Description

Sermon transcript:

Thank you so much for being here. And those that watch online, we are finishing up our series on fatherhood. I don't know if it's been a difficult journey for you and encouraging or an up and down journey. But it has it has been a journey, hasn't it? We wanted to highlight the importance that what we saw in the scripture that God in how He reveals Himself to us, is as a heavenly Father. Quickly though, we had to talk about we had to deal with the fact that we've got earthly wounds, by our own fathers, even if they did the best they could, or even if they were decent, fellows, or even if they were absent, or gone, it all left a mark on us for good or for ill, which tells us we have to look to our Heavenly Father, we we looked at that great, famous story of the prodigal son, and we just really saw the overwhelming love that the father wants to bestow on us and indeed does bestow on us. Last week, we talked about a topic that maybe you've never thought about, or haven't thought about in a long time. And that's just that whole idea of fasting, fasting from food or fasting from anything that gets in the way of your relationship with God for a season right, so that you and I can discern God, what are you up to in my life. And if you're up to something, I want to take a moment to set apart some time to pray and to seek you. Today, we're going to speak in light of what we know about God revealing Himself to us for as father and then kind of how that works with what now what are we supposed to do. Now, as we conclude a series such as this? Well, I want to start with some scripture. Maybe you know, this passage or not, it's in the book of Luke, we looked in the book of Matthew last week, the Gospels a lot of times and how they reveal God to us is as our Heavenly Father. And so again, I've tried to underline where I see this pointed out. So this is in the book of Luke chapter 12. And don't be concerned about what you eat and what you drink. Very similar to that passage in Matthew, what's called the Sermon on the Mount. Don't worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, those who don't know God, all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. So don't be afraid, little flock free gives your father great happiness to give you the kingdom. Wow, that's such a sweet little phrase that that that phrase, right, there was one of the first tiny little verses I memorized and maybe that would encourage you a lot of times, just like when you start anything new, you want to kind of start small, be encouraged and kind of roll with that. And so I remember in high school, memorizing this little verse, Do not fear little flock for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom or it brings your father great happiness. And as I've gotten older, and I've thought about that term kingdom, you understand that kingdom or the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, it's used over and over again, in the Gospels. And what is that? What do we say? And what do we mean, when we see the word kingdom in the Bible? Well, I think what is obvious as talking about a rule, and arraign, just like we understood when we were little kids, and we watched those cartoons with a king and a castle or a queen and a castle, we understand that someone's in charge here, there's a rain, there's a governing authority here. So it's the idea the kingdom of God is the idea that God is ruling and reigning in the hearts and the lives of us who are yielding our lives to Him. You saw that already as a pitcher of baptism. What are we doing as individual men and women of God, when we go through the waters of baptism, we're trying to say, God, I'm yours. And a lot of times, we've tried everything else, we've done everything else, we've come to the end of ourselves, which means we're a great candidate for grace. And we're a great candidate for repentance and belief. But that's the whole idea of the kingdom of God. First and foremost, I think is people very talked about that people who are what who are yielding themselves to this rain, we're not fighting the kingdom of God. Because it fights with us. It's wind in our sails, but it's not fully realized in this world. So the kingdom of God has a sense in which we can realize it in this world, we can taste it, we can say man that was good for my heart that was good for my soul, whether it was a worship, or a great message, or great testimony, or God did something cool in your life or in the life of your loved one we're tasting, we're getting a foretaste of heaven. But what we often recognize is we're not fully there yet. It's not fully realized. So I just want to be real clear the Kingdom of Heaven has a sense in which we can be a part of it because Jesus has already come as a baby in a manger lived life here taught us how we are to go and then ultimately what died and rose again and showed himself Vic Dear, but everybody, I've talked to you if I was to talk to all of you, you'd say, but listen, I still struggle with sin. I still have things and areas of my life that are not quite right yet. And that's exactly normal. Why? Because it hasn't been fully realized the kingdom of get God has an already sense to it. But it has a not yet that we wait until the time to come when Jesus comes a second time, or what we see the consummation of all things.

