when He was praying
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 to His Father.
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 As He sat
00:31:34 --> 00:31:36 in the Garden of Gethsemane
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 in anguish
00:31:37 --> 00:31:37 preparing to go
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 to the cross,
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 He cried out
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 to His Abba,
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 Father,
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 His Papa,
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 His Daddy.
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 What the Spirit
00:31:45 --> 00:31:47 enables and empowers
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 is us
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 to be able to express
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 that same level
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 of intimacy.
00:31:52 --> 00:31:54 To be able to cry out
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 to God
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 as our heavenly,
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 close,
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 present,
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 loving Father.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 What the Spirit does
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 is take our tentative prayers,
00:32:05 --> 00:32:07 our formal prayers,
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 our nervous prayers,
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 our doubts,
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 our fears.
00:32:10 --> 00:32:12 It points us back
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 to what Jesus has done
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 so that we might cry out
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 to our heavenly Father
00:32:16 --> 00:32:18 who has not only
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 rescued us
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 but has adopted us.
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 The Spirit trains us
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 to come
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 to our Daddy,
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 not to a God
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 who is distant.
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 A Christian life,
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 a Gospel life,
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 a Spirit-filled life
00:32:33 --> 00:32:35 is a life
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 of deep intimacy
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 with God.
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 It's a life secure
00:32:41 --> 00:32:43 in the unbreakable love
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 that He has shown us
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 in sending Jesus.
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 It's a life
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 of obedience
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 to our Father
00:32:49 --> 00:32:51 because He loves us,
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53 not so that He'll love us.
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 And it's a life
00:32:55 --> 00:32:57 full of certain hope
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 for heaven
00:32:57 --> 00:33:00 because as children,
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00 we're heirs
00:33:00 --> 00:33:02 and nothing can change that.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:05 this is the Gospel's answer
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 to the what now question.
00:33:08 --> 00:33:10 The point of the cross
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 was not to give you
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 a second chance,
00:33:11 --> 00:33:13 as amazing as that
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 would have been.
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 The point of the cross
00:33:16 --> 00:33:20 was to forgive you,
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 redeem you,
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 rescue you,
00:33:22 --> 00:33:24 and draw you
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 into the presence
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 of God
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 as a dearly
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28 loved daughter,
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30 as a dearly
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 loved son,
00:33:31 --> 00:33:33 who will get
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 to enjoy
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 that presence
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 every day
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 for the rest
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 of their life
00:33:37 --> 00:33:40 until we finally
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 get to go home
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 and enjoy it fully.
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 The Gospel
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 doesn't just take you
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 out from under
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 God's wrath,
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 it draws you
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 into His embrace.
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 It's what it is
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 to be a child,
00:33:57 --> 00:34:00 to know the closeness
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 of your Heavenly Father,
00:34:01 --> 00:34:03 in such a way
00:34:03 --> 00:34:05 that your moments
00:34:05 --> 00:34:05 of failure,
00:34:06 --> 00:34:09 your moments
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 of doubt,
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 are trumped
00:34:13 --> 00:34:16 by the Father
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 who continues
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 to welcome you,
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 by the Father
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 who continues
00:34:20 --> 00:34:20 to care for you,
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 by the Father
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 who sacrificed
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 His Son,
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 Jesus,
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 to make sure
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 you would know
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 security
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 and intimacy,
00:34:30 --> 00:34:33 and to make sure
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 that we would
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 know unity.
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 That's what it
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 means to be
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 a child of God.
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 The Gospel
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 doesn't just take you
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 out from under
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 God's wrath,
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 it draws you
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 into His
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 Fatherly embrace.
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 Let me pray
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 for us.
00:34:50 --> 00:34:54 Father God,
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 we want to
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 confess that
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 so often,
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 in spite of what
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 You have done
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 for us in Jesus,
00:35:00 --> 00:35:02 we spend our time
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 and energy
00:35:03 --> 00:35:03 worrying and
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 fearing that
00:35:04 --> 00:35:06 somehow we could
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 fall out
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 of Your love.
00:35:08 --> 00:35:11 we want to
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 confess that
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 so often
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 where we take
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 our doubts
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 and our questions
00:35:15 --> 00:35:15 and our angers
00:35:15 --> 00:35:17 is the opposite
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 of what will
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 actually do any
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 good.
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 Father,
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 we want to
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 ask that by
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 Your Spirit
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 You would
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 help us
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 to daily
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 know the
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 peace and
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 security of
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 being Your
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 child.
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 Help us
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 to be people
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 who can
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 call out
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 to You
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 as our
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 Heavenly
00:35:35 --> 00:35:35 Daddy,
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 who know
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 that You
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 welcome us
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 exactly as
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 we are.
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 Father,
00:35:43 --> 00:35:43 help us
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 to be people
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 who live
00:35:45 --> 00:35:45 seeking to
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 serve You,
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 seeking to
00:35:48 --> 00:35:48 do Your
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 work from
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 a place
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 of having
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 been loved
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 rather than
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 out of an
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 insecurity
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 or a desire
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 to somehow
00:35:55 --> 00:35:55 impress You.
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 Father,
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 thank You
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 for Jesus
00:35:58 --> 00:36:01 who gave
00:36:01 --> 00:36:01 up what was
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 rightfully
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 His,
00:36:04 --> 00:36:04 that we
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 might enjoy
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 the privilege
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 of being
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 sons and
00:36:07 --> 00:36:07 daughters.
00:36:07 --> 00:36:11 Father,
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 we pray
00:36:12 --> 00:36:12 that people
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 would look
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 at us
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 and see
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 a joy,
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 see a
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 security,
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 see an
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 intimacy
00:36:18 --> 00:36:18 with You
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 that is
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 compelling.
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 We pray
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 that we
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 would continue
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 to just
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 meditate on
00:36:25 --> 00:36:25 and soak
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 in the
00:36:26 --> 00:36:26 reality of
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 what Jesus
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 has done
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 in such a
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 way that
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 the world
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 around us
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 would see
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 and need
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 the love
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 that You
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 have shown
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 them.
00:36:35 --> 00:36:35 Father,
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 we ask
00:36:36 --> 00:36:36 that You
00:36:36 --> 00:36:36 would help
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 us,
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 those of
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 us who
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 have been
00:36:39 --> 00:36:39 adopted
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 into Your
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 family,
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 to live
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 as Your
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 children.
00:36:44 --> 00:36:44 But God,
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 just lastly,
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 if there is
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 anyone in
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 this room
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 who doesn't
00:36:47 --> 00:36:47 yet know
00:36:47 --> 00:36:49 what it is
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 to be loved
00:36:50 --> 00:36:50 like that,
00:36:51 --> 00:36:52 I pray that
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 tonight might
00:36:53 --> 00:36:53 be their
00:36:53 --> 00:36:55 night where
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 maybe for the
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 first time
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 they experience
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 Your
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 Fatherly
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 presence,
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 Your
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 warm
00:37:03 --> 00:37:03 embrace,
00:37:06 --> 00:37:06 Your
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 unchanging,
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 irreversible
00:37:09 --> 00:37:11 love,
00:37:13 --> 00:37:13 forgiveness,
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 care,
00:37:15 --> 00:37:16 goodness.
00:37:17 --> 00:37:17 God, we
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 just thank You
00:37:18 --> 00:37:18 that You're
00:37:18 --> 00:37:19 powerful enough
00:37:19 --> 00:37:19 to do that
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 and we ask
00:37:20 --> 00:37:20 that if
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 somebody needs
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 that tonight
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 that You
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 would do
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 that work.
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 We pray it
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 in Your
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 Son's name.
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 Amen.
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 Amen.