So, but what does this passage actually say, and suppose he says, our first point this morning, it gives your father our father, great happiness to give you an i the kingdom. Again, this is such a great phrase. And when we understand all that, that means that it's not just a throwaway phrase that, that is that idea that we can have what God has not not in some weird things like oh, you're like, you know, like your mini gods. And I don't mean it like that. I just mean that the power that God supplies can reign in us that becomes very important when we think about the concept of fatherhood. Or oh, my gosh, that who is in us, the Spirit of God, the hope of glory, so that I can now do the things that God is calling me to do. But not only is it just interesting, or neat or fascinating that God now lives in us. But it's this whole idea that it gives our Father in heaven, great pleasure, great happiness to give you and I, the kingdom, we've kind of talked about what kingdom is about. But I want to push a little further and say, how, how does this all work? That's neat. And you've often maybe heard like, especially depending on your different traditions and backgrounds that that he said to Peter, thou art, Petros, the rock, and upon you, I'll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, the gates of Hades or hell will not be able to overcome it. What is he talking about there? He's not just talking about Peter, he's talking about all those who would follow after Peter and Peter is God, not simply reserved for the super spiritual, or for those who are simply priests or Pope's. But for anyone who leans into what God has for him, or her can have access to the kingdom? How? Let's look at First John, I mean, John chapter one, not first, John, John chapter one. So early on, in what's called the prologue of that book of the book of John, it says this, but to all who believed him talking about Christ, and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God, that becomes important, because how are we relating to God in this series, understanding that he's the father, and we're His children, they are reborn now with a physical birth, resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. And that's the kind of thing that we celebrated this morning. It's a new nature. It's the same but not the same. And listen, guys, this doesn't get any easier as we get older. We're constantly asking ourselves, God, you've given me unique gifts, possibilities, wiring, personality, gotta How can I best been that towards your glory? If we're not careful, we tend to mimic someone else, or we just do what our mommy told us or our daddy told us here on Earth. And when we have to understand is that maybe that was some good wisdom. But we're always pushing forward and asking God, what does it look like for me to be faithful to you? For constantly looking to the left and the right, we won't get that answer. Why? Because we are all fearfully and wonderfully made. We're all unique, and how God saves us and how he wires us. So it's the idea that when you and I are saved, we become a Christian, we become a Christ follower. We are now bearers of a new kingdom, we're in some ways, we're still the same old person, but in other ways, we're not. Right. So it's that idea of new nature. Same but not same. God is breathing new life into us. And that's why the older we get, what will happen is, is that new life will continue to work its way in us and out of us, or will walk away, or that fire will be greatly diminished, or will get better instead of better. Does that make sense? This is how the Christian life works. This is what it means to be born again, new birth. We don't see that. Let's see this further on in passages such as this, Romans chapter six, verses six through 13. This is a great passage, really talking about what is occurring as we come out of the waters of baptism. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. So it's not that we'll never do anything wrong again. But we understand we're fighting from a position of victory instead of a position of losing all the time. We are no longer slaves to sin. We understand what slavery is, we understand what that yoke means. We understand what chains mean, we understand when we're chained to something. We're no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ. We were set free To set free from the power of sin, and since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him, we are sure of this, because Christ was raised from the dead, He will never die again, death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died, wants to break the power of sin. But now that He lives, He lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin, and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live, do not get into it sinful desires, we're all tempted this way. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you are dead. But now you have life, new life, use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. This is why it's so important for us to understand that when you and I interact with each other, we're looking at a holistic being men and women that we all we're looking at someone who is not just what I can see in touch, but that inner man, that inner woman, and if we are redeemed, that whole idea of I love this picture that we have here a baptism which is it's it almost looks like a coffin. It's like the old one, you go down, we're saying that old person is gone. And then that new person is raised to walk in life. Not not bound to sin anymore. We're not going to be slaves to sin anymore. We couldn't help but to keep doing it. And we couldn't help but to keep going back to But now Christ has freed us he has set us free. In deed, I'm gonna show you a couple more verses to illustrate this point. Second Corinthians is just a letter written to the Corinthian church and guardians 517. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person, the old life is gone, a new life has begun this is what's so important. Because as we interact with one another, sometimes we think men that pass me by, like that ship has sailed if you knew how old I am, or how much water is under the bridge, whether it's with my marriage, or with my relationship with God, or others. And what he's saying here is, listen, it's never too late. As long as you and I have air in our lungs, it's never too late to come to Christ, it's never too late for him to begin that, that story of redemption in our hearts where the old life is going away, and the new life has begun or is beginning Galatians 220. You may know this as a passage, this was another verse I remember memorizing as a 16 year old, the old self has been crucified with Christ is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. So I live this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself up for me. So if you're thinking about baptism, if you're thinking about the claims of Christ, is that again, if you are perfect, or if things have passed you by and you know, some of y'all think, well, I was baptized as a baby, maybe that's good enough. And it's like, well, wait a second, have you decided to follow Christ? The reason why we do it this way in this tradition is because we're saying there comes a moment in all of our lives as men and women or as young girls or young boys, as a man, I want that Jesus I've been hearing about not just my parents faith, which is important. That's what we'll recognize it next week, as we have our little children that we are, you know, showing to the Lord into the church. But it's not everything at a certain point, we decide man, I'm going to follow Christ and what that means, but it's no longer I who live the old self has been crucified with Christ put to death. See this language here that's being used? We understand it, we really do. We understand it quite clearly. That's why a lot of times we stay back from spiritual things, or from Christianity, or from church for so long, because we understand what it's going to cost us and what it means for us. Again, Christians are not perfect people who've got it all figured out. But we are people who say we take seriously that we're going to fight sin now. We're not just gonna give into it all the time, like we used to, or like those around us may continue to do a fusions 317 says this, that Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. That's what a lot of times we'll talk about Jesus being in our hearts, which is again, by the power of the Holy Spirit, your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. We all know this. This is how anything works. If we want things to go deep. We want things to be strong. We've all seen trees fall over because the root system was bad. And it's just an ongoing process that happens throughout our life so that we can do what God has for us. This this change of nature. It's such good news, those particular characteristics that constitute the sin nature that can be broken by the power of life and death and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus, this whole idea that all life has passed, the new life has begun because we are sons and daughters of God. That for real changes everything second point this morning, I just want you to see I just pulled it right from the scriptures. The old life is gone. A new life has begun. To begin for so many of the people that have gone through the waters this morning, I know it's begun for so many of you all around the room. But it for some of y'all don't sit on the sidelines anymore. Don't sit on the fence anymore. Say God, what do you have for me? Because you mean that like, who I am and how I'm wired. That can be okay with my personality and all that, yes, of course. But God came to redeem that, not to squish over that. And we're gonna talk a little bit about identity here in a minute. But just know, second point wants to see this morning is that the old life is gone, and the new life has begun. And Jesus modeled this for us on the view. And I've ever thought about this before. But let's go back to the book of Matthew. And it talks about Jesus himself, he went down Matthew, chapter three, from Galilee, to the Jordan River to be baptized by John, this would be what we call John the Baptist. But John talked to him out of it, or tried to talk him out of it. I'm the one who needs to be baptized by you. He said, so why are you coming to me, but Jesus said, it should be done. For we must carry out all that God requires. So John, agree to baptize him. After his baptism, as Jesus was coming up out of the water, the heavens were open, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove. So you have this Trinitarian act going on here. You're seeing the Spirit of God descending like a dove, some of y'all who, who like art or have seen pictures, you'll see the very spirit of God coming as a dove, and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, here's God. So you have Jesus being baptized Spirit of God descending like a dove in the voice of heaven, saying, This is my dearly loved son, who brings me great joy. Do you see the love of the father that he bestowed on Jesus Himself? We all longed to hear these words, don't we? How many of us would longed to have our our dads when they introduced us to others that this is my daughter, this is my son, with him, brings me such great joy and pleasure. Again, what we're saying over and over again, is that if we did not get that in this earthly life, we have a father in heaven, who will give that to us if we will yet turn to him. We're no longer slaves to the old way of life. But we're now a son and daughter of the Father. Let's see this again, in Romans eight, just kind of how this works itself out.

How does it work itself out that we would begin to be men and women who are okay with hitting our knees and crying out, I need help. I need help from my daddy, I need help from my father, I need help from God above for you and I have not received a spirit that makes us fearful slaves. See, the opposite of fear. We're not fearful slaves anymore. Instead, you and I receive God's Spirit when he adopted you and I as his own children, now we call him what Abba Father, for his spirit joins with our spirit. Remember, we talked about that, that now Christ lives in us the hope of glory, to affirm that we are God's children, and since we are His children, we are His heirs, we understand what heirs means, in fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God's glory, if we are to share His glory must also share in his sufferings. So we understand it's not always going to be easy. And in fact, as we are faithful to God, sometimes that is when hard things come. As I was listening to the testimony of at least three of the people that you saw getting baptized this morning, at least three of them. As soon as they made the decision, I'm gonna follow Christ and believers baptism, it was immediately spiritual warfare began coming on them. And immediately they began to having dreams and nightmares that were of horrendous nature, pointing towards death, why we should not be surprised, because what happens is, is that even when we decide to do the right things, there is opposition against us. And so that doesn't mean we should Oh, well, it's hard, it's tough. I'm going to tap out. So many of us, we now feel like we have the freedom to just sort of what it used to be called in my neighborhood, take your ball and go home. You remember that when you would go to your buddy's house and y'all would go play basketball. And there was always one kid who really had the nice ball, that's what you wanted to use, or that was the only ball you could find that hadn't been flattened. And all of a sudden, when things didn't go his or her way they got elbowed in the side they fell down, they just retired or when to give up, they would do what they would just take their ball and go home. And then that was guys who play basketball anymore, or soccer or whatever it was that we were playing in the neighborhood. And I would just say that that call that temptation is true for all of us at all times in our life, whether we're seven or 70 I just want to give up, I just want to tap out. It's too hard. I just want to go home I just want to take my ball and go home and kind of get up under the covers and you know, throw it up over my head and just say I'm done. I'm tapped out but we understand that that's not what God has for us. That if we understand that we're Kingdom bearers and kingdom bringers that that's not what God has for us. He doesn't even I have bad days, dark days, but that we don't lay there We don't stay in the pit in the mire. So let's look at the benefit of God's plan. last passage wants to look at his hearing Galatians. Great book Galatians reintroducing of the gospel Romans has it Galatians has a clear understanding of the gospel. But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman subject to the law, God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as His very own children. There's that language again, we've seen in Romans, and because he, we are His children. There's that that language of Father, Son, Father, daughter, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, right? We've seen this theme over and over again, prompting us to call out Abba, fathers. Are you reading the same passage? No, it's reminding us again in Galatians. Now you and I are no longer a slave, but God's own child. And since you and I are His child, God has made you his heir. Third and final point on wants to see this morning, is our identity is that of a love child. If you don't get anything else from this series from these passages, I just want you and I to understand that so many of our issues that we're getting sideways with right now, in 2024, and El Paso and across our land are around issues of identity, we are struggling because we haven't got the first things, right. We haven't done the first thing. I'm not just talking about baptism, although that's how we start out our Christian life. I mean, just that we're organizing and orchestrating our lives and lining up our lives to say, Where does my identity and hope come from. And if you and I pick any other thing, but Jesus, it will be found wanting, it'll be found longing, it'd be found to really make us crash, I mean, all these kinds of things, because our identity is that of what of loved child, a loved son and daughter of the king. But in order to get there, we've got to be okay with recognizing, turning our back, turning our hand to say that I'm no longer a slave to the this abandonment. How many of us just feel that that we were abandoned by our earthly fathers or maybe our mothers as well, that we're no longer a slave to fear? We sing that we, we praise that but yeah, how many of us are starting to actually believe that that's true, we have to understand that of our identity as a loved son and daughter of the king of our Father, we're no longer a slave to abandonment, we're no longer a slave to the fear. We're no longer a slave, to be doomed, like our damaged dads, how many of you and I have thought, Man, I'm never going to be able to shake this. Because my daddy acted this way. My mama acted this way. My grandpa acted this way, my grandma acted this way. I mean, it goes way up the family tree pastor, and we've been screwed up people for a long time and my family, and I'm not gonna be able to shake it, I am doomed to repeat the errors and the mistakes that were handed to me. We're no longer a slave to that that's not true. You're no longer a slave to the wall that we've put up in our hearts. We've already said that many of us are like, I don't need this. I don't need this sermon. Only this fatherhood stuff. I don't need this father talk. I figured out how to accomplish things just fine on my own. Thank you very much. Well, that wall in our hearts, that spills over in all kinds of relationships, whether we're aware of it or not indefinitely with our relationship with our Heavenly Father, we're no longer a slave to addiction. How many of us could say Man, we turn to all these other things to try to satisfy? As the Bible says it was like BROKEN CISTERNS like broken wells that could hold no water yet we went there, but we're no longer a slave to addiction. Our identity is as a loved son or daughter of God. We're no longer a slave to the numbness. We've let our hearts grow used to play. It's so easy for us to just be lulled to sleep, isn't it? We can loll ourselves to sleep and we could be lulled to sleep. You know, just one more diet one more fad. One more little piece of this one little more little piece of that. I'll just numb myself. I'll just put one foot in front of the other at my job or I'll just put one foot in front of the other in my home or I'll just scroll one more time or I'll just watch one more show. We just numbed ourselves and we've gotten used to it. But here's what the Bible says you are no longer a slave to that. We're no longer a slave to dread. How many of us just kind of go freeware, say we go around there and we just dread we dread running into that person in the community. We dread having to go to our homes, we dread having to go face this face that we're knowing our slave to that we're no longer a slave to the thought that you'll never have your father's embrace. How much of that has just really contributed to so much of the damage that's in our wake? You know, I understand that right? Just that because of the lack of maybe a father LeighAnn Lovering embrace that we felt like man, it's never gonna go right my my times done my days, there's nothing, there's nothing everything's just in the rearview mirror and it does not look good that you're no longer a slave to that. Because here's the deal. You and I, we are free. We are free if this is true if we can get this right if we can just understand and pursue God and His Word and prayer and community and you know, even if fasting if we need to, can we get this right? So, if identity is of a loved child of God, then what happens is we're free. We're free, not free to do whatever we want, but free to reflect our father's heartbeat for the world and others. Because if we don't get here, we'll always do some form of navel gazing, worrying about ourselves what I do or don't have. And that's how the past has began in Luke chapter 12. He says, Listen, your Father knows what you need before you even ask for it. Do not fear, little flock Do not fear Life Church. It is your father's goodwill and pleasure to give you an eye, the Kingdom Do not fear life, church, you have gone from darkness to life. If you've made that decision for Christ, that old life is gone, the new life has come and do not fear Life Church, you and I are free to reflect our father's heartbeat for the world and for others. Because why? Because our identity is now being found as a son, or daughter of our loving father. Let's pray. Father, I thank you so much for your word. Thank you how you do love us. I pray for those who are struggling with connection right now. As I'm talking as I'm praying. I pray that you would restore hearts that you would restore marriages that you would restore the love. For others, I know they have no connection. So Father, I pray that they begin a new connection that they like these eight or so who came forward this morning they said I want that new life. I'm done. I'm tapped out. And now I need you God to do something or I angle make it. So Father I pray whether it's restore, renew, or begin anew. I pray for those in the sound of my voice and under life churches care. In Christ's name, Amen.